Forge Press #163 - December 2022

Forge Press

The best and worst of this year's Christmas adverts

Groundbreaking study finds bees enjoy playing

'9 to 5': Performing Arts Society theatre review

£72m funding to University of Sheffield from arms companies in a decade

The University of Sheffield has received at least £72m from the arms trade since 2012, according to data gathered from a Freedom of Information request.

The FOI request reveals the University has received year-on-year investment from organisations including BAE Systems, GKN Ltd, Rolls Royce, and Boeing, each of which are producers in the automotive and aerospace industries and manufacture weapons and combat vehicles.

The companies have invested a total of £72,379,746 in the University since 2012/13. Over half of this, almost £43m, came from Rolls Royce.

The relationship referred to is entirely lawful and there is no suggestion of any legal wrongdoing.

In 2021, 59 UK Universities provided information about their arms funding to Action on Armed Violence, which revealed The University of Sheffield received the most, followed by King's College London, Cambridge, Oxford, and Imperial College.

Non- and semi- financial relationships have been established between the University of Sheffield and firms whose business involves the production and sale of arms, with some having been invited to employability and recruitment events, poster research presentations, and the mentoring of students

by Boeing as recently as September 2022.

Councillor Minesh Parekh sits on Sheffield City Council’s Economic Development and Skills committee. He told the council the city’s universities should be supporting students and graduates to find employment in companies that foster inclusive, sustainable and ethical growth.

He said: “There are ways to build a productive economy without sacrificing our ethics. There is a way to run a university and to generate knowledge to benefit humanity, rather than develop frightful means of destruction ... (story continues on p4)

Sheffield women speak out in Reclaim the Night march

Over one hundred students from The University of Sheffield marched the streets in the City Centre protesting for their rights to feel safe from violence, on Saturday 26 November.

Earlier this year it was reported that 1 in 4 women have experienced sexual assault and/or harassment as an adult in the UK. Before the pandemic, 1 in 3 women worldwide were experiencing gender-based

violence, and since the pandemic, helplines have reported an increase. Reclaim the Night marches started in the 1970s, in response to the murders of Peter Sutcliffe, also known as The Yorkshire Ripper. At the time police warned women to stay at home, as Peter Sutcliffe continued to terrorize women across the North. Many women fought back against the idea that they should be the ones ‘contained’ in their homes. (story continues on p4)

Ayesha Parwani (she/her)

Connor Ost (he/him)

Credit: Sheffield Action Group

FORGE PRESS EDITORIAL TEAM

Editor-in-Chief Chloe Aslett

Deputy Editor Reiss Mason

Deputy Editor Hollie Taylor

Head of Socials and Advertising Joel Hooke

Inclusions & Welfare Officer Eva Pears

Head of Photography Shruthi Selvarajan

Head of Design Thomas Cather

Secretary/Social Secretary Abi Ware

Head of News Connor Ost

News Editor Ayesha Parwani

News Editor Ciara Hay

News Editor Aarthi Nageswaran

News Reporter Daniel Hunt

News Reporter Xiaoyi Jin

News Reporter Brooke Johnson

News Reporter Chloe Scofield

News Reporter Rebecca Symms-Rowley

Features Editor Erin Mansell

Features Editor Josh Thory-Rao

Opinion Editor Lia Freeman

Opinion Editor Ollie Inman

Science & Tech Editor Isabel Butterworth

Science & Tech Editor Ellie Hanzi

Lifestyle Editor Emily Duff

Lifestyle Editor Jessica Fitzpatrick-Howard

Acting Break Editor Joel Hooke

Arts & Theatre Editor Lucy Riddell

Arts & Theatre Editor Faith Suronku-Lindsay

Music Editor Alice Fletcher

Music Editor Charlie Sweeney

Screen Editor Connor Bragger

Screen Editor Ruby Watson

Games Editor Carla Biteanu

Head of Sport Jemma Snowdon

Sport Editor Tommy Gorman

Sport Editor Sam Quine

Multimedia Editor Charlotte Beever

Multimedia Editor Ayesha Parwani

Deputy Head of Advertising Tia Xiourouppas

Social Media Assistant Hannah Jackson

Social Media Assistant Jenisha Joshi

Website Manager Carla Biteanu

Break Editors x2 Vacant

Games Editor x1 Vacant

Letter from the Editor

Hello everyone, All of us at Forge Press hope you’re keeping well and looking forward to the winter break, despite the mountain of deadlines that seem to be coming with it. The first signs of ice seem to be appearing now, which is always alarming news if you live on any of the most notorious hills in the city (Conduit Road, we’re looking at you).

With the weather and the threats of strike action left right and centre, it’s important to be prepared if you’re travelling home in the next few weeks, and we’ve got all rail strike dates and background information you might need in this issue.

The strikes are of course not limited just to transport, and many of us have been affected by staff strikes this semester. There’s certainly a feeling of something changing on campus - the UCU strikes, while not coming as a surprise, have been the most widespread in years. That, paired with student protests every

week, goes to show there is no better time to pick up a paper and get informed than now.

This issue covers how much money the University has been receiving from companies supplying arms, student opinions on Just Stop Oil, reviews of everything from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to the theatre classic Mamma Mia!, and a cross-Sheffield student society’s efforts to encourage bone marrow donations.

If you want to write for us, fill out the google form on the Forge Press Contributors group on Facebook.

Thank you so much for grabbing a copy of the third print edition of the academic year, and as always, find these pieces and much more online at forgepress.org!

Take care,

Chloe Aslett Editor-in-Chief

Head

The big picture

of Photography, Shruthi Selvarajan, on the festive season in Sheffield

Just as soon as the skies fall darker, this glimmer of hope never fails to illuminate the streets of Sheffield. The most anticipated Christmas Big Wheel is now back sitting tall

NEWS

Hallam Campus to open in London

Page 6 ▶

NEWS

Men’s mental health charity pilgrimage

Page 7 ▶

OPINION

Should we fear Jordan Peterson?

Page 5 ▶

FEATURES

The unique hardships of student parents

Page 11 ▶

SCIENCE & TECH

‘Brains in a Dish’ exhibition comes to Sheffield

Page 14 ▶

ARTS & THEATRE

Mamma Mia! A theatre show to remember

Page 18 ▶

GAMES

and bright in the Moor. The ideal remedy for when your spirits are down, this ride truly makes you feel on top of the world.

Students’ unpopular gaming opinions

Page 24 ▶

View of the Ferris Wheel in the City Centre. Credit: Shruthi Selvarajan

£72m funding to University of Sheffield from arms companies in a decade

Connor Ost (he/him), Chloe Aslett (she/her)

Continues from front >>

It was discovered in 2020 that since 2015, BAE Systems sold over £17bn worth of arms to the Saudi Arabian government since 2015 who had engaged in a military campaign in Yemen.

Speculation has built over the UK government’s interest in the firm. BAE met Ex-International Trade Secretary Liam Fox in 2018 to discuss relations with the Saudi capital four weeks after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, an outspoken journalist against the Yemeni Civil War.

In 2016, BAE Systems said: “The Group’s extensive in-Kingdom training and support activities are at

high tempo. The Royal Saudi Air Force has achieved high utilisation and aircraft availability across its Typhoon and Tornado fleets, operating under demanding conditions.”

Cllr Parekh continued: “We want to build Sheffield as a powerhouse for clean growth, and to lead our fight for a better world. Sheffield University—established through the pennydonations of working class people to benefit working class people—should be leading that endeavour.”

A group of students occupied The Diamond on the University of Sheffield campus in October to protest the relationship between Rolls Royce and the university, as well as other arms-dealing firms.

A spokesperson from the University of Sheffield, said: “The University has a wide range of research, development and learning partnerships that work to further innovation, provide opportunities for students and find solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

“Our connections with industrial partners mean we can help to influence positive change and accelerate more sustainable manufacturing practices – making things faster, cheaper and greener to support our regional and national economy. For example, our work in highperformance lightweight materials has led to the production of lighter, more fuel-efficient cars and planes.

“We have a code of ethics for all of our research and innovation, which ensures there is rigorous governance in place.

wide range of organisations offering placements and graduate jobs at our careers fairs, so they can make personal informed decisions about their future careers.”

Sheffield women speak out in Reclaim the Night march

Ayesha Parwani (she/her)

Continues from front >>

The first march took place in Leeds in 1977, followed by protests in 12 other cities across the country that same

year.

The rape and murder of Sarah Everard and the murders of Sabina Nessa, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry have brought the issues of violence against women into the light again in recent years.

But for every high-profile crime in the news, thousands go unreported, as has been seen in England and Wales in the past year alone according to SOS Rape Crisis:

• 1.6 million women in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse

• Two-thirds of women aged 16 to 34 experienced harassment

• 85,000 women experienced rape or attempted rape.

Francis, a member of Sheffield FemSoc, said in a speech after the protest: “I’ve never spoken to someone who was assigned female at birth who hasn’t experienced a form of sexual violence.

“We shouldn’t have to accept this. We demand a

radical movement to solve a problem they have created.”

The UN proposed the International 16 Days of Activism Against GenderBased Violence Campaign. This was originally created to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year around the world from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day.

"

Meera Kulkarni, Centre Manager at Sheffield Rape

and Sexual Abuse Centre (SRASAC), says: “Perpetrators choose to perpetrate, we don’t have to put up with it, these are choices and actions they willingly engage in. Please believe, listen to and respect victims, when it’s safe don’t be a bystander.”

On the issue of violence across the gender spectrum, a spokesperson for Sheffield Students’ Union said: “We recognize that gendered violence is not simply violence against women and that many non-binary people and men are not protected against gendered violence, yet are often excluded from the conversation. We also recognize that gender is not the only factor at work in gendered violence and in responses to it.”

Holiday season under threat of further winter disruption

Connor Ost (he/him)

Strikes by workers in rail unions are set to reduce the number of available services in the run-up to Christmas and in the new year, as postal workers also plan for industrial action in December.

Thousands of workers have joined walkouts over the past several weeks in a variety of sectors, and new rounds of strikes are being announced for the holiday season.

Over 40,000 RMT union rail workers will walk out, having briefly suspended action at the start of November to engage in talks with National Rail.

The dates of the RMT's strike action are December 13, 14, 16, and 17.

Dates for early 2023 include January 3, 4, 6, and 7.

An overtime ban, a form of industrial action where workers refuse to work overtime hours, will also be in effect from 18 December

until 2 January.

According to the RMT, Network Rail ‘have failed to make an improved offer on jobs, pay and conditions’ for members during the last weeks of talks, and Rail Delivery Group ‘have also broken a promise to make a meaningful offer on pay and conditions.’

Services from the following rail operators will be affected:

• Chiltern Railways

• Cross Country Trains

• Greater Anglia

• LNER

• East Midlands Railway

• c2c

• Great Western Railway

• Northern Trains

• Southeastern

• South Western Railway

• Transpennine Express

• Avanti West Coast

• West Midlands Trains

• GTR

Meanwhile, the Communication Workers

Union have informed Royal Mail members who collect, sort, and deliver mail will take national strike action on December 9, 11, 14, 15, 23, and 24.

Royal Mail has apologised for the disruption and says it has ‘well-developed contingency plans’ in place

The announcements follow weeks of unrest from workers and unions including university and college staff, nurses, teachers in Scotland, Amazon workers, dock workers, oil

workers, and some 100,000 civil servants. Teachers in England, ambulance drivers, and firefighters are also deciding whether they will join national strike action. All disputes relate to pay, pension, job security or availability, and working conditions.

Lack of available student housing at an all time peak

Chloe Scofield (she/her)

A UK property developer has said that there are over three students for every one bed in student accommodations across the nation.

Stripe Property Group recently found the ratio of students to their student accommodation options to be 3.1:1, and found there is a shortage of nearly 1.5m student beds nationwide.

The company has estimated that there are roughly 2,180,419 full-time students enrolled at universities across the UK. This is in contrast to the mere 697,734 student beds available to them.

The current demand for rental properties is still dire. Across 15 of the major

university cities in the UK, nearly a fifth of available student properties have already been taken, leaving many students struggling to find adequate purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA).

Managing Director for Stripe Property Group, James Forrester, said: “It’s easy to see why the nation’s students feel their voice isn’t being heard on this issue as there is a real lack of initiative from the government to cultivate a thriving PBSA sector.

"Why would they, when they’ll happily sit back and collect the interest charged on student loans for the next thirty odd years, after many students have had to spend

almost the entirety of their loan simply to put a roof over their heads?”

Mr Forrester also mentioned that now for every one student that does find a place to live, there are more than two that will be displaced.

He added: “This lack of affordable, purpose-built living can cause an immense amount of stress and anxiety at a time when they should be focussing solely on their studies.

“As it stands, the private rental sector is left to pick up the slack but this often means paying way above the odds to rent a home that is quite often not fit for purpose.”

Sheffield Hallam Campus to open in London

Ciara Hay (she/her), Chloe Aslett (she/her)

Sheffield Hallam University is opening a new campus site in London, with plans to open from 2025 and have 5,000 students by 2030.

Brent Cross Town in northwest London, a flagship development costing £8 billion, will house the new satellite campus.

Oliver Coppard, South Yorkshire Mayor and former Chair of the Board for Sheffield Hallam Students’ Union, said: “A Sheffield Hallam campus in London will extend not only the University’s but South Yorkshire’s reach and reputation … Like the rest of South Yorkshire, Sheffield Hallam University has ambitious plans for the future.”

The University will offer a small number of key subjects and skills areas that are in high demand in the area, and provide work-based learning, experience, and placements in and around London.

Sheffield Hallam University

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Chris Husbands, said: “Sheffield Hallam is and always will be a university proudly rooted in South Yorkshire, with a long tradition of playing an active civic role.

“We are also a university committed to engaging nationally and globally, and to raising the profile and impact of the city and the region more widely.”

Related Argent, developer of Brent Cross Town, and Barnet Council approached the University for it to be the anchor higher education partner.

There are only a few universities in the country with branch universities, or satellite campuses: Coventry University has a campus in Scarborough, and Teesside University has a campus in Darlington.

When finished, the Brent Cross Town development is expected to be a net zero carbon town centre with up to 50,000 people living, working, and studying there.

Cost of living hub, £3m financial aid, and free events launched for students

The University of Sheffield is committing up to £3 million to support students facing financial difficulties due to the rising cost of living crisis.

All eligible students can apply for financial support to help cover unpaid placement costs, employability-related costs, graduation costs, IT equipment, living costs, energy costs, and househunting costs for students with dependents.

The new cost of living hub aims to bring together information about all of the help available from the University and Students’ Union. This provides details about how you can access financial support and the free

facilities and discounts on offer across campus.

In a mass email to students, Vice-Chancellor Professor Koen Lamberts said: “We know that the rising cost of living is a concern for many. The University is dedicated to supporting you, and we intend to work with your Students’ Union to develop additional support measures.”

The email shared updates including increases to PGR students’ stipend by 10%, and a £150 participation grant to cover extracurricular activities.

The University’s Global Campus programme provides free events for all students including dance sessions, walks, and arts and crafts,

with opportunities to make friends and socialise in warm spaces. To find up-to-date events, follow SheffGlobal on Instagram and Facebook.

If you live in any university accommodation (Ranmoor, Endcliffe, and Allen Court) a dedicated team of Residence Life mentors and community organisers host events daily ranging from Archery, International dinner nights and Zumba sessions.

The University is freezing all 2021/22 pricing in all their cafes and bars across campus and in the residences until the end of July 2023. The Students’ Union also has a range of offers and discounts across its food and drink outlets.

Ayesha Parwani (she/her)

University security staff bike-lock fire exits of occupied Hicks Building

Connor Ost (he/him)

A group of student protesters who occupied the Hicks Building on 24th November shared video footage of University of Sheffield Security Services using bike locks to lock them inside.

Videos from Sheffield Action Group show Security Services using D-locks to fasten all exits, including the fire exits at either end of the corridor.

The group alleges this action contravenes the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which states that emergency doors must not be locked or fastened so that they cannot be easily and immediately opened by anyone who may require them in an emergency.

Security Services argued they would unlock the doors in the event of an emergency or if the protesters chose to leave, causing alarm from the protesters who insist by

law they should be able to use the doors themselves, and that opening them in an emergency would take several minutes.

One of the occupiers, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It is dangerous and unacceptable that University management would endanger the lives of peaceful protesters in this way. We are here to demand dignity and better conditions for their staff, a struggle which has been fought for by the whole University community for years."

The group are calling on University management to meet the demands of the UCU strike, which include better pay, conditions, job security, and pension security.

Another student in Hicks said: “It is always deeply regretful to disrupt our fellow students and this is not the aim of our occupations.

“We feel that the disruption caused everyday to staff by poor pay, conditions, and job

security; and to students by inadequate mental health support, a marketised education system, and the cost of living crisis, is far more disruptive than an occasional occupation. We do not want to disrupt you.”

The occupiers have called on Security Operations Manager Simon Verrall and Vice-Chancellor Koen Lamberts to publicly apologise and resign as a result of the incident.

A spokesperson for the University said: “This group of occupiers had told us their intention was to disrupt University teaching and work … We support peaceful protests at the University.”

“Our priority is to minimise disruption for students as much as possible, so our security team worked to contain the occupiers in one area of the building. There were members of security at the doors at all times and the occupiers were free to leave the building at any time.” Sheffield Action Group say

they intend to contact the fire services over the alleged breach of fire regulations and

are exploring legal action for what they say is unlawful imprisonment.

Men's mental health charity pilgrimage comes to Sheffield

Ciara Hay (she/her)

HUMEN has launched

its ‘Rise Against Suicide’ campaign and is calling for Student Unions across the

country to take part.

The Rise Against Suicide sunrise walk happened on

Sunday 4th December, where fundraisers walked a Pub Pilgrimage of 5,151 metres – one for each man lost to suicide last year.

The Sheffield branch of the event opened with a talk at Loxley Bar and Grill, calling on the people of Sheffield to come to the pub and talk about their mental health.

Following the completion of its Mental Health League Table, HUMEN found that universities need to improve their campus facilities and staff training, and increase budgets to university mental health services.

River Hawkins, founder of HUMEN, said: “Students need friendly spaces to talk, listen and connect. As Student Unions are the cornerstone of every

campus, they can play an important role in addressing suicide and mental health.

“We want universities to consider mental health support just as much as they value academic performance – and they want to help. The right to talk should never be a privilege.”

The Rise Against Suicide campaign aims to encourage safe, progressive conversation in gathering places such as Students Unions.

This month representatives from HUMEN will also be going into Students Unions on British and Irish campuses in an attempt to facilitate conversations on mental health.

Just Stop Oil: we need to stop talking about 'what', and start asking 'why?'

The recent Just Stop Oil protests have sparked huge debate about protesting and whether motorway blockades cross a line for civil resistance. However, this is precisely the issue—why are we always concerned with the what, and never the why? Whatever you make of Just Stop Oil’s tactics, their message is far more important than any debate we could have over acceptable protest measures. The demands made by Just Stop Oil are clear. The environmental activists demand that the UK government ban all new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, including the 130 which are already planned. Anyone who does not support this motion has cognitive dissonance. The Paris Agreement of 2015 seemed to be a breakthrough moment where the world’s governments agreed to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees. However, current fossil fuel projects plan to produce over twice the amount of fossil fuels which are compatible with this target up until 2030. This would mean 2.7 degrees of warming by 2100. A world which breaches the 1.5 degree limit would have catastrophic consequences for future generations. There will be rising threats to global food security, a third of the world’s population will live in an ‘unlivable’ environment, and we will have a ‘hothouse earth’.

We are already at the stage where the main subject of discussion at COP27 was not what we are going to do to lower emissions, but how much loss and damage should be paid to help the poorest countries deal with the inevitable catastrophe coming their way. Some countries such as Tuvalu are already in such a dire position that they are planning to become a digital nation in order to preserve its history, which will inevitably be wiped out due to coming climate disasters. Whilst the loss and damage fund is a big step forward for climate justice, it only goes to illustrate how far down the road to calamity we already are.

Everything held dear to us is at stake if we continue to burn fossil fuels. There is no debate over this, an overwhelming 97% of scientists agree that climate change is caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Why then do we turn a blind eye to new oil and gas licences when they are death sentences for billions in the global south and will destroy the very fabric of society in the global north?

The answer to this question lies in the lack of attention that the mainstream media gives to climate change. Given that the survival of the planet is at stake, climate change should be at the top of both the media and the government’s agenda. Something has gone horribly wrong in our media, seeing

that the Secretary General of the UN’s apocalyptic warning at COP27: “Humanity has a choice, cooperate or perish” garnered less attention than the tactics of the activists.

Rishi Sunak gave interviews to both Sky News and Channel 4 News just recently at the G20, and not once was he asked about the new oil and gas licences being granted in the north sea. Beth Rigby asked Sunak four times if he would apologise for another Prime Minister’s mistakes in a seven minute interview rather than push him on this. Given what we know will happen if we keep on burning fossil fuels, how topical this debate was in the UK at the time of the interviews and that Sunak himself had to be pressured

failed to have meaningful discussions about climate change, meaning less progress can be made. Whether it's Ed Balls conflating climate protests with terrorism, Richard Madeley suggesting it might be “too expensive” to save the planet or Martin Robinson de-legitimising a protestor’s case because she had a wealthy upbringing, the debate is never conducted in a genuine way. Other outlets such as GB News have conducted the debate in such a ludicrous way that they have compared heatwave warnings with 'Don’t Look Up' a film which satirises society’s response to climate change.

to attend COP27, it is extraordinary that Sunak was not asked more about his thoughts on curbing climate chwange.

Not only does the media not hold the government accountable, they completely debase the debate around the issue. Popular media outlets such as Good Morning Britain and The Daily Mail have completely

If the media treated this issue with urgency then it would be far easier to hold world governments accountable and make significant change. Just Stop Oil protests have already made some progress, for example Lloyds Banking group have announced they will end all funding of new oil and gas developments as a result of the action. This is a company which invested £12.6 billion in the oil and gas sector since the Paris summit of 2015.

The good news is that the battle against climate change is not over, at the time of the Paris agreement in 2015 global temperatures were expected to hit 3.5 degrees. Measures taken since then decreased this prediction to an increase of 2.7 degrees. Whilst the figure of 1.5 degrees is something

we should do everything possible to avoid, we should not be so fatalistic about the challenges we face in order to reach that figure. Every tenth of a degree risks tens of millions more lives, as seen in a report on the differences between 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees which have vast impacts on the severity of floods, droughts and heatwaves for future generations.

Therefore, it is imperative we are not so apathetic about climate change and do everything possible to limit warming as much as possible. This requires the media to treat climate protests differently and urge politicians to make decisions with our planet in mind. Until they do so, it is unlikely that civil resistance and protesting will have the needed effect. We need to stop talking about what protesters are doing, and start asking why they’re doing it.

Thomas Managan (he/him)

Given that the survival of the planet is at stake, climate change should be at the top of both the media and the government's agenda

"

Whilst the figure of 1.5 degrees is something we should do everything possible to avoid, we should not be so fatalistic about the challenges we face

"

Credit: Matt Palmer via Unsplash

Has Matt Hancock changed what it means to be an MP?

Matt Hancock’s appearance in the renowned programme

I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here has sparked controversy and dissatisfaction amongst the public.

Hancock stated his decision behind entering the jungle was to use his platform to raise awareness for his dyslexia campaign and to prove that ‘all MPs are human.’

However, it comes with no surprise that the former health secretary’s choice to participate in a reality TV show was heavily criticised by members of the public and MPs from a range of parties who believed Hancock had no right to leave his job and constituents behind for his personal benefit.

After the news broke, Hancock’s whip was immediately suspended by the Conservative Party, with Conservative chief whip Simon Hart condemning the decision. Consequently, the MP will now sit as an independent. The constituents of West Suffolk responded to the absence of their MP in parliament with outrage, claiming they feel disillusioned with politics as the line between politics and popular culture has become blurred.

Initially, the politician was voted by the public to complete several bushtucker trials, potentially as retribution for his careless handling of the pandemic. However, Hancock’s completion of these gruesome activities without complaint appears to have won over the public, and his campmates who learnt to separate Matt Hancock from their 'campmate Matt' have helped Hancock to present MPs as ordinary citizens.

Therefore, the earlier shock and anger felt are no longer held by many viewers of the show, demonstrated by Hancock’s presence in the final episode. The public has shifted its attention

from disapproving of the politician’s entrance in the jungle to ultimately allowing him to finish the show in third place.

Despite some members of the public changing their perception of the MP after watching him on the show, many are still left appalled that a politician –specifically one who broke the government’s own lockdown guidance whilst being Secretary of State for Health and Social Care – was allowed to participate in a reality TV programme at a time when Parliament is running.

who had a turbulent time in office, to then engage in light entertainment, because this marks the beginning of the potential celebrity endorsement of MPs. The politician is reported to be getting paid £400,000 for his appearance, making him one of the highest-paid stars in the history of I’m A Celeb. In a challenging time for ordinary citizens struggling to pay their energy bills, this is difficult to accept.

The boundary between an MP, elected to represent their constituents in Parliament, and a celebrity has suddenly become more distorted. Hancock’s appearance on reality TV gave him the opportunity of reinventing himself, and gaining an alternate career in this field, just as many other participants of the show have done in the past.

This reinforces the change in the entertainment industry; it is reconceptualising the

image of a celebrity to meet what the public find most amusing. The relationship between politics and popular culture is as close to ruin as it has ever been. From Hancock’s participation in I’m A Celeb, we gain the impression that members of the public are more likely to accept the apology and overlook the mistakes of an authoritative figure, if they offer some form of entertainment.

We have witnessed this in the past with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the partygate scandal. Albeit his account is not related to a TV show like Hancock, but rather he managed to seek the forgiveness of Conservative Party supporters and escape accountability for a large period of time thanks to the ‘lad’ persona he upheld. Being referred to as ‘Boris’ or ‘Bojo’ convinced a lot of the public that he was one of us. Nonetheless, Hancock’s

appearance on a reality TV programme created for celebrities has established that aspects of politics are slowly intertwining with entertainment, perhaps further instituting the opportunity for MPs to take part in such activities outside of politics. For the public, this controversy hindered important political topics from gaining sufficient media coverage, which is unjust.

Our political arena has changed and become less about the problems we face as a society, but more about the scandals within the UK government. It is unfair for the public to allow MPs in positions of power to get away with much more than we could imagine. More members of the public should be angry about this. Otherwise, we will never hold our elected representatives accountable.

It goes without saying that an MP has more responsibilities during a cost of living crisis than ever before. They must be available and strive to deliver the needs of their constituents, ensuring they are doing their best to help. Yet with Hancock appearing on television, he disappeared from his constituency, abandoning his citizens to struggle on their own, without the help required during a financial crisis.

Hancock has been in the spotlight of the media, plastering front pages and headlines of newspapers whilst other social and political issues are disregarded. He was celebrated as a political figure and even forgiven by some for his breach of lockdown guidance after he attempted to seek forgiveness from his campmates in one episode.

It is inappropriate for someone like Hancock,

Momina Baig (she/her)

It is innappropriate for someone like Hancock, who had a turbulent time in office, to then engage in light entertainment, because this marks the beginning of the potential celebtrity endorsement of MPs

Credit: Matt Hancock Official Portrait

personal credit, he can also occasionally be funny and seems to take a genuine interest in helping people, especially disenfranchised young men, even if done for the wrong reasons.

However despite his rage against what he perceives as the woke establishment, Peterson’s ideas simply reaffirm notions that have existed for thousands of years. There is nothing radical about social conservatism, Peterson is simply using the discourse of the ‘culture war’ to dress it up. Peterson’s ideas are archaically reactionary and deserve to be critiqued as such. To take one such example, Peterson’s Lobster thesis.

beings and behave in a multitude of ways that are paradoxical if viewed through an unmovable prism of human nature.

There is a natural urge towards self-interested conflict in all animals but there is also a natural urge to socialise, to redistribute, to look after the greater good of the pack. If this were not the case then humans would have died out long ago. We are not the most physically gifted animal, not particularly strong or fast, our faculty is one of highly developed speech for advanced coordination as well as the ability to wield tools.

influence

Public intellectuals are a unique phenomenon; whereas most scholars dwell within university campuses and research habitats, their breed is more commonly found on our television screens.

One thinks of Noam Chomsky or Christopher Hitchens whose combination of intelligence, oratory and unorthodox views made them into cult icons. In 2022, our leading light seems to be a Canadian clinical psychologist named Jordan Peterson.

This should worry us. While the aforementioned sought to push the boundaries of society and challenge the status quo, Peterson, much to the detriment of his capable mind, only seeks to legitimise the injustices of what already exists.

First, let me offer some brief context. Jordan Peterson broke into the public spotlight because of his denunciation of Bill C-16, a Canadian law that made gender grounds for discrimination and incitement of hatred,

violence or genocide. His criticism was that the bill coerced private speech by compelling people to use gender pronouns.

Merits and demerits of this tenuous accusation aside, this episode enlisted Peterson in the till-raging culture war. However, far from a mere footsoldier, his ideas have become war cries of the counter-revolution.

Taking on what he terms ‘postmodern NeoMarxism’, Peterson has attacked the “far-left” on numerous fronts, refuting the ideas of LGBTQ+ movements, feminism, and climate change activism as ‘woke ideology’ which he ascribes to a breakdown in traditional values. Although casting himself as an antiestablishment figure, Peterson is now a recognised household name. His book Twelve Rules for Life has sold five million copies and he has recently started his own university.

But why should we care? How can this help us deal with real-world problems such as a looming global recession? Because ideas are the most powerful tools in the human arsenal. “You can kill a man but not an idea,” stated civil-rights activist

Medgar Evers. Once an idea gains traction it disperses into society becoming common sense. If ideas are tools, then intellectuals are their craftsmen.

But as is often the case with public figures, we can become absorbed in their provocative personalities without understanding their ideas and the implications of them.

Although I disagree with Peterson on all his political expressions, he is a

The lobster thesis features prominently in the first chapter of Peterson’s book ‘12 Rules for Life’ and essentially maintains that because lobster’s organise themselves in competence hierarchies, humans should do so as well. Lobsters compete based on the same serotonin responses as humans; for example, when lobsters battle over a potential mate their serotonin levels are at play, with the winner receiving a boost while the defeated lobsters slump. As a result, the winning lobster moves around with its chest puffed out and leads its group.

captivating public speaker, mixing a radical tone with a caring attitude towards those he deems oppressed by the ‘wokeists’. He has engendered relationships with popular figures, appearing on Joe Rogan and Piers Morgan’s podcasts as well as a smattering of others.

No doubt about it, Peterson is the first public intellectual to truly capture the information age. To his

Peterson calls this a competence based social hierarchy, where power is assigned to individuals because they are the most capable. Peterson uses this to justify post-industrial capitalism, viewing the 1% as predicated on talent; in his words CEO’s are ‘exceptionally capable highly motivated individuals’ who deserve their position. Furthermore, equality of outcome is unattainable and undesirable since it would not be “natural.”

The lobster thesis exemplifies the fault that underlies most of his philosophy: taking on a narrow view of human nature and a supposition that just because something is ‘natural’ in this way, it is inherently desirable. This example of a naturalistic fallacy first ignores the fact that neither lobsters nor humans are one dimensional

These were developed so we could survive, so that we could hunt larger animals such as the mammoth and share the spoils. Hunter gatherer societies were both communistically and hierarchically organised to some degree; there were leaders, but they operated to coordinate the group rather than extract surplus from it. Secondly, even if our human nature were solely that of hierarchical selfinterested competence, that does not mean we should structure our societies around it. Just because something is natural does not mean that it is right or that it works.

Some of the greatest creations of humanity such as civil and human rights didn’t grow from trees or spring from the ground, they were man made to create a better society. If we had followed Dr Peterson’s advice millions of years ago we would still all be huntergathers, since that was the most natural system.

This is but one of Peterson’s ideas, there are many more that are premised on the same logic. In a world apparently warped by postmodern neomarxists, one wonders when we are going to become post-Peterson.

‘You can kill a man but not an idea’Civil Rights Acitivist Medger Evers

“

The

of public intellectuals: should we fear Jordan Peterson?

Credit: Chris Williamson via Getty Images

Joseph J Silcock (he/him)

If ideas are tools, then intellectuals are their craftsmen

“

"I felt really isolated": The unique hardships of student parents

George Devo

“I remember being heavily pregnant walking into lecture theatres and not being able to walk through the aisle to get a chair. I felt really isolated. Lonely.”

Annie, 30, is one of Sheffield University’s many students with children. She’s remembering a moment in her second year, one that may be all too familiar for student parents.

Born, raised, and educated in Sheffield, Annie is currently balancing caring for her four-year-old son with tackling the first year of her Sociology PhD.

Most students struggle to attend lectures scheduled before midday, but student parents like Annie must combine the rigours of academia with the matter of raising a living, breathing human being.

The unimaginable for most, is a daily reality for some. A significant minority make the same investment in University as the rest of us, only with an altogether different lifestyle.

Annie sees experiences like hers as a symptom of a system that doesn’t sufficiently cater for those who don’t 'fit the bill', those different to the middle class eighteen-year-old archetype. This feeling is not uncommon. Bethany, starting the fourth year of her PhD in January while caring for her three-year-old daughter, doesn’t see herself as “shunned” but makes it clear that the balancing act between the role of student and parent is something that people don’t understand.

“Things are harder for you and that’s not always acknowledged,” she said.

It’s a challenge student parents alone must meet, how to fulfil academic obligations while making sure their child is, at the risk of sounding like a life insurance ad, happy and healthy.

This challenge, in the economic climate of 2022, is most clearly shown in its financial implications, which are dominated by childcare.

The University nursery, is “brilliant” and the people who run it are “really nice”, according to Annie. It, received unanimous praise from all the students I spoke to.

Madeleine Perry, a third year medicine student and mother of a two-year-old daughter, was similarly positive about the staff but admitted that paying for childcare has been “the bane of my life” nonetheless.

This is a contrast frequently mentioned by student parents, the quality of service they receive from the nursery pitted against the fact that, to put it simply,

be “made difficult as a deterrent”, with “so many hoops to jump through.”

All the students featured in the piece are married, or in long-term relationships. Crucial to their experience is that they have a partner to shoulder the financial burden with. Some also have close family or friends living locally, willing to share in childcare responsibilities. For prospective students without similar support networks, the cost may prove prohibitive.

One student from India, who wished to remain anonymous, brought her parents-in-law with her to Sheffield to manage the care of her young son. She said how the UK manages childcare is a “total shift” culturally from her home

by the University.

Other measures that could be taken to prevent prospective student parents being shut out from studying at Sheffield include the University easing access to emergency funds and further subsidising nursery fees.

Describing the University’s pastoral support, students suggest the picture is somewhat brighter.

The experience of student parents and their individual departments are largely positive. Bethany describes hers as “incredibly supportive.”

Since her pregnancy, she’s undertaken two separate leaves of absence, during which academics and administrative staff made it clear that her wellbeing comes first.

parents face, and how the University succeeds or fails in helping them get by, maybe the bigger issue is a question of culture.

Annie points out that if you input ‘University of Sheffield student parents’ into Google you’ll be greeted by an exhaustive and thoroughly helpful guide for how to be a parent of a student.

“We’re a demographic that’s not on their radar. Certain parts of the University are really only bothered about engaging with people from conventional backgrounds,” she said.

Another sign is how the University’s Experience Sheffield scholarship, offered to widen participation amongst underrepresented groups, doesn't include being a parent in their eligibility criteria.

Maddie said: “Most of my classmates get the scholarship, but I miss out as I don’t meet the requirements.”

The consensus is that this disconnect is more down to ignorance than malice. An institution lacking awareness, rather than being hostile to, student parents.

Annie is quick to emphasise she is not seeking pity. “I don’t expect anyone to carry me through university … It's a massive privilege, being a mum and a student."

the uni nursery isn’t cheap. At £137.50 for 25 hours of care a week, it is level with the national average of £137.69.

The University offers a small nursery fee subsidy –cutting costs from £4 to £8 a session – and access to a hardship fund for those who are struggling to shoulder the costs. However, both depend on having an annual household income lower than £25,000 and share a strict application process – thought by Bethany to

country – where children are cared for by their grandparents.

“I feel guilty about dragging them through this at their age,” she said. They are scheduled to return to India in a month’s time, and she knows it will be difficult without them. Her husband’s work requires a long commute and so outside of nursery hours she will be solely responsible for her son’s care. She suggests the provision of a service after nursery time provided

She said: “Short-breaks and extended deadlines aren’t treated like the end of the world.”

Maddie spoke of leaning on her personal tutor when stressed about managing the parental-academic balance. During their last meeting she was “having kittens” about how she was going to pay for childcare and he was very supportive, suggesting a range of financial options she could investigate.

However, aside from the practical challenges student

Bethany also recommends entering University as a parent, provided you are “firm with your boundaries and unafraid of being vulnerable with your course managers.

“During meetings it feels like I’m oversharing, but that’s the only way they can help me, if they know the whole situation,” she said. These parents were all aware that earning a degree while raising a child was always going to be hard, and they’re fine with that, they just don’t want it to be prohibitively so.

Protests in Iran have now been going on for almost seven weeks, since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on 16 September, after she was detained by morality police for “inappropriate attire”.

Protesters have been marching the streets in Iran, and up to 2,000 will be publicly tried by the Iranian government. Journalists who reported on Mahsa Amini’s death have also been arrested and accused of spying for foreign governments – a crime which carries the death penalty.

Bita Kalantari, 44, a linguist, lived in Tehran until she was 24, after completing an undergraduate degree at a university in Yazd. Miss Kalantari moved to the UK after facing difficulties in Iran. She now lives in Sheffield with her daughter, but still has family in Iran.

“It’s a very, very hard time at the moment for me, but it’s nothing compared to what my family go through on a daily basis,” she says. “Some of my friends go to protests every day. They go outside to chant on the streets and put their lives at risk.

“My mum is 70 years old now and lives on her own. So she doesn’t go out and she’s very scared of living on her own.”

Miss Kalantari has not visited Iran in 20 years, and fears that she won’t be able to see her family again. “I’ve always had the hope that one day I will be able to see my mum again,” she says. “When my dad passed away about 10 years ago, I was not able to go to Iran. I know that there’s no chance of being able to see my family again if this regime continues.”

Miss Kalantari has been in constant contact with her family since the events began. She says her family

tell her stories of Iranian officials using loudspeakers to threaten those who protest. “Things just escalated so fast,” she said.

“They have really been cracking down on the protesters, killing them, abducting them, torturing them. My family has not yet been affected this way, like so many others have been. But still they are putting their lives at risk. I’m very much worried about hearing from my cousins. I’m constantly glued to my mobile.”

Miss Kalantari also has experience at the hands of the Iranian morality police, though she wasn’t arrested, when she was about 14. “I was always crying. I was humiliated by it,” she said.

“It’s very difficult for a

woman to have the sorts of freedom that men have in Iran. Right now when I hear about all these things, it’s just like a flashback of everything that I experienced. I’ve come through a lot of things. But I’m here, and I feel safe here in this country because I enjoy this democracy and freedom.

“I just think – why can’t other people, my sisters,

my family, experience this?

It’s their fundamental basic human rights.”

Miss Kalantari is part of a minority religion in Iran, which she says left her facing hardship at University.

“I have firsthand experience of the treatment that the government gives to minorities,” she says. “In university, people who are supporters of the regime have their own groups and if you’re not supporting their groups, then you don’t get the same opportunities.

Coming from a minority religion, we cannot get to higher positions. We only have one representative at parliament, from the whole country.”

The current Iranian Supreme Leader is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has held

the position since 1989. He is the second Supreme Leader of Iran, and holds authority over the national police and the morality police.

Miss Kalantari spoke about the previous movements in Iran, which have been suppressed by the government.

“Many times we have heard about demonstrations and protests, but the government always shuts them down. To be honest, this is something that we have seen a lot. It has been over 40 years of living with this regime that’s not been serving its own people.

“It is still heartbreaking to see how people are getting brutally killed and attacked on the streets. It haunts me when I go to sleep and I have so many nightmares now. But it’s something that I have grown up with. I know how brutal this regime and their supporters can be, and they don’t spare anyone who stands against them.”

Miss Kalantari now lives in Sheffield with her daughter, who is a student at the University of Sheffield. “My daughter was born here. She’s never been to Iran but she feels very strongly because she sees that I’m so affected by it,” she said. “She keeps telling me that I have to look after myself as well if I want to be able to carry on.

“When I think about what my family and friends are going through, I feel like the least I can do is to be their voice, and raise awareness and make sure that the world knows exactly what is happening.

“We have managed to get the world’s attention on what is happening in Iran. But this is not going to be a quick and easy thing. It’s going to be quite a long way but we will win.

“All that Iranian women around the world are asking for is justice and freedom.”

"There’s no chance of being able to see my family again if this regime continues": The haunting experience of an Iranian woman living in Sheffield

Erin Mansell (she/her)

" I know that there’s no chance of being able to see my family again if this regime continues

Drag Race’s Ella Vaday on her mum’s breast cancer journey

Joshua Thory-Rao (he/him)

October’s breast cancer awareness

month may be over, but the time to talk about breast cancer certainly isn’t – it never is. It’s never the wrong time to get to know your body and check for warning signs that could save your life.

Ella Vaday is a drag queen and star of the popular TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race, where she was a finalist of the third season near the end of 2021.

Towards the end of her run on the show, Ella’s mum Donna told her that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It made coming into the public eye a lot more difficult for the drag queen, who felt her burgeoning fame was affecting her desire to spend as much time with her mother as possible.

“I think it’s one of those things that we don’t talk about enough, especially as young people,” she said, “you think, ‘I’ll only get ill when I’m older.’”

The diagnosis prompted Ella to reach out to the breast cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel. She explained, “What stood out to me was how they are so diverse on who they’re aiming at, it doesn’t matter your gender. I loved that they focused it on young people regardless of your gender.”

Ella and her mum recently partook in a campaign with CoppaFeel where they talked about her mum’s diagnosis whilst Ella put her in drag.

CoppaFeel’s focus on young people is something that Ella feels is particularly important, and with many young people being unaware of symptoms, or how to check themselves, Ella has a message for young people and students.

“Don’t spend your whole life worrying about something that might not happen, but just be aware of

the signs and what to look out for,” she says. “Make sure you’re aware of your own body, be aware of how to check yourself, and any doubts, just get it checked out straight away.”

save their life. They are the first breast cancer charity in the UK to focus solely on creating awareness amongst young people, and promoting knowledge and tools to know their bodies.

To help young people, CoppaFeel offer a variety of resources on their website to educate, including digital resources or material packs you can request free of charge. They have a selfcheckout tool, which walks you through the process of checking yourself, and you can set up a text notification from them reminding you each month to check yourself.

thickening, swelling in your armpit or around your collarbone, or constant, unusual pain in your breast or armpit according to CoppaFeel’s website.

Ella’s mum’s cancer was picked up by a sign like this, she said. “The start of it was literally her nipple inverting. Any sort of change can be something more serious,”

On their page Get to Know Your Boobs, CoppaFeel talks you through the various signs and symptoms that could signal breast cancer, to keep an eye out for.

within breast cancer is that it doesn’t affect men. This

CoppaFeel exist to educate and remind every young person in the UK that checking their chest could

Whilst CoppaFeel suggests that you should check your chest once a month, it may be beneficial to check more frequently in the first month to familiarise yourself with your body, so that you can be in a position to notice any changes.

These could include, to name a few, lumps or

Although there is no right or wrong way to check, CoppaFeel recommend in the shower, in front of a mirror or wherever you feel most comfortable.

“The main thing is to know what your normal body feels like,” Ella said. This way you are aware of any changes in your breasts, pecs or chest and can seek medical advice if you are concerned.

A common misconception

comes down to the idea that men don’t have breasts, however everyone has breast tissue and therefore should be regularly checking themselves. Around 400 men a year get breast cancer yearly in the UK, so although uncommon, it does occur.

Ella’s following has grown significantly after her drag race run, and she now boasts over 300k followers on Instagram. With this massive platform, Ella feels almost obligated to use her voice for good.

“If I can’t do something to spread awareness for something really important and something that literally touches my family and the most important person in my life, which is my mum, then what’s the point of having a platform of people?”

Next month, fans of Ella can look forward to her Christmas tour with fellow RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 3 finalist Kitty Scott Claus.

On this, Ella said: “If anyone came to see the season 3 tour, you will have seen that me and Ki tty just have the best time ever. We’re best mates, and we’re gonna cause absolute carnage around the country in December.”

The tour runs from 11-23 December.

By making everyone more aware of how they can spot the signs of breast cancer early, we can help save lives. This is why the work that CoppaFeel and Ella Vaday are doing is so important.

"

Don’t spend your whole life worrying about something that might not happen, but just be aware of the signs and what to look out for

"The main thing is to know what your normal body feels like

New ‘Brains in a Dish’ exhibition in Sheffield

Charlotte Burdge (she/her)

An immersive and interactive exhibition has recently opened at two sites local to Sheffield.

The ‘Brains in a Dish’ exhibition is now open to the public at Barnsley’s Cooper Gallery until 14 January 2023, to showcase the extraordinary processes and technologies involved in pioneering dementia research.

Three years in the making, this breath-taking exhibition represents seven years of collaboration between artist Charlie Murphy, research lead Professor Selina Wray, and electronics engineer Robin Bussell. Charlie Murphy has presented her previous works internationally, across many science and art contexts. Her installations typically use glass, light and digital tools to illustrate complex human anatomy in a truly mesmerising and engaging

way.

The ‘Brains in a Dish’ exhibition is no exception. Glass neurones, made from glass burettes, have been individually arranged to represent the intricate neural network within the brain. When robotic lasers penetrate light through them, the interwoven lattice becomes a visual phenomenon. This fascinating light choreography, designed by Robin Bussell, mimics the electrical pulses of energy passing across the network of brain cells.

Professor Wray said, “I really like the glass sculptures that Charlie has developed in response to our cells and the images she’s seen. They’re very beautiful but on a deeper level they really capture the fragility and the delicateness of the cells that we’re growing, recognising just how fragile they are in our brain.”

Professor Wray grew up

in Barnsley, on St George’s Road, and her family received benefits. Now leading a world-renowned research team at University College London (UCL), she said, “this exhibition has a particular resonance for me – it’s a privilege to bring the work to my hometown where everything started for me, and I’m excited for the local communities to have the chance to interact with it.” To complement the exhibition, a series of free hands-on activities have been organised for families, schools, and community groups aimed to raise the

profile of dementia research.

Scheduled to take place across several Barnsley Museum sites, they include: getting creative and making your own pipe-cleaner neurons, collaging brain cell cultures in petri dishes and hot glass demonstrations with the opportunity to learn how to blow a glass ‘Selina Cell’.

It is estimated that around one million people in the UK are living with dementia, and about 3000 of those are from Barnsley alone. Alzheimer’s, the most common type of dementia, is understood to be caused by a build-up

of two proteins (amyloid and tau) in the brain. This results in worsening brain function, which manifests as symptoms of confusion, disorientation and speech and language impairment. Currently, there is no treatment for dementia. However, the remarkable research carried out by Professor Way and her team at UCL shines hope for the future of those living with Alzheimer’s. This unique exhibition is not one to miss, especially if your interests align with those of the arts, science, and technology.

Carbon capturing wind turbines: a new approach to tackle climate change

Catherine Fewster (she/her)

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) involves carbon dioxide (CO2) being removed from the atmosphere and stored underground. Wind turbines which remove carbon dioxide from the air could be a new approach for tackling climate change, and combining this technology with wind farms could lead to large quantities of CO2 being removed from the air streams created by turbines.

CCS has been used by fossil fuel companies for decades to capture CO2 when burning coal and natural gas. The fumes are passed over direct air capture systems, which consist of liquid or gel-based panels, trapping greenhouse gases and preventing them

from being released into the environment. The extracted molecules are then transported into underground stores via pipelines.

Engineers at Purdue University, Indiana, suggest that by combining CCS with tall wind turbines they will be able to access the out of reach greenhouse gases which reside in the upper atmosphere. This includes areas of high CO2 concentration such as above factories, cities and power stations. They also hope that by using clean energy produced by wind farms and the existing pipeline networks, that the energy and financial costs associated with installing CCS mechanisms will be reduced.

As the need for cheap, renewable energy sources

continues to rise there are concerns over whether more initiatives competing for wind-power should be developed. The American research group intends to use excess energy generated by the wind farms for extracting the CO2. This will have the added benefit of reducing energy waste in

areas of the United States where energy production often exceeds usage. However, there is also uncertainty regarding the Earth’s underground storage capacity and the long-term impact of burying vast quantities of greenhouse gases.

Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) is a new field of research which could provide a solution.

CCUS explores ways in which captured carbon can be recycled and locked into new materials such as cement, jet fuel, and plastics. The cement industry alone is responsible for approximately 8% of CO2 emissions worldwide, so reusing this released CO2 will limit additional contributions to climate change from human sources

and activities. While locking captured CO2 is beneficial for climate change, fashion companies such as Zara had partnered with LanzTech to release a sustainable clothing line which uses fabrics consisting of atmospheric CO2 in 2021. Despite growing knowledge regarding limiting, or even reversing, mankind’s contribution to climate change, there are still significant time and financial costs associated with updating and creating infrastructure with technological advances. Wide-scale implementation of carbon capturing wind turbines, therefore, may still be some way from joining the fight against climate change.

Image Credits: GerryShaw from Wikimedia Commons

Image credit: Thomas Reaubourg on UnSplash

Groundbreaking study suggests bees enjoy playing

If there’s anything members of the animal kingdom have in common, it’s their affinity for play. For most animals, play is as common as eating and sleeping. Whether puppies, lorikeet birds or humans, the art of play, defined as an action that does not lead to any obvious outcome besides enjoyment, is vital for cognitive development. While insects aren’t usually the first species on our minds when considering playful animals, new research from the University of Queen Mary and The University of Oulu suggests bumblebees also

revel in the simple pleasure of play.

The research follows an experiment conducted by Samadi Galpayage Dona in 2017. This study discovered buff-tailed bumblebees’ ability to transport balls into goals when presented with a sugar-based reward. While the study successfully proved bee’s ability to move balls for a reward, researchers accidentally stumbled on another significant finding: bees may experience emotions. Realising that the bee participants were stopping to roll the balls (perching on top of a ball and rotating it along the floor) for no other reason than pleasure, Galpayage

Dona theorised that bees were able to play. Their most recent experiment set out to test this hypothesis. Conducted by Galpayage Dona and her team, the study involved placing bumble bees in an enclosed area with 18 coloured balls. Despite the fact that the bees were provided with an unobstructed route to a sugary treat, many stopped to roll the balls around the enclosed space, even though this deviated from the path to food. With no practical benefit, such as finding food or a mate, resulting from the action of ball rolling, researchers like Gordon Burghat were left with “no reservations” towards referring to the

action as play.

Furthering the research on the bees’ inclination to play, was the study’s emphasis on how gender and age factors impacted the bee’s likelihood of stopping to roll the balls. While each bee rolled the balls between one and 117 times, male bees and younger bees were actually more likely to play for longer.

“Insect minds are far more sophisticated than we might imagine,” said Lars Chittka, a leading scientist behind the research and author of The Mind of a Bee. While studies conducted as early as 1984 have explored insect’s ability to feel pain, few

have explored their ability to feel emotions.

This study is pivotal in our understanding of insect’s ability to experience pleasure. We’re only left wondering what other em otions these insects are capable of experiencing.

Image Credits: Richard Bartz, Wikimedia Commons.

Dust in space – how does light sculpt matter?

A-level physics students among us may well be aware of the photoelectric effect and the waveparticle duality of light, but fewer of us may be aware that light can exert a physical force on objects. Whilst too small to be noticeable day to day, this ‘radiation pressure’ can have a substantial impact. The cumulative effect of small forces from the radiation pressure can build up to mould the formation of huge gas and dust clouds. A rare interaction between two stars in our galaxy is allowing astronomers to investigate just how much of an effect light can have.

Two colliding stars, WR 140 and its companion in the Cygnus constellation (around 5,600 light years away), are providing insights into the effect radiation pressure can have on the movement and formation of dust and gas clouds. The two colliding stars create dust as the gases released condense into soot, and

this is propelled away from the stars at a reasonably swift 6.5 million kmh.

By observing these dust clouds over 16 years, astronomer Yinuo Han reports in the scientific journal, Nature, that it is possible to observe the dust accelerating to over 10 million kmh. At that speed, the dust would be able to make the trip from the sun to Neptune and back within the time that Liz Truss spent as PM.

Radiation pressure comes from the transfer of momentum between an object and light. Whether you consider light as an electromagnetic wave or as individual photons, it always carries momentum, despite having zero mass. Whenever light then interacts with an object there must be a conservation of momentum, and, as such, light exerts a force upon that object. You won’t be able to feel the light interacting with you right

now, but the effect on small dust particles in deep space is many orders of magnitude

allowed the University of Cambridge team to see more of the dust layers around the two companions. Soot is released in eight-year cycles as the two stars orbit each other, and this creates unique cone-shaped releases that allow for comparison over time. The position of the stars means we observe them from the ‘inside’ of the cone, such that the cones appear as concentric rings. These rings allow us to deduce the acceleration of the soot.

the density of the colliding gas should be largest at this point.

The University of Cambridge team suggested that this shows there is a ‘goldilocks zone’ for dust condensation between stars. Andy Pollock, an astrophysicist at The University of Sheffield has conducted similar work on this pair of stars but looking at X-ray radiation emitted rather than dust. “Their Goldilocks zone is a new idea… A similar sort of thing happens in my field of X-rays”.

larger. As such, we are able to view the dust clouds created by this pair of stars and measure just how large the impact is. Until recently, it wasn’t possible to view the entirety of these dust clouds without the help of another innovation.

The James Webb Space Telescope, which recently made headlines with its stunning new photos of deep space objects,

By observing the soot clouds, the researchers could see that the rate of dust generation varies throughout the orbit. Logically, when the pair were furthest away, the amount of the gas coming into contact with each other becomes too low to precipitate significant amounts of dust.

Astronomers observed this as expected, but they also saw a second period of low dust production when the stars were at their closest. This surprised the team as

With his work at Sheffield, Pollock has observed a similar goldilocks effect with the number of X-rays emitted. The process of two gases colliding to form dust and the processes by which radiation is emitted are seemingly unconnected, but Pollock believes that “all of this must somehow fit together”. If there is indeed a link between the two goldilocks zones, finding the connection between them could reveal some deeper secrets of how stars in our galaxy interact with each other.

Olivia Booth

Matthew Boland

First year problems: Reminders for the spring semester

There’s one thing that all students at the University of Sheffield can say we have in common, we were all Freshers once. And though our individual experiences of that period can differ greatly, there were still many that we all went through. So, for the first years of 2022, ahead of Refreshers in January, here’s a helpful guide of some of the problems you may encounter and how to solve them.

1

Making friends

This is probably the number one cause of anxiety for most people when coming to uni. The best piece of advice I can give here is to just use as many opportunities as you can to meet new people. Go to societies. They are the best place to meet people with your interests and hobbies.

Going to social events with your course. As well as this, even just chatting to people next to you in lectures and/or walking back from lectures with coursemates is a good way of meeting new people.

Introduce yourself to your neighbours and others in your apartment block. You don’t have to meet your best friend in the first week, but if you have met a healthy pool of people then you’ll naturally end up gravitating towards a core friendship group during your time in first year.

2

Money

We all wish it could grow on trees, but Uni can be expensive if you don’t budget properly.

For the first couple weeks give yourself a target on how much you want to spend on food and nights out. Once you’ve worked out what you can afford along with other costs like laundry, that you can stick to. Set some money aside for some spontaneity as well, this allows you to balance both money and making memories.

Check out what grants or bursaries you might be entitled to, consider a part time job as well, even just one shift a week can go a long way towards your budget.

3

Food

For many it's going to be the first-time food shopping and cooking so here are some tips: Make meals last two days. Simply upping the portion sizes can lower the cost of a meal. Try to make it last for two main meals or for one and tomorrow's lunch - this also saves loads of time when you can’t be bothered to cook.

Use a mix of recipes and go-to meals - most of us will have a couple of recipes we can do with our eyes closed but don’t just rely on those Get some recipes, and cook some dishes you haven’t done before.

Meal plan. If you plan for what you are going to cook

that week, you’ll save more money than if you were buying meals day to day. It also saves you wasting food that’s gone over the expiry date.

4Cleaning Student halls can be a mess and it's potluck whether you get tidy flatmates. If they aren’t very tidy then here’s the best way of keeping the flat in order. Set ground rules as a flat on how long you can leave dishes out and what you all think is an acceptable level of cleanliness (your Residence Life mentor should help with this).

My advice would be to keep and use your own stuff for cooking and eating but to share stuff for general house cleaning.

The main goal here is to make cleaning a collaborative effort that everyone does so if everyone pitches in on washing up liquid and kitchen cleaner, they are more likely to use and restock it.

If you must pull someone up on cleaning, don’t do it in the group chat, just politely remind them or ask for a hand in cleaning up.

5Going on a night out There can be all sorts of challenges attached to this one but let's blame that on the alcohol. Make pre drinks enjoyable, it's much cheaper than going out early and a great way to bond with people, just make sure you’ve got a good speaker and a playlist

or person on the music that everyone can enjoy. Don’t leave it too late. Tickets for clubs can be expensive, especially for Freshers Week, so make the most of it, the best time to get in is usually between 1212:30. The same is true for leaving as you may want to get food or a decent night's sleep, it can also be much harder to find a taxi at 4am. Tell people where you are; if you’re leaving with different people or at a different time let someone you trust know where and when you’re going to be back. Have a hangover cure. The internet will have a plethora of these so don't let a great night ruin the next day, at the very least eat plenty of food before you start and drink enough water when you get back. 6

your study time

Freshers’ flu

From personal experience the worst thing that happened during my first year, so prepare yourself in case you catch it. Register with the University Health Service, this is easy to do and can be done online in the Student Hub. If you end up getting ill, then take paracetamol and plenty of water. If it's severe or persistent then make an appointment with the GP.

7Study

After all of that we can sometimes forget that we will eventually have to go to lectures, here are some ways to make the most of

Go to the lectures. Some courses take attendance, others don’t but either way it's better to see them in person then watch them back online. If, like me, you struggle to get out of bed in the mornings then the best advice is to plan something before or after the lecture, whether it's the gym, the park, meeting up with friends, give yourself something additional to motivate you to get up. Find your study space - find the place where you can do the best work. I noticed that the essays I did in the IC were much better than the ones I did in my bedroom, find whatever works best for you and it will help improve your grade Don’t stress over study but remember it's important. If you don’t try in First Year you won’t know what you can do well and what you may struggle with and that’s not something you want to suddenly realise in Second Year when it counts. Don’t feel like each test or essay is life or death, just use it for your own development in your study.

And that ultimately is what the First Year is about, development. It is about you learning how to solve problems not just in your study, but in life as you become a proper adult for the first time. And if you’ve managed to read this article all the way through, you are well on your way to making the most of your year.

Sam Hemsley

Credit: Margaux Bellot via UnSplash

you don't look gay?": Finding yourself in the LGBTQ+ community

Ella Gilbert (she/her)

If I had a pound for every time that I’ve heard that, I’d finally be able to pay off my student overdraft. From both inside and outside the community, there are assumptions that queer people usually look a certain way, which leads to naive assumptions and unwarranted statements. Lots of queer individuals adjust the way that they dress to appear more or less “gay”, and it’s something most of us are at least aware of. This is particularly common among the “baby gays”. Stereotypes sometimes exist for a reason. There are obviously lots of trends amongst the LGBTQ+ community, as there are in any large demographic. Discovering your identity

can be daunting and unsettling so often when you find a group of people you align with, you’ll do everything in your power to fully “integrate” yourself. There’s something oddly comforting about people correctly assuming your identity. It avoids some of the exhaustion that comes with constantly coming out to everyone you meet, and can make you feel like you finally “fit in”. The media perpetuates only a select few archetypal queer characters, who are what people picture when they hear the words “queer”, or “gay”, or “lesbian”, leaving everyone else a little lost.

Appearance can play a big role in forming and expressing your identity. It can be either incredibly

validating or crushingly invalidating when assumptions are made about your appearance. When questioning identity, the last thing you want is someone else’s opinion adding to that chaos. There is already so much variety between the traditional queer stereotypes - think masc vs femme vs androgynous - so it is incorrect to assume that each identity has just a few images. If you don’t conform to this style blueprint, you are often left feeling alienated. First, your gender identity or sexuality doesn’t match with the “normal” and now you’re being told that you don’t match up to this new community either? It can feel like you constantly have to prove something and are always fending off

questions like “Have you ever actually dated a girl though?”, which are frankly irrelevant. Your own opinion is the only one that matters when it comes to your identity, but it's natural to crave that validation.

Alas, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. While appearance and identity are often explored at the same time, they can be untangled.

At some point, everyone finds a style and presentation that makes them feel more comfortable, and comes to understand themselves more and more. Neither style nor identity will have one permanent fit for you. As humans, we are constantly growing and learning more and more about ourselves every day. There is something so simple yet so beautiful and euphoric in “finding yourself” and being confident in it, regardless of whether or not it matches societal expectations. You’ll find the people that you have to prove yourself for. And one day, the tables will turn and you’ll notice someone else where you began and you’ll realise just how far you’ve come.

"But

We have the potential for a world where everyone can lead a prosperous life without bursting through planetary boundaries...

"

Credit: Teddy O via UnSplash

Theatre Review

Mamma Mia!: ‘A Show to Remember!’

On 24th October, the Lyceum opened its doors to the much loved theatre classic, Mamma Mia. With an insanely talented cast & wellimagined set, you cannot help but be transported to the small Greek island alongside the characters in their emotional journey to finding love and acceptance through the course of the show, driven by both excitement and fear in equal measure.

lyrics of ‘I Have A Dream’ as she expresses her wish to meet her father, just in time for him to walk down the aisle at her wedding. The diversity of the cast was a joy to see from the outset, as Pandya was quickly joined onstage by Jasmine Shen and Marisela Mazzilli, in their supporting roles as Ali and Lisa for ‘Honey, Honey’. It was clear by the end of only the second song that this show would become one of my favourites, and the rest of the first act certainly confirmed it.

Bill, Harry and Sam (Phill Corbitt, Daniel Crowder, and Yorkshire’s very own Richard Standing, respectively) provided the audience with laughter from their first moment on stage. It is often said that ‘three is a crowd’, but this cast shows that that is anything but true, as their performances of ‘Thank You for the Music’ proved. This was further visible through the introduction of Donna and the Dynamos at the height of the first act for the most iconic songs of

the show. The excitement from the audience during performances of ‘Dancing Queen’ and ‘Super Trouper’ was unmatched.

The ensemble was amazing, helping to create variety throughout but constantly enhancing the atmosphere of each musical number. The chemistry between every single actor on stage at any given moment was clear

actors get a chance to shine during ‘Does Your Mother Know’ and ‘Take a Chance on Me’. By the end of the show, the audience were still brimming with excitement, and by no means were we ready to leave!

Donna’s (Sara Poyzer) soulful vocals carried the show through the second act, earning her several standing-ovations. Accompanied on stage by Tanya (Helen Anker) and Rosie (Nicky Swift) for much of the first act. It was lovely to see each of these talented

With an abundance of feel-good ABBA tunes, adults and children alike were invited to clap and dance along. Culminating with a memorable encore, which had everyone up on their feet. Definitely a show to remember!

So, do I recommend it to anyone and everyone? My answer is an immediate yes! I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do!

Off the Shelf:

Three Centuries of Travel Writing by Muslim Women

Three Centuries of Travel Writing by Muslim Women, co-edited by Sheffield historian Siobhan Lambert-Hurley, addresses a gap in existing literature. It’s an important step towards decentralising

the male, colonialist narrative of exploration. As Lambert-Hurley explained in her excellent talk, the book challenges the assumption that Muslim women can’t be travellers. It deserves a place on your bookshelf!

Sophie's, played by Jena Pandya stunning vocals open the show with the moving

Mamma Mia! The UK and International Tour is touring throughout the rest of 2022 and into 2023.

Image credits : BrinkhoffMoegenburg

Faith Suronku-Lindsay (she/her)

The chemistry between every single actor on stage at any given moment was clear to see.

Evelyn Nichols (she/her)

Books to curl up with this Christmas

Interview

9 to 5: The Musical SUPAS’ winter offering

After the roaring success of last year’s Curtains, SUPAS (Sheffield University Performing Arts Society) is back this winter (7th-10th December) with another dazzling musical offering. Based on the iconic ‘80s film, 9 to 5 is a comedy musical following three female workers at the end of their tether who plot to kidnap their misogynistic boss. With a show-stopping score, written by Dolly Parton herself, and the wonderful acting prowess of SUPAS’ stars, 9 to 5 is sure to be a smash-hit.

I interviewed the team behind the show to find out more.

Why did you choose 9 to 5?

Charlie (Musical Director): It has such a wide breadth of interesting ensemble parts and generally relatable characters, but that doesn’t take away from the main story.

Alice (Choreographer): I wanted to choreograph 9 to 5 because it’s such an upbeat show with a great message.

Arts & Theatre

Kim (Production Manager): I love the storyline and I love Dolly Parton! And although it’s set in the late ‘70s, the underlying theme of inequality in the workplace is as relevant now as it was back then.

9 to 5 will relate to most of the characters, just hopefully not Franklin Hart Jr!

Will: Absolutely everyone! Even better if you’re a fan of Dolly Parton.

Describe 9 to 5 in either 9 or 5 words.

got several different styles, with an intense dance and demanding harmonies, but that feeling when I realised we’d finished it? Unbeatable.

Will (Director): It’s such a funny show! Finding the perfect way to deliver a line or gesture that brings the comedy out of it was a challenge that I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into.

What sort of person is going to love this musical?

Charlie: It has something for everyone, but it’ll especially appeal to people who love a bit of Dolly.

Alice: Everyone!

Kim: Anyone who watches

Charlie: Fun, heartwarming and joyful, while still relevant and exciting!

Alice: A wonderful, funny, feminist masterpiece.

Kim: Funny, heartwarming, relevant, inspirational, attention-grabbing.

Will: Don’t drink the wrong coffee!

What has been most challenging about bringing this script and score to life?

Charlie: The hardest part for me was bringing ‘One of the Boys’ together. It’s

Alice: Some numbers are very bitty, with dialogue in the middle, which makes for interesting songs but is tricky to bring together.

Kim: Definitely the set and costume changes. But the design team and technicians have plenty of tricks up their sleeves and are incredibly talented, so I have no doubt that they’ll wow the audience!

Will: There are a lot of scenes with different settings, so it’s tricky to bring them to life.

In your opinion, what is the best song in the musical?

Charlie: My top three at

the moment are ‘Get Out and Stay Out’, ‘Shine Like the Sun’ and ‘One of the Boys.’ If I had to choose a favourite, it would be ‘Get Out and Stay Out’ - the first time I heard the band play it was incredible.

Alice, Kim and Will: ‘One of the Boys’!

How can students get involved with other SUPAS productions in the future?

Charlie: We post regularly on Instagram (@SUPASShef) and Facebook (Sheffield University Performing Arts Society), and our wonderful radio and comms officer, Emily, is more than happy for a chat over DMs.

Alice: We’ll be announcing our next show in Week 10, and auditions will be at the beginning of Semester 2. We also hold workshops as part of our Musical Theatre Monday programme, which anyone is welcome to join!

Kim: Outside auditions, we hold plenty of socials and musical theatre workshops. Will: Come to our auditions next semester! There’ll be opportunities to apply for cast, band and tech crew.

SUPAS’ 9 to 5 is running from 7th to 10th December in the Drama Studio. Get your tickets here: https://www. ticketsource.co.uk/supas

Lovelight Farms

B. K. Borison

In an attempt to save her beloved childhood Christmas tree farm, Stella lies about having a boyfriend. This is a classic fake-dating, cute and cosy rom-com that will make for a

I know I was writing for years before I was brave enough and not as scared to go out there.

Lucy

Riddell (she/her)

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas Agatha Christie

After a murder takes place on Christmas Eve, Poirot has to investigate as more questions pop up. In true Agatha Christie fashion, this locked-room

Megan Cooke (she/her)

Interview: The Mary Wallopers talk about their new album, the current state of Irish music, and Sheffield

Irish music is having somewhat of a renaissance recently. With Lankum and John Francis Flynn giving Irish folk music a new lease of life, as well as Kneecap bringing Trad sensibilities and the Irish language to the world of hip-hop, the generational gap present in Irish music is definitely being bridged. No group, in my opinion, is doing this better than The Mary Wallopers, who’s debut album came out only last week. I was lucky enough to speak to Charles and Andrew Hendy from the band the other week about the new album, Sheffield and Irish music.

Hi guys! Thank you for speaking with me today! How are you both?

I’m really hungover, I was drinking last night.

Ah well that’s the best way to be! This is the sort of rockstar lifestyle I am expecting.

Ah good, well I am glad we could facilitate that!

Have you guys made it over to the UK yet or are you still in Ireland?

We’re coming to England on Friday (28th October) morning at 7am.

Oof, that sounds rough.

Yeah, it’s shite. And then we have to drive for 6 hours to Norwich, after a 3 hour ferry. Why can’t we just do the gig online, we could just sing into this!

I’d be well up for that! Although I have to say I am excited to see you at The Leadmill.

We’re excited to go to Sheffield! We’ve never been so we’re really looking forward to that!

What about the rest of the tour, are you excited for it? Yeah we’re buzzing for it, we’ve had like two gigs in the last two months I think, which is nothing for us. We can’t fucking wait.

Obviously we’re excited for Sheffield, and we’re also looking forward to Leeds and Manchester. Just excited to play places we haven’t seen. And Liverpool will be good craic.

How does it feel to have the album finally done?

Yeah, it feels mental, just that with Covid and all, that we couldn’t get it out sooner. The thought of it actually being out in the public is just so foreign at this stage. It just feels weird that people haven’t heard these songs yet, given that we’ve been sitting on them for so long. We’re already working on our second album- but you’re not allowed to buy it unless you’ve bought the first one! It’s all or nothing with us, we’re basically a pyramid scheme, not a band.

I noticed that, on the album, the version of Cod Liver Oil And The Orange Juice is different to the original single- is there any reason for this?

Because we’ve been playing it with the band so much it’s just naturally changed a wee bit, and the reason for rerecording it was because we wanted it on vinyl. If we hadn’t recorded it wouldn’t have been released, and it felt so weird to have done the song so much and not have it on the album.

That makes sense- as much as I love the original version of the song, it is nice to have a different version of it on the album.

Yeah, there was no point trying to rerecord it the same way again. We tried to make it sound really like

a bawdy and, to be honest we wanted it to sound kind of drunk. We reckon if we can record all the songs and sound kind of drunk, if we get drunk by accident, we can play them drunk and no one will notice the difference! It’ll be more of a freak show than a gig. I think there’s a tendency for people my age to view Irish folk music as a bit soft and a bit safe. Obviously whilst people like Luke Kelly and Christy Moore were very political, the songs they recorded, by virtue of becoming the definitive versions of many Irish folk songs, have almost lost their edge. I read recently in an interview with The Irish Times that you said “folk music was never meant to be safe“. Is the more intense, more “punky” sound of your music a conscious decision to bring the edge back to folk music?

Well I suppose it nearly happens by accident, because you listen to different types of music

and then you start playing them and you can’t help but add your own twist to it. But then like, in hindsight, we’re definitely trying to put more edge back into them. I suppose if something sounds punchy and rebellious when it first comes out, but then everyone starts playing it the same way, then it just starts to lose its edge. I’d say when The Dubliners were first around, they sounded more intense. It’s the way folk music survives, you know, they pass through so many different hands. People listen to contemporary music, like techno and shit, and then add their own twists onto it and that’s how it stays alive. It does seem like there’s such a massive surge of really talented Irish acts coming out recently, and the thing that’s really struck me with yourselves, and groups like Kneecap and Lankum, is, the ease at which you can talk about Irish politics, especially Republicanism, without this shame that the older generation seems to

have- would you say that’s accurate?

Yeah, definitely you can see a divide between our generation and the older generation, where we can talk about Irishness and Republicanism without being so ashamed of it, whereas you know I think a lot of the older generation can be like “oh no you can’t say that”. There’s almost a self-hate thing.

Has that been something you’ve found at your gigs?

I suppose if they’re coming to our gigs they sort of know what to expect! So not so much at our gigs, but we have definitely seen it in other places.

You guys clearly love playing live, and your gigs seem like such an “experience”, would you say you prefer it to recording stuff?

Yeah definitely, it’s such a buzz honestly. In 2019 we did 154 gigs, and every year was like that. We love doing gigs, it’s what we should be doing.

Charlie Sweeney (he/him)

We can talk about Irishness and Republicanism without being so ashamed of it

"

Credit: The Mary Wallopers

Sheffield Spotlight #07: Album Review Album Review:

Wee Van Bee Feral Family

Feral Family's fourth single this year is an absolutely gorgeous atmospheric track that has us counting down the days until their upcoming album.

Stumpwork Dry Cleaning Hugo - Loyle Carner

Stumpwork is a great album. I'd hesitate to say that it will go as far as New Long Leg did, but it deserves to.

Loyle Carner's new album

Hugo sees one of the UK's most exciting rappers in full flight. No longer a newcomer to the British Hip Hop scene, Carner's latest album is possibly his best yet.

Live Review: Femur @ Yellow Arch Studios

As a fog crawled across Sheffield at around 7:30pm, I made my way through the atmospheric gloom to Yellow Arch Studios for a night of psychedelic punk rock music with a Halloween spin.

lighting was very effective, creating a psychedelic feel from the get-go. It was difficult not to feel slightly hypnotised. This trippy feeling was amplified when the music started. The Sleazoids kicked off the event, filling in at the last minute for Dead Horse. You wouldn’t have

number.

The band immediately altered the energy of the room, bringing an aspect of eccentricity so unique I can’t quite describe it. The lead singer’s delivery of the songs was mesmerising, with his distinctive vocals accompanied by carefree arm movements in a style not dissimilar to Morrissey when fronting The Smiths.

The dull weather set the scene perfectly for the Buzzbomb Halloween special, set to launch local band Femur’s newest album People Parts– with the help of a few other bands. My excitement peaked as I stepped onto the damp pavement outside of Yellow Arch Studios, thinking of musical legends who used it as their local haunt. The venue is most well-known for being the birthplace of Arctic Monkeys, who happen to be one of my favourite bands of all time, so the sight of the yellow paint made me eager to get inside.

When I got inside the venue, I had a short wait until doors opened. I was pleasantly surprised at the venue’s interior, bursting with colour from the kaleidoscope of visuals plastered on every wall. The

guessed that they’d had little time to prepare for their performance; the energy they brought to the room was immense. They were followed by Galloping Dick who amplified the buzzing atmosphere, drawing in more spectators who matched the band’s energy by whooping at the end of every song and raising a tongue-in-cheek toast ‘for dick’.

By this point, the crowd was building, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Femur. The band’s entrance did not disappoint. In an almost ritual-like manner they walked onto the stage holding candles, their heads adorned with flower crowns. Music pulsed as they took their positions in front of a cheering crowd. After putting out their candles with bare fingers, they launched into their first

The crowd seemed to be as drawn in by the vocalist’s magnetism as I was, reaching out to touch his guitar and going crazy when he entered the audience to dance with the fans. It is clear that the band members have each mastered their instruments, the energy from the guitars and drums thrumming through the room, especially during ‘Transatlantic’. I especially enjoyed hearing this song live as I think that the change in tempo is a touch of genius, making it easy for the audience to dance and get lost in the psychedelic rock music. I was especially excited to hear the song ‘I Don’t Like’ live. This song is my personal favourite from Femur’s new album, which seems to be a popular opinion, with it being their highest-ranking song on Spotify currently. From the first listen of the song, I picked up on influences from the Sex Pistols, the vocal delivery feeling particularly Johnny Rotten-esque. It feels perfectly balanced between said influences from Punk royalty, and the band’s unique sound, a difficult equilibrium to achieve. As expected, I really enjoyed hearing this song live, the passionate atmosphere peaking once again. However, I did feel

that the song lost some of its structure slightly, and certain parts of the song felt very different to the studio version, which is not uncommon with live versions of songs, but I personally would’ve preferred the song to have sounded more similar to the recording; especially with the gig being a launch for these new songs. Furthermore, it did sound as if the instruments drowned out some of the vocals at times, causing the lyrics to lose some of their fierceness, which is an aspect I particularly love about the song, so this was a shame.

The performances of the songs were encapsulating, with colourful visuals projecting onto the screen behind the band, including images from The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine. I loved the psychedelic, hedonistic,

and at times melancholy feel to the performances.

The chemistry between the band members was brilliantly raw and natural, with a few kisses being shared between them during certain intervals in the set. Their instruments meshed very well, and they gave the feeling of a team, in consistency with their uniform of stylish dresses. Overall, the performance was memorable and enjoyable. The band are clearly skilful with their instruments and know exactly where they want to go with their unique sound and brand. Their music is a breath of fresh air, providing such depth and diversity to the modern music scene. They hold a unique quality and I feel that, especially with a little more structure and refinement with the delivery of the songs, the band could go far.

Mae Campbell (She/Her)

Credit: Mae Campbell

Credit: Mae Campbell

Opinion: Should Netflix have delayed the release of The Crown season 5?

Joao Pedro Milheiro (he/him)

Netflix’s new season of the hit series

The Crown, a historical drama depicting the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, is coming under scrutiny for hitting the streaming platform barely two months after the Queen’s passing.

It is hardly surprising for audiences around the globe to be highly sensitive towards anything to do with portraying Queen Elizabeth on TV. However, this feeling is only exacerbated by the nature of the show itself because it often paints the royal family’s many controversies throughout the years in a far-fromperfect light. The show is both beloveh and infamous

for its arguably overdramatised portrayal of the family's history.

Throughout its runtime of over six years, members of the royal family, as well as those who surround them, have expressed their discontent with how the TV show has been handled. There are several instances of events in the show which have no real-world evidence to support them, of which some include: Princess Diana’s marriage being opposed by Princess Margaret, the latter’s coveting of the crown or even that former PM Margaret Thatcher begged Queen Elizabeth to dissolve Parliament.

Peter Morgan, the creator of the award-winning show, has been dismissive of criticism regarding his depiction of the royals, saying: “You sometimes have to forsake accuracy, but

you must never forsake the truth.”

His critics have not welcomed his statement.

Andre Marr, a famous LBC broadcaster, gave a piece of his mind to the Daily Mail, accusing the show of being ‘grossly unfair and sadistic’. He added: “If they announced, ‘this is drama, it’s fiction, it’s entertainment’, you would say it’s brilliant.”

It does not seem that the show’s critics have a problem with the show’s existence per se, instead, it seems it would suffice if Netflix included a disclaimer before each of its episodes as well as changing its official genre from “historical drama” to “fictional drama”—although the streaming service has announced it had no plans of doing so.

A spokesperson for Netflix said: “We have always presented The Crown as a drama — and we have every

confidence our members understand it’s a work of fiction that’s broadly based on historical events.”

The problem lies in the fact that despite being aware that some of the events in the show are either over-dramatised or outright fictional, it is still hard to distinguish what is and what is not, leading to misconceptions about certain events in the show.

In a letter to the Times, beloved actress Dame Judi Dench said: “[Netflix] seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism.”

Is it the case that the new season of the show has been released prematurely, disrespecting the mourning of the British people, or does the need to highlight certain flaws within the elites outweigh this?

The answer, most likely, is neither.

Review: Andor is "Disney's best Star Wars success because it's barely Star Wars"

Tobias Gavelle (he/him)

Andor presents us with the strangest jeopardy on television today; it’s a brilliantly written, beautifully shot scifi thriller full of interesting characters, action-packed set pieces and moments of genuinely touching emotion. All with the overhanging threat that Jar Jar Binks could turn up at any moment.

This is the world Disney has created and the showrunner Tony Gilroy has to navigate a galaxy which we are told is massive in scope but seems to revolve around a handful of families and characters. Gilroy has managed to do this better than anyone else.

The show takes place

between episodes three and four, at the birth of the rebellion. It follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) as he moves from a runof-the-mill petty empire hater to the fully-fledged rebel we know from his appearance in Rogue One. For the most part, the show’s titular character is quite unassuming. He’s not charming like Han Solo (Harrison Ford), not badass like Mando (Pedro Pascal) and not heroic like Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). He’s scrappy, desperate, flawed and for a man who spends the show committing intergalactic heists and escaping underwater prisons, surprisingly real. We meet Cassian in a rainy cyber city where he kills two imperial employees who try to mug him. This

obviously leaves him with a lot of heat from the Empire. In the following 12 episodes, Andor manages to pack in a subterfuge mission into an Empire base on a strange planet, a dystopian cyber prison labour camp and subsequent high-stakes escape, and a pulsating final set piece that ties together a half dozen story threads.

We frequently return to Cassian's home planet Ferrix throughout, which at first appears to be a Tatooinestyle crime-ridden slum but is slowly revealed as a city full of culture and community. Ferrix feels alive, not just a backdrop for the protagonists to operate but a city full of people trying to survive under increasing imperial control.

The Empire are at their most brutal and evil in Andor.

A hyper-fascist surveillance state determined to crush any kind of insurrection. It doesn't need dark outfits and scary music to let us know that these are the bad guys, it shows us. They kill and destroy everywhere they go, every minute is filled with dread that they’re just around the corner waiting to grab you. By the time the final episode comes around, you’re desperate for Cassian and Ferrix to win.

The show is Disney's

best Star Wars success because it’s barely Star Wars. We don’t even see a stormtrooper for four episodes, the word force isn’t used once and there are no lightsabers. It doesn't rely on easter eggs or recognizable names. What on the surface appears to be a spin-off series about a side character from a spin-off movie may actually be an entire multibillion dollar franchise's saviour.

Credit: Markus Spiske via Unsplash

Credit: Andor - Disney

Review: Black Panther Wakanda Forever

Tobias Gavelle (he/him)

The atest instalment in Marvel’s slowly fizzling cinematic universe is given a lot to do and for the most part, like its recent predecessors, falls flat. Ryan Coogler has proved his talent as a director but in the follow-up to his 2018 smash hit Black Panther he’s given too many balls to juggle, and the film inevitably feels bloated and unfocused.

The film opens with the death of the Black Panther, T’Challa, following the reallife passing of Chadwick Boseman. The funeral scenes are up there with the most powerful moments of the film. It’s easy to understand just how difficult this must have been to film for both cast and crew, and it’s handled tremendously.

The main plot centres around the world's desperation to find other sources of Wakanda's super weapon, vibranium. A CIA mission on the ocean incurs the anger of the secret

underwater nation, Talokan. This causes the nation's leader, Namor, to approach the Wakandans asking them to bring him the US scientist responsible for tracking down the vibranium in his kingdom. The scientist turns out to be Riri (Dominique Thorne), a genius college student from Chicago. Thorne bears the brunt of Marvel's quip quota, responsible for delivering the occasional badly timed joke. It feels her only reason for

being here is to set up her new Disney+ show, Ironheart. The same applies to Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julie Louis Dreyfuss), if all of their scenes had been cut it’s hard to see how the narrative would’ve been impacted at all.

Namor, the 500-year-old God-king of Talokan is the film's villain and is one the highlights. Tenoch Huerta does a good job to separate himself from obvious

Aquaman comparisons. His main agenda is to defend his kingdom by invading the surface world, which sets him on a collision course with the Wakandans.

While the Mesoamerican costumes and themes were great to see, the design of what was supposedly an aquatic super kingdom is a complete bust. The scenes were dark, lacked colour and felt like a waste of what could have been the most visually interesting setting.

The film wasn’t helped by the trailer for the Avatar sequel beforehand, which felt like the equivalent of seeing the Brazilian football team warmup before watching a Sunday league game.

Letitia Wright as Shuri is a shining light in a film that veers on losing its way many times, only for her to wrestle it back on track. It comes as no surprise that Marvel have chosen her as the new Black Panther and after the inevitable CG super battle has occurred between Wakanda and Talokan, it’s down to her to bring a human touch.

Strong performances from the main cast just about keep the film interesting despite shaky visuals and far too much of the nearly three hour run time being spent introducing characters and side plots that further other Marvel projects at the expense of its own story. In many ways Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is indicative of the current MCU: franchise before film.

Opinion: What is the best Christmas ad this year?

It's Christmas time and that means one thing, its time for shops to manipulate our emotions into buying stuff. Christmas adverts are a staple of everyone’s Christmas and although the last few years have felt a bit off due to the state of the world, it is nice to see them returning to their typical high standard. However, like anything, there are good examples, terrible examples, and examples that make you cry like a baby. On that note, onto...

John Lewis

I want to know who hurt the team at John Lewis and why they feel the need to destroy the happiness of Christmas every single year. I still haven’t recovered from that sad, lonely old man

on the moon. Now I have to deal with an adoptive father desperately trying to practise skateboarding so he can connect with his child over Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, the advert is beautiful. Brilliant acting, beautiful song, great message but I don’t appreciate how low the mood gets when this advert comes on. I am wiping the tears out of my eyes and moving on.

Verdict - 4/5

McDonalds An advert that starts out cute, as a kid grows increasingly excited over the concept of a Christmas list. The list grows to a colossal size until one day he takes it outside and the wind takes it away from him. However, after a trip to a convenient McDonalds, he accepts the true meaning of Christmas

is his family. Cute right? Wrong. Not only did this child litter and get away with it, but his greed should also be acknowledged. His list was the size of a house! No wonder his parents weren’t too upset, they got away with paying £3.49 for a Big Mac, instead of having to take out a loan to cover everything this materialistic child wanted.

Verdict - 3/5

ASDA

Will Ferrell’s Elf walks around an ASDA trying to get a job. The advert expertly uses cuts from the film, yet somehow falls a bit flat due to the lack of comedy. It is sweet, nothing truly special. Ultimately just left me wondering if staying overnight and redesigning a store would be the best way to get a job or a restraining order. Verdict - 2/5

Boots

Though I cried at other adverts, this one was the first to get a tear of joy from me. A woman gets the power to see people’s true dreams after putting on a pair of glasses and gets amazing presents for all the people she loves. The spectacular ending shows the woman taking off the glasses to realise she has given everyone the Christmas they dreamed of. I wasn’t prepared for this when I first saw this in October… I wasn’t even feeling Christmasy then! Overall, this wins the Christmas advert competition for me. Beautifully crafted and packed with enough joy to make the scroogiest of scrooges feel a little festive.

Verdict - 5/5 Belvedere Vodka

said that Boots won the competition, and it did…in terms of festive adverts. In terms of adverts released, not only this winter season, but over the past year. Nothing even touches Belvedere Vodka’s latest advert. It has Daniel Craig, the coolest man on earth, dancing around a fancy hotel, like an idiot with even more idiotic clothes. This doesn’t make sense. Why is James Bond stiffly dancing on a roof? Why is the multimillionaire director Taika Waititi directing? And why did this win in my Christmas advert competition? The answer is because it symbolises what Christmas should be – non-stop fun!

Verdict - 5/5

Charles Wright (he/him)

Credit: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - Disney

God of War: Ragnarök is a direct sequel to one of the most decorated games in history. Including storytelling rooted within the tales of Norse myths, this latest instalment features a story that builds upon the impressive and engaging world created by its prequel.

Kratos and Atreus venture out into the nine realms once again, but this time on a mission that is more purposeful to the world that they live in; an adventure that revolves around the Norse event of Ragnarök. The story, as a result, is not as personal as the one observed in the prequel but one that allows players to develop a deeper connection with the world Kratos and Atreus find themselves in. The game brings back

Unpopular gaming opinions: Assassin’s Creed Unity and Halo 3

Multiple Contributors

You know the feeling,finally getting around to playing that game you’ve been anticipating, only to be left disappointed (looking at you Animal Crossing: New Horizons).

Or secretly enjoying the game that got awful reviews and everyone else seemed to absolutely hate.

yes, okay, the multiplayer was pretty whack too but the colourful outfits you could equip on [GENERIC ASSASSIN #043] were a necessary and prettylooking dash of fun.

Overall: the combat was fun, the stealthy assassinations were fun, and the silly costumes you could wear while doing it all were fun too. Why the hate?

some important characters such as Mimir and Freya from the prequel but also introduces exciting new

ones such as Thrud and the All-Father himself, Odin. By shifting the camera through multiple perspectives, the game navigates the drama and tension of the story by illustrating the motivations of its characters more intimately.

As expected with a God of War game, the combat design is highly immersive, inventive, and most importantly brutal, making every enemy encounter feel satisfying and meaningful.

There is an introduction of considerable new enemy types and a plethora of new challenging boss fights. Moreover, the interactive minigame action sequences encountered throughout the game pack a promised delivery of adrenaline rush, moments of intense action, and wonderful cinematography.

The remarkable voice acting and the brilliant sound design truly wrap everything together and complement the game in creating a unique, engulfing experience.

Similarly, the game utilises

strategic tools to enhance the experience, such as using the in-game dialogue system to shed more light on Kratos and his past life. This benefits new players by allowing them to step into the definitive events of the earlier God of War games to understand Kratos in a more constructive manner.

At the same time, it manages to bring back moments of nostalgia for original players. Side quests provide more context to the current world and reward players for their extra efforts through useful gear, even mindlessly exploring the realms is more fun with Mimir’s stories in the background.

God of War: Ragnarök is an enthralling new adventure that feels natural to its characters. The bold narrative decisions provide a meaningful story, and the exceptional world-building allows for an unparalleled adventure to be enjoyed by any and every player. It proves to be a formidable entry in the long-spanning series of God of War 5/5 stars

Well, we thought we would start a column for you to voice all your gaming hot takes and unpopular opinions.

So if you want to rave about an underrated game or absolutely tear apart every single aspect of the critically acclaimed game that you just couldn’t stand, we want to hear it , send them to us at forgepress.games@ sheffield.ac.uk

Assassin’s Creed: Unity is better than you rememberReiss Mason (he/him)

Don’t give me that look, it’s true. I’d go so far as to say that Unity is the last game in the series that still truly felt like Assassin’s Creed.

Unity was also the last of the series to feature big assassination missions where the hidden blade was an insta-stealthy-kill classic, ever since it just hasn’t had the same oomph. Not only was it the last to do this, but it pulled them off beautifully, with varied opportunities and informational titbits to learn before making your deadliest move.

Yeah, sure, it was bugged to shit, but frankly what triple A game isn’t graphically fucked up these days? Enough prodding and any cow is sure to fall. And,

Rose-tinted Glasses: A Halo 3 Retrospective Connor Ost (he/him) 2007 was a formative year for gaming, and a special year to Halo fans born in time to witness the release of the third instalment of the mainline franchise. The marketing alone had players wishing a whole liveaction TV show would some day come (and, uh, something vaguely Haloshaped did wander its way onto our tele-boxes over a decade later, I suppose).

Coinciding with the release of Xbox’s new console, the hype for Halo 3 was real. But it’s not as good as you remember. Movement is slow; equipment was an interesting addition but – for me – didn’t enhance the experience and was improved in Reach and Halo 4; weapon balancing was poor.

In terms of plot, character arcs, a conclusion to a 6 year saga of ancient mysteries and the plight of 26th century humans? C’est magnifique! But gameplaywise? *Raspberry sound*.

You were a kid when you played it, you have fond memories of friends in matchmaking, and sure, Forge was a tantalising new playground – but take off the rose-tinted glasses.

Hamza Aamir (he/him)

God Of War: Ragnarök “Immersive, inventive, and most importantly, brutal”

Image credits: Sony Interactive Entertainment, Ubisoft

This latest instalment features a story that builds upon the impressive and engaging world created by its prequel.

Fresh games

The Callisto Protocol

PS5, PS4, Xbox, Series X|S, PC Travel to Jupiter’s moon, Callisto, in this survival horror, you are Jacob Lee, an inmate in Black Iron Prison who must defeat bloodthirsty creatures.

Need For Speed: Unbound PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC Race against time in Lakeshore, to reach ultimate street racing challenge, The Grand, in the 25th instalment within the Need For Speed series.

Games

The Outbound Ghost Nintendo Switch

The adventure RPG is now coming to switch, visit the town of Outbound and help it’s ghosts ascend to the afterlife

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare II: a “real return to form for the franchise”

It’s difficult not to be apprehensive every time a new instalment of Call of Duty is announced, especially with the franchise’s track record of releasing a praiseworthy game every year being so unpredictable.

As someone who grew up playing the games for a considerable chunk of their life, I can’t help but still be emotionally attached to the franchise, and I tend to feel upset when Activision releases yet another game that’s barely even comparable to their older titles like Black Ops II or Modern Warfare II (2009) – even when I preemptively set myself up for disappointment.

Fortunately, Modern Warfare II (2022) has surpassed all my expectations, and has honestly been the best experience I’ve had with a Call of Duty game for years.

The campaign was a major change of pace compared to previous titles, with a heavier emphasis on stealth and the realistic gameplay that was so prominent in the Modern Warfare (2019) campaign.

I was hoping to see some areas that were reminiscent of the iconic “Clean House” mission, and it’s safe to say that Activision provided just what I wanted, and more. One minute you could be swimming around a barge zone executing guards, trying desperately to avoid their detection, and soon find yourself hanging

upside-down from a moving helicopter blowing enemies up on a highway.

There are some mission segments that fall a little short, but the variety of content that the campaign has to offer makes up for the areas that seem a little tedious or out of place. So players can be sure that they won’t be left on an empty stomach while playing. My main gripe with the campaign is towards the very end, which (without trying to spoil anything) left me unsatisfied with its abrupt, anti-climactic finale. This part of the game felt insanely rushed, and I can only wish that Activision had taken their time to flesh out the last mission, so they could’ve avoided having such a shoddy climax, that didn’t stand out as being the lousiest portion of an otherwise great campaign.

As with most Call of Duty

campaigns, there’s not much replayability outside of achievement hunting or trying to complete it on the highest difficulty, but for 6-7 hours worth of playtime, there’s lots to enjoy, and it’s always nice to have something aside from Warzone or multiplayer to experience that’s clearly had a lot of care and passion squeezed into it.

Multiplayer wise, Activision didn’t really have much of a challenge competing with their main rivals this year, with Halo Infinite and Battlefield 2042 being so offensively bad. When comparing these three these three games to one another, Modern Warfare II (2022) completely outshines the other flops.

At the end of the day, it’s Call of Duty. If you’ve enjoyed it for the last 10 years, you’ll probably love what Modern Warfare II (2022) has to give. The gunplay is as smooth as it’s ever been and all the maps feel solid and well-polished. There’s surprisingly little-tono imbalance with weapons too, which is great for players trying to complete camo challenges or wanting to try different loadouts

without being hindered by the meta.

My only real criticism is with the UI, which is appalling, and almost impossible to navigate through. Whilst this is something I can see being fixed in the near future with updates, I do feel for anyone else who took almost 20 minutes to realise that there weren’t any barracks.

Regardless, it’s pretty strange for a Call of Duty to release without a way of viewing stats, especially since it’s a feature that’s been available in almost every instalment since I can remember.

Skill-based matchmaking is still blatantly prevalent in all the multiplayer modes, which makes it difficult to play casually when you’re constantly playing against people at the same level as you. I think it’d be pretty easy to resolve this problem by just adding a ranked and casual playlist like every other game on the planet, but hey what do I know –after all it must be difficult for a multi-billion-dollar company like Activision to implement this into their game.

Luckily, if you’re trying to

have a more casual experience, Spec Ops missions are an enjoyable alternative if you’ve got someone you can play with who also doesn’t feel like sweating in a multiplayer lobby filled with a bunch of hardcore kill-hungry maniacs.

Whether you’re hiding in bushes trying to stealthily sneak past enemy lines in the campaign, or going triggerhappy with your mates in a multiplayer lobby filled with screaming grown-men and battle-hardened 12-yearolds… Modern Warfare II (2022) feels like a real return to form for the franchise. be sinking hours of their time into, all while trying to max-out their favourite weapons, or level-up their accountsto the highest prestige like myself. With an upcoming battle-pass on the way, and an expected heap of updates to Warzone coming very soon – the game’s longevity post-launch is also looking to be promising, and I’m excited to see how the game will evolve now that Activision has left their fans with such a surprisingly impressive amount of basecontent already.

4/5 stars

Aaron Byrne (he/him)

Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment, Ubisoft

England succeeds at Wheelchair Rugby League World Championship final

A race to Cardiff for the University of Sheffield’s Cycling Society

On Friday 18 November around 5,000 people witnessed the England team beat France 28-24 at the Wheelchair Rugby League World Championship final.

The competition has been a massive success in increasing the sport’s popularity within the United Kingdom. Record-breaking numbers attended matches during the group stage in Sheffield at the English Institute of Sport.

North Wales Crusaders player, Stuart Williams, said in an interview with the Yorkshire Post: “This is a completely different stratosphere to anything that’s gone before. It’s not fully there but it was never going to be, that’s not how progress works.

This came as both the semi-finals and finals matches were televised on BBC Two. The total views for the final itself peaked at 1.3 million viewers.

Para-sport in general has seen a boost after the Commonwealth Games held

in Birmingham this summer. The Commonwealth Games was the only major multisport competition with an integrated para programme and a total of 386 paraathletes competed across 31 teams.

The Games and the Wheelchair Rugby League World Championships demonstrate that changes are being seen at the top stages of the sport. But there is still a long way to go, particularly at the local level.

Additionally, in an interview during the competition, Ireland captain Peter Johnston Junior mentioned that he was introduced to the sport at a taster session at university. Likewise, this demonstrates that educational institutions such as schools and universities also have a responsibility to introduce young people to new sports. Even if athletes don’t make it to the elite level, playing sports can have a great impact on mental health and well-being. It can also teach young people valuable skills such as teamwork.

On 8 November, for their Bummit journey, the University of Sheffield’s Hitchhiking society travelled to Cardiff to raise money for charity.

This year, the club’s chosen charity is Molly’s Fund, a local charity that provides vital funding and schemes for young people and community groups to highlight the importance of mental health and how to help people struggling with it.

They stated that the riders “battled fatigue, wet roads, rain, some big ills and a strong headwind, but nothing stopped them from making it to the Welsh capital.”

The club completes a Bummit challenge every year and has raised a total of £1.1 million for local charities around Sheffield since the club was founded in 2003.

A survey from parasport. org revealed that last year, less than 1% of athletics clubs had relevant opportunities for disabled people. Big sporting competitions and broadcasting organisations have a responsibility to encourage local change. Already a new team, Salford Red Devils, have been formed following the Wheelchair Rugby Championships.

If you’re interested in Wheelchair Rugby yourself, Sheffield has its own team, the Sheffield Eagles.

Their women’s team play Hull in their next game on 22nd January and their men’s next match is on the 29th January against Doncaster.

In support of the Children’s Hospital Charity, the University of Sheffield’s Cycling Club decided to join the hitchhikers in an overnight race to raise even more donations for charity.

A total of eight of the club’s best riders completed a 20-hour ride from the Arts Tower in Sheffield to the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. The team cycled 370 km and arrived at their destination at 3:30 pm the following afternoon.

The club described the journey in their Facebook post as a “sensational trip”.

Unfortunately, the riders did not manage to beat the Hitchhikers this year. Despite this, the team are really proud of their achievement and have vowed to take on the challenge again next year.

The cycling club are continuing to raise money following their trip. You can donate for yourself online.

Jemma Snowdon (she/her)

Jemma Snowdon (she/her)

“Going forward, this platform is huge for our sport.”

“

Sheffield Wednesday book dream Newcastle tie in the FA Cup

Sheffield Wednesday have secured a third round tie against Premier League side Newcastle United after surviving an early scare to beat Mansfield Town 2-1 at Hillsborough. Forward Michael Smith proved the difference between the two sides, with the substitute scoring twice in eight minutes to turn the tie on its head. The third round tie against Eddie Howe’s side is a dream for Smith who grew up a Magpies fan.

The former Rotherham forward said before the draw:

Darren Moore made eight changes from the side that beat Shrewsbury Town in the Owls’ previous league fixture. Only defender Michael Ihiekwe, midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and winger

Alex Mighten stayed in the starting line-up.

The game was not straightforward for the Owls and they started the game on the back foot with Mansfield

BUCS Roundup: University of Sheffield teams begin league and cup campaigns

coming close to an opener only 90 seconds into the game when Lapslie slipped a ball into the path of forward Swan who attempted to go round the keeper, however Wednesday got defenders back and smothered out the chance

Moments later Mansfield carved out another chance after Lapslie and Gordon played a quick one-two to release the full back who fired a dangerous ball into the box that keeper Dawson could only palm into the path of Atkins who was unable to steer home. The chances kept coming for the Stags with Boateng and Atkins having dangerous shots with a much changed Wednesday side not looking very comfortable. Eventually the deadlock was broken in the 34th minute when Lapslie deftly flicked Gordon’s inviting ball past the helpless Dawson in goal, prompting jubilant scenes from the nearly 4,000 travelling fans.

of chances before the break with Will Vaulks’ long range effort proving the closest to levelling the scoreline.

After half time, Wednesday looked a much improved side and came close to equalising in the 59th minute when WIlks cut onto his left foot and found Gregory with his cross. However the veteran forward was unable to keep his effort down.

Mansfield should have found a second to consolidate their lead with a handful of chances coming their way. Closest to finding the net was the goalscorer Lapslie who fired over the bar when Quinn found the attacking midfielder with space in the box. Concerned with his team’s failure to break the Stags down, Moore opted to bring on Barry Bannan and Michael Smith halfway through the secondhalf, replacing Lee Gregory and Mallik Wilks respectively. The introduction of the attacking duo caused an instant impact when in the 78th minute Johnson’s cross was met by Smith who placed the ball beyond Pym and into the bottom righthand corner of the goal. Only six minutes later a trademark long ball by Bannan found Johnson who again played the ball across the box into the path of Smith who steered it home on the stretch to complete the turnaround.

After the glory of March’s varsity whitewash over Sheffield Hallam, the men’s branch of University of Sheffield football are out to improve on the national front this time around.

Five wins from the last six matches has seen the first team reach the quarter finals of the cup, whilst the second, third and fourth string all continue to compete in their respective BUCS leagues. The third team also recorded double figures in a November fixture, defeating York St John University 12-0. Meanwhile, the women’s first team were unluckily eliminated from the cup after a 4-3 penalty shootout defeat against Worcester following a 3-3 draw.

Last time out, two of the Sheffield University Women’s Cricket sides managed victories over Nottingham Trent and Birmingham whilst the third were narrowly edged out in a close encounter with Keele. In the Nottingham win, Sheffield amassed a mammoth score of 181, defeating their hosts by 144 runs.

Headingley regionals, with the firsts winning all five fixtures including a win over their second team counterparts in the final fixture. Throughout the month, SUCC have been committed to raising funds in support of Movember – even completing an exhausting 24-hour squad run.

After a few weeks away, the Sheffield Uni Women’s Rugby 1XV returned to action with a gruelling trip down to Bournemouth. The side returned up the motorway with the points, however, running out 11-5 winners.

The 2XV’s most recent outing was a home match versus York after being narrowly edged out by Northumbria in their last fixture. The men’s 1XV travelled across South Yorkshire to take on the academy side of RFU club the Doncaster Knights.

A below-par Wednesday were limited to only a couple

The men’s club enjoyed a successful day at the

The black and gold visitors were agonisingly defeated 10-12 through a penalty in the last play of the match. Other results in the month saw all three teams knocked out of the cup by Nottingham Trent, Durham and Liverpool John Moores.

I’d like Newcastle away but I’ll take any Premier League club away. I’ve never managed to get there as a player, it would be lovely to before I retire

“

Credit: Martin Elliss via Flickr

Daniel Hunt (he/him)

Tommy Gorman (he/him)

Credit: SURFC Instagram

Sheffield United to stamp out standing in Kop seating area

Lewis Railton (he/him)

Ongoing issues of persistent standing and supporters in their wrong seats has been identified by Sheffield United.

This is a situation that has been viewed as mainly “Kop issues”, with the problems mainly being caused in the stand behind the goal.

In an official statement issued by the club on 26 October, they have said: “For some time there have been issues with supporters not sitting in their seats”.

As a result of the “numerous attempts to resolve the situation” failing, the club have announced that “no matchday tickets will be sold for the Kop stand for the foreseeable future”,

according to the statement. This is an approach that has been defended with an aim to “ensure Bramall Lane is a safe and enjoyable environment”, however Blades fans have shown their disdain for such changes.

On Twitter, @MichaelDickins9 showed his anger at the changes as a Sheffield United fan living in Manchester who deemed it “not feasible to buy a season ticket”.

“I try to get seats in & around my family members who are all season ticket holders on the kop”, says Dickens on Twitter who believes he has now been “penalised” and can no longer do so.

Fans have stated other consequences of these measures, with

@ KyleJoh56968658

saying “that’s what creates the atmosphere”something that will suffer if

fans in the Kop are policed to sit during the games. As the mainly vocal area of the stadium on a matchday, the atmosphere will be visibly lacking if supporters obey to the rules, of which could have effects on motivating the players, with the Kop stand often being referenced as the 12th man on a matchday.

The enforcements have already been introduced when Sheffield United hosted Burnley on the 5th November where the extent of these measures was on show.

At the game, clear opposition to the club’s statement was evident, as standing was continuously seen in the Kop despite the

changes.

The Blades may need to reevaluate these measures and introduce new policies in order to appease their loyal fanbase after the World Cup is finished.

Sheffield Marrow works with University sports teams to bring awareness to stem cell donations

Astudent branch of a stem cell charity has been working closely with university sports societies to educate them and sign people up for donations.

Sheffield Marrow

collaborated with over 20 sports teams during a campaign called hero run by the national charity Anthony Nolan.

A spokesperson for Sheffield Marrow said: “We help people with blood cancer find a match for lifesaving stem cell transplants.

“A stem cell transplant

is often the only curative treatment for people with blood cancer and signing up to the register is even easier than a covid test!”

Sheffield Marrow has been engaging with sports societies including boxing, swimming and water polo, netball and rugby, delivering talks about what the stem

cell register is and supplying kits to people who sign up.

Since September Marrow has signed up 771 people to the register, this means statistically they have hopefully found life-saving matches for a stem cell transplant for seven people

Sheffield Marrow said: “When people sign up,

they have a 1% chance of matching with someone who has a disease like blood cancer.

“This means 99% of people who sign up don’t hear from us again, but the 1% who are a match could possibly save someone’s life one day by donating their stem cells!”

Credit: Richard Barrett-Small (Flickr)

Sam Quine (he/him)

Credit: Sheffield Marrow