Epigram issue 366

WIT & WISDOM

and Marine Saint, Deputy Editors

The joint e orts of Bristol’s UCU and UNISON branch raised an uproar at the recent strike action last week as part of their rst ever nation-wide industrial action. Battling inclement weather, strikers from across Bristol University’s teaching, research, administrative and support sta showed their support by joining the picket lines.

The aptly named ‘UCU Rising’ strikes created a palpable energy across the University of Bristol’s campus on the morning of Thursday 24th November, culminating in their triumphant rally outside the Victoria Rooms. In what UCU Bristol Branch secretary Rebecca Staatz described as a ‘fantastic show of solidarity and action’, UCU and UNISON members were joined by Student Action Bristol, local social justice groups, and university students alike.

The aims of the strikes were to make a meaningful impression on

the senior management at the university as part of ongoing debates over pensions and work stability. With the successful closure of key university buildings, including an unusually early closing time on Thursday 24th November at the 24/7 Arts and Social Sciences Library, the industrial action enforced a ‘blackout friday’ on the 25th November after the previous day’s clamour.

The UCU outlined their main goals for the strikes, which they have condensed into ‘four ghts’. These consist of pay, in particular the recognition of the three percent ‘pay rise’ as a pay cut, equality as opposed to the persisting ethnicity, gender, and disability pay gap, workload to combat the current overworked conditions, and the casualisation of workers.

The moving speeches from UCU, UNISON, and local action groups roused the crowd into a lively atmosphere of solidarity. Green Party Co-Leader and member of the Bristol City Council Green Councillors Carla Denyer noted the unprece-

dented support and turnout for this strike. Denyer stressed her and her party’s long term support for the teacher’s strike campaign extending back to 2019.

Denyer outlined the shared vision of those taking industrial action to tumultuous applause: ‘an end to the grow or die business model of rapid expansion in student numbers. In short, an end to the marketisation of education.’

On the demands of sta striking Denyer stressed the continuing intentions of the strikes, including the long-term Green Party policy of tuition loanfree and debt-free education.

‘[We are ghting to have] academic workers treated with respect, with secure contracts, with decent pay, with reasonable pensions and manageable workloads, an end to the race, disability, and gender pay gaps. Proper investment in research

so that academics aren’t spending their whole lives chasing funding.

‘Burnt-out workers on insecure contracts can’t keep giving everything they’ve got on an empty tank, you need university management, the pension scheme, and the government, to give some too, and you’re right to demand it.’

Several other strike leaders directed their speeches at University management, including Jamie Melrose, Bristol’s UCU President. Addressing the Vice Chancellor, Melrose roared,

‘Enough is enough. You must do better. Go back to the negotiating table and bring us back a better deal. It is simply not good enough to say your hands are tied. […] The power is in your

Alexander Sampson

‘Enough is enough. You must do better. It is simply not good enough to say that your hands are tied'

@epigrampaper_

use it.’

Student frustration

Away from the Victoria Rooms furore, further lecturers demanded basic compassion: ‘Show that you care, don’t tell us that you care. We need to see meaningful change. Any sort of change in direction would be really beneficial.’

Yet, many students would like to see the same compassion extended to them. Speaking to Epigram, students on campus expressed frustration at the loss of contact time, lectures and seminars: ‘We’re near the end of term; it’s exam season. I need [lecturer’s] help but they’re not available because they’re striking. I know they think this affects the University, but it affects us, the students, more. It’s our futures that are dictated by missed deadlines and poor essays, not theirs or the Vice Chancellor’s.’

(Anonymous third-year Anthropology student)

Dr. Darius Wainwright, a history lecturer, expressed sympathy for students, noting the difficulties of limited contact time and communication around strike periods. However, for him, it is a ‘disconnect’ that influences ill-sentiment towards striking lecturers: ‘I find there is a lack of knowledge about [the strikes] and how being an academic works.

There […] needs to be a lot more dialogue on both sides about what students think a lecturer’s job is and what it actually is.’

Beyond misunderstanding and miscommunication, some students have stood in solidarity with the strikes. Protesting outside the Victoria Rooms, two postgraduate students told Epigram how they came ‘to show support’, as they ‘understand the struggles of the working class’. Similar sentiments

were later echoed by the head of the Bristol Student Action Group: ‘Let’s start talking about student management pay cards, and asking where that £70m profit that the Uni made last year is really going, because it’s not going to any of us.’

Recognising the mixed feelings between students and staff, UCU member Dr.Victoria Channing explained that this is a wider social justice issue affecting both parties: ‘This university is a civic university. How seriously can our work be taken seriously whilst we allow our students to remain impoverished? How can we expect our work to be taken seriously beyond ref tick boxes, beyond research impacts, if we are really allowing those around us to live in poverty?

These are issues of social justice. We cannot really allow for the degradation of these terms to be used in our name, while we deliver the goods. It is unfair for us, and most importantly, it is unfair for the subjects and issues we are talking about.’

As such, Dr. Channing called upon students and staff to work together. Protesting lecturers on Woodland Road agreed: ‘It is worth remembering this is a last resort for all of us. We don’t get paid for this.

[…] It is important, more than ever, for staff and students to stand together.’

A sector issue, a national issue

According to members of the University’s Business School, ‘the shape of Higher Education landscape is unrecognisable from ten years ago; it has gotten uglier.’ Speaking on a structural level, the Business School strikers noted that complex damage from Brexit, austerity, ranking systems

Notes from the Editor

and Governmental policy have nationally disfigured the University economic system. With the introduction of student fees under the coalition government (2012), Universities had to compete for students, unalterably commodifying the HE sector. Fighting each other for students, and therefore funding, produced a model based on ‘relentless expansion’: ‘the Temple Quarter campus could be seen in this light.’

In short, students are paying more for less contact time and bigger classes. Simultaneously, staff are paid less for more work. With the quality of a degree subsequently degraded in real terms, this strike is important, according to one history lecturer, on a democratic level: [These] long-standing issues […] are important because they are about the future of our democracy. This is where an educated citizenry is formed, and without that basis we don’t have a credible democracy.’

For the Business School strikers, the solution is as complex as the problem. However, one term consistently resurfaces: degrowth. Degrowth means a cap on student numbers – a prominent proposal in UCU’s manifesto. Yet, this would require national, collaborative work and policy change on a legal, governmental level.

Back on a local scale, Jamie Melrose calls upon students to take action for the sake of ‘mutual benefit’: ‘We want better experiences for students […] [and] we’re here to make sure we have fair pay [and] fair working conditions.’ As such, he asks students to ‘use your SU. Use them and demand that the University management takes on a leading, imaginative role in changing this system meaningfully.’

Co-Editors-in-Chief: James Dowden and Mark Ross

Deputy Editors: Alexander Sampson and Marine Saint

Creative Directors: Freya Shaw and Oscar Hunter

News

Editor: Radhika Gurnani

Deputy Editor: Lena Stein

Digital Editor: Aeliya Bilgrami Subeditor: Shreyas Kanna

Features

Editor: Lauren Sanderson

Deputy Editor: Lily Farrant

Digital Editor: Tamara Letts

Investigations Editor: Aidan Szabo-Hall Subedit: Dan Hutton

Opinion

Editor: Quinn Clearwater

Deputy Editor: Nina Micciche

Digital Editor: Laurie Hallam

Columnist: Katie Sowerby Subeditor: Eve Bentley-Hussey

Arts: Editor: Rianna Houghton

Deputy Editor: Phoebe Caine

Digital Editor: Melissa Braine

Critic Columnist: Milan Perera Subeditor: Ella Fraser

Music Editor: Oscar Ross

Co-Deputy Editors: Jake Paterson and Josh Templeman

Digital Editor: Sam Cox Subeditor: Hannah Thompson

Film & TV

Editor: Evelyn Heis

Deputy Editor: Jake Tickle

Digital Editor: Amelia Jacob

Investigations Editor: Kalila Smith

Sci-Tech

Editor: Emily Barrett

Congratulations on picking up this term’s third edition of Epigram. If you’ve dodged past a picket line or turned down the World Cup background noise to read Bristol students’ latest musings, rest assured that you’ve made the correct decision.

November didn’t last long. Ubiquitous World Cup coverage beamed from a faraway Tatooine added a haze of surrealism to an already hectic month of deadlines. Thin-skinned flatmates’ appeals to christen the heating are chipping away at morale. Seminars (when they aren’t cancelled) finish after dark and graduate schemes and internship applications extinguish any pre-Christmas cheer.

But in the following pages lies a literary light to brighten your day. Take a look at our brand-new 'Wit & Wisdom' section, featuring a blind dating column, advice from our in-house agony aunt and a handful of exclusive-to-print 'Overheard at UoB's'.

For a deep dive into campus affairs, flip to the features section. Provoking pieces, such as an investigation into the effects of pornography on students, await. Looking for someone to excoriate online learning and Blackboard on your behalf? Head to our Sci-tech section.

But amongst the excitement of the following pages, let us not forget our headline story. University staff strikes rely on us, the students, to pile pressure onto the University - to demand change. Once you've put down this paper, head to your Uni email and write a quick note to the University leadership team, requesting fair treament of all striking staff. Because although our moral compasses our firmly focussed on Qatar, there's exploitation taking place much closer to home - support our staff!

Mark Ross, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Deputy Editor: Dhristi Agarwal

Digital Editor: Carla Rosario

Investigations Editor: Tiberiu Toca

Sport

Editor: Joe Green

Deputy Editor: Jojo Lewis

Digital Editor: Louis Edward

Investigations Editor: Eddie McAteer

Creative Team

Charlotte Carpenter - Creative Director

Elsie King - Visual Designer

‘The shape of Higher Education landscape is unregonisable from ten years ago'

‘It is worth remembeing that this is a last resort for us. We don't get paid for this'

University of Bristol to listen to views on building names with links to the slave trade

should be changed to better reflect a modern-day institution in a diverse and forward-thinking city, as well as those who believe that the complexity of the University’s past could best be recognised through greater in-depth understanding and explanations.

The seven University buildings which have links though families or organisations are:

• Wills Memorial Building

• Fry Building

• Merchant Ventures Building

views of our communities, acknowledging that its findings will be painful and difficult for many within the university, our city and beyond.

Freya Shaw Creative Director

The University of Bristol is launching a listening investigation with students as to whether the seven buildings whose names are linked in different ways to the trans-Atlantic slave trade should be renamed.

The University is also planning some in-person events in December so it can access as many perspectives from students and staff as possible. The University says that details of these events will be published soon.

The online consultation, which runs until 19th December, welcomes feedback from both staff and university students who feel that the University logo and building names

• HH Wills Physics Laboratories

• Goldney Hall

• Wills Hall

• Dame Monica Wills Chapel

In addition to the building names, the University has already made a commitment to reviewing its crest and logo which features the symbols of Colston, Wills and Fry. An earlier article by Epigram highlighted these historic links to the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Professor Evelyn Welch, Vice-Chancellor and President, said: ‘It is important to understand the University of Bristol’s foundation and the relationship of our early supporters with global commodities such as sugar and tobacco which relied on the Transatlantic Slave Trade. In publishing this report, we are opening an important exercise in listening to the

It throws light on the complexity of our past where members of our founding families could be prominent abolitionists and, at the same time, benefit financially from slavery and forced labour. Whatever the outcome of the consultation, our job is to reflect on how racial inequalities impact on our communities today and put in place the effective actions that are needed to do to be a truly inclusive 21st century institution.’

In January 2020, the University appointed Olivette Otele was appointed the first Professor of the History of Slavery. During her appointment, she undertook a two-year research project on the University of Bristol, and the wider city’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.

Her findings include details from financial papers, and accounts dating back to the 1860s, confirming the University’s founding was financially supported by individuals whose family or organisations had profited from the slavery. The report states that ‘In

order to understand the past, we need to place the University of Bristol within the broader context of Britain’s colonial history and analyse how the past has shaped current discussions about identity, social and racial inequalities.’

The Wills family donors were tobacco producers whose produce was grown by enslaved Africans and their descendants, exploiting and benefitting from the plantations. Between 1909 and 1957 the University of Bristol received gifts of land and property worth £1.37 million from the family.

The Fry family were chocolate manufacturers, who similarly to the Wills family, did not directly own slaves, yet their ingredients were cultivated by enslaved people mainly in the Caribbean. Even after abolition, the Fry’s sourced Cocoa Beans from Sao Tome, where slavery existed until 1875. Altogether, Fry chocolate used goods produced by slaves for roughly 150 years.

Together, both the Fry and Wills family were responsible for 89 per cent of the University of Bristol’s inaugural funding of £200,000 (£25 million of today’s money).

Colston’s role was more infamous, given the toppling of his statue in 2020. He was a prominent member of the Merchant Ven-

tures and the Royal Africa Company, which developed the Transatlantic trade, so was directly responsible for the enslavement of Africans. Although there were no donations in the early years of the University, there were two donations - the first in 1956 of £75,000 (worth £2 million today) and the second in 1968 of £25,0000 (worth £484,000 today) - both from the Colston Educational Trust.

The strongest link between the University and Colston was the foundation of the University College Colston Society in 1899. The name comes from a tradition of founding philanthropic societies in Bristol to honour the memory of Colston and carry out charitable works, such as the funding for the University.

The Merchant Venturers building was named due to the Faculty of Engineering’s long-standing connection with the Society of Merchant Ventures. This affiliation was recognised with a £100,000 donation to the faculty by the society in 1955. The society continued to support the faculty until 1949.

The Goldney family, commemorated with Goldney Hall, had connections with the Merchant Venturers also.

Thomas Goldney II funded several voyages in the transatlantic slave trade; and the family interests more broadly were reliant on transatlantic expeditions and enslavement of Africans.

Saranya Thambirajah, Equality, Liberation and Access Officer at Bristol Students’ Union, said: ‘I welcome this consultation from the university and look forward to engaging with relevant student groups, staff and the wider community on this issue to bring about constructive dialogue and find a way forward that makes us all proud to be part of this city. Our history does not mean we cannot be bold in the beliefs and values we take into the future and uniting to talk about important and sensitive topics such as this is what truly drives change.’

This sentiment was further explored by Dr Jane Khawaja, CoChair of the University’s Anti-Racism Steering Group, who said: ‘Acknowledging and understanding our history is vital to providing a foundation to begin conversations about how we address contemporary issues across our campuses,

of sustained

• The University is launching a listening investigation with students as to whether the seven buildings whose names are linked in different ways to the trans-Atlantic slave trade should be renamed.

and the type

changes we need to make to address ongoing racial inequalities in our University and city.’

‘It is important to understand the University’s foundation and the relationship of our early supporters with global commodities...which relied on the Slave Trade’

UCU and Unison: the strike in pictures

Turbo Island tarmacked over after complaints

• Turbo Island, a well-known piece of land in Stokes Croft, has been tarmacked over weeks after fences were first erected.

Sofie Kwiatkowski Third Year, Politics

The area was considered by some to be a hotbed of anti-social behaviour, with fires often lit on the patch of land, prompting Avon Fire and Rescue Service to be called out a total of 44 times between April and July this year.

Turbo Island came about from a building which was bombed during

the Second World War and never rebuilt, turning into an advertising hoarding in the sixties that is now owned by London-based billboard advertiser 'Wildstone'.

It became a common haunt for street drinkers, named after their favourite drink - a Turbo.

Police had reportedly noticed a post-lockdown increase in incidents reported, including street drinking, campfires and drug use.

The Peoples Republic of Stokes Croft criticised the redevelopment on their website: 'As if a slick of tarmac is going to gave any impact on the problems or in any way soothe

the deep social ills which increased street dealing and addiction are symptoms of.'

Further, they note that, although there have been some 'nasty dealers' in the area recently, many of the people who 'hang out on Turbo Island have been a part of the local community for decades.'

This complex issue was mentioned by the Mayor in a tweet, who simply cited '@BristolWaste' for cleaning the site, adding that he 'welcomed the landowner' trying to prevent any more anti-social behaviour.

Student accommodation crisis hits the nation as oversubscribed universities fail to meet the needs of their students

• Outrage sparked amongst University of West England students housed in South Wales

Isabella Culley Third Year, Politics and

IR

Outrage was sparked amongst University of West England (UWE) students housed in South Wales due to the shortage of campus accommodation in Bristol, while student protests in Durham made headlines last week - demanding an end to course over-subscription, support from local councillors to tackle rent inflation, and subsidies for struggling students.

Complaints of inadequate housing arrangements resonate with firstyear students at UWE, 127 of whom have been housed in Newport Student Village, 27 miles away from the Bristol-based university campus, due to oversubscription.

The two-hour round trip for students living in Newport, requiring a

a 35-minute train journey and a bus ride to the main campus, could cost them up to £60 per week.

While UWE has offered to cover the cost of railcards for students housed the other side of the River Severn, as well as taxi journeys to the station, it has not announced that it will be subsidising train fares.

During a cost-of-living crisis, these additional travel expenses are far from inconsequential. Speaking to WalesOnline, one first year living in Newport said that they were having to ask themselves: 'Can I even buy food this week because I have spent £50 on trains?'

Living so far away from the rest of

their cohort has had a particularly negative impact on students’ ability to socialise. Another student talking to WalesOnline revealed:

'My friends are out most nights in Bristol and I’m struggling to get out there. It’s the middle of the night, there are no transport links back home, and it has put me in such an awkward position. I came to UWE because I loved the city, it seemed so cool to me. But I’ve ended up in Wales. It wasn’t what I wanted.'

University of Bristol students faced a similar fate, back in 2019, when 25 first years were housed in Newport.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Evelyn Welch has assured students in an

interview with epigram earlier this academic term that UoB’s 'freshers will not be housed in Newport'.

Meanwhile, UWE Vice-Chancellor Prof Steve West has published an apology to students upset with being housed in Wales, and UWE has announced that plans are being made to expand the Frenchay Campus in Bristol to accommodate its growing student population.

But students across the country are facing similar problems. A final year law student at Manchester reported to the BBC that they have resorted to sofa surfing after finding it impossible to secure accommodation.

If over-subscription is not addressed, the National Union of Students (NUS) have suggested that some students may have no other option but to drop out.

‘As if a slick of tarmac is going to have any impact on the problems...'

Vice-Chancellor Professor Evelyn Welch:

'Freshers will not be housed in Newport'

Holocaust Survivor Week: in conversation with Tomi Reichental

consisted of an in-depth conversation with Holocaust survivor Tomi Reichental, which was moderated by Guy Dabby-Joory of Union of Jewish Students.

Milan Perera Critic Columnist

On the night of 9th of November in 1938, referred to as Kristallnacht, Germany woke up to a reality of virulent antisemitism. During this night of ignominy, the Nazis torched synagogues, vandalised Jewish homes, schools and businesses, and murdered nearly 100 Jewish civilians. It is no coincidence that Holocaust Survivor Week falls alongside the commemoration of Kristallnacht Massacre. The hybrid Zoom event held at the Wills Memorial Building was jointly organised by the University of Bristol Jewish Society (JSoc) and the University of Bristol History Society as a part of the nationwide commemoration of Holocaust Survivor Week. The event

The genocidal antisemitism perpetrated by the Nazi regime was not an isolated event, or an anomaly of history. Its roots can be found in the 2000+ years of anti-Judaism that preceded it. In this pervasive atmosphere of both blatant and latent antisemitism, the discussion could not have come at a better time. It is important to ensure testimonies of courageous individuals such as Reichental are not to be lost in the sands of time, since most survivors of the Holocaust are in the autumn of their lives or have passed on.

Born in Slovakia in 1935 and raised on a farm where he lived until the age of nine, Reichental recalled how his family was treated differently during early roundups in 1942, since their farming background meant they were viewed as 'useful citizens'.

Yet this false sense of security was shattered into smithereens when he was arrested, along with his mother and brother, he was arrested by the Nazis in October, 1944. They were taken to Bergen-Belsen concentra-

tion camp in northern Germany, near Hanover. Reichental’s account of his ordeal was raw and harrowing, witnessing 35 members of his family, including his grandmother, perish in Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen.

When the host, Dabby-Joory, asked him of the conditions in Bergen-Belsen, Reichental described its 'function':

‘Bergen-Belsen wasn't an extermination camp but people were still dying through starvation and disease. Over 70,000 perished there, mostly Jews..’

Although the Holocaust was one of the most devastating tragedies in history, Tomi Reichental expressed his frustration at hearing people repeat the phrase 'never again' since genocide has continued to occur across the world to this day.

Speaking to Epigram about the event, JSoc president Shiri Kleinberg pointed out that:

‘We chose to run this event because this week (7th-11th November) is Holocaust survivor week, and it was important to us to hold an event during this time. We live in a time when the Holocaust is within living memory, and we still have the opportunity to hear about it

first-hand. Future generations will not have this opportunity, so we must make the most of it, as it will then be our responsibility to pass it down to those who will never hear a survivor’s testimony themselves.’

When Epigram asked of the importance of marking the Holocaust Survivor Week, Kleinberg indicated

that: ‘While the Holocaust was a unique event, and it’s important to understand that, there are genocides that are carried out today and attempts at ethnic cleansing. We need to learn from the Holocaust and never let these things happen to human beings ever again.’

University of Bristol climate specialists attend COP27

Those attending include academics Dr Rachel James, Dr Alix Dietzel and Dr Colin Nolden. Bristol climate scientist Dr Rachel James specialises in African climate systems and the advancement of climate science to inform policy.

Speaking of the pressing need for action, Dr James said:

Radhika Gurnani News Editor

Scientists from the Cabot Institute for the Environment have been invited to share their expertise in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, where the summit is taking place until 18th November.

COP27 aims to encourage global action against climate change by decreasing emissions, driving adaptation efforts and increasing funding, all through a fair and just transition.

‘With the war in Ukraine and a cost of living crisis, it would be easy to lose sight of the importance of climate action. But we can’t afford to wait, the urgency of addressing climate change has never been greater. And that’s particularly true for African countries, which are projected to experience some of the most damaging impacts of climate change.’

‘There have already been many devastating extreme weather events in African countries this year – tropical cyclones in Mozambique and Madagascar, flooding across West

Africa, and drought in Ethiopia and Uganda. These barely get a mention in the UK news. That’s why an Africa-led COP is so important: to highlight the loss and damage associated with climate change, and the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, to adapt to the changes that are already underway, and for action and support to address inevitable loss and damage.’

Dr Alix Dietzel is the Associate Director for Impact and Innovation at the Cabot Institute and Senior Lecturer in Climate Justice. With a focus on climate policy at both a local and global level, she has stressed the importance of equitable action against climate change through which a just transition should be ensured.

At the summit, she has been observing discussions and identifying whose voices may be excluded, while also ascertaining whether key

issues such as loss and damage are sufficiently prioritised.

Dr Dietzel has investigated the ways in which decisions on just transition should be made in Bristol, as well the responsibility of global governance to protect human rights and ensure that those responsible for climate change address it properly.

Regarding this year’s conference, Dr Dietzel stated:

'This COP is extremely important for moving forward on a just transition that is socially inclusive and ensuring loss and damage is properly financed. It is increasingly clear the effects of climate change are highly unequal and we have to look to those who have caused the most damage to ensure people are compensated, while also ensuring we move forward on climate change in a fair and inclusive manner at the globally and

locally'.

Dr Colin Nolden’s work covers energy and climate policy across various fields, ranging from law to engineering. His research has contributed to governance frameworks supporting energy poverty alleviation efforts at a local level, in addition to international climate clubs raising ambition among countries involved in the Paris Agreement.

Dr Nolden spoke of the need for these countries to reduce their carbon emissions:

'Raising ambitions to reduce carbon emissions, and sharing the burden of the rapid transition of our energy, economic, and social systems that such rapid decarbonisation entails, is essential to limit global warming and its detrimental effects, especially among countries least responsible but most affected.'

• Tomi Reichental discusses the legacy of the Holocaust and the ongoing fight against genocide

• Several University of Bristol specialists in climate issues have joined this year’s UN Climate Change Conference.

• World-renowned podcast host, actor, producer and creative, Adam Buxton, was welcomed to the SU to talk about his career, industry and inspirations.

• He also highlighted his new favourite creative projects

Mark Ross Co-Editor-in-Chief

Freya Shaw Creative Director

World-renowned podcast host, actor, producer and creative, Adam Buxton, was welcomed to the SU last week to talk about his career, industry and inspirations.

The talk was organised by the edgling Bristol Collaborative Arts society, which o ers a space for ‘Bristol based artists to share, collaborate and get their work seen by key industries’.

Before the talk had even started, Buxton had the whole room engaged, talking directly with audience members, who were from a range

of academic backgrounds. Buxton walked the audience through his career, from his early comedy performances in The Adam and Joe Show to his award-winning podcast, to his work in radio, culminating in his most recent venture, The Adam Buxton Podcast.

He also discussed his acting performances in lms such as cult-classic Hot Fuzz ( lmed in nearby Wells) and Star Dust.

His seemingly endless list of creative projects included collaborations with Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, satirist Armando Ianucci (the Thick of It (2005), Death of Stalin (2017)) and director (and close friend) Joe Cornish. Buxton didn’t just walk us though his career, but also gave us, the audience, tips, or as he called them ‘CREATIVITIPS’, on how to get started in an increasingly competitive and confusing creative world.

These included, having a sketchbook, or journal or some way to write all the random ideas you have down. And controversially telling us that procrastination was a good thing, at least for him and his career.

In a Q&A at the end Adam reiterated the importance of persistence and resilience on projects, citing the competitive nature of the entertainment industry.

His advice on dealing with rejection in the arts world was novel,

cheekily answering that ‘I don’t - I try to avoid it as much as possible’. Speaking to Epigram about his time at university (he attended the Cheltenham College of Art after dropping out of the University of Warwick), Adam re ected on how to retain friendships after nishing your stud-

ies: ‘It’s always good to have one friend who organises things...and to just do stu together’

And when quizzed about his current favourite TV series or comedy act, he responded that ‘House of Dragon’ and ‘Rings of Power’ were the two programmes which he was hooked on: ‘Paddy [Considine] is doing a great job [as King Viserys]’.

Epigram also asked Buxton to re ect on his career, questioning which project, if any, would he redo and why? For sentimental reasons, he chose a programme that was never released. A wine tour with his late father, citing the emotional signi cance to him, and the importance of nding the right formats for projects

Finally, as creatives, it can be daunting to know where to start or what to do to kickstart your creative career. But Buxton was quick to reassure stating that ‘you just have to pick the idea which is the easiest, and most logical to do and build it from there’.

Epigram would like to thank the BCA for organising such an entertaining and insightful evening.

• The biochemistry student graduated top of his class while campaigning for the Ukraine.

Milan Perera News Reporter

In his nal year at the University of Bristol, Tomas’ whole world turned upside down when war broke out after Russia invaded Ukraine. He was frequently on the phone to his family overseas, sometimes every couple of hours to check on their wellbeing.

Despite this, Tomas passed his nal exams with ying colours, coming top of his class as one of 120 students to receive his bachelor’s degree with First Class Honours.

Born in Ramat Gan in Israel to Ukrainian-born parents, he moved

‘Bristol is a vibrant city with an amazing cultural scene and there is never a dul moment. The people are friendly and engaging’

to Bila Tserkva in Ukraine at the age of three. As a promising student, Tokovyi displayed academic excellence in a variety of subjects including languages. He is uent in Ukrainian, Russian and English and can converse in Hebrew and French to an advanced level.

His life was changed when he won the highly coveted HMC Scholarship to pursue his higher education in England at Pangbourne College. After obtaining three straight As in his A Levels, Tomas was never in doubt about where he wanted to go to university.

When Epigram asked Tokovyi on why he opted to come to Bristol, his answer was simple:

’The University of Bristol has built up a reputation for biochemistry over the years and it’s second to none. And on top of that Bristol is a vibrant city with an amazing cultural scene and there is never a dull moment. The people are friendly and engaging and I loved my time in Bristol.’

Tomas immersed himself in biochemistry both on and o the academic calendar, completing internships over summer to gain further experience. Currently, he has completed three biomedical research internships at Bristol, one in Norwich, one back at home in Ukraine, and one at Oxford where he worked for a biotech company.

Tokovyi also worked with his father

in Israel. He has research experience in three di erent countries under his belt which he believes to be an immense asset for his future work.

In February 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought his time in Bristol to an abrupt halt. While preparing for his nal exams, Tomas took part in many events to raise awareness on and o campus about what is happening in Ukraine, most notably an event held at the Student Union which 200 people attended.

He built bonds with the Ukrainian community in Bristol and participated in the protest at the College Green in March 2022, proudly carrying the Ukrainian ag. Tokovyi was also instrumental in organising fundraising campaigns to bolster immediate humanitarian relief e orts in Ukraine.

During this period, he missed some important lectures and practical sessions, however Tomas has openly acknowledged the unwa-

Tokovyi was instrumental in organising fundraising campaigns

vering support both academic and non-academic sta at the university provided.

As a result of his achievement in his course, he was awarded the prestigious Clarendon Scholarship to complete a master’s at the Oxford University in genomic medicine.

When asked of his future ambitions upon completion of studies, Tokovyi was full of optimism. His vision is to build a strong biotech and entrepreneurial culture in Ukraine which would enormously bene t both Ukraine and the wider world in pursuit of cutting-edge resistance to diseases.

‘You just have to pick the idea which is the easiest, and most logical to do’

‘How do I cope with rejection? I don’t’ - Adam Buxton welcomed to the SU

Bristol graduate’s quest to help his war torn homeland

: the remarkable story of Tomas Tokovyi

Bristol SU leads Reclaim the Night protest

Nadia

Third Year Social Policy and Sociology

On Thursday, students gathered in Queens Square to join a march that has been going on since the 1970s.

The Reclaim the Night march began in Leeds in response to the inadequate investigation of murdered women in the area. The sole safety advice given was to avoid going out at night at all costs.

In reaction to this unhelpful attitude, women staged torch-lit marches through the streets at night, emphasising that they should be able to travel anywhere and should not be blamed or limited by male violence.

The idea behind Reclaim the Night has evolved from a night for women to walk the streets without fear of harassment or sexual violence to also being a place of protest for all from forms of gendered violence suffered on the streets.

As a result, members of Justice for Bristol Protestors (JBP), a group formed of loved ones of those arrested and sentenced during Kill the Bill rallies, also marched yesterday.

Before the march begn, Saranyah Thambirajah, Bristol SU’s equality, liberation, and access officer, stated:

‘Reclaim is an opportunity for us all to march together to take an active stand against gender-based violence and oppression; demonstrating our defiance to living in fear... We will not accept victim blaming or blurred lines around

consent in 2022. This march is just the beginning of the fight for a safer university, a safer Bristol, and a safer society.’

A group of students interviewed at the protest said: ‘Unsafe streets are a timeless issue, and if it is to

change, it must change now.’

This statement is directly related to the recent spikings that have occurred around clubs in the United Kingdom, with 198 cases documented in Bristol in the last six months. This significant increase of incidents has exacerbated the safety concern that women face in the city at night.

When asked why they had come to the march, one protestor stated: ‘People don’t realise how big of a deal it is, so I want to march for this cause and make it important.’ The

ly marched up Park Street, past the Wills Memorial, screaming ‘Whose streets? Our Streets’ and ‘What do we want? Safe streets. When do we want it? Now.’ A child at the back of the demonstration, astounded by the response to the chanting, decided to take the initiative and start their own rally at the back, making the protest even more heartwarming and fun.

protest was effective in this goal because the demonstrators made their presence known and stood firm in the face of insults from the sidewalk.

There were individuals designated to protect and guide the protestors, and they performed an excellent job of safeguarding the procession and shutting the side streets, with only a few incidents of enraged vehicles dangerously driving past them.

Overall, the protesters successful-

The procession ended at the SU, where speeches were delivered by the Bristol Feminist Collective, That’s What She Said, Bristol Sex Workers Collective, and iFemSoc.

For those who did not get to attend the 2022 march, the next protests will take place next year around the beginning of the 16 Days of Action, which traditionally begins with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on the 25th of November and runs through International Human Rights Day on the 10th December

• Th march in protest against gender violence and in support of women’s safety went through Park Street and by the Wills Memorial building

Ferraris

‘Unsafe streets are a timeless issue, and if it is to change, it must change now.’

Sanderson Lily Farrant Tamara Letts

Imposter syndrome

Marine Saint Deputy Editor and Features Columnist

Epigram recently conducted a survey asking students if they have experienced imposter syndrome. Of those who responded, 91 per cent answered that they have faced this during their time at the University of Bristol. This is part of a national phenomenon, as the University of Law’s research last year exposed how UK Google searches relating to 'imposter syndrome' reached an all-time high.

Imposter syndrome has been defined by Imperial College London as ‘the fear of being “found out” or a belief that you don’t deserve the achievements you have accomplished’, a feeling which is unsurprisingly common amongst students. Moving to university means students are often displaced from their socioeconomic background, the familiarity of their home and school structures, and anxiety around new people and the daunting world of academia.

I was’.

‘Academically I was OK, but culturally I felt like university or Bristol had a weird clique to it that I just don't fit into. I'm not sure how the University could fix this, but perhaps finding a reasonable and fair way to address the disparity between their admission of private school students and state school students would be a good start’.

Writing for the The University's Bar Society’s magazine The Wig, Law student Nafisa El-Turke described a sense of self-doubt associated with imposter syndrome and how this interacted with her background.

not white and I'm not middle class, but I never truly realised that until I came to Bristol and realised how much of an outlier I was’

El-Turke detailed how state educated students, particulary BAME students at Russell Group universities, feel that they ‘have only achieved their aspirations not as a result of their own intellect, but instead out of sheer luck’. El-Turke remained hopeful to battle this pre -

As well as hearing from student experiences, Epigram spoke with the 93% Club President, Teodoir Kempston, about marginalised students and the society’s social mobility work representing state-school students. When asked if he felt the University is actively tackling the divide between state and private education in terms of admissions and student experience, Kempston explained how most of the support happens before arriving at university, for example through contextual offers and scholarship schemes, and once in Bristol there is an expectation for students to find their own way.

Kempston emphasised that 'transitioning into student life is difficult enough, but if you are from a marginalised background, it is so much harder with more things to navigate, and that’s when students fall through the cracks’.

‘Bristol historically attracts white, cis-gendered, privately educated students, so anyone who falls outside of this demographic is automatically marginalised at Bristol University.

Alternative study spaces

area full of plants and nature, hidden away from the city life. The cosy cafe is the perfect spot for some coffee and studying, and a stroll around the gardens makes for a relaxing study break. And the best part? Bristol students get free entry.

Anya Dixon Classical Studies,

As we head into deadline season, campus is lively and bustling with students. Unfortunately, this means finding somewhere to study can be a challenge. Want to avoid endlessly searching through Senate House for study spaces? Or perhaps squeezing yourself in between two strangers in the Wills Memorial Library? Try these places instead.

Sotiris Greek Bakery 16 Park Row, Bristol BS1 5LJ

Kicking this off with a quaint little Greek bakery not too far from campus. With its delicious baked goods, colourful decor and ample places to sit, this bakery will become your next go-to study space. It’s usually quiet on a dayto-day basis, and the staff are friendly. Ease the stress of studying with some baklava!

Arnofini Café Bar

16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA

The Commercial Rooms: J D Wetherspoons

43-54 Corn Street, Bristol BS1 1HT

Although its infamously cheap alcohol makes Wetherspoons a classic place for pre-drinks, The Commercial Rooms, a historical building, is a surprisingly good study spot. With a free coffee refill system, come during the day to make the most of unlimited coffee to power you through your work! (Plus, if you get too stressed you can always order a pint.)

Pinkman’s Bakery

85 Park Street, Bristol BS1 5PJ

Right next to campus at the top of Park Street, Pinkman’s was made famous by its sourdough doughnuts. Filled with plants and lined with benches, this is a serene and well located place to break up a full day in the library. Pinkman's is open Wednesays to Sundays.

The Canteen

Hamilton House, 80 Stokes Croft, St Paul's, Bristol BS1 3QY

The University of Bristol outlines the support they offer for students experiencing imposter syndrome as part of their health and wellbeing student support, which includes the likes of the Student Union Networks or the Global Lounge to help with inclusion and the culture shock of arriving in a new city or even country. Additionally, the Student Wellbeing Service offers mental health and wellbeing workshops, and have created a Being Well, Living Well toolkit available via Blackboard.

While it is clear that there are resources in place to support students, imposter syndrome remains a rarely discussed topic amongst students. Epigram therefore asked respondents to our recent survey to share their experiences anonymously and in more detail, including how they felt the University could tackle this problem.

One student explained how his background heavily influenced his time at University: ‘I'm not white and I'm not middle class, but I never truly realised that until I came to Bristol and realised how much of an outlier

conception, stating: ‘I believe the key to quash imposter syndrome is not to think of how others perceive us, but how we want to see ourselves’.

Others, however, find discomfort relating to the post-university implications of their degree and the pressures of their course. A psychology student explained her fears about entering the workplace with an accredited degree, where ‘people will expect me to be well versed on my subject because of that and trust me to help them. I think my tutor massively reassured me on this, saying he still feels like he’s got imposter syndrome in his situation’.

Students from marginalised backgrounds need more support, and they also need to know that the support is there for them if they need it’.

Kempston finished by highlighting how the 93% Club offers support by creating a community for those experiencing imposter syndrome, but that there should equally be more advertisement of the services available through the University. Kempston crucially noted how ‘The impression with services like these is that they are only there for you if you are in a mental health crisis. It is important to know that they are there for any problems students may have’.

Located right on the harbourside is the Arnofini Café Bar – a picturesque place both inside and out. Why not make the most of the scenic views of the harbour to boost your cafe study session. Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options available too!

Bristol’s Botanical Garden

Stoke Park Rd, Stoke Bishop, Bristol BS9 1JG

Just as scenic as the harbourside is the Bristol Botanical Gardens – a lovely

Hip cafe and study spot by day, music venue and dinner place by night, The Canteen is a multifunctiol meeting space that uses locally sourced organic ingredients in all of their recipes.

Bag of Nails

141 St George's Rd, Hotwells, Bristol BS1 5UW

This ordinary looking pub hides a furry secret: cats. Providing animal therapy and well priced soft drinks, this is a great place to snuggle up and get your reading done.

Epigram's Deputy Editor investigates the student experience of imposter syndrome.

Lauren

Aidan Szabo-Hall Marine Saint Daniel Hutton

‘I'm

A round-up of the top off-campus locations around Bristol to get your head down in the run-up to deadline season.

Second year

The experience of an asylum seeking student at the University of Bristol

In conversation with Saiba Haique: 'I feel like I can see the inevitable doom sometimes, but I’m hoping that it’s not inevitable'.

James Dowden Co-Editor-in-Chief

For most students at university their biggest concern may be an upcoming exam or essay deadline. However, for a small group of asylum seeking students their dayto-day university life is constantly balanced against the threat of deportation and complicated legal issues.

Epigram recently caught up with Saiba Haque, a Bangladeshi asylum seeker student here at the University of Bristol to recall her experience of the process and the support provided to her through the Bristol Sanctuary Scholarship scheme.

Haque opened up by remembering her experience of her home country and the political censorship that she and others faced.

'I was getting into a lot of trouble. I was speaking up too much for a society that likes to keep things hush hush in terms of the government'.

She emphasised that 'most people don’t know about how bad the censorship is'.

Her political frustrations reached a peak during election season. 'What got me in more trouble

was the way I was taking about how rigged it was. We’ve had the same leader for ages now. People were fearmongered into believing you couldn’t say that you were genuinely angry. I was scared to speak up'.

'It felt almost like a civil war, but it was really civil unrest. It was extremely frustrating to be a teenage student at that time, because you had all these things that you wanted to speak out about and no one would take you seriously. And even if you did speak out about them, you would get in trouble. You would get threats from students. You would

have friends not talk to you anymore because they were scared of being associated with you'.

Haque left her home in the capital of Dhaka for the UK aged 15. However, moving country was just the beginning of a long and complicated legal process which asylum seekers face.

Haque recalled 'a lot of intimidating figures I had to deal with in my calls and letters to the Home Office'. She vividly remembered receiving a call about her asylum application in the middle of a philosophy exam in sixth form. ‘I asked if I could talk

about it later as I was in the middle of a test. The person on the end of the phone said 'No, if you don’t deal with this now, we will drop your case'. These tactics of intimidation, added to an already complex process, is incredibly distressing and stress inducing.

Haque was fortunately granted asylum seeker status, the first step to becoming a refugee. However, there is a crucial difference between the two. A refugee has indefinite right

to leave, meaning that they cannot be removed from the UK. Until they know the outcome of their refugee status application, asylum seekers are left in a limbo of uncertainty. Haque has been waiting for a Home Office decision for four years.

In a university context, asylum seekers are unable to access student finance, so are dependent on scholarships and bursaries.

This is where schemes such as the Bristol Sanctuary Scholarship comes in. Set up in 2016, it aims to help provide funding for asylum-seeking and refugee communities at the University of Bristol. The scholarship offers support towards tuition and maintenance costs, has helped over 60 students across a range of degree subjects since its creation.

Haque recalled her joy when she discovered that she would be receiving a scholarship to study BA Politics and Philosophy. 'It was beyond my wildest imagination. It was a great day. Being able to study here was a lot for me. It’s taken a huge stress and financial burden off my shoulders and that’s great'.

The scheme also works in partnership with groups such as Student Action for Refugees to provide a welcoming environment for asylum

seekers and refugee students in Bristol. It also provides advice on visas, lawyers and offers pastoral support for students.

Haque recently attended a meeting organised with fellow scholars of the scheme, and described the experience as uplifting. 'It was so wonderful to see these intelligent people thriving, as they finally get the chance to actually go forth and pursue their desire for education. That’s what gives me goosebumps and makes me so excited. The fact that we can get that help'.

However, for Haque there is always the pressure that her refugee application could come back negative, meaning she would have to suspend her studies and potentially face deportation. “Sometimes I feel like I can see the inevitable doom, but I’m hoping that it’s not inevitable. Half way through third year, my right to study could get taken away. If I don’t get to appeal, then that means I don’t get to finish what I started. I am afraid of going back.”

The conversation rounds off by Haque explaining what she thinks is the biggest difference between her and other students. She said that “We want to be normal students, like home students. We want to be there mentally but we feel like it’s not always possible to. We have an otherness that we have to deal with all the time. Having to deal with that alongside all the other things… we’re trying our best.”

'Moving country was just the beginning of a long and complicated legal process which asylum seekers face'

Epigram / Nicole Zhang

Epigram

/

Nicole Zhang

'We have an otherness that we have to deal with all the time'

'Moving country was just the beginning of a long and complicated legal process which asylum seekers face'

LoveWell: The gifts that keep on giving

This enables them to ‘step into new futures and make choices for themselves, where di culties and trauma have meant that choices have been taken away from them’.

Dudley Fourth Year Hispanic Studies

LoveWell UK, headed by CEO Claire Dormand, is a Bristolbased Community Interest Company (CIC) that sells beauty and wellbeing products to fund training and support for women who are victims of abuse, modern slavery and sex tra cking. They have created a workplace where women come to upskill and improve their con dence, all with the aim of ‘empowering women to get back into employment’.

The concept of LoveWell was born out of frustration towards the lack of opportunities to help women nd employment after experiencing exploitation and tra cking. Women and girls make up the majority of all human tra cking victims: of the 13,000 estimated people held in slavery in the UK, around 71 per cent are women and girls. Having previously worked in a city centre hostel, Claire has witnessed rst hand ‘people circling the bottom rungs of the ladder’, and seen how easy it is for victims to fall back into a cycle of addiction, homelessness and other di culties without the right support. LoveWell successfully ran its rst programme in September 2020, during the pandemic. Working on a

part-time basis, the women create beauty products whilst also attending life skills workshops. These operate in harmony to build their con dence and self worth.

‘They are choosing to come into LoveWell’, Claire told Epigram of the women who choose to participate in their programmes. They come from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from working in exploitative ‘massage parlours’ to having left abuse or human tra cking, and are usually referred to LoveWell by other social organisations. The work done in LoveWell’s six-month training programme is trauma-based, empowering women in a nurturing environment and providing them with a safety net to help them cross

the bridge into formal employment. ‘Every reader of this article will know of a female in their lives who has really had to overcome struggles. Or it might even be yourself,’ said Claire. 'Be encouraged, seek out the support that you need to be empowered in your life’.

According to Unseen UK, an estimated 50 million people are in modern slavery around the world, of which 6 million are victims of forced commercial sexual exploitation. Women make up 99 per cent of these victims. UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov has said, ‘Tra cking for sexual exploitation and for forced labour remain the most prominently detected forms, but victims are also being tra cked to be used as beggars, for forced or sham marriages, bene t fraud, or production of pornography’.

While there is no ‘typical’ case of human tra cking, risk factors that contribute to women’s vulnerability to being tra cked include prior victimisation and trauma, family disruption, immigrant or refugee status, disabilities, and membership in a marginalised group.

Claire explained the struggles for many women trying to leave exploitative sex work behind. Many lack the required quali cations, and do not have the capacity to gain experience volunteering in non-paid roles, or working in low-skilled and low-pay employment, due to codependents.

Unlike voluntary organisations, LoveWell trades as a business, with all pro ts going back into funding the training programme and paying the women for their work:

‘The more we trade, the more

women we can help’.

The women learn transferable employability skills, working in customer service, branding, order ful lment and creating content for social media. But it ss

Claire emphasised how proud she is of the entire LoveWell team and how incredibly impactful it is to watch a woman go through the programme. Remembering past employees, Claire told Epigram about Molly*, who had pushed through personal and physical challenges to create a better future for both herself and her child, who lived abroad with grandparents.

Outside of their work, the women are supported by social workers who help them to nd safe housing, childcare and nancial stability, as well as by individual volunteer mentors at LoveWell. The mentors provide advice from their own experiences, help to write CVs, proofread job applications and act as a sounding board to aid the transition out of the programme and into a formal work position, assuring the longevity of the programme.

LoveWell’s products are not only visually beautiful, they are made using sustainable materials sourced from suppliers and cooperatives also working to support women,

organisation which supports them, because I see the visible changes in people every single day’.

Not only are the women taught the necessary skills to excel in the working world, they are also given Mathematics and English tutors, alongside life and employabilityready training. The life skills workshops encourage women to discover their own con dence, create healthy boundaries and learn how to deal with con ict in the home and at the workplace.

emphasised that an appreciation of the skills required to turn raw materials into a beautiful nished product can have an incredibly empowering impact on the women: ‘Seeing people pay a high price for something she has made is inspiring’. The candles, bath salts and oils are a powerful metaphor for the self care and wellbeing their crafters go through when working with LoveWell—‘With the products that we sell, we want them to not only nourish and do good to the people who purchase them, but also to nourish and do good to the women who have made them’.

Epigram speaks to the local company empowering women to avoid exploitation and re-enter the working world.

Juliette

Lovewell

'An estimated 50 million people are in modern slavery around the world, of which 6 million are victims of forced commercial sexual exploitation'

Lovewell

Lovewell

The damaging e ects of pornography on the student mind

dependence suggests that the damaging e ects of porn could be disproportionately a ecting much of the student population.

Lees Third Year Politics and Sociology

Pornography has never been more accessible than it is today. It has evolved at an astounding rate, from adult magazines to videotapes to its height as an online platform, with millions of videos spanning every genre possible. Epigram interviewed Jack Jenkins, CEO and founder of REMOJO—an app designed to help break addictions to pornography— to discuss the addictive nature of pornography, and its potentially harmful impact on the emotional and physical wellbeing of the student demographic.

Statistics show that men and

However, research has found that excessive pornography consumption can have a damaging impact on intimate relationships. Alison Baxter for the American Bar Association details how pornography consumption can trigger aggression in relationships, the perception of women as sexual objects, and neglect of the risks and responsibilities of STI and pregnancy protection. Epigram spoke to Jack Jenkins about the impact of pornography on relationships: ‘Our community is full of posts referring to relationship issues, marital troubles and divorces as a direct result of porn’.

In Jack’s view, ‘porn is corrosive in most relationships, since for many men it becomes a substitute for real sex, creates unrealistic or unreasonable expectations, creates dissatisfaction through comparison, and trains us to separate sex and pleasure from love.’

For students and young people, this

you discover pornography at the young age of ten, by the age of 16— the average age of people’s rst sexual experience—your expectations and understanding of sex have been largely in uenced by a dramatized, and largely inaccurate, depiction.

He also highlighted the distressing, and often undiscussed, lack of industry regulation. This has led to a concerning link between pornography and child tra cking—in 2019, an astounding nine million videos involving children or non-consensual content were removed from PornHub.

PornHub has been consistently involved in lawsuits from tra cking victims, the most recent of which occurred this August, when Visa faced claims of pro ting from child pornography due to the company’s part in processing PornHub’s payments.

boys are the leading gender in the consumption of pornography, although there is a steady incline of female viewers. YouGov found that ‘three-quarters of British men (76 per cent) say they have watched porn, compared to around half of women (53 per cent). Around a third of men (36 per cent) say they watch pornography at least once a week, including 13 per cent who watch porn every day or most days’.

With the average age of introduction to pornographic content occurring at 11 years old, Jack Jenkins stated that the core age range of REMOJO users is between ‘16-35’. The overlap between those in their university years and the demographic seeking out support for pornography

presents a real challenge for the development of healthy rst-time relationships.

Jack said that he believes the most damaging e ect on students and young people, if he had to choose, is likely the distorted image of sex and the unrealistic portrayal of bodies that porn constructs. Jack spoke of porn as, essentially, a performance: porn stars are actors performing on a staged set, equipped with a crew to ensure everything appears as visually appealing as possible. Porn does not re ect the reality of sexual experiences. Of course, if

Los Angeles Times reported that ‘U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney in California denied parts of Visa’s motion to be dismissed from claims brought by a woman who is suing both the payments giant and MindGeek, the parent company of Pornhub, over a sexually explicit video taken of her when she was 13’. A Change.org petition calling for the shutdown of Pornhub has reached over 1.2 million signatures, and social media anti-pornography movements are on the rise, including TikTok’s ever-growing #CancelPorn. A desire to limit or regulate the consumption of pornographic content, particularly on PornHub, has clearly entered the public consciousness Research has shown that pornog-

raphy can even alter the way our brains work, literally reshaping the brain with consistent usage, and the in ux of dopamine can change the way we think and behave. Jack commented that ‘porn exploits one of our most fundamental human drives: sex and the combination of pleasure. Endless novelty, random shock and the high intensity of content on HD porn streaming sites creates a powerful conditioning e ect on the dopamine-based reward system in our brain’. PornHub published data in 2019 revealing that the average number of daily visits to their site stood at 115 million , making it one of the most viewed sites globally, and reinforcing its addictive nature.

should be addressed, he stated his belief that it should be banned entirely, arguing that we should work to ‘honour and respect women and the act of sex, not commercialise them’, although he acknowledged that this was perhaps an unrealistic goal.

"ethical pornography",women-owned and sta ed porn sites have emerged, catered

The easy-accessibility of pornography works hand-in-hand with this visual stimulus to form addictions. All that you need is a device and a good network connection to access limitless content for free right at your ngertips. Regarding the impact of pornography dependencies and addictions on productivity, Jack highlighted that an increase in anxiety and depression, paired with a decrease in self-con dence, self-esteem, focus, motivation and discipline are commonly observed e ects. For the challenging work life of a student in pursuit of academic success, decreased productivity and motivation could have a detrimental impact on the achievement of a successful grade outcome.

When Epigram asked Jack how he thinks the problem of accessibility

The proposal to fully ban pornography is, of course, controversial. The equation of sex work with the disrespect of women is not a universally held view, and many female sex workers argue that both viewing and pro ting from independent platforms like OnlyFans can be a sexually liberating means to take control of their sexuality and even make a living doing so. Labelled ‘ethical pornography’, women-owned and sta ed porn sites have emerged, such as Afterglow, a site catered entirely to female sexual pleasure. These sites aim to break away from the history of pornography platforms.

REMOJO has proven a success for porn addiction rehabilitation, providing an open community with access to communication, courses and videos on the reality behind pornography, alongside mindfulness content and a four-step strategy for quitting.

When questioned on the success rate of REMOJO, Jack provided data from a recent survey of 207 users where ‘89.8 per cent of users say they have more self-con dence, 86 per cent of users say they feel more focused and disciplined and 74.5 per cent say they feel more con dent in their bodies since using REMOJO’.

‘A desire to limit or regulate the consumption of pornographic content has clearly entered the public consciousness'

'Labelled

entirely to female sexual pleasure'

Epigram interviewed Jack Jenkins, CEO of REMOJO, to discuss the impact of pornography on the wellbeing of the student demographic.

Jessica

Flickr / Franco Alva

REMOJO

'The easy-accessibility of pornography works hand-inhand with this visual stimulus to form addictions'

Instagram: @epigramopinion

Just Stop Oil: fighting for our lives

\Art historians have criticized them saying that art cannot be equated with life and therefore why use priceless art to make their statement. Some observers argue that they are alienating the public with their tactics and that public support is necessary to carry out their aims.

change. In fact, the UK government allocated $5 billion in stimulus commitments to fossil fuels in 2020.

This was over 30 times the amount that was allocated to the generation of clean power - $158 million.

A

re Just Stop Oil’s recent protests in galleries successful in raising awareness about climate issues? Do their methods turn people away from climate activism? How does the reporting on the protests in the media impact public opinion?Nevertheless, the climate emergency has reached a critical point. At the rate of action taken by governments and rms worldwide, we are

The government chose to overlook the opportunity that the Coronavirus pandemic created to invest in sustainable energy, to simply return to the status quo.

It is also undeniable the enormous sway that fossil fuel companies have over the media and the government.

When I rst saw the video of tomato soup being thrown on Van Gogh’s Sun owers (1888), I was incredibly shocked. I couldn’t believe that Just Stop Oil had ruined such a famous piece of art, like many others who also saw the videos being circulated through social media.

But, as I learned that the activists knew it was protected by glass, I became much more open to understanding their aims and why they used such outrageous methods.

From throwing cans of soup on priceless art to shutting down the M25, Just Stop Oil is currently one of the most controversial climate action groups of our time. So, what is Just Stop Oil? It is a UK based environmental activist group with a singular aim: for the government to put an end to licensing new oil and gas in the UK.

They are a coalition of groups founded after Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain, with leaders from both groups involved with Just Stop Oil. They hope to use 'non-violent civil resistance' to make their point and raise awareness.

Just Stop Oil’s methods were extremely successful in getting widespread media coverage. Videos of their antics are being shared and viewed by millions worldwide.

They have managed to spark conversations about climate change, at a time where the issue has been overshadowed and ignored by most.

Their stunts, however, which have included blocking the M25 and pouring paint on the Headquarters of Barclays Bank in Aberdeen, have proved to be very controversial with the public.

Irate commuters who were stuck in tra c for hours wrote livid comments on their social media posts claiming that they were turning people away from their cause with such methods.

set for destroying the world as we know it.

Global warming is having a catastrophic impact on sea levels, animals, and is leaving many parts of the world uninhabitable.

When I consider these facts, the simple aim of Just Stop Oil, to stop the UK government from further investing in fossil fuels, seems more than reasonable.

It is also clear that there has been insu cient action taken by the UK government to tackle climate

As a result, it is no wonder that these climate groups must turn to more extreme methods in order to gain media attention. Nonetheless, the tactics of Just Stop Oil can seem questionable when it appears to be disrupting the everyday lives of many.

Critics of the recent nurses strike have similarly urged them to consider the impact that it will have on their patients.

However, this ignores the necessary and in uential role that protests and strikes have had throughout the whole history of the UK. From the Su ragettes, to the abolitionists, to the recent Black Lives Matter movement, people have continued to use their freedom of speech and their right to protest for a better life for everybody.

At a time where the peoples’ pleas to the government have gone unanswered, what alternative do they have?

Strikes and protests are a way for bottom-up movements to shake a world where hierarchical and capitalist structures continue to enforce the status quo.

Just Stop Oil is a movement with a simple and logical goal. Although their methods may be controversial to some, I fully support them and will continue to do so. We are in the middle of a climate emergency and if swift action is not taken now, soon it will be too late to prevent the irreversible damage to the world.

Quinn Clearwater Nina Micciche Lawrie Hallam Katie Sowerby Eve Bentley-Hussey

Qatar and human rights: are we any better?

Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup is not the only thing that should be questioned

Quinn Clearwater Opinion Editor

T

Let’s remind ourselves of Qatar’s human rights record.

Qatar has been labelled ‘fundamentally a slave state’ by the International Trade Union Confederation for its treatment of its foreign workers. Foreign workers make up 94 per cent of the labour force and are subject to the ‘Kafala System’: a work immigration policy which requires permission from employers to change jobs, leave the country, get a driver’s licence, rent a home, or open a bank account.

This leaves them completely at the whim of their employers – ‘modern day slaves’.

Under pressure from the global community, laws have been changed to remove some of these restrictions in the run-up to the world cup. However, as Amnesty International reports, in reality very little actual change has occurred to the treatment of workers.

There are also worries about the safety of LGBTQ+ fans visiting the country. Male homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and punishable by nes, prison time or death (luckily for British fans, the death penalty for homo-

sexual acts is only for Qatari citizens). Former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, ippantly joked that LGBTQ+ fans ‘should refrain from any sexual activities’ while at the 2022 world cup.

While he, following advice from his advisors, made a corrective statement: ‘we [FIFA] don't want any discrimination. What we want to do is open this game to everybody, and to open it to all cultures, and this is what we are doing in 2022’, he didn’t exactly recommend that LGBTQ+ people express themselves openly.

he human rights record of Qatar is appalling, with many commentators suggesting we should boycott the 2022 FIFA World Cup to express our discontent with their practices. While this is a noble idea, how much moral footing do we as a country have to stand on?It sometimes seems as though British people are more than happy to look past the homophobia. After all, discrimination against LGBT people has only been made illegal in the last 12 years, with the decriminalisation of sexual activity between men coming into e ect just over 50 years ago.

Unlike Qatar, the UK is a ‘morally developed society’ and has no culturally ingrained hangovers from oppressive laws like Section 28 which banned the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ in schools and local authorities.

And here in the UK we’re very open and accepting of migrant workers, a group which we as a country treat with reverence and respect for their work in important public services like the NHS. Never mind the vote we had in 2016 in which the majority decided that we didn’t want freedom of movement (purely for economic reasons of course).

British football itself is world-renowned for being anti-racist. Clubs like Millwall FC are shining beacons of our progressive and accepting multicultural society, and racist abuse online directed against players like Marcus Rashford, Axel Tuanzebe, Anthony Martial, Reece James, Romaine Sawyers, Alex Jankewitz and Lauren James is a phenomenon that has been left in 2021. We’ve come a long way since then.

While the UK is genuinely one of the most progressive and free countries in the world, it must not become complacent in its position. There is still much to be done, and while there are clear human rights violations in Qatar, and commentators are right to point them out, the UK is not

without its own aws.

G Andy Warhol / Flickr

How much do we really care about our planet?

Mina Kim

Politics and IR, Third year

‘Clean Girl Aesthetic’: spend to trend

Cristina Pinuaga Law, Third Year

TikTok has long been the most popular online platform for short-form video content. What is most familiar about this type of content is its mechanical churning of micro-trends. One day, everyone is recording themselves dancing to a viral song and the next, you can’t listen to that song without cringing.

products, creating ‘day in the life’ videos where they dress like corporate professionals and go to Bikram Yoga sessions. While this is a seemingly innocuous trend, further research reveals many toxic and harmful components to this ‘lifestyle’.

'Clean girls’ put forward a western, ethnically-barred notion of ‘clean’ as an ideal - they’re promoting something that is very closely intertwined with beauty standards. Most of these girls are white, blonde, have apparently flawless skin and Colgate teeth. This is problematic because it pushes forward an ethnocentric and, thus, for many, unattainable, stand-

as basic as hygienic care.

No less important is the fact that much of the inspiration for elements of the trend comes from things specifically black and Latin American women have been doing for ages.

For instance, using brown lip liner and gloss - a fashion statement typically attributed to Latinas, or applying hair oil, another staple in black women’s hair care routines.

A prominent expression of indirect racism is white people picking ideas that non-white communities have been historically oppressed for doing and then setting themselves as the champions of such behaviours, with minimal or no credit given.

Perhaps the most imminent danger presented by trends such as the ‘clean girl aesthetic’ is the impact it has on girls’ individuality.

The majority of girls subscribing to these arbitrary and, importantly, online ideals of how they should dress or behave are often teenage girls. They're at a stage in their lives where their sense of self and individuality is beginning to form, and these trends are detrimental to their development. There is nothing remarkable or personal about engaging in trends and platforms like TikTok, which simply generates carbon copies of girls behaving in similar ways.

Katie comments: has Jamie Oliver gone sour?

Katie Sowerby Columnist

Jamie Oliver - the man who destroyed school lunches, is back. This time he is heckling takeaway services and removing junk food deals from supermarkets. Does this show how out of touch he truly is?

Jamie Oliver has been labelled ‘out of touch’ due to his protest against the delay of legislation to ban cheap junk food.

The legislation included a ban on deals such as ‘buy one to get one free’ on unhealthy food items. This had been put on hold due to the cost-ofliving crisis - ministers reported the plans had been put aside for a year amid concerns for families struggling to make ends meet.

takeaways are expensive. However, cooking is not an easy skill for everyone to pick up – for those students who can cook, please remind yourself of the flatmate you had in firstyear whose idea of cooking was a frozen pizza in the oven.

There is something to say for how Jamie Oliver emphasises that children should be leaving school knowing how to cook 10 recipes each. However, he only appears to talk the talk, doing little to help food poverty unlike other celebrities like Jack Monroe and Marcus Rashford.

Oliver can even appear to be hyp-

While consuming and participating in these trends is fun and an entertaining alternative to doing your university assignments, less attention is brought to the damage they can cause to the people who get wrapped up in them.

Micro-trends have a cyclical, self-feeding quality to them, where new trends arise from old ones and as they develop, they become more and more absurd, fleeting, and devoid of substance. Recent examples include trends such as ‘gorpcore fashion’, ‘weird girl aesthetic’ or, particular to Bristol students, ‘rah girls’, which refers to students from generally wealthy backgrounds purposefully presenting as the very opposite, and often being accused of appropriating working-class culture.

Although not particularly viral anymore, a micro-trend that shocked me and made me reflect on how ridiculous some trends are becoming is the ‘clean girl aesthetic’ trend, also known as ‘that girl aesthetic’. What ‘clean girl aesthetic’ boils down to is several generally white, blonde girls displaying their expensive skin care or hair care routines, their makeup

ard of beauty.

This is without mentioning the fact that it further entrenches the overwhelmingly clinically disproven myth that acne, or ‘non-flawless’ skin equals bad hygiene.

This issue begs the question: what is it that young girls find so attractive about these trends? Is this sense of being part of a wider, online collective more compelling, or easier, than developing one’s own sense of self and identity? It also raises the controversy surrounding how one’s online presence is often conflated with someone’s entire personality. However, these girls are not ‘acting’ as characters, but rather showcasing traits and qualities they want to be perceived as having.

In response to the delayed legislation, Jamie Oliver’s outcry that ‘to use [the] cost of living as an excuse is wrong, it’s completely unfair.’ was rightly met with negative backlash; many people took to social media to emphasise their anger with the situation. One Twitter user wrote: ‘Millionaire Jamie Oliver wants to make food

ocritical with how he markets his recipes as quick and easy when really it is the opposite. His recipes are often complicated and involve expensive ingredients that the average person cannot afford.

With all his talk of home cooking being a dying skill – Jamie Oliver seems to be helping this become the case by creating further barriers to cooking with his difficult recipes.

These videos are the epitome of radical consumerism veiled in the name of cleanliness and success.

It is no coincidence that the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic is almost entirely based on things you can buy… and none of those things are cheap. Ranging from yoga classes, to Airpod Pros, and even to fruit and vegetables. Hygiene is made exclusive to a specific sector of society - those who can afford buying countless products that will never be touched beyond their 30 second ‘unboxing’ videos, often priced at three figures.

Equating being clean and hygienic with having money stratifies society further and commodifies something

The teenage years are a critical time in people’s lives where they experiment with their identities to begin forming an idea of who they are, and especially, who they want to be. Of course, it goes without saying that everyone is to some extent a product of their environment. Nobody is free from external influence and, intrinsic to living in a society where human interaction is fundamental, is being receptive to what those around you are doing. However, there is a line to be drawn between feeling inspired by your surroundings and seeking external influence and assimilating into a prefabricated persona on the internet.

more expensive for ordinary people battling the cost of living yet somehow thinks he’s the ‘good guy’.’

Oliver’s ignorance is again highlighted by his ‘claims’ that takeaway services are killing the art of home cooking. He believes that the convenience of takeaways is the sole reason behind this.

However, Oliver’s expectation for every person to be able to live on delicious home-cooked meals emphasises his delusion.

In today’s fast past lifestyle, it is nearly impossible for the average person to have enough time to cook a home-cooked meal every night, especially as many are forced to work longer hours to keep up with rising prices.

He is not wrong that even ‘cheap’

Tom Hodgkinson's article, ‘The Problem with Jamie Oliver’ explores how he believes Jamie Oliver mis-markets his books with the words ‘quick’ and ‘easy’, describing the process of following Oliver’s ‘Best veggie stir fry’ as ‘stressful’, further illustrating the problem with Jamie Oliver.

Overall, Jamie Oliver appears out of touch with the current cost of living crisis that is slashing people’s food budgets.

He also appears to be just talk – offering no support with how to teach people how to cook.

Instead, his complicated recipes prevent people from learning how to cook.

Although he is a man on a mission, Oliver is not serving up the right solutions to the menu of problems which our society faces.

The man who destroyed school dinners is back with a vengeance

How harmful is the 'Clean Girl Aestetic' and other Tiktok microtrends?

'Clean girls' essentially put forward a Western, ethnically-barred notion of clean as ideal

Millionaire Jamie Oliver wants to make food more expensive for ordinary people

Russavia / Wikimedia

Matt Madd/Flickr

Are your ambitions healthy or harmful?

Sophie Brassey Third Year, Philosophy

F

Life was always so clearly planned out - as if someone left a trail of breadcrumbs reminding us where to go.

After GCSEs, comes A-levels. After A-levels, comes university. After university comes... a career? A year off? A masters? Suddenly the world seems to open into an endless abyss.

inal year at university is bittersweet. On the one hand, you’re living with your best friends, you’ve finally decided you like your degree, and Bristol no longer feels foreign and scary. However, there is a looming uncertainty about what comes next.Standing in the future could be everything you’ve ever wanted or nothing at all. After completing the fifth online assessment for a graduate scheme this week, I’m feeling a bit pessimistic. I grew up on the idea that if I did well in my school exams, my dream job would be waiting for me on the other side.

I wasn’t told, however, that one day I would cry over not getting a data analyst job in Luton (no offence data analysts in Luton). At 16 I truly believed I could be the editor-in-chief of vogue one day.

Getting a job in a fashion magazine would be a piece of cake - If Anne Hathaway could do it, so could I. This is a very comabout time and time again; the world is not as easy as you think it is, films are not real-life blah blah blah. But that doesn’t quite lift the weight of how stressful seeing the light at the end of

the education tunnel is.

The experience of applying to summer internships in 2021, and then applying to graduate schemes this year, has made me realise how much pressure I had always put on myself to be successful.

I’ve found that when having conversations with my friends, they’ve also done the same. They wanted to be successful lawyers, heads of investment banks, famous artists, and designers, and this seemed very reasonable.

While this certainly shows how ambitious our generation is, it also called to mind a statistic I read online last week: more than 10 per cent of people in their 20s are estimated to be narcissists

This follows a recorded 30 per cent rise in Narcissistic disorder in US college students between 1979 and 2006.

‘Narcissistic traits’ include an inflated sense of importance and superi-

ority over others, leading to detachment from the world around you. In a less extreme, and less diagnosable sense, it can just mean that your expectations for yourself are higher than somewhat achievable.

Now, in no way am I calling my friends, or everyone ambitious narcissistic. After all, it is only estimated that 10 per cent of us suffer from this disorder.

However, our generation is certainly more prone to narcissistic tendencies than the generations before us. Labelled as the selfie generation, the Gen-Z motto ‘you can be anything you want to be’ loosely echoes a narcissist’s favourite phrase: ‘I deserve to be anything I want to be’.

We grew up surrounded by celebrities, comforted by YouTubers and (more recently) unable to escape micro-influencers. With the takeo-

ver of social media, many people believe every movement should be Instagrammed, tweeted, and put on their Snapchat stories for people to see. It has provided a mouthpiece for anyone to voice their opinions

To re-emphasise, having narcissistic traits does not make you a narcissist. But it can mean that you have a heightened sense of status or intelligence.

A product of this is reaching for a goal that is so much harder than you expect because your sense of reality away from the self is slightly blurred.

Gen-Z motto ‘you can be anything you want to be’ loosely echoes a narcissist’s favourite phrase: ‘I deserve to be anything I want to be’.

This has brought many benefits for our generation - attention towards the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 was majorly driven by social media, with rallies organised amidst a UK lockdown.

We have never been so informed and open to the world; social media is a melting pot of culture and opinion, which aids us in being a broad-minded and accepting generation. But, as with everything, these benefits come

This is where we come back to our generation, often described as the ‘overachievers’.

Gen-z’s tendency to have heightened expectations for ourselves explains how, by the time we reach our early 20s, we can already fail to meet our own mammoth goals.

This certainly doesn’t make us narcissists, or even close, but it does make accepting reality a little harder.

with downsides.

Newport Institute held a study over 4 months with 74 18 to 35-yearolds, finding there to be a 25 per cent increase in narcissistic traits in those who frequently posted selfies.

Looking over the edge of final-year, and seeing no clear goals to surpass, can make it even easier to create unachievable ones. It’s important to keep in mind that Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is the ability to succeed after university.

Quinn Clearwater Nina Micciche Lawrie Hallam Katie Sowerby Eve Bentley-Hussey

Twitter:

Taromsky/Wikimedia Commons

about anything – long gone are the days when young people had to lead a revolution to get their voices heard: these days, it only takes a successful tweet.

David Chen/Flickr

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Auntie Oscar's Advice...

The University of Bristol’s third most insufferable homosexual is here to o er his words of wisdom to all who ask! This month’s theme? Post-uni blues

Why do I feel pressured to meet my ‘soulmate’ in Uni?

This is something that we’ve all felt at some point. University is such an intense few years, friends around you will have dramatic break-ups, situationships, cu ng and uncu ng seasons. And there are those who are in stable, healthy relationships (I regret to inform everyone that I am the latter). But even within my own relationship, that didn’t really happen. I was in first year and my other half had just graduated, so he didn’t meet his soulmate at uni, just at a uni. I promise he didn’t stand around campus with a net, waiting for unsuspecting freshers, we just met on Hinge. At the

James...

end of the day, university is a great place to meet people with your interests and viewpoints, but you won’t become a spinster if you graduate without a sweetheart of your own! According to The Student Rooms, about a fifth of university students find ‘the one’ at uni, and there are still millions of people in this country who won’t ever attend uni. So DON’T WORRY! There are plenty of fish in the sea, and a lifetime of fishing to find the perfect Carp, or tuna, or octopus (if you’re into that sort of thing).

Why am I scared of leaving uni? Should I be?

Is it normal to feel scared? Absolutely! University is the strange love child of our teenage years and adulthood, or of school and being a fully fledged adult. It’s the free trial to being a grown-up. The prospect of uprooting your life, friends, and the way

you receive money is scary, but everybody who has a degree has done it. You have options, too. You could simply stay. If you are scared to leave because you love academia and study, then see if you can do a masters or a PHD. If you just love living with your mates, you might still be able to share a flat or house with some friends, or people your age once you graduate (to be honest, most of us will have to do that anyway, because to live in a city in the UK requires your first born as a deposit). Some of us are lucky enough to have family, chosen or otherwise, that we can crash with until we get our lives together. I always find that when I’m anxious or scared about something that I can control, knowledge is power. Take some time to see what friends and family are doing, research postgraduate courses, and have a look at some potential careers –it might just alleviate some of that fear!

THE EPIGRAFT

A new blind dates series exclusive to Epigram

Location: The Highbury Vaults

First impressions?

I don't get nervous but I'm starting to get a bit shaky.

Any highlights?

Finding out that she swam the channel and then revealing I had a crippling fear of open water swimming. Also, her grandparents played basketball for Hungary at the Olympics.

Describe your date in three words Constantly flowing conversation.

Awkward moment

When I spilt a drink a mere 10 seconds into the date while dead sober. A strong start.

Any red flags? No, although she didn’t say yes when asked whether it was coming home.

Second date?

I think maybe more as friends but yeah would be nice to see her again.

Studying: James: Spanish and Italian Phoebe: Theology

Year: James: 4th Phoebe: 4th

Second date? James: No Phoebe: No

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A lovely bloke who didn't smoke Who paid for the round

found common ground. We talked til closing Though without really knowing If we were being too polite Or if it felt 'date' right. A lovely evening And we got to teasing, So, regardless, I'd call it a good night

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Winter is Coming... Six cosy lms to watch during the seasonal transition of Autumn to Winter

Looking for some lms to watch while snuggled up in a blanket, without it having to be a Christmas lm? Look no further, Molly has you covered.

Molly Grogan, Third Year, English

I’d like to propose a new and speci c genre, under which fall those lms with a grainier picture, evocative ‘of their time’ soundtracks (Frank Sinatra always nds his way in somehow), and which all seem to play out with the cold of winter standing at the doorway and the snow urries in the background. They feel like a warm house with glowing amber light emanating from the kitchen, the smell of bon res in the air, cities in the snow, and dark mornings that make it impossible to defrost.

There are a few no-brainers I haven’t included: When Harry Met Sally, Little Women, but then a few that I have, and I’ve avoided (most) Christmas lms, for anyone not ready to don the Santa hat. Hopefully, you’ll

nd a more unconventional winter warmer for the nights you’re not stuck at the library. Let hibernation

1.

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

As Hannah and her siblings, Lee and Holly come together for Thanksgiving dinner each year, we watch their lives and relationships change and develop. Especially when Hannah’s husband Elliot (Michael Caine) realises he has fallen in love with the bohemian Lee (Barbara Hershey) and they begin a clandestine a air (which takes place in various enviable and stylish New York lofts or hotel rooms). It’s got all the markings of a Woody Allen production: ridiculous relationships, breaking of the fourth wall, Jewish humour, oddball New York intellectuals, plenty of cable-knit and oor-length tweed coats.

2. The Family Stone (2005)

If you’re bored of watching the same four Christmas lms on repeat, look no further than 2005 romcom The Family Stone, a cheesy but star-studded caper where girl-meetsboyfriend’s-parents-during-the-holidays and all goes very wrong. When the entire Stone clan gather at their childhood home for Christmas, tensions rise when new girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) is introduced, to a very critical reception. Under scrutiny of the Stone matriarch, played by Diane Keaton, and sceptical sister Amy (Rachel McAdams), Meredith nds herself challenged to drop the uptight personality amongst her boyfriend’s quirky and easy-going family.

It makes for sweet, wintery watching, yet another lm characteristically bathed in warm, orangey hues. Watch, as characters all wear impressively u y knitwear, wiling

away the holidays snuggled up reading and cuddling hot beverages. And it still always manages to make me cry.

3. While You Were Sleeping (1995)

Lonely girl Lucy (Sandra Bullock) nds herself in trouble after saving handsome stranger, Peter, from an oncoming train at the station where she works the ticket booth through the holidays. After following him to the hospital, where he now lies in a coma, Lucy becomes entangled in a spiralling lie to his family, who assume her to be his ancée, and after failing to correct them, she’s welcomed with open arms to spend Christmas with them. Only, as time goes on, things get doubly complicated (and a little weird) when she nds herself falling for Peter’s awkward brother, Jack (Bill Pullman), set against Chrismassy New York snow and the Rockerfeller tree.

If you like plinkety, 90s piano soundtracks and sets decked in now-dated mid-century wallpaper and Poinsettias as much as I do, While You Were Sleeping is the ideal cold-bedroom antidote.

4.

Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

Unfortunately, saturated as it’s now become, Gilmore Girls remains one of the cosiest, warmest, wittiest TV shows out there (sorry, I don’t make the rules). Centring the two Lorelai Gilmore’s - Lorelai and Rory respectively - played by Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, the mother-daughter duo spend the majority of every episode ring quippy remarks, eating pie at Luke’s diner,

arguing with Lorelai’s overbearing

encountering the eccentric cast of Stars Hollow’s townspeople, and arguing with Lorelai’s overbearing and wealthy parents. Saturated with that same infamous 90s/early 2000s hue characterising all the names on this list, their New England town seems stuck in a perpetual state of Autumn/Winter. Pumpkins and fairy lights constantly line the streets and town bandstand, making it hard to believe the entire thing was lmed in a California studio lot. In Stars Hollow, the co ee ows fast, but the Gilmores talk faster, and the show’s smart writing (credits go to Amy Sherman-Palladino), strong ensemble cast, and wonderfully wintery sets makes even my cold heart swell.

5. Uncle Buck (1989)

John Hughes’ 1989 comedy never fails to charm me. Set in the non-descript snowy purgatory between November and Christmas (probably), irresponsible man-child and bachelor Buck is called on by his brother to come and take care of the three Russell siblings in the midst of a family emergency. Clueless and cool, Buck breezes in but fails to make an impression on his nieces and nephews. But soon, Buck’s kindness and warmth, and genuine desire to help out nally wins him ‘Cool Uncle’ status, and the kids grow attached. I would recommend basically any lm with the late, great John Candy because he’s just so genuinely wonderful to watch. They all share the same jolly, wintery glow – Cool Runnings, Planes Trains and Automobiles and Home Alone, too.

snowy masterpiece is as subtly funny as it is shocking and touching as it is tragic. Now an easily accessible Net ix adaptation, it might be easy

to settle, but nothing comes close to the original. Underscored by an overdramatic soundtrack that cleverly contrasts Fargo’s mundanity, the ‘ah, geez’s’ and ‘yahs’ (21 to be exact) litter the macabre portrait of the insular North Dakota colony. It is lm noir at its best.

Starring the young and ever-talented Frances McDormand, a seven-months-pregnant police o cer, Marge Gunderson, investigates the roadside murder of a fellow trooper at the hands of Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear (Peter Stormare), two hitmen hired by a stumbling and imbecilic car salesman Jerry Lundergaard, played by William H Macy, hoping to fake his wife’s kidnap after nding himself deep in fraudulent debt. It’s a little gory (a warning for those looking purely for wholesome comfort) but something in the shots of middle-America bu et restaurants and gloved hands holding hot co ee against blank white swathes of snow makes it, in a strange way, comforting.

is a nostalgic time machine, tenderly exploring memory and the ctional self

Using cinematography as a medium for exploring the eternality of memory, Aftersun is a lm that is permeated with a hint of nostalgia. Read Chris Leonard's review as he delves into the authentic nature of this lm...

Chris Leonard, Third Year, English

In this post-pandemic era, the cinematic discourse surrounding memory has become far more relevant. Recent lms such as Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch (20-

21), Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car (2021), and Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland (2020) all address how we respond to and explore memory through media, structure, and themes of love.

Following this trend, Aftersun (2022) is about a father and daughter going on holiday in Turkey in the late 1990s. It explores how we return as adults to childhood memories of family holidays, a return to a time of ignorant bliss about the adult world and the true struggles parents face.

This lm seems to be, as both writer and director, Charlotte Well’s

intensely personal way of presenting the past as quite accessible but seemingly just out of reach. Through this lm, she compares the process of remembering to a photo developing from a polaroid or lm in a red room. Film and memory become so entwined that they almost become one.

In an interview with the Lincoln Film Centre, Wells describes her lm as ‘personal ction.’ Aftersun has a profound ghostly authenticity which sucks the viewer in, making them feel like a welcome intruder in a deeply personal relationship. Calum

(Paul Mescal), a single dad, is divided throughout the lm; from enjoying joyous moments with his elevenyear-old daughter, Sophie (Frankie Corio), to dealing with memories of his abusive parents, his currentnancial issues, and healing his broken arm. What comes through most is how good a dad he is; listening and responding to his daughter’s needs, opinions, complaints, and observations whilst being able to emotionally communicate.

So much of this lm is spent lounging around with Calum and Sophie, enjoying every last drop of

the sun. The theme of memory is returned to again as the lm is told in parts on handheld cameras, using this turn-of-the-century idiosyncratic medium to convey how perspectives matter when looking back on the past. Aftersun is a retrospective lm using the medium of lm to comment on both the paradoxical ephemerality and eternal nature of modern recording technology. Memories, like photos or lm, develop gradually until they feel so real, [...]

[ To read the full piece, head over to Epigram.org.uk/tag/ lm-tv/ ]

Featured Images: IMDB

Pomp and circumstance: The fth season of The Crown sacri ces substance for style

The hotly anticipated season 5 of The Crown was released on Net ix earlier this week. Film and TV digital editor, Amelia Jacob, discusses the season's best (and worst) bits, as it attempts to tackle a tumultuous time for the royal family.

Amelia Jacob, Film & TV Digital Editor

The Crown’s fth season was always going to fuel intrigue. In the light of Queen Elizabeth’s death on the 8th September this year, creator Peter Morgan must have had some concerns about the reception of the show’s latest ten episodes.

acterise the Queen sympathetically, portraying her as a woman unexpectedly thrust into power and the history books, compelled to act with duty and bearing huge responsibility on her shoulders.

Yet by the time we reach the 1990s, the Queen is in trouble, and Morgan struggles to align the viewer’s sympathies with her plight. This is for various reasons, but mainly because the further The Crown pushes its narrative into the present, the harder it is for the show to sell the Queen’s

relevance.

allegations made against him, and several references to the royal family’s ignorance of the history and customs of the commonwealth (think Prince Philip’s comment on the chief’s crown in series one).

Yet Imelda Staunton’s characterisation of the Queen is emotional, even petulant. Whilst it is refreshing to see a awed portrayal, it seems a bizarre choice tonally given what we’ve seen previously.

stowed on the show by Net ix, and it doesn’t go to waste. Each shot is carefully measured, with lush recreations of the royal residences and their opulent wardrobes.

necessary conversations about the in a more critical light than ever, as it

In the wake of an explosion of intense patriotism (in some cases) and necessary conversations about the ongoing legacy of colonialism (in many others), The Crown is viewed in a more critical light than ever, as it navigates the di culties of representing the royal family onscreen. Unfortunately, it appears to have stumbled at the penultimate hurdle.

The Crown has always balanced very carefully on a ne line between being a love letter to the traditions of a bygone era, and a realistic account of the seedier, immoral consequences of hierarchical power. Previous seasons found it far easier to char-

It is also very hard to discern as

a viewer if this is, indeed, Morgan’s intent as creator. Up until now, The Crown has retained a notable respect for the Queen, despite nods elsewhere to contemporary issues such as Prince Andrew’s unsavoury friendship with Je rey Epstein and the subsequent

in motivations are also established: Prince Charles (Dominic West) is unhappy with the restrictions of his position, Manville) brie y considers her lost loves and always “terribly unhappy”, telling

In the opening episode, ‘The Queen Victoria Problem’, the HMS Britannia is set up as a heavy-handed metaphor for the Queen’s obsolescence in the modern world. Alliances and motivations are also established: Prince Charles (Dominic West) is unhappy with the restrictions of his position, Princess Margaret (Lesley Manville) brie y considers her lost loves and Princess Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) is always “terribly unhappy”, telling everyone left right and centre that her marriage is a complete sham.

At times, it feels like watching The Windsors (2016-2020), especially when Princess Anne (Claudia Harrison) replete with a sti brown updo and even sti er upper lip briskly tells the Queen to come along, because “at our age the weight doesn’t stay o by itself!’.

Several celebrities have come out of the woodwork to discredit the storyline of The Crown this season (yes, I’m looking at you Judi Dench). However, the most worthwhile parts of The Crown this season are these criticised moments that expose the hypocrisy and ignorance at the heart of the institution, and the way these can co-exist with grandeur and ideality.

An example is the third episode, ‘Mou Mou’, which charts the rise of Mohammed Al-Fayed, the eccentric and stubbornly aspirational business owner whose son Princess Diana is alongside when she dies in a car accident in Paris. The Crown has always been at its best when it charts the difcult waters of what it means to be British, and what it means to have British values. Al-Fayed’s episode also exposes the immense budget be-

The episode is also the most interesting for depicting two men of colour attempting to in ltrate a society that thrives o casual racism and exclusivity. The pain of the shrugged shoulders, being pushed to one side, or ignored, are all expertly orchestrated by Morgan and make for upsetting viewing. Whilst this episode is not necessarily relevant to the overarching storyline, it is clearly one of the most interesting of the season. Does this say enough about where The Crown is going?

‘Even the televisions are metaphors in this place’: the Queen remarks at the start of ‘Gunpowder’, the eighth episode. Morgan doesn’t quite successfully pull o all the metaphors he’s attempted to litter across the season, leaving episodes that are visual perfection, but lacking in resonance and cohesion. I can only hope he is able to iron out these issues by the time the nal season comes out next year.

The adaptation of Emma Donoghue's acclaimed novel, The Wonder hits our screens

Tara de Mel reviews Sebastián Lelio's newest lm, taking us on a journey of love against evil in this psychological thriller adapted from Emma Donoghue's novel of the same name.

Tara de Mel,

Second Year, English and Philosophy

Chilean lmmaker Sebastián Lelio’s adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s novel takes particular aim at the potency of belief and the constitutional quality of storytelling. With the screenplay co-written by Lelio, Donoghue and Lady Macbeth (2016) screenwriter Alice Birch, The Wonder has already been nominated for 12 British Independent Film Awards – and deservedly so!

Based on Emma Donoghue’s subversive novel of the same name, The Wonder takes place in rural Ireland in 1862, shortly after the Great Famine. English nurse, Elizabeth “Lib” Wright (Florence Pugh) is sent to watch over a young girl who claims not to have eaten in four months, yet miraculous-

ly remains in perfect health. Anna O’Donnell (Kíla Lord Cassidy) and her family, maintain that she is able to survive only on ‘manna from Heaven’, yet Lib, a woman of medicine, alongside a nun, a woman of faith, are tasked with determining the validity of their claim.

lieve in the one we are about to be told. The camera subsequently pans to Florence Pugh as Lib, in the set of a boat bound for Ireland, viscerally reminding viewers that belief can indeed be transformative.

The opening lters the lm through a lens of storytelling and directs the narrative with a focus on belief. The central dichotomy between religion and science does not lead to a mutual exclusivity between truth and lies, but instead calls to question the stories we tell ourselves and the motivations behind them; to conceal or relive the past, or perhaps to provide hope.

-itants. High-contrast frames of Lib and members of the small community paint a vivid picture of grief and despair, whilst Matthew Herbert’s score features whispers of ethereal human voices, creating a sense of being surrounded by wandering souls. Girdled by the painful reminders of starvation, it is unsurprising that

fulness that makes her character so endearing to both Lib and the viewer. Florence Pugh brings depth and sophistication to yet another project, masterfully portraying Lib’s con icted conscience. Both are magni cent in their roles, with the two coming together to perfectly communicate their characters’ complex yet tender relationships.

Though it takes some time to fully appreciate this lm, it is certainly worth the watch.

The lm begins not with a misty shot of the Irish moors, but rather a half-dressed modern soundstage, with the disembodied voice of a narrator breaking the fourth wall before it has been meaningfully constructed. The narrator claims, “We are nothing without stories”, and invites us to be-

The Wonder is abundant in cinematic devices which serve the greater concept of the lm. The bleak yet beautiful landscape seems in mourning for the memory of those lost to the famine, and the palpability of a country in recovery is borne through Ari Wegner’s striking cinematography. With her repertoire of works including The Power of the Dog (2021), it is unsurprising that her focus here should be on how the landscape re ects the hardships of its inhabit-

some are so willing to believe in a girl who does not need food in order to survive.

Kíla Lord Cassidy’s spirit and conviction capture the audience in a sublimely authentic performance. In even her most heart-wrenching scenes, she retains the youthful play-

Featured Images: IMDB

Several celebrities have come out

Instagram: @epigram_ lm

Editor: Deputy Editor: Digital Editor: Investigations Editor: Subeditor & Film Critic:

Evelyn

Heis

Jake Tickle Amelia Jacob Kalila Smith Claire Meakins

Wakanda Forever mourns the loss of Chadwick

Boseman and still triumphs in its own right

Almost two years since the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is welcoming the sequel to Black Panther. This is one of Marvel's most distinct lms, dealing with grief, loss, and brand new villains.

Chiyedza Zunzanyika, Third Year, Law

Director Ryan Coogler had an impossible mission ahead of him. He had to re-write a blockbuster Marvel movie script without its main protagonist, without one of his closest friends, in complete shock and agony. Yet somehow, the impossible was achieved.

It would be impossible to review this movie without mentioning the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman; a once in a lifetime actor who simultaneously exuded grace, excellence, and strength. He meticulously crafted his performances in movies like Marshall (2017), Get On Up (2014) and Black Panther (2018), in which he brought to life a super-hero whose impact and in uence transcended the screen and empowered a whole generation of black people within and a part of diasporic Africa. He was an icon whose absence in this lm was palpable - you could see the sorrow in the cast and feel the sorrow in the audience.

Watching Wakanda Forever (2022) could not have been more di erent and less cheerful than watching

its prequel in 2018. Despite this, in Marvel-esque fashion, it somehow was able to retain elements of excitement, humour and heart.

sources like oil, platinum, or gold - all of which certain powers feel entitled to because of some form of racial or ethnic superiority. The use of France as the democratic, peace-loving nation in the lm must have also been a subtle nudge to the country’s current and historical actions in Africa.

and more of him. The introduction of Namor also o ered an important and rarely seen representation of indigenous natives from Mexico/Latam in the MCU and mainstream movies.

and strange decisions in pacing.

This intensity of emotion is felt right at the beginning of the lm as the once ery and exciting cast of black heroines and heroes mourn the death of a king. Grief has never been so widely explored in a Marvel movie.

We see how it a ects Queen Ramonda (played graciously by Angela Bassett), how it toils with Shuri’s (Letitia Wright) intellectual and emotional abilities and leaves Wakanda feeling somewhat bare and open. To make matters worse, Wakanda faces new geo-political challenges as there is mounting pressure for her to share the precious resource of vibranium –the most powerful metal in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

You cannot look at the international bodies’ “frustration” with Wakanda without holistically looking at the past, present, and future exploitation of current African economies; vibranium can easily be replaced with re-

Bassett gives a stellar performance as she leads her nation in con dence and wisdom, without compromising her own emotions and allowing herself to grieve. The original cast of Danai Gurira (Okoye), Winston Duke (M’Baku), Wright and newcomer Dominique Thorne (Riri Willaims) gave impressively heartfelt and entertaining performances as well.

What is remarkable about the conict between the Talokan and Wakandans is the fact that they have such intertwined stories and grievances - both having escaped the clutches of colonialism and developed into independent, strong nations. They both seek to guard the resources and wealth of their nations - not in an expansionist or imperialistic mannerbut for the independence, protection and dignity of their people.

It is peculiar, however, that in Black Panther there is always an acknowledgement of who the fundamental ‘enemy’ is but never actually a real, combative challenge to that enemy. As one commentator stated, the Wakandans always ght other victims of colonization as opposed to the colonizers themselves.

Black Panther has, however, never been a super-hero franchise that can be described, analyzed or picked apart in the same way other Marvel or other action lms are; the cultural signi cance of a black, African country ful lling its potential and exemplifying cultural and innovative strength is something that is rarely seen on the big screen and is so needed in contemporary socio-political dialogue. That’s why the original lm still holds such a powerful position in black and pan-African spaces today, as well as in pop culture, sport and lm.

In Wakanda Forever, it was clear, however, that they simply couldn’t create the same magic that the rst lm possessed, but we cannot deny how commendable it is that they tried.

The villain of this lm, as Coogler notes, is not actually a villain, but an antagonist who is simply going against the protagonist. Namor ( ercely portrayed by Tenoch Huerta) is the mutant king of Talokan - a powerful underwater kingdom which also wields the power of vibramium.

Not only is it easy to sympathise with his motives, but his sheer magnetism makes you want to see more

Wakanda Forevwas nothing short of excellent, showcasing breathtaking designs

The styling in Wakanda Forever was nothing short of excellent, showcasing breathtaking designs from across the continent and bringing to life a ctional culture and people in bright colours and patterns. The soundtrack drew you in with modern-day Afrobeat and Amapiano tracks enhanced by pounding rhythmic drums with an Afro-futuristic twist.

There were some technical errors in the lm, including the hodgepodge of accents and languages, improved yet still uncompelling CGI

bringing to life a ctional culture and people in bright colours you in with modern-day Afrobeat in the lm, including the hodgepodge of accents and languages, improved yet still uncompelling CGI Featured image: Marvel on IMDB

Selena Gomez gives a revealing account on the pressure of stardom in her piercing documentary My Mind and Me

Selena Gomez released a candid documentary covering the last six years of her journey under the limelight. Alice Harrison commends Gomez's upfront honesty when discussing her personal life. Read on to see how My Mind and Me (2022) can be set apart from every other pop star documentary...

Alice Harrison, Second Year, Classics

‘It just sucks. All of it.’ These are the rst words of proper dialogue we hear from a 23-year-old, baby-faced Selena Gomez as she prepares for her

2016 Revival tour. The Disney star turned pop sensation is struggling with the pressure of stardom and as it is made clear throughout her Apple TV+ documentary, My Mind and Me (2022), that this is a never-ending tale of pain, sacri ce and chaos in Gomez’s life. This documentary is less about a Disney princess and more of A Star is Born (2018).

My Mind and Me follows Gomez from the year 2016 until 2021. It starts with Gomez preparing for her Revival tour which was cancelled after 55 shows and resulting in Gomez subsequently entering a psychiatric facility.

Cut to 2019 and Gomez is seen recovering from her kidney transplant, which occurred in 2017, due to complications with her autoimmune disease lupus and conveniently brushing past her tabloid cat-nip relationship with Justin Bieber, as well as dealing with a bipolar disorder diagnosis.

The rest of the documentary details the pop singer’s journey to recovery mentally and physically. However, many of Gomez’s fans will be disappointed as she chooses not to mention her relationship with Bieber in any way, shape or form. However, it is crucial that she does not. This heartbreaking story of stardom is not

related to in any way losing a lover but losing herself.

My Mind and Me is directed by Alek Keshishian, most known for his sensational pop documentary, Truth or Dare (1991) following Madonna on her Blond Ambition Tour. This documentary undoubtedly set the gold standard for pop documentaries, detailing the hilarious journey of Madonna and her entourage across the globe, showing a side to the pop star no one had seen before. Keshishian is notably a fan of emulating cinéma verité, as he did in Truth or Dare, a style of documentary lmmaking which represents the truth

as objectively as possible and, most importantly, freeing the viewer from previous misconceptions about the subject.

However, My Mind and Me takes a di erent cinematic approach. Instead of feeling like a y on the wall of Gomez’s hotel room, you feel like a friend as she takes you to places from her past such as her hometown of Grand Prairie in Texas to Maasai Mara in Kenya where she spends a week volunteering at a primary school. This is the documentary’s best technical trait.

[Read the full review on Epigram. org.uk/tag/ lm-tv/]

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"Everyone is fragile" In Conversation with Pale Waves

Jake speaks to Heather Baron-Gracie on being called an indie band, mental health and sexism in the music industry.

Jake Paterson Co-Deputy Music Editor

In charting human emotion at its most celebratory and vulnerable, Pale Waves over the past five years have established a community demonstrating that internal darkness can lead to such glittering beauty.

Darting away from the romantic shimmer of indie pop that made their name, their latest album Unwanted takes a stab at the pop punk of the noughties whilst remaining grounded in contemporary alt rock. "We wanted to kind of shake things up a bit" Baron-Gracie tells me over Zoom, a couple of days before the band leaves for a headline tour of Japan.

"We wanted to stray away from that indie association that we had. We weren't a fan of being called an indie band" she suggests, highlighting the onslaught of pigeon-holing and comparisons to other Dirty Hit label mates that at some point have shared a similar

vein in musical direction. Carving out an identity though jealousy, anger and trauma for this record holds their ambition of turning darker and more alternative to perfect light, and provides substance to their visual aesthetic that is inseparable from the music itself.

“It sounds a lot cooler saying rock band” she jokes. Taking this record on the road almost non-stop since February, including a stint supporting 5 Seconds of Summer, I ask how the return to the live setting has been, particularly having released their

sophomore album in 2020. "We got to a point where we were kind of sick of touring [before lockdown] and we were desperately in need of a break" she says. This pre-pandemic touring also included a near-fatal tour bus crash in early 2020 where everyone in the band but Baron-Gracie were on board. The surmounting intensity surrounding touring was therefore palpable.

"Now that we've had a break we all just appreciate it even more" she says "we don't want to stop".

"I feel like everyone appreciates

live music even more now because you realise what it felt like not to experience that". Queer anthems like 'She's My Religion' grew from bedrooms and the online community alone, and now in the space of shared experience in the live setting breathe more violently than ever before. What was once an area of vulnerability in solitude grants power within a live audience.

“When you sign up to be an artist you sign up to give away a lot of your personal life and a lot of your trauma and that’s just part of it and you have to accept it” she tells me, touching

Gig Review: Faye Webster @ Thekla

on the barriers between being a visible and ever-present beacon for expression and retaining a private life alongside that.

“I feel like you need to keep part of yourself for your own sanity” she notes of the demand for her sense of online visibility. “I find the internet a bit exhausting to be honest. You just have to keep connecting with [the audience] and giving them content and that’s what we try to do”.

Yazmin Sadik

2nd Year English Literature

An embodiment of introverted girlhood and the ruthless experience of being lovesick – Faye Webster invites us to bask in the comfort of understanding.

Playing on her I Know I’m Funny haha album cover, she emerged surrounded by primary colours whilst wearing her iconic blue suit, going on to proudly explainin how her friend had made it for her.

Back in Thekla after five years, Faye smugly recalled first boasting “Oh, I’ve

played on a boat”, and with three more indie-folk albums under her belt, she seemed as relaxed on stage as her music .

It was obvious from the first lazy murmur of a lap steal in Faye’s opening track ‘Better distractions’, that the audience were more than familiar

Photography by Katia Temkin Epigram / Julia Riopelle

stage; during ‘Jonny’, a pining song which reminisces on a past relationship, a girl beside me gutturally screamed her resonance with Faye’s line, “my dog is my best friend / And he doesn’t even know what my name is”.

Despite the unabashed truthfulness of her lyrics, at times her introspective shyness was apparent; her iconic wolf cut often hung before her face, as if shading her from our intrusive gaze. As the set progressed - plucked mainly from her albums Atlanta Millionaires Club and I Know I’m Funny haha – a nostalgic cover of what Faye introduced as, her favourite Pokémon song that ‘plays when you get to the lake’, was performed.

with her music.

Her conversational lyrics encouraged an intrinsic dialogue to occur across the

Her command over the audience when story-telling through music or conversation was startling when contrasting this animated rendition to

"Faye Webester's folk driven, lilting ballads sang Bristol's Thekla into a sleepy trance"

Brilliant Live Music in Bristol this December

Josh Templeman Co-Deputy Editor

Gigs, gigs, gigs... and more gigs.

Billy Nomates – 1st December –

Trinity Centre

Bristol-based songwriter and musician, Billy Nomates, will be performing at Trinity Centre on the 1st of December. Humorous, refreshing and always outspoken, her signature post-punk sound is not to be missed. Support for this one is from the brilliant Grandma’s House, which Epigram Music were fortunate enough to interview last year.

clipping. – 5th December – The Lanes

Harsh, abrasive and industrial, clipping. are one of experimental hip-

Duckwrth – 7th December – Thekla

A growing force in both hip-hop and R&B, Duckwrth touches down on Bristol’s iconic Thekla for one of three UK dates this December. His 2022 project, Chrome Bull, sees the Los Angeles-based artist explore his love for dance music, with groovy beats and funky production at the forefront.

Yin Yin – 7th December – The Lanes

Dutch four-piece Yin Yin bring their signature ‘cosmic disco-funk’ sound to The Lanes later this December. Filled with synth-infused melodies and ethereal samples, expect to be

dreamworld of experimentation.

Ross From Friends – 8th December – Trinity Centre

British electronic producer and DJ, Ross from Friends, brings his vibrant and immersive live show to Bristol’s Trinity Centre later this month. Funnily enough, his stage name stems back to 2012, when a Friends DVD in a studio he was using found itself lodged inside a TV. Expect nothing less than dazzling melodies and good vibes.

expect his Bristol date to be just as explosive.

Tara Clerkin Trio – 17th December –Strange Brew

Academy Bristol

Hitting the road to tour his fourth album, It’s Almost Dry, Pusha T needs no introduction to hip-hop enthusiasts. Rising to stardom as part of the hip-hop duo, Clipse, Pusha T has hit new heights in recent years with his latest effort alongside 2018’s Daytona hailed as classics of the genre.

Soma Soma – 8th December – The Jam Jar

Curating an ingenious blend of Afro-Latin influences, let Bristol’s own Soma Soma ship you off to the beaches of Rio this December. Sure, by Rio we mean The Jam Jar, but we can assure you it won’t feel that way. With groovy horns, Brazilian percussion, and Portuguese vocals you’d be silly to miss this.

BADBADNOTGOOD – 11th December – O2 Academy Bristol

BADBADNOTGOOD need little introduction. The Canadian jazz instrumentalists have been mainstay heavyweights in the genre for a long time now. Noted for their collaborations in hip-hop, the group have worked alongside legends of the genre such as Kendrick Lamar and Ghostface Killah. Remember that Adult Swim trend on TikTok last year? The track used for the trend was a remix of their brilliant track, ‘Time Moves Slow’.

The Game – 12th December –

One of the biggest names in early 2000s rap, The Game brings his Drillmatic tour to Bristol this December in what is a long overdue return. He brings with him UK rap heavyweight Jay1 as well as Irish duo Versatile. This year has already been huge for the rap veteran, working with both Kanye West and Big Sean and we

Rounding off their European tour, Tara Clerkin Trio return to Strange Brew in what is a homecoming gig just before the festive period truly kicks in. Championing a quintessentially Bristol sound, the trio’s style sits somewhere between trip-hop and jazz whilst imposing their own experimental spin on the genres.

IDLES' homecoming gig. Epigram / Mia Smith

Joey Bada$$ - 19th December – O2

widespread acclaim. Fans of Death Grips shouldn’t skip this one.

Pusha T – 18th December – O2

As the days grow colder, keep warm in corwds of Bristol's best music venues. Thats our plan.

Ross from Friends / Fabrice Bourgelle

Gig Review: Still Woozy @ ekla

one hit wonder.

Eastaugh Second Year French and German

OBack in June 2021, American artist Still Woozy announced his new album If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is alongside a tour spanning the US and Europe in the coming months.

After multiple cancellations due to Covid, the tour struggled to take o , but Still Woozy, like many other artists, knew that rescheduling was the safest call. By pushing the Bristol gig back to November 2022, I was intrigued to see whether this would a ect his performance.

With an easy-going, indieelectronic sound, Still Woozy’s cross-genre music becomes addictive. Even though his renowned single ‘Goodie Bag’ has accumulated over 300 million streams on Spotify, Still Woozy should certainly not be considered a

Editor's Note:e:

Be sure to check out our very own radio show on UoB's BURST Radio every Wednesday from 12-12 to catch all of our musical favourites, pet-peeves and anectdotes.

COMETA by Nick Hakim Oscar Ross, Editor

Combining raw, crunching guitar sounds, tinkling Gameboy-like synths and gritty drums weaved together by his own intimate breathy vocals, Nick Hakim stays true to his distinctive sound on his new album Cometa. A personal favourite o of this record, ‘Happen’ epitomises Hakim’s sound, with Cometa signalling a shift to more low-key tunes than his previous work, which lent more on Hakim’s ability as a producer and more Unknown Mortal Orchestra sound. Definitely worth a listen, if only to open the door to the rest of his tunes, because their great, trust me.

Each song is paired with feel good vibes and emotive lyrics, a combination that has enticed his music fans. His strong fanbase was obvious given the buzz that encircled the well-loved venue Thekla on a dark November evening.

Dressed in a pu y pink dress, live band member Tani who goes by Legwurk, opened with a short set, radiating Still Woozy energy and setting the tone for the rest of the evening.

The crowd filled up predominantly with students and young adults, as the second support act from Efé began. She provided a wholesome insight into her bedroom pop aesthetic, whilst enlivening the audience with smiles all round.

The crowd was not left waiting too long for the main act and soon enough Sven, aka Still Woozy, was cheered onto the stage with Tani on bass and synth and Harry on drums. As soon as they launched into ‘Window’ and ‘Rocky’,

the crowd got dancing to some of the most loved songs of the album.

The catchiness of Still Woozy’s music meant that from the outset of practically every song, the audience

was belting out not only the lyrics but also the melodies right back to him.

The band seemed just as excited to be there as the audience was and the singer/guitarist exclaimed his awe

at the venue when he shouted, “WTF we’re on a ship?!”.

Anyone who has been to Thekla knows that it can get particularly hot and sweaty, and Sven did not hesitate to spray bottle upon bottle of water at the crowd.

The chemistry between this band was undeniable. The trio incorporated comedic elements into their rendition of the music, supplying endless dancing, play fighting and even getting the drummer to “shake some booty” to ‘WTF’ in the penultimate song.

By the time they left for the encore, the crow was adamant that they return for “one more song” so that we could hear the much-loved ‘Goodie Bag’.

Still Woozy is proof that despite multiple setbacks, he and his band

Editors' Picks: Best New Album

producer in the coming year.

Actual Life 3 (January 1September 9 2022)

by Fred again.. Josh Templeman , Co-Deputy Editor

I can’t lie, this month feels like it’s been incredibly slow for good album releases. I’m not an Arctic Monkeys man, and certainly not a Taylor Swift fan and the Brockhampton album was, as expected, pretty dire. Actual Life 3 sees Fred, in typical fashion, welcome us into his own world, sampling speeches and voice notes in trademark fashion. Highlights from the album include ‘Kelly’ and ‘Delilah’ which prove to be the typical festival-ready house bangers we’ve come to expect from Fred. I eagerly look forward to what the future holds for the talented DJ and

11

by Sault Jake Paterson, Co-Deputy Editor

The anonymous group Sault have since 2019 been at the zeitgeist of modern alternative music. Their largest statements have included two untitled albums released in 2020 exploring contemporary civil rights, an album released online for 99 days and then removed forever, suitably called Nine, and now releasing ve albums in one go with no prior warning, hidden initially behind a password-protected website for only ve days but now on all platforms. 11 charts r&b, soul

The Ruby Cord by Richard Dawson Sam

Cox, Digital Editor

Richard Dawson’s new album, The Ruby Cord, concerns itself with the future in much the same, allegoric way that his last two records – Peasant and 2020 – approach the medieval and the contemporary. The opening track, the 40-minute behemoth The Hermit, is accompanied by a short- lm directed by Bristol-based music video maestro James Hankins and debuted at independent cinemas across the U.K. this month. This new e ort, like all his other solo outputs and collaborative projects, con rms what we all already knew; Dawson is one of the most important and profound writers (in any medium) currently working.

Ali by Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin Hannah Thompson, Sub-Editor

My favourite album of this month is Ali, a collaboration between Vieux Farka Touré and the unparalleled Khruangbin. As a tribute to Vieux’s late father, the brilliant Ali Farka Touré, the album was apparently conceived of and recorded in just a week with much of the album a result of inspired improvisation. The song cycle, so deliciously rich and full of groove, engulfs you, thoroughly emulating the hypnotic quality of Ali’s tracks. Standouts for me include the crisp funk of ‘Tongo Barra’ and the melting melancholy of ‘Diarabi’. Ali is a testament to Khruangbin’s boundless aptitude for making any genre they occupy their own, and the enduring talent of the Father-Son duo Ali and Vieux.

A performance worth waiting for as Still Woozy's rescheduled tour does not faze him or his fans.

Iris

Photography courtesy of

Instagram: epigramarts_

ArtsThe BookTok phenomenon: what does it mean for literary culture?

Amelia Jacob explores the impact Booktok has had upon reading and publishing in contemporary literary culture

Amelia Jacob Film & TV Digital Editor

Perhaps the video you saw on TikTok was an elegantly positioned novel on a floral bedspread, or a cosplay of the characters from a fantasy series. Maybe it was a pile of aesthetically pleasing art books bathed in sunlight, as a trending audio played over and over in the background. Possibly, it was a dramatic reading of a poem by Richard Siken, or a zoomed-in video of a young woman crying over the last

page of a romance novel. If any of these videos sound familiar to you, you may have stumbled across BookTok, a relatively recent sub-category of TikTok that has gained immense traction since the term was coined in 2020.

On BookTok, reading became cool again. According to The Financial Times, BookTok videos have earned almost 56 billion views over the past four years. The creators of these videos are referred to as BookTokers, and they often reach hundreds of thousands of followers online, regularly posting content that includes wellpaid endorsements for publishers and distributors alike. These videos frequently take the form of recommendations or lists and include key words or phrases such as: “enemies to lovers” or “dark academia”, both tropes in novels that frequently go viral within the community.

The work of influencers such as Jack Ben Edwards and Dakota War-

ren is a good example of the content BookTok produces, and the influencers’ book recommendations are eagerly received by their followers.

'For publishers too, such recommendations are golddust, often igniting an intense period of sales that pushes authors straight into The New York Times bestseller list'

They have tailored their content to aesthetically align with the literature they post about, with high-performing results. A video of Warren drinking wine, for example, complete with velvet bows in her hair, or a video of her covered in fake blood with a suitably hedonistic novel like The Secret History lying next to her, will often generate over 200 thousand views. Both Warren and Edwards make reading aspirational, aestheticising the accumulation of books and knowledge.

For publishers too, such recommendations are gold-dust, often igniting an intense period of sales that pushes authors straight into The New York Times bestseller list. For a while it seemed as if the publishing industry was struggling to align itself with influencer culture. However, the fluid video format of TikTok’s platform facilitated an online community that seems passionate about reading in a way Twitter and Instagram users couldn’t quite pull off.

There are several positives to this book boom. What objection could anyone make to a trend encouraging people to ditch their phones for a brief period and lose themselves in a story? Reading exercises the brain, a discipline sorely needed after life moved almost solely online during national lockdowns. It is also widely proven to improve sleep, concentration, and general well-being in young people.

Crucially, it promotes an accessibility to reading that removes class barriers, creating a strange space in which Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life can go viral at the same time as Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Sev-

en Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I have read and enjoyed both novels, yet the former is a tragedy Aristotle would be proud of, an epic that spans the lives of four young men in New York with graphic depictions of violence and assault. The latter is a frothy and emotional novel about a 1950s film star and the ups and downs of her career. The distinction in quality, length and content between these novels is clear, yet both are highly regarded by the BookTok community.

'According to The Financial Times, BookTok videos have earned almost 56 billion views over the past four years'

Yet whilst it is an overwhelmingly positive space online, sometimes BookTok is somewhat hindered by its audience, who are often in agree -

ment that romance and/ or young adult fiction is best, and often tailor the community to these genres alone. It is necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff to find a recommendation that suits older readers. Novels like Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides or Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles, for example, are just as accessible as their YA equals, yet they are far more complex in plot and characterisation, and therefore more rewarding for older readers.

It can be slightly frustrating when terrible novels gain traction on BookTok. Does Colleen Hoover deserve to share the same stage as Hanya Yanagihara? I would argue not. But BookTok is larger than my personal opinions. By giving readers what they want — the space to be enthusiastic about any books they enjoy — there is room for everyone to co-exist. What could be better than that?

The Best of BookTok:

• Paul takes the form of a mortal girl - Andrea Lawlor

Everything I know About LoveDolly Alderton

• Bunny - Mona Awad

• A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara

The Worst of BookTok:

• Exciting Times - Naoise Dolan

• Diary of an Oxygen ThiefAnonymous

• It Ends with Us - Colleen Hoover

A Court of Thorns and RosesSarah J. Maas

jnadrojyma@ / koTkiT

Editor Deputy Editor Digital Editor Critic Columnist Subeditor

Rianna Houghton Melissa Braine Phoebe Caine Milan Perera Ella Fraser

The power-couple in the Bristol art scene who are challenging accepted orthodoxies

Milan Perera chats to Owen B Lewis and George Harold Millman to discover their past and future creative endeavours

Milan Perera Arts Critic Columnist

When I met Owen B Lewis and George Harold Millman at the Watershed for our interview, they told me that they had been walking for 40 minutes from where they live. Reading my quizzical expression, Millman said it is something they do every day, whatever the weather or the circumstances. It is their precious share of time where they grapple with new creative ideas and check the progress of current projects. As we sat against a window overlooking the harbour side, there was a note of gladness in their voices, and the entire evening seemed suddenly golden. Somehow time just ew by and we spoke for over two hours.

Owen B Lewis and George Harold Millman are artists extraordinaire. One of the key features of their art, irrespective of the medium, is empathy.

'There is strong socio-political commentary in their work, but they refuse to crown themselves as social advocates for the sake of social media "likes"'

They are acutely aware that characters of a play or a movie are not functioning in a vacuum, cut o from their immediate surroundings. There is strong socio-political commentary in their work, but they refuse to crown themselves as social advocates for the sake of social media “likes”. On the contrary, they believe that the view of an average citizen is as equally important as that of a celebrity with a larger platform and a blue tick.

George Harold Millman is a proud Bristolian who loves the burgeoning art scene in the West Country. His rst school was Bristol Steiner School where there was a huge emphasis on creativity. Millman’s parents took him to various stage plays and musicals which seared a deep impression on him. But his awakening came through audiobooks. Millman as a child was fascinated by the skills of narrators to assume various characters at a drop of a hat with the correct accent, intonation and expression. To pursue his dream to work in the arts Millman went to University of Essex to read Creative Arts. While at university some ten years ago, Millman read the young adult novel, The Boy Who Made it Rain by the Scottish author Brian Conaghan, which convinced him of its potential to be adapted as a stage play.

Owen B Lewis’s journey began in Abergavenny, Wales. Surprisingly his rst passion was music where he played in a punk rock band. His musical ventures were numerous and varied and

he was convinced of the potential of music as a medium for storytelling. Like Millman, Lewis was the only child of his family and was showered with the love of doting parents. His natural ability to connect with people enabled him to get his rst job in the care sector as a support worker, providing him with an invaluable insight into human experience.

In 2018, Owen Lewis won a place to study Creative and Professional Writing at the University of the West of England (UWE). At the end of his rst year at UWE he wrote the jukebox musical, 'High School Never Ends' where he seamlessly infused the music of the American punk rockers, Bowling for Soup. He raised money through a crowd fund to put show together in Bristol. He found the actors through networking websites and did rehearsals which led to an exceptional performance and a sold-out show.

The following year, a di erent director put it on as a showcase performance in London, which again sold out. 'High School Never Ends the Musical' revisits a love story of

two high school sweethearts who are reunited after ten long years at a school reunion. The life a rming story is told through a set of ashbacks infused with a nostalgic ambience. Owen B Lewis is currently working to transpose it to bigger venues.

young adult novel. He is currently working on the much-awaited sequel which, according to him, “won’t be too long”.

His second young adult novel, Vulnerable Voices was released only a few weeks ago and will no doubt gain positive reviews on bookselling platforms for its authenticity and nuance. Both Owen B Lewis and George Harold Millman are currently working on the audiobook to be released by Christmas on Audible, which will feature the unparalleled theatrical skills of the BAFTA nominee Nico Mirallegro as the narrator.

The two artists rst met when Owen B Lewis cast George Harold Millman for his rst short lm –'Love in a Lift'. Since then, they have worked collaboratively on each other’s projects and are together as partners in life.

The pair then co-wrote the pilot for the contemporary TV drama, 'SQUARE' which focused on the life of Justin Adams, a university student in Bristol, who has decided to change his life by throwing himself into the left-wing activism scene. They both welcome the current emphasis in television to raise the voices of minority demographics; however, they expressed their disappointment that these characters are often portrayed in a two-dimensional way, bordering on caricatures, which in its turn precipitates the original problem.

Owen Lewis’s debut novel, The Waterfall Warrior, received raving reviews on Amazon, where his professional experience in mental health work, coupled with an unbridled love for fantasy, produced a gem of a

Their most recent creative venture, the stage adaptation of 'The Boy Who Made It Rain', was a showstopper of pathos and socio-economic commentary told with subtlety and restraint. It was given an enormous boost from the superlative cast which featured George Harold Millman in the title role, where he portrayed Clem Curran, a teenager who navigates his school days through bullying, class con ict and teenage angst. Millman executed the role with style and earned solid reviews from both the press and the theatre goers.

It was a testament to the tenacity of this power couple, as they provided a glistening veneer to the creation of Brian Conaghan.

The pair have many more theatre and musical projects in the pipeline, telling me about a piece of advice they received from a studio bigwig who asked them “not to put all your eggs in one basket”: but the fact remains that they have so many eggs that it is imperative to have multiple baskets!

'The Boy who Made it Rain' / Marek Bomba

Owen and George / Owen B Lewis

'Owen B Lewis and George Harold Millman are artists extraordinaire. One of the key features of their art, irrespective of the medium, is empathy'

Book Nook: a haunted bookshelf

Melissa Braine recommends some of her favourite gothic texts perfect for the cold winter months

Melissa Braine Arts Deputy Editor

In the harsh and uninviting winter months, we seek comfort and warmth in the intimacies of each other and fall in love with life’s small pleasures. Rather than gifting you the warmth of a charming romance novel, or a hot cup of tea, I propose to you three gothic novels so cold that they make even the bleakest of seasons seem comforting. Snuggle up with a blanket and prepare yourself for a chilling read.

The Haunting of Hill House (1959) –Shirley Jackson

As her most popular novel, Shirley

Jackson’s unnerving The Haunting of Hill House is one of gothic brilliance. Hoping to prove the existence of the supernatural, Dr Montague invites three strangers to Hill House, an eerie mansion long-rumoured to be haunted by a dark past. With a series of mysterious and preternatural events, Jackson crafts an extraordinary ghost story, not just out of atmospheric tension, but from an exploration of the psychosis aroused

by fear and loneliness. In Hill House, there is something more inescapable to fear than the supernatural and otherworldly…

Although Leah has come home, she has left a piece of herself submerged in the blue.

(1979) – Angela Carter

The Bloody Chamber

The Bloody Chamber is a daring and revengeful collection of feminist short stories that amplify the existing dark and gothic elements of the seemingly innocent fairy tale. Behind the mystical castles, sombre moonlight, and dangerous but alluring characters, lies horrifying allegories of gender politics and sexuality that spark terror when reflected upon society’s accepted entrustment of gendered authority and entitlement.

Our Wives Under The Sea (2022) –Julia Armfield

Our Wives Under the Sea is a haunted story of the fluidity of deep emotion, falling in love, loss, and grief. Armfield’s strange novel follows the anxious Miri and her marine biologist wife Leah upon her return home after a mysterious deep-sea mission that ended in catastrophe.

Armfield’s novel is one of renewed defamiliarization and metamorphosis, playing a contemporising elegy to classic gothic tradition. It is sublime in its uncanniness, and heartfelt in its horror. Many are nervous of what lurks in the deep unknown, but true horror lies with the unquestioned familiar.

Art Spotlight: healing your inner child through art

Jessica Saggio showcases her pottery painting and discusses its theraputic qualities

Jessica Saggio Third Year, Sociology

Last week, I was gifted the opportunity to visit a pottery painting café, ‘Flying Saucers’ as part of a society social. Sat just off the Clifton Triangle, this eccentric café offers the unique experience of painting a chosen piece of pottery alongside enjoying a warm beverage. With a wide variety of ceramics and coloured paints to choose from, you are left free to come up with your own design and paint!

Safe to say, I was skeptical about the whole experience, as I have always thought of myself as someone who is not artistic – at least, not in

the traditional sense. However, this trip has changed my perspective.

It was a welcoming and safe environment and I felt absolutely no pressure to produce something that would be considered conventionally ‘good’. I just let myself draw what I wanted and was left happy with the end results.

not taking themselves seriously. It reminded me of being younger and free of any self-doubt, the days when we would just do what made us happy and treat ourselves with kindness.

starting point. The table that I was sat at had several pastel paints, and I instantly found myself drawn to these, in the hopes of creating a very cute and Spring-like bowl. And of course, I incorporated my favourite colour, pink! I was inspired by a picture of a pottery trinket dish covered in tulips, and it all seemed to come together from that point onwards.

Though I can recognise that I won’t be winning any awards for my artistic skills, I’m happy with what I produced, and even happier that something that I was so unsure about ended up being such a positive experience. My advice for you all: draw your feelings. All art is good art, and the best art is that which lets you unwind and de-stress.

I found the whole process therapeutic and healing, especially as I have been struggling with my mental health lately and being quite self-critical. But sitting there, hot chocolate in hand, surrounded by other course mates and students who I know are in similar situations, I felt at ease. Everyone was relaxed, and laughing,

I soon realised that no matter what my finished artwork looked like, I would be happy. I was nurturing my soul, and more specifically, my inner child.

I absolutely adore flowers and that is where my inspiration for my design came from. Pinterest was my best friend in this process, as that is where I found some relatively basic pottery painting ideas to use as a

Melissa Braine / Epigram

Me issa Braine / Epigram

Melissa Braine / Epigram

'three gothic novels so cold that they make even the bleakest of seasons seem comforting'

'My advice to you all: draw your feelings. All art is good art, and the best art is that which lets you unwind and de-stress'

Jessica Saggio / Epigram

Jessica Saggio / Epigram

Editor Digital Editor Deputy Editor Investigations Editor

Emily Barrett Carla Rosario Dhristi Agarwal Tiberiu Toca Instagram: @epigramscitech

What's the deal with Blackboard?

bit will reveal the “To-Do” section. For my whole time here it has suggested I have zero tasks to complete. If only that were the case.

Conor MacDonald Second Year, Philosophy and Economics

The last thing on a fresher’s mind when coming to Bristol will be learning how to use the University’s virtual learning environment. They’re likely expecting an easy, up to date experience akin to other services they’ve used, like Microsoft Teams or Google Classroom. Unfortunately they will soon be thrown into the deep end with Blackboard.

Slow, clunky and difficult - these are three ways most students would describe Blackboard. The service was originally pioneered in 1997 and some may argue it has not been updated since then. At first glance it seems manageable - there are likely many irrelevant announcements on the homepage, but your modules will be clearly displayed. Scrolling down a

Many students on joint-honours and those taking optional modules soon realise that the module pages are completely unstandardised. Where it may be easy to find assessment information for one module, for another it will be impossible. This will certainly cause frustration when your coursework is due and you still can’t find the cover sheet.

is more difficult to navigate’. On the impact of Blackboard on their teaching, Chalwin commented that it has ‘negatively impacted (their) learning experience’, further calling it a ‘clear step back in quality’.

With all of these problems then, why hasn’t anything been done? Every summer, the university claims to update Blackboard with the latest features. Whilst it offers what other tools can (video conferencing, polls, file sharing), it is always subpar. What can be done then to improve Blackboard?

1The Bare Minimum

ple’s book, whose software design is characterised by simplicity. Stripping Blackboard down to show only the essentials would be a place to start.

2Adapt features from its competitors

Some have been lucky to not use Blackboard. Until this year, Chemistry students were using DLM as their virtual learning environment (VLE).

Eli Chalwin, a second year Chemistry student, said that ‘Blackboard is less intuitive to use than DLM, (…) and

If anything needs to be done to Blackboard it must be an improvement in its visual design. Whilst this won’t fix slowness or solve the maze of finding files, it will still improve the service. Presently Blackboard is filled with sections containing what many may say is unnecessary information. Though students can customise their homepage, this creates a paradox of choice due to the sheer amount of customisability. Perhaps the developers could take a leaf from Ap-

Many students have experience of Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, and other VLEs, so adapting features from them would offer some familiarity to them. These are also leading-class services, so adding features from the would certainly raise Blackboard’s profile. All of this unfortunately goes back to the point above, which is that Blackboard already has many of these features, yet they are clearly subpar. Adding more but of a worse quality will not fix it then. The brings us onto the nuclear option.

3Get rid of it

Whilst a strong view, getting rid of Blackboard and starting from scratch could have its merits. In fact, the university would not be starting

from scratch - it already uses Microsoft Teams. The integration between Outlook e-mails, calendars, and OneDrive which we all already have would be synergised if our virtual learning environment switched to Teams. My personal experience of using Teams makes Blackboard pale in comparison (but that may just be because a unicorn appears when you submit an assignment in Teams).

Microsoft also offers great APIs for Teams to be able to work seamlessly with other services like Zoom, and it goes without saying that working in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint will be much easier.

Whether one of the three options outlined above is implemented is reliant on the students’ voices being heard. If students truly want Blackboard to change, they need to call for it. This means contacting your lecturers, tutors and Bristol’s Digital Education Office to raise awareness. Let’s hope that Blackboard soon becomes the innovative service it promised to be.

Can we inoculate against misinformation?

EpigramSciTech reports on Inoculation Science; a study exploring how we can protect against misinformation.

Carla Rosario SciTech Digital Editor

In this post-truth era, misinformation is rife, and nowhere moreso than online; a wild west where Big Tech are struggling to find a balance between censorship and free-speech. A new study considers whether we can focus on protection rather than prevention - can we inoculate against misinformation?

A team of Bristol and Cambridge university psychologists recently teamed up with Google’s Jigsaw, a unit dedicated to global challenges, to conduct an experiment on the efficacy of “prebunking”. Prebunking is an idea based on inoculation theory, that giving audiences a micro-dose of misinformation can prevent them from falling from it in the future.

The study, coined the Inoculation

Science project, involved an experiment rolled out on Youtube: the first “real world field study” of the theory on a social media platform. It involved short videos played as ads, which drew from pop culture to illustrate concepts from “the misinformation playbook”. Whilst the actual false-hoods being spread vary massively, the core tropes stem from the same manipulative techniques, and so a more generalised approach is what is being put forward by the research teams. If successful, “prebunking” could offer a more scalable solution than fact-specific debunking. “We need to teach people to recognise the misinformation playbook, so they understand when they are being misled”, as said by Professor Stephan Lewandowsky, Chair in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Bristol.

So what are the misinformation tricks we should be looking out for?

Innoculation Science lay out 5 key techniques they found by “analysing the rhetoric of demagogues”, and how they operate online.

1Emotional Language

Using emotional words, particularly those that invoke negative emotions, increases the viral potential of social media content. This means sensationalist content can spread further, reaching more minds, more often, and building an emotional tie to the information being spread.

2Incoherence

Incoherence is when someone embeds 2 arguments in a longer debate, which cannot possibly be true at once; they hide a paradox in wider discussion, to disguise the false-hood in their messaging. They might do this if saying whatever sounds good at the time will benefit their greater cause.

3False Dichotomies

Presenting a limited number of choices, or presenting 2 sides as mutually exclusive is a fallacy known as false-dichotomy. Audiences are tricked into thinking they have a

binary choice; they can only be ‘either-or’ and no in-between. This is particularly successful at pitting groups against each-other, and reinforcing us vs them sentiment.

4Scapegoating

In times of widespread dissatisfaction, demagogues often seize at the opportunity to pick a scapegoat - redirecting general disaffection towards a particular group or person. When perpetuated this can also lead to a radicalised us vs them sentiment.

5Ad-hominem Attacks

To distract from the matter at hand, someone can attack the person making an opposing argument, rather than rebutting the argument itself. This is known as an ad-hominem attack, and is becoming an increasingly common distraction technique.

Inoculation Science used “source agnostic” videos to teach about the above techniques; intended for “anyone who does not appreciate being manipulated” regardless of

demographic or beliefs, as put by Dr Jon Roozenbeek at the University of Cambridge.

After 6 initial controlled experiments, researchers found the videos improved people’s ability to spot misinformation, and their confidence in recognising it in the future. They then tested it ‘in the wild’ with Google’s Jigsaw deploying the videos on 5.4million US YouTubers. They gave a random 30% of viewers a test question within 24 hours of their initial exposure, and found ability to recognise manipulation techniques had increased by 5%.

This shows promise that a widespread roll-out of inoculation videos might help to combat the viral spread of misinformation. Inoculation Science are continuing their research, and you can read their peer-reviewed publications or view their inoculation videos on their website to better protect yourself from the contagion of misinformation.

EpigramSciTech invesigates Blackboard's UX design and how it could better serve students.

"If students truly want Blackboard to change, they need to call for it."

The Metaverse and the future of work

the fact that it is not yet clear how users will interact with the metaverse.

Tiberiu Toca SciTech Investigations Editor

In the past few years we have all become accustomed to remote studying, and the world of work has looked no different. But how will the workplace evolve, and what can graduates expect? Epigram SciTech investigates the metaverse and its implications for the future of work.

Is remote work here to stay? Many professionals appear to concur. Technology advancements have made it possible for us to experience virtual reality in ways that were previously only imagined in science fiction. Because of this, immersive workspaces have been created, enabling us to work from anywhere in the world.

The metaverse has the power to fundamentally alter the way we conduct business. However, it is unclear how precisely a 3D internet, which serves as a shorthand for the metaverse, will alter working conditions. This is due in part to the fact that the technology needed to fundamentally transform workflows has not yet been fully realised, as well as

We have primarily focused on the proportion of workers who will physically return to an office in our discussion of the future of work. Will we adopt the hybrid of working from home and the office or go back to the pre-pandemic model of almost universal in-person work? This is a familiar choice for students who have been stuck in the limbo of ‘blended learning’.

Or should we follow the example of well-known businesses like Yelp, Twitter (until November 2022 due to Elon Musk’s acquisition), and Airbnb, all of which have embraced remote work?

The term "metaverse workplace" describes virtual reality environments that enable you to work more productively, adaptably, and creatively from anywhere in the world. It eliminates the need for expensive office supplies and equipment. The ability to create a virtual workspace within the Metaverse where real individuals can physically be there and communicate with one another via digital avatars has the power to completely alter the way people operate online.

Furthermore, the metaverse is a social environment that can foster

connections and reduce loneliness among remote workers, especially those that frequently feel it when working from home. Employees can interact with coworkers face-to-face, participate in group activities, and attend company events in the metaverse. This allows people to focus on attention-demanding tasks in a distraction-free environment using the collaborative tools and resources on the Metaverse. Naturally, opening a corporate office in the metaverse presents some difficulties. It is impossible to minimise the price of buying VR headsets and other related technology and is difficult to train employees to wear them. The privacy and monitoring issues surrounding tracking employee performance, as well as the requirement for businesses to establish rules

and governance mechanisms for behaviour in the metaverse, may create obstacles for HR departments. While working in the virtual world still requires the same level of participation as in the physical world, just with different boundaries, some people may worry that doing so is the tragic story of how automation is eradicating yesterday's jobs.

It is critical that businesses continuously monitor employee satisfaction and solicit feedback as they start to experiment with what an office in the metaverse might resemble. Early studies on the effects of full-time VR employment indicated decreased productivity, increased levels of burnout, and negative effects on health. Contrarily, research at Accenture has found that 30

minutes is the best time frame for a metaverse session. Therefore, business executives must decide how to best integrate VR and the metaverse into their current work patterns.

Businesses benefit financially when they pay less for office space and rates. Since virtual workspaces are adaptable and scalable, they can be customised to suit the requirements of companies of all sizes and accommodate growth. Additionally, companies can add or remove employees as necessary. This is advantageous for businesses that are growing quickly.

The nature of jobs may alter as a result of persistent, decentralised, collaborative, and interoperable digital content, and each organisation will need to investigate this possibility.

Anchoring digital information to equipment will enable new repair and installation workflows for technicians and clients. Retail occupations may be affected by adaptive digital signage and price tags. Collaborative 3D simulations will revolutionise the way we make complicated decisions, and this is only one of many ways virtual worlds will change the way we operate.

Geochemistry and diversity in climate science

EpigramSciTech reports on Professor Aradhna Tripati's 2022 A.M. Tyndall lecture.

Emily Barrett SciTech Editor

For the first lecture in this newly reinstated series, Professor Aradhna Tripati, a visiting fellow at Bristol, discusses her research into clumped isotope geochemistry and the need for diversity within environmental science.

The Powell lecture theatre is filling with staff and students from across the Faculty of Science, brought together to watch the first A.M. Tyndall lecture after the lecture series, usually delivered once every two years, took a long hiatus. This year’s lecturer is Professor Aradhna Tripati, a climate scientist who is a visiting fellow at

Bristol from UCLA.

Tripati begins with her motivation to pursue climate science: the devastation caused by events such as Hurricane Katrina and the recent fires in California. Not only are these examples of how our lives are directly impacted by the climate, but they also highlight how such disasters often disproportionately affect low-income communities and people of colour.

This intersectionality within climate science is something Tripati is passionate about. She goes on to discuss the need to acknowledge colonial legacies in STEM and make the field more inclusive, by working with communities and valuing indigenous knowledge. The importance of indigenous knowledge when it comes to climate change is echoed in statements by UNESCO, who point out that millions of indigenous people are living in high-risk environ-

ments for climate change and have the knowledge on how to adapt to environmental variability.

Despite this, there remains a diversity gap in climate science research. A 2021 analysis on the ‘most influen-

tial’ climate scientists found a clear bias towards male researchers from the global North. As a step towards changing this, Tripati founded the Center for Diverse Leadership in Science at UCLA, which aims to develop collaborative research environments and carry out outreach programmes.

Following on from this, Tripati talks about her own research in geochemistry and examining the evolution of the Earth’s environment. Her lab uses ‘clumped isotope geochemistry’, which is the study of molecules containing more than one rare isotope. Some isotopes are more abundant in nature than others – for example, carbon-12 is more common than carbon-13 – and it is the molecules containing these less common isotopes that are the focus of Tripati’s research. Such molecules can be used as a tracer for Earth’s climate system.

Using environmental tracers like this can unlock the mystery of what

the Earth looked like in the past and better inform future predictions of climate change. Learning how and why the climate changes is a focus of Tripati’s work, for example how the Earth’s temperature has evolved over time. This work will complement other research being carried out at Bristol, for example the Bristol Research Initiative for the Dynamic Global Environment (BRIDGE), whose research includes numerical modelling of the Earth’s climate

Speaking in a previous interview with Bristol, Tripati commented that ‘the University is a global centre of excellence in both paleoclimate and climate science,’ and she plans to forge new collaborations during her visiting fellowship here.

Featured Images: Unsplash, Christine Hume Unsplash, Eddie Kopp Unsplash, USGS

EpigramSciTech investigates the metaverse and its implications for the future of work.

'The metaverse is a social environment that can foster connections and reduce loneliness'

'The tragic story of how automation is eradicating yesterday's jobs'

Plenty of opportunity within Bristol's futsal scene

Jojo Lewis Deputy Editor

Futsal has been rising in popularity in the UK over the last 15 years, and it's not hard to see why. Essentially a variation of 5-a-side football, futsal is an exciting, high paced sport for spectators and players alike. Luckily, Bristol is an ideal place for anyone who is keen to get involved, whether you think you have what it takes to be the next Diego Maradona, or are simply looking for a way to maintain some weekly exercise.

is like a condensed version of a normal 11 aside football match, played on an indoor court the same size as a basketball court, with 5 players on each team. The games normally last around 45 minutes, 20 minutes for each half with 5 or so minutes break in between. This means that futsal is perfect for people trying to improve their first touch and spatial awareness in football, people who want to stay active but don’t have endless time on their hands, or anyone looking for a casual team sport.

For the more casual players, there is a Draft League every Sunday evening for all abilities

There is certainly no shortage of opportunities for those interested in taking up the sport in Bristol. The University has three squads playing com-

So what actually is futsal? Futsal

petitive futsal this year. The Bristol University Men's First Team currently play in the Premier South division of competitive university futsal, and recently just beat City of London 1s 5-4 on the road in an impressive performance.

The Men’s Second team also recently won 6-4 in the Bristol Futsal League, a division that all three Bristol University Men’s teams compete in, so there is no shortage of game time for any of the players.

Part of the excitement surrounding the University teams is coming from their new sponsor for the kit, Megabus. The coach travel company is the first sponsor for the teams since 2017, and is generously supporting the student futsal community.

For anyone keen to watch some high quality futsal, or even just to see how fashionable the kits look with their new sponsor, will be able to on

The club is also keen to increase engagement with the sport among female students, and said that it is “working with B:Active to find a suitable slot at the Indoor Sports Hall to start running free weekly sessions for women starting from next term.'

'We think female students at the University should have the opportunity to play futsal and we hope to encourage as many students as possible to take it up. The University has previously had a very successful women’s futsal side and our aim is to restart that by entering a Women’s team in the BUCS Western Tier 1 next year'.

set of matches on a Sunday evening in the form of a Draft League. I can vouch from experience that it is a great deal of fun, and welcoming to players of all abilities.

UoB's Mens 1s compete in the Premier South division and beat City of London 5-4

The games are always accompanied by a playlist of some of the world's most overplayed songs courtesy of Jono Tyrell, the Head Coach for futsal at the University, who is fantastic as organiser of the Draft League. All matches are filmed so you can relive your best and most embarrassing moments again, and results are uploaded to the website futsoul, which can be found here: https://fut-soul.info.

For the more casual players like myself, the club also operates a weekly

I really do recommend anyone who might be interested to check out the club's instagram page @uobfutsal.

Coombe Dingle bus service: A success so far?

Epigram spoke to some students who were waiting for the bus for their opinions on the new service and the overall response was very positive.

Eddie McAteer Investigations Editor

After years of students asking for easier transport to the Coombe Dingle Sports Complex, their wishes finally came true last month when the SU introduced a free shuttle bus service. Running between the Indoor Sports Centre and Coombe every Wednesday, the service offers students an alternative to the number 3 to get themselves right outside the Sports Complex.

Oliver Dawson, a second-year lacrosse player, said ‘I genuinely think it’s one of the best ideas because it gives anyone access to games, whether they are playing or watching.’

The experience of watching your mates take to the field is one of those unmissable university memories that the shuttle bus has made more accessible. An SU spokesperson informed Epigram that the bus service was particularly busy during the evening, as both fans and players descend on North Bristol like moths to the Wednesday night lights.

That being said, the service has proven less popular during the day and as a result the SU are considering changes to the timetable for TB2. Despite its popularity in the evening, less than a fifth of respondents to Epigram’s survey said they had used the shuttle buses, yet nearly two thirds thought it was a worthwhile addition. If people want to keep the service running, there will have to be an increase in use.

One of the factors that may be hampering uptake is the culture of taking lifts. Back in the days of having to rely on FirstBus, a lift to Coombe was tantamount to the Holy Grail. It was a sacred thing that was bestowed on only those fortunate enough to be friends with a teammate that drives.

Whilst the buses are fun and can still be caught with friends, there is still a big culture of getting a lift. After all, there is a level of luxury to being driven around that students don’t always get. One student, who had been waiting for the bus before finding out she had a lift, said the bus is a good idea overall but that she would prefer to have a space in someone’s car.

If people want to keep the service running, there will have to be an increase in use

for those who train at Coombe on days other than Wednesday, however, there are mitigating factors as fewer fans come to watch training than to watch a BUCS game.

Whilst the buses were introduced for BUCS games on Wednesdays, some students think that it could be improved by running on other days too. Admittedly, it would be a big help

SU Sports and Student Development Officer, Lucy Matthews, is also currently running the She Can / They Can campaign and has more plans in the works. These include looking at introducing an athlete/team of the month, increasing awareness of disability in sport and making sport at Bristol more sustainable.

Recent wins for 1s and 2s part of exciting future for UoB futsal

February 5th at 1pm in the sports hall of Badminton School.

uni sport more accessible

Busy 'Movember' for six BUCS Netball teams

standard across the club.

Eve Baird

Third Year, English

With six BUCS teams, social and intramural options, netball is one of the biggest sports at the University of Bristol. Whether you want to play in a competitive team, just for fun or even in a mixed gender team with friends, there is an option for everyone. This year with the introduction of former Super League player (and previous UWE head coach) Chantelle Wopara taking on her new role as Netball Coordinator, University of Bristol Netball Club (UBNC) is making a strong start to the season. As Bristol is close to nearby Bath where the Super League club Team Bath is based, this attracts elite players which has meant that UBNC includes players who are members of the Team Bath U19s, U21s and even their first team, with some players being members of the England Roses Performance Pathway. This is certainly an exciting prospect for UBNC, and their impact is raising the

This has been clearly shown in the start the UBNC 1st team has made this year, winning their first four league matches. This included what could have potentially been a tense match against UWE’s 1st team, which UoB won with a convincing 47-28 score. The first team are also entered into the National Trophy and look forward to their first cup match against Surrey.

The 2nd team has been off to a slower start in the league but an exciting one in the cup, winning 82-14 against Cardiff 4s in the second round and will be facing Cardiff 3s in the third round later in November.

Plymouth 2s, with a last second penalty drawing the scores level. Finally, the 6s have been the most successful team this season so far with a 100%-win record. Their first match was certainly a memorable one as they took on UWE 3s in an away match and came back with a 62-30 win.

UBNC and UBAFC are coming together to raise money for

Movember

in collaboration with UBAFC, UBNC are asking for donations through our Just Giving page. The game will be played between 3pm and 5pm and any support is appreciated whether this is a donation or by coming to watch the match, it all helps to sup-

port and raise awareness for Movember.

The match is sure to be an entertaining one as it will be extremely competitive and played by members from across various teams from within the clubs. There will also be a raffle supporting our club charity Women for Women UK with some great prizes. For more information about the event visit @bristolnetball on Instagram.

UBNC 1s have won their first four league matches, including a 47-28 win over UWE

The 3s, an unusually fresher heavy team, have also had an exciting time in the cup. Their match against UWE 2s in the second round was an extra time thriller. After two further halves of goal for goal extra time, they sadly lost 56-55. The 3s and 4s are in the same league this year, both in Western tier 3. They faced off against each other in a dramatic game which saw a strong 4s team take a surprising, but well-deserved victory over the 3s.

The 5s and 6s have also had exciting starts to the season. The 5s saw their first match end 20-20 against

However, this has now been topped by their first cup match which resulted in a massive victory over Bath Spa 3s with a score of 105-11 meaning they were averaging 1.75 goals a minute for the entire 60 minute match.

Across the various teams this year UBNC have had a great start to the season, with particular success so far in the 1s and 6s with an exciting season still to come as some teams still await their first cup matches. Home matches are played in the Sports Hall at the SEH or at Coombe Dingle and spectators are always welcome!

This year UBNC will be taking on UBAFC in a charity netball match on Saturday 26th November at Coombe Dingle in support of Movember, the men’s mental health and suicide prevention charity. Despite being a women’s sports club, we believe that men’s mental health is an important issue which affects everyone and so

The student experience of intramural football

pitches the University has to offer. It makes controlling the ball and weighing the pass much easier in comparison to other pitches, particularly grass.

Third Year, History

The World Cup is here, football fever soon to grip the nation with chants of ‘Its Coming Home’ and ‘Come on England!’.

As this is the case, when better to assess how the University of Bristol facilitates the opportunity for students to get involved in football themselves?

Intramural football at Bristol is massive, with 50 registered 11-a-side teams, 18 for 8-a-side, and 48 for 6-a-side. Students for 8’s and 6’s are lucky enough to use the brilliant Coombe Dingle sports complex, a 38-acre site in Stoke Bishop.

6-a-side teams on the other hand compete on sand dressed artificial pitches, which although liked by some, are often criticised for adding difficulty to the game, with low powered passes skidding far easier than on 3G.

es tend to get out of hand, with strong tackles and cynical fouls going unpunished. Whilst it is good for sport to have a competitive edge, not having referees is bad for the competition.

ball costs £40 for the academic year, whilst 8’s and 6’s costs £32.

Wednesday afternoons can be a nice break, with sport crucial for many students

Players for 11-a-side, the most popular format, play on Clifton Down on a Wednesday afternoon. This time slot acts as a nice break from academic activity, with sport being crucial to a lot of students in maintaining a good work-leisure balance and improving mental health. Pitches on the Downs are not near the level of the 3G at Coombe Dingle, with a lot of them being uneven and having divots, leading to an increased chance of injury.

Intramural uses a site called Playwaze, where teams can see their league position, as well as upcoming fixtures and the location of these fixtures. While the site acts as a helpful tool, the beginning of the season saw a few formatting issues, which meant that some leagues had to start again and results up until then were wiped. Although originally frustrating, Playwaze is one of the more useful aspects of intramural.

For many students who come to Bristol, especially during an unprecedented cost of living crisis, £32-£40 is simply too large for a one-off payment.

'It would be better if you could pay for an intramural membership that gave you access to multiple sports’.

Players for 8’s play on the 3G pitches, generally considered as the best

Furthermore, with most 11-a-side games not featuring a referee, match-

A criticism of intramural football at Bristol is the cost. The Bristol SU website says that intramural sport is ‘great value for money’ and that ‘over the course of the season, most sports work out at between £2-3 a game.’ Anyone that has played football at Sunday league level will be familiar with ‘subs’, the small payment you make every game, usually between £2-3. The problem with intramural football is there is no option to pay subs on a game-by-game basis. 11-a-side foot-

The cost therefore acts as a barrier to getting involved. Intramural say that ‘all fees are reinvested back into the programme’, but when UK undergraduate students are already paying £9,250 a year as well as international students paying much more, do these costs not do enough to cover the upkeep of University sports facilities?

‘What if you got injured early in the year and you had already paid that big lump sum? It would be much better if we had the option to pay weekly or monthly’.

All in all, intramural football is still a great way to give students the opportunity to play the beautiful game.

For many students, the oneoff payments are simply too large especially during a cost of living crisis

Whilst more may need to be done to make the system as inclusive as it possibly could be, there is no doubt that intramural football at Bristol is brilliant.

Third-year History student Ayman Allouatt told us about his thoughts on the price of intramural football: ‘It’s annoying if you want to play for multiple teams, if I wanted to play 11s, 8s and 6s, that would be over £100. '

The facilities are mostly great, and the staff do an excellent job in making everything run smoothly. We all remember when Covid took sport away from us so coming out the other side, the value of intramural sport in general has never been more apparent.

Positive starts in the league and cup as well as a charity match vs UBAFC

Intramural can be the highlight of student's weeks but is not without its downsides

Cosmo Khan

Eve Baird

Touch rugby aim for excellence with BUCS a liation

tastic tries and even more fantastic defence.’

A strong start to the season for BUCS' newest members

Louis Edward Digital Editor

This November, Bristol’s touch rugby squad headed down to Guildford for the rst round of the University Touch Championship (UTC). Derby wins against Bath and Exeter saw Bristol nish 6th in Southern qualifying in a great day to start their season o .

Almost half the players had never competed at a UTC before and were treated to a 4 am wake-up call to get down to a dreary, blustery Surrey. But tired eyes were lifted from the get-go as Bristol’s Cobras recorded massive 8-0 and 9-0 wins over Bath Chickens and the Royal Veterinary College respectively.

It set the stage for an almighty clash against Exeter Monsoon for the top spot in pool D. Momentum continually swung back and forth in a ferocious match. Bristol went in at half-time 2-1 down but still had belief. 2 tries in quick succession made the comeback a reality but it was their staunch defence of Exeter’s onslaught that eventually sealed the result. A 3-2 win nished o an unbeaten pool stage to qualify for the top knockout bracket.

But the knockout rounds got tougher and tougher. A quarter- nal against eventual runners-up, Surrey, on their home turf proved too much as Bristol struggled to get a foothold in the game, succumbing to their rst loss.

An immediate response was found to down another Bath team, putting up a big 4-0 win against Bath Sparrows, and in a story of poetic inevitability, a grudge match was set up against Exeter Monsoon to win the plate. The opponent, the occasion, the sleep deprivation; all came into play as tempers ared and the game got dirty. There were enough Exeter winks and smirks to make you burn your corduroys as Cobras limped o the pitch and a fantastic tournament nished with gruelling defeat for Bristol.

Nevertheless, 6th place in a eld of 15 teams gives the club a lot to be proud of and a lot to work for. ‘Fatigue and the weather really got to us in the last game.

Derby wins over Bath and Exeter saw Bristol nish 6th in Southern qualifying

'But results aside, the spirit and attitude of the team were top-notch throughout the day, and it was a very fun day out. It was also the rst tournament for a lot of our new members so a massive well done to them for really stepping up,’ said Williams.

year as teams adjust and a lot tends to change from before Christmas to after. So, while we want to do as well as we can in qualifying, experience is just as important as we set a base for moving forward into nationals.

lower but I really don’t think there’s a ceiling.’

Co-captain Lily Williams was proud of the performances so far: ‘We had some successful results, winning all of our pool games with some fan-

Other co-captain Will Sargent was watching and directing from the sidelines due to an ankle injury but sees a lot of positives coming from the rst round. ‘There’s clearly been some shifts in standings from last

‘All I want to see is people continuing to work hard in training and applying the things we learned that we need to improve on. Training and playing without expectations and focusing on ourselves will bring the improvements we want to get stronger. Everyone in the team knows what we’re capable of and what we’ve done before. Placings uctuate. I don’t see us nishing

A quarter- nal against Surrey proved too much as Bristol struggled to get a foothold in the game

This year, touch has become the latest sport to gain a liation with British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS). It’s the organisation that manages the highest level of university sports that’s been around for over 100 years, and a liation comes with some big benets for societies.

President Max Pawlowicz explained how BUCS can help the club grow:

‘I think there are two big bene ts the club is seeing now. Firstly, Touch rugby has been a small sports community. But now with the BUCS a liation, our name is up there with all the other big sports and that's a mark of how developed touch rugby is in the UK.

‘There's so much more to the game than I thought before I joined up and it's great to see new people joining in now that we've got the recognition of BUCS.

It’s a new frontier for Bristol touch to move and grow into but concerns still remain about the university’s sports facilities and how the SU helps its smaller clubs.

‘What BUCS a liation doesn’t give us is access to the gym. The uni operates a system where you need a paid coach to get time in the gym but given that touch is an amateur sport this isn’t possible. So, even though we are BUCS, there are still limitations from our size,’ explained Sargent.

Touch’s small community means it would struggle to build itself as a professional sport. However, the university team has already produced players that have competed at the top level of the sport.

At this summer’s European Touch Championships, two Cobras – Charlotte Nichols (Ireland) and Rhys Lynch (Wales) – competed at the international nals in Nottingham. Lynch went on to lift the trophy with Wales, scoring a try as they beat England in the mixed nal.

Touch has become the latest sport to gain a liation with BUCS, which comes with big bene ts

'Secondly, of course, is the funding support which is just helping people say yes to getting involved in playing at tournaments, whereas before it was a big nancial commitment.’

So, while Bristol players are going on to play and achieve at the highest echelon of international touch, the sport still struggles to gain proper aid from the university – hopefully something that will progress now with BUCS a liation.

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