Exeposé Issue 662, 5 December 2016 by Exeposé

E E FR ISSUE 662 05 DEC 2016 exepose.com

EXEPOSÉ O Uni growth leaves Exeter divided

Hannah Butler Editor

Photo: Sachi Minami

How accessible is Streatham campus for disabled students? Susannah Keogh Editor

ISABLED Exeter students have expressed concern over campus accessibility, with one first year student describing the University as “the least accessible place I know”. “The library maps don’t show where the accessibility rooms are: the library staff don’t know where they are and won’t help you find them if you ask. I can find two of the rooms, I don’t know where the other

ones are.” Students with disabilities at the University of Exeter have a “relatively high” drop-out rate, acccording to the University Access Agreement for 2016/17. However, in 2013/14-the most recent ﬁgures available - 8.4% of full time undergraduates at the University were in receipt of the Disabled Students Allowance, well above the HESA benchmark of 5.7%. Elizabeth Jessop, head of the ExeterAbility group, helped organise the University’s ﬁrst Disabled Students’ Forum last month. She told Exeposé that more

could be done to make the University accessible. “They are going to be releasing accessible maps of campus, as I am still ﬁnding lifts four years after I arrived. The University is not as accessible as it could be. Parts of DH1 are completely inaccessible for wheelchair students.” Postgraduate student Katie Newstead has asked the University for an automatic door to DH1 since 2007. “The new door opens onto steps and is awkward to get through, especially...

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

ISING student numbers are making parts of Exeter “unbalanced” and “unsustainable,” a local residents’ association has warned – yet according to a recent Exeposé survey, many local businesses actually want student numbers to grow. Over 19,000 students are currently enrolled at the University’s Exeter campuses. The ﬁgure has grown by 19% over the past ﬁve years – and Exeposé has investigated how these rising numbers have affected students’ relationship with the city. In a survey sent to almost 200 local businesses and organisations, we asked what respondents made of Exeter’s student population, and whether they thought the University should continue to grow. The results suggested most businesses would not be opposed to having more students in the city. Asked whether they preferred dealing with student or non-student customers, an overwhelming majority (74%) of the 39 respondents said they had no bias, while 21% said they preferred non-students, and 5% would rather serve student customers. Perhaps unsurprisingly, no respondents thought an increase in students would be detrimental to business. On the contrary, 76% viewed increasing student numbers as either “positive” or “very positive” for their business or organisation. Meanwhile, 59% thought that if student numbers were to fall, their business would suffer. 54% of respondents said student

Christmas Special GIFTS PULLOUT INSIDE

numbers in Exeter were ‘about right’, and asked whether the University should continue to increase its student numbers, only 11% answered ‘no.’ “Generally for my business, the more students the better!” a spokesperson for Beerbox added, while another business commented: “I miss the students when they are not here. I like living and working in a student city,” and Rivka Jacobs said students “bring energy and diversity to the city.” 40% of respondents believed the University should continue to grow, while 30% were “unsure” about this growth, and 19% had no opinion. The question of growth was a divisive one. “The city seems to come to life when students return but there is obviously a ﬁne balance between that and students taking over the town,” one anonymous business commented. “I personally think that the university has set too high a target in terms of student numbers. The number of new student accommodations popping up all over the city is a bit worrying.” “It’s not the total number of students, it’s the concentration in a couple of areas that creates issues,” the Vic pub explained. The pub is “only able to open in term time, because of seasonal occupancy of student houses,” a spokesperson added. This concern was shared by residents’ association Exeter St James Forum. During university holidays, the area “becomes a ghost town in several places,” Membership Ofﬁcer Robyn Connett explained. Earlier this year, ESJF lost a campaign to prevent more student accommodation being built in the St James area as part of the proposed

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

WIN 12 BOTTLES OF PROPER DEVON CIDER!

EXEPOSÉ

Devonshire House, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4PZ

Editors Print: Jeremy Brown, Hannah Butler, Susannah Keogh & Ben Londesbrough Online: Theodore Stone & Jessica Stanier News Editors Print: Rachel Ashenden & Natasa Christoﬁdou Online: Georgia Roberts & David Smeeton news@exepose.com Comment Editors Print: Bea Fones & Matthew Newman Online: Olivia Horncastle & Rowan Keith comment@exepose.com Features Editors Print: Georgina Bolam & Katie Jenkins Online: Samuel Fawcett & Kate Jones features@exepose.com Lifestyle Editors Print: Jade Beard & Laurel Bibby Online: Alma Crespo & Lucy Ronan lifestyle@exepose.com Arts + Lit Editors Print: Emma Bessent & Tash Ebbutt Online: Anna Blackburn & Izzy Hilliard artsandlit@exepose.com Music Editors Print: Rory Marcham & Helen Payne Online: Sam Norris & Harry Williams music@exepose.com Screen Editors Print: Mark Allison & Zak Mahinfar Online: Cormac Dreelan & James Hands screen@exepose.com Games + Tech Editors Print: Jabez Sherrington & Sam Woolf Online: Ben Assirati & James Freeth games@exepose.com

Editorial.

Photographers Sachi Minami & Wang Yong Yan photography@exepose.com Copy Editors Amy Batley, Jack Morgan Jones & Ashton Wenborn Proofers Many thanks to all our proofers this week - we couldn't have done it without you!

@ exepose facebook.com/exepose issuu.com/exepose Advertising Ross Trant R.Trant@exeter.ac.uk (01392) 722607 The opinions expressed in Exeposé are not necessarily those of the Exeposé Editors nor the University of Exeter Students’ Guild. While every care is taken to ensure that the information in this publication is correct and accurate, the Publisher can accept no liability for any consequential loss or damage, however caused, arising as a result of using the information printed. The Publisher cannot accept liability for any loss or damage to artwork or material submitted. The contents of this, unless stated otherwise, are copyright of the Publisher. Reproduction in any form requires the prior consent of the Publisher.

They're pitch perfect! Semi-Toned achieve BBC fame

O Little Town of Exeter...

HE end of term is nigh, which means, sob, that this is our last Exeposé issue of the year. Ever wanted to know what the residents and businesses of Exeter really think of you? Are they secretly judging you for ordering that extra large pizza and throwing Sainsburys Basics vodka into your basket at the checkouts? Well, we can’t quite tell you that - but in our exclusive survey, we can reveal that it’s not us, it’s... well, actually it is us. It’s not that Exeter residents hate students, but some of them do think there are too many of us. Which we guess is understandable... But Exeter, we love you! In our other front page story of News, we’re drawing attention to the difﬁculties faced by students with disabilities. Trekking up to the top ﬂoor of Amory might seem a struggle at 8:30am on a Wednesday morning, but hopefully after reading about how inaccessible some parts of campus are for disabled students, you’ll think twice before complaining. It’s so important that all students at Exeter are able to feel welcome and included during their time here - and this means change. There’s still some way to go until the University campus is truly accessible to all, and we really hope the top brass will

Science Editors Print: Victoria Bos & Beth Honey Online: Holly Belcher & Rebecca Broad sciandtech@exepose.com Sport Editors Print: Owain Evans & Lara Hopkins Online: James Angove & Ollie Lund sport@exepose.com

NEWS

take these students' concerns into consideration. Over in Features, Hannah has spent the last month investigating what help is available for Exeter students with eating disorders. Student support for mental health is something Exeposé has always tried hard to report on (we were incredibly proud to win Best Student Coverage at the MIND Mental Health awards last month) and we’ve listened to concerns that students with eating disorders aren’t given sufficient support in Exeter. Flick to page 12 to find out more. On pages 34 and 35, Science have analysed Santa's suspicious speed, and asked how to spot a festive fib. In happier news, did we mention it’s almost Christmas? Yes? Well, CHRISTMAS IS COMING. And with it the last minute realisation you’ve got absolutely no gifts whatsoever for your loving family eagerly awaiting your return, and blown your budget on curly fries. Never fear, we’ve got you sorted with an eight page Christmas gift pullout, with ideas for every budget. Whether you're into fashion or the latest gadgets, we're sure you'll find something - or maybe even get inspired to make something creative! That's it from us - have a great Christmas, and we hope you procrastinate as much as we intend to!

PAGE 4

COMMENT Driving home for Christmas? Nah, you're alright PAGE 7

FEATURES Eating disorder services: why are they so bad in Exeter? PAGE 12-13

SCIENCE The science of Santa: how does he do it? PAGE 34

WRITE FOR US! Join all of our writers' groups on Facebook to be first in the know about content calls and (free) press passes. Just pitch your idea to the relevant section (emails in the left hand column).

send your comments to editors@exepose.com

Worldwide university news Anti-LGBT & anti-Islam German uni bans professor under ﬁre canteen leftovers

Texan students ride with McConaughey

STUDENT from North Carolina claims she was forced to leave university after suffering numerous anti-LGBT and Islamophobic statements from another professor. Nada Merghani, a Sudanese Muslim student who identiﬁes as queer, told The Daily Beast she was subject to intense harassment by Professor Mike Adams – a conservative Christian with public anti-LGBT and anti-Muslim views. University ofﬁcials say Adams has not violated any policies or federal laws, as there is no evidence of unlawful discrimination. However, his comments have caused anger among students. “The only thing more disgusting than a jihadist Muslim is a pro-choice Muslim,” he wrote of Merghani in 2015.

TUDENTS at the University of Freiburg have been forbidden from partaking in free “conveyor-belt” eating at the canteen on campus. 40 students would regularly consume any leftovers remaining on trays in the canteen, but the University has now banned them ﬁnishing half-eaten meals due to hygiene risks and to prevent potential complaints from illness. Now a cover has been added to the belt to prevent people from picking at the leftovers. Hygiene expert Dr Ernst Tabori has commented that he sees little risk, provided that the students have healthy immune systems and use clean cutlery. He added that it also depends on the type of food – ﬁnishing off an abandoned bowl of soup would pass more germs than sharing a plate of chips, for example.

EXAS students were in for a surprise when they were given a ride home by none other than Oscar winning actor Matthew McConaughey. As an alumnus of the University of Texas,, McConaughey was taking part in a scheme to give students safe lifts home at night, called the Sure Walk project. On the University’s Facebook page, a photo of the actor driving students home was posted, along with the caption : "Longhorns take care of each other, and it’s safe to say Matthew McConaughey agrees.” The student body president, Kevil Helgren, said he hopes the stunt will lead to more students using the service, because “you never know who’s going to pick you up.”

Brutal attack at Ohio State University

STUDENT at Ohio State University, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, injured 11 pedestrians on campus on 28 November. The student was believed to have driven a car into a group of pedestrians on campus, police then said he got out of the car and began slashing people with a butcher knife. A campus police officer fatally shot Artan minutes after the attack. A witness was accidentally shot in the foot by the police officer. Investigators are not yet sure if the act was linked to terrorism, or if he was acting alone. Officials confirmed on Wednesday that Artan was a refugee from Somalia who moved to the US after living briefly in Pakistan, but they do not yet know his motive. Stories by Hannah Butler, Editor, and Rachel Ashenden, News Editor

News

05 DEC 2016 | EXEPOSÉ

NEWS EDITORS:

Rachel Ashenden Natasa Christoﬁdou

“We’re not against students - it’s the sheer numbers” CONTINUED FROM FRONT ...Football Club development. The judge’s decision went against the group’s Neighbourhood Plan – and ESJF described the case as a “profound disappointment.” Exeposé contacted ESJF to learn more about residents’ views of students – and learned that while the association is in favour of having students in the community, recent growth has meant that students are now dominating the area. “We recognise that from an economic point of view, the University is an extremely important part of the city,” Connett said. Stressing: “we’re certainly not against students,” she added: “what we want is a balanced community, and St James is no longer a balanced community.” ESJF is against rising student numbers in St James, “simply because it’s becoming more and more imbalanced, and a community just can’t thrive on that,” she said. “It’s not sustainable.” “It’s really the threat to sustainable community that we’re so desperately against,” she continued. “We certainly have our problems with some students, with noise at night and rubbish - but we know

that there are a lot of students who are not like that, and who do a great deal for the community. So it certainly isn’t against students per se - it’s the sheer numbers.”

It’s the threat to community that we’re so desperately against Robyn Connett, St James Forum

In Exepose’s survey, only 21% of respondents said they had experienced what they would call antisocial behavior from Exeter students. Incidents reported ranged from students “in a fast food chain, throwing drinks at people” and having “zero bar etiquette” to walking in large groups around town and “smashing wing mirrors and being extremely loud on a regular basis” in the Mount Pleasant area. One anonymous respondent added: “Saw a group of students walking along in their underpants on Saturday night - bit shocking for my 10-year-old daughter!” In a Freedom of Information request to the University, Exeposé found that 69 students have been disciplined in the past three academic years as a result of noise complaints received. In this time, students have caused 707 noise complaints

to be registered with the University’s Community Liaison Ofﬁcer Rory Cunningham. However, the percentage of students subject to a noise enquiry has remained extremely low, reaching a maximum of 1.5%. “The University values its good relationship with local residents and I happy to say that the majority of Resident Associations I liaise with are very positive about the contribution of students and the University,” Cunningham told Exeposé. “Many are simply keen to achieve a balance of residents in their community and they acknowledge that a small minority of students can sometimes create a negative perception for the whole student body.”

I always strongly recommend getting to know your neighbours Rory Cunningham, Community Liaison Ofﬁcer

St James Forum may not be against students in general – but rising numbers have left some residents wary of staying in the area. “Since the football club decision went against us, there have been some really good public-spirited, permanent

members of the community who have moved away,” Connett said. “I think they just felt that there was nothing left, really. It’s beyond saving. I hope it isn’t like that.” “We’re desperate to create a community including students, but not dominated by them,” she said. ESJF has “always enjoyed our relationship with the University,” she told Exeposé, “but it’s just become too much. Imagine: if you’re living on a street full of students and you’re a family with young children... where are the other children for them to play with? It’s not good for a community to be dominated by any one age group.” Exeter Student Volunteers told Exeposé more about how students are engaging with the community. With almost 1,400 members, ESV runs 13 projects in Exeter, ranging from events for young carers and helping secondary school pupils with homework, to dog walking and having afternoon tea with elderly residents. Their work “is really important as it creates a link between the University and the local community, giving students the opportunity to connect to the community and help make a difference,” ESV presidents Sophie Moreton and Harriet Smith explained. “Often students do

not have much interaction with the local community which can create a barrier between the university and local residents,. “Through volunteering, we can help change the perceptions of both students and local residents and therefore bring them closer together,” they said. “I always strongly recommend getting to know your neighbours as soon as possible,” Cunningham agreed. “Students who get on ﬁrst name terms with their neighbours have a much more positive experience - and if problems or queries arise, neighbours are much more likely to discuss challenges directly if they have received an introduction.”

Student numbers are... ...too high (5%) No opinion (27%) ...too low (14%)

...about right (54%)

(source: Exeposé survey of local businesses and organisations)

Uni mistakenly tells postgrads they Campus to keep festive have to pay £1000 or lose their place cheer over Christmas Susannah Keogh Editor

FTER receiving offers for a postgraduate course at the University of Exeter, students joy soon turned to disappointment after they were told they’d have to pay £1000 up front- otherwise their place would be lost.

It’s really unfair to ask students to pay such large sums of money to hold their place Marcel, Postgraduate studentt

Existing students at the University are guaranteed to receive a decision on their postgraduate application within ﬁve days of applying. One current third year student at Exeter, who received her offer of a postgraduate place last week, told Exeposé: “I scrolled down the email and realised I had to pay £1000 by February which, whilst I understand they want to conﬁrm the place, I never had to do this for undergraduate study. I have no means of

magicing up this money. ‘If I didn’t work part time and have family support, I wouldn’t be able to take up my place, I wouldn’t know what to do.” In the email, seen by Exeposé, there is no reference to support for students who might struggle to raise the deposit, or links to alternative sources of funding. However, a current postgraduate student informed Exeposé they were informed that if a student provides evidence that they applied for Student Finance, then the deposit is reduced to £500- but there is no mention of this in the correspondence received by students. Postgraduate student Marcel, who had to pay the deposit last year, told Exeposé “It’s really unfair to ask students to pay

such large sums of money to hold their place. Especially when student loans for Masters students are so small it can be difﬁcult for a lot of people.” In response to student’s concerns, a University of Exeter spokesperson said the information provided was “not as clear as it should have been.” “We would like to apologise for the fact that applicants have been confused and concerned by the information they have received “We ask all applicants to pay a deposit in order to secure their place on a full-time Postgraduate Taught programme. Where applicants are applying for a postgraduate loan we will extend the deposit deadline to 31 July 2017 and reduce the deposit amount to £250. In other circumstances where students need the deadline to be extended we accommodate these requests where possible.”

Rachel Ashenden News Editor

VER the Christmas period most facilities and services will be open as normal for students remaining in Exeter. Campus will function as usual until Friday 23 December, and will re-open for business at 9am on Tuesday 3 January. Between these dates there may be limited opening hours. The library on Streatham campus will be open throughout the Christmas period including Christmas Day. St Luke’s Library and Research Commons, however, will close at 17.30 on 23rd December. The Student Health Centre will be closed completely between 24 December and 2 January, but will be operating by reduced hours everyday until normal opening hours resume on Monday 9 January. The Wellbeing centre will be operating to a similar schedule, but both health centres advise to seek help from alternative sources, such as St Thomas Health Centre. The University is also holding a traditional Christmas Day Lunch for those still in Exeter on the 25th. It will be held at 1pm in Lopes Hall, and tickets

are available to be bought for £17.50 on the university website. Tickets need to be purchased before 12pm on 20 December, and it includes a drink upon arrival, a twocourse lunch, and a Christmas present. A University of Exeter spokesperson said: “We’d like those staying here to know that the University doesn’t close entirely over Christmas. The Forum and Library are open all the time, and Estate Patrol will be on duty too. If anyone in Universitymanaged accommodation thinks they will be on their own they are very welcome to make themselves known to the Residence Life team, who will be able to put them in touch with other students also on their own.”

NEWS

Semi-Toned reach grand ﬁnal of The Choir Natasa Christoﬁdou News Editor

HE University of Exeter’s all-male A cappella group, Semi-Toned has succeeded to the finals of Gareth Malone’s TV competition. Malone’s show, ‘The Choir,’ on BBC Two goes by the title: ‘Gareth’s Best in Britain,’ where Malone is searching for the nation’s most talented amateur choir in the UK. Semi-Toned represented the South West in the semi-finals and are now one of three choirs in the UK to make it through to the final round. During the semi-finals, the group went through a “boot camp” stage, where they prepared for a performance in front of a panel of judges. Prior to their performances, the group was aided with the help of vocal and performance coaches. Sylvan Rackham, the president of Semi-Toned said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have made it through to the final stage! The semi final was the toughest challenge yet, and Gareth really challenged us with his song choice of Candle in the Wind, but we learnt so much from it, particularly from our mentors, who helped us to find the real meaning in the song.” The University of Exeter’s all-female A Cappella group, Sweet Nothings, were

also featured on the show. However, they were eliminated at an earlier round, following a sing-off with Semi-Toned. Malone’s ﬁnal stage of the competition will have Semi-Toned competing against fellow ﬁnalists, including the Bulmershe Ensemble from Reading and EAGA from Leicester. The results will be determined according to which one of the three groups gets the most votes from an invited jury.

If Semi-Toned are to win the ﬁnals, they will secure the title of ‘Britain’s most entertaining amateur choir.” Henry Edwards, Semi-Toned’s tour manager for 2016/17 spoke to Exeposé about the group’s experience on The Choir: “When we ﬁrst auditioned for The Choir, we never thought we were going to get very far,” he said. “But the further along we got, the more surreal it was and we’re all so excited for what is to come.

We thoroughly enjoyed it and hopefully that’s reﬂected on TV as well.” Sir Steve Smith, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter, said: “We’re really proud of Semi-Toned – they’re well known across the University and they have a strong following, for good reason. Exeter has a vibrant A cappella scene and it’s been great to see these talented, motivated students showcased on a national stage.

Photo: BBC

We wish them all the best of luck in the final.” Semi-Toned earned the title of national champions at the Voice Festival UK, in April 2015. The group also perform at the Edinburgh Fringe every year. In Auguast 2016, they sang songs from their new EP, Sing theory. Furthermore, they introduced various new songs, including ‘All of the Lights’, ‘Get Back’ and ‘Come on Eileen.’ The group’s success also extends beyond the UK, touring the USA for the past two years. According to Edwards, the group plan to maintain this presence by touring America in April 2017. Following on from their success, Semi-Toned have been given the honour to host the University of Exeter’s Forum Christmas light switch-on. The event occurred on Thursday 1 December at 4pm, where the group also filmed part of their music video for their Christmas Charity Single. The event promised a ‘festive fiesta’ at the forum piazza, including mince pies, mulled wine and sparklers. Future Semi-Toned performances include a Christmas Sing-off with Sweet Nothings at The Terrace, by Queen Street at Exeter. The two A Capella groups will perform on Thursday 8 December at 8pm. Tickets are £5.15 if bought in advance, or £6.50 on the door.

Exeter graduate sets up Students urged to Christmas food collection report abuse online Matthew Wilcock Contributor

N Exeter graduate has organised food bank collections, alongside carol singing, to help the local community at Christmas time. Joe Levy, who studied Anthropology and Archaeology, leads St. Thomas Gospel Choir in their efforts to raise food donations for Food Fight. Food Fight is a student run food bank, which Levy used to be part of as a student in Exeter. In the run-up to Christmas, the choir hopes to collect non-perishable food items and raise awareness about food poverty all year round. The group is an independent, unofﬁcial supporter of the student-run foodbank. The original idea for the carol singing project came from University of Exeter Green Party’s ‘reverse Trick-or-Treating’. Students would visit houses on Halloween and ask for food donations for Food Fight. Building on Christmas cheer and festive generosity, Levy ran the carolling project as a one-off in December 2015. Last year the project had over 60 volunteers and planned ﬁve events

around Exeter. The carolling volunteers found themselves the stars of media attention, featuring on the BBC Spotlight programme, ITV, and Radio Devon. Levy also works at the SID desk, where he is organises a ‘reverse advent calendar’ collection, asking SID staff each choose a day to bring in food donations.

On Thursday 8 December, the choir will be carolling from 4:30pm at the St. Thomas Christmas Lights Switch-On, on Saturday 10 from 4-5pm at Whipton Pleasure Ground, on Wednesday 14 from 7pm at St. Thomas Methodist Church. To organize a collection get in touch with Joe Levy at JoeLevy@btinternet.com.

Jasmine Prasad Contributor

HE Students’ Guild has released a new Reporting Information Directory, which will allow students to report instances of microaggressions, abuse and harm in and around the University. All reports made through the system will be completely anonymous.

Marginalised students need their voices to be heard without court cases taking a toll on their mental health

Sachal Khan, Co-President of FemSoc

The RID will consist of an online form with two parts. Participants will ﬁrstly tick a box to narrow down the basis for the incident through categories such as “Race and ethnicity,” “Gender Identity,” “Faith,” and “Body and/or sex shaming,” among many others. Secondly, they will have the opportunity to describe the incident in as much detail as they would like, while keeping any other parties

anonymous. The number and type of reports that are received through the RID will be displayed on the “Current Issues,” section of the page. Although no report will be released online in full, the Guild plan to use the information that is reported through the system in a variety of ways. These include collecting data to present to the University on any incidents that occur and allowing the Guild to follow up on any issues of harm in the Exeter community. Initiated by the Guild’s Liberation Council, the RID will play a role in informing the campaigns that are run by it. The Deputy Vice President for Liberation and Co-President of the Feminist Society, Sachal Khan said: “We’re really looking forward to this new system and the experiences it compiles over the next few years. Many marginalised students need their voices to be heard without the double-edged sword of complaint cases/ court cases taking a toll on their personal lives, degree and mental health. RID shows that the Guild can have your back and use your voice to take action. I hope this is a step in the right direction.”

NEWS

“Exeter is the least accessible place I know” CONTINUED FROM FRONT ...when it’s busy. It’s also, as far as I know, the... only accessible entrance into DH1 other than going through the Forum.” All the students Exeposé spoke to cited issues with the accessibility of Harrison and Amory building in particular. Jessop said the two buildings have “really difﬁcult to ﬁnd and long access routes. “I usually just deal with the pain of walking up the stairs because walking further is just as bad.”

The Forum automatic doors don’t always work, and you can’t get a wheelchair through the revolving doors

Katie Newstead, Postgraduate student

A ﬁrst year student, who asked not to be named, echoed Jessop’s concerns. “I don’t know an accessible route to Harrison that doesn’t involve stairs, so one time I just sat at the bottom having an asthma attack because the hills took it out of me.” Newstead says that in her experience, lifts meant to improve access for disabled students, are “misused by other students and regularly by teaching staff.” “All lifts should be locked and only accessible to students with disabilities.”

Third year student Bethany Payne, who suffers from ME/CFS and ﬁbromyalgia, said if campus was more accessible, it would help her studies. “When I have to hike up a hill and then three ﬂights of stairs I am too tired to concentrate.” Although widely acknowledged by the students that the newer buildings on Streatham campus - such as the Business School and the Forum - are more accessible than their older counterparts like Queens Building, issues still remain. A spokesperson from the University admitted that “many of the University’s buildings were built 50 plus years ago and unfortunately their age means they are not as accessible or adaptable as we would like.” Newstead said there are still problems with recently built buildings, however. “The Forum automatic doors don’t always work and you can’t get a wheelchair through the revolving doors, so I’ve often had to go back up the hill to get through DH1, in the rain.”

A Guild spokesperson said: “Disabled access in Devonshire House is not what it should be and limits the ability of some students to fully participate in the Guild’s activities. We are working with our landlord – the University - to access the building and schedule works to improve accessibility to key areas. Where students feel that their ability to participate in Guild activity is limited by access to Devonshire House, they should raise it with the relevant staff so that alternative arrangements can be made.” At the U n i v e r s i t y, accessibility falls under We l l b e i n g ser vices, with a team of disability specialistsAccessAbilityhelping students. It’s not just the accessibility of campus itself that is a problem for students, though. The students Exeposé spoke to raised numerous examples of teaching practises not being accessible, including having to physically hand assessments in, and the widespread practise of signing up for a lecturer slot in person.

Kate Elizabeth, a postgraduate student, said she’s emailed and explained her situation to lecturers, only to receive a reply telling her to sign up on the door like everyone else if they wish to attend ofﬁce hours. “A lot of supervisor’s sign up ofﬁce hours are literally a pen and paper on the door. This could be so easily changed to electronic and yet many refuse.” Payne agrees. “I cannot hike up to campus just for this and it means I miss out on slots because of it. You could say if you have a disability you should just email the lecturer, but some departments have rules against emailing individual lecturers.” Alec James, VP Welfare, told Exeposé that they have lobbied the University to conduct an access audit of buildings. “Disabled access on campus is not what we would like it to be.” A University of Exeter spokesperon said: “The accessibility and estates team work hard to ensure everyone can use our beautiful campuses. They also liaise closely with those who have additional needs to make the adaptions necessary for them to live, study and work in the same way as their fellow students and colleagues. “We will be working with an accessibility consultant over the next few months to develop further ideas for making further improvements to accessibility”.

Sir Steve wins the debate to raise tuition fees Johannes Neumann Contributor

HE University of Exeter’s Debating society (DebSoc) hosted a debate on the topic of rising tuition fees. The debate was headlined by University’s Vice Chancellor, Sir Steve Smith and NUS Vice President Richard Brooks. The motion put before the audience was ‘This House believes Exeter should not raise tuition fees’ with most of the audience for the motion, roughly ten against and with 20 abstaining. Starting off the debate was Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate Vanessa Newcombe, pointing out the existing tuition fee rise and that fees are Photo: DebSoc

already inhibiting social mobility with “more Etonians going to Oxbridge than children in care attending any university” in the country.

Universities should not be spending money on superﬁcial things like extravagant buildings

Richard Brooks, NUS VP on union development

Newcombe argued that educational attainment was a predictor of life expectancy, the pupil premium has failed to close the gap and that students from the top percentile are over eight times more likely to go to top universities, as opposed to poorer students who stick with the

nearest university to home in order to keep costs down. Sir Steve Smith responded by reminding us that 56 per cent of the University’s income was from fees (£215 million) and that they should rise with inﬂation in order for the University to be able to provide a world class education and a high quality campus in order to enhance student “pride.” He supports the upcoming Teaching Excellence Framework as the current fees paid are only worth £8200 in real terms. Smith’s ideal system is one based on ability and capability with an endowment fund covering fees but if fees, don’t rise cuts would have to be made elsewhere. It became apparent that if the government is not willing to cover the costs of

universities, Sir Steve believes that students should. Richard Brooks, NUS Vice President on Union Development argued that the current educational system burdens the poor with the most debt. Furthermore, he believes that tuition fees put off low income and BME students. Brooks agreed that higher education should be funded by the state, rather than creating an unjust and volatile funding system. Brooks focused that Universities should not be spending money on “superﬁcial things, like extravagant buildings”, rather than focusing on the needs of current students. The motion was defeated with a two thirds majority in favour of raising tuition fees. The panel encouraged students to tweet in their questions under the hashtag ‘#ExeterFees’. Sir Steve Smith will be holding a allstudent talk next Thursday 8 December, at 7pm in Amory moot room. Toby Gladwin, Guild President, commented: “I feel that the debate was a great success and regardless of the outcome I think the most important part is highlighting and engaging with the many issues surrounding TEF and tuition fee rises. The event was made even better by the strength of the speakers and the organisation that the Debating Society put into the event.”

Uni collaborates with Chinese government

HE University of Exeter and the Chinese government have made an agreement which will see hundreds of the best Chinese students wishing to conduct PhD research study at the University. The agreement will initially see the fees waived of at least ten PhDs, with further expansion likely to take place across all of Exeter’s academic Colleges in the future. Exeter currently hosts 1,200 students from mainland China already. The scheme will seek to further enhance Exeter’s reputation across China with Sir Steve Smith saying that the initiative is a ‘win-win’ for both parties, cementing Exeter’s place as a top UK university as graduates go onto assume positions of inﬂuence in the future. This agreement will ensure the University of Exeter’s position as a top UK educational establishment globally, allowing ground breaking research to be conducted by some of the brightest minds from both the UK and China. Hugo Tuckett, Contributor

Choose comfy shoes for better workouts

STUDY at the University of Exeter, led by Dr Hannah Rice, found that runners wearing ‘minimal shoes’ feel less force on their feet – known as loading rate - and therefore are less likely to risk injury. People take up running to offset the risk of chronic diseases but often forget that such an exercise can have a profound effect on joints in later life. On top of this is the fact that three quarters of runners pick up injuries every year. The research suggests that ‘minimal’ shoes are the solution to these issues. Cushioned running shoes result in runners experiencing ‘rear foot strike’, an abrupt vertical impact force every time their foot lands. The study of 29 people found that those who become accustomed to running with a ‘forefoot strike’, a natural consequence of ‘minimal’ shoes, witness the lowest loading rates. The study stresses that this may reduce the risk of injury. Simon Bird, Contributor

Xmas is the season to be... honest?

PSYCHOLOGIST at the University, of Exeter Professor Christopher Boyle, alongside mental health researcher, Dr Kathy McKay, have written in the Lancet Psychiatry questioning the morality of Christmas myths. They suggest myths may produce trust issues between children and their parents “and this might make them wonder what other lies they’ve been told.” The source of this behaviour Dr McKay argues comes from the adult’s desire “to go back to a time when they believed in magic.” Lewis Keen, Contributor

05 DEC 2016 | EXEPOSÉ

Comment ‘Tis the season for knitwear

ELL, we’re at that festive time of the year once again: the last eleven months of preparative knitwear are coming into the home straight; Harry (VP Education) has eaten all the mince pies; Alec’s (VP Welfare) smile has defied the odds in getting that little bit wider, and Toby (President) has vowed to create the longest paper-chain that ever did live (alongside more microwaves on this campus). View this, if you will, as the Guild Round Robin. Happy Christmas! A lot of stuff has been happening since the start of term. We’ve opened a new Guild shop and study space at St. Luke’s; the room bookings system has seen a bigger reform than the last 100 years of British politics; and the Guild is providing the cheapest meal deal on campus for the fourth year running #ThingsThatMatter. But that’s not all: Alec has introduced mental health training for Guild and University staff, which is now listed as “essential” on all job descriptions on the University website. Harry has successfully run Exeter’s internal heats to decide our University Challenge team, with the biggest student engagement to date, ending in a nail-biting final watched by over 400 people. Toby has started the St. Luke’s Leaders Group, to provide comprehensive representation where needed across all Exeter campuses, and got more bike racks on this campus. And then there’s me. iExeter is now available on all phones, and society timetables are on their way, as is the new app for societies to set up their online bank accounts. But more importantly, as the executive lead for knitwear, I’ve just launched a Christmas Jumper competition on Twitter and Instagram (@ ExeActivities), where you can get involved by showing off your finest jumpers with the hashtag #JumpersOfTheGuild. So among all these December deadlines, don’t forget to relax and have a wonderful Christmas. And if you want to be in our shoes next year, walking in the DH-1derland, nominations for next year’s Sabb team open on 30 January, and we couldn’t recommend it more. See you!

Bea Fones Matthew Newman

It’s a Wonderful (Student) Life

THE SABB Tristan Gatward VP Activities

COMMENT EDITORS:

Nicky Avasthi Contributor

ICTURE the scene. It’s 1 November and you are walking back to your flat, minding your own business and enjoying the autumn breeze with not a care in the world. You pass an open window, and what do you hear? The screeching tones of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ drifting through the cracked window. You think to yourself, “My flatmate can’t possibly be tragic enough to be listening to Christmas music already; he must be watching Mean Girls for the 47th time this week.” You enter your flat, and are immediately disgusted at the sight of people putting up Christmas lights and tarnishing your shared living space with a hideous tree donned with tacky tinsel. This is a travesty beyond compare. You calmly explain this to your ridiculous flat mates, only to be disregarded as a Scrooge, but you know that you are simply talking sense, and are the only one present not inflicted with the plague that is Christmas. It feels like you won’t possibly be able to survive the curse that is a student Christmas, but there are a few

things you can do to try... First, make sure you have your earphones with you at all times, as these will be essential for blocking out the tasteless Christmas music you are bound to encounter at every turn. If your earphones happen to be broken (let’s face it, they probably are), it may be wise for you to invest in a cheap pair of earplugs, as it’s unlikely your budget will be able to accommodate a new pair of earphones this late into the term, even for a cause as noble as protecting yourself from the torture that is carol singers and Christmas songs. Unfortunately, ear buds won’t protect you from the more vicious carollers, so you may need to carry pepper spray on your person at all times as a perfectly reasonable precaution. Next, prepare yourself to be hounded by your friends to organise a group secret

Santa, despite the fact that it is the ﬁrst week of November, and not the time to be thinking of Christmas presents. When you try to tell them that your budget really can’t sustain gift giving this year, prepare to be shut down faster than the Lemmy when the clock hits 2 am. Just accept it, Christmas will be the death of you, and it will cause you to slip into your overdraft. You’ll also be inevitably peer pressured into a £40 ball ticket. Now, the spending doesn’t end here if you are a woman: in order to avoid the judgemental glares of all those around you, it is imperative that you go out and spend more money that you don’t actually have (you’re in your overdraft, remember?) on a dress, as it is obviously a complete social faux pas to be seen in the same ball gown twice. But if you’re a man, fear not. You can wear the same tux every single time and no one will think worse of you for it, or look twice. Woo, double standards! It seems that at this time of year, stu-

dents tend to forget that the one stereotype that is mostly true about students is that we are incredibly strapped for cash. So, despite your lack of funds, you get roped into a ﬂat, squad or society Christmas dinner (all three, if you’re super unlucky), because Christmas is all about spending time with your loved ones, therefore it is worth spending the extra money, even though you already see these people almost EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Accept it, Christmas will cause you to slip into your overdraft You have managed to stop yourself imploding at all the unnecessarily Christmassy sights around campus and in town, but unfortunately this does not stop your tormenters’ unrelenting attempts at interpolating you into their disgustingly festive lifestyle. So, perhaps the best way to survive a student Christmas is to give up your lobbying against all these ridiculously early festivities and retreat into hibernation (this is likely to be sometime in March). I, for one, will be doing just this.

I ain’t sayin’ she a Guild digger Natasa Christoﬁdou News Editor

F I had to choose one campus outlet, I’d hands down choose to buy my meal deal from the Guild Shop. The Guild is essentially student-led and considering that it’s also a charity, there are no proﬁt driven incentives behind any decisions taken. Having said that, the Guild Shop’s new, branded, extortionately priced souvenirs are making it incredibly hard for me to maintain my favouritism.

We don’t need the Guild Shop to perpetuate our “Exetah” reputation We’ve heard time and time again that all the money spent on the Guild comes straight back into the student experience. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not doubting that the Guild has no interest in making proﬁt, but is it absolutely necessary that they stock ‘ﬁne quality crystal’ decanters?

Did I mention they retail for £85? Oh, I’m sorry, let me just pop open my Perrier-Jouet wine for some DSP pre-drinks... Oh, you’re not into wine or spirits? Don’t you worry; the Guild’s got you covered. They’ve got real ale tankards for just £55 pounds. To put things into perspective, that’s about 37 bottles of Thatcher’s Gold from Sainsbury’s. If you’re not into drinking, then you’re wasting even more money as it’s the equivalent of 44 1L cartons of Sainsbury’s 100% pure pineapple juice, or if we’re debating important spending trends… it’s 13 Timepiece entries! It doesn’t take a genius to see how crammed the Guild Shop is. I’m not quite sure what the purpose of refurbishing the Guild Shop over the summer holidays was. But presuming that all the construction was done through the use of student

money, then were we essentially funding a glass display case in order to present and protect overpriced, elitist products? We don’t need the Guild Shop to perpetuate our ‘Exetah’ reputation. I understand the pride behind wearing accessories advertising your University; we’re still in the top 10 in the UK (just about). But the whole point of having a Guild Shop is to maintain the principle of affordability. When the Guild campaigned to remain afﬁliated with the National Union of Students, (NUS) it advertised all the amazing deals it was able to offer. I am in no way complaining about the NUS, who consistently campaign for equality and representation. The meal deal on offer at the Guild Shop is only £2.49, and the Guild’s latest introduction of sending out weekly emails about various deals that the Guild provides is really

helpful. Why buy a smoothie on Tuesday when you can get a free upgrade on a Wednesday?

Were we essentially funding a display case for elitist products? The Guild’s cup for life is on sale for £5 and not only does it a sustainable initiative, but it contributes to the Guild’s reusable cup initiative which gets you 10p off your coffee. Sounds okay... until you realise that you might want a scarf along with your caramel latté, but are too broke to get one for £40 from the Guild Shop. Even if someone wanted to be a walking advert for Exeter, they’d probably have to take out a separate loan to fund it all. Jokes aside, we’re paying £9K per year to be here... Well, £9.25K as of September. I mean, we’re already in so much debt, so why not buy a silver plated certiﬁcate holder for another £40 so you can have a constant reminder of how expensive your education was?

Isabel Taylor Contributor

Driving home for Christmas? I me writing my remaining two essays at home. I blame this failing on my dogs and the distractions of Christmas decorating, but deep down I know I’m just weak.

T’D be hard to find someone more enthusiastic about Christmas than me. I love everything I cannot wait to be about this holiday. I love the mulled greeted by the overexcited wine, I love the twinkly lights, I love the vast amounts of food and the feswelcome of my dogs and tive spirit, and most of all, I love the my mother’s cooking mulled wine. Mostly just the wine, to be honest. The problem is this means the esI cannot wait to get back to my lovely warm house in a week or so, says need to be done before I return home. So maybe I should stay for to be greeted by the overa week or so after term excited welcome of Photo: Pexels ends to finish up, and my dogs and my start revision? mother’s cookPerhaps lots ing. She’ll of us will hang have made around this m i n c e year and it’ll pies for be really cute sure. in the house, The with our pacraving per chains and to sucktwinkly lights le from and we’ll get the parenlots of work done. tal breast is Yeah, no. If never stronger yo u ’r e than at this time of hangyear. Freshers are starting to run out of money, and are slowly ing around this getting sick of each other. Months year, it’s because cooped up in a small flat are starting you realise your to take their toll on these poor unfor- workload will kill you if not, or if tunates. Later years, all too familiar with you want to avoid the frustrations of spending too much difficult family. Fortunately I time with a small group of people in close proximity, start to ask each other get along well mine; about Christmas plans. Sighs of relief with are controlled when the nightmare they have a housemate announces his plans to strong alcohol tolhead off early this year. erance policy at Christmas Day is Christspecial, and I wouldn’t m a s . spend it in Exeter unless M y absolutely necessary. mother h a s b e e n If you were organised, you booked k n o w n your ticket home for a day or so af- to dister the end of term, but as the the last g u i s e weeks roll in perhaps you wish you’d s h e r r y got an earlier train. The last week of in a mug lectures are just recaps, surely? Who in order to needs to listen to a hour and a half avoid judgeof stuff which you didn’t listen to the ment from some first time around? Don’t they know of the more senior members of my famthat’s what Echo360 is for? On the other side of the coin is ily. She insists this measthe gut wrenching guilt and barely ure is necessary for the controlled panic that is the approach smooth production of lunch. Christmas Day is special, and of January exams. If, like me, you are physically incapable of working at I wouldn’t spend it IN Exeter unless home, you know the struggle is real. absolutely necessary. How would the I know that there is zero chance of dogs cope if I weren’t there to put

their Christmas ribbons on? New Year is a different matter entirely though. It should be spent wherever the most fun is likely to happen. I haven’t quite decided yet where to go, and as a sensible (ha) second year, should probably give some thought to exams. For now though, I’m looking forward to returning home, forgetting about all responsibility and heavily overindulging. Merry Christmas, everyone!

S E Y

LOVE Christmas, but not necessarily for the reasons everyone else does. For most, it’s a time of sensory overload; great food, gushing wine, the deep, spiced smells of mulled drinks, visible breath outside and the warmth of your parents’ home. For me, it’s a quiet time of reﬂection. I’ve spent almost every Christmas alone since moving out of my mother’s house. It’s not that my family are awful human beings, much the opposite (although avoiding racist aunts and homophobic cousins comes in handy).

This is the one day of the year where no one wants my attention I come from two divorces: my biological parents, and then my mum and her new partner. My brothers have grown up and have their own families. And, up until this year, I had a long-term partner whose parents would invite me to theirs too. And on top of this, friends’ parents, shocked and appalled at the idea of someone being alone for Christmas, exclaim “Oh! Do tell her she is welcome here!”. But I always politely decline all invitations. Because whilst being alone, I don’t feel lonely. In fact, I feel relieved. This is

the o n e day of the year where no one wants my attention, no one needs me for anything, all shops, ofﬁces, schools are closed: Peace on Earth.

COMMENT

Kate Byard Contributor

Until you’ve spent Christmas alone, you can never appreciate the sheer stillness of the day. Last year was slightly different, as my housemates stayed here too. But it was still a day very much for myself: I went to Midnight Mass at the Chapel on my road, I slept in, walked down to the Quay to feed the water fowl, came home to a vegan roast with my housemates, went to my room to read, re-emerged to watch Doctor Who, drank wine, watched a couple of classic ﬁlms, and went to bed. This may sound boring and somewhat unspectacular to those who devour feasts with company spanning multiple generations. But to me, it was the most perfect day. And whilst I can appreciate the aesthetic temptation of a huge celebration, my severe anxiety means that I feel my chest tighten to just consider it.

It’s a time to recuperate my energy for the year to come I know the reasoning behind “No one should be alone at Christmas” is concern for others’ emotional wellbeing. But, being alone at Christmas is securing mine. The last Christmas I spent with company erupted in a panic attack, and me rushing out of the house into the cold, empty street. My friends and family know my limits, quietly understand and accept how I manage them. They taper in to see me in smaller groups during the festive period, and we bond over hot chocolate and mulled wine. It’s difficult to comprehend for many because the fond childhood memories associated with Christmas are lodged deep into our psyches. But I, too, remember my childhood Christmases fondly. But now, Christmas has a new meaning for me. It’s a time for me, a time to quietly reflect on the year I’ve survived, and remember all those that didn’t make it this far. A time to recuperate my energy for the year to come. Spending Christmas alone is a choice; it’s not something ill-fate or loneliness has given me. It can appear to be Scrooge-like, but actually, I love Christmas. I love the lights, the carols, the films, the Christmas market on Cathedral Green (which I’ve already visited several times in its quieter periods). Christmas is my favourite time of year. Perhaps in 2017, you’ll find me wedged between my nephews pulling crackers and hysterically laughing at my brother’s joke. And my heart warms to consider that possibility. But for now, Christmas is for me (and also the only time when there are available seats in the library!)

COMMENT

Don’t be afraid to defer most of sporting and society meet-andgreets. However, when lectures began and the hectic week slowed down, everything started to go downhill. Due to the lack of work, as is typiURRENTLY, I’m in my final year at Exeter, studying English cal in first year; there was a lot of down time, which trips to the gym Literature. I enjoy my and town could only fill course, have great friends so much of. Moreoand live in a lovely ver, you may start house on Queen’s to discover Crescent. You you actually may find it have nothhard to being in comlieve, but at mon with one point in your cortime, even ridor or the making it ‘best friends’ to third year you made in seemed inconFreshers’. Your ceivable. friends fluctuate More than three Photo: Pexels and change, which can years ago, in September leave you feeling incredibly 2013 I started at Exeter. I lost and even lonely in the first few received Birks Grange as my accommodation, and was set to start my degree in months. It is easy to compare your new friends Ancient History. My sister attended Exeter and had loved her experience, so I was ea- with your ones from home and coming ger and excited to start my own. Freshers’ from a very close-knit group as I did, that’s Week, as advertised, was extremely fun. hard to replicate. As the weeks progressed, Despite the endless queuing and constant I became increasingly homesick and startconfusion, I did enjoy it and made the ed to resent my quiet corridor, and my

Francesca Bradley Contributor

dark and dingy room. I visited home more frequently, which reminded me constantly of what I was missing. To top it all off, I started to dislike my course and as my original enthusiasm faded, it was replaced by a sense that I was just not as clever as my peers.

At one point, even making it to third year seemed inconceivable After struggling through ﬁrst term, the constant inner turmoil eventually got to the point where I was physically sick and it was then that I decided I needed to leave. I also didn’t want to keep bothering my friends and family with my problems. Instead of doing work, I spent my time researching apprenticeships and applying for jobs at home. My head and heart were not truly in the university experience. My parents didn’t want me to drop out; convinced that I was giving up on an amazing experience. After speaking to tutor after tutor, one ﬁnally suggested to me an option which I chose to take: deferral. Deferral is when you can postpone your place due to personal issues, or in

my case due to the fact that I had decided to change my course. On my tutor’s recommendation, I sat in on a few English lectures and found them interesting and enjoyable. So, after ﬁlling out many forms, meeting the Head of English and getting the college’s approval, I decided to start again. I now had a plan. I deferred my place for the rest of the year, worked two jobs seven days a week, then went travelling. These experiences made me more mature, and I had time to gain perspective and independence, armed for when I started at Exeter again in September 2014.

It is normal to feel like this and you are certainly not alone I’ve decided to write this article in my ﬁnal year as a word of advice for those who are going through a similar experience. It is okay if you are not enjoying your course or your time here. You are certainly not alone. Deferral is not widely advertised but it is available. If you need to take some time out, don’t be afraid to leave and come back - it certainly worked for me.

Drink spiking: a “lucky” escape? Heledd Wilshaw Contributor

AST year, at a festival, a male friend of mine had brought absinthe back from his holidays and decided it would be the perfect tipple for a three-night bender. It wasn’t my thing; I wanted to enjoy some Welsh music and decided to forgo the toxic 70% absinthe that was being passed around. A few people wanted to try, including another friend. I don’t know her that well, but I think I commended her for being so brave and trying the stuff. But little did she know that the guy had been slipping some into her drink all night - not much, just everyone getting drunk, right? It went straight to her head, she was violently ill, and me and a friend looked after her and put her to bed. I remember hoping that she was okay, we’d all been there, but another friend said she should never have been that drunk anyway, that she was to blame, despite this be-

ing completely out of character for her. That was the party line. The guy admitted to it later, but too little, too late. She’d been with people, so she was lucky. She seemed ﬁne, until she wasn’t and suddenly she was in danger, because other people’s intentions can be dark and she wasn’t in control.

Another friend said she should ever have been that drunk anyway Rewind another year. My two closest friends and I went out in Cardiff; we’d been drinking before we got there but not too much, and we arrived at happy hour so we were buying cheap drinks. To set the scene isn’t difficult, we’ve all been there. It was a night of harmless flirting and dancing to cheesy vintage tracks, my friend was being bought drinks, and I was jealous. She was looking amazing that night, and I felt deflated, annoyed

and bitter. I feel awful about it now. I got over myself and we were walking back, getting McDonalds, getting in a taxi, and my friend was ﬁne, but as we got closer to my house she seemed to get drunker, so we got home, had water, went to bed. She sat up and I realised that she must’ve been drunker than I thought. She was ill, and we talked about the night. She said she wasn’t sure what happened, things were hazy, she must’ve gone a little far, but it was a good night, right? She was lucky; we all went home together, we looked out for each other. She was ill for the whole next day, getting whatever had been put in her drink out of her system. She remembered being bought drinks by some guy; he’d insisted, she’d thought it was innocent enough. She was lucky… My stories might not seem that insidious, maybe even normal, but so many people have their drinks spiked and aren’t ‘lucky’. I ﬁnd myself thinking ‘what if ’; what if they’d been alone, what if something had happened, what if it was me?

I ﬁnd myself thinking of the “hilarious” jokes about Rohypnol, the kind of jokes you’d make if the thought of having your control taken from you and being completely at the mercy of other people had never crossed your mind. The kind of jokes you’d make if you thought those types of things didn’t really happen, not in real life.

She seemed ﬁne, until she wasn’t, and suddenly she was in danger A Swansea University study suggested one in three students are spiked during their time at university. Most go unreported, the victims aren’t sure, and don’t think they’ll be believed. They worry they’ll be told they were too drunk, because that’s the world we live in, where I have invited crime by being drunk, and my being drunk has expunged the perpetrator of wrong doing.

Photo: Pexels

If you have been affected by any of the issues discussed in these articles, the following resources offer helpful, confidential advice and support:

COURSE INTERRUPTION AND DEFERRAL: Students’ Guild Advice Unit: 01392 723520 advice@exeterguild.com Exeter University Wellbeing Centre: 01392 724381

DRINK SPIKING AND SAFETY AT NIGHT: Exeter Nightline (8pm - 8am): 01392 724000 Exeter University Estate Patrol: 01392 263999

If you think your drink may have been spiked, tell someone you know and trust, such as a close friend, relative, medical professional (nearest A&E - Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital) or the police.

If you need urgent help, please call 999.

To respond to these articles, contact us at: comment@exepose.com comment@exepose.com

www.host-students.com

The best reasons to live with The Printworks • Independent city centre apartments • 24 hour concierge, security and reception • 24/7 gym, study room and common room • Games room including free pool and foosball • Superfast Wi-Fi • All-inclusive fixed rent, no bills • Large choice of room types, tenancy lengths and payment options • Friendly, community living

@hoststudentsuk

/ExeterPrintworks

Rooms from £125pw

05 DEC 2016 | EXEPOSÉ

Features

FEATURES EDITORS:

Georgina Bolam Katie Jenkins

Is veganism cruelty free?

Giusy Urbano investigates the hidden slave trade riddling Italian agriculture

ECEIVED, enslaved, exploited, battered, raped: these are hardly the first words that come to mind when tucking into a salad, yet our fruit and vegetables can hide a disturbing past. The debate about our food industry is fixated on animal rights and environmental issues. However, a closer look at our food system shows that a vegan diet has no claim to the “cruelty free” label. The systematic exploitation of humans in harvesting remains a topic shrouded in deafening silence. July 2010. Temperatures in Southern Italy are torrid. The local population is tucked away in the sanctuary of their homes and offices. Towns are silent and static. The only sounds escaping the shuttered windows are the voices of TV newscast reports, as they bleat governmental advice on how to escape the impending doom of heat stroke and dehydration. Temperatures are peaking. Isolated from residential areas, an invisible and silent army labours under the blazing sun. Though their stories vary, they are all bound by the common thread of desperation, poverty and exploitation. Meet the modern–day slaves behind your fruit and vegetables. It was 2010 when this phenomenon first garnered a glimmer of the attention it deserved. African seasonal workers in Rosarno, a small town in the region of Calabria, revolted against their abhorrent living and working conditions. The trigger? The senseless shooting of one of their colleagues. The situation degenerated into chaos and violence. Suddenly, a light was shone on the systematic enslavement of men and women who are often lured by the promise of fair employment. As the media crowded the town, tales of daily beatings, malnutrition and squalid barracks flooded national and international media. However, the issue had already been thoroughly investigated and reported. In 2006, Fabrizio Gatti, an Italian journalist of the notorious L’ Espresso, posed as a migrant worker in the region of Apulia. The first question he was asked revealed the horrors he faced: "Do you have a

[female] friend?' – the gangmaster enquired – 'you need to take her to the master". Immediately, the price to become a worker was made clear: rape. The supervisor soon pointed to a nearby worker: "she has been with the master", he noted. This was only the beginning.

Though [workers'] stories vary, they are all bound by the thread of desperation It is the season of the “red gold”, when tomatoes are ripe and ready to be picked. Thousands of migrants come looking for seasonal work. Whilst some are Italian, there is a growing number from Eastern Europe, especially Romania, Albania and Bulgaria. Others are Africans from countries such as Morocco, Ghana and Sudan. Though some have entered the country legally, others have reached Italy by making the dangerous “journey of hope” across the Mediterranean on rickety boats. They are soon trapped in a vicious cycle of abuse and exploitation. Shifts routinely exceed eight hours a day in oppressive temperatures and salaries are often half the national minimum wage, with workers making around 20 to 30 pounds a day. From these measly wages the cost of (inadequate) food and water must be deducted, alongside transport fees to and from the ﬁelds and rent to live in squalid barracks. Entire families live there, including minors. A report issued in November 2015 by CGIL (General Italian Confederation of Workers – one of Italy’s main trade unions) and FLAI (Federation of Food Industry Workers) described migrants as living in 'subhuman and depersonalising conditions, at times almost beastly'. Upon visiting a camp in 2008, Amnesty International spoke of “unmitigated squalor” as the stench of the nearby open-air latrines, dug at the margins of the camp, ﬁlled the camp’s air. Violence and beatings are endemic: the slightest mishap or potential rebellion

is met with beatings so ferocious they have lead to the disappearance of workers . Nobody is spared. Gatti reported that a 20 year old woman was forced to toil under the blazing sun at eight months pregnant. Needless to say, after bleeding for two days in a shack, she delivered a dead baby in a local hospital. Subjected to such abuse, workers’ health plummets. Organisations such as Emergency and Doctors for Human Rights have reported widespread poisoning, muscular issues and gastrointestinal infections due to lack of protection against pesticides. It is estimated that 74 per cent of workers fall ill and gangmasters usually fine ill workers. Emergency volunteers are often stationed outside the camps to provide care that should be provided for free by the National Health Care Service. Unsurprisingly, the media occasionally picks up on workers dying of exhaustion, though trade unions estimate the actual number of deaths must be much higher. The issue is hardly a marginal one. Over 400,000 seasonal workers in Italy work under the caporalato (or 'gangmaster') system - over half of the 700,000 seasonal workers employed each year Despite being made illegal in 2011, caporalato is thriving across Italy and forces over 100,000 people to live and work as slaves. This is hardly an 'Italian problem' to be dismissed with stereotypes of organised crime and economic turmoil. Italy is a first world country and the main producer of tomatoes on the European and Australian market. It also tops the charts for the production of olives, olive oil, wine, apples, peaches and citrus fruits and many others. In other words, it is virtually impossible to avoid Italian produce and countries boasting the same exports have been found to employ the same practices. In fact, the issue is alive and kicking in much of the first world. A 2009 OECD paper described an agricultural sector riddled with human trafficking and abuse in all 56 countries surveyed, a problem caused by common vulnerabilities and legal loopholes. From Ireland to the USA,

the ﬁrst world fails to address the seasonal and physically demanding nature of agriculture, which is low-paid and usually in isolated locations. The UK is no exception. In 2007 a Lithuanian journalist posed as a worker willing to work abroad. After being promised fair employment, he was sent to a farm in North Yorkshire, where he was stripped of his money and documents, forced to work inhumane hours and housed in squalid buildings. Within a few weeks, an emotionally stable man had been transformed into a suicidal wreck. Google 'cruelty free food' and a plethora of vegan dishes will appear. As veganism gains pace, the equation of 'cruelty-free' and 'vegan' is going mainstream. It is worrying and problematic: this cruelty-free label rarely includes any discussion concerning the origin of fruits, vegetables and grains. Branding produce as 'cruelty-free' simply because it is not an animal product refuses to recognise the pain endured by these workers, who are already almost invisible. Lacking any representation and often framed as more expendable and less “grievable” these workers disproportionately suffer the cost of racism and classism. The association of the term 'cruelty-free' with vegan dishes is a grotesque contrast.

We cannot boycott our way into a "cruelty-free" zone The issue is ultimately transparency in supply chains. We cannot boycott our way into a “cruelty-free” zone: the products of slave labour are often indistinguishable from their more ethical counterparts. Even leading anti human-trafﬁcking philanthropist and founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar , failed to detect such a case. Omidyar invested large sums of money in a pineapple plantation in Hawaii, which was subsequently exposed as being part of the Global Horizons scandal, the largest human trafﬁcking case in US history. Choosing

products based on location also doesn’t work. Leading anti-slavery organisations have warned against boycotting specific areas, as this is likely to harm ethical enterprises which are already exposed to unfair competition (as their rivals pay their workforce next to nothing) and economic vulnerability – a key factor in exploitation. Local produce doesn’t imply cruelty-free, as highlighted by the recent Modern Day Slavery Forum hosted at the University of Exeter. Shaun Sawyer, Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall and national policing lead for modern slavery, was quick to point out how trafficking and abuse had been found in Devon's agricultural sector. This is unsurprising, as trafficking is profitable and hard to detect – making it organised crime’s preferred offense. Nonetheless, there is some progress. The 2015 Modern Slavery Act requires all businesses to issue a yearly report detailing the presence of slavery at any stage in their production chain and if any steps have been taken to address the issue. Companies are eagerly seizing the opportunity to gain positive publicity. Nonetheless, the issue remains pressing for products sourced abroad, especially in impoverished countries where slavery is rife. Chocolate is a representative example. People are aware that it takes more than a vegan label to make chocolate ethical, as child slavery is rife in cocoa plantations in West Africa and Brazil, where most raw cocoa comes from. Many international corporations – such as Mars – have come under fire for declaring they were unaware where their materials came from. Sadly, the rest of the agricultural market remains neglected. The vegan narrative – one which relies so heavily on the “cruelty free” label – is inadvertently amplifying romantic notions of cropharvesting. The risk is that as companies seek to profit from the equation of veganism and cruelty-free, the marketing machine will make this notion so widespread it will be impossible to shatter. These workers have no voice: it is our duty to recognise their deaths are in our salads.

FEATURES

Alone for Xmas? Rent a boyfriend Katie Jenkins, Features Editor, discusses the growing companionship industry and its feminist repercussions

NE stranger asked if he could “s***” on my face; one spammed a friend with pictures of his genitals; another asked to meet for dinner to discuss the potential for herself, her unwitting date and her current girlfriend… It’s a disorienting, kaleidoscopic world of genitals, awkward dates and STIriddled hook-ups, a landscape in which romance takes the form of airbrushed Facebook photos and touchscreen swipes. For many students, eroticism can be encapsulated in one, two-syllable phenomenon – ‘Tinder’ – a concept that has taken smartphone users by storm.

Japanese women struggle to express their emotions to others Imaginatively marketing itself as “like real life, but better”, the app, launched in 2012, currently attracts 50 million active users. Vanity Fair has branded it “the dawn of the dating apocalypse”, while The Guardian argues that it’s “a natural evolution of what the dating scene for the millennial generation already looks like.” Brand it what you will, critics and fans are united in one sole aspect: Tinder is the love child of the millennium, the flaming figurehead of the hook-up culture that is intrinsic to the 21st century romantic ideal. However, for many entrepreneurs, ‘Tinder’ is merely the chlamydia-studded tip of the modern dating iceberg. For Josephine Wai-Lin, ‘Tinder’ epitomises the “transactional” connotations of modern dating, “reducing courtship to a swipe right”. Rebelling against the hookup trend in 2014, she co-founded the Los Angeles based start-up, ManServants: a “luxury experience” that offers “gentlemen for hire who are all trained to treat women like queens”. It hardly screams the allure of Jane Eyre or the sentiment of Romeo and Juliet, but for many global singletons, the courtship industry is becoming increasingly more lucrative. The boyfriend or girlfriend experience is commonly defined as “a commercial

experience that blurs the boundaries between a ﬁnancial transaction and a romantic relationship”. Traditionally, it is a concept that has encompassed the escort and sugar baby services. However, the last three years have seen a signiﬁcant expansion in the industry, centring less on sex, and more on emotional intimacy. Such is the aim of the ‘Invisible Boyfriend/Girlfriend’ app, co-founded in 2013 by Matt Homann and Kyle Tabor. According to Tabor, the app allows the user “to create a virtual partner” with whom they can “interact through messages, voicemails and handwritten notes”. Far from the Pretty Woman fantasy of thigh-high boots and Agent Provocateur, many of the app’s users – 75 per cent of whom are women – are looking for “an

and emotional emancipation from the constraints of marital expectation. Asked by Broadly why she feels ‘ManServants’ has garnered such success, Wai-Lin responded: “There’s this new breed of women out there, and she’s independent, and powerful, and has more managerial positions than men”.

Welcome to the new prostitution economy Indeed, it seems no coincidence that as global trends of female economic empowerment have improved, so has the courtship industry become a more accessible option for female consumers. Recent surveys have shown that nearly 40 per cent of young, single Japanese women don’t want a romantic partner – a ﬁgure that comes on the back of Japan’s four per cent improvement in this year’s

courtship industry merely serves as a bathetic façade for new forms of sex work. “Daddies, ‘dates’ and the girlfriend experience: We l c o m e to the new prostitution economy”, screamed a recent Vanity Fair headline. “Is it just an unorthodox way to make ends meet, or a new kind of exploitation?” questioned Nancy Jo Sales, nibbling on ribs with a ‘sugar baby’ who, she quickly scribbles, charges “$700 an hour for sex”. Although seemingly a symptom of womens growing independence, for many media outlets there still lurks a lurid fascination with the motives attracting not only female workers, but female clients. Whereas female sex work is commonly deﬁned as the “oldest profession in the world”, silently accepted as an inevitable market for male

industry are still entrenched in conservative gender dichotomies. Sex scandals and tabloid headlines serve to normalise male clients, often degrading female workers as “hoes”, “hookers” or – in the words of one male client – “hidden hoochies”. Meanwhile, female clients are all too routinely equated with a tragic idea of dissatisfaction, perpetuating an American Gigolo fantasy of the female client’s desperate inferiority. Regardless of your views on the courtship industry, be it a “primal” symptom of “isolation” (The Guardian) or an empowering alternative to “the complications of sex and marriage” (VICE), an expanding consumerist culture coupled with enhanced technological opportunities has consolidated its signiﬁcance, not only entrepreneurially, but romantically. It may not fulﬁl the rom-com ideals of orchestral soundtracks and star-crossed meetings, but for many women, it’s a more lucrative alternative to the drama of relationships, or the bare bank accounts of a part-time job.

Every time technology evolves, sex and relationships evolve with it emotional connection”: an artiﬁcial relationship to satisfy their emotional needs. ‘Rent a boyfriend’ services have similarly gained eminence in Eastern Asia: particularly Japan, China and Singapore. Tokyo, most notably, plays host to a plethora of companies, whose services span dating, cuddling and, somewhat surreally, weeping. “Japanese women struggle to express their emotions to others”, explained Ryuei, whose job description is eloquently summarised by VICE as “weeping boy”. “Even if women wanted to express their emotions, our society hasn’t allowed for this to happen. So I create an atmosphere that enables people to cry”. Many feminists have lauded the development of such services, celebrating it as a symptom of women’s economic

Women’s Economic Opportunity Index. Far from the sexually passive stereotype, more young women are prioritising their ﬁnancial achievements, embracing relationships as a transactional choice rather than an expectation. Yet critics have condemned the authenticity of modern dating technology. For many opponents, underlying such advances there lurks a lurid inability to connect, a resistance to intimacy, and a miscomprehension of genuine relationships. “Every time technology evolves, sex and relationships evolve with it,” explains therapist, Dr Chris Donoghue. “But if you rely upon [technology] primarily… it’s a severe reduction of all the complexity we need from another person”. Certainly, although quick to prioritise emotional intimacy in place of sexual interaction, for many media outlets, the

consumers, for feminine clients, courtship services are often connoted with loneliness, thinly veiling an emotional void that only male workers can fulﬁl. “What is it that’s missing in women’s lives that would make them want someone like you?” mused VICE journalist, Karley Sciortino to a male worker in the Japanese companionship industry. “Why would they need you?” Similarly, as Vanity Fair has highlighted, male ‘sugar babies’ “voiced few qualms about whether what they were doing was empowering or disempowering”. Meanwhile, for one female ‘sugar baby’, the girlfriend experience was just another synonym for “whores.” “[‘Sugar daddies’] would never consider a monogamous relationship with someone who would need to do this to survive. It’s like a class thing. They see you as beneath them, desperate.” Although clearly one of the latest revolutions for modern women, perceptions of the companionship

As individuals garnering greater economic power, conservative notions of feminine passivity are slowly, tangibly, being debunked. It’s hardly Jane Austen, but the female consumer is slowly but surely gaining sexual, marital and ﬁnancial eminence. Her autonomy, economy and sexuality should be respected and valued as such.

thenewsdoctor.com

Exeter’s eating disorder crisis M

Hannah Butler, Editor, investigates the worrying lack of eating disorder services in Exeter

OST of us know someone who has suffered from an eating disorder. We might even know someone who’s tried to access support in Exeter. But how many of us know someone who has actually managed to get the help they need in the city? Sadly, it turns out things just aren’t that easy around here. And I know: I’ve been there. But I’m going there again, to try and figure out exactly what the issue is here in Exeter. We’ve got doctors, therapists, sufferers and campaign groups fighting for a service that doesn’t exist – all while trying to pick up the pieces themselves. Sounds like one big mess? That’s probably because it is. ... “It’s ridiculous,” Charlotte Pinnock shakes her head. It’s the grey November morning after *that* election night, but surprisingly, we aren’t talking US politics. Today, the topic is eating disorder services in Exeter – or rather, the lack of them. It’s something the Mind Your Head president has personal experience of: her own struggle with anorexia highlighted just how little support is available in the city. “You get passed from one group to another,” Charlotte tells me, “and everyone is saying the same thing: that they can’t really help you.” Something needs to change - which is why she has joined new initiative ‘Exeter Beats Eating Disorders,’ launched by fellow student Jennifer Fletcher. “It’s about spreading awareness,” Charlotte says, “and showing people that if we set these services up, there will be benefits.” Jennifer qualified as a Beat Young Ambassador in September. She’s now part of a UK-wide volunteer network fighting to reduce the stigma surrounding eating disorders and increase awareness. I’ll be

honest: when I met her and Charlotte this morning, I thought this would be a simple interview about a new project, hopefully giving it some publicity and helping to launch the campaign. But the more we talk, the angrier I’m getting. “It’s so physical down here,” Jennifer sighs. “Because it’s so limited, they have to really strip back, and only deal with people who are at a life-threatening point. They’re not doing early intervention. They’re doing a last-minute rush because that’s all they can do.”

No one has had a good experience with the eating disorder services in Exeter “What I don’t understand is why it is so bad here, and nowhere else in the country,” Charlotte tells me. “I’ve lived in the north, and in the midlands, and never before have I seen an issue like this. Is it due to poor management? Because it doesn’t matter whether you live in Manchester, London or Exeter, people are going to have eating disorders. I don’t understand why it’s being ignored down here.” “No-one has had a good experience with the eating disorder services in Exeter,” Jennifer adds. “At least, I’ve not come across anyone who has. It’s bonkers,” she shrugs. Limited. Last-minute. Bonkers. Not words you’d particularly want to hear when you’re seeking help for an eating disorder. Is this really what we’re faced with in Exeter? “It’s almost like you’re in a bubble down here,” Jennifer says. “It doesn’t make sense.” It doesn’t. And I’m refusing to believe it. Surely in a city as big as this, there must be something available?

Exeter Student Minds’ Eating Disorder Support Project Once launched, this new group will offer peer support and guidance for students struggling with eating disorders. “As there is such a huge gap in the market, I thought creating this group would at least provide some sort of support for students who are struggling right now,” says project founder Leah Fuller. “It is not meant to be a complete treatment option, but can support students in an everyday way, help pinpoint services, what options are available to them, and be there whilst they are accessing treatment, as we know this can take time.” “Wellbeing services is really pleased to be supporting the Student Minds Peer Support group initiative,” adds Mark Sawyer. “Earlier this month we met with the Guild Advice Unit staff to discuss how we can support peer facilitators and group participants once the group is up and running.” For more information, search ‘Exeter Student Minds’ on Facebook or email exeter@studentminds.org.uk

So what’s the ﬁrst port of call for students who are struggling? I decide I’ll start with the obvious. After all, when I told a friend I was looking into Exeter’s eating disorder services, her initial response was: “Surely that comes under Wellbeing?” Since opening in October 2012, Reed Mews Wellbeing Centre has become almost synonymous with the ﬁght for better mental health provisions in Exeter. Back in chilly January 2014, Exeposé reported that the new centre had received emergency funding after a massive rise in students seeking support. Waiting times had crept up. Wellbeing was overwhelmed. In February 2015 Exeposé reported Reed Mews had been forced to close its CBT list because waiting times had exceeded the ‘cap’ of six weeks. Students left, right and centre were reporting that Wellbeing was an excellent service – it just wasn’t coping with the demand. But have we been barking up the wrong tree all this time by focusing on Wellbeing? “If you go to Wellbeing asking for help with an eating disorder, they’ll say you need longer support, and they can only support you for six sessions,” Jennifer tells me. “They’ll say: ‘you can do this, but it’s not going to be worthwhile because after those six sessions, we’ll have to drop you and see someone else, and you’ll have to start all over again.’ So they refer you somewhere else.” In March, Head of Student Services Jamie Horsley told Exeposé that Wellbeing was “being asked to provide services that were never quite the original intention.” Head of Wellbeing Mark Sawyer admitted that “it may not even be safe” for the Centre to try and support students with higher risk conditions. Final-year student Lily* can testify to this – and it’s pretty worrying to hear her story. “In all honesty I was really surprised with how quickly I managed to get an appointment,” she admits. “I went to Wellbeing and scheduled a phone consultation for two weeks’ time, then once they had rung me, I got given the six sessions.” However, this was when the problems started. “The treatment itself was ultimately pointless,” she tells me, “because I didn’t know if I was at a point where I wanted to recover, and they don’t really know anything about eating disorders at all.” The person she saw would frequently mention that her weight was still in the healthy range, she remembers, “which is incredibly dangerous because it just made me determined to lose more weight so I’d be taken seriously.

“He’d frequently admit that he didn’t really know what he was doing,” she adds. “He was a really nice man, incredibly friendly, but I’d end up in tears at the end of every session out of pure frustration that he didn’t really understand what I was saying. “Wellbeing in general is definitely on the up,” she says, “but their ED treatment is awful - because it doesn’t exist.” This story’s obviously unnerving – and it would be easy to condemn Wellbeing after hearing it. But I’m hesitant to. Like she says, they do try and help students. This just wasn’t what they were designed for. This much is clear when I ask Sawyer how Wellbeing helps students with eating difficulties. Their role “is to support students in their learning,” he says. They are “not part of the NHS,” he stresses - and they strongly recommend that students worried about their eating “should see their GP as a first step.” “The Wellbeing Services team are

the staff there as “really helpful and lovely,” she’d even say that the surgery was “ultimately what helped me recover the most.” I can sympathise. I spent a lot of time here in my second year – and they were a lifeline. My heart’s pounding with a weird sense of déjà vu as I step in from the dark on a chilly November evening and sign in at reception. I’m meeting Dr Jo Neumegen at the end of a busy surgery day. Everyone’s frazzled but cheerful, and between a discussion on how to put up the Christmas decorations and questions about what I’ll Reed Mews be doing over the holidays, I’m soon smiling. I t ’s o d d , settling down in Dr

Wonford House Hospital

Katie J

Wikimedia Commons

here to provide initial support, not specialist treatments,” he adds. “Diagnosed eating disorders are usually best treated through multidisciplinary medical teams, and often within in-patient settings or closely monitored community programmes. It is rarely appropriate for university services to offer such treatments ‘in-house.’ “We always try to support students who are concerned about their eating and to look at how we can support them at university, and signpost them to specialist NHS services where longer-term treatments may be available.” So Wellbeing recommends you see your GP. For most Exeter students, this means Streatham’s on-campus surgery: the Student Health Centre. Lily had plenty of good things to say about the Health Centre. Remembering

Neumegen’s room. It’s the same seat I spent hours sobbing in back in early 2014. Admitting I was too scared to be weighed that week. Counting down days until my NHS mental health assessment. Trying to decide whether I’d be better off just going home. Dr Neumegen is kind and reassuring – even if what she’s telling me is awful. “Basically, there isn’t an outpatient eating disorder service in Exeter,” she starts frankly. Of course, I knew this already – but this time I’m here to ask: why? “Well, the Devon Partnership Trust’s rationale - and I do partly get where they come from - is that an eating disorder is often part of a larger mental health issue,” she explains. “So if we have patients presenting eating disorders, we can refer them for a general mental health assessment, and they will look at providing support. But there’s no speciﬁc eating disorder service.” This causes all manner of problems. “When a student arrives in Exeter, we might get a letter from their previous team saying: this patient has anorexia, please can

Background image: Edwin Yeung

you refer onto your local eating will be forever grateful for the hours she disorder service,” she tells me. “And we dedicated to my care.” Yasmin agrees that the on-campus have to write back and say: well, actually services are doing the best they can in a there isn’t one…” It’s not a situation she’s happy with. bad situation. “My experience of Wellbeing “We’ve been battling for years,” she sighs. was also a very positive one,” she says, “but ultimately I needed “Because we are left providing specialist an enormous amount input, of care. We’re Exeter Beats Eating Disorders and very happy to provide medical care we see lots o f

Wellbeing Centre

that w a s something Exeter just couldn’t

Charlotte Pinnock and Jennifer Fletcher

patients regularly f o r monitoring and Jenkins support - but what we can’t give is specialist psychological therapy, and that’s what people need. So it isn’t ideal. And it leaves us feeling very vulnerable.” So where can they refer people? Well, if you’ve just started struggling, you might beneﬁt from “short-term therapy with Wellbeing,” Neumegen tells me. “Then if you are really physically ill and need hospitalisation, there is the Haldon inpatient unit. But there’s nothing in between. So we often feel we’re just trying to hold people together, when we actually should be reversing what’s happening.” One thing Neumegen tells me I have to stress, though, is that the surgery will always see students who are worried about their mental health. “We’ll always see them, and we will always support them as much as we can,” she says. “I have people I’m seeing weekly, just to try and keep them safe.” This kind of work takes its toll. “I think we feel as frustrated as a lot of the patients do,” Neumegen says. “It’s not nice to be seeing people week after week, just watching their weight fall, and feeling totally helpless to change that. We try - we use every technique we have - but we’re not psychological specialists.” I’m not alone in viewing the Student Health Centre as a lifeline. “My GP was incredible, and quite simply, kept me alive,” recent Exeter graduate Yasmin tells me. “I

offer.” Off-campus services have been mentioned a few times now. But in terms of Exeter, what does this mean? Basically, the Devon Partnership NHS Trust is based in Exeter’s Wonford House Hospital. Within this service you’ve got the Haldon inpatient unit, and the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT). Like Dr Neumegen mentioned, the Haldon inpatient unit is here for those physically at crisis point. For Yasmin, this was a very real prospect. “I was lucky enough to have ﬂeeting contact with a psychologist at the Haldon, who worked very closely with my GP,” she tells me. “However, despite teetering on admissions, nothing ever actually happened - and then she left the service and I never heard any more.” Haldon is Exeter’s only specialist eating disorder unit. Outside of its 12 beds and six “step-down” beds for those retransitioning to life after inpatient treatment, you’re in the hands of the CMHT. This is where I eventually got a precious few appointments when I was struggling. Weeks after my assessment, and months after the initial referral, it was too little, too late. I’d already started seeing a private psychotherapist for uncomfortably large sums of money - but it was either that or leave Exeter. Neumegen knows this is far from ideal. “Students we refer might get a care coordinator who supports them,” she tells me, “but they’re not usually a specialist in eating disorders.” Even then, the standard wait for psychological therapy is a year to 18 months, she says. “So we do feel a bit helpless.” Yasmin’s care coordinators “knew very little about high-functioning eating disorders,” she remembers. “They admitted that they were unsure what to do with me.” She also believes her illness

wasn’t taken as seriously because she continued to perform well at University. “They would repeatedly tell me how amazing it was that I was doing a degree, and that most of their patients were barely functioning,” she says – which triggered thoughts that she was “totally unworthy and undeserving of any support, and a massive inconvenience.” Charlotte also found herself struggling at Wonford House. “When I got referred there for the first time, they gave me a care coordinator who I personally didn’t need,” she admits, “because she couldn’t offer me any support for my eating disorder.” Dual-postcode living and her impending graduation meant Faye never got the help she desperately needed in Exeter. “I wholeheartedly believe that had I been able to access specialist ED support as an outpatient two or three years ago, I would be in a much better place now,” she admits. “Instead, yes, I’ve graduated - but I’m now very unwell, and am looking at much more intensive treatment over the coming months, and even more time lost to such a horrible illness. “I wish things could have been different for me - but more than that, it terrifies me to think that so many other people may suffer in similar ways. Nothing is more dangerous than turning someone away, when they’re living with an illness that is essentially trying to kill them.” There’s obviously an overwhelming need for better eating disorder services in Exeter. So how is it that nothing’s changing? Is it funding? Does the South West receive less than other regions when it comes to mental health provisions? Because things definitely aren’t this bad back home in the East Midlands. Charlotte agrees with me on this. Yasmin’s deferring her MA because she can’t get the help she needs in Exeter. I may be jumping to conclusions… but if the only way Exeter students can get treatment is by leaving Exeter, surely something’s gone very wrong here. Kathy O’Connor is a private psychotherapist based on Exeter’s Gandy Street. She offers support for a range of mental illnesses and disorders, and also supports students at the University’s Wellbeing Centre. I’m told she might be able to answer some of my questions, so I give her a ring. Kathy confirms what I’ve heard about Wellbeing – that it’s an initial support service for students who are struggling. “We’re not a specialist eating disorder or trauma group,” she says. “What we’re trying to do is support people.” In this respect, its short-term model makes sense, because it means as many students as possible can access help. “If we opened it up to longer-term work, all of us would be tied into longer-term work with people and we wouldn’t be able to see as many students,” she explains. So what are the options for students who need longer term support? “It’s a really tough one,” she admits. “Sometimes there are private therapists who can offer

eating disorder services – for example, I specialise and do it privately.” She and colleague Jacqui Mann have also been running a support group for families of young people with eating disorders. It’s on hold currently but Kathy’s hoping to start offering workshops again in the near future – because there’s deﬁnitely a need for it. “It’s ridiculous that there’s no community eating disorder services in Exeter,” she tells me. “I absolutely don’t understand that and never have.” She and Jacqui have been “going to CCG meetings, we’ve been lobbying all sorts of people to try and get more eating disorder services out there,” she says, “and it’s just been falling on deaf ears.” This is a new term for me. Turns out CCG stands for Clinical Commissioning Group. Created in the wake of the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, these statutory bodies basically decide where NHS funding is spent in the local community. Exeter falls under the New Devon CCG – so if funding isn’t being directed to eating disorder services here, it’s because the CCG is prioritising other things.

Nothing is more dangerous than turning someone away I ring Peter Leggatt, Head of Communications at Devon Partnership NHS Trust, to ﬁnd out more. “We have a certain amount of money for mental health services, which gets broken down,” he explains. The total budget’s about £140 million a year – and there’s a “constant dialogue” between the Trust and the New Devon CCG. “We can’t provide everything,” he says. “I think it’s quite easy to say that there’s no specialist outpatient eating disorder unit in Devon and there should be,” he says. “And you’re probably right. But there’s not a special care baby unit in every hospital. There’s not a specialist burns department in every hospital. It’s in the nature of things that not all practices have everything.” Peter passes my enquiry onto Andy Wray, General Manager for Specialist Services. He says something similar. “Services have to be commissioned by the CCG,” he says. “At this moment, the CCG doesn’t commission Devon Partnership Trust to provide a designated community eating disorder service.” “It really is a postcode lottery,” conﬁrms Kathy’s colleague Jacqui Mann. Jacqui’s 38 years of NHS experience mean she’s pretty clued-up on how funding is allocated. “Every day, CCGs have to make decisions about where to place their money,” she explains. The trouble is, there’s a limited amount to go around. Rightly or wrongly, New Devon’s limited pot hasn’t been used to fund specialist outpatient eating disorder services – and things “will remain this way until someone at a clinical commissioning level decides services in this area fall short,” Jacqui explains. So, that’s the situation. The NHS can’t do everything – and here in Exeter, outpatient eating disorder services have

taken the hit. Unfortunately, this leaves many vulnerable students in a difficult position. Devon Partnership NHS Trust is currently in discussion with New Devon CCG about implementing some kind of community eating disorder service, Wray tells me - yet even if the CCG does decide this is a priority, nothing will happen until 2018 at the earliest. “We can’t deliver anything without it being commissioned,” Wray tells me. The University tells me Mark Sawyer is also in discussions with the NHS about services for students - and is due to meet the Mental Health Commissioner for the Devon Partnership Trust. “We are very interested to explore how we can work together to improve the care for students with significant health issues, including those with eating disorders,” he says. ... So what have I learned from all of this? Well, a couple of things, at least. The first: our Student Health Centre is an unbelievable blessing. From niggling worries to full-blown crises, the doctors and nurses there will do their utmost to keep you safe and healthy. It’s always worth a visit. And the second? People will do incredibly brave things when they see a worthy cause. Jennifer and Charlotte are just two of the many students I know fighting for change in Exeter. Take Exeter Student Minds’ new peer support group. Set up by former Mind Your Head president Leah Fuller, it’s set to receive £6,600 from the University’s Annual Fund over the next three years to train students in supporting others with eating disorders. From students bravely sharing their experiences and helping others, to doctors, nurses and other professionals going above and beyond, I’d like to think that anyone struggling with an eating disorder in Exeter could find care and support somewhere. Is it enough? No, not for everybody. But the fight for better eating disorder services in Exeter is far from over. *name changed to protect identity

If you have been affected by this story, or have concerns about your own or somebody else’s wellbeing, the following services are available: Reed Mews Wellbeing Centre 01392 724381 Student Health Centre 01392 676606 Exeter Nightline 01392 724000 B-eat 0345 634 1414 b-eat.co.uk The University also recommends online self-care package SilverCloud. For more info visit www.exeter.ac.uk/wellbeing/selfhelp/online-therapy/silvercloud/

Lovely students of Exeter

Rent? Have a top-up meter? You can still switch.

Want to save around £200* per year and help the community? Switch your gas and electricity quickly and easily at bristol-energy.co.uk/ExeterStudents or call us free on 0808 281 2222.

#MakeYourSwitchCount

*We’re saving our customers around £200 per year on their energy bills. This is Bristol Energy’s projected average saving per dual fuel customer, based on average annual consumption of 3,100kWh for electricity and 12,500kWh for gas as defined by Ofgem.

10643783 Bristol Energy_Exeter UNI_340 x 268mm_AW1 R.indd 1

20/10/2016 16:52

lifestyle

ARTS + LIT

E X H I B IT MUSIC

24 album

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS: make your own PENGUIN PAl

GAMES + TECH

of the year

POKÉMON SUN AND MOON REVIEW

screen

SANDFORD ORCHARDS: PROPER DEVON CIDER

2016

A YEAR IN REVIeW

16 - 18

20 - 22

24 - 26

28 - 30

32 - 33

LIFESTYLE EDITORS Jade Beard Laurel Bibby

ARTS + LIT EDITORS Emma Bessent Tash Ebbutt

MUSIC EDITORS Rory Marcham Helen Payne

SCREEN EDITORS Mark Allison Zak Mahinfar

GAMES + TECH EDITORS Jabez Sherrington Sam Woolf 05 DEC 2016 | EXEPOSÉ

OMETIMES, it’s easy to forget just how lucky we are to be students here. We’ve all made it to a top-class university, we’re probably going to come out of it with a load of great experiences under our belts (and a handy degree too), and in the meantime, we’re living in one of the UK’s most beautiful counties. It’s for this reason that I find myself in the heart of Devon on a brisk autumnal morning (one of those days which reminds you that winter is truly on its way). We’re only 30 minutes away from Exeter — a peaceful drive down hedge-lined roads — deep in a wild land of thatched roofs and amber leaves.

I MADE CIDER BECAUSE I COULDN'T AFFORD TO GO TO THE PUB AS OFTEN AS I WANTED TO This is the village of Sandford (not to be confused with Hot Fuzz’s Sandford, in Gloucestershire, although the ‘Village of the Year’ accolade could easily apply here too). With a population of 641 (at the last count), it’s easy to bandy about empty words like ‘quaint’, ‘cute’ and ‘cosy’, but I think that would do a disservice to the place. It is, after all, home to Sandford Orchards: an award-winning cider company with a national reputation. They now have a range of fourteen ciders, from the juicy Devon Mist to the medium-dry Devon Red, via the blackberry-infused Fanny’s Bramble and the lightly-spiced Cider Ginger. You’ll probably have seen them on tap at the Old Firehouse, and even at The Impy, but the

company’s reputation has now spread as far afield as China and the USA. We’ve parked up outside the imposing Old Cider Works in the nearby town of Crediton. Walking tentatively into the enormous warehouse — not entirely sure if it’s an intrusion — we’re soon welcomed by a member of the team, and introduced to the (perfectly-named) Barny Butterfield: king of the crop, and the man behind the magic here at Sandford Orchards. Straight away, we’re put at ease; Barny is full of that glowing charm which seems so common in this region, kindly offering us a pasty and a cup of tea. As he later points out, in his light Devon accent, South Westerners are uniquely proud of the South West, and you probably won’t find more amenable and chatty people. Barny is no exception, and his passion for the whole process is a pleasure to behold. Cider was first made in this building in the 1930s, back when deliveries still came in by horse-and-cart, but Barny’s cider-making journey only began in 2003. It started out as a fun side-project on his father-in-law’s farm, and Barny is refreshingly open about his motives: “I made cider because I couldn’t afford to go to the pub as often as I wanted to”, he jokes. After the successful first batch was quickly drained by appreciative friends, Barny started to realise the potential of the project, so he diversified from his chicken-farming business and started to put more time into the new venture. Since then, they’ve seen rapid success — culminating in a CAMRA Champion Cider of Britain Award in 2010 — and, shortly after their tenth birthday, they decided to expand into this high tech new site in Crediton. But it’s abundantly clear that the modern technology comes second to the natural quality of the harvest. It all starts with the

lifes

How'd you like

Jeremy Brown, Editor, talks to the founder of San soil, Barny tells us, pointing outside at a pile of fresh red earth; “we have absolutely perfect growing conditions for growing the best flavour of cider apples... You see the colour of that soil? That’s Devon Redland.” He then takes us through the geology of the region; this is a man who cares about every single step of the journey, from branch to bottle. “Devon, historically, has been the biggest producer of cider apples in the country,” he explains proudly, noting the microclimate also contributes to creating the perfect flavour. “Hereford can grow nearly double the amount in tonnage per acre... but you don’t get the flavour. You actually need challenge within the growing environment.” The company is indebted to the region for its sales success too, with the majority of trade still taking place in Devon. This is despite a remarkable national popularity, undoubtedly built upon the incredible fact that 45% of all the cider produced on the planet is drunk in Britain. “It’s our drink, it’s quintessentially a British drink,” Barny announces proudly, as if he’s finally discovered the secret ingredient to life, “and it’s not celebrated enough”. Next, we head out into the crisp Devon air. Round the side of the building, we’re greeted by two mountainous piles of apples — but it’s apparently just a small selection of the bumper crop they’ve brought in over the past few weeks. It’s a pleasure to see Barny’s hands-on approach to this business, as he gets to work sending a cascade of water into this veritable valley of fruit. As the flood builds, one-by-one the apples bob along, forming a stream which travels through a gap in the back wall, and into the mill. This might be the simplest way to wash stones away from the apples, but it’s also the most effective: one of many cidermaking traditions which have stood the test of time. “If I was to show someone who made cider a thousand years ago what I’m doing, the pumps would fascinate them the most,” Barny points out; the entire the process, although it has admittedly been modernised, features all the old stages of production: washing, sorting,

crushing and fermenting would all be recognisable to a medieval Briton. “He’d be really interested in a little gadget that meant he didn’t have to use a bucket, and that would be it.” Barny picks up one of the apples and dexterously cuts it open with a knife, explaining that sweet dessert apples and sharp cooking apples represent “pretty much everyone’s understanding of what apples are” — we nod in agreement — “...and we don’t use them”. It turns out that there are five categories of apple, and cider-makers only use the bittersharp, bitter and bittersweet varieties. I admit, the science of apples shouldn’t be nearly so fascinating, but we’re completely captivated by Barny’s limitless knowledge, and we’d quite happily listen for hours about the high sugar levels which characterise a decent crop. By now, the apple in his hands has already started to turn brown, and he tells us this shows that the fruit is high in tannin, which gives the cider its characteristic body.

CIDER IS DRUNK BY MALES AND FEMALES, FROM THE AGE OF 18 UNTIL THEY'RE DEAD These apples are truly a product of the land. Some of Barny’s orchards are nearly a hundred years old, and many of the varieties he uses have been around for centuries. The business currently sources around 70 different apple varieties for their blends, and (crucially) they’re all grown in the local area. It’s clear that this uncompromising attitude to quality will always represent Sandford Orchards; when I ask Barny about his goals, he says that “we’re happy growing”, before emphasising that, whatever happens, “we will only ever use fresh Devon cider apples”. No matter how big they become, no matter how large the demand, they’ll ultimately be restrained by this promise to support regional produce: reflected in their

Check out our competition to win a case of 12 bottles of Sandford O

style

e them apples?

ndford Orchards about their proper Devon cider satisfying new motto, “True to our roots”. Having said that, there’s still a lot more work to be done. When Barny reveals that they’re planting 60 acres of new orchard next spring, his eyes light up. “It’s fucking amazing watching an orchard getting planted nowadays,” he says jovially, describing the new GPS-guided tractors. “They’ll plant a line of apple trees at the same speed as you can walk.” There’s only a slight hint of jealousy as Barny begrudgingly recalls how he’s had to plant “thousands” of trees by spade in his time, but I get the impression he secretly loves putting blood, sweat and tears into his work. In fact, he points out that you can generally find the people in charge on the site by looking at “whoever’s got the dirtiest hands”, and it’s an appropriate remark: earlier in the tour, we stopped to put more logs in the boiler, and Barny’s hands are caked in mud as a result. These logs, used to keep the buildings warm, are simply offcuts from their own orchards. Similarly, the pomace — mashed apple pulp, to you and me — becomes food for local cows (“they bloody love it”), eventually contributing to the high quality cheeses at Quicke’s Farm down the road. This is self-sufficiency of River Cottage proportions, and it’s emblematic of proper farming: “there’s very rarely anything that anyone would refer to as waste”. As the rain starts to pour, we head indoors into another huge shed, and our conversation is briefly drowned out by the sound of noisy motors, like an old tractor whirring into life. This machine is the mill: a complete upgrade from the old manual press which now sits quietly in the corner, a relic of the early days; like a child with a new toy, Barny tells me how their old system could only manage seven tons a day, whereas they can now process seven tons every hour. Interestingly, their rapid growth mirrors that of the booming independent craft beer industry, and I ask Barny what he thinks about this new trend. He’s light-hearted in his

response, admitting that he’d be interested in “asking someone if they would drink the same craft beer if they weren’t in a room full of their mates, pretending they liked it”, before adding in his truly genuine manner that he only says that because “there’s some terrible craft beer out there that’s being drunk for the sake of it... The bit craft gets right is that craft’s not afraid of flavour. It’s not all about being poncey: it’s driven, at least in part, from a desire to get away from mainstream, bland offerings.” So, will high-quality ciders become fashionable next? If they do, Barny has a hunch that cider’s widespread appeal will be the reason: “What I love about cider is that it’s the most inclusive alcoholic drink I know, because it’s drunk by males and females from the age of eighteen until they’re dead.” Craft beer is haunted by its status as “a very male drink”, whereas cider-drinking is a broad church — and Barny is one of its most welcoming priests.

IF SOMEONE LIKES STRONGBOW, IT DOESN'T MAKE THEM LESS OF A PERSON FOR ME As our tour moves away from the mill, following the pipes fast-flowing apple juice, we’re greeted by a set of seven huge vats, stooped like giants in the cavernous space of the warehouse. This is where the cider will ferment over the next few months, Barny explains, adding that the range of tanks allows for “lots of separation between each of the batches of apples”, so they can press only the apples which are ripe; they’ll then be able to blend this rich palate of fermented juices to create a “perfect, balanced cider”. We walk past their oldest tank, a 45,000 litre, barrellike vat, and Barny can’t resist throwing in another brilliant piece of trivia: the oak trees

Orchards' bestselling Devon Red cider in the Christmas Gifts pullout

used to create the vat would have been planted in the 1400s. As we walk past even more storage vats — the cider is kept for one or two years here — I turn the conversation towards the bigbrand competition, cheekily asking if drinks like Strongbow curdle his blood. Barny pauses, deliberating over his response. “It’s not for me — I like cider that’s made from fresh juice. But they have some kind of place. If someone likes Strongbow, it doesn’t make them less of a person for me.” It’s so easy to be snobbish about these mainstream drinks, especially as they dominate the marketplace, so it’s invigorating to see such a positive attitude. Big-brand cider is light-years away from ‘real cider’ — which has to contain at least 90% fresh apple juice to be certified by CAMRA — to the extent that they’re completely different drinks. While one relies on popularity and imported juice concentrate, the other is clearly all about heart and soul — and good apples, of course. Barny admits that his only real gripe is “when big brands put forward an image of homely, farm-like charm, and they’re actually giant factories of concentrate-driven, lowquality dross”. This manipulative marketing is especially problematic because it allows those companies to raise the price: “cheap cider isn’t nearly cheap enough for how little you’re getting for your money,” he advises. “You’re being ripped off... it would need to be half the price.” As if I needed another excuse to invest in the proper stuff. The final stop on the tour is the bottling plant, and my childish fascination with mechanised efficiency comes to the fore as we enter this cathedral of rattling glass and clinking bottles. I compliment their stylish new brand-

ing — proof they’re entering the big league — and he proudly notes it was created by local Devon designers. Even at this stage of the process, far away from the orchards of his childhood, Barny simply can’t resist getting involved; he spots an underfilled bottle on the conveyor belt, and manages to snatch it away before it goes into packaging: the final stop before distribution.

DRINKING BEER WAS ESSENTIALLY SATANISM I like to think the new branding is emblematic of their progress as a whole. I’ve already mentioned the aptness of the “true to our roots” motto: these are roots which stretch a long way past Sandford Orchards’ origins in 2003, even past the Old Cider Works’ origins as the home of the Creedy Valley Cider Company in 1935 — all the way back to ancient Britain. Channeling his geeky side once more, Barny points out that cider has always been Devon’s drink of choice, and jokes that “drinking beer was essentially Satanism” for them. Sandford Orchards is proudly Devonshire born-and-bred, and their love of the land ultimately manifests itself in the final product: after all, “you can’t fool the olfactory system”. It’s blatanly obvious that profit is far down on their list of priorities, and as the tour comes to an end, Barny gives us some parting advice: “If you just want money, sell drugs or guns; otherwise, do something you like”. I’m not sure the uni careers advisors could have put it any better.

EXHIBIT

LIFESTYLE

EDITORS: Jade Beard and Laurel Bibby

05 DEC 2016

| 18

Merry Exe-mas Emma Bessent, Arts + Lit Editor, reviews Exeter's very own Christmas market

S a Christmas baby, I've always associated the switching on of lights and wafts of cinnamon borne on the headier scent of pine with the absolutely, unquestionably, definitively best time of the year. Mixed with a dangerous tendency towards materialism and comfort eating, this adoration of the festive season makes German markets like our own in Exeter my idea of heaven.

A DECOROUS AND CLASSY EXAMPLE OF HOW BEST TO MAKE MERRY Not plagued by the gratuitous plastic structures and over-crowded shrieking of its larger British sisters such as London’s Winter Wonderland, the Exeter Christmas Market is a decorous and classy example of how to best make merry. Whether you go in the frosty quiet at ten o’clock on a Friday morning or shoulder through the throngs on a Saturday night, the fairy light bedecked mini chalets will have even the worst Scrooge thirsting for a cup of mulled wine. The whole outfit is, of course, a foodie’s dream. Fast food with continental inspiration replaces the anaemic potato-laden deep fryers of Maccy D’s with enormous cast iron skillets and grills laden with colourful, fragrant

Photos: Emma Bessent

dishes which will set you drooling before you can even figure out where that incredible smell is coming from. What’s more, the price tag tends to hover just above or below that of a large cod and chips from Sidwell’s; although I fully understand that spending a fiver on food sits more comfortably with students at 2am on the way out of Timepiece, I promise that you won’t regret parting with that cash you were saving for a Mega Kebab for a Bratwurst (from £4.50) instead. There is something to suit every taste bud and every budget: tartiflette for £5/7 - essentially a French version of carbonara, but with potatoes instead of pasta - frikadellen for £3 - a ridiculously under-appreciated sort of flattened meatball - woodfired pizza with a choice between sweet or savoury, and an array of French crepes, Belgian waffles and Spanish churros that you are unlikely to see this side of the channel outside of the festive season. On my second visit, I opted for a cone of sugared churros, exchanging four quid for enough fried dough to keep an Olympic athlete going for a week; when I visit post-deadlines and no longer have to bear in mind the fact that I need to fit into my Christmas ball dress, I might even plump for the £6 chocolate and fresh strawberry affair. And once your stomach is full, you can begin work on your pockets and shopping bags; the gift (slash stash it in your rucksack to fuel

that impending late night library sesh) options are truly phenomenal. The pink and white candy-striped paper bags of the enormous pick-and-mix stall are particularly close to my heart, though closer to my mouth when filled up with banoffee fudge at just £1.69 per 100g. Meyart Coffee offers 100g bags of ground and unground gourmet caffeine for £4 in incredible flavours including butterscotch, fudge, French vanilla and blueberry muffin which, if you don’t like coffee, could probably serve just as well as the world’s most tummy-rumbling potpourri. The Amazing Astonishingly Spectacular Chocolate Workshop sells truly amazing, astonishing and spectacular crafted chocolates, moulded and painted up to look uncannily like real tools; although these come at a slightly hefty price - you’re looking at £7.50 for an adjustable spanner - if they taste as good as they look, it’s an investment worth making. A personal favourite of mine can be found on Exeter Cathedral’s own stall in a notso-humble jar of passionfruit curd which will knock the socks off of anyone with good taste - it’s priced at £4.50 per unit though, so treat it with respect and apply sparingly to good bread. I don’t want to hear that a loaf of Hovis has gone anywhere near it. And, of course, if you haven’t already blown your overdraft on ensuring that none of your stash fits come January, you can purchase some fantastic non-edible delights from the

healthy range of traders. Pollyfields sell gorgeous traditional decorations made of dried oranges and cinnamon sticks sure to impress even the most fickle grandmother, and Nicola Mary Designs will create bespoke ceramic gift tags from just £3 to give your presents the edge on your siblings’ offerings. Paper star lanterns will bring out the wide-eyed child within and, simply hung over a lightbulb, will transform any room with kaleidoscopic colour for just £8.There are enough jewellers in the market to furnish Smaug’s hollow mountain; you can find items based on amber, leather, dried flowers, silver and more, all beautifully made and reasonably priced up. If you’re feeling indulgent, £80 felt coats and £40 patchwork waistcoats will have you looking kooky in the best possible way in the time it takes to withdraw the cash.

THERE IS SOMETHING TO SUIT EVERY TASTE BUD AND EVERY BUDGET Whether you’re looking for unique gifts, post-coursework indulgence or simply a continental experience without the price of the plane tickets, Exeter Christmas Market is a must-see attraction for any student before the term is out.

Our new collection of pizzas, sides & desserts. Handmade with fresh dough stretched to a thin crust topped with finest Ingredients.

LARGE ITALIANO PIZZA, ITALIANO GARLIC PIZZA BREAD OR ITALIANO DOUGH BALLS,

& 2 ITALIANO DESSERTS

Â£24.99

ORDER NOW AT DOMINOS.CO.UK

arts + lit

Oh yes we love it - oh no we don’t

Graham Moore and Chloë Edwards wax lyrical about the role of panto in Christmas festivities

ANTOMIME has long been a staple of the British Christmas, iconic for its use of slapstick humour, cross-dressing and even innuendo for the long-suffering parents in the audience. Surely there is nothing more in the spirit of Christmas giving than providing much-needed employment for down on their luck D-list celebrities and receiving a few cheap laughs in return? And of course, who could forget the notorious audience participation? What better way to prepare yourself for the inevitable heated political discussion around the Christmas table than sinking far down into your velvety theatre seat, avoiding all eye contact, and hoping against all odds that you aren’t chosen to go up on stage (or to divulge your views on Brexit). ‘HE’S BEHIND YOU’, we yell, as we struggle to put the unpredictable and intemperate beast that is 2016 behind us. I think what we all need right now is a little bit of laughter.

PANTOMIMES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE FUN! The modern pantomime, that forgettable staple of Christmas poster campaigns, is the product of a lengthy and vibrant theatrical tradition dating all the way back to the classical period. Although originally a form of choreographed one-man theatre, the panto as we know it began to manifest during the early modern period, with the travelling plays of the commedia dell’arte. The commedia encompassed such features as a cast of stock comic character models, plots drawn from commonly known stories and scenarios, and comedy garnered from current events – sounding like pantomime at all? Oh, yes it is! Of course, despite this clear historical tradition, I don’t think anybody is claiming pantomimes are exactly ‘high art’. But then, surely that’s the point? Pantomimes are supposed to be light entertainment. Pantomimes are supposed to be fun. They are aimed predominantly at children, and for that reason pantomimes are supposed to be accessible. How, I ask you, is that not a good thing? Yes, pantomimes are ridiculous – but by being so ridiculous, they actively provide a means for children to get excited about theatre. Not every production has to be serious, and not every production has to be avant-garde; what pantomimes excel at is dramatised silliness They normalise theatre, by dragging it down to the theatrical equivalent of I’m A Celebrity, putting it in a dress and getting the audience to

05 DEC 2016 | EXEPOSÉ

shout out at it. Pantomimes prove that theatre doesn’t have to be daunting, it doesn’t have to be adult and it doesn’t have to be intense. I’d be willing to bet that a child who went to a pantomime and enjoyed it would then be far more interested in seeing more theatrical productions throughout their life. To me, as a fan of theatre, this is undeniably a good thing. So perhaps you’ll get out to a pantomime this Christmas, or perhaps you won’t. Maybe we’re past the age for pantomimes. Perhaps, like me, you’re now more likely to be found snuggled up under a duvet watching Planet Earth II on repeat and eating chocolate. But to those thousands of people – adults and children - around the country who will be seeing a pantomime this winter, I hope you find them just as ridiculous, just as farcical and just as amusing as I do. Because after all, this is Christmas. God forbid we start taking it seriously. Graham Moore

IS the season once again for our favourite festive traditions – warm mince pies, wandering around Christmas markets, breaking out the Christmas tunes despite that one person who always thinks “it’s too early”. Yet the big day is on its way, and theatres everywhere are preparing to accomodate the most whimsical of Christmas traditions: the pantomime. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it – but pantomime splits more opinions than Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ (a classic, obviously).

THIS FORM AUTOMATICALLY FAILS Whether it involves evil stepsisters, a beanstalk or seven dwarves, this form of family entertainment automatically fails because it does not provide entertainment for the whole family. Sure, there’s something captivating about this comic form of theatre when you’re young, but does the magic of panto wear off as you grow up? For many people, pantomime is a merely light-hearted, sentimental event of their festive diaries - but for others, oh no it isn’t.

For me, one of the biggest fears about pantomime isn’t the heinous villain - it’s the participation factor. Even the thought of it makes me shudder. The idea of being asked up on stage and then somehow awkwardly ruining the whole performance doesn’t bear thinking about. Many people love the chance of being able to join the cast on stage and get involved, but for me it’s as nerve-wracking as the prospect of sprouts with Christmas dinner. The audience challenges aren’t the bundle of fun they’re hyped up to be, either. Asking one half of the audience to sing louder than the other, or enthusiastically pegging the male members of the audience against the female ones is dangerous territory for me. Whilst I fully respect the actors are doing their job, and that for most people it’s just a few moments of festive fun, the very idea makes me want to stop, drop and roll my way out of the theatre. Consequently, I can’t help but think pantomime can only be enjoyed in the right mind set. I admire the excitement of the younger members of the audience, perhaps hyped up on Smarties and the excitement of a light-up wand or tiara, or the regulars for whom an afternoon at the panto is as essential to Christmas as putting up a tree.

STOP, DROP AND ROLL MY WAY OUT OF THE THEATRE Statistics show steady pantomime attendance figures in England over the last eight festive seasons, with 13 per cent of adults attending in the 2014/2015 season, which shows it’s still popular; this integral British tradition isn’t going anywhere soon. Yet on the other hand, there have been several ambiguous headlines in recent years about the potential offence and controversy caused by brusquely cariacatured pantomime dames but many argue that it’s merely a part of panto culture. Whether you’re an advocate of panto or a ruthless opponent of it, this long-standing part of British Christmas and New Year traditions is sticking around – oh yes, it is. Chloe Edwards

CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE 2016 05 DEC 2016

pe ti ti o

WIN A FREE CASE OF CIDER!

One lucky reader can WIN a case of 12 bottles of Sandford Orchards’ bestselling Devon Red cider by answering this simple question: How many ciders do Sandford Orchards currently produce? a) ﬁve b) fourteen

MULLED CIDER RECIPE “Cider mulls much better than wine - it’s much smoother, and carries the mull much better...” - Barny Butterfield

To mull half a gallon (4 pints) of cider: INGREDIENTS

a teaspoon of juniper berries 4 whole cloves 3 mace blades a teaspoon of crushed whole all-spice a pinch of cinnamon a whole fresh orange 4 dessert spoons of brown sugar

METHOD

Pour the cider into a large pan on a low heat, and let it warm up for a couple of minutes

c) sixteen

Tie the spices in a piece of cloth to make an infusion bag, and add it to the pan

*HINT: it’s in the interview on pages 16-17*

Heat the cider gently, but don’t boil it

Send your answer to editors@exepose.com, using the subject line PROPER DEVON CIDER, followed by your name, for a chance to be entered into our prize draw...

Add a drop of rum, brandy or calvados if you’re feeling like you need extra warmth Once the cider has enough of the mulled flavour, you can pull out the bag to be used again Enjoy!

Are you tired of reading for hours on end, in all manner of uncomfortable positions with the result being a killer neck ache? This is the present for you. Available in a variety of colours and patterns, the BookSeat solves the problem of all those reading woes. Featuring a back pocket to store pens, pencils maybe even a cheeky bar of chocolate, let the BookSeat make its way under your tree this Christmas. Amazon, prices vary between £25-35

ARTY GIFTS

5: TOTE BAG If you love reading and want to flaunt it, why not invest in a bag to cart around all your course books. Online companies such as The Literary Gift Company offer a variety of fun designs to suit all types of reader; from fantasy to crime, make sure you accessorise in true Arts+Lit style this Christmas. Prices vary

7 7: JEWELLERY What better way to accessorise an outfit than bookish jewellery? From Alice in Wonderland to Harry Potter, LitEmporium and Scribbelicious have some gorgeous pieces that would make the perfect gift. Prices vary

With long, cold nights comes cosy evenings, all tucked up with a good book. But earlier nights means reading by a natural light source is not possible. This tiny eye-saver will illuminate your pages and let you read the nights away. Waterstones, £6.99

4: ELECTRONIC DICTIONARY

2 3

3: CALLIGRAPHY SET If you’re like us and follow way too many artsy Instagram accounts, you will have admired a lot of beautiful cursive. With a variety of nib sizes and ink colours, make sure you try this over the festive season. WH Smith, £14.99

2: BOOK LIGHT

S RT T A LI +

1: BOOKSEAT

A dictionary that slots into a book? Incredible! Picture the scene, you are poring through some old, forgotten text which your lecturer insisted you read. You’ve worryingly come across way too many words you don’t understand, solution: this bookmark. Conveniently available in bi-lingual modes (French and Italian), this nifty gadget is a must. Waterstones, £24.99

6: POLYCHROMOS

5 6

These coloured pencils are just wonderful for drawing beautiful pictures. Polychromos are renowned for their softness, making them easy to blend and shade drawings. We highly recommend them to any artist, from beginners to masters of the pencil. Best to buy these from Amazon as they can be rather pricey in craft shops. Amazon, £24.99

8 8: SEWING BOX You will have noticed our craft page this issue so what better time to invest in a sewing box. This adorable box is available at John Lewis and there are a variety of designs to choose from with matching crafty accessories. John Lewis, £14.99

£4 - £10, Superdrug These palettes are perfect for a secret Santa. The Unicorn, Mermaid and Acid Brights ranges have lots of bright colours which are perfect for the holiday season. Makeup Revolution is also a crueltyfree brand, so there’s no reason not to treat your friends to this amazing gift.

Soap and Glory’s The Righteous Butter Sun Tint body lotion £8, Boots

£20, Boots

Ro w re an K ve al eith th is , On se as line on C ’s p om er me fec n t f t Ed as hio itor, n a an nd d H be arr au iet ty I bu dle ys

Essie crack’a’colour Christmas Gift Set

or Ch ris tm as ...

When the cold is drying out your skin, this gift is perfect for fooling everyone into thinking they spent their holidays swimming in St Bart’s, not walking round Watford. As part of a gift set or on its own, this is the perfect gift to combat the winter beauty blues.

Red Lovebird Roll Neck Jumper

wa nt f

Essie has been one of the most talked about nail varnish brands this year; they last for weeks, both when on and when in the pot, and the brushes mean you only need one stroke per nail. This set consists of warm winter colours with glitter, an essential for holiday parties.

Al lI

ST Y LE LI FE

Revolution eyeshadow palette

£22, Next

When it comes to Christmas jumpers, it can be tricky to navigate the line between festive and tacky. For this reason, this Next roll-neck jumper really stands out – a little retro and very cool, the jumper is subtly festive, and something one could wear even after Christmas is over.

Cosy Folk Pattern Grey Socks £8, Urban Outfitters When it comes to budget gift-giving, it’s tricky to find a present that’s good quality, stylish, and suited to a particular person’s tastes. These socks would make for a perfect secret Santa gift. Not only are they soft and comfy, they’re also a fashionable nod to the folksy, Scandi-cool winter trend.

Missguided Velvet Tie Block Heel Sandals £40, ASOS Blending the chunky heel and crushed velvet trends that have made waves this year, these stunning velvet block heels are perfect for a Christmas party, and would make a great present. These beauties also come in a baby pink shade for those averse to red.

GRAPHICS BY GEMMA BEARD

MUSIC TO YOUR EARS

u si

From Bowie to Bruce, these are the musical must-haves this Christmas

Tame Impala Currents £24.99 HMV

If you’re getting a turntable like the one listed below, you’re going to need some records. Tame Impala are scorching across the music scene lately with their blend of Australian psychedelic rock. Plus, the cover is beautifully designed by our favourite album artist Leif Podhajski, so it’ll look awesome hanging on your wall.

Record Player Crosley Keepsake £159.95 John Lewis

Crosley make some of the most popular and affordable record players. The Keepsake is marketed as the ‘audiophile’ player, which promises high end performance. Aside from looking stunning and its portable suitcase design, it is able to digitalise your songs with ease and won’t break the (mum and dad’s) bank.

5 7

Plectrum Maker £24.99 Not on the High Street Staple your way to pick heaven with a mechanism that makes picks for you – get an old gift card or unwanted credit card, put it in the slot and staple to make personalised picks for everyone. A guitarist’s dream. .

Marshall Speaker £179 GAK

A high quality portable speaker that is also nice to look at can sometimes be hard to come by. However, the Marshall speaker is exactly that. More famed as an upmarket guitar amplifier brand, Marshall have produced a series of remarkably light, slick and aesthetically pleasing portable speakers. Complete with two 2.25” woofers and two-channel Class D, this amplifier is bassy, punchy and LOUD.

Born to Run Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography £9.50 Amazon

For the Springsteen super-fan (*cough* Rory, Music Editor, *cough*), one could think of nothing better than curling up on the sofa on Christmas day, belly bulging with turkey and stuffing, and delving into the extraordinary life and times of ‘The Boss’ and his E Street band, which has taken him the past seven years to write. Photo: Brucespringsteen.net .

David Bowie T Shirt £5.99 Amazon Making innovative music for over five decades, Bowie was known for reinvention of styles and visual representation. This t-shirt makes for an affordable yet personal gift for a sibling (or yourself, Merry Christmas to me).

Personalised Song Sound Wave Print £18 Not on the High Street Hang your favourite song on your wall! A pretty sound wave design is a great centre piece for any room in the house, and can be personalised whatever your music taste.

n sc r ee

XMAS MOVIE MERCH Stanley Kubrick The Masterpiece Collection BFI Membership

Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design

One for the coffee table - a beautiful guide to the work of the finest graphic designer in the film industry. £32.50 (Amazon)

Provides cheaper tickets and exclusive events, all in aid of the BFI’s charitable work in the preservation and funding of British films. £35 (BFI)

Includes the essential films of the visionary film maker, alongside allnew documentaries and a 78-page photobook. £39.50 (Amazon)

Taxi Driver: Photography by Steve Schapiro

The Movie Doctors

Mean Girls nail decals

For only the sassiest of Mean Girls addicts. £24.66 (Etsy)

A collection of high quality photographs from the set of Scorsese’s masterpiece. £29.24 (Amazon)

An addictive tour of cinema, across time and genre, with affable commentary from the BBC Radio’s flagship film duo. £8.99 (Amazon)

Critertionn Collection blu-rays Picturehouse Student Membership

Film Reel Cufflinks

Ideal for the dapper film fan. £24.66 (Etsy)

Includes money off tickets and refreshments in all Picturehouse cinemas: the go-to destination for independent and quality cinema. £20 (PictureHouse)

New to the UK, Criterion provides the best in independent and art house films, all from the highest quality transfers. £13.49 (Amazon)

ES M H A C G TE +

GAME ON

From Firewatch to Battlefield 1, there’s a whole host of possibilities out there.. there...

2016 has been an exceptionally strong year for Blizzard. Consistent high-quality and well-thought out updates for Heroes of the Storm have kept the game feeling more alive than ever, and if you know anyone who plays regularly, a Battle.net giftcard could be a perfect addition to their Christmas Box. The genuinely good additions to Heroes however, have been massively overshadowed by the big new IP: Overwatch. Many potential players were put off initially – a high price tag for a multiplayer only title is risky, as the online community can fizzle out quite quickly. Months on, however, Overwatch is still going stronger than ever – regular balance updates, creative new characters, and a strong developer presence within the community make Overwatch – my favourite game of 2016 – a safe purchase for any multiplayer gamer.

1 Two months ago, we saw the first proper World War One FPS, in the form of Battlefield One. Despite offering a fun (but short) single player, the worth in this title lies almost solely within the multiplayer. A truly chaotic experience, Battlefield One throws you into a variety of WW1 scenarios, specialising in large scale 64-player combat, vehicle warfare, and squad based teamwork. Fans of the series will love this adaptation, which lays a new perspective over tried and tested mechanics, but it may be a bit tricky to dive in and enjoy without making an effort to discover the best way to play. A gorgeous looking title on both console and PC, the game does sacrifice a lot of historical accuracy – but it’s just pure fun, especially if played with friends.

The next chapter in the award winning Dishonoured series from Arkane Studios, Dishonoured 2 is one of the best stealth focussed action-adventure games in years. Giving players the choice to either reprise the role of bodyguard turned assassin Corvo Attano or take up the mantle of helpless damsel turned Empress Emily Kaldwin, the freedom to approach missions in countless ways leaves the entire experience open ended. This, combined with the eclectic range of powers, collectibles, and hidden easter eggs means that you’ll play through the campaign of Dishonoured 2 and only will have only scratched the surface of what the game has to offer.

2 I’d like to go all the way back to February to give special attention to Campo Santo’s Firewatch. I think it would be best described as a thriller-adventure. Following an introductory segment, we are taken to the year 1989 to meet Henry who has gradually grown distant from his wife due to reasons largely outside of his control. To escape from the pressures of his life, Henry takes up a job in the middle of nowhere (Wyoming National Park) as a fire lookout. However, after a while it becomes abundantly clear that Henry is not alone out in the wild. Firewatch is roughly only 4 hours in length, but should you decide to give it a go you’ll be hard-pressed to put your controller down. Certainly, if Firewatch was a novel then it would be one hell of a page turner. This is also one of the cheaper gifts if you were looking to buy for a gamer - only £8.99 on Steam!

C o m m en t

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE EXETER Gifts to give to your loved ones to prove how much of an obnoxious Exeter student you’ve become...

EXETER-BRANDED DECANTER Let’s face it, your Nan’s still disappointed you didn’t get into Cambridge. In her day, bless her, there were only two universities, and despite your continuous protestation she refuses to comprehend that Exeter is, indeed, a university, and that, actually, it’s a very good one. So, while she was expecting a quaint piece of memorabilia from that fine institution – a College crest plaque perhaps, she does love cheap tat on her walls – you know all you can give her is something green from the guild shop. A mug would be no good; it could have come from any poly in the country. And you can’t buy anything with ‘Est: 1955’ emblazoned all over it, because she won’t show any respect for an institution 30 years younger than she is. There’s only one option, then; one product that evokes a sense of history while establishing in your uni a certain amount of quality. That’s right, Nana needs an Exeterbranded crystal decanter. Forget the fact that it will set you back 90 quid – the expense will be worth it if it means you can reclaim your place on the top of the competitive grandchild heap – because nothing shows class like an entirely frivolous and irresponsible purchase..

CLAY PIGEON SHOOTING EXPERIENCE Forget the fact that the only pigeons your dad’s ever encountered are the ones his grandfather used to race around ol’ London town. He’s a Walthamstow man, born and bred, and so are you for that matter, so why on earth have you joined the University’s clay-pigeon shooting club? What purpose could it possibly serve other than to quench your insatiable thirst for re-invention, and to transcend those class barriers that you just know have been holding back all this time? Oh right, there is no other purpose, because that’s exactly the point. You’d heard that only posh people from Surrey went to Exeter, and now you want to know if it’s true; gilets and Hunter boots are starting to excite you in ways you’re not sure are healthy, and you’ve had to get rid of the Angel Delight in your cupboard in case it compromises you for the common scoundrel you really are. What a waste it would be if you couldn’t share this new-found status with the family back home. How would your parents ever realise just how bloody posh your university was if you didn’t rub it gratuitously into their smug East-End faces? So, this Christmas, stride into your modest abode and present the former alpha male with a gun and a voucher for a clay-pigeon shooting experience, and watch as he gleams with pride at the twat he wishes he could have been.

EXETER CAR STICKER “My best friend from home goes to Durham. Oh, have I not mentioned it yet? Yeah he does, he’s loving it, in those stupid robes and the ceremonies and shit haha. What a knob. I bet he loves it, all that history and reputation and excellent league-table performance. Me? Durham? Nah, not for me, mate. I mean, I didn’t get in, but I wouldn’t have gone anyway. No way. This was always my first choice. It’s not like they had any rational grounds for rejecting me – what, were my predicted 3A*s not good enough for them? Was my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award just not up to scratch? It’s not like they’re Oxbridge anyway – they just think they are. It’s sad really”. This sound in any way familiar? Do you recognise that underlying yet blatantly obvious tension that accompanies your friends studying at competing institutions? Then why not break the ice with a nice big slice of #banter, in the form of one of those hideous ‘Probably the best…’ car stickers? How you’ll laugh, when you ‘joke’ about how much better your university is than theirs, fully aware that you’re lying through your teeth. If you keep it light you don’t have to admit anything about your own insecurities, it’s fine. Just don’t let them know that you bought a sticker for yourself as well and have got one proudly displayed in the rear window of your car, completely unironically.

UNIVERSITY CHRISTMAS JUMPER Christmas jumpers, for some unknown reason, remain for most people a symbol of objectively defined ‘fun’. Wearing one is fun; wearing them together with a friend or – bonus points – with a romantic partner is better. Gifting one? That’s a whole bundle of joy. And you know who’d love one: your younger sibling. They’re getting to that age where the ironic wearing of Christmas jumpers may be something that their little friendship group will find amusing, so do them a favour and start them off with one you can buy from our very own Guild Shop. And, in this way, you can guarantee that the little bugger will begin developing a severe inferiority complex that is sure to spiral out of control as they too approach university age. ‘Wear the nice Christmas jumper your sister bought you’, your mum will say on Boxing Day, forcing them to display the University of Exeter logo, and ingraining on their very psyche the symbol of your high-flying success. They already know they’ll never live up to expectations, so why not put the final nail in the coffin with an everlasting reminder that you came first and that daddy and mummy love you more because you were able to concentrate at school.

EXHIBIT

ARTS + LIT

05 DEC 2016 |

EDITORS: Tash Ebbutt and Emma Bessent

Turn on your Christmas spirit A

Emily Garbutt celebrates Christmas lights as a festive art form

end, isn’t that what art is? Something to look at, something that provokes some kind of response? Because walking down the high street in the glow of the Christmas lights, I feel festive. Something about them elicits a simple, child-like happiness in me. Even that weird thing that changes colour outside H&M. There is a street near my family home where every house is festooned with lights, year after year, each trying to outdo their neighbour. Traffic moves at a crawl as people try to take it all in. To some it may seem gaudy and brash, but effort went into those light arrangements. It may be festive tackiness, but people put a lot of thought into the way they assemble their displays of festive tackiness. So, yes. I do think displays of Christmas lights can be considered “art”. An unpretentious, joyful kind of art. Just as long as I don’t think about the environment.

S someone who spends a high percentage of their time worrying about the environment and the state of the planet, it would make sense for me to wholeheartedly oppose Christmas lights and everything they stand for. Wasted electricity, finite resources, global warming, et cetera. And yet, Christmas lights are one of my favourite things about the festive season. After the clocks go back and we are plunged into eternal darkness (or near enough, at least), Christmas lights provide a much needed reprieve. They brighten up the dark evenings and make even the plainest towns look somewhat photogenic. Who hasn’t queued up amidst a host of toddlers and the disapproving glares of their parents to get a picture with the Princesshay polar bears? Who hasn’t waited in the cold for the (ultimately, pretty anticlimactic) Christmas light switch on in the town centre? In the

Ice Ice Baby

Zoe Case investigates ice sculpture and its place in the art world

CE Sculptures—the coolest art form on the scene. All puns aside, ice sculpture can sometimes be seen as kitschy, quaint or cliché. But no longer! Ice sculpture is art, just like everything else. Observe how, like a good Bernini sculpture, an ice sculpture can let light pass through in some places, yet be entirely opaque in others. Look at this line. Contemplate that tiny detail! And the best part? —Ice sculptures don’t last forever. See them this winter before they’ve melted into the ether. Here are some exciting new ice sculptures hitting the market, Christmas or otherwise, right now. The London Ice Sculpting Festival triumphantly returns this January 2017, but the UK isn’t the only country with a finger directly on the icy pulse. The city of Harbin, China holds an annual ice and snow festival. If this January’s

show is anything like festivals of the past, these sculptures will be enormous, life-like, and so detailed they boggle the mind. Harbin creates whole life-size pavilions, buildings, and statues out of ice and snow, replicating or even creating new architectural designs. My favorite Harbin sculpture consists of

hundreds of blocks of ice, some the size of moving boxes, hanging from the ceiling of a pavilion at various heights. The effect of the sculpture is one of a hundred great but terrible stepping stones flying overhead. A dramatic piece made to impress. Continuing on the tour of the worldwide

ice scene, Sweden is the home of the Icehotel™. Icehotel™ is a fully functioning hotel which opens in December of every year, with a new theme or central idea. Last year, the sculptures took a theatrical theme. The bar space reflected the dramatic environment of the theatre scene. The elegance continued to the bedroom with one of the guest suites being decorated with intricate snowy peacock feathers. If you’re feeling up to it, maybe you can sleep on ice blocks and walk under ice chandeliers too. Better you than me. But if you’re looking for something closer to home, incidentally, the guys who do Icehotel™ are also doing an Icebar™ in London. They serve your cocktails in—and on—ice. Don’t miss their Great Gatsby themed New Year’s party. All the cool cats will be there. Excuse the pun…

Walking in a winter wonderland... Arts + Lit reveal the coolest culture to see this holiday JM Barrie’s Peter Pan The Northcott Theatre 2nd December-1st January

There’s no point in growing up if you can’t be childish sometimes... Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Theatre Royal Plymouth 16th December- 14th January Don’t let the poison apple stop you

Ernie and the Sea of Ice Exeter Phoenix 18th December-3rd January

Adventure from Exeter to

EXHIBIT

ARTS + LIT

05 DEC 2016 |

EDITORS: Emma Bessent and Tash Ebbutt

I’m dreaming of a felt Christmas Exeposé Arts + Lit give you a step-by-step guide to creating your own penguin pal You will need:

• Black cotton thread • White cotton thread • A needle • Black felt • White felt • Orange felt • Two small black buttons • Red ribbon • Cotton wool

1. Cut out one white bib, two black bodies, an orange beak and two orange feet using our templates, provided below. Assemble with other materials.

2. Using the black cotton, attach the bib to one of the body pieces using blanket stitch. Make sure to anchor your sewing by knotting the thread.

3. Switching to white cotton, stitch the beak to the bib and body. Always remember to watch your fingers when sewing with a needle.

4. Attach the two buttons, using black thread, to complete your little friend’s face. He’ll start to come alive at this point.

5. With white cotton, attach the ribbon to your penguin’s back - the pattern piece you haven’t used yet - and sandwich it in with the front piece.

6. After securely anchoring the ribbon, continue around the peng-rimeter to sew the front and back panels of the body together.

7. Don’t forget to sew his flippers on! As with the ribbon, sandwich them between the two pieces of black felt. This will give him a tidy finish.

8. Pause in your sewing to leave a small ga. Stuff your penguin with cotton wool. Sew up the gap and tie off your thread.

9. Congratulations, you’re finished! Now you just need to decide whether to keep him forever, or give him to Grandma...

Sphenisciphobic? Switch the colour of your felt and add colourful beads and ribbons to create Christmas trees and gingerbread men using our handy templates instead! Then showcase your ﬁnished ornaments on Instagram and tag @exepose_arts_lit for a chance to feature on our page...

YOUR EVERYDAY EXETER ESSENTIAL

£12

YEAR

£32

£22

YEARS

BUY NOW AT NUS.ORG.UK OR GUILD INFO POINT

EXEPOSÉ MUSIC’S TOP

“IF YOU ARE THE DEALER, I’M OUT OF THE GAME”

LEONARD COHEN

THE LIFE OF PABLO KANYE WEST

#9 #10 ATROCITY EXHIBITION DANNY BROWN Atrocity Exhibition could only be the work of Danny Brown. Who else would open an album with the atonal scrapyard lurch of ‘Downward Spiral’? Who else would flow over what sounds remarkably like a coked-up brass band melting into a pool of lava in ‘Ain’t It Funny’? In between the psychotic energy of Talking Heads rip ‘Dance in the Water’ and ‘Pneumonia’, there are lucid moments; Brown slips from a desperate yelp into something calmer, more lucid - before we realize the chilling reality of ‘Tell Me What I Don’t Know’ is even more terrifying than the insanity that surrounds it.

Ned Blackburn

LEMONADE BEYONCÉ The most talked about album of the year. An audio-visual narrative about a black woman’s journey to healing and how love was her tool. This year Queen B has been on another level musically, lyrically, vocally, visually, artistically and politically. All in the best ways possible. Lemonade showcases her talents in performance and musicality at their best and most raw. A more coherent body of work not so necessarily focused on the singles chart anymore, but very much an eclectic, full album, reflective of her personal life - showing a deep bond between the artist and her music. When life gives you lemons, listen to Beyoncé.

Agnes Emeney

It’s no secret that some of the best albums of this year depend on real personal trauma. An artist that’s outside this conflation of sympathy and artistic reverence is, as always, Kanye. It’s easy to think of The Life of Pablo as part of his recent depression/paranoia/breakdown, especially in tracks like ‘Real Friends,’ ‘FML’ and ‘Wolves,’ but what makes it exceptional is the landscape of emotion it contains. Kanye’s masterful production isn’t just about the beats; he has a superhuman ability to make nearly one hundred strong-willed industry-leaders create one sensitive and personal album that somehow aligns triumph and melancholia.

Harry Williams

22, A MILLION BON IVER In 22, A Million, Bon Iver flirts with electronic music like never before. The multitude of sounds and distortions, far from burying meaning under a blanket of noise, pave the way for sudden explosions of beauty. Justin Vernon’s work of art projects the listener into a quasipost-apocalyptic world filled with steel and rusty robots. However, from the metallic voices screaming in despair, the music of a piano emerges and an invitation for tea suggests that not all warmth is gone.

Emma Prevignano

RADIOHEAD MOON SHAPED POOL Heritage act? No thanks. 23 years after their debut release Radiohead still refuse point blank to concede artistically in any manner whatsoever. ‘Full Stop’ adds to the great Radiohead tradition of powerful bass-driven tracks, whilst ‘Decks Dark’ acts as the legitimate heir to Ok Computer’ Computer’s ‘Subterranean Homesick Alien’ and ‘True Love Waits’ operates as the heartbreaking closer to a staggeringly perfect collection of songs. All hail to the chiefs.

Robert Westlake

10 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR #5

DAVID BOWIE

NICK CAVE & FRANK OCEAN ANOHNI THE BAD SEEDS BLOND HOPELESSNESS The best thing about Blond is that SKELETON TREE it is actually worth the wait. All that HOPELESSNESS evokes a quiet rage

Produced during a period of intense emotion for Cave, as he struggled with the recent loss of his son, Skeleton Tree is not an album to be taken lightly. Featuring his trademark allegorical imagery, Skeleton Tree is primarily a work of poetic expression. From the urgent drumbeats of Anthrocene to the stripped and sorrowful ‘Girl in Amber’, this album is by no means easy listening: liable to leave you with an emotional hangover..

Graham Moore

time, the hype, the surprise release; Frank delivered and what he has given is a near-perfect album. A clear evolution in sound from his previous two releases, Blond is incredible and atmospheric -- you get a sense when listening that this is the album that Frank Ocean has always wanted to make. This record climbs inside you and begs for repeat listens.

Cormac Dreelan

“LOOK UP HERE, I’M IN HEAVEN”

at the current geopolitical reality. The album delves into significant political and cultural realities. particularly pertinent to post-9/11 America – mass surveillance, drone warfare, environmental ruin – while creating a harrowing and glorious new sound. ANOHNI’s unique voice paired with discordant electronic backing creates a startlingly individual album held aloft by thematically dark songs so particular in their word choice that each resonates as beautifully provocative poetry. Her songs are like Trojan horses, carrying difficult topics in a case of electronic beats and ambient sounds.

Niamh Harrison

#2 #1 DAVID BOWIE BLACK STAR

2016 has been a dark year for the music industry. The deaths of Leonard Cohen, Prince, Glenn Frey and so many others provided a bleak and often depressing atmosphere towards this rather terrible solar cycle. Bowie’s was debatably the saddest, but it was undoubtedly the most revolutionary. Blackstar, his final opus and his passing gift to his audience, is a revolutionary piece of art - a eulogy sung from beyond the Styx and written to close out one of the defining careers in 20th Century culture. An ethereal mix of experimental jazz fusion, art rock and avant-garde, this record is a defining statement of what Bowie was capable of achieving, and stands as much as a cultural landmark as a musical one.

Theo Stone

LEONARD COHEN YOU WANT IT DARKER

Writing about Leonard Cohen is like writing about the sun when you’re used to writing about lightbulbs. Sadly, You Want it Darker is the last album he will ever create, but what a swansong it is. The album manages to sound fresh and contemporary while retaining Cohen’s unique sound. Lyrically and musically, Cohen incorporates his mixture of Jewish and Christian imagery with sparse instrumentation to present us with perhaps his most human album yet. Managing to weave together his experiences of love and depression and Cohen’s own religiosity, You Want it Darker is a personal masterpiece, and the only fitting send off for such an iconic artist.

Samuel Fawcett

EXHIBIT

EDITORS: Rory Marcham and Helen Payne

MUSIC

05 DEC 2016

Christmas No. 1 cares... Helen Payne, Music Editor, debates whether the Christmas No.1 spot is still relevant in music today

RETENTIOUS music snob alert! The Charts never cease to baffle me. I don’t pay much attention to it, as I’m pretty sure my ears would be happier listening to something of a higher brow that isn’t riddled with over-sexualisation, unimaginative production, and banal lyrics. There, I said it. But that’s just me. However there is still a huge market for this commercially manufactured pop, with millions of listeners tuning into Radio 1 and streaming the Spotify Top 50 charts each week. If so, the Number One spot must be a big deal, right? Well, it seems like we just don’t seem to care that much anymore. What with Spotify’s Discover Feature, and countless other music apps letting you explore the realm that is quality music in our day and age, people are listening to better artists than meaningless money-makers more and more. It’s cool to be into music, so lots of us, especially know-it-all students, don’t seem to care about that number 1 spot.

song. Those happy, bumbling chord sequences we know and love, a couple of jingle bells thrown in and a cheery “Merry Christmas” shouted in the background for good luck. And of course, any Christmas song would not be complete without the accompanying video of snow, reindeer, and warm cosy fires, which is, in my humble opinion, as it should be. Christmas these days

nowadays comes from the slightly left field. Notably, Sufjan Steven’s extraordinarily pretty 5 disc Christmas album Songs for Christmas and the follow up, Silver and Gold back in 2012 (that always comes on repeat in my room on December 1st), which although critically acclaimed (and why wouldn’t it be, it’s Sufjan) did not reach anywhere mentionable in the album charts. We’ve

NOSTALGIA, MIXED WITH HAPPINESS AND EMPATHY However it seems all these festive offerings are nullified, as the Number One will most probably go to the winner of X Factor. The routine hopeful, having come from a sad, sob-story life on the dodgy estate, and has quit the day job to pursue the dream of being another one of Simon Cowell’s commercialised puppets, dancing and ‘singing’ as he wishes in the strive to make as much money as possible, and who, let’s face it, will most probably be forgotten this time next year.

IT USED TO BE A GENUINELY COMPETITIVE BATTLE But it never used to be like that, especially at Christmas. Let me sweep you back in time a few decades to the 1970s and 1980s. There’s a gaudily lit studio laden with tinsel, statement shirt collars, and some questionable lip syncing from the performers. It can only be Top of the Pops Christmas Special, 1973, in which Slade, with ‘Merry Xmas Everyone’ fought with Gary Glitter’s ‘I Love You Love Me Love’ for Christmas Number One. In this time it used to be a genuinely competitive battle, people glued to their television boxes and desperate to know the most popular song in the UK on that special day. It was a family occasion, a yearly tradition after the family feast. The Christmas number one has always been its best when it has been a Christmas

would not be complete without Shakin’ Stevens competing with turkey smell for dominion over the house. But that was then. Where are the current Christmas songs? We’re all bored of Michael Bublé’s smooth as silk Canadian tones covering the classics, we need fresh new material, which doesn’t seem to be anywhere near as prolific or as high ranking as in the good ol’ days. Some of the best festive material we get

got an offering this year from charitable The Killers, releasing a new Christmas album Don’t Waste Your Wishes with proceeds going to Bono’s (Red) Foundation. The Killers have released a Christmas single every year for ten years straight, not one of which has made it to the top ten. (But their first album did make it to 104 in the album charts, so that’s something, right? Right?) We also get a lot of Charity singles com-

Christmas mixtape Tristan Gatward ‘That Was the Worst Christmas Ever’ - Sufjan Stevens Amy Batley ‘It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop’ - Frightened Rabbit Helen Payne ‘I Wish It Was Christmas Today’ - Julian Casablancas Alex Brammer ‘A Christmas F*cking Miracle’ - Run the Jewels Ned Blackburn ‘Must be Santa’ - Bob Dylan It’s the ﬁnal week of term which means it’s time to dust off your Christmas Jumper and start feeling festive. We’ve got the playlist to get you in the mood.

peting for the number one spot. See last year’s golden glory taken by The Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir, and in 2011 Gareth Malone’s Choir of Military Wives, who never fail to get a marketing team on the ball to make you tear up at the slightest glint of homesickness and nostalgia, mixed with happiness and empathy. And of course, we’ve always had the amazing Band Aid, hitting the Number One in a golden time for Christmas songs in ’84 and ’89, and the 20 year anniversary in 2004, of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’, that never fails to get me in a cinnamon and mince pie, homely, Christmassy spirit.

Harry Williams ‘Christmas Will Break Your Heart’ - LCD Soundsystem Mark Allison ‘I Believe in Father Christmas’ - Greg Lake Zak Mahinfar ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ - Annie Lennox Rory Marcham ‘Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town’ - Bruce Springsteen

CURRENT CHRISTMAS NO.1 ODDS 2/1 The London Hospices Choir 2/1 UK 2016 X Factor Winner 5/1 Inspiral Carpets 10/1 James Corden 14/1 Gareth Malone 25/1 Honey G All odds correct at time of writing according to William Hill

Make employers want you more The Exeter Award is an employability skills programme for undergraduate and masters students. It’s free, flexible, and you will: • Learn how to sell yourself to employers • Get University recognition for your extracurricular activities • Enhance your CV Students who complete the Exeter Award are more likely to get a graduate level job within six months of graduating.

www.exeter.ac.uk/exeteraward

screen

2016: A year in review

Mark Allison, Screen Editor, looks back at the last year in cinema Darkness and its many imitators. However, this time the focus is transposed from the outsider to the native point of view, providing an unvarnished perspective on the horrors and barbarity of colonialism. David Gallego’s monochrome photography perfectly captures the tragedy of a civilisation and a people since lost to time. Hell or High Water, directed by David Mackenzie, was another surprising coup which left critics rightly bowled over. A gritty heist film with neo-western inflections, Hell or High Water wisely distinguishes itself with a focus on snappy, amusing dialogue and a cast of genuinely sympathetic characters. Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine both provide first-class performances as two men on opposite sides of the law, but equally adrift in declining rural America. A film which reaffirms your faith in old-fashioned, character driven storytelling.

T’S been one hell of a year. When looking back over the events of 2016, films might be the very last thing on your mind. But amongst tragedy, political turmoil, and the ongoing collapse of Western civilisation, the cinema screens of the world have provided a few moments of much-needed respite. Of course, not all has been entirely well in the world of celluloid. Some of the industry’s finest talents have sadly left us this year, including Alan Rickman, Guy Hamilton, Patty Duke and Gene Wilder. Meanwhile, the DC Universe, for which hopes had been so high, remains floundering, facing a renewed critical mauling with every entry. And the avalanche of lacklustre sequels and reboots has continued unabated, bringing Ben-Hur, Ghostbusters, Independence Day: Resurgence, and a multitude of others too depressing to name. Amidst all of this, however, a few beacons of light continue to shine through the tumult. In May, director Whit Stillman made a triumphant return with Love and Friendship, a bitingly funny and lavishly decorated adaptation of Jane Austen’s novella Lady Susan. Starring Kate Beckinsale, with supporting appearances by Chloe Sevingy and Stephen Fry, Love and Friendship was a welcome surprise in the dour summer line-up, and a testament to the cinematic potential of Austen’s prose. Summer also saw the UK release of Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent, a beautiful and haunting film set in the Amazon rainforest during the early twentieth century. Telling the parallel stories of two western explorers, the film is rooted in a familiar adventure narrative, owing a clear debt to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of

05 DEC 2016 | EXEPOSÉ

EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT IS A BEAUTIFUL AND HAUNTING FILM The funniest and most charming movie of the year arrived in the form of Hunt For the Wilderpeople, a distinctively New Zealand-flavoured hit. Directed by Taika Watiti, the darling of kiwi comedy, Wilderpeople pitches screen legend Sam Neill alongside newcomer Julian Dennison, both bringing superb chemistry to a script that deals in equal parts hilarity and pathos. For anyone tired of the vulgarity and excess that characterises much of the modern comedy genre, this film provides a necessarily witty antidote.

mainstream film-making that is ambitious not only in spectacle, but in ideas. Dealing in substantial themes, from personal loss to geopolitical tension, Arrival feels all-too-relevant in the growing uncertainty of today’s world, but does so with an accessible and life-affirming vigour. Villeneuve has emerged as one of the finest and most versatile directors currently working, a reassuring sign for next year’s Blade Runner sequel. You’ll be left with plenty to think about once the credits roll, leaving the cinema on a thoughtful and wholly positive note.

It’s also been a great year for documentaries; Ava DuVernay delivered a scathing critique of modern America’s prison-industrial complex in the made-for-Netlifx 13th, while Mat Whitecross’ Supersonic gave a visceral insight into the heights of Britpop. My pick of the bunch, however, would have to be Eight Days a Week, Ron Howard’s exhaustive take on the heady days of Beatlemania between 1962 and 1966. For Beatles fanatics such as myself, the film is a gratifying tour of songs and characters that have become an essential part of my brain’s wiring. For novice audiences, the heavy use of original concert footage helps to illustrate why those four musicians were such a phenomenon. It may not open your eyes to a great injustice or inspire you to change the world, but as entertainers The Beatles remain unparalleled. As summer came to a close, films with a greater social consciousness came to the fore. I, Daniel Blake, the Palme D’Or winning drama from Ken Loach, went on general release. The film acts as an enraged indictment of the political status-quo, detailing how the country’s most vulnerable people are being condemned to a precarious and pitiful existence. Paul Laverty’s screenplay is wholly human in both its warmth and its anguish, while the central performances by Dave Johns and Hayley Squires have a painfully clear ring of authenticity. For anyone who wants to understand the impact of austerity politics beyond a series of faceless statistics, I, Daniel Blake will outrage and enlighten you. If the dreary reality of Ken Loach’s Britain is too much for you, then Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival has an altogether more hopeful outlook. This magnificent sci-fi is imbued with a palpable sense of awe and wonder, but never loses sight of its essentially human heart, anchored to an astonishing centrepiece performance from Amy Adams. After the moribund programme of blockbusters this summer, it is a joy to see

I, DANIEL BLAKE WILL OUTRAGE AND ENLIGHTEN YOU All things considered, then, 2016 hasn’t been a bad year for film-goers. Admittedly, I can’t pretend to have been entirely comprehensive in my praise – a student’s budget can only provide for a limited number of cinema tickets, after all. And of course, at the time of writing, some of the year’s most anticipated pictures are yet to be released, with upcoming titles including the Star Wars spin-off, Rogue One, and Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited Silence. Yet, as the curtain falls on 2016 and we look forward to another year, it’s becoming increasingly risky to count on anything. As long as they keep making movies, I’ll make do with that.

EXHIBIT

05 DEC 2016

EDITORS: Mark Allison and Zak Mahinfar

SCREEN

Scorsese breaks the silence

In anticipation of Martin Scorcese’s latest release, Silence, Jonathan Chern remembers his best work

TAXI DRIVER (1976)

ESCRIBED by Quentin Tarantino as “the greatest first person character study ever committed to film”, Taxi Driver elevated Scorsese to the top of Hollywood. Although immediately recognisable as a true work of art, it takes multiple viewings to appreciate its full genius and the sheer attention to detail Scorsese puts in. What comes out is a timeless story about one man, alienated and isolated, pushed to extreme acts to find his place in the world.

THE DEPARTED (2006)

ASED on the Hong Kong masterpiece Infernal Affairs, this thriller about Boston mobsters earned Scorsese his first and, to date, only Oscar for directing. The twists and turns experienced through various edge-of-seat sequences result in an unforgettable explosive final act. Scorsese wanted to make a low-budget B-movie when he received the script, but thanks to an all-star cast he ended up with a landmark in 21st Century crime films.

GOODFELLAS (1990)

EW films in the crime genre manage to pull off such great storytelling spanning so many decades, including so many characters and so many settings, and still being as wholly engaging and tidy as Goodfellas. The film has a quality of the epic in the same vein of The Godfather and City of God. Scorsese manages to not stray from the true story on which the film is based (as many other directors would), but complements the reality with his masterful direction.

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013)

CORSESE’s bright black comedy follows another true criminal story. Told from the perspective of stockbroker Jordan Belfort, Scorsese constantly undermines the self-styled protagonist by exposing his life of luxury as one of grotesque decadence. In his own words, Scorsese wanted to “create a feeling in the audience of being in the hearts and minds of these people, and break the narrative”. It’s a layer of storytelling most directors could only dream of pulling off.

Gimme more Gilmore

Spoilers ahead as Vicky Baker dives into the Netflix revival of Gilmore Girls GILMORE GIRLS Netflix Lauren Graham, Alexis Beddell 2016

THREARSAAB

ANS have been waiting a while to find out what happened next to our favourite Mother, Daughter and oh-so-sassy Grandma. Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, and Kelly Bishop return to their roles so effortlessly, it’s as if their nine year break has been nothing more than a relaxing weekend away (at the classiest of spas, of course). After almost a decade spent wondering if finally Luke and Lorelai were going to get married, not to mention what ‘those last four words’ were going to be, fans couldn’t help but hold high expectations for the Netflix revival. And every fan had questions. How would the family be coping without Richard, after the tragic real-life passing of Edward Herman? After a fairly public ‘misunderstanding’, how much screen time will Melissa McCarthy be given (spoiler alert: not nearly enough)? And WHY are they bringing Dean back? Within the first half of episode one, ‘Winter’, there’s already answers to questions we didn’t even know we were asking. Finally, in a bid to make Stars Hollow seem a little more diverse,

we find out if Michel is into guys or girls. There’s also a cringe inducing, albeit emotional, scene where we find out that Christopher may not have been Lorelai’s first, um, love. The first episode brings with it all kinds of nostalgia for fans, from the opening flashback of quotes (I do not envy whoever had to pick out that limited selection) to Luke sparring with Taylor over his latest town plans. It’s classic Gilmore Girls, with a few twists here and there - at one point Emily actually wears *gasp* jeans. As we return to Stars Hollow, almost as if someone was trying to remind us of how quirky a place it really is, it’s Kirk who steals the show. After such an excellent start, the second two episodes, ‘Spring’ and ‘Summer’ seem to lose their way a tad. Don’t get me wrong, it’s refreshing to see Rory floundering around in a not so perfect life. She’s actually making genuinely bad decisions this time, the likes of which she should have got out of her system back in her college days (affair with Dean and yacht stealing aside). Her perfect image that came so effortlessly to her is well and truly slip-

ping - the phrase ‘wookie-humping loser’ is used at one point. These two episodes also involve a few classic Lorelai freak outs and Emily meltdowns, as well as a brilliant and blatant nod to one of the question marks which hung over all seven seasons of the Gilmore Girls - an actual sighting of the elusive Mr Kim. However, there are a few periods that seem just to be filling time, and the storyline becomes more than a little unfocused. Watch out for the Stars Hollow Musical. If these two episodes were bad enough to need a saving grace, they have it in the form of Michel. He’s taking on a more major role in both the lives of the Dragonfly and Lorelai whilst Sookie is gone, something which almost makes up for her absence. Yanic Truesdale clearly had no problem jumping back into the role of the sarcastic Frenchman, and his performance is one of the strongest reminders of the fresh and kooky wit of the original show. Fans can also rejoice at the return of Jess who, appropriately, arrives in town - carrying the same bag that he had back in 2002 - just in time offer some perspective on Rory’s current

predicament. And he still looks damn good doing it. Hold on until the last episode though for things to finally start moving at a pace we’re used to - and I don’t just mean Lorelai’s talking. After perhaps not enough substance in Spring and Summer, Fall packs all the emotion into one episode. Sookie returns briefly to put Michel in his place as only she can. The Life and Death Brigade make an appearance to really move the story along (No, they haven’t grown up, at all). And Jess’ final moments on screen are highly reminiscent of a certain plaid-wearing diner owner, making us wonder if perhaps he has a horoscope of his own that he’s been keeping in his wallet all these years. And if it’s time to fulfil it.

HOLD ON UNTIL THE LAST EPISODE FOR THINGS TO FINALLY START MOVING The episode ends as all fans everywhere knew it always had to. Watch out for the beautiful decorations in the town square, if you can see through the tears. And those last four words - were they worth waiting for? The jury’s still out on that one. They make sense, sure, and they definitely, definitely leave you wanting more episodes.

EXHIBIT

EDITORS: Mark Allison and Zak Mahinfar

SCREEN

05 DEC 2016

Is Disney diversifying?

Jade Beard, Lifestyle Editor, looks at race, gender, and sexuality in children's cinema

OR many of us Disney played a huge part in our childhood, and with newer releases such as Moana and Finding Dory hitting screens, our love of Disney animation is continuing into adolescence. Issues of mental health, loss, and even the stereotyping of feral animals (see Zootropolis for more) are prominent topics being explored by a company often criticised for producing sugar-coated narratives. But trust me, if you’ve seen Up, you’ll know that in watching Disney you’re often in for an emotional rollercoaster.

THIRD-WAVE FEMINISM MARKED AN IMPORTANT DECADE FOR DISNEY

decade for Disney, as the 90s saw the emergence of three animations that featured female protagonists of color and different ethnicities; Pocahontas, Mulan, and Aladdin. However Jasmine, the first princess created to introduce ethnic diversity to the Disney franchise, played a secondary role in the 1992 film Aladdin, and was criticised at the time for lacking the agency and depth of character that was seen in Belle, the white protagonist of Beauty and the Beast. Belle was ultimately portrayed as the pioneer of Disney’s feminist reworking of the traditionally passive lead. Yet that is not to say that the release of these films did not offer a revolutionary transgression of the traditional western, white princesses; the introduction of these films marked an important chapter for children around the world, who were for the first time shown more than the blue-eyed,

That said, as we’ve grown older and supposedly “wiser”, the stereotyping, whitewashing and heteronormative traditions of classic Disney have produced normalising narratives that problematise twenty-first century progressive thinking (bar Trump… and Brexit). Whilst Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are undoubtedly classics, the fairytale trajectory of boy-marries-girl-after-meeting-only-once-in-an-isolated-woodland (stranger danger anyone?), just doesn’t fit with a society that today is continuing to destabilise subjects of gender, race, and the idea of heterosexuality as the norm. But as a leading platform for children’s entrainment, have Disney done enough to combat the stereotypes of gender and sexuality that are infused within the traditional happily-ever-after-myth? Third-wave feminism marked an important

fair skinned protagonist. That said, these attempts at depicting diverse cultures were, albeit, slightly problematic. Look out for the song “Honour To Us All" in Mulan, a hugely problematic musical number that sees Mulan dressed as a geisha girl, a custom that is grounded in Japanese culture; Mulan is set in China. So whilst these films ditched the trope of the female in distress, Disney established that they still had a long way to go, and it wasn’t until two decades later that Disney would release a film that had an AfricanAmerican character as a female lead in 2009 hit The Princess and the Frog. But it’s not all bad: the film’s protagonist, Tiana, rejects the fairytale romance, instead her dreams and aspirations are focused on her ambition to open her own restaurant. Points for Disney. With such ambitious, strong

Your name here...

and independent women there in abundance, Disney are slowly, yet consciously, evolving.

WE ARE YET TO SEE A GAY COUPLE ON SCREEN Yet whilst Disney continues to be progressive in its subversion of the passive princess, Disney’s perpetuation of heteronormative relationships is something that has yet to be tackled, and surprisingly so. Whilst releases such as Brave and Frozen saw familial love made the focal point of the stories’ narratives, we are yet to see a gay couple on screen. When confirmation of a Frozen sequel arose, the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend trended on social media site Twitter, with many people urging for Disney to break free of their heteronormative trajectory in favour of representing all love. And why not? Disney fanatics and critics are arguing that money plays a vital role in any kind of “radical” decisions that Disney make, yet the fear of a film flopping due to a gay on screen couple seems highly unlikely for a company that has an immense platform and following. There is room to hope for a continued progression for future Disney ventures, and who knows, we could be seeing our first ever Disney Queen ruling her kingdom alongside someone who, despite their sex, would present a message that Disney has always encouraged, that hope can be found in love, whether it be your mother, your sister, or your heteronormative/non-heteronormative relationship. So I say, bring on Frozen 2.

Jack Verhaeg recommends an anime hit from director Makoto Shinkai YOUR NAME Director: Makoto Shinkai Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi 2016, 107 minutes.

THREARSAAAA

N the wake of Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement co-founder of Studio Ghibli and the creative mind behind its most successful features Your Name seems to have come at a perfect time. Adapted from a novel of the same name, Mikoto Shinkai’s story of two teenagers who wake up in the wrong body is a dazzling - and more than adequate - substitute. Could Shinkai have usurped the throne of Japanese animation? For want of a better description, Your Name has been marketed as a body-swap comedy, though that does the film little justice. A stunning opening sequence introduces a meteor shower against the backdrop of Itomori in rural Japan. A resident of the town, Mitsuha, yearns to be ‘A handsome Tokyo boy in [her] next life!’ and, sure enough, wakes up in Tokyo in the body of a boy named Taki, who himself wakes up as Mitsuha. Over time, the pair manage to make sense of their strange predicament. They find a way to communicate, leaving one another messages for how to best navigate their respective lives and mitigate any potential embarrassment in the process.

THE REALISATION OF LOCATIONS IS BREATHTAKING Though these two characters lie at its core, Your Name also explores the differences between rural and urban Japan and the distinction between old and new - and the way in which these locations are realised is nothing short of breathtaking. Shinkai finds a balance between realism and impressionism in these settings; the Tokyo skyline is rendered with painstaking accuracy and yet possesses some unearthly, impressionist quality. This blend of the fantastical and photorealist makes Your Name appear as a kind of showreel for Japan’s tourist board - and while it is easy to lose yourself in the rich cultural details, Shinkai’s story extends far beyond the superficial. Beyond its initial premise, the genre of Your Name is hard to pinpoint, and therein lies its

charm. Though billed as a comedy, its ability to not only amuse, but delight and move in equal measure should not be underestimated. Its characters are distinct and vivid agents of the narrative, being used to both propel key story beats as well as catalysing moments of emotional intensity. They are expressive, authentic, acting as suitable touchstones for a narrative which might otherwise disorientate. For all the predictability its body-swapping premise might otherwise invite, the film does not rely on convention, instead approaching a tired sub-genre with surprising vitality. The narrative itself is as intricate as the frames it is comprised of; this is a story that unspools with fascinating unpredictability from beginning to end, only growing in intrigue and complexity as it approaches its conclusion. It is a marvel, then, that Shinkai manages to retain the film’s simple philosophy throughout. At its heart, Your Name is a meditation on time, dreams and identity, yet does not fixate or become bogged down by its desperation to explore such themes. They are, instead, woven seamlessly into the film’s fabric.

CHRISTMAS 2016

LATEST RECOMMENDED POSTING DATES UK 20 Dec

2nd Class & Royal Mail signed for

21 Dec

1st Class & Royal Mail signed for

22 Dec

Royal Mail special delivery guaranteed

AIRMAIL

LOCATED IN DH1

3 Dec

Africa, Middle East

7 Dec

Cyprus, Asia, Japan, Eastern Europe

8 Dec

Caribbean, Central and South America

10 Dec

Greece, Australia, New Zealand

14 Dec

Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland

15 Dec

Canada, Finland, Sweden, USA

16 Dec

Austria, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland

17 Dec

Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg

games + tech Aloha, Alola

Ollie Knight, has a tropical Christmas holiday with Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon POKÉMON SUN + MOON Game Freak Nintendo 3DS 2016

aAAAAA

OKÉMON Sun and Moon are a fantastic achievement for an aging franchise; after 20 years, familiar yet refreshing gameplay, as well as new Pokémon designs that perfectly suit the new region help create the most genuine and thoughtful Pokémon game yet. Sun and Moon are set in the fictional region of Alola. Based off real life Hawaii, Alola has everything from sun soaked beaches and sparkling seas, to active molten volcanoes, lush jungles and even frosty mountain tops. After two decades of Pokémon, it’s likely you think you know everything the series has to offer: eight gyms, an elite four, and the champion; you. Whilst new Pokémon appear, the story remains dull and unoriginal. Pokémon SM throw out these notions in favour of a more self-aware, humour-filled overworld, replacing the gyms with trials. These new trials involve varied challenges in different environments, culminating with a final battle with an incredibly powerful totem Pokémon. This gives the game an opportunity to introduce you to Alola slowly, and provide a sense of scale for the region. As there is a trial for nearly every type in the game, there is a constant sense of wonder and enthusiasm to progress in the main story. At the forefront of the story in this generation is Team Skull: a team not too dissimilar from Team Rocket, aside from one great difference: a level of self-awareness to the point where they know they’re both named “grunt,” and just a generic villain. It’s as if the writers realised the way to balance

having an audience with a spectrum of ages; from the young who are starting out with their very first game, to those who have played since they were young themselves. The lore and history of Alola will also pervade your adventure. Be it the design of the islands, the stories of long-passed powerful ultra beasts, or the guardian deities that protect the islanders. Critical to the game’s success

and colourful Hawaiian setting of Alola make these the nicest-looking games to date. The music fits perfectly with each area, and the Pokémon that exist in each of these draws a nice synergy and sense of realism as to where you are going. It really is the thoughtfulness and care that developers GameFreak have put into Sun and Moon which excel the games to a new level. Nintendo’s archaic multi-

THE MOST GENUINE AND THOUGHTFUL POKÉ MON GAME YET tival Plaza acts to unify these interactions and provide a bespoke, dedicated area. Mini games such as Poké Pelago provide pokébeans for the newly worked Pokémon refresh, quite identical to Pokémon amie from X and Y, however they now allow training of Pokémon, a replacement from the day care. One of the fan-favourite additions in these new games includes the removal of HM’s in favour of Pokémon pager, where with the click of a button you can ride Pokémon including charizard, tauros and lapras. Perfectly, this gives you ample opportunity to build your team throughout the game without relying on one Pokémon for many uses. Pokémon Sun and Moon progress the format without removing the lifeblood of the series. A new region, interesting new Pokémon and a cool story further prove that Nintendo can continue to revitalise aging IPs with new and exciting ideas.

Image: BagoGames Flickr

is its battling system. This time around, a more refined move selection screen, including effectiveness of moves, helps newer players become quickly familiar with vital game mechanics, whilst also leaving a level playing field in the competitive scene. The ingame environments of Sun and Moon are also far removed from the blocky and pixelated regions of games past. The fun

player system is slightly improved upon in these games, however they mainly rely on X and Y’s ’s menu to trade and battle. The introduction of battle royale, where four players each send one Pokémon in and battle together, provides a fresh challenge which draws on strategy and suspense to change the way people can battle in larger groups. Cool version exclusive Pokémon such as Oranguru in Moon version require trading to be an important aspect of the game still, and utilising the new Fes-

Interested in playing Pokémon with a wider group of people? The Exeter Pokémon Society meets regularly and will be hosting lots of events in the new year. Check out their Facebook for more info.

POKÉMON SUN AND POKÉMON MOON ARE AVAILABLE NOW

CREATURE CATALOGUE Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon have introduced 80+ new Pokémon, so here are a few of the highs and lows of the new editions to the Pokedex Jabez Sherrington Games + Tech Editor

Sam Woolf, Games + Tech Editor

EXHIBIT

GAMES + TECH

EDITORS: Jabez Sherrington and Sam Woolf

05 DEC 2016

Do you hear what I hear? James Silvester gives you four ways to improve your audio

With the steady expansion of digital memory and the rise of music streaming services such as Spotify, it’s safe to say that smartphones have replaced dedicated music players as everyone’s go-to music device. But with this technology becoming more and more complex, how can a budding audio enthusiast improve the quality of their mobile audio beyond whatever mysterious components are crammed into the body of the latest smartphone? All these items are under £100 and make a perfect Christmas gift, or an affordable moment of self-indulgence...

£30 upgrade from the free earphones included with your smartphone might sound a bit steep, but the much lauded SoundMagic E10S are worth every penny and offer the best value for money of any product on this list. With a nice, tangle resistant cable, a microphone and mute button and a selection of earbuds to fit all sizes the E10S’s offer an impressive level of quality to go along with their astonishing sound. With a little time allowed for these earphones to ‘burn in’ they offer a punchy, detailed sound that’s absolutely bursting with energy and guaranteed to get your feet tapping. Whether you are listening to pop, metal, classical, EDM or anything in between, these earphones offer such a fantastic improvement in sound that you will never look back at your free earphones the same way again. Got an extra tenner? The newest E10C earphones improve on functionality by offering a 3-button smartphone controller. RRP £30

IKE the AudioQuest DragonFly, this little matchbox-sized Fiio has a USB DAC for improvements to the clarity and detail of digital audio. However the Fiio also doubles up as a USB powered headphone amplifier with a volume control. For most people this last part may not mean much, but if you’ve just splashed out on a fancy pair of headphones and found the sound lacking, or desire more volume than your computer can give, this may be the product for you. By providing headphones with high impedance (usually anything specified with over 60100 ohms of impedance) the power that they need to run efficiently the Fiio E10K can give depth and richness to cans that might otherwise sound thin and weak. The included coaxial output and highlow gain switch at the back of the box are other useful features, as is the nifty ‘bass boost’ switch at the front. There are a lot of nifty features, for a little black box. RRP £62

Philips SHP9500

K so I might be cheating little with this one as the price is currently listed as £109.90 on amazon, but all the amps and DACs in the world won’t truly be useful without a decent pair of headphones to plug them into. The Philips SHP9500 feature an open backed design, giving them the effect of making what you are listening to come from a much wider area than the size of the comfortable earcups would suggest. This wide soundstage is excellent for immersive movies, gaming and for picking out the little details in your favourite songs. The Philips make for an enjoyable listen with deep bass and fun, detailed presentation of treble and midrange. However open backed headphones will also ‘leak’ sound when they play, so unless you want everyone around you to have an earful of what you are listening to, you might want to think twice before using these headphones on the bus. RRP £99

CROSSWORD # 92

SUDOKU #29

Across: 1/5D/24/11 We Wish You a Merry Christmas,

PUZZLES BY ALFRED

5 Yoking, 8 Atop, 9 Shut down, 10 Unheroic, 12 Stew, 13

STUDY BREAK

ANSWERS Down: 2 Eat in, 3 Impress, 4

FESTIVE

Down 2 Dine at home (3,2) 3 Emphasise - stress (7) 4 Type of statistical chart - garish tom (14) (9) 5 See 1 Across 6 Credit (5) 7 See 20 11 See 1 Across 14 Type of wordplay ('a ragman' is one of it!) (7) 16 Captain (7) 18 Natural talent (5) 20/7 Another seasonal sentiment in 1 5 Down 24 11? (5,3,4) 22 Freezing (3)

Caesar, 15 Resort, 17 Half, 19 Messiahs, 21 Organism,

Across 1/5 Down/24/11 Popular (seasonal?) carol from the West Country of England - 14 of 'why Sirius errs, come what may' (2,4,3,1,5,9) 5 Coupling together (6) 8 Above (4) 9 Close (4,4) 10 Not brave (8) 12 Dish of meat and vegetables (4) 13 Julius ___, ex-dictator of ancient Rome (6) 15 Holiday destination (6) 17 50% (4) 19 Saviours - he's amiss (14) (8) 21 Minor gas (14) - a living thing (8) 23 Tube (4) 24 See 1 25 Lost pets (6)

23 Pipe, 25 Str

Fiio E10K

Histogram, 6 Kudos, 14 Anagram, 16 Skipper, 18 Flair,

NE answer comes in the form of the AudioQuest DragonFly Black, an award winning Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) that is compatible with IOS, Android, Mac OS and Windows. The DragonFly converts the digital 1s and 0s of your music files into the analog electrical waves transmitted up your headphone jack, through to the drivers by your ears. The effect of separating out this technology from the chip in your phone, AudioQuest claims, is an increase in clarity and detail for your music. Having listened to them for a short period of time I can say that there is a noticeable difference to standard smartphone or computer audio when using a good pair of cans or hi-resolution files. Subjective quality aside, the DragonFly makes for a much cheaper upgrade if you already own a pair of headphones and are looking to take the next step down the path of Hi-Fi audio. Plus, if you’ve just bought a new iPhone 7, this little USB DAC may be the solution to your missing headphone jack woes. RRP £90

SoundMagic E10S

20/7 Happy New Year, 22 Icy.

AudioQuest DragonFly Black v1.5

05 DEC 2016 | EXEPOSÉ

Science

SCIENCE EDITORS:

We’re all stuffed!

Victoria Bos Beth Honey

Tash Ebbutt, Art & Lit Editor, examines Christmas eating habits and why we just can’t say no to festive treats

HH Christmas, the time where the phrase “Well, it’s Christmas” projects itself into many foodlovers minds. Just one more chocolate, one more mince pie, one more helping of Dad’s infamous Christmas Pudding. All those ‘one mores’ only add up to one permanent food baby. But what encourages us to ditch any restraint when it comes to all the sweet treats that the festive season has to offer? Well, put down that dish of soft, fluffy roast potatoes and let us delve into why Christmas makes us eat more. Firstly, it is important to consider the modern lifestyle. The average person on Christmas Day will consume a whopping 6000 calories. That is three times the recommended amount for an adult and, fun fact, is the equivalent to consuming twelve Big Macs. Wow. That staggering figure is twice as much as our ancestors would have eaten during the 1920s’, 30s’, 40s’ and there are numerous reasons for this. The first: our ancestor’s lives were physically more demanding than the lives we live now. One only has to think of the masses

of technology which have replaced primary sector employment over the years. A second reason (also attributed to technology) is that there was less choice eighty years ago. An increase in imports and foreign trade means that we have access to numerous goodies during December that were simply not available years ago. Finally, linking on from the lack of variety is the scarcity of alcohol. Alcohol plays a considerable role at Christmas and New Year, from gifts to celebratory toasts, alcohol runs riot. With a high calorie count, its no wonder the average Briton gains six pounds over the festive season. So our lifestyles make it easy to overeat, but that still doesn’t answer the question of why we stuff ourselves like the ﬁve bird roast which sits on the table. The adult stomach can comfortably hold about

one litre of food.

Yet if pushed, it

can stretch to an incredible four litres. The uncomfortable

feeling you might experience when full is actually your stomach pushing on your other internal organs as it expands too far. One phenomenon that inﬂuences this over-indulgence is called the Sensory Speciﬁc Satiety (SSS). This is where you may have had enough of one type of food and feel extremely full yet you may still have an appetite for something else: for example, the typical declaration of “I’m so full” after Christmas dinner, but as soon as you hear the word “pudding” then it’s almost like you never ate at all. As omnivores, humans seek variety, which enables our survival. This strange process means that the combination of Christmas and a higher percentage of enjoyable yet unhealthy foods means that your mind and stomach constantly want to eat. Even very small differences can

override the SSS. Laurent Brondel at the European Centre for Taste Sciences in Dijon discovered that introducing a condiment would allow you to eat more. His study involved people consuming chips until they were full. When this occurred, he added a condiment and they would continue to eat. A higher variety of accessible food therefore leads to over-eating. Finally, scientists have discovered that sugar is an addictive substance, stimulating the same parts of the brain as cocaine or heroin. If you think about all the foods that are available at Christmas and then think about the high sugar levels in them, it’s no wonder that an increased consumption leads to withdrawal symptoms and subsequent cravings. Also, with the retail sector pushing the appearance of Christmas earlier each year, we can access sugar ﬁlled treats sooner. So, you might enjoy eating all the scrumptious food during the holidays but don’t forget that New Year is looming and many of us are familiar with the dreaded resolution to lose the Christmas weight.

Santa Claus is comin’ to town F

Rhys Davies looks at the theoretical physics and conditions needed for Santa’s annual ﬂight around the world

ATHER Christmas, Santa or Coca Cola’s best marketing campaign; whatever you want to call him I think we can all agree he does an exceptional job every year in delivering all of those goodies to all of those people. But how does he do it? What problems does he face? Can science offer the solution? That’s what we are going to look at. Short of asking the man himself we know that physics doesn’t lie. Now, before we get into this, we must establish a few things. Firstly, he is real, and if you disagree then go away! Secondly, reindeer can deﬁnitely ﬂy. At the time of writing, the world’s current population is estimated to be 7,466,337,557. According to Spy magazine and reindeerland.org, 15 per cent of people

would receive nothing (having been banished to the naughty list) and only 45 per cent of the world will actually celebrate Christmas. This means that Santa has to deliver gifts to 2,855,874,116 people.

Santa has to deliver gifts to 2,855,874,116 people However, we can reduce this further by saying that the average household includes four people, so Santa only has to visit 713,968,526 homes. Luckily, because of the Earth’s time zones, if Santa starts at the International Date Line he has 48 hours to deliver all of the presents. This means he has to make 4131.76 visits per second. To achieve

this, he would have to be travelling almost 3,000,000 metres per second. Just to give this some perspective, that is quicker than the escape velocity of the galaxy. So, how can this be done? Let’s look at the forces involved. Yes, he’s a fat jolly fellow, and yes he has nine fully grown reindeer pulling his sleigh, but the vast majority of the weight would come from the presents. If we say on average each person received around onekilogram worth of presents, the sleigh would weigh around 2,800,000,000 kg (Almost exactly ﬁve of the heaviest oil tankers in the world). Having a 2.8-billion-kilogram object hurtling through the sky at 3,000,000 meters per second is dangerous, and creates something of a problem for the Christmas team if they

don’t want to be burnt to a crisp. The air simply cannot move out of the way fast enough traveling at these speeds. So unless they wear more heat resistant clothing than a space shuttle and are using a propulsion system centuries ahead of anything we have, this isn’t viable. The only other solution I can see takes us back to the Christmas elves. They must be a team of the most advanced researchers the world has ever seen, working all year round on Einstein’s theory of relativity and how to warp space and time. Now this is quite a mind-boggling topic that I can’t explain in a few lines, but it might be helpful to think of space and time as a network of nodes and connectors laid out over a sphere: each node a place in space and each connector an amount

of time. What the elves could help Santa do is bend the connectors, contracting the nodes and connectors in front of him and expanding the ones behind him. This way he can move exceedingly fast, relative to the Earth, without moving. This is almost like existing in a bubble of normal space but a different time. Make sense? Probably not. However, this would allow the big guy to deliver all of the gifts and eat those cookies you left out for him. The one problem with this is that it would require more energy than that in the observable universe. Where can he get this from you ask? He’s magic, duh; maybe like Doctor Strange he can draw energy from other dimensions. However he does it, I’m glad he does.

SCIENCE

Liar, liar, pants on ﬁre I

Sophie Carr talks us through the signs of a liar, and what to look out for when people are opening their presents

S anything more festive than pretending to like Christmas presents that you secretly hate? We’ve all been there. Someone’s given you a dodgy Christmas present that makes you wonder if they actually know you at all. Then comes the panic. You realise a second too late that you’re going to have to pretend to like this awful gift. If you happen to be a talented drama student then this should be easy. But if you’re like me and dread these situations each year, you’re in for an uncomfortable ride.

When right-handed people recall factual information, they tend to look to the left Being on the other end is just as bad. Picture this. You’ve been given the really quiet girl in your flat for Secret Santa (damn). You spend hours searching the internet, trying to find something she might vaguely like. You finally find what you think is the perfect gift on Amazon,

going over the agreed £10 spend limit because you need it to arrive in time. She opens your carefully selected present and for a split second you can see in her eyes that you’ve completely misjudged your gift choice. But is there actually any science in working out if someone doesn’t like what you got them? Here’s some signs to watch out for. Leaning away from your gift. It’s a natural instinct to lean away from something you don’t like. Makes sense really; if your ﬂatmate hasn’t showered for a few days you’re probably going to stay as far away from them as possible. It works for gifts as well- watch to see if they hold your present back, distancing it from themselves. A phony smile. Some people have perfected the fake smile. The trick is to look at their eyes. When you’re giving a true smile it shows in your eyes- they become bunched and wrinkled. A fake smile won’t affect their eyes at all; they may have turned their lips up but their eyes are giving them away. Blushing. A dead giveaway. We of-

ten blush in awkward or uncomfortable situations due to our ‘fight or flight’ system kicking into action. The release of adrenaline causes your blood vessels to dilate, turning your cheeks cherry red. There’s a fun fact to impress your parents with. Fiddling. Do you notice that as soon after they’ve opened your present they begin playing with their hair or straightening their clothes? If they begin to fiddle then this could be a sign that they’re not crazy about your gift and are finding this awkward. Lots of blinking. Normally, a person blinks on average 15 times a minute. If they begin to blink really quickly then this is a sign that they feel uncomfortable. You’ll have to study how they blink before they’ve opened your gift to notice this one though. The awkward pause. Those few seconds after opening your present when they seem stumped for words and all is silent. Of course, this could be a good sign and they’re just overwhelmed at what you’ve given them. But you can usually tell when it’s not a good pause as

it comes with some of these other warning signs. Touching their face. Suddenly touching their face, especially if they cover their eyes or mouth is an indicator that they’re hiding something from you… Unknowingly shaking their head. This is a surprising one. When people are lying sometimes their speech and actions don’t match up. Whilst telling you how wonderful your gift is they may shake their head without realising. If this is the case then alarm bells should be going off in your head. Looking to the right. Did you know that when right-handed people are recalling factual infor mation they tend to look to the left? Similarly, when they’re making some-

thing up they tend to look right. So watch out for a subtle glance to the right if you suspect they’re telling a cheeky ﬁb to spare your feelings. So feel extra merry this Christmas knowing that you can now spot when you’ve disappointed someone with a present that you tried so hard to ﬁnd. Ho ho ho.

Avoiding winter woes

Beth Honey, Science Editor, discusses mental health and how to ensure you have a very merry Christmas

HEN asked to think about Christmas, hopefully it should conjure up some feelings of warmth, familiarity, and happiness. The yearly traditions of putting presents round the tree and eating as much food as humanly possible are the small comforts that brings so much happiness to families. Returning home for Christmas and spending this somewhat intense amount of time around people can indeed be a positive experience, but for some this can cause stress and anxiety. Although not much empirical research has directly examined the link between mental health and Christmas, one study reports ﬁndings that has important implications in regards to our wellbeing. The study found that the materialistic aspect of gift-giving at Christmas has a detrimental effect on our mental health, whereas partaking in family and spiritual activities leads to more satisfaction. This may come as a surprise to many considering that Christmas is a billion pound industry, and exchanging presents doesn’t seem

to be a tradition that will go away any time soon. But when considering the ﬁnancial stress that this holiday can bring, it’s not surprising that it can take a toll on our mental health. Combining this with the emotive nature of family reunions, it can make for a not so merry Christmas. So what small things can we do during the holidays to handle this stress? Giving presents at Christmas doesn’t always mean spending a huge amount of money. Finding something that is personally meaningful to your relationship with that person is a better option than buying something generic that will be thrown to the back of the cupboard. Plus, with the growing online shopping market, you don’t even have to leave the house and contend with the huge crowds that amass in panic. On a different note, counsellor Julie Fickel suggests that setting goals centred around the greater good will inevitably improve our mental health. Financial stress is not the only source of mental health problems at Christmas time, isolation and loneliness that

can be exacerbated by this tradition has a huge impact. It is estimated that 13 million people in the UK live below the poverty line, and volunteering to help those in need has shown to improve our own mental wellbeing through reducing negative feelings of aggression and hostility. There are various food banks and drop in centres, especially over the Christmas period, that welcome support throughout the holidays. Along this line, it’s also important to point out the growing number of elderly people that spend Christmas on their own. It is estimated that 10% of over 65s will be alone, whether it’s because they feel like a burden or are simply not invited anywhere. Providing support for those who are vulnerable to isolation and loneliness is among the most important aspects of the Christmas holidays. Not only will it inevitably improve the wellbeing of those who need help, but it can also help people to gain perspective on their own situations, reducing negative thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Student experience: mental wellbeing at Christmas For the past few years, I’ve volunteered at a homeless drop in on Christmas Day. When guests walk in with their hands and ears purple from the cold and I know I am going to contribute to them having a few hours of safety, warmth, company and food, I feel incredibly humbled. It makes me more aware and grateful for all that I have and makes the minor arguments I have with my siblings seem like absolutely nothing, because at least we’re arguing in a warm house with no real need for anything. To know that I’m able to provide people with some human contact and a nice Christmas dinner really means the world to me. I spend about 3 hours on Christmas Day with other volunteers and entire families who spend their day giving to others and since doing this I have loved Christmas more than when I just spent time with my family. It’s lovely to know that so many people in this world do care for others and really it restores my faith in humanity. Jessica Hughes, third year student

Gadgets guarded? Play on!

Protect your gadgets from £9.49 a month.* Our student gadget insurance includes theft, loss, accidental and liquid damage for gadgets less than three years old. With cover anywhere in the UK and up to 30 days worldwide, plus 24 hour laptop and phone replacement.** Policy excesses apply.

Take control. Get covered. endsleigh.co.uk/university 0800 028 7255

RECOMMENDED

*Price is based on a student living on campus, insuring a phone and a laptop (or tablet) up to the value of £500 each. Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited acts as a Credit Broker exclusively on behalf of Premium Credit Limited (PCL), who arrange finance for monthly payments. **If your item is lost, stolen or unrepairable we’ll replace it within one working day of your claim being approved. Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This can be checked on the Financial Services Register by visiting their website at https://register.fca.org.uk Endsleigh Insurance Services Limited. Company No. 856706 registered in England at Shurdington Road, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucestershire GL51 4UE

268mm X 340mm_YELLOW_Gadgets Guarded_JW.indd 1

07/09/2016 13:08:51

AWARD WINNING

PIE & MASH SNACKS, CAKES, COFFEE

Beer, Cider

& GOOD

TIMES

O P E N M O N D AY T O F R I D AY 1 0 am – 6 pm E X E T E R S T U D E N T S ’ G U I L D – I N D H 1 , U P S TA I R S F R O M C O M I D A 1ST FLOOR, DEVONSHIRE HOUSE, STOKER ROAD EX4 4PZ

SPORT

2016: the sporting highlights Ireland beat the All Blacks for the ﬁrst time

Andy Murray becomes number 1 for the ﬁrst time

Leciester City claim the Premier League crown

Lewis Hamilton v Nico Rosberg

N 111 years - from the ﬁrst time they played in 1905 until November of this year - Ireland had never beaten the New Zealand All Blacks. The Kiwis are quite simply the greatest international team of any sport. For Ireland to beat them, comprehensively, technically on neutral ground, is nothing short of remarkable. After the agonising and bewildering defeat with the ﬁnal play of the match in Dublin three years ago, this time it was not so close. In winning emphatically in Chicago, they not only ended the All Blacks’ record breaking run of victories, but made a team that at times seems superhuman appear - for 80 minutes at least - human once more. Even when the greats from the southern hemisphere threatened their usual late comeback, Ireland took the game out of sight. Their physicality was just incredible. They say good things come to those who wait, and this black nectar has been a long time brewing. Wil Jones

HIS could have been another year of Djokovic’s domination of the tennis world. Alternatively, it might have wound up as the year Federer returned to the very top of professional tennis, with his domination of the early stages of Wimbledon setting the scene for what could have been an awe-inspiring comeback. Neither of these events took place. Instead, Andy Murray was in essence the only name in Tennis this year, the most dominant performer and its most cherished star. His victory at Wimbledon, a historic second consecutive gold medal in Single’s Tennis, the Paris Masters, and the Number One title at the end of the ATP World Tour Finals in London have made this Murray’s year. An unquestionable dominance on all courts, and an abrupt end to Djokovic’s once seemingly-endless reign over the sport will make this a year few will forget. Well, amongst other factors… Theodore Stone

QUICK glance at Leicester’s title odds at the start of the season, a staggering 5000-1, shows that this was the most unlikely triumph in the history of team sport. Going from relegation favourites in August to title winners in May, Leicester City provided one of the most captivating Premier League seasons of its history. Claudio Ranieri, and his team of castoffs, managed to deliver a consistency that staggeringly more expensive teams, like Man City, could not match. We saw the incredible rise of unheard of and forgotten players like Riyad Mahrez; previously struggling in French Ligue 2 but now owner of a PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, and Jamie Vardy; who, before Leicester, had been playing for non-league’s Fleetwood Town but now is a record holder scoring 12 consecutive Premier League goals and whose 24 goals for Leicester were indispensable to their success. A true underdog story that just kept giving. Come May, it was not just Jamie Vardy having a party; celebrations spread far and wide. Sam Alexander Lebus

Team GB Olympic triumphs

Wales reach the Euro Semi Finals

Danny Willet succeeds at the Master's

England rugby's unbeaten run

HEN Team GB arrived in Rio, many scoffed at the suggestion we could improve the medal tally we gained in London. Britain’s achievements on foreign soil, achieving 67 medals, was incredible. This was a phenomenal performance which put Britain second in the medal table - and, signiﬁcantly, above China. There were so many stories and memorable moments. Wiggins, Adams, Glover & Stanning, Murray, and of course Farah amongst others repeated their heroics of four years earlier. An unsurprising hero was Nick Skelton. This was the man who retired 16 years ago after sustaining a broken neck in two places, who went on to win show jumping gold at the grand old age of 58. Age is just a number, after all. Also, who could forget the women’s hockey which gripped the nation to succeed in the most dramatic of fashions to send the whole country into delirium. Forget about the antics of Super Saturday in London. Rio was all about Team GB becoming a sporting superpower. Ted Mahon

FTER 58 years of hurt, Wales’s qualification for Euro 2016 was a landmark moment in Welsh sporting history. And, on this occasion, they didn’t disappoint. Having defied the odds to win a group that also included England, Wales narrowly overcame Northern Ireland to set up a quarter-final clash with Belgium. What came next was surely the greatest night in the history of Welsh football. Wales found themselves behind early on, but Williams headed his side back in to the game before a moment of sheer magic that would not only define the game, but Wales’ summer in France as a whole. Hal Robson-Kanu, a free agent at the time, produced a sublime Cruyff Turn and then coolly finished to score a goal that Cruyff himself would have been proud of. A Sam Vokes header then sealed a historic Welsh victory. Despite, Wales defeat to eventual winners Portugal in the semi-finals, their remarkable summer in France is one that won’t be forgotten in a hurry. Ben Lang

HE Sheffield Born superstar put his first significant footprint in the game's history in April this year, winning golf ’s premier event, the Master’s. He was the first Englishman to win the first major of the year since Nick Faldo’s win in 1996. Willet didn’t actually lead the tournament until the back nine of the 4th round, where Jordan Spieth’s collapse of six dropped shots in three holes opened up the way for Willett to snatch the Green Jacket from the American. It was given to him easily however, still having to hole clutch putts such as the birdie putt on 16 to move him further into the lead, but still having to hold off a late Spieth comeback. He said it was by far the proudest moment of his golfing career and is backed as a winner of any majors to come. A very proud sporting moment from all of England and European golf alike. Tom Bradley

HE contrast between England Rugby’s 2016 and the year before is quite incredible. The ﬁrst ever hosts to be dumped out of the group stages of a World Cup are now 14 games unbeaten - a feat only ever matched by England’s famous class of 2002-03. Eddie Jones has revamped the coaching set up, instilled an aggressive, almost bordering on arrogant mentality, and masterminded a Six Nations grand-slam, a whitewash of Australia Down Under, and an unbeaten Autumn International series featuring victories over South Africa, Argentina and the Australians again. Standing at number two in the rankings, it is almost a shame that these extraordinary 12 months have not culminated in a grand ﬁnale against the All-Blacks. However, England do not need such a victory to prove themselves. Throughout the team world class players are beginning to emerge and much of the Lion’s XV touring New Zealand next summer will come from a Red Rose. It is an exciting time to be an England rugby fan. Jamie White

ICO Rosberg won a maiden Formula One World Championship, after yet another season of battle within the Mercedes team. Indeed, against all expectations, he bested his teammate Lewis Hamilton over the course of a twenty one-race season. Whilst Hamilton apologists will cite their driver’s technical issues, labelling Rosberg a ‘lucky champion’, this is unfair. Rosberg drove consistently and effectively throughout the year winning nine races, missing out on a podium finish on just five occasions and clawing back a nineteen point gap following the German Grand Prix. What is more, Rosberg has won plaudits throughout the field for his impressive and dignified manner; with Hamilton the superstar, Rosberg has been the consummate professional. Heading into the 2017 season, the stakes are finely poised: will this be merely a blot on Hamilton’s copybook or the beginning of a period of Rosberg domination? Ollie Lund

EXEPOSé Sporting Awards BEST GOAL

BIGGEST UNDERDOG

Winner: Hal Robson-Kanu

Winner: Leicester City

Robson-Kanu made the headlines with his sensational Cryuff turn against Belgium. His goal gave Wales the lead and helped put them into their first semi-final ever.

How could you possibly look past last years' Premier League winners? They may be struggling this year, but their run last season was one for the history books.

BEST BUCS TEAM Winner: EURFC 1st XV 15-16 Few rugby teams get the opportunity to play at Twickenham, and EURFC took it in their stride. Few of the watching Exeter students will forget that drop goal to lift them over Loughborough.

BIGGesT FLOP Winner: England football team Iceland may have had an extraordinary run at Euro 2016, but it wouldn't have been possible without a shocking performance from the much bigger, more-established England in the Round of 16.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION Winner: Chicago Cubs Whilst many teams overcame a lot in their achievements this year, not many broke a 'curse'. In winning the 2016 World Series, the Cubs finally broke the 'Curse of the Billy Goat' and a 108-year title drought.

'S IN A ER PT N A R C O C

A sport for everyone

SPORT

Lara Hopkins, Sport Editor, talks to EUPC President Lottie Beadle about Varsity, injuries, and playing a mixed sex sport

HEN people think of polo, they assume posh people from moneyed backgrounds who have been playing the sport since before they could walk. That is not what Exeter University Polo Club is about. Lottie herself had never picked up a polo mallet before, having been encouraged to join EUPC by a friend from home who was a member who said, “If you’re going to Exeter, and you like riding, I wouldn’t join the riding club. If you’ve gone to a certain level, try something completely different. I’ve had the best time since I’ve joined, and met a completely different set of people as well. Especially as in riding you don’t get the gender diversity that you do in polo, and that’s definitely a benefit. ” Polo is also a great way for those without any equestrian experience to start riding, as you’re cantering in the very first lesson. “You’re thrown in at the deep end but not in an unsafe way. It’s a really relaxed environment.” In fact, one of the club's most promising beginners had barely sat on a horse before university. “Giles Ormerod [the coach] is really surprised by how far he’s come. I couldn’t believe it when

I saw him play.” It’s not just beginners that the club is good for though, but also experienced riders, mainly due to the quality of the ponies available. As Lottie explains, “in polo we ride ex-international ponies and some that still compete at the top level. It’s amazing - I always say that the ponies are like souped up lawn mowers that have all the buttons; you just need to know where they are and how to use them. They’re very straightforward to ride, whereas riding school horses can get a bit bored and testy.” In terms of competitions, EUPC has a busy schedule. Lottie has just returned from the annual Varsity weekend against Bristol,

Women's Football

vert any of this into a legitimate chance. The ﬁrst real chance of the match for Exeter came from a corner. Ely rose to get the header, yet her effort was cleared off of the line by a Bristol defender. As Pippa Tilney tried to bring the ball back into the box, EULFC were granted a stroke of luck as a Bristol defender clumsily brought her down, leaving the referee to point immediately to the spot. Expectations were high, and for a team sitting on top of the league, it was fair to think that the spot kick would be easily despatched. However, a slight slip from Tilney as she took the shot saw the ball travel low to the goalkeeper's left, and lacking in sufﬁcient power

Bristol 1s.............................................1 Owain Evans Sport Editor

MOGEN Wade-Parker's words after the match perfectly summed up the previous 90 minutes: "It was just not our day...not our day." In cold conditions on a bogged-down pitch, EULFC 1s fell to a rough 0-1 defeat to Bristol that could have ramiﬁcations for their title chase. The match began at a little after two o'clock at Topsham Town FC, with Izzy Ely playing the ball backwards to get the match underway. From the off, a pattern was already emerging. Exeter had pressure going forward, particularly thanks to some good runs along the left ﬂank by Vicky Vipond, yet they couldn't con-

Lacrosse take the win over Oxford CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE

However, the best match of the weekend had to be the Open, where Charlie Holley, Seb Hancock, and Lucy Sleeman smashed the strong Bristol team 15-5. Lottie describes EUPC’s open team as “insane. We have so many exeperienced players now.” They are a strong hope for both Winter and Summer Nationals in 2017, where their biggest rivals will be London, led by former EUPC Captain Harold Hodges. “Harold is so good he could win a match by himself, but Charlie and Seb have such a brilliant dynamic. Apparently it’s like they can read each other’s minds.” A national league has now also been introduced, set up by a girl at Kent, Millie Chalk. “This has been done as SUPA,

who run nationals, haven’t been very progressive in making the sport more accessible. If we become part of BUCS this should push polo to the level where the University would recognise us a bit more. It’s just a trial this year and has taken a long time to organise, but people will get to play more.” EUPC isn’t only about matches though. Varsity and nationals give beginners and novice a chance to get to know each other, and Christmas dinner even brings players from UWE and Southampton. “It’s about doing something you really enjoy but with a balanced social life as well.” One thing that really differentiates polo though is that it’s a mixed sex sport and although men have so many more players at the top of the game, Lottie believes that the best teams are mixed. “It can be brutal at times, definitely. I’ve picked up some injuries: bent back fingers, multiple bruises, a black eye. You have to give as good as you get.” There are many benefits too though, “It definitely adds a different dynamic to the sport. You have to be a lot more tactical instead of trying to use brute force all the time. I’d also say that a mixed team is a stronger team, just because they bring different skillsets.” So if you have an urge to pick up a mallet, jump on a horse and whack a ball, join EUPC today. You won’t regret it.

The second half started strongly for Exeter, who won the draw and went straight onto the offensive - Izzy Woods scoring quickly for them. Their opposition didn’t give up, but Exeter defenders continued to mark successfully and soon brought the ball back down for yet another goal, making it 10-4. Exeter were looking weaker this half, and a wave of Oxford pressure started to take its toll. Despite another goal from Butcher, who had a great game, play started to loosen up. Oxford took advantage of a seemingly tiring Exeter and made the score up to 11-5. Momentum was back on their side and a couple of dropped catches later they took advantage and scored again. The Butcher sisters continued to do a brilliant job of applying pressure however, and after one unsuccessful goal attempt Exeter tried once again to claw back the upper hand. This resulted in a successful goal by Harriet Foster. It looked like Exeter might continue to challenge for control but a scramble for the ball behind the Oxford goal ended in their goalkeeper retaining possession. A few scrappy passes later and they made the score 12-7. Oxford had come back more strongly from the break it seemed.

to prevent the keeper from getting her hands to it. As the game progressed, we can only look back and wonder how the game would have progressed should this opportunity have been grasped. Exeter wouldn't get another chance quite as good as that again. Whilst providing good runs going forward, as well as appearing the better side technically, they failed to make any real breakthroughs. Louise Baker's quick counter attacks provided some of the handful of chances that developed for the rest of the half, but generally Exeter found themselves frustrated by a Bristol defence that had a more physical setup - and the muddy conditions certainly favoured the visitors.

Still, Bristol didn't look like much of a threat themselves, and the chance of the deadlock being broken seemed slim until the 40th minute. Durva Vahia spilled a save from a long range Bristol shot, and Lauren Hoskin's attempted clearance saw her turn the ball into her own net. It was an undeserved goal, but it still gave the visitors a lead that looked unlikely to be usurped. As the second half began, it was clear that conditions had deteriorated even further. In the muddy conditions, most of the play seemed to be in the air and this played into Bristol's favour. Whilst a few attacks were launched, the number of chances from either side were limited as the game hurried to an end in fairly drab circumstances. The loss sees Exeter drop to second place in the Western 1A division, with three games remaining in the season.

A great penalty goal from Annie Cranwell kept Exeter well into contention though. She made her way through at least five defenders to put the ball into the back of the net. Determinedly not giving up however, Oxford made another goal of their own and nerves on the sidelines in the closing minutes showed as the score sat at 13-8. A second Oxford attempt at goal met with similar success and Exeter discomfort showed. Time was on their side though and when the closing whistle blew the score rested at 13-9. After the match, coach Storm Trentham told Exeposé: “We’re really pleased with the result, and fingers crossed if all goes to plan in the next two games we’ll finish top of the League. “We’re normally a second half team, so I’m quite surprised [at the drop off]. There are a few things to work on, which is always good because it means we can get better and better. [These are] decision making and discipline, which are the easiest two things to improve, as they don’t have to learn any new skills.” With just two games to go, against Imperial and Bath respectively, EULC Women’s 1s have their fate in their hands as they sit atop the BUCS Premier South.

where Exeter were the overall winners. This gave beginners their ﬁrst real match experience. “The level of our freshers this year is higher than I think it’s ever been; they’re just training so much! There’s so many of them that are keen to do it and they’re all such good friends too. That’s what happens though, I’m living with ﬁve girls in polo this year.”

The ponies are like souped-up lawnmowers that have all the buttons

EULFC fall to Bristol

Exeter 1s........................................0

BUCS Roundup: Wednesday 30 November Men's Badminton 1s..............7 Men's Badminton 2s..............1

Women's Fencing 1s..........135 Southampton 1s..................57

Netball 1s.............................47 Bristol 1s...............................1

Southampton Solent 1s.........2 Women's Table Tennis 1s......3

Men's Basketball 1s.............76 Bournemouth 2s..................62

Men's Football 1s..................5 Bournemouth 1s...................3

Cambridge 1s........................7 Women's Rugby Union 1s....81

Men's Table Tennis 1s.........14 Bath 1s..................................3

Women's Basketball 1s .......53 Bath 1s................................28

Mixed Golf 1s.........................6 Bath 1s...................................0

Men's Rugby Union 1s.........42 Hartpury College 1s.............10

Loughborough 1s...................4 Women's Tennis 1s................8

The Butcher sisters continued to do a brilliant job

Sp rt

05 DEC 2016 | EXEPOSÉ

A year in review: the top sporting moments of 2016 recapped

Captain’s Corner: Exeposé Sport catches up with Exeter Uni Polo Club

Page 38

Page 39

SPORT EDITORS:

Owain Evans Lara Hopkins

Photo: Yong Yan Wang

Lacrosse sticks it to Oxford

Women’s Lacrosse

Exeter 1s....................................13 Oxford 1s......................................9 Isabel Taylor Sport Team

ULC Women’s 1s had a successful afternoon against Oxford this Wednesday, winning the match 13-9 and putting them in prime position to take the league title. Coming into the game off the back of their one and only defeat in seven matches, they knew that a win here was needed to retain top spot.

With only matches against Bath and Imperial to follow, both of whom are lower down the table, this was a crucial game. The match started with Oxford winning the draw, but a dropped catch saw a succession of three quick passes and a successful attempt at goal by Alice Cranwell within the ﬁrst minute, putting Exeter on the scoreboard ﬁrst. Not to be thwarted, Oxford countered and made a run down the pitch of their own. Three minutes in, the score was 1-1. The Exeter team maintained a

strong attacking presence and sustained pressure in the enemy half led to goals by Katie Butcher and Claire Johnson in quick succession as Exeter really stamped their authority on the match.

With only matches against Bath and Imperial to follow, this was a crucial game A well defended goal attempt by Oxford was unsuccessful and yet again

Exeter were back in control, charging down the pitch. Mimi Price scored her ﬁrst goal of the match, putting the Greens up 4-1 and soon after Katie Butcher made it another. Oxford continued to put up a good struggle and hit back, scoring again against a weakly defended goal. A penalty given to them in Exeter’s half saw a third ball rattle the back of the net and the score rested at 5-3. This looked to be a blip however, and Exeter continued to dominate. Harriet Foster retaliated with a great goal shortly after the reset and Butcher

soon followed with her third of the first half. After a short break Exeter came back strongly, Claire Johnson taking the score to 8-3 with a well-supported attack on the Oxford goal. In the closing minutes of the first half Oxford remained optimistic, but it was clear that they were underperforming. An Oxford penalty just before the whistle for half time made it 8-4, leaving the Exeter team looking fairly confident as they left the pitch.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 39

For live scores and in-depth reports, follow us on Twitter @exeposesport