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ISSUE 670 5 JUNE 2017 exepose.com @Exepose

THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987

“It just feels unfair” Investigation launched into lecturer’s emails regarding maths exam Department staff acknowledge failings at SSLC meeting

Owain Evans Editor

Photo: Alicia Pocock

EXCLUSIVE

N investigation is under way after a lecturer emailed some students with details about a May exam - without making the information clearly available for all. The module, which is for third year students within the maths department, also drew criticism for an increase in difﬁculty compared to previous versions. A series of emails were exchanged between the lecturer and students, prior to the exam, describing last year’s exam as “too easy” and specifying topics which were going to appear on the paper. Two days prior to the exam, a further email was sent out by the department to all students on the module due to “various rumours concerning the forthcoming exam”. Whilst this email did outline that it covers “theo-

retical as well as the practical aspects of [their] course”, it did not state that the past papers were considered by the lecturer to be “too easy”. Instead, the email read: “as well as practising on past papers you should be thoroughly familiar with [their] lecture notes.” After the exam, many students registered complaints with both the maths department and the Guild. The concerns registered included the paper’s comparative difﬁculty compared to the available past papers, and the lack of consistent communication from the department. “It made me feel terrible,” one affected student told Exeposé. “It was the ﬁrst exam this summer that many of us had and it set the tone for the entire exam period. It became incredibly hard to pick yourself up after it.” Relating to the emails sent out, the student said: “It just feels unfair. This is one of the last exams I’m ever going to take - you think they’d be more rigorous with the process...

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Editors Print: Emma Bessent & Owain Evans Deputy: Tash Ebbutt Online: Phoebe Davis & Olivia Horncastle editors@exepose.com News Editors Print: Megan Davies & Natalie Keffler Online: Nicky Avasthi & Ruby Bosanquet news@exepose.com Comment Editors Print: Alicia Rees & Malcolm Wong Online: Harry Bunting & Hannah Weiss comment@exepose.com Features Editors Print: James Angove & Isabel Taylor Online: Matthew Phillips & Daphne Bugler features@exepose.com

Arts + Lit Editors Print: Mubanga Mweemba & Maddie Davies Online: Ellie Cook & Emily Garbutt artsandlit@exepose.com Music Editors Print: Alex Brammer & Maddy Parker Online: Chloë Edwards & George Stamp music@exepose.com Screen Editors Print: Ben Faulkner & Fenton Christmas Online: Johnny Chern & Molly Gilroy screen@exepose.com Science Editors Print: Leah Crabtree & Luke Smith Online: Ayesha Tandon & Rhys Davies sciandtech@exepose.com Sport Editors Print: Dorothea Christmann & Wil Jones Online: Michael Jones & Kieran Jackson sport@exepose.com Photographers Christy Chin & Léa Esteban photography@exepose.com Copy Editors George Pope, Graham Moore & Jaysim Hanspal Proofers Ben Faulkner, Jonathan Chern, Fenton Christmas, Mubanga Mweeba, Zeena Starbuck, Megan Davies, Theodore Stone, Luke Smith

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NEWS

Editorial

Student Ideas and Hub building work

It's the end of the year as we know it As the term is winding its way to a close, we're all preparing (with varying levels of willing) to say good bye to 2016/17. It's been an eventful academic year to say the least; from the ﬁres at the Royal Clarence, Riverside Leisure Centre and Cavern to the social media mania about the stabbing on Leighton Terrace in January, it's hardly been a slow news year. On a broader scale, the political climate has gone from being a little uncomfortably muggy to a full scale electric storm. The aftermath of Brexit, Trump vs Clinton, May vs Corbyn: the pressure to pick sides is getting more intense day by day. Our front page story discusses a third year Maths exam which has seen students raise serious questions. The anxiety that it has caused, particularly over the risks to their overall degree mark, have led to numerous complaints an even a formal investigation into the paper. Even if you've managed to dodge the stress of exam errors over the past weeks, tensions are always high at this point in the year. As the student community staggers bleary-eyed out of the exam hall and into celebration mode, with a shortage of energy and an excess of alcohol ﬂowing through our veins, we often need a little more TLC than usual to keep our thoughts and feelings healthy. Campus is quickly emptying out as people realise that, sometimes, the best thing to do is to head for the hills - or the beach. Get away as far away from the library as possible: make you "Great Exescape" with the guidance

of our Lifestyle writers on page 14. If you're too worn out (and/or hungover) to make it to Exmouth, take shelter from the summer heat in your nearest cinema with Screen's guide to the ﬁlms being released this summer on page 22. Of course, there are plenty of other reasons to be stuck to your screens at the moment. Exeposé will be joining Xpression FM and XTV on 8 June to produce six hours of live coverage of the General Election, starting at 10pm and running until 4am. Tune in on the Xpression FM website or XTV's Youtube livestream; more information about this can be found on page 12. We'll be live tweeting and our website will have rolling upates on everything. that happens throughout the night. The shaping of opinions by media and culture sectors comes up a lot in this issue; Arts + Lit (page 19) and Music (page 20) are both looking at how we respond to politics in art, and Comment are concerned about fake news in their piece on page 8. Alongside this, our Features editors have produced some fantastic work to keep you clued in and giggling all the way to the polling station. See page 10 for their assessment of the most important constituencies to keep an eye on Thursday night, and page 11 for a slightly less serious (but no less savvy) satire of all of the major parties. And if it all goes to pot, there's always plan B - Science have been working on intergalactic law on page 28, so we can probably ﬁgure out a way to commandeer a new planet.

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COMMENT Do you want to see in the dark? Eat your carrots PAGE 7

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FEATURES General election coverage PAGEs 10-11 Image: Flickr Image: Wikimedia Commons

Lifestyle Editors Print: Lauren Geall & Barbara Balogun Online: Bethan Gilson & Melissa Barker lifestyle@exepose.com

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SCIENCE Blood tests to predict cancer PAGE 29

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Worldwide university news Micro-campuses improve Sexist dresscode for access to education Belgian graduation

First Lego professor University response appointed in Cambridge to extremist activity

N estimated 400 million people in developing countries have no access to higher education. For students who cannot afford the cost of a degree in the United States, the University of Arizona has developed a new model for transnational education, named a micro-campus. Micro-campuses use technology to deliver the same high standard of education to students across the world, with two already in operation and eleven planned to be underway soon. UA partner universities provide the physical campus and classrooms, whilst the micro campus model enables ‘ﬂipped classrooms’, allowing students to watch lectures delivered from Arizona outside of class, and use this knowledge to work collaboratively during class time.

AUL Ramchandani has been appointed as the University of Cambridge's ﬁrst "Lego professor of play". Ramchandani is an expert in child mental health and development and will be paid £84,000 per year, which is the average pay for a Cambridge professor. The position is a part of the Lego Foundation's Play in Education, Development, and Learning (PEDAL) initiative, which has provided a £4m grant for the new professor and has built a research centre focused on children's play for the Faculty of Education. This research aims to better understand the importance of play in children's development, teaching them skills like problem solving, teamwork and self-control.

UNIVERSITY in Belgium has come under ﬁre for asking its female students to wear a revealing neckline to their graduation. The Brussels Free University (ULB) had sent an email to its medicine students asking that "from an aesthetic point of view, it is preferable if young women wear a dress or a skirt and a nice low neckline". The email also said that this was not compulsory, but a screenshot of it ended up on the ULF Confessions Facebook page. Comments on the post asked: "Is this a joke? They are graduates of medicine and we’re asking them to show their chest?". The University has since apologised in a Facebook post, but an internal email to students was criticised as it contained no apology.

Both photos: Wikimedia Commons

INCE Trump’s election to President, racism and sexism has risen across America. The threat from extremists was clear last week with the killing of Richard Collins III, who was due to graduate in a few days’ time from Bowie State University, Maryland, being stabbed by a fellow white student. This case has raised questions about how college ofﬁcials should be responding upon being made aware of hate-activity among students, and unfortunately it appears that often campus ofﬁcials cannot do much due to everyone being able to express free speech, and therefore often there can be no punishment until someone’s actions are made clear. Natalie Keffler and Megan Davies, News Editors

News Emails cause exam investigation CONTINUED FROM FRONT

“All we’ve heard is that scaling might happen and that they’ll be careful in future years. That’s not really good enough - I don’t see how they’re going to ﬁx this year’s given how unfair it was.” Another student added: “I feel extremely gutted about these exams. I spent so much time working towards them and feel like I could have achieved the same going into the exam having revised just the night before. “It’s a real shame that the last part of

my university career is overshadowed by this saga and I really hope that I am not robbed of my 2.1”

It’s frutrating that the situation...has been the way it is Harry Reeve, VP Education In a meeting of the Maths StudentStaff Liaison Committee (SSLC) on 26 May, staff admitted that mistakes had

been made, and that students should have been informed of changes to the exam sooner. Further, they pointed out that the exam is now being investigated from outside of the department, and that there is no plan to make maths exams harder in general. Still, this wasn’t enough to convince all students, with one telling Exeposé: “I found out about the investigation through our SSLC, not through the staff actually contacting everyone. “Given how stressed myself and others are about this exam, it’d be nice if they kept us informed.” Commenting on the matter, Harry Reeve, VP Education, told Exeposé: “It’s frustrating that the situation regarding the Maths summer exams this year has been the way it is, and my feelings are with the many students who sat those exams after studying so hard. “However, it is good to know that the University are addressing the situation in a formal manner, and we should be expecting an outcome shortly as to how they can best mitigate against the circumstances. A University of Exeter spokesman said: “We are investigating concerns raised by students relating to an exam for a spe-

Guild Awards shortlists announced Graham Moore Copy Editor

HE shortlists for this year’s Guild Awards have been announced. Probably the most prestigious awards night this side of the Oscars (or at least featuring presenters more skilled at accurately reading small pieces of card), the University of Exeter’s Guild Awards have annually celebrated outstanding commitment and achievement by our students and alumni since their introduction in 2013. The awards consist of eleven categories ranging from Community Impact to Outstanding Individual Contribution, with the shortlisted groups and individuals having been selected from over 600 student nominations. This year’s shortlists - visible in full via the Guild website at exeterguild.org/ guildawards – showcase the highlights of an impressively productive year for Exeter’s student body. For ‘Campaign of the Year’, the We Are All Exeter campaign goes up

against Exeter Beats Eating Disorders, Exeter Islamic Society’s Charity Week, and Respect Your Rack; ‘Event of the Year’, meanwhile, ranges from RAG’s Jailbreak to Xmedia’s US Election coverage. The hotly contested ‘Student Group of the Year’ this time sees Xpression FM, the Model United Nations, Student Action for Refugees, and BodySoc pitted against each other; last year’s winner, Exeter University First Aid Society, did not make the shortlist to defend its title. Repeat nominations include Leah

Fuller, last year for ‘Outstanding Commitment to Student Welfare and Support’, this year for the ‘Alumni Contribution Award’. Fuller was nominated last year both individually and as part of Mind Your Head; this year, a similar feat has been achieved by Medicine students Navin Mukundu Nagesh and Bogdan Chiva Giurca, whose joint nomination for ‘Student Leader(s) of the Year’ comes alongside their National Pathology Week’s nomination under ‘Student-Led Project’. In that category they are up against Exeter Beats Eating Disorders (also a double nominee), Loud and Queer, and Exeter Vegshare. These projects exemplify just the gilded tip of the iceberg that is the Exeter student body’s ongoing efforts to aid health (both physical and mental) and diversity in the University community. The event will be hosted at Streatham Campus’ Great Hall, with attendance exclusive to nominees and invited guests.

cific mathematics module. The College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences treats any concerns that are raised seriously, and is now working with students and staff regarding this issue. “While this investigation is taking place, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time. However, the University has robust procedures for approval of all exam papers, which are all checked by an external examiner from outside the University to confirm the questions are both appropriate for the module content, and as an assessment of learning at the level of study. This procedure was correctly followed for this exam paper, and comments raised by the external examiner were incorporated in the final exam paper.”

É If you have concerns about any exams, you can contact: -Harry Reeve, VP Education -Students’ Guild Advice Unit -SSLC Reps -College staff -Your personal tutor

Guild faces budget shortfall

HE Students’ Guild is currently facing a £150,000 gap in its budgeting for next year, according to an internal Guild email obtained by Exeposé. The email was sent out to all staff within the Guild on 22 May. It described the shortfall as “a significant amount of money, but for an organisation of our size [it] is not insurmountable and we will be working hard to find the best fit solution for our organisation.” It also points out that the gap needs to be closed “before the start of the next academic year.” Exeposé has since been informed that the £150,000 gap is the result of both a decline in expectations of revenue, as well as a series of ambitious budgeting from the various arms of the Guild. £50,000 comes from additional liability that has been placed on the Guild from a previous staff pension scheme. Meetings are ongoing within the Guild to determine where savings can, and will, be made. Owain Evans, Editor

NEWS EDITORS: Natalie Keffler Megan Davies

Sahel rainfall predict-

ECENT modelling by climate scientists from both the Met Ofﬁce and University of Exeter has had success in predicting summer rainfall in the Africa’s Sahel region, one of the most arid and drought-prone regions in the world. Publishing in the Nature Communications journal, the team led by Penryn’s Dr Katy Sheen found that warmer sea surface temperatures in both the Mediterranean and Northern Atlantic is set to enhance Sahel rainfal. The research was modelled via the Met Ofﬁce Hadley Centre’s Decadal Projection System (DePreSys). Graham Moore, Copy Editor

Plants can’t make up for

EW research conducted by a global team, including Professor Tim Lenton from the University of Exeter, has suggested that growing plants to absorb carbon dioxide is not an effective enough way to cut the damage of fossil fuel use. As the lead author of the project, Lena Boysen explained, “If we continue burning coal and oil the way we do today and regret our inaction later, the amounts of greenhouse gas we would need to take out of the atmosphere… would be too huge to manage”. Although this method could assist the ﬁght against global temperature rise, it must be utilised alongside stronger measures such as greatly reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Lauren Geall, Lifestyle Editor

Concept of matter preceded Galileo

T has recently been discovered that scientist Santorio Santori explained the concept of ‘matter’ twenty years before Galileo, discovered amongst the archives in the British Museum. The man responsible for the discovery is Exeter’s Dr Fabrizio Bigotti from the Centre for Medical History. The book Commentaria in primam Fen primi libri Canonis Avicenna (A Commentary of the first Fen of the first book of Avicenna’s Canon) shows Santori believed that matter was made from ‘corpuscles’, this idea being revolutionary at the time because it criticsed the idea that magic and the occult could be found in nature. Dr Bigotti hopes this newly found evidence will lead to greater understanding of the development of chemical knowledge Heledd Wilshaw, News Team

5 JUN 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

NEWS

Hubs to be extended in summer

Ruby Bosanquet Online News Editor

HERE are plans to reorganise Streatham’s student information points and hubs throughout campus. September will see the opening of new information hubs in Harrison, Washington Singer and Peter Chalk later in March. The developments will be information points with nearby study and catering facilities. These hubs aim to improve access for student support, particularly in regards to wellbeing and careers. In respects to this each information point will strive to offer careers advice and wellbeing workshops. The new developments also aim to help fulﬁl the constant student demand for more study space and catering facilities across campus. According to the university, the developments at Peter Chalk will include a drop-in careers advice service from 11am to 2pm, as well as wellbeing workshops. Three seminar rooms will be repositioned in order to make space for 105 new study spaces, as well as a new

café and self-service catering facilities. These aim to create a sense of community for all those students who use Peter Chalk. Work in Peter chalk is to finish in April 2018. Info at Harrison will mirror these developments at Peter Chalk, including a drop in careers advice service and wellbeing workshops. The refurbishment will create a 55-seater informal study space, a ‘grab and go’ café, two meeting rooms and an extended discipline office. Similarly, Washington Singer plans to create space for 15 new study seats, creating a social area equipped with self-catering. There is currently a competition to ‘name the space’ at Washington Singer, so any psychology students and regular users of the building have the chance to truly personalise their new development. A University of Exeter spokesman said: “We constantly work to update learning spaces for students to ensure they meet their needs. During the summer building work will start in Harrison, Peter Chalk and Washington Singer to create more areas for students to eat, socialise, study and find support.

“By September there will be an additional 15 new study spaces and selfservice catering facilities, including a microwave and hot and cold water, in Washington Singer. “Plans are underway to create a similar space in the Amory building which will be available for use at by September 2018. The design of these spaces has been through project teams of students, academics and Professional service staff to ensure they meet the needs of those who will be using and working within these spaces. We would like to thank the Guild for their support for the project which has been invaluable. “A number of projects are also taking place throughout the summer to enhance the learning spaces across the Streatham and St Luke’s campuses, from enhanced furniture to new audiovisual systems. Some of the buildings receiving these upgrades include the Queens lecture theatres, IAIS seminar rooms, Amory seminar rooms, some Amory lecture theatres and Baring Court and North Cloisters in St Luke’s”.

Idea wants to review Ideas system Megan Davies News Editor

STUDENT Idea opened on 25 May, proposing to review the Student Ideas system. The justiﬁcation of the Idea, called “Repeal and Replace Student Ideas” criticises the platform for being “ineffective, unengaging and a liability for the Guild”. The creator of the Idea claims that last year, there were sixty ideas compared to eight this year. It is unclear to Exeposé whether this year’s numbers are accurate. It also criticises both the moderation of comments on some Ideas and the fact that ideas go live which would be “legally questionable to implement”. The Idea has been criticised for not offering a viable alternative to Student Ideas. Gary McLachlan, Change, Policy and Research

Manager, also commented defending the Guild’s moderation of Ideas, writing: “We don’t moderate student ideas unless the law will deﬁnitely be broken at the point the Idea goes live… I worry about actual illegality, not potential illegality which has not yet had our members’ views expressed through voting”. Student Ideas were introduced in 2014 after a democratic review of the Guild. According to the Guild website, they have improved student engagement with the Guild and have been “the largest participatory democracy in the UK student sector” for the past two years. The Idea closes at midnight on 7 June.

Image: Exeter Students’ Guild

Students’ waste to go to charity Climate project rewarded Graham Moore Copy Editor

T is a truth universally acknowledged that a student moving out must suddenly have a dauntingly large amount of possessions. All the paraphernalia which is invariably accumulated over the course of a year surfaces, like some DIY Lovecraftian creation, from the depths of cupboards and crevices. No doubt the feeling is familiar – you are left staring at a box of assorted belongings that must have seemed like a good idea at the time (and some that you swear you’ve never even seen before), wondering just how to dispose of so many extraneous items. But fear not! For help is at hand, in the shape of “Students on the Move”, an annual scheme providing University-subsidised waste collections to those in private accommodation. After picking up a refuse collection sticker from your nearest Guild or University information point, simply activate your free collection via the supplied text code. Collections are on Mondays and Fridays, and a

‘caddy’ service to aid glass recycling is also available. And to what ends are my oncetreasured possessions destined, I hear you ask? All to good causes, of course! Those unwanted items suitable for resale can be donated to the British Heart Foundation, whilst foodstuffs (un-opened, non-perishable, and indate) will go to the Exeter Foodbank. Whilst the glass recycling service does necessitate a £2 donation (for up to twelve bags of glassware), all of those proceeds go towards the Queens Cres-

cent Garden Project, a community regeneration project in the St James area. So, before you cast the detritus of that estranged corner of your room (everybody has that one corner) unceremoniously into the bin - or into an unwitting neighbours conveniently located skip – consider Students on the Move. Not only is the service convenient and easy to use, but it is also all for a good cause. For more information visit an information point on campus, or email streetwise@ex.ac.uk.

Image: health.mil

Theodore Stone News Team

GLOBAL Climate Change story map, created and developed by the University of Exeter has won an award. The free course - Climate Change: Challenges and Solutions - won the Community Engagement category at the national Customer Success Awards, run by Esri UK, who also supplied the Geographic Information Software (GIS) used to produce the story map. Using the data and software provided, the app was able to share the stories of the learners within the course, with over 40,000 people from a raft of countries; from Britain to Cameroon to Mexico to Myanmar, taking part and sharing their experiences, whilst engaging in debates on potential solutions to problems caused by Climate Change, with a rich mixture of those who wanted to lead more eco-friendly lives and those who had already been affected by climate change. Created by Dr Damien Mansell, a Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography at the University of Ex-

eter, alongside Professor Tim Lenton, Chair in Climate Change and Earth System Science, the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), was used to, in their own words, facilitate “dynamic interaction with our leading researchers, bringing the dialogue of the tutorial within reach of global learners.” The course also featured several undergraduates, with Liam Taylor being singled-out by the Deputy ViceChancellor (Education), Professor Tim Quine, for his willingness to take the “transformation further, creating new knowledge by encouraging and publishing a digital interactive map of learner stories from across the globe.” Although the current course has now been completed, it is set to run again in January 2018, with more details set to be published on the University’s website later this year.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

AW A R D W I N N I N G

PIE & MASH S NA CKS , CA KES , COF F EE

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 EXETE R S TU DE NTS ’ G U I L D – I N DH 1, U P S TA I RS F ROM COMIDA 1 ST FLO O R, DEVO NSHIRE HO USE, STO KER RO AD EX 4 4P Z

5 JUN 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

Comment

COMMENT EDITORS: Alicia Rees Malcolm Wong

Fake news and modern journalism

Graham Moore Copy Editor

HE way we receive information and news has changed drastically in the past few decades alone. Some days it seems as if we have strayed into some postmodern apocalypse of journalism; where everything is dubbed fake news, clickbait articles have superceded old-fashioned content; and everybody on Facebook from your old school friends to your grandmother is nurturing a budding career in political commentary. When the media is a maelstrom of opinion and vitriol, often as loosely related to fact as Jeremy Hunt’s moral compass is to the real world, we may often find ourselves wondering: what can we really believe? Are these simply the death throes of traditional journalism? Information, true or otherwise, is so easily distributed in the modern world. This is both a blessing and a curse – whilst it breaks down barriers, enabling the previously unheard to contribute to discussion, it also empowers those willing to broadcast

outright untruths in order to either aid their narratives or just to go viral. Whilst the words “fake news” may be thrown around by certain entities in attempts to justify themselves and undermine their detractors (often in self-contradiction – see recent analysis of Trump’s “fake news” allegations by the Washington Post), the phenomenon is not to be played off as a simple buzzword. It is, unfortunately, all too real. It is also, in its mainstream form, not as light-hearted or amicable as one might hope – in the aftermath of Manchester, numerous hoax missing person posts circulated virally on social media. Insensitive posts such as these spread misinformation, obstruct and distract from legitimate efforts, and are even sometimes taken up by regular media outlets. So where does this brave new world leave traditional journalism? In a recent study, the University of Melbourne’s Dr Margaret Simons (describing her findings in the Guardian) sought to establish how journalism affects “operations of democracy, and civic society in general”. The project surmised three types of impact: “relational” (response

and action by institutions, political and otherwise), “engagement” (response and action by individuals), and “reach” (both in terms of raw audience numbers and demographics). Simons and her colleagues noted particularly marked effects when it came to campaigning efforts, where the actions of activists and political groups were greatly enabled by media amplification. Whilst charting the numerical decline of traditional journalism, Simons is quick to praise the merits of the information age in allowing wider demographics to access and create media. Clearly, however, these greater freedoms come at a price, and amongst that price is the rising risk of “fake news”. This risk is further exacerbated by the increasingly competitive journalistic world, where traditional outlets are pitted against the likes of viral content and the attention-grabbing clickbait spewed forth from the likes of BuzzFeed. Some have turned to similarly sensationalist tactics, such as the Independent, with many sacrificing quality of journalism and substantial content for the sake of Facebook shares. It is this rise of sensationalism, itself in-

dicative of a consumer shift towards shorter and more immediately engaging content, which tends to allow the amplification of false information. As traditional journalism struggles to keep up with the fast pace of modern information, all too often integrity and verification is sacrificed. It is this situation which has led to viral “fake news”, such as that created in the wake of incidents in Manchester, being picked up and spread by supposedly trustworthy sources.

Greater freedoms come at a price These examples are at the extreme end of the spectrum, and are made even more outrageous by the painful context of the misinformation. To an extent, the onus is certainly on news sources to properly verify their information; however, a campaign of McCarthyist mudslinging is not an effective method of counteracting the damage caused by “fake news”. As primary consumers of this journalistic output, we are – to use Dr Simons’ model – the in-

stigators of both “engagement” and “reach”. We decide what news we act upon and respond to, we dictate our “engagement”, and now – as proven by the increasing drive for sensationalism – we are also a key engine behind the “reach” of journalism and media. Decisions ranging from whether or not we respond with actual proactive effort, or even just click ‘Share’, enable us to direct, amplify or lessen the impact of journalism. These decisions need to stem from a personal assessment of the item’s credibility: where is the information coming from? Is it verifiable? What further motive might the journalistic source have for publishing this, and should we, by enabling their reach, further enable it? The “fake news” phenomenon will not dissipate unless we exercise a degree of cynicism and critical engagement when interacting with media. As we come into contact with diverse opinions, it is increasingly important that we distinguish between those that hold truth and those that for varying reason simply disguise themselves as fact. The world is not yet post-truth – we have the power to ensure that it stays that way.

Coachella? Not quite Olivia Horncastle Online Editor

FTER a long year of working hard at their degrees, many students will be flocking to various festivals this summer and who doesn’t love a good music festival over their long summer break? The music, the outfits… the drugs and alcohol-abuse culture? It is safe to say that festivals these days are no longer the same as festivals of the past they now contain more glitter and selfie sticks then bands. But one thing is similar to the festivals that our parents attended back in the 70s- the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll which still exists today. However, the use of weed and free love has been replaced with hard drugs mixed with over-drinking for the entirety of the

event. Having lived in Reading before I came to Exeter, I have been to Reading Festival many times and love to hear the wonderfully horriﬁc stories that surround the summer experience. I have had friends who have been hospitalised from heavy drug use; who have been assaulted or had their tents destroyed due to drunken and drugged-up individuals. Festivals should be about music, summer and relaxing to your favourite bands. There is nothing wrong with drinking over-priced pints and having a good time at a festival. Somehow, I always end up spending insane amounts of money on £10 pints and ﬁ nd it completely acceptable. But what is the point of spending hundreds of pounds on festivals each year only to consume masses of narcotics and drink so many strange spirits that you do not remember any of the actual acts? I

know people who sit in their smelly old tents and drink rather than seeing the headline acts. In fact, I know people that have gone to Reading Festival and have spent the entire four days barely leaving the campsite, just consuming more alcohol and drugs than most people will consume in their lifetime. It is safe to say that their mothers do not know about this behaviour. Students are known for loving a bit of alcohol and drugs but summer festivals seem to bring out the worst in the binge drinking culture surrounding universities these days. A big danger surrounding festivals this year is the violence that has become a frequent occurence. Nor have I attended any festival where no major fights have broken out in the dance tent at 2am. I have never been to a festival where I have not witnessed people having their belongings stolen

and every September on my return to University my ears are filled with stories of sexual assault or groping occurring at the hands of druggedup men thinking that they can make use of being surrounded by lots of girls in summer shorts and crop tops. I love a good festival and I love a good rave after a May filled with deadlines and exams. But I hate the new culture that surrounds these events. The entire campsites smell of weed and alcohol and it becomes complete-

ly normal to see people throwing up at 11am before acts even begin. People should be allowed to do what they like and enjoy festivals how they want too. But consuming considerable amounts of drugs and alcohol to sink a ship, then destroying peoples tents and assaulting other festival-goers should not be considered ‘normal’ or acceptable behaviour for students to participate in over their summer. So by all means go to Reading Festival, V-fest or Exefest- but actually remember that your behaviour should not negatively impact other students at these events.

COMMENT

Vote? Deﬁnitely. Tactical vote? Maybe... Theodore Stone Contributor

O you have your voting slip, and you have found a party that you like. All you have to do now is get out of bed on June 8 and vote for them, right? Well, maybe. If you are voting in a seat where your incumbent MP is also a member of the party that you support, or your party’s candidate is the biggest threat to the incumbent, then job done, you have got it made. But what about if your party’s candidate is neither of these things? What if they only got 2% of the vote last time and look set to not do much better this time around? Worse still is if your party’s candidate is doing well, but in a way that could prove detrimental to MPs riding ahead of them, who could lose the election to the party you really dislike. What if you wanted the Greens to win, but voting for them could lead to the Labour candidate losing to the Conservative? Alternatively, what if you really like Lord Buckethead, but voting for it would lead to a Labour victory? If you feel affected by any of these problems, I

might be able to peddle a solution. Across the internet (and by that, I mean, across the Metropolitan Liberal Elite Fortress of Solitude that I exist within), multiple independent campaigns have been taking off that promote a different way of thinking, and a way of voting that, although seems obvious, is often ignored by both the press and by those trying to work out who would irritate them less over the next five years (well, two years, who knows how long it’ll be until another election).

You are able to break away from the geographical constrictions The gist is simple. There could be a candidate you really, really like, but whose performance could lead to a more prominent candidate winning who represents a form of politics that is directly in opposition to yours. Whats more, there could be a candidate in the area who, although not as suited to your tastes, is nonetheless more equivocal to your way of thinking, and thus would do more good than your newfound arch-nemesis. In this event, the

best thing to do is to vote for them, for their candidate, and they vote since it would thereby lead you to for yours. Because of this, you wind up not only having an MP who is only mildly irritating, as opposed to in- able to not only give an MP you are comprehensibly irritating. There are more content with power, but also a number of sites that promote this, adhere to your own personal prefprimarily on an anti-Conservative erence, with only a few extra steps level (since, well, UKIP are self-im- in between. In essence, you are able molating and are thus not in any way to break away from the geographicapable of cutting into the right, cal constrictions of Parliamentary whereas the left remains much more First-Past-the-Post, and embrace a divided). Tactical 2017 and More United are perhaps the most notable of these candidateover-party campaigns, with the desired result being... Of course, you could still want to vote for the party you like the most, but, because of this impasse, you wind up in an existential quandary. The best solution here is to head to Swap My Vote. This website acts a bit like a dating site, allowing you to connect with people in various parts of the country and exPhoto: Geograph change votes; you vote

Halls 101: The ups and the downs self, and all in all, any grime has been manageable. The biggest stereotype about halls that I heard before coming to Exeter seems to be that they S with most people - pre- are gritty, dirty and old. I didn’t live sumably - I was a little nerv- in the most modern halls (although ous about moving into halls I envy Lafrowda for their practical for the first time. Of course I wanted wardrobes and large shelves). There to be an Independent Grown Wom- was some mould. It was not always an, but freshers are meant to party the cleanest. It was scary in the beall day, and what if the kitchen was ginning, but I found that I got used dirty? The only person I knew who to my surroundings quickly enough. had lived in halls only remembered As nervous as I was, I could deal them as “cold”. I had followed my with a new, different, scary home. Things have turned out fine. mum’s advice and ticked the “quiet The people who picked a f lat” option, so I also worquiet hall were like ried that I might never me - first-years who see my f latmates, didn’t know anyever, and that my one at university social life was ruand were happy ined from the getto make friends. I go. got to meet people Some of my I would not usually fears were justified: Photo: Flickr have met - my f lathalls just are not as mates don’t share hobclean and neat and tidy bies or courses, and probas home. Bathroom f loors feel old. But I got lucky, got an en- ably would not have met, let alone suite, I learned to clean up after my- become friends had we not lived to-

Megan Davies News Editor

gether for a year. I study English and Drama, so chances of meeting geographers with a passion for horses or trains are slim. Of course, none of us are perfect, and not all of our relationships are perfect. We gave up on moving into a house together next year. Who knows if we will still be in touch further down the line. I’ve lost a pair of scissors that I really loved, and I have a suspicion that someone else loved them even more than me. But we have all been able to live our lives alongside each other in relative peace, and to leave each other alone when needed. Living on campus also had another advantage: I could leave at 9:25 am and still have a chance to make it to a 9:35 seminar. The f lipside is that living surrounded by other freshers only helps contribute to the “uni bubble”: I have not exactly met the local community… at all. This also makes me wonder how many locals have met students. I am going to miss halls; I just hope I can find those scissors before moving out.

more fluid variation, one that allows you to connect with others and vote together in order to create greater levels of satisfaction. A collective voice. In short, f you feel conflicted about your intentions, don’t despair. There are people who are here to help. Unless you want to vote for the Peelites, I’m afraid that they’re long-gone.

An ode to the Carrot Simon Johnson Contributor

HE carrot: one of the most recognisable of all foods, possibly due to its phallic shape or maybe it’s the distinctive orange colour which you just don’t get with any other food (oranges don’t count, they are named after a colour, the idiots. What is next, calling sweetcorn yellows?). And yet they were not always this vibrant, sexy hue. Back in the day they were a saucy shade of purple, right up until William I of Orange (another idiot named after the colour) decided he wanted a tribute to his royal heritage. For the common rejection of the vegetable, we thank parents for striving to ﬁ nd novel ways of forcing it down their little tyke’s throats. Telling them they will turn into some sort of super hero with uber vision always seems to encourage a quick gobble. Although they will not be giving you night vision anytime soon, these cone shaped wonders could help you in old age as

they do in fact contain beta-carotene, an important nutrient when it comes to maintaining vision. Of course, parents would not need to come up with these fairy tales if they knew how to properly serve an orange rocket. I think we all know a good roasted carrot is a heck of a lot better than a steamed carrot. Slap it on a plate with some nice roasted taters and a well-seasoned chicken breast and you have got yourself a meal ﬁt for Mr. Will Orange himself. Knowing him though he would probably complain that the chicken wasn’t green. But I hear you cry, how do I know which is the best carrot of the bunch? Well dear reader that is simple. Just look out for the three S’. Solid, Spotless and Strikingly orange. Stick to this easy rule and you cannot go wrong. A lot of people seem to think that size matters, I am here to tell you that they are wrong (at least in the world of carrots). Carrots can be thick or thin, long or short and, don’t worry at all if it’s a bit bent, not everything has to be straight. Although if it’s at a right angle you may struggle getting your chops around it.

5 JUN 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

James Angove Isabel Taylor

A step in the right direction

Deepa Lalwani discusses Taiwan’s recent ruling on same-sex marriages and LGBT rights across Asia

N Wednesday 24 May 2017, a landmark court case in Taiwan ruled in favour of same-sex marriage, and the country is now set to become the ﬁrst country in Asia with marriage equality. The press release from the top court stated that the current marriage law that disallowing same-sex unions is a “gross legislative ﬂaw” and that the right to marry is “vital to the sound development of personality and safeguarding of human dignity”. The build-up to marriage equality in Taiwan has been long-anticipated. The court case comes as a result of the pioneering activist Chi Chia-Wei’s lawsuit that aims to achieve legal recognition for his 30 year relationship with his partner. However, concern over the Democratic Progressive Party’s dedication to marriage equality has been expressed after President Tsai IngWen failed to push for gay marriage after highlighting her approval of it during her campaign.

Attitudes towards sexuality and gender are, in Asia, generally conservative.

The ruling itself allows Taiwan’s parliament two years to either amend or create laws to include same-sex marriage. Although celebrations began immediately after the success of the ruling, some of the LGBT+ community worry that the government will not grant complete marriage equality, and instead pass a new law that legalises same-sex unions but that does not give LGBT+ couples equal rights to heterosexual couples. Backlash from religious groups has cast further doubt over whether the government will create equal legislation, despite Taiwan being wellknown for its progressive values and for hosting Asia’s largest gay pride parade in Taipei, its capital.

Attitudes towards sexuality and gender are, in Asia, generally conservative. Homosexuality is a crime in many countries including India, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, and same-sex sexual activity, if discovered, is often punishable by imprisonment (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan), ﬁnes (Qatar, Saudi Arabia), deportation (UAE), public lashing (Yemen) or even the death penalty (Iran).

The ruling in Taiwan illustrates how socially progressive values are permeating Asia While we may perceive it as a thing of the past, violence against the LGBT+ community persists today across Asia: last week in Aceh, an Indonesian province that exercises Islamic law and criminalises homosexuality, two men were publicly caned 83 times each after being found in bed together, and just a few days ago a South Korean army captain was dishonourably discharged for sexual relations with another male soldier. It is difﬁcult, then, to reconcile these atrocities with the positive developments in Taiwan, but just as the Western world is divided when it comes to gay rights, so is most of Asia. In the countries where homosexuality has long since been decriminalised (China, Iraq, and Vietnam just to name a few), there is often a disparity between

recognition of heterosexual versus homosexual couples; similarly, antidiscrimination legislation rarely exists, rendering homophobia in employment the norm. LGBT+ individuals in Asia are usually not allowed to marry, adopt, or serve openly in the military. In the Far East in particular, gender changes are allowed by law, but only after sex reassignment surgery. This is the case in China, Hong Kong, and Japan. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity is thus institutionalised through the lack of

the relevant legislation and by ignoring the need to protect the right to expression of the LGBT+ community, the governments of these countries are complicit in the rampant homophobia and transphobia that continues today. On top of the failure of Asian governments to legislate against discrimination comes the disparity between de jure and de facto treatment of LGBT+ citizens. Even where laws that recognise homosexuality exist, LGBT+ individuals are still ostracised and excluded from society. On the ﬂip side, countries such as India where same-sex sexual activity is illegal have laws that are inclusive of certain groups, for example the recognition of the ‘third gender’ (hijra) by the Indian Supreme Court. Reportedly, the law banning homosexuality is rarely enforced but is used instead as a threat, just as the USA’s ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy prohibited closeted gay men from openly expressing their sexual orientation. Rather than strictly enforcing these laws, countries like India continue to foster homophobic environments by impressing upon the need for heterosexual marriage and traditional notions of family, and despite the recognition of the hijras, the 2014 law also declared transgender people as a “socially and economically backward class” that should be provided with speciﬁc welfare schemes.

Just as the Western world is divided when it comes to gay rights, so is most of Asia. Recognition does not always mean acceptance, just as legislation does not equate to equality. But no matter how far the majority of Asian countries still have to come in terms of both legal and social acceptance of the LGBT+ community, we must acknowledge the shortcomings of Western and European countries, too. The recent events in the Russian Republic of Chechnya have been referred to as a ‘gay genocide’ as dozens of gay men are now being forced to seek shelter in other countries while Chechen ofﬁcials have denied that gay people even exist in the republic. Gay marriage was only legalised in the USA two years ago despite decades of activism, while some European countries including Germany, Austria, Hungary and Italy only allow gay men into civil partnerships: lesbianism is typically ignored both in these countries and in many Asian

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countries, for example in Singapore and only criminalised in 1861 during the British Malaysia where male homosexuality is a Raj. Since the legalisation of gay marriage punishable offence yet same-sex female sexual relations are neither acknowledged in The Netherlands just sixteen years ago, nor targeted by legislation. Notably, British the advancement of LGBT+ rights has law had the same approach until the snowballed: marriage equality has become decriminalisation of male homosexuality an immediate expectation rather than the far-away hope it once was. The court ruling in 1967. in Taiwan Thus i l l u s t rates the West Wikimedia Commons how socially cannot p r o g r e s s i ve be seen values are as a total p ermeating beacon throughout Asia, o f and we may freedom hope that the when it media comes to Some Asian countries recognise recent third genders, despite having coverage of the LGBT+ punitive laws on homosexuality. violence and rights; See box below. discrimination likewise, we should not generalise by against gay men in Aceh and in South saying that all Asian countries are entirely Korea will give way to judicial change oppressive of sexuality and gender regarding the recognition of the LGBT+ identity. Indeed, much of the anti-LGBT+ community in Asia. Across the globe, the legislation that exists in Asia has its roots LGBT+ community celebrates the success in British colonial rule of these countries, in Taiwan for now, before returning to the such as in India, where homosexuality was ongoing ﬁght for equal rights.

THIRD GENDERS ACROSS THE WORLD The term third gender is used as a catch-all term to encompass people who feel as if their gender lies outside of the binary of male and female. We might associate this today with non-binary and transgender peoples in the West, but historically there have been third genders across the world. In Samoa there exists a gender unique to the A Fa’afafine show island, the Fa’afafine. Al- in Samoa though assigned the male gender at birth, Fa’afafine tend to embody feminine gender traits and traditionally assist in the communal family. They have and continue to be an integral part of Samoan culture and are almost Flickr completely accepted. Perhaps the most well-known gruop is the Hijra, who have a recorded history going back to antiquity. They fall neither into male or female gender roles, instead transcending gender identity altogether. Nepal, Pakistan, India and Bangaldesh have all recently enacted legislation giving the Hijra crucial legal recognition. Despite this, many Hijra still live in isolation and are often forced into sex work. What’s more, laws on homosexuality in the aforementioned contries remain harsh. In all of the countries apart from Nepal, same-sex activity is illegal and carries a prison sentence.

FEATURES

You say you want a Revolution T

HE idea that "this was the year where everything changed" is one that has been increasingly thrown around over the last two decades. Many have argued that 1997, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2016 were all years that embodied this notion. However, it is unlikely that any of these years will have quite the same effect on our history, culture and body politic as the events that occurred exactly one century ago. The very mention of the Russian Revolution(s) prompts acknowledgements of the vast political, social, cultural and economic transformations that stem directly from these events. This was the year that gave rise to Russia’s new life under the guise of the USSR, and with it, the twentieth century as we know it. By any standards, its capital city, Petrograd, was unlike any other in the European proximity. The ﬁfth-largest ‘metropolis' on the continent, it was less a sprawling pinnacle of imperial power than a 2.4 million-person sweatshop stuck in a rural nation. Seventy percent of its citizens worked in the factories, a ﬁgure unmatched anywhere else in the world. The populace had been sentenced to what seemed to be eternal squalor, with no developed water supplies, sewage systems, and three people to a single room. To call it hell would be almost complimentary.

No other city saw such stark polarisation emanate from its very heart However, extraordinary wealth was within reaching distance for the 70%, in almost literal fashion. The main factory district, on the Vyborg Side of the Rivera Neva, was directly opposite the imperial palace and the Nevsky Prospekt; one of the deﬁning symbols of Russian aristocracy. No other city in Europe saw such stark polarisation emanate from its very heart. London, Berlin and Paris all operated on pract i -

Theodore Stone ponders the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution

cally two separate planes of existence, the elite far removed from the working people. Alongside this, over 300,000 soldiers had been placed in and around Petrograd as a garrison. In short, it was as if a lit fuse had been dropped next to a keg of gunpowder. The question was not if it would explode, but when.

Of course, Russia was never a truly Communist nation However, it is important that we acknowledge the February and October Revolutions as separate entities. Whilst Bolsheviks were indeed components within the February Revolution, they only became the enginedrivers by the dawn of October’s. Russia did not leap from Tsars to Bolshevism in a single bound, instead, the opportunity to transform the nation beyond its already shaken state was taken by Lenin and his disciples on their own terms. It was never the Tsar who was overthrown in October, instead, it was those attempting to govern what had become of the country who were removed from ofﬁce. By July 1918, the nation had been torn into two, between supporters of Lenin’s new order and its provisional and Tsarist predecessors. Ruthless tactics became the norm, with dissenters crushed mercilessly to ensure this order. Lenin, Trotsky and those around them saw success because they demonstrated their vision to the public, won support for their initiatives, and were able to use their militias effectively. In other words, the sweeping mass of public support that Lenin seemingly rode to the Winter Palace is not exactly true. He was popular, that is not to be doubted, but he was also a ﬁgure that divided people, just as most are. His transformation of Russia from middling Republic to Communist State required bloodshed to make it a reality, not just the cries of delighted civilians. Of course, Russia was never a truly Communist nation. Its people were never

truly equal, its riches never truly shared. In spite of its vast wealth, it never endeavoured to share it with its populace. Over the last couple of decades, a consensus separate to the proclamations made by both state and supporters has emerged, in part thanks to Stephen Resnick and Richard Wolff, former Economics Professors the University of Massachusetts Amherst. To them, the nation that emerged from the Revolutions was never a truly Communist nation, but one that simply peddled a variant of state capitalism whilst wearing Marxist clothes. Instead of seeing the project through to its conclusion, the leaders of Stalin’s regime seem to have instead resorted to declaring it a success, without going further. It operated on capital accumulation and was continually required to pay for the apparatus and bureaucracy of the Communist Party. Although thinkers such as Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein were initially enamoured by the political project, visiting the nation saw them lose faith in it. To them, it was unlike any true form of socialist practice but was instead one that had succeeded in disguising its lapse in the democracy with its uniqueness. It was evidently lacking in the infrastructure needed by many of its citizens and failed to respect merits as advertised. Writing in his massively popular essay Why I Am Not a Communist, Russell described the government as “a minority resting its powers upon the activities of secret police is bound to be cruel, oppressive and obscurantist”. Indeed, as Orlando Figes remarked in A People’s Tragedy, Russia’s Bolshevik masters were “a form of absolutist rule, the Bolshevik regime was distinctly Russian.” From its secret police force to its ideological impositions, the postwar, post-revolution landscape maintained that now infamous

rule-by-strength methodology, with the TsarGod of the Orthodox Church now replaced by deiﬁc representations of Lenin and Stalin; elevated to superhuman status in an effort to create new cults of personality. These endeavours exploited the nation’s lack of a truly civil society and its lack of functionality when the rule of law as removed. Unlike those that moved more slowly from autocratic monarchies to parliamentary democracies, Russia never experienced deep democracy. All opportunities to practice new methods of governance had been squandered by those willing to do whatever they could to further their power. In many ways, the October Revolution was no different in its intents than the Tsarist struggles of old.

Humanitarian crimes of times past pale into insignificance before the Russian Revolution Perhaps this second revolution was what robbed the country of forming a truly democratic state. Indeed, the provisional government was one composed of a mixture of social democrats, conservatives and revolutionaries. It represented a wide variety of views within the nation and tried to accommodate for political divisions in order to bring about a new nation through acts of agreement and considered compromise. Indeed, the Russian-British Liberal philosopher Isaiah Berlin once wrote of the humanitarian crimes of times past as ones which “pale into insignificance before the Russian Revolution and its aftermath”. When considering the behaviour of organisations such as the KGB and the failure of many of the USSR’s projects, we would be hard-pressed to disagree. However, it would also be unwise to consider all of these atrocities to be preventable. By this point, the evident brutality of the First World War had inflicted misery upon the population. Starved, robbed of wealth through high taxes, and fed up with pursuing what they saw as

nothing but the Tsar’s final assault on their national pride, to say that the war’s conclusion was imminent, arriving just over a year later, would be, in essence, meaningless. The country had already been stretched to breaking point. To assume that the population would have put up with the conditions they remained under, with reform conspicuously absent, would be incorrect. This was a nation primed for change and to continue to respect the legacy of their now-defeated dictator was not on the menu. What’s more, the Provisional Government was weak and struggling to adapt to its new reality. By October, they had become dysfunctional enough for a strike to succeed, and, had the Bolsheviks not taken the hint, it is entirely possible that another faction would have instead. What’s more, it is undoubtedly the case that Hitler’s lust for power and ambition to conquer Russia would remain intact. Regardless of the success of this alternative history, Russia would have likely been unable to defend itself quite so efficiently, if horrifically, during the Second World War, because of the reduced likelihood of the tactics being deployed that eventually ensured success at Stalingrad. As such, it is near-impossible to speculate on the potential success of a non-Leninist/Stalinist government within post-1917 Russia within the scope of a single article, because of the sheer amount of variables that needed to be considered. Now, although some might claim that events such as Brexit or the Trump Presidency are equivocal to that of the Revolution, the short answer is that the comparisons are moot in many ways. Neither events have offered quite the same explosive shift within the dynamics of power, neither have erased the powers of the previous administration in quite so ruthless a fashion. Both have played out within our sphere of politics, through exploitation, rather than more damning, unprecedented methods. Of course, it should not be the case that we are complacent about our own democracy, or overlook its many flaws. The wall that exists between contemporary, civil society and the cries of revolution are much thinner than we often wish to acknowledge. In the end, if there’s anything to learn about the revolution, it is of how quickly our ideas can become corrupted. Not even the purest of intentions can be saved from untold harm, and simply because one’s project espouses the lines you might associate with a certain ideology, its practices can tell a very different story. The last one hundred years redefined humanity’s destiny in ways previously unimagined. The Revolutions of 1917 were its first bitter fruit.

5 JUN 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

FEATURES

James Angove and Isabel Taylor, Features Editors, assess the

Seats to watch DUMFRIESSHIRE, CLYDESDALE & TWEEDDALE (4:00) An SNP target seat and one of the three they failed to take in 2015. Currently held by the Scottish Secretary David Mundell, he’s been in the seat since it was created in 2005 - but in 2015 his majority was reduced to just 798, one of the smallest in Scotland. This one will be be indicative of wider Scottish trends and the performance of the SNP. Prediction: CON hold GOWER (3:00) Perhaps the biggest upset of the 2015 General Election was the Tories taking the Welsh constituency of Gower after 106 years of Labour representation. With a majority of just 27, this is currently the most marginal seat. Given the Conservative’s polling one might assume that it’s a certain hold. But, Labour managed to win here in the local elections and Welsh Labour have recently experienced a huge surge in support. Prediction: CON hold

EXETER (2:00) Ben Bradshaw faces the huge challenge of holding onto the only Labour seat south of Bristol. Exeter voted narrowly for Remain and Bradshaw too voted against triggering Article 50. Whilst this may help Bradshaw, the national swing against Labour will mean this is a true test of the sitting MP’s personal vote. Other factors include the loyalty of traditional Labour voters as well as the impact of a lack of a UKIP candidate. Prediction: LAB hold

MORAY (DECLARED 2:30) Angus Robertson’s constituency is one of multiple seats in Scotland where the Tories are expecting to make gains. The 2014 Referendum’s “NO” voters are increasingly backing the Scottish Conservatives, and the proportion of Leave voters supporting the party has increased at the same time from 33 per cent to 55 per cent since last September. Losing their most well known MP in Westminster would be a huge blow for the SNP. Prediction: SNP to CON

MORLEY & OUTWOOD (3:00) Formerly Ed Balls’ seat, Morley & Outwood was taken by the Conservatives in 2015 by just 422 votes. Despite national trends suggesting a swing to the Conservatives overall, Labour will throw everything they can at this seat in an attempt to win back a former stronghold. Prediction: CON hold

NORFOLK NORTH (2:00) Currently held by one of the 9 remaining Liberal Democrat MPs Norman Lamb, this seat is vulnerable. It is a pro-Leave region and therefore one of thekey target seats for the Conservatives. Prediction: LD to CON

CAMBRIDGE (3:00) Labour won here in 2015 with a slim majority of 599, taking over from the Liberal Democrats. The city is strongly pro-Remain (74%) and membership of the Liberal Democrats has doubled in the past year, but this was not reflected in the Council Elections earlier this year. This one will be a test of the future of the Lib Dems Prediction: LAB to LD

FEATURES

A LITTLE PARTY NEVER KILLED NOBODY A SIDEWAYS LOOK AT THE MAIN PARTIES James Angove and Isabel Taylor, Features Editors

conservatives MOST LIKELY TO: Steal cake from a children’s birthday party LEAST LIKELY TO: Talk to anyone on the doorstep

IF THEY WERE A BREAKFAST THEY’D BE.... Muesli. Popular amongst the old and well off. A bit dusty and backwards, but has recently attempted a rebrand.

LABOUR

liberal democrats

MOST LIKELY TO: Nationalise your mum

MOST LIKELY TO: Make a Christianbased gaffe

LEAST LIKELY TO: Invade your mum

LEAST LIKELY TO: Need all the ‘I agree with Tim’ badges they had made

IF THEY WERE A BREAKFAST THEY’D BE... Frosties. Youthful and energetic but doesn’t deliver on its initial promise SECRET WEAPON: Ed Miliband’s social media. SKELETON IN THE CLOSET: Read “Ken Livingstone hiding in a disabled toilet” DO SAY: “The Red Flag is an absolute banger” DON’T SAY: “I’m really looking forward to the leadership contest in the Autumn”

SKELETON IN THE CLOSET: Theresa May is the love child of a Dalek and a Cyberman

IF THEY WERE A BREAKFAST THEY’D BE... Crunchy Nut. For those who can’t face the harsh realities of corn flakes or the saccharine nature of Frosties. A bowl of compromise SECRET WEAPON: God gets to vote three times SKELETON IN THE CLOSET: What Tim Farron said about your mum DO SAY: “For the seats we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful” DON’T SAY: “Just a small minibus please”

SECRET WEAPON: Cold, ruthless calculation and warm-hearted, ruthful Ruth Davidson DO SAY: “Strong and stable strong and stable strong and stable strong and stable” DON’T SAY: “I will not call a snap general election”

GREEN MOST LIKELY TO: Grow up and become an investment banker LEAST LIKELY TO: Enjoy a spot of badger baiting IF THEY WERE A BREAKFAST THEY’D BE... An organic kale smoothie. Exclusively for the middle classes and is financially crippling SECRET WEAPON: Hot Air SKELETON IN THE CLOSET: A D in GCSE Mathematics DO SAY: “There’s this lovely new vegan coffee shop in Brighton” DON’T SAY: “I’ve always preferred the colour pink to be honest”

UKIP MOST LIKELY TO: Have a pint LEAST LIKELY TO: Stop at one pint IF THEY WERE A BREAKFAST THEY’D BE... A greasy full English and a fag SECRET WEAPON: A pint SKELETON IN THE CLOSET: A brief daliance with Lambrini DO SAY: “Let’s go for a pint” DON’T SAY: “Just a quiet one for me tonight”

Scottish national party MOST LIKELY TO: Deep fry their manifesto LEAST LIKELY TO: Serve it with veg IF THEY WERE A BREAKFAST THEY’D BE... Porridge. Obviously SECRET WEAPON: Is this a haggis I see before me?

PLAID CYMRU MOST LIKELY TO: Be irrelevant LEAST LIKELY TO: Gain any media attention IF THEY WERE A BREAKFAST THEY’D BE... A slightly soggy Welsh cake SECRET WEAPON: Not being labour

SKELETON IN THE CLOSET: Their track record in Holyrood

SKELETON IN THE CLOSET: A dead sheep

DO SAY: “Och aye Nicola’s a fine lass nae doot about it”

DO SAY: “BREAD OF HEAVEN, BREAD OF HEAVEN”

DON’T SAY:“Have you checked the price of oil lately?”

DON’T SAY: “Isn’t that a type of shirt?”

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The great Exe-scape W

Exeposé Lifestyle share their favourite spots outside Exeter

E'VE all been to Exmouth, but it’s easy to overlook how many other lovely places are within a stone’s throw, or rather a short and scenic train journey, from Exeter. One of these places is Totnes; around 22 miles from Exeter, it’s easily reachable by train from Exeter St Davids, with an open return ticket costing only £6.90. Totnes is a scenic little town on the edge of the River Dart, with a commitment to independent retailers, cafes and restaurants, and a staunch resistance to high street brands and chain stores. Totnes even has its own currency to support the local economy – the Totnes Pound! It's a lovely place to visit with friends or alone. The town is a 10-minute walk from the train station, and once you’re there it’s only a short walk to check out the scenic riverside or the Norman motte-and-bailey castle, owned by English Heritage. The beautiful red sandstone St. Mary’s Church and the array of new-age shops are also worth a

look; you might even be lucky enough to catch the twice-weekly market where you can buy antiques, second-hand books and handmade clothing. On my first visit to Totnes, I had a great time at the “Timehouse Muzeum”, a seemingly four-dimensional museum (think Narnia, or the Tardis!), fusing art, music and film to take the visitor on a journey through time “from 1940s Marrakech to 1970s chic!” The museum seems to go on in a labyrinth with lots to see, making it great for visitors of all ages! With over 40 independent coffee shops (residents of the town even protested the installation of a Costa branch to protect their independent coffee providers), you won’t go hungry or thirsty in Totnes. Whether you’re after Italian espresso or an organic soy caramel latte (guilty…), there’s a coffee shop for everyone. I’d particularly recommend the Tangerine Tree Café, just off the end of the high street. Totnes also has more than its fair share of cosy, welcoming inns and pubs. Totnes is a beautiful little town, and I can’t recommend it enough. It can be as chilled out or as active a day as you make it, but you’re guaranteed to have a wonderful time! Bea Fones

E all know that Exeter is a beautiful city, thriving with culture and eateries galore. But there is so much of the surrounding area that deserves more recognition. If you’ve become tiresome of our lovely little city and you want to escape for a few hours; the place I recommend is Dartmoor, one of two national parks that surround Exeter. Of course, Dartmoor is a vast expanse of countryside so I will concentrate on one particular spot that I absolutely adore. The Teign Valley offers extraordinary views in the heart of Dartmoor. When I hiked here, I started at Castle Drogo, which is a national trust property. To get there you can catch a direct bus from the Exeter bus station.

THIS PICTURESQUE SCENE IS AKIN TO A FAIRY-TALE

through the hills. It is all so very calming, so I highly recommend this area if you’re feeling a little stressed. Another point of interest along the trail was Fingle Bridge, conveniently located next to the Fingle Bridge Inn. A refreshing little pit stop to grab a drink on a warm summer’s day. This picturesque scene is akin to a fairy-tale and I can only enthuse about the amount of picnic potential it possesses. If you want somewhere to relax where the only sound is trickling water and twittering birds, then this is the place for you, hell I even saw a baby deer- it’s like living in a Disney film. Switch off your phone, abandon all your social media and embrace nature to relax for an afternoon or two. Tash Ebbutt, Deputy Editor

Feel free to explore the castle and its grounds or as I did, head straight for the valley which the castle overlooks. Before I left the property, I picked up a card with a circular route leading from the castle around the valley. There were two options and picking the longer one meant more places to explore. The route led me down into the valley, through the woods until I reached the streams and rivers which flow

Time to say goodbye Char Srahan explores the inevitable stresses of moving out

S a first year, I’ve been lucky enough to have lived in halls for the last 12 months. I haven’t had to trawl through lighting or gas bills, I’ve only had to stomach three 2am fire alarms and with regret, I haven’t spared a thought towards the pricey consequences of leaving the tap running or the lights on. Granted, halls offers a pretty cushy existence, but with the smooth comes the rough: I must now move out. A bright eyed and bushy tailed Fresher, I certainly got the certified-hoarder-memo. I’ve scooped any free item available with gusto: I now have a strong arsenal of inflatable aliens and phalluses, an array of bottle openers from almost every high street chain (if you’re wonder-

ing, the Specsavers one works especially well) and I’ve even capitalised on Nerf Gun merch – the N-Strike Mega Mastodon poster on my fire door never fails to impress visitors… namely the Lafrowda cat. I must too take this opportunity to thank various festival hosts and of course the Guild for my legion of free pyjama tees.

I BEGIN TO MOURN THE LOSS OF LAFROWDA CONVENIENCE IN MY LIFE Surely milking free goods is part of the Fresher job description? But, it has made my room a collector’s paradise.

The exams have been sat and in an ode to those huge blue IKEA bags, packing up time has come. Lest we forget all of the cutlery, dignity and getting a 1st aspirations I arrived with; try not to dwell on all that was lost as you bag-up your possessions – take it from me. At the beginning, I tried to systematically pack it all up but after 40 minutes my tights, printer paper, toaster and industrial supply of toilet paper could all be found in one bag. As the bare pin boards come to light and the fairy lights are lost, my room becomes more and more cell-like. At this point, I begin to mourn the loss of Lafrowda convenience in my life. So long, halls. Then, the parents arrive. If they’re determined to embarrass you they might hire a van

or borrow your uncle’s Fiat Multipla from the ancient times. If spurred on by your total humiliation, they might chat to your flatmates or tag themselves at your halls on Facebook. Once the ‘wagon’ is packed, it seems that most parents cannot help but declare that it’s time to ‘hit the road’. Naturally, the Sat-Nav will be set to a tiny province in Eastern Ukraine (why do they struggle so much with such a basic device?!) and Radio 4 will be blaring an ever riveting discussion on the history of the hole puncher. If the journey isn’t slightly painful, you’re doing it wrong. Try and enjoy the moving out nightmare, just try. At the end of all the stress lies summer, and we'll all be back before we know it, along with the inflatable aliens too.

EXHIBIT

LIFESTYLE

EDITORS: Barbara Balogun & Lauren Geall

5 JUN 2017 |

Lettuce examine Vegfest

Olivia Horncastle, Online Editor, gives us a summary of her day around veggies

down people’s throats is effective. Vegfest EFORE we start, let’s get all the was an amazing way of promoting jokes about the name veganism as fun, achieveable out of the way and kind without it havplease. Yes, it may be ing to be extreme. Sure, a rather amusing you could have gone name that sounds to talks or watched like a group of some factory-farm raw vegans footage but you meeting for a could equally vegcult but have ignored all the name of that and fodoesn’t do the cused on all the event justice. potential health So make those benefits of a vegan vegetable puns diet, or just enjoyed and jokes now the vegan wine and because this event cake with a clear conwas anything but the science that no animals had raw-vegetable-lovingOlivia Horncastle been hurt in the making of your cult that the name suggests food and drinks. it to be. When I first got told that I had two press passes to go to Vegfest Bristol on the May 21 I leaped to the conclusion that I would be disappointed. Having been a vegan for over a year now I was worried that the Mecca of vegan and vegetarian celebrations; Vegfest, would be a let-down. In the Instagram world of vegans The entire day was so full of information, I had seen countless individuals go to these fun and food that I truly believe anyone would events promoting the ice-cream sandwiches have appreciated it. Fifteen months ago, I and cheese-covered pizzas that are available, was an extreme dairy, meat and egg lover proclaiming the festivals that run throughout who thought vegans were extreme (and that the UK as the best days ever. I was worried that they were obviously lacking in protein). Had it would have been over-hyped and overlyI gone to Vegfest last year, I truly believe that expensive. A common myth about veganism is even I could have had my eyes opened about how expensive it is, and I didn’t want an overlyhow great vegan food can be and how easily expensive festival promoting this myth. vegans can get their protein. The wonderful thing about Vegfest was how open-minded it was; they had tents with ‘easy veganism’ talks such as nutrition and body building talks for those who were not vegan as well as more relaxed informative talks . They also had talks on ‘light veganism’ and ‘deep veganism’ However, the entire day was superwith more debates and animal cheap. Entry was a mere £7-10 ethic discussions. They redepending on when you got ally had something for tickets. But for this, you everyone! They got thousands of free had stands with tasters, three stages smoothies and full of entertainjuices for the ment, cookery raw vegans demos, over 180 and they had stalls and free curries and talks, so it was burgers and super cheap for a cakes and dirty full-packed day. fries for the Another one of more junk-food my worries was that focused vegans. it would be overly They had child enpreachy and rather tertainers walking extreme. One big thing around in fancy dress I believe as a vegan is NOT Flickr with bubbles for the children preaching! I believe animal acand they had beer and Pimms tents tivism and promoting the vegan way for the adults. The atmosphere was friendly and of eating is super important but personally I welcoming and when a couple decided to whip don’t think that shoving facts or horrible images

I TRULY BELIEVE THAT ANYONE WOULD HAVE APPRECIATED THE DAY

A COMMON MYTH ABOUT VEGANISM IS HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS

out a yoga mat and do some acro-yoga right extreme but if Vegfest showed me something, it was that veganism is now completely normal, outside of the beer tent, no one judged them. I personally thought that any student would fun and not at all limiting! All of the things peohave loved the day for one simple reason: the ple think vegans struggle with- being restricted free samples. Almost every chocolate or cake or with food options or not getting enough calcicheese had free tasters. You could easily have um or protein was debunked- the talks from venot brought a single item and have still left with gan bodybuilders showed that we DEFINITELY a happy vegan-goody-filled food baby at the can get enough protein and the rows of vegan hotdogs and churros and ice cream and chocoend of it. For those of you who are vegan I promise lates really showed that we never have to stop you would have been in heaven among the rows eating anything- we just have to change what we eat. of different cheeses and chocolates to So If you ever run out of try. For those of you who are not I food in your fridge, if you promise you that you would have thought about have enjoyed every minpotentially giving up ute of the day! Whethanimal-products or er you just spent it if you just want getting beer and a fun day out- I watching the cannot recommusicians on mend a Vegfest the main stage more! Sure, your or whether you friends may spent it going to make slight fun every inspiring of you for going talk, you would to something that have gained sounds so boring something from but when you come the day. The demoback with bags of some graphic that attended of the best tasting food was quite surprising with Max Pixel you will be able to shove all drunken youths, families, older the free samples in their faces. people, and every mix in-between. Veganism used to be weird, it used to be

Snack Attack Phoebe Davis, Online Editor, gives us her go-to recipe

O I used to love nachos. Like love love nachos. The first thing that came to my head when I found I was lactose intolerant was - but what about nachos? I am now vegan and in my adventures into vegan cooking I came across a ‘cheese’ recipe that has changed my nacho game forever. It is a pretty adaptable recipe, but you definitely need a good blender and the nutritional yeast (magic cheesy powder that can be found online or in health food stores)

Vegan Nacho Cheese Ingredients - A medium sized potato (you can also use a sweet potato) - 200g of carrots - 50ml of non-dairy milk - Handful of cashew nuts (pre-soak these in water to make blending them easier) - 2 tsp lemon juice - 1 tbsp of tomato paste - 1 tsp garlic powder - 1-2 tbsp of nutritional yeast (depending on how cheesy you want the sauce) - 1-2 tsp sea salt

Little Plus: You can also add silken tofu for extra creamness and protein Method 1. Peel and cube the potato and carrots 2. Boil for around 10 minutes 3. Drain and add to your blender 4. Blend till creamy (P.S. if you overcook the potatoes, or over blend the sauce, then it will be starchy and not creamy) 5. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. 6. Add more of the dairy-free milk if your mixture is too thick

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I like having mine straight out the blender, but you can make a big batch in advance and reheat on the hob when needed. You can also add this sauce to pasta, cauliflower and pretty much anything.

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arts + lit

A Musical Fable: Gypsy Review Beth Atkinson reviews Footlights’ simply spectacular Term 3 production of Sondheim’s musical GYPSY Barnfield Theatre, Exeter 18-20 May

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AVING not performed at the Barnfield Theatre for three years, Footlights returned to the venue in style with their minimalist, concert style production of Stephen Sondheim’s Gypsy. Created by almost the same creative team behind their sell out run of The Producers in January, Footlights have triumphed with a different approach to musical theatre through imaginative staging, clever characterisation, toe-tapping songs and child actors. This is the first Footlights production to do so, and the second ever show at the university, after Shotgun Theatre’s Made in Dagenham at the beginning of this year.

MINIMALIST, ALMOST CONCERT STYLE PRODUCTION Gypsy follows the story of Mama Rose, a wannabe Broadway star who in her fading years, decides to raise her daughters to become stars surrounded by other talented child actors,. She keeps them in the limbo of childhood to maintain the vaudeville act that she believes she will make her children famous. What makes Gypsy such an unusual show is not only the rather unlikeable lead role, but that the show ends with a scene rather than a number, leaving the audience

CULTURAL CALENDAR Festivals, events, exhibitions and other

in a state of intrigue as to what would come next after the show ends, almost anticipating a third act. Charlotte Blakeman shone in the demanding, mature role of Mama Rose, combining fierceness with passion and added layers of complexity to the stereotype of a pushy t h e a t r e mother. Amy Lo t h e r i n g t o n both gave and took the stage equally as Louise, the neglected daughter, and demonstrated how while the character may not have been as talented as her sister Amy certainly is. Following on from his leading role in The Producers, Ashley Gillard once again combined charm and depth to bring the role of Louise’s agent, Herbie, to life. He became much more than the love interest and as to the unhappiness he is left with at the end, he defies the norms of

Ledbury Poetry Festival Ledbury 30 June–9 July Latitude Festival Henham Park, Suffolk 12–15 July

the good guy always getting the girl at the end of the show. David Ballard and Ella Wilkinson as Tulsa and June must also be credited for their roles as they brought to life the dancing star and Mama Rose’s favourite child respectively. It is a shame, and a fault on the part of the writing more than the production, that we never see these characters after Act One and we never find out their full fate. Not only did the principals excel but the ensemble was an incredibly well cast and slick part of the production. The six child actors cast as June, Louise and the rest of the troupe were adorable in their roles and had a clear sense of the professional standard that Footlights adheres to and matches it brilliantly. Corin Vafidis and Stuart Duncan must be credited for their very clear characterisation

British Museum The American Dream:pop to the present 9 March–18 June Hokusai: beyond the Great Wave 25 May–13 August

cultural highlights occuring across Brtiain this season

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Edinburgh 4–28 August

V&A Museum Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains 13 May–1 October

in their ensemble roles and had the audience in stitches throughout their scenes. Kathryn Pridgeon, Donna Leny Hansen and Sarah Dean must be noted for perhaps stealing the second act as the strippers whom Louise encounters. The trio were unashamed in their performances and had the audience in stitches as they demonstrated the trials of burlesque, leaving the audience cheering for both the characters and the actors. Ben Philipp’s simple staging worked beautifully with Alice Potter’s choreography and the combination allowed the multi-set show to be manipulated with ease by the actors whilst not making the audience bored by the mundane task of scene changes. Philipp had clearly worked an awful lot on characterisation as each member of the company had clearly defined characters, no matter how many roles they played and continuity from child to adult actors was incredibly smooth. Whilst an understandable couple of hiccups occurred with radio mics, it barely deterred from the enjoyment of the show and Tom Arnold’s orchestra, placed centre stage sounded beautiful and perfectly accompanied the action onstage. While perhaps the show didn’t quite have the pizzazz of The Producers, Gypsy managed to hold its own with creativity, flair and a professional standard that had members of the public commenting upon in performances in town as part of publicity stunts. From Ben Philipp’s directorial leadership to producers Leigh Spence and George Simpson’s guidance and control, Footlights finished off an incredibly strong year with a beautiful piece of theatre. The bar is set high for next year.

Tate Modern Wolfgang Tillmans 15 February–11June Giacometti 10 May–10 September Exeter Northcott Theatre The Railway Children 16–25 June The Comedy of Errors 20–30 July

Summer Exhibition The Custom House, Exeter Quay 7–23 July. Cygnet Theatre Animal Farm 27 June– 1 July National Museum Cardiff Gillian Ayres 8 April–3 September Agatha Christie 17 June–3 September

EXHIBIT

ARTS + LIT

EDITORS: Mubanga Mweemba and Maddie Davies

5 JUN 2017 |

“All Issues Are Political Issues” Exeposé Arts+Lit writers discuss the role that artists and writers play in shaping poltics

ABLO Picasso once said that “a work of art must make a person react … it must agitate them and shake them up”. And that is precisely what Guernica - perhaps the most significant anti-war painting ever created - did to comment section of a Youtube video about the piece. “Naked Eagle” commented “Yeah let’s hyper-analyse a bloody kid’s drawing and see what happens next”. “The guy must have been on acid”, “Grey Chip” added. Naked Eagle raises a crucial point. When we invest in a painting like Guernica, a portion of our mental lives, what do we get out of it? What happens next? What happens next is the beautiful part. Art is an arrangement of symbols designed to produce changes in consciousness. As Alan Moore argues, it is the closest thing we have to magic and the changes in consciousness it produces are what makes it a profoundly transformative sociopolitical force

ROM Oscar nomination critique to President Trump’s proposal to slash arts funding in the USA, politics and the arts today have never been so interlinked. The Guerrilla Girls are a group of anonymous female activists. For three decades they as an egalitarian, all-female collective, have reproached the art world for its lack of diversity and are credited with bringing international attention to the issues of sexism and racism within the world of art through displays of artistic activism. Each member remains anonymous, sporting a gorilla mask and using pseudonyms that refer to deceased female artists. They were launched in 1985 in response to the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition “An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture”. This exhibition claimed to survey that era’s most important artists from seventeen countries, yet of its 165 artists exhibited, just thirteen were female. Over time, the stickers and posters

Painting: Guernica, Pablo Picasso with much power. Art’s political power lies in those moments after we stop soaking up its symbolism and look away. Glance at Guernica and you may notice a few things: it is a densely emotive scene — the figures appear panicked, in horror, in shock and perhaps surprised or bewildered. The contrast of blacks, whites and greys is distinct; the scene is superficially illuminated by two sources of light within what appears to be a room — the composition is crowded, it is a holistic tumult of the visual that condenses myriad reactions into a single flowing scene — it is difficult to tell where one figure ends and another begins. Guernica is a portrait of the pain and horror of war. On 26 April 1937, at the height of the Spanish Civil War, the town of Gernika in Basque country was viciously bombed by German and Italian allies of General Franco. Histori-

ans consider the bombing the first rehearsal of a total war Blitzknerg seen in World War II.

used by the Guerrilla Girls in their campaigns have become popular artefacts, with the Tate Modern displaying the group’s artwork in its permanent collection. Their most celebrated poster displayed at the Tate, resulted from data they took at the Met in 1989. Data from the museum’s public collections showed that women artists had produced less than 5% of the works in the Modern Art Department, whilst 85% of the nudes were female. The poster’s figure is based on the nude in Ingres’s painting entitled Odalisque and Slave with her face hidden by a gorilla mask. The poster ironically was originally designed to be a billboard commissioned by the Public Art Fund in New York, but it was rejected for being too suggestive. In retaliation, the group rented advertising space on New York’s public buses. With a recent exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery, they continue to wage what they call cultural warfare with the ammunition of wit.

ONATHAN Swift, who had about as much chill as a hyperthermic polar bear, is best known for his satirical tour-de-force Gulliver’s Travels. It is in 1726’s A Modest Proposal, however, that Swift reaches the apogee of biting satire in the English language. Himself an Irishman (alongside being a serial non-giver of fucks), Swift was angered by the mistreatment of the Irish at the hands of the British government. To this end, he proposed - quite modestly - that the solution to Ireland’s widespread poverty was simply that they, well, just eat their children. Although previously a great drain upon the economy, Swift suggests – with a poker-face liable to flush Lady Gaga with envy and turn James Bond weak at the knees – that these idle mouths would provide “a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome Food, whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled”. “Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients”, Swift adds, before apophatically listing a plethora of real solutions. When it comes to

Emily Stearn

ART IS ....DESIGNED TO PRODUCE CHANGES IN CONSCIOUSNESS On the left a woman wails skyward clutching her dead child. She is a poignant symbol of the pains of motherhood during war. A shocked bull rears its head into the light while a chicken and horse convulse with fear. For Juan Larrea, a friend of Picasso, the bull represents the Spanish people. Others say it signifies Picasso himself, barbarity or violence. The horse may signify the Spanish people under attack. Together the animals represent the amalgamation of human suffering and nature’s pain. War is a hideous af-

front to all. In the foreground a Republican soldier lies split in two; the Republican hopes are in pieces following defeats by General Franco’s nationalist army. Cover one eye and he appears lifeless, cover the other: dismayed. On the right there are three women. One escaping, one with arms in the air, and another with an oil lamp. Women are the key characters; they run from the flames, suffering and illuminating the horror of the image at the same time. A startling rendering of the effects of war on people and animals, Guernica’s emotive force and its ability to speak politically, proceeds from its inversion of heroism. It is a warning. It does not celebrate the heroes of a lost cause but exposes the drama of a suffering people. The heroism depicted in Guernica is that of human pain. Matthew Phillips, Online Features Editor utilising literary traditions to criticise real political problems, A Modest Proposal remains one of the finest examples available, as Swift brings classical Juvenalian influences to bear against British policy. He also satirises the idea that political issues can be solved by reducing human beings to mere numbers on a page – what could exhibit less empathy than the suggestion that an impoverished population simply eat their children? Are we not fortunate, then, that three centuries onward we live in a world where such criticism is no longer necessary? If we lived under a government seeking to systematically de-fund public healthcare, underfund education, and confidently run an entire election campaign on a few strong and stable soundbites, then surely Swift would have a field day. We must be thankful that this is not the case, else we may end up modestly proposing that our older citizens simply burn their grandchildren to subsidise reduced winter fuel allowances. Graham Moore, Copy Editor

music

The times they are a-changin' A

Exeposé Music contemplates music's place in current affairs

S an art form, it is impossible to divorce music from the social climate in which it is created. The chain of consequence between current affairs and artistic output is undeniable; even the most washed-out chart fodder is in some way a product of its times. As we move into a world where music can be distributed and experienced with unprecedented freedom, this has never been more diversely true. 40 years since the Sex Pistols released God Save the Queen, when punk was shattering social norms with little more than a few hastily selected chord, our ears live in a world of strange extremes. On the one hand, raw politicised lyrical expression from the likes of Kendrick Lamar; on the far other, the inane late-capitalist nihilistic irony of vapourwave; somewhere in between, the sterilised bubblegum of whatever Harry Styles is putting out these days. Strange times indeed, but then who could be surprised? As we grow more able to quickly exchange information and disseminate creativity, we become more aware of current affairs, and music comes closer and closer to the head of the curve. Music has more power than ever before – it can now project a voice for the underrepresented, with the resulting near-immediate global presence unable to be effectively censored. Recent examples have seen the musical responses to the Black Lives Matter movement (Beyonce’s ‘Freedom’, amongst many others), and even overwhelming

support for the Labour Party by Britain’s grime scene, with Boy Better Know’s JME sitting down with Corbyn to talk about voter engagement. Yet such discussion is necessarily overcast by a sobering shadow, as we mourn the horrific recent events in Manchester. In the wake of tragedy, the response from the musical community has been commendable, but it is the people of Manchester who show truly indomitable spirit. If footage of the hundreds gathered in St Ann’s Square singing ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ can’t move you, then what will – and what could be a more fitting expression? Graham Moore, Copy Editor

OLITICAL music is great. It’s led to some of the finest albums in recent history. Without the desire to explore contemporary social problems, we wouldn't have heard iconic releases such as R.E.M.’s Document, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly or Sly & the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Going On. The one problem that we fail to explore, however, is that these statements are becoming increasingly powerful, because they are failing to cross as many harsh boundaries. Take the 2016 project 1,000 Days, 1,000 Songs, where major artists would

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release a song each day in the run up to the 2016 US Presidential Election in order to help stop Trump. The problem here is that, as great as it is to hear R.E.M. and Aimee Mann release new and archived material in protest of Trump’s horrific political project, the demographics that will consume these releases will almost exclusively be the ones who have already made up their mind in this respect. They do less to change opinions than they do to shore up these opinions. The difference between these releases and, say, N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton is that they are shedding no new light on the terrible conditions suffered by those usually unobserved by the contemporary media. N.W.A spoke of subjects such as police brutality in a way that had almost never been consumed by a major audience before. Death Cab for Cutie’s Million Dollar Loan does not. If we really want our music to have an impact, we need to actually consider unexplored aspects of the human condition, not just what we feel comfortable with. Theo Stone

F, in 2012, you were a polticially illiterate fifteen year old like I was, the first time you heard Nick Clegg’s name may have been due to the viral sensation of his ‘Apology Song’. This autotuned version of Clegg’s speech attempting to make amends to the public for his vote to raise university tuition fees was released by the satirical website The Poke, and it now has over 3 million views. This brought the reality of politics straight to the demographic that it really affects in a totally accessible way but also very British way - by making fun of it. More recently, the band Captain SKA released the song ‘Liar Liar GE2017’, which directly uses clips from Theresa May’s speeches - covering the NHS, poverty, our education system, and even her promise that she would not be calling a snap election - and follows them with the chorus “she’s a liar, liar/No you can’t trust her”. This song jumped to the number 2 spot on the iTunes chart but hasn’t been played on major radio stations. Again we find an innovative (if potentially biased) way of spreading the word and engaging the public with a topic that often alienates and disillusions. You don’t have to be closely following every update to understand that the words of our prime minister used in the song don’t match up with what’s actually happening. Whether you agree with their sentiment or not, the song is catchy and quotable and, most importantly, accessible. Maddy Parker, Music Editor

ELECTION MIXTAPE Jonny Morris ‘What Took You So Long?’ The Courteeners Theo Stone ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It’ - R.E.M. Graham Moore ‘Little Lies’ Fleetwood Mac Ben Faulkner ‘I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish’- The Smiths

Maddy Parker ‘FML’ - Kanye West Olivia Denton- ‘Oh God’ - Jamie Cullum Emily Garbutt ‘Lying to You’ Keaton Henson Alex Brammer ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ D:Ream Rosie Shepard ‘Highway to Hell’ AC/DC

EXHIBIT

EDITORS: Alex Brammer and Maddy Parker

MUSIC

A Love Supreme

Alex Brammer, Music Editor, previews Love Supreme Festival in Brighton

OES it really feel like only fifty years since the Jacksons burst onto the musical scene? There’s an air of permanence around their early records, from their incredible debut single run on Motown of 'I Want You Back', 'ABC', 'The Love You Save' and 'I’ll Be There', through to later classics like 'Blame It On The Boogie', they had a barely believable string of successes in the Motown years. And it’s these successes that have led them to a world tour celebrating those fifty fantastic years – and coming to a town near you.

PROBABLY THE BEST JAZZ FESTIVAL IN THE UK Love Supreme Festival hosted its first festival in 2013 and has quickly grown to be probably the best jazz festival in the UK – across its three days this year it’s hosting a great variety of artists, from pop acts like Laura Mvula, to the Jacksons, to hipster heroes like Kamasi

Washington, The Robert Glasper Experiment and BADBADNOTGOOD. It’s this last act in particular who really excite me – their live shows trade jazz standards for covers of hip hop beats, from their collaborations with the likes of Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar to versions of classics like Gucci Mane’s 'Lemonade' and A Tribe Called Quest’s 'Electric Relaxation'. These guys are not to be missed at any cost. I mean, when was the last time you saw a mosh pit start at a jazz show? Along with the music, there’s a wealth of other activities – from being able to plunge into the UK’s old-

est public pool (opened in 1904) to dance offs, hula hoop workshops and even guided meditation, there’s something for everyone. It’s especially interesting in terms of food, as there are pop-up luxury meals provided by the fantastic Disappearing Dining Club, with endlessly interesting takes on traditional recipes and high-quality ingredients. Love Supreme will indulge your mouth just as much as your ears. Love Supreme is set deep in the Sussex countryside, at Glynde Place. The

Relax, take it easy

ALT-J RELAXER 2 June

AAA

MITATION is the highest form of praise, so when a video came out in 2015 of two guys eating rice cakes entitled 'how to write an Alt-J song', I'm sure Alt-J were extremely humbled (they even changed their Twitter profile picture to a rice cake). I am only bringing up this throwback because I feel like the band’s new album, Relaxer, has taken a leaf out of the piss-taking book. On first listen, I was very confused about the sound. It still had lead singer Joe Newman’s distinctive vocals, the heavy use of sampling and unusual lyrics that made me fall in love with their first two albums, An Awesome Wave and This is All Yours. But, they seem to be following the chorus of their track 'Hit Me Like That Snare': “Fuck you, I’ll do, what I wanna do”. The album toes the line between ‘take this seriously’ and ‘we don’t care at all’. Unfort u n a t e l y, this has meant not all of the tracks

work together in absolute harmony. But those that do, like 'Deadcrush', are up there as the best from the band. The pre-release track '3WW' is also up there as one of my favourites, managing to make singing binary cool. 'House of the Rising Sun' is very much under their brand of songs that are seemingly about being happy but sound incredibly depressing, whilst 'Adeline' is a sweeping song about a Tasmanian devil. Unfortunately, the end of the album peters out. The lyrics to 'Last Year' sound like a teenage girl’s diary, and 'Pleader' is very heavy in orchestral backing that doesn’t match their usually distinctive sampling. They have also continued with their use of soft female vocals on

tracks which give a more indie feel to the sound than This is All Yours which edged towards more of rock vibe.

location is a stately home which was built in 1569 by the same family who live there now, the Viscounts Hampden. It’s a beautiful environment in which to lie back, relax, and enjoy the best in funk, jazz and soul – plus, where could be a better place to pay homage to a genre which has influenced nearly all of modern music than an equally venerated listed building? Make sure to grab yourself a ticket now while you still can.

LOVE SUPREME FESTIVAL TAKES PLACE FROM 30 JUNE-2 JULY REMEMBER THIS? BORN RUFFIANS

Phoebe Davis, Online Editor, examines the third album from indie rock band Alt-J

5 JUN 2017

But don’t worry, die hard Alt-J fans, the band have stuck to their wacky lyrics. My favourites are “Two thirsty girls from Hornsea” and “The smell of sex good like burning wood” on '3WW' - which really makes me question what they get up to in the bedroom. They also have stuck to the concept album style that worked well on This is All Yours, with a distinctive video game aesthetic. They even have an explorable ‘world’ of the album on their site. I would recommend checking it out. The word on the internet is that the album is based on a cult PS1 game called LSD: Dream Emulator. If you would like to waste a few hours then there are plenty of videos online of gameplay But I honestly can’t see the influence on the music itself, it is only really an influence on the album artwork (which is a screenshot from the game) and publicity. They do count to ten in Japanese on a number of the tracks, so I know how to do that now which is kind of fun. To be honest, they seem to have spent more time creating a 90s gaming platform than on the actual album. Despite the three year wait there are only eight tracks, half the size of the band’s previous two albums. Maybe it is because I was such a big fan, but I am a little disappointed. But then again, the band has every right to say "Fuck you, I'll do, what I wanna do" - so who am I to judge?

RELAXER IS OUT NOW

Red, Yellow & Blue 4 March 2008 When I hear the word 'underrated', my mind hears the energetic, indie beats of Born Ruffians' Red, Yellow & Blue. They get the odd bit of YouTube traffic - mostly from users drowning the comments in a stream of "Skins brought me here!" but they are severely undervalued as a band with a genuinely unique musical identity. Red, Yellow & Blue was released in 2008 amidst a fairly fervent indie-rock scene, and this is likely the very reason I am writing this article; it got buried beneath the mass. The riffs are boisterous and the drumming is equally unrestrained; there resonates a feeling from this debut album that the Canadian three-piece were having genuine fun in experimenting and exploring sounds. 'Kurt Vonnegut' captures this high-speed, frantic style which exposes their post-punk influences. Luke Lalonde's vocals are the standout memorabilia you'll take from this buried gem of an album, however. He exercises his full range of vocal abilities in a blend of goofy, juvenile notes ('Foxes Mate For Life') and more sincere, softer tones ('I Need A Life'); either way, Red, Yellow & Blue exudes innocence, youth, and unadulterated musical expression. 2008 was arguably the beginning of an age of manufactured boy bands who managed to dominate the charts, song after song - although Red, Yellow & Blue was overlooked in its time, it's never too late to appreciate it and realise that the music industry never lost its beating heart or originality, sometimes we just have to look harder. Ben Faulkner, Screen Editor

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screen

Who needs the sunshine... Exeposé Screen takes a look at some of the most anticipated summer releases

THE MUMMY Tom Cruise continues to throw himself around film sets for your entertainment in this franchise reboot. With Sofia Boutella as the titular villain and Russel Crowe as Dr Jekyll, it might not clean up during the awards season, but will certainly be fun. Hopefully.

WAR OF THE PLANET OF THE APES The third installment of the highly acclaimed Planet of the Apes reboot returns, yet there is still a sense that these films slip under the radar. This one sees the war between human and apes get even bigger, unlike Andy Serkis’ Oscar cabinet. Outrage.

ATOMIC BLONDE Directed by half of the duo behind John Wick, Atomic Blonde sees Charlize Theron star as a spy in 1989, who has to find a list of double agents. With a stellar cast and based on a great graphic novel, its stlyised nature could put off some, but will still be worth a watch.

OKJA After causing quite a stir at Cannes, Netflix’s intriging film Okja will hit your smaller screens this month. An Asian-American collaboration, the film sees a young girl attempt to stop a big company from stealing her best friend - a giant boar-like creature. Why not?

THE BEGUILED If explosions and guns aren’t for you, here’s an alternative option. Directed by Sophia Coppola and based on the novel of the same name, the film sees a house of girls react to an injured soldier that arrives at their secluded home. Tight, tense, and dramatic.

THE DARK TOWER Based on the novels by Stephen King, The Dark Tower follows a storyline that is impossible to describe unless you have read the books. Wikipedia describes it as a “sci-fi fantasy western action horror film” which should tell all you need to know about this film.

BABY DRIVER Edgar Wright is back with possibly one of the biggest hits of the summer. Ansel Elgort plays a young and talented getaway driver, who has to do one last job before he starts his new life. Rumoured to have a great soundtrack, it’s one to keep an eye out for.

DUNKIRK Christopher Nolan returns to direct this war epic based on the famous naval evacuation. The trailers don’t give much away, but it will follow both soldiers and the people who went to get them. Could be truly inspirational and filled with action, heart and Harry Styles.

IT The trailer has the most views ever within its first day and my word does It look terrifing. Based, again, on a Stephen King novel, It looks beautifully shot and has some of the best child actors in work right now. Here’s to watching them get eaten alive. Better them than you.

SPIDERMAN: HOMECOMING If you’ve seen the trailers you’ve probably seen the whole film, but that won’t stop many from being excited for this interation of Spidey. Teenager Tom Holland looks set to be the best on-screen Spiderman ever - mainly because he doesn’t look 35.

VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSEAND PLANETS Certainly one of the more left-field comic book adaptations in recent years, this bigbudget, sci-fi adventure could go either way. Let’s hope it is more Fifth Element and not so much John Carter. Watch the trailer and see what you think.

KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE Eggsy returns for the sequel to the 2014 hit and it looks to be bigger than ever. Julianne Moore is the new villain, Channing Tatum plays a cowboy-hat wearing American agent, Elton John plays himself and hopefully there aren’t any weird anal sex scenes this time.

EXHIBIT

SCREEN

EDITORS: Fenton Christmas and Ben Faulkner

5 JUN 2017

The story of short ﬁlm success

W T

Fenton Christmas, Screen Editor, reports on the first Exeter Student Film Festival

HIS week saw the very first Exeter Student Film Festival take place, hosted by the University’s very own Campus Cinema. Taking place over two days, the festival was designed to celebrate everything about the amateur film scene, both in Exeter and beyond, culminating in a fantastic “Night of Shorts” that showcased the best and brightest film directors. The festival kicked off in some style, with an outside screening of the fairytale-horror classic Pan’s Labyrinth, which took place in the Ram garden on the Friday evening. The film had been chosen by the new committee of Campus Cinema, in line with their traditions, and there could not have been a more atmospheric choice. Guillhermo del Torro’s magically disturbing film was a wonder as darkness started to descend over the screening and a wonderful start to a celebration of everything cinematic that was yet to come. The following evening saw the showcasing of the work of Exeter students alongside the award-winning work of directors from across the world. The free event attracted plenty of attention from film fanatics and the screening was buzzing with anticipation of what was to come. What we were treated to, was a night of thrills, chills, unstoppable laughs, unbelievable emotion and sense of true cinematic artistry. There was a wide variety of genres on show, as well as a plethora of styles and stories. The work

that had been put forward by the Exeter students was of truly stunning quality and gained some of the biggest praise of the night. Timi Ajani and Hana Elias, both current film students here at Exeter, saw there work The Search Party quite rightly win best film, as awarded by the Campus Cinema committee. Their hilarious but grounded film that sees a foreign tourist dragged into a search party for a young girl in Dartmoor, was a fantastic example of why such festivals are so important for those who have their work shown. T h e r e were a number of notable works including a terrifying but beautiful French horror film surrounding a scarecrow, Jaine Green’s quintessentially quirky and cringeworthy comedy Cherry Cake - after which I can never look at my grandmother in the same way again - and

the tense and utterly captivating Steer . The latter of which was directed and produced by Becki Pantling, an Exeter Alumni that has carved out a career in the production industry, co- creating her own company in 2012. After her wonderful film had been shown, she kindly gave a small talk about her experiences surrounding the creation of the film and her career since she left the university that was uplifting and insightful into the world of independent filmmaking. All in all, Campus Cinema have done a phenomenal job in organising and overseeing this inaugural festival and one can only hope that it continues to grow over the next few years and becomes something entrenched within the very fabric of university tradition.

NEWSREEL

The Avengers director Joss Whedon will finish the Justice League film that will release later this year. Original director Zach Snyder has stepped aside following the devastating death of his daughter. Whedon will step in to oversee the final stages of production, including a number of re-shoots that he has written. Snyder’s daughter by his first marriage tragically committed suicide in March although the news has only been released to public. Snyder has directed two previous films within the DC cinematic universe, Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman, both of which had received mixed to negative reviews from most. All thoughts go out to the Snyder family at this distressing time.

Sir Roger Moore has passed away at the age of 89. The actor was most famously known for playing super-smooth spy James Bond over seven films between 1973 and 1985. He had battled against cancer in the latter years of his life but passed away last month at his home in Switzerland. Away from the silver screen, he was a renowned philanthropist, working closer with UNICEF, becoming an ambassador in 1991. He will be fondly remembered for his camp yet undeniably suave Bond films, that defined the traditional spy-film clichés that the last decade has attempted to subvert.

A sequel to the 2008 box-office smashhit Mamma Mia will hit our screen next year, a decade after the original was released. Just like the original, that made a whopping $609 million worldwide, the sequel will utilise the music of ABBA and will be directed by Ol Parker, the mind behind the two Marigold Hotel films. The majority of the original cast look set to return as well as host of new faces to play younger version of certain characters. The film is set to be considered both a sequel and a prequel and will hit cinemas on the 20 July 2018.

ITH the first ever Exeter Student Film festival taking place last month, Exepose Screen caught up with one of the Exeter students who had their work shown off. Hana Elias is a third-year film studies student that co-directed The Search Party with her friend and classmate Timi Ajani. The brilliant film won the award for Best Film from the committee at Campus Cinema and we stopped to ask her how she felt picking up the award. ‘It’s great, its so good to see a film festival here in Exeter,’ she said. ‘I have been dying during my three years here to see something like this and now in my last week I finally get to see a Campus film festival. I think that Campus Cinema are fantastic. They know exactly what they are doing.’ Hana and Timi’s journey to the top of the city’s short film scene has been surprisingly quick for two students who have barely finished their degrees. ‘We applied to the Exeter Phoenix for funding, we got it, and we were able to work with so many great local filmmakers and actors. We made it over the summer in Dartmoor and it was such a great experience. ‘They’re a really big name,’ said Hana on being asked about the help that the Exeter Phoenix had given them. ‘A lot of people know them in Exeter which means they attract a lot of other professionals. Our cameraman was top of the pile. He taught us so much about cinematography and the actors taught us so much about how to build our characters.

WE WERE ABLE TO WORK WITH LOADS OF PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE ‘I would say working with Exeter Phoenix is where we had to the most support. We didn’t get to work as closely with XTV or Campus Cinema as closely as we would have liked and maybe that is something to improve on in the future, but those guys are still really fantastic for anyone looking to get involved. So what now for the budding filmmakers following this great success on the local scene? ‘Timi and I have started our own production company, called Search Party Productions, after the film we made together. We are doing some freelance work and its going really well.’ It really is a testament to both the local artistic scene that two students were able to make a truly remarkable film, and that so many other were able to see it.

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| 5 JUN 2017

EXHIBIT

STUDY BREAK

STUDY BREAK CROSSWORD # 100

SUDOKU # 38

Across

Down

1/19 Celebrate (an Exeter committee might be

preparing to ___!) (4,1,4)

Topper (worn when you get to 1 Across 19?) (3)

Pretend that - aim’s fake (anagram) (4,2,2)

Brave (7)

Resolve with discussion (4,3)

Prove (a legal document, say) (6)

South American fruit (5)

Hen’s product (3)

Pair - couple (5)

6/8

Bind - greets that don (anagram) (5,8)

Assist with correction - due bits (anagram)

Sycophant (9)

(7)

See 6

Memorable (6)

\ (9)

Warm season (the time in Exeter to 1

Brown-haired person (8)

Across 19?) (6)

Cocktail (Bond’s is shaken, not stirred)

Woven double - LW typo? (anagram)

riddle me this 1. i pass before the sun, yet make no shadow. What am I?

Small ﬁnch-like bird (7)

Mistake (5)

Embarrass (to try after 1 Across?) (5)

Nationalist (7)

See 1 Across

Season of rest and recreation (8)

Brick-carrier - d’oh! (anagram) (3)

First (and last) word in Italy? (4)

As well (3)

2. What is harder to catch the faster you run?

(7) (3-3)

ANSWERS

3. WHAT FLIES WITHOUT WINGS 4. I don’t have eyes, but once did see. I once had thoughts but i’m now white and empty. What am i? 5. WHAT HAS CITIES, BUT NO HOUSES, FORESTS BUT NO TREES AND WATER BUT NO FISH? 6. THE MORE YOU TAKE THE MORE YOU LEAVE. what am I?

map. 6. Footsteps Riddle Me This: 1. The Wind 2. Your Breath 3. Time 4. A skull 5. A Hod, 24 Too. Flatterer, 11 Backslash, 13 Brunette, 16 Martini, 17 Two-ply, 22 Down: 1 Hat, 2 Valiant, 4 Attest, 5 Egg, 6/8 Stand together, 7 Abash, 23 Patriot, 25 Holidays, 26 Ciao. Brace, 12 Subedit, 14 Catchy, 15 Summer, 18 Sparrow, 20 Error, 21 Across: 1/19 Have a ball, 3 Make as if, 9 Talk out, 10 Guava, 11

STUDY BREAK

| 5 JUN 2017

EXHIBIT

GENERAL ELECTION WORDSEARCH

Can you find all sixteen words? GENERAL ELECTION

CONSTITUENCY

THERESA MAY

POLLING STATION

LABOUR

NHS

CONSERVATIVE

CANDIDATE

UKIP

VOTE

PARLIAMENT

GOVERNMENT

ELECTORATE

WESTMINSTER

BALLOT BOX

MANIFESTO

SUMMER ANAGRAMS

1. AHOY LID

8. mace urns

2. ass en slugs

9. loaner pea

3. mimetic mug snows

10. price sushi

4. sea ictus

11. tit sour

5. Rasp pots

12. NUB TING

6. catkin biceps

13. SNIPER THIN

7. fast veil

14. CANE MOIST

WORD WHEEL #1 Find as many words as you can using the letters in the wheel! Each word must use the centre letter and at least two others. One nine letter word can be created... Good Luck!

t j i

ANSWERS

TARGETS GOOD 10+ EXCELLENT 15+ OUTSTANDING 20+ YOUR ANSWERS

R g t

E E

11 Tourist, 12 Bunting, 13 Internship, 14 Ocean Festival, 8 Suncream, 9 Aeroplane, 10 Cruise ship, costume, 4 Suitcase, 5 Passport, 6 Picnic basket, 7 Anagrams: 1 Holiday, 2 Sunglasses, 3 Swimming

5 JUN 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

Science

SCIENCE EDITORS: Leah Crabtree Luke Smith

Intergalactic law

Graham Moore, Copy Editor, looks into attempts at preventing conﬂict in space

T may be out of this world, but University and the University of Adelaide - have embarked upon the creaspace – and our exploration of it – is increasingly enshrined in tion of MILAMOS. MILAMOS – the far more exciting international politics. Ever since the acronym for the Manual Space Race, the concept of internaon International tional political tensions reachLaw Applicaing beyond even our own ble to Miliatmosphere has become tary Uses tangible, and with the of Outer recent New Zealand Space rocket launch it is – seeks clear that our final to “defrontier is going to scribe become populated f o r by the interests of an states increasing number of how existstates and entities. ing internaPhoto: Pixabay Much as we would all tional law sublove for humankind’s conduct stantively limits the use in space to be a peaceful affair of discovery and wonder, if our species’ of force [in space], as well as address track record is anything to go by, the the legality of lesser, yet still hostile, aclikelihood of space-based conflict is all tivities by states in outer space that fall short of the use of force”. In effect, too distinct. the Manual will advise the legality of To this end, a collaborative team of lawyers, scientists, academics and gov- hostile actions in space, aiming to proernment representatives – including a tect infrastructure in space (such as key team from the University of Exeter’s satellite networks) and build confidence Law School, working alongside McGill for extra-terrestrial inter-state interac-

tions, which should in turn minimise aggression. MILAMOS is inspired by the success and continuing utility of such projects as the Tallinn Manual (advising cyberwarfare), for which Exeter’s MILAMOS representative Prof. Michael N. Schmitt was also a contributor. Whilst the upper echelons of MILAMOS’ organisational structure is predominantly populated by representatives from Western institutions, the full list of contributing experts designates this an international effort, with representatives from institutions including Tel Aviv University, Intersputnik, Keoi University, and Xi’an Jiaotong University. Key sponsors include the Canadian government and India’s Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis. Although necessarily focusing on acts of aggression, the intent of MILAMOS is to maintain peace and security where possible. Speaking to the Guardian, Dr Kubo Mačák (also representing Exeter at MILAMOS, as a ‘Core Expert’ on International Humanitarian Law) outlined the fact that current space laws and international treaties ‘fo-

cus almost exclusively on peaceful uses of outer space’. For less peaceful matters, the international community is broadly unprepared from a legal perspective. Topics covered by MILAMOS will include everything from the management of debris to the legal minutiae of firing orbital weaponry at terrestrial targets. Since its inauguration, the MILAMOS board has so far met in Adelaide, this past February, for the first of nine projected workshops. This first workshop served primarily to define key areas and lay out important groundwork, distinguishing which areas of current international law prove applicable to outer space use and considering what constitutes an act of aggression in space. Further discussion included how best to go about involving state bodies after the Manual’s drafting. The official summary provided by MILAMOS stresses that the contributing experts act not as representatives of any respective state but in a personal and professional capacity. In an ideal world, we would never

have to use MILAMOS in anger. However, the fact that it exists should at least go some way towards encouraging restraint and thoughtfulness in the way states act in outer space. As our immediate area of space becomes increasingly busy and is further relied upon for our infrastructure, the more cynical amongst us cannot help, despite our elation at the prospect of further exploration, but to echo those immortal words: “I have a bad feeling about this”. The conscientious drafting of MILAMOS should enable us to rest a little easier, in the knowledge that we are at least beginning to rationalise our use of and interactions within space. In the words of JFK, “There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conﬂict in space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again.” Space exploration may just be the next great leap for mankind, and the MILAMOS project should aid our continued progress towards inﬁnity,and beyond.

Intelligenes

Ruth Braham explains why you should blame your parents for your bad grades...

VER wondered why some people seem naturally smarter than others? Been jealous of that student who always gets top marks, seemingly without trying? Or sighed as the teacher has to explain a concept for the ﬁfth time? A new study may just have found you the perfect excuse. Recent research from the Free University of Amsterdam has added 40 new genes to those known to have some role in intelligence, bringing the total to 52. Work with twins has previously shown that genes account for about half (54%) of the difference that is seen in IQ scores across the population, with the rest being shaped by outside factors e.g. nutrition, pollution and a person’s social environment. Danielle Posthuma, the statistical geneticist responsible for leading the

study, explains that “Genes do not determine everything for intelligence,” and “There are so many other factors that affect how well someone does on an IQ test.”

Genes involved in brain cell development and educational attainment were identiﬁed The genes discovered by Amsterdam have been found to account for a mere 5% of the variance, suggesting a lot of work remains to identify and categorise the remaining genes, which may number in the hundreds or even thousands. This study involved sampling all genes present in 80,000 participants consisting of 60,000 adults and 20,000 children. The genome-wide associa-

tion study (GWAS) showed a difference in 52 genes, of which 40 had not previously been identiﬁed. These genes are predominantly involved in brain cell development and are also associated with educational attainment, a larger head circumference at birth, a longer lifespan and autism. So, what’s next? According to Posthuma the next step is to block or knockout these differentiated genes in mouse models, or in cultured human neurons, to observe the effect they may have on the development of the brain. With this understanding researchers might have a chance to explain what goes wrong in conditions which lead to mental impairment. These genes also show a signiﬁcant overlap with risk of neuropsychiatCredit Pixabay

ric conditions such as schizophrenia, as well as metabolic disorders, so observing what happens in the absence of these genes may go some way to explaining these risks. However, research on the genetics of IQ, amongst other factors has raised some serious moral and ethical questions about how this information should be used, if at all. Could human embryos be chosen according to their future brain power, raising the controversial concept of designer babies, selected for or engineered to include key desirable traits? Could scientists make drugs

to enhance human intelligence? If so, would only the richest have access to such power-

ful technology? Alternatively, could it be possible to use this knowledge to create intelligence boosting drugs, targeting key areas to give those with the money to pay a key advantage? In any case, such developments are still a long way away, and the intense debate and legislation around these areas should hopefully ensure that this information is not misused, but these prospects are admittedly intriguing. Who knows what science holds for the future intelligence of humanity.

SCIENCE

Microsoft’s DNA Plan

Luke Smith, Science Editor, delves into Microsoft’s future data plan

ICROSOFT is developing DNA technology that could revolutionise data storage by the end of the decade. Just last year they transmitted 200 megabytes of literary classics - 100 in total - onto DNA, and are now looking to use this knowledge to tackle one of our newest technological problems.

A shoe box worth of DNA could hold the same amount of information as one hundred data centres Our lives have been changed by the internet, everything is watched and everything is shared on this sprawling data network – but a data storage crisis seems to be on the horizon, with IBM estimating that 90 percent of all electronic data was made in the past two years. Karin Strauss, one of Microsoft’s lead researchers, informs that “If you look at current projections, we can’t store all the information we want with devices at the cost that they are”.

Some blame can be pointed at a lack of innovation in data storage, being blatantly clear in the industry’s current physical leader, magnetic tape: essentially cassettes. They have remained on top since the 1950s, they are cheap, and can now hold up to one terabyte of information, but scientists believe that a single gram of DNA could hold up to 215,000 terabytes.The reasoning for this can be found in DNA’s incredible density. Just think of the legions of unicellular organisms that remain unseen by the naked eye. DNA makes up a nanoscopic part of each, but codes for their entirety. By harnessing this, Karin Strauss says that a shoe box worth of DNA could hold the same amount of information as one hundred giant data centers. More important is DNA’s ability to pass the test of time. Only in March last year was DNA of Neanderthal ancestors found in Spain’s Sima de los Huesos (otherwise known as ‘The Pit of Bones’) and dated to be over 430,000 years old. This is immortal compared to magnetic tape’s 30year lifespan. It must also be emphasised,

however, that this DNA was found in a cave. Under supervised cool and dry conditions, it is thought that it could maintain its integrity for far longer. “DNA won’t degrade over time like cassette tapes and CDs – if it does, we have bigger problems,” comments Yaniv Erlich, a computer scientist from Columbia University. The process adapted by Microsoft began with translating the language of computers, 0s and 1s, into the language of DNA: A, T, G and C – abbreviations for the building blocks of the genetic code. The DNA strands created were then superimposed on microchips and the information they held was later retrieved using a high speed sequencing machine. They transposed 200 megabytes in total, but there is quite a way to go before their method would be able to compete with other storage options. MIT Review stated that the materials alone would have cost at least 800,000 dollars on the open market, and Microsoft admit that their costs would have to fall by a factor of 10,000 to become a feasible option. But time is a bigger

concern: taking the best part of three weeks, the monstrous 200 megabytes were slowly ticked down at 400 bytes per second. Microsoft appear undeterred by this, however, asserting that they still wish to pursue the method if they can somehow increase it to 100 megabytes per second. This may not be an unrealistic leap when bearing in mind that the time and costs of DNA sequencing have fallen drastically over recent years. The Human Genome Project, the ﬁrst effort to sequence our genetic code, was a major international effort that stretched from 1990-2003 and cost

approximately 3 billion dollars to achieve. Today there are a number of companies that will sequence your genome in a matter of weeks for a couple thousand dollars They certainly seem conﬁdent, with Douglas Carmean, a partner architect at Microsoft Research, saying that the company aims for a “proto-commercial system in three years”. And with our rampant data usage, this should give us some comfort. The current storage media we are used to is physically limited and can’t possibly keep up, but it appears DNA will continue to drive us forward.

Credit Pixabay

Blood tests predict cancer Rebecca England discusses recent cancer detection research

ANCER is one of the most prevalent diseases affecting our world. Scientists argue that early detection of cancer is the most crucial precaution to save lives. A study from the University of Exeter suggests having a simple blood test could be an equally accurate breast cancer predictor to ﬁnding lumps in the breast.

Those with thrombocytosis have an increased risk of developing cancer In the common blood test, a key factor that is monitored is platelet levels. Platelets are small blood cells that move throughout the body and cluster at wounds to prevent bleeding and further injury. However, some individuals can produce an excessive number of platelets due to a disorder known as “thrombocytosis”. In the UK, thrombocytosis is a burden for approximately half a million people aged over 40. Interestingly, prior research has shown that those with thrombocytosis have an increased risk of developing

a variety of cancers. This recently led to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence establishing guidelines to healthcare professionals warning that a high platelet count in patients may be an indicator of lung, stomach, oesophageal or uterine cancer. Despite the guidelines, researchers admitted they were unable to determine if thrombocytosis was an accurate predictor of cancers at all sites of the body. They were also unable to tell how the cancer risk varied amongst thrombocytosis individuals of different ages and genders. To investigate this further, Dr Bailey’s team from the University of Exeter Medical School conducted a largescale analysis on data of patients who had a blood test conducted by their GP. 40,000 thrombocytosis patients with a high platelet count were monitored over a year to observe the incidences of cancer. These results were then compared to 10,000 matched control patients with a healthy platelet level. Results showed that cancer occurred most in thrombocytosis patients, with 11.6% of men and 6.2% of women being affected, compared to 4.1% of men and

2.2% of women with a healthy platelet level. There was a 7.5% and 4 % increase in cancer incidence for thrombocytosis men and women respectively, when compared to their controls. For comparison only 8.5% of women aged 50-59 with a breast lump are diagnosed with breast cancer. These results indicate that thrombocytosis is almost as good as predicting cancer as the well-known sign of lumps in the breast are for breast cancer.

Thousands of patients every year [could] be diagnosed three months earlier Furthermore, cancer was found more often in men with an increased platelet count than women. This was suggested to be since there are more factors inﬂuencing platelet levels in women, which are unlinked to cancer. In addition, for those who had thrombocytosis long term (a high platelet level for six months’ post thrombocytosis diagnosis), more cancer incidences were found.

In men, 18.1% developed cancer, whereas in women 10.1% developed cancer. Amongst these cases, a range of cancers were observed. Lung and colorectal cancers were most common in thrombocytosis patients, while breast and prostate cancers were less frequent. Astoundingly for a third of the thrombocytosis patients with lung and colorectal cancer, no other symptoms had appeared that indicated a cancer diagnosis. Researchers estimate that this could allow thousands of patients every year to be diagnosed with cancer at least three months earlier than by any other detection method. This means that life-saving treatment could begin at a much earlier stage in cancer progression. Dr Jasmine Just, Cancer Research UK’s health information ofﬁcer claims the remaining goal is to conﬁrm that any further tests after high platelet count detection will really save

lives. It must be noted that on some occasions a high platelet count could be unrelated to cancer. Nonetheless, the impact of this study is incredibly promising, as it is anticipated that GPs will soon be testing patients found with high platelet levels for cancer, especially when there are no other symptoms apparent. As a disease which affects millions of lives every year, this research could prove extremely beneﬁcial both for patients and their families.

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SPORT

The Woods through the trees Wil Jones, Sport Editor, dissects the mythology of a golﬁng great

ELLO, world” were Tiger Woods’ words in a press conference in 1996, his first as a professional sportsperson. After revelations of his infidelity were made public in 2009, one of the most successful golfers - and highest paid athletes- of all time, Woods is again on the front pages rather than the back following his arrest for being “asleep at the wheel” of his vehicle. His story - a sublimely talented, successful, high profile athlete crumbling despite their prowess - is one that is all too common. It is a story largely repeated time and time again across many different sporting disciplines, and one that we, unfortunately, have seemingly normalised, come to accept - or even expect - from those at the very peak of their profession. Woods seemingly "had it all": extreme wealth from business endorsements and partnerships, vast public appeal and notoriety through his public image in the media, and prodigious talent that granted him success on the fairway. Therein, perhaps, lies the problem with what popular culture deems as ‘completion’, and in Woods we had a supposed embodiment of many of the aspirational destinations of happiness: money, fame, and genius. Yet Woods’ tragic demise- a duplicity of living that has destroyed those closest to him, his marriage and his career, estranging him from his two children- is evidence that all is not as it seems on the surface. Woods was precocious in his golfing ability: he putted on The Mike Douglas Show at the age of 2, by 14 he had won five Junior World Championships, at 21 he was the youngest winner of the Masters, and he achieved a career Grand Slam aged 24, again the youngest to do so.

His story is one that is all too common Having been dominant in the sport for almost all his career, Woods tumbled down the rankings in the aftermath of the revelations, before returning a shadow of his former self. Frequent injuries, surgeries, and tournament withdrawals followed, as his physical decline aligned with his performances. In the immediate wake of his public unravelling, Woods was dropped by the high proﬁle sponsors who had contributed to him becoming a billionaire as well as perpetuating his brand as the clean cut American hero. That particular representation literally applied to Gillette, but the companies that ended their association with Woods included Gatorade, Accenture, AT&T, and the EA Sports computer

game franchise adorned with his name. According to Forbes, in 2016 Woods was still the seventh wealthiest celebrity in America, with a net worth of $740m. We often find ourselves justifying the unique pressures we place on the famous as directly proportional to the rewards we give them. Alongside the adulation, this means the money they earn enables the public to demand exceptional standards depending on how they perceive them. For Woods, the image he was held to was almost as fantastical as his avatar in the computer game. It was in many ways the epitome of American Exceptionalism. Woods’ father, Earl, was of AfricanAmerican, Native-American, Caucasian, and Chinese heritage; here in Woods there was an embodiment of the idea of the American melting pot, all in one man who triumphed emphatically over all others. Earl Woods had experienced the effects of segregation as the first black baseball player at Kansas State University. Later, he would state that “Tiger will do more than any other man in history to change the course of humanity.” He named his son Eldrick, though he was known by the nickname Tiger. Woods was raised a Buddhist. He declared that it taught him to “stop following every impulse and learn restraint [but] obviously I lost track of what I was taught.” According to an insider from Woods’ entourage- dubbed ‘Team Tiger’- “Earl always had a cute little assistant […] he’d have women in the crowd from the night before when we’d be in Church doing the Sunday morning ‘caring and sharing’ ceremony during the days of the Tiger Woods Foundation Weekend”. Dina Parr, a former high school girlfriend of Woods, told E! News “he would just call [me] crying and say, ‘my Dad is with another woman’ and that would be all he could say”. Sport is a rare aspect of life where success can be placed into a binary: success or failure, win or lose. In success, there are the very definite barometers of achievement in titles, trophies, and records. With the money, appeal, and adulation that athletes can derive from Sport, the drive to reach the destination of success requires ever increasing levels of dedication, as the competition only gets greater. Much like the idea of Enlightenment, or Heaven, the sense of enduring a journey to reap the rewards later is a phenomenon both understandable in relation to the pursuit of definitive success, as well as the religious inspired narratives we sometimes ascribe to sporting figures. Yet what happens when you get there, when you reach those targets, and at such a young age? What happens if the reward you strive for isn’t quite what you imagined? What if the myopic pursuit of

sporting success leaves you little time and space to adequately fill in a happy world outside your vocation, when those around you, have vested interests in the ways in which they support you? Mercurial talent from an early age is no guarantee of success. Indeed, in the likes of George Best, Paul Gascoigne, and Mike Tyson, we see sporting stars with the absence of that support system suffer a marked fall from grace, their intrinsic talent or youthful endeavour failing to become a fully realised career. These extraordinary talents excel in the heat of competition, finding victory over their labouring opponents almost easy. Tyson won 16 of his first 26 fights by KO or TKO in the first round, ferociously battering his opponents, and at 20 years of age was the youngest heavyweight champion of the world in boxing’s history. George Best made his debut for Manchester United at 17, a worldwide star for his exploits in the European Cup at 19, known as ‘O Quinto Beatle’: the fifth Beatle. At the age of 15, Paul Gascoigne saw in professional footballer a wage that could provide for his family, who had

suffered the turbulence of poverty and tragedy, with Newcastle United chairman Stan Seymour declaring him “George Best without the brains”. Sir Alex Ferguson, who had Gascoigne agree to join for Manchester United in 1988, claimed he missed out on signing him to Tottenham Hotspur due to the club buying his impoverished family a house. We idolise that talent, those young athletes who can perform things their older, more experienced colleagues and opponents could never do. Such a sense of pride, of excellence, from this special ability must jar with the reality of life outside the pitch, fairway, or ring; gone is their dominance over others, the ease and comfort of their surroundings, a distinct sense of purpose, a tangible goal. Woods’ marriage to Elin Nordegren, a Swedish psychology student who met Tiger when nanny to the wife of Jesper Parnevik, afforded him stability and a companion, a life away from the performance of the links. Yet eventually his inﬁdelity led to him receiving counselling for sex addiction and divorce from Nor-

degren, with whom he has two children. The idea of Woods in the American and global imagination- cultivated from his very first endorsements at a young age- was shattered. Instead of the exceptional, talented, aspirational figure, he was tarnished instantly. There is no room for insidious promiscuity, adultery and gambling in a mythology that values monogamy, marriage, children, and dominance in your field, however unhappy or unfulfilling it may be to the mythologised individual.

This idea is regularly troubled by hooliganism and violence The companies that gleaned from Woods an appeal in the imagination of his supporters and the public alike, that had advertised their appeal through association with him, now began to pull away, as he became a figure of ridicule and intrigue, before finally being dismissed from his elevated position in the people’s consciousness. Having idolised Woods, put him on a pedestal, he was now there for the taking; having received the adulation of the amphitheatre in his triumph, he would now receive its ire. The baying sporting crowd is a proxy for the more barbaric aspects of human communities; abuse, ridicule, bigotry, and loathing are all justified and accepted by the idea that sport is often a suspension of real life, a means of channelling such feelings into an artificial facsimile of a savage species’ intrinsic desires. This idea is regularly troubled by all hooliganism and violence, but in Eric Cantona’s flying kick and the PacersPistons brawl we see the divide between spectator and performer broken, destabilising the idea of the ‘unreality’ of sport. It seems it is only the most vicious verbal and psychological abuse- racism and sexism- in the sporting arena receives the same condemnation, that other forms of aggression and projected loathing from the crowd are, by implication, an unspoken but accepted natural facet of competition. Boxing perhaps shows the crowd at its most voracious; the national and racial connotations of supporters backing one over another in a bloodsport still retains a sense of vicious bigotry at its core. Tyson, as a poor black man from a crime-riddled part of the world, was both feared and admired for his fighting prowess, someone deemed out of control and ‘savage’, his antics against Evander Holyfield and imprisonment giving weight to this idea. He

was a man literally fighting for his place in the world. Woods, in a sport that is one of the most elitist- requiring access to private land, membership of a club, a dress codea status signal of white, corporate America and Europe, succeeded in part in spite of his racial heritage. The young Tiger had his sublime talent married to the idea of an aspirational figure, maintained through the monetary obligations he was tied to in order to sell products by offering vicarious excellence to the buyer. In part, we have seen the same idea of the aspirational, non-white ‘saviour’ figure in Barack Obama; the inevitable compromise of politics and circumstantial difficulties he found himself in led to disappointment of the hope he had inspired. The regressive elements of American culture railed against him- in Capitol Hill and Main Street- and some his progressive supporters were left disappointed, believing in the mythology aligned to his oratory ability and refreshing humanism that swept him to power. On Memorial Day in the United States, Tiger Woods’ legacy took another grand hit, his unhappiness laid bare in his devastating mugshot and police footage of his arrest, both released to the public, his confusion behind the wheel of his car a result of prescription drugs. “For all that I have done, I am so sorry”, said Woods in 2010, shortly after the initial revelations. Whilst responsible for the harm he has caused to those closest to him- not least his wife and childrenthe shame cannot be all his own. Having repeated the sad legacy of an adulterous father, the new mythology of Woods- that of the absentee, sexualised father figurewill be raked over, displayed and mocked, primarily in the media, to sell a new product: that of the scapegoat, someone who it is morally acceptable to ridicule.

Sport is a rare aspect of life where success can be placed into a binary Mark Garnett and Richard Weight said of Best “The British like their heroes to be tragic ones: possessed of enough glamour and talent for stardom to be lived vicariously through them; yet ﬂawed and vulnerable enough for the public not to be threatened by their success.” This phenomenon seems to be spreading. We could do well to remember the supreme and consistent talent- separated from the hero he was made into- shown by Eldrick ‘Tiger’ Woods before it is dulled and distorted under the sad ﬁgure he is becoming.

Sport

5 JUN 2017 | EXEPOSÉ

SPORT EDITORS:

Dorothea Christmann Wil Jones

A summer of sport Exeposé Sport previews two of the biggest sporting events this summer

French Open

T’S safe to say that the French Open so far has been a whirlwind of returns from injuries, shock exits and the return of reigning champion Novak Djokovic. After a run of poor performances which resulted in him only reaching the third round of Wimbledon in last season and the second round of the Australian Open this year, he has returned with emphatic wins over Marcel Granollers and Joao Sousa to reach the third round, under the guidance of his new coach, Andre Agassi, who won the French Open in 1999. The tournament has been happening since 22 May and will be continuing until Sunday 11 June. World number one Angelique Kerber crashed out unexpectedly against the 40th seed Ekaterina Makarova, losing in straight sets 6-2 6-2. This opens up the women’s draw massively, especially in the absence of Serena Williams who is pregnant with her first child, and

Maria Sharapova who was not given a wildcard by the French Tennis Federation following her 15-month suspension. Some of the experienced Spanish players such as French Open finalists David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco have provided some of the standout matches in Round 1. David Ferrer emerged as victor from a 5 set thriller against Donald Young of the USA, lasting over 4 and a half hours which captivated the audience, whilst Fernando Verdasco beat the world number 9 and Rome Open winner Alexander Zverev unexpectedly in four sets. On Wednesday, Rafael Nadal took another emphatic step towards a 10th Roland-Garros title by crushing Dutchman Robin Haase in his Philippe-Chatrier playground. He faces the 63rd seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in the third round, who should not be underestimated after beating the world number 31 Gilles Simon on his home turf. The 2002

finalist and world No. 11 Venus Williams also surged into the Roland-Garros third round with a big win of 6-3, 7-1 over world No. 90 Kurumi Nara. A potential mouthwatering tie between world number one Andy Murray and Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro could happen in Round 3, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic set to meet each other in the semi-final. Nadal, who is the more dominant player on clay court and who only narrowly lost to Roger Federer in this year’s Australian Open is predicted to take a step closer to Federer’s 18 Grand Slam wins, by winning his fifteenth Grand Slam tournament against the struggling Novak Djokovic. The women’s final could be contested between last year’s champion Garbine Muguruza, despite her just overcoming the Estonian Anett Kontaveit in Round 2 after losing the first set and the number 6 seed Elina Svitolina, who made the quarter final of the French Open in 2015. Olivia Horncastle, Online Editor

Lions Tour

E cannot wait for the feast of rugby that is the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand this summer. An admittedly punishing schedule of three tests against the All Blacks and seven matches against provisional sides should provide great viewing for us back home, even despite the 08:35 kick-off times. An injury to England’s Billy Vunipola, perhaps the world’s greatest number 8, is a huge cause of concern for the Lions. It is also unclear whether coach Warren Gatland will favour expansive, exciting rugby or stick to the blunt instrument that some think is unlikely to trouble the New Zealand defence, coined ‘Warren Ball’ by its detractors.

Whether he succeeds will depend on the battle up front If nothing else, however, the tour

is a chance to see the best players in the world compete in front of packed stadiums of rugby fanatics. A new breed of All Blacks have stepped out into the limelight, following the retirement of the golden generation. Brody Retallick and Sam Whitelock have looked imperious in Super Rugby lately, and ﬂyhalf Beauden Barrett, should he overcome recent fears of concussion, has the guile and technique to orchestrate a series win for New Zealand. Whether he succeeds will depend on the battle up front; the Lions pack, even without Vunipola, looks formidable and has enough power to cause real damage to the All Black’s set piece. This is where the series will be won or lost; Argentina found some success last year in attacking New Zealand around the breakdown, and there’s no doubt the forwards will look to impose their will upon the All Blacks. Though a series win for the Lions looks a tough ask, the tour should provide all the drama and magic that only a British & Irish Lions series can. It will be the event of the summer.. Charlie Morgan