Forge Press #165 - March 2023

Forge Press

Loneliness plaguing a quarter of students nationwide

University of Sheffield students' confessions...

Celebrations as new SU Officers announced

The new Sheffield Students' Union officers were elected on Friday, from a pool of 59 candidates.

Lily Byrne, a second-year biology student, will take over from Liam Hand as president.

In his opening speech on Results Night, Liam said: "I've been incredibly proud to be part of our officer team this year and to see our community overcoming challenges, going from strength to strength, to where it is today.

"I know how just how much

energy goes into running a campaign to be an a officer, and I wanted to say well done to everyone who has put themselves forward and run for a role."

The seven full-time officers elected alongside Lily are Annie Henderson (Wellbeing and Sports), Maria Lourido Moreno (Education), Anna Campbell (Activities and Development), Tomás Rocha (Liberation), Jo Campling (Welfare and Sustainability), and Derick Liew (International and Community).

The five part-time officers are Laura Edwards (Disabled Students PTO), Zoe Lancaster (Women Students), Yasin Hussain (Mature Students), Jephthah Ekogiawe (LGBT+ Students), Ahmad Waris (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Students).

20.8% of the student body, nearly 7,000 people, voted in the elections. Around two-hundred people filled the Foundry, with almost all the winners thanking friends, family, and campaign helpers.

Lily Byrne elected SU President

Lily Byrne (she/her) has been elected Sheffield Students' Union President, after seven rounds of vote counting.

It was a comeback victory for Lily, closing a 328-vote deficit to Ali Khan after the first-place ballots were counted. After the final round of counting, Lily beat

the second-place candidate by 457 votes.

Speaking on stage on results night, she said: " “I cannot say thank you enough to everybody, everyone who ran with me as a team. I’m so overwhelmed!

“I want to continue on all of Liam’s hard work. Thank you to all of the other candidates.”

Her manifesto focused on financial empowerment, community and the environment, with pledges to improve access to... Continues on page 4

Why this year's Oscars changed the industry for the better

FORGE PRESS EDITORIAL TEAM ALL CONTACT DETAILS AT FORGEPRESS.ORG

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

Break Editor Charlie Fenton

Break Editor Flo Kilby

Lifestyle Editor Rosie Deacon

Lifestyle Editor Emily Duff

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

Games Editor Ornella Bressan

Head of Sport Jemma Snowdon

Sport Editor Tommy Gorman

Sport Editor Sam Quine

Multimedia Editor Charlotte Beever

Multimedia Editor Ayesha Parwani

Multimedia Editor Shakthi Thyagarajan

Deputy Head of Advertising Tia Xiourouppas

Social Media Assistant Hannah Jackson

Social Media Assistant Jenisha Joshi

Website Manager Carla Biteanu

Letter from the Editor

Hi everyone,

We hope you’re all keeping well and looking forward to a bit of a break next month.

The big item on the agenda for Forge this month is the SU officer elections. You might notice a change to a few of our earlier pages, as the news section has been replaced solely with election news and results for this edition.

Morphsuit Gary, beaten to the SU presidency by Lily Byrne, made a particular stir with an array of unique policies, from replacing the uni’s official font with Comic Sans to releasing (approximately) 10,000 rats into Poptarts.

We are also thrilled to have been nominated for Best Overall Digital Media (Joel and our social media and advertising team), Best Interview (Erin Mansell), and Best Feature (George Devo) at this year’s Student Publication Association Awards! Thank you to everyone who has been reading, sharing and hopefully enjoying our content on our website, social media, and print.

Another update this edition is the return of Forge Press’ break section, which will

see puzzles, confessions and creative writing appearing on pages 14 and 15.

In this issue, our brilliant committee and contributors have brought you stories and features covering everything from loneliness in student communities to the issues faced by female referees. We also have coverage of this year’s Oscar winners and fashion trends, and reviews including The Whale, Hogwarts Legacy, and Giulio Caesar at the Lyceum.

As always, if you’re looking to contribute to Forge Press or have a story you think we should cover, join the ‘Forge Press Contributor Group’ on Facebook, email us at forgepress.editor@sheffield. ac.uk, or message us on Instagram.

Every role on committee will be up for grabs in an AGM after the Easter break, so keep an eye out for that.

Thanks as always for picking up a copy!

Take care,

Chloe Aslett Editor-in-Chief

The Head of little-known

Who are our new SU Officers?

Page 7 ▶

OPINION

One year on: What should Western allies do about Putin’s war?

Page 8 ▶

OPINION

How has Brexit shaped student life?

Page 9 ▶

FEATURES

Loneliness: The dreaded feeling plaguing a quarter of students

Page 11 ▶

BREAK

Balance kicks my ass like nothing else

Page 15 ▶

GAMES

The big picture

of Photography, Shruthi Selvarajan, on a little-known canal market near the city centre

On the other side of a small brick tunnel in Sheffield’s City Centre sits the Victoria Quays. Time almost falls still as you enter the canal side with calm waters, cobblestone paths and pastel narrowboats glued to the canal edges. It is a breath of fresh air to the

often bustling, industrial city of Sheffield. The most the 200-year-old site sees is the buzz of people on a Saturday for the lively Quayside Market. So when the sun is out and the breeze is cool, the Quays may just be the one place to be.

Are esports worth paying attention to?

Page 25 ▶

SCREEN

Is The Whale Brendan Fraser’s renaissance?

Page 23 ▶

Lily Byrne elected as SU President

(continued from front page)... mental health services, provide reward schemes for eco-friendly commuting and educate students on renter's rights, pensions, taxes, and mortgages.

Speaking to Forge Press at the start of her campaign, she said: "I view the position as a connection between people in the university and people on the committee. I am aiming to be the point of call that people can go to if they are needing help or support. Having this as a constant ethos, alongside supporting other officers, is how I see myself doing the role.”

Byrne is a second-year Biology student, Treasurer for the Animal and Plant Society, and deputy editor for the Biology Society magazine, and will be taking a year out for the role.

Lily was recommended to run for office by the current outgoing Welfare and Sustainability Officer, Samuel Timson, which she said boosted her confidence in applying for the role.

Speaking to Forge Press

during her campaign, she said: “I want to make the services that are already there more accessible. There are so many schemes in place, and making those easy to use is important. Even SAMHS, so many people just don’t know that’s there, and people need to know about it."

She teaches art in primary schools in Sheffield parttime, and worked as an art teacher in the US over the summer.

She said: "Being in second year means I can relate to all years of studentsmy memories of first and second-year issues are fresh, and I understand all the worry that goes with coming up for final year. I have been speaking to masters students and mature students too."

She will take over from outgoing president Liam Hand when his term finishes at the end of June.

Annie Henderson wins Wellbeing and Sport Officer role

Annie Henderson (she/her) has been elected as the new Wellbeing and Sport Officer in this year's SU Officer elections.

On stage, after her win was announced, she said: "“I really wasn’t expecting that! Well done to all the other candidates, I didn’t know which way it was going to go at all.

“I just want to make sport more accessible and inclusive for everyone at university, and welcome everyone to the Black and Gold community.”

In her manifesto Annie reflects on the impact of sport at University on her own life, saying she would have "dropped out a long time ago" without the Black and Gold community.

She aims to reduce the cost of being involved in sport at any level, clear Wednesday afternoon for all students, improve sporting opportunities for all and promote inclusivity in sports.

Speaking to Forge Press earlier in her campaign, she said: “I feel like some sports communities can be a very tight bubble which is amazing when you’re inside, but once it’s shut after Freshers week it can be quite hard or intimidating to join in. I want to try and open up that bubble"

Her specific pledges are to reinstate women's only sessions and permanently embed LGBTQ+ sessions at the gym and pool, more funding in order to reduce the costs of travelling to

and from sporting events, and improve the support available from SAMHS.

She has been part of trampolining for five years while studying medicine, on committee for four of them, and spent a record-setting three years as club captain.

She said: "My experiences in sport are something that I can lean on, and hopefully make true for all the students – make them want to stay, and feel like they belong here … I’m an outgoing and friendly person so I feel like I’m an approachable person for people to come up to if they do have problems or want changes within sports.

Annie will take over from Iwan James when his term finishes in June.

Maria Lourido Moreno announced as Education Officer

Maria Lourido Moreno

(she/her) has been elected as the Sheffield Students’ Union full-time Education Officer for the 2023/24 academic year.

She won their position with a total of 1615 votes, beating Eve Woodall who secured 1363 votes, by 252 votes in the second round.

Speaking on the night, she said: “I just want to thank every single one of my friends. I could never have done this without you. And to every single person who voted, thank you so much. I think we only are only strong if we work together, we are only good as a team who dedicate time to make changes across the university, so I’ll be getting to know all the officers and what they want.”

Moreno is in her second year, studying Politics and Sociology and will be taking over from the current Education Officer, Alison Romaine, in June.

Moreno’s manifesto was packed full, in her first policy she promised more support for students affected by the cost-of-living crisis in the form of scholarships, bursaries, hardship funds, and rent freezes.

Secondly, she campaigned for a fairer assessment system which involves creating safety nets for students, diverse assessment methods, and revamped extenuating circumstances.

In her third policy, she aimed for a more diverse, decolonised curriculum which gives students up more green

job opportunities. The final policy promised to use the SU to empower campaigns about financial compensation, strike support, and social justice.

Earlier in her campaign, Moreno told Forge Press: “I’m campaigning to not fix the system, but change it. I don’t want provisional measures that can be then taken down, if the powers that be need them to be taken down. I want a change that is long lasting, and can’t be switched.

“I’ve seen the university put profits over students for two years and I’m done with it.”

Anna Campbell elected as Activities and Development Officer

Anna Campbell has been voted as your new Activities and Development Officer, with 1,741 votes, beating Fred Baker and Riley Gibson for the role. She will take over from Rose Franchi, the current Activities and Development Officer, in June.

At the results event, Anna said: “I’m pretty shaky, and so happy, and so overwhelmed! Thank you to all my friends who helped me design posters and canva posts, and to all the other candidates, everyone has been so supportive. It has been such an encouraging month.

“Thank you to everyone who voted. It means so much.”

Anna took a strong lead in the votes, securing her position as Activities Officer in the second round of eliminations with an 873vote domination over the second place candidate.

Anna’s manifesto focused

on, among other issues, boosting support for new societies by supporting societies in having more free events outside fresher’s week, improving society engagement with mature and postgraduate students by having better communication and delivery around give it a go sessions, and streamlining society services by making the room bookings system more transparent.

Speaking to Forge Press before the voting opened, Anna discussed her musical abilities – she plays the French Horn, Tenor Horn, and Piano – and her leadership roles in musical societies. Anna is president of the Brass Band society, and organised an overseas tour last year to Germany, and is organising a tour to Belgium this year.

She told us: “I’m quite a people person. If I got the role I’d like society committees, but also just

any student who’s interested in societies, to feel like they could approach me and talk to me about it because I’m very happy to have conversations with anybody.

“I would also say I’ve had the opportunity to gain a lot of experience from my committee roles and from working on the issues.

“I feel like I have quite a good understanding of what has already been implemented and what needs implementing because of the connections I’ve made from being on committees and working with people like Tim Bowell and Rose [Franchi] to tackle things.

“I feel that I’m very connected to the music societies. I have some connections within the uni that I could use- not to my advantage in the role, but if I was in the role, I have already established connections with people who would support me and what policies and points I’d wanna work on.”

Tomás Rocha elected as Liberation Officer

Tomás Rocha (he/him) has been voted in as your new Liberation Officer with 1329 votes, taking over from Grace Cleary.

Tomás, a fourth year Biochemist and Microbiologist, faced fierce competition, winning after four rounds by just 29 votes against runner up, Kaydian Payne.

At the results event, he said: “I’m absolutely knackered, speechless. I’m gonna get some sleep then like I said I have a lot of faces and lots of names across Sheffield because I have a lot of work to do. I’ve got a long

year ahead of me and I’m so excited to get started. Thank you so so much.”

Tomás’s policy centred around making accessibility a ‘right not a privilege’ with plans of creating a standardised support system in order to facilitate a collaborative effort between every liberation group and department to ensure that every student gets the support they are entitled to. This includes collaboration with the LGBT+ and Disability officers to create sensitivity training for all faculties and ending mandatory in-person

attendance where possible. He has promised a willingness to listen to all groups and will ensure this by creating slots for biweekly drop-ins where students are encouraged to raise barriers to participation they have faced at university.

During an interview with Forge Press before voting he said: “As a Disability Champion, I could say that my entire degree has prepared me for this role. As an autistic student, without sounding too pompous - I do genuinely think I am born for this role."

Jo Campling announced as Welfare and Sustainability Officer

Jo Campling (she/her) has been elected as Welfare and Sustainability Officer, taking over the minimum threshold by 248 votes, and set to continue on from Samuel Timpson in June.

On stage at results night, Jo said: “I want to thank Kerry, because we have done this all together. She has had my back the whole time. We’re going to be friends until we’re 85.”

Jo took the lead in first place votes and maintained that lead through 5 rounds of eliminations, storming ahead of second place candidate Daisy Watson-Rumbold by 496 votes.

Jo is a fourth year Civil Engineering student, with

a background and selfdescribed engagement at the Students’ Union that she is proud of.

Speaking to Forge Press before the votes opened, she highlighted her experience as Chair of the Sustainability Committee and her sole student representation in the Welfare Steering group.

She said: “I’m also really proud that I’m studying a course that is heavily dominated by men, especially men that went to prestigious private and grammar schools.”

Jo’s campaign focused on the impact of high costs and rising inflation on mental health, and a push for a more sustainable University and

Students’ Union through increased transparency and commitment to green initiatives such as reduced costs for alternative foods, and more dedicated support for green careers.

“I can engage well with students, I am aware of what students want, where they’re engaged and where they’re not engaged through my experience in a big range of societies within the SU. I really am quite passionate about the SU and the change it can make.

“I know what I’m gonna do and I have the experience to execute it. I want to create a more fair, more affordable, and sustainable university for all.”

Derick Liew wins International and Community Officer role

Derick Liew has been elected as the new International and Community Officer after receiving 2,139 votes in the third round of voting.

On stage, Derick said: quote

Derick was ahead by at least 550 votes in every round of counting, and eventually won by a landslide of 840 votes.

He hopes to create more volunteering and fundraising opportunities, support an inclusive academic curriculum with an emphasis on decolonisation, and lobby to remove charges involved

Yasin Hussain: Mature Students

in graduation (such as for certificates and gown hire).

He also plans to push for home-rate tuition fees for international PhD students, who "don’t actually receive any tuition, but contribute heavily to the University’s Research Excellence and are currently paying up to 9 times more than the home PhD students for the 'privilege'”.

Derick is currently Inclusions Officer of the Sheffield SU Welfare Committee, has worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in three departments alongside working towards

Ahmad Waris: BAME Students

a PhD in physics, and coled the Hicks Green Impact Team to win the Platinum Green Impact Awards in 2021.

Speaking to Forge Press during his campaign, he encouraged people to take part in the SU elections, and said: "No matter who you vote for, please do vote. This is how a democratic society works and we need your votes to ensure that we create a well represented team.”

Derick will take over from the current officer, Anna Fedotova, in June.

Jephthah

Ekogiawe: LGBT+ Students

Women Students

Yasin's campaign pushed the need to support mature students during the Cost of Living Crisis, and better facilitate to their needs.

Yasin’s policies include improving access to paid internships and traineeships by diversifying the companies in connection with the Careers Hub and prioritising graduate schemes with no age cap; focusing on networking events; and pursuing better training for counsellors addressing the needs and barriers of mature students.

On results night, Ahmad said: “I am feeling really overwhelmed and excited. I would like to honour my parents who have supported me to get here."

Ahmad’s campaign championed collaboration and cooperation to create change. He would like to see increased social events, exhibitions, and workshops in the name of multiculturalism and representation; address discrimination through raised awareness; prioritise mental health for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students; and platform BAME student voices in the SU and university.

On stage Jephthah said: “I just want to say thank you to everyone. It gives hope to everyone who is like me. It’s groundbreaking for me. Everyone who voted for me, thank you!" Jephthah’s policies cover promoting LGBT+ mentorship and a ‘pair with a friend’ scheme to combat isolation; collaborate with liberation committees, clubs, and societies on inclusive policies; simplification of mental health support processes; student-led research to platform LGBT+ voices; and a push for more gender-neutral facilities.

At the results event, Zoe said: “I can’t even put into words how I’m feeling. Thank you to everyone who voted for me.”

Zoe's manifesto policies included creating a ‘Supporting Survivors’ campaign at the SU to improve the experience of pre-existing University procedures to support students who have been assaulted, training for committees against misogyny, lobbying to extend free period products to campus buildings beyond the SU, support for those seeking reproductive healthcare, and the creation of support groups for women parent students.

On stage, Laura said: “I’m very grateful to be here. I’m excited to work with everyone to make their time as successful as possible, as I know it can be difficult. I’m here to make your time at university better.” Her aims include improving the Learning Support Plans system, building connections between disabled students through relaxed sessions which she envisions could include pet therapy and sensory-friendly meetups, making lectures more accessible, and providing workshops on navigating life post-graduation.

Laura Edwards: Disabled Students PTO

Zoe Lancaster:

PTO

PTO

year on:

On 24 February 2022, Vladimir Putin sent his forces into Ukrainian territory in a full-scale invasion of the country. It begs the question: one year later, where do we find ourselves? Millions have fled the country and over 8,000 civilians have died. Additionally, over 200,000 military casualties have been found from both sides. Meanwhile, Putin’s aggression shows no sign of slowing down. If anything, there seems to have been an escalation of tensions, with Putin’s recent state of the union address demonstrating that we are nowhere near peace in Ukraine.

It is safe to say that Putin did not expect this war to be drawn out for the length of the time it has. One might assume the military might of Russia would dwarf that of Ukraine’s and make this a quick war. However, this has not been the case, due to the strong military support and economic sanctions imposed on Russia by Western allies. This has allowed Ukraine to

stave off Russian attacks and reclaim territory it had lost in the previous year. Ukraine only appears to be getting stronger, whilst Russia becomes weaker. Military analyst Phillips O’Brien of St. Andrews University has observed that Ukraine has acquired better systems and are set to receive more, while Russia has lost their best trained soldiers, ammunition supplies, and key equipment. The momentum of the war seems to be swinging in favour of Ukraine.

Above all, this is a result of the strength and courage displayed by Ukraine and its people. Putin expected this war to be over in days and force Zelenskyy’s surrender within hours. However, Ukraine stood strong and has been able to maintain its independence and its freedom. However, Putin’s state of the union address made clear he will continue this war and escalate tensions with the Russian suspension of the New START treaty. The world must continue to show the same resolve Ukraine has and stand shoulder to shoulder with its people.

The most notable headline to come from Putin’s state of the nation address was his suspension of the 2010 New START treaty. New START was signed by Obama and Medvedev on 8 April, 2010. It limits the number of nuclear and strategic warheads that can be deployed and allows a certain number of inspections of the opposing side’s nuclear arsenals. Putin’s address marked the end of this agreement on the Russian side. This is significant because it will be difficult for the US to also honour their side of the agreement in the long-term future, marking a regression in the relationship between the two superpowers and creating a more significant threat towards world peace.

All the Western allies supporting Ukraine can do is continue to strongly support Ukraine and not be deterred by Putin’s escalation of tensions. This is clear through the numerous state visits that have been undertaken recently, most notably by Joe Biden and Keir Starmer, who is all but certain to be the next British Prime Minister. Also

Zelenskyy’s recent visit to a number of European countries, including France and the UK, demonstrates unity for Ukraine is still strong. The Western allies have done well to maintain sanctions even in the face of a cost-of-living crisis and inflammatory rhetoric from Putin which has proven to be an effective strategy only in bolstering the tide of support in Ukraine’s favour. It was encouraging to see Biden make a state visit to Poland, not only to deter further Russian aggression in the country but also to strengthen NATO’s Eastern flank. Western support for the war must be unwavering as the battle for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and freedom rages on.

request that the Russian president and his enablers be prosecuted. In the past, the US similarly endorsed criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and again a year later for Rwanda. Those who oppose this motion should remember the verdicts of both Nuremberg and Tokyo, where the fascist aggressors of the Second World War were brought to justice. Additionally, the former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, currently resides in a Durham prison for crimes against humanity after a similar verdict was reached on his actions in Sierra Leone.

However, the US must now join their European allies in supporting a special tribunal to bring Putin to justice for the crime of aggression. The UK joined France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the Nordic, Baltic, and Eastern European countries in endorsing Zelenskyy’s

If the US were to support this motion, then this tribunal could be constituted within weeks. The international community must stand united and send out a message that the crime of aggression will not pass with impunity. In a world where tensions are escalating between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as China and Taiwan, it must be clear that there will be no hiding place for war criminals like Putin. It is abundantly clear that this crime can be proven in the Hague and it must be punished. It is something the international community owes to the people of Ukraine whose towns and villages have been destroyed but hearts and spirit have remained unbroken.

The world must continue to show the same resolve Ukraine has and stand shoulder to shoulder with its people.

One

what should Western allies do about the war in Ukraine?

Credit: Yehor Milohrodskyi via Unsplash

Tom Mangan (he/him)

How has Brexit shaped student life?

It has been three years since Britain officially left the EU. Since then, news of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine has dominated the headlines. Anyone who thought that Brexit was done and dusted was given a wake-up call last month when Rishi Sunak announced his new Northern Ireland Protocol deal.

The Windsor Framework put the lingering issues of Brexit back on the public radar, and despite promising to effectively complete Brexit by resolving the NI protocol once and for all, many issues surrounding the long-term effects of Brexit still remain under-discussed. One such issue is the effects on students. Has Brexit really altered the daily lives of students? Has it made travelling abroad to study more troublesome?

Firstly, Brexit has affected students in a very direct way by placing greater restrictions on the planning of years abroad. Before Brexit, the EU’s freedom of movement laws ensured students could travel abroad without a visa. However, students planning on studying in the EU for longer than six months now need to apply for a visa, a process that can be costly and timeconsuming.

Students now need to think more carefully about where exactly they want to travel. The process of getting a visa can often involve

demonstrating proof of funds and accommodation for the duration of study, a process that can be problematic if everything is not already in place.

Callum West, a law student at the University of Sheffield, who is currently on a year abroad at Utrecht University, Netherlands, said: “It was definitely more difficult. A student visa was required and it meant that it limited the amount of work opportunities as well as the cost of getting such a visa”.

so in my experience, it has seemed to increase the cost as well as limiting student job opportunities”.

This means that for many students considering doing a year abroad, additional restrictions might act as a stumbling block if they are already struggling for finances. Callum added: “I have looked into the possibility of getting work but didn’t think the hours worked would have been worth it”. This ultimately means that students from disadvantaged backgrounds or those who receive little additional support from parents may struggle financing a year abroad in the post-Brexit era. Meanwhile, for many students, Brexit has invariably influenced their choice of destination for their future time abroad.

might impact their future ambitions.

But how is Brexit impacting students on the domestic front? For EU students travelling to study in Sheffield, Britain’s exit from the Union means EU students are now classified as international rather than ‘home’ students. This means they are no longer entitled to home-fee tuition prices of around £9,250 per year and will instead be charged the much higher international rate of approximately £15,000 per year.

Indeed, UK students have found their chances of getting well-paid work abroad curtailed following Brexit. Visa restrictions mean UK students are limited in how many hours they can work when in the EU, placing an even greater strain on students looking to finance their years abroad alongside additional visa costs. When asked if he felt more out-ofpocket due to restrictions, Callum said: “Yes I would say

Henry Jones, a secondyear engineering student who is looking to do a year abroad in industry, observed that visa requirements are encouraging him to look beyond Europe: “As I now have to get a visa to work in Europe, I think I’m probably going to look at New Zealand and America as well. If I have to do forms, I might as well travel far”. However, he also observed that getting a visa to work in Europe can also prove enticing for eventually regaining citizenship back inside the EU. Students now have a lot more to think about when weighing up their years abroad and how post-Brexit restrictions

Meanwhile, the EU’s Erasmus programme has also been ditched by the UK Government, replacing it with the Turing Scheme, which – although providing similar amounts of opportunities to UK students – has effectively ended straight exchanges with European universities. These two factors have already had a marked effect on EU students, who now see the UK as a much less attractive destination for studying abroad. According to recent reports, the number of EU students studying at UK universities has halved since Brexit. This has had a significant impact on the richness and diversity of our student campuses, which now find themselves closed off from the open network of Erasmus.

Finally, there can be no doubt that Brexit is a prime culprit in the current cost of living crisis, which is projected to hit students

especially hard. The soaring costs of importing goods from the EU has massively contributed towards inflation, with the UK’s economy projected to perform worse than sanction-stricken Russia’s. Consequently, students have felt the pinch in that their student loans no longer go as far. The inflation rate is currently running at around 10%, whilst the boost to student maintenance loans recently announced by the government only amounts to an increase of 2.8%. This has had a domino effect in that it has invariably forced many students to take up parttime work to help finance their studies, eating into the time that could be spent studying and overall having a negative effect on mental health.

It would be difficult to disentangle Brexit from numerous other factors such as COVID-19 and the energy crisis to truly lay the woes of students solely at Brexit’s door, but nevertheless there can be no doubt that Brexit has had a marked effect on student life. From making our campuses less diverse, to restricting the financing of years abroad, Brexit has invariably made students poorer in one form or another. If any fruits are to be borne out of that fateful decision of 2016, students will want to see them sooner, rather than later.

Stephen Maloney (he/him)

“

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds or those who recieve little additional support from parents may struggle financing a year abroad in the post-Brexit era

Credit: Ilovetheeu via WikiCommons

Danielle Loretta

Cadamarteri from Haworth, West Yorkshire, thought she was just one of those people with severe, debilitating period cramps. It was not until almost two decades later, aged 32, after being prescribed contraceptive pills as a child, that she discovered she had endometriosis.

“I was 14 and had just been put on contraception. I had been suffering from acute period pains for quite a while.

“As it was being prescribed, the doctor said this doesn’t mean I can be sexually active, which was particularly embarrassing. I was sitting next to my mum and I was just 14.

“It was just diminished as period pains.”

March marks endometriosis awareness month, a condition which affects 1 in 10 people with uteruses across the UK.

It’s a word that’s as complicated as the condition itself; its causes and treatments are relatively uncharted gynaecological territory. Chronic illnesses are a burden as is, but one that is a medical enigma is a whole other beast to live with.

Danielle’s early adulthood was plagued with bouts of breakthrough bleeding as she struggled with abdominal pains.

“Quite frustratingly, all they made me do was take STI tests,” she said.

She estimates she’s done about 20 in total.

“If you’ve got pelvic pain they have to consider you might have an STI, which is fine. But if every time the results are negative, at a point it just gets really exasperating if that’s all you’re told to do.

“It’s not very gracious because you’re being poked and prodded and you just don’t feel very feminine.”

It was not just cramps Danielle had to put up with, but also the psychological ramifications of endometriosis, which she has had to work around all her adult life.

“Because I had brain fog and issues concentrating, it started affecting my work. I was suffering from clinical depression as well.

“It might just be once a month I need a lie in, but once a month is enough to upset the Bradford score. One employer suggested I should retire on an ill health grant, but I don’t need to retire!”

She found that her social life also took a plunge as the symptoms persisted.

“I would make plans, but you get to the night and just can’t face it. After a couple of times, people just stop asking you out. I’m probably going to say no, but it’s always nice to be included.

“Often there is no compassion or understanding in this.”

It was during a routine pap smear that the consultant found abnormal cells.

“I had just turned 30 and had done another smear test.

I was told I was fine, but two weeks later I got a letter in

the post saying they’d found mutations and I had to go in for surgery.”

Danielle dredges up the traumatic memory of the subsequent biopsy that led to her eventual diagnosis.

“I went in to get the cancerous cells checked and I think the doctor didn’t administer the anaesthetic correctly, or she didn’t give it enough time to act.

“I just remember yelling like a man. I screamed because I could feel it all.”

being butchered?”

Danielle went on to have a laparoscopy and at last received a concrete diagnosis for the debilitating cramps and chronic fatigue she had been suffering for the past 18 years.

“It was lesions, and they found my pelvic wall and my bowel were completely fused together.

“I think my left ovary had switched to be underneath whatever organ it was supposed to be on top of. It was all a twisted mangled mess.

“I also had a doctor just randomly offer a hysterectomy at 32. Do they go around offering complimentary sterilisations for men?”

slightly larger, almost like a protrusion.

“I didn’t want to be a hypochondriac, but this just proves that you know your anatomy best. If they had just listened to me in the first place when I was 14, it wouldn’t have taken this long.”

Danielle has had two surgeries so far; the lesions returned with increased intensity in the same place after the first operation, so another was necessary.

Despite the surgeries, she had to continue taking the pill to ease the frequent bleeding but ended up switching to a mirena coil over fears of long-term use of pills.

She has learnt to manage her symptoms through her diet, which is largely avoiding foods that used to be a staple.

“I was put on the FODMAP diet, which means I can’t eat any of the delicious things like bread & cheese. It does help, but there are times when nothing seems to do it.”

Although she doesn’t suffer from chronic fatigue anymore, she still gets the occasional nights where she is crouched on the floor with her back to the radiator, hot water bottle on her front, and tears rolling down her face.

Or the evenings when an endo flare strikes, and wearing a tight dress on a date gets her asked if she’s pregnant, simply because of a bloated stomach.

But that wasn’t all.

“As you’re getting the biopsy you’ve got your cervix on a wide screen on TV. I suddenly hear muttering and it turns out it had stopped working and they had to get a technician in.

“So I’m just laying there with my legs in stirrups as the room starts to fill with men. I had this towel sort of thrown over me – thanks, but do I really need this after

Danielle has noticed that doctors are always quick to bring up kids whenever discussing her condition.

“I don’t think the level of care I receive should be dependent on whether I want kids or not. Asking that implies a sense of nonurgency when the fact is I’m in excruciating pain, can’t function and can’t do my job properly. Doesn’t that come first?”

She had always noticed the left side of her abdomen was

After 25 years of grappling with endometriosis, Danielle has learnt to live with it, and going into lockdown was a steering force in that.

“As we were going into lockdown, I started to reassess my priorities. I needed to find a way of life that was sustainable. I want my metronome to remain stable.”

Shakthi Thyagarajan (she/her)

“Often there is no compassion or understanding”: Living with endometriosis

“

I was just 14. It was just diminished as period pains.”

Loneliness: The dreaded feeling plaguing one in four students

George Devo

Dropouts are an odd demographic.

Any social group containing myself, Bill Gates, and George Clooney will never be an ideal subject for sweeping generalisations. Some of us leave to start international tech giants, others move to Sheffield and join the snooker society. In other news, ‘Drawing the short straw’ is the rumoured title of Bill’s memoirs.

However, there’s a part of our doomed higher education experiences that we likely share: a lacklustre social life.

At one end of the scale this may mean a general disappointment when struck with the reality of ‘uni life’, as it fails to reach the racy, raucous heights set by pop culture portrayal and the embellished tales of older siblings. At the other end, it may mean something darker: an acute, trying isolation.

The time I spent at the University of Leeds – a solid shift of three months – was somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. The social struggles of my tenure were neither bleak, nor trivial, but they certainly felt closer to the former at the time. Looking back, I suppose I did feel lonely.

The thing is, according to the Higher Education Policy Institute, this isn’t unusual. Their annual survey on student experience reported that one in four students are lonely ‘most or all of the time’.

According to Dale Kitchen, the University’s Counselling service manager, this sense of isolation manifests itself in many ways. She said: “Students can feel depressed, their sleep can be affected, it may result in students avoiding going out and increased anxiety and stress.

“A sufferer’s self-esteem can also be attacked, resulting in a lack of selfconfidence.”

It is perhaps unsurprising to many studying in Sheffield to be told there are those who experience these symptoms, but learning the

magnitude of the problem – nearly a quarter of their cohort – may seem more remarkable.

This figure only gets more startling when compared to the rest of the population. The latest data from the ONS reveals that students are five times as lonely as adults nationwide, where just one in twenty report comparative levels of isolation. So why are students so disproportionately lonely?

In answering this question, Dale points at the transition that first-years experience from home to university.

“It’s a shock to the system coming from an environment where, for many, everything was cosy, wonderful and preprepared, to one where all of these networks are no longer set up for them.”

Is it possible we don’t fully

appreciate how extreme this shift is? Young adults of all backgrounds, and consequently all degrees of maturity and life-experience, are being dropped into a new, alien environment in which they must coexist.

Although, if basic existence was the zeitgeist’s benchmark for a successful

university experience, then the issue might be less complicated. Newcomers aren’t supposed to simply exist but thrive.

Ann-Marie Sloman, a mental health service manager working in student support, identifies this expectation as a key factor in aggravating the mental impact of loneliness. She says, “university should be the best days of your life, where you’re spreading your wings and becoming more independent.”

Combined with the additional tuition costs and the wider economic picture this generation of students faces, there is a lot more pressure these days.

“A degree costs a lot of money, and if you’re failing, it feels like you’re wasting all of that,” she added.

From personal experience, I can assure you that the feeling of wasting an opportunity is an authentic one, as is the guilt that sprouts from it. The sense of disconnect with those around you only worsened by the joy-deficit you see in your dreary day-to-day, when measured against everyone else’s non-stop socialising.

Above the usual struggles carried with the academic rite of passage, there is a factor unique to this generation of students. Hanging over this discussion is the spectre of the

In terms of advice to those currently struggling, Dale didn’t hesitate in directing them to the University’s student counselling service, reassuring students that “it can always be helpful to talk things through.”

Ann-Marie acknowledges that while people “don’t want to hear about ‘getting yourself out there’ as a solution to their problems,” signing up to an activity you can engage with, offering volunteering in a field of interest as an example, can mean that “without trying to force things you might be able to forge some connections.”

pandemic.

A study of the pandemic’s impact from Student Minds – the UK’s largest universityfocused mental health charity – found that 74% of students reported that COVID-19 had a negative impact on their mental health, with two thirds stating that they have ‘often felt isolated or lonely since March 2020.’

For students who lived and studied through it, the effect was enormous, irreparably scarring their time at university. The toll is a matter of public record, measured in squandered pound sterling and lost contact hours.

However, the long-term impact is arguably yet to be seen. For the age-band of teenagers whose formative years of social development were stunted by statemandated separation, how their ability to cope with the previously touched upon ‘transition’ will be affected is uncertain.

A study from Bristol University discovered that the number of young people with anxiety more than doubled due to the pandemic, from 13% beforehand to 27% by January 2021.

While it is hoped this will not harm their ability to cope socially when cut loose, and thrust into the world of higher education, it would be foolish to expect no impact.

She further suggests exploring the Umii app – a student social networking site recently adopted by the university – describing it as “a very practical way of trying to connect to people.”

Help exists if students are prepared to use it, so why the discrepancy between the number of cases of loneliness treated and those reported? Well, it seems like admittance is the hardest step.

Dale continues: “If we are right in thinking that students might feel shame, or be aware of any stigma loneliness carries, the best way to destigmatise something is to keep talking about it.” She advises the university to make every effort in “allowing people to be able to feel like it’s OK.”

For all the gloom this article has carried about a subsection of student life, it must be stressed that the archetype of the ‘university experience’ exists because it can be real and incredibly rewarding. University can be transformative for those who attend it, allowing them to forge permanent bonds and have their worldviews turned upside down, making their lives all the richer for it.

Which makes it an even greater shame that some might lose out on this because, as Dale notes, “it’s a big thing to say ‘I’m lonely.’

“Lots of students would find that difficult. In fact, I would find that difficult.”

It’s a big thing to say: ‘I’m lonely.’

“

Star graveyard revealed in the Milky Way

Charlotte Clowes (she/her )

Astronomers have known for a while that our galaxy is full of many more remains of supernovas than we’ve been able to detect. This has all changed with a new radio telescope collaboration which has revealed around 20 previously unseen remnants of dying stars.

Remnants of stars are exploding clouds of gas, marking the last stage of a star’s life cycle after it explodes in a supernova. Astronomers estimate that a star in the Milky Way explodes as a supernova at least once every 100 years.

Essentially, this explosion is a way for massive stars to exhaust the last of their fuel; the stars have the potential to eject clouds of gas and dust many light years away from the point of the explosion. The remnants can linger for thousands of years before dispersing.

So far, astronomers have found hundreds of similar remnants across the Milky Way, but they estimate that they’ve only detected

around 20% of the total number. They know this because researchers found ‘thin tendrils and clumpy clouds’ in the areas between numerous stars in the Milky Way, which suggests that there are more supernova remnants than previously observed.

Usually, these remnants are discovered by detecting radio emissions that come from them as they expand; these emissions reveal their previously undetectable shapes, but unfortunately, many are too faint to be picked up by current technology. Astronomers know how many we should be seeing but can only detect around one-fifth.

Recently, this all changed. PhD student

Brianna Ball from the University of Alberta and her supervisor, Roland Kothes, facilitated a collaboration between two different radio telescope projects. On the 16th of January of this year, their project revealed a new way of observing supernova remnants.

They combined the

powers of two different projects.

First, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), a radio telescope made up of 36 relatively small dishes (each 12 metres wide), which mimic a single large telescope with a 6km wide dish). This telescope has a good resolution but can’t detect radio emissions from even the largest star regions. Therefore, its power was combined with the Parkes/Murriyang telescope, one of the world’s largest single-dish radio telescopes, allowing novel detection.

By combining maps of our galaxy from each telescope, supernova remnants in the Milky Way were revealed with ‘extremely high precision and accuracy’. The team uncovered 21 supernova remnants, of which only seven were previously known.

The resulting image is being referred to by scientists as the most detailed radio image of our galaxy so far, showing the galactic plane in its ‘finest

detail yet’. The colour in the image represents heat – purple is the coolest, then blue, green, red, and finally, the hottest areas are white.

The above image contains five of the 21 newly revealed remnants, including one shaped with a figure of eight. The picture was taken along the Norma Arm in the Milky Way, which is near the dense Galactic Centre, where dust and gas heavily obscure light.

Through this approach of generating highquality images of the sky, astronomers

hope to further their understanding of our galaxy and beyond with future observations. It’s estimated that there might be around 1500 more undiscovered supernova remnants in our galaxy. By finding and studying new remnants, scientists can learn more about the kinds of stars that explode as supernovas. Furthermore, they can reveal useful information about the Milky Way, as the remnants often contain heavy elements which are the building blocks of other stars, planets, and even life itself.

Animal vaccine centre to combat new diseases

ith the UK still suffering egg shortages and poultry remaining inside from the largest outbreak of avian influenza in the country’s history, the Pirbright Institute in Woking has announced a new initiative to help combat and prevent animal infections. The collaboration between the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Bill and Melinda Gates

WFoundation will create a new centre specialised in the development of new vaccines for animals, in an attempt to combat emerging diseases before they spread.

Whilst most vaccine research begins with identifying compounds in facilities such as universities before entering pharmaceutical development, the new centre aims to reduce friction between research and manufacture. Not only does it intrinsically prove to be beneficial domestically, the centre is aiming to focus on infections that become

prevalent in middle and low-income countries. In such countries, livestockkeeping is the livelihood of a larger proportion of the population. The Covid-19 pandemic rapidly bought the existence of zoonotic infections (those which pass from animals to humans) into the spotlight, and with the rise of more antibiotic resistance among common disease strains, investigating and developing medications for new diseases are more important than ever to safeguard both our population and that of our livestock.

The £40 million

investment will go towards developing their role in the pandemic preparedness programme. This includes emergency vaccine development, as seen during the Covid pandemic, and addressing markets deemed commercially problematic for medical development. Many animal vaccine developments are currently driven by industry needs and judged by commercial benefit, meaning some diseases don’t begin vaccine development until much later on - at which point they may be at epidemic or pandemic level.

The partnership of business and science has potential to speed up the overall development process and reduce bureaucracy, which should see animal vaccines developed faster and more effectively. The Covid pandemic has shown that effective vaccines can be produced quickly, and the new centre at Pirbright could give the UK an edge on protecting the health and wellbeing of its broader population.

You can find more UK Research & Innovation information on UKRI’s website.

Image credits: R. Kothes and PEGASUS team on Wikimedia

Sophie Layton (she/her)

Earth Hour is back!

Sophie Layton (she/her)

On Saturday March 25th, our world will be plunged into darkness. Earth Hour is back, and with our planet facing a huge climate threat, it is more important than ever. Earth Hour is an annual global event encouraging us to give back to our planet, encouraging us to be more proactive in looking after our planet.

At 8:30pm, Earth Hour asks us to turn off the lights for an hour and spend it learning more about our planet and its threats, reconnecting

with it, restoring it or inspiring others to care for it. The website has lots of ideas for activities, ranging from under an hour to an entire day’s worth of awareness & environmentalism to get involved with. Earth Hour also has events running across the UK.

Running every year since its inception in 2007, Earth Hour has broken records across the globe, leading to governmental and environmental cooperation

in protecting marine environments, reducing energy use and setting up an Earth Hour forest, in association with WWF-Uganda With our university ranking 83rd on sustainability in the UK (a shocking 40 places behind Sheffield Hallam), we need to become more proactive on caring for our planet and rallying our university to work towards increasing

sustainability.

On March 25th, grab your housemates and walk through one of the many green spaces in Sheffield, head out to the peaks, and play board games by candlelight. With 33,000 hours without lights already pledged across the globe, this is a great chance to switch off and learn about things you can do to help our planet, be more sustainable and work towards a greener future.

Visit the Earth Hour website to pledge your hour, as well as tips for how you can give back to our planet.

The physics behind rainbows – could you really find a pot of gold?

ith St. Patrick’s Day coming up, many of you may be wondering about the Irish folklore surrounding the holiday. One well-known tale tells of a pot of gold coins at the end of each rainbow, put there by fairies and guarded by leprechauns. Whilst you may not actually find a pot of gold at the ‘end’ of a rainbow, the science behind them is fascinating.

Essentially, a rainbow is a multicoloured arc created by a light source striking water droplets. Practically, there’s a little more to it. The most common and familiar type of rainbow that we see is created when sunlight hits raindrops in front of the viewer at a precise angle – 42 degrees. Rainbows are complete circles, but observers on the ground are limited to what they can see above the horizon – observers in the air can occasionally see the complete circle. Rainbows can also form anywhere that moisture is suspended in the

Wair, including sea spray and splashing rivers.However, the rainbow doesn’t physically exist in the specific spot that you see in the sky – it’s an optical illusion.

What causes the illusion of a rainbow?

The white light emitted from the sun is a superimposition (overlaying) of the colours on the visible light spectrum – from red to violet – and is dispersed if travelling through some other medium, such as water. All the colours which overlap to create white light have different wavelengths and frequencies, which affects their speed when travelling through such media. This leads to varying angles of refraction, which is what causes the colours to diverge and appear as individuals when coming out of the other side of the medium.

Using water as an example, first, the light wave refracts upon entering the water droplet (which changes its direction, making it appear ‘bent’), then the light wave is reflected by the back of the droplet, and as this reflected light leaves the droplet, it’s refracted once

more, at multiple angles. But the physics behind the refraction of light in a single water droplet doesn’t lead us straight to the creation of a rainbow.

So, how do water droplets work together to form a rainbow?

Picture the rain or sea spray – any instance when water is suspended in the air. Dozens of molecules are hit continuously by sunlight, and within each of them, sunlight is reflected and refracted, as explained above. If you direct your head away from the sun at roughly 42 degrees, you’ll see the resulting individual colours – but this doesn’t come from just one molecule; it comes from all molecules in view at an adequate angle. When an observer is on the ground, the molecules returning a particular colour of the rainbow align in an arc. Therefore, the overall rainbow effect is a collective effort of all water droplets. So, there we have the mystery of rainbows solved. No pot of gold or leprechaun at the ‘end’ (there is no end –they’re circles), but still some pretty cool physics.

Charlotte Clowes (she/her)

Make: Four Easy Cocktails to Liven Up Pres

Charlie Fenton (he/Him)

ATTENTION

PLEASE!!! I have an announcement for all cider sippers, beer drinkers, and those who drink plain old vodka mixers, forget them for now and build these easy cocktails which will certainly bring flavour to your pres. They don’t have to look pretty (if you don’t want), but at least you and your taste buds will have some fun. All the cocktails can be made with simple ingredients I am sure you may have lying around your uni accommodation.

Storage Cupboard

Sugar syrup prep

Boil a 2:1 ratio of sugar and water.

You can find Peach Schnapps for £9, go halves with a friend to save some money.

Cherry Sourz can be found in Asda for £8.

Medics on The Beach

A fruity and flavoursome drink to get pres started.

What you'll need:

• Vodka

• Peach Schnapps

• Orange juice

• Cranberry juice

• Oranges

1. To get started, grab any glass and fill it to the top with ice.

2. Next, get a shot glass and pour in one shot of vodka and then one shot of the Schnapps.

3. Now grab your orange juice and fill it just above halfway.

4. Don’t be afraid to get a straw and give it a whisk to combine it together.

5. Pour in the cranberry juice until just before the top, a separation of orange and red should be seen.

6. Finally, add a slice of orange and viola! you have a vibrant drink to start your pres.

D-D-D-Daiquri Fizz

A smooth, refreshing drink to sip whilst you're getting ready.

What you'll need:

• White rum

• Lemon/lime juice

• Sugar syrup (prep)

1. The first step is to get hold of any finished pasta sauce jar and clean it out.

2. Into the jar, add two shots of the rum, two shots of the lime/ lemon juice and finally two shots of the prepared sugar syrup.

3. Add roughly 5-6 cubes of ice.

4. Put the lid on and give it a 10-15 second shake.

5. Using a spoon to block the ice from falling out, pour the contents into your chosen glass.

6. Finally, add ice a quarter of the way up the glass and fill to the top with lemonade water for a fizzy kick.

Mum Misses Me-jito

A casual drink to use up that leftover bottle of rum.

What you'll need:

• Mint leaves

• Lime

• Sugar syrup (prep)

• Lemon/lime juice

• White rum

• Tonic water

1. Get a glass and add two slices of lime and 6-8 mint leaves.

2. Add a shot of your homemade sugar syrup.

3. Grab a spoon and mush it all together.

4. Add two shots of rum and a shot of lime or lemon juice.

5. Fill the glass up with ice.

6. Grab the spoon and give it a good mix together.

7. Fill it three-quarters up with tonic water.

8. You’ve now got a minty, zesty refreshing Mojito to enjoy.

Roar's Kiss

A kiss from Rory to revamp your vodka mixer.

What you'll need:

• Vodka

• Cherry Sourz or juice

• Coca Cola

1. Grab your glass and pour in two shots of vodka. (Feel free to add more depending on how strong you want your drink.)

2. Then, add either a shot of Cherry Sourz or a shot of cherry juice (see what you have on hand).

3. Next, add ice to around the three-quarter mark.

4. Then, pour your Coca Cola or Coke Zero until it reaches the top. The Coke and the red of the cherry in your drink should seperate.

5. This is a tasty and easy way to liven up your vodka mixers.

Uni Confessions

We asked students to share some of their weird and whacky stories during their time at uni. This is the unhinged community that is the University of Sheffield.

I pretend to be a witch to stop a guy from coming on to me… and it worked. My cackle must’ve been really convincing.

It’s got to the point that whenever I go to the IC or diamond it’s a game of ‘did I sleep with them or just make out with them?’

At scary tarts, I was just living my life, dancing and having a great time (I was dressed as a bat) and a cowboy came up to me and whispered something in my ear which I obviously couldn’t hear. I said “what??” and he said “swap shoes with me!!!”. I was wearing converse and he was wearing cowboy bootsone of the strangest things anyone as said to me on a night out. The question is… did I?

Right basically, it was mid-December and my girlfriend and I had just been out to the pub, absolutely wonderful evening with my buddies and upon return to my house it got a little better! Get to my room the usual stuff occurs, noddy as the kids say, but the problem is I used to live on the ground and because it’s student accom it’s fucking boiling so I accidentally left my window open a crack. Some keen-eyed Amigo had seemingly realised this upon his walk back from whatever plans he had this eve, presumably spoons you shall see why shortly. Anyway, he took advantage of the situation by simply wrenching my window open as hard as humanly possible and launching in a bottle of mayo, as I say likely something he had stolen from Franny newton. My girlfriend and I agreed the mood was somewhat ruined and decided to call it a night.

Student Flash Fiction

Elliot Lonsdale (he/him)

A Short Life on The Forest Floor

The grass was long in the forest. The ground shook from time to time as the shadows passed by. He sat leaning against a tree with his two smaller friends, no words just them and their umbrella hats. They’d been here for days since the rain had passed. Pluck! He’d been chosen.

Dug Up

He awoke to sounds of scratching all around him and feeling like he’d been asleep for decades, centuries even. The air was dry and sandy. Where was everyone? A man spoke in the modern tongue he did not understand the words but knew the sensation. Like when he found the prehistoric bones as a child.

Did you know?

Sheffield Steel was used to build the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City! Brooklyn Works, located in Kelham Island, is the supposed place the steel was forged for the project. It is also thought that nearly half of all scalpels and surgical blade tools used to build the bridge came from Sheffield too.

Sunsets on Mars are BLUE! The image to the left was taken by NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover and was the first colour sunset it recorded. The phenomenon is caused by ‘Mie Scattering’ due to the large dust particles which dominate its atmosphere. They block the red light waves, causing only the blue light from the sun to reach our eyes.

A night out in Sheffield

Balance Kicks My Ass Like No Other

Mert Arik (he/they)

Since returning to Sheffield for my second semester, I have been striving to strike a healthy balance between my academic responsibilities and my desire to maintain a busy social life without completely losing my mind. Besides the bizarre belief that I am the only person with this problem, I also think that I’m constantly failing.

Balance kicks my ass like no other.

A recent online search for cooking-related YouTube videos brought me to an interview with actress Drew Barrymore. Drew gained recognition at a young age (she played Gertie in E.T. if you’re unfamiliar with her), but the scrutiny and stress of the spotlight led to substance abuse when she was a teenager. Around the ages of 13 and 14, she first checked into treatment. Her parents split up when she was a child, her dad died of cancer, and her mom suffered from addiction and was never in her life. She was emancipated from her parents and proclaimed an adult at the young age of 14. This allowed her to make her own decisions and manage

her own funds, but it also led to an arrest for drug use when she was 19. Yet, she overcame these obstacles and is now thriving. She has been clean for a long time, is hosting a popular talk show, and is still actively working in the entertainment industry. I mean 50 First Dates, Charlie’s Angels, and He’s Just Not That Into You, anyone?

Her strength of character and will in the face of adversity have always impressed me. I’ve always imagined her to be this goddess with an insane amount of resilience, giving herself the toughest armour in the universe.

I clicked on the interview, and she started speaking with her familiar motherly voice.

“Balance is an art I haven’t mastered. I’ve never had balance. I’m like a wrecking ball of a pendulum. Agony,

ecstasy. Heavier, thinner. Happier, totally depressed. Working my ass off, completely lost and broken, not knowing what I’m doing. Balance is an elusive bitch that haunts me. I would love to find that in my 50s.”

I immediately paused the video and started crying. Not only did what she said sound like something out of my diary but hearing that a woman of her age still struggles with maintaining a sense of balance gave me the realisation that I was never alone in my experience and that people have been going through this shitshow for a very long time, yet they are still here, fighting.

I stood up, looked in the mirror, watched the boy in the mirror wipe his tears away and told him to give himself a break and have a bit of faith.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Credit: Alexander Rotker, Unsplash

The history of Sheffield's LGBTQ+ community

During the Victorian period, Sheffield was a working-class city with its steel and coal trades at the centre of its culture. Yet, living on the outskirts of the city centre was a poet named Edward Carpenter. There, in Milthorpe, he lived with his partner, George Merrill, together as openly gay men.

For the LGBTQ+ community, it is important to reflect on and celebrate its diverse history. Since queer history is rarely discussed within the education curriculum, self-education and independent research is one of the few ways LGBTQ+ people become exposed to the community's history. While movements like Stonewall and the fight for equality are highlighted, some of the histories closest to us are still kept hidden.

For many historians and researchers specialising in Britain’s queer history,

discovering information from anywhere outside of London is a difficult challenge despite the LGBTQ+ community existing in all areas of British society - including Sheffield.

Sheffield’s history of the LGBTQ+ community stems back to the late sixties and early seventies when a small room upstairs in a pub called the King’s Arms served as a meeting place for members. Despite this safe space being created, members sometimes were met with homophobic slurs when they entered the pub, highlighting that much more change was needed in terms of societal attitudes.

Soon, many more gay bars opened in Sheffield, but they were usually in remote areas, like Attercliffe, an industrial suburb of the city where the steelworks were located. Quite the opposite of the thriving Sheffield gay club scene we know now.

There were also political developments in Sheffield that meant by 1972 Sheffield

had a branch of Campaign for Homosexual Equality. This group held local campaigns to speak to MPs about gay rights and demanded the provision of services for LGBTQ+ people. Despite the main focus being on the rights of gay men, women and transgenderspecific groups were also created.

Furthermore, in 1975, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality group held its third annual conference in Sheffield. It is at this conference that it became noted that this group were neglecting the lesbian identity, and women within these queer spaces were starting to find their own voice, and create their own spaces.

During the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, activists within Sheffield created the ‘Gay Phone’ and ‘Lesbian Line’ to act as support for anyone affected. The ‘Lesbian Line’ in particular was a demonstration of this emerging scene that finally

included queer women, and with this line women could receive advice, information, or even just someone to listen to them.

Some of the people involved in the creation of the Lesbian Line, also were involved in setting up Gwenda’s Garage, an allwomen garage aiming to help women find work in a male-dominated industry, demonstrating the overlap between local feminist and lesbian circles.

Although the community was growing, women were continuing to feel excluded from these LGBTQ+ spaces. Women in Sheffield decided to take this into their own hands and created meet-ups at a pub named The Hole in the Wall, as well as running women’s discos.

The Leadmill also played a pivotal role with Sheffield women also hosting a monthly women’s performance night at the iconic venue. Many comedians, such as Jo Brand, were involved in

these events, creating a space for women to express themselves.

In 1997, the Women’s Cultural Club was established, which again served as a queer-friendly space for women, separate to commonplace maledominated areas. It is hardly surprising a sign on Chesterfield Road featured a handmade placard which read, 'Sheffield – the Lesbian Capital of the North.' It truly was a place where queer women were able to create their own spaces separate from the existing gay scene which was dominated by men.

Although Sheffield’s first Pride event was not until 2008, it is clear that the rich LGBTQ+ history extends much further. Although it is underreported compared to cities like London and Manchester, it is important to not forget the community that existed within Sheffield. For anyone interested in learning more about Sheffield’s Queer History,

Megan Ainsworth (she/her)

Image credits: Unsplash

Oscars 2023: The (not red) carpet

Emily Duff (she/her)

ith awards season being a pivotal time for celebrity Fashion moments, The Oscars plays an important role in trend predictions for the year ahead.

Recently, people online have speculated that jewellery is becoming less and less apparent, with many theories linking this to the ever increasing cost of living crisis which can be seen worldwide, and celebrities not wishing to be seen as showing off. Specifically, statement necklaces seem to have disappeared from the necks of our favourite creatives, being a historically key part of luxury and wealth-driven maximalism.

Ironically and somewhat lightheartedly-titled ‘recession core’ by the fashion side of TikTok, typical signs of the economic impact could definitely be noticed at the 95th Academy Awards.

A key feature? Everything is beige.

WFrom fan-favourite Florence Pugh to lesser known faces like Erim Lim, a dull colour palette was certainly apparent. Although not to imply the fashion itself was dull, with colourful trends like dopamine dressing and Y2K not being far in the past, it certainly seems to have been a fast 180.

This is not to say colour didn't make an appearance. In fact, more youthful nominees could be seen in bold colours. For example, The upcoming Little Mermaid, Halle Bailey, seemingly paid homage to her impending role through her trendy baby blue dress. Another key example was Best Supporting Actress nominee Stephanie Hsu, who caught attention in an almost Salmon pink gown.

Although both looks were bright and beautiful, they were simplistic through details, such as Hsu’s hair being almost untouched and flowing naturally down her shoulders - almost covering where once a necklace may have been expected, given the dress's strapless design.

This more demure take on fashion can appear almost unfinished and arguably feeds in to the social mediadriven celebrity need to be relatable to the general public - despite the obvious and significant wealth divide between A-listers and their fans.

Many a little black dress was also on show. Making headlines, Lady Gaga

stunned in a Versace dress worn by Gigi Hadid less than 48 hours prior in the collection’s catwalk debut at their star-studded Los Angeles show.

Speculations have been drawn as to why the infamous pop superstar was not in a couture look, including the dress being a last minute backup to the look, or the Poker Face singer nodding to her friendship with Donatella Versace. However, in an age of gimmick-driven fashion that recently includes Coperni’s robot runway accompaniment and ANREALAGE’s colourchanging clothing, it could easily be assumed that the decision was an attempt to catch headlines. An attempt that has been successful with Tweets, Instagram comments and TikToks poking fun at the quick turnaround already steadily circulating within style communities on the platforms.

Similarly, ruby red, a la Cluedo character Miss Scarlett, was also very apparent. Thankfully so, as the typical red carpet

was replaced with a sandcoloured alternative that let the sexy shade take precedence. A colour unlikely to ever go out of trend due to it complimenting most skin shades, it’s interesting to see the development of our once pink-focused colour palette rapidly having shifted towards its more mature counterpart. A favourite of mine, pockets, also featured in many of the evening’s dresses. Although a subtle detail, this aspect easily links to economic influence being a cause for more practical fashion. It could also be argued that, as we live in an age of extreme climate concern, the addition allows for no addition of a handbag - furthering the lack of accessories, and linking the industries recent strive for a reduced environmental impact.

The main takeaway? It seems that less is more.

After the recent Fashion Weeks mainly presented a case for capsule wardrobes and timeless pieces, maybe it is finally time to get ahold of our splurging urges.

Why this year's Oscars have changed the industry for the better

Rosie Deacon (she/her)

ith a number of recordbreaking wins that have changed the film industry forever, the 95th annual Oscars can only be described as a historic night.

Perhaps the most historic winner is Michelle Yeoh, who became the first-ever Asian Oscar winner in the Best Actress category. The trending film Everything Everywhere All at Once, which Yeoh won her Oscar for, was nominated eleven times and came away winning seven - including Best Picture.

Michelle Yeoh began

Wher acceptance speech by highlighting the monumental win and gave both encouragement and hope for future generations eager to pursue the film industry.

Yeoh said: “For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities.”

With a disappointing history of white American and British actors being the majority nominated and winning, it is phenomenal to see an Asian actress win.

Ke Huy Quan also won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the same film, his gratitude being felt even by viewers watching along at home, with his upbeat personality

continuing to be electrifying. Not all of the Asian winners came from Everything Everywhere All at Once. The highly anticipated film The Whale won Best Makeup and Hairstyling, with the makeup department head being Judy Chin.

The Banshees of Inisherin was nominated for an astounding nine awards, and Dubliner Richard Baneham won his second visual effects Oscar for his work on Avatar: The Way of Water, maintaining the night as a remarkable year for the Irish film industry despite Martin McDonagh’s snub.

Ireland is known for their rich literary history, James Joyce, in particular, being one of the country’s most

famous writers who set up Ireland's first official venue for film showings in 1909. The cinema, named Dublin Volt, cemented the Irish film industry which has only continued to rise from then on. Although The Banshees of Inisherin didn’t win, Oscar history was still made for Ireland.

Northern Irish ComedyDrama, An Irish Goodbye, deservedly won best liveaction short film at Sunday night's ceremony.

The Elephant Whisperers director, Kartiki Gonsalves, became the first Indian Oscar recipient for the short documentary, alongside producer Guneet Monga.

Demonstrating a remarkable change in the film industry,

it is fantastic to see these wins when we are used to seeing all white British and American actors repeatedly nominated by the Academy. Hopefully, this year has changed the trajectory of representation in film for the better. More films have followed in the footsteps of Parasite, which won best picture in 2020 and was the first non-English language film to win in that category, bringing a variety of cultures to mainstream screens.

Represented by Everything Everywhere All at Once, it is only the start for more diverse representation in films and definitely not the last.

What has the National Trust done for the art world?

The National Trust has one of the world’s largest collections of fine art and heritage objects, preserving and displaying over 13,000 oil paintings and one million objects, across over 200 historic places. Since its founding in 1895, the organisation has been dedicated to preserving historic cultural heritage sites and their impressive collections, so they can continue to be enjoyed by future generations.

Anyone who has visited a National Trust site will remember the sheer volume of paintings, sculptures and objects filling its rooms. Many previous owners of the historic properties were art lovers and collectors, amassing collections impressive in the quantity, quality, and variety of artworks on display. They hold a wide array of pieces, from modern art created in the 21st century to objects dating all the way back to possibly the 10th century BC. The antiquity of so many artefacts, which are so well maintained, is a testament to the National Trust’s conservation team and its dedicated mission to conserve history.

special events. In 2009 they launched Trust New Art, an initiative intended to engage fresh audiences with contemporary art through National Trust places and properties. So far, they’ve collaborated with over 300 artists to help visitors see properties and their surrounding areas in a new light. Recently, they introduced a remarkable light installation, The Artificial Sunshine, at The Argory in County Armagh.

Northern Irish artist Kevin

properties have created podcasts – available via free podcast platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts – as well as audio and large print guides which are available in person at properties. The podcasts initiative is especially helpful to those who have difficulty visiting properties in person or accessing information on the National Trust website. Unfortunately, the historic nature of their properties makes it difficult to install lifts or sufficient ramps due to limited space and fragile building fabric. Only 33 out of their hundreds of properties contain lifts, however their Access Guide states that they are striving to include lifts in as many places as possible.

As well as their conservation work, the National Trust also promotes the art world through various exhibitions and

Killen took inspiration from the shine of the acetylene gas flame that lit The Argory, to present visitors with a contemporary take on the space.

When discussing the impact that the National Trust has had on the world of art, it is important to consider how accessible they make their efforts to preserve artworks, the artworks themselves, and special exhibitions and events designed to increase interest in art and artistic culture.

The National Trust admits that accessibility to artworks can vary depending on the specific property or exhibition; however, efforts have been made to increase accessibility to their properties and the vital work carried out there. Many

Although it’s undeniable that the National Trust has made great efforts to maximise accessibility to the art world (both in person and virtually), it is disappointing that more cannot seemingly be done to bring art enthusiasts and newcomers alike closer to the organisation’s work in preserving and promoting art. In the past, specific properties have introduced sensory experiences to allow multisensory engagement with artworks; if expanded further, this would result in an increased contribution to the world of art.

However, overall, the organisation’s immense efforts in the conservation and promotion of artists’ work have helped to ensure that art and its culture will continue to be preserved and thrive for future generations. By working hard to raise awareness of the importance of preserving art, and by designing new projects to promote both historic and contemporary artworks, the National Trust is helping both old and new visitors to engage with art in a meaningful way that is essential to uplifting the world of art.

Charlotte Clowes (She/Her)

The organisation’s immense efforts in the conservation and promotion of artists’ work have helped to ensure that art and its culture will continue to be preserved and thrive for future generations.

It is disappointing that more cannot seemingly be done to bring art enthusiasts and newcomers alike closer to the organisation’s work in preserving and promoting art.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-portrait, wearing a Feathered Bonnet, 1635, held at Buckland Abbey, Devon.

Barbara Hepworth's 'Two Forms' (Orkney), 1967, held at Dudmaston, Shropshire.

Kuei bowl, Chinese. Chou, 9th-10th century BC, held at Fenton House, London.

Women’s History Month 2023

Book recommendations: What should we all be reading?

Review

English Touring Opera’s Giulio Cesare at the Lyceum

When Handel’s Giulio Cesare was first performed in London in 1724, it caused ripples in Georgian aristocratic circles. The poet John Byrom, however, was not so impressed. After enduring a performance of the celebrated opera, he proclaimed to his wife that ‘it was the first entertainment of this nature that I ever saw, and will I hope be the last.’ John and I are alike in being newcomers to the opera, but after having seen James Conway’s 2020 adaptation of Giulio Cesare, I am definitely less averse to returning. The action in Giulio Cesare is based on the Roman

Emperor Julius Caesar’s visit to Egypt and his romance with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The opening chorus is victorious and powerful: Caesar has defeated the forces of a rival Roman general, Pompey, on the banks of the River Nile. Pompey’s wife, Cordelia, begs for the life of her husbandto which Caesar agrees. But it’s too late: the Egyptian Achilla bursts onto the scene bearing the severed head of Pompey, a token gift from the chaotic and slightly unhinged King Tolomeo. As the performance began to unfold, I wondered if the opera is outdated. Almost 300 years have passed since the first production of Giulio Cesare, and we’re no longer rolling up to the theatre in private carriages, wearing hooped petticoats and

Get your tickets: What’s on at Sheffield’s theatres?

Kinky Boots

The Lyceum Tue 28 Mar - Sat 1 Apr

Based on the 2005 film of the same name and inspired by a true story, Kinky Boots tells the story of Charlie Price, who inherits his father’s shoe factory and finds unexpected inspiration in drag queen Lola. This highly anticipated musical offering - with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper - is sure to be a smash hit!

World Seniors Snooker Championship 2023

The Crucible Wed 3 - Sun 7

May

The Crucible isn’t all about plays! Every year it is home to the World Snooker Championship, and if you’re already a fan of that, why not give the seniors a try? If you book for both sessions on Fri 5, Sat 6 or Sun 7 May, you can

Michelle Obama

A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf

Published almost an entire century ago, Woolf’s famous essay on dampened female creativity still resonates today.

powdered wigs. Our social media-stunted attention spans make it hard to focus on the complex plots and long arias. On top of this, it’s all sung in Italian with limited subtitles to follow. When adapting classical works, some production companies resort to attention-grabbing techniques such as casting Benedict Cumberbatch as a cagoule-wearing Hamlet, or having Romeo pop up in Juliet’s DMs. However, I don’t think that Caesar and Cleopatra need to

communicate on social media for the play to be relevant. Although going to the opera in the 21st century may feel anachronistic, the themes of the play - passion, revenge, power - hold a universal appeal. The beauty of Giulio Cesare resides not in the language but in the voice, music, body language, movement and facial expressions of its talented cast. It’s a highoctane cocktail of political conniving, sexual power relations and complex family relationships.

Giulio

Cesare isn’t new and exciting anymore, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be old and exciting.

The English Touring Opera is at the start of its spring tour of three different productions: Giulio Cesare, Il viaggio a Reims and Lucrezia Borgia. It is visiting Norwich, York, Durham, Chester, Cambridge, Snape Maltings, Canterbury, Cheltenham, Buxton, Leamington Spa and Exeter. More information can be found on English Touring Opera’s website.

claim 25% off tickets. Call the Sheffield Theatres Box Office on 0114 249 6000.

The Mousetrap

The Lyceum Tue 30 MaySat 3 Jun

Agatha Christie’s worldfamous murder mystery comes to the Lyceum in its 70th anniversary year. Welcome to the Monskwell

Manor countryside guesthouse, where seven strangers are snowed in together. News drifts over of a murder in London, and when Detective Sergeant Trotter arrives, they discover that a killer lies among them. If you’re dying to solve this classic murder from the the world’s best selling novelist of all time, get your ticket

now! This production is sure to sell out.

2023 is looking like a great year for theatre and events so far, and it’s only going to get better! Make sure to grab those tickets as soon as you can to avoid missing out, by visiting the ‘What’s On’ section of the Sheffield Theatres website.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou Angelou relates her childhood as a black girl growing up in the 1930s American South with excruciatingly beautiful detail.

Evie Nichols (she/her)

Becoming

Michelle shares her story for the young women of the future. Adapted version available for younger readers.

Image credit: Richard Hubert

Lucy Riddell (she/her)

Tent or Rent: Can festivals continue to be this expensive?

Laura Harmer (she/her)

In October last year, organisers of Glastonbury festival were faced with a wave of media backlash when they announced that they would be raising the ticket price to £335 – an increase of £55 from the previous year. However, although it was Glastonbury’s increase that made the headlines, it was by no means the only festival to raise the financial entry bar. From Reading and Leeds at £320 (up from around £260) to Download at £310 (previously £250), the price of festivals has risen sharply since the pandemic. Adding on the cost of travel, food, drinks and camping gear, most people will have to budget in the region of £500 – £700 for a five-night experience. All this begs the question, can festivals continue to be this expensive?

In terms of whether festivals such as Glastonbury can afford to be this expensive, the answer is yes. Despite the price hike, ticket sales certainly haven’t taken a hit – anyone who attempted to snap up a ticket for 2023 will know all too well that the festival is more

than popular. But whilst it may be the case that tickets for Glastonbury will sell regardless of the hefty price tag, it cannot be denied that this comes with repercussions. By raising the price, festival organisers are inevitably going to price out the working-class. For festivals such as Glastonbury, which were originally set up with the idea of music for a fair price in mind, you can see how the festival is uncomfortably close to becoming the antithesis of what it set out to be. It is, perhaps, a fine line that organisers must tread between keeping a festival for the people and ensuring that the festival is profitable enough to make it through to the next – particularly during a cost-of-living crisis. Are festivals good value for money?

The answer to this really depends on why you’re going to festivals in the first place. Festivals like Glastonbury don’t sell out instantly, without an announced line-up, for no reason. In fact, a large number of Glastonbury festival goers have little interest in seeing particular artists, as there are endless possibilities away from the main stages to

keep you entertained. So if you’re treating your festival experience as a holiday, then £335 for a 5-night trip where each day is packed full of entertainment certainly seems value for money. If you were booking a fullitinerary, 5-night stay to a European destination then I’m sure you’d consider £300 to be a bargain. That said, not every festival is like Glastonbury. Festivals like Reading and Leeds, although charging similar prices to Glastonbury, are much smaller in terms of what they have to offer. If you take away the music then you’re pretty much left with nothing but campsite wars, silent discos, and extortionately expensive vendors. Admittedly, the pandemic really took its toll on the live music industry, so it’s somewhat understandable that in order to afford the big names, festivals like Reading and Leeds are having to charge bigger prices. And if it’s big names you’re after, especially where those acts are charging close to £100 to see them live, then you can arguably see £300 worth of live music across 3 days. However, if you’re more interested in seeing small or medium-sized acts, or if

you’re someone who enjoys discovering artists before they become famous, then rather than pay £300 for a ticket, it might be better (and certainly more costeffective) to consider smaller scale urban festivals.

Are city-based, multivenue day festivals the future?

City-based, multi-venue day festivals have become increasingly popular over the last few years. Ranging in price from around £20 – £60 depending on the size of the artists playing, these festivals offer ticket holders the opportunity to experience live music throughout the course of a day at multiple venues across a city. From bars and pubs to nightclubs and established music venues, you can expect to see a wide variety of different genres in different settings. Sheffield, as a city, is regularly host to a number of such festivals – Get Together, Float Along, and No Bounds being good examples.

Where the live music industry has taken a hit as a result of the pandemic and continuing cuts to the arts, these grass-roots music festivals are proving a lifeline when it comes

to keeping venues open, particularly as ticket-holders find themselves discovering new venues which they might otherwise have never ventured to. And in terms of value for money, it’s hard to argue that £25 for a full day of music could be anything other than money well spent. Can festivals continue to be this expensive?

Although spending £300 on a 5-night festival holiday is arguably justifiable, it cannot be denied that the increasing costs are simply pricing out a large number of people from being able to experience live music in a festival setting. If what you’re wanting from a festival is the opportunity to experience live music in variety, then city-based festivals, costing double rather than triple figures, are certainly the more financially viable way forward. If largescale, solely music-based festivals continue to charge as they currently are, then I think we can expect to see them in a lot of trouble over the coming years as city-based, multi-venue day festivals expand to offer similar experiences at a much-reduced cost.

Talented genes or Nepo Babies?

All the talk around ‘Nepo Babies’ is the latest example of TikTok’s habit of giving existing social concepts new names. Nepotism is hardly a novel concept and works in settings as common as your part-time job, not just in the entertainment industry or politics.

However, the regurgitation of nepotism as a phenomenon that lies everpresent within the music industry has reignited a debate. It’s opened avenues for discussion surrounding diversity and representation, as well as wealth, class, and access to resources.

The term ‘nepo baby’ is used within the music world to lump together who have supposedly succeeded off the back of their parent’s connections and relationships, as opposed to innate talent and merit. Some are seen as deserving of the fame, whilst others are merely branded talentless hacks.

Examples may include: Miley Cyrus, daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and Goddaughter to the lauded Dolly Parton; Elijah Hewson, son of U2’s Bono; Fred Again.., whose parents are members of the British peerage; and Lily Allen, daughter of ‘The Others’ actor, Keith Allen.

However, with Cyrus’ recent release encouraging an entire generation of women to go out and buy themselves flowers and Fred Again’s powerful finger drumming reaching viral hits online, it’s difficult to deny the fact these people are simply good at what they do.

This clear familial line of success in the Cyrus clan raises the question as to whether there is the possibility that musical ability is simply inherited. The daughter of a successful, acclaimed musician also goes on to become a successful, acclaimed musician. A simple explanation, right? Do these musicians possess a divine gift and are certain people

simply ‘born’ as musicians as opposed to others?

A study in the Journal of Research in Music Education shows that, to an extent, genetics do play a role in determining someone’s musical aptitude. However,

environmental factors, such as exposure to music, access to training and instruments, and having the time and ability to practise.

It’s a fair assumption to make that a child with natural musical talent, access

all backgrounds. Is there simply enough funding (in particular in the UK)?

The 2000s songstress, Lily Allen, is one of the latest to weigh in on the debate. Abandoning her previous role of “chief nepo-baby

myself, I will be the first to tell you that I literally deserve nothing.”

“I think it’s important to disclose what a privileged upbringing I’ve had and how that has created so many opportunities for me.”

However, Zoe Kravitz, daughter of ‘It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over’ singer, Lenny Kravitz discredited the entire notion of meritocracy in a comment which fell nothing short of tone-deaf.

“It’s completely normal for people to be in the family business. It’s literally where last names came from. You were a blacksmith if your family was, like, the Black family.”

What Kravitz seems to miss, is that we no longer live in a time where we are limited to a destiny written out by our family name. Whilst there’s still a long way to go, there is recognition that equal opportunities should be made available, and that investment in funding and support of these activities is integral to ensure everyone who wants to, competes on a level playing field.

So, it’s not to say that music’s nepo babies aren’t deserving of recognition for their work, it’s not to say that they even lack talent. However, we must take a more nuanced approach when we make up our minds about nepo babies and their place in the music industry.

this research only compares musical ability in identical twins to fraternal twins, which is relatively limiting. An expert opinion piece in the Scientific American also recognises there may be a link between genetics and musical ability, but stresses the importance of

to resources, time, and industry connections will excel in the music world. However, the music industry is one of the existing industries that values merit above all other factors. This leaves us asking questions about how we make music accessible to children from

defender”, through claims of having worked hard for where she got and stating that she believes nepo-babies are used as a scapegoat for larger societal issues, she took to twitter and wrote:

“And before you come at me for being a nepo baby

There has been a recent stir over the Arts Council’s distribution of funding, with Sheffield receiving substantially less than its northern counterpart, Leeds. It’s important to note the negative consequences that chronically underfunding an area can have for underrepresented groups and what this means for diversity in the music industry both nationally and internationally.

So, at best, Nepo Babies’ very existence highlights what is lacking when it comes to funding, training, support, and opportunities in the music industry and exactly what needs to be done.

Mia Wallis (she/her)

Photo-illustration: Joe Darrow for New York Magazine

Elle Hodgkinson (she/her)

There is a tendency for movies released in the first week of January to be utterly disposable, but M3GAN is not one of them. After months of marketing across social media, with videos of the creepy dancing doll littered all over TikTok, it’s no surprise that Universal’s newest horror broke this trend.

Get Out’s Allison Williams as Cady’s workaholic aunt. Gemma just so happens to work at Funki, a technology company focusing on the creation of Furby-like toys

her work, Gemma builds Cady a realistic animatronic human, M3gan (Jenna Davis and Amie Donald), to be her friend. It’s not hard to guess what happens next. There are moments that are clearly designed for the film’s viral marketing, like the strangely addictive dance scene and not one but two song breaks, including the creepiest rendition of ‘Titanium’ you’ll ever hear. But the fact that nothing the film does is new or revelatory is exactly what makes it so great. It is so clearly aware of itself, aware that it follows every single killer doll trope, and yet it was met with praise and almost a cult-like following.

fake commercial for Funki’s Perpetual Pets, the film is immediately easily

be plucked straight from a

After recently being orphaned, nine year old Cady (Violet McGraw) has to go and live with her aunt Gemma. Produced by Blumhouse, the film stars

called Perpetual Pets. There is no arguing against the fact that the film is full of cliches. Realising she is not up to the task of caring for her niece alone and noticing Cady’s interest in

The plot is predictable, but that seems to be the point – M3GAN is simply a fun, satirical play on the horror genre that does not need to be taken seriously.

Opening with a hilarious

watchable. The plot takes a little while to warm up, but this is redeemed by unexpectedly thoughtful scenes delivered by McGraw and Williams that seem to

drama.

The film delivers more laughs than scares, which is why it has been so well received. There are so many new additions to the horror genre being created and released constantly that some relief in the form of a satirical film about a killer doll is so welcomed. As January debuts go, M3GAN is a fun and enjoyable film, fully redeemed by its self awareness and purposeful humour.

YOU Season 4, Part 1: "It's definitely a binge worthy show" - Review

Maddie Burgess (she/her)

Everyone’s favourite psychopathic narcissist is back on our screens and that can only mean one thing: people are going to die. That’s right, the long-awaited season 4 of YOU has landed on Netflix and the storyline has taken an interesting turn.

Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), who we have followed for the past three seasons, has had an identity switch and is now Professor Jonathan Moore. He teaches a university English Literature class and is determined to leave his past behind him.

with a woman and eventually murdering her - Joe was more of a Sherlock Holmes this time around as we’re thrown into an elaborate murder mystery. Unhinged and unserious, I had no idea what was going to happen next.

A serial killer who’s targeting rich people is on the loose and we follow Joe

as he attempts to solve the mystery, diving into the world of the elite. I did enjoy the Whodunnit aspect of the show and found myself coming up with guesses and theories to who the killer was. Joe also receives text messages from the killer, which thickened the plot and made it even more confusing. You begin to

actually root for Joe and forget that he is in fact a killer himself.

While Penn Badgley is always charismatic as Joe, I found all of the new characters to be very unlikeable. I understand they were playing into the stereotypes of awful rich people, but at times seemed a bit too unrealistic and satirical. Lady Phoebe (Tilly Keeper), was the character I felt brought the most to the season with her funny oneliners and weird relationship with Joe.

Joe’s love interest, Kate (Charlotte Ritchie), was a bit underwhelming and also unnecessarily mean. But then again, anyone would be a downgrade when you look at his previous partner Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti).

Each episode draws you in and it is certainly a binge worthy show. However, I felt the last two episodes were very rushed and could have been more spread out. The killer was finally revealed and I wasn’t as shocked as

Though, Joe’s identity change wasn’t the only difference this season. Instead of the usual plot line - becoming obsessed

I still believe she was Joe’s true match and - spoiler alert - I’m secretly hoping she’s somehow alive, and not six feet under. The London setting fit well but the accents and dialogue was cringy at times, making me think the writers haven’t actually visited England.

I wanted to be so I have a feeling this is not the end. Fan theories on Twitter have suggested that it is actually Joe who is killing people, and the killer is all in his mind. I would love for this to be true for Part 2, as I think it would add the shock factor the show is missing. Joe would have tricked the entire audience as well as himself into believing he’s changed. Who knows - and we don’t have long to find out.

M3GAN: "a fun, satirical play on the horror genre that does not need to be taken seriously" - Review

The plot is predictable, but that seems to be the point

“

I had no idea what was going to happen next

“

I found all of the new characters to be very unlikeable

“

The film delivers more laughs than scares

“

The Whale: "Brendan Fraser’s renaissance" - Review

Darren Aronofsky’s adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter’s award-winning 2012 play brilliantly showcases Brendan Fraser’s phenomenal talent.

Returning to the screen in his first major acting role in 12 years, Fraser plays Charlie, a 600-pound English teacher who wants to reconnect with his daughter Ellie (Sadie Sink) before he dies.

From starring in films such as George of the Jungle and The Mummy and now to his role as Charlie, it is undeniable that Fraser has undergone a major shift in not only his appearance but his acting style. It’s not hard to see why he received a 6-minute standing ovation at the London Film Festival

screening – he injects much-needed empathy and authenticity into this otherwise cold film.

Aronofsky makes so many attempts to have the audience view Charlie as repulsive at the start of the film, that it’s inevitable his better qualities will soon emerge. The visual approach, with the murky, dim interior and 4:3 aspect ratio feels claustrophobic, cramming Charlie into the frame and with him, the audience.

While the pouring in of light at the end of the film may appear obvious to some, there is no denying that it is powerful and a stark contrast to Charlie’s life spent hidden away in the very room the film takes place in, not even turning on the camera for his students to see what he looks like.

This is not to say that

the film is entirely perfect – Ellie’s redemption arc seems somewhat forced by the end of the film and her character lacks the depth that Aronofsky pours so well into Charlie and Liz (Hong Chau).

The translation from stage to screen does not necessarily land in every regard – Fraser’s warmth is sometimes overshadowed by a feeling of stiltedness, and the extended monologues that accompany a screenplay take away from the realism and honesty that Aronofsky so clearly aims for. The film’s theatrical origins are what brings it down the most, with the cold colour palette and the lack of visual variety eventually becoming somewhat stale.

Despite these minor setbacks, The Whale is an emotional rollercoaster that

will leave you in a mess of tears. After many years away, Fraser’s innate likeability and the reality of his past shines through to create a performance that sticks with you hours after leaving the cinema. Brendan Fraser absolutely deserves all the praise he has received from this performance and I hope to see more of him in the

limelight soon.

The Whale, if nothing else, serves as a brilliant 115-minute acting showcase for Brendan Fraser’s incredible talents. Is there a better way to come back to the big screen than that?

Subject: "The devotion and love is clear"Review

of people involved in The Staircase, The Square, Hoop Dreams, The Wolfpack and Capturing the Friedmans, and the fallout for each of the individuals.

Subject follows the dangerous effects documentaries can have, and how they can ruin people’s lives, a task the directors deemed “extremely important”. They force the audience to confront the harsh reality of famous documentaries, and how we shouldn’t forget the human story behind the project.

The directors of Subject describe their work as a “love letter to their community” of filmmaking, and the whopping 110 documentaries featured is a testament to this. However, despite the clear appreciation of the exceptionally wide field, it is the five case studies within Subject that really display the passion of Hall and Tiexiera. The majority of the film’s runtime dissects the lives

Unlike the documentaries themselves in which you get “sucked into the incredible storytelling,” this film feels very personal from the first scene in which Margie Ratliff (one of the daughters in The Staircase and a co-producer on this documentary) is read the terms of the consent form and “sceptically” agrees. These individuals' lives are not over-dramatised, and their experiences with the documentaries they were involved within are presented so truthfully an audience cannot help but feel uncomfortable for supporting something that brought these people so much grief over the years. Though this guilt is not the intention of the directors, it does force watchers to question their watching habits.

Netflix’s 2022 show Dahmer was released to wide success among critics and audiences alike, yet the moral direction of the show is undoubtedly unclear. Though the show does present Dahmer as a villain, it also depicts him as a main character, which in turn leads to people believing him to be likeable or even attractive - inspiring some of the most cursed TikTok’s I have ever seen. By having such a focus on the killer, the victim’s stories are overshadowed and trivialised, belying the intention of directors when making these documentaries, to entertain rather than focus on the trauma and lives of those affected.

This is partially one of the reasons that the directors of the documentaries within Subject are not involved in the interviews, as it gives the participants more of a say in how their story is presented. Hall and Tiexiera further utilised their documentary to bring light to other

debates within the process, including responsibility due to the power of the genre, and whether or not people should be paid for their time and contribution. The most intriguing thing about the way these are presented is that they give room for the audience to make their own decisions about what is just, rather than piling on the directors perceptions to overwhelm you.

We have become conditioned when watching documentaries, engrossed with the “twists and turns” of the cases, and satisfied once the show ends with a conclusion that wraps everything up into a neat little bow. However, Hall and Tiexiera reveal that this isn’t reality with their profound and stunning summary, in which they display the actual future of each of the “subjects” in the studied documentaries. Each character’s life is delved into and the haunting, often tragic, truth is revealed,

with no frills. Some people have succeeded through their exploitation, yet a devastating number are struggling to get by. This ending summarises the bold strength of Subject as it doesn’t hold back and mask the heart-breaking reality. This guilty feeling the film leaves viewers with is a daunting one, and it makes sense if viewers are put off by this prospect. Additionally, this film does struggle a bit under its own weight, due to the amount of content they attempt to cover, but still, I cannot recommend this documentary enough. The devotion and love in this project is clear and the five years it took to create appear to have been well spent.

If anything, this film gives future audiences a better perspective about how for documentary ‘subjects’ there is no neat ending once the cameras stop rolling.

Elle Hodgkinson (she/her)

Charles Wright (he/him)

Hogwarts Legacy: “A game I wish had been made 10 years ago”

Atomic Hearts: Is your money going to Russia?

Gaijin Entertainment and GEM Capital.

Atomic Hearts released last month with people accusing the developers Mundfish of financially helping Russia in the ongoing war against Ukraine. Has Mundfish said anything about supporting Russia’s war?

Hogwarts Legacy is a game I wish had been made 10 years ago. Set in the late 1800s, the game lets you fully immerse yourself in the wizarding world: you can go and buy potions ingredients in Hogsmeade, fly to quaint villages on your broom and explore the secrets of Hogwarts castle.

I was immediately drawn to the game and pre-ordered it as thinking about playing it made me excited in a way that not many games have in recent years. Just the thought and anticipation of loading it up and seeing what the wizarding world had to offer me was enough to justify the £60 price tag. It is nostalgic while making the best use of today’s modern technology. It is full of magic and mystery and dark secrets.

Of course, it would be wrong of me to discuss this game without referring to the creator of its universe, JK Rowling, and the things she has said and done in recent years. The writer has been accused of transphobia regarding comments she has made about the transgender community, leading to some players choosing to boycott the release of Hogwarts Legacy. Whilst JK Rowling was not involved in the creation of the game, the use of her IP means she will still profit from the game, through receiving royalties.

In the game, you play as a witch or wizard who has the rare ability to see and control traces of a forgotten ancient magic. Amidst a goblin rebellion, you enrol at Hogwarts as a fifth year student to make friends and learn magic from some of the best magical teachers, some with familiar names.

The worldbuilding is absolutely one of the highlights of the game. From the moment you step into

the halls of Hogwarts it’s clear the developers haven’t missed a single detail. Thanks to the open-world nature, you can walk through iconic scenes from the books, following landmarks along the way, to uncover the magic of the castle for yourself.

There is a point to be made that, if you aren’t a Harry Potter fan or if you have never read and enjoyed the books or movies, you might not get as much out of the game as those who have. Whilst it is graphically beautiful and the story is gripping enough, there is an element of fun that stems from exploring a universe that you previously only got to see through the eyes of the book’s characters.

Before Hogwarts Legacy officially launched my dad, who had early access, sent me a text that really sums up why I love the game so much: “I wish Hogwarts Legacy had been released when you were younger. I would have loved playing this with you. It’s as close to being at Hogwarts as you’ll come.”

Rating: 5/5

They have denied all allegations by making a statement on their Twitter account and reiterating on their website: “Mundfish has no tie to any government. Investors and shareholders of Atomic Heart are not associated with any government organisations or companies, and all are located in Europe. All benefits and profits related to Atomic Heart will apply in accordance with the tax laws of the European Union.” In another tweets, Mundfish says it is a “pro-peace organization against violence against people.” It has not commented specifically on the war in Ukraine, saying it “does not comment on politics or religion.”

Is Mundfish from Russia?

On their website they claim to ‘have built an incredible team of 130 creatives from ten countries including Poland, Armenia, UAE, Serbia, Ukraine, Austria, Georgia, Israel and Cyprus’, and have indeed left out Russia, by naming nine countries out of ten.

They have stated they are now based in Cyprus, after an article dating back to 2018 revealed they originated in Moscow - a detail that is nowhere to be seen on their website, although they announced on their Discord how they were opening a second office there. Fast forward to 2023, Russia’s war against Ukraine has yet to stop and there is no clear indication of what happened to Mundfish’s Moscow offices.

What about investors?

On the original version of their website they state three major investors: Tencent,

Gaijin is a Hungarianbased video game company, Tencent is a Chinese technology conglomerate, who currently has ties with Russia, and GEM Capital is an investment company based in Cyprus, founded by Anatoly Paliy, a former executive of Russian stateowned energy company Gazprom. All three companies had connections with Russia before 2022, but now they have either cut ties with it, or have made no statement in relation to it.

What else were they accused of?

The Mundfish Store’s Privacy Policy included a section that said users data may be collected and given to Russian authorities, but the developers have since denied it to GamesRadar+, stating: “Our game and website DO NOT collect any information or data.

“The website’s privacy statement is outdated and wrong, and should have been removed years ago. We have shut down the shop to assure our fans of the integrity of our studio and products. We apologise for any confusion on this matter.”

There have been concerns over money going to the Russian state. Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Digital Transformation, shared official requests he made on Twitter to ban sales of Atomic Heart.

Fedorov futher said “As Mundfish has Russian management and offices, there is a potential risk that money raised from the purchases of the game will be transferred to Russia’s budget, so it will be used to fund war against Ukraine.” Should I buy or not buy the game?

If you don’t want to spend your money on Atomic Heart, due to Russia’s complex situation with companies that were once funded there before moving elsewhere, then avoid purchasing Atomic Hearts.

Megan Cooke (she/her)

‘It is nostalgic while making the best use of today’s modern technology. It is full of magic and mystery and dark secrets.’

Ornella Bressan (she/her)

Image Credits: Warner Bros Games

Games

Fresh games

Are esports worth paying attention to?

The popularity of esports has skyrocketed in the last decade, but are esports really the next generation of sporting entertainment?

In the bleak mid-lockdown of 2020, I found myself desperately scrolling online looking for the next article or video to keep myself momentarily distracted from the monotony of university work.

An hour later, I found myself engrossed in a competitive esports Rocket League match and was surprised at how entertaining and watchable the games were. I pulled away from the video and convinced myself that I ought to be spending my time better than watching other people play video games, perceiving it to be the pinnacle of my lockdown boredom.

Nevertheless, there was a certain unavoidable allure to the content watched: the skill level of the players that made for tense, competitive matches; the visual spectacle of match-defining moments, and the communication between players that gave a real sense of teamwork. It was entertaining.

Was it as entertaining as traditional ‘real life’ sports, such as football? I would be reluctant to go so far. But was it that far off?

Esports still labour under the lingering stigma of not being a ‘real’ sport: competitions do not take place in ‘real life’, nor does it involve physical exertion amongst its players. This has led to great controversy surrounding whether esports should even be considered sports in the first place, and raised questions as to the extent we should be celebrating the meteoric rise of competitive video gaming

in the last decade.

Esports are predicted to reach a total global audience of 640 million by 2025, a 20% increase on the 532 million viewers they boast today. They are also expected to surpass a combined revenue of $3 billion in 2023, the bulk of which comes from sponsorship deals.

In recognition of this potential, esports have begun to be drafted into the mainstream of global sporting entertainment.

Esports tournaments were piloted at the 2022 Commonwealth games, whilst some of the world’s biggest football clubs have invested in entire teams of esport athletes to represent their clubs on games like FIFA.

One game in particular that encapsulates this sudden meteoric rise is Rocket League. Launched in 2015, the game is deceptively simple that entails a game of football in which a player controls a rocket car to score. Fast-paced and frantic, the game makes for thrilling competitive

matches.

Since its humble beginnings as a free-to-play Playstation game, Rocket League is now one of the hottest properties in the ever-burgeoning world of esports. The Rocket League esports YouTube account boasts 540,000 subscribers where the 2023-2024 Championship Series will take place.

In the 2021-2022 Championship Series, players from all over the globe competed in the hopes of qualifying for the finals and winning a prize pool of $6 Million.

The surging popularity of esports shows no signs of slowing down. But should we be concerned about the mainstreaming of a sport that requires so little physical activity?

The harshest critics of esports argued that a sport must encompass some form of physical activity, and so any entertainment value is rendered null.

But did the games I watched during lockdown not possess all the hallmarks

of legitimate sporting entertainment? Did the games not demand skill and teamwork? Did it not produce spectacle?

If these are the criteria sports are measured with, competitive video gaming must be a sport.

However, I would be reluctant to place video gaming in the same bracket as traditional sports and would instead be keener to categorise it as a ‘mind sport’, similar to chess. After all, darts, snooker, and chess all require minimal physical exertion and yet are still highly respected.

They require different kinds of skills, and just because no exercise is involved, it doesn’t mean that exceptional talent isn’t routinely on display.

The sheer range of different plays and scenarios can also make esports a thrilling watch. I certainly enjoyed seeing epic lastminute clutches or moments of individual brilliance to turn a game on its head.

Nevertheless, esports do have their downsides.

Tournament layouts can be confusing, and often it’s very hard to keep up with the sheer number of games played, especially when many can last up to 3 hours if watching games like League of Legends, making it very time-consuming. Upon reflection, however, perhaps I was too hasty in shunning my initial indulgence of esports. I would certainly argue that the unique entertainment value of esports can make for a refreshing and surprisingly engrossing alternative to traditional sports.

Ultimately, whether we think esports are worthy of our attention or not will increasingly become more of a moot point as young people continue to push competitive video gaming into the mainstream, given their digital marketing potential. One thing is for sure: the rocket-ship of esports shows no signs of running out of fuel.

Resident Evil 4

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Stephen Maloney (he/him)

Image Credits: League of Legends Esports

Opinion: Why English football needs an independent regulator

Celtic and Scotland legend Jock Stein once said that “Without fans who pay at the turnstile, football is nothing.” Similar quotes appeared across banners during the pandemic when the turnstiles fell silent for 18 months, and the stands stood empty, even when play restarted in Summer 2020.

A year into the pandemic, the European Super League (ESL) was introduced by twelve of Europe’s ‘leading’ clubs – six of which came from England. As both sides upped the rhetoric in the first two days, fans were left wondering if the national game in England was about to radically change forever. Very few people thought these changes were good, and the majority protested against them. After two days, the league plan was shelved after all but three of the clubs left the plan, but, to many, the reputational damage was done. In response to this and other events in the previous two years, the UK government set up the ‘fan-led review’ into football governance to investigate how best to respond to this growing issue.

Bad governance has

Opinion: What does the future hold for boxing in the age of YouTube bouts?

The recent bout between Tommy Fury and Jake Paul has sparked much discussion over the state of the sport of boxing and whether these types of events ‘embarrass’ the sport. I have always opposed this view, though it would be remiss of me not to admit that this particular event was different given that it will most likely be the highest grossing boxing event this year and, as a boxing fan, this is somewhat ‘embarrassing’. However, boxing has a myriad of issues which run a lot deeper than influencer events.

always existed in football – for example, George Reynolds’ disastrous reign at Darlington which ultimately led them to ruin in the 2000s – but as the game has grown financially at all levels it has become more susceptible to malicious takeovers.

reduce it in the long term as much as possible in order to preserve clubs, who are often the heart of the community, particularly in towns which have suffered the worst effects of deprivation and the decline of industry.

The fan-led review’s recommendations have been taken forward into a football white paper, published in February 2023, and outlined the plan for an independent football regulator, outside the control of the FA. It would serve three main purposes: the financial stability of clubs, the wider financial stability of the pyramid, and protecting the heritage of football clubs.

At first, regulation can seem a scary proposition, or the encroachment of government onto the field of play. But something has to change, and English football cannot continue down the same path it currently heads.

The regulator does not aim to eliminate the risk of failure, but rather to

This would be done through a licensing system, aimed at four pillars of a sustainable club management, including only competing in approved competitions stopping any future breakaway attempts such as the European Super League, and maintaining fan input on key decisions for a club, such as moving from their home stadium.

For instance, this would likely prevent a repeat of the controversial decision that led to Wimbledon being moved to Milton Keynes in 2004. Overall, the idea of an independent regulator that seeks to protect the interest of fans can be a genuine positive. Fans are at the core of the national game and it is vitally important that the risk of clubs disappearing off league tables forever, such as at Bury, Macclesfield and Darlington, is reduced as much as possible.

The boxing community needs to reflect on itself as to why these events seem to be more popular than high level fights now rather than point fingers at influencers. If there’s one thing which has always been clear in sport it’s that people are drawn to storylines, superstars, and hype. There has been no better demonstration of this than the recent string of influencer boxing events, all of them lacking in genuine sporting quality but overflowing with those three factors. Boxing does not do enough to provide this element to its fans and thus you end up in a situation where a fight for the WBC cruiserweight world title is usurped by a contest between two novice professionals on the very same card.

The main reason for this lack of care and awareness is the excess of promoters, weight classes, and champions in the sport which makes it almost impossible for casual fans to follow. The excess of

promoters in the sport is arguably the biggest issue it has as it limits both accessibility and the number of top level fights that can be made. If one was to follow all top level boxing in the UK they would have to pay for all of Sky, BT, and DAZN every month; no other sport of boxing’s size has this same issue. If you look at its more successful counterpart, MMA, then you see a sport which is run through one promotional company (the UFC) making it cheaper to access and easier to follow. Boxing is completely starved of the best matchups due to promotional disputes; for example Terrence Crawford vs Errol Spence Jr in the States or Joshua vs Fury here. Promoters must put aside their differences and tackle this issue. Additionally, boxing could follow the UFC in limiting belts and weight classes. At the moment, there are four belts available in each of the 17 weight divisions, meanwhile the UFC has eight weight classes with just one champion in each. This nullifies the achievement of becoming a world champion.

If boxing was to revamp this structure then the sport would become more accessible and interesting, there would be no need for Paul vs Fury to be the biggest boxing event of the year. There has also been some discourse over the “pro boxer vs youtuber” element of this fight. This, however, is a result of a general misunderstanding of “professional boxers” of which many are a lot worse than Jake Paul. Paul is better than most of the fighters Tommy Fury has fought so far and boxing should not be ashamed of the close-run manner of the fight. Fury did show himself to be a level above Paul, however it would be generous to suggest Tommy Fury has it in him to reach the British title level.

English football cannot continue down the same path it currently heads.

Alex Simpson (he/him)

Thomas Mangam (he/him)

Credit: AFP (via TalkSport)

Report: Sheffield Sharks post two impressive wins in the space a week

Sam Quine (he/him)

The Sheffield Sharks were victorious in back-to-back games last week as they begin to pick up form towards the end of the season.

Hillsborough capacity reduced after Newcastle issues

Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough Stadium has seen its capacity reduced by Sheffield City Council following issues at the FA Cup third round tie against Newcastle United. Visiting supporters complained of overcrowding in the ground’s Leppings Lane (now known as the West Stand) lower terrace, which houses away supporters at Wednesday home matches. The Premier League side were allocated 4,500 tickets for the tie, with many holders experiencing difficulty around the concourse areas and lower tier seating.

The upper tier has since seen its number cut by 800 down to 2,400 whilst the lower tier, which formerly held 1,500 fans can now only take 1,300.

The club originally decreased the capacity voluntarily before the council took the decision to enforce a reduction.

Both stands actually hold 4,194 and 2,366 but have been reduced in previous seasons for safety and segregation reasons. The stand is infamous for being the location of the Hillsborough disaster, where 97 supporters tragically lost their lives in 1989.

Sheffield Wednesday have always maintained their stewarding numbers and chosen ticket allocation

wholly complied with the ground’s safety certificate on the day and allege that fewer supporters actually entered the turnstiles than the number they had sold tickets to.

The League One highflyers were also keen to stress there were no reports to medical personnel of any injuries on the day of the match from the West Stand. Despite this, after cooperation with SWFC and the Sports Grounds Safety Authority, the council made the decision to permanently alter the capacity on 13 March 2023.

Wednesday are the second Steel City side to have issues with Sheffield City Council over stadia. Neighbours Sheffield United have been scrutinised in recent months over reports of overcrowding in their Kop stand, resulting in the B4 block being closed for the recent cup tie versus Tottenham.

The Sharks, who have endured a rather inconsistent season so far, managed to beat the struggling Surrey Scorchers and the high-flying Glasgow Rocks in the space of two days.

The perfect weekend was rounded off by toughing out an excellent win on the road at Surrey where the game remained in the balance right down to the final minute.

However, a clutch basket for MVP Jalon Pipkins, who contributed 22 points on the night, saw the Sharks to a 6770 win and a rise to seventh

in the BBL standings. Those two wins have proven to be mightily important for the Sheffield outfit as they continue in their hunt to finish in the playoff places in the British Basketball League.

Due to the Sharks’ victories, both Sa’eed Nelson and Jalon Pipkins were named in the BBL Team of the Week which has rarely seen entries from Sharks players this season. It has been a season of mass change for the Sharks who have had to manage the building of a new team as well as a new stadium to play in.

Big personnel losses last summer have meant that fresh faces have had to adapt and learn to play with each other but performances have begun to improve and the team have learned how to grind out wins.

Thomas Gorman (he/him)

Credit: Adam Bates

Credit: Sheffield Wednesday / Twitter

Sports Thoughts: Female referees talk of the sexism they have faced within their sport

Last year was a turning point for women’s sports.

Marked by the success of the Lionesses at the Euros, opportunities for female athletes soared. For women’s football in particular, in 2021, around 33 million people tuned in to watch domestic women’s sport. As a result, many young girls and women feel encouraged to get involved and play themselves. But what about the opportunities for female officials?

referee Stéphanie Frappart, Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda, and Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita. Neuza Back of Brazil, Mexico’s Karen Díaz Medina and Kathryn Nesbitt from the United States were included among the 69 assistant referees. However, the leap forward

their experiences officiating in football stating that there is a “cut-off point” between criticism and sexism.

Roble said: “It does hurt sometimes, and I let them know what they said did hurt me, but I try to educate them by telling them, ‘just because I made this one mistake, you’re going to generalise it? You can’t say girls can’t referee because I’m having a bad game today.’”

It’s not just an issue within football either.

Amy Perret, Australia’s first

female top-level rugby player has spoken about how she almost walked away from the sport due to the sexism she received.

She said: “They just didn’t believe that you had the rugby knowledge, I guess, or the experience… I have learned to tune that out.”

But tuning out the sexist comments will not stop it from occurring. In a survey completed in 2020, 65% of sportswomen revealed they have suffered sexism in their sport, but only 10%

felt comfortable reporting it. So, more work needs to be done to encourage women to feel like they can speak out when they need to. It is understandable to want to get on with the game and not let the hateful comments ruin your performance, however nobody should have to put up with such behaviour.

In 2020, the FA claimed that the number of female referees in English football increased by 72% in 2016. What’s more, for the first time ever, in 2022, female referees officiated at the men’s World Cup in Qatar. Those among the list of 36 referees included French

in gender equality is not an absolute success. For instance, Darlington F.C. investigated claims of misogynistic abuse directed at a female assistant referee during their game against Scarborough Athletic. In the second half, the behaviour resulted in a 35-minute delay to the game. The investigation led to one fan being banned for 12 months. So, having women in these positions in sports for the first time may feel like the solution to the problem but troubles still persist.

Referees Sian Massey-Ellis and Jawahir Roble spoke of

Jemma Snowdon (she/her)

T hey just didn’t believe that you had the rugby knowledge, I guess or the experience…. I have learned to tune that out

“

In 2020, the FA claimed that the number of female referees in English football increased by 72% since 2016