Exeposé Issue 646, 23 November 2015

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Students express bouncer concerns

23 NOV 2015 | ISSUE 646 | TWITTER: @EXEPOSE | WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/EXEPOSE | FREE Photo: Natasa Christofidou

Susannah Keogh News Editor

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Over half of students report experiencing ‘aggressive’ bouncers 71 per cent of incidents described as ‘unnecessary’ or ‘excessive’ EXCLUSIVE

James Beeson Editor

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ONCERNS have been raised by University of Exeter students about the ‘aggressive’ conduct of nightclub security in Exeter nightclubs, an Exeposé investigation has revealed.

Over half of students who responded to an Exeposé survey stated that they had experienced or witnessed aggression from bouncers whilst living in Exeter. Of these students, 71 per cent said that they believed the force used was ‘unnecessary’ or ‘excessive’. Nearly three quarters of the incidents reported occurred within the last year.

Features: Tony Blair’s former Speechwriter talks Iraq and how to get into journalism Page 10

The most frequently cited club for experiences of bouncer aggression was Unit 1 (previously known as Arena), with 48 incidents being raised with regard to the club. This was followed by Timepiece, with 24 complaints made about the Castle Street venue.

Exeposé also contacted students to ask them about their personal experiences of nightclub security. One anonymous first year Law student described bouncers at Unit 1 as “physically aggressive”, and said they believed that “the way in which they speak to students, or in general anyone attending is wholly unnecessary and entirely unprofessional”.

Another student claimed to have been threatened with eviction from the same club after accidentally treading on a...

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Science & Tech: The world in 2100: Climate change under the microscope Page 28

Housing enquiries increase

Exeter stands united Thousands attend candlelit vigil on campus in solidarity with terror attack victims Full story: Page 3

Games: Bethesda’s next blockbuster, Fallout 4, reviewed Page 32

ORE students than ever are already securing next year’s housing this term, with half of one leading letting agents’ properties gone already.

Cardens Estate Agents, which boasts 270 student properties, has seen stronger demand this term than in the last five years, Exeposé has been informed, despite the Students’ Guild not holding a housing fair until January.

Jon Carden commented: “The growth in student numbers this year has seen a marked increase in demand at an earlier stage than in previous years. Within ten days of launching our accommodation list for 2016/7, we had let twice as many properties as at the same stage last year and therefore we will have significantly fewer properties to market in the new year and at the Accommodation Fair. Certainly from the perspective of letting agents in general, there are no properties held back from the market until the new year and all are being marketed fully at the present time.”

Over the last two weeks, the Students’ Guild Advice Unit have received 25 enquiries looking for accommodation or contract checks, compared to just six in the same period last year - a 300 per cent increase. However, the unit told Exeposé they “strongly recommend” students wait until housing week in January to start looking.

Student letting agency Star have let three quarters of their 175 properties...

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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Email: editors@exepose.com Call: (01392) 723513 Editors Print: James Beeson & Sarah Gough Online: Kayley Gilbert & Harry Shepherd Deputy Editors Eamonn Crowe & Josh Mines depeds@exepose.com News Editors Print: Susannah Keogh & Fiona Potigny Online: Elizabeth Menshikova & Elise Metcalf news@exepose.com Comment Editors Print: John Chilvers & Zak Mahinfar Online: Natalie Bartrum & Emily Prescott comment@exepose.com Features Editors Print: Flora Carr & Sophie Harrison Online: Jessica Stanier & Theodore Stone features@exepose.com Lifestyle Editors Print: Joshua Rotchelle & Jack Wardlaw Online: Laurel Bibby & Harriette Casey lifestyle@exepose.com Music Editors Print: James Atherton & Katie Costello Online: Tristan Gatward & Joe Stewart music@exepose.com Screen Editors Print: Akash Beri & Ben Londesbrough Online: Emily Harris & Jack Smith screen@exepose.com Arts & Lit Editors Print: Jeremy Brown & Emily Kerr Online: Lisa Rellstab & Valentina Vacchelli arts@exepose.com Science & Tech Editors Print: Catherine Heffner & Lewis Norman Online: Sally-Ann Dunn & Bry Nickson books@exepose.com Games Print: Jack England & Evan Jones Online: Sam Brewer & Alex Howard games@exepose.com Sport Editors Print: Rob Cross & Emmott Leigh Online: Oli Davis & Tommy John sports@exepose.com Photography Edwin Yeung & Natasa Christofidou photography@exepose.com Copy Editors Esther Docherty, Kate Jones, Giorgi Mamuzelos & William Sandbach

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Exeposé News

NEWS EDITORS Susannah Keogh Fiona Potigny

When the unsuspecting Gary Kavanagh wrote to his ‘lecturer’ to apologise for missing a class due to the weather, he did not expect to receive such a brutal response. The University of the West of Scotland student was forced to skip a lecture after buses stopped running.

Unaware that he had written to Mark McKenna, a fellow student, not the lecturer of the same name, he received the response: “I expect u to be at every class even if the weather is terrible. Asda are doing great deals on tents at the moment, maybe you should buy one and camp outside the lecture hall next time.”

The email has since been displayed on Twitter, receiving over 11,000 retweets. Whether poor Gary found out the truth, or indeed purchased a tent, remains unconfirmed.

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University news from beyond Exeter Stories compiled by: Susannah Keogh and Fiona Potigny

Students ‘lecturer’ York in U-turn Conference on over Men’s Day Kim K announced e-fail goes viral Brunel University in London is hosting the world’s first academic conference on reality TV stars the Kardashians.

Conference organiser Meredith Jones said: “It is silly to think this subject is not worthy of academic’s attention.

“They are white women, but marry black men, which in the US is far more taboo than in the UK. Kim displays a curvaceous, darkskinned body with a black aesthetic, which has helped to change the idealised notion of womanly beauty.”

The conference is a one-day event with various different sessions open to attendees including the cultural significance of Kim’s famous bottom and feminism.

23 NOVEMBER 2015 |

The University of York was forced to cancel their celebration of International Men’s Day when students protested.

The York press office said on their website: “We are aware of some of the specific issues faced by men. In academic staff appointments, the data suggests that female candidates have a higher chance of being appointed than men. In the professional support services, there are areas where men are significantly under-represented.”

However, campaigners launched a petition calling the university to make another U-turn and reinstate the event, calling the move “hypocritical”. Campaigners accused York of sending a message that “men’s rights are not important”.

College campuses hit by race protests College campuses across America are rising against alleged racism on their campuses.

The #StudentBlackout day of action protested institutional racism. Affected colleges include Yale, Princeton and Stanford.

Group ‘The Black Liberation Collective’ called for the day of action, demanding free tuition for black students and that faculties across America reflect their surrounding communities. It is the latest uprising to hit the headlines following accusations of alleged racism not being taken seriously at the University of Missouri, culminating in the school president and chancellor both being forced to step down. The University also received threats on anonymous social media app YikYak to “shoot every black person I see”.

White students less Students queue up Japanese robot at cannabis college passes uni exams likely to go to uni

Universities offer refugees places

White British students are the least likely ethnic group to attend university, according to a new study.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, under one third of white British students go into further education, outranked by minority ethnic groups who tend to do worse in school examinations including Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students.

Indian and Chinese students had the highest participation rates, with 75.5 per cent and 67.4 per cent of students entering universities respectively.

It has been suggested that these figures may be a result of minority ethnic families working harder to ensure their children attend university.

Despite having higher participation rates than white British students, six months after graduating, black Caribbean graduates showed the lowest rate of professional employment after graduating.

Scholarships are now being offered at universities across the country to refugees who have fled Syria, the Middle East or North Africa.

Warwick University will be offering 20 scholarships over the next two years, while York has pledged to proved full financial assistance for three undergraduate students during a three year period.

In an open letter, Warwick’s vice chancellor Professor Sir Nigel Thrift and its provost Professor Stuart Croft stated: “We will work unstintingly to support those who need a welcoming hand in this very difficult time.”

Universities are now also offering “scholar rescue status” to academics who have also sought refuge from terror in their home countries.

This isn’t the first display of compassion from EU institutions, however; a German university recently piloted an online degree scheme for refugees, allowing them to obtain an education no matter where they are based.

Oaksterdam University in America is fast becoming a force in the fight for the legalisation of cannabis.

Since being founded in 2007, Oaksterdam is now home to twenty staff members and one hundred and fifty instructors, as well as 60,000 cannabis plants in 2012, when federal investigators raided the campus.

Students have the opportunity to take a class in “Cannabusiness 102” and other subjects such as Horticulture. With 23,000 graduates from across the globe, the University hopes to promote cannabis as a business with medical benefit, as opposed to simply a drug.

Legislators from other states and countries routinely travel to the campus for lectures on issues ranging from taxation to how to promote marijuana research and development.

A Japanese robot is now capable of passing university entrance examinations, thanks to research from the National Institute of Informatics.

The Todai Robot has been ‘revising’ for the exams for the past two years.

After two failed attempts, this year it finally achieved an above average score on entrance tests covering maths, physics, history and English this year, earning it an 80 per cent chance of being accepted into 441 private Japanese institutions.

The creators of Todai, are not celebrating justyet, however, as it is still not intelligent enough to enter its namesake, the University of Tokyo (Todai), having earned a lower mark in the physics section, but aims to do so by 2020.

EXEPOSÉ

Community comes together for Vigil for Humanity on campus

Fiona Potigny News Editor

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EARLY 2,000 students, staff and members of the public attended a candlelit vigil at the University to remember victims of the Paris and Beirut terror attacks on Sunday 15 November.

The event, firstly entitled ‘Vigil for Paris’ and later changed to ‘Vigil for Humanity’ to also recognise victims of the 12 November Beirut bombings, took place on the Great Hall piazza, illuminated by candles in a peace symbol.

Initially organised by student Lizzie Swyer, the event was also supported by committee members and individuals from French Society, Amnesty, Model UN and Student Action for Refugees (STAR), as well as Estate Patrol.

We are all involved in mankind... Let us work hard to end these atrocities Malaka Mohammed, Exeter student The President of French Society, who expressed her full condolences, made a brief opening speech, which was followed by words from French Students Amaury de Nanteuil and Francesco Papa Roche taken from ‘Message de notre

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jeunesse aux terroristes’ (Message from our youth to the terrorists).

Encouraging people not to live in fear, they said: “This struggle begins with the banality and beauty of our lives, which we must preserve despite threats.

To continue to live like before is to lead the fight.”

After falling silent for one minute of respect, the crowd rose, joining together for a rendition of the French national anthem ‘La Marseillaise’, a moment described by one student as “incredibly moving”.

Further poems and speeches from students in both English and French filled the evening, including one from Yassine Ait Ali, a French Muslim student, who condemned the attacks.

Palestinian student Malaka Mohammed spoke of the violence in Gaza and reminded the thousands in attendance not to forget the 43 killed in Lebanon. “We are all involved in mankind… Let us work hard to end these atrocities. We can do this regardless of race, colour, religion, nationality or anything else. We can do it,” she said.

Laura-Jane Tiley, President of the Students’ Guild, commented: “The ‘Vigil for Humanity’ event is a testament to the strength of students’ empathy towards people affected by atrocities around

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Photo: Natasa Christofidou

the world. The victims of recent events remain in all our thoughts.”

Having taken place after Diwali celebrations in the Forum, a festival of light symbolising the triumph of good over evil, one student described the juxtaposition as “beautiful”, adding that they were “immensely proud” to be an Exeter student.

A University spokesperson said: “We were delighted to see more than

1,500 staff, students and members of the community come together for a ‘Vigil for Humanity’. The event demonstrated the heartfelt support and sympathy felt across Exeter for not only the people of Paris, but also those across the world who have suffered as a result of such atrocities.”

Following the tragic events of 13 November in Paris, the Modern Languages department reached out to

students on their year abroad there, asking that they contact their personal tutors and the study abroad team as soon as possible. All are currently safe and well.

For those in need of emotional support either on campus or abroad, confidential nightline Voice offers a free Skype service (exetervoice). Students can also refer to the Wellbeing Information Photo: Gemma Short Directory on the Guild website.

Exeter Students’ Guild Students urged to respond to HE paper register to vote Josh Mines Deputy Editor

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HE Exeter Students’ Guild have issued an response to the Government’s recent ‘Green Paper’, a consultation on the Government’s vision for the future of higher education.

On 6 November, the Government released the pre-consultation planning for the development and future of universities in the United Kingdom. These proposals are set to change the landscape of higher education.

We believe greater action on social mobility within the university sector is overdue The Students’ Guild The paper also outlines plans to widen participation at universities, stating their aim to increase the numbers of BME students going on to higher education by

20 per cent by 2020. A recent Exeposé investigation revealed a fall in the number of BME students at Exeter.

Key proposals in the paper include plans to introduce a ‘Teaching Excellence Framework’ (TEF) to set out a basic standard for university teaching, as well as allowing universities that meet quality guidelines outlined in the TEF to raise their tuition fees every year they successfully meet teaching quality targets.

The Sabbs have collectively replied to the paper, explaining which areas they agree with as well as sections that are of concern to the Students’ Guild. The response highlights three areas of the paper that the Guild agrees with, including the widening of participation, saying: “We believe that greater action on social mobility within the university sector is long overdue and any steps to open up the doors of Higher Education should be applauded.

“A university education should always be rooted in a student’s ability to learn and the higher education sector still fails to deliver what it should for those

from less privileged backgrounds.” Proposals to protect students whose degree courses are cancelled by their University and the introduction of Sharia compliant loans are also singled out for praise.

However the Sabbs’ response references proposals that are concerning for the Students’ Guild. In particular, the introduction of a TEF is criticized, as is the idea to make universities exempt from Freedom of Information requests, stating that the proposed act could: “damage transparency and democracy”.

The policy to allow better performing universities to raise tuition fees is also described as: “something that we (The Sabbs) fundamentally disagree with”.

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Sabb concerns - ’Teaching Excellence Framework’ - Tuition fee increases - Making universities exempt from Freedom of Information requests

Katie Costello Music Editor

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N online campaign to increase Exeter’s voter registration has enjoyed considerable success.

The campaign, which reached over 270,000 people using website Thunderclap, was led by convenor for Exeter Young Greens, Joe Levy.

Levy was concerned that many would overlook the recent change in registration date. He told Exeposé: “My first instinct was to contact the Guild as a drop in student registration is one of the main reasons that the council boundaries have been redrawn in Exeter.

“The real risk this time is that in the next redrawing of Parliamentary boundaries, if Exeter didn’t have enough registered electors, could cease to exist as a parliamentary seat.”

Although the risk may be small, with local elections just one year away, unregistered voters could exclude themselves from having an impact on local

policy. Levy stressed the importance of local councillors. “They have the power to change everything from rubbish on the streets, housing and rent, to local energy policy”, he said. “If students engage in local democracy in huge numbers, this will really show to the rest of the city that they are not just investing in their degrees, but in the life of Exeter.”

It is vital that every student registers to vote both in Exeter and at their UK home address Laura-Jane Tiley, Guild President Guild President Laura-Jane Tiley commented: “It is vital that every student registers to vote both in Exeter and at their UK home address. We need to ensure that when the government reviews Parliamentary Boundaries in December, the student voice in Exeter is heard in national and local politics.”

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Student housing rush CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

...within the first week and a half after beung released to the market.

A worker at Star said: “We’ll only be going to the Housing Fair if we’ve got any properties left. Last year we only had eight properties there.”

An anonymous second-year Politics student said: “I waited until January last year and it was one of the most stressful weeks of my life. After the Housing Fair, we booked several viewings but had them all cancelled at the last minute.”

We’ll only be going to the Housing Fair if we have any properties left Star Lettings Agency Numerous estate agents contacted

by Exeposé cited concerns with Article 4 planning restrictions that limit property owners’ rights to use their home as multiple occupancy.

Jon Carden added: “With the added factor of the Article Four Directive restricting further conversion of houses

to student homes in the popular areas, there have inevitably been rent increases for students to contend with.”

It was one of the most stressful weeks of my life Second-year Politics student The University Advice Unit runs a free contract checking service, with students able to submit contracts for checking either online or in person.

This year’s Housing Fair will be held on 12 January as part of Housing Week, where there will be housemate finder events and free contract checking.

A student who found their house through the Housing Fair told Exeposé: “I’m really happy with it. It’s in a great location and not at all a rip off. I’m glad I waited to choose who I live with rather than rushing into things.”

VP Welfare and Diversity Naomi Armstrong said: “It is very concerning that students are rushing to sign housing contracts already, with people they have only known for a few weeks. It is easy to

get carried away as rumours begin to circulate, but the Housing Week in January is the best time to start house-hunting.

This includes the Housing Fair, when the bulk of properties will be released by landlords, agents and the University.

“Housing Volunteers will be on hand to help you with house hunting, as well as contract checking services and a housemate finder event. Exeter has a surplus of student housing and students who get the best deals are those who take their time and consider their options.”

There has been a recent influx of private accomodation providers in Exeter, with one company claiming they are “part of the solution to the city’s housing crisis”.

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Exeter Letting Agents Cooksleys Gilliams Estate Agents Helier Ridley Star Lettings Students@Cardens Winkworth Exeter

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EXEPOSÉ

Library fines fall by nearly £30,000 EVENUE generated by library fines fell by nearly £30,000 last year, an Exeposé Freedom of Information request (FOI) has revealed.

In the 2013-2014 academic year, the Library took £76,067 in fines, but only collected £46,785 in 2014-15 – a drop of nearly 40 per cent.

Over the past five years, the University Library has collected over £267,000 in fines, with 2012-13, the year of the Forum Library’s opening, the most profitable with revenue totalling £78,874.

So far this year, students have already racked up fines of up to £2,629.

According to Library Customer Services Manager Kathy Baro, the lower amount of fines in the 2014/15 period may be attributed to the Library’s investment in digital resources, which are not ‘borrowed’ and therefore cannot be returned late.

Loan periods have also been simplified this year, which has involved the elimination of the ‘short loan’ collection, a frequent cause of high

fines, while undergraduate borrowing limits were increased to 20 items on 2 November.

Decreases in fines were also attributed to better communication with students, including clearer email content and the use of phone calls to resolve issues.

VP Education Bethan Jones commented: “The Students’ Guild supported the library in its review of fines and loan periods, carrying out extensive student consultation. I am delighted that our feedback has been taken on board, including the recommendation to reduce fines.”

Income generated from library fines underpins the overall library resources budget and contributes to investment in electronic resources, books and journals.

A University spokesperson said: “The University works hard to ensure all students benefit equally from the library’s full facilities and resources. Any overdue fines are charged as an incentive to responsible library borrowing, benefitting all users and ensuring items are returned within reasonable timescales.”

Thea Bichard News Team

remain an important call to action to tackle the inequality that still exists between genders,” she added.

Fiona Potigny News Editor

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Xpression FM raises Students ‘Reclaim over £1,000 for Pudsey the Night’ in Exe Sarah Gough Editor

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TUDENT radio station Xpression FM successfully raised £1172.54 for Children in Need, it has been announced. £717.54 of the grand total was raised by a ‘Party With Pudsey’ night, held at the Lemon Grove on 12 November. As well as hosting a DJ set from Guy Mitchell, Ayia Napa and Ministry of Sound DJ, the event included performances from local bands and Acapella Society Semi-Toned.

Further fundraising occurred on 13 November as the station dedicated their entire schedule to Children in Need content. Donations made to their JustGiving page reached £455.

Harry Shepherd, Exeposé Online Editor, contributed to the fundraising efforts by shaving off his facial hair in the studio. He said: “I really wanted to be a part of the great things Xpression FM were doing and, since most people have only ever known me with a beard, I thought it’d be a good way of raising money for a good cause.”

Ben Cartwright, Station Manager for Xpression FM, described the “wonderful job” done by all Xpression members involved in the fundraising events.

He commented: “On the Friday it was great to get so many people involved with producing some great radio. Our initial aim was to beat the £1,000 mark so we were over the moon to get past it.

“Children in Need is something Xpression FM has got involved with ever since my first year so it has a special place

in my heart because of that. We support it because of the breadth of services they provide for children in less fortunate positions.”

VP Activities Katie O’Connor said: “As an Xpression alumnus myself, I’m delighted to see the group’s continuing support for Children in Need.

Congratulations to the committed team on such a great fundraising total.”

Overall Children in Need 2015 raised a record-breaking total of £37,100,687.

Photo: Xpression FM

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UNDREDS are expected to join a march that aims to make the streets of Exeter safer for women and girls on Thursday 26 November.

Devon Rape Crisis Service, supported by the University’s FemSoc, organised the march in order to “give women a voice and the chance to reclaim the streets at night in a safe and empowering event”.

Local statistics currently show that around 700 sexual assaults are reported to Devon and Cornwall police each year and that 8 per cent of the adult female population have reported rape or sexual assault. Nationally, 22 per cent of women experience sexual assault as adults, highlighting the reasons behind the march.

Naomi Armstrong, VP Welfare and Diversity, said that the marches demonstrate that “women still don’t feel able to use public spaces without fear, especially at night”.

“These marches across the country

Women still don’t feel able to use public spaces without fear, especially at night Naomi Armstrong, VP Welfare & Diversity First held in West Germany in 1977, the marches have been taking place across the UK since the 1970s in cities such as Leeds, Manchester, Bristol, and London.

They grew in size when, following the murders of prostitutes by Peter Sutcliffe in Leeds, women were advised not to go out at night, sparking thousands of women to take to the streets as part of mass demonstrations and torch-lit marches. The march is now an annual staple in the Exeter community calendar.

The march will begin at 7.45pm, departing from Mint Methodist Church on Fore Street.

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Exeter clubsbudgets justify security procedures Society be cray yo CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE

...bouncers foot at an event last year. A spokesperson for Unit 1 said: “Unit 1 is the most popular student venue in the city, operating four student sessions a week and we have had really positive feedback from customers since our relaunch, following a six-figure investment.”

“As part of this investment, we have worked closely with our door security providers to ensure that our team is fully qualified and trained to the highest standards. We have also recruited a number of female door supervisors to make our entrance experience more female friendly.”

I encourage any student who feels unhappy to speak to a member of the team Chris Young, Students’ Guild A common complaint described by respondents was the use of excessive force or violence by security towards students. One student claimed to have seen Timepiece bouncers pull a friend, who had been knocked unconscious, out of the nightclub “by the neck, dragging his unconscious legs along the floor” before “pinning him to the floor with their feet on his neck, and arms gripping his”, whilst another described being “quickly and firmly removed from the premises” when approaching a bouncer for medical attention after standing on a piece of glass. George Sloan, co-owner of Timepiece nightclub said: “All complaints against door staff are taken very seriously. If I witnessed someone being treated

badly by a door staff member I would have no hesitation in letting them go.

“The whole club is covered with CCTV. People are removed from the club in what I would hope to be a tactful manner and a non-aggressive way. Not a night passes where we don’t take someone who’s had too much to drink home.

We have a waiting list for our door staff roles and we hire them all internally.”

Some students were more positive about their experience of bouncers. One student said they felt that the amount of force used by bouncers in Exeter was “completely justified”, going on to state, “the truth of the matter is that they don’t know what they are expecting and what people have possibly taken”.

The Lemon Grove, the Students’ Guild-run nightclub, came out favourably from the survey, with just eight per cent of complaints identifying the club as a venue where they had experienced aggressive behaviour from security. Lemon Grove security personnel are supplied

by Tangent Security Agency, with whom the venue has had a relationship with for more than 20 years. In October 2013, Exeposé reported that two bouncers were dismissed from the club after multiple complaints from students. However, last week, the venue won the 2015 Exeter Best Bar None award for ‘Best Student Venue’.

Chris Young, Venue and Events Manager for the Students’ Guild, said: “The Lemon Grove team works very closely with our security personnel to ensure that all allegations of unnecessary force are investigated thoroughly and promptly.

“Whilst we have recently been recog-

nised by Best Bar None for the quality of our security provision, I encourage any student who feels unhappy to speak to a member of the team.”

The Cavern, which hires their security staff internally, also performed well in the survey, with only ten per cent of complaints indentifying the venue as somewhere students had experienced bouncer aggression. A spokesperson told Exeposé: “We have a very strict policy on staff behaviour. Our main concern is the safety of customers, and the Cavern is a particularly safe environment.

“One can get unruly customers, and they are quickly asked to leave the premises. This is probably where anecdotes about heavy-handed behaviour come from, but there is always a valid reason why a person is refused entry. I think it’s important to note that Exeter is the safest city in the UK to go out at night.”

All door staff at venues in the UK must hold a licence from the Security In-

based employers – saw Exeter barely scrape into the top 50, sharing 49th place with Aberystwyth, Middlesex, Swansea, Hertfordshire and Sussex.

This is disappointing news “considering when you come to a Russell Group Univerisity you expect to be able to get a job at the end of it,” one third-year Maths student told Exeposé.

The new ranking comes shortly after Exeter celebrated its entrance into the ‘Global Top 100,’ coming 93rd in the Times Higher Education World Rankings.

In the survey, Exeter lost out to many UK universities which didn’t make the global top 500 – including Manchester Business School, Warwick Business School, Cranfield School of Management and SOAS, University of London.

The fact that the UK employers surveyed were from “predominantly business, IT and engineering sectors”

made one third-year Modern Languages student sceptical of the results.

“I don’t think this statistic reflects reality, as only selected companies were asked to give opinions,” she told Exeposé.

Oxford is the top university from which UK employers aim to source graduates, while Cambridge came a close second.

The annual employability ranking was commissioned by French agency Emerging and conducted by German market research firm Trendence.

Paul Blackmore, Head of Student Employability and Academic Success said: “The University is committed to providing all students with the skills and support that are required when they embark on their chosen career. In today’s global work market, we are determined

dustry Authority. Training for the licence takes 32.5 hours and covers issues such as behaviour, conflict management, search and arrest procedures, drug awareness, and crime scene preservation, licensing law, health and safety at work, physical intervention and emergency procedures.

The licence must be renewed every three year.

Naomi Armstrong, VP Welfare and Diversity, commented: “Student welfare in pubs and clubs is extremely important and the Exeter Night Time Economy Group and Best Bar None scheme are valuable mechanisms for promoting customer welfare alongside a great experience.

“Regardless of venue, I would always encourage students to report any incidents so they can be investigated.”

Additional reporting by Susannah Keogh and Fiona Potigny, News Editors.

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XETER University may have become a ‘Global Top 100’ institution, but this success isn’t reflected in its students’ job prospects, according to a recent survey.

Published by Times Higher Education (THE), the annual Global Employability University Rankings asked leading employers where they’re likely to source graduates. Cambridge University came second overall in the tables, and a total of 12 UK institutions made the global top 150 – but Exeter wasn’t one of them.

When you come to a Russell Group Uni you expect to be able to get a job at the end Third year Maths student Meanwhile, the UK edition of the rankings – based purely on votes by UK-

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Homelessness on rise in Exe Lewis Norman Science & Tech Editor

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XETER City Council is planning to adopt a new homeless strategy after recent statistics have revealed that the number of people sleeping rough had increased by 48 per cent between 2013 and 2014 - the highest rate of rough sleeping outside of London.

Tackling homelessness has now become a priority, coinciding with the development of a health and wellbeing centre on King William Street, Julian House, an organisation dedicated to getting rough sleepers off the streets.

The organisation was recently awarded a 30 month contract to aid the City Council in directing rough sleepers to the homelessness agencies.

Rugby club fundraising

James Beeson Editor

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Exeter falls short on employability Hannah Butler News Team

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>> Lemon Grove staff at the Best Bar None Awards. Photo: @ExeActivities

to ensure our graduates are in demand amongst employers both in the UK and abroad.

“The Global Employability team provide a range of services for students, including helping to find international graduate jobs, work placements and internships, coordinate global employer presentations and workshops, and promote international work placements, internships and opportunities.

“We will continue to develop these schemes to ensure students are given the best possible support as they enter the workplace. The institution is well recognised for the quality of its provision and has received several high-profiled awards recognising this.

“Our students too helped to place the University in 5th place for satisfaction of careers provision in a recent national survey and we are determined to continue to build on the quality and range of employability services provided for our students.”

HE University of Exeter Rugby Club (EURFC) has launched a new fund-raising initiative to raise money for new equipment for the club.

EURFC hope to raise up to £10,000 to pay for new state-of-the-art training technology, including a new fixed camera system, scrum machine and icewater injury treatment equipment. The University has also pledged to match any donations made to the club before 31 July 2016 up to the value of £10,000 to support the initiative.

EURFC is currently ranked the number one UK university club for rugby.

They have 280 members.

iExeter release student survey Alice Hanson Bray News Team

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É

HE Universiy has released a survey about the iExeter app, offering students the chance to win Amazon vouchers.

Student opinions are influential in the development of the app, with both email and SID access added last year due to the survey’s results. The University is looking to improve the app for students, and the 2015 survey on iExeter is now available. To take part in the 2015 survey, students simply need to tap on the icon or banner in iExeter, or visit i.exeter.ac.uk.

To date, over 22,000 students have downloaded iExeter.

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Boozing for a bruising E VERYONE has a story involving a bouncer. Whether it was about that night your mate got kicked out of TP for spilling a drink, or that time you weren’t let into Arena (sorry, Unit 1) because the guy on the door thought you were on MD, it seems like almost everyone has something to say about nightclub security. This week, we decided to investigate how accurate this perception is, and whether Exeter’s clubs are doing enough to ensure students remain safe on nights out.

The results of the survey were mixed.

Just over half of students claim to have experienced aggressive behaviour from door staff in Exeter, but more worrying was that in over 70 per cent of these incidents, the level of aggression was described as either ‘unnecessary’ or ‘excessive’. Heavy-handedness seems commonplace amongst Exeter bouncers, with worrying personal accounts describing a lack of care and compassion shown by the men (and women) in black. Whilst it is difficult to envy the job of nightclub security, who often have to deal with great swathes of drunk, disorderly and downright rude students, some of the anecdotes suggest that bouncers may be overreacting and resorting to violence unnecessarily, rather than trying to keep students safe.

It was pleasing, nonetheless, to see the Lemon Grove rewarded for their efforts in ensuring customers have a pleasant experience when throwing shapes and downing VKs. The Best Bar None Scheme does a fantastic job in reducing alcoholrelated crime and anti-social behaviour, and the Lemmy came up trumps at their awards ceremony last week, winning the award for ‘Best Student Venue’. This represents a huge improvement from two years ago, when two bouncers were fired from the venue for aggressive behaviour.

Ultimately, bouncers have a duty of care to their clientele, and we hope to see more done in the future to address reports of unnecessary violence and aggression - we are paying customers after all.

Our front page also features concerns over the annual housing headache. The rush is on. Despite constant reassurance that student housing does not need to be sorted until January, people are still panicking. We’re only in mid-November and already half of Cardens’ properties are snapped up and three quarters of Star lettings are taken. There are fears that the popular letting agencies simply won’t have enough digs left for the Housing Fair, organised by the Students’ Guild, in January. Our hearts go out to the Freshers out there, already committed to shacking up with their BFFs, the same people they’ll most probably despise this time next term.

Elsewhere in News, Exeter students emerged from deadline despair last Sunday to show their solidarity with the recent victims of terrorism. After the irrational brutality within the Bataclan and beyond, the Vigil for Humanity saw students of all ages, backgrounds and creeds standing together to acknowledge the tragic events in Paris, Beirut and elsewhere. As the Forum steps filled, the Vigil not only demonstrated the wonderful compassion within the Exeter community, but also the power of unity in times of atrocity. For the full story, see page 3. *** On the famous faces front, two more interviews grace our pages this fortnight.

In Features (page 10) we chat to Phil Collins - not the drummer, the Blairite - to grab an insight into the workings of the political machine. Former Chief Speechwriter to Tony Blair, Collins was the PM’s right-hand man and in the wake of the Iraq inquiry, his comments prove to be an interesting read. Meanwhile, Sport caught up with England Cricket’s leading lady and longest serving Captain Charlotte Edwards. Having been at the helm for a decade, Edwards talks recent Ashes disappointment, battling ageism and the growth of the girls’ game. Turn to page 37 to see her thoughts.

Thanks to those who helped proof this issue: Rebecca Broad, Kathy Giddins, Lucy Maguire, Sabrina Aziz, Sam Woolfe, Owain Evans, Jade Beard, Helen Payne, Emma Farmworth, the Exeposé copy editors and members of the editorial team.

CORRECTIONS (Issue 645): In ‘Society rich list revealed’ it was reported that Exeter Women in Business Society were in deficit. This is not the case.

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Green Paper brings the blues Heledd Wilshaw

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DMITTEDLY, Exeter is a middle class, conservative and franklyposh university. One need not look further than the students using MacBooks as coffee trays, eating elderflower and prosecco crisps and discussing their estates at nightclubs. Nevertheless the uni is accessible to students from every walk of life. I myself am no boarder or private school alumnus and I have never felt anything less than welcome here, but a rise in fees for elite universities such as Exeter would surely change that fact.

I am of course discussing the new Conservative Green Paper, released in November, which would allow Universities of a higher teaching quality to charge over the current cap of £9,000 annually.

This initiative is intended to addresss variability between universities wherein students do not get a degree of equal quality whilst paying the same amount of money.

An Ofsted-style evaluation system would be implemented to grade universities and their different departments from 1 to 4

using surveys on students, post-degree employment and degree completion rates.

Allowing ‘better’ universities to charge more would create a culture of elitism and a two-tiered education system. This culture already exists in some respects - jibes at Plymouth University on Yik Yak are rife. The government’s proposed changes would only further alienate students from those schools deemed inadequate by the state but force those from deprived backgrounds to go to ‘lesser’ universities, suggesting they’re undeserving of the top universities.

Allowing ‘better’ unis to charge more creates a culture of elitism In an ideal society no-one should pay for education but having to pay more because you want the best for yourself in the future seems a punishment rather than a reward for aiming high and working hard. The Conservatives staunchly

defend the rise in fees, aruging that more young people are going on to further education now than ever before. Conversely, social mobility is lower than it was in the 30s. The Green Paper fails to address the falling number of part-time students after the rise in fees brought in by the last Government, as, naturally, these people with prior commitments like employment or family are the least likely to pursue higher education and are consequently disadvantaged. The burden of higher fees may therefore prove too much.

Instead of excluding working class students from attending these select universities, creating a higher education system that caters to the elite, the government could release guidelines and offer grants or official recognition to ‘better’ universities, which would actually be of value to students and encourage institutions to self-reflect and strive for a higher standard.

Think for a moment of the diverse people you have met while at University, and imagine that diversity scrapped in favour of gross homogeneity, a segregation within universities.

SSB: Not so safe?

Sophie Harrison Features Editor

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CAME, I saw, then sanity conquered and I left at the stroke of midnight. I regret to say that the Cinderella analogy ends here, for my experience of last year’s Rio Safer Sex Ball was anything but a love story.

The majority of arrivals would fail to pass the Arena bouncers.

Alcohol is used to alleviate selfconsciousness. However, when this leads to a loss of awareness it makes the whole concept of “safe” a farce.

Unsurprisingly, the lingerie dress-code ruffled a few feathers.

Some people literally wore feathers alone. Male and female birds of prey walked around, essentially surveying the room. There is no gender exclusivity here: both did it, although some of the advances made on girls made me sick to my stomach.

While Cinders had her waltzing moment, students could jump into the dance-off ring, with enough grinding and slut-dropping to make Hugh Hefner stop

in his tracks. More than once, I saw a girl being forcibly kissed against her will. This act alone made the notion of “safer” - the event’s calling card - a complete joke.

Then again, this irony captures the whole event. Without the obligatory condom confetti as you arrive, this is a Sex Ball.

Yet before you picture me sitting on a sofa, helping Miranda Hart conduct an orchestra of fruit friends, I can say sex without falling into a fit of giggles. Nonetheless, I can’t say Safer Sex Ball without a detectable note of sarcasm.

On a more personal level, it’s simply not my idea of a good night out. SSB is to the ball world what 50 Shades is to Harry Potter - hence the decision of Alumni Rowling to decline her invitation. It’s quite a tragic fall, even by Sexeter standards. Why can’t we channel Motown or Gatsby?

The Charitable angle of SSB may be its one redeeming feature, but a multitude of events could achieve the same success. We don’t see Bob Geldof host sex-themed extravaganzas. Why don’t we try Motown, or Itchy Feet en masse? Heck, we could easily capture the GBBO love and do a Bake Ball; the candy floss hair dye is optional, but soggy bottoms are a firm no.

Perhaps if Exeter started to choose pies over penises, it may shake off the Sexeter reputation. Then again, this title is probably the very reason Safer Sex Ball stills reigns supreme. The Tab have to have something to write about.

“If we falter, evil has won” EXEPOSÉ

COMMENT

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Even after the tragic terror attacks of Friday 13th, Megan Davies is still determined to spend her year abroad in Paris Megan Davies

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riday the 13th is now one of those days that when mentioned in 20 years will trigger the question, “where were you when it happened?” Much like 9/11 and the bombings in Madrid and London, the recent events in Paris will be remembered as attacks that changed the world. I will remember it as the Friday evening I had drinks with my course mates to discuss our internships for our year abroad in the French capital.

It’s not surprising that prospective students are starting to reconsider their year abroad plans As our Parisian friends checked in as safe on Facebook and our BBC News apps erupted with shocking statistics, our excitement-filled plans of a year spent in

the city of light were silenced. What happens for us now remains to be seen.

With thousands from the UK choosing to do their year abroad in Paris, it’s not surprising that the prospective students for next year are starting to reconsider their plans. No statement has been made by the university or the British government suggesting that our impending move will be disallowed, but, naturally, everyone is wondering.

With Hollande trying to extend France’s national state of emergency to three months, questions are being asked.

It is no secret that Cameron wants to increase Britain’s military presence in Syria and with more and more airstrikes over Raqqa, the ISIS stronghold, Western troops on the ground seem like the next inevitable step.

I can hardly deny romanticising my year abroad in Paris. I have spent most of my grammar classes daydreaming of afternoons in the Louvre, fresh croissants and wearing black polo neck jumpers all year around. My rosetinted view is the result of a life in which Paris has always been the land of liberty, creativity and joie de vivre. The land of week-

ends with Mickey Mouse, cinema from the Left Bank and boat trips on the Seine.

My romantic arrogance was heightened by a blissful week drinking cocktails on the lawn by the Eiffel Tower with one of best friends, Marie. For so long, a year on the other side of the channel seemed like a dream.

My heart broke for those brutally murdered whilst innocently going about their daily lives Yet, as I watched the BBC report from the quaint café-lined streets, the illusion was well and truly shattered. My heart broke for those brutally murdered whilst innocently going about their daily lives in restaurants and theatres. In the space of seconds, Paris became a war zone with random citizens murdered for simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

On our TV screens, our Facebook timelines and our Twitter feed, we watched an attack not only on a city but on a nation’s way of life. I couldn’t help but selfishly wonder how I’d have coped in the hullaballoo of it all. I couldn’t help but think of the foreign students

COMMENT ON CAMPUS Obviously what happened was really horrible but I think that violence cannot be cured with violence. It sounds idealistic but there has to be a diplomatic solution - by bombing ISIS they are also bombing normal people.

Second Year, Sociology

Whether it was the right or wrong thing, I don’t think they really had any other choice - they had to please their own population. It was a more political move than neccessarily the correct move.

in Paris with few people to turn to in the chaos.

As much as it pains me to say it, I’m now fearful of what my year in Paris might bring.

I’ve had multiple friends contact me asking if I still really want to go. “Why don’t you think about university in Canada?” one friend asked, while another highlighted the merits of studying in historically peaceful Switzerland. I’m pretty sure my mum would be quite content if I told her I was changing my plans and going home for the year.

Nevertheless, the general consensus among my Paris-bound friends is that “it will be fine” and that we are going, sans doute. I have spoken to my friends in France and with every conversation, I am moved by their defiance and strengthened resilience.

“Paris is

still a beautiful city with good people,” one friend said, “and they will never take that away from us”. They will continue to chat over coffee on street corners, they will continue to walk along the Seine on a warm Friday evening and we will too.

It’s this climate of fear in which terrorism, extremism and despotism will flourish As obvious as it seems to point out, if we falter and refuse to go, evil has won. If we jeopardise our freedom in the name of security, they’ve succeeded in creating their Utopian society. It’s this climate of fear in which terrorism, extremism and despotism will flourish. We will not let them take our opportunities. Même pas peur.

If you are feeling affected by the events in Paris and would like to talk, you can register through SID for an appointment with the Wellb i n g Service.

“Was France’s military retaliation against ISIS justified?”

You can’t solve violence with violence and by responding aggressively it plays into the hands of what ISIS wants. If you bomb Syria and they kill civillians, it reflects badly on the West in the same way the Iraq war did.

Second Year, History

It would be more productive to try and combat terroism within their own country rather than attacking others.

Third Year, Law

I’m French and I’m totally opposed to their militiary action in Syria. I think it’s hypocritical to make a speech about humanity and human rights in the aftermath of the attack and respond with such violence.

First Year, English and Visual Culture

Postgrad, Philosophy

The Parisian victims have said that ISIS will not have their hate, yet the government has responded with hate. But I do recognise that it’s difficult for President Hollande to not do anything about it.

Postgrad, International Relations

If they want to be martyrs then we’re here to help them get to paradise so I think the bombings were entirely justified.

Second Year, History Photo: www.theguardian.com

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EXEPOSÉ

FEATURES “Cameron is now in command” Exeposé Features

FEATURES EDITORS Flora Carr Sophie Harrison

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Philip Collins, a Times columnist and former Chief Speechwriter to Tony Blair, speaks to Jessica Stanier, Online Features Editor, about the future of Labour, the Chilcot Inquiry and finding his voice

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ITH the media spotlight back on Tony Blair and the Chilcot Inquiry, it’s an interesting time to interview Philip Collins. Probably most widely known as the Chief Speechwriter for Blair while he was PM, this is a man who was privy to the inner workings at Downing Street. He has since transitioned to the role of columnist and chief leader writer at The Times. He’s also Associate Editor at Prospect and chair of the board of trustees at the independent Think Tank demos. There is certainly a lot to fit into our ten minute interview. He is, however, essentially a wordsmith by trade, and I am intrigued to speak to him in person.

As I introduce myself and my role for the paper, we launch into a discussion about the future of print publications. I explain that our own Exeposé has a loyal print following. “There will come a time, probably, when there is no print newspaper, but, we’ve had all those predictions too about books. People like books. They are nice objects. We’ve got a whole generation for whom a newspaper is a nice object. It remains to be seen whether your generation has the same feeling and the same loyalty,” he offers in response.

“I don’t even own a tablet,” he tells me, provocatively. “I’m against them.” He is, however, on Twitter. I refer jokingly to his scathing tweets about Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. He chuckles, before answering my question about the source of Corbyn’s appeal. “I think his appeal is partly horror at the rest of them. For a man who has been in politics for 35 years, it’s a peculiar thing to embody the feeling of anti-politics, but he does. The other three candidates in the Labour leadership election didn’t inspire anybody.”

He points out the two sets of Corbyn supporters - the optimistic new Labour membership and the older membership who have grown tired of defeat and compromise. Neither of them are looking to win the next election. “That’s not the point. The point is to express yourself and to say ‘this is what I think, this is the sort of Labour party we should be’.”

I ask whether Collins thinks the Labour party could still do valuable work before 2020, with Corbyn as its leader.

His response is simple: “No. Not really. I think it’s a bit of a myth.” He refers to the latest defence of the Corbyn supporters that they can hold David Cameron to account. “A government is held to account

best when the public thinks there is an alternative. That’s what scares a government. There is no prospect, really, of a Labour government under Jeremy Corbyn. Cameron and Osborne know that so they’re not frightened. The tax credits fiasco, for example, might have been a really big political event but realistically no one thinks that’s going to be down to the credit of the Labour party.”

I ask him what he thinks of Jeremy Corbyn’s PMQs, as he is uniquely placed to know what goes on behind the scenes.

Is it engaging the public or giving Cameron an outing? “PMQs was novel for about half an hour and then it became dull.

When you’ve been Prime Minister for a long time, you become really well briefed and you really know your stuff. And Cameron now is in command of his material.

So when he’s got these open-ended questions, he can just display the answers. To actually catch someone out in that arena, you’ve got to be very very adept and quick, and it’s not easy.”

If PMQs is a test of political theatrics, I put it to Collins that perhaps there are more important battles for Labour to win. “It’s not the difference between victory and defeat so I wouldn’t be too hard on Jeremy Corbyn for his PMQs performances,” Collins says. “I think they’re fine. It is a silly pantomime on occasion.

And if he’s taken some of that pantomime element out of it then I’ll applaud him for that.”

If Corbyn has taken some of the pantomime out of PMQs then I’ll applaud him for that Moving to British politics of the past, I couldn’t resist raising the issue of the Chilcot Inquiry on the nation’s role in the Iraq War. With Tony Blair recently conceding on CNN that “mistakes” were made, in a qualified apology, I’m interested to hear Collins on Blair’s legacy. “I think you will have to search very hard to find anybody who will have their mind changed by Chilcot,” he says. “Chilcot will simply be confirmation of everyone’s prior view, ... The legacy is essentially some public service improvements, Northern Ireland and Iraq. That’s, basically, the

Blair legacy in a nutshell. Just remember, Blair won a general election after Iraq. In 2005, he won an overall majority of the kind Labour have only won with Blair after the Iraq War.”

The Chilcot legacy is Blair’s own legacy in a nutshell With the tide of opinion now strongly opposed to the former Prime Minister’s decision on Iraq, I wonder what Collins would be advising him to say were he Blair’s speechwriter today. Collins chooses his words carefully.

“If I were his speechwriter now, or actually for the last couple of years, I would have been pushing him to be more contrite about it. To do what he did recently with CNN and to note that, whatever the initial decision, the consequences have been largely calamitous.”

Collins is quick to add that he was never persuaded by the case for intervention in the first place. He puts it bluntly: “If the case from the beginning had been ‘this man, Saddam Hussein, is a genocidal maniac who slaughtered his own people and is in serial denial of the UN’ then at some point the UN would either have to concede that it means nothing or do something about it.”

However, as the intelligence was “so horribly wrong”, it was indefensible. “I would have been advising him, and indeed have - and lots of people have - to be a bit more repentant. Not about the original decision, on which he is not repentant and therefore shouldn’t apologise, but on the consequences, which have been bad.”

Collins’ interest in politics is clearly as sharp as ever, and it fuels his opinion pieces for The Times which are published several times a week.

I ask him about the transition from speechwriting to writing for a national newspaper. “It was really nice actually to come out from behind the persona of somebody else and write in my own voice,” he says, sincerely. “My experience, from when I was in poli-

tics, is exactly what I now write about, so the transition in subject terms was quite easy. Working for a Prime Minister, you get a broad grounding. You get to know a little bit about a lot of things, and that’s perfect for Comment writing. Having seen things from the inside gives you a perspective that no one else in journalism has got.”

Although Collins’ route to becoming a columnist is somewhat unusual, I decide, while I have such a prominent writer in front of me, to ask for his recommendations to Exeposé writers looking to enter the world of journalism.

“Read.” He states. “I am incapable of

reading what I should be reading. I always have been, ever since I was a student, and I didn’t realise how well that was serving me. All that mad, poorly directed reading has turned out to be a fantastic apprenticeship for writing columns in a paper.

Also, read good writers”, he adds. “I read a lot of poetry. I read a lot of very good prose because I like the music of language. So that gets into your own writing.

And you only develop a style by copying.”

On entering journalism itself, he reminds me that there are two ways in. Student journalism and newspaper work are good places to start.

“I’m the opposite of an investigative reporter! I’d be so grateful that anyone had spoken to me, I’d just leave! There are people who are brilliant reporters.

They’ve got a real nose for sniffing out where the story is. If that’s what you want to do, then you should just go directly for it.” For those who write analysis, there is often a more circuitous route into journalism, via politics, law or sport, for example. “The great beauty of it is that a newspaper contains about 50 subjects,” he enthuses. It’s sound advice, and many of us ought to take heed, in hope of a career as varied and interesting as Philip Collins’.

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Remembering Paris Following the terror attacks on 13 November, Exeposé Features reflects on the strength of the global response...

In Communities

What do we remember?

As the media is vilified for its politicisation of remembrance, Adam Smith identifies glorification as the true danger we must not forget

A

T what level does respect start? It was a question thrown at Jeremy Corbyn repeatedly last week - after laying his wreath at the Cenotaph, on Remembrance Sunday, many claimed that he did not bow deeply enough.

An ex-Tory Defence Minister Sir Gerald Howarth called him “an embarrassment to the country”, while The Sun’s front page ran with the headline “Nod in my name” and accused Corbyn of “refusing” to bow. The Telegraph featured two stances, one from Christopher Hope, Victoria Ward and Joe Shute criticising his “slight tip forward”, while ex-Telegraph editor Charles Moore said that “there was nothing wrong with his slight bow”.

I could dedicate this entire feature to forensic analysis of Corbyn’s arched upper body, comparing past Leaders of the Opposition and consulting etiquette experts. I could measure whether one should do what they feel is right, versus whether one should do what one believes is right for the country. I could don my left-wing cape and point out the second remembrance service Corbyn went to in his constituency, after the one at the Cenotaph, or how he stopped to take photos with veterans. Nonetheless, I am not going to do any of those things. Partly because better journalists than me already have, but mostly because there is a more important issue at hand: the politicisation of remembrance.

Wars are political. I understand this is an obvious statement, but in the dis-

course of apolitical remembrance it must be mentioned. There has never been a conflict prefaced with “nothing personal, mate”. The language, location, and form of remembrance all has an inherent political stance to it. GCSE History lessons in Britain rarely focus on, for example, the literature of German soldiers.

There has never been a conflict prefaced with “nothing personal, mate” However, there are many that believe that Remembrance Sunday should not be politicised, that the actions of newspapers taking a shot at Jeremy Corbyn over this subject does a disservice to the war dead. On the surface, it is rather crass to use Corbyn’s bow, however slight, to try and claim that the he does not respect the United Kingdom’s war dead.

His message on the poppy wreath - criticised for not focusing enough on the British war dead - read: “In memory of the fallen in all wars. Let us resolve to create a world of peace”. The only way Corbyn could have made his pacifism more explicit is if his note mentioned every country specifically. At this point, we might need to call for a bigger wreath.

Simon Danczuk’s claim that Corbyn distracted attention from Labour campaigns through his lacklustre bow is a particularly potent piece of propaganda -

“We should commemorate the lives that were lost, but do all we can to ensure future generations are spared the horrors of war.”

he somehow concludes that the leader of the Labour party should be able to control media reports on him. Owen Jones, referring to The Sun directly, called their front page: “political lobbying operation satirically calling itself the free press.” Jones has, of course, a right to be angry, but the focus is on the wrong villain.

While the media has responsibility, there are few members of the public that believe any source is objective, or that newspapers are without political bias. On some level, the media is a business, and scandalous headlines are the easiest way to get readers and make money. In many ways, media politicisation is very transparent. In contrast, other sectors of society are far more deceptive.

The Royal British Legion is a UK charity that provides lifelong support for the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, Reservists, veterans, and their families. They are also the charity most associated with the Poppy Appeal. Nonetheless, The Royal British Legion also has ties with arms dealers. In 2014, the Legion’s annual ‘Poppy Rocks Ball’ was sponsored by Lockheed Martin UK, the subsidiary of the world’s largest arms supplier, Lockheed Martin.

The charity’s existence is built on keeping the families of soldiers safe, so it is troubling to learn of their association with the weapons that cost countless lives.

BAE Systems, one of the world’s leading arms traders, not only funded sales of cutting-edge weapons to Saudi Arabia,

Corbyn’s Peace Call The Labour Leader’s pacifism has been widely documented by the media and Westminster alike.

This is what he said...

Libya, and the Middle East in 2000; it also provided the money for the Legion’s Remembrance Day events that year.

In this context, neither the angle of Corbyn’s bow, the size of the wreath, nor the colour of the poppy could be read as an insult to the memory of the soldiers.

These are men that were sent to their deaths in a pointless war under the leadership of ignorant generals while families continue to be broken by the bullets of manufacturing companies, who appropriate the symbol of respect for their own commercial gain.

Media politicisation is very transparent. Other sectors of society are deceptive This kind of terrible disrespect is even visible at university. The day after Remembrance Sunday, the British Army had a large stand on campus, outside the Great Hall, recruiting students with flashy visuals and Oculus Rift parachute drops. Whether you are for or against the notion of military, the four days between Remembrance Sunday and 11 November should be a time when we are not encouraging people to fight - it should be a time of solemn remembrance of sacrifice.

The moment you change a discourse of remembrance into one of glorification, then in the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we won’t remember them.

“I’m not sure what there is to commemorate about WWI other than mass slaughter of millions of young men and women.”

International vigils are held including Trafalgar, Lafayette and Republic Squares.

Local pianist Davide Martello plays John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ outside the Bataclan Theatre, where 80 people were killed.

Landmarks worldwide light up in the tricolours of France, including the Tower Bridge and World Trade Centre.

On Social Media #PorteOuverte French for ‘open door’, it was used on twitter to help those stranded after the attacks.

#TerrorismHasNoReligion

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thousand mentions on photos on Instagram.

Show of solidarity, responding to anti-Muslim sentiment that surfaced after the attacks.

#PrayForParis A version of the International Peace Symbol, by Jean Jullien, went viral worldwide.

Facebook’s check-in system allowed those in Paris to quickly notify family and friends that they were safe.

The real man on the moon

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Following the release of the latest John Lewis Christmas advert, Kate Jones, Copy Editor, takes a look at the ad’s underlying message of loneliness amongst the elderly, asking how we can combat this

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OHN Lewis’s 2015 Christmas advert was released earlier this month, and it certainly wasn’t without the elements that have become the epitome of the brand’s festive season campaigns. A delicate voice, an emotive song, a tastefully decorated family home – no-one can deny that 2015’s advert has all the makings of a classic John Lewis Christmas.

For most of us, old age seems “half a world away” Except, this year, rather than focusing on the adventures of a cute penguin or snowman, the advert has focused on a character with particular relevance.

Looking through her family telescope one night, young Lily makes out an elderly man, alone on the surface of the moon.

Unable to get a letter to him, Lily resorts to sending him a handheld telescope for Christmas, the box tied with balloons to ensure it can reach him. Seemingly delighted with the offering, the man is able to look through the telescope and see Lily waving at him, meaning he can wave back to her on Earth. As he does so, the poignant message ‘Show someone they’re loved this Christmas’ appears on the screen.

It’s an important message for our times. In the university bubble of hedonism, activity and fun, the idea that most of us will one day be elderly seems, like the backing track to ‘Man on the Moon’, “half

a world away”. Yet, we as a nation are living longer and longer. The 2011 census showed that around 10.4 million people are aged 65 and over in the UK, up from 9.4 million in 2001.

The UK parliament has previously estimated that by 2050, around 19 million people will be over 65, and eight million people will be over 80 years old. And with a 2012 report from the Office for National Statistics suggesting that a third of babies born that year in the UK will live to the age of 100, the concerns of the elderly are going to become more and more important.

The differences between the young and the old can sometimes seem a huge chasm. One can argue that this has been particularly amplified by the fast developments in technology over the last few years. While lots of people are now massively connected to the world around them through social media, the Internet and text messaging, some elderly people’s only modes of contact, bar face-to-face, are through a landline telephone and letters.

The idea of a generation gap is demonstrated well in the John Lewis advert, whose Man on the Moon is clearly the product of a bygone age.

While Lily’s brother plays video games, the Man on the Moon, carrying a china cup, wears braces and old-fashioned clothes. His house seems tumbledown, and an old wooden chair stands outside it.

The generation gap is just one of the

reasons why older people are often marginalised in our society.

People can get so wrapped up in their own lives they forget to visit their elderly friends and relatives, or they avoid making a visit, deeming them boring, hard to relate to or even a burden. Sometimes, people avoid the subject of their older relatives, maybe as they know that they are getting older and frailer and that they will have to plan for their future, or maybe even because they remind them that they too will age.

However, by ignoring older people in this manner, people forget that the elderly are also human beings, who have the same feelings as other human beings and have previously lived full and active lives.

Yet, if they have a regular lack of human contact for reasons including bereavement and family or friends moving away (and especially for those elderly people with hearing, sight or mobility impairments), one of these feelings is loneliness.

Would Lily sending the Man on the Moon a telescope actually cure his loneliness?

Ironically, a day before the advert was released, I shared a post I’d seen on Facebook on my own profile concerning a Channel 4 News video on the loneliness of older people. According to the video, “1,100,000 older people in the UK say

that they are often or always lonely”, and “17 per cent of older people have contact with others less than once a week”.

As of writing, my post had got no ‘likes’, no comments and no shares. It was as if the issue was unimportant, rather than something affecting a significant proportion of the UK population.

The John Lewis advert clearly has a well-intentioned vibe behind it: that of doing what you can to show people that they’re not forgotten. However, one can question whether Lily sending the Man on the Moon a telescope will actually cure his loneliness.

Instead of a sense of the advert being one of caring for the elderly in our lives, does it instead seem to be: “Why don’t we just give Grandad a present so we don’t have to ring him up or visit him at Christmas?” As many gifts in the world as possible cannot buy human contact and company, and the Man on the Moon being able to see everyone else enjoying themselves on Earth could potentially make him feel worse.

Yet, John Lewis seems to be looking to try to encourage these very values. For the festive period, it has partnered with Age UK, and on its webpage about the advert, there is a link to make a donation to the charity.

Action has already been taken since the advert’s release. Thousands of people have apparently come forward offering to volunteer to help the elderly during the festive period.

In Wales, gift bags will be handed out

to elderly people at a Christmas party organised by Age Connects Torfaen on 22 December, after a 12-year-old girl co-ordinated a campaign for donations, while a Cardiff family is offering to allow a lonely elderly person to spend Christmas Day with them.

John Lewis has partnered with Age UK for the festive season These acts of kindness indicate that the advert has prompted people to act to ensure that older people are not left alone at Christmas. However, it remains to be seen if this will lead to a widespread shift in both the way we treat older people and the efforts that are being made to prevent loneliness among the demographic throughout the year – not just during the festive season.

É

Spread a little love this winter by donating to charity

Age UK

www. ageuk.org.uk

Samaritans

www.samaritans.org

British Red Cross www.redcross.org.uk

É Photo: metro.co.uk

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Exeposé Lifestyle

LIFESTYLE EDITORS Joshua Rotchelle Jack Wardlaw

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The Angels have landed Jack Wardlaw, Lifestyle Editor, explores Victoria’s Secret’s contribution to our modern idea of beauty

J

UST last week, the American lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret held its 20th annual fashion show, and as per usual social media blew up because of it. Just as inevitably as S Club 7 being played at Cheesy Tuesdays, so too was the outpouring of comments, both positive and negative, as the world and his Instagram-filtered wife weighed in to have their say on the debate surrounding the show. It all comes down to one question.

Are these women beautiful? I want to take a deeper look behind the glossy, perfectly blowdried exterior of the show and think about where this extravaganza of bronzer, exposed skin and incessant kiss-blowing fits in to our modern ideal of what is beautiful.

If anyone has ever watched one of these shows they’ll see that these girls are all about the personality. Unlike high fashion shows in London, Milan or Paris, where a deadpan gaze reminiscent of a bored teenager is the norm, Victoria’s Secret models are free to smile, laugh, flip their hair and play up to the camera.

Critics, however, rightly point out that these women are entertaining us simply by being in their underwear, and certainly there is a whole ugly debate over sexism lurking underneath the glamorous VS rock. Yes, the chief bigwig at VS, Ed Razek is a 60 year old man who spends his life looking at twenty-something models in their underwear, and this has been the source of much criticism levelled against the brand. People assume that he is a man akin to Hugh Hefner, except with more lace bras and stockings and less bunny ears. Instead, however, Razek is a very different kettle of fish. For example,

he makes it plain that he will not look at models who are under 18 and properly signed to an agency. That does not mean, however, that girls are put off.

Victoria’s Secret is one of the most ethnically diverse fashion shows on the planet The ugly side to the VS giant is that there are frequently comments on his posts such as “I’m 14 i really want to be a model, can u answer me plz” (this is a real comment from a user). What Razek has created, even unintentionally, is a global mega-brand that is undoubtedly having an impact on what we consider beautiful today, and that idea can be highly toxic. Undoubtedly, however, it is not just Victoria’s Secret who are to blame for giving young girls, and in this case it does tend to affect girls most as the show revolves exclusively around the female models themselves, a poor self-image.

All major fashion brands, television programmes and films have a duty to promote diversity in all forms, from age to skin tone to dress size to ability. But actually, Victoria’s Secret does lead the pack on promoting one kind of diversity, which other fashion brands have been struggling for years to keep up with.

Victoria’s Secret is one of the most ethnically diverse fashion shows on the planet, and has featured more ethnic models than just about any other major brand. Out of 47 models in this year’s show, around half were non-white. This is a way higher proportion than just about any other fashion show. Indeed, Angolan model Maria Borges became the first black model in history to walk the Victoria’s Secret runway with her natural curled hair. As a promotion of diversity, Victoria’s Secret scores massive points, and they have been doing so for twenty years with the likes of Brazilian-born Gisele, African-American Tyra Banks and African-Jamaican Naomi Campbell being some of their most famous alumni.

There are definite plus points to the brand then, but where Victoria’s Secret falls down is their use of perpetually skinny models. There was a large backlash after their “Body for Every Body” campaign, which had to be renamed after the original name (“The Perfect Body”) caused controversy among women who rightly pointed out the obvious damaging

effects of showcasing size two models and calling them “perfect”. The brand makes no bones about the fact that to be in the show, the models have to be a certain size and have very specific proportions which most people do not have, and which even many models don’t have.

Where Victoria’s Secret falls down, however, is their use of perpetually skinny models What most people don’t know, however, is that these women do not have these bodies through just luck alone. It is said every year, yet conveniently many people choose to ignore it, these girls train like professional athletes. Adrianna Lima, one of the most famous VS angels is a formidable boxer, and trains with a professional boxing instructor. She says herself, “I like to sweat, I like to keep moving. I work out for the runway but most of all, I work out for life”. All the models put in a lot of time and effort to look like they do, and they make no excuses for it. Yes, they are privileged to have the money to employ personal trainers, but at the end of the day the women make it happen for themselves. Speaking of eating, this

year there was an amazing backstage exchange between seasoned Polish VS model Magdalena Frackowiak and an interviewer. An ignorant TMZ reporter asked her “What are you most excited to eat after the show?” and she shot him down brilliantly, saying “What? No guys, not with these kinds of questions, this is stupid! Ask more smart questions, not eating after the show. You make me look like an idiot. It seems like I’m starving myself, and I can’t wait for the show to end so I can eat.” Well there you have it. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating an Angel. Incidentally, Frackowiak is now my all-time favourite person ever.

These women are some of the most powerful people in their industry, and earn money male models could only ever dream of. They love the way they look and celebrate feeling confident and are all actually really genuine people behind the makeup and the wings. People may want to read deeper into the show, saying how it is anti-feminist that women are celebrated for posing in their underwear, but the power these women command and their indestructible work ethic makes them, in my view, some of the best role models in the world. Yes, beauty isn’t everything, but if you look past the exterior glitter and fireworks of the show, there are some really incredibly positive aspects to the Victoria’s Secret behemoth, and those should be celebrated. Plus, who else would really love strutting through the Forum in their underwear and a pair of wings? Is it just me?

The search for new horizons EXEPOSÉ

William Sandbach, Copy Editor, scopes out Exeter’s Mediterranean scene at The New Horizon, and gives his verdict on the Longbrook joint The New Horizon Longbrook Street

C

UNNINGLY disguised as a “coffee shop” hidden to the side of Pennsylvania Road, The New Horizon is a small café serving Arabic and Mediterranean food, and the internet-savvy may be aware that it happens to have great reviews on TripAdvisor – that’s how I got there, anyway.

Owned by a kind old soul with a winning smile, the small restaurant is very welcoming and friendly Old hands say that the place once sported hookahs on which you could puff after your evening meal, but parliament clamped down on that a few years ago with a “no smoking in public buildings” law, so this practice is no more. However, all is not lost: the aforementioned reviews of the place are well-deserved, hookah or no hookah.

Owned by a kind old soul with a winning smile, the small restaurant is welcoming and friendly. The menu is compact, but fortunately, the food’s great (try the falafel, it’s a real winner). Beware

LIFESTYLE

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however that there is a second menu aside from the one already on the table that sports a few extra choices, and that you can ask for that if you’re not feeling anything on the default menu.

The Horizon is a a surprisingly cheap option: dinner for two, with drinks, will set you back about £12. The portion size is perhaps a tad small, but it’s still definitely enough to fill a hungry stomach.

It’s also just a stone’s throw from Sidwell Street if you feel like hunting down dessert afterwards, which is a neat perk.

This comes at the price of a “no-frills” experience – drinks are served in cans unless you ask for a glass and so on – but really, you’re there for the food, right?

While you’re munching away, you might take a moment to notice the

venue itself, which is subdued at first, but offers plenty to look at for the wandering eye. Various gubbins line the walls, and at any other café I’d assume they were shopbought trinkets, but these looked like the real deal, as if they all had an interesting story behind them. I’d imagine if you asked the owner, he’d fill you in.

Worthy of note is the fact that the New Horizon is not “student-sanitised” – if you’re the type that never ventures beyond the Imperial and Mega Kebab, there’s not much for you here. Many (if not most) of the patrons are locals.

There aren’t any “post-lash specials”, and (though I didn’t ask) I imagine student

discounts aren’t handed out either.

The Horizon is a surprisingly cheap option: dinner for two, with drinks, will set you back around £12 Then again, as mentioned, a decent part of the restaurant’s merit is in its value for money - rarely will you find such good food on offer for just over a tenner, and short of the old-and-boring options such as your local Wetherspoons, you’re more or less getting your student discount included within the meal just for turning up.

As far as other perks go, it’s situated in an easy-to-reach location, although this is a double-edged sword: beware, if taking your sweetheart on a romantic night out, that you’re right on the side of a highstudent-traffic road. But hey, proper planning prevents poor performance: make sure you lure them into a lash somewhere or something and you’ll be fine.

If you’re looking for the real deal however, give The New Horizon a look It’s a satisfying place to eat, with great food and no frills.

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Tweets of the week These people are clearly revelling in being back at university and have been utilising their time well so far...

Tweet us @ExeposeLStyle Tristan @tristangatward The sky is blue, children are laughing, and I just used my Exeter Guild loyalty points to get some free winegums. Blessed is this Monday.

Hannah @hannahrebutler I’ll definitely know I’ve made it in life when I get to put that “retweets are not endorsements” bit at the end of my Twitter bio #goals Theo @T_R_S_S Some people have Netflix and Chill. I have Essay and Cry. Evan @Evan_257 Jankiest - The superlative form of janky, meaning quite tricksy, annoying and also just a pain in the arse.

Zak @zakalac You know you’re a student when you’re re-using the leftover milk from your coco pops for your morning coffee... at 1pm

Pledge your allegiance to veg

Exeter StrikesYak

Kathy Giddins lets us know where is best to get your veggie fix in Exe

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OR a vegetarian in Exeter, there’s no shortage of places where you can delight your tastebuds. However, some of these are squirrelled away in places you might not think to look, while others are just plain unknown, which is a shame, because some of them are really top-notch.

Here are my top places for meat-free munching.

There’s no shortage of places where you can delight your tastebuds in Exeter’s city limits The Plant Café This lovely little Café opposite the cathedral is definitely one of my favourite places to eat out in Exeter. Not only is it in a lovely setting but the food is amazing, and really pushes the boat out for Exeter’s

culinary cucumber scene. They do lovely fritattas and salads but they have some other neat sweet treats too, such as the beetroot-raspberry cake and chocolate chip cookies. Both definitely worth sampling, and then some -- good luck with resisting going back for seconds. Hope you aren’t on a diet!

Al Farid Next door to the Plant Café you’ll find another herbivore haven in the form of Moroccan restaurant Al Farid. They do great deals on mezzes so it’s a great place to go with a large group and just order different things to share. It’s £40 for six dishes and a bottle of wine, so it’s pretty good value as well; in other words, you won’t be busting your budget in the process. If you fancy it you can even unwind with some shisha afterwards - a rare treat, and a unique selling point to this small veggie venue.

The Evolution Crystal Café If you’re as much of a hippie as I am you’ll love this place. Located at the lower end of Fore Street, the Crystal Café is a crystal shop/bookstore/cafe which serves an excellent selection of lovely vegan and vegetarian food. I would definitely recommend the wide range of herbal teas as well. It’s a hidden gem, and you don’t want to miss it out, so hunt it down on the double.

Herbies Herbies is a bit pricey but as a once in a while treat it’s worth a visit. This cosy little restaurant on North Street serves a wide range of tasty dishes including Greek vegetable pie and a carrot and cashew nut loaf. They also have some good sharing platters, so you can feel free to bring along a friend as well without worrying that they’ll be left out. All of their wines are organic and orgasmic and their coffee

is fairtrade and fabulous on top of that just in case you needed any more reason to go (which you didn’t).

The Old Firehouse in particular is definitely in the upper crust of vegetarian establishments The Old Firehouse Everyone knows that the Firehouse is famously the inspiration for the Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter but it also does some great sixteen-inch veggie and vegan pizzas. Flavours include Vegetarian hot, Vegan Mushroom, Vegan Butternut Squash and Greek, so there’s a good variety to go with the good flavour. Their stuff is truly delicious and not to be missed: it’s definitely in the upper crust of vegetarian establishments.

•

Dear flatmates, I don’t want to be rude, but you’ve been in the kitchen for three hours now, and I need food.

•

Someone replace my heart with another liver, so I can drink more and care less.

•

“I wish dick tasted like curly fries” -- heard in the Ram.

•

There’s a bloke in the forum playing eight games of chess against eight different people simultaneously. What a time to be alive.

•

I wish I could finish essays as quickly as I finish a whole tin of Pringles.

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I manage to get all my coursework done on-time and have a social life. The only things I have to sacrifice are sleep and regular meals.

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Photo: David Giral

Lifestyle travels: Canada close-up

Jeremy Brown, Arts & Lit Editor, provides an exploration of Canada’s hidden gem up north: Vancouver

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ULL disclosure: I haven’t actually been to Vancouver on holiday.

Instead, I lived there for two years, but I still feel like I only scratched the surface of this massive Canadian metropolis.

It’s a multicultural city, famous for its welcoming nature, and the bustling urban landscape of Downtown is perfectly balanced by the residential and rural comfort of the North Shore, meaning there’s something for everyone.

Vancouver’s diversity allows for an incredible assortment of cultures and cuisines, undoubtedly the jewel in the city’s crown is the oriental experience led predominantly by the largest Chinatown in Canada, offering noodles and sushi to

your heart’s content. And if that doesn’t float your boat, the sweeter offerings at the famous West Vancouver bakery, The Savary Island Pie Company, will surely be to your taste. Their pumpkin pie is a Canadian thanksgiving favourite, and it’s surprisingly tasty too. Alternatively, if you prefer artisan markets, Granville Island is a haven of gorgeous food outlets and other assorted treats.

In some areas, the city still feels embedded in true Canadian wilderness, and nowhere is that more obvious than the stunning Capilano Suspension Bridge, which crosses a river from far, far above, and the nearby Treetops Adventure.

This takes you up on walkways into the

tall pine trees that surround the region.

Closer to Downtown Vancouver lies Stanley Park, a 1000-acre blend of open spaces and woodland, which is perfect for cycling. The city also lies on the coast, so if you know where to look there are lovely hidden beaches in the North Shore area: Eagle Harbour, for example, which I remember fondly for its impressive sunsets and the occasional visiting seal or otter.

With a country as young as Canada, ‘culture’ becomes an eclectic mix of adopted arts and hijacked fashions. It definitely has a sort of San Francisco-like vibe, with strong links to the environment as well as a flourishing arts scene, but

Canadians are also proud of their First Nations heritage, as seen by the totem poles which are dotted throughout the city.

Embrace Canada’s favourite stereotype and watch the Vancouver Canucks ice hockey team Above all else, I’d advise you embrace Canada’s favourite stereotype and watch the Vancouver Canucks ice hockey team play – it really is a spectacle to behold, and the fans are a friendly bunch. (they also

win regularly, which is nice). Similarly, if you visit in winter, make sure you take a journey up the nearby mountains: skiing at Cypress Mountain was always really enjoyable, and the view was consistently breath-taking.

As a final note, remember: if you’re planning on exploring the forests that surround the city and line the coasts of British Colombia, make sure to pick up some bear spray: normally bears are scared of humans, but it’s not really worth the risk! Other than that, prepare for perfect summers and wet, wet winters.

And when it snows in Canada, it really snows.

Ask your Auntie Sabs

Sabrina Aziz, our Lifestyle Agony Aunt, is here to solve all of your uni problems (well, she’ll try...)

Dead-set on deadlines With so many deadlines looming, I’m spending more time in the Library than my own house right now, but being there so much has meant that I’ve begun developing a deep and utterly all-consuming crush on this guy who is also on my course, and so has the same deadlines as I do. All I can think about is how I wish he’d sweep my books off my desk and passionately kiss me like they do in the movies, but so far the most contact we’ve had is me awkwardly smiling at him as I walked past where he was studying and then promptly tripping over because I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. Should I take things to the next level or just leave it?

And more to the point, if I go allout, how should I go about it?

Yours desperately, S.N. Dear S.N., It’s clear that you need to grab this guy’s attention, so you need to

be suave, sultry and seductive, yet elusive and hard to get (and doing it with two left feet certainly isn’t going to cut it). First, stare at him continuously until he starts to feel really uncomfortable. When he looks back at you, give him a �lirtatious wink and lick your lips seductively. If he still hasn’t made the move by now, it’s up to you. Sway your hips on the sly as you shimmy towards him, and throw yourself on to his desk, crushing his things, or better yet, sweep them off of his desk. He can buy a new MacBook, right? Throw your phone at him and demand his number while holding his gaze. He’ll love your assertiveness, for sure. Once you have it, walk away, cool as a cucumber. Of course, once he texts make sure you leave it at least a week before replying. You wouldn’t want to come across as desperate or weird or any-

thing like that, now would you?

Auntie Sabs xox

Send in your dilemmas to Auntie Sabs at lifestyle@exepose.com

Smells like trouble I saw your advice to the guy with the annoying loo-roll housemate in the last issue, and I have a similar dilemma, except mine has escalated. My housemate smells atrocious. I swear he can’t shower every day because no one can constantly smell like a mixture of tobacco, sweat, stale milk and the old Arena carpets all the time, surely?

Thanks to the anonymity of Yik Yak, I decided to vent my frustrations, but somehow he managed to �ind out that it was me behind the Yak and now is monumentally pissed off at me. He now goes out of his way to waft his pungent aroma in my direction, taking any chance he can get his grubby mitts on, and I can’t handle it.

What do I do now? I’ve lost all hope and I have no idea how best to deal with a problem like this.

Please help me - I am running out

of receptacles to throw up in.

Yours faithfully, D.H.

Dear D.H., Simply put, it’s war. Stop showering, throw out the deodorant, say goodbye to the incense (who even buys that stuff anyway!?) and beat him at his own game. Show him what it really means to stink. Use those receptacles of sick to your advantage and hide them around his room. Make your house smell so disgustingly, sickeningly bad that your housemates leave screaming and move into Old Lafrowda. Yep, things have to get that bad. Sure, in the end you might be left with an empty home and no friends apart from the �lies that now inhabit your house.

But fuck it, you’ve won and nobody can take that away from you -- after all, there’s nobody else around to do so, is there? Besides, you’ve always got Yik Yak.

Auntie Sabs xox

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EXEPOSÉ

MUSIC Back from the year 2000 Exeposé Music

MUSIC EDITORS James Atherton Katie Costello

@ExeposeMusic

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Gig Listings

Saturday 28 November Sounds of Sirens Rumleigh Farm, Plymouth Tuesday 24 November Gaz Coombes Exeter Phoenix, Exeter Meat Wave Start the Bus, Bristol Thursday 26 November Mark Morriss Cavern, Exeter Nothing But Thieves Thekla, Bristol

Saturday 28 November Happy Mondays O2 Academy Bristol, Bristol Wednesday 2 December Alt-J Exeter Westpoint Arena, Exeter Thursday 3 December The Story So Far The Lemon Grove, Exeter The Vaccines Plymouth Pavillions, Plymouth

Hannah Butler is more than a little excited for the Busted reunion tour

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HEN the whispers started in early October, it seemed too good to be true. But Busted is back. This isn’t a drill. I’ve got tickets to see them.

Yep. Matt Willis, James Bourne and *gasp* Charlie Simpson are about to give UK fans what they’ve been hankering after since 2005. Is Charlie in it for the money? Undoubtedly. But do we care?

Absolutely not.

Busted is back. This isn’t a drill. I’ve got tickets to see them Here’s the deal. Busted’s rise to fame in the early noughties was a cascade of No.1s, sell-out tours and Brit Awards – but in early 2005, tragedy struck.

Charlie wanted out.

You know how it is. You meet these two guys at a party, and before y o u know i t ,

you’re jamming. One thing leads to another, and somehow you’ve arranged a gig. Next thing you know, the new guys are practising at yours, you’ve got rehearsals scheduled, more gigs coming up… and you start to wonder where your heart truly lies.

In Charlie’s case, it was with new band Fightstar. So off he trotted, leaving James and Matt in the lurch and the UK’s teenage population heartbroken.

Busted may have been - well, busted - for over a decade, but they’ve never left the hearts of the noughties youth. Play ‘Year 3000’ or ‘Air Hostess’ at a club and at least half the room starts screaming.

So it’s understandable that we’re almost wetting ourselves at news of a reunion.

But there’s something more to this glee – and let’s face it: it’s got a lot to do with Charlie.

It’s like when the boy who dumped

you as a chubby 12-year-old with a big forehead and wonky glasses suddenly starts liking your Facebook profile pictures eight years later. (Completely fictional scenario, obviously).

When Charlie left Busted in 2005, he wasn’t just dumping Matt and James. He was breaking up with all of us. But what’s this? He wants us back?! It’s tempting to give him the middle finger – except the media’s doing a pretty good job of that already.

“NOUGHTIES pop sensations BUSTED are re-forming – ten years after CHARLIE SIMPSON quit to become a credible rock star and vowed never to return,” The Sun

Waterboys, Colsoton Hall, Bristol Friday 4 December Magic Hatstand Cavern, Exeter

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screamed in early October. In other words: “Lmao, Charlie.”

Busted may have been well busted - for over a decade, but they’ve never left the hearts of noughties youth The same journalist went on to explain his cynicism at Charlie’s return – suggesting he’s merely doing it for a slice of the fame Matt and James have recently enjoyed with McBusted. You know what? He’s probably right. But I’m not too bothered.

A lot’s changed in the past decade.

Charlie’s grown into his eyebrows, I’ve grown into my forehead.

We’re not living underwater as triple-breasted women yet, but that can’t be far away.

Some things haven’t changed. Busted’s songs are still fabulously uncool, teen angst is still a viable subject matter – and we’re still willing to pretend these guys are best mates, even though there’s a good chance they hate each other’s guts.

I don’t care if Busted are enjoying boyish banter or sitting in stony silence backstage next May. As long as they sing ‘Year 3000’, I’m putty in their hands.

Tickets for Busted’s tour are on sale now.

The Netflix and Chill Tape

Alt-J @ Westpoint Arena, Exeter Wednesday 2 December Alt-J are playing in Exeter, even if it may be slightly out of town.

Westpoint Arena is one of the biggest venues in Exeter, and you can see why they’ve chosen it to headline. For a chance to win two tickets to see Alt-J in Exeter, check out Exeposé Music on Facebook.

Winter nights are drawing in and there is a chill in the air. The lure of Arena has dwindelled, only to be replaced by the promise of Netflix and Chill. Exeposé Music has the perfect playlist to help you woo your bae.

‘Suck it and See ’ Arctic Monkeys - Rory Marcham ‘You’re My Rose’ - Kitra Williams (The Room Soundtrack) - Oli Thompson ‘Gone in the Morning’ - Newton Faulkner For when it’s not going so great’ - Rob Cross - ‘For ‘Mysterious Swing’ - Peter Andre - Naomi Darling ‘Friction’ - Television - Theodore Stone ‘Apartment Story’ - The National Ned Blackburn

Martha smash Cavern EXEPOSÉ

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Joe Stewart, Online Music Editor, heads to Cavern to check out Martha and Radiator Hospital play storming sets of incredible indie-punk tunes Martha & Radiator Hospital Cavern, Exeter 12 October 2015

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N their Bandcamp page, Radiator Hospital pleasingly describe their music as consisting of “soul guitars, love songs and loud drums”. Their singer, Sam Cook-Parrott, informed me post-gig that this catchy little epithet was actually culled from a review sticker on the front of an obscure LP that he once bought. Oddly enough, it also fits Durham-based pop band Martha like a snug pair of socks, so it was a match made in touring heaven when the bands announced their October / November jaunt across the length and breadth of the UK, which marks Radiator Hospital’s first full-band appearance in the UK. Their Exeter date coincides with the recent release by Specialist Subject Records of a split EP featuring both bands.

Support came from two local bands, “dreamo” duo Honey Pot and punks Selfish Son, who feature Lande Hekt of Muncie Girls on vocals. Honey Pot aren’t quite as sweet as they sound; their brand of acoustic melancholia hits hard, but is underscored by tight musicianship and carefully constructed textures that owe a debt to shoegaze. Selfish Son, who played second, delivered a set of grunge-

tinged alternative rock that packed quite a punch, although it was smiles all round on stage. Part of the fertile Exeter alternative scene, they were confident and energetic, and are sure to play the Cavern plenty more times this year (it helps that two members work there).

Next up was Radiator Hospital, and before I proceed, I’ve got a confession to make.

Studying abroad last year in the USA, I went to see the band at a house show in Richmond, Virginia. Unfortunately, I can’t quite claim to have seen them at all. Before the show, my friends and I were a bit liberal with the Mango-flavoured vodka, and I wasn’t even aware that Radiator Hospital were playing until their set was nearly finished, having been massively engrossed in petting the house’s pet golden retriever.

I resolved, in shame, to try and see

the band again, and the Exeter date was the golden opportunity.

From the moment Radiator Hospital kicked off their set with ‘Bedtime Story’, I was smiling, prompted not by a dog but by their charged, sentimental music, which owes as much to punk as it does the soppy lyricism of pop ballads.

Genre-wise, they’re difficult to place, they should be a pop-punk band, but there’s something about t h e i r m u s i c that seems a bit more introspective, a bit more mature. Most songs feature warm, encouraging guitars, straightforward drums and Sam’s semi-yelled high pitched vocals, which unfortunately got lost a bit in the mix; there isn’t, in all honesty, a huge amount of diversity, but that didn’t seem to matter. That’s not to criticise the songwriting; songs like ‘Cut Your Bangs’ and finisher ‘Just May Be The One’ are almost infuriatingly catchy,

and inspired smiles – drunken or not – across the room.

Martha followed up with a set of charming, well-written, and political pop rock, not to mention their gorgeous Durham accents. Tunes like ‘Present Tense’ and ‘Chekhov’s Hangnail’ translated well in the Cavern, inspiring scattered dancing and near universal head-nodding.

Like Gnarwolves and Moose Blood, Martha are the kind of band that have the potential for crossover success, enjoyed by Radio 1 listeners and respected by grizzled punks alike. It’s worth mentioning that Martha’s political themes are at the forefront of their music; avowedly vegan, Martha are also deeply concerned with LGBT rights, animal rights and localism.

They are the kind of band that have the potential for crossover success They could never be called “preachy”, but are instead quietly determined and punk in the best sense. In the spirit of collaboration that marks this tour out, Martha brought on Sam to sing the first verse of ‘Bubble In My Bloodstream’. Indeed, the show was devoid of any egos whatsoever, and, in the Cavern, on a rainy Thursday night, that seemed like the way it should be.

The Computers comeback Dave Morgan reviews the latest EP from the Exeter-based rock ‘n’ roll group What’s The News?

Here’s The Blues The Computers 27 November 2015

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XETER band The Computers have evolved quicker throughout the last decade than the tech in their namesake. Playing their first show at our beloved Cavern in 2006 as a rough around the edges, heavy set Dells; they made a lot of noise and got pretty heated. Nowadays, their sound is more reminiscent of any shiny grey thing that Apple has pumped out over the last year. Although appealing on the surface, most of the substance is second hand disguised as innovation.

The Computer’s new EP Want the News? Here’s the Blues provides easy listening rock n’ roll, some enjoyable funk

and unsurprisingly, the blues. The title track is a fundamentally catchy pop-rock song that anyone could enjoy as long as they don’t listen too closely. Laying familiar blues-themed rhymes over an old Maroon 5 style guitar riff sounds exactly how you’d expect it to. The lyrics “I need that money more than you know” reminds me of some song everyone was listening to about five years ago? Anyway, the track’s name explains the sound perfectly.

Want something new? Tough, have some old bluesy stuff you’ve heard before.

Thankfully the track is partially redeemed by including a couple

of relics from their early career; a quick guitar solo and touch of shouting.

The following songs follow the same bordering-on-plagiarism, what can we get away with stealing? Vain. In fact, the third track ‘Whip’, is a cover of 1980’s band Devo, with some Little Richardesque piano snuck in there to make sure it wasn’t entirely identical to the original. Sadly, even the odd glimmer of personality and charm shining through in the vocals could be attributed to

Pulled Apart By Horses.

The Computers have evolved quicker throughout the last decade than the tech in their name-sake The one diamond in the rough on this EP, or more accurately, the cornflake in the box that doesn’t look quite like all the others, is ‘It’s Over You’. Not like their old hardcore punk style nor like the rest of the EP, this track shows the maturity the band seem to have been striving for since abandoning the teenage angst of their first releases. Pensive and restrained, this record just about gives me hope for the future of The Computers. But only just.

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Hot / Not / Long Shot / Forgot James Beeson, Editor has been perusing the latest releases, and is here to give his opinion on which songs are hot, which are not, one which is a bit of a long shot and one which has been forgotten.

Hot: ‘Looking out for You’ – Joy Again Joy Again’s debut single ‘Looking out for you’ delighted me with its fuzzy genteel indie pop rhythms and Darwin-Deezesque vocals. A real pick-me up for a dreary November day.

Not: ‘Hello’ – Adele Dull, selfindulgent and perpetually miserable, the former BRIT school singer fails to do anything other than make me want to cry myself to sleep. Her latest offering is more of the same depressing whingy nonsense; You’d have thought all that moolah she’s got would cheer her up a bit…

Long Shot: ‘Fueiho Boogie’ – Swim Deep Not for the faint hearted, this eight minute epic from the Brummie boys is an acid housecum-techno inspired marathon that attacks the recently lifted Fueiho law banning dancing in Japanese clubs.

Forgot: ‘Little Baby Nothing’ – Manic Street Preachers Featuring vocals by former porn star Traci Lords, the song addresses the vitally important issue of the exploitation of women with striking lyrical complexity and frankly epic guitar riffs.

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The gender pay snap screen@exepose.com

In the wake of celebrity discussion, Tom Nejad explores the issue of gender inequality in Hollywood

“I

‘M over trying to find the ‘adorable’ way to state my opinion and still be likable! F*ck that.” This is the conclusion drawn by actress Jennifer Lawrence in a recent article for Lena Denham’s site ‘lennyletter.com’, in which she snapped at the gender inequality in Hollywood. The basis of her article is formed on Sony Picture e-mails that, when released in a cyberattack, ravaged the studio.

The e-mails have now been indexed by WikiLeaks under the sanction that they provide insight into the workings of a major geopolitically influential company and thus belong in the public domain.

Her voice only adds weight and urgency to an ever growing dialogue Regardless of the politics that sparked the discussion, Lawrence’s comments have instigated debate. However this can all too easily be attributed to the oversaturation of Jennifer Lawrence in recent times. It was almost global news when she shed her ‘luscious mane’ in favour of an ‘elegant pixie cut’.

Her association with gender inequality fails to trivialise the issue. Her voice only adds weight and urgency to an ever-growing dialogue in the Hollywood industry that was addressed by Patricia Arquette in her 2015 Oscar acceptance speech. Arquette’s address was met with uproarious support from none other than Meryl Streep who, despite

receiving more Academy Award nominations than any male figure in Hollywood history, has consistently failed to secure equal pay to her male co-stars.

In fact, examination of the Forbes highest earning actors’ list of 2015 only includes two actresses in the top ten category for acting. This is in fact a major upset with women rarely gracing the list in the last five years. Does this point to gender stereotyping in an industry run by rich, old, white, males? And worse still, why should Lawrence be complaining?

She was one of the two females to secure a spot on the top ten highest earners with a $52 million salary accrued via her work on two major franchises, Hunger Games and X-Men. The negotiations of such large sums of money is hard to sympathise with. In fact, Kate Winslet finds the whole thing “vulgar”. She attributes this to a “British thing”. But what if she refers to a dominant hegemonic ideology that infiltrates western culture? The English student’s oldest friend: Marxism. The economic value of sexism is made clear here, the key lies in the fact that half the population is made to feel they are worth less and therefore worthless. It makes girls expect less and resist less so consequently receive less.

However it is not Marxism creating feminism, rather just

utilising it for financial gain. Sexism seems to have been a common feature of more recent civilisation with women in the workplace, before it wasn’t even recognised as a problem. It is infuriatingly incomprehensible to me why people performing the same task aren’t paid the same wage, in recognition of a basic human right.

This twisted mind-set has seemingly spread from the studios to their audiences If we are to address the obvious, Lawrence is not the average person. “It’s hard for me to speak about my experience as a working woman because I can safely say my problems aren’t exactly relatable.”

She is angry over the principle and her failure to be, what she feels, an accountable role model for all women in business.

Female business women, she argues, risk criticism for being called ‘difficult’, ‘spoiled’ or as one producer called Angelina Jolie in a leaked e-mail, ‘a brat’ for showing the same ingenuity as men who secure

themselves the higher paychecks with less dispute.

Many in the media dismissed Lawrence’s article over these grounds claiming her to be overreacting in a now, safe and secure industry, thanks to governmental laws. Acts of Parliament, such as the Equal Pay Act of 1970 and the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975, mean that women should have the same job opportunities as men. Women can now be independent. But, in Hollywood, they aren’t.

The very fact that discrimination against women is still considered a relevant issue today is a testimony to its prominence in modern society. For if it was no longer an issue there would be no need to discuss the matter.

More worrying still is the fact that this twisted mindset has seemingly spread from the studios to their audiences.

In a voyeuristic industry, objectification is always going to be a key issue. The treatment of women

as pieces of meat is unfortunately exemplified by Lawrence’s leaked iCloud photos. Merely months ago this person was posted all over the internet and provides a shocking warning of the extremes this inequality can lead to, with only actresses the victims of these attacks.

Her contribution here is undoubtedly on the force of good Gender equality is a hard topic to discuss, especially from a male perspective. Many find it intimidating and take the questions that arise from it as a personal threat. It is also difficult to promote a theory that preaches equality, in what is occasionally accused of being, in an aggressive fashion. That’s why Lawrence’s humility shines in an essay that tackles some very inconvenient truths.

Her contribution here is undoubtedly on the force of good, however the potential façade that is her “down to earth” media personality remains to be seen as genuine, or conforming to patriarchal idealism. That, however, is a discussion for another day.

Top 6 Earning Actors and Actresses in 2014 Robert Downey Jr

$70 million Dwanye Johnson

$51 million Sandra Bullock

$50 million Bradley Cooper

$47 million Jennifer Lawrence

$34 million Jennifer Aniston

$20 million Statistics: Fusion, 2014

A fairytale in New York EXEPOSÉ

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Emma Prevignano reviews the film adaptation of Brooklyn, discussing its migration from page to screen

Brooklyn Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohen Director: John Crowley 2015, 112 minutes

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EW York City, a luxurious department store. Eilis, the new shop assistant from Ireland, feels out of place. She is shy and frightened; she is not very good at entertaining customers with small talk.

Saoirse Ronan perfectly conveys the feelings of a young woman torn Ireland. Eilis, the girl who went off to America, walks along the deserted beach with her Irish friends. She looks sophisticated, a bit out of place with her trendy swimsuit and her sunglasses.

Brooklyn,, based on Colm Tóibín’s novel, directed by John Crowley, screenplay by Nick Hornby and released on 6 November 2015 is about leaving your home for some unknown land. It is about finding yourself in a whole new city, with people who know nothing about your past. It is about building a new life from scratch. Brooklyn is a film about freedom, homesickness, fear and love. It is set in the 1950s, but it deals with timeless feelings.

The story-line is nothing extraordinary: Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan), an Irish girl and a bit of a wallflower, sails to New York looking for a better life leaving her mother and sister, and everything that was familiar, behind.

In the US, not without some struggle, the wallflower finally blooms and manages to find self-confidence and love.

Circumstances will take her back to Ireland completely changed. There, the life that had seemed unattainable will be handed to her on a plate. Eilis will have to choose between future and past,

between the glittering American dream and the comforting Irish life.

Saoirse Ronan’s astonishing acting, helped by the impressive script, perfectly conveys the feelings of a young woman torn between two countries, two lives, perhaps two parts of herself. The strength of the film lies in its delicate atmosphere; melancholic but never anxious, and in its soft and yet incisive images. Eilis meets her future self on h e r first trip to America: a woman who

takes care of that scared creature and, when asked about the speed of the mail, answers that letters will take a very long time at first and then no time at all. Eilis’ homesickness is projected on the Irish song sung on Christmas day by an old Irishman who has not seen his homeland for decades.

A faithful and very successful adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s novel In a time when migration is a very current topic, Brooklyn conveys a message of empathy in recalling the days when it was the Europeans who were on the move, with a third class ticket and the hope to build a better life across the ocean. Alongside being a faithful and very successful adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s novel, which should also be sought out for its quality, Brooklyn is the ultimate tearjerker. If only all adaptations could be this good.

A little bit of Pixar dust

Sophie Harrison, Features Editor, discusses her love for Disney and their upcoming movies

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wise fish once told us to just keep swimming. Throughout its history, Disney has had to do just this. Despite periods of sparkling ‘renaissance’ (1990s), other times have been seriously lacking in the pixie dust department.

The noughties were a prime example of this.

With the exception of Princess and the Frog, Disney turned away from hand-drawn masterpieces and offered us Atlantis on a plate. Don’t remember Atlantis? Trust me, that’s probably a good thing. In the meantime, Pixar was going from strength to strength with Monsters Inc., The Incredibles and of course - our beloved Finding Nemo.

Poor Disney was clearly floundering, with the legacy of the Ariel /Belle era slipping away.

So what do you do? You go and shop your sorrows away, in the form of a $7.4 billion cheque for Pixar. Clearly, it was the magic dust they needed. From

2007, the Disney revival began. Many of the golden moments came from Pixar projects, notably Ratatouille, Up and Toy Story 3 all within five years of one another. It broke box office records for an animation film, surpassing DreamWorks’ Shrek 2 (2004).

Disney proved that it could still hold its own. Sometimes, all it takes is an act of true love to thaw a Frozen Box Office - by £1.1 billion to be exact. For this movie, the world realised that Disney was still worth melting for. Frozen has become a cult and Mickey Mouse has his mojo back.

The current decade has been a revival to rival the 90s. Kicking off with Tangled in 2010, Dory’s “just keep swimming” became “at last I see the light” (Rapunzel). Disney, indeed you did. Yet it was a new kind of light and one I personally adore.

Live-action. We all know Disney can do animation like no other - they’ve

proven their worth here. But they also have a gift for storytelling that will translate through any medium. Mary Poppins proved this.

Poor Disney was clearly floundering, with the legacy slipping away Perhaps my enduring love for this movie makes me a bit biased, but one of my favourite films of the Decade was Disney’s Saving Mr Banks. I still think Emma Thompson was robbed of an Oscar Nomination here, the soundtrack still makes me cry and who but Woody himself could play Walt Disney? Tom Hanks was made for that part like Lily James for Cinderella.

Another Disney gem, complete with Downton and Game of Thrones Royalty. All it needed was Kevin Spacey and they’ve united my TV viewing on one

screen. They even got Kenneth Branagh to direct. Need I say more?

Now Disney are set to repeat this golden formula, with Lily’s fellow ‘english rose’ Emma Watson, Downton alumni Matthew Crawley (I forget his real name), Ian Mckellen, Emma Thompson and Josh Gad (Olaf). The story? Beauty and the Beast. Disney you have made all my dreams come true. Thank you!

As with Cinderella, Saving Mr Banks and Maleficent, the live-action remakes offer a different take on the stories we know and love. Often, it is with a more progressive outlook. Cindy actually meets her prince before the ball *shock horror* and the villain isn’t quite as evil as she first appears. I cannot wait to see how Disney rework Beauty and the Beast, and I will be there on opening night to find out!

This isn’t the only project Mickey Mouse has in store. Finding Dory, Toy

Story 4, Frozen 2 and The BFG. As much as I love my squishy blue fish and warm Olaf hugs, the Dahl adaptation has well and truly caught my attention.

Two of these four films are collaborations with Pixar animation, reflecting the balance Disney has finally established. Although the partnership instantly provided a whole catalogue of successful films, I think the real success is the confidence it gave the studio. Disney also now owns both Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm, with huge releases in the expanded superhero and Star Wars universes set for the next few years. Upcoming films include Captain America: Civil War, a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, new Avengers films, and a new Star Wars trilogy and spin-offs.

It turns out all they needed was faith and trust and a little bit of Pixar dust. I could not be happier that Disney are finding their voice again. I only hope that, this time, they don’t let it go.

Disney’s 18 Films in 18 Months

December 2015 January 2015

March 2016 April 2016

May 2016

June 2016

May 2016 July 2016

August 2016

November 2016

November 2016

June 2017 March 2017

December 2016 April 2017

May 2017 May 2017

July 2017

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Newsreel Spectre nears $550 million globally Spectre is performing well at the global box office, grossing nearly $550 million and enjoying the smallest second weekend franchise drop since Casino Royale. However, its major success has been found abroad in China, taking $48 million in one weekend. It is set to become the largest opening weekend and largest opening three days of all time for any 2D US film.

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Saeed Jaffery, veteran of Bollywood and British cinema, has passed away at 86. He starred in films like Gandhi, A Passage to India and My Beautiful Launderette. Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, was among the first to pay his condolences, praising Jaffrey’s “flair and versatility” as an actor. He was the first Indian performer to receive an OBE for his services to drama.

New Star Wars TV Spot A new Star Wars teaser spot for TV has been released. We get our first glimpse of the legendary Admiral Ackbar and the character Finn (John Boyega) manning the classic turret on the Millennium Falcon. The film has broken records for the highest amount of pre-sold tickets, outselling the previous record holder The Hunger Games by eight times. It is set for release on December 17th 2015, and we couldn’t be any more excited!

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Ned Whiles takes a look at superhero shows - can they rival the movies?

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N recent years, the superhero genre has received a massive revitalisation thanks to numerous outings on the big screen. Films like The Avengers, Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, and numerous attempts at the Spiderman franchise have turned names like Steve Rogers, Peter Parker and Bruce Wayne into household names.

Superheroes are becoming more and more prevalent, whether it is through other mediums (Lego, Disney etc...) or through their own independent franchises. The top grossing movie lists are now populated with movies of people in constumes fighting crime.

Television is a better outlet for superheroes than film could ever be

Bollywood legend Saeed Jaffery dies

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What is often ignored however, is the presence of the superhero genre on the small screen. Television, in my opinion, is in fact a better outlet for superheroes than film could ever be, for one very simple reason. With film one has two choices. Either tell the story you want to tell in only a couple of hours but maintain the attention of the viewers, or split the film into several parts allowing the story to be told, albeit by breaking the flow. Television shows are serial, allowing for self-contained story arcs, or month long epics. This is the closest that live action media can come to replicating the sorts of superhero stories seen in comic books.

Television currently has a plethora of so called superhero shows on at the moment, with the epics of Arrow and The Flash, the espionage stories of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the deeply human stories from Heroes.

Whilst it is by no means a new genre, with shows like Smallville and previous seasons of Heroes being around in the early 2000s, it is now entering its golden age.

In the past, superhero shows were never honest with themselves in terms of their own identity.

Smallville for instance, whilst marketing itself as a story about the early

years of Clark Kent (Superman), does so through varying different (and often strange) mediums. It bounced from thriller to sci-fi to high school drama to grand epic to workplace drama and back to thriller. Whilst the intent would have been to show variety and diversity in super powered characters, the final product ended up being all over the shop. Iconic comic book characters were portrayed in terrible ways to give more screen time to a contrived three season long love story. At some point it forgot what it wanted to be.

Heroes was a bit more focused at least, but this was both a success and a failure. Throughout its original run Heroes identified as, and consistently portrayed, a show about the human reaction to superpowers. Its first season tackled this incredibly well, and remains one of my favourite opening of any TV series ever. As time went on though, it seemed parts of the plot were neglected to focus on individual characters. Two characters with com-

pletely opposing ideals, who we expect to fight off in an eventually epic battle, actually ended up on the same side at

the end (despite one killing the others brother). It also tried to achieve scope

with a plethora of different characters, but never really took any of their plots anywhere. There were at least five different possible futures at one point, some just explained away with a sentence, and some leading nowhere. With the success of early Heroes, the NolanBale Batman films and eventually the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), it became clear that the public were open to superheroes again.

So in 2012 when the CW channel released Arrow, the gritty superhero thriller, it was an instant success. And yes, whilst this iteration is more of a vigilante, I still classify it as a superhero show.

Following on from the gritty Nolan Batman, the CW re-imagined the Robin-Hood like character of Green Arrow on the small screen. Whilst somewhat grittier than the comics, it was still faithful to the antics in the source material. Following this in 2013 came Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, a spy thriller built around the shared MCU films. It set the ground for later shows such as Daredevil and the upcoming

Jessica Jones. DC then later rounded out the back and forth with The Flash, arguably the best superhero program out there at the moment. Perfectly straddling the flare of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with the down to earth grittiness of Arrow. Furthermore, it is both honest as to what it is, and loyal to the source material. The Flash perfectly captures the light hearted nature of Barry Allen from the comics whilst, as previously mentioned, channelling the gritty nature of the genre.

With new seasons of Arrow, The Flash and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and a reboot of sorts for Heroes, it seems that the genre has firmly entrenched itself.

All the superhero shows on television at the moment have shed the awkwardness of their first seasons, and established themselves in their own identity.

So for the most part, I would highly recommend that you check out all the shows that I’ve mentioned here.

‘The Flash’ is arguably the best superhero program out there The last show on our list is, cyclically, our first. Heroes has recently received a ‘revival’, for better or for worse.

Yes, it has rebooted itself with fresh characters and new plots, but it reuses a lot of the old tropes. The new characters do serve as a breath of fresh air, but a lot of them are functional ‘clones’ of the original cast (some of them even repeat old lines word for word).

All of this is somewhat overshadowed however, by the fact that for all intents and purposes, the current protagonist is a reused character from the original show. Time will tell whether or not Heroes Reborn embraces its new innovation, or becomes too reliant on its past.

Regardless of the problems that these shows possess, its clear that superhero tv shows are entering a new era of quality. As both Marvel and DC’s universes expand with an ever greater cast of characters, I expect to see a lot more on my television screen. And I am very happy about that.

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ARTS &LIT Arts Diary Comedy 27 Nov Exeter Comedy Club Corn Exchange

Theatre 24-28 Nov, 1-5 Dec Plunge Bike Shed Theatre 24-28 Nov The Odyssey: Missing Presumed Dead Northcott Theatre

4 Dec - 2 Jan A Christmas Carol Northcott Theatre 3-5 Dec Boots at the Door Theatre Royal Plymouth

Radio 25 Nov - 5pm Xpression Presents 87.7 FM and online

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The art of advertising

Giorgi Mamuzelos, Copy Editor, looks behind the scenes at manipulative marketing

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HIS time last year, I was pretty sure advertising was my call in life.

Remembering a work placement in 2010 with the rose-tinted glasses of a student desperate for something resembling a ‘plan for the future’, I managed to nab an internship at one of the biggest ad agencies in London.

After about two weeks spent optimising hundreds of YouTube videos on behalf of a German finance corporation (which is about as souldestroying as it sounds – if someone had asked me to make tea instead I would’ve kissed their feet), I was invited to sit in on a team briefing and watch the magic happen.

Sat in a room with three men who practically screamed ‘independent coffee shop’, I watched the professionals puzzle over how to sell razors.

“Okay,” says Edgy Ad Guy number 1, “So. What we kind of want to communicate is… if you use this razor, you’re different. Everyone else is the same. But because you use this razor, you’re, like… special?”

If someone had asked me to make tea instead, I would’ve kissed their feet Appreciative nodding around the room. “So I was thinking: robots and aliens.” “Yes. Exactly!” says number 2.

Number 3 writes ‘ROBOTS AND ALIENS’ on the whiteboard. Number 2 makes frantic notes. Hashtags are mentioned. I start wondering what publishing is like.

The miserable thing about all these gimmicky ad campaigns is that I can now imagine the various creative teams behind them clapping each other on the back and feeling like millennial Don Drapers, giggling to themselves as they formulate the next wacky instalment of their horrifically enduring Compare

someone reading this shared something about it on social media. Good job, John Lewis’s marketing team owes you one.

You, and the rest of the bloody country.

Every now and then, there’s an ad that genuinely deserves the attention your

the Meerkat saga, and getting paid for it.

And as far as I can see, the work (in some sense of the word)

ends there. Every time a new gimmick with the subtlety of an obnoxious six year old appears on our screens, we’re given a hashtag (#EpicStrut, #GioReturns, #BeMoreDog, #MakeItRight, make it stop) and expected to relay the video to loved ones and strangers alike as though it were anything but an advert for a price comparison site.

And the worst part is, we often do.

You’ve probably seen the new John Lewis ad. Actually, I’m going to hazard a guess

average price comparison site spends thousands trying to garner.

Many in the industry will turn to Apple’s first Macintosh commercial, 1984, as pretty much the pinnacle of television advertising. Based on (you guessed it) George Orwell’s 1984, the ad presents us with a dystopian vision of contemporary society, in which a uniformed mass stares blankly at a screen depicting Big Brother, until the most 80’s woman you’ve ever seen sprints forward and hurls a hammer into it. “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll

see why 1984 won’t be like 1984.” Cue the Apple logo. Ta-dah.

Perhaps it’s a bit heavy-handed by today’s standards, but Apple didn’t just change the face of computers: 1984 (the ad, I mean) has been described as something of a revelation in television advertising, and even today a lot of ads will still try to emulate ‘what worked’ about 1984.

But there’s no fixed formula for a ‘good ad’. In any combination, humour (may I recommend Epuron’s Mr Wind), shock value (thank you, THINK!, for all the blood and dead children you’ve brought to our screens), or even downright absurdity can hit a sweet spot with audiences that they didn’t even know was there. But even then, some award-winners out there have barely registered with the public: style does not equal sales. In fact, I think I’d argue that most of the ‘better’ ones are atrocious.

Brands are able to achieve gimmicky omnipresence I don’t know whether these ads are the best or the worst thing to happen to advertising. Brands are able to achieve gimmicky omnipresence with minimal wit, and the rest of us are left hyperconscious of them, regardless of what the brand does and the standard to which they do it. There’s something distinctly dystopian about that…

Art 13 Nov - 23 Dec Surface/Contact Phoenix

Arts in the news

Photo: Russ’ photo journal

Jimmy Carr to make the first British stand-up special for Netflix

Fukushima’s radioactive wasteland converted into an art gallery

Robert Galbraith and David Mitchell longlisted for the IMPAC Award

‘Raindrops’ artwork created by filling 3000 condoms with water

From page to picture

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Photo: abrokenlaptop.com

Flora Carr, Features Editor, shines a light on Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials

U

NTIL recently, I didn’t have a

word, and his magical worlds (that’s

our world, where (in the second book)

drama-school acting were never going

ing me for sticking to the dissertation

clue as to what to write my dis-

right, plural) are staggeringly inven-

she meets Will: a boy, and a murderer.

to make the cut.

topic that my thirteen-year-old self

sertation on. I made several panicked

tive. There are subplots to the subplots,

Parallel universes? Talking ani-

Then again, much of what irked

would have picked, rather than one

trips down the English Department cor-

and yet somehow Pullman weaves them

mals? Pre-pubescent angst? It sounds

me about the 2007 film was the brutal

which will actually look good on my CV.

ridor in Queen’s, scrawling my name on

together so tightly, and with such ease,

like Steven Spielberg’s dreams have all

editing and cutting of Pullman’s books.

The factor that will make or break

sign-up sheets. I then received a valua-

that you’re still left wanting more.

come true at once, so it was no surprise

The stage adaptation, which has been

the BBC adaptation is the same one

ble piece of advice: “Pick a text you’re so

when the movie rights to the first book,

praised highly by theatre critics, is a lot

that broke – no, stole the life from –

passionate about, you’ll still be willing

Northern Lights, were snapped up, and

more faithful. So when I discovered that

the 2007 film: casting. With such am-

to trek to the library on a cold February

it was made into the film The Golden

BBC One plan to adapt the books into a

bitious and complex storytelling, you

Compass in 2007. It would have been a

mini-series, I allowed myself a volley of

need rock-solid leads to carry the plot.

crime not to utilise modern digital wiz-

fan-girl squeaks.

It’s the characterisation of Lyra, and

morning to write about it”. I decided then and there that I had to write about

The trilogy is big and bold The main plot focuses on Lyra, an

ardry and bring Pullman’s creations to

later her relationship with Will, which

I first read the books when I was

orphaned girl living in a parallel uni-

life on screen, right? Actually, wrong.

is the focal point of the trilogy; by the

around twelve or thirteen. Although

verse where the soul takes an animal

Wrong, wrong, wrong. The film took the

marketed as children’s books, they’re no

form - a daemon. When children start

books and made them glossy and cutesy

easy read. The trilogy is big and bold and

to disappear, Lyra sets out on a quest to

and soulless. It diluted everything that

wordy; it’s Pullman’s ambitious attempt

find her kidnapped friend, and discover

made them so gripping and controver-

to rewrite Milton’s epic Paradise Lost,

the truth about a mysterious phenom-

sial – for adults, as well as kids. And for

If Game of Thrones has taught us

and Will bench’ in the Botanic Gardens

while challenging – scrap that – ripping

enon called Dust. By the end of the first

fans of Lyra “Silvertongue”, a driven,

anything, it’s that epic book series re-

(guilty). If the BBC gets that right, it will

apart the modern Catholic Church. But

book, her world is torn apart, quite liter-

mercurial, loveable liar, Dakota Blue

quire equally epic TV events, the longer

inspire a whole new generation to read

don’t let that put you off. Pullman is a

ally, when she walks through an open-

Richard’s random, phoney cockney ac-

episode format allowing for more detail.

Pullman’s trilogy. And that can only

master storyteller, in every sense of the

ing in the sky and into another world,

cent (Lyra lives in Oxford) and wooden

It also felt like the universe was reward-

ever be a good thing.

Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.

With such ambitious and complex storytelling, you need rock-solid leads

end, that relationship needs to have engrossed you so completely that you’d be willing to go on a pilgrimage to Oxford just to take a picture of the ‘Lyra

The Big Friendly (literary) Giant Emily Wheeler celebrates the life and works of the phizz-whizzing king of children’s literature

“C

HILDREN were his friends”

Dahl’s vibrant writing exudes a

matic experiences of conflict. Writing

winged-back chair, their father could

For example, he wrote the screenplay

says Roald Dahl’s widow

happiness that not all of his life expe-

in Lucky Break, he remembers: “For

often be found munching on sweets and

for the Bond film You Only Live Twice,

Liccy, “they were his equals”. Perhaps

riences correspond with: the death of

the first time in my life, I became totally

chocolate, surrounded by his children’s

adapting it from Ian Fleming’s book in

this is one of the reasons why he was

his father at a young age, fighting as an

absorbed in what I was doing.” This

letters and artwork on the walls, with

1967. In many ways, he’s as full of sur-

quite so exceptional at writing with

RAF pilot (and being shot down over

description fits totally with his writ-

his own hip bone fashioning a rather

prises as his characters!

kids in mind. The creativity and

Libya), and the tragic death of his own

ing style – you can just imagine a man

unusual door handle. Scribbling away

imagination of Dahl’s

seven-year-old daughter from measles.

completely lost in his own world of vivid

in HB pencil, on his trademark yellow

Yet throughout his writing, Dahl

imagination, shutting out the real, adult

paper, some of the nation’s favourite

upheld a positivity that allowed

world, as he spent hours upon hours in

characters would no doubt be springing

his writing hut.

to life – as well as approximately 250

books couldn’t have existed without the

his characters to overcome

fantasti-

cal mind of

even the most disastrous of

brand new words, all dreamt up by Dahl

someone who

situations. And flying fighter

himself.

jets in WW2 was just “mar-

had pink milk

vellous fun!”, in case anyone

for breakfast and put hundreds-andthousands

in

his

jelly – all because it seemed great fun!

was wondering…

It was after Dahl’s war ex-

The fantastical mind of someone who had pink milk for breakfast

Today, the legacy of Roald Dahl continues, as his works are republished across multi-media platforms. He even has his very own museum with three

periences that he first fell

This small hut was nestled at the

‘interactive galleries’ where “you can

in love with

bottom of his garden – ‘small’ for a tow-

enjoy free drop-in crafts every day”.

writing,

ering man of 6ft 5” – and it was here

In addition, Roald Dahl’s Marvellous

retell-

where his magical creations took form.

Children’s Charity is a foundation set

i n g

Ferocious wolves supposedly guarded

up to help seriously ill children, run by

h i s

the hut to stop small children sneaking

his widow Liccy Dahl since his death in

own

in and disturbing the master at work,

1990.

dra-

but Dahl’s daughters would occasion-

The man was clearly a genius, but

ally sneak a glimpse inside, after a po-

he also lived a life of mystery, resulting

lite knock on the door. Sitting in an old

in some fascinating facts and anecdotes.

Fantastic Mr Facts As a child Dahl hid a mouse in a sweet jar to play a prank on the mean owner of his local sweet shop He worked for MI6 alongside Ian Fleming, who would later go on to create the James Bond series He had an obsessive love of milk chocolate and dreamed of inventing a new kind of chocolate for Cadbury’s

26

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Dr. Grammar, an illustrious English lecturer, helps us to deal with our apostrophe catastrophes

D

@kati e.may .585

y_96 m a n e r @lau

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Artistic License Following the recent launch of the disgusting new UK passport designs, we asked what cultural icons you’d put on our passports instead.

KATHY GIDDINS Mary Berry holding an aeroplane cake

EAR Dr. Grammar, I am puzzled by the apostrophe. When do I use “it’s”, and when do I use “its”? And, more widely, what are the rules on using apostrophes and extra s-es with plural possessives? It’s all so confusing!

Mr. A.P. O’Strophe

When it comes to other possessives, things are more complicated. Around about 1550, possession was indicated by the use of his – for example: “Harry his book.” As English became more standardised, this contracted – so you’d say, “Harry’s book.” A useful way to remem-

apostrophe + r, as in “Sally her book,” “Sally’r book,” the answer is that back then women didn’t come into it. Most women couldn’t even read, and if t h e y w e r e married nothing belonged to them. Go feminism!).

Given that explanation, it’s/its is clearly a bit of an outlier. It’s counterintuitive, I know. What can I tell you?

Grammar is a cruel mistress.

But what about other names and nouns, I hear you cry?

What about Paris? What about Keats? First, the broad rule: you form the p o s sessive of most singular nouns by adding an apostrophe and an s. You form the possessive of most plural nouns by adding only an apostrophe. This means human becomes human’s (as in “It is that human’s femur”), and humans becomes humans’ (as in, “They are those hu-

+ s to form the possessive. It really is Keats’s, Paris’s, Venus’s, and so on (notice that in these cases the final s sound of the name is usually a soft s, “ssss,” while the possessive s is a hard s, “zzz.”

This is why you don’t run into the pronunciation problem that you do with humans’s).

There are two-and-a-half exceptions to this rule.

The first exception is for any name of two or more syllables that ends in an eez sound, like Socrates or Ganges.

These only get an apostrophe – again, an added zzz sound would make them awkward to pronounce. So they are just Socrates’, Ganges’.

The second exception is words that are plural in form but singular in meaning, for example species or states. These also only take an apostrophe: species’, states’ (as in States’ Rights). It looks weird, but it’s correct.

ber that possessives take an apostrophe + s, is to remember this bit of history (if you’re wondering why women don’t get

mans’ femurs”).

In the case of singular nouns, even those ending in an s get an apostrophe

The half exception is the hotly contested issue of Names with a Silent S. What is one to do about the posses-

Ah, the apostrophe! That sassy upwardly mobile comma, not quite as confusing as its lower sister but more than enough trouble in its own right. Starting this column as I mean to go on, I’m going to answer your question by giving you a straight answer, then supplying a bit of history that might help that answer stick, then giving a more in-depth explanation of the logic behind the usage.

Firstly: “It’s” is a contraction for “it is.” It is only that – in fact, it’s only that.

If you want to use a shortened version of “it is,” you want to use “it’s.” If you want to do anything else involving it and s – which means, if you want to use the possessive of it – you use its.

Grammar is a cruel mistress

sive of Descartes? Of Camus? Here, the answer is very much down to the conscience of the individual writer. You may use the apostrophe on its own – Descartes’ – or you may use the apostrophe + s – Descartes’s. Each has its followers, so either is permissible. Dr. Grammar prefers Descartes’s, but you don’t have to.

You will not make any greengrocer friends by pointing out that their signs are incorrect You don’t use an apostrophe to form a plural. Pretty simple rule, eh?

Plurals of abbreviations (WMDs), plurals of dates (1990s), plurals of numbers (fours): none of them get an apostrophe.

As it happens, the error of putting an apostrophe in a plural has its own name: it’s called The Grocer’s Apostrophe. This is because you will frequently see greengrocers’ signs that say, “Lettuce’s,” or “Apple’s.” Remember: you will not make any greengrocer friends by pointing out to them that their signs are mechanically incorrect; just buy one of their apple’s and let it be.

So that’s the apostrophe done and dusted. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Remember, you can trust me: I’m a doctor.

Puzzled by the passive? Confused about commas? Wishing you were less wordy? Ask Dr. Grammar your grammar questions, and she’ll help. Send queries to artsandlit@exepose.com

ART TO ART

HARRY SHEPHERD Jeremy Clarkson EMILY KERR I’d just make one with no borders on the pages for added irony FIONA POTIGNY They should all be standing in a queue. In the rain. That would definitely encapsulate the great British spirit.

JOSH MINES This man...

This week, we’re featuring the photography of Mia Brown, a second year Modern Languages student These photographs are snapshots taken from a short film made by a friend and I – titled ‘Flour is Power’. To provide some background context of our past creative endeavours: having a paint fight in the middle of a park, setting off smoke flares whilst riding a tractor, releasing fifty helium balloons out the boot of a Land Rover…anything which may appear visually impressive or aesthetically unique to film. In my opinion, this particular project turned out to be the most simple and effective. A bag of flour from Poundland and a mighty hill with spectacular views spanning Devon.

All that was left for me to do was to grab handfuls of the white powder and throw it around, whilst spinning around in a dusty craze. It was pretty consuming – almost choking at times – but great fun and rather exhilarating all the same.

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SCIENCE & TECH

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Exeposé Science & Tech

SCI & TECH EDITORS Catherine Heffner Lewis Norman

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sciandtech@exepose.com

The world in 2100 Photo: Bureau of Land Management/John McColgan

Sam Woolf predicts what the world will look like if climate change continues at its current rate

T

HE 20th century saw more development than perhaps all of the rest of mankind’s history. In 1900 for instance, the world’s population was just over one and a half billion, but by the year 2000 that figure had risen to six billion people. Massive technological change also came about - it was only in 1903 that the Wright Brothers successfully flew the very first aeroplane. However less than 60 years later, the cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, partook in the first ever manned space flight in 1961. But for as many positive developments the century saw there were also some seriously negative repercussions of human endeavours. 160 million people died in conflicts, 40 per cent of the world’s rainforests were lost, and we pumped millions of tonnes of greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere.

The developments made over the course of the 1900s would have been incomprehensible to those living at the start of the century. Could the 21st century be the same? Will things stay relatively similar, or will our planet be not even remotely recognisable by the year 2100?

Certainly when making predictions about the future, one should tread with caution. Particularly when it comes to technology, making educated guesses can prove surprisingly difficult, as made evident recently with the hype around ‘Back to the Future Day’.

Some scientists claim that the first person to live to the age of 200 has already been born There are some things that are significantly easier to speculate about though.

Demographically speaking for instance, predictions place the world’s population at anywhere from 9 billion to 13 billion people by 2100. There won’t just be 13 billion young and energetic people in the world at this point though. As life expectancy continues to improve the percentage of people alive over the age of 65 will rise from the current seven and a half per cent to over 30 per cent, nearly 4 billion

elderly people. The ageing process too will be drastically slowed with some scientists even claiming that the first person to live to the age of 200 has already been born. This in turn will just mean more people taking up space and using resources. Whatever the case may be, scientists predict that by 2100 at the very least an additional 1.5 billion people will be alive.

The 7.3 billion people already living are having a monumental impact, not only on other humans, but also on the other species that call Earth home. There have been five mass extinction events thus far over the course of the planet’s history. However, biologists now believe Earth has entered its sixth mass extinction with animals dying out at 100 times the normal rate.

We as a race have made extinct at least 250 different animal species since the 16th century. These include; the Dodo, the Tasmanian Tiger and the Baiji River Dolphin, which was only formally declared extinct in 2006. This is the biggest mass loss of species since the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction which

wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, and it’s only set to get worse. If biodiversity continues to deteriorate at the current rate, some scientists predict that by the end of the 21st century we will have lost up to half of all species currently on the planet.

We are also turning our beautiful oceans into acid Climate change will play a massive role in the state of the world by the start of the next century. If no action is taken to slash carbon emissions, it is estimated that there will be a four and a half degree increase in average global temperatures by 2100. This warming will lead to the melting of the polar ice caps, which in turn will cause sea levels around the world to rise. If sea levels were to rise only two metres; then cities such as London, New Orleans and Shanghai will be mostly underwater in a few decades.

The burning of fossil fuels is also having a more corrosive effect on our planet

as well. About 30 to 40 per cent of the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere dissolves into our oceans, rivers and lakes. It reacts with the water to from carbonic acid in an ongoing process known as ocean acidification.

So, not only are we heating our planet to dangerous levels, but we are also turning our beautiful oceans into acid. If this carries on, our planet will be a hellish place by the end of the 21st century; hot, overcrowded and hostile.

Unfortunately, we can’t undo the damage that has already been done, and even if we do manage to fully cut our emissions sea levels and temperatures will continue to rise, animals will continue to die out and the world will become an increasingly toxic place. However, a defeatist attitude is not the way forward.

Only by addressing the problem do we have any hope of truly making the world a better place for future generations. I wouldn’t be surprised if the world is unrecognisable in 85 years’ time; I just hope (optimistically as I might) that change will ultimately be for the better.

Facing the facts about climate change

Just over six out of ten Americans believe that the climate is changing.

South Korea

92%

United Kingdom

48%

Iceland

38%

The percentage of citizens that believed that humans are responsible for recent climate change in 2013.

3.5

The overall area burned by wildfires in Western America is expected to double by 2100

If the Antarctic ice sheet melted, there would be a ~60m rise in sea level.

The temperature rise, in degrees celcius, that would cause 15 to 40 per cent of the world’s endemic species to be at threat from exctintion.

Holy cow, leave off the beef

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Holly Belcher has a pop at exposing the destructive impact of our meat consumption

H

AMBURGERS, meatballs and more types of steak than ways to cook it – what’s not to love about beef?

Well, the answer is more than you think.

We all know the effects that eating too much red meat can have on your health, but the bigger concern should actually be the impact that beef production is having on climate change.

Forget cars, forget factories and forget whatever else you think contributes more to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. The biggest contributor by far is the agricultural sector, particularly industrialised farming.

Agriculture produces a shocking 18 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, in comparison to just 13 per cent from the transport sector, with beef cattle the biggest contributor by far.

In a study by Carlsson-Kenyama and Gonzalez, it was discovered that to produce just one kilogram of beef required 30 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions. This is in comparison to root vegetables like carrots, which produce only 0.42 kilograms of emissions. To put that into perspective, this means that eating one kilogram of beef is the same as driving a car 160km. When you consider that

the average American consumes around 26 kilograms of beef over the course of a year, it is easy to see just how much beef production is contributing to climate change. So, beef may be off the

menu, but at least you can still enjoy a tub of Ben and Jerry’s without consequence, right? Sadly not. Dairy cows are also high greenhouse gas emitters, producing 700 litres of methane a day, enough to drive a 4x4 35 miles. All this means the burger and milkshake you were planning on

treating yourself with are far worse for the climate than you might have thought.

Cattle beef isn’t only bad for emissions - it wastes a lot of water as well.

Around twothirds of all water u s e

worldwide is connected to the farming industry, predominantly from growing crops to feed animals. What makes this an issue is the fact that cattle beef is notoriously inefficient at converting crops to energy, meaning more water for more crops that could be going towards other

backed incentives to convince people to make the switch.

As sceptics would say, the problem is not being solved; the emissions are simply being moved away from the public eye In the UK, drivers of electric vehicles are entitled to a free pass of London’s congestion charge, and even a government grant towards purchasing their car. There are also power outlets for electric cars being installed in parking lots across the country, allowing drivers

to charge up their car batteries before the drive home.

There are, of course, still some problems with EVs that need smoothing out.

The limited mileage could prove troublesome, they are more expensive to purchase than traditional cars and, at the moment, there are very few models to choose from.

However, the main issue that critics have with EVs is, ironically, their main selling point: the environment. Are EVs really better for the environment? After all, the electricity for the cars still has to be produced somewhere. Here in the UK, that ‘somewhere’ is often in large power plants that burn fossil fuels, releasing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. As sceptics would say, the problem is not being solved; the emissions are simply being moved away from the public eye. Out of sight, and out of mind.

Nevertheless, before denouncing EVs as overhyped, it’s

Becky B’s science for students In keeping with this week’s theme, Rebecca Broad gives you a selection of free apps to help you do your bit for the environment.

Agriculture produces a shocking 18 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions

But it’s not just up to them; individual actions taken are vital. Unfortunately, we’ve been brought up in an apathetic, consumerist society. Fortunately, that means it’s easier than ever to support nature and make sustainable choices. So here are three that will help you help the environment – for free:

Given their contributions to the degradation of our planet, we have to say no.

At the risk of sounding preachy, however good they may taste, we are all going to have to cut our consumption of beef in order to protect the planet for future generations. So enjoy that hamburger while you can, but do spare a thought for the consequences.

Ayesha Tandon discusses the real potential of electric cars to impact on our emissions UIETER, faster, and cheaper to run, there are a multitude of reasons that you may choose to replace your traditional petrol car for one of the new electric vehicles (EVs) on the market.

However, read any article about the future of EVs, and you are guaranteed to find one reason that stands above the rest: the environment. Advertised as the future of our roads, EVs (as suggested in the name) run off electricity. This means that no harmful tailpipe emissions (CO2, SO2, C) which are damaging not only to our health, but also the environment, are released. Despite being fairly new on the market, these benefits are being recognised by governments worldwide, and there already exist a whole host of government-

29

foodstuffs instead. This is all the more poignant when you consider that global water shortages are touted to be a major concern of the future, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicting that 2 billion people will be in dire need of fresh water by 2100. Considering that cattle beef is responsible for over a third of the total global water footprint of all animal production, can we really justify eating beef when it might come at the cost of future generations’ survival?

Watt’s that sweet ride?

Q

SCIENCE & TECH

worthwhile remembering that these days, there are many ways to produce energy other than by burning fossil fuels. If the electricity were produced by solar, wind, hydroelectric, or even nuclear power (although that would bring with it a whole new host of contentious issues), the emissions from the car could effectively be zero. As it stands, only around 15 per cent of electricity in the UK is produced renewably. The vast majority of energy is still generated through burning coal or gas, meaning that emissions are still high.

However, it is undeniable that fossil fuels are being phased out, and it is estimated that by the year 2020 only 11 per cent of the UKs electricity will come from burning fossil fuels. Add to this the upcoming new designs of EVs, such as builtin solar panels that can charge on the go, and engines with increased efficiency, and it is likely that electric cars could soon overtake their petrol counterparts. One thing is clear; the future of electric cars is promising!

The world is at a tipping point.

Not in terms of global warming and the biodiversity crisis - we passed that years ago - but in deciding how to take action.

Beginning November 30, world leaders will fight over international agreements to try to limit global warming to 2°C at the UN Climate Change Conference.

Joulebug Every time you log a sustainable action you earn pins, competing against people near you and infusing your daily routine with sustainable habits such as Go Topless (not what you think – it’s about not having a disposable lid on your Costa cup). It’s fun, it works and gives you the eco-fuzzies. JUST GET IT! (I need more people to win against).

GoodGuide Products are rated according to their environmental, health and social impact to allow users to choose products that align with their values. Though GoodGuide only covers American products, many are similar to British.

Mammal Tracker This leading citizen-scientist app means you help conservation every time you log a sighting of a mammal. I can’t be the only one to have seen badgers whilst on a night out. Challenge yourself to find some of Devon’s deer or mysterious beavers.

30

SCIENCE & TECH

Biweekly Breakthroughs

by Joshua Rotchelle Friends in Far Places Astronomers at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC have discovered the most distant object ever recorded within the solar system.

The as-yet-unnamed body is a frigid, icy world that lies in the outback of Sol’s pull at 103 AU – to put that in perspective, one AU is the distance from Earth to Sol. The previous record was held by Eris, a dwarf planet recorded at a distance of 90 AU.

Cancer Crushers Research pioneers from several collaborating medical facilities have come up with a new leukemia treatment capable of editing genes. With these new genes, designer immune cells can be created in any human body, perfectly suited to hunting down chemotherapy-resistant cancer cells. The treatment has been used on a oneyear-old, Layla, who is now cancerfree and healthy.

Environmental allies?

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In anticipation of the Conference of the Parties, Isabell Neelands tells us what we can expect

F

ROM 30 November until 11 December, 196 countries will come together in Paris to sign a new global agreement on climate change. This year will mark the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties, and the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (1997). The main goal of the convention is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit the global temperature increase to two degrees above preindustrial levels.

In the intervening years following on from the first treaty, signed at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, there have been notable changes in the understanding and response to climate change impacts. This rising knowledge has not only prompted extensive responses from the government, but also business and civil society.

According to The European Commission’s Climate Change Report 2014 nine out of ten Europeans now think climate change is a serious problem. In further response to this, whilst businesses are seeking opportunities in low carbon goods and services, many countries have gone so far as to develop comprehensive legislation on the climate. For example, the United Kingdom’s 2008 Climate Change Act and Nigeria’s National Climate Change Policy and Response Strategy.

As Christiana Figueres (executive secretary, UN Framework convention on climate change 2014) put it: “We are the first generation to understand the consequences of a high carbon economy on the

planet, on future prosperity and, in particular, on the most vulnerable around the world.” Thus, it is all the more important that we “be the generation that stands up and takes responsibility conveyed by that knowledge”.

We are the first generation to understand the consequences of a high carbon economy on the planet Whilst the previous 2009 Copenhagen negotiations have many times been quoted as “fraught and chaotic”, this year brings with it a promising shift in emphasis. In contrast to previous years’ focus on ‘top-down’ targets which drove national action, in the lead up to the Paris Conference, individual countries are being invited to come forward with their own ambitions and plans for carbon reduction. The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, challenged nations to “bring to the summit bold pledges. Innovate, scale up, co-operate and deliver concrete action that will close the emissions gap and put us on track for an ambitious legal agreement”.

Although some may question why a unified agreement is so important if the focus is on the “individual”, it is essential in ensuring that countries’ pledged contributions add up to sufficient and adequate global action. In the words of the Green Alliance group: “A good agreement will

provide an enabling framework, allowing individual countries to do more than they could alone.”

Countries are aiming to put the Paris agreement in force from 2020 onwards.

However, it is also important that a package of pre-2020 action is also found. As again put by Green Alliance: “Limiting climate change in the long term depends on cumulative emissions so, if less is done now, greater effort will be needed in the future. Failure to act now will make it harder to limit temperature rises to less than two degrees, much less one and a half degrees, above pre-industrial levels”.

In a further bid to avoid the confusion of the disordered Copenhagen Conference, previous discussions (such as those in Durban 2011 and Warsaw 2013) have set a “clear timetable”. Despite the huge number of issues to be negotiated, discussions should now be more ordered, with the institutional framework being much more developed than it was previously.

Limiting climate change depends on cumulative emissions. If less is done now, greater effort will be needed in the future It is also worth noting that a shift in position from the two most influential countries – the United States and China – has resulted in both countries signing

an agreement to work together on carbon reduction in crucial sectors. As was put in a joint statement by the US and China in April 2013: “Both sides recognise that, given the latest scientific understanding of accelerating climate change and the urgent need to intensify global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, forceful, nationally appropriate action by the United States and China – including large scale co-operative action – is more critical than ever.” Thus, we can expect that the two powerful nations may be more open to negotiation at the conference.

However, the United States was recently warned by the EU that any agreement on a global climate deal will be enshrined by law and legally binding.

This was in response to the US Secretary of State John Kerry announcing that it would “definitely” not be a treaty. A spokesman for the EU’s Climate commission, Miguel Arias Cañete, told the media: “The Paris agreement must be an international legally binding agreement.”

Although “the title of the agreement is yet to be decided… it will not affect its legally binding form”. However, the French Foreign minister has suggested that Kerry was “confused” about the point, saying that it was “obvious” that any agreement in Paris would contain lawful elements in order to achieve commitment and credibility. This raises the question as to what sanctions could be imposed against developed countries that flout their obligations. At the moment, this seems unclear.

Dihydrogen Mon-shocks-ide A team of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have invented a new process for desalinising water.

Christened “shock electrodialysis”, the system uses electrical shockwaves within streams of flowing water, separating salt to one side of the flow and fresh water to the other.

Far more efficient and sustainable than current methods, the technology is particularly welcome given the global fresh water shortage.

Photo: huffpost.com

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A very S.P.E.C.I.A.L game Harry Shepherd, Online Editor, heads back into the wasteland this November Fallout 4 Bethesda Softworks PC, PS4, Xbox One Out now

W

AR. War never changes. Although this isn’t strictly true in the case of Fallout 4, in fact, a whole host of things have changed as we venture our way through Boston’s annihilated Commonwealth. For existing fans of the series, this is everything you could want from a Fallout game, with a load more thrown in for good measure. However, if Fallout games and their idiosyncrasies (bugs, odd character movement and frame rate drops) have been a barrier to you enjoying the series in the past, then Fallout 4 might still be a tough sell.

The staple Fallout series’ features are alive and well, such as the freedom to go wherever you want I’ll keep plot specifics to a minimum for spoiler purposes, but all you need to know is that it’s intriguing enough to compel you to crack on with it but, at the same time, you’ll still be more than comfortable with roaming around the Commonwealth at your leisure. The most liberating of the Fallout series’ features are, of course, alive and well in Fallout 4: the freedom to go pretty much wherever you want (the strength of all sorts of malevolent beasties permitting) and construct the character and your play style in any way you want remains supremely satisfying.

If map size and hours of content are your priority then look no further than Fallout 4. The surface area of the map is larger than that of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but smaller than The Witcher 3:

Wild Hunt from earlier this year. Yet, the surface area of the map isn’t important; Fallout 4 is dense in terms of activities, detail and story to indulge in. Buildings, caves and underground tunnels are full to the brim with bits to scavenge and areas to explore that are often so complex that

If you haven’t been scavenging for those pesky fusion cores hidden throughout the world, then get ready to leave your legendary armour behind. Also, the karma system has seen a significant change: now, your companions and the groups you choose to knock about with will be

you’ll regularly get lost. Lead Producer Jeff Gardiner admitted that he was still finding new things in the game all the time, even after 400 hours of gameplay.

Maybe clear out your calendar for the next few weeks.

But, this comes with a catch. There might be plenty of items to collect and raiders’ heads to turn into red mush, but this is at the cost of polish. Anybody with any experience of a Bethesda game will be well aware of the bugs that are abound in their open worlds. The AI is simultaneously ridiculous and frustrating at times

judging you on your actions. If you lock pick an especially hard lock that impresses your fellow traveller, you might eventually unlock certain perks. But, if you’ve been slipping too much Jet to ol’ Mama Murphy again, don’t count on receiving the same benefits.

Graphically, it’s a radical step forward, the character moves in a very believable fashion in both first and third person across a beautifully textured world. There is so much more to explore

as your companion once again struggles to climb stairs, side quests can occasionally not register that you’ve completed your objective and everyone still walks around as if they’ve done an unfortunate bowel movement in their trousers. The game has made the aesthetic jump to current gen consoles, and the later you choose to pick up the game, the more bugs will have been patched, but glitches can still break the immersion that’s essential for an open world to function. Things can get a little framey in particularly busy firefights on console, but the game holds up quite well elsewhere.

There are some interesting changes to the gameplay that might raise a few eyebrows amongst hardcore series fans.

Were you the guy that practically lived in your t-45d power armour in the previous Fallout games?

Then you might be in a for a shock as you will be limited in your power armour usage to the resources you have.

4 does manage to be the most personal experience in Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic catalogue.

Fallout 4 manages to be the most personal experience in Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic catalogue Your character is now fully voice acted, 1000 names have been recorded for NPCs to say back to you and you can even leave your mark on the Commonwealth itself. In Sims-esque style, you can now rebuild certain portions of the wasteland to your design with junk you encounter on your travels. It’s surprisingly detailed

ment from invading raiders. The game never forces you to use this mechanic, and you can, quite freely, ignore it if it’s not your speed.

Fallout 4 might be the most personal game in the series, but I can’t help but think that less time could’ve been spent on the ancillary parts of the package and more on polishing the game’s bugs. On the other hand, these extra features expand on what was already a beloved experience to become the best open world game Bethesda Softworks has ever created and if other Bethesda games are to go by, these bugs will simply be ironed out as the game’s life goes on.

Everyone still walks around as if they’ve done an unfortunate bowel movement in their trousers

and in-depth than ever expect-

including graphical

them are dogs).

Same game, different years EXEPOSÉ

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Ben Londesbrough, Screen Editor, discusses the rise of Triple A blockbusters

T

HE video game industry has become one of the leading industries in the world, raking in 46.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2014 alone, outstripping the film market that only made 31.8 billion. Unlike the movie business, however, video games lack the secondary markets of home media sales or the selling of rights.

Therefore, game developers have to sell big numbers of their games first time round, and with more and more money being poured into the development of new games, the industry needs bankable properties. In a move mimicking its older cousin the film industry, games studios have unfortunately become reliant on profit-raking ’blockbuster’ franchises.

It’s just as much our fault that this culture exists as it is the studios, as we keep on buying games The idea of a sequel to a game isn’t radical - if a game is well received and does good business, and the scope is there to tread new ground, why not? It’s not unreasonable to provide gamers with anoth-

er, fresh outing of their favourite games; but it is unreasonable to expect the same quality by churning out sequels or spinoffs on a yearly basis. We all buy them the Assassin’s Creeds, Call of Duty, Far Cry and various sports titles. They don’t differ much, but through the excitement drummed up around them we dig deep and splurge again and again.

You cannot blame this lack of originality on the simple premise of ‘running out of ideas’. By it’s very nature, the process of creating a video game is collaborative, with input coming from several sources and not just the single director that films have.

But, like the film industry, the studios that employ these creative minds can select what they want to produce - and alongside some original games, they mainly choose to create those that will make money. It is about profit, pure and simple. In just five years, Guitar Hero was published 11 times, creating three spin-offs, and

tion and formulaic gaming. Whilst the games themselves are often fine, it is hard to argue that the newest incarnation

adding a few guns or changing the players kits, and whilst this clearly isn’t the case, often the mechanics of the games

that went on to be ‘The Game of the Year’ and do massive business as well by being re-released on the next-generation of consoles.

The idea of a sequel to a game isn’t radical - if a game is well recieved, why not?

The

made portable half a dozen more - did we really need all those titles? No, we didn’t.

This culture of sequels creates problems, bringing stagna-

So why, if success can come in this form, do they continue to produce the sequels? It’s again, the same reason we go to movie sequels because we love the familiarity, and because we are willing to bankroll them.

This culture won’t change, and even if one person decides to change their gaming habits, you won’t change your neighbours. However, the games themselves could change. The originality needs to be upped, they need to boast unique experiences, with more improvements and less gimmicks. That would be a sequel culture I could get into bed with, and lets be fair, we can all wait a bit longer in between releases to get a greater product.

HD: High Definition or hardly designed?

Fenton Christmas discusses the surge of remastered video games in today’s world

R

EMAKES, remixes and remasters.

I’m sure that everyone has a game with one of those words in the name.

Those games from our childhoods that we nostalgically cling to like a gaming security blanket as well as those great titles that we never got around to playing are now available to play in HD glory. Yes, with the new trend of companies throwing out the same game with slightly improved aesthetics and features, your dreams of brutally decimating Ancient Greek enemies as Kratos from God of War in HD are finally a reality.

Of course there are publishers who are using this trend to simply cash in on classic titles This is why the idea of HD remakes make so many people, myself included, so excited. The thought of playing classic games that we all loved, with next gen graphics, is just awesome. Next year, Ratchet and Clank will be re-released on PS4, in HD of course, and I for one can-

not wait. Flagship characters of the early PlayStation days and my early gaming days, shown off in all their glory, will be a wonderful sight. But these remakes also allow a whole new generation of gamers to experience the classic games that help to shape the gaming world as we know it now. I recently bought the remastered version of the PC classic Grim Fandango, which I’d heard was amazing, but never had the chance to experience it growing up, and was finally able to and I love it.

Of course there are publishers who are using this trend to cash in. With the Xbox One having limited backwards compatibility and the PS4 still having none at all, games are being remade from the previous gen that people never really asked for. I recently saw Saints Row IV: Re-Elected for sale. Saints Row IV, a twoyear old video game. Who asked for a HD remake of Saints Row IV!? If you did, shame on you. There are plenty of others besides this example that don’t really de-

serve a HD remake but instead try to cash in on the trend, pinching pennies from

those who’ve moved up a console generation but can’t take their games with them.

However, on the whole, the remakes

trend is fantastic as long as the game justify the treatment. Titles such as Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us deserve their remakes on next-gen consoles because they’re such amazing games and people want them on their brand new consoles. Games having HD remakes from the last generation don’t bother me if the game is worth it. I recently purchased Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection for my PS4 because I didn’t have a PS3 and now I’ve fallen in love with a franchise that previously I wouldn’t have had access to without spending a fortune on a new console and three separate games.

Remakes give gamers the chance to experience both familiar and new games with better graphics and content and that can only be a good thing.

Yes, some are obviously lazy cash-ins, but there are a multitude of great experiences still out there for gamers who want to grab them. This trend is still in its infancy

and has the potential to branch out even more.

Remakes give gamers a chance to experience familiar and new games with better graphics For a lot of people, graphics isn’t everything, but with remastered games, it’s not just the graphics that get upgraded.

Sometimes, the game’s mechanics or gameplay will change too, or in the case of the new Ratchet and Clank, it’s a whole new game all-together, simply using the original properties or ideas from years gone by.

Think of an HD collection of the early Metal Gear Solid games or perhaps a remake of GTA: San Andreas or “would you kindly” prefer a HD Bioshock trilogy.

Or maybe, like me, you’re still waiting for a Crash Bandicoot HD remake. Whatever you feel about HD remakes in general, you can’t deny that it feels amazing to see those classic games again.

34

GAMES

The Orange Box Inspired by the Eorzea Café, we asked for your gaming dish ideas!

EVAN JONES Rocky Rainbow Road EAMONN CROWE Sonic the Hotdog FIONA POTIGNY COD and chips DAVID AGNEW Frogger in the Hole THEODORE STONE Need for Cheese CHRIS KUUKY Grand Theft Drive Thru ADAM SMITH Dr. Scrambled Eggman JACK ENGLAND Mortal Chicken Kombo AKASH BERI Super Mario Sundae

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Sam Woolf explains why games are a bit different to their media friends

V

IDEO games, similarly to films, books and TV shows, are a form of media. They are a way to fill one’s spare time with entertainment, but at the same time, video games are inherently different to any other form of media. Something like a film, for instance, could be considered a one way street in which the recipient has no way of interacting with the action. A video game, on the other hand, has the capabilities of a two way street, for the most part in fact it wholeheartedly relies on the actions of the player in order to progress.

identify as ‘TV-ers’. There just seems to be a social stigma associated exclusively with gaming. In this society, a child who sits alone in his/her bedroom for a whole afternoon, doing nothing but reading a classic work of fiction is generally viewed in a positive light.

On the flipside, a kid who sits alone in a room for an afternoon playing ‘mind rotting’ video games is frowned upon.

Obviously there is a difference here, but why is one acceptable and the other not?

Even when games are used as a social tool through local multiplayer or connecting to friends over the internet, there is al-

social capabilities as a form of media.

It may well come down to the fact that gaming as a pastime is still incredibly new and hasn’t yet got to the point where it is widely recognized as anything other than a niche form of entertainment. The very early films of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, for instance, were critically panned just because the potential of the medium had not yet been fully explored.

However, the evolution of films over the course of the last 100 years shows cinema moving from a novelty to an established large-scale entertainment industry.

Maybe this will be the case with video

comparing the narrative styles of Atari’s Pong, with Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. In fact, only with recent titles, like LA Noire or The Last of Us, has the medium excelled as a tool of storytelling.

The very early films of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, for instance, were critically panned

Fundamentally that is the only difference, but there is still the question as to why video games are viewed as being so

However, even as the narrative potential for video games continues to grow as the hardware gets more powerful and developers get more skilled, there will always be barriers with gaming. To get into video games not only do you have to make a substantial investment in a platform on which to play the games, but then there will always be a learning curve as you get used to the controller or adapt to the new controls. That is perhaps the main reason why gaming is so different.

radically different to other forms of media. Why are people who enjoy this specific form of entertainment all placed under the umbrella of ‘gamer’? People who go to see movies aren’t referred to as ‘movieers’, people who watch TV shows don’t

Virtually anyone can pick up a book and start reading or go the local cinema and see the latest blockbuster, but with gaming it’s just that little bit harder and not everyone is interested in putting in the time and effort.

There just seems to be a social stigma associated exclusively with gaming

nobody’s

A truly immersive sweetroll

Jack England, Games Editor, chows down on some gaming treats

A Wasteland Golf Golf your way across the wasteland to collect pieces of your prize puzzle box while avoiding hazards that are more dangerous to you than your ball. Wasteland Golf is the perfect way to spend apocalyptic days.

Scan the QR code to download your free copy

CROSS the globe, far and wide, the newest and strangest phenomenon in gaming is appearing: Video game cafés. Perhaps you’ve looked at that Skyrim sweetroll and felt your mouth begin to water, or while your Pokémon is chowing down on a rare candy, you’d like nothing more than to join in. Well now, those dreams have become a reality.

The café features Moogles, famed weapons and computers loaded with the game to play In 2014, the Eorzea Café, a celebration of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, opened its doors in the Akihabara district of Tokyo. The café (which should be renamed as a restaurant) features Moogles, a magical creature from the series, hovering above your head. Famed weapons such as the ‘Stardust Rod’ and ‘Yoshimitsu’ decorate the walls, as well as computers loaded with the game for patrons to play, although

you’ll have to play on a Japanese server.

Of course, don’t expect to be eating your regular Big Mac and fries, the Eorzea Café features 35 articles of food, all taken from within the game, as well as 55 Fantasy Reviews for the Café are good too, with many people praising the food and

of video gaming and eating though. If you’re ever in the capital, we recommend heading to Loading, a new bar styled off the video game cafés of Japan. Loading,

drinks

such

as

overall aesthetic style of the place.

anything to remember your time there, though, as each order comes with an exclusive drinks coaster for you to reminisce over while you sit in your dreary bedroom in dreary England.

You won’t have to travel all the way to Japan to indulge yourself in the delights

public and feature both classic and modern games.

The price isn’t bad in these restaurants either, and with all the added bonuses, like unlimited play time and a

brilliant atmosphere, it definitely seems worth it for any avid gamer. You even get tokens for every purchase, which can be exchanged in a gift shop - so dig in!

Loading, similarly to the Eorzea Café, features unique drinks such as Earthworm Gin For those who have wined and dined at these classy cafés, the number one thing isn’t the food or the drink, or even the gaming itself. It’s the chance to experience the world that so many people are deeply invested in for the first time in their real world life. Add this to the fact that you’re surrounded by like-minded individuals just like you.

Don’t expect these video game cafés to die out quickly, as they’re being very well received. With even more on the way, such as the Capcom Bar, it might end up that we all start heading into town for a Nuka-Cola rather than a pint at the Imperial!

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Across 1

UK reality TV series (2000-12) (as 16 7

To read more about a role and download an application form, search for the internship’s reference code on My Career Zone.

was on a 21 19 in 6’s novel?) (11) 7

See 16

8

Rid fat (15) - off course (6)

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Person who is 1 Across (such as 16 7) (8)

10

Developed - CD in here (15) (8)

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Not more than (2,4)

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Empty, remote tropical territory at sea -

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Try tin timer (15) - (posh) university sum-

ANSWERS:

mer session (7,4) Down 1

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15

2

Small picture in a larger one - I sent (15) (5)

(such as nag a ram?) (7)

3

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Word or phrase formed from the letters of another

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WEATHER

Across: 1 Shipwrecked, 8 Adrift, 9/18 Castaway, 10 Enriched, 12 At most, 14 Friday, 16/7 Robinson Crusoe, 21/19 Desert island, 22 Trinity term. Down: 1

Exeter’s outlook for the week ahead

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Closing date: Thursday 26 November Salary: £9.27 per hour Hours: Up to 15 per week (undergraduates) or up to 6 per week (postgraduates) Location: Streatham Campus: SID and Forum Library SCP 3354 Writing Peer Advisor (4 positions available) Closing date: Monday 30 November Salary: £9.27 per hour Hours: 3 per week during term time Location: Streatham Campus: College of Humanities Ask Exeter alumni about careers with the eXepert scheme: the eXepert scheme is open to all students – make a short application to find out about a career from alumni already working in it. Apply online via the CareerZone website.

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Sarah Gough, Editor, talks to England Women’s Cricket Captain Charlotte Edwards about how cricket has shaped her life, challenges going forward and growing scrutiny over her position

I

T’S impossible to imagine women’s cricket without Charlotte Edwards.

Entering the international side at the tender age of 16, she was the youngest cricketer to ever play for England.

Twenty years later and with a decade’s captaincy under her belt, she has nearly 10,000 international runs to her name.

The only woman to score 2,000 runs in T20 internationals and ECB cricketer of the year for the second year running, it’s tempting to let Edwards’ stats speak for themselves. However, I do manage to hear from the leading lady herself, catching a chat with her a couple of days before she flies down under for the winter.

We’ve shown that we can beat anyone in the world, we’ve just got to do it more consistently and that’s the challenge to us “I’m having the time of my life,” Edwards tells me proudly. From the age of 12, she focused solely on cricket and now reflects upon her sporting career as “a dream” - “from my first game when I played in a skirt to being in an England blazer now, a professional cricketer travelling the world, it’s an unbelievable journey.” A hard-hitting top order bat, she has led from the front in bringing the England Women’s side to the top of their game.

As World Cup winners in 2009 and back-toback Ashes victors in 2013, Edwards and her s q u a d have had success after success on the international stage.

This summer was the first to mark a definite disappointment for the side.

Losing the Ashes for the first time, Edwards admits her team were “completely outplayed” by a formidable Australian attack. “We batted very poorly,” she admits, only managing to average 15 herself across the tournament. “If we batted 20 per cent better than we did we would have won the Ashes.”

Subsequent defeats provoked a number of serious questions about Edwards’ captaincy. A press furore interrogated her failures with the bat and her seemingly stalled tactics. Now 37, the media at large accused her of lacking the freshness required to lead an international side. Defiant in her responses

back in August, I asked her if she puts these accusations down to ageism: “Yes I would, it comes with the territory I think and the scrutiny we’re under now. But yeah, I’m sure they wouldn’t be saying that to me if I were 27. That’s something I’ve got to deal with now.”

Quick to champion the support and encouragement from the dressing room, she puts a lot of the rumblings down to ignorance: “I think a lot of people write about women’s cricket but don’t have any idea what’s going on. It’s important that I keep grounded, believe in myself and draw support from those people around me.”

They say that ‘form is temporary, class is eternal’, a mantra Edwards is no doubt repeating as she continues to train hard. She talks of being as determined as ever to get the side, not to mention her personal form, back to where it should be. Working tirelessly to silence her critics, she cites her “limitless desire and determination” to succeed in the international game. “The great thing about experience,” she says, “is that I’ve encountered knockbacks along the way and I’ve come through the other side stronger. I have no doubt in my ability that I’ll come through stronger this time.”

With newly appointed head coach Mark Robinson set to arrive in the Spring, Edwards is sure that the squad will be keen to impress, improve and ultimately succeed. “It just takes a bit of fine-tuning,” Edwards explains, “we

didn’t become a bad team overnight.

We’ve shown that we can beat anyone in the world, we’ve just got to do it more consistently and that’s the challenge to us as a group.”

I don’t think I’ve sacrificed anything. I’m just doing what I love doing In the time Edwards has cricketed for her country, there has been monumental progress for the women’s game. “A few years ago girls didn’t play

cricket. Now it’s just accepted that they do. It’s changed massively,” she asserts proudly; “perceptions of the women’s game weren’t great before. We now have all this media scrutiny and most people in the cricket media are talking about us – that’s what we want, we welcome it. There are so many wonderful opportunities now.” As well as the rapid rise in coverage and publicity, in 2014 Edwards’ team became the first recipients of a tranche of ECB central contracts for women players.

Even with the ladies receiving funding from the ECB, there is little to no financial parity between the men and women’s game. Half a world away, the film industry’s gender pay gap has been coming under intense scrutiny.

Does women’s sport face similar financial problems? Does Edwards demand more? No, it seems, as she dismisses the negatives: “We’re very fortunate, the current 18 players are supported.

No way to the level of the men but we don’t expect that, we know that the men’s t e a m bring the majority of

t h e r e v enue into the game.

If we attracted crowds of two or three thousand to the games we played then we could be earning far more money.

We’re very appreciative of what we get. It’s made a huge difference.”

Sacrifices are always going to have to be made to reach the pinnacle of any profession, let alone in an under-represented international sport, but Edwards is forever thankful.

“You probably think I’m quite boring”, she laughs, “anyone who knows me or has played with me knows that I wouldn’t give this up for anything. I absolutely

love cricket, I absolutely love international sport. I don’t think I’ve sacrificed anything. I’m just doing what I love

doing and I’ve travelled the world and met wonderful people doing it.”

Brimming with motivational buzzwords throughout even a short chat, Edwards is not only an impressive ambassador for her own sport, but an inspiration to every young girl out there with the talent to go out there and beat the boys. Her recent difficulties stand immaterial to her unstoppable desire, drive and determination to continue with what has already been an undeniably illustrious career.

Edwards has a hectic few months ahead, with the Women’s Big Bash League kicking off in Australia this month and a trip to South Africa for ODI and T20 head-to-heads in February. There ain’t no rest for the cricket.

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Frisbee flying high NEWS 1-5

SPORT

Squash 3s

lose at home MEN’S SQUASH

COMMENT FEATURES LIFESTYLE 14-16 10-12 8-9

MUSIC 18-19

SCREEN 20-22

ARTS & LIT SCI & TECH 24-26 28-30

GAMES 32-34

SPORT 37-40

23 NOVEMBER 2015 |

EXEPOSÉ

Rob Cross Sport Editor Exeter 1s Bournemouth

1 4

5. Kieran McGahan 4. Ben Leslie 3. Tom Walters 2. Ben Maxwell 1. Fin Kettlewell

1-3 3-2 1-3 0-3 1-3

T

HE Men’s 3s were edged out by Bournemouth 1s in a middle of the table clash. Ben Leslie set the tone with a fantastic 3-2 victory, while Tom Walters and Kieran McGahan narrowly lost. Ben Maxwell was also unable to match his opponent, and with the result beyond doubt, Captain Fin Kettlewell lost his dead rubber encounter.

McGahan was moving well from the outset, enabling him to close out the opening game 11-8. Losing his way a little in the second game, McGahan fell 3-11 to his Bournemouth counterpart.

Starting the third game with real intent, McGahan took a 5-3 lead, but the Exeter player let his concentration slip and lost 7-11. Unfortunately, the final game was extremely one-sided and McGahan lost with only one point to his name.

Ben Leslie struggled to match his opponent’s early intensity and went two games down to his Bournemouth counterpart. In the third game, howevever, Leslie was looking and playing with much more character. In a must-win game, Leslie emerged the 13-11 victor in what was becoming a fascinating duel and went on to win the final two games against his increasingly riled opponent.

At third seed, Tom Walters took an early lead and won the first game 11-6.

At 5-8 down in the second, Walters was still fighting to stay in the game. However, Bournemouth were equal to his challenge and he lost 6-11. Despite going to a decider, Walters was unable to complete the job falling 5-11 in the cruical fifth game.

In a must-win encounter, it was Ben Maxwell’s opponent who settled quicker and looked more comfortable, winning the first game 5-11. Unfortunately, Maxwell never seemed to have the better of his opponent and despite a mini comeback in the third game, he was unable to make it telling, losing three games to nil.

Although the result had already been decided, Fin Kettlewell raced into a one-game lead against his opponent.

Bournemouth came out fighting and wrestled back the initiative, and the match, as his visiting opponent won three games in a row.

>> Ben Docherty celebrates with the team as Exeter claim another score. Photo: Natasa Christofidou ULTIMATE FRISBEE

Emmott Leigh Sport Editor Exeter 1s Cardiff

O

12 7

N their first trip to the sacred soil of Duckes Meadow, Ultimate Frisbee claimed a hard-fought 12-7 victory over Cardiff. The BUCS league for Ultimate has only just come into being and Exeter showed the sporting system what it has been missing with some enthralling play.

The three-point lead was then re-established when Louis Cash threw a pass to George Stubbs in the endzone Exeter Ultimate received the second most sign ups in the club’s history with 120 new members this year, which has led to a really strong core of the club

and helped a lot in competitions. Their first tournament of the year, Mixed Regionals, displayed the talent within the club as the first team (captained by Stephen Strickland and Mike Forrest) finished top out of 20 teams. This is the first time in club memory that Exeter have finished as champions in this tournament. The creation of the Wednesday BUCS league has therefore come at a great time. It is also a huge moment in the progress of the UK Ultimate scene.

Although it was sunny initially, the rain, and especially the powerful wind, were extremely important in the context of the match. At some points, the disc would be blown backwards in the air, and at others it would sail far into the distance. The opening pull was blown about wildly in such a manner, but Exeter eventually took control of possession and pressed high into Cardiff territory. Harry Buttery particularly was aggressive in pressurising when Cardiff had the disc, and contributing to the score of Sean Jagger to make it 1-0.

Cardiff quickly made amends with a couple of sneaky forehands to equalise.

The majority of the offense was, however, coming from the home side.

The scores were level for a brief amount of time, but Exeter then took the lead. Having narrowly missed out on a score from a hopeful huck by Ben Docherty which just eclipsed Jagger’s fingertips, Exeter practically queued up inside the endzone before it was taken

by Matt Sopp.

Cardiff grabbed another couple of consolations, but Exeter were passing freely in the spirit of celebration The third soon followed as Jagger, Doherty and Stephen Strickland combined beautifully in a series of passes which ended in Jagger scoring. It was quickly made 4-1 as Exeter began to turn the screw. The flair was turned on at this point when one poor Cardiff player was forced into a ‘scurvy’- diving for the disc when it had not yet been released and ending up sprawled out on the grass. Cardiff did start to come back into it as the score moved on to 5-3, but Jagger had taken a layout beauti-

fully for the fifth score. The three point lead was then re-established by Exeter when Louis Cash threw a pass to George Stubbs in the endzone.

Going into the break, Exeter had managed to push the score up to 8-5.

Jagger had added scores to his own high personal tally, and Mike Forrest also got on the scoresheet with a simple take inside the endzone to make it 9-5. Ben Doherty got himself a well-deserved score for his contributions to the match as Exeter went further into double figures at 11-5, snatching the disc after the longawaited ‘hospital pass’ was grabbed by him over all the other clutching hands.

Cardiff grabbed another couple of consolations, but Exeter were passing freely in the spirit of celebration and got their final score for a 12-7 victory. Jagger ended the match having scored six times and the team left delighted with their first win of this historic first Ultimate Frisbee BUCS season.

The success of this second BUCS league match for Ultimate will spur them on for the rest of the season, and they will be confident of further victories over their neighbouring universities.

SPORT

www.exepose.com

Women’s 2s hold Cambridge 1s to draw LADIES’ HOCKEY Rob Cross Sport Editor Exeter 2s Cambridge 1s

A

0 0

Football

...Some stern words from coach Keith Fleming were clearly had during the break as the Exeter side came out flying in the second half. Some silky handling in the backs saw Doe break through the line again to score in the corner. Minutes later, Ollie Claxton followed his fellow halfback up the wing and scored to bring the score to 34-0.

Twenty minutes into the second half, a number of substitutes were brought on to close out the game. Gavin Parker then graced the field and immediately finished

6 2

Women’s 1s Swansea

3 0

Men’s 1s Oxford Brookes

3 1

Men’s 5s Southampton

5 2

Women’s 1s Oxford Brookes

2 0

Women’s 5s Southampton Solent

5 2

Lacrosse >>Alice Lowden fights to win the ball back against Cambridge. Photo: Rob Cross important interceptions, whilst Slater was called upon once again and did just enough to put off the onrushing Cambridge striker. As the rain began to pour, Exeter seemed to be clinging onto parity; Cambridge looking to counter attack quickly and encamp themselves in Exeter’s final quarter.

The hosts began to look much more comfortable against their visitors The second half started with good intensity. Alice Lowden’s attempted

through ball was unable to find Paloma Arrazola Martin in attack, but Martin was looking continuously dangerous up top.

This good intent was matched by Cambridge, but whilst play moved from end to end, both sides lacked that final killer instinct. Having conceded two penalty corners in quick succession, Exeter were put heavily on the back foot, but resilient defending saw the ball stay out of the goal.

It was discipline that then reared its ugly head towards Exeter, and at one point Exeter were three players down.

With the game so open, Exeter were looking to work down the clock, and doing so well. With only five minutes left,

the home side were camped in their own half as Cambridge continued to press for a breakthrough.

A frantic ending ensued, and a goalmouth scramble was successfully cleared

by Exeter. In an open game which could have been won by one goal for either side, Exeter performed well against a very well drilled Cambridge side.

É

37

The number of goals scored by Cambridge in 4 matches previous to this fixture

in the corner. Minutes later, Adam Worth broke through the defence yet again and offloaded to flanker Ledger who scored under the posts. Parker was called into action again as he converted successfully to bring the scoreline to 46-0.

The final ten minutes saw a deflated South Wales side practically stop playing as the EURFC players ran riot. Hooker Mike Perks picked up the ball on the halfway line and put on an impressive turn of pace to run the length of the pitch. Gavin Parker followed minutes later and a series of passes saw Captain Sam Skinner finish

the move to bring the score to 58-0.

The final ten minutes saw a deflated South Wales side practically stop playing With the forwards growing in confidence, second row Fred Hosking broke through the defence on the halfway line.

He was brought down just before the try line and Ronan Jones was able to finish

off his hard work under the posts.

The final play of the game saw a wellworked move from the backs finished off by centre Tom Holdsworth. The successful conversion meant that the final score of 72-0 completed Exeter’s annihilation of the visiting Welsh side.

Some fantastic finishing from both backs and forwards spells selection dilemmas for the coach as his entire squad continue to perform exceptionally this season. With six wins from six, it will be hard to see where the 1s will be stopped in their hunt for the title.

74 54

Men’s 3s Plymouth

Hockey

EURFC rout Uni of South Wales CONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE

Selected results from BUCS matches played on 18 November Men’s 1s Bournemouth

As the rain began to pour, Exeter seemed to be clinging onto parity As Exeter struggled to get out of their own half, goalkeeper Kat Slater performed a vital save to deny Cambridge an early opening. Ably supported by Lottie Leith on the left, a clean break by winger Ellie Stephens provided the first real opportunity for Exeter but it was comfortably defended by Cambridge, who were dominating the game without having many clear cut opportunities. Bronwyn McLean was performing very well, hustling her opposite numbers and good link up play with Leith unfortunately lacked an end product.

Skilful work from McLean saw Exeter win the first penalty corner of the game. Although it wasn’t converted, it proved to be a catalyst for the home side.

The hosts began to look much more comfortable, and were fashioning space behind the defenders which was exploited well. Cambridge were clearly ruffled, and unusual errors began to creep into their play. They recovered, however, and certainly finished the half the stronger of the two sides; Kat Dunn making some

The best of BUCS

Basketball

FINE defensive display saw the EULHC 2s take a valuable point against top-of-the-table Cambridge in a stalemate encounter at home.

A cagey opening for both sides saw Cambridge have the better of the early openings. With most of the game being played in Exeter’s half of the pitch, the home defence was busy from the outset; Rachel Brooks making some vital tackles to keep the visitors at bay.

39

Men’s 1s Southampton

10 0

Women’s 1s Southampton

22 0

Women’s 2s Cardiff Met

28 0

Rugby Union Men’s 1s South Wales

72 0

Women’s 1s Cambridge

44 0

Women’s 2s Plymouth

53 0

Netball

Women’s 3s Southampton Solent

47 35

Men’s 3s Southampton Solent

6 2

Table Tennis Women’s 1s Bath

5 0

Ultimate Frisbee Men’s 1s

Cardiff

12

7

Volleyball Women’s 1s Swansea

3 0

40

SPORT

NEWS 1-5

SPORT

COMMENT FEATURES LIFESTYLE 14-16 10-12 8-9

MUSIC 18-19

SCREEN 20-22

ARTS & LIT SCI & TECH 24-26 28-30

GAMES 32-34

SPORT 37-40

23 NOVEMBER 2015 | Exeposé Sport

SPORT EDITORS Rob Cross Emmott Leigh

EXEPOSÉ

@ExeposeSport

Left for dead sport@exepose.com

MEN’S RUGBY UNION Freddie Eastwell Sport Team Exeter 1s USW

E

72 0

URFC 1s continued their fantastic run of wins with a 72-0 trouncing of a lacklustre side from the University of South Wales.

The results of the season so far would have suggested that this result was inevitable, but EURFC cruised to victory in some style on a cold autumnal day at Topsham. A number of players were injured or rested for this game and a plethora of new faces were given the opportunity to shine in this wellestablished and talented Exeter side.

The tone of the game was set from kick-off as the South Wales fly half failed to kick the ball ten meters. Captain Sam Skinner took the ball well and recycled it quickly to see winger Adam Worth tear up the wing and finish in the corner for Exeter’s first score of the day. Not too long after, Worth was in the corner again for his second try as

he finished off a move from a strong scrum by the forwards.

Half way through the first half, some scrappy play by the Exeter pack saw them trundle over the line from a driving maul but the ball was held up.

Another solid scrum saw Tom Edwards pick the ball up at the back and ground it under the posts. A successful conversion from fly half James Doe brought the score to 17-0.

As the weather conditions began to worsen, the backs struggled to pass the ball around so Doe decided to go on his own and sliced through the midfield from a set-piece. A fantastic offload to Harry Ledger allowed him to put Worth in for his hat-trick just before the half time whistle. A successful conversion from centre Laverick took the score to 24-0 as the players returned to the changing rooms.

É 12

The number of tries that the 1s scored

CONTINUED ON PAGE 39

>>Ollie Claxton touching down for a 34-0 lead. Photo: Edwin Yeung

In this issue of Exeposé Sport...

England Cricket captain Charlotte Edwards interviewed Page 37

Ultimate Frisbee success against Cardiff Page 38

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