Issue 93

Issue 93 Friday 26 February 2016

Jack Garratt’s Album “A refreshing combination of both poetic and soft melodies” MUSIC P35

Mental Health and Wellbeing Features give a guide to mental health and well being at university and while being a student FEATURES P14

The Three Finger Salute Screen look at how the move of BBC 3 to online only will change British television SCREEN P36

Sheffield to hold BUCS for three years Sport get excited about Sheffield snatching BUCS SPORT P48

ERASMUS HORROR: STRANDED IN SPAIN Read more on page 3....

Lisa Latham

YOUR OFFICER CANDIDATES REVEALED

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NEWS

In Brief...

Friday 26 February 2016 | Forge Press

@ForgePress /ForgePress

Trampoline park to create 70 jobs A new trampoline park opening soon in Meadowhall will create 70 local jobs.

Sheffield shoppers will soon be able to bounce on the floors, walls and ceilings to provide respite from vigorous and stressful shopping.

Battle for BNOC title at UoS Editor of Forge Press Polly Winn has been nominated for BNOC of the year in the Tab’s Power List. Winn, a third year History and Sociology student is against with the likes of Naveed, Peggy Lim and Matt Hutchinson.

Burrito business blooms on Glossop The Street Food Chef is opening up a third branch in Sheffield. The company, which began six years ago as an event catering moved into a unit on Glossop Road, close to Sheffield University and the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

family commitments, you’ve got yourself a pretty busy situation.

The extracurricular or ‘wellrounded’ student is something that Universities embrace.

One of the reasons I was so impressed by Sheffield when I first visited on a rainy July day back in 2012, was the amount of things available for students to get involved with.

Why is it then, if universities like ours portray themselves as perfect for well-rounded and multi-talented students, with HEAR records and Graduate Awards, that academic support for these students hasn’t reflected it?

Departments continue to argue that part time jobs don’t count as an excuse for struggling with deadlines, and other commitment clashes aren’t an excuse to fall behind, but what it shows is the lack of awareness in academic institutions that a degree simply isn’t enough any more.

Students now are under more pressure than ever, to not just get a degree (praying for a 2:1 right now) but to have done a bit of everything else as well.

Unless you know you want to stay in academia, just doing the degree isn’t enough any more, and everyone knows it.

Extracurricular activities are

Forge Debates

All officer candidates will be interviewed LIVE on Forge TV and Forge Radio - get involved and see the candidates answer questions telling you what direction they will take the Union if given the chance!

Ex-Hallam candidate, Oliver Coppard, is running for selection for the Hillsborough and Brightside seat following the death of Harry Harpham.

Chris Olewicz, a PhD history student at the University of Sheffield is also running for selection for the seat.

no longer a choice for students, they’re a necessity to compete in a fierce and dehumanising job market, where students are channelled into the same grad-job careers and the pressure to find employment immediately weighs heavily on the shoulders of all final years.

I won’t even get started on the financial aspect that many students rely on parttime jobs for their livelihood, I’d need another 400 words.

But if there’s anything I’ve realised in the past few years, it’s that universities need to wake up and realise they have to understand the situation that their students are in, and recognise that the degree is just one thing amongst many others that’s on our minds.

In December 2015, the NUS revealed that 78 per cent of students have struggled with mental health in the past year.

There’s a reason for this, and universities like ours need to set and example and do something to deal with it.

Mon 7 Mar & Tue 8 Mar 18:00 - 19:00

Mon 7 Mar: Welfare, Education, Sports and Activities Tues 8 Mar: Development, International, Women’s and President

Weds 9 Mar 19:30 - Late

Varsity: Boxing

96 year-old has driving licence renewed Marjorie Neal, a 96 year-old from Sheffield, has had her driving licence renewed a few months before her 97th birthday. Neal told the Sheffield Star that she “is very artistic and practises découpage,pergamano, bead work and more”.

EDITOR editor@forgetoday.com Polly Winn

HEAD OF ONLINE ned.westwood@forgetoday.com Ned Westwood

DEPUTY EDITOR chloe.coleman@forgetoday.com Chloe Coleman

NEWS press.news@forgetoday.com Keri Trigg Will Morgan Lisa Latham

PICTURE EDITOR dan.west@forgetoday.com Dan West

W

elcome back to another issue of Forge Press. I guess you could say this is the last ‘normal’ issue you’ll be getting for a while, as things are getting exciting as we count down to the SU elections and then Varsity.

On page 4-5, we’ve got an exclusive look at your prospective 16/17 Union Officers. As well as a look at what your current officers have been up to.

The Union elections, whether you think they’re a load of fuss or the most exciting part of the academic year, are an important time for student democracy, giving us all the ability to have our say about what matters to students.

Recently there’s been an issue that’s been particularly bothering me.

I’m sure anyone involved in a university society agrees with me, trying to balance extracurricular activities with university work is a challenge.

Trying to get £9,000 a year worth of your studies, while pursuing new or furthering old interests and hobbies, and trying to ensure that you have the dreaded ‘employability factor’ can be difficult. When you throw a part time job into the mix, and job applications, as well as any personal or

What not to miss this fortnight

Coppard up for Harpham selection

DEPUTY EDITOR OF ENTERTAINMENT fuse@forgetoday.com Kazuma Osaki

Editorial

DEPUTY NEWS press.news@forgetoday.com Jess Davis Nathaniel Robinson Ellena Rowlin

The event to beat all other events: Vasity boxing. After selling out in less than an hour, it promises to be an incredible event.

For those who weren’t lucky enough to grab a ticket, it will be live streamed on Forge TV and Forge Radio

Tickets: SOLD OUT Live streams on Forge TV and Forge Radio

SU Elections Results Night

The SU Elections results night is always the party of the year, join us in Foundry for results from 18:00 and on Forge Radio from 17:00

COMMENT press.comment@forgetoday.com Robin Wilde Chris Saltmarsh COFFEE BREAK press.coffeebreak@forgetoday.com Adilah Hameed FEATURES press.features@forgetoday.com Sheena Sidu Anna Gillies Hallam Roffey LIFESTYLE press.lifestyle@forgetoday.com Mojo Abidi Mared Gruffyd

Thurs 10 Mar 17:00 - 00:00 Foundry from 18:00, Forge Radio from 17:00 and pick up your special election issue on Friday 11 March

SPORT press.sport@forgetoday.com Ed McCosh Rob Milne Anthony Phillips MUSIC press.music@forgetoday.com Tara Hodgson Charlotte Pick GAMES press.games@forgetoday.com Moya O’Rourke Ash Emritte

ARTS press.arts@forgetoday.com Joshua Hackett Jo Gallacher SCREEN press.screen@forgetoday.com Rhys Handley Luke Baldwin COPY EDITORS Sophie Cockett Bethan Littley Emily Quigley Harriet Hales Joanna Booth Lotte Dobson Jamie Blakeman Hannah Sissons

Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

@ForgePress /ForgePress

Erasmus mix-up leaves second years stranded Polly Winn

Two Journalism students were left stranded in Spain after plans for their study abroad fell through at the last minute.

Jessica Davis and Georgie Darling were forced to return to Sheffield after only a week at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.

Jess said: “From the start it was all a bit wishy washy, there was nothing set in stone.

I didn’t really think about it at the time, but now I look back there wasn’t very much confirmation.

“When we got there and our house was fine - everything was fine - and then we went to our first class which was in English and it was really good.

“We asked the woman in the mobility office if we could check that all of our modules were in English when we were enrolling, and she confirmed that everything was fine and encouraged us to go and have a good time.

“Then we went to our second class, and it was in Catalan.

We didn’t know what to do.

“We went straight back to the mobility office, but it was only open for three hours a day and that was the main port of call for international students, so we had no idea what to do.”

Both students attempted to change their classes, but were told they had missed the add/ drop period.

Jess said: “It was just a joke really, they were so unhelpful.

We tried to find lecturers for later classes to find out if they were in Spanish or Catalan as well. We tried to find the Head of Communications there and they just didn’t exist, there was nothing.

“We tried to find emails from reception, and they said they couldn’t help us. No one knew who we were, they were really surprised to see us.”

They made contact with their department in Sheffield to ask for help, and despite the department making every effort to support the students there was very little they could do.

The students were forced to return to Sheffield after being offered no support by the university in Barcelona.

Jess said: “We never would have gone if we had known that it had been this difficult.

We are the only people that have suffered from this situation. Nothing’s happened to that University, we’re the ones that are in debt.

“We’ve wasted so much time, money and effort, and we’ve been looking forward to this for so long. We felt embarrassed to come home because we’d been building up to it so much.”

When the students arrived back in Sheffield, they had no accommodation arranged, with Georgie having to commute from Leeds and had missed

over a week of their courses.

Both students had also lost around £600 each from having to arrange last minute flights and sort out emergency accommodation.

Welfare Officer Gabi Binnie said: “Their academic department sound like they’re dealing with it well, but there needs to be better liaison between the University here and then the University in Barcelona.

“We need to make sure that the they are equipped for having our students there, because that’s obviously where the problems started, then all these other problems around housing and finance have

come out of that.

I think when our University gives people the opportunity to go abroad it should be thoroughly researched and it should be good for our students, so I think that’s something that the University needs to improve on.

“There are different areas to go to for support. The place that will give you the most holistic and well-rounded support is the Student Advice Centre who can advise on all issues like housing and finance, and also the academic side as well.

“There also are several funds that students can apply for, to ease the stress of that.”

Popular Students’ Union club night Pop Tarts has upped their game by promising pizza and pasties to the partygoers.

Hundreds of Sheffield students congregate weekly to enjoy a celebration of 90s bangers and orchestrated nostalgia.

In recognition of the inevitable early-morning hunger pangs experienced by the very drunk, the Students’ Union now offers the opportunity to buy food, effectively negating any valid excuse to vacate the venue.

Attendees of Pop Tart’s ‘Disco Dance Anthems’ event on 20 February were able to purchase pizzas and pasties from a hatch near the cloakrooms, sending many into frenzies of food-related excitement.

SCIENCE & Technology

Autism reversed in mice

Researchers at MIT have reversed autism-like signs in mice.

They looked at mice lacking Shank3 genes, also seen missing or mutated in a small percentage of individuals with autism.

Switching Shank3 back on in adult mice reversed autism symptoms.

Anxiety levels and coordination only showed improvement in younger mice, indicating some neural pathways are fixed early in development.

The study suggests that gene therapy may eventually be used as treatment.

Ellie Williams

Nuclear states and volcanic stakes

Pizzas and pasties for Pop Tarts party-goers Lisa Latham

NEWS

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Third year politics student Harry Chambers [pictured] was present during the launch of the ‘food hatch’, and says: “basically I’m a grumpy old third year who doesn’t even like pop tarts anymore.”

“I lost everyone so that was the worst thing ever, but it didn’t really matter after I found the pizza and pasty hatch.”

“This was quite early on too so I could line my stomach and stay out for a bit longer, though I’m not sure that’s a bonus.”

Whilst this is good news for Pop Tarts-ing students, other post-party food suppliers like West Street’s infamous Aslan’s may suffer from the Union’s competition.

Having widened its appeal to prospective visitors, Pop Tarts can continue its weekly

tributes to the likes of The Killers, B*witched and S-Club 7 with the knowledge that the audience will be largely wellfed and content.

With an increase in student stomach-content comes a risk of consequentially increasing cases of student throw-ups. The Student Union must consider potentially detrimental effects of supplying food to intoxicated subjects and adjust their security accordingly.

Due to popular appeal, Pop Tarts will also now be open until 3:30am, allowing dancers an extra half hour of foodfuelled fun.

Those who actively avoid the widely appreciated club night have definitely missed the bright side.

Volcanologists have suggested that North Korea could cause a volcanic eruption.

A paper published in Scientific Report suggests underground nuclear tests could be responsible for magnitude seven seismic activity, which may trigger pressure rises in the Changbaishan volcano region on the Chinese-North Korean Border.

This rise in pressure could cause a powerful eruption.

North Korea’s January 2016 test of a hydrogen bomb registered at a magnitude of 5.1.

Simon Allan

Record coral bleaching

Researchers have warned that coral bleaching caused by the current El Nino will continue into 2017, making it the longest observed period of bleaching.

El Nino is a combination of climatic changes that causes parts of Asia and Australia to dry out, while heavy rain hits South America. Warming of the ocean causes coral to expel the algae that provide it with nutrients, resulting in bleaching and death.

Coral is vital to providing habitats, jobs and even storm surge protection.

Ashley Carley

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NEWS

Friday 26 February 2016 | Forge Press

@ForgePress /ForgePress

Officers Review 2016

International students’ officer

Gabi Binnie

Minesh Parekh

President

Peggy Lim

Christy McMorrow won his position with 29 per cent of the vote. When asked about his manifesto he said “I wanted to make our Union focus on lots of issues like free education, and generally changes to education, but also I wanted to work on improving housing for students, like challenging letting fees and also I wanted to improve the sustainable nature of the Union.”

McMorrow, who is proud of the fact we had the most students from a university outside of London at the “No Barriers to Education” march, is making changes to Union Council and states he has got students engaged this year.

When asked to describe his experience in three words, McMorrow said: “Tough, but worth it.”...which is four words.

Forge Press thinks McMorrow did a decent job, and still likes being the authority (and we are grateful for his forgiveness).

Peggy Lim won her position with 34.4 per cent of the vote and was carried off stage to the shouts of “Peggy Peggy Lim!” to the tune of ‘Give it Up’.

Lim’s main three aims were to achieve no limits for campaigning for international students rights, no limits to employability and participation and finally, no limit to languages.

She argues that “in terms of employability there are things that have been set up, like the employability cafe and we do have plans in progress for language exchanges and learning partners targeting both home and international students - making sure students can get the chance to learn other languages.” Lim’s three words to describe her experience were: “amazing, home and empowering.”

Overall, Forge Media gives Peggy the seal of approval. Her bubbly personality and giggles have kept us going.

Gabi Binnie grabbed her position with 29.9 percent of the vote. Her manifesto took on three main themes: “my first was to tackle issues with landlords, so to improve student feedback because that’s really important.Secondly, it was around mental health support, so to work with departmental protocols to create more peer support, particularly around bereavement. And thirdly making sure your voices were heard by officers.”

Binnie focused mainly on her first two themes during her time in office: “I’ve done a lot on feedback on housing which you will hopefully see soon and I’ve just done some mental health first aid training that will be open up to students soon.” Her three words were: “exiciting, experience and fun!”

Binnie’s favourite moment was the day she snuck her dog into work for the day. Forge Press definitely approves.

Minesh Parekh won his place with 48.9 per cent of the vote. He “set out to campaign for free education, for no hidden costs and a better university. So the most practical parts of that were campaigning against printing costs and campaigning for printers in halls as well as launching the national campaign against maintenance grants cuts and tuition fee hikes.”

When regarding if he has achieved his aims he said: “I think there’s still a lot I can do to get things like free printing, especially considering Sheffield Hallam have just done it. I’ve done quite a lot and I feel like I can get the rest done” Parekh’s three words were: “intense but enjoyable.”

Forge Press is very excited to discover that Parekh will be getting us free education in the little time he has left as an officer.

Annie Gainsborough

Flic Wilbraham Sports officer

SU development officer

Evette Prout

Sharmin Jahan

Annie Gainsborough gained her position with 24.9 per cent of the vote. She wanted to help societies collaborate on events, ensure postgraduates, mature, disabled and international students gain access to Activities and improve the online society database and boost societies’ presence through publicity videos.

Unfortunately Annie was unwell at the time of interviews, but we have vivid memories of her at activities events, and her brilliant hat at the Sleep Out for Solidarity event last semester.

When Annie won the position last year, she said she hoped to make the other candidates proud. We’re pretty sure she did, and had a good year.

Her three words were “united, inclusive and active.”

Forge Press thinks Annie did a good job and we wish her a fast recovery.

Flic Wilbraham won with 25.9 per cent of the vote, one of the closest of the eight officers, as the runner up had 25.4 percent.

Wilbraham’s three main aims were to: “Focus a lot on Wednesday afternoons and get transport costs covered a little bit for members of Sport Sheffield clubs.

And I think I said something about gym memberships. And to win Varsity.”

When asked if she thought she had achieved her aims, she said “no, but we are making progress towards Wednesday afternoon and will still win Varsity.”

She’s also working on getting more monetary flexibility at Goodwin gym. Her three words were: “great, opportunity and fantastic...even though that’s the same as great.”

Wilbraham also said she would make Forge report every single club match... we will leave you to decide that one.

Evette Prout was the only candidate to win on second choice preferences, with 21.6 per cent of the vote. She said she wanted to: “lobby the university to divest from fossil fuels... bring in afro-Caribbean food into the Students’ Union into Our Shop... and change the ideas forum online.”

Prout says that she still has a few objectives that she’s working on, and is still championing the union to become more sustainable.

Prout achieved the fossil fuel divestment aim, we remember this because the vote for divestment was overwhelming.

Her three words were: “exciting, challenging and fun”.

Prout has been a silent force during her reign as SU development officer.

But, Forge Press think she’s done pretty well because she hasn’t drummed up any controversy over the year.

Sharmin Jahan won with 80.5 per cent of the vote, and said that, in her time in office she “really wanted to start off with consent workshops. I also wanted to do ‘Reclaim your Campus’ which is 16 days of activism against gendered violence.”

She continued: “they’ve been successful. We’ve had a lot of variety of students attending, and we’ve had really good feedback. So that’s been really positive. One last thing is International Women’s Month. It features lots of different panel events, workshops and exhibitions and we are working closely with the city.”

“I think I’ve achieved everything on my manifesto and my objectives” Her three words were: “interesting, exciting and fun.”

Forge Press definitely agrees that Jahan acheived all her objectives, we’re really glad she beat Ron and she is the most productive officer of the year.

Christy McMorrow

Activities officer

Welfare officer

Education officer

Women’s officer

Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

NEWS

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Officer Candidates

These are your candidates for Officer positions in the academic year of 20162017. Voting opens on the 4 March and closes on the 10 March. See the election hand book for more information.

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NEWS UniNEWS

Straight debt

Outta

student

A rapper from New Orleans in the US was so excited about paying off his student loan he even wrote a song about it.

Dee-1 found himself facing a mountain of student debt after he graduated.

Success is a common theme in rap music and this new denoter of success probably reflects the increasing problem of student debt.

After paying off the minimum amount for a few months, he landed a record deal and used part of his advance to pay off his student loan completely.

Friday 26 February 2016 | Forge Press

@ForgePress /ForgePress

SocCom spat with officers over society changes

Exetah continues to be rah Exeter University blew nearly £6,000 on biscuits in just one year according to a freedom of information request.

The university provided the treats for atteendees of events at Exeter University in 2015.

Students were left outraged, particularly in the wake of the government’s maintenance grant cuts. £6000 would buy you at least 4000 packs of Mcvities, 11,320 packs of Jaffa cakes or 480,000 individual Tesco Value custard creams.

One shot of rum: £150 Two venue owners are putting Sheffield on the map, by offering the most outrageous rum menu outside of London.

Owners of Leopold Square’s Cubana flew all the way to Cuba to get one of the most expensive bottles in the world.

They will be charging single 25ml shots of ‘Maximo Extra Anejo’ for £150.

A single 50cl bottle of ‘Extra Anejo’ would set you back £1234.95.

The menu will also offer up to 161 rum varieties, sourced from Cuba, Dominican Republic and Barbados to name a few.

Lisa Latham A referendum proposing changes in the leadership network of the University of Sheffield’s societies has caused disputes between the student officers and the Societies Committee (SocCom).

The original proposal aimed to reframe the workings of the SU council and create networks that better reflect the organisation of students themselves, rather than of academic representatives and departmental issues.

The shift towards greater student involvement and collaboration would be achieved by allowing societies the opportunity to opt

into one of 8 relevant networks, each headed by a network councillor. In theory, this would create representative positions within each network to deal with council relations and allow for more efficient organisation and communication between societies.

SU President Christy McMorrow says “we’re hoping the change will start to develop a staff structure that mirrors [the grouping of societies].

“The more this is integrated the higher the possibility of having staff in areas we don’t at the moment.

For example we have media but haven’t widened it into supporting other creative

groups.”

Though the proposal was devised and put forward with support from some committee and society leaders its official announcement was confronted by SocCom, who believe that the 8 proposed networks are not wholly representative of the societies they will encompass and that further development is needed to refine the roles of new network councillors.

According to the proposal, activities officer Annie Gainsborough would still hold a central role in overseeing the provision of activities and managing SU societies, but the new elected leaders would address council issues relating to the network that each society is grouped under.

Any societal issues, such as student welfare and appeals, will still be addressed

by SocCom. The production of society networks and corresponding councillors would primarily deal with issues in academia and council debates, creating a more accessible means of expression for students aside from society leaders.

The student officers released a pre-emptive list of network groupings as an outline of how societies would be divided, and which network leader would

be responsible for each.

SocCom has argued that the list places too many societies into one broad sub-category and that the additional funding needed to implement the changes has not been adequately negotiated.

The committee has called for an amendment to the initial proposal in which networks will be reallocated or renamed to better represent every university society.

Further discussions are scheduled to reach a compromise that best accommodates student involvement. Politics Campaigning, Volunteering, Fundraising and Charity liaison Fred Gill says “I’m personally in opposition to the whole proposal. I feel like there are some massive areas that are still not covered.”

“It’s got good ideas in there but doesn’t say how they’re going to be managed. According to the proposal the networks will direct the appropriate funding, but the procedures of this are unclear.”

McMorrow agrees that before the referendum is to go ahead further debates are needed and the student population must be fully informed about the merits of the alteration in society organisation.

220ft “spinning vomit comet” Carousel coming to Sheffield Dan West The UK’s largest movable attraction is coming to Sheffield.

The 70m, or 220 ft, carousel is set to come to Sheffield 18 March.

Named the Sheffield Starflyer, the attraction will be situated in the heart of the city centre at Fargate for 3 months, until 5 June.

This attraction has already been thrilling riders in Liverpool, London and Manchester since 2010, and will be on the same site as the Wheel of Sheffield, which was a 60m ferris wheel that carried locals and visitors between July 2009 and November 2010, before it was moved to Hyde Park, London.

A ride on the Starflyer will cost £5 for students, a pound

either side for children and adults and will be open between 10am and 10pm.

Councillor Leigh Bramall, Deputy Leader at Sheffield City Council, said “This is a fantastic attraction which will bring many visitors to the city centre. The location is perfect for shoppers and those enjoying an evening out, plus families using other city centre leisure facilities like the Central Library or theatres – it will be a thrilling experience with spectacular city centre views day and night.”

Chemistry student secondyear Josh Lawlor said: “I’ve always felt that Sheffield city centre lacked a 70m spinning vomit comet.

He went on to say: “I’m sure the possibility of whiplash will attract many people to the city centre.”

Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

@ForgePress /ForgePress

“Ultra left activists” block non-racist for racism Keri Trigg

An anti-racism campaigner has allegedly been blocked from speaking at an NUS event amid claims he holds “Islamophobic” views.

Nick Lowles, Chief Executive of HOPE not hate – an organisation that works to combat racism and fascism – claims to have been noplatformed after being criticised

by NUS Black Students.

He took to social media to argue his case writing on Facebook: “So it seems that NUS Black Students are opposing a plan to invite me to speak on an antiracism platform because I’m Islamophobic.

“Never mind all the work HOPE not hate has done challenging anti-Muslim hatred, it seems that some ultra left activists believe I’m Islamophobic because I have repeatedly spoken out against grooming and dared condemn Islamic extremism.”

Lowles told the Guardian that opposition to inviting HOPE not hate to speak at an upcoming anti-racism conference was voiced by some members at a

discussion amongst the event’s organisers.

He added: “It’s amusing in its absurdity but it does reflect the failure of a small section of the left to understand that we have to confront extremism and intolerance in all its forms.

“My issue is with this small group of political activists and not with NUS itself, who I believe were unaware of this.”

Lowles has received support on Twitter from the likes of Peter Tatchell, a prominent human rights and free speech campaigner who was under scrutiny by himself earlier this month by NUS LGBT+ Officer Fran Cowling.

She refused to speak at an event at Canterbury Christ Church University unless he was removed from the bill, accusing him of being racist and transphobic.

Other high-profile figures have also weighed in on the issue, with Labour MP Jon Cruddas, tweeting: “Literally beyond belief @ lowles_nick no-platformed for supposed Islamophobia!! The most committed anti-racist I have ever met – shameful,” while others have backed the

ban.

Despite the allegations, NUS President Megan Dunn said: “HOPE not hate is not on NUS’ no platform list. I would happily share a platform with anyone from HOPE not hate tomorrow.

“Representatives from Hope

Not Hate, including Nick Lowles, have and continue to be invited to NUS events. I have tried to clarify this issue with Mr Lowles but have been unable to contact him.”

NUS Black Students are yet to respond to the allegations.

Will Morgan South Yorkshire Police have arrested a man after seizing 28 cannabis plants from his house in Lodge Moor, Wednesday 17 February.

Cannabis is a Class B substance and the consequences of being caught with it are up to five years in prison for possession or up to 14 years for supply and production.

Cannabis is known by many other names, including: weed, marijuana, kush, chronic, dank, “the piff”, “the loud”, bud and green.

The effects of cannabis include: hunger, disorientation

NEWS NATIONAL NEWS Twerking crude provokes prudes

dude

It seems a man twerking in high heels is not suited to the tastes of the nation, after securing the highly coveted position of most complained about advert in 2015.

The frequently shown MoneySuperMarket.com advert got more than 1,500 complaints from members of the public, according to the Advertising Standards Authority.

To people who, surprisingly, may not have seen it shows a man in denim hot pants and heels strutting down the street and received a number of complaints, one being that it contained ‘overtly sexual content’.

The PayPal Christmas advert also managed to clinch third place with some widespread offence, with complainants accusing it of ‘casting doubt over Santa’s existence.’ A step too far.

Just why?

Hallamers raise stacks Man arrested for extreme gardening for sick kids and the ability to binge watch TV. Other Class B substances include Ketamine, MCAT and Quaaludes. The possible side effects of these drugs include paralysis, kidney failure and untimely death.

Unlike these substances, there has never been a direct cause of death from cannabis.

Roughly 30 per cent of British adults have tried cannabis at one point in their life, making it the most widely used recreational drug in the UK, apart from alcohol and tobacco which cause over 100,000 deaths every year.

The entire crop could have a street value of over £150,000.

In the United States, where Cannabis has been legalised for recreational use in four states and medicinal use in many others, customs have seized 32 per cent less cannabis over the US-Mexico border.

The earliest recorded use of cannabis was by the Ancient Greeks in 400 BCE, originally reported in Herodotus’ Histories, the widely growing plant was then made illegal 2300 years later.

The 28-year-old horticulturalist was released on bail.

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Jo Gallacher Students from Sheffield Hallam have organised 11 events throughout the city in a bid to raise money for Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

The final year Management students have come up with a number of events including a Grease-themed banquet, gin and jazz night, and Ed Sheeran tribute.

The outcome of the events will contribute to the student’s final year grade.

Students have aimed to raise £25,000 which will contribute to the Make it Better appeal.

The appeal was launched in 2012 to help bring world-class facilities to Sheffield Children’s Hospital by building a brand

new wing that goes above and beyond the standard NHS provision.

In the past two years the Management students have raised £20,000 for the hospital, which is one of just four specialist NHS trusts for children in the UK. The Trust has around 2,500 clinicians and staff working across six main sites and also in community settings such as schools, health centres and in families’ homes.

Children come from all over the country to visit the hospital’s specialists, and the money raised is vital to cover costs the NHS does not fund.

There are now over 260,000 patient visits to the hospital every year.

A Spam enthusiast from Liverpool has changed his middle name to ‘I love spam’.

The self-proclaimed UK’s biggest spam fan also owns a Spam can suit and Spam flip flops.

Dad of two, Mark Benson, 41, legally changed his middle name, admitting that he had been hooked on Spam since he was two. He also eats the classic food for breakfast, using the spam website to spice up his recipes for the whole family.

Mark’s love of Spam began after his grandfather served in the Second World War and was served the meat, which was first released as rations in America in 1937.

More hog than hedge A hedgehog, nicknamed “The Big One”, has been put on a crash diet after weighing in at a hefty 3.8lbs.

The animal is now deemed too fat to curl into a ball, and weighs around three times the weight of a normal hedgehog.

He reportedly piled on the pounds whilst living a life of luxury after an animal welfare volunteer rescued him four months ago.

The Big One is now staying at a rescue centre in Wilts, where rescuers are hoping they can get him back in shape and back out into the wild this Spring.

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NEWS

Friday 26 February 2016 | Forge Press

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Sheffield art renaissance Peaks provide “inspiration” Jess Davis Our city is bursting with creative art and has the physical and mental space which allows this to thrive, according to a new report commissioned by the University of Sheffield.

The report was based on a series of 390 reflections from Sheffield-based artists, art organisations in the city and art studies professionals.

Their results reflected how Sheffield is a tight-knit community of artists who support each other in their work.

Their report looked at the artistic vibrancy of the city, focusing on the organisations and individuals who make up the sector, paying particular attention to artists’ studios and their role in the arts economy.

Sheffield’s easy access to the Peak District and the fact that it is an extremely green space was reported to allow “freedom of vision” and “sources of inspiration” to the local art enthusiasts.

In addition to this, the central

geographic location of Sheffield was thought to contribute to the artistic vibrancy, as it is affordable and easy to travel to other cities.

However, many of the artists felt that although it is a great artistic city, there is a lack of selling spaces, the cost of selling through galleries

is too high and there was a general lack of art-buyers in the region, which meant that succeeding as an artist here can be difficult.

Launching the report, Professor Vanessa Toulmin, Director of City and Cultural Engagement at the University of Sheffield, said: “This report

highlights the huge eclectic mix of artistic talent we have in the city and the potential we have to make Sheffield a destination venue for art.”

The research was carried out by Ellen McLeod, an Arts Administrator working for The Poetry Business in Sheffield.

Your MP Says: “Let’s not sleepwalk out of the EU!” Paul Blomfield MP for Sheffield Central It’s unthinkable to many students, but in just 17 weeks Britain might have voted to leave the European Union.

We’d be walking away from the freedom to live and work across our continent. We’d be turning our backs on the study opportunities and the research funding from which our universities gain more than any other EU country.

We’d weaken our economy and lose jobs, but we are at risk of sleepwalking to exit.

UKIP and the right-wing of the Conservative Party hope that all the obvious benefits of EU membership will be trumped by their toxic rhetoric on migrants and refugees, and their talk of “regaining control of our borders”. They’re also counting on younger voters, who are overwhelmingly in favour of the EU, staying away from polling stations – as so often with elections.

There’s a lot at stake. By bringing the independent nations of Europe together

in an economic and political partnership, the EU has delivered 70 years of peace – unprecedented in the history of

our continent. And we can only meet the big challenges, like climate change, by working together with our neighbours.

We can’t be complacent. Make sure you’re registered to vote and have your say.

Old House is the best house Ellena Rowlin The Old House bar and restaurant in Sheffield has been named the overall winner in the Best Bar None awards, which recognise responsible licencing practice.

The bar, situated in Devonshire Street, is part of 40 bars, pubs and nightclubs that are signed up to the national scheme, which, in Sheffield, is in its seventh year and is run by the council’s drug and alcohol co-ordination scheme.

Earlier this year Sheffield’s bar safety scheme won two national awards and has since been shortlisted for a night time economy award by the Association of Town and City Management.

Guests at the local awards ceremony also helped raise £457 for Sheffield Street Pastors.

Sheffield in state of inequality Ellena Rowlin High youth unemployment has been highlighted as an area of concern in Sheffield.

The fifth annual State of Sheffield report also pointed out inequality as its main concern, saying that the rise in foodbanks shows how poverty has grown.

The report is commissioned by the Sheffield Executive Board, made up of leaders from the city’s private, public, voluntary, community and faith sectors.

Sheffield also needs to “urgently consider” the demand for investment in business and “unacceptably poor” air quality, the report said.

The subject of devolution was brought up in the report, as an area for both optimism and concern, according to the findings.

The recent damage done to the “northern powerhouse” by the relocation of the Sheffield branch of the Department for Business Skills and Innovation to London likely had an influence on the outcome of this report.

Areas of optimism were also highlighted, such as improved education and economic growth.

Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

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NEWS

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Former Guantanamo prisoner speaks out against Prevent Will Morgan This Monday, 22 February, a campaign meeting was held in the Nelson Mandela Auditorium to discuss how to combat the government’s anti-extremism policy Prevent.

The meeting was chaired

by Education Officer Minesh Parekh, co-chaired by Jaki Booth (Chief Executive of the union) and attended by external speakers, including: Hannah Dee (Chair of Defend the Right to Protest), Samayya Afzal (NUS National Executive Committee) and Moazzam Begg (former Guantanamo Bay inmate and CAGE outreach director).

Prevent is the government’s strategy for countering radicalisation in local communities that began under the Blair government.

The Conservatives expanded upon it in 2015 to make the identification of individuals at risk of radicalisation a legal requirement for workers in the public sector.

This means that everyone from medical staff to schoolteachers and lecturers have a legal responsibility to identify and report patients

and students that they believe might be at risk of radicalisation.

Issues with the strategy were outlined at the meeting.

Samayya Afzal called it an “incredibly racist policy” due to the “direct correlation between the number of Muslims in a given city or area and the amount of funding that they would receive”, meaning that the policy is being used mostly to counter Islam rather than general extremism.

All of the speakers made reference to the Staffordshire student Mohammad Umar Farooq who, in September of last year, was reported for reading a book on terrorism in the library, even though he is studying for a Masters in counter-terrorism. They identified it as an example of how the Prevent policy causes public sector workers into active discrimination against Muslims.

Moazzam Begg compounded upon this example by stating that 4000 people have been put through the government’s de-radicalisation program Channel, and that “over half of that number of 4000 people are children.”

Mr Begg said that this figure is because of the “pressure that has been felt by the education authorities in wanting to be seen to be doing something”.

He went on to say of Prevent that “this is about beliefs and ideas. This is about trying to subdue the one thing that a person has that is completely free, not bound by anything, your mind.

“Universities are the places where people come to have them opened through debate, discussion and dialogue.”

Inviting Mr Begg to the event

is controversial due to his previous ties with, and visits to the training camps of, Islamic militants. He was arrested without charge and interned in Guantanamo Bay for three years but was eventually released without charge.

The University of Sheffield registered its disapproval of the event in accordance with its Prevent duties, however Sheffield Students’ Union’s status as an independent body exempts it from Prevent’s purview.

A representative of the

university was present in case anything objectionable was said, but went unneeded.

The speakers seemed unworried with this, with Moazzam Begg calling for more “punk ass kids” willing to challenge the system regardless.

The meeting was attended by around 60 people, though some were turned away on the door for not having student cards.

Attendees jokingly remarked that this was “Prevent in action”.

Our update on the University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Sir Keith Burnett

Keeping up with Keith Polly Winn Sir Keith Burnett has crossed paths with Forge Press many a time over the years, as we have strived to keep all students aware and up to date with the University and its management.

Last issue we revealed that our University Vice Chancellor is the 12th highest paid in the UK with an income of £385,000 - a salary higher than the Vice Chancellors of other renowned UK institutions like University College London and the London School of Economics.

Sir Keith Burnett was also found to have the sixth highest flight expenditure out of 159 Vice Chancellor’s in the academic year 2014/15, spending a total of £31,873.95.

Some of this travel expenditure can be attributed to the Vice Chancellor’s relationship with China. In his biography on the University website he states an interest in Chinese mandarin language and culture.

Over the past few years, Burnett has been renowned for his role in creating partnerships with China and in October 2015 he appeared on BBC News to discuss how the UK can move

forward in its relationships with China.

In Sheffield there has been a lot of collaboration with China, and Forge Press covered the plans for a £65 million Chinatown to be built and funded entirely by Chinese investors. The development will be called ‘New Era Square.’

In February 2015, Burnett attracted the attention of Forge Press for openly backing Labour’s pledge to slash tuition fees to £6,000.

He had initially opposed the introduction of tuition fees, but did acknowledge they had been beneficial to the universities as institutions.

In his interview with the BBC, he said: When I talk to past students, I’m very concerned about the careers they have now, how the loans affect getting mortgages and things like that, I hear that it gets more difficult.”

However, Keith Burnett is no stranger to criticism. He came under fire in 2014 after receiving a pay rise of over £100,000 while also denying University staff a living wage.

Employees and students were outraged at the Vice Chancellor being awarded a pay rise, while his staff’s

salaries were capped at one per cent, and strike action took place across the University.

The University of Sheffield’s Living Wage Campaign created a Cardboard Keith and a spoof Facebook page called ‘Keef Burnett’ in response to denying staff a living wage.

Stuart McMillan wrote in a comment piece for Forge Press: “If the Unviersity can afford to make an annual loss of £140,000 on their culinary vanity project INOX Dine and pay its vice-chancellor Keith Burnett his three figure salary, it can definitely afford to do this for its casual workers.”

He also caused upset when he wrote an article for the Telegraph titled ‘Top university chief: is university really worth the money?’when many students commented that they felt disheartened by his argument.

Michael Chilton was another student to openly criticise Keith Burnett, responding to his stance on the significance of the University brand.

He wrote in a comment piece for Forge Press that: “[Burnett’s article] is a symptom of the wider problem of the conversion of our education system from the

public to the private.”

Sir Keith Burnett has been Vice Chancellor of the University since 2007, and we

are sure his long and complex relationship with Forge Press will continue for the rest of his time in the position.

Friday 26 February 2016 | Forge Press

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COMMENT

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Anti-gentrification graffiti.

What are any of us actually doing about homelessness?

Melissa Matos

O

n the back of the success of his first BBC documentary, ‘Suicide and Me’, British rapper Professor Green was back on our screens recently. This time he explored the causes behind homelessness amongst young people. Amongst the chaos of austerity cuts, benefit rows and tax debates which constantly occupy the media, Green uses his fame and status to highlight an issue easily forgotten, yet very relevant to the problems mentioned above – the question of why some people do not have a place to call home.

The documentary, entitled ‘Hidden and Homeless’, begins in Manchester.

Walking through the streets past all the buzzing bars and shops, Green introduces us to the characters in sleeping bags we are used to ignoring.

Specifically, we meet 20 year old Luke, who talks us through the problems of his childhood which led him into crime, drug addiction and homelessness.

Perhaps one of the biggest stigmas attached to those living on the streets is substance abuse, which, according to the charity Crisis, accounts for one third of deaths of homeless people.

This may seem obvious, so why does it matter? Really, our attitude towards homelessness is the same as our attitude towards substance addiction – it’s your

own fault. When the two are combined together, there is very little chance that you’re going to attract any sympathy from those lucky enough to have never been affected by either problem.

Public opinion changes laws and policies, and examples such as the spikes that were introduced in London to prevent people sleeping under shelters, or the fact that homeless people were banned from using Manchester library last year, prove that while people on the streets are considered the dregs of society, they will only be penalised by the law rather than protected by it. As is mentioned in the documentary, you’re only considered homeless if you’re lying down on the street rather than sitting up. Facts like this are simply farcical and yet they receive no attention or criticism whatsoever.

“This demonstrates society and the government’s uneasy relationship with mental health problems.”

The documentary then moves to Stockport as Green talks to workers from The Wellspring, a charity which provides support to young people who have found themselves homeless.

One worker, Kirstie, describes how she was missed by social services and ended up homeless at 16. Crime and substance abuse are mentioned again as coping mechanisms, while the lack

of ongoing support for those who have been housed is also underlined, which consequently turns the situation into a vicious circle.

“Gentrification doubled with cuts to in-work benefits serve to make the divide between rich and poor ever bigger.”

Once again this demonstrates society’s – and the government’s - uneasy relationship with mental health problems, which are both causes and effects of homelessness. It proves how when an illness is visible and understood, there is usually an array of support; people are there to help. When it is a mental illness or an issue related to crime and addiction, not so much. Moreover, Green is shown a popular camp under a car park, which somewhat speaks for itself. Generally, we don’t see homeless people as part of our society, we see them as an underclass which doesn’t belong to the busy lives taking place above ground.

Green then travels back to his home town of Hackney, where he sheds light on a different dimension of homelessness; that of house prices in the capital. As described in the documentary, homelessness may not simply be the scruffy guy you see on a park bench. It may be someone who blends in with the rest of the crowd, the only difference being that they

sleep from couch to couch because they are unable to afford a home of their own – a situation which happens to one in five 16-25 year olds. In London, the unfathomable rise in rent prices, exacerbated by gentrification, is pushing the poorest members of society out of their homes, out of the city and away from their family, friends and workplaces. This is supply and demand at its best, and many right wing economists would argue that that’s just how life works, but is that true? Or is it simply greed and blissful ignorance talking?

Gentrification doubled with cuts to in-work benefits serve to make the divide between rich and poor ever bigger. Maybe a place to start would be to invest in more affordable housing, address unequal austerity cuts and take the matter of corporation tax avoidance seriously.

The documentary finishes with the recent stomach turning murder of a homeless man in Manchester who was beaten up and died when his tent was set alight. As Professor Green emphasises, the majority of us are not vulnerable in this way. We can escape danger, bad weather, loneliness and pure discomfort in the safety of our homes while we simultaneously cast judgement on those we see on the streets, or those we don’t even bother to notice. Maybe it is time to make it our problem and ask ourselves what we are doing, and what the government is doing, in order to further our understanding and to ultimately try to break the cycle.

A homeless person.

Got an opinion? Join the debate at press.comment@forgetoday.com

Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

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COMMENT

Banning Boycotts is BAD FOR DEMOCRACY

T

Roberta alidori

he government has recently issued new guidelines that criminalise local authorities and public bodies, such as the NHS and students’ unions, for campaigns which boycott goods and services from some countries.

From now on, local authorities which are refusing to trade with specific foreign nations for ethical reasons could face prosecution. The move is the result of the Israeli and British government’s concerns over the growing support, by local bodies, to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement against Israel. Through its campaign, the BDS movement seek to put financial pressure over the Israeli government to end its violations of Palestinian human rights.

Those public bodies embracing the BDS campaign have been criminalised by the UK Government because it was deemed anti-semitic.

But what do these new guidelines actually mean?

Firstly, they raise questions of whether notions of democracy and freedom of expression, which Britain claims to hold, are being stepped on.

Boycotting is an old form of nonviolent protest that implies avoiding buying certain products and can actually be quite a powerful protest,

given that it tackles the financial revenues of regimes and brands. The 1980s Olympic Games boycott, and those against Apartheid in South Africa and Nestlé are some visible examples of protests that made governments and multinational companies feel the pain of financial loss. When profits are undermined, changes in policies are possible to likely, as history demonstrates. Through boycotting, we can raise our voice against what we consider unethical and try to make a change. By banning the ability of public bodies to express their moral stance, democracy is undermined. Freedom of expression is endangered.

The government rules are a disincentive for local authorities to take ethical consideration when spending public money. While it is important that public bodies make sure that the companies from which they are buying public goods comply with national regulations and follow ethical policies of conduct, the new Government guidelines deter this responsibility. The result is that local authorities may feel entitled to go for the cheapest provider instead of the fairest or most ethical.

This also would contradict the European directions on public procurements, that require public entities to make sure that money is spent for services provided by

fair and transparent companies.

But democracy is not the only problem here. The Cabinet Office has justified the ban on boycotts, claiming that the BDS campaign is anti-semitic and undermines social cohesion and security.

However, the Government arguably does not have a strong record for implementing extensive social reforms to promote harmony among people and abolition of racial prejudices.

It is also worth noticing that the new regulations prevent public bodies from boycotting countries signed up to the World Trade Organisation Government Procurement Agreement. So, it seems that the British Government is actually more preoccupied with protecting its interests with specific countries, in this case Israel, and ensuring free trade with them rather than being truly concerned about issues of social cohesion and antisemitism.

The Government’s criminalisation of local authorities making ethical investment decisions is a threat to freedom of expression and a disincentive to accountability when spending public money. Disturbingly, it seems that the underlying reasons for the ban are actually economic rather than moral, as the Government claims them to be.

Protestors campaigning for boycotts of Israeli products.

PETS ARE GREAT FOR OUR MENTAL HEALTH. LET US HAVE THEM IN STUDENT ACCOMODATION!

W

Bronte Howard

ith an NUS study reporting that 92 per cent of students identify as experiencing mental distress, and 13 per cent of those having suicidal thoughts at some point during their time at university, can having a pet really help those suffering from a mental illness?

There has been a huge increase in therapy pets being used in residential services to allow those suffering from mental illnessess to deal with the everyday struggles. This is down to extensive research which maintains that petting can reduce stress and anxiety,

A hamster. Wook at his widdle cheeks.

as when you connect with your pet, oxytocin, which is the hormone related to stress and anxiety relief is released.

But, although it is recognised that owning a pet can reduce the burdens of suffering from mental illness, this option is unavailable to the vast majority of students as pets are not allowed in student accommodation, including Endcliffe and Ranmoor.

Whilst it is still important to communicate with family, friends, and your GP about mental illness, owning a pet can be a proactive approach to dealing with the symptoms. It is known that pets can be great domestic companions in lessening the sense

of loneliness and isolation, keeping you distracted from worrying, and can provide a sense of purpose and routine - something which many people who suffer from mental illness can sometimes let slip when suffering from stress, anxiety and depression.

For the majority of students suffering from a mental illness who responded to the NUS survey, it is often a lack of routine from few contact hours, financial worries and stress from coursework or exams that are the key influences of experiencing mental distress.

But, with the most popular choice of a therapy pet being a cat or dog, it is unrealistic to expect a student to care

for their demanding needs in student accommodation. However, luckily it isn’t just dogs or cats which can help somebody suffering from a mental illness to deal with the symptoms – rabbits, mice, and hamsters are also popular choices of therapy pets due to being less allergenic, having modest needs, and the fact that petting them is linked to stress and anxiety relief.

The mental health organisation Mind also suggests that owning a goldfish can be beneficial. These are again a popular choice of therapy pets as simply watching them swim has been recognised as a method of reducing stress. Owning a pet also provides

additional benefits, as talking to a pet about everyday thoughts and feelings has become a successful approach for people who don’t want to discuss thesethings with friends or family.

With the Chief Executive of Mind saying “one in ten students surveyed had experience suicidal thoughts during the time they’ve spent at their current place of study”, if owning a pet in student accommodation could reduce these figures, and provide comfort to many students, surely the benefits of owning a less-demanding pet such as a hamster or mouse outweigh the possible consequences.

Friday 26 February 2016 | Forge Press

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The independent is gone. Mourn, but look to the future Ruchira Sharma The Independent has just announced a new commitment towards digital journalism; late March will see the last print issue of this long established paper. As a nostalgic person, the news devastated me. It felt like the beginning of a digital media revolution. Will newspapers soon become vintage?

Admittedly, the move from print to screen is not shocking, it’s just saddening.

Whilst the internet has heralded a new dawn in education, information and consumerism, it’s simultaneously signalled the demise for physical music and print journalism. For the latter, news

has become less about content and more about immediacy; we all want news within seconds of it happening. As a result, savvy publications such as the Guardian have made full use of their social media accounts, encouraging our endless demands for instant information.

On the other hand, this is the unarguable death of an experience.

In moving further towards internet reliance, we signal the end of a quaint ritual of ours. The act of opening a paper while on the train or having breakfast is something an iPad or phone cannot compete with. In essence, there’s a charm in this form of literature

absorption, one absent from the endless technology surrounding us every day.

Newspapers have been a significant part of culture since the 18th century.

While culture was once an effect of journalism, informing the people who produced media as response.

The roles have completely reversed today; The Independent’s move is a direct consequence of our technologyobsessed society. What we now need to question is whether there are things we hold dearer to us than electronic advancement, for example cultural phenomena that link us to the past.

While my views might seem dated or regressive, I’m not ignorant of

the potential for success should we embrace this digital media revolution.

One incredible transformation is the democratisation of news sharing. Iconic media outlets such as the Huffington Post have online spaces for anyone to submit an article for consideration and online publication, diversifying ‘journalists’ and the kinds of information shared. The internet has challenged an arguably homogenous media industry by encouraging everyone to take part.

Should they use the opportunity to publish unique voices and stories, they will have the potential for a better quality of news.

Ultimately, the Independent is simply

navigating through a murky unforeseen future for worldwide media. The launch of their completely online paper is both worrying and exciting as it confirms our place in history as the Digital Age. Embracing this cultural revolution while maintaining aspects of the past is contradictory in many cases, and the newspaper’s potential downfall is an example of technology versus tradition.

As a result, it seems as if the attitudes of the press cannot survive without the abolition of their past.

Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

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COMMENT

I

t’s going to be a great year, 2016.

Part of the reason it’s going to be great is the superb advice we’re going to offer in answer to your problems.

To receive our agony relations’ advice in response to your problem, email press.comment@forgetoday.com, or tweet us at @ForgePress

““Free speech is under threat!

Students are no-platforming people they disagree with” - Liberal Man

D care about freedom of speech? the government are the ones against it.

chris saltmarsh

D

ear the Guardian, the New Statesman, the Daily Telegraph and everybody else who seems to be so concerned with students repressing free speech on campus…

Why have you been so silent about PREVENT? Almost every day I am subjected to a freshly regurgitated opinion piece denouncing the supposedly endemic left wing student-led erosion of free speech on university campuses. They are usually penned by a mundane, unimaginative white man, whose privileged tears are practically dripping from the page, or out-dated second-wave feminists who are upset that students don’t revere their transphobia quite as much as the last generation. If these ‘newspapers’ or ‘concerned’ members of society really cared about protecting freedom of speech in our education system, they would not be targeting students. They would take aim at the government, and the universities who wilfully implement their draconian policies.

While students endeavour to create safe spaces, which *shock-horror* may sometimes involve excluding certain people from that space, the government is ploughing ahead – with full force – with their campaign of racist intimidation against students, in particular Muslims. Tony Blair’s Labour government introduced PREVENT in 2006 as a counter-terrorism strategy.

It was racist then - disproportionately and indiscriminately targeting Muslims as the Government sought to appear as if they were doing something to combat the terrorism they were directly

complicit in the creation of, through military imperialism in the Middle-East.

David Cameron’s Tory government gave it an upgrade in 2015 after the Charlie Hebdo attacks. Somehow it’s now even more racist, and even more discriminatory against Muslims.

PREVENT has now been placed on a statutory basis, which means that educational institutions including nurseries, schools, colleges and universities, are legally obliged to comply with it.

What does it mean to comply with PREVENT? It means that staff at these institutions are legally obliged to report any signs of ‘radicalisation’ to the strategy. Muslim students already have to deal with our society’s rampant Islamophobia in everyday life, now the government has enshrined it in their schooling too. If a teacher suspects a student has been ‘radicalised’, they must report them, where they’re taken in for questioning. Ridiculous examples of this include students being reported for wearing Palestine Solidarity badges, and discussing eco-terrorism in French class.

“They don’t speak out when the Government victimises young Muslims” So why is the liberal media more concerned with students ‘limiting free speech’ than the government’s good old-fashioned racist, top down approach to censorship? It’s almost as if the self-righteous middle-class liberals of the Guardian don’t actually care about anything other than preserving their own privilege. They can see, from afar, the erosion of their intellectual authority on campuses across the country. Students are finally realising they don’t have to put up

with transphobia, rape apologism and Islamophobia. Middle-class baby boomers are scared, because they know they’re in the line of fire.

“PREVENT only works, though, if we comply with it” But it’s all about them, isn’t it? There’s no suggestion of meaningful change to the social, political and economic systems that structurally silence people of colour, queer people, women and other liberation groups. As long as they have a platform, it’s all hunky dory. They don’t speak out when the government institutes a regime of social surveillance in schools and universities, instilling a culture of fear among already marginalised communities. They don’t speak out when the government targets students expressing solidarity with Palestine in the face of Israeli Apartheid. They don’t speak out when the government identifies better grades and focus on grades as a sign of ‘radicalisation’. It’s as if they want to keep us stupid and docile. They don’t speak out when the government victimises young Muslims, already vulnerable, because they need to be seen to be tackling the terrorism they caused..

This government does not need a thought-police or violent repression of Muslims to maintain their whitesupremacist dominance. They have created a climate of fear. Not fear of the state apparatus, but of their communities, their friends and their educators. It is the perfect panopticon.

Intelligent, critical, creative, radical students will self-censor for fear of being reported for their non-conformism. The government is making society itself its very own thought-police.

PREVENT only works, though, if we comply with it. If teachers and students

acquiesce to obediently obeying the government’s commands, then their plan will work and we will all become fearful of each other. However, we can still resist PREVENT, and we can be successful in undermining it. We can pledge non-compliance and strip it of its potency. By pledging to act in solidarity with young radicals, with Muslims, and with anyone else the government seeks to persecute, PREVENT begins to look weak and ineffective. It can only be successful if we agree to make it successful.

We will defeat this racist, Orwellian project of fear by being proudly and publicly opposing it. We must create a culture of rejection against PREVENT. If you are a teacher, tell your class about PREVENT, and tell them why it is so awful and why you oppose it. If you are a student, put up posters, stickers and talk to everyone you know: all condemning PREVENT.

“We need to condem PREVENT at every opportunity” The liberal media have been successful in propagating the idea that students are anti-free speech.

The government seems to have a free pass to repress it as much as they like, though. How do we ensure that the tables turn, and expose the government for the repressive authoritarians that they are? We just need to keep on saying it. The media condemn students at every opportunity and it works. We need to condemn the government, the Tories, PREVENT, and the universities that uphold it at every opportunity we have. That is how we will challenge their repression and their racism. That is how we will defeat PREVENT.

ear Mr. Man, you are wrong.

Please, don’t misconstrue this as me no-platforming you or shutting down lively debate! I’m just informing you that you are incorrect.

Firstly, you don’t know what free speech means. It means not being put in prison for expressing your views. It doesn’t mean critical students thinking your views are so ridiculous and outdated that you’re not worth listening to.

You do not have a right to be listened to every time you want to say something.

Secondly, if you’re concerned about this, it’s probably because your privilege is under threat. If so, you’re part of the problem. Please stop whining about people criticising your presumably oppressive views, and start to reflect on how you can change to be a better human being. That would help a lot.

Finally, please stop writing about this in the Guardian and New Statesman.

We don’t care what you think anymore.

“My officer ambitions are often foiled by a lack of name recognition” - Ron

O

h, so that’s you who got 11 per cent against Sharmin last year. You can change your name by Deed Poll for £36, although that would involve a few weeks’ wait and probably getting your OWL certificates from Hogwarts reprinted.

Given you’re a wizard (albeit not as talented as your friend Harry) I’m sure you could probably fix the vote somehow. While that might be considered untoward, the muggles can just have their memories modified so they don’t remember.

While you’re here, if you do become an officer can you try and get the Union shop changed into a branch of Honeydukes? We’d really appreciate a wider range of sweets.

Be aware of how long you’ll last though - as a former boarding school pupil with ginger hair, nobody likes you.

Yours, Robin

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Friday 26 February 2016 |Forge Press

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: o t e d i u G s e r u t a e F The

M

ental health is something that affects everyone. Whether your mental wellbeing is generally good or you suffer from a diagnosed mental illness, most of us experience challenges to our mental wellbeing on a regular basis.

On Thursday 3rd March, University Mental Health and Wellbeing Day will be taking place at the University of Sheffield. The day is an annual event that is held at different universities over the course of the year with the aim to promote and support the mental health of students, academics and professionals in higher education.

The focus of the day, this year at Sheffield, is the #TalkForTen campaign, an initiative launched by Welfare Officer Gabi Binnie, The University Counselling Service (UCS) SportSheffield and Mental Health Matters.

On organising the event, Gabi said: "It has been fantastic to work with all these different groups to organise #TalkForTen day in celebration of University Mental Health and Wellbeing Day. We hope that by encouraging people to talk about their mental health it will both reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and show all those suffering that it is good to talk about it."

The #TalkforTen campaign is all about encouraging students to take 10 minutes to talk about how they are feeling and take time to consider their own mental health. Ten minutes doesn’t seem like a great deal of time, but with our increasingly busy lives and constant reliance on technology, we forget how beneficial a face to face conversation can be.

In research conducted by the NUS in 2013, of 1,200 higher education students surveyed, 20 per cent considered themselves to have a mental health problem, while 13 per cent claimed to have experienced suicidal thoughts. 92 per cent of respondents identified as having felt feelings of mental distress, including feeling down, stressed and demotivated.

As part of the event, the UCS is launching a limited edition tote bag in collaboration with two designers currently studying at the University who have started their own fashion label ‘Experimentl’.

UCS approached Experimentl in 2015 on the recommendation of the

Mental Health and Wellbeing Day

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Anna Gillies and Georgia Heathman have compiled the ultimate guide to tell you everything you need to know about the Universities’ upcoming Mental Health and Wellbeing Day on 3rd March.

Louise Knowles, head of UCS said: "I am really pleased we are launching a quirky new product which helps us keep mental health on the agenda. It has been a privilege to be able to draw upon the talent and skills of Experimentl who are an excellent endorsement of the entrepreneurial spirit we champion as a university.”

Founded and run by Sophie Burton and Heather McDonald, Experimentl is a fresh new fashion start-up. They have designed and produced the tote bags in support of the UCS’s promotion of positive mental health.

The bag will be on sale in the Student’s Union Plaza on March 3rd, although the main aim of their sale is to start a conversation about mental health. UCS is encouraging students to take photos with the tote bag and talk about what they would class as their emotional baggage.

The campaign is all about starting a conversation about mental health and showing the world that you positively support mental health and the #TalkforTen campaign as part of the University Mental Health and Wellbeing Day. It’s important to acknowledge the struggles we deal with mentally just as much as we would a physical impairment.

Welfare officer Gabi has been talking to students and asking them to open up about their mental health. Using the 10 minutes #Talkforten encourages, she’s asked them to share their experiences, explain how they received help, and what they do day to day to look after their mental wellbeing. These interviews,

recorded during healthy campus week, will be shown in a short ten-minute video launching on the day.

Gabi hopes that the emotional baggage term used on the bag will strike a chord with students: "The term ‘emotional baggage’ can mean very different things to different people. For me, it means the experiences we go through, learn from and carry with us. Like mental health problems, our emotional baggage is something we go through - not something to be ashamed of."

As part of the campaign UCS will also be hosting a colouring competition on the day. Colouring has taken off recently as an activity to encourage mindfulness as it offers many positive benefits.

It’s a relaxing way to spend time unwinding and can help take your mind off the daily stresses and worries as students we face.

Students can take part in the colouring activity all day, and will be entered into a prize draw to win the limited edition tote bag filled with a selection of prizes.

So whether you use 3rd March to reflect on your own mental wellbeing or get involved with the events the university are organising, the important message the day is trying to get across is that everybody should be looking after their own mental wellbeing, and talking to others is a great way to encourage an open dialogue about our mental health.

“10 minutes doesn’t seem like a great deal of time, but with our increasingly busy lives and constant reliance on technology, we forget how beneficial a face to face conversation can be.”

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Three Steps To Better Health And Fitness Are those three trips a week to Broomhill Friery starting to show? Want to feel healthier and fitter?

Claire Fowler explains where to begin.

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Fitness. The word alone can make you shiver with disgust or buzz with excitement, either way we’ve all been there at some point; staring at our reflection chanting ‘let’s get fitter’.

Easier said than done, right? Deciding on what fitness goals you want to achieve seems simple enough, but deciding on how you’re going to get there can prove a little more difficult and can ultimately see your beach body dreams come crashing down.

Unfortunately there is no secret trick to getting the body you want and admittedly the fitness lifestyle isn’t for everyone. But if you’re looking for a few basic tips on how to improve your general health then help is at hand.

Food

First things first: food. The biggest battle you’ll have to face is the one with your gut. If you’re new to the concept of healthy eating chances are you’ve picked up a few bad eating habits over the years.

But don’t panic this article isn’t about to ask you to padlock your fridge. A healthy diet isn’t about restricting what you can eat. Imagine your body is a sports car; fill it up with the wrong fuel and you’re likely to ruin the engine and put it out of action, fill it with the right fuel and the car will start faster and perform better.

Give your gut some ‘tlc’ and ditch the sugar-crammed packet food. Make vegetables your new best friend; they are rich in vitamins and minerals which overall make your body function better. They also contain phytochemicals including selenium which improves your metabolism and thyroid function which will help you to burn calories.

Aim to eat between five and eight different vegetables a day, the greener the better. But besides getting your greens, make sure you’re getting enough protein too as this will help your body repair quicker and keep you fuller for longer.

Try to go for lean meats like chicken and oily fish as these have a lower fat content and have more health benefits.

Exercise

Second on the list: exercise. If the thought of getting sweaty in public gives you a panic attack then never fear, there are plenty of things you can do to increase your heart rate without having to rock that red blotchy skin look.

If you’re looking for a low key way to get moving try walking. Walk everywhere and anywhere you can, walk to lectures, walk to town or even walk around the park.

This gentle bit of exercise will not only help you burn a few more calories (especially if you brave the hills in Sheffield) but it will also refresh your mind and improve your mood.

However, hitting the gym is a great way to step up your fitness as it has so much to offer including classes and quality equipment.

If you like a challenge High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a short sharp way to get in shape.

HIIT involves short intense bursts of cardio followed by shorter breaks. This is an ideal way to burn fat and strengthens your heart. Try doing twenty seconds of an intense movement such as burpees or squat jumps followed by ten seconds of rest and repeat for 5 minutes. This style of HIIT is also known as Tabata and identifiable by its twenty and ten second split.

Finally, it is always a good idea to lift weights even if you’re looking to slim down. For every 1 pound of muscle you gain you burn an extra fifty calories per day at resting rate.

Therefore, if you put on 5 pounds of muscle that is an extra two hundred and fifty calories you could be

burning each day. Suddenly the squat rack doesn’t seem so uninviting. But if you’ve never lifted weight before please ask for instruction at your gym and take time learning the correct technique otherwise you could cause yourself some serious damage.

Mindset

Lastly and most importantly: mind set. If you’re going to do this you’ll have to be honest with yourself and be realistic. There is no point checking for abs after doing thirty crunches, these things don’t happen overnight.

But if you stick at it you’ll start to see results in no time and honestly there is nothing more motivating than looking in the mirror and noticing those positive changes.

Also don’t beat yourself up about skipping a day, it is fine we’ve all done it (welcome to the club).

You can pick it up again tomorrow. And if you know you’re particularly useless at committing to a healthy lifestyle try writing things down, draw up a timetable and note down some goals you want to achieve. This way you’re more likely to stay on track.

One last thing to remember is stay positive because you can do this.

“If you stick at it you’ll start to see results in no time and honestly there is nothing more motivating than looking in the mirror and noticing those positive changes.”

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I Clarissa Natel looks at the rapid shift towards a technologyrun world and the effect this change has had on our lives.

t was right in the middle of my exam week when MOLE decided to crash. I had an important exam the next day and my revision depended entirely on my access to the website. I walked around the IC and saw two girls crying. How much of my life depends on technology, honestly?

Leaving aside my studies, I’ve come to realise that most of the arguments I had with my boyfriend, well, ex-boyfriend now, were based on Whatsapp conversations. I’m sure more than a few couples have broken up because of the infamous “seen and not replied” curse. It’s a very modern problem, but technology is slowly ruining my life.

I was so convinced that technology was to blame that I googled the issue and found out that there is a link between smartphone usage and depression. The research, conducted by Northwestern University, revealed an awful truth: if you spend more than 68 minutes on your smartphone everyday you could be depressed.

Individuals with good mental health spend an average of 17 minutes daily. For me, that would be how many minutes I check my phone during lectures. Or the time I spend reading screenshotted conversations.

There is even a new term for the anxiety or “phobia” we feel when we lose our phones: “nomophobia”. The term, coined by Britons in 2010, compared the ordeal of looking for a lost mobile phone to “wedding jitters”. This means that the anxiety I would feel when promising to permanently spend my life with one person can be compared to the stress I feel when I lose my phone. That’s insane. What could possibly be in those devices to cause more than half of the British population to be depressed or extremely stressed when their phones simply run out of battery or are misplaced? The answer

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Techonologydependecia is obvious: our phones contain our lives.

Anxiety is linked to our phones, and so are our grades. Most university students rely heavily on the Internet to complete essays and dissertations.

Knowledge arrives quicker and more easily since the rise of the web. A good friend of mine managed to complete his entire first year of university without going to the library, surviving exclusively on using his computer and managing to get a solid first. I can testify to the fact that he wasn’t a genius, it’s simply because he was really good at using the web and finding those blessed links that completely answer your essay question.

Sometimes being tech savvy can reap greater rewards than spending hours trawling through books in the library.

But with all its wonders, technology has significantly changed the way we think. British neuroscientist Susan Greenfield controversially stated that there is a strong link between exposure to digital media and damage to children’s mental development. She went as far as to link the use of technology to autism. She got a lot of backlash for linking the two, but the concerning part is that some scientists backed her up. So I wonder, is it possible that in 100 years people will look back

at us and comment on how stupid we were for not connecting our use of computers or phones to the most deadly diseases?

Still, for the average university student, the main difference in our daily lives is our amazing multi-tasking skills and our growing partial attention to events. Digital natives, or better put, anyone born after the 90s, are constantly checking their Facebook accounts while doing their essays while Snapchatting a friend…

Basically, multi-tasking to an extremely high level. This is a skill that has become an essential part of modern life, with most workplaces demanding employee flexibility and the ability to work on several projects at once. Even while writing this, I’ve checked my emails twice and sent more than a few Snapchats. Multi-tasking may well be an exceptionally valuable asset.

However, there is a very fine line between productively finishing tasks and doing several poor jobs. That’s the bad news: the American Psychological Association produced data proving that the brain takes around 40 percent more time multi tasking than single tasking.

That’s 24 minutes every hour wasted on your multi tasking that you could easily have used to watch the latest The Office episode.

Furthermore, multi tasking doesn’t work if you’re using the same area of your brain. To be productive you must engage different sectors.

For example, you either write an email or start an essay, but you won’t successfully do both.

However, you can easily listen to a podcast and start your sketch models. For me, that explains why I feel significantly more productive when I study while listening to music.

Apart from that, technology has also affected our capacity to pay attention. A good example is my friend who used her GPS everyday to go to work. She lived in a huge city and her GPS always calculated different routes taking into account the traffic and road accidents. Not surprisingly, one fateful morning when her GPS malfunctioned, she had no idea how to get to work. She had been working there for more than three years, and after that incident was the butt of jokes for three weeks.

These incredibly foolish incidents aren’t as rare as you may think. How many times have you walked a familiar street and suddenly realised there is an enormous building you never noticed before? Chances are if you haven’t noticed something like this, you will the next time you walk without your Ipod or phone. In this technologically driven world, our tendency is to pay a bit of attention to several things instead of truly noticing our surroundings.

With this, our lifestyle has been completely altered by our addiction. Technology has now defined how much we see things. If you search “woman falls into fountain”, you’ll see a hilarious video of someone falling into a shopping centre’s fountain while texting. The woman was so focused on her digital world that she failed to see jets of water being pumped into the air.

We are not missing small details here. We are able to completely disregard important parts of our surroundings and lives. A trend that has created yet another new term: “phubbing”.

We are all the victims and offenders of “phubbing”: the act of snubbing someone for the phone. It happens all the time. You can call it artsy, but it was proven that taking millions of pictures of your food until you get the perfect shot causes your friend, the fellow phubbing victim, to taste less of their meal. Statistics produced by the Stop Phubbing Project also show that an average restaurant will see 36 cases of phubbing per dinner session, which equates to 570 days alone while in the company of others. The question “have you ever been alone in a crowded room?” has never made more sense.

Yet, the more I think about it the less I blame technology for our problems. After all, it did help my first year friend pass with flying colours. We are of course still completely and utterly dependent on it; we will never again live the more simplified existence people lived 20 years ago. Only in the last 15 years has there been more technological changes than ever before, explaining why 90s kids are so nostalgic. They’ve simply seen two completely different worlds. Yet, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

It can be a marvellous achievement if we only learn how to use it properly. And here is my proposal - use technology to better your essays.

Skype often with your friends back home because you need them and they need you.

Upload as many pictures as you can - social media can be the outlet to your art too. Debate problems online - it’ll make you be smarter and more open-minded. Keep making funny jokes on YikYak. Hell, even use Tinder to find your partner. But don’t base your relationships on letters on a screen. Don’t spend 570 days alone because you just had to check what that person replied during dinnertime. Don’t base your beauty on likes. And every so often, have a technology detox. It’ll make you see all the buildings you’ve never noticed before.

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The Sexist BAFTAs and Racist Oscars Joseph Davies discusses sexism, feminism and racism at celebrity award ceremonies.

Like the recent Oscars’ nominations, the BAFTAs have proven unable to provide an awards ceremony without huge controversy and Twitter backlash.

Following Stephen Fry’s remark about Jenny Beavan coming to the ceremony dressed as a “bag lady”, an angry storm of feminist tweeters lambasted the national treasure for being “snidey”, “spiteful” and “sexist”.

Unfortunately, this uproar has proven further that we live in a world where television hosts are no longer able to make jokes about friends - with Beavan confirming to The Telegraph that her and Fry are friends and that she was in no way “upset” - without risking a wave of criticism from people taking offence.

It is laughable that Fry has been described as a sexist. One can only imagine how the feminist Tweeters would have reacted to Fry’s comments about wanting Eddie Redmayne

“trapped in [his] basement” or how DiCaprio “turns out rather nice” once he’s scrubbed up, if they had been about women. Once again feminism has been let down by the few angry tweeters who demonstrate a complete disregard for what the movement is really about: social equality on a large scale, not insulting celebrities for harmless jokes.

While the BAFTAs were criticised for Fry’s ‘sexist’ comments, the ceremony was successful in avoiding the tag of racism, unlike the Oscars for its recent nominations. Will Smith and Spike Lee stand out as the figureheads of a mass boycott of the Oscars due to it failing to feature a single non-white nominee in its acting categories for the second year running. In contrast, the BAFTAs had Idris Elba and John Boyega nominated for awards, with Sidney Poitier winning the BAFTA Fellowship Award as well. Actors at the ceremony

also spoke out against the Oscars for its lack of racial diversity with Rebel Wilson half-jokingly saying she has never been invited to the Oscars because “they are racists” and Sacha Baron Cohen presenting the award to the Best “white” Actress.

While the two actors’ criticisms of the Oscars appears admirable, in reality it does little to actually provide a solution to racial discrimination, and instead seems to be more of a self-motivated publicity stunt to distance themselves from an increasingly criticised film industry.

The issue of racial diversity in the industry is in fact a whole lot more

complicated than simply pointing out the problem. Quota systems, as endorsed by the Creatives of Colour network, do not really provide an egalitarian solution to the problem, as these would encourage awards to be given based on skin colour rather than performance and would therefore be a paradoxical form of positive discrimination. The problem isn’t that the Oscars are ignoring huge amounts of excellent performances from nonwhite actors, it’s that there aren’t enough good roles being given to nonwhite actors in the industry as a whole.

It is with this sentiment that Michael Caine controversially said that “you

can’t vote for an actor [just] because he’s black” and that Charlotte Rampling claimed that the Oscars diversity row is “racist to white people”. It may appear that the two British actors are showing their age with these statements, as they are unsympathetic to the diversity cause, but this would be missing the point. The Oscars is a show that is tasked only with nominating and awarding what they deem to be the best performances of the year. We cannot say with confidence that the reason there are no black nominees is because of the inherent racism in the organisation, as it is just as likely that there weren’t enough black performances. Judging the performance of an actor is, meant to be, subjective, and this is not to say that there aren’t equally capable black actors, but that they may not have been given equally good roles in which to display their talent.

Equality is not about ensuring that there are so many of a type of people in high ranking jobs or Oscar nominations, it is about ensuring that no matter what type of person you are, you are equally able to achieve based on performance.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign to be the presidential candidate for the Democrats has encountered a problem due to this. While Clinton would have expected support from all women, or at least all feminists, to become the first female president of the United States, this has not been the case.

Older feminists have supported her on the grounds that this may be the last chance for them to see a woman as leader of the free world, but younger feminists are not so willing to cast their vote purely on the basis that Clinton is a woman, believing that they have a chance to see a different female president in their lifetime.

Feminism, as with all equality movements, should be focused on ensuring that people have equal opportunities, and not be segregated by race or gender.

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By Aisling Power

The Best Dressed at the BAFTAs and Grammys DiCaprio bagging his first ever BAFTA for Leading Actor for his role in The Revenant, and Winslet for Supporting Actress for her role in Steve Jobs. Kate wore an elegant black Antonio Berardi dress, which she accessorised with bright red lipstick and silver jewellery, while Leonardo looked dapper (as always) in a navy blue suit.

The winner of EE Rising Star John Boyega dressed impress in a velvet suit and a matching bow tie, which was a nice change to the traditional black suits, especially as he was wearing brown trousers to match his bow tie and jacket. Also nominated in this category, Alicia Vikander brought her own style to the BAFTAs in a shimmery black dress with silver embellishments

On Sunday 14 February, London’s Royal Opera House was packed with Hollywood’s finest actors and actresses attending the EE British Academy Film Awards.

Among these stars, the duo who first

met on the set of Titanic were reunited, with Leonardo DiCaprio calling Kate Winslet his “homegirl” after a reporter commented on how supportive his costar had been in all his endeavours.

The pair both won BAFTAS, with

and a very simple but effective overthe-shoulder wavy hairstyle.

Everyone’s favourite, Sacha Baron Cohen, was rocking the red carpet in a simple black suit and bow tie (which is certainly a change from his crazy style in his movies, such as Borat).

This contrasted beautifully to his wife Isla Fisher’s white old Hollywood style Stella McCartney dress. Isla’s auburn hair made a statement in itself as the colour contrasted magnificently with her dress and her cute, white clutch with a silver and black studded clasp.

Monday 15 February saw the 58th Annual Grammy Awards in the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, in which artists from all over the world gathered. With the most nominations, Kendrick Lamar took the Grammys by storm, winning five awards in total, including the Best Rap Album with ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ and Best Rap Song with ‘Alright’. He looked like he was channelling geekchic when he accepted his awards, as he was wearing a slightly open black shirt and a pair of black glasses, which was a simple look, but teamed with cornrows in his hair, he looked very suave.

Best friends Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift were both at the Grammys.

Selena looked very glamourous in a blue glittery Calvin Klein dress with a crisscross back and hoop earrings

by Norman Silverman Diamonds. On the other hand, Taylor wore an Atelier Versace two-piece which shadowed an outfit worn in 10 Things I Hate About You and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

One of my personal favourite outfits was Lady Gaga’s David Bowie-inspired

Europe’s Migrant Crisis in Photography

On Wednesday 17 February, the university’s French department organised for Bruno Boudjelal to come and talk with students and staff.

A well-known photographer focusing on migrants, Bruno is a Frenchman with Algerian origins. He showed spectators a short film demonstarting the journey of a group of people on a small boat, making their way from Algeria to Europe. The film, titled Harragas, was in fact short clips of these people going about their daily business on the boat. One was shaving, some were topless and smoking, and the camera sometimes turned towards the side of the boat, showing the waves and dolphins. Only one woman was shown in the video, amongst many men, and Bruno explained that for women to be able to go to Europe, many marry a Frenchman. Often that is their only choice.

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Another speaker at the event was a woman named Anne, who has a PhD in Revenge Pornography. She talked about the image of Aylan Kurdi, the little boy washed up on the beach which caused people to suddenly react to the refugee crisis on social media. Anne explained that social media shapes public opinion, and after this image was shown, people started to take action. In every country across Europe, people started googling different questions, wanting to know more about refugees and migrants. According to Anne, the most asked question on migrants on Google in Hungary was ‘what should I as a Christian do?’ Similarly, in Germany, the question was ‘how can I volunteer?’

A particularly interesting speaker was Sheffield’s Students’ Union 2012/13 president, Abdi-aziz Suleiman, of Somalian origin who can relate to some

of the migrants’ stories. He explained that he left Somalia for Sheffield when he was three years old because of the civil war there. He described the

outfit with her flaming red hair to match her red shoes (to dance the blues). This outfit was not the only tribute to Bowie in the night as Gaga took to the stage and performed a mash-up of some of Bowie’s greatest songs along with Nile Rodgers on guitar.

Amidst all the stars was The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco who was one of the best dressed in a white cutout sequined jumpsuit which highlighted her flawless physique and her blonde hair in a slightly curly bob, giving her a fresh look.

However, out of the BAFTAs and the Grammys, the best dressed was Ellie Goulding in her pale pink Stella McCartney gown with a low embellished back.

By Mared Gruffydd

disorientation one feels when arriving at a different place, giving examples of the confusing bus routes, the lanaguge, and even the types of milk, as he said that his family never knew which type they should buy in a supermarket.

Abdi-aziz defended the idea of crossing borders and added that borders are in fact superficial.

The speakers from the French department were the professors Amanda Crawley Jackson and Sophie Watt. They explained that they are both in the middle of writing a book on Calais and have been talking to photojournalists, trying to find unique images of migrants. Dr Amanda Crawley Jackson went on to explain that the Mediterranean is the most

surveyed area on the planet, apart from the America/Mexico border, but when a boat with migrants on it drifted into Italy and Malta’s maritime zones, giving out signals of distress, none of the countries responded and the migrants were left to die. This shocked me greatly and makes it seem as if some European countries have no concern at all for migrants.

All of the speeches at the event were eye-opening, giving us an insight into the lives of migrants and making us realise that Europe needs to do something to help the current situation, to help our fellow human beings.

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Society Spotlight: The African Caribbean Society By Jasmine Lee-Zogbessou In the two years that I’ve been a student in Sheffield, I’ve been an active member of the African Caribbean Society (ACS). I remember during my first week arriving as a fresher, the stand that stood out to me the most at the Activities Fair was ACS with its vibrant, enthusiastic members and familiar music drawing me closer.

The same atmosphere was provided as I entered my second year and continued my membership with this society. The current president of this diverse society Jolasun Onanuga, sums up ACS: “ACS is a cultural society, which aims to bring students from African and Caribbean culture closer together and to home. It aims to remind members about their culture while in university, just so a piece of their culture is not lost, and also to interact with fellow students from their respective countries.”

Last semester, the society arranged their very first cultural show called ‘Discovering the Motherland’. It was a huge success with big involvement from society members, as well as students from Sheffield Hallam University, showcasing musical and poetic talent, fashion, original choreography and a great sense of togetherness. Respective members attended in their country’s traditional attire and ended the show with a final walk down the runway.

The evening had confident hosts to

provide even more entertainment for the audience, and powerful spoken word was also performed. A lot of work was put into this event, as well as all the events beforehand and since.

Events aren’t purely subject to culture however as ACS have organised their own Halloween party, girls’ nights in,

football tournaments and their own bar crawl. This academic year in particular had varied events for everyone to attend and enjoy.

The current Events Manager, Adain Bailey had this to say: “My role within the committee has involved organising more diverse events for each member to

embrace and celebrate their respected cultures. I think this year has definitely been about diversity and allowing certain events to appeal to more than just a selected group, so basically bringing everyone closer together.”

Despite its name, it’s important to understand that this society isn’t

purely open to those who are African and Caribbean. Aidan continues: “We try our best through social media to promote not just our events but our society as a whole, trying to welcome everyone to our events, so they don’t feel like you have to be African or Caribbean to partake in activities or attend events.”

The committee recently showcased their hardwork once again to provide yet another big event this year – ‘Revolt16’. Promotion through social media and creative photography as well as online posters preceded this party.

Their next event will be a Masquerade Ball in April.

A couple first year students who joined ACS in September shared their opinions on the society. Bolu Bello, 18, said “ACS has highlighted to me the importance of community, having somewhere to belong and having people to call on for support. It has certainly been entertaining being part of this society.”

Michelle Manteaw, 19, said: “ACS has probably been the most impactful society during my fresher’s year. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of the social events that they have put on and I’ve made some solid friendships through the society.”

Anyone is invited to join the African Caribbean Society for just £5 per year.

Review: Alyssum Café Bistro

Clare Mattin explains why you need to try out the new Greek café bistro Alyssum on Barber Road.

For many students, Barber Road begins and ends at Sainsbury’s.

However, there is good reason to venture to the top of the hill. Here you’ll find Alyssum, a quaint bistro café serving delicious Greek food and great coffee.

Alyssum is perhaps my favourite

hangout spot in Sheffield and I’m not alone. Though the café is yet to turn a year old, it has rightfully established a loyal following in Crookesmoor. The décor is dainty and it is clear that careful attention has been paid in making the café into a laid-back refuge. The coffee is much better than in chain houses

and the prices are also reasonable. You will find your traditional lattes and cappuccinos plus Greek coffee, which is great for a morning wake up.

The café is petite with just four tables inside but luckily breakfast is served all day every day. If you’re tired of greasy brunch houses serving subpar bacon

and eggs, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised by A l y s s u m’s m e n u .

The Greek breakfast swaps soggy toast for potato rosti and adds colour with a tomato, pepper and s m o k e d paprika sauce. My go-to dish is smashed avocado toast and poached eggs – complimented by pesto, a squeeze of lemon and topped with grilled halloumi. The meal is priced at £6, with smaller dishes falling around the £4/5 mark, which given the portion size is a very reasonable price tag.

The lunch menu is equally delicious, packed with salads, soups, flatbreads and mezze. All dishes are freshly made on the premises and change on a daily basis – giving reason to go back time and time again. This place seriously knows how to compliment flavours and the menu caters for many tastes, with plenty of vegetarian and vegan options as well as gluten free alternatives. Given the fact that everything is made fresh on the premises, you might expect service to be slow, but you would be wrong - food is brought out swiftly and with a smile.

Alongside savory options, the counter is packed with sweet treats, which change regularly. Previous delights have included chocolate brownies, raspberry cheesecakes and something I readily take advantage of – homemade truffles. My favourite are the chai flavour, which resemble a lightly spiced cake mixture and go perfectly with a cup of whateverexcuse-you-make-to-have-one. They are a steal at just 90p and often on offer at buy two get one free, so you can even take one home for your housemate.

Despite how busy Alyssum is, I never feel hurried to leave and so I see it as the perfect place to bring friends, family or just sit and read over a coffee.

It’s likely the café will soon outgrow its humble Barber Road beginnings and I would be the first to advocate another venue - perhaps in the city centre.

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Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

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Travelling through Japan

Japan has a unique cultural identity - while preserving ancient traditions, Japan has become a hub for new fashions, ideas and technologies.

The juxtaposition between old and new makes the country so exciting to explore – so, if you’re looking for a different travel destination, look no further.

TOKYO Much of the excitement of Tokyo can be found exploring the various districts which make up the city. Harajuku and Akihabara, two of the most popular, are worlds apart but equally fantastic.

For your inner nerd, Akihabara is the place of dreams. This techy district has gadgets galore and is a haven for comic

By Clare Mattin

book fans, with manga and anime dominating the shelves.

The focal point of Harajuku is Takeshita Dori- a street lined with cosplay stores and Purikura photo booths. It’s easy to spend an entire afternoon strolling this surreal neighborhood, which is conveniently close to the Shibuya crossing.

With a population exceeding eight million, Tokyo is one of the most densely populated cities, and this comes alive at the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. At this crazy intersection, traffic lights turn red simultaneously and pedestrians spill into the road in a beautiful, chaotic crowd. Starbucks in the Tsutaya building offers a great view, so if you’re into film photography, this is the perfect opportunity to time-lapse an iconic part of Tokyo.

However exploring Tokyo, can be thirsty work - luckily bars in Japan are an attraction in their own right. Alcatraz E.R is a bizarre medical-themed prison, where you are the patient. The nurses will serve disturbing drinks to your cell – but stay on their good side as they also carry large syringes! Shibuya also hosts many karaoke bars, giving you the perfect opportunity to don a pink wig and enjoy the full ‘Lost in Translation’ experience.

If you find yourself singing into the early hours, take refuge in one of Shibuya’s manga cafés where you can read comics until sunrise.

OSAKA Exciting nightlife is not confined to Tokyo. Osaka is the third largest city, and if you’re looking for bright lights, amusements and great food then the Dōtonbori district is the place to be.

A great dish to try is Okonomiyaki, a savoury pancake, eaten with mayonnaise, bonito and chilli sauce.

Most restaurants will feature a hot plate style table so you can make it yourself, creating a more personalised experience.

After dinner, nip into one of the many arcades to try your hand at Taiko Drum Master and finish the night sipping an Asahi on the riverbank.

KYOTO From Osaka you can catch the train to Kyoto, which is more traditional in nature. Gion hosts a number of picturesque wooden buildings, teahouses and beautifully dressed Maiko and Geisha.

Kyoto is also home to the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine, famous for 10,000 red Tori gates, which create a seemingly endless crimson tunnel. Relish the chance to dine at restaurants furnished with tatami mats and enjoy warm Kitsune Udon, a tofu noodle dish, which translates as ‘Fox udon’.

Recipe corner: Vegetarian Spag Bol Ingredients (serves four): • 350g Quorn mince • 2 tbsp olive oil • 1 onion finely chopped • 1 carrot finely chopped • 1 stick of celery finely chopped • 200g mushrooms finely chopped • 2 cloves of garlic (crushed) • 400g tin chopped tomatoes • 1 vegetable stock cube disolved in 200ml of water • 100ml red wine • 350g spaghetti • Fresh basil leaves torn for garnish

LIFESTYLE

Method: 1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onion, carrot, celery and garlic gently for 5 minutes.

2. Add the mushrooms and fry for 2 more minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes, red wine, and vegetable stock. Cover and simmer gently for a further 8 minutes.

4. Stir in the Quorn mince and continue to cook over a low heat.

5. Cook your spaghetti as per pack instructions.

6. Drain the spaghetti.

7. Spoon the bolognese sauce over the top and serve.

8. Sprinkle with some basil leaves, grated parmesan and Italian herbs.

TOP TIP If possible, plan your trip within Hanami season, when Japan’s famous cherry blossom blooms. This is typically the last week of March/first week of April. Accommodation prices during this period are higher as people flock to enjoy the blossom, but it really is a priceless experience, which, if you’re savvy, won’t break the bank. Airbnb will allow you to experience Japan at a fraction of the cost and your host will likely show you great local spots! If by the end of your visit you have a few yen remaining, check in to a capsule hotel to finish your trip with a truly wacky Japanese experience!

YOUR

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ENTERTAINMENT

THIS FORTNIGHT...

W

hen Shia LaBeouf appeared on a red carpet two years ago wearing a paper bag on his head saying “I am not famous anymore” we could all have been forgiven for thinking he had lost the plot a bit.

An accusation of plagiarism some weeks before had prompted the (ex?) star to tweet several copied apologies and tell everyone to #StopCreating by writing it in the sky above Los Angeles, but since then he has

And for Shia’s next trick turned his energies to creating what he calls meta-modernist performance art.

The latest instalment is #ELEVATE in which the 29-year old spent 24 hours in a lift in Oxford.

Art? Perhaps. Peculiar? Almost definitely. But losing his way?

Absolutely not.

My take on all this is that LaBeouf has tried to reconnect with people after perhaps feeling like he had let them down when he allegedly plagiarised from the graphic novelist Daniel Clowes.

The first performance piece after this was #IAMSORRY, where he sat in an LA art gallery wearing the bag while people came in and interacted with him.

He has since spent three days watching his own films, given truly wonderful motivational speeches and even told the people of Los Angeles who to #StartCreating once again.

The whole story feels like a weird film coming to a happy ending and if my interpretation of this is at all true then #ELEVATE is

LaBeouf’s masterpiece.

Inclusive, free and normal.

There’s no waiting in line for days and if you ask nicely then the actor will even slap you in the face, as one fellow performance artist persuaded him to do.

This means #ELEVATE enabled him to both figuratively and literally connect with people and you can’t ask for more than that.

So keep at it Shia, keep creating, everything is going to be okay.

MATTHEW DREW

The Console Gaming Identity Crisis

I

t’s strange to think how far video games have come in recent years, especially when you consider Atari’s ExtraTerrestrial based sabotage of the gaming industry in ’77. With thousands of unsold copies of the ill-fated tie-in finding a new home in landfill, it took the arrival of Nintendo’s Entertainment System to win back the trust of gamers.

You would have thought by now the gaming industry would be comfortable enough to build

T

witter is where playground squabbles are reborn in 140 characters, with thousands of jeering onlookers. Kanye West is one such offender, regularly ending up arguing with someone or making strange or ridiculous statements via his twitter feed.

I could mock Kanye West for the conceited and ignorant tweets he posts, but that would be a mistake.

The pleasure I would gain from looking down on him says far more about myself than him. It would be

consoles that don’t suffer from the personality disorder of secretly wishing that they were PCs. But there is still a lot to be said in favour of console gaming.

The biggest advantage is that you know that whatever game you have just spent your hard earned student loan on is actually going to work; and it often seems like all the noted benefits of a gaming behemoth are nothing but over compensations for motherboard envy when consoles work just fine

at delivering a solid experience.

Indeed, all the issues with consoles seem to be due to the developers forgetting what they’re for.

And whilst it may be difficult for companies to believe, most of us would quite like to play these games with our friends next to us, instead of plonking ourselves in online lobbies.

I just wish that companies would realise that trying to make consoles like computers is starting

a war simply to lose every battle.

I don’t want to share my virtual murder of innocents on Facebook, and not just because I hope to get a job at some point. If they focused on making consoles about the games instead of covering up the substantial gaps with pretty pictures and gimmicky features, they’d be less likely to come crashing down when the next ET happens.

MATTHEW MILLS

Oh please, Kanye not...? hypocritical to put myself above Kanye by mocking his vanity.

Whether he tweets to entertain, for publicity or to inflate his ego makes no difference.

Is it coincidence that Kanye is tweeting so much around the release of his new album, exclusively released on the supergroup platform Tidal and his own website? The attention is what Kanye wants and usually gets.

Recent events show that Kanye tries to engage with anyone famous for attention; Wiz Kalifa,

Taylor Swift and Mark Zuckerberg to name a few.

Within just a few days or even hours, the gossip or outrage is old news and we all wonder why it was such a big deal at the time.

But we fall into the trap over and over again. It is up to us to be selective over what we engage with in the media.

Kanye West probably will not be going away or stop being provocative anytime soon, but hopefully that time will come sooner rather than later. In the

end, it is what an artist creates that should either warrant our attention or not.

In the meantime, instead of going to find out what Kanye has said this time, I recommend you go watch Kendrick Lamar’s performance at the Grammys.

That is far more worthy of your attention.

BENJAMIN RILEY

BAFTA’s racial storm in a teacup

A

fter the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, the BAFTA awards could hardly escape a similar storm.

Protests were held by the group Creatives of Colour against the lack of diversity, opportunity and inclusion for non-white creatives in front of the Royal Opera House in London.

The activists dressed in black and white with #BaftaBlackOut masks in support of two nominated artists of colour: John

Boyega (Star Wars) and Idris Elba (Beast of No Nation).

During the ceremony, actress Rebel Wilson made fun of the film industry and its diversity problem: “It’s so great to be here at this really serious event. I have never been invited to the Oscars because as you know they are racist.”

Though her speech made the audience laugh, it wasn’t received well online. The comments were clearly ill-judged and the

anger generated in sectors of the internet dedicated to racial equality is understandable to say the least.

Eddie Redmayne expressed desire to see improvement on the BAFTAs red carpet: “It’s quite a hard industry. And it takes time.

But if you’re passionate enough you’ll do it.”

The BAFTA awards insist they make sure to always have diversity in their nominees but it is the industry itself which causes

these issues - the awards are just at the end of the chain.

Cuba Gooding Jr. has opined that beyond Hollywood, the problem is a reflection of deeply-ingrained societal issues affecting the way gender and race are observed.

Hopefully, given the anger and passion in the air this year, change is coming. Even if it is a slow process.

JULIA HODDER

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GAMES

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mods a magical menagerie of

ned westwood takes a whirlwind tour into the world of mods

Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

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modding very old games such as DOOM and Half Life to enhance the original gameplay, allowing many players to return to them for not just nostalgia’s sake, but for an enhanced experience of an old favourite.

Some mods become so popular that developers, both indie and well established companies, take on the task of developing standalone versions. Valve’s standalone of the ‘Defence of the Ancients’ mod for Warcraft III, called DOTA 2, has become one of the leading MOBA games with a firm grounding in the eSports scene. Bohemia Interactive took on the challenge of developing a standalone version of ARMA II’s Day Z, which, despite its seemingly never ending alpha state, has also done extremely well. There have even been instances where unofficial mods have been made into official expansion packs such as Civilization IV’s ‘Beyond the Sword’.

Tekkit completely changes the way you can play Minecraft

ADDONS

M

odding, a favourite pass time for many gamers and aspiring developers alike, means the freedom to add modifications (mods) to their favourite games, ranging from minor adjustments for convenience’s sake to full scale conversions that create whole new worlds/levels/game modes within the same game.

In the world of PC gaming, modding is commonplace.It is less so with console gaming, although various console favourites such as Smash Bros for the Wii have been modified to address balancing issues and core mechanics within the game. Developers often create games with modifications in mind and in some cases provide tool kits to encourage people to do so, such as Bethesda’s tool kits.

Modding keeps a game alive for a lot longer than its originally anticipated shelf life. People are still

TYPES OF MODDING

UNOFFICIAL PATCHES TOTAL CONVERSIONS GRAPHIC OVERHAUL

WHAT IS MODDING?

GAMES

Small, lightweight modifications to the game ranging from modified user interfaces and data providing applications which are very popular amongst massively multiplayer online gaming communities, to new objects, visual designs, weapons, armour, skin customizations etc.

These can range from relatively lightweight texture overhauls to large, frame rate tanking, lighting, weather and depth-of-field modifications.

Games such as Skyrim have ENB mods which package together a whole range of graphical mods that completely change the games aesthetic. Nobody really knows what it stands for so let’s go with Extreme Natural Beautification.

A total conversion mod is something that creates a seemingly entirely new game within the original game. Counter Strike, a game we will be covering in future weekly mod reviews, was itself originally a total conversion mod for Half Life.

When hotfixes fail to fix many issues in a game that the developers will inevitably stop working on, modders create big unofficial patches that have wide compatibility and set out to fix a variety of bugs or glitches that players who pay attention to detail notice.

WHAT CAN I GET MODS AND HOW DO I DO IT?

Anybody can modify their PC games, if the game is a popular one for modding it will often have some kind of organiser and/or launcher to make the process easy. For Add-ons we have applications such as that provided by Curse, a site for a variety of add-ons and mods but most commonly used for MMO add-ons.

For most other mods there are a variety of websites that house large modding communities such as: Nexusmods, MODSonline, MODDB and more. Some games have dedicated websites such as PlanetMinecraft. Most of these websites are integrate with mod organisation applications which allow you download with the click of a button such as Nexus Mod Manager for Nexusmods, or Mod Organizer which works for a variety of websites.

Steam Workshop is probably one of the easiest and simplest ways to download add-ons and mods

for games in your steam library and there is usually fairly little manual configuration involved.

However modding video games isn’t all smooth sailing, before getting started it is worth reading up about compatibility issues and taking the time to order your mods so that you don’t run into any issues.

For some games like Skyrim, clean saves and backups are essential for modding especially when using a mod that changes any core game mechanics. Most mods will come with installation guides, especially ones that require some kind of manual configuration.

Each review in the series will come with the brief explanation of what kind of installation process to expect with those particular mods.

Thomas the Tank Engine invades Skyrim

MODS ARE FREE, MONETISATION CAUSES ISSUES MODS ARE AWESOME In April 2015 a ‘paid mod’ service was created on Steam for Skyrim. Valve worked with Bethesda in what was seen as an underhanded move to monetize a community that had worked on a voluntary basis for four years. The initial premise was to allow modders to sell their creations on the Steam workshop. However there was a strong reaction both for and against this move. It divided a cohesive community, causing some modders to withdraw their free mods and offer them exclusively on the Steam workshop and community managers such as the owner of Nexusmods to speak

out to reassure the community of what it meant for his site. There can be many compatibility issues with modding, especially on Skyrim. Paying for a service that has uncertain consequences did not seem like the wisest decision, especially on a four year old game which has a well-grounded community based on voluntary efforts and donations.

Mods allow people to keep their old favourites alive and to enjoy them in a new light, they keep the community going and for some gamers they are absolutely essential.

THIS IS THE FIRST IN A WEEKLY SERIES HANDPICKING THE BEST MODS OUT THERE. VISIT THE GAMES SECTION ON THE FORGE PRESS WEBSITE FOR MORE!

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GAMES

“

FIREWATCH

F

irewatch is a brief exploration narrative game from studio Campo Santo, which brings to life the artwork of Olly Moss.

You play Henry, who is spending the summer watching out for forest fires in the Wyoming wilderness.

The most immediately

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The most immediately obvious draw of the game is its environment. Firewatch is gorgeous.

obvious draw of the game is its environment. Firewatch is gorgeous.

Oranges and yellows saturate the atmosphere, giving the impression of a constant dusk. There is a strong sense of isolation in the woods and mountains that is enhanced by Chris Remo’s ambient soundtrack.

The bulk of the narrative is progressed through dialogue with Delilah (Henry’s boss) with whom you communicate via walkie-talkie.

THE WITNESS

CULT CORNER LEO’S RED CARPET RAMPAGE

O

f the struggles that epitomise the futility of human existence, few penetrate modern culture like Leonardo DiCaprio’s unending pursuit of the Oscar for Best Lead Actor.

London-based developers The Line have here crafted an addictive, propulsive buttonmasher that also serves as a biting and ultimately tragic satire of Hollywood at large.

The fundamental gameplay at Leo’s Red Carpet Rampage’s heart is basic but involving - by alternating the G and H keys on your computer, DiCaprio is hurtled down a red carpet at high speed, chasing the ever-elusive Oscar which hovers teasingly at the far side of the screen.

Leo must dodge wayward paparazzi, Titanic icebergs and a feral Lady Gaga, pick up pale consolatory BAFTA, SAG and MTV Choice awards and race fellow nominees Matt Damon, Eddie Redmayne and Bryan Cranston as he chases the evasive statuette.

His perpetual quest is intercut with razor-sharp mini games

Firewatch’s dialogue is excellent, with brilliant voice-performances from Rich Sommer and Cissy Jones.

It is frequently heart-breaking, paranoia-inducing, and hilarious, punctuated with plenty of puns.

In some ways, the ending to the game falls flat. Certain narrative strands that are significant points of tension closer to the start of the game amount to little towards the end. While this works to set up a

which see him clambering into a sports car after a quaalude overdose, desperately writing an acceptance speech, and searching for the black awards nominee (an impossible task).

The fact that all this adds up to a breathless, hilarious and deeply affecting experience is testament to The Line’s craft - Rampage is a concise, impactful blast of action gaming designed to vent rage, desperation and disillusionment, both at Hollywood and life at large.

Will Leo finally get his win for his turn in snowy snarl-fest The Revenant? Only time will tell but, after 23 years as the bridesmaid but never the bride, the final counter on Rampage reels off awards in the thousands and the ‘Oscars’ counter still reads a big, fat zero.

If he were to win this year, Rampage makes clear that we’d lose forever one of the remaining struggles that gives our life some semblance of meaning. Therein lies the tragedy of our time.

RHYS HANDLEY

J

onathan Blow, the mind behind the indie smash hit Braid, has once again strived to push the boundaries of gaming.

Inspired by Myst, Witness is a first person open world puzzler taking place on a mysterious island filled with equally strange structures.

From the get go, the player is given no instruction or tutorial on how to proceed. Instead, they are presented with a series of panels containing puzzles. As the player solves more and more puzzles, a gold turret emerges from the ground and shines a light towards the mountain which centres the island, representing the player’s ultimate goal.

The game is amazingly paced, with early puzzles introducing the simple concepts of logic, observation and exploration which will become vital as the player slowly falls deeper into the pit of insanity of unravelling the enigmas of the island.

The fact that attempting to link a series of seemingly random images will make the player’s head hurt to the point they want to rip out their hair is a testament to the puzzles fantastic design. Similar to Valve’s popular puzzler Portal, players endure this brain bending torture for hours, just for the satisfaction of putting the pieces together and see this previously impossible task crumble under their mighty mind.

Even six hundred panels in, the payoff never subsides.

The island itself is the main character of this otherwise lonely

more unexpected ending, whether it makes it a better ending is up for debate. Where the ending succeeds, however, is in its continued focus on the relationship between Henry and Delilah.

The game’s brevity (clocking in at around five hours) might be a turnoff for many people. I suspect that with greater exploration a lot more can be discovered in the various written notes and items scattered

”

about the environment.

Boasting beautiful visuals and exceptional dialogue, Firewatch is an excellent game that will likely appeal to fans of other narrative exploration games like Gone Home and Dear Esther.

HANNAH BURGOYNE

game. Like a beautiful version of Lost, the island’s origins drive the player forward, keeping their interest in what could be seen as a monotonous game.

This is helped significantly by the game’s artistic direction. Visuals that are a fun colour blend of cell shading and ultra-realism enable truly breathtaking structures and landscapes.

Very occasionally the game can be frustrating to the point of being unenjoyable; with some puzzles being so difficult and drawn out that the player becomes bored.

Likewise, sometimes the game’s simplistic controls can instead feel clunky and restrictive.

However, these problems are massively over-shadowed by the sheer brilliance of this game. Never in recent times has a game both innovated and entertained to such a degree, with neither factor being hindered by the other.

Once again, an indie developer has succeeded in doing what triple A studios struggle with every year; surprising their audience. The Witness truly is one of a kind, just don’t Google the puzzle solutions.

LUKE BALDWIN

“

Occasionally the game can be frustrating to the point of being unenjoyable

”

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HAIRSPRAY

W

hen I picked up the Forge Press pass to see Hairspray, I thought I was maybe going to struggle to find a +1 to bring along. So I was more than a bit surprised when the first person I asked jumped at the idea. The only reason I mention this is because the presence of my friend Cameron is entirely integral to my experience – he bloody loved it.

This is not something I found out from speaking to him afterwards.

It was something I discovered from the get go as he continuously and enthusiastically joined in with every

THE 39 STEPS

I

t is not often that we get to meet a “devilishly handsome” bachelor complete with stiffupper lip, gung-ho attitude and unmistakable pencil moustache.

Then again, it is not often that Alfred Hitchcock’s classic spy thriller, The 39 Steps as recreated for stage, is on tour after nine years in London’s West End. The marvel of the production is by all means in its simplicity, and the near perfect execution of the 130 characters played by the small company of four.

With minimal fuss we follow the remarkable adventure of Richard Hannay, played by Richard Ede, as he encounters dastardly murderers, double crossing secret agents and, of course, devastatingly beautiful women.

“A small cast doesn’t necessarily mean a small production.”

Using several crates and improvised sound effects we stand alongside Hannay as he dashes craftily across the rooftop of a train, whilst a few moments later, we are transported to the rugged, unforgiving moors of Scotland with a skillful use of lighting. The stage was simple, and relies on minimal props including a doorframe, some

other song, at one point cupping his hands to his face and gasping with delight at a solo, and also, to my horror, gave a standing ovation to a number not even in the closing section.

Despite my underlying cynicism there’s no point in any of us lying to ourselves – everybody loves a good ol’ musical, and for me, Hairspray pretty much represents everything great about the genre.

The intrinsically camp 1960s visual and musical styling, the plight of the ‘plump’ female lead who’s aspiring for fame and romance, female antagonists taken straight out of Clueless and a nice dash of social commentary. Whilst it isn’t the most sensitive dealing of race in theatre, it gets a point across, and has a damn good amount of fun whilst crates, an armchair, and a window frame to ingenuously create several enchanting sets.

A piercing German accent introduces us to Olivia Greene, an actress who gives life to the German femme fatale Annabella Schmidt, the ‘Hitchcock Blonde’ Pamela and lowly housewife Margaret.

Special mention must be given to Andrew Hodges and Rob Witcomb who perhaps carry the greatest burden of the production, inhabiting at least a dozen characters each, ranging from a lisping political aid, a digit-less murderer, and a doting Scottish innkeeper.

With aplomb, creativity, and whirlwind changes of costume, the fearless duo inhabit a sea of different characters yet still manage to ensure that each one is recognisable, innovative and witty in their own right.

Notoriously Alfred Hitchcock made cameo appearance in many of his films, a playful signature, which is also not forgotten by the creators, who frequently pay homage to the film great.

Indeed it is the cast’s stellar showmanship, devoid of high-tech gadgets and pomp, which sets this production apart. Laughter erupted throughout the 100 minute performance at the Lyceum Theatre, genuine belly-aching laughter that was induced by a few wooden boxes, frequent costume changes and an effable amount of talent.

At times it was naff and jokes were over-stretched, but despite this, The 39 Steps remains a play that prioritises craftsmanship above effects and debunked conventions to prove that a small cast doesn’t necessarily mean a small production.

LAURA MULLAN

doing so.

“Proof that the beat cannot be stopped.”

All singing? Check. All dancing?

Check. On paper that’s all the production has to achieve, but this particular production does it all oh so well. Lead by an striking live band (that due to the Corny Collins TV show setting are directly visible onstage – props to intelligent set design) and an impressive ensemble cast, Hairspray tears through its numbers with wit, charm and [ch] ease.

Tony Maudsley and Peter Duncan

hit comedic heights with their rendition of ‘You’re Timeless to Me’, playing to the audience in a manner more than slightly pantomimeesque, and the more serious numbers such as ‘Run and Tell That’ and ‘I Know Where I’ve Been’ stand out for the sheer impression left by their performances; Brenda Edwards in the latter was definitely deserving of the standing ovation she received no matter how embarrassed I was.

That’s not saying it’s perfect.

Characters such as Link and Tracy are slightly swallowed up among the rest of the cast –this isn’t necessarily a criticism to them, rather than another compliment to such a strong ensemble. The production shines with original humour, particularly playing to facets like the Seaweed/ Penny romance, or the constant

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bickering between Amber and pretty much everybody else.

The music is continually spot on, the choreography balances the right level of subtle and impressive and the sets allow for refreshing versatility in scenery. Paul Kerryson’s production of Hairspray does everything you want it to; it ticks all the right boxes. Despite not necessarily being the target audience demographic, I feel no shame in admitting I was stood on my feet dancing enthusiastically and clapping along with the rest of the audience in the finale. You can’t stop the beat. Can’t do it. Can’t be done.

JOSEPH MACKAY

BOOK CORNER THE OPPOSITE OF LONELINESS

By MARINA KEEGAN

“Do you wanna leave soon? No, I want enough time to be in love with everything. And I cry because everything is so beautiful and so short”.

Much can be said on Marina Keegan’s The Opposite of Loneliness, a collection of short stories and essays, but nothing would change the fact that indeed this book is utterly good.

Both in the fiction and nonfiction section, Keegan’s voice is crystal clear in presenting the unpolished truth; putting the reader closer to the story, even if unfamiliar with its themes.

Despite the variety of stories, there is underlying common feature in her writing style. Keegan captures the sense of fragility and uncertainty of her, and our generation without losing the spontaneity of a young voice.

This fragile feeling is underpinned

by Keegan’s death in a car accident after graduation in 2012. As in Cold Pastoral, she depicts perfectly that feeling of vagueness that is in our actions and in our reasons behind them.

In her storytelling, the banal feelings of our generation gather a new poetic relevance. The Opposite of Loneliness is perfect if you’re in your early 20s: you’ll love/hate it if you want to be a writer, you’ll love it if you are still dealing with what to do with your life.

VALERIA VIGILANTE

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ARTS

Sheffield Expressive Dance is a newly formed society, reflecting a growing popularity in the art form. Jo Gallacher chats to Treasurer Hugo Morgan to find out why expressive dance could be your new favourite hobby.

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MUSIC

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Mixtapes: What makes them so special?

ARTWORK: EMILY CUTHBERT

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MUSIC

Although they may have become a little outdated in the 21st century in favour of Spotify playlists, a specially crafted mixtape still holds a lot of potency. Here, Mollie Davidson discusses what mixtapes mean to her.

U

pon finding out that you can burn songs onto a disc without minor injuries, people, my mother for example, will force you into making album after album of her favourite songs until you snap every blank disc.

You might think I was exaggerating. You would be right. I am. I have only made three and I offered to make the first one for her, after seeing songs she’d written down onto scraps of paper throughout the year.

At first, she just wanted the songs as a Christmas present. But that didn’t feel like enough. Where would be the present? The thought?

We had reached an impasse on the dilemma of the nomadic state of pop music in the 21st century. Yet, the idea of a mix tape had not even crossed our minds, even though we had made many over the years. Maybe we were nervous about the power that a specially crafted mixtape holds. It can feel like you are on the precipice of a cliff, not knowing if they will appreciate the songs you have chosen, that you believe speak for that person, but actually are just the ones that you like, that you wish, in a mild mannered way, to force on the recipient.

I did not have to stand on that precipice because she had already picked the songs.

Half the battle had been won.

There was no agony over song choice. I do not have to force my miniscule knowledge of music onto her. I wouldn’t dare anyway.

She knew what she wanted to hear. She was in control. I felt no dredging weight pulling me down into an early grave over whether she would like it. She is not trying to impress anyone, especially not me.

It is fortunate that it is a present. It makes the emphasis for it to be something pretty to display, something to hold, something completed to place on the shelf, all the more crucial. It is not an old-fashioned concept. It is just one of convenience. It does not matter where she heard the songs or when. My money’s on Paul Gambaccini on a Saturday night but that is beside the point. Through these songs I can see how she has changed or stayed the same over the year.

Nobody asks me this, but in my head, I often wonder what is the album I would really like to make? Well, the albums I make for my mother, I should say. But I do not.

This is not a sentimental project. It is now a necessity. To find somewhere to put these three minutes of pop so that they will be listened to and not, hidden in a myriad of files, forgotten. No matter the idea that she gave me life, this is the bond that we have created, through bits of plastic. We place our trust in something easily broken and discarded.

The compilations sit on the shelf in the hallway, quiet and neat. Ominous.

Without the act of putting the songs onto a blank disc, they would eventually wither and become hollow to us both. Linda Ronstadt: Hollow. The War of the Worlds Soundtrack: Hollow.

Justin Hayward: Hollow. She plays them often because she genuinely likes the songs and the artists who created them. They have now become some of my favourite things to listen to as well.

It is not a public or a private affair. It just is.

My mother would do it herself if she wanted to. But she does not. This is a mix CD. Simple.

Direct. Now, we do not even talk about whether I will be making another one. It is expected. I await the chance to create the album art. I await the chance to not record a heartfelt message or spend hours over the order of the track listing. I try and do it in the least amount of time as possible. My aim being so that she can have it as soon as possible.

It is not about making someone purely happy or delivering 15 insights into their souls at three minutes a turn. It is about helping my mother out.

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MUSIC

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SINGLES

guitar solo from Johnny Bond, all before returning to the penultimate chorus.

CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN: SOUNDCHECK

“Two minutes in and the song takes a rapid change in tone”

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he first single off Catfish and the Bottlemen’s highly anticipated second album has been released. ‘Soundcheck’ is the first piece of material we’ve heard from the Welsh indie rockers since the release of their debut album The Balcony in 2014.

Van McCann’s vocals kick in from the moment the song starts, accompanied by a muted guitar riff.

The texture gradually builds up until reaching the chorus. At this point, it seems as though ‘Soundcheck’ could have easily worked as an album filler within the band’s debut, but two minutes in, the song takes a rapid change in tone.

A lengthy breakdown emerges starting with a simple drum beat, which eventually escalates into a

EZRA FURMAN @ FOUNDRY

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ver the past few years, the enigmatic, unquantifiable Ezra Furman has gradually cemented himself as an ambassador for the alienated, penning deeply honest songs about faith, depression and erratic emotions. His popularity has flourished since his latest release, Perpetual Motion People, seeing him garner mainstream attention and a devoted fan base. Tonight, he brings his unashamedly eccentric and unconventional style to Sheffield’s Foundry.

With a voice reminiscent of Daniel Bejar (New Pornographers and Destroyer), lyrical content akin to Father John Misty’s worldweary observations, and a general

air which has been likened to that of American cult hero Jonathan Richman, if there’s one thing to expect from tonight’s proceedings, it is to expect the unexpected.

Suspense builds as the crowd gathers expectantly, awaiting the arrival of one of contemporary music’s most defiant performers.

Furman emerges from behind the curtain alone and gawks comically at the crowd during a prolonged opening ‘tease’, before launching into a frantic rendition of ‘Restless Year’ with his backing band, the Boyfriends.

What ensues is a frenetic, captivating set, showcasing Furman’s flexible songwriting, carefree attitude and his ability to enchant an audience with charismatic charm and spontaneity. The distressed fervour of Furman’s vocals typifies the unhinged quality of this arresting performance.

On ‘Wobbly’, ‘loose’ sax and punchy guitar provide the perfect backdrop to Furman’s idiosyncratic cogitations. ‘Ordinary Life’ is quietly triumphant, bringing the first proper singalong of the evening.

The trilogy of ‘My Zero’, ‘Body was Made’ and ‘Lousy Connection’ towards the end of the set is particularly resplendent. All the while, Furman emits an incredibly infectious energy which the crowd respond to, becoming more animated with every song.

Fundamentally, Furman is an intriguing character and his music is extremely exciting. On ‘Lousy Connection’, he declares: “we can’t fit in / so we just head for the fringes”; a line that perfectly captures a true individual who leaves the audience, quite literally, weak at the knees.

JONATHAN FELTON

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abrielle Aplin, the kooky Bath-born singer, receives a warm welcome at Sheffield’s Leadmill.

Aplin’s new album, Light Up The Dark, has been met with critical acclaim and it’s easy to see why – her soulful voice and eclectic mix of upbeat songs and sentimental love ballads appeals to a diverse audience.

Aplin begins her set with an acoustic version of ‘Coming Home’, leaving the crowd in awe of her elegant and mature vocals. Despite a slow start, she moves on to singing

more rousing songs, including ‘Hurt’ and ‘Heavy Heart’, to the chorus of cheers from the crowd.

As expected, her new song ‘Fools Love’ gets everybody dancing with its infectious rhythm. She demonstrates her ability to hit the higher notes in ‘Slip Away’, and at just 23, her voice is remarkably developed, with a robust depth.

Considering she’s only a couple of years older than most university students, she’s already set up her own record label, and her ambition and independence is represented in her confident approach to performing. She converses with the crowd, telling humorous anecdotes, coming across as the girl everyone wants to be friends with, and Aplin has a likeability hard to find in many modern musicians.

The highlight of the evening is

Gabrielle’s acoustic version of Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’. This track demonstrates her vulnerability; standing alone on stage with nothing but her guitar to aid her, her resonant voice moves even the stoniest of hearts. A wonderful tribute to a much missed icon.

Ending the night with old favourites ‘Salvation’ and ‘Home’, it is an emotional end to a wonderful performance. There wasn’t a single song that the crowd didn’t love, and she definitely left everyone hungry for more. She has a voice you could listen to all day; a delicate mix of indie Kodaline and folk band Vance Joy. She really is a star destined to be a big hit.

MARIE-ELISE WORSWICK

JOSIE LE VAY

THE CROOKES ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS

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fter the isolated and brooding sounds of album three, Soapbox, Sheffield mainstays the Crookes return for a fourth time with the ambitiously buoyant and colourful Lucky Ones. As the Crookes take their reliably spirited clout to stages up and down the country alongside pop-punk upstart and collaborator, Misty Miller, guitarist and lyricist Daniel Hopewell sheds some light on their current approach.

GABRIELLE APLIN @ LEADMILL

‘Soundcheck’ builds on the band’s previous album, creating a more rock-centred, bigger and bolder sound, demonstrating their ability to develop without diverting from their distinct sound. The song’s huge chorus, accessible lyrics and catchy riffs tick all the boxes for a perfect indie anthem but it is fair to say ‘Soundcheck’ is nothing compared to Catfish’s previous hits such as ‘Kathleen’ or ‘Homesick’. The band are merely creating bigger songs for an ever increasing audience.

Who are the lucky ones?

It depends how specific you wanna get. I mean there are two answers. It begins by describing the kind of people you see on nights out who I know I could never really fit in with, but it kind of changes halfway through and becomes more about the kind of people I do fit in with.

I think people have sort of taken it to mean people who share similar ideas to yourself. It kind of fits in with fans of our band as well; it’s like being in a private club, all starryeyed and hopelessly romantic.

What makes this a brand new start for the Crookes?

Line-up changes aside, there’s a stark difference between the sound of old songs and new songs. The tone is more optimistic and just, well, fun. Even as recently as the sounds of Soapbox, there was no hint that you would be employing drum machines and synthesisers.

Where did this idea originate?

We wanted to come back with something completely different.

Most people say they were surprised when they heard the new album, but in a good way. For us, that’s perfect.

What can we expect from the Crookes on this tour?

If we ever give you less than our all, you can have your money back.

That’s all we can do. It’s all we’ve ever done. We come off stage covered in sweat (and sometimes blood). The shows so far on this tour have seen the crowds going pretty mental. There’s no line between band and audience. We’re all in it together.

How did your working relationship with Misty Miller come about?

We met her through work we did for Burberry. She’s just incredible.

I’m convinced the whole world is gonna know her soon. She’s just too good not to be ridiculously famous.

What effect do you think a second line-up change has had on you? Is the idea behind the Crookes bigger than its members?

Ha, maybe it’s like in football when a player moves and you say “the club is bigger than the individual?” I dunno, but it feels like we’ve traded up with the people we’ve brought in. This is the year we’re gonna be going for the Champions League!

HARRY CHAMBERS

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JACK GARRATT: PHASE

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ack Garratt’s debut album Phase offers songs with a refreshing combination of both soft and poetic melodies, with energetic and jazzy rhythms.

This can be especially appreciated in one of the album’s stand-out tracks ‘Breathe Life’, which starts slowly and picks up a beat that makes you want to dance on the beach on a beautiful summer’s day with its chorus of “Oh won’t you breathe life into these dead lungs”.

As the album progresses, other ingredients are added. In ‘Weathered’, Garratt balances between electronica sounds and more classic instruments, such as the

“A refreshing combination of both soft and poetic melodies, with energetic and jazzy rhythms”

guitar, making this combination his signature sound.

In later track, ‘Surprise Yourself’, the listener’s breath is taken away by Garratt’s powerful vocal performance. And if we hadn’t been charmed enough by this musical piece, Garratt plays all aspects of the song to perfection, using them to demonstrate strong and powerful emotions. For example in ‘Worry’, a song talking about love, break up and loneliness, the tremble in his voice and the use of instruments enables the listener to identify with all these feelings, making this album a inherently personal form of art.

The only thing that you could criticise about this album is the

“Garratt plays with all aspects of the song to perfection, using them to demonstrate strong and powerful emotions” “The album fizzes with fuzz-rock energy”

YUCK: STRANGER THINGS

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uck are a band with a shaky past. They’ve weathered the loss of their front man, Daniel Blumberg, among other members. Now, Yuck have emerged from the other side of numerous band break-ups with a livelier, more thrilling album than ever before.

Emerging in the early 2010s, Yuck were part of a gaggle of indie bands attempting to pick up where 90s noise rock left off.

Occasionally, their previous work feels like a parody of their own record collection. It lacked the fresh and vivacious approach of

other bands, like Best Coast. While Stranger Things resolutely refuses to stray from its influences, this time around tracks like ‘Yr Face’ and ‘Stranger Things’ feel more like artful love songs addressed to their forefathers two decades earlier, rather than a Dinosaur Jr. cover band.

The album fizzes with fuzzrock energy; despite all members hailing from London, Stranger Things still manages to sound like it was gestated in a California skate park sometime in the late ‘80s. ‘Cannonball’, in particular, races along through its scuzzy mess of reverb, distortion and teenage angst – and somehow pulls it off.

The album opens with ‘Hold Me Closer’, a catchy buzzed-out ballad. In just shy of four minutes, it

dips and dives from noisy, powerful guitars to a nervier, more melodic strumming and right back again. This song feels unfazed and assertive, unlike some of Yuck’s flimsy earlier output. ‘Hold Me Closer’ sets the pace for the rest of the record, and it manages to keep up.

The album does gentler things too, such as the sadness of ‘Like a Mothball’. This track is simultaneously an expression of anxiety, and a self-assured, wellcrafted piece of songwriting. It’s all thanks to the interplay between its gentle, nervous vocals, and the confidently-shaped melody.

Elegant harmonies echo inside the reverberating guitar sounds and bounce off one another. Here, Yuck demonstrate that they are a band who have finally found their feet,

with a song appearing both chaotic and masterfully organised.

For those who aren’t fans of distortion pedals, Stranger Things might sound a little repetitive – particularly in combination with its simplistic, basic lyrics and occasionally whining vocals.

However, the overall sense of this album is that this is Yuck’s best yet. This is their most confident and coherent work, with their own (albeit ‘90s) sound. Yet it’s more than that – it’s also Yuck’s most dynamic and spirited music so far.

MOLLY KERKHAM

MUSIC

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themes used are very common and often repeated amongst many artists; love and relationships. Jack Garratt’s songs revolve around these clichés, especially in later ‘Fire’.

However the instrumental technicities used in this album remain quite remarkable, and overall make a very enjoyable, involving listen.

JULIA HODDER

CULT CORNER

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ROYAL BLOOD: ROYAL BLOOD

he true triumph of any album is measured in an artist’s passion - how it translates from the synthetic, clinical environment of a recording studio into the realms of vinyl immortality.

Few artists succeed in this regard quite like Royal Blood and their eponymous first outing. Ten finelycrafted tracks filled with the raw intensity of a live set, this is unapologetically furious, punchy rock.

The Brighton-born duo of Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher are relative newcomers to a genre which was starved of fresh blood until the band’s formation in 2013. Their album, released in 2014, mirrors this explosive arrival with the track ‘Out Of The Black’, and doesn’t let up from there. Included is the album’s one single, ‘Figure It Out’, along with the instant hits of ‘Little Monster’ and ‘Ten Tonne Skeleton’.

The lines are often blurred between a more volatile garage rock and a softer, more emotional blues rock, but every song is filled with the same irresistible energy and high production values that are sure to become the band’s trademarks.

All told this is an exquisitely crafted piece of work. The world waits for the sophomore effort from a band with rock royalty in its grasp.

NICK BURKE

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Hit BBC Three programmes, clockwise from left: Gavin & Stacey, Reggie Yates’ Extreme UK, The Mighty Boosh and Being Human

three-finger salute (ctrl-alt-del)

BBC Three’s migration to the internet marks a substantial shift in the television landscape.

With young people increasingly prefering to consume their content online, Beth Andralojc looks ahead to the future of TV and what it means for traditional media.

Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

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Top to bottom: In the Flesh, Professor Green’s Suicide & Me and Him & Her

“BBC Three provided a means for young people from disaffected backgrounds to learn more about the world they live in”

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or the predominant number of students, the former digital channel BBC Three, has undoubtedly played a significant role in their television viewing history. Launched in 1998 under the name of BBC Choice, the channel provided fresh new entertainment while most of us millennials were still hooked on minimalist children’s entertainments like Teletubbies.

In spite of the change in name in 2003, the aim of the iconic channel remained unaltered: to deliver original and cutting edge programming to a young audience. Ever since its inception, BBC Three has garnered a huge viewership, from cult fans to families, and has given those working in the arts, from actors to writers, the opportunity to exhibit their talent. It gave the BBC, a broadcasting network that has often been criticised for excluding young viewers with its televisual content, a much-needed kick into the world of twenty-first century screen.

In contrast to the levels of criticism that the other BBC channels received, BBC Three remained popular among viewers throughout its 18-year life span, and gained support for its continuation after BBC Director General Tony Hall proposed converting it to an online-only service in 2014.

The proposal was announced as part of an initiative to save money for the BBC, which has witnessed a sharp decline in funding, due to cuts to budgets and services. The decision to transform BBC Three from a digital television channel to an exclusively online service, which was confirmed by the BBC Trust in November 2015, was made in response to the need for the BBC to save money.

Despite having received a petition of 300,000 signatures, Chairmen of the BBC Trust attested that this is the right move for BBC Three. The channel that once introduced us to classic British comedy with a modern twist is no more and such a huge change does not bode well for the world of British television.

BBC Three is, fundamentally, a channel that serves to entertain and educate the young adult population of Britain (those aged between 1634). BBC Three has always been the most diverse of all the BBC channels, being unabashed and

unafraid in its efforts to address prevalent issues in British society regarding race, gender and sexuality.

Although the BBC as an institution prides itself on being inclusive of all of its viewership, it cannot be denied that its traditional channels like BBC One and Two approach topical issues in a serious manner, conforming to the style of news programmes, rather than the in-depth, analytical discussions on societal questions that are found in BBC Three documentaries.

Investigative shows like Panorama and Inside Out, for example, which can be found on the original BBC channels, are arguably catering to an exclusive, politically-informed group of viewers. Conversely, BBC Three documentaries such as Is Britain Racist? and The Rise of the Female Voice offer a clear and concise analysis of pressing social issues, giving young viewers the opportunity to engage in the programme.

Such documentaries make these issues accessible, so that viewers of any age, ethnicity or sexuality are able to apply their own beliefs and values to them. BBC One and Two inform viewers - BBC Three educates them.

To be a regular viewer of BBC One documentaries, it is usually required to regularly watch the news, as they are often portrayed in a very similar style to news broadcasts. The vast amount of viewers aged 16-34, however, are typically disengaged with this style of programme, to which children are introduced by their parents or guardians.

To be enticed by this style of information giving, it is required for an individual to come from a family that advocates interest in political and social issues. Thus, engagement in BBC One and Two is, arguably, exclusive to those in a more privileged social class. BBC Three, with its captivating documentaries and 60-second news bulletins, provided a means for young people from disaffected backgrounds to learn more about the world they live in. Thanks to this channel, news was no longer monotonous for young people; it was fascinating and made us want to learn more.

Although a minor aspect of the information

that the channel presented to its audience, the 60-second news bulletins were an ingenious way of simplifying the news, making it understandable and relatable for its viewers. The brief news bulletins were a great way to make the news relevant to a young audience, who would be greeted by a 60 second update in between programmes.

Now these young viewers, who, ostensibly, are more swayed by internet streaming sites like Netflix than television, will be able to evade being informed on global news. In addition, those from low income households, who once had free access to BBC Three as a freeview channel, will need a computer device to access its new online channel.

More so, although many homes have one PC or laptop, not every young person has one.

Therefore, BBC Three as an online broadcaster will fail to attract the attention of young people from all social and ethnic backgrounds that once flocked to television screens to become immersed in the wider world.

According to those at the BBC Trust, the majority of young people prefer to watch shows online. The people that support the conversion of BBC Three digital to online seem to believe that everybody, especially young people, who wouldn’t typically watch the main BBC channels, are all able to afford a device through which they can stream shows.

In reality, BBC Three favourites will be accessible to the privileged few that do have devices to stream shows on, BBC One and Two’s middle-aged audience will remain unchanged, and a great deal of young people will be abandoned by a service that once included them in their viewership, free of charge.

While it is true that the BBC must do whatever it can to save itself from television extinction, the decision to axe BBC Three on TV irrefutably limits the demographic of its viewers and supporters.

With Osbourne planning to cut BBC funding by 16 percent more, as well as freezing TV licensing fees, who knows what this globally renowned broadcasting service will be erasing next. These are dark days for television.

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“It’s about time we got a superhero film that has everything the others lack”

DEADPOOL

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tarring “God’s Perfect Idiot“, “A Hot Chick“, “A British Villain“ and “A CGI Character”, Deadpool even manages to make the opening credits entertaining to watch.

Said Idiot goes by the name of Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), a former member of the Special Forces, who is now making money as a mercenary. In addition to his very impressive CV, he’s also a

CULT CORNER IN BRUGES (2008)

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wo hitmen are hiding out after a job gone wrong. But why has their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) asked them to hide in Bruges? You can hide in Croydon.

Are they in Bruges for a different reason? Where even is Bruges?

Eight years after its release, In Bruges remains the perfect example of how to write dark comedy. It manages to be both hilarious and heart wrenching; approaching difficult concepts of religion, depression and suicide with delicate care and sharp Irish comedy.

For a film based almost entirely on the sightseeing of two Irishmen, In Bruges could have easily fallen flat. But every canal and bell tower is a joy to visit in the company of the fantastically acted hitmen Ken (Brendan Gleeson), and Ray (Colin Farrell).

The supporting characters aren’t bad either: a Dutch drug dealer, an American dwarf and a weapon smuggler who can’t pronounce the word ‘alcoves’.

Behind the beautiful score and clever direction lies a film with more heart than most. Watching In Bruges is like eating Belgian chocolate - it’s sweet and modest, but definitely the best.

Director Martin McDonagh proves you don’t need a large budget and a big studio to make a great film.

All you need is a clever script and Ralph Fiennes.

JAMES DELGER

compassionate soul, advising his cab driver to kidnap the girl of his dreams and kill his love rival.

Who could say no to those Prince Charming-like qualities? Certainly not Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin), an escort, who eventually falls in love with him.

Like all fairytales, this one too must come to an end. When Wilson is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he ends things, not wanting Vanessa to watch him wither away.

The fairy godmother in Deadpool comes in the form of The Recruiter (Jed Rees) who instead of waving his wand, offers to not only cure him

but give him superpowers as well.

Sounds too good to be true, right?

As always, it is.

Undergoing a treatment that is definitely not NHS approved, his cancer disappears under the caring supervision of chirpy Angel Dust (Gina Carano) and empathetic Ajax (Ed Skrein), which leaves him looking a bit different. Like ananimal-chewed-his-face-and-body different. On the plus side though, he can now at least heal at a superhumanly fast pace.

In theory, Deadpool, which is “directed by an overpaid idiot“ (Tim Miller - who deserves every single

penny he earns), oversees a very promising concept of producing a unique anti-hero. However, not all its potential is fulfilled.

Using 100 out of 108 minutes to explain his very ‘exciting’ origins story together with a cutesy little love story is not really an original concept. Deadpool had the potential to be over-the-top different, offering all the liberties most movies didn’t have before, and this potential is not fully exploited.

On a more positive note, the film score is simply fantastic. Almost all of the chosen songs are ironically exactly the counter piece to what is

actually happening on screen.

Deadpool’s defining characteristic - as the titular hero addresses the audience directly - adds a manic, self-aware humour that gives the tired plot a kick of energy.

If not for Wilson’s sense of humour and self-irony or the constant popculture references then at least the great camera work is worth the trip to the cinema. In an era where they are launching one superhero movie after the other, it’s about time we got one that has everything the others lack.

SMALL SCREEN

make it all the more believable.

Condensing an epic literary classic considered one of the longest books in literary history is no easy feat but Andrew Davies manages. Like the Russian surgeons on the fields of Borodino, it is not a completely clean operation. The latter half of the series in particular is prone to many coincidences that require a stretch of the imagination, but these are all necessary sacrifices for a drama that is not only compelling but digestible for the TV. From the very beginning this was a gamble for the BBC, who invested £10 million in the show’s production which, when facing constant threats of budget cuts, one could almost consider reckless.

Particularly, with the tell-tale signs that they wanted to capitalise off the success of ITV’s Downton Abbey - it certainly seemed opportunistic.

Why or how this came into being pales in significance however when bearing witness to its storytelling prowess and offers clear proof that ambitious television is still alive and kicking.

There is no just way to fully sing the praises of this series enough.

Perhaps the best way would be to say it genuinely makes me want to read the novel. I have gone from a begrudging and reluctant naysayer of costume drama to an addict after this truly incredible series.

Life affirming drama in the midst of tragedy and death, this series shows how Tolstoy is still relevant, even two hundred years on. “As long as there is life, there is happiness, and there is a great deal more to come.”

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WAR AND PEACE

efore I say anything - two confessions. First, I have not read Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Second, I am not a fan of costume dramas. That said, the latest adaption by the BBC of the Russian literature juggernaut is a tour de force.

With the backdrop of early 18th century Russia and the threat of Napoleonic France looming ever closer, the series expertly weaves together the lives of Pierre Bezukhov (Paul Dano), Natasha Rostova (Lily James) and Andre Bolkonsky (James Norton). We see the three navigating numerous themes such as coming of age, love, death, forgiveness and of course war and peace against this historical backdrop.

The shock of Dano starring is a pleasant jolt to the system. Bringing his trademark larger than life yet still compellingly real performance to the table, he’s at home as Pierre, and I doubt I will be able to imagine the character as anyone else now.

Much the same goes for the two other leads - James and Norton - who respectively bring out Natasha’s love of the world and Andre’s heartbreaking pursuits that preoccupy him from what really matters.

On top of this, the supporting cast are a phenomenal selection of British actors (though at times maybe slightly too British). Tom Burke, Brian Cox and Rebecca Front are but three who bring greater substance and integrity to the drama and

VICTORIA SCHEER

MICHAEL CHILTON

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“Without a clear focus, namedropping modern trends does not make Zoolander 2 more interesting”

ZOOLANDER 2

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en Stiller returns as male model Derek Zoolander as he travels to Rome with his friend Hansel McDonald (Owen Wilson) to infiltrate the modern fashion industry and save his son from Jacobim Mugatu (Will Ferrell) who attempts to kill him as a tribute to the Fountain of Youth.

There are a few interesting elements in this film, such as the criticism of fashion industry, the

SCREEN DIGITAL RWBY: VOLUME 3

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ith the untimely passing of series creator Monty Oum last year, the latest season of this Rooster Teeth production was set to be transitional. Though the fight scenes (arguably the show’s main selling point) have taken an unsurprising hit in quality, there are signs of continuing improvement.

The animation is of particular concern given Oum’s talents for fight choreography. The lack of significant budget subsequently emerges through the stiff movements everywhere else. Volume 3 has seen these positions somewhat reversed.

The animation during quieter scenes has noticeably improved with particular mention going to the better facial expressions and smoother limb movements. Fights on the other hand have an inconsistent

self-awareness and the reluctance to age. However, none of these elements are well structured or developed.

The most disappointing part is the representation of fashion. There is only one fashion show throughout the film with no resonance tothe state of the fashion industry today.

The only model on stage is played by Benedict Cumberbatch.

The movie breaks the heart of Benedict’s fans as he sacrifices his eyebrows for a five minute showcase. If he is intending to criticise the fashion industry, Stiller should at least bring out his own

unique style. Regrettably, no fashion sense is seen here.

The film recalls the audience’s memory of Derek’s ‘Blue Steel’ gaze through Justin Bieber’s last selfie at the beginning of the film.

This could have been a great way to draw parallels between the first film and the shape of modern pop culture.

Unfortunately, Stiller simply uses it as a lazy reintroduction to himself as Derek Zoolander. This comical facial expression is completely wasted.

Another theme the film is attempts to demonstrate is the midlife crisis.

level of quality.

This is not helped by a lack of post-production effects. For example, when the character of Yang (Barbara Dunkelman) previously activated her ability, her hair would glow and a fiery aura would envelope her. Effects like these are noticeably reduced in quantity and scale until the second half, resulting in early action scenes feeling underwhelming. To an extent this is understandable given the unexpected removal of such a key figure behind the series’ direction and animation and some later fights do show greater promise.

The story of Volume 3 is a substantial improvement compared to previous seasons. The overall direction is darker and better focused as plans previously hinted at finally come into motion.

Accompanying this is faster pacing and more effective execution of dramatic plot elements, helped in part by the continuously improving voice direction.

This greater plot coherence is backed up by more meaningful

character interactions. There have been explorations of the main cast before, but this time it is handled with more subtelty with such moments being more finely spread throughout the volume.

However there are characters who continue to fall behind both in terms of their backstory and how they develop. One example is none other than the protagonist herself; Ruby (Lindsay Jones). Getting emotionally attached to her is not a problem thanks to her likeable personality. Rather, it emerges when the series presents her as a respected team leader without showing us why we should believe she deserves to be.

How RWBY Volume 3 is remembered depends on how successful future seasons are in filling in the gaps in world and character building. However, Volume 3 has steered this small production in a more intriguing direction than originally anticipated.

Zoolander puts his fashion career aside and calls himself a hermit crab after losing both his wife and son. His friend, Hansel, on the other hand, is struggling with the choice between casual sex and commitment to love.

The film attempts to highlight the silliness of these two men when they are fooled into Interpol’s latest fashion show.

Valentina (Penelope Cruz), a former swimsuit model, who is hunting the culprit related to Justin Bieber’s murder might encourage the guys to move on. But, this storyline ends up cast off as part of

TRIPLE 9

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udging from its stellar line up, including the likes of Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Aaron Paul and Kate Winslet, Triple 9 seemed set to be a hit.

Indeed, the film begins bursting with adrenaline when a group of armed thieves carry out a fast-paced bank robbery which leaves you wanting more.

Apparently feeling the same way is the Margaret Thatcher of the Russian mafia, Irina Vaslov (Winslet) - the real iron fist - who demands another job. But unfortunately, when one of the team finds himself suffocating with a plastic bag over his head, so too does the film and its storyline.

Soon enough the plot spirals into a careless mess of explosions, blood stains and strip clubs. It becomes difficult to see the significance ALEX PINFOLD of other characters in the film and talent is wasted, particularly

Mugatu’s revenge plan.

A slightly better approach is taken to the fear of ageing. The advertisement of Alexanya Atoz (Kristen Wiig) is one of the very few funny jokes on the jealousy of having young skin.

Without a clear focus, namedropping modern trends does not make the film more interesting. Lazy references to Instagram, hashtag and Uber struggle desperately in an attempt to make the audience laugh.

CARMAN LEUNG

Woody Harrelson. Similarly, Paul’s character Gabe Welch is a poor man’s Jesse Pinkman, moping through scenes half-heartedly. Yet the most bizarre casting choice is Winslet, who is the least believable Russian actress in Hollywood and fails miserably to evoke any air of intimidation whatsoever.

Triple 9 does excel in depicting realistic, toe-curling violence.

Likewise, certain sequences are cool and captivating.

Nonetheless, the film is ultimately bland and unexciting. Thieves and cops alike are predictable, testosterone spewing action men, as if the script were written by a 16 year old after a marathon session of Grand Theft Auto. Fewer characters and a detailed plot would have allowed a capable cast to turn it into a classic thriller. However it seems that the responsibility of it’s execution was put in the wrong hands, and consequently it will instead be forgotten, probably for the best.

MELISSA MATOS

Friday 26 February 2016 | Forge Press

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COFFEE BREAK

Mothers’ Day

Here are some last minute ideas if you have nothing planned

ideas

Photograph of the fortnight

-------------------------------------------------------

Gin tasting with Cream Tea This is the alternative to a good old afternoon tea or a wine tasting session.

Luxury Bath Melts Go into Lush and find a mixture of shower and bath smellies. There is something for everyone.

Outdoor Cinema Watch a movie with your mother and family (although this time of year would mean you would have to wrap up.)

Celebrity Tea Bags Find a celebrity your mum either loves or hates, and I’m sure you can find a tea bag which shaped as their face.

Dingbats HEAD SOS. HEELS BY &

Quote of the fortnight: “Pop Tarts playlist is the only thing that is getting me through this Monday” Unknown

Caption: Football match reaction?

First Dates reaction?

Take Me Out reaction?

Unique Holidays in February American Heart Month An Affair to Remember Month Black History Month Canned Food Month Creative Romance Month Great American Pie Month National Cherry Month National Children’s Dental Health Month National Grapefruit Month National Weddings Month There is also a Create a Vaccum Day, Make a Friend Day, Floral Design Day, National Tooth Fairy Day, and National Pistachio Day

Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

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Sudoku Easy

COFFEE BREAK

Hard

Medium

Crossword Across 1 Sleeveless cloak (4) 3 Exaggerated praise (8) 9 Put in order (5,2) 10 Fortunate (5) 11 Bad manners (12) 14 Mischievous fairy (3) 16 Prick (of a bee) (5) 17 Female sheep (3) 18 Embarrassing (12) 21 Pulse (5) 22 Ordinary 足unnamed (anagram) (7) 23 Attendance (at an event) (8) 24 True (4)

Down

Answers

Credits for the crossword: Matthew Sapsed

1 Long green salad vegetable (8) 2 Squash 足crush (5) 4 Circuit (of a racetrack) (3) 5 Matter for discussion (7,5) 6 Ban (from an argument, e.g.) (7) 7 Toy that goes up and down on a reel (2足2) 8 A bit much (12) 12 In operation (5) 13 Fine (4,4) 15 Without charge (3,4) 19 Bit (5) 20 Finish (4) 22 Waterproof coat (3)

Down: 1 Cucumber, 2 Press, 4 Lap, 5 Talking point, 6 Exclude, 7 Yo足yo, 8 Unreasonable, 12 Alive, 13 Very well, 15 For free, 19 Trace, 20 Stop, 22 Mac. . Across: 1 Cape, 3 Flattery, 9 Clean up, 10 Lucky, 11 Misbehaviour, 14 Elf, 16 Sting, 17 Ewe, 18 Cringeworthy, 21 Throb, 22 Mundane, 23 Presence, 24 Real.

Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

@ForgePressSport /ForgePressSport

SportsThoughts Oliver Baseley Escaping Lance’s shadow: Why cycling is now a recovering sport It is a sad and regrettable truth that cycling has become renowned for the high profile doping scandals littered through its recent history, such as ‘Operation Puerto’, the Festina scandal and, of course, the Lance Armstrong affair.

In recent years, cycling has begun to make massive progress in the fight against doping.

The UCI, cycling’s governing body, had struggled to control the crisis and make strides towards cleaning up the sport until around 2008. Yes, there have been some big doping cases since, and stories will crop up in the future, but right now cycling is arguably the cleanest endurance sport in the world.

There have always been cases of ‘cheating’ in cycling.

A hundred years ago, athletes went to more novel lengths to get an advantage, taking shortcuts or even trains to reach the finish line. Over the past few decades, doping has been the method of choice for those looking to bend the rules, but now ‘mechanical doping’ has come to the fore.

Mechanical doping is where motors or other pieces of

technology that are prohibited by technical regulations are used.

Over the past few years, the UCI have been searching for irregularities, and on 30 January proceedings were opened against 19-year-old Femke van den Driessche in what is the first prosecuted case of mechanical doping.

In many ways it is bad news

for cycling that a new way of cheating has reared its ugly head - that much is obvious.

Yet on a promising note, it suggests that human doping is becoming more difficult and therefore less of a risk.

Mechanical doping will most likely never be as prevalent as human doping, as it requires a significant amount of development to produce the necessary technology.

Additionally, it is very easy to spot.

Many people who are not particularly knowledgeable about the sport assume that “they’re all doping, aren’t they?”

Even when human doping was at its ugly zenith this was not the case, but it is a perception that has stuck tightly to the sport.

However, the facts do not suggest doping cases are as endemic as critics assume.

In 2014, there were only seven known cases of doping on the World Tour, the top level of the sport, which accounted for 1.5 per cent of all riders who participated that season.

If we compare these figures to athletics, which is now enduring the nightmare cycling went through a decade

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ago, it becomes clear cycling is by no means the dirtiest sport.

In 2014, one cases of doping was reported, which translates as 2.6 per cent of its top athletes. But the most damning statistic comes from the doping cases reported at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Of the 40 that have been made public to date, one came from cycling and 33 were in athletics.

Using these statistics, I can safely say as a passionate cycling enthusiast that people can have confidence in the sport now.

With the benefit of hindsight, we have been able to see riders winning big events and not being retrospectively banned.

The damage that doping has inflicted on the sport has been immense, with many sponsors turning their backs on cycling in recent years, but the sport has made its first tentative steps towards a full recovery.

In fact, compared to certain other sports, cycling has a very bright future indeed.

Hopefully, when people think of doping in the future, cycling will not be the first sport to come to mind.

Sports Personality of the Week Rob Milne spoke to trampolining golden-girl Lianne Sellors about her success in the BUCS Nationals competition last weekend

She has been at the University of Sheffield for six years and in her final year Nottingham-born Lianne Sellors has finally achieved her golden BUCS Nationals goal.

Lianne, a sixth year medicine student, currently spends a lot of her time on placement but still finds time for her passion of trampolining amid the stress of the working week “I just have to make sure that when I get to trampolining I can forget about work/revision for two hours, I can see my friends and I can focus on training and coaching our other members.”

Around the age of seven Lianne took up trampolining after attending a summer camp during the summer holidays. The coaches were immediately impressed and invited her to join the trampolining club – she said she was “hooked from there” and ended up competing at national level for the next ten years.

Now at 23-years-old she points to Anna Dogonadze and Karen Cockburn as her inspirations in the sport: “Anna was the oldest female to compete in the 2012 Olympics, at 39 years old.”

“She’s a teacher and she still finds the time to train and compete at the highest

level.”

Lianne states that everyone finds different aspects of trampolining difficult but for her it’s the confidence and commitment in completing some of the moves: “It’s very easy to overthink some of the more complicated moves and you have to rely on muscle memory.”

“There have been a number of times over the years that I have ‘forgotten’ how to do skills I have been doing for years - once to the point I would not attempt a single

Images: David Mason and Morgan Smith

somersault without support.

It takes a lot of time and patience to work through these mental blocks and I had to rely heavily on the clubs coaches.”

At BUCS Nationals, Lianne was one of the university’s shining lights, securing gold in what she describes as a “proud moment”, following in the footsteps of world championship-winning gymnast Bryony Page, who was also a part of the club: “I felt a huge amount of pressure and expectation and I was very nervous. It

was the support of my friends and coaches that reminded me that I was the only one that was putting so much pressure on myself. They told me to enjoy it and do my best, that was all I could do.”

“I was the last person to complete my second routine and when they had announced that I had held onto my first place position, I felt a mixture of relief and happiness. I can’t thank my friends and coaches enough for keeping my nerves under control!”

Next up for Lianne is Varsity, where the trampolining club expect to have around 40 competitors. The medic cannot wait for April: “Varsity is without a doubt my favourite competition of the year!”

“For many, this will be their first competition and the atmosphere leaves many hooked and they continue to compete for the rest of their time at university.”

Despite being in her final year, Lianne hopes to stay involved in the trampolining club as she continues her training as a junior doctor, aiming to travel with the team to competitions and compete as a guest – as long as time permits.

Lianne encourages anyone to join the trampolining society club. After all, without it she may have never got back in to the sport.

“I have to admit that throughout my years of competing I had become tired of trampolining, I actually quit for almost four years.”

“It was only when an old trampolining friend persuaded me to do Varsity that I joined the club, and for the first time in a long time I enjoyed training and competing again. Everyone was so welcoming and suddenly trampolining was fun again.”

Training four hours a week, Lianne got back to competing and is now the club’s golden girl, proof that university sport can reignite passion and lead to a national vicory.

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Friday 26 February 2016 | Forge Press

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BUCS Nationals 2016

Trampolining and climbing win big Anthony Phillips

The University of Sheffield Trampolining and Climbing club maintained their reputation as one of the best in the country after an impressive performance at BUCS Nationals in Sheffield.

The trampolining team won one gold and one silver in the individual events, with a gold for Lianne Sellors in BUCS female category one event with a score of 87.1.

Fred Mears won silver in the BUCS male category four event with a score of 48.4.

The two medals were a vast improvement on last years competition where the team managed to only claim one silver medal.

The gold for Sellors was even sweeter after finishing sixth in

the same competition last year and her performance in her final national championships saw her claim victory.

Unlike Sellors, Mears was appearing in his first BUCS Championship.

The first year medical student has a great platform to build on in future events after finishing just three points behind the winning competitor.

The trampolining club also had five male athletes finish in the top 25, with Alex Patterson finishing 15th in BUCS 1, Ed Whatley-Smith finishing 22nd in BUCS 2s, Alex Fairman 21st in BUCS 3s, Alex Larsen 22nd in BUCS 5 whilst Jean Luz came ninth in BUCS sixth.

In terms of the females, captain Megan Baker was 46th in BUCS 2s, Caroline Thornhill 36th in BUCS 4s whilst Florence Maskell and Ruth Tough finished 93rd and

77th in BUCS four and five respectively.

After the two day event, captain Baker told Forge Sport: “We had a brilliant weekend at BUCS, I could not be prouder of the team who had a massive improvement on last year.”

The club now turn their attention to Varsity against rivals Sheffield Hallam. Baker said: “We are working very hard to retain our title”.

The climbing club had one of the most dominant all round performances in recent BUCS history by winning a total of four medals and having numerous climbers position well outside the medal places.

In the female comeptition, Jennifer Wood was second after scoring 191 points, finishing an agonising two

points behind Tara Hayes of Sheffield Hallam. Lisa Alhadeff was sixth with 173 points whilst Katie Maxwell-Willcocks was 81st with 80 points. Although Wood was disappointed with missing out on gold, the combined efforts of Alhadeff and Willcocks saw Sheffield claim the bronze medal in the team championships with a combined score of 444 points.

The men’s climbing team produced a tremendous display of climbing with all six climbers finishing in the top 31 places.

Joe Swales secured the silver medal in the men’s competition whilst Jez Etherton and Connor Bryne found themselves in the top 10 after placing seventh and ninth. Adam Fidler, Luke Dawson and James McIlveen rounded out the rest of the group with respectable 14th, 21st and 31st places, which

saw Sheffield claim the overall gold medal in the men’s team competition with 663 points.

since 2003 was the final, as Paul Orji of the University of Brighton stood between Lygdas and a remarkable gold medal.

The 30-year old, who is studying neurobiology at the University of Sheffield, had only recently taken up the sport once more after joining Sheffield City Boxing Club in October to keep his fitness up.

It was there that he was persuaded by trainer Brendan Warburton to enter into the BUCS Championships and try his hand at some more

competitive boxing.

Speaking on the day, Mr Warburton told Forge Sport: “We do both universities in Sheffield so we get a lot of students down at our gym.”

“As soon as he walked through the door, I knew he had boxed somewhere before.”

“I think he came in for a bit of fitness and to keep his hand in at boxing and when he heard that there were university championships I asked him if he fancied it and he fancied a crack at winning gold for the university.”

The fight itself did not go to plan for Lygdas, the Greek fighter losing out by unanimous decision after three hard-fought rounds.

Orji came out of the traps quickly with a dominant display of punches and jabs and from there it was an uphill struggle for Lygdas as he tried to claw back the points he missed out on in the opening minutes.

After the fight, Lygdas said: “In the first round I was just trying to trace my opponent’s skills.”

“I think it was really close though. Although the decision was unanimous, I believe it was still close.”

Although still a student at the university he ruled himself out of this year’s Varsity clash with Sheffield Hallam University.

“There are not that many

super-heavyweights!”, a smiling Lygdas said as he looked at the silver medal draped around his neck.

Lianne Sellors Lianne Sellors

Lygdas takes silver after 13 year hiatus

Joe Alborough

University of Sheffield PhD student Konstantinos Lygdas claimed the silver medal at the BUCS superheavyweight boxing event at Ponds Forge in his first bout for 13 years.

Lygdas’ route to the final of the 91kg+ category was straightforward in the end, as semi-final opponent Jordie Koyalodi was disqualified for failing to meet the weight standard.

As a result, his first fight

The final tally - 11 medals

3

Athletics, Trampolining, Climbing

5 Image: Joe Alborough

3

Boxing, Climbing (x2), Trampolining, Swimming Karate (x2) Climbing

Forge Press | Friday 26 February 2016

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@ForgePressSport /ForgePressSport

SPORT

Basketball 1s in epic Hallam victory Basketball

Featured Game

University of Sheffield Women’s 1s Sheffield Hallam University 1s

Dominic Lowe The University of Sheffield women’s Basketball 1s came from behind in a thrilling game of two halves at EIS to beat Sheffield Hallam University 2s 63-54 and retain their unbeaten record this season.

An excellent second-half recovery brought Sheffield back from 13 points down at half-time to see them win the game by nine.

The swing was fuelled by resilience and determination at both ends of the court.

63 54

Sheffield limited Hallam to just 18 points in the second half, half of their firsthalf total. Meanwhile, the Sheffield side scored a huge 40 points in the third and fourth periods.

Sheffield guard, Courtney Shaw told Forge Sport: “It was tough. We managed to dig deep and get ahead.”

Hallam, the home side in this all-Sheffield affair, started stronger with Sheffield struggling to keep up with their early play.

Shaw went onto say: “We didn’t expect Hallam to come out as fast and tough as they did.”

The shock to Sheffield’s system was clear as Hallam took an 11-2 lead in the first

four minutes of the game.

The slow start by the visitors was obvious; the Hallam players ghosted through their defence for easy baskets whilst Sheffield settled for difficult, longrange shots.

The little success Sheffield did get came from around the hoop but Hallam led 16-9 at the end of the first quarter.

Sheffield’s defensive woes continued whilst their offence struggled with easy shots, leading Hallam to gain a 2411 lead midway through the quarter.

Elina Helavuori and Mariana Barragan were two bright sparks in an otherwise poor first half performance from Sheffield, both of them working hard under both baskets.

Despite their efforts, Sheffield were down 36-23 at the end of the half.

The second half saw a shocking turn around as the visitors came out showing great passion and determination to change their fortunes by quickly cutting the lead to nine points.

This fighting spirit was epitomised by Gloria Ablola whose tremendous energy off the bench jump-started the comeback.

It was fuelled offensively

by Sheffield’s killer guard trio of Belen Carreno, Courtney Shaw, and Manon Romeou.

At the end of the third quater, Barragan beat the buzzer to drag Sheffield within one point.

In the final period, both sides put everything on the line to try to win. However, it was Sheffield who drew

blood first, taking the lead for the first time in the game through Romeou midway through the quarter.

Sheffield’s tireless defence picked off loose passes from an exhausted Hallam offence and Carreno put the exclamation mark on the win with several fast-break layups.

When asked what she thought had won them the game, Shaw said: “It was the tireless team effort that got us there, the more physical team won.”

Image: Dominic Lowe

Women’s Hockey 1s Football 2s dominate York advance in the cup Hockey

University of Sheffield Women’s 1s Northumbria University Women’s 1s

Anthony Phillips The University of Sheffield Women’s Hockey 1s advanced into the semi finals of the BUCS Trophy Cup after a tense 2-0 victory over Northumbria University 1s.

Having beaten Dundee in the last 16, the Sheffield squad entered the game filled with confidence having not lost a competitive fixture since November 4.

On a freezing evening, Northumbria began the game well with quick and short passing.

Sheffield kept a strong defensive shape with Ruth Thomas, Sarah Harrison and Sophie Akhtar continually breaking up attacks.

Sheffield were sloppy in possession and neither side were able to offer much going forward with both keepers not having a shot to save in the opening 15 minutes.

Five minutes later, Sheffield took the lead. Good work on the right hand side saw the ball crossed into the centre of

2 0

the penalty circle where Lucy Peel was able to flick the ball past the flailing Northumbria keeper.

Home keeper Cat Powell was rarely tested in the first half but did come to the rescue with two fine saves in a goalmouth scramble as Northumbria upped the ante before halftime.

Sheffield could have gone into the break with a two goal advantage but Annie Radcliffe was unable to get her stick on another cross.

In the second half, Alice

Williams almost scored after a fine run in which she skipped past two away defenders but her shot was parried by the keeper.

Sheffield continued to make mistakes whilst in possession but Northumbria were unable to capitalise.

The away side had four penalty corners in the second half that all went wide of Powell’s goal.

Sheffield secured the victory with five minutes to go. Good hold up play on the edge of the penalty circle by Penny Ellis allowed Amelia Milton to run onto the ball and score.

Sheffield will face the University of Cambridge away in the semi finals on March 3.

After the game, Peel told Forge Sport: “It was scrappy but we are absolutely delighted to get the win.”

Image: Anthony Phillips

Football

University of Sheffield Men’s 2s University of York Men’s 2s

Matt Hutchinson The University of Sheffield Men’s 2s team were comfortable 3-0 winners against York University 2s at Norton.

During the opening 10 minutes, the home side stamped their authority on the game, looking particularly threatening on the left-hand side with effective link-up play between James Smith and Damir Mulavdic.

This pressure culminated in the game’s opening goal when some intricate build-up led to right-winger Joe Francis expertly cutting back for Smith, whose emphatic finish surprised a few members of a sparse crowd.

Despite York occasionally threatening from set-pieces, they struggled to stem the flow of chances from Jack Gallagher’s team – his back four looking more than comfortable. Dan Davies hit the bar with an effortless turn and shot on the edge of the box, before Joe Medcalfe’s header was tipped over by York’s goalkeeper.

3 0

In stoppage time at the end of the first half Sheffield made it 2-0, with Albert Davis displaying some outstanding footwork on the edge of the penalty area and a through ball which allowed James Smith to double his account for the afternoon.

The second-half led to further dominance for Sheffield, combining neat possession with more direct balls into their tireless focal point Mulavdic. York had no chances of concern for goalkeeper Alex Mooney, a bare 11 struggling as the home-side put in some hefty tackles – Tom Inglis particularly susceptible.

More chances came and went, Joe Medcalfe missing a free-header when it was easier to score than miss.

Sheffield finally made the game safe with 20 minutes to go with an in swinging corner from Dan Davies which found centre-back Jaspar Khajawa, who headed home from six yards out.

The display leaves Sheffield second in the table as they approach the final stretch of the season.

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Friday 26 February 2016 | Forge Press

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Image: Joe Alborough

Record medal tally for Sheffield athletes at BUCS Anthony Phillips The University of Sheffield secured their best finish at BUCS Nationals after winning 11 medals in six events over the course of the three day event.

In previous years, BUCS

had been a poor event for the university, with sporadic medals in the big events, but this years performance obliterated the previous medal tally of four medals which was achieved last year.

In karate, the university won two bronze medals thanks to Lisa Brocklesby in the Women’s senior kumite 68kg weight class and

Panayiotis Loizides in the Men’s kumite 75kg division.

Loizides also won the same medal at last year’s event and the Cypriot athlete, who competed for his country in the 2015 European Games, told Forge Sport: “I was dissapointed with bronze due to my performance”.

However, Loizides is looking forward to next

years competition.

The athlete added: “The result pushes me to work harder for next years competition which I really want to win”.

Another Sheffield athlete also won the same medal as they had in last year’s competition. Swimmer Luke Howdle came second in the mens 200m butterfly with a time of 2:01, a second

slower than his silver winning performance from the year before. Howdle told Forge Sport: “Its a fantastic achievement, I am disappointed not to have won as I felt I could have”.

The swimming team put in a much better performance than last year with a number of medal near misses.

Amber Keagan finished fourth in the women’s 800m freestyle and 400m individual medley, whilst Howdle was unable to medal in both butterfly events, narrowly missing out on a bronze after finishing fourth in the men’s 100m.

The fencing team were unable to win a medal after bronze for Sam Cooper in last year’s event.

In the men’s sabre, Sheffield had two top 25 finishes with Cooper taking 13th place Jonathan Glancy coming 21st.

The women’s foil team matched expectations with Carolina Kyllmann and Dillan Lee placing in the top 35, whilst Molly Elsegood was 16th in the women’s sabre.

Sheffield struggled in athletics but managed to win a gold in the 60m women’s ambulatory race, with Penny Andrews winning with a time of 10:54.

Other good finishes for Sheffield included a 10th place for Rebecca Cope in the women’s triple jump final with a best leap of 11.14 metres, whilst Ellen Downs finished in the same place in the women’s 3000m final.

After the three day multi event, Head of Sport Sheffield Greg Unwin told Forge Sport: “To see Sheffield busy with students from all over the UK at the weekend was exciting and showcased what Sheffield achieves at some of its amazing sporting venues, our own athletes had an incredible event and everyone can be proud”.

Sheffield to host BUCS next three years

Rob Milne

The very best of British university sport talent will be on display in Sheffield for the next three years after the City of Sheffield agreed a deal to host the BUCS Nationals competition through to 2019.

The 2016 indoor event, which held in Sheffield last weekend, saw a record number of entries and participants from across the country.

Luke Howlder, a swimmer representing the University of Sheffield, is excited for the event to stay in the city: “It’s great to see that BUCS will be here in Sheffield for the next three years. It’s such a good opportunity for everyone to showcase their sports in such

good, high quality venues.

“I don’t think you can get a better set of venues anywhere in the country for everyone to showcase how good they are.”

Since 1992, 65 per cent of gold medallists, 66 per cent of silver medallists and 49 per cent of bronze medallists for Team GB have come through university sport, competing in BUCS competitions and in the showpiece BUCS Nationals event.

Vince Mayne, BUCS chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be bringing BUCS Nationals back to Sheffield for a further three years, cementing our close bond with the city.

“We have always been impressed with the fantastic sporting facilities in the city and they know how to host a

great event.”

The new agreement is signed in conjunction with a city partnership consisting of Sheffield city council, SIV, University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University.

Leigh Bramall, deputy leader of Sheffield city council, said the city would reap the benefits of hosting the event: “This is a chance to showcase Sheffield to over 6,000 students – many of whom will be looking to build future careers across industries based in the city – and for them to see what opportunities the city offers them.”

Max Litchfield, who competed for Sheffield Hallam University at Ponds Forge during this year’s event, added: “It’s a great city and for BUCS to be in Sheffield for

the next three years it’s a great opportunity to see the event grow and to see what

Sheffield has to offer. It’s got to be one of the best cities in the country for athletes.”

Image: SportsBeat