2012/13 Week 14 Issue 603

Review: Hit or Les Mis?

Art and the Internet

SCREEN PAGE 23

ARTS PAGE 29

Arts delve into the world of creative blogging

Screen offers its verdict on Les Misérables

The University of Exeter’s Independent Student Newspaper

Since 1987

Tuesday 22 January 2013 • Issue 603 • www.exepose.ex.ac.uk • Twitter: @Exepose • www.facebook.com/Exepose

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An inside job: Guild staff filmed Ram CCTV tape

Disclaimer: Students pictured in the national papers, reproduced by Exeposé, are in no way related to or involved in the leaked footage

EXCLUSIVE Tom Payne Editor STAFF members working for the Students’ Guild were responsible for filming and sharing CCTV footage of two students engaged in sexual activity during the Safer Sex Ball (SSB), Exeposé can exclusively reveal.

In a statement released to this pa-

per, Guild senior management confirmed that members of their staff had been dismissed following a “rigorous investigation” into the culprit responsible for the leaked footage, which made international headlines last week.

The Students’ Guild told Exeposé: “We have identified the individuals involved, and in light of the seriousness of the breach have taken the strongest possible disciplinary action.

“We restate that given that the footage was taken without our permission,

Comment: SSB video - blown out of proportion? - PAGES 6 - 9

and that internal rules around security of CCTV were breached.”

Footage of the amorous couple performing oral sex next to the Ram pool table was filmed by a member staff on a smart phone in the Ram’s CCTV monitoring room before the film leaked online. At the time of going to press, the Students’ Guild was unable to provide Exeposé with any further details as to how security measures were breached.

In the film, several individuals are clearly heard commenting on the foot-

Music: Interview with Funeral for a Friend - PAGE 20

age. One male staff member asked: “Can I upload this to YouTube?”, before another colleague responded “no” twice.

Access to the Ram back office, where the CCTV monitoring screens are kept, was only accessible by staff working at the SSB. The Students’ Guild have told Exeposé that a small number of senior staff would have had access to the CCTV room, but weren’t able to tell us where the staff members were working at the time.

Games: Games reveal their Game of the Year - PAGE 34

Students have reacted with surprise to the news. One female student told Exeposé: “There should have been greater control over access to the CCTV room, especially during the SSB. It’s such a shame that the charitable legacy of the SSB has been ruined, but I’m glad that staff member has been fired”.

Another claimed that: “The act itself was not shocking, but I feel really...

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News

News Thomas Ling Lifestyle Editor THE owners of Timepiece have announced the phased opening of a new multi-level bar, larger than their current nightclub, within two to three weeks.

The three-tier venue, name undecided, will be placed on the renovated site of former pub ‘Hole in the Wall’, situated opposite Timepiece, which has previously had a negative reputation among Exeter residents and students. Initially, its large upper bar level will open publicly, followed by the other floors at later dates.

A large function room on the middle floor will open within four weeks, and finally a live music venue will be unveiled in the basement within two months. Once fully open, the building will have a capacity of 600-700 people, meaning its opening will be one of the largest changes to Exeter’s nightlife in at least five years.

The nearly completed bar level will contain two spacious seating sections, complete with leather sofas, large tables, high ceilings, authentic French chandeliers and a large bar for each area. When not used for private parties, the middle floor will act as an additional seating section. George Sloan, co-owner of Timepiece and the

RECENT reports linking night time streetlight switch-offs to an increase

@Exepose facebook.com/exepose issuu.com/exepose Advertising Ross Trant R.Trant@exeter.ac.uk (01392) 722432 The opinions expressed in Exeposé are not necessarily those of the Exeposé Editors nor the University of Exeter Students’ Guild. While every care is taken to ensure that the information in this publication is correct and accurate, the Publisher can accept no liability for any consequential loss or damage, however caused, arising as a result of using the information printed. The Publisher cannot accept liability for any loss or damage to artwork or material submitted. The contents of this, unless stated otherwise, are copyright of the Publisher. Reproduction in any form requires the prior consent of the Publisher.

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new venue, explains that he wanted to create a “relaxed and ‘loungey’ feel” to the top level, which he predicts will contribute to the bar’s success.

Although not yet completed, numerous promoters including Original Sin and 4play have already declared interest in hosting events in the new building. Others have also expressed intentions to run a live comedy night at the venue. These bookings have not yet been confirmed, but Timepiece management are keen to use their new “mellow” music basement for University societies already performing at Timepiece.

ular student pub The Old Firehouse, which is less than a 350 metre walk away.

However, Sloan has expressed that he is confident about the possible upcoming rivalry: “The Firehouse is one of my favourite pubs, but I just feel we can do something on a bigger scale.”

He added:“We’re keen to do something new, something fresh and I think it will really liven up this end of town.”

Elaine King, a third year Geography student, said “This is fantastic news! If I go to Timepiece on a Wednesday and there’s a large queue, I can wait for the line to get smaller in luxury rather than standing outside in the cold.”

Timepiece management are expected to release more details of the club, opening soon.

Photo: Josh Irwandi

“We’re keen to do something new, something fresh and I think it will really liven up this end of town” George Sloan, co-owner of Timepiece Sloan stated: “We already do campus bands, jazz bands, big bands, so I would love to start doing more stuff like that at the weekend. We feel it’s going to be a destination where you come to see a band.”

Management is also exploring possibilities of a food menu, set to be implemented in late spring, once its kitchen has been fully refurbished.

These catering plans will put the new venue in direct competition with pop-

>> The new bar is reaching its final stages of construction ahead of its opening

Crime sprees across UK bolster SOS campaign

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Timepiece bosses to unveil new club

Raj Kular Senior Reporter

Online

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in crime in cities in the UK could help bolster the Students’ Guild’s Save Our Streetlights (SOS) campaign, by providing the much needed evidence of the dangers associated with the CounPhoto: Josh Irwandi

cil’s plans, which the Guild previously lacked.

The Students’ Guild has been campaigning for several months against Devon County Council’s plans to implement their streetlight policy in Exeter, which would leave a vast number of streets in darkness for five hours each night as streetlights are switched off.

However, until now, the Guild has been struggling to provide substantive evidence to back-up their fears of potential life-threatening consequences that could occur as a result of such plans coming to fruition.

A recent press release published by the Students’ Guild points to examples in Warwickshire and Dorset, where councils carried out and tested a streetlight policy similar to the one planned for Exeter, which demonstrate various dangers.

Last December in Warwick, a student was killed by a taxi in the early hours of the morning in an unlit area.

Warwick University’s student newspaper, The Boar, reported that the taxi driver responsible believed that the streetlight switch-off was a contributing factor, as “officers were unable to locate Mr Wellbelove’s body in the dark, and could not ascertain the

extent of his injuries in time”.

In Weymouth, a campaign to turn streetlights on again has been successful after a recent crime spree left residents feeling unsafe.

In the Guild’s press release, a further standout report that is pointed to, besides these examples in Warwickshire and Dorset, is that of Milton Keynes, where the local council reversed their decision to turn off streetlights at night due to statistics from Police accident data which suggested a correlation between two deaths and a 30 per cent increase in nighttime accidents and the Council’s streetlight switch off.

The Students’ Guild believes that such evidence proves the exact dangers that Exeter’s residents could face, should the streetlight policy come into action.

It hopes that the Council will now be more inclined to seriously listen to their arguments, which are shared by many in Exeter.

The Guild’s SOS petition has received 2,500 signatures from University students, and approximately 90 per cent of St James Local Resident Group are also said to be against the planned changes.

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Only in the Ram joke Guild staff

“

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ...bad for the people caught on camera.

It was very irresponsible of staff, of all people, to film that.”

A member of the Ram bar staff told Exeposé that normal security measures were not heightened on the night of the SSB: “Only senior members of staff are allowed access to the monitoring room.

It is surprising that someone could have accessed it without running into staff and without prior knowledge of its location.

“Because it was such a big event the usual precautions were not in place so someone could have filmed the footage with ease”.

Devon and Cornwall Police have said that those responsible for filming the CCTV screens, as well as the couple engaging in the sexual activity, could face prosecution. They said: “Putting CCTV footage on the internet without permission could contravene the law.

That would namely be data protection laws and human rights legislation - the right to privacy.

Engaging in sexual activity in a public place could also constitute an offence, depending on the form of sexual activity.”

They added that if the footage was

”

reported to them they would investigate the case as a crime.

The Students’ Guild has stated that “the police have have not been in contact with us regarding an investigation.”

They added: “given the unlawful action of the individual who filmed the footage, the Guild shall support the police if there is one.”

COMMENT PAGES 6-9 Exeposé has learned that The Students’ Guild has yet to identify the couple in the footage, who they wish to speak to for welfare reasons.

The University also confirmed it would “inevitably” be speaking to the Guild about the security breach.

News of the sex acts caught on camera was reported in the Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, The Sun and in New York’s Daily News, provoking a strong reaction from commentators.

A “wider investigation” is ongoing.

>> Out of sight, out of mind? Two students were caught on camera getting up close and personal in a quiet area of the RAM bar. Leaked footage then made international headlines

Uni clamps down on Facebook pages Simon Dewhurst Senior Reporter

Guild spends hundreds sending 30 students to London for protest THE STUDENTS’ GUILD spent thousands of pounds sending just 30 students to London for Demo:2012.

Statistics from the recent NUS Demo:2012 suggest there has been a dramatic fall in interest among Exeter students in the protests’ aims since the 2010 demonstration.

According to the Students’ Guild, only 30 students made the trip to represent Exeter University at last year’s demonstration in London, a tenth of the 300 who were present at the 2010 protests.

As well as the fall in those attending, the cost per person to take part rose to about £23, with the Guild spending £1,200 on transportation and promotion costs. An additional £500

Photo: Joshua Irwandi

SSB video: blown out of proportion?

Photo: Joshua Irwandi

Will Binks

3

income was made through ticket sales and trade union subsidisation.

This compares to 2010, where despite tickets being provided for free, overall net outlay was £3,000, and therefore the cost spent per person was £10.

This has resulted in questions about the cost effectiveness of Exeter’s participation, particularly when so few students were actually present last November in London.

The drop in attendance is perhaps as a result of the widespread discontent caused in 2010 as a result of cuts to state funding for education and rises in tuition fees, and the decline in uproar since.

One student who was present in 2010, but did not attend the 2012 demonstration, said it was due to a “decline in interest from many stu-

dents. The 2012 demonstration seemed to lack purpose.”

Both demonstrations had the backing of the Students’ Guild. In 2010, all of the Sabbatical Officers’ election pledges included a promise to join the demonstration, whilst in 2012 a referendum of 500 students voted in favour of the Guild backing the demonstration.

Nick Davies, Guild President, commented: “The Guild exists to represent students at Exeter, so when 300 students voted in favour supporting the recent NUS demonstration, the Guild ensured that this would be fully recognised. While the number of people who voted may not have translated into a similar level of attendance, it was right to support the demo as mandated by the student body.”

UNIVERSITY staff have warned students about their online presence following the removal of popular Facebook page ‘Spotted: Exeter Library’..

The page was shut down last week following claims by University management that it could harass fellow students and damage career prospects.

The page allowed students to anonymously comment on other people they had seen in the library and had accumulated over 3,800 Facebook likes since its creation in December 2012.

It was asked to stop operating after it uploaded a number of controversial observations and a picture of one student exposing himself. Similar pages still functioning include ‘Spotted in the Forum’ and ‘Spotted: Exeter Uni Gym’ but these are also thought to be under pressure to close.

The idea for these sites came from similar Facebook pages at other leading UK universities. A number of these have also been forced to shut down.

‘Spotted: University of York library’ stopped posting messages last week after campaigners claimed that the site was promoting sexual harassment and ‘body-shaming’.

This comes only three months after the ‘Exeter Uni Confessions’ page was also removed for being an infringement of the University’s trademarked name.

A similar site at Birmingham Uni-

versity was closed after one user admitted that they had committed a serious sexual assault during their time as a student.

Stuart Franklin, Director of Communication and Marketing at the University of Exeter, explained: “Our major concern is that some of the comments on the pages have amounted to the harassment of individuals who may find them deeply upsetting.

“Although there is no clause in the University’s regulations forbidding students from using social media, we do act upon any complaints of harassment by asking the authors to remove the sites. We would also like students to ask themselves whether the com-

“Although there is no clause in the University’s regulations forbidding social media use, we do act upon complaints of harassment” Stuart Franklin, Director of Communication and Marketing menting on these sites is going to affect their employability.”

A second year English undergraduate said: “The posts on Spotted have become more controversial and it was only a matter of time before University authorities would shut it down.”

However, another student commented: “The pages are amusing to read and with posts being anonymous, I do not understand how staff can claim they could detriment job prospects.”

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NEWS

National Student News Report highlights benefits of students

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lecturers UCAS applications Best set to speak “free range” in increase by 25% FRUNI lectures Photo: Exeter City Council

Zoe Bulaitis Editor

Phil Thomas News Editor

Jonathan Jenner Games Editor

A REPORT published by the National Union of Students argued that the government needed to recognise the benefits of higher education.

Entitled ‘What’s the value of a UK degree?’, the report found that an undergraduate degree is worth an additional £115,000 in earnings and a masters an extra £174,000.

It is also predicted that a drop in student numbers would cost the treasury at least £6.6 billion for every 30,000 students lost.

Toni Pearce, NUS Deputy President, said: “The government has to recognise that investment in higher education is just that - investment with very real financial rewards for the state, the individual and wider society as well as the great cultural benefits that come with advanced learning.

“Higher tuition fees are putting capable students off going to university and many students are struggling to cover living costs when they are. This leads to increased anxiety for students which can affect their study and make them consider curtailing their studies.”

APPLICATIONS to the University of Exeter for 2013/14 have increased by 25 per cent according to a survey by The Sunday Times survey, making it the highest increase across the country.

The figures, coming after a late surge in applications from prospective students, disprove earlier evidence that suggested applications to higher education were due to suffer a significant drop.

Exeter is expected to create 10 per cent cent more student places for the coming year to account for the rise in applications. Some disciplines, including economics and business, are up 45 per cent.

“Exeter is now a leading university and is sure to remain that way” Nick Davies, Guild President

Grant for ‘supermaterial’ graphene SCIENTISTS at the University of Exeter have received a £1.1 million grant awarded by the government to commercially develop the ‘super-material’ graphene.

Announced by George Osborne, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has provided £21 million to universities across the United Kingdom.

Graphene is made up of a single layer of carbon atoms and the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2010 was awarded to scientists at the University of Manchester who produced breakthroughs in the understanding of the material.

The graphene team at the University of Exeter is led by Professor David Wright, who said: “Graphene is the thinnest known material, and its potential is almost limitless.”

Wright added: “However, current methods for the manufacture of graphene have many drawbacks that act as barriers to the successful development of graphene products. Our goal is to accelerate the commercial exploitation of graphene by developing new ways of manufacturing and using the material.”

Jake Mehew, a third year Physics student who is doing his Masters Project on Graphene, said: “This is an excellent decision by the government.

Having studied the material for the past year, I can safely say that I am really excited about its future.”

Exeposé

Music to your ears

Nick Davies, Guild President, attributes the rise to the University being regarded as a more prestigious institution: “The increase of 25 per cent in applications to Exeter just goes to show how highly regarded the University is on both a national and global scale. As The Sunday Times’ University of the Year and a recent Russell Group entrant, Exeter is now a leading university, and is sure to remain that way.

“Going forwards, however, we must ensure that we are providing all the financial help we can to the students who have been unable to receive full support from the government.”

AFTER a term of hundreds of Exeter students voting, the results of the Free Range University Project (FRUNI) have championed five lecturers as the winners.

The FRUNI concept is based on the Best of Bristol Lectures, which has now been running successfully for the past two years.

Dr Phillip Young, Professor Bruce Bradley, Professor Phillip Schwyzer, Dr Matthew Hayler and Craig Newbury Jones are the winning researchers who will be presenting the lectures.

They will commence on Monday 21 January and are running every consecutive Monday until the final lecture on 18 February.

The five winners in Exeter will be speaking about their chosen topics in an open lecture format and students of all subjects and research interests are welcome to attend.

Lecture discussion areas range from “The Lawyer, Ethics and Popular Culture” to “Why Studying English in a Digital Age Might Mean Not Being Scared of Science”.

The lecture series will grace the Alumni Auditorium and each lecture is followed by a drinks reception, allowing students to ask questions and meet other students interested in the forward-thinking ideas.

Lectures are on Mondays at 7PM and there is no prior booking required.

Photo: aaamusic.co.uk

Palma Violets and Kaiser Chiefs set to play on Streatham Campus Phil Thomas News Editor

THE coming term promises to be exciting for music lovers as many internationally acclaimed acts will be performing in Exeter.

Metal lovers will be thrilled that Funeral for a Friend will be performing at Cavern on 31 January.

The Lemon Grove sees the arrival of some big name acts with Ska-punk legends Reel Big Fish (22 Feb) and Sound of 2013 nominees, Palma Violets (19 March) whilst indie stalwarts, Kaiser Chiefs will play the Great Hall (23 Feb).

Music lovers and societies should also look to the upcoming Arts and Culture website (www.artsandcultureexeter. co.uk) which will offer comprehensive listings for music events happening in

relation to the university, from classical concerts to rock gigs.

Outside of the university, Dubstep and Drum and Bass fans can look forward to many exciting acts coming to Exeter. The Stanton Warriors are live at Exeter Phoenix on 1 February and Marky, Loadstar and Sigma are playing at the same venue on 9 February. Modestep are playing at the Lemon Grove on the 15 February and Jack Beats is playing a day later at Exeter Phoenix.

There will also be numerous local acts performing in and around Exeter, as fourth year English and Spanish student Ben Murphie explained, “Exeter has a fantastic tradition of live performing, with an ecclectic mix of established acts and up and coming performers. The opportunities I have had to play at various venues has been a great part of being at the Uni.”

>> Palma Violets will be playing at the Lemon Grove on 19 March

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Letting us down?

5

Photo: Henry White

Students in the city are facing dangerous and inadequate housing, an Exeposé investigation finds Tom Payne Editor AN Exeposé investigation has found that students in the city are facing inadequate and sometimes dangerous housing.

This paper has received complaints from several students about the state of their housing and the way they are treated by landlords and agencies.

Many complaints were made about the city’s private landlords, who operate independently of agencies such as Carden’s. Exeposé’s findings come as the Students’ Guild launches its housing accreditation scheme, intended to reinin rogue landlords.

One male student told Exeposé that their landlord lived overseas all year, leaving their home on Old Tiverton road in such a state of disrepair that it was deemed to be in breach of council rules. The students living in the property were told by their landlord that they would have to re-carpet one room by themselves. They were also left to install a washing machine on their own, despite the fact that professionals were required to fix broken pipe work.

The students also told Exeposé that “we had to do a Sylvia Plath every time we wanted to use the oven, as the spark on it was broken”, before adding,

“as far as landlords go she should be ashamed”.

Students have also suffered from rude and uncooperative landlords. One female student told Exeposé: “On one occasion, my housemate, who is deaf and thus can’t talk on the phone, texted our landlord’s business partner about some of our problems.

“She then accidentally sent a message clearly intended for our landlord to my housemate, which complained that she had been ‘rudely woken at the crack of dawn’ (8:30am on a weekday) by my housemate who was ‘as usual hopelessly vague’.

“As the problem was complicated it was understandably difficult to communicate via text, and considering this lady knew she was deaf, it was very rude of her to say this. We certainly get the feeling this isn’t the first time they have talked about us behind our backs after we have asked for assistance.”

Lettings agencies have also attracted criticism from some students.

One student described the service they received as “appalling”: “Not only is there mold everywhere but one of the desks in a bedroom is absolutely covered in dust mites. These can be a serious health problem and the desk needs to be replaced to get rid of them. Having realised the problem, they’ve ignored us.”

The Advice Unit has told Exeposé that it urges students to check their housing contracts with them before signing. They added: “Hidden charges are an issue with some of the larger landlord groups operating in the Exeter area […] The practice of these landlords is not unlawful but it is not best practice or in the tenant’s interests.

“The new accreditation scheme being promoted by the Students’ Guild and the University is intended to increase best practice with student landlords and mean that the quality of accommodation for our students continues to improve”.

Grace Hopper, VP Welfare and Community, said the Students’ Guild were working to address the problem of rogue landlords in the city: “Unfortunately it seems that most people, if they haven’t had a bad experience with a landlord themselves, at least know someone who has.

“This is why I am working to introduce the UniPol Landlord Accreditation scheme at Exeter. The scheme demands that landlords meet a set of basic requirements before they can become accredited. Those who gain accreditation are then listed on the UniPol website.

“I hope that no student will sign onto a property with a landlord who lets a house without accreditation.”

On-campus accommodation costs to freeze or decrease in 2013/14 Guy Janaway Online News Editor AFTER pressure from The Students’ Guild, the University have announced that a total of 85 percent of rent costs for University rooms will be either frozen or decreased for the next academic year.

The announcement of stagnating or reducing costs comes after the Students’ Guild lobbied against the rise in prices of student accommodation in order for them to be more supportive of student hardship issues.

The University claims that rents will be held for 3,251 bed spaces and decreased for 893. Moreover, the number of rooms below £100 per week will increase from 547 to 750. The result is that over 4,000 students next year will be benefitting from greater value for money.

A University spokesman said: “In addition, due to the convenient location and high quality accommodation that the Lafrowda studios offer the rent has been increased slightly to bring them in line with Holland Hall Studios

at £152.39 per week.”

Guild President, Nick Davies, said: “The freezing and decreasing of rental costs for next year is a great success for the Students’ Guild, as affordability is an issue we have always campaigned on.

“The freezing and decreasing of rental costs for next year is a great success for the Students’ Guild, as affordability is an issue we have always campaigned on” Nick Davies, Guild President “Affordability is a key concern of every student and accommodation is the biggest up-front cost of coming to University.

“By listening to and representing our students at the highest levels we have been able to successfully influence changes that will make a real difference to thousands of their lives.”

The remaining 15 percent of room costs will increase in the more popular and often oversubscribed Holland

Hall and Pennsylvania en-suite rooms.

There has also been an increase in the standard rooms of Lopes.

Second year Politics and Italian student Will Blakeley said: “With the university now charging £9,000 per year, it’s nice to know a little of that money has gone to tackling accommodation prices.”

Director of Operations Campus Services, Jilly Court said they looked to “offer value for money accommodation” and that “University accommodation offers a unique package. Our rents are all-inclusive and we are able to offer shorter more flexible contract lengths than other providers, the fact that a number of our residences are located on-campus is also very convenient.

“We hope that students who are considering their accommodation options for the new academic year will also look at the variety of options available at the University.”

The story comes after Hope Hall and Lazenby, both on-campus accommodation, will be converted into office spaces as there has been less demand for catered accommodation.

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est.

“Exeposé feels that there is little perception of student life that takes place off the dance floor and out of the pub” recently received the prestigious The Sunday Times University of the Year Award, and with our monarch’s visit still fresh in our memory, it seems a tragedy that Exeter students have come under scrutiny for extracurricular activities that bear no relation to academic achievement.

Whilst enjoying the plaudits that go with raising the University’s profile, Exeter student’s reputation has been tarnished of late with accusations of racial ignorance, sexual promiscuity and excessive drinking. Exeposé feels that there is little perception of the student life that takes place off the dance floor and out of the pub.

The source of this disreputable perception cannot be fully attributed to students however, and it is ironic that a students’ Guild in place to protect and support student interests is in this instance responsible for the biggest defamation of student character to hit the press this year.

Whilst a serious investigation was launched and appropriate action was taken against those parties involved, it is too late to retract the images and CCTV footage that have been circulating around the world, damaging Exeter’s reputation with every click.

The Guild have done everything in their power to protect the identities and welfare of those students involved in the now infamous “Ram Sex Tape.”

It is to their credit that they have maintained composure in the face of a media avalanche and we should

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1987

Sex, Lies and Videotape FOLLOWING recent revelations regarding both the conduct of students and Guild staff members, Exeter has been at the heart of an international media storm this week for all the wrong reasons. Having

EDITORS

remember that this situation was brought about by the activities of a few rogue individuals.

However, any breach of security is a serious issue, especially when the reputation of a student body that the guild is mandated to protect is on the line.

It is with sadness that attention has been focused on the Safer Sex Ball itself rather than the internal security breach that took place. A Guild spokesperson drew attention to the fact that regardless of the less than savoury actions of a few excitable party-goers, the SSB “generates a significant charitable contribution each year for Safer Sex Awareness charities in the South West.” Having been a successfully executed event for over twenty years, Exeposé wonders whether the future of the ball hangs in the balance following this year’s extreme exposure.

“It is ironic that a Student’s Guild in place to protect and support student interests in this instance responsible for the biggest defamation of student character to hit the press this year”

Whilst the police are yet to take action, the copyright breach is unlawful and the Guild have stated that they will support the police if they chose to investigate. All the right legal moves have been made, but this does nothing for the perception of Exeter students as young people more concerned with hedonistic pursuits than academic excellence.

Exeposé feels assured that the students at this University are represented best by their involvement with extra-curricular societies and academic achievement, something we would like to continue to report on as opposed to scandal and skullduggery.

Thanks to those who helped proof this issue: Megan Furborough, Elli Christie, Will O’Rourke, Dale James, Niklas Rahmel, Kate Gray, Ben Winsor, Rob Harris, Alex Phelps, Gemma Joyce, Rufus T. Firefly, Hershil Kotak, Lauren Swift, Ciara Long, Josh Gray, Sarah Perkins and members of the Exeposé editorial team

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Zoe Bulaitis & Tom Payne Ben Murphie & Ellie Steafel

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SSB video: blown out of proportion?

Rob Price EXETER has gone international though not for reasons that Steve Smith might like. The New York Daily News is the latest in a growing list of substantial news outlets to report on the furor surrounding the most recent Safer Sex Ball, and a particularly racy video.

After two students got rather hot and heavy in the Ram, the CCTV footage recorded on a phone that emerged spread like wildfire around the student population. The national papers picked up on the story, with everyone from the Daily Mail to The Sun and The Telegraph getting in on the act. Cue scandal.

I’m not condemning the two students in question; at SSB of course people are going to push boundaries, and you’d be naïve to the point of ignorance to think that they were

Sarah Perkins THE leaking of private CCTV footage is a separate issue from the students’ behaviour. It was completely unacceptable for the footage to be leaked across the internet, no matter what its content may have been, and the police are right to investigate this aspect of the event. The public sexual act is condemnable, but I think it is unfair to place too strong an attachment to the event itself. The SSB is a charity event that finds its financial success in edging towards the outrageous and daring. To change this winning formula would be

the first couple to partake in risqué activity at the event over its 20+ years – they just had the misfortune to be caught on camera doing so. The suggestion from Exeter police that they “might have committed an offence” is laughable; any transgression will have been paid for in subsequent embarrassment.

More worrying is the repercussions this might have for the future of SSB; after the earlier controversy this year surrounding the allegedly racist “tribal” theme that saw dozens of academics sign a boycott, a decision might be made that next year the event is more trouble than its worth.

That would be a tragedy; whilst obviously not all students are attending for purely charitable reasons, the event nonetheless raises huge amounts of money for excellent causes.

You also have to question how this leak came to be in the first place.

Given the nature of an event like SSB, one does not particularly wish to have images from it splayed out for the

world to see. That someone was able to gain access to the CCTV and record a copy of the footage is probably the

“You’d be naïve to the point of ignorance to think that they were the first couple to partake in risqué activity at the event over its 20+ years” most troubling issue at hand.

The only winner in all of this is student tabloid, The Tab. Claiming to have the footage and toying with the idea of publishing it, they led the student body on a merry dance before releasing their “video” – a handful of interviews and commentary. They were never going to publish – their lawyers were clear on that – but their professed dalliance with the idea has gained them brilliant publicity and helped to shape the national headlines in a way that they can be proud of.

If parents are worried about sex and alcohol then it is probably best they don’t send their child to university at all to waste a great fundraising opportunity.

If the suggestion is that an event where students are encouraged to wear little clothing will inevitably produce media frenzy then it is a naïve approach to the SSB. Give any students enough alcohol and a party atmosphere and there will be inappropriate behaviour, of a similar nature, regardless of the event or its location. I have been to several nightclubs where the acceptable attire has been little more than a bra and a belt for a skirt. It is ridiculous that the media are trying to connect the drunken act of two

individuals to the quality of the University itself. Mentioning Exeter’s status as one of the country’s leading universities shows a desperate attempt to sensationalise the whole event. It is impossible to expect academic excellence and a student party lifestyle to remain completely separate, when university life promotes a merging of the two.

This incident should have no bearing on whether parents send their children here. If parents are worried about sex and alcohol then it is probably best they don’t send their child to university at all.

Would you want the whole University to see such a video of you?

Emily Bevan NEW to the concept of the ‘Safer Sex Ball’, I was slightly apprehensive to dress up in lingerie and be judged by my friends and peers. However, upon attending the SSB I was pleasantly surprised by the charitable nature of the party-goers. There was no vocal judgment, nor trashy insults, just understanding that we were there to raise money and awareness to support safer sex. Students have sex, whether parents,

university administrators or journalists want to admit it; it is a known fact. Two, probably intoxicated, individuals decided that this Ball was their opportunity to fornicate and unfortunately for them, they got caught and the video has gone viral.

What the national newspapers have focused on is that it occurred on the same night as our ‘Safer Sex Ball’, yet this does not make it the primary cause of the ‘incident’. They have manipulated the story to suit their needs; that RAG’s ‘Safer Sex Ball’ promotes promiscuity, whereas these two events are coincidental. Tabloids should be focusing on the amount of money the Ball raises, or the security surrounding it to

protect women from being attacked, not an act of two people out of over a thousand attendees. The real question that should be asked is how supposedly private CCTV footage has been circulated by students. Some may argue that this was deserved after committing such an act in public, but ask yourself, would you want the whole University to see such a video of you?

The removal of the annual ‘Safer Sex Ball’ would not reduce the amount of people having sex and tabloids would simply find another story to circulate to encourage gossip. Exeter University is not defined by the SSB, but by the leading results it produces, regardless of this negative press.

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DESPITE the criticisms of the “right to privacy” of the students involved, due to the public nature of the incident at the SSB I can’t help but feel sympathy for the couple involved, for a number of reasons.

First, the press coverage of the event is definitely far more public than they could have imagined. As opposed to being spotted at the SSB, the couple has been national publicised and criticised as a response to the leaked CCTV footage. Second, from the press coverage, the couple seems to be functioning as a scapegoat for criticism that should perhaps be directed at the Ball as an event, rather than the couple. It is unfortunate that the incident has been used as an impetus for this critique to come to the fore, including statements like:

Adam Collins TO a lot of people in Britain the word ‘student’ evokes a grimace and a grumble about how they are all layabouts in a permanent state of intoxication, partly fueled by coverage in the national press which often relishes the chance to highlight our disappointment to society. This story is no exception.

Four minutes of leaked CCTV footage showing students having sex in the Ram has provided them with latest

“Leaked CCTV footage showing students having sex in the RAM has provided them with latest platform from which to launch a tirade of criticism against all students” platform from which to launch a tirade of criticism against all students. I don’t deny that there is news value in the

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Photos: Josh Irwandi

Have sympathy for the couple involved Meg Lawrence

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“I think many parents whose children are at this university will be appalled.’”(Chris McGovern) Whether or not the SSB is a healthy and positive event, it is a charitable one that raises up to £30,000 for charity each year. This is a fact that the majority of the press noted either as a brief aside or not at all.

The focus has contrastingly been on the sexual nature of the event and the consequences of this, for the most part ignoring the intentions of the Ball, concerning awareness of safe sex, and generosity towards certain charities.

The reputation of the SSB, by this press coverage amongst other things has become negative, despite these positive intentions.

It is debatable whether the Safer Sex Ball is for the most part a positive or negative event, in light of its criticisms of promoting “promiscuity”.

The press, however, have definitely been biased in a negative interpretation of the incident, the event, and by extension the University, ascribing a bad reputation to Exeter on the basis of one incident.

Jon Jenner Games Editor THIS student newspaper is the best thing I’ve been involved with at university and I feel privileged to be an editor of it. That’s why when our story about a CCTV leak at a high profile event made it to the local press, the national press, the international press, I was hugely excited. There was a real buzz around the office Tuesday afternoon as the publications we’re aspiring to work for ran our story, one after the other. Then I started to read them. My excitement turned sour pretty quickly as I noticed the “journalistic” emphasis of most of the articles. Allow me to summarise: “Scantily clad drunken teenagers may or may not have had sex.”

Does that strike you as particularly newsworthy? No? Me neither. Teenagers occasionally have sex. Taking away their clothes and giving them alcohol apparently makes this more like to happen. Who knew! The fact that our star-crossed lovers attempted it in the

The incident was embarassing, but the story has been used to tar all students with the same brush story, notably that of how the footage came to be leaked in the first place.

Neither do I deny that the incident itself was embarrassing both for the university and the individuals. The problem, however, is that the story has been used to tar all students with the same brush.

If we believe some of the coverage in the national press, the incident in the Ram is not merely a one off but in fact happens annually at every SSB. The comments on the websites of the tabloids who broke the story make for interesting reading, students apparently have no self respect nor morals, the fault of which lies with parents and the university for hosting the SSB. The controversy of the event in the eyes of the press far outweighs its contribution to raising awareness of an important cause, praise for which seems to be neglected in the presentation of the story. So whilst a plethora of Exeter’s meaningful contributions

to society have been overlooked, the moralising elements of the press have not forgotten to deliver their own form of humiliating justice by the attitude it adopts to students as a whole. I could think of nothing worse than a cuckolding by certain British tabloids.

“I could think of nothing worse than a cuckolding by certain British tabloids.”

I’m cynical when it comes to certain sections of the British ‘gutter press’ as by their very nature they seem to only present the ‘steamy’ gossip of university life, ignoring the everyday but uncontroversial achievements of universities. As embarrassing as the incident in the Ram was, this story reveals an inherently negative attitude towards students as a whole amongst elements of the press.

There has been a serious breach in University security during one of the biggest nights in its calendar Ram may not technically be allowed, but is it really newsworthy? The news is that there has been a serious breach of security during one of the biggest nights in its calendar, with gross negligence and misconduct shown from a member of staff. That is newsworthy. That is what Exeposé has focused on from the very first article that we posted online, because that is what matters.

Of course, you can understand why the nationals have taken a particular stance on it. The University of Exeter is a university on the up; a university that has soared up all of the leaderboards in a blisteringly fast time, to the point where it is the latest member of the Russell group and the Sunday Times University of the Year. That’s a big deal, for a lot of reasons. With all this prestige has come the highest rise in applications in the country… and also, apparently, people looking for any excuse to drag our name through the mud. The SSB is

a charitable juggernaut that has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for AIDS research and local charities.

How many of the sneering commenters that have just learnt it exists can say they’ve done that? How many of the people shouting the ball down have raised awareness of sexual diseases and the importance of safe sex for their wider communities as well as an entire generation of university students? Not one of them.

But I’ll finish by referring to the man that the Daily Mail felt authoritative enough to comment on the issue, lets call him Mr Hyperbole. The SSB apparently reminds Mr Hyperbole of “the decadence that came just before the fall of the Roman Empire”. Well then, Exeter, the barbarians are at the gates, and our decadence is almost at an end. So who else is up for turning up to lectures in their underwear?

The national press is sex-obsessed Jess Newton THE national press seem to have missed the point. Surely what’s shocking about this story is not what the couple in question did, but that somehow everybody knows about it. I’m not saying that publically engaging in sexual activity of any kind is acceptable, but sometimes people get drunk and do things that they aren’t proud of. In this case, on waking up and realising what they got up to, they probably took comfort in the fact that it was at a private party on university property and they were therefore somewhat protected. At worse there were probably a few students nearby who knew what they were up to and might set the rumour mill running. The fact that one of their fellow students would send actual footage of them viral probably never occurred to them. They may pretend to be shocked at student behaviour, but let’s be honest: the national press is completely

sex-obsessed themselves. It appears they don’t see the irony in criticising the SSB for its ‘highly sexual tone’ whilst running articles full of falsely gleaned information and dubiously sourced photographs just so they can focus on sex and encourage the general public to be disparaging. Furthermore, in their decrial of this shocking ‘public act’ they seem to be conveniently uninterested in how it came to be so public, perhaps because discussing the terrifying breach of security and privacy would implement their journalists.

Yes, it was imprudent; but the fact that they managed to avoid getting caught first-hand suggests that this wasn’t a case of exhibitionism. The girl has been accused by commenters of using it as an excuse to be ‘dirty’ and ‘promiscuous’, but the real dirty behaviour was that of whoever decided to record the CCTV footage and let such impulsive misdemeanour mar both their names and that of our university. Perhaps most scary, is that this untrustworthy person must have had access to the CCTV and therefore must be a student working in our Guild. That’s what really leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

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Exeposé

Cartoon: Charlotte Micklewright

Kitty Howie Online Lifestyle Editor UNPROTECTED sexual activity that just had to happen at the SSB – how inconvenient for those who have been working hard to remove the orgy-tastic stereotype that goes hand in hand (crotch in crotch?) with the event…

And this was the year where there was supposed to be more campaigning, more flyering and more awareness of the potential health risks if you dare to participate in unprotected sex. How bloody inconvenient.

“Sex sells, and reading about two students tupping in the appropriately named Ram bar is going to be a sensationalist and engaging story” When I initially wrote about this story, I expressed my views that the ironic promiscuous behaviour of two fellow students at the SSB wasn’t

The viral video has spread from student to student to the rest of the country like a rampant case of chlamydia bearing the brunt of criticism. However, now owing to the national reportage of the story, I would say this is the complete opposite.

Sex sells, and reading about two students tupping in the appropriately named Ram bar is understandably going to be a sensationalist and engaging story. Reportage of this kind encourages snap decisions and judgements - in this case ones which have been detrimental to the reputation of our University and our fellow students.

The fact that it was plausible for supposedly confidential CCTV footage to be filmed on a smart phone and then circulated to a wider audience in the first place is deeply distressing. What’s the point in CCTV and safety measures when they’re going to be completely abused?! Frustratingly, I feel this factor has largely been ignored by the national press, in favour of the juicier content.

Let’s face it - no one likes the idea of constant surveillance and judgement, and it’s far easier to watch and judge

The ball’s decadent nature is integral Alex Carden

than be watched and judged yourself.

“What’s the point in CCTV and safety mesaures when they’re going to be completely abused?!”

But judgement is exactly what has happened. The students, the event, the Guild, the University – all have been judged because of content of the viral video. The content should never have been created for public consumption in the first place. Due to inadequate security, hell even protection, the viral video has spread from student to student to the rest of the country like a rampant case of chlamydia.

The investigation and reportage should be centred around the creation of the video, opposed to its content. Rather than focusing worry and criticism on the actions of our fellow students, there should be bigger focus on the actions of our security.

LET’S be clear here. The SSB is such a huge success, in both attendance and fundraising terms, because sex sells.

Everyone knows this. I’ve used the principle myself in previous articles.

Much of western advertising is built on this simple fact of life.

“Why would they spend such an inordinate amount of time analysing a 4 minute clip of two students shagging?”

The ball’s ‘decadent’ nature is an integral part of its popularity. But those national papers which slam it for such are well aware of the same principle; why else would they spend such an inordinate amount of time analysing (if that’s what you can call it) a four minute clip of two students shagging? Yes,

the breach of privacy is abhorrent, and will hopefully be dealt with swiftly and justly by the Students’ Guild and the police. Maybe it is slightly newsworthy.

But that has most certainly not been the focus of attention here. Most of the coverage is dredging anything and everything vaguely controversial and related to Exeter University – the SSB, it’s recent admittance to the Russell Group, the naming of it as University of the Year, the token opposition to the SSB theme, Exeter University Confessions – and heading it with the image of two people having sex to make it sell, drowning out entirely the odd sentence about the illegality of the recording of the clip.

The accusations levelled at the university, both implicit and otherwise, on the basis of two adults being seen to engage in a consensual practice are extraordinarily insubstantial and made only in an attempt to use an artificially inflated story to tar the university. We are learning to be full-grown here, and no matter what mistakes we make, they have little to do with the institution itself, nor the national media, even if they do come with grainy photos that make a juicy banner for your swiftly hashed-together compilation article.

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Sarah Perkins THE University are considering introducing a minimum number of contact hours for Second and Third year students. This is sparking a debate amongst many students, particularly First years, who already have 10 mandatory contact hours a week, and feel that their academics are suffering as a result.

The problem with reducing or increasing contact hours for Second and Third year students is based on people’s priorities about their education. For me, and for many students, a degree is a means to an end. A 2:1 degree is necessary, arguably even essential for a twenty-something to gain a foot in the doorway of any professional industry.

As part of this practical outlook, it seems clear that the priority is getting the grades, not the stress of added contact hours which can only add to an already heavy workload, and make

The stress of added contact hours can only add to an already heavy workload, and make deadlines a greater challenge deadlines a greater challenge than they already are.

If, on the other hand, you are part of a fortunate minority, where university life is in fact an end in itself, an indulgence in academia where a deeper and wider understanding of your chosen subject is of the very greatest priority, then increased contact hours can surely only be an added bonus.

I realise this cannot be the extent of the argument. Many previous discussions on this matter, for the debate on contact hours is not a new one, have fallen into arguments about subject differences. Are subjects with more than 10 contact hours more of a strain on students than those that can be reduced to as little as four hours a week in final year? Is there a mandatory difference between, for example, the sciences and the humanities, that cannot be resolved

by increasing mandatory contact hours?

Is it fair that all students pay the same standard tuition fees when practical subjects receive so many extra contact hours?

The introduction of money to the debate returns the discussion to where it began. Surely, for many students, it is the final degree qualification that warrants the extensive financial obligations. If the issue with the University introducing a minimum number of contact hours is actually a justification for higher course fees then it becomes increasingly important to see a degree as an end result and a way into employment. The value of a potentially greater chance of gaining graduate employment must have a price tag. In the end, it will be the qualification itself that will be remembered, not how many hours were put into achieving it.

Slut it up? Why not slut it down and put the short dresses to rest?

Naomi Poltier THE club phenomenon is not a straightforward one. It took me three months of university to figure that out too. But, why do you go to the club?

Some people need to be hammered to enjoy it, while others can’t reach it if they are. But what do you go there to do? I tried to argue that you go there just to dance the night away, to feel the vibes of the music and forget, or intensify, life. But I got a lot of eye rolls.

“You can’t make new friends at a club,” a friend told me. The main reason consisted of the idea that the people who go to the club just to enjoy themselves are a minority; really, people go to clubs to get with other people. Of course I’m not blind and I’ve realized that this happens a lot at clubs, but to go from there to say that this is the prime reason for the pop-

Phil Thomas LIVING in Exeter is outrageously expensive; the University needs to warn potential students When I was choosing which university to attend, one factor I failed to properly account for was expense.

I chose Exeter for its academic excellence but had I known the cost of living here my decision would have been different.

Students at the University of Exeter pay the third highest student rent in the UK, with the average price of living in halls in 2012/13 priced at £137.42, and the average cost of renting a house standing at £93.42. Even the bills are disproportionately expensive as Devon charges the highest amount for its water than anywhere

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ularity of clubs surprised me in a way it perhaps shouldn’t have. So I tried to think of the friends of the opposite gender I had made at a club without it leading to anything more. There weren’t any encounters that came to mind. A club is the easiest way to find a fling, my friend urged on.

“The few males I have decided to take a chill pill with rather than kiss have ended up not too bad conversation” “Slut it up,” my friends have sometimes told me. It becomes normal to get with people at a club, why not?

Well why not slut it down instead? Why not put the short dresses and skirts to rest, pull on some jeans (for girls) and show up to the club trying to strike up as many conversations as possible.

And if it’s too loud in there (as it often is), why not go on kissing probation?

Dance the night (or a few minutes)

away with a stranger knowing that no matter what, you are not getting off. Of course it seems like an absurd idea, but you can’t lose much in a week of trying it, and you might find out something about the ‘clubbing phenomenon’ you didn’t know (whether it’s a good or bad thing). I know I did, I can’t say I have yet endorsed this concept very much, but the few males I’ve decided to take a chill pill with rather than kiss have ended up in not too bad conversation. I wouldn’t call them friends, but definitely acquaintances that I know the names of, with the added bonus that it’s not awkward bumping into them the next week at the same club.

Perhaps it’s a ridiculous idea; friends will still roll their eyes at me thinking that clubs are wild places where you go to pull. But I still like to think that even with a short dress, you can be going just to dance your troubles away, and that with a good pair of jeans on it is possible to make friends of the opposite gender at a club. I might find out in 2013…

I chose Exeter for its academic excellence but had I known the cost of living here my decision would have been different else in the UK. Not only are the living costs huge but so too are the goods and services that the University provide. To name a few examples, a gold membership at the gym costs a staggering £225, the

“Not only are the living costs huge but so too are the goods and services that the University provide [...]

Market Place in the Forum charges £0.80 for a can of fizzy drink” Market Place in the Forum charges £0.80 for a can of fizzy drink and

our student union fail to offer good drink deals and, for that matter, good student nights.

The University needs to stop milking money from its students as it is has a negative impact on student life; I need to have a part time job in order to live in Exeter and I doubt that I am alone. Furthermore, I believe that the University needs to warn its potential students about the general cost of living here. While I understand that this is not a desirable option for the University, it is unjust to fail to properly warn students that attending Exeter is hugely expensive in comparison to elsewhere in the UK.

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ELLE and FHM on campus: Well you can’t be intellectual all the time...

Emma Lock SO, apparently Exeter students are interested in ‘more than clothes and tits’. It’s true. As an Exeter student, I can safely say that there is so much more to life than clothes and tits. But that doesn’t mean that I spend my life buried under textbooks and journals, pausing only to read a relaxing chapter of War and Peace or, if I’m feeling really lazy, listen to the latest instalment of From Our Own Correspondent. To cast ‘Russell Group students’ as some kind of homogenous intellectual mass is at best entertainingly far off the mark and at worst incredibly snobbish.

A woman can read ELLE without her brain cells evaporating in a flurry of Chanel perfume and Gucci handbags. Yes, perhaps fashion is frivolous. But it’s something many people enjoy – it’s a method of self-expression, which is often particularly important to students. These are people on the brink of adult life, trying to find ‘who they are’ and express their personalities, and the way they dress – the image of themselves they present to the world – is often a particularly important part of this. Being at an academically rigorous institution

does not mean that you want to walk around campus wearing a binbag.

Academic talent and an interest in fashion are not mutually exclusive.

And there are times when, no matter how fascinating you might find the Libor scandal or the intricacies of an EU referendum, you just want to see what dress Zooey Deschanel wore to the Golden Globes.

Giving away free copies of non-intellectual publications like ELLE and FHM isn’t going to suddenly turn our campus into a seething mass of misogynistic objectification, superficiality and abandoned degrees.

If someone really wants to look at pictures of women wearing very, very few clothes, they can walk into the campus shop and buy FHM. (I’m not seeking to defend lads’ mags – as a woman, I have serious reservations about the degrading way in which they portray women. But that’s a different debate.) If someone really wants to read about the best pastels for spring/summer 2013, they can walk into the campus shop and buy ELLE. So to those who criticised the Guild for providing these magazines free, I give the same justification as I do for spending my weekday evenings watching Snog Marry Avoid: you can’t be intellectual all the time...

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Life like an Egyptian Alasdair Wood reflects on Egypt two years on from after its revolution and looks at where the country is now TWO years after the revolution that overthrew the Mubarak regime, Egypt is more divided than ever, or so all the media tells us. People were divided on the new constitution, but the predicted bloodbath or civil conflict never took place. On the constitution there was a clear divide between Islamists (including the Muslim Brotherhood and hardline Salafists) in favour of the constitution, and liberals, secularists and Christians against. However, many others were also not satisfied with the constitution, but voted in favour purely in the hope of bringing back stability.

Politics is increasingly polarised, with President Morsi becoming a character that you either passionately love or hate.

“Politics is increasingly polarised with President Morsi becoming a character that you either passionately love or hate” The people who hate Morsi the most are Egypt’s Christian minority who make up about five-ten per cent of the population. They loathe him with a passion, with one Christian friend telling me she hates Morsi more than Mubarak. Seemingly it only takes a few years to forget Mubarak’s horrific decision to wipe out all pigs in Egypt,

in response to the Swine Flu epidemic (despite the fact Swine Flu was spread by humans). This decision devastated the lives of many poor Christians in Egypt. The fact is the Brotherhood as of yet have done nothing to threaten the Christians, and have spent most of their efforts on trying to reassure them, with many Christians continuing comfortable lives, as they make up a large percentage of the middle classes.

One reason for the protests against the constitution not getting out of control may be that the constitution wasn’t the evil Islamic masterpiece, our media suggest. The article of Sharia, is crucially no different to under Mubarak and states the law “is made on the principles of Sharia”, but adds an article that the Al-Azhar Mosque (the highest Islamic authority in the country) should be consulted on matters of Sharia law. However, it crucially states that Christians and Jews should be subject to personal and religious laws of their own and not of Sharia. For example Christians could not be subject to any laws about dress, alcohol or marriage.

Of course, all is not well for the Christian minority. Women face extra hassle for not wearing the Hijaab, there have been isolated cases of Christians being accused of blasphemy, and the most shocking cases against the Christians are of being forced to convert to Islam, including girls being kidnapped and forced into marriage. However, the vast majority of Muslims are moder-

ate. A case of a Salafist warning people not to wish their Christian neighbours a “Happy Christmas” may have made headlines across the world, but was widely ignored by ordinary Egyptians.

My Muslim neighbours presented me with a Christmas present, the Grand Mufti (leading cleric in country) met the Coptic Pope to wish him Christmas greetings, and some street cleaners gave me and some Egyptian friends the biggest smile and “Happy Christmas” on leaving a church on Christmas Day. In a religious society, I’m often asked about my religion, and on hearing I’m a Christian, Muslims will respond, “We are all brothers”. While graffiti across Cairo also shows the Egyptian flag altered, with a Christian flag and Islamic Crescent placed together. Islam and Christianity have coexisted here for the most part ever since the Arab Invasion in 641, which is something quite shocking coming from a country that has history drenched in the blood of religious intolerance.

“Under the Mubarak regime people didn’t talk about politics, but today the streets are alive with people actively debating with each other” The real problem of the constitution is its lack of ambition. The worst aspect

of all is its failure to have an article setting out gender equality. Roles of women and men are completely different here, and women are widely expected to stay at home to cook and clean, especially if they are married. All young women in Egypt suffer from sexual harassment on the streets, whether covered or uncovered. One Egyptian friend told me that when she takes a microbus she puts her bag on one seat and pays for two seats, because she, “had bad experiences of old men on microbuses.” It’s all rather sickening, but Egyptian women know how to stand up for themselves. On facing harassment they will most often scream, shout and lash out at the perpetrator. In Egypt, people won’t walk on by when seeing this but will intervene to try and deal with the situation.

Despite these problems I feel optimistic about Egypt. The revolutionary spirit is still very much alive here. Under the Mubarak regime people didn’t talk about politics, but today the streets, markets, coffee houses, and public transport are alive with people actively debating politics with each other.

Egyptians love to argue, but contrary to popular opinion they don’t always resort to violence. In fact, the political atmosphere is generally mature.

Politics may seem polarised but when you see businesses happily displaying posters showing their alignment, it’s evident that people are tolerant enough to accept each other’s political differ-

ences. I can’t imagine any businesses in the south eastern rural heartlands that would risk displaying a Labour poster, or a business in the North of England risking the display of a Conservative party poster. There are isolated cases of political violence in Egypt and our media all too often forget the wider picture.

“Egypt has a difficult road ahead but the taste of freedom people felt in Tahrir in 2011 means there is no going back now” This negative picture has helped to cripple Egypt’s tourism, particularly in Luxor, Aswan and Cairo, throwing Egypt into a deeper economic crisis, in which the Egyptian Pound is now tumbling and Egypt is left to go begging to the IMF. It’s certainly a difficult time, and could prove to be a disaster for the ruling Brotherhood as the poor (the Brotherhood’s biggest support base) will suffer the most, while the opposition have become increasingly organised and united since the protests against the new constitution. Egypt has a difficult road ahead, but the taste of freedom people felt in Tahrir in 2011 and people’s continual tolerance and political maturity means there is now no going back.

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Judging women is the real walk of shame In light of the ‘slut-shaming’ phenomeon sweeping the web, Madeleine Berry looks at what it says about how we percieve women in our society and asks whether our perspective needs to change AROUND 50 per cent of the people reading this will have experienced the feeling of being named a ‘slut’, or worried that it would happen perhaps because of their clothing or casual relationships. The phenomenon of

‘slut-shaming’ which has cascaded its way into our culture has perhaps got much to answer for this constant fear.

Girls in particular are pressured to behave in a certain way and express a certain sexuality that society and

those around them deems acceptable.

‘Slut-shaming’ is defined as the act of making an individual feel inferior or guilty for engaging in certain sexual behaviours that deviate from traditional gender expectations. These can include using sex as a form of power control, having casual sex outside of marriage, or even dressing in a way that is deemed to be provocative in its overly sexual nature.

“We are pandering to society’s call for a woman that is both sexually experienced and innocent at the same time”

>> Slut-shaming memes, like the one above, have spread across the internet, condemning women for what they choose to wear

Throughout the social-networking and blogosphere this has escalated to worrying highs, with memes existing to dictate the acceptability of revealing female dress. We all know what I’m talking about; stalking through photos of friends of friends, or maybe that hottie you’ve seen in the library, and deeming that the girls in them look ‘slutty’ or ‘slaggy’. But why do we do this? As women especially, should we really be encouraging the cultural norm that girls who act in a hypersexual way have something to answer for? It’s not dissimilar to buying into the idea that dressing provocatively leads inevitably to rape, and the surrounding tendency of

victim blaming. Women are ultimately blamed for being the bearers of attack, because of their audacity to choose to wear a low-cut top or short skirt. But why shouldn’t we choose? By admitting that behaving in such a way that could conjure up the label of ‘slut’, we are consequently pandering to society’s call for a woman that is both sexually experienced and innocent at the same time. And surely, they can’t have it all.

Covering up and denying sexual activity outside of the accepted norms throws off the threat of being slut-shamed, but returns the individual to the so-called ‘fantasy’ of innocence and virginity.

And if this is the case, once again women are behaving in a way which panders to the desires of men, rather than taking control of their own bodies.

This attitude is what prompted the international SlutWalks in the last five years. Following an event in Canada in which a policeman told female students of a local university to “avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised”, scores of women have taken to the streets to demonstrate that those who experience sexual assault are not the ones at fault. The dress in tight clothes, shorts, backless dresses or underwear and ask ‘do our clothing choices perpetuate a cycle of violence and assault? Are we to blame?’ And the same can perhaps be said for slut-shaming. Should the way that girls dress and their chosen sexual behaviour, provided that it is safe, be to blame for their

humiliation? Surely we should be fighting for the right for them to make that choice themselves. Especially when you consider that the male counterparts for slut, are almost exclusively positive, including ‘player’, ‘stud’ or ‘pimp’. Imposing the negative label of slut upon girls who behave in a sexualised way damages the reputation of all females within society; we must all be both chaste and sexy at the same time. And what is worse is that it is overwhelmingly other women who do the labelling. And of the females reading this, you will almost definitely be forced to admit that this is true.

“This has escalated to worrying highs, with memes existing to dictate the acceptability of revealing female dress” So, maybe we should begin by avoiding the inevitable trawl through Facebook pictures after nights out to scrutinize the girls wearing skimpy skirts and boob tubes, and instead think ‘good for them’ for throwing off the regulations that are placed on them.

Now I’m not saying that everyone should start wearing their underwear to the library, but if that’s what it takes to show that behaviour and dress doesn’t denote being a ‘slut’, then bring it on.

A Twitter user’s freedom of tweets

Tom Bond, Books Editor, looks at Suzanne Moore’s recent Twitter row and argues the importance of sites like Twitter to offer everyone a voice, whether professional writer or not LAST week a writer left Twitter and Twitter ate itself in a cycle of outrage and anger. In a piece for Red, The Waterstones Anthology, titled ‘Seeing red: the power of female anger’, Suzanne Moore called for women to embrace their anger in the fight for gender equality. As she proudly announces, “Sex Pistol John Lydon’s chant, ‘anger is an energy’, is still my cri de coeur”. Her points are vociferously made, covering a wide range of issues too numerous to address here. I suggest you read the article for yourselves and make your own judgments, but sadly, the content of the article is not why I am writing.

I am writing because of the ferocious response she has received, primarily to her use of one small phrase, that for many people, undermines her whole argument. At the end of the piece she praises the power of anger, saying, “cherish it, for this is how the future will be made.” I wonder if the anger she has received in reply has made her rue the prophetic nature of her words.

The offending sentence describes the negative female psychology of the body, claiming, “We are angry with ourselves for not being happier, not being loved properly and not having the ideal body shape – that of a Brazilian transsexual.” Within minutes she had been called out for her choice

of example with one Twitter user saying “I loved your piece on anger - except for the shock transphobia. Trans women deserve solidarity, not implicit shaming.” Even after reading several articles explaining people’s outrage I don’t quite see the issue in the phrase she used. Moore later justified her choice, saying “I deliberately used the word Brazilian transexual [sic] as ideal shape small hips and big T and

“Twitter is a beautifully democratic medium, allowing everyone their say.

The problem is that it gives a voice to the abusive as much as the open-minded” A.” The problem truly arose a few tweets later when Moore embraced her manifesto of anger and began to dig her own grave, replying with things like “I dont [sic] prioritise this fucking lopping bits of your body over all else that is happening to women Intersectional enough for you?” and “People can just fuck off really. Cut their dicks off and be more feminist than me. Good for them.” As reasoned and power-

ful as her original article was, her responses have turned it into nothing more than another online soap opera.

These days, the battleground for debate is virtual, with articles, links and opinions traded with fervour across Twitter, Facebook and online comment threads. The fact that you can find a host of reactionary idiots in these places is hardly a revolutionary one but the more we rely on these formats the more important it becomes. I agree with most but not all of Moore’s original article but I strongly disagree with her bullish and aggressive response to others’ out-

rage. By dismissing the complaints and queries of the trans people that took offence with her article she is doing just what she has attacked the patriarchy

“Twitter demonstrates the ultimate strength of freedom of speech” for. She is shutting down a minority opinion from her position of relative power and dismissing its relevance offhand.

Her self-acknowledged friend and ally Julie Burchill rode to Moore’s d e fence on a bucking bronco days later in an Observer article that was later removed with an apology by the editor. Make no mistake, Burchill’s piece exists solely to troll the nation and its argument consists of little more than a string of insults flung at transgender people through a

blinding red mist. Nevertheless I will always defend her right to publish such an article, however offensive it may be. Toby Young from the Telegraph accused The Observer of censoring Burchill, though more accurately it was a case of editorial cold feet. Denying someone the right to use your publication as a platform for views you find deeply offensive is not the same as denying them the right of free speech.

Twitter is brilliant because you can speak directly to your heroes and people you admire, even if Salman Rushdie did think I was insulting him. You can interact with professionals who do what you one day dream of doing, and sometimes they even reply. Twitter is a beautifully democratic medium, allowing everyone their say. The problem is that it gives a voice to the abusive as much as the open-minded who use Twitter in search of knowledge and entertainment.

There is hope though in the way people have responded to such abuse, with Moore, her attackers and Burchill all being condemned by the vast majority of users. Twitter demonstrates the ultimate strength of freedom of speech, allowing everyone to contribute whether they have a national newspaper column or not, and then to be judged fairly by their peers.

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| WEEK TWELVE

FEATURES

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13

Halfway there: The Midterm review of the Coalition Dominic Madar looks back at the past two and a half years since the Coalition came to power, and reminds us of how far it has come and how far it has to go until it’s time for us to hire or fire them COALITIONS aren’t really Britain’s thing. We normally leave that kind of horse-trading and cooperative style politics to our neighbours on the Continent. It was to everybody’s surprise therefore when Nick Clegg and some very reluctant Liberal Democrats cozied up with Cameron and his Conservative Party back in May 2010. Considering that and the enormity of cuts proposed to take place it’s a minor miracle in itself that the government is still standing (just about) and Labour hasn’t already sewn up a 2015 election victory.

“Looking back over the last two and a half years, a few successes stand out amongst the general doom and gloom” The backdrop of 2010 was very simple: the UK had been left a gaping budget deficit thanks to a combination of the 2008 global financial crisis and Labour’s profligacy. After five years of fiscal prudence Gordon Brown ditched the stereotypical reputation of a stingy Scot and set off in 2002 on a disastrous spending rampage that would later come back to haunt him.

The Tories (and Lib Dems) were voted in to do what they do best: clean up the economic mess left behind by a financially irresponsible Labour Party. Looking back over the last two and half years, a few successes stand out amongst the general doom and gloom. The most significant of these include raising the threshold at which income tax is paid for the lowest earners and maintaining a triple A credit rating amidst the chaos experienced by many other EU members.

“As time has gone on, it has become increasingly evident that Cameron and Clegg are both at odds with plenty within their own parties” The first major incident came in the shape of a much publicised broken promise: If sharing a bed with the Tories was treacherous enough for the Lib Dems, then propping up their trebling of university tuition fees – akin to sleeping with the devil himself – was electoral suicide.

Although hardly a supporter of paid higher education the money has to come from somewhere and just maybe university graduates should contribute more to a system that heavily subsides them a good shot at significantly higher earnings in the future (I’m

still glad I don’t have to pay those astronomical £9,000 fees though).

As time has gone on it has become increasingly evident that Cameron and Clegg are both at odds with plenty within their own parties. The Lib Dems have recently been overtaken

by UKIP in recent opinion polls and look set to experience political wipeout in 2015. They face a no win situation: heavy scrutiny for supporting any unpopular Tory-led policy and minimal credit for anything vaguely in the realms of success. Clegg may even be overthrown before we get that far, leaving the coalition in mass disarray.

The Tories meanwhile are clinging on by the skins of their teeth to Labour’s coat tails, in the hope that a more sizable gap doesn’t open up in the polls. For Cameron the major dilemma lies in whether to take the easy path and lurch to the right in a bid to silence UKIP and satisfy his far more conservative backbenchers, or take the bolder and more difficult route and stick to the centre-right to keep the Labour Party at bay. Tony Blair had the

“The Tories meanwhile are clinging on by the skins of their teeth to Labour’s coat tails, in the hope that a more sizable gap doesn’t open up in the polls” guts, arrogance and audacity to take his own party on, stick by his convictions and win three elections on the spin. The political climate is far tougher for Cameron but to have any hope of winning and keep what remains of his tarnished reputation he shouldn’t give in to growing party pressure.

Ultimately, how much of the deficit can be slashed (with as little impact as possible) and how much the economy will grow will have a pivotal impact on the 2015 election. Unfortunately for Cameron much of that depends on the global economy and in particular what shape the spluttering EU is in. Those on the left should give Cameron more credit for continuing to take strong stances in favour of socially liberal issues such as gay marriage against the wishes of most of his party. With his (relatively) pro-business mantra, cautious approach to an overbearing and increasingly dictatorial EU and recent support of free press (unlike Clegg and Miliband), Cameron could arguably be the most liberal mainstream party leader. I fear at this moment in time however that a combination of Western economic sluggishness, coalition infighting and Tory backbencher rebellion will leave him as a one-term PM.

A Coalition’s Break Down Cabinet’s gender balance

Government u-turns

Economic growth

37

0.2%

23

men

4

women

climbdowns

Opinion polls 2010

2013

since 2010

Number of bills passed

54

36% 31% 29% 41%

Acts of Parliament

Oxbridge educated

23% 10%

18

ministers out of 27

James Crouch, Features Editor, asks what the figures mean for the all improtant 2015 general election AFTER two and a half years in power, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition is now going through midterm blues. It’s been a bad year for the government,after “ominshambles” earlier on this year. The government has been seen to u-turn on up to 37 separate policies, while the economy has improved little since the the Prime Minister came to office.

Opinion polls over the past year have appeared dire for the Coalition.

Labour is well ahead in the polls, and the Liberal Democrat polling figures have nothing short of collapsed some even put them in fourth place

behind UKIP. The Conservatives are now also worried by the failure to change the constituency boundaries to redress the numerical favourability it gives Labour, making it hard for the Conservatives to win an outright majority in 2015.

However, the future may not be too bad for David Cameron. Rightly or wrongly, the Government is still trusted more than Labour on the economy according to opinion polls, which every winning party has had in modern times. And the dreadful looking polling figures are surpris-

ingly, not that bad, considering two years into Brown’s premiership, Labour was commonly behind by anything up to 25 points. On top of this the Conservatives are still the largest party in local government, and are likely to stay so.

For Clegg’s Liberal Democrats, it’s far harder to find a silver lining.

Some of the low polling figures are almost record breaking. To add insult to injury, most LibDem seats are vulnerable to Tory challengers, and their loss may actually by a mathematical fluke be the thing that brings about a Conservative victory in 2015.

BIRKS GRANGE VILLAGE/ MARDON/ ROWANCROFT/ BIRKS GRANGE VILLAGE/ DURYARD/ CLYDESDALE RISE/ LARENT FRODA COTTAGE/ RANSOM/ FREEZE JAMES OWEN COURT/ ST. DAVIDS/ ROWANCROFT MEWS/ CO MEWS/ CLYDESDALE COURT/ LLEWELLYN MEWS/GARDEN HI HOUSE/ ROWANCROFT HOUSE/ BIRKS GRANGE/ KING EDWARD The Students’ Guild and the University of Exeter are proud to announce...

You said that rent was too high.

So we froze it.

The cost of over 80% of University accommodation will now be held or decreased for 2013/14.

For more information go to: www.exeterguild.com

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Blue Monday: worst day of the year?

Thomas Ling, Lifestyle Editor, talks about Blue Monday, apparently the saddest day of 2013 IF you really want some genuine cheering up from those post-holiday blues, you probably shouldn’t read that January is unquestionably the worst time to be alive on this mossy slab of rock we like to call Earth. It’s probably best to completely ignore that January, the Monday of months, is a period of quickly deteriorating diets, shockingly chilling weather, Celebrity Big Brother and the birthday of Nazi extraordinaire and part-time arsonist, Hermann Goering. Yeah, if anything, a second’s thought on that will probably make things worse.

makes no mathematical sense, leaving Arnall’s ‘calculations’ about as watertight as a woollen submarine with a leaky periscope. The calculations take no real statistics into account such as suicide numbers (which you’ll be delighted to know generally peak around late spring rather than winter), and factors that are used, such

arrhoea inside.

Despite all this, Arnall, a “freelance happiness guru” i.e. human bullshitting unit, advocates the day

former holiday TV Channel Sky Travel, where he was paid to calculate the day for use in their January publicity campaign. The cynics will probably also argue that Arnall used the same thoughtless formula to guff out the ‘happiest day of the year’, to be later used in a Wall’s advertising campaign, just to make a bit of unde-

“The most depressing day of the year has been methodically confirmed as the Monday of January’s last full week”

“January is the boring elder sibling to the hip and happening December, but it’s impossible to pin all this depression on one day” Luckily for us, the most depressing day of the month, and year, has been methodically confirmed as the Monday in January’s last full week, which calendar enthusiasts amongst us will know nominates January 21 as this year’s ‘Blue Monday’. According to Chris Arnall, mastermind behind the Blue Monday calculation, the day is formulated by considering six “factors”: poor weather conditions, Christmas debt, time elapsed since Christmas, failed New Year resolutions, “seasonal motivational levels”, and the absence of any notable holidays to look forward to.

Yes, as charming as the ‘World’s Worst Day’ sounds, by now you’ve probably guessed that the whole thing

Monday formula makes less scientific sense than blu-tacking a picture of Einstein onto a cat stuck in perpetual motion. He’s a self confessed “media slut”, willing to make money out of any opportunity at the expense of his own dignity and logic. Given the chance, Arnall would probably voyage deep into the Hundred Acre Wood just to drop Blue Monday into a conversation with Eeyore, before casually mentioning he’s got a noose and a small amount of heroin up for sale. He’d probably short change the poor animal as well.

as “seasonal motivational levels”, make as much quantifiable sense as the end of this sentence windmill Pac-man.

These meaningless components are finally mashed together in some kind of deceitful kebab and then made just about presentable enough for human consumption, hiding the numerical di-

as “a springboard for a higher quality life”, which pessimists might think has something to do with his contract with

served m o n e y that perfectly summarises his bogus profession.

Not me though. I’m an avid believer.

What’s really scary is that despite facing countless criticism, most poignantly in Dr. Ben Goldacre’s Bad Science column for The Guardian, Arnall doesn’t seem to mind his Blue

We all know that January is the boring elder sibling to the hip and happening December, but it’s impossible to pin all this depression on one day.

Yes, it’s true that January doesn’t contain as many communal celebrations or even particularly welcoming weather, but it’s also a fantastic starting point to what could be the most significant year of your life. It’s a period from the same makers of July and the downright riveting December, so there’s no reason why January can’t be as fun and meaningful as any other time of the year. This is your month, so get out there and make something of it.

Not you though. You’re beyond hope.

A new term, a new year, a new you?

Clare Henley argues that you don’t need to wait for January to give yourself a fresh start AHH, so January has rolled around again – welcome back old foe. ‘Tis the season for regret and, as we all well know by now, regret and resolution go hand in hand like a vodka and coke.

“What is it about this time of year that makes us think our long-held goals are suddenly so much more achievable?”

Whether you’re reining in your first tentative steps into 2013 with promises of harder work, less drinking, healthier eating or quitting smoking, chances are

you’ve taken at least a few minutes to assess what you can improve on in life this year.

I’m no stranger to the resolution myself: I have many girlfriends who want to lose weight; personally, I’d like to gain some. But what is it about this time of year that makes us think our long-held goals to be healthier and happier are suddenly so much more achievable than they were in, say, October? Many people do a similar ‘this year I will...’ goal-setting at the beginning of the academic year. Invariably, within a few weeks or months, our resolve has weakened and we’ve lapsed back into old habits.

There’s a reason for that: it’s who we are and probably, who we have been for

years. If you’re a procrastinator, chances are you’ll be a procrastinator regardless of what you tell everyone you’re going to be on the first of January.

“Drank a little too much last night? That doesn’t mean you’ve destroyed your chances at being healthier this year” I’m not against a little self-improvement; if you want to give up an unhealthy habit or try something new, by all means, give it a good go. It seems that the idea of a New Year’s resolution

is, however, getting a little gimmicky.

Gym membership rates soar this time of year, as thousands flock to the treadmills to try to work off the festive indulgence of holidays gone by. People use the New Year as an excuse to kick off a new regime when, really, there is never any time like the present.

Just because you’ve started the year exactly as you ended it, that doesn’t mean any other time is a bad time to be more active, or work-focused, or anything else for that matter. Self-improvement is a day-by-day effort. Drank a little too much last night? That doesn’t mean you’ve destroyed your chances at being healthier this year.

The best we can all do is just to pick

ourselves up every day and do our best.

The problem with New Year’s resolutions is that they are often rather finite: as soon as our resolve is broken, we give up because we’ve pinned all of our hopes on this year being as perfect as possible.

When it isn’t, we tend to feel disappointed and believe we can’t do it at all. So I suggest one simple thing: if you make one resolution this year, let it be to give yourself a break when things don’t quite go as planned. As goes the old adage: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again. And if all else fails, move to Honolulu – I hear they have a very chilled out attitude over there. Plus we could all do with a break now and then.

16

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Tweets of the week Follow @exeposelstyle to see your tweets in Lifestyle!

MARCUS BEARD @marcusbeard Overheard on campus: “I don’t like coffee, it’s too pretentious.” OH GOD MY SIDES. ALEX PHELPS @Phelpsy93 The Gestapo scrutinised less than these Exeter Spotted pages TOM BOND @tom_bond ‘The XX lead singer’s ex makes XXX video by the Exe’ I dream of one day writing this headline.

LAURA PEPPER @LauraJanePepper hello word count, hello freedom RACHAEL @rachylou_exeter That glorious moment when you remember you accidentally got yourself into a dance off in Arena #weep JAMES CROUCH @TheBig_JC Nothing upsets me more than when I go to make risotto and I’ve run out of arborio rice #FirstWorldProblems ELEN GRAVELL@ Elen_Sian Too much ice cream followed by a sugar crash and nap. #exams LOUIS ALEXANDER DORÉ @runlouisrun2013 Making cheesecake without a recipe. #YOBO (you only bake once) JACK EDWARDS @jacklledwards You know procrastination has reached a new level when you’re emptying the dehumidifier in the hall for something to do.

JAMES CLAYTON @JClayton65 a saturday exam.. i feel like exeter has royally done me over this time Sophie Mogridge @smogridge Lucius Malfoy definitely would’ve gone to Exeter #rah RUPERT THE RAH @RupertTheRah It’s literally freezing! Time to bring out the arctic #Gilet. Take that nature 1-0. #Rah DAVID RIZBAF-NAUBARI @DavidRizbafNaub I think George Clooney has the same suitcase as me in the nespresso advert.

I count this as a win JONATHAN JENNER @JonJenner So cold last night I slept in pants for the first time in years. These are dark, dark days RYAN HOPKINS @RyanHopkins_ I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO COLD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE AS I WAS IN THAT EXAM HALL. OWEN KEATING @owenkeats Nearly got hit in the face by a flying pigeon while on the phone. Dodged it, making me feel more like neo from the matrix than ever before.

22 JANUARY 2013 |

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Weird ways to burn calories

Sorrel Cookson suggests six unusual ways to tackle the post Christmas bulge IT’S that time of year again when everyone’s feeling guilty about their over indulgence of all things chocolate during the holiday season and decided to kickstart the new year. I’ve always thought that in order to burn calories you had to run on the dreaded treadmill for hours on end. So here are a few fun and more unusual ways to burn those calories.

just 15 minutes of laughter a day will burn 10-40 calories, depending on the intensity of the laughter. Surely surrounding yourself with people who make you laugh is much more appealing than exhausting yourself at the gym?

Jump rope What better way to burn calories than going back to your primary school Who’s ready for some scary movies? days and working out using a good old A recent study at the University of skipping rope. Jump rope is actually Westminster suggested the surge of one of the best cardio workouts that adrenaline and increased heart rate you can do, burning on average 15-20 you experience when watching hor- calories per minute. What’s also great ror movies causes an increase about it is that you can do it just in the amount of calories about anywhere, from outside 30 you burn. One horror in a park to in front of your film can burn as many TV, making it a much more minutes calories as a half-hour enjoyable workout than of sex can walk, so why not sit in the treadmill. front of your television burn around for ninety minutes and Get texting wait for the results?

If you’re addicted to tex85 calories ting, this will be the perfect Embrace the cold… calorie burner for you. If you’ve Shivering burns calories. The got enough time on your hands and tensing of your muscles to warm the unlimited text messages then texting body burns approximately 200 calo- for one hour straight could potentially ries for every 30 minutes. However, burn 132 calories. the risk of hypothermia is perhaps not worth the two hundred calories so why Last but not least, get singing not try sipping ice-cold water within This unusual way to burn calories the warmth of your home. Sipping ice means you no longer have to feel emcold water can raise your metabolism, barrassed about singing in the showburning up to 100 extra calories each er. Singing in the shower can burn an day. extra 10-20 calories person, depending on the volume and pitch of your voice.

Laugh those calories away So next time you’re showering sing as Laughing can increase your heart rate loud and as high as you can and burn by up to 20 per cent. The Internation- those calories effortlessly. al Journal of Obesity discovered that

Blind Date

What Ricky thought of Naomi

Exeposé

What happen had a nig

What were you hoping for before your date?

I was hoping for a nice evening with a girl I’d never met before. I was worried about long awkward moments, or if we wouldn’t have anything in common, but luckily this wasn’t the case.

What were your first impressions?

From the beginning I was very much aware of Naomi’s strong accent, and was worried that I’d be saying ‘pardon’ or leaning my ear towards her. Luckily after the first ten minutes or so I got used to it. (Sorry Naomi!)

What did you talk about?

Music we liked, places that we went out to and alcohol was a recurring theme. The different sports that we do, instruments we play and all the reasons we dislike Birks Any awkward moments at all?

Surprisingly no! I was very comfortable and wasn’t aware of any long gaps without speaking. It was very much a two-way

street, and I didn’t feel one of us was the interrogator.

Did you feel there was any romantic tension?

I’m afraid not. Naomi is a lovely girl, however the date seriously felt like going out for dinner with a close friend or a relative. There wasn’t any flirting or any attempts at it, which I am happy about, as I don’t think I would have been able to handle it.

What was the best thing about them?

When she insisted that she pay half. I love a woman who believes in equality. She was also very relaxed and talkative which was very nice and made the evening fly by and enjoyable.

What was the worst thing about them?

She asked me if the North is poverty-stricken. Being from Manchester, I put her right.

Good things happen to those who

Jonathan Jenner, Games Editor, explains why expecting a great gym experience nev PLENTY of you will have tweeted something along the lines of “N3W Y3AR N3W M33 XOXO” a few weeks back and have sworn to yourselves that you WILL dig out those unworn trainers and get fit this year.

“A respectable gym user does not go to the gym to pull, they go to work out” Once you get past the sizeable obstacles of your own ambivalence and lack of motivation, the biggest barrier is your preconceptions. In a lot of people’s minds the gym is a veritable torture chamber, filled with muscle-bound monsters lifting thousands of kilos and screaming war cries and animalistic grunts as they do so. This is then followed by dropping it all to the floor, fists beating on chests, bellowing their own

strength before mating with the nearest female. Surprisingly enough, it isn’t quite like that.

Now I’m not professing to be the best of guides, but allow me to hold your hand gently (we can just clasp, I know it’s too soon for the interlocking fingers stuff) as we wander through a few of my gym observations, which may melt away your preconceptions in a biblical moment of revelation.

Or at least prove mildly amusing.

Or neither.

The gym, as a concept, is not always portrayed as initially welcoming. Unfortunately, the gym on Streatham embraces this perception with its enormous metal security gate.

The keypad is slightly low down, which when combined with the distinct possibility of typing in your entry code wrong and delaying the hulking brute breathing down your neck creates a fear that is almost paralysing. Once you stumble through the bars, you will be stared at.

People will find anything to distract

themselves from their own terrifying lack of fitness, and for three uncomfortably long seconds, that anything will be you. Hopefully, if you edge past the exercise bikes and cross trainers fast enough, they will soon turn back to their mut-

ed episode of Doctors.

Heading downstairs, the stand out fea-

ture of this poorly lit room is the long row of treadmills in front of mirrors. It is here that some of your preconceptions of another kind may be shattered. Because in the gym, and on those treadmills in particular, people you were once attracted to just aren’t the same any more. A respectable gym user does not go to the gym to pull, they go to work out. This is to be applauded. However, it’s hard not to be sad about only being able to recognise a girl you found fit by the shape of her eyebrows, because her hair’s up and she’s significantly paler without foundation.

Swapping gender roles for equality’s sake, I’m sure it’s equally upsetting watching that rugby lad bouncing up and down on the treadmill, in his vest

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| WEEK FOURTEEN

lifestyle

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What to expect from...

ned when Ricky Freelove ght out with Naomi Poltier?

Where did you go and how was the atmosphere?

The Old Firehouse, very fitting for a date but it may have been wasted on us, although the nosh was good!

What were your first impressions?

He seemed like a very chilled, confident and happy person from the start, so all good first impressions.

By the end of the night was there What did you talk about? a hug, kiss or Complaining about something Birks’ locked doors If you want more? and our bad habit to go on a blind (arriving to No, by that time date then email events early, I think versus messy lifestyle@exepose. rooms?) we had firmly com established that we were Any awkward much more moments at all? suited to just We did think we being friends. might’ve seen the Exeposé What mark would you give the editor there, we evening out of ten? felt spied upon In terms of a date it came to nothso that was a bit awkward. ing, but I had a lovely evening, so, [Lifestyle can seven? confirm that no editor was Would you meet up with them present at the again? date] We definitely wouldn’t meet up in that type of scenario again. However Did you feel it turned out that we are both in the there was any rosame Halls, so I feel I’ve made a new friend who I’ll see occassionmantic tension?

No, it was really ally. easy-going, but we did hear the table next to us talk about us being on a blind date, so we What were you hoping for before must’ve given your date? something away.

Exeposé blind dates seemed pretty funny from reading the interviews What was the best in the paper, so just something thing about entertaining. them?

He plays the saxo-

What Naomi thought of Ricky

o weigh

ver works out and his tiny shorts and his thin sheen of sweat. There are similar sights to be seen all around the gym, all equally as illusion shattering. The stretching room isn’t actually full of black belts in yoga; if you just want to go in for a few sit ups, that isn’t a problem. Likewise, the Free Weights room (eternally “The Big Boys” room in my head) isn’t JUST for the big boys. Sure, there are 50kg dumbbells for some terrifying reason, but there’s 5kg too. The gym is essentially what you make of it. It can be an intensely personal experience with your own basic goals, or a fairly social and competitive one.

Just remember to take a towel to wipe your butt sweat off the machines and not feel intimidated by anyone or anything in there. And do your best to avoid looking longingly at people who are far stronger than you while they’re lifting, because they don’t like it.

Trust me.

phone, guitar and piano, and goes to hockey practice in a full suit - pretty cool.

What was the worst thing about them?

I’ll take the easy way out and say it was his worst habit that he told me about, but even that wasn’t terrible.

Where did you go and how was the atmosphere?

Firehouse.

Candles in bottles, Christmas lights all around, yummy pizza.

By the end of the night was there a hug, kiss or something more?

Just a “Good luck with the New Year’s Resolutions”, which we should both manage.

What mark would you give the evening out of ten?

Probably a two…just kidding. I’d say an eight - funny stories and some Birks gossip.

Would you meet up with them again?

Turns out we only live two blocks away, so we’re bound to bump into each other. But yes, probably.

Low Calorie Cookies Are you tired of the hidden calories in seemingly healthy flapjacks and cereal bars? Here is a quick and easy alternative. Perfect with a cup of tea Uni or a quick snack in between lectures!

Makes: 12 mini biscuits Takes: 30 mins INGREDIENTS 1 small banana 2tbsp of milk 4tbsp of shredded (desiccated) coconut 4tbsp of oats A handful of walnuts 1/3tsp of baking powder METHOD 1. Pre-heat oven at 180°C Grease baking tray with butter or use a non stick baking tray.

2. Mash banana with fork or using hand blender.

3. Chop walnuts and add to the banana. Also add milk, coconut, oatbran and baking powder.

4. Divide mixture in 12 and shape into biscuits.

5. Place them in the tray and bake for 20-25 minutes (or until golden).

NUTRITION (for two mini biscuits): Energy: 84kcals Protein: 1.7 g Carbohydrates: 8.6g (sugars 3 g = natural – from banana) Fat: 4 g (saturated 3.1 g) Fibre: 2.3g

Illustration: Emily Lunn

17

Resolutions

Lifestyle’s columnist, Lucy Porter, says why challenging yourself to more exercise is just going to annoy everyone else

NEW Year’s Resolutions are to the home convinced that I had added about a Christmas party season as mosquitoes year onto my life. Bearing in mind I had are to summer; they buzz around at been sport-phobic since the age of eight, the edge of your conscience and ruin this was remarkable progress. everything. You can either succumb to In Exeter, you’d be hard pressed to them and live your life in the prickly spend a single day on campus without discomfort of a forced regime or you observing several skinny, lycra-clad can deliver the bastards a swift arses waft past. It isn’t just the girls swat with a newspaper and either; I once had a collection wait until the whole thing of muscles jog towards me, Read blows over. vest top straining against his more from our every achievement, high-fivIn the case of resolutions however, the ing random people in their columnists at mosquitoes (namely front gardens as he passed. www.exepose. those around you who Where does that confident ex.ac.uk! have surreptitiously aerobic joy come from? And begun to lead a healthiI ask you, sport freaks of Exeer and generally better life ter: why? Why must you remind than you) are a lot harder to kill. me every single day that I am not as To clarify, I’m not suggesting that you active as I could (and possibly should) go out and beat your nearest and dearest be? Why can you not just be ashamed of to death with a broadsheet but whilst you your bodies like any normal person and can slather yourself with repellent in the just cover them up? Ok fine, so I lack summer, nothing will keep the self-right- the pervert gene (which some of you eous away come January. out there certainly don’t; you know who My particular mosquito? The exer- you are) but can I not live my idle life cisers. Back home at the all-girls school in peace without feeling pressured into I suffered for seven years of my life, it push ups? was an established norm that the only exercise that came with P.E was that in- “Why can’t you just be volved in escaping. Even then we were too lazy to actually work up a sweat and ashamed of your bodies run away. We reliably forgot our kits or like any normal person missed the coach to the far-flung playing field and when the summer months came and just cover them around, the entire cohort mysteriously suffered from “that time of the month”. up?”

Every. Single. Swimming session. When In the end, I did actually manage our despairing teacher did manage to to get past the park. I even made it to force us into the atrocities that stagnated the beach (which isn’t as impressive as in the lost-kit box, we would lock our- it might sound as it’s five minutes from selves in the small gym room and take my house unlike this “coastal” lie of a it in turns to slowly squat over the lone university). I even managed to hit the treadmill, set to high speed, before drop- three mile mark. But then a certain seping down and being flung across the ries of events unfolded, starting with a room. clever episode in which I inhaled a large But then I discovered that putting amount of mosquito repellent and endmy feet and not my arse on the running ing in a brain aneurysm scare. I’m fine machine was actually slightly enjoya- but now exercise makes me dizzy and ble (and it certainly ended in less car- the excuses keep rolling in. So for now, I pet burn). When I started jogging a few think I’m going to kick up my heels and times a week in order to keep my clothes let you all jog on. I’m not going to make size the same and thus my sugar-habit a resolution nor am I going to try to deeconomically viable, I was practically fend myself against the resolution makone of the sportiest girls in the school. ers. After all, I ended up in hospital last I would force myself outside, lumber time I dabbled with mosquito repellent about for fifteen minutes, possibly com- so it’s really not my fault. plete one lap of the park and then crawl

Wanted: lads

Fancy sleeping in a pad filled with the opposite sex for a few nights? This term we’re looking for 2 willing participants from either an all boys or all girls flat to trade houses for 2/3 nights this term.

It should be an unforgettable experience and will definitely mean new friends and many laughs for all involved.

If you like the sound of this then email us at lifestyle@exepose.com with some details!

You don’t necessarily have to be from an all gendered house to apply, just say in your email what somebody moving into your house for a few nights may expect.

18

MUSIC

Music

Exeposé

MUSIC EDITORS

Callum McLean & Anthony Prodromou music@exepose.com

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @ExeposeMusic

Listings

22 january 2013 |

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JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP Exeposé Music

2013: The n-Exe-t big thing

Wed 23rd Jan Beats and Bass Cavern

At the dawn of a new year, Exeposé Music talk to a wide range of local and university-based names in music and media to find out their recommendations for new artists and releases to look out for in 2013

Wed 23rd Jan ‘Wednesday Night Live’ Lemmy

Danny Brown Old

Fri 25th Jan Just Jack 7th Birthday w/Theo Parrish & More Motion:Bristol

tip from

Sun 27th Jan Spin Doctors Fleece, Bristol

TOGETHER with Tom Oberst, Will Platt presents weekly hip hop show Songs For Your Mother on Xpression FM - one of the station’s most popular (Monday 8-10pm). Together with Dan Hall, they hosted and live-streamed a private gig with This Town Needs Guns in their own living room, featured here in Exeposé Music.

Thu 31st Jan Funeral For A Friend Cavern Fri 1st Feb VoteFest Unplugged w/Ben Jackson from The Fight Dice The Forum Sat 2nd Feb DJ Derek Plays Bob Marley Phoenix Tues 5th Feb VoteFest w/Sanskara, Lion & The Weak & More Lemmy Wed 6th Feb Bizzare Ride II, The Pharcyde o2 Academy Bristol Sat 9th Feb Everything Everything Thekla, Bristol Sat 9th Feb Rinseout Phoenix Tues 12th Feb Lee Scratch Perry Phoenix

Fortnightly Freebie

1

Will Platt, Songs For Your Mother, Xpression FM

In terms of hip-hop releases this year, I’m really excited to hear the new Danny Brown record, Old. He’s working with some great producers (Rustie and Purity Ring!) and he’s an amazing lyricist, so I’m really interested in where he’ll go with this

Woz tip from

2

Will Millner (Budos), Thick As Thieves, President of Beats & Bass Society, DJ As well as being a resident ‘Thief’ at Exeter’s most (absurdly) popular bass night, DJing an eclectic mix of styles as Budos, Will is president of Beats & Bass society. Thick As Thieves packs out Cellar Door every other Tuesday. Find out more at facebook.com/tat.exeter Woz represents a new generation of artists emerging from the ever fertile loins of Bristol. His individual sound is virtually impossible to categorise, something which is becoming increasingly common in electronic music as artists continue to use a wider

Dimension tip from

3

Fred V, DJ and producer signed to Hospital Records

Four Tet- 0181 tinyurl.com/fourtet0181 The walking demigod that is Kieran Hebden comes completely out of the blue with this collection of previously unreleased early material. It’s free.

It’s Four Tet.

Local boy Fred V, together with partner in crime Grafix, is one of the biggest names in drum’n’bass right now. The duo signed to Hospital Records in 2011 and have since won ‘Best Newcomer DJ’ at the seminal D’n’B Arena Awards. Check them out at facebook.com/fredvgrafix Robert Etheridge, better known to his fans as Dimension is, in my opinion, one of the most promising talents in the drum’n’bass scene. Me and Josh (Grafix) have been watching his tunes get better

one. Check out his XXX mixtape to get more of an idea of what I’m talking about…although it will ruin Doritos for you.

Over in New York, Action Bronson’s new mixtape, Saab Stories, will hopefully see him continue his incredible run of releases. I think he’s one of the most well rounded MCs I’ve heard in a while; an incredibly charismatic guy who loves to rap about food, pretty girls and doing backflips off helicopters into limos. Real talk.

I’m also hoping that Madvillain will get their shit together and give us a release date, and/or title for the long awaited follow up to their cult classic Madvillainy, but here’s hoping.

Honourable mentions outside of hip-hop go to Christopher Owens, Atoms For Peace, Foals (!!!) and the new This Town Needs Guns album.

Old’s release date TBA Listen to SFYM on xpressionfm.info range of influences in their music.

Essentially it’s an eclectic mix of UK funky and garage with the punchiness of electro or grime.

Woz, at 21, is still relatively underground. His recent signing to Black Butter records, a label responsible for the current success of Rudamental and Kidnap Kid, will hopefully ensure 2013 is his breakthrough year. Why? Because most importantly he’s found a niche - they say “it’s rare to find a sound both so unique, fresh and at the same time, so well produced”, which you can’t deny when you listen to his Zylo or Oakay EPs. Tracks like ‘Poppin’ and his remix of ‘I Wanna Rock’ by Maxsta are unlike anything else I’ve heard for a very long time but both point to a very exciting future for the artist.

Main feature

1

2

3

Find tracks and an interview with Woz at www.black-butter.co.uk/woz and better ever since he started sending them to us about three years ago and judging by the huge rise in his profile in the last six months or so, we don’t seem to be the only people feeling his tunes.

It was his early tracks ‘Arcade’ and ‘Stargazer’ which initially captured our attention and made it very obvious that Rob was one to watch, but it’s been over the last six months that he’s unleashed a string of high quality releases which have earned him support from the likes of Annie Mac and Zane Lowe on Radio 1. My personal favorite amongst Rob’s recent tunes is ‘Digital World’ which was released towards the end of 2012.

We’ve been playing it in most of our DJ sets for a while now and it always gets a good reaction.

Follow Dimension at facebook.com/

Listen to our tips for 2013 online This year your music media heads are still teaming up every other Monday to present The Xmedia Music Show.

Check out the first show of 2013 to hear tips for the year in releases from Exeposé print, online and Xpression FM’s music heads, as well as past shows - featuring exclusive interviews with Peter Hook, Alt-J & more, awesome features and the best tunes in the West.

Head to www.facebook.com/XmediaMusicShow to listen

Exeposé

| week fourteen

Vondelpark Seabed tip from

8

Oliver Flower (ojf), Music Editor at Exetera, DJ AS well as DJing house and techno under the monkiker ojf, Ollie is head of Music and Events at Exetera, “A lighter alternative for Exeter University” than, presumably, us.

A boldly designed independent paper unashamedly tied to Exeter’s edgier student demographic, Exetera

Music

www.exepose.ex.ac.uk

publishes content from the tonguein-cheek to the deadly serious and innovative, from its student contributors and, more recently, English professor Matt Hayler. Read at www.exeteramagazine.com Vondelpark came to my attention last summer when I listened to their first two EPs, Sauna and NYC Stuff and NYC Bags on repeat over the space of a couple of weeks. I was excited by their crisp, garage-influenced drum patterns that neatly punctuated hazy guitar riffs reminiscent of the likes of Wild Beasts or Beach House.

Whilst not the most groundbreaking, it’s accessible stuff that’s easy to listen to and instantly gratifying. Their first full-length, Seabed, is to be released early this year on one of my favourite record labels – the Belgian techno powerhouse, R&S Records. Having released only two EPs in the space of two and a half years, I’m looking forward to hearing what Vondelpark have been working on.

You can stream Dracula, the first track from Seabed (out in Spring) at www.soundcloud.com/vondelparkmusic

8

Fearless Vampire Killers Exposition EP

7

tip from

Mike James, Rock Show, Phonic FM THE Mike James Rock Show is a permanent feature in Phonic FM’s Friday night schedule, playing cutting edge rock, metal and guitar driven tunes from local, national and international acts alongside interviews with some of the biggest bands in the world. A few local artists often pop in to the studio for a chat too. Aired every Friday at 10pm on Phonic FM. My one to watch in 2013 is theatrical alternative rock band Fearless Vamipre Killers. After a magnificent 2012 the boys from FVK’s profile is set to sky rocket with tours booked including the

Queenie ‘And Every’ tip from

6

Dan Hartley (Revenge Of Spyro), Beats & Bass Society, DJ

check w w w. t i n y url.com/n-exet-big-thing to listen to all these artists on one playlist

7

6

4

BEATS & Bass run a dependably heavy night at The Cavern every other Wednesday.

The society organise DJ and production workshops and field trips throughout the year. Head over to www.facebook.com/ beatsandbass to find out more The rise in young female producers and DJs has swept the electronic music scene over the past 18 months. With people like Maya Jane Coles, Heidi, Annie Mac and Nina Kraviz now regulars on the biggest and best festival line ups across Europe. One such multitalented young woman goes by the name of Queenie. A singer, songwriter, producer and DJ, she is the full package.

With a release already out on Black Butter records she is swiftly cementing her place in the scene.

Collaborating with Stay+ on a track named ‘Crash’, it features her

Pure Love Anthems tip from

5

Amelia Ebdon, co-founder of Leathers & Lace blog LEATHERS&Lace (leathersandlace.blogspot. co.uk) is a music and fashion blog run by housemates Amelia Ebdon and Charlotte Lowe.

Tobias Ben Jacob tip from

4

Tom Matthews, Exeter Local Records EXETER Local Records, a pop up record shop specialising in selling local music at craft fayres and music events, is run by Tom Matthews, who specialises in promoting and selling records for local musicians.

Head to www.facebook.com/exeter. localrecords for listings and music.

Tobias Ben Jacob is a south Devon based songwriter with a unique & compelling voice. Rooted in folk, Americana and alternative music he plays his guitar in altered tunings to create his own distinctive sound. A journeyman troubadour, he has toured the UK festival circuit extensively both solo and with previous projects, Lampliter and the Roots Union.

I loved the old bands and his solo set at last summer’s Acoustica was a highlight of the Exeter Phoenix-based festival. Speaking to Tobias over the phone he is excited about moving in new directions, with recording

sessions scheduled for February, solo tours and festivals planned for the coming Spring and Summer as well as plans to break London with a number of dates with a loose collective of musical collaborators.

You can see Tobias at the Real Food Café in Exeter on Saturday 16th February, Student tickets £5 in advance from the Venue, 11-13 Paris Street, Exeter.

Listen to his music at tobiasbenjacob. bandcamp.com/

Amelia posts local gig guides, interviews and live reviews, amongst other musical musings.

Who said that bad boys can’t turn good?

In a month’s time Pure Love release their debut album Anthems and exGallows front man Frank Carter will face critics about his shift into the

19

high profile Kerrang Tour in Feburary and the imminent release of a new EP called Exposition: The Five Before The Flames. Since their formation in 2008 they have amassed an ever growing legion of devoted fans including My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way. Watch out 2013, the Vampire Killers are coming and they are indeed Fearless!

Exposition is released 11 March Phonic FM, Exeter’s sound alternative, celebrates five years on the air with a gig at Exeter Phoenix on February 15. The independent, volunteer-run community radio station broadcasts a truly eclectic mix of tunes 24 hours a day on 106.8 FM or online at www.phonic. fm. With shows ranging from classical music to hardcore techno, prog rock to poetry, and everything in between you will certainly find something to suit your taste in the 100 per cent ad-free output. vocals beautifully sampled, displaying a formidable range and real prowess on the production front. Her latest release, forthcoming on Greenmoney Records on February 11th follows a different tack. ‘And Every’ displays a producer who has her ear to the ground and a real talent for carving her own path.

Following a year where producers have taken to sampling and pitching down vocals to great effect (see Cyril Hahn), she brings a touch of the UK Bass scene in with a hard hitting bassline and soft vocals provided by herself once more.

This young producer is definitely one to keep an eye out for in 2013, already this year receiving praise from Annie Mac on her Radio 1 show, her latest track reached 9,000 views on the much acclaimed Eton Messy Youtube channel within 1 week. Her ability to craft a song from her vocals and deft touch in the production studio ensure a cohesive track with a distinctly UK sound to it. 2013 has already seen her play alongside Rinse FM resident Monki and Murkage resident Madam X. Expect to see a meteoric rise from this young star over the course of 2013. www.soundcloud.com/queenie-1 world of melodic rock.

I first saw these guys at Reading last year and have been hooked since. Being a Gallows fan, I was a bit nervous about Frank’s new direction, his clean white shirts and whether he could actually hold a tune, but the singles ‘Bury my Bones’, ‘Handsome Devil’s Club’ and ‘Riot Song’ have all gone down a treat and I can’t wait to listen to a full album’s worth of material.

Their live show is also gaining one hell of a reputation with the snail pit (google it) getting people tweeting. Their gig at the Cavern last term was incredible and ended with the band relocating their drum kit and playing in the middle of the pit. It was so good in fact that a mate and I are travelling all the way to Cambridge to see them in February! I take my hat off to any band that can draw in such packed crowds without having even released an album yet. For that alone they get my 2013 recommendation.

20

Music

22 january 2012 |

www.exepose.ex.ac.uk

Raw shredding and a Funeral

Exeposé

Giverny Masso grill Funeral for a Friend, discussing their new album Conduit, the ‘emo’ label, and screaming

Interview

“WE’RE really excited about getting back on the road.” Matt Davies-Kreye says enthusiastically, having spent most of 2012 recording. Funeral For a Friend’s upcoming tour is to celebrate their sixth studio album, Conduit, whose tracks they’ll be playing to The Cavern on the 31st January - this is something to be excited by.

After all, Funeral For a Friend are all about live performance, and they’re fully in their element when on stage. Matt values the bond between the band and the audience hugely. This is evident when he describes the message Conduit is trying to convey: “it’s almost like a love letter to the idea of what music can be, and how it can bring people together that have never even […] met each other before, and you can share the reaction.” The feral intima-

cy of The Cavern as a venue will certainly provide this tangible, collective reaction that is so crucial to the band’s appeal.

Everything Everything

‘tweenies art-pop’, or something equally sickly; but now that this scene has outgrown them they seem to have finally stopped trying so hard to impress us.

Though Arc is not lacking in the brainy composition and the distinctive ADHD vocals that powered its predecessor, its greatest treasures are frequently woven into the more minimalistic and straightforward song writing behind standout tracks such as Kemosabe and Choice Mountain. Everything about this album is more solid, from its lyrical themes (paranoia and impending doom, possibly thanks to the influence of tour mates Muse) to its clear-cut producing from Bat for Lashes producer David Kosten.

In fact, in places Arc adds credibility to the claim that Everything Everything sound like an edgier Coldplay, most noticeably in the acoustic attack of Feet for Hands and the church hall chant of tracks such as The House is Dust and The Peaks. Listening to the more retrospective second half of the album it’s easy to long for the schizophrenic sing-alongs such as Suffragette Suffragette and My KZ, YR BF, but a rehash of old ideas would have been markedly hypocritical for a band committed to re-initiating innovation and creativity to the stagnant world of guitar-pop. Arc is the next logical step for a band that looks in little danger of slowing down, but might just be growing up in the process .

Arc Sony

BEFORE Alt-J and Django Django there was Everything Everything. Bursting onto the flagging guitar scene in 2010 their debut album Man Alive offered the world more ideas than you could shake a cat at, all wrapped up in a hyperactive package of earworm choruses and effortless riffs. The problem was that it was all too much for our mere human brains to process properly. Listening through Man Alive was the aural equivalent of watching a PowerPuff Girls omnibus while totally stoked on Mountain Dew: it rarely offered satisfaction on a deeper level. Everything Everything may have introduced this certain genre of poppy but self-consciously smart indie music that may in years to come be defined as

“We prefer a naturalistic, emotive recording style” Conduit, at only 29 minutes long, is a heavy, aggressive and direct album.

Matt prefers a naturalistic, emotive style of recording to a meticulous, repetitive one. “We aren’t clean, polished and shiny live, so why should a band be clean, polished and shiny on records?”

On FFAF’s second album, Hours, the vocals for ‘Drive’ were recorded in a moving car. Matt explains how on Conduit, in order to “capture the vibe”, he wanted to “go back to the way [they] recorded the vocals on Hours actually,

JOSH GRAY

the way ‘Drive’ was recorded, where everything was done in a way it would have been in performance.” Commonly, bands will record songs with multiple takes, each different part done separately. Matt, however, likes to do things how he would when on stage, recording with only a couple of takes. “I go from singing to shouting to doing my aggressive thing, all in the space of one song, on one mic, performed at the same time.”

Appropriate to this new direct, visceral recording process is the band’s new drummer, Pat Lundy. Matt agrees that he fits in well with the band’s aggressive style. “It’s as if the drum kit is swearing at him as he’s playing and he’s going to beat it into submission.” Ten years younger than the other band members, his enthusiasm is refreshing. “Ten years

in the band, you do a lot of things and it can become quite routine. So having someone [...] who is fresh to the experiences we’ve been through before just makes us realise how lucky we are, how we shouldn’t take things for granted, how we should enjoy everything.”

Funeral For a Friend are often branded as fitting into the ‘emo’ genre of music, something which Matt profusely objects to. The band maintain that the only sub-category Funeral For a Friend fit into is ‘post hardcore’.

When asked about whether he can relate to any current ‘emo bands’ he laughs dryly, adverse to the multitude of current bands referred to as “emo, or screamo or whatever the hell it is.”

Matt laughs; “I’m old enough to remember what the original hardcore

emo bands were” (the band formed well over 10 years ago). He then proceeds to list a number of bands that constitute true emo for him, and he is right when he warns me that I am too young to have heard of any of them.

Although on stage Funeral For A Friend “love just getting into the music, thrashing around and getting all worked up,” off stage is a different story. Matt admits that the band isn’t particularly crazy in their everyday life: “We play Playstation, hang out, watch a movie, make food or just go home and hang out with girlfriends, wives and what-not, and pets, and just general kind of normal day-to-day human things that people do.” Though theylead calmer lives than most students do, FFAF still rock harder than most.

A$AP Rocky

sonics. Most of the beats on here still retain the spaced-out vibe that was the hallmark of Live. Love. ASAP, albeitthis time given a cinematic revamp that pairs well with Rocky’s larger-thanlife persona. Clams Casino is on typically fine form with ‘LVL’, with Hit Boy delivering the goods on ‘Goldie’ and ‘1 Train’. The only mismatch is the Skrillex-produced ‘Wild For The Night’, which sounds a little too much like a gimmick and unfortunately unsettles the flow of the first half of the album.

On the lyrical side of things, Rocky’s still flowing like a styrene cup of cough syrup, mixed with about 50 blunts.

That said, taking what he says at face value kind of misses the point here. A lot of ‘Long.

Live. ASAP’s lyrical themes are dealing with a young kid that goes from rags to riches in the space of a year.

As his opening stanza sets out, this is all pretty overwhelming; “I thought I’d die in prison/expensive taste in women/ Ain’t had no pot to piss in/now my kitchen filled with dishes”.

Sure, he’s naïve, but he paints a compelling picture for us.

Of course, there are more than a few noticeable flaws

on here; ‘Pain’ is probably the most forgettable track on the whole album (not to mention a tragic waste of Pasdena outfit, OverDoz); ‘Fuckin Problems’ is catchy but difficult to listen to after one cycle of the infuriating old-man 2Chainz; whilst ‘Fashion Killa’ is painfully shallow and features ASAP Rocky singing…very badly.

It’s precisely the above flaws that make me both excited and incredibly nervous about where Rocky goes from here. He may not be much of a creator, but he’s certainly a talented curator and as long as he’s got that going for him, I can’t see him going anywhere but up. If he loses it though, then the credibility he’s worked hard to earn may only take him so far.

LONG. LIVE. A$AP. A$AP Worldwide

A$AP Rocky’s rise to fame has been a fairly swift and seemingly unstoppable one; dropping one mixtape in 2011 he suddenly became one of the most talked about characters in the game. I downloaded ‘Live.Love.ASAP’ only days after its release, and was still left feeling as if I’d missed some sort of memo. Luckily, this release has had a little more time to gestate (the release date was pushed back twice), allowing for some much needed breathing room between the two records and, perhaps more importantly, some time to test Rocky’s ability to sustain the extreme amount of hype he’s generated over the past few years.

In short, its pretty much business as usual over at camp ASAP in terms of

WILL PLATT

FOOTBALL • SAILING • NETBALL • WINDSURFING • YOGA • BADMINTON • CANOE • TABLE TENNIS • VOLLEYBALL

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delivering a INTERNATIONAL SPORT MONTH

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for EVERYONE!

Visit our website to find out event details Visit our website to find out event details www.exeter.ac.uk/sport/studentsport/sportmonth Excellence in Sport

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON

MAKE CHANGE HAPPEN Sabbatical electionS 2013

nomination open 25.12.2012

nominate online at exeterguild.org/elections

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Newsreel John McAfee film in development Warner Brothers has bought the rights to a film about technology maverick John McAfee, who fled his Belize home after his neighbour was found murdered.

McAfee went AWOL and claimed the police were trying to kill him, communicating only by a series of blogposts to an increasingly baffled public. A genuinely mental film awaits.

MGM planning Ben Hur remake MGM have revealed plans to remake Ben Hur, the iconic swords and sandals movie, and they are allegedly keen to make the plot even more biblical than the 1959 original. No director has been announced as of yet, but they’ll face a big challenge in reimagining one of the most canonical films of all time.

Golden Globe 2013 winners announced With so many stunning films having been released recently, it’s unsurprising that the Golden Globe awards were spread across so many deserving films. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway picked up gongs for Les Miserables, while Ben Affleck won Best Director for Argo.

IT is ironic that a film premised on a long, arduous journey to find a hidden treasure should feel exactly that to watch. At times The Hobbit seems to visibly sink under the weight of Peter Jackson’s decision to expand what should be a relatively short, children’s tale into something as epic as The Lord of The Rings trilogy. The opening scenes are a case in point: an awkward, tortured affair that is redeemed only by a superb sequence in which the dragon Smaug decimates the Kingdom of the Lonely Mountain.

It is only once the film begins to gain momentum that we actually see its charm. The casting and acting are first-class throughout; the gorgeous set-pieces of the LOTR make a triumphant return and the defining humour of the book manages to be excellently interwoven with the epic inclusions from other Tolkien material.

And, it must be said, there is a great deal of added material in here. Most of it is welcome – the growing evil that

Les Misérables

Will Kelleher, Sports Editor, lays a strong claim to being our most obssessive writer ever LES MISÉRABLES has been running on the West End since 1985 as a musical adapted from the 19th century book by Victor Hugo. It tells the story of former convict Jean Valjean’s strive for freedom and his quest to fulfil the dying wishes of Fantine which eventually take him to Paris and the heart of a post-revolution skirmish.

Visually this film is very pleasing, and at times stunning. The costume, sets and locations put a sense of reality into this interpretation of the story, adding a plausible background to this epic tale.

Anne Hathaway is completely superb as the most miserable of Les Misérables, Fantine. Her performance brought a new emotion and realism to Fantine’s desperate existence which will surely be rewarded with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Aaron Tveit, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron-Cohen and Helena Bonham-Carter are solid but not spectacular whilst Eddie Redmayne, Marius, surpassed my previous expectations. ‘Empty Chairs at Empty Tables’ expertly captures the guilt,

embarrassment and pain that Marius feels after the barricade has fallen.

Samantha Barks shows us what we are missing in certain areas with West End quality vocals; surely a start of a long film career for her.

Now we must turn to Russell Crowe; the most disappointing of the lead roles.

As Inspector Javert he is rightly stonyfaced and lacking in empathy but he completely misses a trick later on in the piece. I will forgive the fact that he just cannot sing and crucified ‘Stars’, as director Hooper shouldn’t have cast him in a singing role. What I cannot forgive, however, is the lack of an emotional switch before his suicide. I shall explain.

Bear with me...

The song ‘Stars’ explains Javert’s character. This is a man who believes that as long as there are stars in the sky he will do his duty. He is the law, and the world must have ‘order and light’.

For Javert, the stars represent that order.

Life should echo this. Everyone has their role. Valjean is a criminal and will never change no matter what. Oddly as a follower of God, Javert does not

threatens Middle-Earth; some of it not so much – the expanded Azog role remains a one dimensional antagonist throughout.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Director: Peter Jackson

“The casting and acting are first-class throughout” Initial wobbles and slow pacing aside, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a solid fantasy film whose positives easily outshine its drawbacks.

Although it takes far too long, by the end we’re back where we want to be – excited and invested in the characters and their quest. And we can hope that the upcoming installments, expected in 2013/14, should benefit from not having to introduce as many characters and events as this one does. To use the words of Bilbo: “I do believe that the worst is behind us.”

JAMES GREEN

Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage.

169 mins (12A)

believe in redemption. His whole life is thrown upside down when Valjean has the chance to kill him on the barricade but lets him free. This man, who he has dedicated his life to finding, and who he (and, more importantly, the law) regards as a criminal has pitied him and saved his life. Javert cannot deal with being in a world where Valjean is a decent man.

Therefore we must see the actor show this emotional turmoil, anger, frustration and ultimately despair. Crowe’s performance doesn’t justify Javert’s suicide and that was immensely disappointing.

Despite Crowe’s average performance, Hugh Jackman impresses and is superb at times. He is not in the vocal league of an Alfie Boe (who gives probably the most perfect vocal performance of Valjean I have ever seen), which makes you wonder what might have been. I remained convinced throughout, however, until he ruined Valjean’s blockbuster song ‘Bring Him Home’. Granted, this is the hardest song to sing on the West End, but if you cannot do it, in my eyes, you should never be cast as Jean Valjean. It is meant

to be a quiet prayer on the barricade but had the vocal subtlety of bayonet to the throat. It lacks a melodic ebb and flow as he uses full voice throughout which frankly grates and annoys; it sounds as though he is struggling which was a massive shame.

Contrary to all this I did enjoy the film. The huge positive for me is that I thought there were moments when the film surpassed the musical, as the majority of the cast offered an expert, emotionally charged portrayal of the story. Unfortunately, this is at the expense of the music, the masterpiece which drives Les Mis. I felt the music was used more as an underscore rather than the beautiful, triumphant and swelling sound that it should be. This is more of a film of the book that happens to have singing in it than a film of the musical.

In short, if you like Les Mis you will love the film, if you love Les Mis you will like the film, but if you are an obsessive like me you might have your doubts.

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Silver Linings Playbook Director: David O’Russell Cast: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro.

122 mins (15) STRONG performances are in abundance in this David O’Russell scripted, and directorial follow up to The Fighter and the audience is provided with three-dimensional characters to root for from the get-go.

However, O’Russell does seem to shy away from the serious theme of mental illness and in doing so loses the plot’s potential extreme emotional gravitas that he achieved with The Fighter.

The film’s plot and characterisation are quite far

Jack Reacher Director: Christopher McQuarrie Cast: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike.

130 mins (12A) I MUST admit that I was somewhat confused when I saw the trailer for Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher.

Given that it was named after the central protagonist, I couldn’t help but feel that the film wanted to convey to me the impression that I knew exactly who this character was, and that the mere mention of his name should send shockwaves of palpable excitement down my spine. I didn’t – apparently he is the titular character in a series of books by Lee Child according to that bastion of knowledge Wikipedia – and I must admit that if the film wanted me to leave the cinema with said aforementioned shockwaves it rather failed in that regard.

By no means should the above comment be taken as an indication that

Life of Pi Director: Ang Lee Cast: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain.

127 mins (PG)

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removed from the book they are based on, providing both improvement and some unfortunate decline to the original piece. Although the supporting characters feel well rounded and relatable in the film, some of the romantic subtlety and much of the dark exploration into the protagonist’s mental state and eventual recovery found in the book is lost in the transition to screen. The film also seems to needlessly switch genres mid-

“The film seems to needlessly switch genres midway” way through the film when the focus is taken from Pat’s mental recovery and instead directed towards the unfolding romance between the two leads. This is a shame as the film looses some of its delicacy and the ending feels a little sugar coated and simplistic, never truly getting to grips with the theme of mental illness that prevents the plot from being just another run of the mill love story.

Nevertheless, the electric onscreen chemistry between Cooper and Lawrence, coupled with quirky comedic moments and an amusing supporting cast elevate this film, making it well worth the trip to the cinema. There are funny heart-warming moments that will reignite memories of Little Miss Sunshine and no one can deny the satisfaction of watching actors, most notably Lawrence, give performances that will be viewed in the future as a highlight of their careers.

RORY MORGAN

the film was bad, however. The plot concerns Mr. Reacher investigating a massacre by an armed gunman and proceeding – especially at the end – to kick a fair amount of arse, or more accurately, given Mr. Cruise’s height, shins. On that note, the film is definitely more narrative than action, so the trailer might be a bit misleading in that regard, but the shin-kicking is a pretty good quality of shin-kicking when it gets round to it. There are a few decent twists and turns in the story along the way and, though it drags a bit in the middle, the overall narrative is satisfying if a bit boilerplate. That would pretty much summarise my feelings towards the entire film; good but not great. It’s the sort of thing that you’ll be watching on Film4 five years hence and most likely enjoy, but probably won’t remember much long after you’ve seen it. Still, it’s worth going to see if you have a passion to burn money on a cinema ticket.

Gangster Squad Director: David O’Russell Cast: Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling 113 mins (15) STYLISH, sexy and suave, the trailer for Gangster Squad had promised so much. I imagine the allure of witty back and forth between Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling alone had accounted for half the audience in the screening with me, and I imagine they too left the theatre more than a little disappointed.

Gangster Squad falls flat as a large scale gangster movie - if any thoughts of The Untouchables have crossed your mind, dismiss them now. Josh Brolin is barely compelling as a lead rogue cop, making a last stand against the would-be king of L.A. Sean Penn.

I don’t mention their character names due to the fact you barely connect with them on an emotional level. Brolin’s Sgt. John O’ Mara ( I had to mention it, okay?) stubbornly disregards the safety of his family in the pursuit of the vicious kingpin, Mickey Cohen, leaving the audience largely unsympathetic to his plight for a safer L.A. Let me be clear, the fault does not lie within any of the actors’ efforts the script is simply too wooden and predictable. You will find yourself guessing plot points far too easily, leaving you emotionally unaffected when moments are meant to move you. The film therefore feels stilted, especially through the cringeworthy end voiceover declaring

Exeposé

“every man wears their own badge”.

There’s nothing Godfather-esque about it.

This film is a violent, guns-ablazing affair, which exploits emotional devices that have been used so many times before they simply have no effect. Predictably (SPOILERS although I don’t know why I’m saying this, you’ll guess it) the cute kid dies, as does the loving family man in the squad. I don’t care though, despite Giovani Ribisi’s best efforts. His performance is not the only good one in the film, both Gosling and Stone are enchantingly charismatic, despite the limitations of their slightly cheesey dialogue - the sophisticated back and forth in the trailer was the only instance of its kind.

Sean Penn remains threatening, but not terrifying as Mickey Cohen, occasionally coming out with such gems as “You’re talking to God now, so you might as well swear to me” right before setting alight three of his men in an elevator or putting a drill through a disappointment’s face.

Gangster Squad is, frankly, a missed opportunity. With such an experienced cast and exquisite attention to detail in portraying mid twentieth-century Los Angeles, it could have been the next gangster classic the dresses Emma Stone dons with panache alone hint at that. However, the film does have redeemable moments - namely the one beautifully shot slow motion scene and some genuinely funny one-liners (I won’t spoil them, they’re few and far between). Just don’t get your hopes up like I did.

LOUIS DORÉ SCREEN EDITOR

JAMES DYSON Like every other reviewer of this film with access to pen and paper, I am in total agreement that Ang Lee’s impressive Life Of Pi is a visually stunning and thought provoking adaption of Yann Martel’s 2004 novel. Suraj Sharma gives an excellent performance as the young Pi, who is trapped on a boat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker for 227 days after the ship they were travelling on from India sinks on its journey to Canada.

“Ultimately this was a film of belief and hope, whether spiritual or not” The bookends of the ocean tale are an adult Pi (Irrfan Khan) telling a writer in Canada (Rafe Spall) a story that “will make you believe in God.” The first part of the film deals with Pi’s life in India, living at his parent’s zoo. After a rather self-indulgent title sequence that makes sure the audience is well and truly prepared for the special effects ahead, the film takes an almost Amélie infused

“The film has been lauded for its revolutionary take on the 3D genre” tone, with some clever 3D used for a 1920s French swimming pool. It is in this section that the ambiguous theology of the film is established as Pi explores what God means in Christian, Muslim and Hindu incarnations. Although there is a strong sense of God throughout the film, I thought it was used subtly and avoided being too ‘preachy’. Ultimately this was a film of belief and hope, whether spiritual or not.

The majority of the film takes place at sea, and it is here that Lee uses the most impressive visual effects. The film has been lauded for its revolutionary take on the 3D genre, and it is most clear here, with some beautiful scenes of jellyfish at night. The tiger is absolutely superb and the most realistic CGI animal I can remember ever seeing.

You take an invested interest in Pi and

Richard Parker as they battle through the months, getting thinner and more resigned to their situation and this stops the film becoming stilted in this section.

But the ending of the film was disappointing. Without giving too much away, I didn’t have a problem with the twist, despite the slightly anti-climatic effect. However the way in which it was portrayed felt too laboured, especially when the writer unnecessarily re-iterated what had just been revealed to the audience.

“Life of Pi is a wellacted and sympathetic adaptation” Despite a fair smattering of ‘ooh look at just how spectacular I am’ shots, Life Of Pi is a well-acted and sympathetic adaption that – almost – restored my faith in just how visually interesting 3D promised us it would be.

MEGAN FURBOROUGH

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| WEEK FOURTEEN

What makes Take Me Out so good?

Matthew Bugler likes to watch girls make fools of themselves every Saturday. Here he tells us why.

BACK for a fifth season after the shortest of Christmas breaks, Take me Out is revelling in its Saturday night primetime spot in the absence of BBC’s Strictly. The 30 young women are a fresh mix of dolled up huntresses looking for their ideal man to whisk them away to the isle of Fernando’s, and with host Paddy McGuinness in fine form the show is as strong as ever. The only complaint is at the new later showing time, meaning pre-Lemmy visual delights must resort to the drawn out affair of Splash.

“One young lass turned off for a martial arts expert because “if you kicked my bum it would go all saggy” However, Take Me Out’s charm and sense of pure fun is just as enjoyable watching on catch-up. It’s not going to add to your brain cell count or deliver any profound messages on the human psyche, but really television should be about entertainment, and what’s more entertaining than a northern comedian shouting “let the chicken… see the plucker!” as a hopeful punter descends into the pit to await his judgement? The men always look like arrogant knobheads when they prance about in front of the girls, doing their best albatross in

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mating season impressions, yet most of them are good-natured lads looking for some innuendo-fuelled banter and possibly a date. The girls are a diverse bunch, with a range of intelligence and wit, yet the biggest laughs come from the most inane reasons to switch their lights off.

One young lass turned off for a martial arts expert because “if you kicked my bum it would go all saggy, and I work really hard on my bum at the gym”.

Yes, the show’s characters can be shallow, but in a dating show where there is little to judge beyond looks and the inevitable embarrassing revelation, such as Troy sleeping with his eyes open, it would feel wrong any differently. Take Me Out is fast paced and eventful, with none of the long pauses of so many other reality shows. Instead, the drama comes

“You find yourself rooting for the couples when their date is shown”

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What I’ve Been Watching: Suits SUITS, a recent kick-ass heart felt series, has got me, an English student, hooked. I’m not usually much into business men walking around like they own the world and stabbing each other in the back to get more money, but Suits has been particularly exhilarating. A young man, Mike, is extremely intelligent with unnatural photographic memory. An ex-marijuana dealer, he took people’s LSATs (Lawyer version of SATs) for money, and now gets spotted by a high rank lawyer, Harvey Spector. Seeing how cunning this kid is, Harvey makes Mike a fake Harvard graduation certificate (as he can only hire people who have gone to university) and employs him. The series follows the twisted dealings of lawyers and how, with the legal contortions the successful ones like Harvey Spector can achieve, they manage to get their way.

But Harvey Spector isn’t as cruel as he seems. Behind the manipulations, he is loyal to the people he works with and the series humorously depicts the way by which in trying to sculpt Mike they grow a father-son relationship.

From bringing men who have been in jail for four years out to smoking pot together they become inseparable in their cleverness and wit. Quick paced and always on top of it, the two lawyers (along with their entire firm) make watching lawyers sue people fun. Not to mention the occasional romance in the office which being a girl, I appreciated. The third season is launching on the January 17, and the two other seasons are quite short, so catch up; I don’t like to watch many series (I like to think I don’t have time for them) but this one is definitely, no matter what, on my list.

NAOMI POULTIER

in the seconds when you wonder how many lights will be turned off as the man is first shown, and the teasing as the power is reversed and the man gets to choose his final two. You find yourself rooting for the couples when their date is shown, and the potential devastation of a blackout is quickly overcome by the sight of a full audience swaying to the sounds of Celine Dion. With “Paddy love” on offer for all, this is unmissable TV gold.

21st Century breakdown - R.I.P. HMV Owen Keating, Screen Editor, laments the loss of another high street giant IN 2005, HMV was valued at almost £1 billion. In 2013, it is worth less than a DVD bargain bucket and going out of business, resulting in a potential loss of over 4,000 jobs. Its star has fallen so far that it has eventually been reduced to making ends meet by selling Apple products, meaning that with every sale it made, a customer was lost to the clutches of iTunes and the App Store.

“The Internet doesn’t simply let you spend your pocket money without a debit card” HMV’s closure has, somewhat understandably, divided opinion. Some revel in the death throes of such a big chain, blaming HMV for the demise of myriad independent record stores and

the death of individuality in music retail. These people are entirely entitled to this opinion, but HMV aren’t culpable.

“I can honestly say that few shops have given me more enjoyment” HMV, like these other stores, is a victim of the internet age. Sure, Amazon and iTunes are quicker, cheaper, and more time-efficient, but never again will impressionable teenagers be able to wander the aisles and have as many CDs, DVDs and games so readily and tangibly available. Never again will anyone be so able to impulsively pick up a single that will change their life.

The internet doesn’t let you simply spend your pocket money without a

debit card; children have already been taken out of this brave new retail cyber-world. Amazon and iTunes also don’t let you browse, not really; their ‘recommended picks’ come from statistics and marketing money, not chirpy members of staff reassuringly adorned in tacky HMV t-shirts and lanyards.

HMV are (well, were), just another high-street giant to many people, but I can honestly say that few shops have given me more enjoyment, or introduced me to more stuff I wouldn’t have otherwise seen or listened to, than HMV. Nothing may ever replicate the feeling of wiling away a Saturday afternoon in some terrible shopping centre with your best mates, finding the best combination in a ‘3 for £15’ offer in the DVD aisle. For this, and also for the demise of that really cool dog from their adverts, I will be eternally sorry.

1921-2013 >> HMV was a man’s best friend, but every dog has its day.

As Hot As... the hot or nots of this week’s film news KATHRYN BIGELOW - Despite directing Zero Dark Thirty, one of the most controversial films of the year, Bigelow has been totally ignored in the Oscar nominations.

Jeffrey Archer

GI JOE - A crushing ego blow for a franchise that is probably best known in the UK as being a slightly shit Action Man. GI Joe: Retribution has been forced to deny rumours it did a reshoot to focus more on Channing Tatum’s abs.

THE WHITE HOUSE - Faced with thousands of signatures on a petition for the US government to actually build a Death Star, Obama’s admininstration replied that it ‘does not support blowing up planets’. A likely story.

DISNEY – After Brave’s win for Best Animated Film at the Golden Globes, Disney have announced a huge new schedule of blockbusters from 2014 onwards. Big in the game.

LENA DUNHAM – The golden girl of her comedy generation has two Golden Globes for Girls, the really awkward, really funny sitcom she writes, directs, and acts in. Long story short, she’s really good.

New season of Archer

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Books

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Books Playlist We pick our five favourite travel novels 1. Homage to CataloniaGeorge Orwell

George Orwell is most famous for Animal Farm and 1984 but he originally flexed his political muscles with this non-fiction novel recounting his experience of the Spanish Civil War. Real life lived up to anything Orwell could imagine as he was shot through the neck by a sniper and nearly killed. To the people who told him he was lucky to be alive he replied “it would be even luckier not to be hit at all.”

2. The Beach - Alex Garland A novel that inspired many gapyear students, this is a tale of travel escapism: “almost from the moment I boarded my flight, life in England became meaningless.”

The characters are realistic, whilst the story of a British backpackers’ quest to find paradise shows how consuming travel can become.

Different from the film adaptation, the novel challenges the myth of Westerners seeking solace in the East.

3. Travels With CharleyJohn Steinbeck

Possessed by a late-life wanderlust, John Steinbeck travelled across America with his poodle Charley, seeking to discover the true nature of the country he had spent his life writing about. There is an added poignancy to the tale as Steinbeck’s son claims the real motivation behind the trip was the fact that his father knew he was dying and wanted to see his homeland one more time.

4. Arabian Sand-Wilfred Thesiger

Thesiger wanted to escape “the machines, the calling cards, the meticulously aligned streets” of wartime London, so he left in 1945 to travel the punishing Arabian Empty Quarter, the largest sand desert in the world. His book details the decline of the traditional Bedouin way of life in the wake of the Second World War.

5. As I Walked Out One Midsummer MorningLaurie Lee

The sequel to Cider with Rosie, this is the account of Lee’s travels as a young man in the 1930s, from the Cotswolds, to London, to Spain. He creates a vivid snapshot of pre-civil war Spain, where he survived by busking on his violin. This is poetic and ornately written.

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BOOKS EDITORS

Tom Bond & Emily Lunn books@exepose.com JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP Exeposé Books

The return of the King Tom Bond, Books Editor, previews the best books of the next year from Mo Yan, J. M. Coetzee, Neil Gaiman, Thomas Pynchon, Stephen King and many

NEWLY-INAUGURATED Nobel literature prize winner Mo Yan opens the year with a Pow! in his new novel about a boy living in a village surreally dominated by flesh. The meat that narrator Luo Xiaotong is carnivorously obsessed with is contrasted with human flesh, as a horde of naked women ride cows around a Chinese temple in one particularly bizarre scene. Yan has resolutely insisted his work has no ideological bent, that it lacks a political perspective. Critics have drawn their own conclusions, praising a work that most see as unavoidably allegorical, with the LA Times calling it “a work of demented and subversive genius”.

“Coetzee can expect to stand a good chance of adding to his two Booker Prize wins” One of the biggest releases of 2013 could be Thomas Pynchon’s rumoured novel Bleeding Edge. In typically secretive fashion little is known of the book beyond an announcement by Penguin Press but it is sure to be as eagerly awaited by fans as it is challenging to read. Pynchon is a long way from the glory days of The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity’s Rainbow but his recent releases have still received positive reviews and an upcoming adapta-

tion of his 2009 novel Inherent Vice

by Paul Thomas Anderson demonstrates his continuing relevance.

The literary heavyweights continue with J. M. Coetzee’s The Childhood of Jesus being released on the March 7.

Coetzee is almost as secretive as Pynchon but that hasn’t at all curbed his vocal political views, for example in a 2006 interview with Exeter’s own academic Jane Poyner he stated, “There is no longer a left worth speaking of, and a language of the left. The language of politics, with its new economistic bent, is even more repellent than it was fifteen years ago.” Despite this, on the surface his new book appears more concerned with themes of identity and memory as it tells the story of a boy David and a stranger Simon who arrive in Spain to find their past erased.

Either way, Coetzee can expect to stand a good chance of adding to his two Booker Prize

Notes from a Small Island Bill Bryson Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island is just

wins with a fascinating return after 2007’s Diary of a Bad Year.

In April, Granta release the fourth issue of their Best of Young British Novelists collection. Previous authors have included such notable names as Amis and Rushdie in 1983, and Hollinghurst and Ishiguro in 1993, so expect a stellar quality of writing.

Whoever ends up as part of this collection is likely to become a stalwart of the literary scene for years to come.

2013 is looking likely to be a big year for the tireless Stephen King as he releases two new novels, taking his total to 56, an astonishing output considering he’s recently turned 65. The first of these is Joyland, a whodunit with a beautiful pulp cover which his editor describes as “a story about growing up and growing old, and about those who don’t get to do either because death comes for them before their time.” Joyland’s June release will be followed by a much

about the most effective way to fire up your national pride. Bryson is amusing, if not weeping with laughter hilarious, throughout. His anecdotal musings on the way in which our country works from an outsider’s view are eye-opening; especially since we expect Americans to share most of our modern culture. After a year like 2012, where Britain has been very much in the public eye and very successful in providing the rest of the world with dazzling spectacle, surely Bryson’s book has never been more relevant and useful.

It encourages tourists to notice parts of the country that are not the top tourist destinations (i.e. anywhere other than London) and discover ALL that Britain has to offer.

more anticipated book, Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining, released in September. It follows a middle-aged Danny Torrance who has followed his father’s path to become an abusive drunk and now works in a hospice using the shining to help ease people’s pain as they pass away. On top of that the plot contains more fantastical elements like immortal travelers and a prophetic cat. Clearly King is approaching the challenge of bettering his most famous novel without a trace of fear.

“King is approaching the challenge of bettering his most famous novel without a trace of fear” These are only a few of the exciting new releases of 2013. John le Carré and Khaled Hosseini are both publishing new books in May followed by Neil Gaiman in June. In August Margaret Atwood concludes her apocalyptic trilogy with MaddAddam, following the dystopian tale begun in Oryx and Crake. Finally, October sees the return of Bridget Jones and James Bond, an odd pairing of British institutions, with the latter havi ng h i s t a l e taken up by acclaimed thriller writer William Boyd. Frankly there’s an embarrassment of riches on display in the year ahead with competition for the top awards likely to be very fierce.

Bryson discovers in Chapter Fourteen that his plans to see the entirety of the country in six/seven weeks are unrealistic. He states that he “used up

“His anecdotal musings on the way in which our country works from an outsider’s view are eyeopening” nearly half [his] allotted time, and […] hadn’t even penetrated as far as the Midlands.” Commonly underestimated, to many Americans it may seem as though Britain could be completely discovered in a matter of days. This book demonstrates the vastness and variety that our country has to offer, no

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| week 14

A Grimm legacy Two hundred years on from its publication, Hershil Kotak questions the enduring legacy of the Grimm Tales

ON 20 December 1812, Jacob and Wil- telling is a part of human nature which is helm Grimm published the first edition innate, irresistible, universal. Exploring of their collection of fairytales, Kinder the roots of fairytales gives us further und Hausmärchen. Though insight into why this is: they their stories are read stem from the oral tradiand cherished by tion, something which many today, some is common across might argue that, all cultures, all 200 years on, generations. they are no Furthermore, longer relea key part of vant. Indeed, this tradition the Grimm is mutability, Tales are full and the way in of archetypes, which fairytales in a sense enhave evolved is forcing the ideals part of the success of a backwards and of the Grimm Tales. dark patriarchal society.

The Brothers themThink, for example, about selves made revisions so that the recurrence of young, vulnerable the stories were more child-friendly, females having to be saved by a mascu- and since their deaths, the tales have line hero from evil, jealous older women been further modified by other writers. figures. Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty?

It can be argued that the “DisneyficaSnow White? Several tales, no longer tion” of the Grimm Tales has left them so in circulation, were directly anti-Seanodyne that they no longer serve the mitic; this has compounded purpose of provoking a robust the view of several scholresponse to adolescent and Visit www. ars that these tales, which adult realities as innocence exepose.ex.ac. they believe are a reflecis lost through the process uk to read another of growing up. However, tion of contemporaneous national character, were writer’s views on the I believe that it has had a the antecedents of Nazism.

Brothers Grimm positive impact as it has This begs the question: allowed them to remain an what place do stories which integral part of childhood in the promote racism and sexism have in modern age, not only with regard to our society, especially when their target advancing technology but also in terms audience nowadays is so often children? of “safer” content in these politically Another concern is the explicit depiction correct times. Children can now hear of violence in the original tales: mur- these tales, which are the same in their der, rape and cannibalism are core form as they still deal dealt with in a startlingly with the same themes nonchalant manner. central to the human Do we really want condition, and be young children introduced to the to be exposed to originals when such adult idethey are older. as when there The sucare already cess of their concerns that adaptation we have beboth to film come desensiand other forms, tised to violence? such as AngeSo why is it la Carter’s adult, that the appeal of the Gothic retellings, is Grimm Tales endures? testament to their verThe answer, I think, lies in satility and I am firm in the their ability to capture the essence of belief that in another 200 years, the the concept of a story; the act of story- Grimm Tales will still be going strong. miniature it may seem compared with the scale on which America operates.

“The reader cannot help but want to run outside and gaze upon the beauty and charm that Bryson describes” From a slightly less patriotic and more critical point of view, you do have to look past the mind-numbing references to countless place names and landmarks until you find that the book is actually rather fascinating.

During the read I learnt that my knowledge of the geography of my own home nation is not what it should be, which depressed me slightly. The sin-

books

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gle element of fun that did come from this listing was the ecstasy I felt, and I’m sure you will too, when you hear your own hometown mentioned. Woo! I will forgive his less than positive appraisal of Exeter purely because he clearly has not visited since wonderful and glamorous Princesshay was erected. Education aside, it is chiefly a light read to put everything you think you know about Britain into perspective.

By the end, no matter how dismal the weather, the reader cannot help but want to run outside and gaze upon the beauty and charm that Bryson describes.

CLAUDIA HOGAN

Author Profile: Robert Jordan THE WHEEL OF TIME, one of the most detailed and sprawling fantasy epics ever produced, has now seen the release of its final instalment, the last in a series of 14 novels that began almost 23 years ago. It is a colossus of storytelling, weighing in at around 4.5 million words – roughly five times the length of the Bible. Unfortunately, its creator didn’t live to see his life’s work finished.

James Oliver Rigney Jr wrote 11 of the 14 books in the Wheel of Time series under the pen name of Robert Jordan. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and spent most of his life in the area. Jordan served two tours in Vietnam as a helicopter gunner, earning various military distinctions. He graduated from The Citadel, South Carolina’s military college, with a degree in physics, and went on to work for the US Navy as a nuclear engineer. By 1977 he was writing and producing criticism and historical novels before he started work on the The Wheel of Time in 1984. The first novel in the series, The Eye of the World, was published in 1990, and the genre of epic fantasy changed.

“These series exist as such stand out examples of high fantasy because of their well-rounded characters” Nowadays, Jordan is usually in the shadow of his good friend and contemporary George R. R. Martin, thanks largely to the hugely successful television adaption of Martin’s book A Game of Thrones. Martin’s work is praised for its descriptiveness but it pales in comparison to Jordan’s sweeping portrayals of geography, war, and a myriad of nations locked in constant political struggle. Jordan’s battles are particularly well realised due to his enthusiasm for military history. Ultimately, both authors have created similar works, placing very realistic and relatable characters in an unrealistic setting. The magic

and the mystery is all well and good, but these series exist as such stand out examples of high fantasy because of their well-rounded characters.

Whilst working on the final instalment of the series, Jordan was diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis.

He continued to work on the n o v el throughout his treatment, and had outlined the plot to his family before his death in September 2007.

His wife and editor, Harriet McDougal, was tasked with finding someone to finish the series, and she selected Brandon Sanderson, author of the Mistborn trilogy. Working from Jordan’s extensive notes and incomplete chapters, Sanderson divided the enormous final volume into three parts; as one volume, the book would have been physically impossible to bind.

A Memory of Light was released on 8

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fact that thousands of pages of Renaissance and Victorian literature stand between me and its conclusion feels like a physical pain. I may well have to wait until the summer to finally see how it all ends. It’s a shame that the man himself isn’t here to see the world react to his ending for one of the most beloved fantasy series of all time.

JON JENNER Games editor

Janu a r y and is the definitive end of a wonderful series. I’ve been reading The Wheel of Time for over half of my life, and the

Any Last Words?

This week we asked you to don your spandex thinking caps and come up with some literary superheroes. Avengers eat your heart out.

Dickens Man! With the power to convey industrial ennui and class divides. Also, laser eyes. And of course his ill-fated, quickly cancelled, side-kick Dickens Boy! HUGH DIGNAN Ezra Pound. The guy not only has a kickass last name, as if he’s a bludgeoner and up front about it, but he also has a superpower that few can master. Conjuring images and beauty in the shortest of sentences, a master of imagist poetry. The ability to be succint is very underrated, as I hope I have just proven.

LOUIS DORÉ

JRR Hulkien. Once the mild-mannered Dr Bruce Baggins, he was mutated by the power of the ring and went on a quest to find the antidote but he is constantly thwarted by Loki, played by Tom Hiddlesauron.

KATE GRAY

Scott Fitzgerald, a quiet man and writer by day but by night he is the Great Gatsby, the world’s greatest superhero magician dedicated to maintaining more secret identities and social decadence!

ALEX PHELPS

The Praying Mantel, a member of the Tudor court raised in a Tibetan monastery. She devours her foes whole whilst protecting her King. Also the Lone Woolf, a feminist crusader who tackles misogyny in 20s England.

TOM BOND

Jade Austen with her impressive psychic powers of Persuasion, Sense AND Sensibility! Or the mythological monster Harpie Lee and her flock of bloodthirsty mockingbirds

CALUM BAKER

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Arts Diary Our regular Arts Diary column shows you all the important events going on in Exeter...

Art Maia Conran @ Phoenix 1 February-16 March Life through the lens @ RAMM until 27 January

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Clara Plackett & Emily Tanner arts@exepose.com JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP Exeposé Arts

Naomi Pacific praises the influence of technology Clara Plackett and Emily Tanner, Arts Editors, pick their top 13 arts events for 2013 and the blogosphere on the arts world THE phenomenon of blogging… it’s like Facebook, but with strangers, and it’s not your social life, it’s your interests.

Free websites such as Tumblr, Blogger, and Wordpress have become the new platform for amateur artists to display their work freely without any dictation or restriction from higher authority. The varieties of talent levels available on such platforms are exhilarating. From newly starting artists who simply fancy getting ideas out there and some advice, to professionals selling their work on posters and mugs, blogging can serve as

citing and it is amazing how many artists you can explore in little time. It is also easy to print anything of anyone else’s and experiment with it instantaneously, and make some of your own art based on other people just like you.

As a user, blogging is very much like personal advertising of your own work, except that you can’t just put it out there and expect people to ‘discover’ you. It is an interaction. You follow and comment on other people’s blog to then receive follows and comments on your own work. It is dedication. In this sense it is truly fantastic the support system you can get from people you don’t know.

Blogs will also have the tendency to push an artist to keep creating. If you want to keep your viewers viewing, you need to

Antonia Grove @ Phoenix 29 January

A Midsummer Night’s Dream @ Northcott Theatre 29 January-2 February

Richard Alston Dance Company @ Northcott Theatre 26-27 February

Art Attack SINCE it’s time to get back to work over the next few weeks, for this week’s ART ATTACK we’ve chosen L.S. Lowry’s “Going to work.” What do you think of the painting? Does it evoke a sense of community heading off to work together or do the matchstick women and men seem alone and lost in the crowd? And what do you think of Lowry’s style and his value as an artist?

1. Richard Alston Dance Company @ Northcott 26 & 27 Feb Alston’s Dance Company will be preforming a diverse and entertaining programme with music by New York band, Bang on a Can All-Stars and the ‘King of Ragtime’ Scott Joplin.

2. Lichtenstein Retrospective @ Tate Modern: 21st Feb - 27th May For the first time the major of works of the famous Pop Artist, Roy Lichtenstein, are being put together.

3. Ballet Black @ Northcott 8 & 9 May Ballet Black are coming back! Making their third appearance in Exeter to celebrate the talent of black and Asian ballet dancers around the world, Ballet Black will perform a story ballet set in WWII. 4. Exeter Comedy Festival @ Various Venues: 17 January - 10 February For the next three weeks a variety of comics will travel to Exeter to perform award winning shows and new material.

Drama

Dance

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New Year and the blogosphere

Comedy

Endgame @ Bikeshed from 1 February

ARTS

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inspiration to to anyone.

From a viewer’s point of view, the website provides a new, fresh, and abundant database of art like never before. If you are yourself an artist, it is much easier to find artists that are similar to your work and that you could draw personal inspiration from on Tumblr, for example, than in a gallery. This does have its disadvantages as in a gallery everything is pre-selected for you to be guaranteed good quality, whereas on blogging websites, by typing ‘collage art’ into the search, there will be much sifting to do before finding something that works for you. But the advantage of this is that such works exists and are readily available for you to use. The diversity is ex-

keep posting and creating. Blogging also provides the possibility of increasing any part-time job you may want as an artist. Many artists use blogs as a more casual surface, with sometimes less professional pieces, to grow a fan base and community and then link this blog to their website.

So overall, social media is making art more accessible and is making it easier to self-promote online. Having only recently joined the blogging world I have to say I was surprised at how encouraging it is to see other people at similar levels doing the same things as me. It does serve as a pushing force to keep creating very often, and to keep posting. Blogging with art is something I recommend, if not for the long term, for a month or so.

KRISSI HILL: I love Lowry’s paintings.

They are quite naive and simplistic in style but he’s merely painting what he sees and I think the style adds to the simple everyday nature of his subject.

Also, though his figures are matchstick men, a lot of skill goes into the way they look like they’re moving and bend into the wind.

idea. Monday morning walks to campus don’t look too different from this either!

EMILY TANNER: I agree with Krissi! He perfectly depicts the industrial north in which he lived in a truly honest way, yet the sense of the masses flooding to a place of work is still a timeless, placeless

ZOE BULAITIS: Lowry is simple, but I don’t think he takes the minimal lines far enough. Matisse is the master of minimal drawing styles for me, and Lowry just doesn’t come close.

EMILY LUNN: I think Lowry is proof that a simplistic style can be effective, for me the way the figures are hunched over captures the movement of a bustling crowd where most people are preoccupied with their own thoughts.

5. Layers of Skin @ Phoenix 20 March Retina Dance present Layers of Skin, a multi-layered performance event.

Also, you can enjoy the show plus a 2 course meal for £17!

6. David Bowie is @V&A: 23 March – 28 July Timed perfectly with the release of his new material this year this collection will explore Bowie’s collaborations with film makers, designers, musicians and visual artists and their relation to his work.

7. Student Theatre!

There are some great shows going on this term including Footlights’ Copacabana, EUTCO’s Amadeus and Shotgun Theatre’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Shotgun Theatre

8. Mark Watson’s 25 Hour Show@ Pleasance Theatre for Comic Relief: 28 February Creative comedian Mark Watson puts on another of his epic shows, this time in aid of comic relief.

9. The Royal Opera House’s Contemporary Projects @ ROH This year, opera makes its challenging and radical leap to modernity from within the ROH itself. Alongside the traditional work of Mozart and Puccini, the ROH will adapt more than 15 new operas, including of Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, Gerald Barry’s The Importance of Being Ernest.

10. Edinburgh Fringe Festival @ Various Venues: 2 - 26 August The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the world’s biggest arts festival. With a stunning line up of theatre, comedy, dance and art each year this year will be no exception! The Festival also provides savvy students the chanceto make a few pounds working in one of the many arts venues. Probably to be considered the coolest summer job out there!

11. Matilda the Musical at The Cambridge Theatre, London until December Roald Dahl’s famous story about an extremely clever little girl with horrible parents comes to life on stage with unusual but brilliantly eccentric music

by Tim Minchin.

12. Maia Conran @ Exeter Phoenix: 1 February - 16 March Maia Conran explores the relationship between movement and stillness in the moving image and film.

13. Sarah Millican Tour @Various Venues: from September Household name Sarah Millican takes her latest material on tour nationwide later this year.

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ARTS

LOL Festival- Preview Various Venues

17 January-10 February WHILST many students may shun Exeter as a city in which little of note happens, Exeter’s annual comedy festival – the LOL Festival – proves that this is most definitely not the case.

For such a small city, Exeter draws a number of big comedy names in each year and the LOL festival this year will showcase some of the most exciting and innovative talents in the comedy world, from faces which regularly grace your TV screen to lesser known award winners who have a significant

Copacabana - Preview Northcott Theatre

23-26 January BARRY MANILOW’S 1940s style musical Copacabana tells the tale of an aspiring songwriter, Tony Forte, and a young girl, Lola la Mar, who arrives in New York City from Oklahoma, trying to make it in show business. When going to watch the preview of the Footlights production of Copacabana, I had high expectations due to the exceptional reputation this society has

Uncle Vanya Vaudeville Theatre

23-26 January THIS, one of a flurry of adaptations that have hit London’s West End in recent times, proves to be a very effective rendition of the Chekhov classic.

It envelops you in the tragic inertia that defines the characters lives, and allows you to fully enjoy the intense banality of rural, 19th century Russia, all from the comfortable distance of 21st century London.

“Ken Stott manages to portray Vanya’s stubborn child-like dissatisfaction with life in a captivating way” Ken Stott manages to portray Vanya’s stubborn, child-like dissatisfaction with life in a captivating way.

Vanya’s simultaneous frustration and infatuation seeps from him and helps to oil the narrative, helping the mono-

22 JANUARY 2013 |

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reputation on the live circuit.

This year Exeter will be welcoming a number of well-known faces to various venues across the city. Kicking off the event, Alaska, which has been described as a ‘Pythonesque riot,’ played the Northcott on the 17th and 18th of January and comedy duo Peacock and Gamble showcased their hilarious 2012 Edinburgh show Don’t even want to be on telly anyway at the Phoenix on the 20th. Over the following weekend the Bikeshed have compiled an incredible programme of some of the most exciting new faces in stand-up comedy. Between the 25th and 27th, acts who have been lighting up the live circuit – including 2012 Fosters Best Newcomer, Daniel

Simonsen, the superbly surreal James Acaster and the critically acclaimed David Trent – will take to the stage alongside familiar faces from TV such as Peep Show’s Isy Suttie, Stand Up for the Week’s Sara Pascoe and rapidly rising star Josh Widdicome.

“This year Exeter will be welcoming a number of well-known faces to various venues across the city” Following on from such an impressive line-up, the remainder of the festival does not disappoint. Katherine Ryan, star of Channel 4’s Campus,

maintained; however I hoped they had managed to capture the true essence of 1940s New York and of course the vibrant extravagant scene of the famous Copacabana Nightclub.

It is safe to say that they exceeded my expectations and sincerely inhabited the setting of this traditional American-style musical. The two leads, played by Cam Jones and Jess Phillips, excel in their roles and their onstage romance is undoubtedly convincing.

Both cast members comment on how being friends prior to the show has certainly helped diminish any awkwardness between their characters.

The show is packed with energy and the instance I heard the brass band’s opening chords, I knew I was in for a treat. The rich profusion of musical numbers would be challenging for any musical company to accomplish, especially with incorporating a seventeen piece band, however Musical Director Joshua Clarke has been surprised at the rare ease of merging the vocals with the band, in this show.

From the perspective of an audience member, this smooth amalgamation was apparent. As far as dance is concerned, Chloe Young shines through her authentic choreography and she is thrilled at how quickly everybody has picked up the steps. Being a chorus-heavy production, the commitment of every individual is necessary and Chloe says “It’s the strongest chorus

we’ve ever had”. The talent of the cast is unquestionable, and many have recently received recalls from drama schools such as Guildford School of Acting and Mountview. Vocal coach, Stephanie Lysé has already secured her place at The Royal Academy of Music, commencing in September later this year.

Copacabana’s director Ed Johnson emphasises how “the cast has been truly dedicated to the project and incredible to work with”, whilst going on to applaud his creative team for helping to “make it so much easier to deal with the enormity of the production.” I was thoroughly entertained, particularly by Freddie McManus - who plays the humorous blunt manager of the Copacabana, Sam Silver - and Hannah Dunne - who says she tries “to channel Beyoncé” when getting into her character of Spanish diva Conchita Alvarez.

It’s a show well worth seeing; an evening of romance, harmonious singing and a selection of glamourous Copa girls. Footlights will be performing at the Northcott Theatre from the 23rd -26th January; tickets are available from the Exeter Northcott Theatre Box Office and online. This is not a show to be missed!

lith of depression lurch from one scene to the next. This is aided by Anna Friel’s enchanting performance as Yelena, the beautiful, rustic siren that acts as the object of Vanya’s unrequited affection.

The sets are heavy and wooden, and this means that scene changes are lengthy and interrupt the already limited momentum that the play manages to build up. Whilst the pauses between scenes cannot be ignored, it is a worthy pay-off. Their dense, solid nature, aided by the sullen lighting, gives the effect of the stage being the oil canvas of an Old Master painting. The sets are works of art in bringing alive the malaise of the characters’ lives, which serve to shroud them in their own misery and despair, and add varied shades of tragedy as the play progresses.

The play is an exercise in boredom. The director, Lindsay Posner, is in no hurry to explore monotony and inertia in a thorough, thoughtful way.

The boredom is almost palpable, indiscriminately drenching the characters in its viscosity. This inactivity is what characterizes much of what the play is

about and almost becomes a character itself, one that serves to systematically paralyze the characters, foiling any aspiration to escape their provincial predicament and to ever realize the potential that they suspect themselves of having.

ELLIE TAYLOR-ROBERTS

“The sets are works of art in bringing alive the malaise of the characters’ lives, which serve to shroud them in their own misery and despair” It is a well-acted, powerful play that acts in a cathartic way, but it can only be enjoyed if you suspend any hope of a ‘happy ending’, and embrace the inertia ridden nuances of rural, Russian life in all of its distressing glory.

OLIVER COOK

Exeposé

presents her latest stand up show at the Phoenix on the 30th and is followed by 2012 Fosters Comedy Award nominee Tony Law on the 31st. Throughout February the line-up includes a number of mixed bill shows with the Exeter Comedy Club at the Corn Exchange on the 1st, RAW Comedy at the Barnfield on the 2nd and an Open Mic Night at the Phoenix on the 7th.

For fans of more innovative shows, the end of the festival offers Rich Peppiatt’s One Rogue Reporter –which centres around the recent Leveson Inquiry –and the improvised show Improperly.

The variety and quality of the shows at the LOL Festival is second to none. Whether you are a knowledgeable fan of stand up or a newcomer

to the world of comedy there will undoubtedly be something to make you laugh during the festival. With some excellent deals on tickets – including student standbys at the Northcott, four tickets for £16 at the Bikeshed and 20% off when you book 3 or more events at the Phoenix – it is definitely worth taking a chance on something new this month and checking out some of your favourite names whilst they are here in Exeter.

The LOL Festival runs until Sunday 10th February at various venues around the city. A full line up and further information can be found at www. lolfestival.co.uk.

Amadeus - Preview

his own fragile emoting in the darker second act, diversifying an atmospheric palate that keeps the play very much about the drama, as well as the music.

However, the music is the drama – something director Josh Lucas is determined to present on a complex, large scale. Including performances from the Choral Society and orchestra, alongside a twenty six strong ensemble cast and a necessarily expensive set of props and costume (rumours of £1000 expenditure floated around the rehearsal), the production’s logistical challenges seem daunting. Despite this, Lucas and the production team appear to be making the best of it, channeling necessary divergences from an ideal staging of the play into exciting takes on its themes. For example, music within the narrative of the play will be pre-recorded to separate it from the orchestra and choir’s live performances, which represent music in the characters’ minds and outside the story. Additionally, EUTCO are staging original ensemble pieces, where visibly modern versions of Mozart’s operas prance around period-dressed 18th century characters. “We wanted to show how persistently relevant Mozart is today – his music is everywhere”, says Lucas.

An incredibly ambitious take on a play already vast in its scope, EUTCO’s Amadeus will be an inevitably grand affair, backed up by stellar performers and intelligent staging. All that remains to be seen is how all the pieces come together in February at the Northcott.

Northcott Theatre

6-9 February THE Exeter University Theatre Company (EUTCO) prepare to excel themselves in ambition with their highly individual staging of Peter Shaffer’s award-winning Amadeus. Expect grandiloquence, lavish period costume, soaring live music and jokes about anilingus and erectile dysfunction.

“EUTCO’s Amadeus will be an inevitably grand affair” Shaffer’s play, famously adapted for screen (with Oscars to boot) by Miloš Forman, dramatises the life of Mozart from the perspective of rival composer Antonio Salieri. Fiercely jealous of the young prodigy, the latter is played with startling intensity

by George Watkins in the EUTCO production. A dynamic force in a staging that dextrously melodramatises the character’s heinousness, his spittle-ridden soliloquies nevertheless beg for some light relief. Luckily this comes in refreshing bagfuls from Ryan Whittle’s Mozart and a stellar cast of minor characters. There are plenty of wisecracks and not-so-double entendres – in a humour that the play’s stuffy institutional characters would undoubtedly call ‘vulgar’ – delivered and chin-wobblingly sputtered at in comic perfection. The brilliantly camp Masons and their clashes with Mozart form Amadeus’ most amusing points.

Nevertheless, Whittle’s madcap giggling is impressively overshadowed by

EMILY TANNER ARTS EDITOR

CALLUM MCLEAN MUSIC EDITOR

Stand out from the crowd The Exeter Award is an achievement award for current undergraduate and taught postgraduate students. It is designed to enhance the employability of students by providing official recognition of extracurricular achievements and activities.

With around 300,000 graduates entering the job market each year, a degree is no longer enough to get you started in your career.

Employers are looking for candidates who have developed their skills, abilities and ambitions.

Make sure you stand out from the crowd. Register for the Exeter Award now.

The Exeter Award is sponsored by

university of

exeter

www.exeter.ac.uk/exeteraward

Is this it? Is there more?

A New Evening Class for Students Starts 7th March 2013

Self Discovery & Inner Resources Course Details Length of course: 10 weeks Time: 6.30 - 8pm Day: Thursday Course fees: Free to Exeter University Students Venue: Conference Room, AV Hub, Devonshire House Facilities: Light refreshments provided.

The Self Discovery & Inner Resources evening classes are based on the talks of Prem Rawat, Ambassador for Peace, using DVD presentations, workbooks and small discussion groups designed to help you: • Share personal insights • Reflect on your own ideas and experiences • Discover your own inner resources such as Strength, Choice, Clarity and Calm How to apply? Please email: studentspeaceinitiative@gmail.com or text APPLY with your name to 0740 3412733 - or come along to the Taster Event on Thursday 21st February.

DVD TASTER EVENT Why not come along and find out more?

You are invited to a DVD presentation of Prem Rawat speaking on the subject of Self Discovery and Inner Resouces Thursday 21st February 6.30pm AV HUB (Conference Rm 1) Students Guild Devonshire House Admission Free - Snacks provided Email: studentspeaceinitiative@gmail.com

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Devil May be good Dante’s back, and he’s still got daddy issues. Laurie Pope reviews Ninja Theory’s reboot IT seems that every year brings a new reboot to a previously successful film or video game franchise. 2013 is no different, as game publisher Capcom brings us DmC – the reboot of the critically acclaimed Devil May Cry series. As has become apparent from past reboots (the Alien vs. Predator game and film, Superman Returns) it is not always a strong move for games developers and film studios to make. We shall see, however, whether or not this is true of DmC. Set in a parallel world to the original series, DmC is a hack ‘n’ slash game that is not for the faint of heart. You play as Dante, the son of a demon father and angel mother, who is immediately endangered when the demon king, Mundus, discovers his existence. Your attention is quickly drawn to your precarious situation by Kat, a member of the Order fighting against Mundus and his army of demons. DmC is ideal for those who enjoy taking on the role of a blood-lusting, supremely violent badass. Killing is the name of the game, and the gameplay is all about how you decide to do exactly that.

“The more stylishly you shoot or slice your enemies up, the more you are rewarded” You start with a couple of rapid firing pistols, Ebony and Ivory, and a particularly large sword lovingly named Rebellion. You quickly acquire new weaponry, in the shape of a giant scythe in Dante’s angelic mode, and an enormous battle-axe when in devil mode. Osiris, the scythe, is a personal favourite; it allows for a great deal of aerial combat, which seems the most unique feature of the fighting in DmC. Each weapon can be upgraded either by adding new attacks to them, or by increasing the power to your favourite moves. You can re-allocate any of the upgrade points you spend, which is excellent. It means you don’t have to regret unlocking ‘cleaving roulette’ when really you desperately wanted to upgrade ‘aerial twister’. As a result these weapons, along with angelic and demonic grappling hooks, can be used to create furious combination attacks, which is fun to tinker with.

In the same way as the previous games, you receive a score and an overall grade (SSS for sensational through to D for dirty) at the end of each level to let you know how much of a hell-raiser you have become. Simply put - the more stylishly you bludgeon, shoot or slice your enemies up, the more you are rewarded. This adds a well-needed competitive spirit to the game, as your

score is submitted into the online highscores. While the fighting in the game is fun, it does happen in fits and starts, with no battle seeming to last very long (this does begin to change later on). This is not helped by the ridiculous number of cut-scenes, which can range from a few seconds through to a few minutes. Consequently the game does not flow as well as it should, and leaves you wondering when you’ll really get stuck in.

There are a number of times when you are reminded that DmC is also a platformer; that is to say you sometimes have to carefully navigate Dante around to progress. Whilst the visual side of the game is frequently stunning, with walls, floors and ceilings suddenly giving way to chaotic destruction, the ways in which you have to manoeuvre Dante from one checkpoint to the next are not particularly imaginative. It seems more time has been spent on how these sections look than how they play, which is a shame.

As for the visual and atmospheric style in DmC, the series has undergone a fairly extensive change. Dante has a new look: gone are the days of his wavy silver locks, and instead he sports a shorter, dark and dishevelled do. His clothes are less archaic than of his previous appearances, but his bad-boy and ultimately devil-may-care attitude is still very much intact. This, coupled with the modernised, grungy menus and soundtrack, gives the impression that the developers are trying to move away from the typical Japanese style that is portrayed in games such as Final Fantasy and Soul Calibur.

Personally I find this refreshing, but it’s fair to say that long-time fans of the franchise might be annoyed at what could be seen as ‘westernisation’, carried out with the sole intention of drawing a bigger audience.

“His bad-boy and ultimately devil may care attitude is very much intact” An awesome powerhouse of a game is what I thought of DmC when first starting out. This was a short lived feeling, however, when I began to realise that the game is a bit of a one trick pony.

Sure, if you enjoying picking up a game just to beat the living crap out of anything that moves, then I’d recommend you buy it (and get some therapy). But if like me, you want an inventive back story, challenging platform sections and not so many drawn out cut scenes, you might look elsewhere. Although this game has rebooted the franchise with some fervour and is therefore worthy of praise, it is certainly no God of War 3.

33

Dmc: Devil May Cry Ninja Theory

PS3/Xbox 360/PC Out Now

Sandbox What is your gaming New Year’s Resolution?

Alex Phelps: To be less bloodthirsty in games. Seriously, I have a problem.

Tom Bond: Funny, mine is to be more bloodthirsty in games.

Rob Harris: To successfully juggle both GTA V and the summer exams (I’m a dreamer).

Hugh Dignan: To not feel like an appalling human being after every game I play. I’m looking at you Walking Dead and Spec Ops. Gemma Joyce: To get through the whole Guitar Hero series on expert (maybe this should have been my resolution a few years back, but true Guitar Heroes are not born, they are forged through the fire and flames) .

Kate Gray: To actually use the 3D feature I spent so much on.

Headaches be damned.

Hugh Blackstaffe: Kill enough Patriots to balance out all the British I killed in AC3... historical karma and all that...

Louis Doré: To stop buying promising looking youngsters on Football Manager 2013 and discarding them like used condoms.

Jon Jenner: I have a couple, as it goes. To platinum Skyrim, and maybe do a blog post about it.

I won’t apologise for it being a year late though. To expose as many people to my Rock Band drumming madness as possible (and to stop some freinds referring to it as “Rock DJ”). Finally, to purchase the PS4 by Christmas.

Because it WILL be out by Christmas. 2k13 predictions. Yeah.

Marcus Beard: My resolution is simply to play more vidgames.

I don’t play enough vidgames, and I do truly love vidgames. Ah, vidgames...

Vidgames.

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34

GAMES

News from CES

Valve experimenting with biometrics, mobile console, home streaming

We asked. You answered. Robert J Harris explains why The Walking Dead is our GOTY BEING a download-only episodic adventure game developed by indie studio Telltale Games, The Walking Dead certainly found itself as the dark horse in this year’s list of nominations. After all, who genuinely expected a company whose previous releases ranged from the staggeringly average Back to the Future to the pit-stain that was Jurassic Park, to actually shape up and produce something half decent? Going into the year with the likes of Assassin’s Creed 3 and Halo 4 on the horizon, you would have been either mad or woefully optimistic to believe that a small title like this would actually be able to slug it out with the big boys. I’m glad to report however, that not only did it match the pros punch-for-punch but it has rightfully been crowned champion.

“By coming out of nowhere, The Walking Dead stunned the gaming community with its quality” Following the story of Lee, a man with a history and enough emotional baggage to warrant his own team of zombie butlers, we are immediately pulled into a world where safety, decency and trust have all but gone.

Survival is the only goal here, so expect to make your fair share of tough choices with even tougher consequences, some of which may not even be-

(Dis)honourable mentions

RHYS MILLS

“Feeling lost and helpless is what it’s all about, much like reallife depression”

Dishonored Arkane Studios

PS3/Xbox 360/PC October 12th THIS late in the game new IPs are pretty rare candy and it’s even rarer that one is as self-assured and distinct as Dishonored is. It juggles stealth and action neatly when it lets you actually use its varied toys and places you in a world that’s a far cry from the cookie cutter combat zones of Brownfield 3 and Call of Duty Black Ops: Grey Edition. The gameplay in particular is just stellar and shows Assassin’s Creed

But really, that’s actually a pretty minor quibble. This is a game and it acts like such, it can’t be compared to the likes of The Walking Dead since really they’re worlds apart. This is fantasy and action indulgence and never forgets that first and foremost it’s there to be played and to entertain. Which it does, a lot. And as such, though I could talk more about the neat art style or the immersive world or the slightly contradictory approach to murder, I’ll leave it with this: This is a game where a man can shoot at you and you can respond by stopping time, possessing him, and then moving him in front of his own bullet. And then have him devoured by plague rats. I rest my case.

HUGH DIGNAN

come apparent until the credits roll.

Now, the expertly crafted plot and the use of some of the finest voice acting the industry has to offer undoubtedly makes The Walking Dead great, but there is one baseball-cap-wearing little thing which takes it to a different level altogether.

This is, of course, Clementine. Usually when there is a child character in a video game the sensation evoked is along the lines of some sort of tabasco sauce enema, but in this case it is used to such devastating effect that you could honestly never imagine progressing through the story without her. Be it a smile or a look of wide-eyed shock, you soon realise that you are starting to care what Clementine thinks of you, making it all the harder to carry out something you know is wrong, even if you are convinced it is in the group’s best interests.

For those (perhaps more psychotic) of you who like to cover your wall A Beautiful Mind style in newspaper clippings of Exposés gone by, you may recall in the last issue how even then the review singled it out as GOTY material. Taking a brief look back across the other nominations, I think it is safe to say that what this game had that no other did was a lack of hype. Hysteria around a game can propel it into greatness or leave its fans bitterly disappointed, but by coming out of nowhere The Walking Dead stunned the gaming community with its quality and helped make it 2012’s most exciting, moving and memorable gameplay experience.

Exeposé Games gives you our best picks from 2012

how to do stealth and assassination right; hint, it’s all about choice. Neatly layered on top is a fairly compelling narrative, though one that, when compared to the likes of The Walking Dead, shrivels markedly in comparison and feels decidedly game-y and clichéd.

‘Project Shield’ handheld from Nvidia NIVIDIA has unveiled a new handheld system called ‘Project Shield’.

The device runs Android, can remotely stream and play games from your pc through Wi-Fi, and in design resembles a console controller with a foldable touchscreen attached.

On top of mobile gameplay through its built-in touchscreen the system can output 4K resolution video over HDMI to external displays and boasts a processor that can run console games. No word from Nvidia on pricing or release date yet.

Exeposé

Game of the year

MARCUS BEARD, GAMES EDITOR

IN an uncharacteristically candid interview with The Verge, Valve Software’s Gabe Newell revealed the ‘Steam Box’ will stream games to home devices and will have a companion mobile console, in addition to confirming Valve’s controllers will use biometric data.

The company head explained his vision for the ‘Steam Box’ acting as a server for multiple PCs and monitors in the household, allowing many users to play different games simultaneously.

The managing director said “We think there’s a lot that needs to be done in the tablet and mobile space to improve input for games” and revealed a “Littlefoot” mobile device is in the works.

When asked about motion controls, Newell revealed the company’s experimentation with biometrics, saying “your hands, and your wrist muscles, and your fingers are your highest bandwidth”, before adding “We think gaze tracking is going to turn out to be super important.”

Given Valve’s history is playtesting with neural data and their partnership with Oculus Rift, could they be the first company to deliver a true virtual reality experience?

22 JANUARY 2013 |

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Spec Ops: The Line Yager

PS3/Xbox 360/PC June 29th SPEC OPS was a ground breaking shooter, for one chief reason: It doesn’t try to beat its brethren at their own game, instead opting to take a realistic and scathing look at the delusion fantasy which those very games instil in their players.

Spec Ops does not pack anywhere near as many “oooohs” and “aaaaahs” as its other FPS brethren do: the aiming system makes the player somewhat inaccurate, the setting is exceedingly

grim, and numerous ‘odd’ moments adorn the storyline. All of this is intentional though; Spec Ops uses the gameplay mechanics we’ve seen in every single FPS and turns them on their head just to point out how far removed from reality these games really are.

Whilst Spec Ops is an engaging game, if you find yourself having ‘fun’ playing it you might have some serious problems: where other FPS’s lightfoot around the seriously dark aspects of war Spec Ops whole-heartedly embraces it. Subject matter here ranges from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Private Military Contractors, the unavoidable nature of no-win-scenarios, to the horrific effects of White Phosphorous used in urban environments.

Above all, Spec Ops will be remembered for the character study of its ‘protagonist’, Martin Walker, a soldier suffering from PTSD which uncomfortably introduces the player to the concept of cognitive dissonance through some subtle and not-so-subtle moments. It will also be remembered for an absolutely staggering piece of fourth wall breaking when a character addresses the player directly: “The truth is, you’re here because you wanted to feel like something you’re not… A Hero”.

DALE JAMES

Exeposé

| WEEK FOURTEEN

Three for Free

Quite the tonguetwister!

Rhys Mills is giving you some free games. Do thank him.

THE ever-stretched student budget doesn’t allow much budging room for those triple A purchases; luckily there’s plenty of great free indie titles out there for gamers deep into their overdrafts. Here’s three of them.

Ghost Trick Capcom

iOS February 2nd HANDHELD games tend to go unnoticed in Game of the Year reviews, but Ghost Trick, released at the start of 2012, deserves credit for re-inventing the point-and-click and the murder mystery genres.

Not many games begin with the

GAMES

www.exepose.ex.ac.uk

Spelunky

Super Crate Box

SPELUNKY now enjoys success as a co-op Xbox Live game, but it began its life as a single player PC outing with minimalistic pixel graphics and great 2D platformer roguelike g a m e p l a y.

J u m p , climb and bomb your way through its randomly generated caves and expect to die often. With a steep learning curve and plenty of areas to explore the game has a tonne of replay value and can casually be jumped into.

DUTCH indie developer Vlambeer released Super Crate Box in 2010 providing many hours of chaotic arcade fun. The game takes a familiar gaming icon – the weapon crate – as a central and wonderfully simple game mechanic; picking up crates is what gives you points, while also randomly assigning you one of a catalogue of weapons, some of which are much more useful than others in beating back the constant onslaught of enemies. With skins, maps, weapo n s and modes to unlock the game has p l e n t y to offer.

NERD out with this open source remake of Chris Sawyer’s Transport Tycoon: somewhat evocative of a geekier, more hardcore Rollercoaster Tycoon. Deliver cargo by land, sea or air and expand your transport empire while watching the profits roll in across randomly generated maps. Single player is evocative of a sandbox/train set with a business sim attached, but chucking in AI competitors or even real human beings over the online multiplayer adds a new element to this already complex experience.

I still haven’t figured out how to get the train signals working.

Angry Birds: Star Wars

combination of standard levels with gravity field levels lifted from Angry Birds Space prevents the action from becoming repetitive and provides interesting new challenges. But we already knew Angry Birds had nailed the basic formula, what really adds the golden egg to the nest is the fantastic addition of the Star Wars universe.

Everything has been recreated faithfully... with a certain feathery twist. It’s not just skin deep though, each type of bird now has a character-related ability all of which come together to bring a crazy amount of depth to each level. Angry Lightsaber-wielding bird?

Awesome.

Oinking pig-bodied Darth Vader? Incredible.

The simple charm which results from the blending of these two franchises is undeniable, while the gameplay ensures I will want to keep returning for some time. It’s far from a console experience, but out of all the games I’ve played this year, this one made me smile the most.

JONATHAN JONES

protagonist dead, for a start. The action involves you, the recently deceased, possessing inanimate objects in order to change the fate of various people within a rather specific four minute timeframe. If it sounds bizarre... it is.

There are few games that really require you to think in the way Ghost Trick does, and even for those that like logic puzzles as much as a trip to the dentist, the flawless, butter-smooth animation will have you under its spell in no time.

The only flaw the game is its length, which may leave you wanting more in the end, but rather than feeling disappointed, I felt a sense of hope; hope that the novelty and genius of Ghost Trick would drag handheld console games out of the repetitive platformer/generic adventure game pit in which it currently lies. In a world where Mario games are more common than flies, it’s a wonderful thing to see some real innovation.

Rovio

iOS/Android/PC/Mac November 8th

MY favourite game of 2012? Angry Birds: Star Wars. Normally the mobile experience serves to pass a few minutes but leaves a lot wanting. This game represents the pinnacle of short, sweet and incredibly addictive gaming on-the-go.

The physics of the Angry Birds world has been perfected to a tee; the

KATE GRAY

OpenTTD

Unsolved Mysteries of 2012: Will we see them in 2013 Moby Gear Solid?

ActiBungie MMO?

Last Guardian, Finally?

The Spike VGAs in December surprised us with a trailer for The Phantom Pain, the debut title from Swedish ‘Moby Dick’ studio. Featuring an enormous flaming whale and a massacre committed by supernatural solider’s, the trailer’s amputee protagonist bore resemblance to Big Boss (naked snake).

With the studio’s head ‘Joakim’ being a thinly disguised anagram for ‘Kojima’ and ‘Metal Gear Solid V’ subtly hidden in the title, the game is thought to be the next installment in the series.

If this is true, where does Ground Zeroes fit into the equation? Are they one in the same? Does the game really exist? Do you really exist?

Halo developers’ ten year contract with Activision Blizzard is still young, yet a legal document in May leaked Destiny, a new IP and universe with four games in the pipeline, the final game to be released in 2019.

Bungie released a bundle of concept art but did not confirm if Destiny was an MMO as they had ‘joked’ in 2011, but they will “create a universe as deep, tangible and relatable as that of the Star Wars franchise.”

The game will take place on the last city on earth, which has being watched over by a mysterious sphere.

Given Bungie’s track record, when Destiny drops, you will want to take notice.

Revealed in 2009, Team Ico’s third game The Last Guardian has had Shadow of the Colossus lovers waiting in trouser-moistening anticipation ever since.

The star of the game is a nightmare fuelling mythical cat-cum-dogcum-bird which somehow manages to look adorable.

Featuring companionship of the human and animal variety (like the studio’s previous games), The Last Guardian has gone without any significant announcement in three years, apart from it will be ‘when it’s done’.

With the game still in development, could 2013 PS3 owners’ last year of waiting?

MARCUS BEARD, GAMES EDITOR

Half Life 3?

Valve is getting into the living room in a big way. They’re also getting into biometrics for user input, and have partnered with the manufacturers of virtual reality headset Oculus Rift. With all this on their plate they couldn’t possibly finish the expansion pack they’ve been working on for six years? Wrong.

Here’s my prediction for 2013: after the first, underwhelming release of the ‘Steam Box’, Valve will release a console embedded into the Rift headset itself, with neural monitors controlling the gameplay. The game will launch with one exclusive game, a 1:1 recreation of planet earth - with God mode enable. Half Life 3: Whole Life 1.5 will sell in the billions, and humanity will inhabit the digital realm forever.

35

‘Steam Box’ console formfactor PC RHYS MILLS

COMPUTER manufacturer Xi3 has announced that is has received funding from Valve to create a model focused on gaming, under the working title of ‘Piston’.

The device is customised for Steam’s recently announced Big Picture Mode; essentially a company focus on big TV compatibility for Steam games so that we can play them on our LCD giants rather than our current laptop and PC setups.

Valve is rapidly moving into console territory. The computer will be based on Xi3’s own upcoming X7A which contains some powerful hardware and more ports than you can shake a stick at, but will sell at a hefty $999.

Oculus Rift virtual reality “like doing acid” MARCUS BEARD, GAMES EDITOR Oculus, the hardware startup behind virtual reality headset ‘rift’ were the talk of the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. Demoing their development kits with early prototypes of their SDK and an Oculus-enabled version of Doom 3, show attendees were amazed by the immersion the device created.

One tech writer described the experience as “like doing acid”, complete with a depressing return to normality.

Oculus started as a kit project on Kickstarter and drew the attention of Id software’s John Carmack before going on to raise a total of $2.5 million (10 times their $250,000 goal).

The development kits are available for $300 on their website, and will feature double the resolution of the prototype demoed at CES.

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37

Feature

In the Clubhouse

In the Clubhouse this week Oli Rubinstein, Kitesurfing captain of EUKW, catches some airtme with Mike Stanton and Will Kelleher, Sport Editors EXETER UNIVERSITY Kitesurf and Wakeboard Club (EUKW) has existed in various different forms, having initially been joined with Windsurfing before becoming a separate club. Until last year the club was actually named ‘Kitesurf, Wakeboard and Waterski’, but this has changed, in favour of ‘Kitesurf and Wakeboard’. Aside from its comparatively turbulent history, EUKW is now two clubs in one. Not only is wakeboarding a fun sport in its own right, it’s also very similar to kitesurfing and is a great way of practising when there’s no wind.

Recently the club has increased its membership by over 20 per cent from last year, and they now have just under 90 members and there have been some notable successes over the past two years. As Sam Evans (president) notes: “These last two years have been without a doubt the most successful in the club’s history, Liam Proctor (wakeboard

captain) has had podium finishes at two wakeboarding and two kitesurfing events.

“Recently, the club has increased its membership by over 20 per cent from last year, now with just under 90 members” “Likewise at the recent Student Kitesurfing Association Nationals myself and Oliver Rubinstein (Kitesurf Captain) came first and second respectively in the intermediates, Liam managed an outstanding second place in the pro category and to top it all off, Exeter also took home the overall title! This does have its down-side though, as the club is now presented with the need to purchase a suitably large trophy cabinet...’

Although both sports are weather dependant, the cold weather doesn’t put a stop to the club’s activities. In February, they will be attending an intermediate kitesurf coaching session with other university clubs, run by the Student Kitesurfing Association, and there are regular kitesurfing and wakeboarding trips planned for this term. Likewise in the summer, we are hoping to replicate our previous success in the kitesurfing event at Beach Break Live.

Anyone looking to join the club should email the president, Sam Evans (se242@exeter.ac.uk) and should like the facebook page (search for Exeter University Kitesurfing and Wakeboarding Club) This term, the club charges just £20 to join, making them one of the cheapest AU clubs. They are also fortunate to have three qualified kitesurf instructors in the club, and are therefore able to offer free beginner tuition to members, as well as free loan of equip-

ment once people have had sufficient lessons. Since kitesurfing is normally a prohibitively expensive sport, joining the club offers an amazing chance to get into the sport for a fraction of the normal price. Similarly, anyone wanting to give wakeboarding a go will benefit from the free use of club wakeboards.

“EUSK are fortunate to have three qualified kitesurf instructors and are able to offer free beginner tuition to members and free loan of equipment” As well as the legendary socials run

by Ross Browne - which as well as the famous house parties, have included mackerel fishing and fancy dress bowling – and the relaxed atmosphere, the unique opportunity to start both these sports so cheaply, is definitely the best

Photo: Supersaturated/EUKW

60 seconds with...

Liam Proctor

Billy Parr

EUKW Wakeboard captain

EUKW Beginner

What is the best aspect of Kitesurf and Wakeboard Club?

We aren’t just involved in Kitesurfing and Wakeboarding. It isn’t uncommon to go mountain boarding in Stoke Woods or ghetto winching etc on the side.

What is the best aspect of Kitesurf and Wakeboard Club?

The awesome people I have met through the club, who have all been really friendly and welcoming to me as a fresher new to the sport!

Best sporting moment?

BBL 2012! The kitesurf captain, Oli Rubinstein and myself spent 3 days kitesurfing in 30+ knots and rain whilst everyone else was pretty miserable in their tents.

Best sporting moment?

When I first succeeded at wakeboarding on a club trip in november. It was freezing cold but totally worth it!

Sporting Hero?

Red Bull athlete Ruben Lenten.....All that needs saying is search ‘Len10 in Capetown’ on vimeo.

Sporting Hero?

Well I know he isnt a kitesurfer, but Andy Irons was a great surfer

What are your pre-match preparations?

It isn’t too nerve racking so I usually just see off a malt loaf and get in the water

What are your pre-match preparations?

I’m still learning, so no competitions, but driving to the sessions with the lads is allways a great way to psych yourself up for a day on the water!

What are your goals for the season?

I’d like to work with a number of the keen members in EUKW on some winch wakeboarding projects around urban areas of Exeter to start building a portfolio of unique images.

thing about the club.

They wouldn’t call what they do ‘training’, as it’s way too much fun, but last term they ran beginners kitesurfing trips to North Devon every other week, and the more proficient members also go kitesurfing whenever it’s windy, down in Exmouth. They have also benefited hugely from the construction of a cable wakeboarding park around an hour away on Siblyback lake in Cornwall, where they run weekly wakeboard trips.

You need to have a basic level of fitness, as you are attached to the kite via a harness which takes most of the strain.

They do cable wakeboarding, which is much cheaper than using a boat and involves multiple riders being towed around a lake by a fast moving cable.

EUSK are always keen for new members, especially beginners, so if you’ve ever thought about trying kitesurfing, now is the time to give it a go!

What are your goals for the season?

I’m desperately trying to learn Shredding! >> Wakeboard

captain Liam Proctor in mid-flight

38

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22 JANUARY 2013 |

Exeposé

2012 is so last year...Roll on 2013!

With a fantastic year of sport firmly in the rear-view mirror Nic Craig previews all that 2013 has to offer Photos: RTE, The Telegraph, CNN, Daily Mirror, The Guardian and Wikipedia

IT’S hard to foresee how, after the deluge of spectacular sporting moments we witnessed in the past twelve months, 2013 could even come close to matching up.

A bit like returning to your diet of mouldy Sainsbury’s Basics cheddar after a Christmas holiday of gastronomic delights, it is quite imaginable that the next year won’t rival 2012, but maybe if we scrape away the mould, we might find something to nourish us.

Here’s a look ahead of what 2013 has got in store:

“England plays host to the Rugby League World Cup. With students tickets from £10 you could even grab a bit of the action yourself ” The odd shaped ball On February 2 the Six Nations kicks off, and after Wales’ woeful autumn it seems unlikely that they’ll achieve their fourth grand slam since 2005. The Scots will be desperately trying to avoid another Wooden Spoon, whilst England, if they don’t slip up, could run away with it.

Come June we’ll see the British & Irish Lions, a team steeped in history but with a very empty trophy cabinet, touring to Australia. If, however, Warren Gatland and his coaching team put together a cohesive squad, they have every chance of success Down Under.

After what might just be a palatable summer of sport, England plays host to the Rugby League World Cup, where the hosts are likely to have a tough time in Group A with favourites Australia. With student tickets from £10 for most games including the final you could even grab a bit of the action yourself.

Getting piste In February the World Ski Championships make a return, where an Austrian home crowd will be expecting a sizable medal haul, as British interest Chemmy Alcott returns from injury to try and find her previous form.

Improper football On the evening of February 3, from the Superdome in New Orleans, the Superbowl returns to give us our annual dose of NFL. New England Patriots are odds on to take it home, so pour some low quality lager into some red plastic cups and prepare for a late night of not really understanding the rules.

Proper Football Starting on January 19, the 29th African cup of Nations provides us with the first major fix of sport this year, with 2012 runners up Ivory Coast expected to beat strong rivals Ghana and Nigeria to the title.

May will see the Champions League final played at Wembley, English interests, however, are questionable, with Manchester United and Arsenal having to get past Barcelona and Bayern respectively to earn their way

to Wembley.

In the meantime England will attempt to qualify for Rio 2014, with the decider likely against Ukraine in September.

“The 29th African cup of Nations provides us with the first major fix of sport this year with Ivory Coast expected to suceed” A wicket summer Fifteen one-day-internationals will be held around the country in June for the ICC Champions Trophy, a title that South Africa are tipped to take home.

But if that’s all too fast paced for you, fear not, the Ashes are just around the corner to provide some dragged out entertainment, where England will hope to retain their firm grip on the sacred urn.

Fluffier Balls After an eternity of waiting, Murray finally delivered in 2012 with an Olympic gold and a US Open title, and with any luck his form will continue into this year.

He faces tough competition at the top though, with Nadal, Federer and Djokovic all providing serious competition. Expect some electrifying fiveset finals and maybe, just maybe the first British man to win Wimbledon since before the Second World War. In the ladies’ game, Laura Robson, at only 18, after a consistent rise in form since winning the Wimbledon Junior Championships in 2008, is set to have a decent year with her sights set on a Grand Slam final.

“Bradley Wiggins will be trying to defend the yellow jersey in July as the Tour de France gets underway” Hurdles, Putts and Gears At the end of the summer Jessica Ennis’ six-pack will be back on show, where she, ‘The Mobot’ and ‘The Weirwolf’ are all hoping to come home with medals from the World Athletics Championships.

Whilst it’s unlikely we’ll see a repeat of the spectacle that was last year’s Ryder Cup, McIlroy is sure to have his eyes on the green Jacket at the Masters in April.

His Royal Highness Bradley Wiggins will be trying to defend the yellow jersey in July as the Tour de France gets underway, whilst Brits are expected to dominate at the World Cycling Championships in February despite the absence of Victoria Pendleton and Chris Hoy. 2013 has a lot to live up to after a superb and successful 2012, especially for British sports men and women, but with all this sport ready to explode onto our screens it you will be mad to miss it!

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39

Laborious Lax Ladies Lack Luck Crossword No. 43 by Raucous Photo: Chris Mastris

Across Women’s Lacrosse Sophy Coombes-Roberts EULC Team Member

LAST Wednesday saw the eagerly anticipated grudge match between the Exeter and Oxford Ladies 1st Lacrosse Teams. In their previous meeting Exeter’s rivals had come away victorious after a tough match, in unfortunate conditions. However, this time the 1st Team was hoping to improve on their performance with home advantage and put up a good fight against a team full of international players.

However, the long bus drive and unfamiliar pitch didn’t seem to bother the Oxford Blues. They came out strong from the first whistle, winning the ball immediately and scoring three quick goals in succession. Nevertheless, the Exeter side didn’t let their heads drop

and dominated the next 10 minutes, but despite firing in lots of shots, they couldn’t find the back of the net against the ex-England goalkeeper. A time out was called and Exeter responded after the break catching Oxford by surprise leaving the score at 4-2.

“Exeter responded after the break catching Oxford by surprise leaving the score at 4-2” The rest of the half saw possession from both sides with a large number of shots being taken. The ball was up and down the pitch, testing both teams’ fitness after the Christmas break. However, it was the Oxford team who managed to convert their shots to goals tal-

lying the half-time score to 7-3.

The second half of the game was very much the same story with all players struggling with the poor condition of the pitch resulting in a slower game tempo. Exeter managed to stay on their tail pulling the score back to 7-5. However, the latter stages of the match saw the Oxford team pull away to victory thanks to their tidy ball movement and high shot percentage, leaving the final score at 12-6. However, the Exeter team have little to be disheartened about as the match statistics show an equal amount of shots taken for both teams; it was only Oxford’s ability to convert their opportunities which gave them the edge.

The Ladies 1st Team now stand in third place in the Southern League which will guarantee them a place in the BUCS quarter finals.

EUPC beginners get their season underway Photo: EUPC

Women’s Polo Lucy Gibson EUPC Team Member

EUPC beginners took part in their first ever competitive fixture on Sunday 13th, a varsity against Southampton.

Due to Southampton being short on players fellow Exeter beginner Louise Gillman-Wells filled in for them at number 1.

The play was close throughout the first chukka with a score of 3-2

at the break to Southampton. However, throughout the next two chukkas Southampton continued to extend their lead and Exeter despite stringing together some good phases seemed at a loss when it came to breaking the Southampton defence with a disappointing final score of 7-2.

1st year Peter Philips commented; “we were disappointed by the score, but it was good overall considering it was our first competitive match”.

Meanwhile in the university league

at Druids Lodge polo club, which has teams entered from; RAC, UWE, Bath, Exeter, Cambridge, Southampton, Royal Holloway and Bristol. Exeter’s team have come out on top in their last two winning 9-4 and 10-7 respectively.

Overall, EUPC have enjoyed a good season so far. Last term in a combined open and alumni tournament against Bristol, Exeter’s open team of Harold Hodges, Sebastian Echeverri and Tavy de Ferranti came out on top beating a more experienced Exeter alumni side in the final.

Joint president and open captain Harold Hodges said: “it was great to play against our old team mates in the Alumni match, even better when we ended up winning! All players in the club are playing well which makes Nationals even more exciting, hopefully we can expand on our winning ways from last year.”

Nationals are the feature event of the Polo calendar with teams from across the ability spectrum being sent from all over the UK and Ireland to a four-day tournament in Rugby. In preparation varsities are being planned between RAC and training partners UWE.

1. Dickens’ novel (7,5) 6. Right to bear arms amendment (6) 8. Reverse (4) 9. Large deer (3) 11. George Gordon’s epic poem (3,4) 12. Religious woman (3) 13. Senator (anag.) (7) 15. Friend (3) 16. Sartorial accessory (7) 17. The magic number? (3) 18. Security camera (4) 19. The Book of ______; musical

by South Park creators (6) 21. Happiness (12)

Down 1. German football team (6,6) 2. Victorian art critic (6) 3. East Asian currency (3) 4. Prodigy (6) 5. Film music composer (4,8) 7. Adult male singer with a soprano voice (8) 10. Adherence to being united (8) 11. Circumnavigating privateer (5) 14. Whisky (6) 15. Royal title (6) 20. Sent ___ (3)

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New gym under construction Photo: Sports Park

Sports park Toby Crewes

Media and Communications Officer for the Sports Park 2013 promises to be an exceptional year for sport at the University, with a number of new developments to create a wide range of sporting opportunities for all Exeter students.

Athletic Union clubs have enjoyed a successful start to their British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) campaign, currently lying fifth in the prestigious rankings, which sees over 150 institutions compete across 50 disciplines.

Opportunities for athletes at the University have continued to expand with Boxing becoming an official Athletic Union club and the High Performance Unit joining forces with the CMI Pro cycling team to provide a performance pathway for talented undergraduate cyclists.

Director of Sport Phil Attwell said “We are really looking forward to 2013, which promises a wealth of new facilities and opportunities for our students. The Athletic Union has been performing with incredible dedication and it is brilliant to see all of the teams performing so well. The partnership with CMI is very exciting. It will offer Exeter’s most talented student cyclists an opportunity to be part of CMI’s race structure and build on the experience and knowledge of an international cycle race team.”

“AU clubs have enjoyed a successful start to their campaign” The Sports Park on Streatham campus and St Luke’s Sports Centre have also benefitted from extensive investment. Over £50,000 has been invested in new gym equipment at St Luke’s whilst an extensive development con-

tinues to impress on Streatham.

“This week the steel structure that will provide the base for the new gym building has started to be erected” The £8 million development at the Sports Park is well and truly underway.

Last term saw six outdoor tennis courts covered, a new surface for the water-based hockey pitch and a new rubber crumb MUGA pitch installed. The opening of the new changing pavilion and spectator deck is also imminent.

Since then Stage Two has seen construction work begin on the new, purpose built fitness suite. The facility promises to contain state-of-the-art equipment in the 200 station gym, changing rooms, and exercise studio and reception area.

This week the steel structure that will provide the base for the new gym

building has started to be erected, providing onlookers with a sense of the impressive scale of the project, which is due to be completed this summer.

Atwell commented: “The completed development work is already having a fantastic impact on sport throughout the University and the second stage of the new development is really beginning to take shape. It’s just a very exciting time in the Sports Office’s history and we can’t wait to see the finished product.”

“The facility promises to contain state-of-the-art equipment in the 200 station gym, changing rooms, and exercise studio” However, it is not just the promise of exceptional new facilities that students have to be excited about. This term the Sports Office will continue to offer a number of opportunities for

students to escape the stress of studying and develop their C.V’s. Educational courses including coaching qualifications, lifeguard training and Yoga and Dance workshops will take place throughout the term and can be viewed on the Sports Office Website.

Wellness Officer Paul Mouland added, “We are always looking for new ways to allow our students to get the most out of their time at University.

Employability is very important to us, and we want to offer programmes that we feel can help people to progress in the world of work. This term we have endeavoured to create an extensive programme of activities that will be both enjoyable and educational.”

Regular updates and pictures of the Sports Park development will be available on the Sports Office website. Visit www.exeter.ac.uk/sport or UniversityofExeterSport on Facebook. For bookings call 01392 724452.