Forge Press #147 by Forge Press

Features 14 How students are coping in quarantine

Music 26

Halloween in the life of a Sheffield student

Diversify your playlist with these incredible Black artists

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Forge Press ISSUE 147 | FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER 2020

THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

FORGETODAY.COM

Students left frustrated over University at risk of university teaching module funding cut if they changes antisemitism Pippa Coleshill

Firth Court. Credit: George Tuli

Sophie Henderson Students have been left feeling frustrated after a total of 302 modules have been temporarily suspended across University departments this academic year. This number consists of 183 optional masters modules and 119 undergraduate modules, Forge Press can reveal. A further eight masters and 12 undergraduate modules have

been completely withdrawn by the University. For some students this has reduced opportunities for face-toface learning and affected the range of topics that will be taught. Jessica Kirk, an MSc Statistics student, will no longer be able to study her chosen modules. Speaking to Forge Press, she explained that the department has made all modules on the course, six in total, compulsory for each

student. Unlike previous years, students do not have a choice of which topics they learn. For Kirk, having been an undergraduate student in the department last year, this means that she will be repeating modules she has already done. She said while she understands the department is “overstretched at the minute”, they have been “pretty Continued on page 4 >>

Universities across England are at risk of having funding cut if they refuse to adopt an internationally recognised definition of antisemitism before the end of the year, the Education Secretary has warned. University of Sheffield is yet to adopt the definition after previous work by the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee was delayed due to the pandemic. Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, said in a letter to vicechancellors that it was “frankly disturbing” that many universities had not adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The IHRA believes there must be clarity about what antisemitism is and how it manifests itself in the 21st century in order to begin to address the problem. The IHRA’s working definition states antisemitism as: “A certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or nonJewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” A Freedom of Information request by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) found that as few as 29 out

of the 133 universities had adopted the IHRA definition - with the University being among the many that have failed to do so. Williamson said: “The repugnant belief that antisemitism is somehow a less serious or more acceptable form of racism has taken insidious hold in some parts of British society, and I am quite clear that universities must play their part in rooting out this attitude and demonstrating that antisemitism is abhorrent. “There remain too many disturbing incidents of antisemitism on campus, from both students and staff, and a lack of willingness by too many universities to confront this. “These providers are letting down their staff and students, and, shamefully their Jewish students in particular.” The University’s equality and diversity policy states it is committed to equality of opportunity and to treat all students with dignity and respect. Jewish students are frustrated at the slow pace of action at the University as work on antisemitism was delayed due to the pandemic. A spokesperson for the UJS told Forge Press: “Jewish students have been clear. They have been demanding that universities take antisemitism seriously and the first step of this is the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Continued on page 4>>

Forge Press

Letter from the Editor FORGE PRESS EDITORIAL TEAM Editor-in-Chief

Kate Procter

Deputy Editor

Emily Evans

Deputy Editor

Taylor Ogle

Managing Editor Becky Sliwa Webb Head of Design George Tuli Head of Photography Rebekah Lowri Head of Online Rahul Warrier Head of Marketing Harry Daniels Inclusions & Welfare Officer Bethan Davis Production Assistant Sraddha Sabu Production Assistant Kirsty Hamilton-Emery Head of News Jack Mattless News Editor Sophie Henderson News Editor Hannah Ahmed News Editor Pippa Coleshill Features Editor Anastasia Koutsounia Features Editor Dana Raer Opinion Editor Taylor Ogle Science & Tech Editor Louise Elliott Science & Tech Editor Sarah Laptain Lifestyle Editor Claire Gelhaus Lifestyle Editor Eve Thomas Break Editor John Gilding Arts & Theatre Editor Jack Redfern Arts & Theatre Editor Betty Wilson Music Editor Tom Hirst Music Editor Nicholas Dacre Screen Editor Annabel Goldsmith Screen Editor Kerry Violet Games Editor Catherine Lewis Games Editor Joe Warner Head of Sport Harry Harrison Sport Editor Patrick Burke Sport Editor Tom Coates

Get involved Do you want to get involved with Forge Press for the 2020/21 academic year? We’d love to hear from you! Check out the ‘Forge Press Contributors’ group on Facebook to ﬁnd out more. Contact editor@forgetoday.com or message us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

“We’re back!”

’m so pleased to be able to introduce our ﬁrst issue of the 2020/21 academic year. In celebration of Black History Month, the editors have commissioned a range of content in recognition of the achievements made by Black people, but also wider progress needed in society. Back in June, Forge Press made a joint statement with other student newspapers in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. We stand by that statement and are committed to improving the diversity of our journalism.

uch like our departments who have had to completely change the way they operate, the Forge Press committee has had to become fully operational from home. A few weeks ago I didn’t think it would be possible to continue making digital issues. In fact, we even attempted to make an issue for the first week of term but were forced to abort it due to limited access to the required software. The 92 per cent cut to our funding from the Students’ Union (that we detailed in our Summer Special issue) has been a factor in all of this. This paper was only able to be made due to enough members of the committee now having access to Adobe software via the Journalism Department - with our SU budget we could barely afford even two subscriptions, not nearly enough for our team of over 30. We’ve continued to report on what’s happening at the SU, with News covering the upcoming Council elections (p.8), guidance from the Welfare Officer regarding housing (p.9), and an interview with President, Beth Eyre (p.4) in this issue. However, the move to remote working has led to the presence of the SU in not only the paper’s operation, but also our day-to-day lives, reducing significantly. Despite the promise early-on that funding will be reconsidered each month, there seems to be no signs of any changes on the horizon. This is particularly disheartening given that we are one of the few committees that could by-and-large continue operating as normal. Now more than ever students are looking for activities to get involved in while

their lives have been disrupted. We’ve seen this at the paper, with the Forge Media Facebook Live event, held last month, receiving more than 400 views. But also from speaking to other clubs and societies, with sports teams seeing a reported jump in engagement from students (p.38). This is all despite a poorly organised Activities Fairs (even the Activities Ofﬁcer admitted it could have been smoother) which left several societies unable to access their stall pages. Regardless of all this, the team at Forge Press are determined to continue giving students a voice and holding the SU to account, despite how difﬁcult they’ve made it for us this year.

Kate Procter Editor-in-Chief

Friday 30 October 2020

NEWS Interview with SU President Beth Eyre Page 4 ▶

NEWS

The big picture

“Making the best of the situation’’: Students on studying abroad in the middle of a pandemic

Head of Photography, Rebekah Lowri, went on a walk around the student accommodation villages recently and captured some of signs of life from her camera.

A post-it note sunshire on the edge of Ranmoor student village. Credit: Rebekah Lowri

Page 8 ▶

OPINION Black Lives Matter: “We changed the conversation, now lets change the situation”

Students across the country have found new and non-digital ways of communicating with their peers, by displaying messages in the windows of their halls of residence. If you walk through the gardens surrounding Endcliffe Student or Ranmoor student villages, you’ll ﬁnd sticky notes assembled on the glass panes, displaying messages

of both incoming and continuing students at the University of Shefﬁeld. Other messages include ‘Happy 19th Birthday’, prompting the thought of how many events were celebrated in isolation, and sad faces, expressing the student’s clear disappointment with what should have been a once in a lifetime experience of the ﬁrst time living

that usually refer to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on the academic and social lives

away from home.

Page 11 ▶

Credit: Ben Abrau, Fxsion Photography

ARTS & THEATRE Why more diversity is needed in YA fiction Page 24 ▶

SPORT Why there has been an increase in students looking to join sports clubs Page 38 ▶

Forge Press

News

Investigation Over 300 modules suspended by university this academic year >> continued from page 1 vague” about the situation. She was informed of this change just three weeks ago after emailing the course leader. Kirk was also told that Masters students would be watching lectures that had already been delivered online to undergraduate students. She said: “I just don’t see the point in them pushing [the start date] back because they said they had to sort out how the Masters was going to work. All they’ve decided to do is let us watch lectures that have already happened so we may as well have just started in September. It just doesn’t make sense to me.” Of the £10,500 annual course fee, Kirk said she is “not really sure why it is so expensive at Sheffield when all they're doing is making us watch old lectures”. Kate Gilby, an MA student at the Department of History, nearly missed out on studying a module on Revolutionary England before it was reinstated at the last minute. She told Forge Press the prospect of missing out had been “gutting” after facing a similar situation with modules last year. Cuts to teaching have also affected both undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Department of Politics and International Relations. In an open letter to Vice Chancellor Koen Lamberts, which has been signed by over 50 students at time of writing, they outlined their frustration at the reduction in contact hours this term. For modules where 10 topics were taught in the last academic year, students will now be taught just five. They feel this has impacted their value for money, writing, “We are due to receive significantly less for the same price. This is simply not acceptable”. “We fully acknowledged that face to face teaching cannot be continued to the same extent as last academic year due to Covid-19. We do not want to put the staff at risk either nor other students. “Nevertheless, what we are requesting is that our loss of face to face contact hours are compensated fully by online lectures, seminars and not independent learning.” Aerospace Engineering modules

have also been “significantly changed” due to Covid-19 restrictions, the University of Sheffield Aerospace Engineering Society has said. While they feel “in general our lecturers have dealt with it quite well”, some modules “have been changed quite a lot particularly due to lower budgets this year.” The society said: “Freshers are normally used to very practical learning in which they have a lot of in person labs and are able to use the Diamond facilities but unfortunately many of these have had to go online. They are still having some but a lot less than normal.” A spokesperson for the University said: “To ensure our course content stays current and relevant the University reviews modules annually. This means that individual modules may be updated or withdrawn in response to student feedback, new research discoveries, changes to funding, professional accreditation requirements and variations in student numbers. “Departments were also asked to consider which modules could be best adapted to ensure a highquality blended learning experience in line with the University's response to public health advice and government requirements during the coronavirus pandemic. “This review resulted in the withdrawal or temporary suspension of less than 10% of undergraduate and masters modules. All students were advised of changes in advance of registration and in line with OfS's Guidance.”

Education Secretary accuses English universities of ignoring antisemitism >> continued from page 1 “It is time universities protect their Jewish students. Every university can and should be doing more to raise awareness around

Jack Mattless

“My work no revolves around survival of this

When Beth Eyre was elected Students’ Union President back in March, there were already signs her tenure wouldn’t quite be normal. That month’s campaign debates were the last public events to take place in the SU building without any social distancing in place. By results night, Coronavirus had already arrived in Sheffield and between results being announced, SU staff could be seen scurrying around Foundry sanitising microphones and encouraging candidates and their teams to regularly wash hands. But nobody could have predicted the scale of the task ahead. When lockdown hit on 23 March, all of the SU’s outlets were forced to close with millions of pounds lost in the process. “It’s been a massive struggle”, Eyre told Forge Press. “We’ve had to take a look at our financial resources and just completely restructure the budget and this has also meant a reorganisation of staff as well.” While the summer saw a partial resurgence of the SU’s entertainments program with a socially distanced Tuesday Club and Pop Tarts socials in the Bar One beer garden, Sheffield’s move into a Tier 3 lockdown has created fresh challenges. “The rules of Tier 3 are that you need to have a substantial meal with drinks and so we now can’t open Foundry on that basis. “It’s really obviously a bar and not somewhere where we can sneakily serve a burger and pizza as well. So that is the sad reality.” But it isn’t just Foundry that’s a casualty of the current climate. Interval also closed for the foreseeable future last Friday. Despite being a popular eating and meeting spot in normal times, Eyre

said the lack of footfall on campus in recent weeks meant the venue just wasn’t busy enough to keep open: “As much as people love Interval, we have to stay afloat as an organisation. “We have a role in serving customers but we also have to serve our 30,000 student members. If we go bust [as an SU] then everyone will be affected negatively. “It’s a horrible decision and nobody wants to be making these choices but it’s a question of balance so that we can continue to represent and work for our members.” It’s a stark reminder that the SU is now being run on a knife edge. Outlets that once formed the lifeblood of the Union are now effectively being sacrificed to ensure the organisation’s continued survival. However, there’s a sense that the current situation was preventable. “I'm directing my anger at the Government for not providing adequate support for SUs and universities”, Eyre says. “It’s a complicated thing because we are all operating in unprecedented circumstances but

antisemitism and all forms of racism, discrimination and hatred.” With a clear request from the union, the University is under pressure to implement the definition at a time when resources are already strained due to dealings with Covid-19 infection across campus. A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield, said: “The University is consulting widely on the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. “Next month a working group set up by the University’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Committee

will be starting a listening process on equality, diversity and inclusion and religion and belief identities with our community, including our Jewish staff and student groups, after previous work by this group was unfortunately delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. “The University of Sheffield is committed to tackling antisemitism and all forms of discrimination. When developing new policies, processes and structures, Sheffield takes an approach that fully engages our student and staff communities to foster an inclusive environment where new policies can be fully implemented.”

Beth Eyre on leading She Students’ Union through a it was the Government who refused a £2 billion bailout for universities back in the spring. It’s the most frustrating thing.” She’s even more scathing on ministers’ plans for a pre-Christmas campus lockdown. “It’s an example of how shambolic this government is. If they’ve had months on end to come up with a solution to the migration of students and the best they can come up with is to lock students in their houses for two weeks, it’s just so disconnected with what student life is.” Criticism aside, the SU President is otherwise keen to use the pandemic as an opportunity to reimagine and improve the Students’ Union’s offering. “This year we’ve created so much less waste because we haven’t had [physical] freshers fairs. I want to use this to think about how we can do things better in years where there isn’t a pandemic. “There’s no real excuse for producing loads of plastic and paper unnecessarily. I want to see the SU focus on this in the coming year. “We’ve also opened study spaces

Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson. Credit: Parliament

Friday 30 October 2020

News Beth Eyre standing outside the SU.

ow d the s SU”

campus. Eyre says she wants to “make sure the SU are hopping on this worldwide momentum with racism issues. Lily [Woman’s Officer] and Matt [Sports Officer] are doing a lot of great work with sports groups and societies on this.” But she adds: “Obviously, we’re another all white team which isn’t really good enough”. The aim is to use the SU’s forthcoming democracy review to float the idea of having a dedicated BME Officer and ask questions about how different liberation groups can be better reflected in future officer teams. There’s also talk of expanding SU Council beyond the 46 departmental and eight representative positions that currently constitute it. “It’s such a shame to see people run to sit on Council who end up getting turned away from the democratic process” “I like the idea of people not having to run to sit on Council [but instead] everyone is automatically a member. I think that’s a good idea”. As for Eyre’s own role, it would appear the jury’s still out. “I think the role of President could probably be re-distributed. This is not to say I don’t have a job to do but it’s the circumstances [of the pandemic] that mean I’ve had so much work to do this year.” But at least for as long as Covid-19 sticks around, she’s likely to remain indispensable.

efﬁeld’s pandemic and people are loving them so we are looking to expand these wherever possible.” Food and drink can now be ordered to tables and it’s hoped innovative thinking like this will generate extra revenue through the winter months. There’s also determination to not let Coronavirus dictate every policy. This year, the entire officer team have abandoned their original manifestos and united around five common goals including building an SU for everybody and an anti-racist

“

It’s a horrible decision and nobody wants to be making these choices but it’s a question of balance so that we can continue to represent and work for our members.

British man to test positive for Covid-19 twice Jack Mattless Matthew Varcoe, a 23-year-old Sheffield Engineer has become the first British male to report testing positive for Coronavirus on two

separate occasions. Varcoe, a recent graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University, first fell ill in August before succumbing to the virus a

second time in early September. He warned that his second battle with the virus was much more serious than the first, being bedbound for two weeks and finding himself struggling to breathe. He said: “The first time I had it, I was a bit worried, I’d heard stories about people being hospitalised, so it was a relief when I recovered so quickly. “I went back to work after my self isolation period and felt almost back to normal but then I started getting symptoms again. “I felt awful and was struggling with my breath. My lungs felt like I

“

Luckily I got better without needing hospital but it was worse the second time round.”

couldn’t breathe properly and it was much harder to take a breath. “Luckily I got better without needing hospital but it was definitely much worse the second time round.” Experts say that while multiple infections are to be occasionally expected, they are likely to be very rare, with larger studies needed to understand why reinfection might happen. There were multiple reports of double infections during early stages of the pandemic, but it’s now thought that insufficient testing was the problem in most of these cases.

Forge Press

News

protest against strict abortion rules in Poland Wiktoria Wrzyszcz Sheffield students held a protest in the city centre on Saturday to show their solidarity with women in Poland, following a ruling made last week banning almost all abortion in the country. About 50 people gathered on Holly Street on 24 October to expres their disapproval with the ruling by Poland’s highest court that an existing law allowing the abortion of malformed foetuses was incompatible with the constitution. Karolina Prusicka, one of the protest’s organisers and a student at the University, said: “We were just angry. We are abroad but still care what is happening in our country and we wanted to show our solidarity. We wanted to raise awareness about Polish women's situation. We are happy that many

people showed up while adhering the social distancing rules.” Abortions caused by serious foetus malformation accounted for 98% of all legal pregnancy terminations in Poland in 2019. As a consequence of the new ban almost all abortions will be illegal with exception for cases of incest, rape and the risk to mother’s health. One of the Sheffield protesters, Wiktoria Jędrzejczak, 19, said: “Abortions caused by foetal abnormalities are necessary to prevent lifelong traumas for mothers who from now on will be forced to look at their baby's first and the only breath.” The protest started at 5pm and was among the other events organised on Saturday in other UK cities, including London, Edinburgh and Manchester.

Hall holding banners with captions including or “Poland = an Orwellian wet dream”.Credit: William Holmes and Karolina Prusicka

Protesters appeared in Sheffield city centre holding coat hangers that symbolised the unsafe illegal abortions, conducted by women in the countries where pregnancy termination is illegal. They also brought various banners with captions including “Women ≠ incubators” or “Poland = an Orwellian wet dream”. While standing in front of the Sheffield City Hall, protesters from Poland, Thailand, Norway and the UK could be heard chanting “My body, my choice”, “Women will never be defeated”, and “Women’s rights human rights”. Social distancing rules were strictly followed throughout the entire protest as Sheffield adapted to Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions introduced in the early hours of Saturday. All protesters were instructed to wear face coverings and keep two metres distance.

Friday 30 October 2020

News

businesses step up to feed hungry children over half-term Pippa Coleshill Sheffield City Council has promised to support thousands of children and young people with free meals during the half-term school holidays. Earlier this week, the Government ruled out a centrally funded extension of free meals to children beyond term time, with MPs voting down a motion put forward by the Labour Party by 61 votes. Councillor Julie Dore, the Leader of Sheffield City Council, said: “Following the decision by the Government not to support free school meals over the half term, I feel strongly enough to make sure children and young people in Sheffield don’t go hungry over the holidays. “As we move into Tier 3, an increased number of families across the city will be facing financial hardship, especially as we enter the winter months. “The vouchers will provide support to people who are most in need and even though the council budget is under massive pressures due to Covid-19, it feels like the right thing to do.” Labour-run Sheffield City Council will provide vouchers of £15 per child per week to children who are eligible for free school meals, supporting 22,000 children across the city. The total cost of this to the council’s budget will be £330,000. Julie Dore expressed her disappointment at the Government who she said will “stand by and do nothing”. She added: “This is something that should be funded by the central government. It should not be down to individual councils creating a postcode lottery for whether children go hungry or not.” The Government said that it had given councils £63m for families facing financial difficulties due to pandemic restrictions and had increased welfare support by £9.3bn. Marcus Rashford, the England and Manchester United striker, has seen growing support for his free school meals campaign after the Governments’ announcement this week, promoting businesses all over the country to help those children in need.

Sheffield City Council will work with schools and communities to administer the programme in the coming weeks. In addition to support from the City Council, more than half a dozen local businesses in Sheffield have been pledging their support back to the local community and their loyal customers. Lotte on the Edge, a café located in Nether Edge, posted on their Instagram revealing their support plan. The café will be giving any child a free toastie, cookie or hot chocolate when they come in with a parent or guardian from Thursday 29 October. The post said: “This is our way of saying thank you to those families who have supported our family during lockdown by ordering from us. “Although this may be very small, we hope it brings a smile to some children’s faces during this dark time.” Charlotte Carey, owner of Lottie on the Edge, told Forge Press: “No child in this day and age should go hungry! Unfortunately, I can’t give more, but hopefully this small treat will bring a little happiness to these children.”

“

This is something that should be funded by the central government. It should not be down to individual councils creating a postcode lottery for whether children go hungry or not

Forge Press

News

“Making the best of the situation’’: Students on studying abroad in the middle of a pandemic Hannah Ahmed Earlier this year many students faced uncertainty as they waited to hear whether they would still be able to study abroad. Forge Press spoke to some students who were able to go ahead with Erasmus study to see how universities elsewhere in Europe are carrying out teaching and what their experience has been like so far. Maria Olivera, studying Politics and French at The Paris Institute of Political Studies (SciencesPo), said she feels “better off in France than in university in the UK” as not many people she knows have had to isolate. Paris has recently been subject to increased Covid restrictions, with a 9pm to 6am curfew and a rule of six when it comes to visiting cafes and bars. Santé Publique France, the country’s public health department, says Paris has 398 cases per 100,000 people, the highest in the Ile de France region. Sheffield has a similar number, with 429 cases per 100,000 people in the week up to 20 October. Olivera said her teaching experience so far has been comparable to what students are receiving back home in Sheffield. Seminars are taught online and she is able to access the library on campus. Like The University of Sheffield, SciencesPo recently shut for two weeks due to high case

numbers. She feels that, despite the circumstances, she has met lots of new people and has settled in well and wants to “just make the most of the year abroad”. Francesca Whelan, an Erasmus Hispanic studies student at the Universidad de Sevilla in Spain, is also keeping optimistic about the year ahead. “A few months ago I didn't think I would be able to be here, so I am just making the best of the situation and if that means I can't do everything that normally would characterise a year abroad experience in Sevilla, at least I'm here”, she said. Although Whelan’s classes haven’t started yet, she is expecting to be alternating between face-to-face teaching one week and online teaching the next, and believes online teaching by the University of Sheffield over lockdown has prepared her for this adjustment. As Francesca is still waiting for teaching to start she has been filling her time trying to immerse herself as much as possible in the language

“

A few months ago I be able to be here, so I am just making the best of the situation

SU Council set for fully digital election campaign as nominations open Pippa Coleshill Sheffield Students’ Union opened nominations for the next SU Council members on Monday 26 October. The SU Council is a group of students from across departments and representative groups who have the power to decide what the purpose of the SU is and embody the voice of its students. They work with the University to

ensure students receive the quality learning and teaching experience that is part of the University’s promise to every new student. Beth Eyre, SU President, told Forge Press: “Deciding our position on the strikes, how we were going to approach the learning and teaching [when the pandemic hit] in March was all decided by the SU Council. “It deals with a lot of stuff that is

Top: Carys Aspden. Bottom: Maria Oliveria

integral to what students go through [at University]. If you sit on Council then you have a voice in making these decisions. “A lot of people will know that we don’t sell bottled water in the SU shop anymore. This came about as a result of a policy passing through the SU Council.” This year a total of 57 positions are available: 46 departmental councillors (one from each department), eight Representative Councillors (Women’s, BME, Disabled students’, LGBT, Postgraduate Taught, Postgraduate Research, International Students’, Mature Students’) as well as the Sports, Societies and Ethical and Environmental Councillors.

Elections for the current SU Officer team took place in March and saw a record turnout with 30% of the student population (9,383 students) casting a vote. However turnout for SU Council is notoriously lower. The reduced turn-around of a 24hour voting period this year hopes to increase the number of student votes cast. With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the election process will run a little differently this year. Eyre explained: “The only real change is that there will be no physical campaigning. It is pretty self-explanatory as to why this has happened but, in my opinion, it is a really interesting time to see how

and culture. She told Forge Press: “With family and friends back home facing harsh restrictions I am trying to do as much as possible whilst I can, although the reality of the coronavirus situation is not very transparent in Spain so it could get just as bad as in the UK soon.” One of Europe’s worst affected countries, Spain has now reached a total 1,046,321 confirmed cases since Covid testing began in February compared to 830,998 in the UK. Yet infection rates in Seville are currently relatively low with 190 cases per 100,000 inhabitants from 12 October to 18 October. Carys Aspden, 21, is a Civil Engineering and modern language student also studying at the University of Granada in Spain. She told Forge Press that the University has temporarily suspended in-person teaching for 15 days following new local government restrictions: “I was so grateful for face-to-face lectures, as I find it much easier to concentrate in person”, she said. “This is especially important when the lectures are in a foreign language. Also it meant that I could get to know coursemates and feel more integrated in the Spanish university community.” Despite finding the move to online teaching frustrating, Aspden added she was “feeling more and more settled everyday”, having fallen in love with “this slightly lazier way of living, with long lunches, relaxed afternoons, and late dinner.” As of 18 October, Granada has 401 cases per 100,000 people, making it one of the areas with the highest rates of infection in Spain. Aspden said that she and her peers are keeping optimistic and are grateful to have had this opportunity even if “no one is particularly happy about the restrictions”.

students are engaging. “I think it is actually a bit more inclusive now because everyone has the equal footing of the internet as their only platform." Any student, in any year, can run to be an SU Councillor upon the recommendation they are passionate, opinionated and driven, with the desire to speak up for the students of Sheffield. This year, SU Council will be dealing with policies directly relating to teaching and learning in the pandemic, making it more important than ever that the views of all students are represented. Voting will open on Tuesday 3 November on the Sheffield Students’ Union website.

Friday 30 October 2020

News

take a ‘united front’ in delaying house-hunting until after Christmas Jack Mattless Students at the University of Sheffield are being encouraged to wait until 2021 to sign for next year’s accommodation. Most letting agents start advertising in October for the following academic year but with a surplus of student housing in the city and ongoing Covid- 19 restrictions, Holly Ellis, Sheffield Students’ Union Welfare Officer, is urging caution. She said: “This year we think it’s even more important to encourage students to take time to sign. We don’t want students to feel obliged to sign for a house with their flatmates just because they haven’t had the chance to really get to know many other students. “Once you have signed a contract, it is really difficult to get out of it.

We really don’t want students to end up stuck in contracts they don’t want.” Ellis is also keen to use the pandemic as an opportunity for students to take back control of Sheffiled’s student housing market, even suggesting that rents could come down if everyone collectively held out on signing contracts. She told Forge Press that landlords had been given the power to “increase rents to extortionate prices” and that if students held out on signing, landlords could be capitulated into reducing rent prices in an attempt to fill properties. It’s understood the SU’s housing fair, which usually takes place in November, has now been delayed until February in an attempt to encourage later signings. Ellis has also issued a stark

“Students deserve better than this”: NUS call to action following student suicides Sophie Henderson The National Union of Students (NUS) is calling for urgent action after recent reports of a number of student deaths by suicide at UK universities. The union is asking for funding for university mental health services and charities which support BAME, disabled and LGBT+ people to be “immediately” increased. In a statement, Sara Khan, NUS Vice President for Liberation and Equality, said: "We are heartbroken over the death by suicide of several students already this academic year”. While the NUS has “warned the government” of the detrimental effects of the pandemic on students’ mental health, Khan said there has not been “enough resources allocated to education providers” and that “students deserve better than this”. The NUS is also asking for universities to increase support and show more “flexibility” for students who are self-isolating.

The father of a University of Manchester student who passed away in his halls has tweeted: “If you lockdown young people because of Covid-19 with little support, then you should expect that they suffer severe anxiety.” Khan said: “Universities should be providing care packages with food, household products, wellbeing materials and general necessities, and targeted educational and mental health support, with facilitation of social activity”. The NUS also asks that students are permitted to see family members “provided it is safe to do so”. This call to action is part of #StudentsDeserveBetter, an NUS campaign to increase awareness and support for the issues students are facing as a result of the pandemic. Holly Ellis, Sheffield SU Welfare Officer, said: “Student wellbeing remains our priority throughout the pandemic, and student suicides is an issue that we take very seriously. Student mental health was a major

Holly Ellis,

warning to Sheffield’s letting agents and landlords, telling them to “stop trying to pressure students to sign contracts early” and that working with students at this early stage would help avoid issues further down the line. “Good landlords will never pressure you or try to rush you into signing. The importance of working

issue prior to Covid-19 and we know that the current circumstances students find themselves in, are exacerbating this for some. “The Students’ Union is working hard to represent and support students at this time. The Officer Team continue to meet regularly with the University and work to improve services for students: the University’s SAMHS (Student Access to Mental Health Support) has introduced a fast-track appointments service for self-isolating students, and Residence Life offer daily phone calls to all students in University accommodation, including but not exclusive to those that are selfisolating. We also work with various charities, including Student Minds. “We have also delivered training for our student leaders on supporting students with mental health difficulties as well as providing dedicated online spaces for some of our representative groups to come together, and share experiences or concerns, for example disabled and BAME students. The University Counselling Service has also committed to providing dedicated support sessions for BAME students which will be facilitated by members of the University counselling team with lived experiences.”

together as a community has been highlighted during the pandemic,” she said. “Singing for a house is definitely not a matter of urgency, especially not in semester one during a pandemic. We all need to work together to bust the myth that you need to sign early for a good house, as the evidence suggests otherwise.

“I don’t think it’s helpful to suggest there is competition for housing in Sheffield, it just isn’t the case and leads to a situation [that] can scare students into making big financial decisions. “With all the worries and stresses that the pandemic and university life bring, I really don’t want students to feel they have to worry.”

student feedback for Parliament Sheffield students have reported their experience of studying in a pandemic to Paul Blomfield, the MP for Sheffield Central. Students spoke out in an online zoom call organised in conjunction with Sheffield Students’ Union as part of the MP’s ‘Big Conversation’ initiative. Issues raised included deficiencies in the University’s current support package for self-isolating students, the merits of online versus inperson teaching, the reported rise in seminar group sizes and the hollowing out of academic support at 301 Glossop Road. The event lasted roughly one hour and took place over Zoom on Thursday 22 October. Blomfield, whose Sheffield Central constituency contains the largest number of students in the country, runs ‘The Big Conversation’ at the start of each parliamentary year in order to assess the priorities and concerns of students and local residents. This year’s discussions have taken place solely online to comply with Covid-19 restrictions but Blomfield, who is also Chair of the All- Party

Central. Credit: Parliament

Parliamentary Group on Students, said constituent’s views were “more important than ever”.

Forge Press

News

Student societies get creative to raise charity funds amid Covid restrictions

Hannah Ahmed Students’ Union societies have been finding novel ways of raising money for charity despite large cuts to their budgets and ongoing

Coronavirus restrictions on group meetings. Sheffield Uni Boob Team recently hosted a ‘Bake Your Baps Off’ competition where members were encouraged to make boob-

University’s ‘Race Equality Lectures’ delayed amid Covid restrictions Hannah Ahmed The University of Sheffield’s Race Equality Lectures and Race lectures will take place digitally this year amid ongoing Coronavirus restrictions. It’s expected they will be delivered by the University’s Race Equality Champions whose role has now expanded into delivering workshops for the University’s Student Ambassadors and Students’ Union committee members. However, the pandemic has delayed delivery of this year’s program. By this time last year, over 53 'Race Equality Lectures' had already been delivered to academic departments with workshops also taking place for SU societies during intro week. Race Equality Champions, which were introduced by the University as part of it’s ongoing Race Equality Strategy earlier this year, are a

collection of students trained to spot microaggressions and raise awareness of racism on campus. The scheme has since come under substantial criticism in the national press with a Daily Telegraph column lambasting it as “an Orwellian attempt” to stifle free speech. However, Santhana Gopalakrishnan, who originally led the Race Equality Champions initiative wrote in the i that the scheme was all about “leading healthy conversations”. She said: “Students respond well to their peers so training students to lead this work feels like a way we can make a real impact. “This work has already included improved reporting mechanisms, new anti-racism videos and talks timetabled into the schedule for all new students, work to decolonise the curriculum, data driven target setting and a Take Racism Seriously campaign.”

themed cakes to help spread breast cancer awareness and raise money for CoppaFeel!, a breast cancer awareness charity aimed at young people. Participants uploaded photos of

The scheme sees the champions leading discussions about race with new students and training for student societies. This training is to ensure all societies have an inclusion officer who is equipped with the skills, knowledge and confidence to understand and tackle systemic barriers to participation that students face. In addition, annual anti-racism training is now compulsory for all sports teams and is also offered to all society committee members. However, a five-week plan to hold workshops with 5,000 students back in February was also halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a full digital replacement still not arranged by the University. There are plans to hold an online Race Equality workshop online on Tuesday 10 November to which attendance is voluntary. The University said it would be an opportunity for discussion centred around how to challenge and overcome barriers to progress and exploration into the histories, cultures and legacies of black individuals and communities around the world.

Far left: Club taking part in Show Racism the Red Card’s ‘Wear Red Day’ on 16 October. Left: The winning cakes

finished pieces with the best looking cake crowned the winner. £115 was raised in total. In light of Black History Month, Sheffield University Hockey Club took part in Show Racism the Red Card’s ‘Wear Red Day’ on 16 October and managed to raise £130. As the hockey club is an organised sport, teams were able to meet up in person for training wearing red clothing to raise funds. University of Sheffield’s History Society (HSTSOC) created a ‘Monument Fun Run’ to replace the Sheffield Half Marathon. They created routes ranging from 5k to a half marathon, following various landmarks in Sheffield. Participants were encouraged to record their route on Strava, an exercise tracking app, and

upload photos as they passed each landmark. HSTSOC raised £380 for homelessness charity The Sunday Centre, who provide indoor space and a hot meal every Sunday at the Victoria Hall Methodist Church. Joe Brein, the society’s Charity Secretary, told Forge Press he wanted to give people “a fun thing to do '' during Covid restrictions. He said: “It was great to see how well it did for the Sunday Centre. I set a target of £100 and we almost quadrupled that! “This money will be very important in helping feed those hungry in Sheffield. All of us at HSTSOC are in awe of [The Sunday Centre’s] hard work and we are grateful to be able to contribute to their cause.”

Friday 30 October 2020

Opinion

Black Lives Matter: “We changed the conversation, now lets change the situation” Keziah Spaine looks into what has changed since the Black Lives Matter Protests back in May.

he British government took unprecedented measures in March 2020; locking down the entire United Kingdom which stopped us from leaving our homes, preventing the spread of a deadly pandemic. These measures, however, could not stop the wave of anger which moved throughout the world, as we once again witnessed a Black man being killed at the hands of the police in the United States. It is now ﬁve months on since George Floyd’s murder, and ﬁve months on since people around the world took to the streets to protest. In many ways, it seems like a shift in discourse has taken place and the Overton window moved so that we now expect world leaders to at least say something about racism. We all took part in Blackout Tuesday, which was supposed to encourage us all to take a break from social media and instead read the complete works of Angela Davis. What it actually involved was Instagram users performing ‘not being racist’ by letting their followers know they too were hopping on the blacked-out Instagram story bandwagon.

We shared lots of resources, marched in our local areas and listened to politicians - from Kier Starmer insisting he had no “truck” with the demand to defund the police, to Dominic Raab, who seemed confused and curious about the origins of ‘taking the knee’, as he pondered live on television whether it was something out of Game of Thrones. So what has changed is that we are having a conversation about protests that took place under the banner Black Lives Matter. But that’s about it. The demands of Black Lives Matter, such as defunding the police and instead funding mental health support, youth services and educational establishments have been brushed under the rug. It is so easy for policymakers to have professional photos done of them taking the knee, but much harder for this gesture to actually mean anything in practice. In Europe and the US, Black

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people have disproportionately contracted and been killed by Coronavirus. In the UK, Black people were more likely to be stopped and fined or arrested under the new Coronavirus laws. Donald Trump told fascists and white supremacists to “stand back and stand by”, supposedly in anticipation of Black people having the audacity to fight for their basic human rights again. Boris Johnson has recently said that we shouldn’t be ashamed of our colonial past. Black people have in the UK, on average, lower educational attainment than white people and other people of colour. Black people in the UK are still more likely to be stopped and searched. Black people are still less likely than people from all other ethnicities, apart from people from an Arab background, to own a home in the UK. Black people are 10-50% more likely to die from health issues than white people. An Instagram blackout does nothing to change this. Neither does taking the knee. Yes, spreading awareness of the BLM movement is important, getting your less cluedup-on-race friends to read some Franz Fanon is great. Education changes attitudes and attitudes can have a significant, positive, impact on the lived reality and material conditions of Black people. Sadly, it isn’t enough. Those in power chose to dismiss and ignore the demands of the Black community and the

glaringly obvious data which shows Black people do not have it as good in the UK as some people make out they do. Black Lives Matter and the people that went to those marches around the world were not asking for proﬁt-seeking companies to make emotional ad campaigns about racism. They weren’t asking for politicians to take the knee. We were asking for justice. We were asking the world to acknowledge that at the very least, Black lives matter, because the police and people in power clearly don’t think

they do. Black lives mattering means we are not arrested more than white people, we do not die more often than white people, and we are given the same opportunities to speak and be platformed as white people; the list goes on. We haven’t won the ﬁght yet; we changed the discourse, we haven’t changed the situation. We stop when the Black community says we stop, which will be when we have won. Until then, we make the whole world realise that Black lives do, and always have, mattered.

Forge Press

Opinion

Stop shaming celebrities for sharing their political views Orla Katz Webb-Lamb

e hear political views expressed all the time - in the news, on social media or displayed through art and culture - and we are used to it, because normally, those views come from politicians or those involved in politics. But what happens when a celebrity gets involved? It has become increasingly common for celebrities to share their political views, especially on social media. With the upcoming US presidential election, it is unlikely that one would dispute a celebrity’s right to encourage people to vote, but the suggestion of who to vote for is often fraught with controversy as some people believe that celebrities should not use their mass platforms to discuss their opinions on political affairs, in order to inﬂuence voter’s decisions at the polling station. However, it can be an incredible way to educate people. Celebrities talking about politics on social media can mean that these topics can inﬁltrate the online bubbles of people who actively avoid political discourse and, in turn, encourage them to do some research, form their own opinion and most importantly, take their place in democracy by voting.

Restricting celebrities from simply being allowed to encourage people to vote would also limit their freedom of expression, which, especially in the case of the US, is a guarded right. Unlike teachers, who are obliged to stay neutral, “celebrity” is not a speciﬁc job title with associated commitments, so should they not therefore be able to say what they believe? The rise of political celebrity endorsements (and commentary about this) peaked in late September this year, when The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan, addressed the American public in a social media video from their Californian home, encouraging people to vote in “the most important election”. This interview caused a storm amongst the public and political commentators, with huge disagreement about whether or not Harry should be allowed to express views such as these, especially whilst he retained his HRH status, with one palace insider saying that Harry had “crossed the line”. However, as those who have seen the video will know, Harry did not endorse one side or the other, he endorsed democracy. That is completely acceptable, and arguably an important thing for those with public proﬁles to do. The video was viewed as politically charged by some commentators, as it is known that Meghan has previously

spoken out against Trump. But restricting The Duke of Sussex from encouraging people to vote just because they can predict who his wife will vote for is ridiculous. The UK tells a slightly different story. Here, it is less common for celebrity endorsements to spark controversy or backlash, perhaps because they are less controversial, or perhaps because the country is less polarised. This does not, however, mean that celebrity voices are not heard in the UK. A recent ‘political statement’ that caused controversy was Diversity's performance on Britain’s Got Talent, which portrayed a story about the virus. It was a depiction of 2020 as a dance routine, and, in the eyes of many viewers, incredibly moving. Diversity’s piece highlighted Coronavirus and the Black Lives Matter movement, reenacting the moment that George Floyd famously stated “I can’t breathe” before he was murdered by a white policeman with a knee on his neck. This performance received a torment

We hear political views expressed all the time - in the news, on social media or displayed through art and culture - and we are used to it, because normally, those views come from politicians or those involved in politics. But what happens when a celebrity gets involved?

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of backlash from viewers, and over 24,000 Ofcom complaints. This response was due to the fact that it was seen as politicising a talent show, and ITV was seen as breaching impartiality. Yet, pointing out the need for racial equality is not political. Politics are negotiable, questionable, and debatable. Racial equality and the right to life do not fall in any of those categories. The backlash against Diversity’s performance only reinforces the need for celebrities to be outspoken. We need to educate our country. Often the argument against political celebrities is done in the name of protecting impartial news But celebrities are not journalists, their comments are not a public service broadcast, and their job is not to report current events. They are private citizens who happen to be in the public eye, who often have a great deal of respect, and who want to use their platform to give a voice to the causes that they believe are important.

Friday 30 October 2020

Opinion

The blame game: students aren’t at fault for the second wave Amber Birchill

s Covid-19 cases rise, students are everybody’s favourite scapegoat. Matt Hancock blamed rising coronavirus infections on young people ‘socialising’, but is this a fair statement? At first glance, there is some evidence to back his statement; the University of Sheffield has had over 1,000 cases since term began, with the university accommodation area of Endcliffe and Ranmoor contributing to the massive spike in cases in Sheffield. However, whether this is the fault of the students, and their ‘socialising’ is a different matter entirely. Everybody’s heard of the rulebreaking parties going on, and people stretching the bubble system until it should rightly pop, but lumping all students together is an oversight. Parties or no parties, actively encouraging more than 4,000 students to move into student

accommodation and to live basically all on top of each other means that attitude towards the severity of coronavirus doesn’t really matter. It is nearly impossible to properly socially distance. Moreover, the advice is only ever consistent in its confusing nature - both from the University, which asked students to return and suggested it would be back to normal, and from the government, who’s advice consistently boils down to something which wouldn’t feel out of place in a satirical comedy. The positive contribution of young people is also often forgotten. Young people contribute the most to the accommodation and food industries that have been hit hard by coronavirus. They often work in industries where it is difﬁcult to practice proper social distancing, and which is often a thankless form of ‘front line’ working. Additionally, student nurses who brought their graduation forward by six months in order to help in

“ to Matt Hancock

Teaching Black history in schools is the next step towards inclusivity India Labbe-Jones

never heard about Black History Month at my incredibly dated school. While my school was deﬁnitely one of the more diverse in my area, it was one that blatantly denied my classmates to learn about their history that weren’t extremely gruesome or upsetting. I remember being sat in a history lesson at school, watching an episode of Roots, a show about the American Slave Trade, that was, ironically, directed by a majority of white men. Even this small attempt made by my teachers to include some form of diversity in our history lessons was done in extremely poor taste. I remember thinking this as I sat watching this exceptionally insensitive depiction of American Slavery.

This was the only attempt at covering any history of Black people in the markedly westernised curriculum I received during my time at school. Black History Month was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in October 1987, 17 years after America started the tradition. In the UK, the celebration of Black History Month was pioneered by Ghanian analyst, Akyaaba Addai-Sebo, who worked for the Greater London Council as the Coordinator of Special Projects within the Ethnic Minorities Unit. Addai-Sebo designed the UK’s first celebration as a way to increase a sense of personal identity in young BAME people after seeing them reject their cultural backgrounds in favour of westernising themselves. Thirty-three years on from the first celebration and Black History Month is still not a compulsory topic on the National Curriculum. This begs

the question: is the UK education system inherently racist? The National Curriculum is a set of subjects and standards which are compulsory within primary and secondary schools. Given that this curriculum is a governmental structure, the lack of non-westernized topics speaks to institutional racism. This racism shows itself in our education system, but is bred within our leading force. Private schools and academies ﬁnd themselves exempt from this curriculum, but it is arguably private schools that need this education most. This exemption suggests a more calculated decision. Being that the majority of the general population go to state-run schools, this white-washing of our curriculum becomes a method of control, and this control breeds ignorance.

hospitals, and who were promised a six month contract, have now been told that there is no money to keep them on as payment for all their hard work. Alongside this, millions of students had to ﬁnish their degrees or A-levels online, from universities and colleges that had no prior experience with teaching online; students who did very important exams in what was already a very stressful work environment, some with no Wi-Fi or no desk. That’s before we even begin to unravel the mess regarding the 35.6% of students who were downgraded by one grade based mostly on, absurdly, the location of their school, only then to be told they could have their predicted

It is a fact that institutional racism and lack of diversity in the curriculum leads to ignorance. The Timpson Review of school exclusion ﬁnds that Black Caribbean children are nearly twice as likely as White British people to be excluded, this unfair treatment and the neglect to widen young people’s cultural knowledge fuels racism in a wider context. This ignorance has wider social implications, most prominently in the rising level of racially motivated hate crimes in the UK. From 2018-19, the Home Ofﬁce found there were 103,379 hate crimes in England and Wales, an increase of 10% from the previous year. 78,991 of these crimes were racially motivated. Hate crime levels are rising as a direct result of ignorance and the government is doing nothing about it. Yet glimmers of hope emerge from the depth of these statistics. The Black Curriculum, founded by Lavinya Stennett, is a syllabus of 12 topics ranging from Art History to Migration that is designed to redress the white washing of our education system. On the website, Stennett

grades after all. To say that students have been failed by the Conservative government during this entire situation is an understatement. Obviously most people have struggled during the pandemic, but for the Government to encourage young people to go out and boost the economy, and then scold them for doing so, is cruel. From encouraging ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ to Matt Hancock telling young people ‘don’t kill your gran’ on Newsbeat, young people have been gaslit. And after all that, it’s still their fault. So no, Mr Hancock, the second wave and looming second lockdown has not been caused by those downtrodden students trying to ﬁnd a little bit of fun in the wreckage of their education. It has been caused by the Conservative government who can’t decide for one minute what their stance actually is, and have left us, ashamedly, with Europe’s highest excess mortality ﬁgures. It is caused by a government which reduced public spending in the most deprived areas of the UK by 32%. It is caused by the very people who encouraged the public to go back to work and back to school, who begged people to go to restaurants all whilst waiting in the shadows with a pitchfork ready to strike the blame straight into the public when the next spike rears its head.

explains the aim is to “re-imagine the future of education through black British history”. As found by The Timpson Review, Black Caribbean pupils are generally 2.2 months behind their White classmates. Projects such as The Black Curriculum are integral in creating a sense of identity within young people and ensuring that they feel as though they are part of a community. But isn’t it the responsibility of the government? The government has a duty to put an end to institutional racism and therefore hinder both the disproportionate levels of exclusion and the rising number of racerelated hate crimes. Racism is something that is learnt, it is up to the policymakers to re-evaluate the impact of a colonised curriculum on the experience of young BAME people. The National Curriculum begs to be modernised. Enforcing diversity within school environments enforces a diverse mindset within society, and the government needs to listen.

Forge Press

Features

t’s either day eight or nine of 14 in quarantine and an NHS volunteer from the Track and Trace programme has just woken me up from my third nap of the day with a phone call. They’ve kindly reminded me of my legal duty to continue isolating and that there’s a possibility I may develop symptoms at any moment and will have to start the isolation period again. While I’m crawling the walls, I’m fortunate enough to have not suffered any symptoms of Covid-19 (yet), unlike my housemate, Amelia Emmerson, 20, a third year English student, who is still suffering from fatigue and aches following her positive test at the beginning of last week. For me and a growing number of students in Sheffield, quarantine is the new reality of studying at university. Moving back into our house of six meant very low-key belated birthday celebrations from lockdown, and socially-distanced catching up with coursemates in the park. It wasn’t until Saturday that Amelia woke up with a snuffly nose and a sore throat - the classic symptoms of a cold; but on Sunday when she lost her sense of smell and taste we drove to Meadowhall for a test. The following day she came into the kitchen and told us she’d tested positive for Coronavirus and that we’d all need to quarantine for 14 days. We all laughed about it before the reality set in. What if one of us gets really sick? What if we all get really sick? Pretty soon after, we were all cleaning down the surfaces with bleach and avoiding each other. Later, when we’d all admitted to crying in our rooms about the situation, we decided that the rest of us would continue as normal in the house until someone else showed symptoms. Amelia slept a lot for the first week and didn’t eat much despite the array of chocolate all wrapped in bright paper arriving through the door from her family and friends. One afternoon I stood in the hallway and peeked around her bedroom door to ask how she was coping. As always her spirits remained high but so did her fever. “On Wednesday night I just felt really shit, I was just really sore. I’ve got quite good pain tolerance and I was still like this isn’t great. I was so achy and it just wasn’t going away so I rang my mum and had a cry and then went back to sleep. “There’s definitely an aspect of fear but I haven’t woken up thinking I’m about to die. You can think about things into oblivion, and if you worry too much you’re just going to drive yourself mad, but I think because I’ve

‘We all laughed about it before the reality set in’ What if one of us gets really sick?

How students are coping in quarantine as the University of By Kirsty Hamilton-Emery

just been sleeping so much I haven’t really had the chance,” Amelia told me light heartedly. “I thought it was going to be negative, like I really didn’t expect it to be positive. When you’re younger there’s this sort of image where everyone’s immune to it, which is probably the wrong outlook to have.” The University of Sheffield recorded 474 students and a further five members of staff who tested positive in the first seven days of the new academic year. On Friday 2 October, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) updated the UK’s R number estimate to between 1.3 and 1.6. This means that for every 10 people infected, another 13 to 16 other people will become infected as well. It is rumoured that there’s close to 100 flats in isolation across university accommodation in Endcliffe, Ranmoor, and Allen Court. Living in a flat with people you don’t know and may have nothing in common with is daunting enough, but this year, freshers will have to make do. New students can’t even

six, 2020 marks a new era of students staying at home with no end in sight. To gain better insight into this, I rang a first year General Engineering student, Niall Devlin, 18, who recently moved into a five-person flat in Endcliffe and tested positive for Coronavirus just over a week later. “Yeah so three of us have tested positive, and [another flatmate] is doing a home test today, and the other has accepted he’s going to get it so isn’t bothering with a test. But at least we all have it and we’re not confined to our rooms. “We all assumed it was freshers’ flu because we all had blocked noses and were sneezing a lot, but I got a test anyway and it was positive.” The University has set up many outlets of support for students in isolation, particularly to those in

Top left: Anna McKay and Lucy Payne. Bottom left: Niall Delvin. Top right: Ollie Amos. Bottom right: Amelia Emmerson.

meet their coursemates, and the few hours of face-to-face teaching look like they won’t be returning until the spring semester. For many new students in Shefﬁeld, freshers week is typically a blur of

names to faces you can’t match, ﬂat parties, ﬁve-pound rounds in Tiger Works and Saturday’s Poptarts at the Students’ Union. But with the new government curfew at 10pm and gatherings no bigger than groups of

university accommodation. Their website states they will offer support with shopping for food and other essentials, and it provides details of local collect and deliver laundry services. However, the university is advising students to wash their own clothing in their hand basins. “The uni have sent a few emails saying there’s help available if you need it, but then haven’t shown where you can get it,” Niall says. “We’ve had a couple of calls from Residence Life offering mental health support, but even so I think you’d struggle if you were on your own for two weeks. If I

Friday 30 October 2020

was on my own I’d have gone home for the isolation period.” For many of us students there’s a fear that it will be text after text from NHS Test and Trace telling us to quarantine in our clappedout student housing as people will continue testing positive and we never see daylight again. Is it worth being in Sheffield at all when almost all teaching is being done remotely, and another lockdown seems to be just round the corner? Third year Law student, Ollie Amos, 20, was texted as a contact of Amelia’s and has had to isolate in his house for 10 days while the rest of his house has continued as normal. “I’ve probably had one fleeting conversation with [one housemate], but other than that I haven’t had a conversation with anyone in person in a week. It would be nice to have a conversation with someone, but you just know you need to [isolate] and it’s not really that long. “If [the government] had just said that there wouldn’t be any face-to-face teaching then a lot of people would’ve stayed at home and not worried about signing up for accommodation,” Ollie said. “By doing what they’ve done, they’ve prioritised landlords’ financial safety over students’ physical health; but whether it was out of malice or sheer incompetence, I don’t know.” While the future for university

students continues to be uncertain, what we do know is that we can’t let the restrictions stop us from enjoying another year. It’s a year like no other which, while not Instagramworthy, could be ﬁlled with focusing on perfecting the Yorkshire brew or watching everything on Disney Plus. Keep washing your hands, try to maintain two metres apart from people you don’t live with, and if you’re in quarantine, as the NHS keep reminding me, focus on creating ‘daily achievements’ to make each day more bearable: wake up and go to sleep at normal times, and keep eating three meals a day. Soon enough we’ll be outside again breathing in that sweet polluted air of Shefﬁeld.

Features

The 9K Care Plan: Is the University doing enough for its students? Libby A Shaw

fter a much quieter summer than Sheffield is used to, students are back. Small pockets of life begin to flourish in and around the city just as the leaves begin to fall. This time last year, the city centre was packed on a Friday or Saturday night, with vibrant and lively streets and a buzz in the air. On evenings nowadays, you will find your attention drawn to the array of warm, orange hues cast from the windows of students’ homes, many of whom are begrudgingly staying in; isolated and removed from the now uncertain outside world. This year promises to be unlike any other and brings with it an abundance of complications – many of which the University is attempting to tackle head on. But with what level of success and sustainability? ‘Blended learning’ or ‘a blend of face-to-face and online teaching’ were terms that many of us became familiar with as far back as July this year. As coronavirus promised to destroy many students’ plans, it was a reassuring proposal to have in place, especially for those of us who struggle to work from home, or whose courses depend on interactivity. But due to growing national concern surrounding the rising rates of infection within universities, Sheffield was forced to move the majority of its courses online from 9 October for 10 days. This came after many undergraduate courses had already commenced and were predominantly based online. “Until the course started, I didn’t know what was going on,” says Leah*, a final year, International Law student. “My timetable was constantly changing and there were overlaps. I got an email just two days before my course start-date saying everything except tutorials would be online.” Leah is one of many international students in the unfortunate position of having travelled to Sheffield only to realise she could have completed most, if not all, of her studies online and from her home country. “It was a responsible decision [to put classes online], but it wasn’t fair to say you have to come to Sheffield to complete this year,” she

says. “Internationals pay double the fees… we get no money from the Government. Rent fees could have been avoided.” According to a study by the Times Higher Education magazine in 2017, the UK was the sixth most expensive country worldwide to study in. This was based on both the tuition fees and living costs for a home student doing an undergraduate course. “A lot of parents give everything they have to provide you with this opportunity,” Leah adds. “[The University] could be more understanding towards fees.” Reducing the physical contact hours between student and lecturer can bring about miscommunications and be harmful to their relationship. Body language and eye-contact are all vital to convey messages that transcend the spoken word. Not to mention that physical presence is a key aspect and source of learning for many engineering, medical and arts degrees. With courses often having minimal weekly contact hours to begin with, their importance has been overlooked. Many reports claim that packed halls of residence and student nights out are to blame for the rise in infection rates as of late. This then, begs many a question: will courses remain online for the foreseeable future? Were teaching sessions being managed as effectively and safely as they could have been before they were put online? Do the advantages of suspending face-toface teaching really outweigh the disadvantages? And should students be expected to pay the same fees for an arguably lesser service? Despite the unrest and disorganisation around teaching, many university resources have remained stable and accessible for

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Lectures, seminars and workshops are the backbone of any course and having them online undermines the course quality and the talent of the lecturers

all. Some of which are the University library buildings. An essential in any student’s life, University libraries tend to evoke contrasting emotions; ﬂashbacks of horror and allnighters, or a feeling of comfort and security knowing that you can work in peace there. With the University now offering face masks to all its students and opening up the vast spaces available, government guidelines should be easy to adhere to. The online booking system is relatively comprehensive: choose a seat, choose a time slot (am or pm), and stay there for only three hours. The Western Bank Library has a reduced capacity from 395 seats to 300 to ensure that social distancing is feasible. This, as well as a one-way system, separate entrances and exits, regular hand washing and sanitising points, and a strict no-go policy on the usual meandering saunter we students enjoy when trying to ﬁnd a shelved book. In spite of this, the gathering of so many people in one building will undoubtedly cause anxiety to some and make the library feel unsafe. The reduced capacity means that many students will have to decide whether a trip to study there is really necessary; unfortunately, an easy decision for the procrastinators amongst us. “I personally struggle studying from home. I was that person at the library working overnight,” Leah comments. “But now I automatically don’t think to go to the library because I think I could possibly be spreading the virus. I need to give others the opportunity to use it.” An element that seems to have only increased in strength since Covid struck are the various points of contact for support and assistance at the University,

including the Student Wellbeing Service, SAHMS (counselling service), personal tutors, the SSID, the SU, disability services, direct correspondence with lecturers, and of course the Central Welfare and Guidance team, who now have an email specifically for coronavirus related student support. This support network provides a safety net for the entire student population and has helped place mental health and wellbeing and quality of life high on the list of priorities. Masks, measures and mental health. It seems that these three ‘M’s’ are the big takeaways from Sheffield’s plan of attack against coronavirus. Whilst many other students, myself included, have our reservations about the sustainability of these plans, the last few months of Covid policy flip-flopping would suggest that the Government does too. It is hardly a stable ground for the University to build a solid foundation of support from, and so in that respect, their intentions and pro-activity are commendable. However, it does seem likely that more stringent measures could have been put in place in order to ensure the safe running of classes and avoid their moving online. Lectures, seminars and workshops are the backbone of any course and having them online undermines the course quality and the talent of the lecturers who teach it. It surpasses an ‘adequate’ measure and verges into the realm of unnecessary for the sake of ease, compromising the integrity of the course. By all means, the University has a duty to keep us safe, meet our needs, and support us as best they can. But for what else would you pay £9,250 and upwards and expect any less than an exceptional service?

Forge Press

Science & Tech

Amber O’Connor In 2015, NHS England set out to redevelop its Ambulance Response Programme (ARP). Now, two and a half years after new measures were introduced, every ambulance service meets response time standards. By revising call categories to relieve strain on the emergency services, the remodel has also aided with resource provision. Janette Turner, a Reader in Emergency and Urgency Care Research at the University of Shefﬁeld, assisted with the planning and introduction of the changes. Turner’s role included evaluating the implementation of the new system, which enabled NHS England and Ministers at the Department of Health to reach decisions regarding the national adoption of the new

Angela Saini is an independent political science journalist and author. Her latest book, Superior: The Return of Race Science, was published in 2019 and has been named a book of the year by the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Sunday Times. Angela was invited to speak by the BAME Staff Network at the University of Shefﬁeld for Black History Month.

Juliette Barriac “Science feels unpolitical, as it’s always been there, but it’s not.” We tend to think of science as neutral and objective, yet it is continuously being shaped by the socio-political context in which it operates. As Saini explains, science cannot be truly objective for, contrary to popular belief, scientists are not rational or objective observers. Scientists and non-scientists alike, we are all the product of our environment and we naturally internalise the beliefs and assumptions of the society we live in. When we live in a society which

approach. The ARP was modified in multiple significant ways. Firstly, the three-tiered categorisation of emergencies was replaced by a new system involving five categories. This more thorough breakdown was particularly needed given that the previous model required at least 50% of all 999 calls to be responded to within eight minutes. With the UK’s emergency healthcare service number receiving 10 million calls each year, this specification meant

“

A much higher number of patients were getting the time

is institutionally racist, racism will inevitably shape the production and inﬂuence of knowledge. The best example of how science and politics are intertwined has to be the history of race science. In the eighteenth century, European scientists looked to prove Black people were biologically inferior to their white counterparts as a means to prop up a racialised hierarchy of power which placed people who looked like them right at the very top. They measured everything from the distance between people’s eyes to the gap between their thighs, effectively creating what we know today as race, desperately searching (without success) for innate genetic

“

We need to teach scientists about the history of their discipline... where the theory we are taught comes from

call handlers could not always send the most appropriate service to an emergency. To get emergency responders to a site within eight minutes might require sending the only available team instead. But Turner explains, “the biggest advantage of the new categories is that the highest category (category 1) is now about 10% of calls and captures the true life-threatening emergencies.” Now, emergency services do not need to rush responses since there are more varied required response times that depend on the more thorough categorization process, making them better placed to effectively respond to the 1,100 - 4,500 calls on average received each day by England’s 10 regional ambulance services. By also allowing for more time to be used on call, dispatchers can better determine

Illustration of ambulance service remodel. Credit: Ella Marke / UoS the urgency of a case and how best to respond. After testing these changes in almost half of England’s services, Turner says they found that “a much higher number of patients were getting the right response the ﬁrst time”, which the team estimated “made more than 10,000 extra available resources each week across England”. Moreover, the focus on providing the most appropriate resources led to “a 6.6% increase in the proportion of calls getting a response within eight minutes”. Turner also emphasised that ambulance service staff responded

positively to the remodel. The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives Managing Director, Martin Flaherty OBE, similarly highlighted how “control room staff and paramedics out on the road have welcomed the new system”, adding that the new model is “a common-sense approach that is long overdue”. For Turner herself, “it was a privilege to work with NHS England and the Ambulance Response Programme as a valued partner throughout the entire process”, as she supported what she terms this “critical policy change”.

Credit: Stephen Curry via Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) differences to justify the evils of European colonialism. However, these racial categories didn’t fade away but were absorbed into popular discourse. Nowadays race is an unsettlingly familiar term which dominates our social and cultural lives, forming a large part of how we see ourselves and see other people. It seems so tangible and real that we can’t imagine that race doesn’t have a ﬁrmer biological basis. Saini points out how, despite the overwhelming lack of evidence, some prominent scientists have continued to look for proof that race is biologically real. This insistence on the validity of race has very real, very dangerous consequences. In May, when the Ofﬁce for National Statistics (ONS) published a report showing Black people are twice as likely to die from Covid-19 as white people, medical researchers began speculating if there was some innate

Credit: ASaini via Wikimeda Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) reason why Black people were so disproportionately affected by the virus. Pointing out that those of Afro-Caribbean descent have a higher risk of hypertension and diabetes, they argued the answer could lie in their genetic makeup. Saini says this was a pointless enterprise, for it’s not possible for socially deﬁned groups to be genetically different. In fact, studies have shown that there is more genetic variation within the same race than between different races. It would have been far more useful to instead focus on environmental and social factors for, while there are few differences between ethnic groups, there are huge health gaps between the rich and the poor with the poorest twice as likely to die

from Covid-19. But we brush over these issues, “desperately trying to find something in our genomes”. Perhaps it reflects a widespread reluctance which spreads beyond the scientific community to acknowledge the way our society treats different people in very different ways. The prevalence of structural racism in Britain continues to endanger people’s lives. How can we get past this? Saini says we need to teach scientists about the history of their discipline. It’s more important than ever to question where the theory we are taught comes from, who developed it and why. By teaching political and cultural contexts of scientific theory, we can halt the spread of outdated beliefs and move on.

Friday 30 October 2020

Science & Tech

NASA’s visualisation of a black hole, seen nearly edgewise. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Jeremy Schnittman

University of Sheffield engineers helped to develop 3D printed implants which could pave the way to the next generation of medical treatments for patients with nervous system problems. In a new study, researchers from the University of Sheffield, St Petersburg State University and Technische Universität Dresden showed that their implant prototypes successfully stimulated the spinal cord in animal models including cats, rats and zebrafish. They also stimulated and recorded electrical signals from other surfaces such as the brain, peripheral nerve, as well as some muscles. The study was led by Ivan Minev, Professor of Intelligent Healthcare Technologies at the University of Sheffield, and Professor Pavel Musienko from St Petersburg State University. To print the implants, the team developed ‘NeuroPrint’ which is a hybrid printing technology for personalized soft neuromuscular interfaces. While the development started in Germany, it has since then been transferred to Sheffield. The study, which took approximately three years to complete, started with a simple question: “Can we print neuroimplants?” Professor Minev explained that the biggest challenge for the team

“This means we mix a conductive particle, platinum, with a polymer material to get a conductive paste. Once we had a working way of doing this, it was a lot of back and forth in selecting a few designs that we wanted to go further with”. “That was also the most fun part because we had discussions of what was possible to do technologically and what the biologists wanted to have.” In the study paper, the researchers write that despite improvements in materials, current technologies do not support rapid customization of implants. This makes adapting such implants to the anatomy of individual patients impractical, slow and costly. As well as this, producing these implants is currently expensive and takes time because they are produced in small, specific batches and do not come from a production line. Nevertheless, it is hoped that as the technology matures, 3D printing could be utilised to create medical devices that are tailored to each patient’s needs as part of personalised treatment plans for neurological diseases. Professor Minev said: “We are expecting that hopefully within five years or so we will be able to have some clinical trials. This is dependent on further tests and validation that needs to be done on the technology to ensure its safety and reliability.” The Sheffield researcher would

was ﬁguring out a way to print electronic materials that can survive stretch, which is not a typical feature of metallic conductors. He said: “If you think of a metallic wire, when you stretch it a little bit it would break. We found that with printing, it was easier to have composite materials”.

now like to hear from more neuroscientists and neurosurgeons who may have ideas that they would like to test out. The team will also work towards demonstrating whether their implants are robust enough to last for a long time, Professor Minev added.

Lucas Mentken

Lucas Mentken Three laureates share this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics for their discoveries about one of the most exciting phenomena in the universe, the black hole. Roger Penrose, Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, showed that Einstein’s theory of relativity leads to the formation of black holes. He shared the prize with Reinhard Genzel, a German astrophysicist, and Andrea Ghez, an American astronomer, who discovered that an invisible and extremely heavy object, possibly a supermassive black hole, governs the orbits of stars at the centre of our galaxy. David Haviland, chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics, said that this year’s discoveries have “broken new ground in the study of compact and supermassive objects”. The ﬁrst clues about the concept of black holes came from British scientist John Michell who noted in 1783 that light cannot escape from objects that are extremely massive given their size. In 1915, Albert Einstein unveiled his general theory of relativity which describes how massive objects cause a distortion in space-time. This is felt as gravity causing trajectories of freely falling objects to curve like Earth’s elliptical orbit around the Sun, the theory states. Einstein himself, however, never believed in the possibility that black holes could exist. In a 1939 paper, he said the

idea was “not convincing” and that the phenomena did not exist “in the real world”. Twenty years later, Indian astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar found that when a star much more massive than the Sun exhausted its fuel it would collapse indeﬁnitely, seeding the possibility of the formation of a singularity. Gravitational singularities are locations where physical laws are indistinguishable from one another, and where space and time cease to have any independent meaning. This brings us to January 1965, ten years after Einstein’s death, when Roger Penrose proved that black holes can really form, describing them in detail. His groundbreaking article is still regarded as the most important contribution to the general theory of relativity since Einstein. Speaking to Oxford University, Penrose said: “‘It is a huge honour to receive this Prize. In 1964 the existence of black holes was not properly appreciated. Since then they have become of increased importance in our understanding of the universe and I believe this could increase in unexpected ways in the future.” Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez, who together shared half of the 10 million Swedish kronor prize money, each lead a group of astronomers which focused on a region called Sagittarius A* at the centre of our galaxy since the early 1990s.

The orbits of the brightest stars closest to the middle of the Milky Way have been mapped with increasing precision. The measurements of both groups both found extremely heavy, invisible objects that pull on the jumble of stars, causing them to rush around at dizzying speeds. Around four million solar masses are packed together in this region which is no larger than our own solar system. Genzel and Ghez used the world’s largest telescopes to see through the huge clouds of interstellar gas and dust to the centre of the Milky Way. They also found ways to compensate for distortions caused by the Earth’s atmosphere during their long-term research. Their pioneering work has given us the most convincing evidence yet of a supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. On being the fourth female Nobel Laureate in Physics, Andrea Ghez said: “To me it’s always been very important to encourage young women into the sciences, so to me it means an opportunity and a responsibility to encouraging the next generation of scientists who are passionate about this kind of work into the ﬁeld.” On her inspiration to become an astrophysicist, she added: “I think it’s a passion for the universe. It amazes me every time we go to the telescope to think about ‘here is this light that we’re capturing that’s been on a journey for 26,000 years’.” “And you know, if you think about 26,000 years ago when these photons left the vicinity around the black hole it’s just … it’s rather amazing to think we can do this as human beings.”

Forge Press

Lifestyle

Black cats, grindylows, and All Hallow’s Eve: British folklore to Claire Gelhaus Growing up, Halloween at home in the US was always a big thing. My grandma would send us sweets shaped like jack-o-lanterns and bats, we’d go to a pumpkin patch and pick ours to carve, and we’d eagerly plan our costumes for trick-or-treating. October still marks those traditions for me (and I’ll always welcome a time I can fulfill the urge to run into a corn field and get lost!) But this year, trick or treating isn’t operating as usual. And life is strange. So, I read A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe by Dee Dee Chainey. Halloween in the UK seems much more alluring knowing the superstitions and legends that exist - and in my everyday life I’ll be looking for them. Nature surrounds most myths,

and in the green city of Sheffield you can easily imagine the streets and hills are full of otherworldly creatures. Rivers especially have always been sacred and their ancient thrum of power is easy to imagine as they slink on. Water in the North of England has many myths, such as the Grindylow. Said to be from Yorkshire and Lancashire, they have long arms that drag children into the water to drown them, and some think they must take a life regularly to be appeased. Northern England myths also describe Shelly Coats, mischievous water spirits with coats made of shells that ‘rattle.’ Rather than a legend to spot, in nearby Bakewell as well as many parts of Derbyshire, a “Blessing of the Wells” takes place that you could visit. This custom can be traced back to multiple stories about its

origins, one of them is that it stems from the worship of water spirits. Another is that in the period after the Black Death, villages that were untouched thought it was because of their water supply. The village of Tissington is one example, and they still dress their wells; although I wonder if it’s in thanks or precaution. Significance in folklore is also given to trees, which you will have no problem seeing in Sheffield. In some places, an acorn in the window is said to keep lightning out, and some say oak trees groan and shriek when being cut down. The Halloween-y figure of a black cat is another easy-to-spot ‘myth’. But the superstition around seeing a black cat is more complicated than I thought it was; I thought they were always supposed to mean bad

print for our first issue. That issue featured Lubaina Himid and came out 21 March 2018.

Diversity in media: a Q&A with ROOT-ed zine Eve Thomas and Claire Gelhaus ROOT-ed (Revolution Of Our Time) is a social platform and zine dedicated to promoting, inspiring, and showcasing Black, indigenous and other people of colour creatives in the North West of England. Their newest quarterly edition came out 21 October and is about queer, trans and intersex people of colour, in collaboration with Homotopia Fest. We talked to the founders Amber Akaunu and Fauziya Johnson about the creative industries, Black History Month, and their work as a platform. How did ROOT-ed zine begin?

ROOT-ed began in 2018 when, as two final year fine art students, we (Amber Akaunu and Fauziya Johnson) wanted to collaborate on an art project. Being the only two People of Colour (PoC) in our year, we both noticed the lack of representation of PoC creatives within the North West, and how it was notably, and significantly lacking in academia, institutions, media, and generally all aspects within the art world. We fundraised our first magazine in the Unity Theatre in Liverpool, and had performers who were of colour to help the night. We made about £400 from that night with thanks to those who participated, and therefore had enough to

What do you see as the greatest successes you’ve had since starting ROOT-ed? It would generally be how well we are able to help artists get opportunities, and how we are able to start paying people as we’ve applied to funding and crowdsourced. Albeit it’s not loads of money and high commissions but it’s something for the meantime. People have told us how much it means for them to be in a printed magazine, and the opportunities that they’ve had from it - such as exhibitions, news articles, live event participations, commissions etc. That is so special to hear because that’s exactly what we noticed was lacking a couple years ago and aimed to change. It’s becoming a bit more of a reality now for North West PoC’s to be recognised and inputted into exhibition programmes and have freelance opportunities, by notable people reading our zine and hiring the artists out of it. How do you think Black History Month should be celebrated in the media? From our experience, we gather the most ‘attention’ during Black History month, which we feel uneasy about. On the one hand, the more recognition the better since we

luck. However, some folklore from Yorkshire says it’s lucky to own a black cat, but unlucky to meet one. And some believe that a black cat walking towards you is meant to bring luck, but away would ‘take’ the luck with it. Walking dark streets at night in the chill of October, in the right light, you could imagine seeing the creature from Yorkshire lore, the barquest. It takes the form of a bear or black dog, with eyes as big as saucers, and is said to haunt streets at night and, like the banshee, its howls are heard at night by the person who is meant to die. Spellings vary, and it seems almost every region in the UK has its own

name for the form of a dark beardog. I’ll try not to remember that and check over my shoulder as the sun sets earlier and earlier- and it’s so easy to be caught in the dark. In folklore, All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween welcomes the approach of winter along with the beliefs that it’s a period when spirits roam the earth, and a time to honor the dead. In my probably pretty American interpretation, Halloween brings to mind tons of candy, and shuffling around my neighborhood in a hat, coat, snow pants and mittens under costumes. But more than that, it marks autumn and the beginning of winter.

are able to utilise this to help other Black creatives. On the other, it means that this recognition is likely to be short lived and not repeatable throughout the year. It should be used as a time to really highlight exactly what happened in the past - as an obvious example, details regarding the Transatlantic Slave Trade have not been taught with what actually happened. People seem to think it’s just a distant event in the past where a couple of bad things happened, when in fact it was so much worse than what the majority of people know… Because of this lack of education the atrocities that actually happened are not highlighted. This needs to be highlighted in schools especially – and also given an update on modern racism today. In media, this should be a time for media companies to internally examine who they’ve applauded or reprimanded publicly, their internal colleagues (if they have taken diversity and inclusion exams, at least), and if they have actively tried to hire more Black freelance and full time workers. Publicly, they need to highlight ‘hidden figures’ within Afro-Caribbean history, and equally highlight who the pioneers are now.

posts we share on social media and the conversations we have with arts institutions. Our aim as a platform has always been to promote, support and inspire BIPoC creatives. We want to be able to promote our network of artists to hopefully help them and their work reach a bigger audience or for them to get work from being promoted in the zine. We host events such as art crits and networking events which is how we support Black, indigenous and PoC creatives on a more intimate level. We also hope the content of the zine can inspire all creatives who read it in some way.

How does ROOT-ed commit to creatives in the North West of England? We commit to everything that we do from the pages of the zine, the

What do you see as needing to change in both the art and publishing worlds ROOT-ed exists in, to become more accessible and welcoming to diverse voices? There’s so much that needs to change from the work that is exhibited and published to the people curating and publishing the work. It’s not an unknown fact that the creative industries, especially at high level positions, are very, very white. It’s difficult for there to be genuine lasting change when institutions don’t give up space to Black, indigenous and PoC. Tokenism is an outcome of these white spaces, even when they try their best to mean well. This is an issue we actually talked about in our latest issue of ROOT-ed with artist Lubaina Himid.

Friday 30 October 2020

Lifestyle

Eggscuse me? Bottomless brunch eateries that won’t eat your bank balance

Forum Kitchen + Bar Situated at the end of Division Street from the city centre, Forum Kitchen + Bar is a must for visiting. The rustic, industrial aesthetic combined with attentive staff creates the perfect setting for a get-together. At £30 a head for unlimited Mimosas, Prosecco or Heineken it fits in with the average rate for bottomless brunches in Sheffield. While some expect fancy cocktails of exotic names to be on offer at such events, sometimes sticking with the basics is best, for cocktails often take a while to make, only resulting in the feeling that you’ve not got your money’s worth. The food at Forum is always delicious, bottomless brunch or not. The menu for the occasion, however, offers anything from sweet, syrupy waffles to the classic millennial breakfast dish; smashed avo on sourdough. The only pitfall of Forum’s bottomless brunch is that your session is for just 90-minutes, and while this is still a decent amount of time to relax and natter, all other brunches in this style allow for two hours per group. Turtle Bay Renowned for their cocktails and succulent Caribbean food, Turtle Bay might just be the most popular destination for bottomless brunching out of all on this list. Just based on the atmosphere of the eatery alone, Turtle Bay is definitely the most fun. Getting a table a week in advance for the weekend proved to be difficult – we were lucky enough to have a dropout, so I would certainly advise booking ahead.

Working out slightly cheaper than Forum at £27 per head for two hours, you certainly get value for money satisfaction. Food options are broad and accommodating for all eaters; from your classic brunch items like egg wraps, extending to more lunch-friendly dishes such as burgers and roti’s (the roti being my personal recommendation.) As for drinks – unlimited cocktails, mocktails or Red Stripe. The selection of fancy drinks is extensive, from Long Island Iced Teas to Mojitos, and our group’s favourite: Reggae Punch. Whilst having cocktails adds a sense of fanciness upon the occasion, as

mentioned before, they do take a while to make so it’s worth deciding which option you’d prefer to go for when brunching. The Lost & Found This place is a personal favourite of mine for bottomless brunching. Situated half-way down the bustle of Ecclesall Road, The Lost & Found is utterly gorgeous in both aesthetic and experience. From the outside, it looks like the sort of place that no student would ever be able to afford when in reality, it’s quite the contrary. Just £1 more

than Turtle Bay at £28 per head, The Lost & Found offers a two hour service on unlimited Prosecco, Aperol Spritz, Mimosas or Bloody Mary’s, plus a meal of your choice. So, on the debate of whether to cocktail or not: this place offers

both. While The Lost & Found sticks to brunch-style dishes, they offer more than just avocado on toast. From a rich but elegant Eggs Royale to a chorizo-infused baked breakfast, with the option of sugary dishes to satisfy the sweet tooths

out there. Bottomless brunches at The Lost & Found are very popular since they only operate on Saturdays from 11am-3pm, so book ahead if brunching in this sophisticated garden is up your street. Revolution Similarly to Turtle Bay, Revolution is famous for their fluorescent coloured shots and vast cocktail menu. Their bottomless brunches work a little differently compared with the others listed since your price rate is dependent on the time you visit. 11am bookings start at £20, 12pm, 1pm and 2pm bookings start from £25 and 3pm and 4pm bookings starting at £30; each booking is for a 2-hour slot. However, the option for cocktails comes at an extra charge as these packages only include an unlimited amount of Prosecco, Heineken or Aperol Spritz. The experience in Revolution is somewhat different from the others listed above, for it’s very much a location for those who want to party. Staff were inundated with countless hendo’s having a grand time, which unfortunately made us trainerwearing lot feel particularly underdressed. Compared with the other bottomless brunches, Revolution scores lowly as food options were quite limited at just pizzas or avo-toast (…again!), but that’s not to say it won’t be up your street!

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Forge Press

Break

Written by John Gilding 1:12 PM 10:47 AM You wake up. It’s a Saturday, nobody can stop you. Ignoring the pile of paper you call an essay plan, you head immediately to the kitchen and dig out that Halloween chocolate assortment you had been saving for today. You have a KitKat for breakfast, because you’re an adult now and nobody can stop you.

It’s more chocolate for lunch as you get hungry again, this time a bar of caramel, washed down with some of those weird little chocolate balls in pumpkin coloured foil. Speaking of which, you try and ﬁnd the pumpkin you bought for the group carving session. Fetching it from under your desk, you send a message to everyone suggesting an earlier start to carving, as knives and Halloween drinks don’t mix at all well.

11:36 AM With some sellotape, tissue paper and now a bit of carpet because you dropped the sellotape at a crucial moment, you put the ﬁnishing touches to your Shefﬁeld Halloween costume. You hang it on the hook by your door. It’s a little scruffy here and there, but you think people should be able to recognise it as the Arts Tower.

6:32 PM

3:26 PM

Equipped with a bowl of Doritos and a fragile Arts Tower costume, you head into the kitchen to see what everyone else came up with. There is a full Sheffield United tracksuit for Chris Wilder, a white t-shirt with vague gold squares drawn on it for the Diamond, and someone has sewn in red and orange stripes onto a blue t-shirt to make a Supertram costume. The two others are sheepishly sitting in the corner with perfect University of Sheffield student outfits, because they “forgot” that you were doing costumes.

Nearly two hours later, you’re finally done, and everyone does their big reveal. There are three basic pointy-mouthed numbers, your poor rendition of Jack Skellington, an irritatingly perfect John’s Van from the most arty flatmate, and one that just looks like a woman. “Who’s that supposed to be?” You ask. “Carole Pumpskin.” They reply, fully aware that it looks nothing like her. You all put your pumpkins in the window of your flat, and go for a stroll around Endcliffe to check out everyone else’s decorations, which range from skulls made from post-it notes stuck to the window, to full-on dungeons, complete with cobwebs, ghosts and orange mood lighting.

7:43 PM With a buffet fit for a party of 15 or 20 people polished off by a hungry flat of six, you all file into the room with the biggest TV to watch (or hide from) A Nightmare On Elm Street, despite weeks of you campaigning for it to be Hocus Pocus instead.

1:39 PM Everybody is assembled in the kitchen, armed with pumpkins, spoons and knives. Someone has a fork because it’s apparently how they do it at home. You all set to work on your pumpkins. Within ten minutes there’s a cry of anguish as the person you all expected to injure themselves injures themselves making the lid for their pumpkin. With the small cut on their ﬁnger patched up, you continue.

11:56 PM

9:15 PM After being given at least a month’s worth of nightmare fuel, and witnessing enough frightened cuddling to all but confirm your suspicions about the two flatmates you think will become a couple first, nobody really feels like going to bed, so naturally everyone’s attention turns back to the bottles and cans in your fridge.

Your Arts Tower costume lies broken and bruised in the corner, but you don’t care. Halloween in Shefﬁeld was always going to be different this year, for obvious reasons, and while your homemade party wasn’t quite what you would have got from the Foundry or anywhere else in the city, it was good enough. And this year, good enough is hard to come by.

Friday 30 October 2020

Break

A letter from Mr C. Ovid to Forge Press Written by Ryan Smith

Dear Forge, Glad to see my letter got put on your website the other week. I always get nervous sending things to papers because half the time I don’t know who to trust. I’m glad you still promote honest and professional journalism. I’m also pleased that you allow people to communicate with you. Hard-working folk like me aren’t often given voices, so it’s nice to be heard. I saw in the news recently that our beloved university had over 1,000 new cases a few weeks back, and that number is shared amongst other large unis around England, such as Manchester, Nottingham, and Newcastle. This proves all the expanding and bravery I’ve shown is paying off, by being a rampant opportunist, rather than shirking my responsibilities like a politician and not actually doing my job to serve the people. I have never been so happy to hear of the lack of student communication, as clear communication kills a business like mine. Take South Korea. 50-odd

million people, and I’ve had nearto bugger-all work there. They all know exactly what to do, and exactly how to do it. When I think back to England, I thought, well, we’re English, we’ll be sound. If we can ﬁght wars across the world, we can do anything. In my last letter I wrote about how worried I was going out of business – but now the students are back, I’ve even opened a new student line of work! Thank Christ they’re still forcing them to go back to their halls and are rinsing them of their tuition fees; if they’d have stayed home – and this goes for the country as well, now I think back – I’d have gone bust, creating an even bigger problem for this government. The students arriving, empty of around £9,250 or so, will be given two free face masks. Completely fair, I’d say; they’re lucky to get two, I’d have made them pay for the privilege! This youth expect everything to be given to them. If only they’d know how hard I’d worked to get bread on the table this year, they could take inspiration. No wonder they don’t want to come in and get potentially

Online Uni Bingo How many of these can you tick off?

Had a seminar or lecture cut out because of poor WiFi connection

Booked a library slot and then forgot to go

Gone for a caffeine boost and a snack at Coffee Revs

Done a family and/or friends quiz on Zoom

Walked all the way to the shops to have to walk all the way back because you forgot your mask

Resorted to watching Loose Women

Ordered loads of new things from the internet that you don't need

Had a household Covid scare

Shivered at the sound of "breakout room"

Gone to John's Van for lunch even though it's out of the way

Had a walk through the botanical gardens after a long day

Had 4 takeaways in one week

Put 'going home' at the top of your Christmas list

Said your microphone and camera are both 'broken'

Planned 9 holidays for when all of this 'blows over'

infected by a life-changing disease – they’re probably just too lazy! Speaking of which, I must write of my disdain for the new Tier system introduced by the government. Of course we know this government has the greatest respect for ingenuity (lest we forget the sacriﬁces Dominic Cummings made for his eyes), but don’t tell me that locking the freedom-loving areas of England into borders is the correct way to go. It is not for myself that I am worried; I’m a grafter, I’ll work wherever the job is. It’s for my kids that I worry. Where will their jobs come from if the government is trying to stop me working? Why does the government need to border everyone in without help, if it wants people like me to work? It makes no sense. I’ve done all I can to help myself, and now they’re taking it all away from me. Madness. There is some good news to hear that Leadmill has been granted emergency Arts funding from the blue socialist Rishi Sunak. There is only cause for congrats again – it’s a wonder he’s a Tory given the

fact he’s single-handedly saving the English economy. I can’t wait to see all the clubs bouncing and thriving again. Money into the economy (read: the back pockets of rich people), freedom for our young people, and, given the shops are opening up again slowly, more potential work for yours truly. Nevertheless, it is not only the Tories that have been helping me out. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has asked the Tories for financial help before going into Tier 3 lockdown. All power to him – all war is class war, after all; for as much as he fights against them for wages for his people (me included, remember), and as long as the Tories fight back like children, I am free to work and roam where I like! I look forward to your responses, as I’m sure one or two students reading this will adversely react to my words. I only can respond with the very nature of why we are in the mess in the first place: not being tough enough, and not believing in Britain!

Yours,

Mr C. Ovid

Forge Press

Looking Ahead

Our cultural calendar highlights

Pop

Theatre

Pop

Truth Seekers

Sam Smith

Here's what she said to me

Niall Horan

29 October – 7 November

30 October

30 October – 14 November

Saturday 7 November, 8pm

A unique live-streamed production of Sarah Cane’s deeply personal meditation on the meaning of love. Pulsing with loss and longing, its resonance will be doubly powerful as we reconnect our lives after the loneliness and seclusion inﬂicted by the pandemic. Tickets from £10 at Chichester Festival Theatre.

Pegg and Frost team up as a ghosthunting duo looking to uncover and ﬁlm paranormal sightings across the UK. As their supernatural experiences grow more frequent, terrifying, and even deadly, the pair begin to uncover a conspiracy that could threaten the entire human race. On Amazon Prime.

The third album from singersongwriter Sam Smith, Love Goes is a departure from the sad ballards they have become well known for. While born from heartbreak, the album features a poppier song list including the pre-released ‘Diamonds’. Out on Friday.

Meet three generations of proud African women connecting with each other across time and space. Together they share their struggles, their joys, tragedies and broken dreams in order to ﬁnd healing in the present. On at the Crucible theatre, with a live-steam available on 3 November.

A special one-off live-streamed show in an empty Royal Albert Hall featuring songs from Horan’s albums Flicker and Heartbreak Weather. All proﬁts from the show will be shared between his touring crew who are currently unable to work and #WeNeedCrew relief fund. Tickets cost £16.

Theatre Crave

Television

Talk Black History in the Age of Black Lives Thursday 29 October, 7.30pm

Theatre

Ghost Stories with Mark Gatiss

Games

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

30 – 31 October

10 November

As the nights draw in this autumn, the master of spooky tales, Mark Gatiss, invites you to turn the lights down low and gather round to hear him read some of his favourite ghost stories this Halloween. Available to watch online from the Nottingham Playhouse for £22.50.

Farming simulation meets intense side-scrolling action in this gorgeous game inspired by Japanese mythology. Play as Sakuna, a spoiled harvest goddess, on her quest to tame both the soil and demons that dwell on the forbidding Hinoe Island. Available on PC on 10 November; Switch and PS4 on 20 November.

Classical

BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oramo 6 November, 8pm

A live conversation between between broadcaster David Olusoga and fellow historian Colin Grant on whether The Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd’s murder will be a moment of real change for our society. Free to watch via Off the Shelf.

Power and passion take a hold as the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo perform works by Joseph Haydn and Anna Clyne before a new chamber arrangement of Magnus Lindberg's Accused. Watch online from The Barbican for £12.50.

Talk Theatre Uncle Vanya 1 November Featuring Sex Education’s Aimee Lou Wood, catch this ﬁlmed version of Ian Rickson’s Chekhov adaptation which opened earlier this year to 5-star reviews. Toby Jones stars as the anti-hero in this darkly humorous production about a conﬂicted family forced to confront their despair, and each other. Available at The Light Cinema Sheffield.

Toby Jones as Uncle Vanya and Rosalind Eleazar as Yelena. Photograph: Johan Persson

Kit de Waal in conversation with Désirée Reynolds Saturday 31 October, 6pm An interview with award-winning author Kit de Waal about her new book of short stories, Supporting Cast. Known for her bestselling debut My Name is Leon and anthology of working narratives, Common People, De Waal’s latest work captures the extraordinary moments in our ordinary lives, and the darkness and the joy of the everyday. Free to watch via Off the Shelf.

Friday 30 October 2020

Star t your Stu de n t L e ade r s h i p j o u rn e y h e re ...

Bec o me a n

Ac ad em ic Re p U G D e adline 1st Novemb er PG Deadline 13th Novemb er S t ar t h e re: sheffieldsu.com/academicreps

Forge Press

Arts & Theatre

Young adult ﬁction

hen was the last time that you saw yourself represented in a book that you read? Did you relate to the experiences of the characters or perhaps you saw similarities to their physical appearance? Often, this luxury has been exclusively reserved for white people. The lack of representation of people of colour in fiction has been a point of discussion for several years, but if the recent success of young adult titles such as The Hate U Give (T.H.U.G) by Angie Thomas, Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adeyemi, and Opposite of Always by Justin A Reynolds is anything to go by then the future looks bright for diverse representation across fiction. Readers of young adult (YA) fiction might be familiar with this surge of books featuring Black protagonists, but even if you are oblivious to the world of YA fiction, it’s likely you are familiar with one of the several popular film adaptations of YA novels such as T.H.U.G, which have acted to popularize the movement further and increased the demand for more diverse stories. But why is YA leading the charge in diversifying content? Crucial to the growth of the genre over the past decade has been its community of readers who have used social media as a tool to become key players in promoting and criticising the latest releases. Through navigating YouTube, blogs and Instagram YA readers have earned themselves a direct stake and influence in which books make it to the shelves. The importance of #BlackLivesMatter and its transcendency across social media, including within the online reading community, cannot be emphasized enough. It’s evident that readers of young adult care deeply about this social and political equality movement so it is no surprise that the call for better representation of people of colour has entered the book world through the YA genre. In recent years this community

While progress has been made, more needs to be done to diversity young adult ﬁction, writes Katherine Garvey

“

This collective attack of bad reviews demonstrated the power of YA readers to cancel a book that perpetuates racist of readers hasn’t shielded away from criticising and calling out books and their authors for a lack of diversity or issues of misrepresentation. One example of this online fan force in action was during 2016, when Keira Drake’s The Continent was pushed back for rewriting after an outpouring of negative reviews. Across BookTube and Goodreads the unreleased book was heavily criticised for racist depictions of indigenous peoples and for embracing the white savior narrative. This collective attack of bad reviews demonstrated the power of YA readers to cancel

a book that perpetuates racist stereotypes. In doing so this taught a useful lesson to authors and publishers about accountability from their readership who have taken to demand #OwnVoice diversity in their books more. A new era of diversity might be dawning in young adult ﬁction, but the discussion of representation is far from over. Although the genre as a whole is doing well, comparatively the sub-genre of YA fantasy is often

“

A new era of diversity might be dawning in young the discussion of representation is far from over

embroiled in diversity controversies. One of the best-selling YA fantasy authors, Sarah J Maas, has been at the centre of this debate for several years. Maas’s books often feature a large cast of characters, yet only a small minority of them are not white. Further still, the one or two characters of colour included have either been misrepresented, pushed to the margins or even killed off. This kind of token diversity is a real problem, and the situation of white authors including a Black character for the sake of meeting diversity quotas needs challenging just as much as the absence of Black characters all together. By adding poorly researched marginalised characters to a book a great deal of damage can be done to readers who rarely see their identities represented in the first place. When this happens, it is often due to merely including side characters of colour in the story. It is crucial authors don’t just include these characters, but actually focus on authentic representations of Black protagonists. Many readers believe that marginalized stories should be told by marginalized writers - this is not to say that white authors should not write non-white characters if done so in a culturally sensitive way- but only to argue that the most authentic characters of colour will likely be penned by writers of colour. It is now generally seen as the responsibility of publishers to ensure fiction is reflective of the stories and voices of all communities, but is it not also the responsibility of the wider community of readers to support Black authors to ensure the continuing success of diverse YA fiction? Now is the time for other genres to sit up and take note of the progress being made in young adult fiction, that way when a person is next asked when they last felt represented in a book, they won’t have to think too hard to find an example.

Friday 30 October 2020

Arts & Theatre

Fresh books

The Once And Future Witches Alix E. Harrow

Margaret Atwood

Dolly Alderton

Set in 1893, this magical story of sisterhood,

Filled with wise fantasy and playful politics,

A poignant yet humorous love story of a thirty-

suffragists and survival is the perfect feminist

something navigating through her past in order

Halloween read.

themes of retrospect and renewal.

to understand the present.

Mia Kerrigan Following the decision to cancel their Autumn season in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, Shefﬁeld University Theatre Company (SUTCo) moved online to present Embrace - a week long festival of theatre, poetry, workshops and more available for free through their Facebook page and YouTube channel. Each day of the festival had a different theme, ranging from ‘National Coming Out Day’ to ‘World Mental Health’ and ‘National No Bra Day’, which provided a vital sense of structure and focus, unifying an extremely diverse amount of content. Each day also included an informational workshop expanding on the theme and providing valuable insight into topics such as body image in casting and decolonising theatre. The organisers achieved a satisfying balance between informative and creative pieces, and I appreciated how the content was staggered throughout the week so there was ample time to take everything in. SUTCo’s commitment to representing and respecting a broad range of student experiences

Festival

Best 2020 book releases by Black authors Arts & Theatre Editor, Betty Wilson, compiles a list of some of her favourite books by black writers released this year Hood Feminism Mikki Kendall Bloomsbury, £16.99 If you’re looking for some educational nonﬁction, Hood Feminism might be the choice for you. It discusses how the feminist movement needs to develop and diversify to encorporate issues such as race, class and disability as well as gender. It’s one of those reads that will make you rethink the world around you.

Felix Ever After Kacen Callender HarperTeen, £14.70 Issues relating torace are often not one experienced in isolation and Callender’s novel Felix Ever After explores the intersection between Blackness, queerness and being transgender. The book also includes several familiar YA tropes such as catﬁshing, revenge and, of course, the love triangle.

Grown Tiffany D Jackson HarperCollins, £12.99 Fiction by Black authors often possess a compelling power to link to real world events and in the wake of the #MeToo movement, Grown by Tiffany D Jackson effectively tackles the nuanced links between feminism, fame, rape culture and race. As a murder mystery thriller, this book is fast paced, engaging must read.

A Song Of Wraiths and Ruin

Roseanne A Brown HarperCollins, £12.99 This novel blends West African folklore with classic fantasy to create a rich new world full of romance, adventure and magic. Brown also discusses contemporary issues such as racism and refugees. Perfect for fans of Toni Adeyemi and Sabaa Tahir.

Take A Hint, Dani Brown Talia Hibbert Piatkus, £9.99 If like me you love nothing more than a good, cheesy romance read, Take A Hint, Dani Brown (the sequel to Get A Life, Chloe Brown) should deﬁnitely be placed on your to-be-read list. Following the fake dating trope, this book is a classic rom-com full of easy banter and fun throughout.

Such A Fun Age Kiley Reid Bloomsbury, £8.99 When a white blogger asks her African American babysitter to look after her child a chain of events is set off that leads to an insightful literary exploration of race, privilege, and womanhood. Longlisted for the Booker Prize, Such A Fun Age is one of those books that everyone will be talking about for years.

was evident throughout, from a heartbreaking anonymously submitted poem about living with OCD to Luca Hirst’s reﬂections on coming out as transgender, and Maddy Whitby’s ‘Judaism and Matzo’. Issues such as body image, mental health, sexuality and race were handled with sensitivity and nuance, with appropriate content warnings provided. It’s hard to criticise an event that was organised under such difﬁcult circumstances, however, I would have appreciated if there were more opportunities for audience interaction. Although nothing can compare to the experience of attending live theatre, perhaps incorporating live streams of events or adding a Q&A session to answer audience questions about the topics discussed would have helped to create more of a link with the audience. Overall, Embrace was a bold, inclusive and well organised way to share student creativity in the craziest of circumstances. It was a breath of fresh air to see such creative and informative content on my Facebook feed every day, and I can only hope that this standard of online entertainment can be kept up by societies throughout the year.

Riot Baby Tochi Onyebuchi Tor.com, £15.99 A dystopian narrative exploring police brutality and racial injustice in American whilst also focusing on intimate family relationships, Riot Baby is a novel bursting with a passionate power and one that is destined to spark a ﬁre within its readers.

The Black Flamingo Dean Atta Hodder Children’s Books, £7.99 Covering similar themes of Black, queer identity, Dean Atta’s The Black Flamingo follows Michael as he starts University and becomes involved in the Drag community. Told in verse, this book is beautifully written with equally stunning illustrations making it the kind of book you pick up and ﬁnish in a single sitting.

Forge Press

Music Michael Kiwanuka

Mahalia

Having recently won the prestigious Mercury Prize, Michael Kiwanuka is an artist I believe every music lover in this country should listen to. His music explores many themes, with the most relevant being the nuances and complexities of being a ‘Black Man In A White World’ - a track on Love & Hate (2016). Sonically, his inﬂuences derive from 70s soul which, at a time of division, helped strengthen and champion Black pride and culture. Kiwanuka’s discography is setting a similar precedent in 2020. His music is both informative and empowering, inclusive and enriching. KIWANUKA (2019) includes the song ‘Hero’ which examines racially-charged police brutality. Hearing this song in 2020, proves how history has done nothing but repeat itself. George Floyd was one example out of many. Kiwanuka’s music expresses the pain inherent in the struggle for equality. It acts as a cathartic release, not only for him but for those affected by racial injustice. The unapologetic retro-soul single ‘You Ain’t The Problem’ embraces his identity and provides a hopeful message devoid of self-shame. It is crucial to hear ﬁrst-hand experiences that can empower us to learn more and educate others. Kiwanuka’s music is a true example of the power within music to provide a platform and voice for the marginalised. Sahar Ghadirian

Long-time rising star Mahalia is an alternative R&B singer, raised in Leicestershire, who saw the release of her debut album Love & Compromise in September 2019. Raised by musician’s, Mahalia displayed an aptitude for singing and songwriting from a young age. Signed to a record label at only 13 and having attended Birmingham Ormiston Academy for Dance, she was recognised as one to watch. In 2015 she appeared on ‘We the Generation’ with Rudimental, her second EP ‘Never Change’ following shortly after. Eight years after signing, Mahalia shows us patience is a virtue as her debut album beautifully showcases her distinctive soulful coo, each track is truly unskippable - have a listen and you will want to play it to death. Luckily after you make yourself sick of Love & Compromise, you can move onto her lockdown gift to the world of Isolation Tapes where each track is better than the last. Her latest single with Justin Nozuka, released in the middle of October, reaches a new dreamy level of mellow - check it out and you won’t look back. Bethan Morris

Diversify your playlist with these incredible Black artists With October marking Black History Month, we asked some of our contributors to give us the low down on some Black artists they love, and think deserve your attention.

Koﬁ Stone

Bongeziwe Mabandla I first discovered Bongeziwe Mabandla from a screenshot on actress Florence Pugh’s Instagram story - an odd place to discover the work of a South African folk singer but from first listen I was hooked. His vocals, sung in his native Xhosa, layer beautifully with vibrant percussion and melodic guitar. Although well known in southern Africa and France, Mabandla is woefully under appreciated in the UK. For anyone who is a fan of Bon Iver or Ben Howard, Mabandla is an artist to watch. His latest album, iimini, is a meditation on love and heartbreak that pushes the boundary of folk music, with Mabandla dipping his toes into electronica and soul. Mabandla sings entirely in Xhosa, a language from the Eastern Cape province in South Africa where he was born. When I first listened to Mabandla’s music I had never heard anyone sing in Xhosa before and was instantly mesmerised by how melodic and expressive his vocals are. Bongeziwe Mabandla's music is a joy to listen to and is, without a doubt, the future of folk. Kerry Lindeque

Top: Mahalia (Image: kingArthur_ aus, CC BY 2.0) Stone (Image: Matt Eachus); Middle Right: Michael Kiwanuka (Image: by volume12, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0); Bottom: Bongeziwe Mabandla performing at the Rise and Shine Festival in March 2014 (Image: Vark1, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Kofi Stone has been on the steady rise ever since his debut track ‘Stories In Pyjamas’ back in 2017, garnering the love of fans and fellow musicians of his jazz rap niche along the way, including big names like Ady Suleiman and Loyle Carner. This all culminated in his 2019 debut album Nobody Cares Till' Everyone Does, on which both feature. For anyone who likes their hip-hop to have a narrative, a real meaning behind the words, Stone’s blend of 90s East Coast sound with intimate, heart on sleeve lyricism is one you cannot ignore. His rhymes are often based around his own struggles in life, from abusive stepfathers to untrusting relationships, yet his message is always one that champions opening up and talking about it. What also sets Stone apart is his delivery. It's raw, unrefined and honest, it adds depth to his words and carries a unique emotion I’ve struggled to find amongst other rappers. The beats to his tracks also can’t go a miss. Often minimalist in the approach to his brand of jazz infused hip-hop, the production is hazy and mellow, with occasional harder hitting breaks that provide tracks like ‘Busker Flow’ with the bite they need. Anyways, enough from me, just go listen already. Thomas Hirst

Friday 30 October 2020

Music Can't Put It In The Hands of Faith Stevie Wonder Returning after four years, Wonder's new political single is about BLM protests and voting in America’s election.

Fresh tracks

Somebody Like You The Magiv Gang An ode to friendship after lockdown led to bandmates Kris and Paeris spending their longest time apart since age eight.

Hold On H.E.R The 23-year-old latest single is about the pain of being unable to let go of a broken relationship.

Album reviews

“

The release's success is a testament to the band's seven-plus years in the industry

The Vamps

Cherry Blossom

Beabadoobee Fake it Flowers

Beabadoobee, also known as Bea Kristi, gained momentum earlier this year when her song ‘Coffee’ was sampled in rap track ‘Death Bed’, a track that circulated on TikTok and became a staple lockdown song. This was the perfect timing for the London singer to grace us with her debut album, Fake it Flowers, released via Dirty Hit, a label who supply frequent indie classics such as The 1975 and Wolf Alice. Fake it Flowers is full of soft vocals and 90s alt-rock vibes, like it was pulled straight from a Y2K comingof-age ﬁlm soundtrack. The opening trio, ‘Care’, ‘Worth It’ and ‘Dye It Red’ are the most similar to Kristi’s EP’s; soft vocals and plucky guitar riffs, yet more polished than her previous work. However, some of the tracks take a heavier, more 90s rock approach; ‘Sorry’ could easily have

“

A soft and sincere indie record, with openly personal lyrics that cut to the heart of our damaged psyches

been borrowed from a Smashing Pumpkins album. Kristi is inspired by outer space in tracks ‘Back to Mars’ and ‘Horen Sarrison’ which expand on the intergalactic theme present in her previous singles ‘Space Cadet’ and ‘The Moon Song’. The album also centres around heavier subjects such as mental health and childhood trauma, such as on “Care” which elaborates on the sore subject of overcoming trauma in its angsty lyrics: “I don’t want your sympathy, stop saying that you give a shit”. ‘Charlie Brown’ is a self-harm confession which opens with admitting “I’m back on old habits” over a grungy beat, all before the repeated wails of “throw it away” in the track's punchy chorus. The vulnerability Kristi feels also trickles through in the the lyrics to ‘Yoshimi, Forest, Magdalene’, a track aptly named after Kristi’s future children, which sees the singer open up about relationships: “I'm scared he's gonna leave me / Cause when I'm mad, I get pretty scary”. As the soft, exposed track edges into its bridge, it is reminiscent of Wolf Alice with heavier drums, cymbal crashes and screaming vocals. Overall, Fake it Flowers is a soft and sincere indie record, with openly personal lyrics that cut to the heart of our damaged psyches a polished version of her earlier EP’s and a great debut album. Ella Craig

Two years since their last album, The Vamps return re-energized and reborn with Cherry Blossom. For their fifth release, the foursome have revamped their sound, showing a newfound depth and musicality. Inspired by a trip to Japan last year, the foursome have explained how the cherry blossom represents rebirth and renewal, an appropriate concept for this moment in their career. The album itself exudes confidence, and these new tracks exemplify their evolution since their fresh-faced debut in 2013. On Cherry Blossom, The Vamps have gravitated towards a grungier, more electronic form of pop. Bassheavy single ‘Married in Vegas’ was fans’ first taste of this new sound and was met with positive reviews, taking home Radio 1’s Song of the Week. Its catchy piano riff and punchy drums set high expectations for the album’s release with its new alternative sound. Yet, the other tracks don’t quite live up to the energy and excitement encapsulated in this first single, with ‘Married in Vegas’ remaining the stand-out highlight of the album. Maintaining its emotional depth throughout, the album creates both highs and lows. The addition of more sombre tracks ‘Protocol’ and ‘Treading Water’ provides a contrast to the upbeat energy seen elsewhere. ‘Part Of Me’ and ‘Nothing But You’ feature riffs reminiscent of The 1975, showcasing the band’s new experimental sound and creating an energetic and upbeat vibe. From the anthemic ‘Intro’ that melts into ‘Glory Days’ - a track which celebrates the importance of living in the moment - to the emotional ending track ‘Treading Water,’ this is clearly a personal

project for the band. For the ﬁrst time in their careers, the album is largely self-written and produced. In an interview with the Ofﬁcial Charts, the band expressed how they felt they’d been on a ‘conveyor belt’ of releasing music and touring, and feared burning out. The record is undoubtedly important to them, and their personal involvement in its creation gives a refreshing sense of authenticity and maturity. The release's success is a testament to the band’s sevenplus years in the industry. From the accompanying photography, music videos and concept visuals, to the self-production and tracks themselves, Cherry Blossom is only the start of an exciting new era for the band. Eliza Palumbo

Slow Readers Club 91 Days in Isolation

Slow Readers Club just don’t seem to stop do they? Following their Top 10 record, Joy of the Return, at the start of the year, I wasn’t expecting anything from them for a while. But, that was before the world kinda went to shit. The pandemic has been hard on everyone. The cacophony of emotions we’ve all had to navigate has been stressful at the best of times. Yet, the way in which 91 Days in Isolation not only encapsulates this struggle, but embodies the atmosphere of a nation, is truly remarkable. From its tender

introspection to its simmering rage, its celebratory highs to its anxious foundations. The record is a triumph, truly a product of its time, and the best SRC have released since their breakthrough Cavalcade. The immediacy of opening track ‘Barricades’ may come as a surprise to seasoned fans, but it’s pulsating rhythm offers mirrored chaos to Aaron’s Starkie’s contemplations on the state of the world, undoubtedly carving the avenues for the later experimentation on the record. Subsequent track ‘Everything I Own’ is a plaintive ode to love lost. Sonically explorative in its middle eastern embellishments, yet uneasy in the emptiness brought by a lack of a massive trademark chorus. It means the track breaths out a ruminating air, one that will resonate with all those who have lost someone recently. Other than this, lead single ‘Yet Again’ is a hypnotic spiral, reminiscent of the repetition of lockdown. Its refrain of “Yet again (x5), no you never move a muscle, are you ever gonna listen, listen,” will be all too accurate for some. Another spotlight on the album is ‘Two Minutes Hate’, a song based upon the two minute release of rage citizens are allowed in George Orwell’s 1984. It relates to our self constructed echo chambers on social media, and how certain people thrive off sewing division and hatred, enticing others to defend their views and, in turn, become part of the problem. To pen any album this good is an achievement, but to do so remotely, and to piece it together through a computer screen is mesmeric. 91 Days in Isolation is a new direction, but one that’s intrinsically linked to the state of the world, and one that exempliﬁes the talent of Manchester's cult heroes. Thomas Hirst

“

The track breaths out a ruminating air, one that will resonate with all those who have lost someone recently

Forge Press

Music Thomas Hirst Doncaster natives Children of the State are a band on an anarchic rise, their brooding brand of low tempo punk garnering them a main stage slot at Tramlines, one that unfortunately did not come into fruition given the state of things. Yet, being conﬁned to their homes has not caused a block in Children of the States’ snowballing pipeline, instead they have continued full force with new single ‘Hot Money’ plucked from the upcoming EP Tragic Carpet and the Magical Wasp Gang of Notre Dame (what a name), and to mark the next step in the band's story, we caught up with members Nathan Keeble, Connor O’Reilly and Corey Clifton. “I think it's important not to let people forget about you, so if we could possibly release music then we had to,” says Keeble, deliberating the past few months. The band, like so many others, have been in a sticky place since their biggest tour got cancelled, on top of the home town Tramlines spot, but the band all spent their time writing and experimenting. “We must’ve got like 10 new songs or so out of lockdown”, he continues. “I think musically we’ve

Interview Children of the State break down their latest single 'Hot Money' progressed; in a way [lockdown] worked in our favour. As soon as we were able to get back in the practice room it was like a new lease of life that we wouldn’t have had if we were just still constantly gigging. It made us all excited again to get back together and test out these new songs.” Of these new tracks the latest to grace the airwaves has been ‘Hot Money’, a track which signiﬁes a heavier direction for the band sonically. Its distorted cries and the menacing rumble of the bass make it sound devilish and uneasy. “We wanted to make it like a weird voodoo sort of track in the feel of it” Clifton comments. “It's quite tribal as well, the rhythm. With the vibrato, guitar effects and drumming pattern that have been used, it’s like tribal chanting, almost like an evil spirit breathing.” On the ﬂip side of the scolding

coin, Keeble expands on the track's lyrical content, and the unlikely place they came from - an economics book. “It was called Freakonomics, and there was a determiner in there called hot money and I thought it sounded really funny, kinda sexy, but its such a boring concept, I thought it was a nice juxtaposition, so I put together some seductive lyrics around this one concept and how money is like the science of the world.” ‘Hot Money’ seems to be one the band are just as excited to play live, whenever that may be, as the tracks darker tone “adds another element to the live shows”. With all three of them agreeing how fun the track is to play, you could see the growing appetite they have for tracks of a similarly heavy nature; “it's new territory for us, but I think we’d like to go in that direction”. Ian Skelly of The Coral returned on the production side, after

working on previous single ‘Big Sur.’ Yet again he had quite a big impact with the working of the track. “He was the one who had the idea of it being like voodoo, like a straight beat” O’Reilly explains. As a result, the track changed quite a bit from its original state, and all the band agreed it was for the better. “The riff came from nowhere really, but it changed the whole song, suddenly we knew exactly what we wanted to do with it” Keeble noted. Skelly has also made a psychedelic animation to go alongside the single. Children of the State are deﬁnitely a unique band, one trying to curate

Interview

Black Honey discuss their new album, inspirational women and enjoying the little things Ella Craig After the announcement of Black Honey’s second album, Written and Directed by Black Honey, Forge Press’s Ella Craig caught up with frontwoman Izzy B Phillips to talk lockdown, inspirational women and, of course, the new record. Written and Directed is inspired by the Brighton band Black Honey’s love for films by the American director, Quentin Tarantino. “What we wanted to achieve with it was that it would fit in any of the Tarantino movies but also have really strong female protagonists that are complicated and intricate. With each song we thought about which movie scene it would fit into and that’s how we figured the album out,” says frontwoman Izzy B

Phillips. The four-piece teased the announcement with the release of the single ‘Run for Cover’, a ﬁerce, bass heavy track that would indeed ﬁt a Tarantino movie soundtrack. Although the new album focuses on powerful women, Philips didn’t have many female musical heroes growing up: “I thought I invented the idea of it.” Although, she later discovered artists such as Debbie Harry, Patti Smith and The Kills and realised that she wanted to be a musician. “I guess my heroes were all men; Kurt Kobain and Jack White were the people who I wanted to be. But now, I'm like, holy shit, Nancy Sinatra is punk rock as fuck and there are so many cool, new artists and rock chick bad bitches in the

different relms of music.” When asked about her highlight of the six years she has spent fronting Black Honey, Philips recalls all the big moments that ‘feel like a scene out of a movie’, from festival slots at Glastonbury, supporting Royal Blood and their self-titled ﬁrst album reaching the Top 40. However, she also enjoys the small

things and ‘all the other shit that comes with being in a band’. She says: “I love meeting other bands and getting drunk with them, feeling invincible and living your best life. It's so powerful to be that happy and to get to celebrate with your friends.” Due to going into lockdown and the coronavirus’ impact on the

their own soundscape, and on the most part succeeding. Their new EP, Tragic Carpet and the Magical Wasp Gang of Notre Dame, a name I’ve been advised not to look too deep into, is out later this year, and if its content is of the same quality of what’s been released so far, it's bound to be a hit. Keeble ﬁnishes by saying, “We’re gonna release this EP and hopefully have some new fans by the time we can gig again, but you can’t not do anything because people lose interest, we’ve had all this time so it's good to have something to show from it.”

music industry, Black Honey had summer gigs, an October tour and a potential January arena tour all cancelled. However, after constantly touring since they formed in 2014 and becoming accustomed to the lifestyle of “hardwork and early mornings” that comes with being on the road, Philips felt relieved to have a break. The singer notes, “I think I really enjoyed the time to reflect and work on myself a little bit. Going back in, I'm obviously gonna love it and I'm so ready for that but at the same time this is the only point in my life where I'm literally gonna be in one place for this long. So I've just gotta enjoy it and make the most of it.” Looking forward, Philips can’t wait to eventually get back on the road and seemed impatient for the album’s release in January. She says: “I don't like the feeling that I'm holding onto this completely finished thing for so long because it looks like I've done nothing. “Which technically I have; I’ve done nothing since February. But now that it's been announced to the world, I can process it and move on to my next creative adventure.” Written and Directed by Black Honey drops on 29 January 2021 via Foxfive Records. Pre-order it at Blackhoneyuk.co.uk

Friday 30 October 2020

Screen

The Makings of Mildred: where Ratched went wrong

Credit: TheMovieDB

he eagle-eyed amongst you may have realised that Netflix’s Ratched is a prequel series that follows the story of the iconic nurse of the same name. Mildred Ratched has been

the audience via the medium of a chilling puppet show. This scene is particularly poignant because watching Ratched tremble throughout a show that children all around her are enjoying, signifies how her childhood was stolen from her. Having said this, the exact same backstory is re-told later in the series which not only makes for a

and although it could be argued that the formidable nurse wasn’t always as we see her depicted in the film, Kesey himself has previously described her as a ‘machine’. The author on the other hand, has since spoken of how during his search for the perfect actress to portray the nurse, he realised it would be more effective if Ratched herself didn’t

and visuals do make it very pleasing on the eye. Intertextuality is also a common theme for Murphy in most of his work. In Ratched alone there is a Bonnie and Clyde feel to the relationship between Dolly and Edmund, a Green Mile-esque execution that unfortunately takes place, and of course, the air

convincingly, it is easy to see why some viewers are complaining about the gaudy nature and insensitivity of her character. Ratched does not portray an honest or respectful depiction of mental illnesses and, for that reason, is definitely more catered to Murphy’s natural style. With season two having already been confirmed by Netflix, let’s hope

an infamous villain on page and screen since Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was published in 1962. Just over a decade later, the tale was reimagined by Miloš Forman in his 1975 adaptation where we got to watch the portrayal of ‘Big Nurse’ (Louise Fletcher) on screen for the first time. Psychological manipulation paired with the threat of various procedures and her arguably hornlike hairstyle resulted in one of cinema’s most loathed characters. Netflix’s new series, however, sees Ryan Murphy and Sarah Paulson explore a younger Ratched that, unfortunately, doesn’t quite hit the mark. The more tragic side of the nurse’s backstory is one of the more creative things to come out of this series, as Murphy decides to play Ratched’s trauma out for

repetitive watch, but also wastes time that could’ve been used to progress the plot. The problem with prequels is that we already know where the characters are supposed to end up and despite this, one can barely imagine Paulson’s Ratched turning into Fletcher’s. That being said, Paulson’s Ratched is still without a doubt manipulative. She is a force to be reckoned with and is relentless when applying for a job at the institution that is the backdrop for most of the series, even breaking many rules in the process. This creates another contrasting dynamic to Fletcher’s Ratched due to her famously being a stickler for the rules. Nevertheless, Paulson delivers a convincing performance (as always) but this just adds to the problem; her interpretation is too emotional,

know that she was evil, yet instead merely believed that she was helping people. This is one of the few correlations between the two pieces of work as every decision Ratched makes in this series is done with the belief that she is helping someone; whether that be an escaped convict or desperate soldier in pain. Another plot point that is followed through is the lobotomy. It’s interesting to see an action that is so pivotal to the plot of the film being included in the prequel through the audience viewing how Ratched was first introduced to the procedure. Aside from this detail, there isn’t much to please fans of the original as, quite frankly, Ratched would’ve been just as successful if not better as a stand alone series rather than a prequel. The cast, while predictable, all do a great job of delivering such varied roles and the set, wardrobe

of ‘American Horror Story’ that Murphy seems to have a habit of leaving behind on all his work is undoubtedly obvious. This isn’t helped by the fact that, whilst they are all good choices for their characters, the number of AHS cast members who are actually in Ratched makes it difficult for the viewer to separate the two from the very start! Sophie Okonedo plays a patient with multiple personality disorder and whilst she does this

it takes a more convincing turn as we continue to follow the story of Mildred Ratched. If you are a fan of American Horror Story you’ll love this, however if you’re looking for a prequel to the much loved movie that explores the many problems with institutions and power, unfortunately you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Kerry Violet

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The cast all do a great job of delivering such varied roles and the set, wardrobe and visuals do make it very pleasing on the eye.

Forge Press

Screen Credit: Channel 4

TV Review

Black, British and Funny Keziah Spaine Mo Gilligan’s Channel 4 documentary Black, British and Funny highlights the lack of opportunities and exposure Black comedians face in the industry, reflecting a pattern of institutional racism taking place throughout the arts, as well as in other industries. Gilligan speaks to professional comedians that have made it to the top of the Black comedy circuit, but are repeatedly turned down or ignored by mainstream comedy programmes and TV channels. What is great about this documentary is that structural racism is explored microcosmically by focusing on the comedy industry, but Black and brown viewers everywhere will be familiar with the glass ceiling that prevents people of colour making it to the top of their field, despite their talent or popularity. The most eye-opening part of

the documentary comes at the beginning, when Gilligan is talking to Slim, a comedian who was huge on the Black comedy scene and had performed around the comedy circuit successfully for years. No matter how successful his shows were, he was never asked to go on a comedy panel or mainstream stand-up show. This highlights the attitudes of television and film companies, that, at the end of the day, exist not to entertain, but to make money. For some reason, these companies either think that Black comedians aren’t profitable, or that a limit on the number of Black comedians they platform needs to be put in place in order for the show to be a success. The same goes for other comedians Gilligan talks to, including Michael Dapaah, who became famous when he first performed as the character Big Shaq. Again, he is a young Black

comedian with a massive following and social media platform, but he too is unable to penetrate the Black comedy industry. One part of the documentary that I had mixed feelings towards was Gilligan constantly referring to imaginary white viewers who might be hostile towards the issues he raises. On the one hand, it felt apologetic, and I find it uncomfortable when Black activists and entertainers feel it is their job to get people with racist opinions on side. On the other hand, communication with people that haven’t accepted institutional and everyday racism as a fact of some people’s lives need to be educated somehow. The documentary is very funny, engaging, easy to understand and inspiring. I do feel, however, feel that it coddled and tried to wrap viewers in cotton wool by not naming the elephant in the room: institutional racism. These comedians live under a glass ceiling because they are Black and because their industry, like so many others, is racist. The question of how we fix it isn’t addressed. Do Black comedians just keep trying to break into the industry until one or two become successful? This tactic seems to have failed so far. The people that wield power and seek to

profit from these industries need to be held accountable and confronted with the fact the structures they maintain are racist. One successful

these side-stories were added. This is disappointing after The Haunting of Hill House was such a great success, a truly captivating and terrifying series. Bly Manor is bleak in comparison. It has the bare minimum of jump scares yet doesn’t create enough tension or frightening moments to be a compelling watch - making it a completely different approach to its predecessor. The Haunting of Bly Manor plays on the mental health issues and trauma of its characters. For example, the trauma in Dani’s past is vilified to be the reason for the haunted things going on in her life. This is not the case, she is just suffering with mental health issues as a result. Whether the show’s creators believe that Dani’s panic attacks and paranoia raise awareness of mental health or if they are just following the questionable trend of it becoming a convention in the horror genre is not clear, but it was not necessary to vilify her trauma. On top of this, the toxic relationship between Rebecca, the children’s previous nanny, and Peter

is romanticised; their blind love for each other leading to their deaths. The only positive thing about this series is the slight LGBTQ+ representation as a few of the characters, not to spoil one of the many storylines, are gay. I wish I could say that The Haunting of Bly Manor is “perfectly splendid” - Flora’s rather annoying catchphrase - but its confusing plotlines, never-ending character list and lack of scares leave this series below-par for a horror; especially one with a great first season.

Black comedian doesn’t change a racist comedy industry, even if he does manage to get his own documentary.

TV Review

The Haunting of Bly Manor Ella Craig The Haunting of Bly Manor had great potential as an anthology series following The Haunting of Hill House from 2018. Yet, viewers are left confused rather than scared. Set in 1987 and loosely based on Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, The Haunting of Bly Manor follows a young American, Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti), escaping a troubled secret in her past - taking a job offer as an au pair to two recently orphaned children at their ancestral, gothic-mansion home in the fictional English town of Bly. Dani is greeted by friendly staff - the housekeeper, gardener and the cook - and soon learns about the death of the previous au pair, Rebecca (Tahirah Sharif), and her toxic partner Peter (Oliver Jackson-

Cohen).The first half of the season is slow; the siblings, Flora (Amelie Bea Smith) and Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), are traumatised by their parents death. Dani learns that Miles was expelled from boarding school and that Flora doesn’t want anyone walking around the house at night - all very slow foreshadowing of the haunted happenings that occur in the manor. The biggest downfall of the series is that there are just too many characters, and so too many side stories to tell. While you could argue that the series has great character development and all these secondary accounts are supposed to add background to the main plot, all it does is pile on storyline after storyline until it is confusing what the point even is. That said, the primary narrative is dull with minimal action, so it’s clear why all

Credit: TheMovieDB

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The biggest downfall of the series is that there are just too many characters, and so too many side stories to tell

Friday 30 October 2020

Screen Alison Hammond: Back to School ITV Follow one of the nations favourite tv personalities as she travels around Britain to delve into its Black history.

Fresh episodes

Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson BBC Two Samuel L Jackson follows the transatlantic slave trade, focusing on the side of the story that isn’t usually told.

Hair Power: Me and My Afro Channel 4 A look at how Afro textured hair has shaped the lives of men and women around Britain.

Film Review

Saint Maud Flo Cornall

aint Maud is a psychological horror exploring the intersection of religion and mental health with a sharp eye to social observation. It is a film that explores limitations in a fittingly restrained manner. At a tight 84-minutes running time, the film packs in all the striking qualities for your pre-Halloween fix whilst introducing a striking debut from writer-director Rose Glass. Maud (Morfydd Clark) is an introverted nurse who takes the career move from the public to private sector, who also happens to hear saintly callings from a divine entity. The film traces the crumb trail of signs that Maud follows on the path to sainthood. Maud’s ambition is not solely aligned with saving lives - to reach her destination she must save a soul. Maud’s new terminally ill patient is her target, the former celebrated dancer Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), who has the bravado personality and razor-sharp tongue to match her extravagant house at the top of a hill, as well as a wealth of loneliness to accompany it all. It’s safe to say the plot is a lot more complex than someone’s fall from grace leading to somebody else’s rise to grace. It’s a painting of two women dealing with their loneliness in completely different fashions. Clark’s performance as the tight-lipped and devoted Maud is marvelously unnerving, always seeming on the cusp of a revelation or complete undoing. Her portrayal of loneliness was particularly poignant, and whilst it might seem like a descent to madness for some, it actually becomes something quite pitiful - Maud not knowing her purpose, or who to communicate with. In itself, this makes Clark’s troubled and obsessive character all the more concerning as the film progresses, she carries a guilt in her character that is difficult to dissect. That is, without Glass’ sharp direction. Despite the film taking on Maud’s warped perspective of

the world, Glass steps in and out of Maud’s lense to observe public perception and critiques from the outside-in. The production design, art direction and set decoration are crafted meticulously by Paula Rzeszowska, Isobel Dunhill and Anna Mould respectively. The sets explore how one inhabits a space. From Maud’s crammed basement studio flat in muted neutral tones that fights anyone (except Maud) who enters, to Amanda’s excess of space in her dark grand multi-story home that welcomes parties full of guests. The sets are reflective of Maud’s state of mind, highlighting how loneliness can inhabit a body in the busiest of bars to the emptiest of bedrooms. Costume design by Tina Kalivas is superb, in particular Maud’s signature saint-like costume that consumes her entirely - a costume that seals Maud as a distinctively recognisable character for many years ahead, the symbolism of the costume is reminiscent of Carrie (1976). In many ways Saint Maud seems to be on edge, not only in the uncomfortableness of slowly peeling a scab or Maud’s near orgasmic moments of divine communication, but in unleashing something bigger. The builded suspense is edited in flashbacks and nail-bitingly slow scenes by Mark Towns. However, sometimes the build ups wither out which makes the constant expectation for something to happen seem like a missed opportunity to provide greater clarification to the plot. Saint Maud is not a film purely reliant on packing in gruesome depictions and jump scares, even though those few parts are unbearingly squeamish at times. Against all the teeth-gritting glimpses of gore, Glass manifests Saint Maud into a frightening film because it focuses on what is within, a torrent of something so unknown that no one knows what power it holds. Glass’ ambitious and powerful debut blends both psychological and body horror, spiralling into an entirely original depiction of the limitations of the body, mind and self.

Image credit: Top (in order): ITV, BBC, Channel 4 Review images: TheMovieDB

Forge Press

Games

A shift to removable media: modern gaming’s forgotten founding father To celebrate Black History Month, Games Editor Joe Warner tells the story of Gerald Anderson Lawson (known to most as Jerry) - one of gaming’s sadly overshadowed pioneers, whose contributions to the industry in the 1970s have shaped the way we all enjoy video games today.

erry Lawson is truly one of gaming’s largely forgotten greats. Most people, even those claiming to be gaming history enthusiasts, have never even heard of Lawson- until recently, he’s remained an unsung hero compared to other important figures in the games development sphere, despite being credited as the inventor of the game cartridge, an integral first step in moving gaming towards removable media, which many of us continue to buy for our systems to this day. Jerry Lawson was born on 1 December 1940, and grew up in Queens, New York, loving science, like both his father and grandfather before him. His grandfather wanted to pursue a career as a physicist and had been trained in the field, but was ultimately blocked due to being Black, which meant he could only get a job at the post office. Jerry’s father chose to be a longshoreman, but encouraged Jerry to experiment with science growing up. One Christmas as a child, Jerry wanted a toy laboratory, but his mother couldn’t afford it at the time, so instead bought him a radio receiver, inadvertently kickstarting his fascination for not just all things engineering, but also HAM radios. While in high school, he would frequent electronics stores, and over the course of several months gathered a myriad of components, until he was able to build a fully functioning radio station, transmitting right from his bedroom. Lawson continued to pursue his passions through adulthood, going on to study Electronics at both Queen’s College and City College of New York. He then worked on several projects for the US Military before becoming a freelancer at Fairchild Semiconductor, who were known for working on the Apollo space missions. Fairchild seemed an unlikely fit for a video game company, at least for now. Thanks to a company called Syzygy (who would later become Atari), the potential of arcade games

had generated a lot of hype after the release of Pong, and after helping them out with some issues they’d been having with one of their games, Jerry decided he was going to create his own video game; no easy feat. Demolition Derby was Jerry’s ﬁrst contribution to the world of video games, and it turned some heads - the design of the arcade machine was rather striking, with two steering wheel controls to be used by multiple players, each with a ‘gear shift’ (most games that were around at the time were just knockoffs of Pong). The game would go on to be a relative success; enough to grab the attention of Fairchild, who approached him with a proposition. Fairchild had decided that they wanted to get into producing their own video games, and were working with a company called Alpex. Impressed by Jerry’s success with Demolition Derby, Fairchild consulted him (on the down low) to ask if a game that Alpex had could also work on the processors that Fairchild designed. During this, Jerry pitched a prototype video game console to the Vice President of Fairchild. Impressed with his work, he allocated Jerry a budget and a team to produce the Fairchild Channel F and two engineers at Alpex, Wallace Kirshner and Lawrence Haskel, had a nifty idea about using removable plastic cartridges to house the games. Jerry and his team turned the

technology into a reality, and the Fairchild Channel F was released in North America in November 1976 the very first consumer video game console to use interchangeable game cartridges. Previously, games had been hardwired into game consoles, meaning that if you wanted to play a new game that wasn’t already built into the system you owned, you had to buy a whole new console to do it. Jerry’s breakthrough made waves, inspiring consoles such as the Atari 2600, released just a year later, along with a plethora of other subsequently released consoles to use game cartridges. The Channel F has been credited as the first console to have a ‘pause’ function, and the first console to support ‘player vs computer’ games. Unfortunately, despite its cutting edge technology, the system didn’t sell well due to its hefty price tag ($169.95, equivalent to $763.58 in 2019), and being overshadowed by its competitors (especially the Atari 2600, released one year later), leaving it to fade into relative obscurity. Jerry went on to form his own company, Videosoft, and made a number of games for the Atari 2600. Though Jerry Lawson never officially retired, he would ‘leave’ the video game industry in 1984 during the North American Video Game Crash, but continued to work as a consultant. Jerry’s story remained relatively unknown until he was spotted at Vintage Computer Festival 9.0 by

Journalist and Tech Historian Benj Edwards, who saw Jerry buying a copy of Color Bar Generator from an Atari game reseller. Edwards had read about Lawson in an issue of Popular Computing, but couldn’t verify at the time whether or not he had just met him, until learning that Lawson was attending the event to deliver a presentation titled “The Story of the Fairchild Channel F Video Game System.” After the event, Edwards got in touch with Lawson and interviewed him over the phone in 2009, before publishing it on his website. In this interview with Edwards, Jerry revealed one example of racial discrimination he had experienced in his career: “I’ve had instances where I’ve walked into places where they didn’t know I was Black. Not that the guy was a racist, but a guy named John Ellis, who was one of the Atari people. And he looked kind of strange. I said, “What’s the matter with you, John?” He said, “I’ve always known you as Jerry Lawson. I didn’t know you were the same video game guy Jerry Lawson — I didn’t know you were Black!” I said, “Well I don’t go around telling everybody I’m Black.” I just do my job, you know?” Edwards’ article eventually got the attention of Joseph Saulter, Chairperson of the International Game Developers Association’s (IGDA) Diversity Advisory Board, who left a comment online in 2011: “The moment I found this article I began to cry. I was overwhelmed

Credit: Top: Wikimedia user ‘OU133’ (edited) with a gratitude and respect. Yet dismayed by the unjustified omission of Jerry Lawson from the History of our incredible industry,” he said. “Not once did I hear about Jerry. He is a true treasure to all in the video game industry.” Two weeks later, Jerry was honoured by the IGDA, finally being recognised for his role as a pioneer in the video game industry. Just one month later, on April 9, 2011, at the age of 70, Jerry sadly passed away. Posthumously, Jerry received the ID@Xbox Gaming Heroes award in 2019 for designing the first cartridge based game console, and the IGDA founded the Jerry Lawson Award for Achievement in Game Development to celebrate the accomplishments of under-represented minorities working within the game development sphere. Jerry’s ingenuity to develop game cartridge technology paved the way for future consoles, which all still use variations of removable media to this day; Nintendo’s current generation console, the Switch, still uses cartridges to house its games, despite being released 40 years after the Channel F. After having such an influence on the video game industry, it’s only right that Jerry Lawson gets the recognition he deserves.

Friday 30 October 2020

Games

Fresh games

Pokémon Sw/Sh: The Crown Tundra Switch Explore a vast, frozen landscape and discover both old and new Pokémon in Part Two of the expansion pass!

Watch Dogs: Legion PC; PS4; XBO; Stadia; later; XBX/S, PS5 Build the perfect crew and play as a hacktivist to take back a near-future London on the brink of collapse.

Ghostrunner PC;PS4; XBO; Switch; later; XBX/S, PS5 Run, jump, grapple, dash and slash your way through enemies like a ninja in this

In the spotlight: games by Black developers It’s Black History Month, and what better way is there to celebrate Black game developers than by showcasing some of their games? Games Editor Catherine Lewis has compiled just a few hidden gems that you should check out! Treachery in Beatdown City (available on Switch & PC) Developed and produced by Shawn Alexander Allen, the owner of indie studio Nuchallenger, this retro styled beat-em-up will have you fighting through waves of enemies on a ridiculous quest to save President Orama, who has been kidnapped by Ninja Dragon Terrorists. No, that isn’t a typo. On your crazy journey to bring back Orama, you’ll have to deal with a whole host of unpleasant people, from the ninja terrorists themselves, to entitled joggers. This game sees turn based fighting meet real time combat, inventing an innovative new take on the beat-em-up genre. Each of the three playable characters have completely different fighting styles, and you can build custom combos to mow down the dozens of unique enemies; no two fights are

the same. To top it off, you can do all this while bopping along to the catchy chiptune OST. Developer, Shawn, has over 13 years experience working in the world of games, from working on huge AAA titles to smaller projects, and even ﬁve years at Rockstar Games where he worked on game trailers. Tiny Bird Garden Deluxe (available on PC & Mac) Is your life in need of an abundance of tiny colourful birds? Well have I got the game for you! Developed by husband and wife team Daisy Ein and Zap Layden of Super Retro Duck, Tiny Bird Garden Deluxe is ﬁlled with bird puns, birds to take care of, hats to put on the birds, and even a bird that looks like a banana. Each bird has different friendship requirements, so in order to befriend all of them,

you’ll have to figure out what makes each one tick. As well as customising your garden and earning your feathered friends’ love, there are mini games to play, and even a visual novel story mode to sink your beak into if putting hats on your birds wasn’t enough for you (I don’t know why this would be the case). The art style in this game is adorable and positively oozing with charm, so if you’re in need of a cute and simple game to relax with, this one absolutely has you covered. Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan (available on PC) This fast-paced action RPG, brought to you by the first game studio in Cameroon (Kiro’o Games) will have you seeking answers to the question: ‘what is the purpose of mankind?’. As the newly crowned king, you’ll explore the hand drawn, African inspired world of Aurioma, fighting through dozens of enemies and tough bosses along the way to find out who you really are. The real time battles take place in a 2D format, and almost feel a bit like Street Fighter, except in this game you have the

ability to summon your queen in battle. What a power couple. The music and sound design is a treat, combining traditional African music with more modern synths. The fantastical story does a wonderful job of incorporating African

culture throughout, and has been praised for its twists and storytelling by reviewers since its release. If you haven’t heard of it, be sure to check it out on Steam. Super Ubie Island REMIX (available on PC) In this adorable Mario-inspired platformer, you’ll play as Ubie, a cute slime, alien, creature, thing (?) who must defeat Dr Terrestrial, repair his ship, and escape Climate Island. There are four unique worlds, with plenty of secrets, hidden items, levels and characters to find. Visually, this game is an absolute treat, with bright colours and a cheery cartoony style which to me feel reminiscent of Yoshi’s Island. The upbeat, catchy music fits this vibe absolutely perfectly, and as Ubie traverses the various levels on a journey with a smile on his face, you simply can’t help but smile too. It’s simple, charming, but overall a really fun time. Developer Andrew Augustin, the founder of Notion Games, also worked on The Sims 3: Pets, where he designed over 400 characters! Super Weekend Mode (available on Switch, PS4, XBO, PC and Mac) In this cutesy arcade-style game, you play as a princess on a mission to recover her stolen possessions from “that guy”. On her journey through the labyrinths of despair, bad guys need to be shot and bunnies must be crushed. The gameplay is centred around three buttons, which may sound simple, but is incredibly addictive and difficult to master. Think of what would happen if a shooter game had a baby with Guitar Hero, and Super Weekend

Mode is probably what that would look like. You’ll need to get those attack patterns burned into your muscle memory if you want to master this. The art style is incredibly charming and the music is equally as pleasant; and for the incredibly cheap price tag (only £2.09 on Steam) if any of the above appeals to you, it’s absolutely worth checking out! The solo developer PixelTeriyaki has made other games too (Radio Squid and Mochi Mochi Boy!) with more in the works. Hair Nah (play at hairnah.com) Hair Nah is a simple online game about a Black woman called Aeva who’s fed up with people touching her hair. The game, made by Black female developer Momo Pixel, went viral when it released back in 2017 after resonating with many other women of colour who’d had the same experiences of strangers feeling entitled to touch their hair. The pixel art style of the game is beautifully crafted, featuring loads of gorgeous different hairstyles to pick from too (some other games that offer character customisation should take note…) Get ready to swat those invasive hands away from your locks so you can enjoy your travels undisturbed!

Credit: Top: Notion Games Bottom: Kiro’o Games

Forge Press

Games

Review

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Callum Brown Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 is the deﬁnitive skateboarding game. That’s all there is to it and you should go play it; however, I should probably explain a bit to justify this written review. Let’s start with how faithful this remake is. This game is technically not 100% faithful to the original two Pro Skater games, but in a good way. The levels are basically the same as the originals except with brand spanking new graphics that look absolutely gorgeous. There’s a few aesthetic changes in some levels, like how the Hangar level from Pro Skater 2 is now modern, clean and a shrine to the series’ original creators, Neversoft, whereas in the original it was abandoned and ﬁlthy. Most importantly though, both games play the same as the

originals, but with a figurative coat of fresh paint. The mission design in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 is faithful to the structure used in the original games, bringing back the classic checklist of seemingly random tasks like jumping over bins, collecting floating letters and earning skill points, all while pulling off massive combos with no story or forced narrative connecting each level together. Fans of the original will love this, as it allows the addictive gameplay of the Tony Hawk games to be the highlight of this game. Where this game differs from the original Pro Skater games is the control scheme. This game’s controls are a mixture of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 and Underground’s style, adding in tricks like reverts and wall plants which were not originally in the first two games. Personally, I see this as a massive improvement to these

incredible games as it gives players even more freedom to pull off hugely complex combos that were simply not possible in the originals, and there’s even an option to change the controls back to the original PlayStation 1 style for the purists. This game also contains all of the original playable skaters such as Chad Muska, Bob Burnquist and of course Tony Hawk himself, alongside new skaters from the younger generation such as Lizzie Armanto, Leticia Bufoni and even Tony’s own son Riley Hawk. There’s a total of 21 skaters to choose from who all have their own set of challenges to beat, but if none of them interest, ‘Create a Skater’ returns for you to create your dream skater, who comes with their own set of unique challenges to beat as well. Alongside the main campaign, called ‘Skate Tours’, there’s also a multiplayer mode, which is fun, but could do with a custom games browser as currently you can only matchmake for random game modes instead of being able to search for or host the speciﬁc mode and map you want to play. There is also the ‘Create a Park’ mode which, if you

couldn’t guess, allows you to create your very own skate park. This mode gives you a surprising amount of freedom with what you build, allowing you to warp half pipes and grind rails into almost any shape you want, and the best part is that you can upload your levels to the cloud, allowing anyone in the world to play your level, giving this game nearly inﬁnite replayability. Finally, I’d like to mention the game’s soundtrack, which is almost perfect. It features most of the original game’s 90s punk soundtrack including fan favourites such as Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Guerrilla Radio’ and Goldﬁnger’s ‘Superman’, which perfectly represent the 90’s skater culture. Where the soundtrack falls short for me though is the inclusion of newer songs such as Stormzy’s ‘Shutdown’, which doesn’t suit the game’s vibe,

and sticks out like a sore thumb. Fortunately, the game allows you to customise the games playlist to remove songs you dislike, and at the end of the day, some players might actually like the 37 new songs added to the game, even if I didn’t. Overall, I believe Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 is the best entry in the series to date. It improves upon the already addictive gameplay of the Tony Hawk games, and perfectly represents skateboarding culture, while maintaining almost inﬁnite replayability. It’s a triumphant return for the series, and I hope developers Vicarious Visions are able to make another Tony Hawk remake of some of the series’ newer games, or perhaps even a completely brand-new Tony Hawk game in the future. Image: Activision

Friday 30 October 2020

Games

Review

Genshin Impact Katerina Vyurkova

f there is anywhere that the current semi-lockdown would make us want to escape to, it would be the fantastical free-to-play realms of Genshin Impact; ﬁlled with medieval-esque folklore, elemental magic and a sprinkling of charismatic anime characters. Although it may sound similar to other RPG games, Genshin Impact represents a gateway from healthy screen time use, to having no boundaries at all. The enchanting open world created by the Chinese developer miHoYo lures players’ imaginations with its smooth gameplay, which explains the 10+ million downloads on the Google Play Store,

Images: miHoYo

remarkably high ratings across all platforms, and one hundred-million dollar grossing since its recent release on 28 September. Your journey begins when in the middle of an adventure with your twin, you get attacked by a powerlusting, silver-haired witch who kidnaps your sibling, leaving you in despair, kick-starting the quest for your biological half. While there is no character customisation, the game progressively allows you to ﬁrst get a taste of and then incorporate into your team the multiple characters that you encounter on your pathway to liberating your twin. Ranging from a ﬂirty librarian, Lisa, who electrocutes any living being that crosses her path, to the mysterious knight Kaeya, who freezes his enemies, they all add layers of

interactivity to a team that’s led by you; an air-bending warrior and a ‘gifted’ local legend that gets to join guilds and knighthoods. Your adventure just would not be complete without the slightly annoying fairy-like sidekick named Paimon, who you get allocated with and is repeatedly referred to as ‘emergency food’. Not only can the player glide through the open skies

with any character, they also get to experience the seven elements that each of the characters instinctively controls: anemo (wind), geo (earth), electro (lighting), dendro (nature), hydro (water), pyro (ﬁre) and cryo (frost). Knowing how to manipulate elemental reactions is the key to establishing your victory in a ﬁght, which is complimented by your ability to swiftly switch between your teammates in a battle and amplify their attacks. This way, no matter how large, every enemy in the game is defeatable. While Genshin Impact is a gacha game, it seems to revolutionise the concept, as you never seem to face the dreadful cash wall that urges

you to possess ‘X’ characters and ‘Y’ weapons to defeat ‘Z’ enemy. Although it encourages you to level up, this can be easily done by exploiting the expansive locations within the game, where every wall is climbable and every herb is collectible, and can be used as an ingredient in a delicious recipe that you follow to create a hearty meal. As you scavenge through the hills and forests, you get to unlock chests containing a variety of useful rewards, make use of elemental magic to solve riddles, chase after floating spirits that lead you to hidden prizes and worship ancient statues. However, this doesn’t come without destroying some ugly-looking Hilichurls, the hairy enemy guards, sloppy slimes that block your path as a pack and other eerie enemies. Despite death always lurking around the corner, the varyingly difficult fights only fuel your appetite for the game. These also appear to be enough to acquire the additional experience points to level up while making your way through the seemingly endless game map, the size of which solely depends on how many locations you have unlocked. Your exploration also grants you Wishes, the central component

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of the gacha system with which you have the chance to pull highly ranked weapons and additional characters. Even then, weapon duplicates are never wasted, as you can invest them into enhancing the already owned identical objects. When the game treats you so fairly, only your own power of will can prevent you from completely abandoning the gloomy Covid reality. If you have never played such a game before and are totally unfamiliar with the RPG system, but at the same time are drawn to anime-styled fantasies, deeply intertwined narrative stories, dragons and history, then this game is for you. While any gacha game contains complicated obstacles that are either related to impossible challenges or cash-grabbing traps, I haven’t yet encountered such situations as a level 20 character in Genshin Impact. My only piece of advice would be to avoid installing this game as a ﬁnal year student, or as a university student at all, because the idea of switching off from the alluring aesthetic of Genshin Impact to enter the assignment-ﬁlled nightmare will quickly begin to revolt you as the time goes on.

If you’re drawn to anime-styled fantasies, deeply intertwined narrative stories, dragons and history, then this is the game for you.

Forge Press

Sport

Sports On Campus

Sport thoughts for equality

Sports Ofﬁcer Matt Graves

Giannis Antetokounmpo vs the Magic. Credit: Jose Garcia, Flickr

2020 US Open Champion, Naomi Osaka. Credit: Rob Prange, Flickr

Wiktoria Wrzyszcz Just a few minutes before the US Open 2020 champion lifts up her sterling silver trophy and smiles at the cameras, she hears this question asked by reporter Tom Rinaldi: “Seven matches, seven masks, seven names. What was the message you wanted to send?” “Well, what was the message that you got?” – responds Naomi Osaka, who throughout the entire tournament has been honouring victims of racial injustice. Before each of her seven matches, she entered the court wearing a mask with the name of one of Black victims of police brutality in the USA. Her masks included the names of: Breonna Taylor, 26, shot dead by police in her own apartment; Elijah McClain, 23, who died as a consequence of a violent encounter with police in Colorado; Ahmaud Arbery, 25, shot to death after being followed by armed white men; Trayvon Martin, a teenager killed by a civilian, whose death helped to set up Black Lives Matter movement; George Floyd, 42, who died in hospital after police ofﬁcer

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I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention

knelt on his neck for over eight minutes; Philando Castile, 32, shot by Minnesota police; and Tamir Rice, 12, killed by police while playing with a toy gun. Osaka’s mask campaign was not the only moment when she spoke up about the racial injustice. A week preceding the US Open, the 23-year-old was supposed to play the Western and Southern Open semi-ﬁnal against Elise Mertens. The match was scheduled for Thursday 27 September 2020 – the day when many US Sports Leagues stopped the competition in protest of the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake. On Wednesday 26 September, Osaka resigned from further competition, tweeting “before I am an athlete, I am a black woman. And as a black woman I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis.” WTA and USTA asked Osaka if she would be willing to play her match on Friday instead. After a lengthy consultation with a player, organisers decided to postpone all the matches in the tournament until Friday. Osaka, who has a Japanese mother and Haitian father, has made many powerful anti-racism statements, not only on the court but also on her social media. She said that she does not expect anything drastic to happen following her actions, but she believes that getting a conversation started in a majority white sport is already a step in the right direction.

Sport thoughts

Harry Harrison People across the globe have shown support for the Black Lives Matter movement and sports leagues everywhere have taken steps to show solidarity and protest against racism in our world. But for me, there’s one league that has led the way. NBA players have never been shy of using their platform and their voices to push important messages concerning equality. This year, even locked away in the covid-secure NBA Orlando bubble, they made sure they were heard. Before the bubble commenced in Disney World Florida, there was global outrage after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minnesota Police. The NBA gave players permission to wear social justice slogans on the backs of their jerseys when play in Orlando began. Teams took to the ﬂoor sporting phrases like “Say their names”, “Justice”, “Black Lives Matter” and “I Can’t Breathe” to name only four. Along with the jerseys, the basketball courts displayed the NBA logo and just three words in big bold letters: “Black Lives Matter”. When the national anthem was played, it was common to see players kneeling. The NBA was showing the world, right on their TV screens and broadcast to millions, that there needs to be change. Then came the horriﬁc shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha,

Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Bucks, also from Wisconsin, were the NBA’s best team. Star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, was on the verge of winning his second straight MVP award. Stuck in the bubble, they couldn’t protest side-by-side with everyone else. So they decided not to play. This was not a pre-planned move from the Bucks. All the players had arrived at the arena to play in their NBA Playoffs first-round game with the Orlando Magic. They decided, without telling NBA executives, their coaches, or their opponents to boycott the game. The Magic actually took to the court and waited for the Bucks, unaware of the behind-the-scenes discussion that had taken place. The game wasn’t played. In the end, all NBA games due to take place at that point were postponed. Some people expected players to “shut up and play”. But players decided that if people won’t listen, they won’t play. A massive, global brand showed everyone that they stood with Black Lives Matter. It makes me so so proud, as a basketball fan, that my sport is speaking up in the fight for equality. However, the fight isn’t over yet as NBA teams are opening their arenas as voting venues in the upcoming US election, and owners have agreed to support and donate to programmes fighting for what’s fair. The fight isn’t over, but basketball is prepared to go to war.

As I seem to end up starting most of these columns off, we continue to live in incredibly complex, fastpaced times. Fascinatingly, sport isn’t exempt from the ever-changing guidelines. But it is. A bit. It still seems to be a constant in our hectic lives. We still see professional sport on TV screens, we still have student sport training sessions, we can still access gyms, all despite tier 3. It’s still playing that vital role of an outlet. It’s still driving student experience, wellbeing and development. British University College Sport (BUCS) has done phenomenal work in lobbying, gaining an exemption for University sport from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). DCMS recognises the importance of sport and physical activity for student wellbeing and that with the correct procedures it can be run safely. It therefore has made University sport exempt from government guidelines, meaning despite tier 3, we are still operating! But it looks a little bit different, and that’s okay. There are still lots of opportunities to get involved in something new, despite it looking a little different. Below are some things you might expect when getting involved: You’ll be required to fill in track & trace forms for all activity you attend You’ll be briefed by a club covid officer on expectations You may not be able to use changing rooms, instead travelling to and from the venue in your kit Contact in contact sports may be minimised Some competitive play may be in smaller groups than others (eg 3v3 rather than 11v11) Ultimately, it’s worth recognising that organised sport is legally the only way you can get involved in face to face social activity, so if you’re at a loose end and wanting something to do, sport has plenty of procedure to ensure you can do something safely. For more information on sporting opportunities, please visit sheffieldsu.com/sportsclubs We’ll get through this incredibly difficult period, and we’ll be all the stronger for having done so.

Friday 30 October 2020

Sport

bblfan, Wikimedia Commons

since we last saw any

Another professional sports league is about to tip-off. The B. Braun Shefﬁeld Sharks are looking to build off of what could be said to be a disappointing season in 2019-20. Finishing joint 5th, with a record of 7-6 when the season was cancelled, the Sharks were not the winning machine some were expecting last year. They bowed out of the BBL Cup in December, beaten 58-81 by the lesser Bristol Flyers at Ponds

barriers Tom Coates In Shefﬁeld United folklore, several goalkeepers are remembered. Some for their heroic endeavours on the pitch, some for their eccentric nature, and some for their weight in the case of William ‘Fatty’ Foulke. One former stopper, however, will

Forge, a disappointing result after topping the North group. They’re looking to bounce back, at least in terms of competitiveness, and during pre-season they have looked really good. They beat the always strong Leicester Riders by four and the widely considered “team to beat” this year, the London Lions, by 23. The Sharks have really mixed up the roster this year. They’ve retained the likes of Mike Tuck, who returns for his 12th season with the team; Guard Mackey McKnight, who was fourth in the league in assists last season and Nick Lewis, a 15 ppg performer. Each of players that have stayed will allow Head Coach Abita Lyons to have a degree of continuity along with the newcomers. These newcomers will add a lot of high quality basketball to the Shefﬁeld squad. BBL Veteran Callum Jones crosses the pennines to join the Sharks from the Manchester Giants, Oscar Baldwin joins from

Sheffield Hallam’s BUCS teams and Americans Kipper Nichols and Antwon Lillard join Sheffield after impressive performances at the University of Illinois and Canadian team Island Storm respectively. All of the Sharks new signings have made good contributions over the pre-season, most notably Nichols, who put on a strong performance against London. Ex-Giants guard Callum Jones will quite possibly have the best impact, of any new signing, for the Sharks this season. It means that for the first time, in what seems forever, Sheffield have actual good depth at the guard spot. Last season, fan favourite Mackey McKnight play most of the minutes at the guard spot, as there wasn’t really a good enough back-up. With the additon of Jones, McKnight will have the opportunity to sit a bit longer and allow Jones to run the team, or Abita Lyons may run a double point-guard backcourt that will be crafty with

how they approach the offence. One of the imports that Sheffield have made has potential to be a BBL star. Antwon Lillard, a secondyear pro, is six-foot-six and a phenomenal scorer. He averaged 15.5 ppg in Canada and shot 43% from the field. As that was his first professional season, it is clear why the Sharks took interest in Lillard and they will be hoping he can immediately get up to speed in the Sharks offence. He could be the teams lead scorer. The biggest player loss this off-season will surely be scoringwing Conor Cashaw. Leading the Sharks in scoring last season (16.4 ppg), Cashaw’s rookie campaign was very strong. It’s no surprise that the Surrey Scorchers took the opportunity to snap him up and it is likely he will play a healthy amount of minutes as the South Eastern outfit look to improve on their ninth place finish in 2019-20. It is a disappointing departure for the

always be remembered for being the ﬁrst Black professional footballer in the world. Arthur Wharton was born in Accra and moved to England to train as a Methodist preacher. He settled in Darlington, and it was in the North East that he began to realise the true extent of his sporting talents. In 1886, he won the Amateur Athletics Association 100-yard race and established himself as the fastest man in Britain. A year later, he set a record time for cycling between Preston and Blackburn. However, football was Wharton’s true calling and he entered the professional game with Darlington. He went on to represent some of

England’s most reputable clubs at the time, including Preston North End and Shefﬁeld United. He overcame the sneers and taunts of racist naysayers to carve out a career in professional football, and also took up professional running between his spells with Darlington and Rotherham. As well as his bravery and footballing prowess, Wharton is fondly remembered for his eccentricity. He was known to regularly crouch beside the post, before leaping into position when a shot was taken. One supporter of Shefﬁeld Wednesday even recalled that he once grabbed hold of the crossbar and caught the ball

between his legs, causing three forwards to fall into the net by doing so. Such was the extent of his sporting talent, Wharton was offered a role in cricket coaching in 1914. He continued playing cricket and running long into his retirement, before passing away in 1930. Wharton helped to pave the way for Black footballers to enter the professional game, and will always be remembered fondly by the sport he overcame such ﬁerce adversity to play. Credit: Neil Theasby, Geograph.org

Sharks as Cashaw showed immense promise and could have been their scorer for the future, but it is possible that Coach Lyons defensefocussed style just wasn’t the perfect fit for the 23-year-old. The wider consensus from BBL fans on social media is that the Sharks will once again be a midpack team. Though I am certain that the players and coaching staff want to push for a strong place come BBL Playoff time, in the hopes they can win their first BBL Playoff Championship since 2016. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the reopening of the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, the Sharks opted to relocate their home venue. They have returned to the English Institute of Sport Sheffield The BBL season gets underway on Friday 30 October.

Forge Press

Sport

opportunities Harry Harrison Many sports clubs at the University of Shefﬁeld are seeing an increase in interest this ﬁrst semester, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. With limited face-to-face teaching and the inability to hold massive in-person socials, sports clubs are having a huge positive impact on student’s wellbeing, as

trials and training sessions allow an opportunity to be active and socialise. Cara Clitheroe, Captain of UoS Women’s Hockey, said: “We are offering something priceless. A covid-safe opportunity to play sport is so invaluable to so many people.” Women’s Hockey has seen a massive jump in the club’s retention rate (number of people who commit to the club compared to the amount

of interest it generates at sports fairs). The six competitive teams that the Women’s hockey team run are already ﬁlled to capacity. Due to covid regulations, a lot of interested hockey players are having to be put on a waiting list. There has been a jump in engagement with the Rowing club. Captain Shaun Colley told Forge Press that the club has already had 35 more people join the club than

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We are offering something priceless. A covid-safe opportunity to play sport is so invaluable to so many people they had last year. This came as a pleasant surprise for the club as Mr Colley said: “We were quite worried about our numbers as we couldn’t just grab people in the Octagon.” The Rowing club’s trials are usually in a nice, cosy room in Goodwin Sports Centre, but due to new rules, the club had to hold them outdoors on the football ﬁelds. Mr Colley said the club was really pleased with the turnout to the trials and that the numbers for both their senior men’s and women’s squads have gone up. Plans for the rest of the year are quite uncertain for the club, but the club committee knows exactly what they want members to get out of their time with them. Mr Colley said: “The main thing that we want people to take away is to enjoy

rowing and to enjoy exercise.” Not all clubs have had a positive trend with their recruitment numbers this year though. The UoS Men’s Rugby League club have fallen short of last year’s numbers. Club media secretary Luke Kerin said: “[Covid19] would have had a big effect because we are not a big sports club and so with the virtual sports fairs it was quite difﬁcult.” Furthermore, trial sessions with the club have been drastically changed. Limited contact is allowed in the sessions in order to keep players safe. However, Mr Kerin was positive with the engagement of the limited freshers they did attract. He said: “ For them, there’s not a lot they can do to go out and meet new people. So they engaged really well.”