Forge Press #144

Opinion

Screen

Nostalgia rules in the new lockdown world

Games

Stay in and save lives with Netflix Party

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First thoughts on the new, revamped Persona 5

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THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

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ISSUE 144 | WEDNESDAY 15TH APRIL 2020 | FREE

The University introduced a ‘safety net’ following pressure from thousands of students Image: Juliet Cookson

S Yorkshire Police use of ‘stop and search’ up by 300% Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

Students force Uni’s hand on safety net Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

The University of Sheffield has listened to the demands of students, and introduced a no-detriment, ‘safety net’ policy for students during the coronavirus crisis.

It comes after nearly 6,500 people signed a petition calling on the University and Sheffield Students’ Union to do just that. This means that Sheffield University is now

following in the footsteps of the University of Exeter, who introduced a similar policy a week ago.

In an email to all students, Vice-President for Education, Professor Wyn Morgan, said that implementing the policy is likely to be a complex task, and asked students to be patient as they worked through the details of the policy.

He added: “This means that no student who passes the year will

receive an average mark or overall degree class lower than their current overall mark or degree class. Any summative assessment completed for the remainder of this academic year can only have a positive impact on your overall mark or degree class.

“I understand there has been a great deal of anxiety surrounding this, and I hope that this decision will help to alleviate some of the worries you will no doubt be feeling at the moment. We want to support

you to achieve an award which accurately reflects your academic achievement.”

There is a chance that the no-detriment policy may not be applicable for students on programmes which are subject to professional regulations, but otherwise all undergraduate and postgraduate students, in all faculties, are included.

“We’re so happy to be able to announce that... (cont. on p5)

The use of the controversial ‘stop and search’ tactic by South Yorkshire Police has increased by more than 270 per cent in five years, a Freedom of Information request has shown.

The request shows that the measure was used by the police force 14,504 times across the region from April 2019 to February 2020, compared to 3,890 in the 2015-16 financial year.

This is despite serious and consistent criticism of ‘stop and search’ by community and civil liberties groups, who say that since its inception it has disproportionately targeted those from BAME communities.

Last year, a House of Commons briefing paper found that BAME individuals were nine-and-a-half times more likely to be stopped than white people during 2017/18.

Theresa May’s Government released new guidance in March 2019, relaxing the rules on ‘no suspicion’ searches. This meant that senior officers no longer needed to sign off on... (cont. on p3)

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Editorial

Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief Ben Warner Managing Editor Becky Sliwa Webb Deputy Editor Bethan Davis Deputy Editor Patrick Burke News Coordinator Tevy Kuch Sport Coordinator Michael Ekman LOF Coordinator Jack Mattless Entertainments Coordinator Ella Craig Entertainments Coordinator Ash Williams News Editor Lucas Mentken News Editor Georgie Marple News Editor Niall O’Callaghan Features Editor Anastasia Koutsounia Features Editor Bernadette Hsiao Opinion Editor Jack Mattless Opinion Editor Jack Redfern Arts & Theatre Editor Kate Procter Arts & Theatre Editor Rosie Davenport Lifestyle Editor Em Evans Lifestyle Editor Taylor Ogle Music Editor Ella Craig Music Editor Dana Raer Screen Editor Dan Cross Screen Editor Josh Teggert Games Editor Catherine Lewis Games Editor Ash Williams Science & Tech Editor George Tuli Science & Tech Editor Bárbara Pinho Break Editor Luke Baldwin Break Editor Alicia Hannah Sport Editor Alex Brotherton Sport Editor Harry Harrison Head of Design Claire Gelhaus Secretary and Social Secretary Tom Buckland Inclusions and Welfare Officer Chloe Dervey Head of Marketing and Publicity VACANT Head of Photography Chelsea Burrell Head of Online Aimee Cooper

These are strange times which we’re living through. A year ago, I never would’ve imagined that the final issue of Forge Press before the AGM would more or less be created from people’s bedrooms and would be online-only – as far as I’m aware, this is a new first for us.

Despite that, I believe that this is one of the strongest issues we’ve produced, and I’m incredibly proud of it. A couple of weeks ago, I put out a call for pitches, and a good couple of dozen of you got back to me, eager to write things and have your voices heard.

And, fundamentally, that’s why I wanted to do this online issue.

As the University of Sheffield’s only student newspaper, we have a privileged position, with a big platform, and it’s important we use that. These are unsettling times, and many students currently feel very uncertain – and we want to do something about that, from the articles about what the University and Students’ Union are doing for you in News, to a whole host of things you can do during lockdown in Lifestyle, as well as fantastic pieces throughout Entertainments.

I’d like to extend a massive thank you to the people on my editorial team who pitched in with this issue, whether that be writing, laying up pages, copy editing, or even just not getting sick of me messaging with what feels like hundreds of questions. A lot of the team were new when they joined last spring, and it’s been a delight watching them grow, improve, and become an even more amazing group of people over the last year. So thank you to them, for

helping make this possible.

I’d also like to say thank you to you, the readers and contributors, the ones who make what we do worthwhile. You have so many fantastic ideas for what you want to see in this paper, and you’re brilliant, inventive writers, whether you write every issue, or just once in a blue moon. These are incredibly strange times, and I hope we’re able to give something back to you with this issue.

On the topic of contributing, in the next couple of weeks we do have an opportunity for a number of you to join our editorial team – the Forge Press Annual General Meeting. This is where we’ll elect a new committee for the next academic year, and is a great opportunity to get more involved in the paper, even if you’ve never written anything before.

In the spring of 2017, I chose to run for News Editor at the AGM, simply because all of my mates were, and I didn’t want to feel left out. I didn’t expect to get it, and I certainly didn’t envisage where it would lead.

I’d never written for Forge before that day, but three years later, I’m on the verge of finishing a year as Editor-in-Chief, having led the most wonderful group of people.

If you’ve never written for us before, please don’t let that deter you from running at the AGM. Being on Forge has been the best part about my time at university; I’ve found a load of new skills, made a bunch of new friends, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

If you want to find out more about the AGM, you can by checking out our Facebook page, and please drop me a

PIC OF THE PRESS

message if you have any questions.

We’re running our AGM online this year, and it’d be great to see as many of you running as possible.

Similarly, while we’re on the ‘doing things from home’ theme, I’d like to use some of this space to encourage you to please, please stay at home, to not only keep yourself safe but also protect our amazing National Health Service. None of us really know how the next few months are going to go, and it’s scary. But I do know one thing - NHS staff are working around the clock to protect us and everyone else in the UK, and it’s been wonderful to see the support which they’ve received.

Forge Press recognises the amazing work done by all the key workers, and they’re an integral part of society - as you’ll notice from our masthead on the front page.

We can’t take them for granted, so please stay home, stay safe and do your bit.

I’d like to finish this off by echoing the sentiment of SU President Jake Verity, who has written a moving opinion piece for this issue. These are strange times, and for students, extremely confusing. But things will get better, and in Sheffield, students will be leading the way, innovating and finding new forms of communicating and supporting each other. The Steel City is strong, and its student community is even stronger.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, this would be my final livestream with Forge TV

Do you want to be on the next Forge Press editorial team?

We're electing a whole new committee at our AGM, and this is a great opportunity to get more involved.

If you want to run, please email ben.warner@forgetoday.com!

Nominate yourself by 12pm Tuesday 28 April Image: Chelsea Burrell

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

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News in Brief

Got a story? press.news@forgetoday.com

News editors Niall O’Callaghan, Tevy Kuch, Lucas Mentken and Georgie Marple

UNIVERSITY Football seasons to be concluded

SHEFFIELD Mutual aid groups set up around city

NATIONAL Starmer announced as new LOTO

England’s football governing bodies are planning to follow through the current season to its conclusion, once it is safe to do so, with both Sheffield teams currently not playing. The Blades sit seventh in the Premier League, while Sheffield Wednesday are 15th in the Championship.

A number of mutual aid groups have been set up around the city, offering support to the vulnerable, such as shopping or a friendly chat, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This echoes a national trend, which has seen communities coming together to work through this.

The Labour Party announced Sir Keir Starmer MP as its new Leader on Saturday 4 April. He was victorious against Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems have pushed their election back to the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Image: Kelvin Stuttard

SHEFFIELD Sheffield Varsity takes to the web

UNIVERSITY Sheffield Uni using iForge to make PPE

NATIONAL Cash injection for small businesses

This year’s annual Varsity event may have been cancelled, but that hasn’t stopped gamers trying to settle old scores on FIFA 20, in ‘Varsity E-Games’. Adam Nargol (UoS) won the Xbox One tournament, while Tyler Carter (Hallam) claimed victory on the PS4.

Engineers at the University are using 3D printers to make face shields for doctors and healthcare workers, responding to a national call for more PPE for NHS workers. Facilities in the Diamond’s iForge Makerspace are working hard to produce the vital protection.

Small businesses across the UK have been receiving billions of pounds in coronavirus support funding from local councils, after the scheme launched on Thursday 1 April.

According to authorities, nearly 100,000 businesses have already taken advantage of the offer.

Unite claim ‘victory for workers’ as SU agree to casual staff until Easter Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

Unite the Union are claiming a ‘win for workers’ after they reached an agreement with Sheffield Students’ Union to pay zero-hours casual staff until the end of April.

There are around 600 casual staff at the Students’ Union, many of whom Unite say don’t qualify for statutory sick pay, and therefore would’ve been out of pocket during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

However, this agreement will see casual staff paid until at least the last Friday of the month. This is the second local victory for Unite in a matter of weeks, as they also pushed SU management to improve its terms for self-isolating zero hours staff, giving them full pay throughout their period of isolation or sickness.

“The agreement gives zero hours staff some much needed confidence in difficult times. Sheffield Students’ Union are to be congratulated for

Keir Starmer, the new Leader of the Labour Party Image: Chris McAndrew

recognising the challenges workers face,” said Harriet Eisner, Unite regional officer.

“At the request of Unite, management had already improved its terms for self-isolating zero hours staff. The deal was made possible by the workers, proving that when you organise you can win.

“Unite is still in negotiations with the Students’ Union to protect our members throughout the lockdown period but this is a significant step in the right direction. Unite expects high standards for workers at the best of times but we want to see all workers treated properly – regardless of their employment status – in the worst of times, too.”

Casual staff are employed in a number of the SU’s services, including shops, bars and cafes. All of these services are temporarily shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the Students’ Union on lockdown for the time being.

Zero-hours staff are not guaranteed pay when they’re unable

One of Unite’s members, working in Coffee Revolution Image: Unite at The University of Sheffield

to work, and many will be without income during the pandemic. Unite also says that statutory sick pay (SSP) is unsuitable for many workers, as to qualify you must earn at least £118 per week.

Many students don’t come close to reaching this, however will now be paid based on the hours they

worked in February.

Jake Verity, Sheffield Students’ Union President, said: “As an organisation we’re very happy to support our casual workers with this announcement, and I am personally really pleased that we are helping our students through what is a difficult time for everyone.”

Image: Nick Vidal-Hall

‘Stop and search’ up by nearly 300% in four years in S Yorks Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

(cont. from front) ...searches, and that less prior knowledge of potential incidents was necessary.

South Yorkshire was one of seven police forces where the relaxed guidance was implemented initially, with Boris Johnson widening it across the nation when he became Prime Minister last summer.

The comparison between 2015/16 and this financial year is even starker when compared to 2016/17 and 2017/18, when the figures dropped to between 2,381 and 2,030 respectively, before more than tripling to over 6,330 in 2018-19.

The total number doubled again for this financial year up until February, to 14,504 across the region.

Of the four districts in South Yorkshire, the use of ‘stop and search’ has consistently been most common in Sheffield, and has risen from 1,206 in 2016/17 (the first year for which district-level data is available), to 5,376 this year.

Based on the latest Government guidance, the trend in South Yorkshire Police’s use of ‘stop and search’ seems to be following the national trend, but the loosening of regulations have been a point of contention for groups who have previously criticised the use of the tactic.

South Yorkshire Police and Sheffield City Region declined to comment.

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Societies and committees innovate to continue working

forgetoday.com

News

SU launch campaign calling for cancellation of student debt Sheffield Students’ Union Image: Juliet Cookson

Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

Student groups from the University of Sheffield are innovating, to find new ways they can continue to operate despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The University has been operating largely online since the middle of March, when the first case of the virus was confirmed on campus, and this coincided with when many societies and committees were planning their final events of the year.

A number of events, including Activities Awards, the Student Publication Association National Conference and dozens of end-ofyear balls have been cancelled or postponed, and many committees are in the midst of electing new teams.

However, not to be deterred, many student groups are trying to find new ways they can continue to do their work online instead. Forge Radio have launched an ‘isolation podcast’, coming out every week or so, whilst the Feminist Society have launched a blog so they can continue to discuss various issues.

BakeSoc also hosted a virtual bake-off, with prizes for the best cakes submitted by the deadline, and categories for small and large cakes.

Meanwhile, Disabled Students’ Committee have been working hard every day to help support those who may be feeling anxious about the ongoing pandemic, with a campaign called ‘Keeping calm together’.

They’ve been posting daily positive affirmations, as well as sharing them amongst student groups.

Most committees will begin to hand over to new teams soon, but Societies Committee are still hopeful of rearranging Activities Awards, to celebrate the work of this year’s teams.

Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

Sheffield Students’ Union have launched a campaign calling for student debt for this academic year to be cancelled, citing the ongoing coronavirus campaign, industrial strikes, and the cost of student living.

The SU Officers have launched a petition addressed to Student Finance England and the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin

Williamson MP. Jake Verity, SU President, has also written to a number of South Yorkshire MPs, including Paul Blomfield and Olivia Blake, as well as Dan Jarvis, who is also the Mayor of the Sheffield City Region.

“This academic year has been particularly challenging for our students, with universities’ collective representatives failing to find a solution to prevent strike action; a global pandemic stopping universities across the country

functioning as normal; and the costs of living for students reaching a breaking point across the sector,” he wrote.

Jake says a number of students have spoken to the Officer team about their concern about the debt they are responsible for this year, and he called on the Government to intervene and relieve some of the financial pressure on students.

He also said that the SU believed it was important to ease the financial burden on students working to

support the National Health Service through the coronavirus pandemic, by not having to pay tuition fees during this time, and being remunerated in the form of debt cancellation.

Forge Press has been told that the campaign is national, and that it believes that students across the country should have their debt cancelled, but this branch of the campaign will begin in the Steel City.

Similar work is currently going on at other universities, and in a statement released to students, Veritysaid the National Union of Students – who have recently elected their new leadership team (opposite) – are planning their own campaign on these issues.

“We think it’s important to call for cancelling student debt, as everyone has been impacted very differently this year – and the one thing that unites us all is the vast amounts of student debt that accrues year on year,” Jake added.

“With this, we can get a win for everyone. This campaign needs to be directed at the Government, and to change Higher Education for the better going into the future.”

As well as the pandemic, students missed up to 22 days of teaching due to UCU strikes this year.

Unicus worker calls on University to pay full wages throughout COVID-19 crisis Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

An employee of Unicus – a company wholly owned by the University of Sheffield – is calling for furloughed employees to be paid in full during the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Pat’ works for Unicus, which employs staff in outlets such as the library cafés, and released an anonymous statement, praising the company for taking up the Government subsidy to cover 80 per cent of wages during lockdown, although put the success down to the Unite the Union branch on campus.

However, in the statement she called for Unicus to go one better, and pay 100 per cent of wages, as Sheffield Students’ Union and the University of Sheffield have both committed to in recent weeks.

“I still have to pay 100 per cent for food, rent and bills while my

landlord gets to enjoy a three month mortgage holiday. I remain liable for rent on reduced wages. 100 per cent was a struggle but 80 per cent feels impossible,” she said.

A spokesperson for Unicus said: “Unicus has a sole trade union recognition agreement in place with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW), who have been kept fully informed throughout this process. USDAW officials have informed the company that they are happy with the arrangements put in place to protect jobs.

“Unicus will continue to support staff to the best of its ability during these exceptional times and is exploring whether there is scope for a hardship fund to be created to support those staff who may experience particular financial difficulties.”

Full story available online.

The Diamond is one of many campus buildings where Unicus employees work Image: ‘Chemical Engineer’

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

News

National Union of Students reveal new leadership team Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

The National Union of Students has announced its new leadership team, with Larissa Kennedy of Warwick SU at the helm.

They were elected to a twoyear team as NUS President, and will succeed Zamzam Ibrahim

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in the summer. Other winners announced were Salsabil Elmegri (Vice President Further Education) and Hillary Gyebi-Ababio (Vice President Higher Education).

For the first time, voting at the NUS National Conference took place online, with a turnout of around 80 per cent. The electorate were

delegates from affiliated Students’ Unions around the country – Sheffield students had the chance to elect theirs alongside the SU Council elections in October.

Kennedy said: “These past few weeks have been unprecedented in the history of the student movement. The existing crises facing our education sector and our students, have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

“But our ambitions have not been diminished, nor has

our commitment to deliver transformative change.

“I’m ready to hit the ground running and organise, yet again for a transformed education sector in a fairer, more equal society.”

Delegates also elected regional NUS Presidents, backing Matt Crilly for Scotland and Becky Ricketts for Wales.

The new Officers, many of whom already held roles representing students, will begin work from the beginning of July.

Sheffield University implemented the ‘safety net’ policy following pressure from thousands of students Image: Juliet Cookson

The new NUS President, Larissa Kennedy Image: NUS

Student community comes together Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

Students in Sheffield have rallied together to support each other during the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

Over 2,000 people have joined a Facebook group, set up by the incumbent Students’ Union Officers, allowing those involved in the Sheffield student community to stay connected in turbulent times such as these.

Members of a large numbers of societies, and working and representative committees, have used the group to advertise what they’re doing during this time of crisis, as well as offering support to

No student will be worse off due to COVID-19, Uni says Ben Warner Editor-in-Chief

(cont. from front) ...the University is going to be implementing a nodetriment, safety net policy,” a statement from the SU Officers said.

“You started this petition, and over 6,000 of you signed it. It’s an incredible piece of collective action for our student community.

Together we made the University recognise the value of our student voice.

“Our Education Officer has been working with the University to ensure this is implemented in the best way to benefit you going into the future.

“Your Students’ Union will continue to defend your education and support

you through this time. This is a real win for our student community and shows the incredible things we can do when we come together and fight for the issues that are important to us.”

This is a huge win for our students at a time that has been uncertain ... this is the best way for students to continue studying When the petition began last week, it saw a rapid increase in the number of people signing it, with nearly 1,000 signing it within the first

six hours. They quickly secured a commitment from Students’ Union President Jake Verity, alongside the rest of the Officers, to fight for the University to introduce the policy, and it seems they’ve got their way.

Education Officer Charlie Porter also released a statement, saying this was a win for students, and praising their efforts in organising.

He said: “This is a huge win for our students at a time that has been incredibly uncertain. We think that this is the best way for our students to carry on with their academic studies in the current circumstances, whilst also ensuring they are not disadvantaged for factors beyond their control.

“It’s always good to see students organising around educational

issues, and I’m very pleased that this has resulted in an outcome that works for everybody.”

A number of universities across the country have also brought in measures to ensure there is no detriment to their students during the ongoing global pandemic, including Exeter, the University of Southampton and the University of Hertfordshire, while Cambridge University has announced one for third-year undergraduate students, but not first or second years.

The University of Sheffield has since announced that it is up to individual departments to implement the ‘safety net’ as they see fit, but students will at least take some relief from this decision, which limits the impact on them.

I’m always proud of our students, whatever they do. They thrive and come up with incredible things time and again others.

“We’re currently in unprecedented times, and it’s so important our community stays strong and looks out for one another,” said Jake Verity, Sheffield SU President.

“Our students always rise to the challenge when times our difficult, and it’s clear these forthcoming weeks are going to be difficult and challenging.”

He added: “I’m always immeasurably proud of our students, whatever they do. We never impose ideas on our students or micro-manage their ideas, they just thrive by themselves and come up with incredible things time and time again.”

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Words by Ben Warner

News All face-to-face teaching at the University of Sheffield was suspended the day after the election of the 2020/21 Students’ Union Officers, with the closure of campus following soon after. Because of this, the SU Officer Election special edition of Forge Press, which we worked through the night to send to print the night results were announced, never got distributed.

We believe, however, that it’s still important for students to get to know their new student leaders. So without further ado, please meet your 2020/21 SU Officer team.

Meet your 2020/21 Officer Team

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After a hectic few weeks during the election period, the new team of Students’ Union Officers were introduced to students on Thursday 12 March 2020. The eight sabbatical officers represent students’ interests in everything from their education, to liberation issues, sports clubs, societies and more.

The new team will begin their full-time jobs in mid-June, and is comprised of Beth Eyre (SU President), Jordan Weir (SU Development Officer), Lily Grimshaw (Women’s Officer), Ellie Lynas (Education Officer), Joel Kirk (Activities Officer), Iuri Montenegro (International Students’ Officer), Holly Ellis (Welfare Officer) and Matt Graves (Sports Officer).

Each of the new Officers ran for their roles because they’re passionate about the issues they entail but want to put their own spin on their time in office, and tackle new issues.

For example, Lily wants to open up the conversation about body image at University, whilst continuing the discussion about consent.

“Body-image issues and eating disorders are some of the big problems that vast amounts of young people are continually experiencing in their every-day lives and the stigmatization of these issues prevents many from seeking help,” she said.

“In order to tackle this, one of my key goals for next year will be implementing a ‘Body-Neutrality’ campaign across campus to open up the conversation and offer support to those who need it.

“Consent still remains one of the key issues at university. Whilst we do have programmes such as the Consent Champions in place, I believe these can be improved and built upon to ensure a safe and inclusive campus for all.

“I’m feeling incredibly excited to have the opportunity to address these problems which I know affect so many of our students.”

Meanwhile, Joel wants to focus the discussion for societies and

committees onto storage and room bookings, including by actioning a policy he took through Students’ Union Council, in his role as Societies Councillor this year.

A number of the points raised by the officer-elect team in terms of areas they will look to campaign on, such as society storage, or negative marking which has been raised by Ellie Lynas, or the sustainability of the Students’ Union – which comes under Jordan Weir’s remit – are ongoing issues, which have been a common theme throughout Officer manifestos over the years.

Why these issues take a number of years to be resolved, or haven’t been tackled in previous years, remains to be seen, but the new team seem determined to right that when they take office.

It’s a strange time to take up a new job, with the Students’ Union currently closed, and the vast majority of University and SU services operating online due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, while many students have returned home. However, a significant proportion of international students have remained in the city, and new ISO Iuri Montenegro spoke directly to them.

“These are not only challenging times: I believe most of us have never experienced a crisis on such a global scale. While on one hand, this may offer some comfort – as we know all of us will be struggling with it to some extent – on the other hand, it can bring a sensation that there is nowhere to escape to: we worry about our relatives and friends at home and the ones abroad,” he said.

“If we are at home, we wonder when we will be able to return to Sheffield; if we stayed in the UK, we worry about when we will be home

Take care of yourself and extra care of the people around you. We never know who needs the most during these times again. Not only that, but it can also be really frustrating the impact that such a situation has been having on our studies and our university experience. For many of us, coming here is a long-expected dream. A pandemic, with all its implications, is definitely not how we expected it to be.

“Take care of yourself and extra care of the people around you. We never know who is needing the most during these times. And remember

that you can count on the University to help with anything that you may be going through.”

He also reiterated that many of the issues which international students face, like homesickness, are even more prevalent now, with students stuck inside, unable to go to their lectures, see friends, or do anything they normally would.

The pandemic has also put paid to much of the SU’s ongoing work, with much of what the current team

I am over the moon to be following in his footsteps and continuing the great work he has done across the year were currently working on having been suspended or cancelled, along with a lot of student projects.

However, they have still achieved a lot towards their goals this year, and Jordan Weir praised the person he is succeeding, Harry Carling, for his work on sustainability: “[He] has been a fantastic Development Officer and I knew that he would be from the first moment I met him last year. He has been a great role model and I have learnt so much from him and the work he has done.

“I am over the moon to be following in his footsteps and continuing the great work he has done across the year especially with the multiple climate strikes he has held.”

This was a slightly unusual election cycle in a number of regards – new Development Officer Jordan Weir initially ran against Carling last year, losing out during the 2019 elections, before deciding to run again this year, successfully.

In the Women’s Officer race as well, Lily was unopposed, the first time a role in the elections has been uncontested for half a decade.

Regardless, Lily went out campaigning alongside all the others, and when asked about the experience by Forge Press, said: “I tried to treat the whole experience as though I had competition. I thoroughly enjoyed going out and speaking to students about my policies and listening to their thoughts about the issues that my manifesto addresses.

“I think my favourite part of the whole campaign was working alongside the other candidates, meeting new people and supporting one another.”

Students will be wondering, of course, what qualifies the team of eight to lead the SU for the

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

next academic year, appearing at graduation and welcome ceremonies, as well as representing students in dozens of key meetings with senior University management.

This is particularly pertinent for roles such as Activities and Sports Officer, who represent thousands of students’ interests on a daily basis.

Joel said: “I started out attending a ‘Give It A Go’ session for the Wargames Society in my first week of first year and have since progressed through almost every committee position there is on multiple societies, I have spent the past 2 years on Societies Committee and was the first ever societies councillor (a role which I helped campaigned to create).

“I consider myself somewhat of an SU guru. I know how it works, how societies and committees operate, and I believe this qualifies me to represent student groups.”

Meanwhile, Matt Graves, who saw off Jordan Frith in a close race for Sports Officer, told Forge Press: “What I’ve seen in my time here is that sport is at capacity. Clubs are having to turn members away due to capacity constraints and social sport sessions are having to limit participation in areas.

“Sport’s been incredible for me in my time at uni, through helping with mental health issues and physical health benefits, and I would hate for anybody to be denied those

I am really keen to hear as many students’ views as possible and do my best to implement as much as I can to help experiences due to the University not prioritising sport highly enough.”

Another issue which students would be eager to hear from the new team on, of course, is the disruption which many have faced this year, with as many as 22 days of teaching lost to the UCU strikes for some, as well as the coronavirus pandemic putting a halt to physical teaching.

When asked, Education Officerelect Ellie said: “There’s not always a clear solution to the problems students have been facing lately, but one thing that can be controlled is communication. This should be a priority through these times of uncertainty.”

Once students are back for the new year, they will also be hoping that Ellie fights for her manifesto promises, such as banning negative marking in all departments; she

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News highlighted that some have already done this, signifying that it’s a choice, rather than requirement, and called on the rest of University departments to do the same.

Holly Ellis, Welfare Officer, meanwhile wants to bring a different perspective to the table, being the first in her family to go to University, but also having been heavily involved in a number of University and SU projects during her time as a student.

She said: “I can bring a fresh perspective to the role as a first-generation student from a school in special measures. I am passionate about equality and equal opportunities for all, which I will keep at the heart of everything I work towards. As a good listener and a caring and conscientious person, I am really keen to hear as many students’ views and ideas as possible and do my best to implement as much as I can to help as many students as possible.

“Having a Psychology degree behind me means I am especially aware of the need to improve the mental health services available to students and to fight discrimination.”

Whilst the new team clearly have their own goals which they want to focus on during their time in office, many also cited that they want to continue the work of the incumbents, improving upon what they’ve done throughout 2019/20.

However, they want to put their own spin on the roles, and will endeavour to do that for the next year.

We hope this article gave you an idea of what to expect from the new SU Officer Team. We will also be posting in-depth individual interviews on our website, forgetoday.com.

The new team will take office in summer, working over the holidays ready for students to return in September. As the University’s independent student newspaper, we will be working hard over the next 12 months to hold them to account and ensure they’re representing students’ as they’ve said they will – keep reading for more information on what you could do to get involved.

Do you want to hold next year’s SU Officers to account?

Why not run for our News team at the Forge Press AGM? Email ben.warner@ forgetoday.com to find out more.

Top: the new SU Officer team on Results Night Middle: the incoming SU President, Beth Eyre Bottom: Activities Officerelect Joel Kirk during the election campaign Images: Chelsea Burrell, Iwan James, Ben Warner

Forge Press AGM Join our editorial team!

Be one of the 36 people in our Forge Press family tree.

Roles range from production, to photography and design, as well as important behind-the-scenes jobs such as Secretary and Head of Marketing.

On Forge Press you can: – Produce an award-winning newspaper every two weeks – Engage students with online content during the year – Develop new skils and find fresh talents – Be part of a wonderful committee atmosphere – Represent students’ voices in the SU and on campus If this sounds good to you, please consider running for a role on our committee at the Annual General Meeting!

This year we will be running a virtual AGM, and if you want to run, you need to email ben.warner@ forgetoday.com by 12pm on Tuesday 28 April.

Voting will begin the same day, and candidates will be contacted with the results as soon as possible.

Find out more about our AGM through the Facebook event, by scanning the QR code:

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Wednesday 15 April 2020

9

Features

Do you want to be the next Features Editor?

We're electing a whole new committee at our AGM, and this is a great opportunity to get more involved.

If you want to run, please email ben.warner@forgetoday.com!

Nominate yourself by 12pm Tuesday 28 April

Life during a global pandemic Rahul Warrier Features Contributor

University is a strange ride of independent self-discovery. You may think you’re ready for it as you move in on the first day, and yet you’re forced into re-calibration by something unexpected. We have to adjust and move on.

2020 has thrown us all an unexpected wrench. Not only was it a new year, but it was a new decade, a fresh start. Yet, a global pandemic has shut us all in our homes, making universities move online and sending the majority of students home. The university year is over. In April. We’re now forced to reckon with all those resolutions now. It’s natural to feel unproductive, unmotivated, negative; this is not how anything was supposed to go. It isn’t easy either.

“Man is by nature a social animal,” said Aristotle. Being forced to stay at home isn’t fun. Whether you’re socially confident or anxious, everyone’s chomping at the bit just to get out. The irony of the pandemic is that there’s no distinction. The only responsible option is to selfisolate or quarantine (and it isn’t even a choice in some places). To self-isolate is to confront your own thoughts, something that is not

The Weeknd in concert in July 2018 Image: Nicolas Padovani

done too often in a fast-paced world.

For a cynical realist, I’ve been trying to maintain the ‘glass halffull’ outlook. That’s never been tested more, and yet it couldn’t be stronger. The university year ending early was bizarre and disappointing, yet it is comforting to be in the confines of home, in a country I trust will take care of me. To say life is mundane is an understatement, but there’s nothing to complain about.

Forcing myself to think positive can only help time pass faster, right?

It’s funny that I’ve spent my 14day quarantine period bingeing Bojack Horseman, with The Weeknd’s latest album, After Hours, on repeat. Focusing on these dark themes might feel counterintuitive, wherein I may end up selfinternalizing negative thoughts.

On the contrary though, I’ve found some solace in these mediums. The show and the music share similar themes of downfall, despair and toxicity.

But I’ve found that it’s possible to see it as what it is: a work of art.

In this time of self-reflection, the show’s projection of these negative feelings helps me to look back on the university year, finding areas of strength and weakness.

The show is not easy viewing in normal circumstances; and definitely not easy viewing during

a pandemic. It encourages selfintrospection whether you want it or not. But it also adds perspective to life and the relationships around us. It hits hard because you don’t expect this level of thought from an anthropomorphic animated show that’s a comedy amongst other things. It’s ironic that you could get addicted to a show that addresses heavy themes such as addiction.

If the show’s slowly pushing me along the road of growth, The Weeknd is the accompanying soundtrack on that journey. I for one could never get into his music on a deeper level when his albums came out in 2015 and 2016. It’s been a slow journey towards falling in love with his music, and I’m there now. He’s made his career based around mystique, music blurring the lines between R&B, pop and hip hop, singing about drugs and partying. His latest album continues that path; the smooth flow between the tracks takes us on that journey.

It’s dark, but the links to the show are quite obvious. He sings about a decadent lifestyle that Bojack (the titular character) lives through the six seasons, a ruinous path of depression and self-loathing. The person he adopts is similar to the hedonistic, drug-loving Bojack.

To reduce the artist and the show to this is unfair and a slight, but it

is part of their brand. It’s not a bad thing either. Life has its ups and downs, and now we’re living in a difficult time for the world. It’s an unprecedented time. Personal problems seem smaller in scale to a pandemic, but rather than trivialize our own issues, we just have to consider things in separation.

Our mental health is supremely important. A common feeling may be to shun what we’re going through because people have it worse. And that’s true. But it’s never been more important to take care of our health, because let’s face it, we’re largely alone in a global battle.

These two sources of entertainment, similar and yet dissimilar, have kept me going. Or at least, kept me distracted. The pandemic can bring morale down: procrastination yields nothing, there’s little distraction available.

Not being in control of our lives is a foreign concept. But what’s in our control is our approach.

Unproductivity is natural, but the first step towards keeping a modicum of sanity is to accept.

Accept that this is the way of life for a few months at minimum. Accept that we have to social distance for the greater good. Accept that we have to keep by ourselves. I won’t lie when I say the monotony of my daily routine is getting on my nerves. But

I can’t do anything, so I have to keep myself distracted. Although I’ve finished the show now, I’m left with plenty of self-reflection and advice for myself. While The Weeknd is the go-to artist for sadness, I can enjoy his music without internalizing that feeling. If anything, it helps me focus. In a strange way, it keeps me positive.

What I’ve learnt from a heavy, hectic March is that nothing’s ever in our control. You can have grand plans, but a pandemic can come and strike everything down. It’s quite something to take in, but I think we’ll all be better for when this is over. To value our friends, to value what matters to us. To perhaps live in the moment. To not take things for granted. I’ve learnt, and am learning, a lot.

I feel the need to thank my coping mechanisms for keeping me sane.

Bojack Horseman, a show about addiction and depression, has kept me positive and self-reflective. The Weeknd, an artist centered around hurt and pain, has kept me grateful and focused. It’s the small picture that counts most, after all, in a time when the larger picture has been disrupted. And lastly, I thank the doctors, nurses and staff around the world doing their best, they are the real heroes.

For now: don’t overthink, have a good time, and use this time to reflect. One day soon, it’ll all go back to normal, and this will be a story for the ages.

Bojack Horseman, one of Netflix’s biggest creations Image: Image credit

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Features

forgetoday.com

Madame C.J. Walker’s impact on the beauty industry and empowering black women Abir Patwary Features Contributor

Born in Louisiana in 1867, Sarah Breedlove was the first recorded self-made millionaire in the history of the USA. She became known as Madame C.J. Walker and she made her fortune by starting a beauty company aimed at black women like herself. She died aged 51 in New York, but despite her short life, she made bounds as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and social activist at a time when the United States was filled with bigotry.

What was particularly remarkable about her story is the fact that she was a black woman, which at that time would have put her at the bottom rung of society, and yet she fought for her dreams and made them a reality despite all these obstacles. Women did not have the right to vote and were widely viewed as their husbands’ property.

Not only did she have to fight the

She was a black woman, which at that time would have put her at the bottom rung of society, and yet she fought for her dreams and made them a reality despite all obstacles discrimination she faced from white people but she also had to deal with being ridiculed by men and women of her own race. In fact she was the first free black person to be born in her family, with all of her older siblings having been enslaved at the Madison Parish plantation by Robert J. Burney. She was orphaned by 1874 and started working in domestic service at the age of 10. She had no formal education aside from a brief few months at sunday school.

Madam C.J. Walker worked as a laundry woman and during that time due to stress, lack of cosmetics and lack of time she started to suffer from dandruff, her scalp started to become damaged and her hair started to fall out. This was a common problem amongst women of her race and class and despite the hardships this brought,

it was also what brought her into the world of cosmetics. According to the acclaimed biographical television show Self Made, she benefited from Annie Turnbo Malone’s hair care products. However when she wanted a job as a sales agent, Malone turned her down claiming that she was too dark and ugly to be able to market

$1k

of Madame C.J. Walker’s money was pledged to the Senate Avenue’s YMCA building fund for the black community of Indianapolis

her products properly. This was an embellishment on the writers’ parts because in reality, Walker did indeed work for Malone´s company for a brief time. However, the fierce rivalry portrayed between the two women was no exaggeration because Walker later became Malone´s biggest competitor. Even while she was still working for Malone, Walker started to develop her own line of care products and tensions reached a boiling point when Malone actually accused Walker of stealing her famous formula of petroleum jelly and sulfur.

Walker started a business establishing herself as an independent hairdresser and retailer of cosmetic creams after she became married to Mr C.J. Walker in 1906. After that, the business became a family affair where Walker’s husband gave advice on marketing whilst A’Leila, her

daughter, helped with day-to-day operations. As the business grew Walker decided to bring on more and more black women, training them to become hairdressers and teaching them about hair care and cosmetics.

She gave back to the community by educating and hiring black women as sales agents and even helping others set up their own beauty businesses

The TV show has done a great job showing the public about Madame C.J. Walker’s life and her struggles on the journey to the top using the Walker system.

Over the years, as Walker’s own

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

She hoped that by creating this space and hosting gatherings would inspire other African Americans and those from lower classes to pursue their dreams success grew she gave back. She pledged US$1,000 to the Senate Avenue YMCA building fund for the black community of Indianapolis.

She donated to various churches including the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal church as well as setting up scholarships such as in the Tuskegee Institute. She supported girl’s education, probably because of her own experience of not having had access to it as a child and donated funds to various institutes such as the Marcy McLeo Bethune’s Daytona Education and Industrial School for Negro Girls, which later became a university. Walker actually hired the first licensed black architect in New York to design and build her US$250,000 home in 1917. She hoped that by creating this space and hosting gatherings with community leaders, other aspiring entrepreneurs and activists would inspire other African Americans and those from the lower classes to pursue their dreams no matter how big they seemed. Due to her own experience as an orphan she

11

Features had donated US$100,000 to various different orphanages and even put in her will that she wanted twothirds of her organization’s net profits to go to charity after she died.

Aside from her charity work she also became involved in politics, giving lectures on different contemporary issues including politics, economics and social issues. These speeches were often endorsed by large black institutions and organisations. She fiercely supported the rights of black soldiers during WWI, where they were continuously mistreated and given jobs that the white soldiers did not want. Because of this she became one of the leaders of the Circle For Negro War Relief movement and pushed for black soldiers to get the same level of training as their white counterparts. In the NAACP FIfth Avenue Silent Protest Parade there were more than 8,000 black people involved. This demonstration was to show solidarity against the East St. Louis massacre. Walker backed this, even becoming a part of the

She supported girls’ education, probably because of her own experience of not having access to it as a child executive committee of the NAACP in New York. She had actually pledged, what in 2019 would be

worth US$77,700, to the NAACP’s anti-lynching fund. At that point this was the greatest contribution that the NAACP had achieved.

Today Madam C.J Walker´s legacy continues with her brand being relaunched by Sundial as “Madam C.J Walker beauty culture” available exclusively from Sephora. They are honouring her memory by establishing a fund of around US$100 million to support women in business. This legacy started with a daughter and sister

of slaves and over the past century has reached thousands of people, giving them jobs, improving their

$100m

has been pledged by Sundial to support women in business

health and supporting those who have historically been the most disadvantaged in society. While the TV show has done a great job showing the public about Madam

C.J Walker’s life and her struggles on the journey to the top, the first precipitation of her story came with the 2006 play titled The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

Watch Self Made, about Madam C.J. Walker’s life, on Netflix now Image credits: (l) - National Museum of American History (above) Indiana History (below) New York Public Library

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forgetoday.com

Features

Going to Heaven in a UFO

Harry Robinson interviews the Heaven’s Gate cult members 22 years on Harry Robinson Features Contibutor

CW: references to suicide “Our 22 years of classroom here on planet Earth is finally coming to conclusion,” says the Heaven’s Gate website, accompanied by brightly coloured text and cheesy animations that juxtapose the dark fate of the cult and acts almost as a macabre internet time capsule. “By the time you read this we suspect the human bodies we were wearing have been found and we have returned to what you would call the Kingdom of Heaven.”

In 1974, Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles - known amongst the cult as Ti and Do - founded the Heaven’s Gate religious movement, consumed with the idea that the group’s members were ‘above human’ and destined to ascend to a level above our Earthly realm. The group believed Applewhite was a direct descendant of Jesus and that a UFO would take their souls to the afterlife.

In 1997, San Diego police were tipped off to a mansion with 39 bodies inside; all of which were dressed in black and white Nike tracksuits with purple cloths covering their faces. Applewhite had instructed his followers to commit mass suicide as the Hale-Bopp comet flew past Earth, in the hope it was a spacecraft that would take them to heaven. 39 people took their lives over a three-day period, including the group’s leader, by taking anti-seizure medication and suffocating themselves with plastic bags.

Only two members of the cult remain, tasked with continuing the religious teachings of Heaven’s Gate over two decades after that fateful event. Based in the same building their ‘classmates’ took their own lives - the structure standing in the hills of California like an eerie and tragic relic - the couple agreed to talk about the enterprise which they have devoted their lives to, the same cause their friends had devoted their death to around a generation ago.

Almost 23 years after the end of Heaven’s Gate you’re still keeping the group alive. What made you both want to join Heaven’s Gate in the first place?

We went to a meeting that Ti and Do held at Waldport, Oregon on 14 September 1975. They explained the truth of the Next Level and we joined immediately. Once you experience the Next Level you cannot deny its pure truth.

capable, Next Level bodies. Only humans see them as dying. Only those 39 individuals were allowed to perform this transfer under the supervision of the Next Level.

No human can do this and that is why we are against suicide. All humans do is trigger a premature reincarnation on this planet to repeat the lesson steps again when they commit suicide. Don’t worry, we are taken care of.

You both make up the last remnants of Heaven’s Gate.

Why did Marshall Applewhite choose you two in particular to be Heaven’s Gate’s representatives on Earth?

Do was instructed by the Next Level to assign us the tasks of caretaking the physical and intellectual property of the Next Level. They set up the infrastructure in 1995 and we trained with them on a variety of tasks such as acting as a communion centre for emails, letters, tapes, etc.

We were instructed to take care of all the physical properties of the group such as cars, household products, and many other day-to-day issues. We were also trained to handle the intellectual and legal issues of all printed,

What do you mean when you say you are taken care of? By who in particular?

The Next Level will take care of us.

You phrase questions as if we are ‘left behind’ when we are only in a brief interlude before the next bus comes. Human time is not Next Level time. From the time they left to when we leave is only an eye blink to the Next Level. Humans look at it as years while the Next Level considers it a day.

videotaped and audio property that need to be handled then and to this day.

Our main task is to disseminate the information of the Next Level to the world via tapes, the book and website, and we still take care of all legal and property issues to this day. The Next Level knew who could take care of this task and time has demonstrated the wisdom of their selection. We are not representatives. Only Ti and Do are representatives. We are just students given a task to do.

Did you want to take part in the suicide to join the rest of your ‘classmates’?

There was no suicide. Those 39 individuals transferred from their human bodies to new, space-

Do you miss the members of the group who have ascended?

We like being with our classmates but don’t have human loss issues like others on this planet. Those classmates are alive and well and very productive. They are with us all the time.

Do you ever get signs from your classmates that let you know they’re still with you?

Yes, we know the Next Level is taking care of us. We are always happy to receive those signs but they will remain private.

The iconography of the purple sheets and Nike Decade trainers is renowned and a somewhat odd attire for the group to leave Earth with. What is the explanation behind the choice to wear those specific clothes?

It was to demonstrate unity as a group. The uniform of the team was more symbolic for the world.

Each item by itself has no deep meaning. We just got a good deal on these shoes and those shrouds were for privacy.

When you say you are at a level above human would it be misrepresentation to say you think of yourselves as aliens?

Our thought pattern is alien to this

planet but we are in human bodies and have to deal with human issues.

Even though the two of you were told prior to the ‘transfer’ that you were to stay behind, were you present at the compound while your classmates ascended?

We were at the Arizona communication center performing our tasks, as we do today.

There was no suicide. Those 39 individuals transferred from their human bodies to new, Next Level bodies You clearly had a profound connection with Ti and Do. What were they like as people?

Ti and Do are kind, very wise and concerned with our ultimate welfare. No matter how hard it is to achieve.

Did you see them as friends?

Friends is a human term. They are our teachers. Is your professor at university your friend or someone concerned with you being the best you can be? We love Ti and Do and our classmates but it is not human love.

You both are clearly still very faithful to the cause. Is there any

part of you that has doubts that the events of 1997 were worth it?

We have no doubts. It was definitely worth it.

It’s easy to look through our media window and mock Heaven’s Gate; a seemingly absurd and outlandish ideology that has been more than prone to ridicule over the years, but the fate of the cult should act as a poignant reminder of the fragility of our human - or indeed alien - identity. 39 people died in that mansion in 1997, who joined a cult to feel a sense of collective belonging that was missing in their lives - possibly accelerated to their radical fate due to their ostracisation from ‘ordinary’ society, fast-tracked to their death for being different.

“The response to our teachings were extremely animated and somewhat mixed.

However, the loudest voices were those expressing ridicule, hostility, or both - so quick to judge what they could not comprehend. This was the signal to us to begin our preparations to return ‘home’” Heaven’s Gate, April 1996

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

13

Opinion

Do you want to be the next Opinion Editor?

We're electing a whole new committee at our AGM, and this is a great opportunity to get more involved.

If you want to run, please email ben.warner@forgetoday.com!

Nominate yourself by 12pm Tuesday 28 April

Why have we been clinging to nostalgia more than ever before?

Animal Crossing has been seeing something of a renaissance after the release of New Horizons last month Image: IGDB

Ciara Treacy Opinion Contributor

During this strange time of quarantine and social isolating, we have found ourselves staying at home and thinking of things to let the days pass, and what have we turned to? Childhood nostalgia.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons could not have come at a better time. Under this quarantine period everyone is flocking to buy Nintendo Switches and immersing themselves in their own world without having to leave the house. Or, if you are like me and couldn’t find it within yourself to fork out over £200 for the console, I have kept myself busy on my old Nintendo DS, playing all of the games that defined my childhood.

As well as the consoles from our youth, Disney+ has also found itself thriving. Whether you’ve already

binge watched everything that Netflix had to offer or just fancy taking yourself back to the simpler days of Pixar and princesses, it helps the isolation period fly by.

I’ve been wondering why nostalgia has made such a comeback over this lockdown period. Does it

Will the DS go back to being under the bed, or will this time leave a permanent mark of wholesomeness and creativity? give us a comfort blanket reliving our childhood memories, back to a time where everything was okay?

Or is it simply a matter of going back to what we did when we were

The power instilled in the phrase ‘Me Too’ Olivia Hutton Opinion Contributor

When Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey broke the Harvey Weinstein story on 5 October 2017, no one possibly could have anticipated the shockwaves that it would cause. 10 days later, Alyssa Milano prompted people to share their own experiences of sexual assault by replying to a tweet with a simple phrase coined by Tarana Burke: ‘me too’. Since then, the #MeToo movement has become synonymous with strength and solidarity, inspiring those who have survived sexual assault and paving the way for change.

Earlier this year, Weinstein entered one of the most awaited trials of the 21st Century, a shell of the man he once was. It is striking, in a way, to witness Weinstein’s palpable fall from grace. It’s so striking because it simply does not happen enough. His career was instantly stalled, his reputation indisputably tainted, with the voices of 87 women enough to quieten

the cacophony of his privilege.

Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years out of a possible 29, so although the evidence was concrete, why are we shocked that the law worked as the law should?

As a society we are not used to the justice system taking these actions seriously. The year prior to the initial allegations against Weinstein saw the trial of Brock Turner, a promising swimmer at Stanford University who was found guilty of five counts of assault. Turner was found sexually assaulting the unconscious Chanel Miller and was given only six months in jail. The #MeToo movement couldn’t have come at a more poignant time.

Actresses recently walked out of the Cesars after Roman Polanski, a man who has admitted to unlawful sexual intercourse with a thirteenyear-old girl, won Best Director.

The #MeToo movement has opened up a discourse of support within society, implicating those in power and holding them accountable.

Although nothing can undo any of

the heinous acts committed, the justice served by the sentencing of Weinstein is as though society is reaching out to victims as if to say, ‘I understand you’.

If Weinstein had not been justly sanctioned, it would have been a

younger when we couldn’t leave the house ourselves, letting the DS and cheerful movies take up our time?

I have recently started taking up painting, drawing and baking again.

These are by no means reserved as just children’s activities, but it is something I haven’t touched since my childhood, in school or during rainy Sundays. This again submerges me into a feeling of nostalgia – and it does give a feeling of comfort and make the days go by a lot easier.

What this nostalgic filled period of isolation does make me wonder is, what will we do when it is all over?

Will the DS go back to being under the bed and the paintings forgotten, or will this quarantined time leave a permanent mark of wholesomeness and creativity?

even more power instilled into the simple phrase, ‘me too’.

dreadful way to end a trial which sparked so much support for victims of sexual assault. Survivors have been given a helping hand, a push to find internal strength, all because of the #MeToo movement. After the trial of Harvey Weinstein, there is Tarana Burke is credited with coining the phrase ‘Me Too’ Image: Marco Verch

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forgetoday.com

Opinion

Students will lead the path to better times A message from your SU President, Jake Verity

Crookes Valley Park shining in the Sheffield sun Image: Juliet Cookson

Jake Verity SU President

I’m sorry. That event you’ve had cancelled and have put hours into isn’t going ahead. The plans you have for your society ball have been thrown into doubt. The exams you’ve been helping other students with, and events in your department over the last few months look uncertain, and you’re stuck yourself.

But look, I wanted to tell you all how proud you should be of yourselves. That’s for two things.

One, for all that work you’ve done so far. Secondly to remind you that Sheffield has the number one Students’ Union in the country, and that is only for one reason. It’s because of you.

All of our student groups are the beating heart of our University community. I can’t stress that enough. Of course, you come to University to get a degree. We all know that. But, it’s when you accidentally fall into hitchhiking with Bummit, joining your departmental society, or going to your first ROAR with your sports team that you really fall in love with the Steel City.

It’s when you run for a position at an AGM because you want to make our already amazing societies even better. It’s that moment when you

are nominated to win something at the Activities or Sports Awards and ring Mum or Dad to let them know about it. It’s every single pound you raise through RAG for the hundreds of amazing charities we have across South Yorkshire.

You see Sheff, the thing about our University community is you make us what we are.

I’m putting this out as a message of hope to you al, because it doesn’t have to be a terrible end to the year If you go to any University across the country, they’ll tell you how they are striving to be the best. They’ll tell you words like how they want you to be ‘sector leading’ or to ‘enhance student experience’. The reason why we’re so fortunate is nobody here imposes anything on you. There’s no expectation. We don’t tell you to do anything, we just help each other bring our ideas to reality, and they are often incredible.

You make our community as brilliant as it is, and I thought it was so important to tell you that.

The reason why I’m rambling

on right now, is in this uncertain time, our students need you as their leaders more than ever. Those of you who are a committee member of a society, the members of our working and representative committees, all of our student volunteers or our sports club committees who are working out what to do now Varsity has sadly been cancelled, you will make a difference.

In difficult times, we look to leaders to help us through things, and I know that you’re all ready to rise to the challenge. We see it time and time again every single year.

I posted yesterday about how we’ve now got a remote Film Unit online, and how we’re running digital club-nights. You make us great and at a time which feels challenging and uncertain, you will no doubt have amazing and creative ideas. You can thrive at this point, and start experimenting with ideas.

I have no doubt that although those events you’ve wanted to do for ages look uncertain now, you’ll spend this time planning things even bigger and better. You’ll come up with ideas that will change things for our student community years to come.

With everyone living in a digital world at this point, it seems the best time for us to elevate each other’s voices whilst everyone is listening,

so go out and tell people what you want to work on. Make sure you all pull together and get all of your members to work on what you think is important.

Let’s use these next few weeks to focus our energy into doing things we’ve never seen before.

If you have an idea, why not ask another society to work with you on it? If you want to push a really important campaign, get in touch with committees or Officers and we’ll help drive that work alongside you. If you’re wanting to go out and help in the community, speak to everyone around you about what you can do as a team and how you can help.

I’m putting this out as a message of hope to you all, because it doesn’t have to be a terrible end to the year.

It doesn’t need to be a muted trudge towards the end of term where you pick up your degree. It certainly doesn’t have to be the end of your time making Sheffield brilliant, even if you’re somewhere else in the world right now.

So, if you’re reading this, please take this as something to smile about. Let’s start getting excited about our Sheffield community and what we can achieve. We can make amazing things happen if we all stay positive, talk to each other and come together.

Take care everyone, and start getting excited. This is the time we never thought we’d have, and it gives us the chance to think of the things we never thought we could.

Let’s make some history during this time, and let’s come out of it together.

So, to summarise - the three key things to take back to your committees are: Check in with each other regularly (via Facebook or Whatsapp) Run your Committee meetings via Google Hangouts even if it’s nothing to do with University, your student group or Sheffield. You’ll all pick each other up and have a laugh and a smile. It’s needed at this time!

Work out what your priorities are Things are constantly changing, so it’s worth everyone having a chat on what you’d like to work on. This could help to give you all some focus over the next few weeks, and also means you can work on the things that are important at this time.

Reach out to another student group which isn’t your own You might come up with a brilliant idea together that you never thought of, and we’re all in the same boat so it’s good to make new friends and work through this together

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

15

Opinion

Bernie’s ideas rely on economic disparity A ‘corona recession’ could prove him right Yohan Kim Opinion Contributor

On 30 November 30 2010, amidst President Barack Obama’s plans for heavily compromised tax cuts, the Senate opened the floor for discussion. Bernie Sanders, a veteran of American politics, but a recently elected Senator, gave his speech in thorough opposition to the tax cuts.

A few weeks later, Sanders would filibuster for the first time in his political career against the overwhelming consensus in the House, gaining his first virality and the public’s spotlight. His speech began by painting a picture of the state of socio-economic affairs in the US. He pointed out the regression of American society since the 1970s, as he strikes home the alarming rate of income accumulation at the top of the society. This, surmises Sanders, was the demise of the middle class in the US. More importantly, for him and the many others, this was “war”.

This analogy is solidified throughout the speech, as Sanders specifies the aggressors and the defenders, the motive and the goals, the means and the casualties of such a war. The motive lies in the greed displayed by “the Nation’s billionaires”, “the wealthiest and most powerful people”, “the crooks on Wall Street” or more collectively, the “1 percent”. The middle class and people living in poverty, “the workers”; become the defenders against their aggression.

As for the means, the Senator argues the one per cent has embarked on more political means.

Through lobbying and funding campaigns in Congress, the one per cent has managed to push forth tax cuts after tax cuts and trade deals profiting corporations, while setting the political agenda to prevent major reforms against their interests.

Ultimately, Sanders raised a political question in the speech — who is winning and who is losing, and why. Although spoken in the Senate, it is apparent the speech is directed at audiences far beyond the ones present. In hindsight, his words would indeed resonate with many more people, changing the discourse about the American economy in the next decade to come.

Not merely reflected in the success of Sanders’ own political career,

political phenomena such as the Occupy Movement shouting slogans of “we are the 99 per cent” or even the phenomena of Trump who won by arguing for more American jobs and securing better trade deals albeit with a more xenophobic twist - may all find a source of prevision in Sanders’ speech.

In academia, political economists have long discussed the extent to which ideas and institutions transform the fundamental understanding of the economy in a certain way.

For example, the Roosevelt era of social legislation, referred to in the speech, was a period of such transformation, where the foundational economic ideas and fundamental philosophy of the role of the state changed.

Political economist Mark Blyth refers to this process as the embedding of liberalism. It began with politicians questioning the supply-side economics orthodoxy for its failure to make sense of the Great Depression that plagued the American economy since 1929.

The questioning gradually undermined the explanatory power of the laissez faire ideas. The trend would eventually pave the way

for a new form of demand-side understanding of the economy, primarily influenced by John Maynard Keynes and the intellectual framework for embedded liberalism in the US. Similarly, in the 1970s, another transformation of similar magnitude occurred. It began with the rising antagonism of American businesses against what they thought was increasingly pervasive governance and unyielding labour. Finally, with the energy crisis in 1979 and the recession thereafter, Ronald Reagan came into power.

Reagan began bulldozing much of Roosevelt’s legacy through deregulations, privatisation and tax cuts and disembedding much of the role of the state in the economy.

Moreover, it marked a return to supply-side macroeconomics with comparable monetarist policy goals as once seen during the preRoosevelt era. Many have referred to this new, yet arguably old, framework of ideas and practices as neoliberalism.

In Sanders’ speech, it is clear which side of history he wants the US to be on but also which side of history they are currently in. As such, Sanders isn’t simply making

a policy argument against “tax breaks for the wealthy”, or “Wall Street bailouts”, or “disastrous trade policy”, or the “recordbreaking deficit”, but he is creating a narrative against the fundamental assumptions and system of norms and practices that the state has held since the 1980s. Thus, the analogy of war is also befitting in respect to the task in hand.

But why did Sanders’ rhetoric only begin to truly resonate in the 2010s?

He had been in Congress since 1991 and was a Mayor previously. Given his rhetoric for much of his political career has remained consistent under a political label of democratic socialism, it is intriguing why his prominence came so late.

Vivien Schmidt in the discussion about discursive institutional change, argues that political rhetoric succeeds when it is spoken at the right time to the right audience.

Sanders’ speech comes at a time of recession and the financial bailout recovery plan. It is also addressed to the “middle class” and the “workers”, who were hurt most since the financial crash.

Public resentment and lack of trust in the federal government had begun to soar since the financial

crash. Needless to say, Sanders’ speech came at the most opportune time to target the most suitable audience.

Furthermore, Sanders utilised the right tools to bring about a discursive change. According to Schmidt, apart from sounding justifiable, the rhetoric is persuasive. Sanders talks regularly of “greed”, for example, which is exactly the kind of argument he wants to make. Greed in context of the financial crisis created by the bankers and their political lobbying practices, finds a perfect spot of reasonable appropriateness.

As such, Sanders’ clarity with which side to blame and to support, finds a revelling resonance with the public and contemporary discourse in the US. Although whether he has brought about a genuine transformation of institutions may be debatable, his contribution to the discursive tide of political questioning about the political economy in the US is undoubtable.

With another recession caused by Covid-19 in sight, Sanders’ rhetoric and his movement may find yet another boost of resonance in our current times.

Bernie Sanders suspended his presidential campaign last week, leaving former VP Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee for the November election Image: Phil Roeder

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Lifestyle

Do you want to be the next Lifestyle Editor?

We're electing a whole new committee at our AGM, and this is a great opportunity to get more involved.

If you want to run, please email ben.warner@forgetoday.com!

Nominate yourself by 12pm Tuesday 28 April

Five productive alternatives to gadgets during isolation Michelle Almeida Lifestyle Contributor

Learn a new artistic skill Origami, calligraphy and cardmaking - there’s so much out there to learn. These skills require a bit of time to acquire which is perfect for diverting your attention away from your gadgets. Invest in a good tutorial book and interest yourself in developing some new skills.

Art doesn’t always have to be the mainstream forms of coloring, crafting, and whatnot. Writing a poem, song, or story is just as valuable!

Social Media Detox The best way to disconnect from the outside world is to deactivate your accounts or delete addictive apps altogether.

It’s time to completely get away and take a few days off to surround yourself with family or just spend some time by yourself.

Now is the best time to switch off your laptops, phones, and any other devices without having to worry too much about replying to emails or completing submissions. It’s a stressful time to be living in, so allowing yourself some time to detox will only have a positive effect in the long run.

Journaling, bullet-journaling and scrapbooking Bullet-journaling requires a fair amount of work but it’s a fun way to bring out your uniqueness.

There are some excellent videos that are available online to spark inspiration. Once you have an idea, invest your time in personalising your journals!

Another idea is to start scrapbooking. Grab pictures from your albums, get some stationery, and don’t forget the fancy tape!

Have your friends and family narrate the story behind each photo and doodle them into your scrapbooks. There’s no better time to learn about your family history and relive some fond memories while creating your own mix of a storybook and album.

Board games It’s now better than ever to bring out those dust clad board games that have been sitting at the back of your closets. Monopoly, scrabble, cluedo - the list is endless! Designate one evening a week to spend time playing board games with your family.

Don’t have any games at home?

No biggie. There are so many alternatives to engage everyone with that don’t require the board or tools. Just to name a couple...

Charades: Get yourself into two teams and enjoy unleashing your inner actor through a fun battle.

Pictionary: You don’t need the actual board game to play Pictionary.

Some blank sheets of paper, pencils, a list of objects to draw and a watch are just enough to enjoy a fun, artsy game.

Cook… bake... eat I know ingredients are a little scarce and trips to the supermarkets are less frequent than before, but eating well whilst being sensible with product usage is very important. You don’t have to go all out to make a three-course meal, perhaps just try out cooking an easy one-pot meal with ingredients at home.

Get your family and friends involved as well, and try creating some of your own recipes without the support of the internet or a recipe book. You never know, you could end up making a signature dish!

Miriam’s tips for learning British Sign Language Mariam Küpper Lifestyle Contributor

Why not try British Sign Language?

I set myself ‘having a conversation in BSL’ as my quarantine goal – why not do something similar?

According to the British Deaf Association, British Sign Language is spoken by approximately 151,000 people in the UK. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to communicate with everyone that lives in Britain?

Here’s how I started learning sign language with my dad.

The BSL App This app is a useful tool to learn the basics, such as the alphabet and numbers. The alphabet is really easy once you know how it works.

The app is handy at the beginning, but the vocabulary is rather limited so it should be used in combination with BSL books and/or BSL Youtube

videos.

A useful exercise to start with: Try spelling your name!

Tip: Pause the video after the introduction of every new sign and try it out a few times.

The Let’s Sign Dictionary This book proved to be our favourite tool to study BSL. At £14.99 it doesn’t come cheap – but it’s worth it! The book includes every phrase you could use in day-to-day life with easily understandable pictures and instructions.

I spend five minutes a day on a new exercise, and pick a topic or area that you want to learn. I started with learning “good morning” and “good night” to greet my family with.

Other good areas to look at include family, hobbies, food or animals.

Join the Sign Language Society at Sheffield Students’ Union When you come back to Uni, why not join the University of Sheffield Sign Language Society? You can meet once a week and practice your signs in a relaxed environment.

Videos on Youtube Search for the channel Let’s Learn BSL on Youtube. On the channel you’ll find some short and useful videos to sign along with.

In general, try to say the words while signing so you get used to having a conversation in BSL and regular English at the same time.

If you invest a few minutes every other day to learn new signs, you’ll be able to have an easy conversation in BSL in no time!

Have fun with this exciting and practical way to spend your time while the UK is under lockdown.

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

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Lifestyle

How to maintain your new habits Hope Elliott Lifestyle Contributor

How do you feel about forming habits? Do you love them or hate them? Perhaps you’re like me and often massively over estimate how many habits or activities you can fit in on an average day or week.

However, these are not average times we’re currently living through, with Government guidelines dictating when we’re allowed to go out and having to spend so much more time in the house. So why not use this time to finally get started on some of those new habits? I’ve learnt a few things over the past few months about how to best get started and keeping going, so hopefully you’ll soon be on your way to seeing habits not as chores but as something to be enjoyed.

Start small This isn’t new or unknown advice as lots of evidence shows that this is a good way to start. I would argue, however, to not just start small, but really small. Choose just one or two accessible habits you’d like to start. Meditation, for example, is something you can do for just five or 10 minutes a day and doesn’t need any equipment.

Be flexible Personally, I’ve found that giving myself set times to try a new habit just doesn’t work. It puts too much pressure on me so that I often give up before I’ve even started! Instead, allow yourself the space and time to practice the habit when it best suits you during the day.

This may sound obvious, but pick things which you actually want

to include in your day, whether because you think you’ll enjoy it or it will add something good to your day. After all, you want to reach a stage where you’re doing your habit not because you feel you “should”, but for the pure enjoyment or satisfaction of it.

Kindness is key Having self-compassion is definitely the right way and you’re more likely to push yourself harder to achieve, stay motivated, and get what you want done.

On the other side of the coin, try not to get too bogged down in consistently practicing your habits, or become disheartened when you don’t do something.

Just pick yourself up where you left off, and carry on whenever you want to.

So, after reading this, I hope you’re feeling motivated to start fitting in some new habits into your new daily routines! Ultimately, remember to be kind to yourself. As a bonus, fully enjoy the immense feeling of satisfaction when you complete your new habits. You can do this!

What free resources are available to you at the moment?

Sabina Musiał Lifestyle Contributor

It has been a month now since the University cancelled all its faceto-face teaching. Whether you are stressing or feeling relief, we now must all settle down to this new reality. At some point, you are inevitably going to get bored.

Whether you have read all the books in your room or you just cannot think of binging any more series on Netflix, you might want to try something new, and most importantly free. Here we present to you a great list of free and legal resources you can use to keep yourself relaxed and entertained through this difficult time.

First,you should definitely try MUBI (https://mubi.com), which

is a streaming service providing 30 great indie films a month – either classics, international cinema or small experimental releases. You can have all that for free on a student plan, when registering with your University email.

For those bored with films and who miss the live performances, the New York Metropolitan Opera (https://www.metopera.org) and Vienna Opera House (https://www. wiener-staatsoper.at/en/), who are streaming their shows daily for the duration of the pandemic.

In the UK, the National Theatre at Home is releasing their productions starting with One Man, Two Guvnors (https://www.nationaltheatre.org. uk/nt-at-home). The Globe also shared 40 of their plays online too (https://globeplayer.tv).

If you miss some friendly competition and would love to play some board games with your friends far away then Board Games Arena (www.futurelearn.com) provides plenty.

Although libraries are now closed you can visit the Open Library with more than 20 million ebooks available for loan If you don’t find your desired eBook, you can also search Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg. org), which offers 60,000 free eBooks in many formats. But now

that you are stuck at home, why not catch up on a great literary classic while doing something else with the free audiobook collection from Audible Stories (https://stories. audible.com/discovery)? It also offers many children’s stories in foreign languages, so if you want to practice some of your Spanish or German, this is the way to go.

LibriVox (https://librivox.org) offers an even wider collection of books from the public domain read by volunteers. And if you are also passionate about free access to culture, why not help expand this collection by recording a chapter or two yourself?

In the unlikely case that you get so bored that you start missing studying, we have also got you covered. Two great resources are

Coursera (www.coursera.org) (the free option is often hidden under the name of “audit the course”) and Future Learn (www.futurelearn. com). These provide access to courses from world class universities on any subject you want. Not to mention the plenty of free language apps such as Duoligo and Memrise that are also available.

However, this is a difficult time of worldwide crisis. Don’t feel the pressure of productivity. You don’t have to learn a new language and read ambitious literature every day. Sometimes getting out of bed is enough. Use the resources above for your own pleasure and entertainment, but not to put additional pressure on yourself.

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Lifestyle

Six tips to keep your study habits in tune Hannah Scott Lifestyle Contributor

As COVID-19 spreads further, we are adjusting to a new lifestyle.

Consequently, us students have been finding studying difficult. However, the University of Sheffield has confirmed that both assessments and online examinations must be completed. Here are six tips on how we can attempt to work during this incredibly trying period.

Accept that you probably won’t work as well as usual Studying during the pandemic is hard for multiple reasons: we’re not in the correct headspace, many of us are in less than ideal environments and online lectures are never going to be as effective as ‘real’ ones. It is therefore important to accept that you are unlikely to study as often or as productively as usual. It would also therefore be plausible if your work was of lower quality. You should really try to not be tough on yourself about this because it is an

inevitable consequence of the crisis and everyone is in the same boat.

The university has acknowledged these difficulties by introducing the ‘safety net’ policy, in which they ensure that our academic marks are not any lower than the ones that we have achieved previously, which takes a little stress off achieving top grades.

Have a designated workspace Without access to a library many of us have been struggling to work in a domestic setting. This may be especially relevant for those of us who have returned to our family homes, which we don’t tend to associate with our studies.

It’s helpful to create a designated workspace which is removed from distractions of the wider home.

It should be somewhere that you only sit to work and you can walk away from when you are finished for the day. Ensure that this area remains clean and tidy – you’ll be able to think more clearly this way.

However, creation of a personal

workspace isn’t possible for everybody.

You could perhaps try to work in a communal space at a less ‘busy’ time such as early in the morning or when most of your household have gone out for a walk.

Get dressed every day Now that we no longer have an obligation to go anywhere, it can be tempting to live in pyjamas.

However, putting on clothes which you would usually wear into uni (even if you swap your jeans for leggings or tracksuit bottoms) will make you feel psychologically ready to study. It will also energise you and make you feel less sluggish.

Plan your days Now that we are being asked to stay at home, it is likely that our routines have collapsed. In order to recreate a vague idea of a timetable, plan a schedule for each day, either the evening before or early in the morning. Include time to study, but it’s also crucial to factor in

periods for rest, hobbies and sleep.

This schedule will give you an idea of what you `should` be doing at a given time and thus reduce feelings of aimlessness.

Keep up with other aspects of your life During the period of isolation, it’s unlikely that we will be able to maintain the activities which complement our studies in the same manner. These include friendships, personal hobbies and involvement in a team or society.

Nevertheless, to prevent ourselves from burning out it’s really important that we find an alternative way to still carry out at least most of them. This could include FaceTiming or phoning a friend, completing a home version of your usual workout or temporarily undertaking an activity alone or with members of your household that you usually do with a society.

It’s also an ideal time to take up a new indoor hobby such as cooking, sketching or creative writing.

Get as much sleep as possible Due to having less commitments outside the home, it can be easy to waiver from a healthy sleeping pattern. However, it is vital that you are going to bed when the clock still says PM before sleeping for a minimum of eight hours per night.

It is otherwise unlikely that you will have sufficient energy to study or to engage with any other activities.

In order to create a sustainable sleeping pattern, you should get into a ‘bedtime routine’ which involves turning off all electronics at least an hour before you plan to sleep, doing something to wind down such as reading a non-degree related book and then turning the light off at the same time each night.

However, if you are really struggling to complete work there is always support available. Start by contacting your personal tutor and they will discuss your options with you.

Creative writing with Tatiana Tatiana Handfield Lifestyle Contributor

The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has erupted an unprecedented change in our modern world. While the situation may have temporarily displaced us in several ways including our physical connection with the world around us, it has also prompted us to contemplate a new way of living. For many creatives or those seeking to join the creative troupe, now is an excellent time to dust off your tools and begin experimenting

with your writing. Of course, it will not be an easy journey! This article will compile seven tips to help you get started on your creative writing adventure.

Contemplation (A fancy word for ‘think about it!’)

Choose a comfy spot and let your mind do the rest. It could take 30 seconds, a day, two weeks, three months or even a year! Whatever you do, don’t stop thinking about what you want to write. There will be a golden moment when the wondrous idea of your next masterpiece will appear and you want to have a pen, paper or even one of the many electronic devices the world has to

offer on hand to capture it all.

Organise (A really fancy word for ‘it’s time to start gathering materials!’)

After you’ve found an amazing idea to centre your writing on, it’s now time to start researching, planning and noting useful information. Once again, there is no time limit when it comes to organising as the power is in your hands. Also, you want to ensure you’ve given yourself ample time to conduct adequate research and plan how you will use your material in your writing.

Planning (A really fancy word for ‘putting all the right things in the right places!’)

It’s now time to start planning your writing. You’ve conquered finding a great idea and organising resources for this idea and it’s onto the next step.

Writers across the globe of various genres all have different methods which guide their planning process.

It’s important that you find one that works for you. You can jot down your plans on sticky notes, write them in

a plain old notebook, or even use a fancy app to help keep things neatly organised. Just remember, this is an essential part of the writing process which will save you time once you start writing.

Writing (There’s really no fancy word for crafting a masterpiece!)

You’ve reached the top of the mountain! Well, nearly the top! Now is a good time to start writing your first draft! The previous steps will help to motivate your writing. You can use your research and follow your plan accordingly to devise your masterpiece. Keep in mind that you will have to do several rewrites before your final product is ready.

Edit (A fancy word for ‘checking your writing to make sure it’s gold!’)

After you’ve done your first round of writing, it’s now time to edit.

You can do the first round of edits yourself, then allow friends, family, beta readers or a professional editor

do subsequent edits. Ensure that you remain open-minded at every stage of the editing process and allow critiques to positively shape your writing.

Publish (A fancy word for ‘now it’s time to share your masterpiece with the world!’)

The most exciting part of writing after the actual writing is publishing.

It’s perfectly fine if you do not wish to share your writing with the wider world.

For those who do, there are many options ranging from publishing for just family and friends to publishing professionally.

There are several spaces, including digital and physical where you can share your writing. For example, Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing allows writers to publish for free using their platform. A quick or in-depth research will allow you to find the most suitable option for publishing.

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

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Lifestyle

Come out of isolation multilingual

Whilst you’re stuck inside and can’t meet up with societies, participate in your sport or go on a bar crawl on West Street, why not use this time to learn something new that is not only fun, but also looks good on your CV? some really good content and comes close to traditional language courses that you would have had in school or university. Unlike other language learning services, Babbel focuses equally on all areas like speaking, writing, reading and listening as well as providing indepth grammar knowledge. Even though this programme is great, it has its price and the monthly subscription is significantly higher than its competitors like Duolinguo or Busuu. One feature Babbel lacks is the gamification that apps like Duolinguo have, allowing you to decide for yourself how much time you want to spend in the app and if you prefer games over traditional language training.

Miriam Küpper Lifestyle Contributor

“Bonjour”, “Buenos días”, “Guten Tag”, “Buon giorno”, “Nĭ hăo”, “Kalhmera“, “Goedendag“ – do you want to be able to say more than “Hello” in a language?

Your time has come! While you’re practicing social distancing and are – hopefully – mostly staying inside your home, why not use the time to learn that language you always wanted to be able to speak?

Sure, learning a new language takes time and commitment, but there won’t come a better time than now to learn, especially with there being lots of resources available to get you started. Here’s a list of the best apps and websites to learn with: Duolingo – good for beginners This is a free app and it’s a great starting point to learn a new language. It is colourful, fun and motivates you to keep your streak going by practicing your language of choice for just a few minutes a day. Duolingo offers a great deal of languages such as Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Korean and many more. If you’re interested, you can even learn Klingon or High Valyrian with it! For a small monthly fee you can also upgrade to Duolingo Premium, which allows you to download lessons, gives you unlimited hearts and an adfree experience – try this with the seven-day trial.

Personally, I would recommend this to learners that are new to a language, as it gets a little y repetitive if you just want to freshen up your existing knowledge of a language.

Quizlet – vocabulary training for everyone This is my favourite learning tool for languages as it is free, easy to use and intuitive. Quizlet provides lots of different fun ways to practice the vocabulary you come across while learning a new language. My favourite area is the

game section. You can even start a game over Quizlet live with one of your friends! There is a premium subscription available that gives you an ad-free experience on both the website and the app. However, Quizlet is not a language course and as such it is best used alongside something else, for example by filling in the words you learned on another platform in a list on Quizlet.

Or search for a specific vocabulary area – such as “Kleidung”, if you

want to learn what clothes mean in German – and start studying those. This is a great addition to any

language learning programme!

Busuu – useful for speaking practice This app is taught from learners to learners – you can learn a new language with the help of the Busuu community by video chatting with other users in your prefered language. There are various languages to choose from like Spanish, Italian, French, German, Arabic or Japanese.

While a lot of the content on Busuu is free, things like grammar lessons, video exercises or the interaction with native speakers of your target language are only available for premium members – you can try the benefits of a premium membership with a seven-day trial. I would definitely recommend Busuu to outgoing learners that would like to have a chat with like-minded people online.

Babbel – traditional language course, but expensive I’m pretty sure everyone has seen a Babbel ad before. Babbel offers

Memrise – visual vocabulary training This learning platform includes more than 200 languages and is completely free (although you could subscribe to ‘pro’ to get some

additional features).

Memrise is similar to Quizlet as it’s a flashcard vocabulary learning service, so serves best as a language learning service in combination with another app. However, Memrise concentrates on planting new words in your short-term and then long-term memory by presenting vocabulary with pictures, sample sentences and even jokes. Memrise has a ‘pro’ subscription that provides you with more games and the offline-use of its content. I

personally prefer the interface of Quizlet, but why don’t you check out both apps and websites and decide for yourself?

BBC Languages – interesting videos for the most common languages On BBC Languages, you can access various language courses and videos, but also a lot of cultural facts with the feature “A Guide to…”. This website is particularly useful when you want to learn a common European language like Spanish, French, German or Italian. The service is completely free and leads you to many great and fun resources to practice your target language. However, BBC Languages is not enough as a course itself, but nice to break up the routine of just learning with one app like Duolinguo or Babbel – it is definitely worth having a look!

Tutoring services – pricy, but fast progress For me, the best way to learn new languages has always been with a personal tutor. There are numerous websites out there where you can find a tutor to give you private lessons over Skype. Not only will it be a native speaker that you can have conversations with, but also an experienced teacher that will tailor lessons to your needs. However, tutoring comes with a price-tag; depending on the tutor, it ranges from £15 to £50 an hour, but it is worth it since you will accomplish more with professional guidance than by yourself. It is like a language course in uni, but this time the teacher concentrates solely on you and your success – try it out, especially since a lot of tutors offer a first taster session for free. Good websites to look for tutors are Superprof (although a lot of inexperienced tutors since everyone can open an account, so choose carefully) or Tutorhunt (charges commission).

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Forge Spotlight

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Spotlight

One of the first issues Bethan and Kate designed When and why did you join Forge Press?

I joined Forge Press in October 2018. At that time, I was a first-year journalism student and I remember seeing an advert about an EGM on Facebook with an opening for a Culture Copy Editor (we don’t have that role on Forge Press anymore, that’s how old I am). I had previously done work experience at Event Magazine, an arts and culture magazine, so I thought I would try out for the role!

I remember walking down to the meeting and being so nervous. I kept telling my friend Anna on the walk down from Endcliffe that we should just turn around and go home, but I’m thankful she kept encouraging me and was there to spur me on.

in Pretty Anna, at a cafe in Budapest

Did you enjoy being a Culture-Copy Editor?

Yeah, the role consisted of mostly copy-editing, which I enjoyed! It was a nice role to ease into working for the newspaper as well. I was able to get a feel for the paper by reading

a range of articles and the styles they were written in. I was only a month into freshers as well, so I was still settling into Sheffield.

Even though my role was quite minimal, everyone on Forge Press was (and still is) super friendly.

A positive about being on any committee or society is that you’re surrounded by people in different year groups to yourself. At that time, I was the only fresher on Forge Press, so it was nice to talk to people in the years above and ask them where the best places in Sheffield are for a cheap pint and good music.

Did you stay a Culture Copy Editor?

No actually, the role of Arts Editor opened and I went for it! Luckily I got the role after mixing all my words up in my speech. I was gobsmacked!

But being a Section Editor was so much fun! You get to learn InDesign and create your own pages and choose which articles you want to publish where. I worked alongside Kate (current Arts & Theatre Editor), who was also a first-year at the time, so it was nice to share that role with someone in the same boat as me. I also learnt a lot from Kate first-hand about how to write articles and make them look polished like they’re out of The Guardian. I still use a lot of what she’s taught me today on the MET! In light of the upcoming AGM, what would you say to someone who is thinking of going for a Section Editor role?

Do it! It’s so much fun. If you get the role, keep a notebook on you or a notes tab on your phone so you can write article ideas down at any time, to escape that creative block! Once you feel comfortable with InDesign, do try out new page designs and ask for help! And don’t skip university work or a trip to the pub to do Forge work!

This year you’re the Deputy Editor for Pre-Production, how did that come about?

Both deputy roles were vacant at the end of last year, and I was looking for a role different to Arts Editor.

The previous MET (Bethan actually said “the big cheeses”) spoke to me

about the role and I felt touched that they’d thought of me. I spoke to a lot of people about it, my parents, Ben (biggest cheese), Kate, Anna, Becky (who is our lovely Managing Editor), Tom and Chloe (Secretary, and Inclusions & Welfare Officer) and the previous MET again. I even made a pros and cons list! Discussing any role with incumbent committee members is really important, as that first-hand experience is so key to knowing if you can balance the role alongside university work and your other passions. I decided, as I was changing courses, I had the extra time to devote to being on the MET, as it is a lot of work. I ran for the role at the start of the year and won.

What was the best part of being on the MET? Oooh, there are lots. First one is getting to know Becky as she’s so lovely! I miss her already and our Nice Neighbourhood trips! Being able to support the committee financially, through being the treasurer, and generally, with all their amazing ideas. I enjoyed all the pub trips with Ben and Patrick (Paddy, Deputy Editor for PostProduction). Nothing beats the relief of sending the paper to print after an eight hour print day. I also really enjoyed committee meetings, being able to see everyone... and treating it like I was Karren Brady on The Apprentice!

What was the hardest part of being on the MET? It took a while for me to adjust to the role of being on the MET, as it is a big

Follow us on Instagram, @ForgePress!

From Copy Editor to Deputy Editor, we interviewed Forge Press committee member Bethan Davis on her rise to the MET and her experience on Forge for the past two years Some of the Forge Press committee at our Christmas meal

step. I kinda felt like I had imposter syndrome for a while; that someone else could do the role far better than me, but that was all in my head.

Talking about it with Becky, Tom, Chloe, and previous Deputy Editor David Craig made me feel a lot better and I came to really feel proud about my role and input! Elections print night was an especially tough one as I had broken my finger in rugby training and also had a VK yeeted in my eye at ROAR the night before.

Lord knows how I survived a 12-hour print day in that state!

Who has been your biggest inspiration on Forge Press?

Anyone who is good at InDesign. I remember for a Screen article last year, it was for something about which was the ultimate, best TV show, Chloe had sketched all the TV characters and that looked so good!

I like how Ben can sniff out a story, watching his passion for the paper is so cool!

I also have to say last year’s MET! I felt encouraged by the former Editor-in-Chief David Anderson to run for a MET role, and I remember he wrote me a Christmas card that I still have today because it was so thoughtful and made me feel so welcomed as a little fresher!

Any favourite newspaper moments?

When Ben came to Paddy and me about the Sissi Li scandal, I did feel like I was on a Sheffield version of Watergate and it made me feel like a

spy when I’d go to get my New Leaf as I knew all this secret information!

Going to Tramlines last year with Ella, the Music Editor, was so fun too!

Any regrets?

I wish I got to know the committee earlier in my first year, as most of the friends I made graduated that year, so I wish I spent more time with them!

What was your favourite karaoke moment?

It was a laugh when Tom and I were super excited to sing ‘Stronger’

by Britney Spears, but they didn’t have the song and started playing ‘What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger’, by Kelly Clarkson instead, without telling us.

What would you say to someone who is thinking of running for a role, but is nervous?

It’s better an ‘oh well’ than a ‘what if?’ with these things I say, you never know if you don’t try! You don’t even need to perform a speech this year. Remember that experience isn’t everything, just an interest in newspapers and the passion to make an impact on our University.

Interview conducted by Bethan’s mum, Marion

Hone your skills, and relieve the quarantine boredom Introducing Forge Radio’s ‘Isolation Pod’

— No experience required — Record from home — Pitch your own ideas

Join ‘Forge Radio Isolation Pod’ on Facebook to get involved

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Arts & Theatre During the first few weeks of national panic amid the coronavirus pandemic, I was a good citizen and avoided stockpiling pasta, loo paper, or tinned goods, in preparation for self-isolation (not that my fellow shoppers gave me much choice).

However there is one area I have been stockpiling like crazy: in the past few weeks I have bought more books than I did in the whole of 2019.

It started when I realised the lockdown was an opportunity to kickstart my New Year’s resolution to read 50 books. I had only read four books by mid-March but my “To Be Read” pile had accumulated on my shelves (along with my floor and just about every other surface in the apartment). The majority of this pile consisted of several contemporary fiction novels I’d taken out from Western Bank Library. However, before I’d even bothered to open the first book my mind started doing some basic calculations: if I was to catch up with my monthly reading target I’d need to get a lot more books. I began contemplating my options - I tend to avoid buying books because, simply put, I’m a broke student, however with libraries closed (and my inability to focus on digital copies) I felt I could justify the spending as my way of supporting businesses (much in the same way I have justified all my takeaways...).

Soon deliveries were arriving every other day - bringing me everything from Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age to Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.

And it seems I’m not the only one stocking up. Book sales leapt across the country as readers anticipated the extra time on their hands. Sales of fiction rose by a third, while children’s education went up 234 per cent to the third-highest level on record. In particular, bookshops have reported a significant increase in sales of longer novels and classic fiction such as the new bestseller Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the

Do you want to be the next Arts & Theatre Editor?

We're electing a whole new committee at our AGM, and this is a great opportunity to get more involved.

If you want to run, please email ben.warner@forgetoday.com!

Nominate yourself by 12pm Tuesday 28 April

Forget pasta, soap and loo roll - have you stockpiled enough books to read?

Arts & Theatre Editor Kate Procter explains why, like many others across the UK, she had been locking down with

literature and gives her advice on who to support at these trying times

Light and 2018’s Man Booker Prize, Milkman (a noted tough read).

There has also been reported soars in sales of dystopian fiction - including Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four -

which feature societies controlled by oppressive regimes coinciding with the UK’s adjustment to life under lockdown. Meanwhile, Dean Koontz’s 1981 thriller The Eyes of Darkness, which features a killer virus with the eerily prescient name of Wuhan-400, has received heightened attention.

Following unprecedented demand Waterstones initially endeavoured to stay open for as long as possible leading to criticism on social media with Twitter users warning conditions were not safe for its staff without safety equipment.

Since then stores have closed and the company like many others has had to adapt to increased demand for postal services.

Similarly, coronavirus has forced some independent books to get inventive. Many have developed delivery services, featuring bikes and even skateboards as modes of transportation.

Others are looking to maintain their personal quality, such as offering book recommendations or simply a chat over the phone. Meanwhile The Book Hive, based in Norfolk, has created ‘self-isolation book packs’ consisting of five hand-picked books to send anyone stuck at home.

Now more than ever is the time to

support indies and small publishers.

At the start of April wholesalers Gardners and Bertrams announced they were temporarily suspending all orders, making it more difficult for bookshops to get fresh stock until restrictions are lifted. While large publishers are continuing to supply large booksellers such as Amazon, Waterstones and supermarkets, indies are generally supplied by the wholesalers because of their small orders, meaning they now have only existing stock.

I’ve done my bit by getting a subscription to And Other Stories an independent, not-forprofit publisher of innovative contemporary writing based in Sheffield (and whose latest book, Barn 8, I’ve included in my round-up of April releases to check out). Now not only do I have six books to look forward to over the coming months, but I received a free ebook and a discount on another ebook (a somewhat welcomed challenge to my concentration problems).

Furthermore, if I didn’t have enough reasons already, for each new subscription they pledge to donate 20 per cent of the price to the bookshop of your choice.

Another subscription service I

recently signed up for is Rare Birds Book Club. Each month they send a beautifully wrapped surprise book to its members from the best new female authors. They offer lots of variety across different styles and genres and give you the

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

opportunity to select your book from two secret blurbs. This month I’ve been introduced to Rom-Com author Mhairi McFarlane whose books I’d have never otherwise tried.

Now is also the time to support authors who are releasing work during lockdown without the support of promotional opportunities from events, including cancelled literary festivals such as Hay and Edinburgh.

After binging my way through Sally Rooney’s novel at the start of this year, I can’t wait for my copy of Exciting Times by fellow Irish author Naoise Dolan to arrive this week. Author David Nicholls has also recommended it in his latest Twitter thread under the hashtag #twitterbooklaunch in which he gives shout-outs to recent book releases.

Locking down with literature helps to give my mind a rest during these stressful times in a way TV and films can’t Locking down with literature helps to give my mind a rest during these stressful times in a way TV and films can’t. Aside from my daily state sanctioned walk, books are the only real time I give my eyes a break from screens. They help to settle my mind when I’m struggling to fall asleep in the early hours of the morning. And without them I’d feel lost navigating my isolation.

So if you don’t mind, I’m going to get back to reading.

Arts & Theatre

Looking for reading inspiration?

Here are the best new fiction releases this April

Kate Procter Arts & Theatre Editor

You People

twilight of the American gold rush, tells the story of two siblings on the run in an unforgiving landscape— trying not just to survive but to find a home.

Nikita Lalwani (Out 2 April, Viking, £12.99) Set in a London pizzeria that is largely staffed by undocumented migrants and presided over by the charming and enigmatic proprietor Tuli, who has sidelines in many shady endeavours, You People alternates between the lives of Nia, a young Welsh waitress who has fled her alcoholic mother, and Shan, a Tamil refugee who has paid traffickers to get him out of Sri Lanka, leaving his young family behind. This moving novel celebrates compassion in a world filled with prejudice and hate.

estranged siblings Ava and Michael, and their father Lee, who neither has seen in twenty years. When Lee writes to say he’s dying and wants to meet, he throws their lives into turmoil, forcing the sibilings to confront the trauma of their childhood, including the scandal that led Lee – once the esteemed editor of a national newspaper – to flee the country.

The Authenticity Project

Clare Pooley (Out 2 April, Bantam Press, £12.99) If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, you might well like blogger Pooley’s debut novel. Julian Jessop is tired of hiding the deep loneliness he feels. So he begins The Authenticity Project - a small green notebook containing the truth about his life and leave it in a café.

What Julian doesn’t expect is for his story to inspire six other strangers to reveal the stories that have shaped them, too. This is a wonderfully warm novel about the power of human connection.

Why not drop us an email on press.arts@forgetoday.com to find out more?

Polly Samson (Out 2 April, Bloomsbury Circus, £14.99) Set on the Greek island of Hydra in the 1960s, this novel explores the tangled lives of a circle of poets, painters and musicans through a newcomers eyes. If nothing else, this radiant novel will transport you straight to Greece - a blessing at a time when most of us are stuck at home longingly gazing at the sunny world outside.

Out Of Touch

Haleh Agar (Out 2 April, W&N, £14.99) This debut novel tells the story of

tale of the aftermath of grand heroism and the emotional toll that fame and notoriety can bring.

Conjure Women

Afterlife

Julia Alvarez (Out 7 April, Algonquin Books, £20.82) It may be the first adult novel in almost fifteen years by Julia Alvarez (internationally bestselling author of In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents), but her latest book is just as relevant as her earlier works.

Afterlife is a sweeping tour de force centred on a literature professor trying to rediscover who she is after the sudden death of her husband, even as a series of family and political jolts force her to ask what we owe those in crisis in our families, biological or otherwise.

Afia Atakora (Out 7 April, Fourth Estate, £14.99) Set in a village of recently freed slaves in the Reconstruction-era South, Conjure Women is the story of a midwife, Rue, who falls under suspicion from her community when they come to fear the magical roots of her healing abilities after the birth of a seemingly abnormal child.

Atakora’s debut novel grapples with the harrowing experience of American slavery, and with the intimate, inescapable cycles of birth and death that carry on its legacy.

Redhead By The Side Of The Road

A Theatre For Dreamers

Did you enjoy this article, and want to write about your own arts experiences during lockdown?

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Anne Tyler (Out 7 April, Chatto & Windus, £14.99) A acutely observed evocation of Middle America from best-seller author Anne Tyler, Redhead by the Side of the Road is both a deliciously offbeat love story and a wry character study of a lovable eccentric, stuck in his ways.

Chosen Ones

Veronica Roth (Out 7 April, Hodder & Stoughton, £14.99) The first adult fantasy novel from one of the most influential YA authors of the last decade. Ross (Divergent trilogy) tells a compelling

How Much of These Hills is Gold

C Pam Zhang (Out 9 April, Virago, £14.99) Evoking American classics from Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath to Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, this electric debut novel, set against the

Barn 8

Deb Olin Unferth (Out 9 April, And Other Stories, £9.99) Deb Olin Unferth’s wildly inventive but utterly plausable novel is a heist story of a very unusual kind. Two auditors for the US egg industry conceive a plot to liberate an entire egg farm’s worth of animals, with catastrophic results. Barn 8 is a rare comic-political drama asking: What constitutes meaningful action in a world so in need of change?

Exciting Times

Naoise Dolan (Out 16 April, W&N, £14.99) Dolan has been hailed as the new Sally Rooney (and has Rooney’s endorsement). In her debut, Irish 21-year-old Ava moves to Hong Kong to teach English but becomes entangled in a love triangle with a male banker and a female lawyer.

Praised for its raw and funny prose, Exciting Times is thrillingly attuned to the great freedoms and greater uncertainties of modern love.

Come Again

Robert Webb (Out 23 April, Cannongate, £13.99) The debut novel from comedian Robert Webb, the bestselling author of How Not to Be a Boy and star of Peep Show. Come Again is a time-traveling story of love about a woman who wakes up one day as her 18-year-old self, about to fall in love with her (now actually deceased) husband all over again.

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Arts & Theatre Image: Movie DB

Why Sally Rooney’s Normal People is an

essential lockdown read for navigating your twenties

Ahead of the release of its TV adaptation, Arts & Theatre Contributor Sophie Maxwell explains why Sally Rooney’s hit novel was the ideal book to kickstart her isolation reading 2018’s hit novel Normal People by Sally Rooney may at first appear to be yet another shallow piece of romantic fiction; to be read on a summer holiday, swiftly forgotten about and eventually donated to a charity shop along with all the other ‘must-reads’ of the year.

Normal People begins by introducing Marianne and Connell: two individuals that share the same Irish town and school, but appear polarised in nature.

Marianne is reserved, unoccupied by school hierarchy, concentrating merely on her solo existence and future beyond school in search of fulfilment. In contrast, Connell is consumed by his image and popularity at school (as a way to manage his working-class status), and lacks direction.

A fascination with one another strikes up a relationship whilst at school, known only to them.

Through this, Marianne and Connell build a shared world that encapsulates understanding, power and togetherness. Rooney invites the reader to observe the development of Marianne and Connell, their dynamic relationship and the confounding factors that warp its direction throughout their late teens and early twenties.

Far from shallow fiction, Normal People is tender, playful and exciting. Rooney is masterful in her language whilst being succinct, which sets the novel apart from the classic tales found in the likes of Austen’s works. And that’s not all: Normal People presents equal

perspective, sculpted by Rooney’s modern positionality, which offers a refreshing break from the greats.

The characters she creates are familiar, as though parts of our own character have been borrowed, making the novel somewhat personal.

The responsiveness of Normal

People in the need to navigate love in present day makes this novel an essential read in your twenties.

Importantly, Rooney gives a platform to the tension that exists in making major decisions in life whilst bound to those you love. The acknowledgement of this alone can bring calm and perspective to your decision-heavy twenties. In line with this, Rooney uses Marianne and Connell’s relationship to depict the battleground of commitment in modern day. Raw, relatable moments between the two protagonists prompt you to think critically of their characters, and of your own. All of a sudden, loaded conversations with your parents over dinner about your plan postuniversity and your ‘notboyfriend boyfriend’ fit along a timeline of events, just like those of normal people. It is no surprise that the novel has been labelled by many as by many as a future classic.

Normal People is a modest summary of the trials and tribulations of youthful love. Rooney writes with a liveliness that enables you to plant your feet firmly within each scene, inviting reflection and escapism from the dullness of lockdown.

The full series of Normal People is available on BBC Three from 26 April.

forgetoday.com

Live from your living room: The best online theatre to stream from home The curtain may have fallen on the stage for a while, but Arts & Theatre Editor Kate Procter has rounded up a list of the best shows to entertain you from home National Theatre at Home The NT was quick to rise to the occasion by unveiling a fantastic lineup of some of its greatest hits, streamed online on Thursdays at 7.00pm and then available for seven days. Last week’s adaptation of Jane Eyre is available until 16 April. It will then be followed by Treasure Island with Patsy Ferran (available until 23 April) and Twelfth Night (until 30 April).

Flowers for Mrs Harris Paul Gallico’s 1958 novella Mrs ’Arris Goes to Paris, about a cleaning lady with an eye for fashion, became one of the most acclaimed British musicals in recent years. This 2018 staging is the first of several archive recordings promised by Chichester Festival Theatre and is available free until 8 May. What the Butler Saw Joe Orton’s final farce, completed in the summer of 1967 just before the playwright’s death, is a subversive satire about an irrational world, set in a psychiatrist’s consulting room. Rufus Hound stars as the philandering Dr Prentice in Nikolai Foster’s 2017 production available via the Curve Theatre website.

Wise Children Artistic director Emma Rice chose an adaptation of Angela Carter’s carnivalesque final novel Wise Children as her first production for her new theatre company, which shares the same name as the book.

This spectacular show follows the fortunes of twin chorus girls, Dora and Nora Chance, and their bizarre theatrical family filled with equal measure of sparkle and scandal.

Filmed at York Theatre Royal, it’s available to stream on BBC iPlayer

for three months as part of the Culture in Quarantine programme.

Breach Theatre Young company, Breach Theatre have made two of their shows available to watch. First up is their breakthrough 2015 show, The Beanfield (on Vimeo) - a boldly political show which investigates the 1985 ‘battle of the beanfield’ between new age travellers and police to confront issues of history and civil liberties. Meanwhile, 2018 piece It’s True, It’s True, It’s True had been due to run at London’s Barbican this month but is now online instead from the site. It’s a compelling three-hander evoking the 1612 trial of Agostino Tassi, accused of rape by baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, and was well reviewed

by Forge when it visited Theatre Deli last year.

Shakespeare’s Globe The Globe Player has heaps of full productions to rent, but for anyone looking for a taster, the Globe’s YouTube channel, is providing a series of free streams, each available for a fortnight.

Hampstead Theatre at Home Hampstead theatre have

been

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Wednesday 15 April 2020

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Arts & Theatre Photos clockwise: Breach Theatre’s It’s True, It’s True, It’s True; Gecko Theatre’s 2015 The Time of Your Life; Emma Rice’s Wise Children; Jane Eyre by National Theatre at Home; Chichester Festival Theatre’s Flowers for Mrs Harris.

Central photo: 2017’s Wind in the Willows.

filmed performances of their productions of Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art and Ali Mille’s The Croft. The company is determined, wherever possible, to meet financial commitments made to actors, stage managers and suppliers who are all dependent on the company to survive the coming months. They therefore ask people to pay what they can afford but have a suggested minimum donation of £2.50 for each show.

streaming a series of their acclaimed productions for free. After Wild and Wonderland, their third production is Howard Brenton’s Drawing the Line, about the partition of India.

Howard Brenton’s political drama from 2013, telling the extraordinary, stranger-than-fiction story of Cyril Radcliffe (played by Tom Beard) and his 1947 mission to divide the Indian subcontinent in just five weeks.

Lights Over Tesco Car Park Poltergeist Theatre’s hit show had a sell-out season at the Edinburgh Fringe back in 2018. With this year’s festival cancelled, Light’s Over Tesco Car Park - a joyous mockumentaryesque celebration of the human relationship with stories and, of course, with extraterrestrials - will

help to hit any cravings for fringe theatre in the meantime and is available to stream via the theatre’s YouTube channel.

Amsterdam Matthew Xia’s production of Maya Arad Yasur’s play Amsterdam, which had just commenced a national tour before it had to be cancelled is available to watch via the Orange Tree Theatre website. The play follows a pregnant violinst in her Amsterdam apartment who one day receives a gas bill from 1944. This strikingly original and audacious play recreates devastating stories of the past in a bid to make sense of the present.

Fleabag Phoebe Waller-Bridge fans will be

pleased to hear they can catch the performance of her wildly successful monologue, recorded at Wyndham’s theatre in London where it sold out last summer. It is available to watch from Soho Theatre or Amazon Prime Video until 24 April.

Wind in the Willows This 2017 West End production of Kenneth Grahame’s classic children’s story featuring Rufus Hound as Mr Toad is available to rent online. Perfect for anyone looking for some light theatre in these dark times.

Original Theatre Company Following cancelation of national tours due to coronavirus, Original Theatre Company are streaming

Mushy: Lyrically Speaking Musharaf Asghar became a reality TV star in 2013 when the schoolboy appeared on Educating Yorkshire, which documented how a teacher helped him with his lifelong speech impediment. Asghar’s tale is now the subject of a new British musical, coproduced by Rifco theatre company and Watford Palace theatre and staged last year, and is online, free to view for the entire isolation period.

The Time of Your Life The Time of Your Life was a 30-minute performance by Gecko Theatre created specially for a BBC Four live broadcast in 2015 and uploaded by the company to their website. It follows an ordinary man desperate to make human interaction in a digital world. The man embarks on a journey through rooms representing

different milestones in his life.

The rooms are transformed using powerful visual effects to create an increasingly vivid world for the viewer that disintegrates as quickly as it appears.

Digital Theatre Plus A resource designed for literature students, using your university login you can access a wide variety of plays via the Digital Theatre Plus website. As well as large dosage of Shakespeare (including 2011’s Much Ado About Nothing starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate), you can find is a good number of musicals (such as Into the Wood performed and recorded live at the majestic Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and contemporary plays to try, such as the interestingly named Negative Space and A Disappearing Number.

Only The Brave Only The Brave is a musical about a group of soldiers in the run-up to the D-Day landings. This rousing and original musical interweaves the soldier’s stories with that of their families and loved ones. It had its first run at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2008, before a full production premiered in 2016 at the Millenium Centre in Cardiff. A recording of the Cardiff production is available via Vimeo.

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Do you want to be the next Music Editor?

Music

We're electing a whole new committee at our AGM, and this is a great opportunity to get more involved.

If you want to run, please email ben.warner@forgetoday.com!

Nominate yourself by 12pm Tuesday 28 April

Top tracks of 2020 so far Tame Impala: Lost in Yesterday Rahul Warrier Music Contributor

Lost in Yesterday, the fourth single from Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush, is all about nostalgia, which links into the album’s overarching concept of time. Kevin Parker sings about embracing the future while acknowledging the past, asking listeners to lose bad memories in yesterday. As humans, we always tend to think a lot about the mistakes made in the past,

We’ve made it through the first quarter of 2020!

Although, with everything going on in the world, it may not have been the start to the year we wanted but theres no doubt about it that 2020 has given us some amazing music!

Sahar Ghadirian Music Contributor

Soccer Mommy’s ‘Bloodstream’ is one of my favourite releases of 2020 so far, resonating deeply with me.

It seems Sophie Allison ruminates on the complexities of childhood trauma and its tragic repercussions.

Her heartbreaking lyricism, which both hurts and comforts many trauma victims, poses the questions we ask our younger, carefree, more innocent selves ‘what did you have that I didn’t?

Image: Loma Vista And why am I so blue?’. Masked by an Avril Lavigne-esque, postgrunge melody, it provides a heightened poignancy to this track.

Image: Modular while being nostalgic about the good times we’ve had. It’s a highly relatable bop with a catchy chorus from an incredible artist.

Image: Island Records

The 1975: Birthday Party

Image: Dirty Hit country twang of a guitar and soft saxophone instrumental, the track mixes all of The 1975’s sounds into one and for that, it is iconic.

Image: Warp

Image: Exact Truth

Demi Lovato: Anyone

Do Nothing: New Life

Squid: Sludge

At the Grammy Awards 2020, Demi Lovato performed her new song ‘Anyone’, initiating her comeback to music following an overdose in 2018. However, this song has more meaning and emotion in it than most songs released so far this year. The lyrics reflect a truthful experience, something I adore in music. When musicians write about their truth without filters it becomes more relatable, and this track Demi has given us is just so emotionally raw it’ll stick with me throughout 2020.

It is perhaps the most mellow offering thus far from the postpunk newcomers, who recently released their debut EP, Zero Dollar Bill. Contemplative yet humorous, it tackles sacrifice for love whilst referencing God and The Truman Show. What’s not to love? Whilst meandering, it flips between sardonic exasperation and romance in the four piece’s most compelling piece of storytelling to date. They are a band who speak for the confused and are exactly what is needed in uncertain times.

Though my mates may call me obsessed, I see no other choice but Squid, and their latest track ‘Sludge’.

The track snarls at you from the getgo with a cacophony of eccentric instruments. Its ferocious bassline and drums snap at your ankles and are set alight with dissonant wailing guitars and shouts about the struggles of isolation (before it was a necessity). Basically… it’s a banger, go check it out.

Chelsea Burrell Head of Photography

Ella Craig Music Editor

While we wait in anticipation for The 1975’s fourth studio album, Notes of a Conditional Form, we have been rewarded by a variety of singles from the album including punk track ‘People’ and the personal ‘Me and You Together Song.’ But ‘The Birthday Party’ is definitely my favourite. From the ‘60s rock-style spoken lyrics, the gospel background singers the band are recognisable for, to the

Soccer Mommy: Bloodstream

Tom Coates Music Contributor

Thomas Hirst Music Contributor

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

REVIEW The Weeknd: After Hours Chloe Ann Morcombe Music Contributor

After Hours – the highly anticipated album by global phenomenon The Weeknd has already been tipped to be one of the most successful albums of 2020, branded as one of the most ‘accomplished and coherent’ projects to date.

Released 20 March, the 14-track album marks a phenomenal comeback from the ever-growing star, with album Starboy, and extended play My Dear Melancholy, preceding it. Fans have eagerly awaited the release of new music after the starcontinually teased audiences with videos and posts across social media alongside the early release of singles ‘Heartless’ and ‘Blinding Lights’, subsequently followed by the single ‘After Hours’.

REVIEW Sorry: 925 Tom Coates Music Contributor

Sorry have avoided being pinned down to one genre, and their sense of identity stems from the position they hold within the bubbling underground scene in London.

The band, now a five-piece following the addition of keys player Marco Pini, are instead defined by an attitude – one of moody, drowsy and defiant discontent.

Lead single ‘Starstruck’ sees founding member Asha Lorenz say ‘eurgh’ before fast-paced vocals lead into the murky-yet-catchy chorus. ‘Right Round The Clock’ unashamedly steals a line from Tears for Fears, but instead sees Lorenz claim that dreams in which they are famous are the best she’s ever had. It is perhaps the most blatant example of the band’s confidence and their willingness to push the boundaries of experimentation.

The underpinning attitude proves scathing on ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’, an unimpressed and satirical swipe at the stars of previous generations.

‘More’ is the closest that Sorry come to a bona fide rock track, with crunchy guitar and grit aplenty.

It provides a grim insight into yearning and mindless capitalist

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Music These were accompanied with news of the ‘After Hours’ tour,which is due to commence in the States in June, and is coming to the UK in October 2020 – the first since ‘Starboy: Legend of the Fall’ in 2017.

With over a billion streams on Spotify, and a record number of ‘pre-adds’ on Apple Music, The Weeknd has dominated online music streaming services.

The process of listening to a record

by The Weeknd always begins with the notion that ‘nothing will top the authenticity or originality of his earlier work’, whether that be Trilogy, or Kiss Land – which was somewhat of a ‘marmite’ album.

And yet, as the rhythmic beats and angelic vocals become more absorbing, any presuppositions about this album quickly fade behind the realisation that The Weeknd has never released bad music. After Hours is no exception.

Abel has undoubtedly become one of the fastest-growing stars since his Toronto debut after uploading mixtape, House of Balloons, on Soundcloud in 2011, and has picked up millions of fans

desperation, documenting a desire for love, drugs, and everything else.

It is the blunt lyrics which add to the punch, which is contrasted in the more delicate and emotive tones of ‘Heather’ and ‘Ode To Boy’.

Still in their infancy, the band are unrefined at times and ‘Lies (Refix)’ offers too much-confused haze for it to be enjoyable. ‘Wolf’ falls into the same trap, marred by haunting guitar and a bizarre outro that both fail to match the sincere lyrics.

Overall, however, the album is a stellar debut in which the band carve their name on to a growing list of London exports to keep close tabs on. Even in a large crowd of bands attempting to defy the norm, Sorry are unique. Landing somewhere between grunge, jazz and retro rock, comparisons with contemporaries are almost impossible.

The sullen punk attitude is difficult to perfect and can come across as distasteful class appropriation when miscalculated, but Sorry’s ability to convey authenticity makes it work.

Image: Domino Recording Company

over his rapid nine-year soar to stardom. Whether you’re someone who jumped on the ‘Who is The Weeknd’ bandwagon, when the act first materialised, or someone who joined the post-Beauty Behind the Madness fandom as the star gained commercial traction: there is something uniquely ‘The Weeknd’ that everyone can identify with throughout his phases and across his enigmatic discography.

The star has successfully reconciled the distinct ‘two worlds’ that has been carved out from his earlier music to post-stardom success, in After Hours. Critics branding Starboy as a largely watered-down and ‘sanitised’ version of previous work and collaborations, which largely lacks an original sense of vision (‘Six Feet Under’ = ‘Low Life’, and ‘Rockin’’ sounded overcommercialised).

After Hours keeps hold of that hedonistic, ‘sad-boy’ persona in hits such as ‘Faith’, ‘Snowchild’, ‘Alone Again’, and ‘Until I Bleed Out’, whilst in a twist, a more

remorseful tenor can be noted in tracks, notably ‘Scared to Live’, ‘Save Your Tears’ and ‘Hardest to Love’.

A more upbeat vibe softens the introspective narrative concocted, in ‘Blinding Lights’; an ‘80s theme additionally runs

Image: Ralph Arvesen

REVIEW Marian Hill: Was It Not Oliver Morgan Music Contributor

Hailing from Philadelphia, Marian Hill is one of the most exciting electro-R&B bands right now, and have been growing in popularity in the music scene ever since they were introduced to the world in the 2017 Apple AirPods advertisement, with the song ‘Down’.

Now, in 2020, the band are back again with a new EP, ‘Was It Not’, with the title track featuring the same name. This stripped-back, alternative bop is perfect to listen to, both in the background when you’re trying to block out the world around you, or when you’re fully ready to jam to something which is

a little different. It’s an immersive, minimalistic and electronic masterpiece which harks James Blake vibes, but at a more chilledout and less intensive pace.

Another tune featured on this EP, ‘Eat U Alive’ is arguably more mainstream, yet still another work of genius by the band, featuring all of the same components as its counterpart, whilst introducing you to yet another way in which electronic music can intrigue and surprise you. This theme flows throughout this six-track album.

Track six, ‘Where We Could Go’, starkly contrasts the first, but the relatively few songs on this EP justify this rapid shift in tone.

Some EPs feel rushed, or even worthless, however, this is not the case with Was It Not, which is a technical masterpiece, a pleasure to listen to, and substantiates the true mastery of what Marian Hill can do.

Through the highly sophisticated production of these songs, the pace of the whole album excites the ears

through ‘In Your Eyes’ which features a sax solo.

Remaining unique and everenigmatic, but equally emanating from his place in pop-culture, After Hours is a real treat for old and new fans alike.

and triggers the brain to get invested into the emotion of the music; you can’t help but jam your head along to every single track.

What is extraordinary is hearing how this band transforms your perception of electro-R&B. It is because the music is so unconventional that this group stands out from the crowd, and in a scene which is becoming eversaturated with unoriginal bops, that it is hugely refreshing to see a group like this experimenting with sound and doing something completely different whilst making it accessible to the masses.

However, it is not for everyone, but it is a hugely refreshing stance on a genre which seems to have stalled in popularity in recent years.

Marian Hill have already contributed so much to the electroR&B scene, and after the success of their 2016 single, Marian Hill certainly haven’t lost their touch.

Showcasing the complexity of their songs, what is satisfying about this EP is that you discover something new every time you listen to it - this highlights just how interesting and quirky this genre of music is.

The potential for this band going into this new decade is just as strong as it was four years ago and it’s hugely exciting to see where their music develops from here, and this EP certainly foreshadows great things which are to come from this sensational group.

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Music

Virtual Concerts: the saving grace for music lovers during self isolation OPINION Nick Dacre Music Contributor

These are unprecedented times for our nation. The whole country is homebound for the foreseeable future, and whilst these measures are wholly justified and necessary, it will leave many people frustrated with not being to carry on with their normal lives.

Artists are filling a hole in the lives of their fans by livestreaming performances from their homes Music lovers are no exception to this, as artists are postponing gigs, and in some cases cancelling tours due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I personally have had three concerts that I was eagerly anticipating deferred until further notice.

But even through the bleakest points in history, music has persevered, and this is no exception.

Thanks to the live-streaming capabilities of apps such as YouTube and Instagram, artists have found a way to stay connected to their fans and provide them with muchneeded enjoyment and relief from the realities of the current situation.

The record industry is pretty safe from the economic ramifications of the virus; the advent of streaming and purchasing music online means artists will not be put off from releasing new music, unlike the

film industry which has been put to a halt due to the closure of cinemas.

But for music fans this is half the experience, as seeing their favourite acts live is part of what makes being a fan so enjoyable, and now this has been put on hold. Enter Virtual Concerts.

History has seemed to repeat itself, and much like in the record industry, the internet is, at least for now, at the forefront of live music. Artists are filling a hole in their fans lives by live-streaming performances from their homes. For instance, James Blake performed a selection of originals and covers for his 416,000 Instagram followers a couple of weeks ago. It was just him and his piano, and it was frankly quite beautiful hearing some of his most notable songs, such as ‘Retrograde’, so stripped back.

Not only are these concerts more often than not free for the consumer, but are frequently organised for charitable causes. The ‘iHeartRadio Living Room Concert’, featuring megastars such as Elton John and Mariah Carey, raised over US$1M for frontline workers combatting the virus. It is certainly commendable for these artists to take the time to provide fans with content to enjoy whilst also providing much-needed support for those working to put an end to the virus.

Seeing your favourite artist live in person is an experience which can hardly be described. But especially for bigger artists, whose concerts usually fill stadiums and are tremendously pricey, virtual concerts provide uncharted levels of intimacy. John Legend spent an hour or so on Instagram performing his

greatest hits, with just him and his piano. And with the advent of live chat, his fans were able to interact with both him and each other; an arguably more fulfilling experience than being sat in row Z of a stadium.

Unfortunately, the reality is that the postponement of touring is a bleak situation for many who’s living depends on it. Smaller acts, whose streaming numbers are incomparable to stars like John Legend, make their money through non-stop touring. It is critical that now more than ever that we support smaller artists by buying their albums and streaming their singles, as until this pandemic is over, it is all they can depend on.

There is always an argument to

and the prolonged anticipation will make them even more special for you. But for now, support small artists (you may find a new favourite to see live in the future), digest all

the virtual concerts the internet has to offer, and, most importantly, stay indoors.

Image: Vishnu R Nair Modifications: Ella Craig

Especially for bigger artists, whose concerts usually fill stadiums and are pricey, virtual concerts provide unchartered levels of intimacy be made against live-streaming concerts, often to the tune of “it doesn’t come close to the real thing”. In these remarkable circumstances, however, we as music lovers have to take everything we can get. These virtual concerts are free, rewatchable, and fill a muchneeded void of connecting with your favourite acts. Look on the bright side too; the extra time given to these artists to prepare and rehearse will make their concerts even better,

Upcoming Virtual Concerts: BTS YouTube April 18-19 4am

The Killers Instagram LIVE April 18 - 8pm

Loop TV Festival Twitch April 24-25

KPOP superstars, BTS will be hosting an at-home festival, Bang Bang Con, for their fans, this weekend.

Although, due to the time zones, if you are watching from the UK, you will have to stay up until 4.00am to watch it but I’m sure it will be worth it to see the stars live(streamed).

The American rock band, are joining the growing list of musicians to livestream an at home performance to their fans. But The KIllers are are taking it one step further with an exclusive Q&A session via their Instagram.

Loop TV is hosting a two day, global festival to be livestreamed via Twitch with various bands, hosts and DJ’s such as The Struts, Hanson and Flora Cash. The event is to raise money for organisations fighting COVID-19.

Image: LG

Image: Raph_PH

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Screen The show is back in classic Nine-Nine style!

Image: Movie DB

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Nominate yourself by 12pm Tuesday 28 April

REVIEW TV: Brooklyn Nine-Nine S6, Netflix Sophie Elwin Screen Contributor

Season six of Brooklyn Nine-Nine has finally dropped on Netflix. This season of the ever-popular comedy based in a police precinct in New York was the first season under the network NBC. It thankfully has kept the same warmth and charm that has arguably made it such a hit with fans since it first aired in 2013.

The sixth season nods at its predecessors by bringing back old characters (such as Caleb the cannibal played by Tim Meadows), referencing old pacts between characters (such as the 1,000 pushup pact) and including classic seasonal episodes such as the Halloween heist. The show has good comedic value, but what makes it unique is its backdrop of navigating Brooklyn’s crime world.

In this season, many of the episodes seem to focus on the characters’ personal lives, or on the

The show has been able to keep up its comedy value throughout and it successfully does what the show has always done shenanigans they get up to in the precinct (honestly, they seem to spend so much of their time playing ridiculous games it could make anyone consider a police career).

However, the strongest episodes this season are the ones where clever crime stories are the focus, with the comedy and character’s personal lives bouncing off the detective work taking place. It is these episodes where the creators Dan Goor and Michael Schur’s talent

shines through.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine has never been afraid to tackle more difficult topics, whether that’s the issues Captain Holt (Andre Braugher) faces by being a black, openly gay police officer, or Sergeant Jeffords’ (Terry Crews) ordeal in season four where he was racially profiled and arrested in his street. The show has successfully tackled these very real and difficult issues whilst remaining comedic and without awkwardness.

In this season, there is a truly exceptional scene in episode eight where Sergeant Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero) and Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) discuss whether to encourage a sexual assault victim to press charges or take hush money from her boss. What follows is an interesting and well-executed conversation about the likelihood of perpetrators of sexual violence being charged in the current justice system. Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) also has a mature (for once!) conversation with Amy about the daily challenges she faces being a female sergeant. More comedic shows need to be tackling these serious issues; Brooklyn Nine-Nine does it fantastically.

This season went to town on celebrity guest stars, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ike Barinholtz are just a few examples. Their brief appearances in just one episode feels rushed and a little odd, coming across as a way for the show to have more claims to fame. Furthermore, the ridiculousness of the show seemed to peak in this season, making it seem more unrealistic and over-the-top than other seasons.

That being said, the show has been able to keep up its comedy value throughout and it successfully does what the show has always done; providing uplifting and warming entertainment whilst being able to tackle difficult issues and get in some gruesome crimes.

Jake remains the star of the show; boyishly annoying and quick-witted with a big heart.

N Brooklyn Nine-Nine S6 is available to stream on Netflix now.

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

33

Screen

Socialising Netflix Party in Lockdown Britain? Throw a Chatroom (Netflix) Party!

By Beth Whiteman

L

uckily, Netflix has stepped up and provided us with a new service to get us through these strange times and maintain some sense of normality. Their new extension, ‘Netflix Party’, allows you group-watch films and TV series with your pals whilst maintaining the appropriate social distance.

So, instead of bombarding the group chat with cabin-fever memes, I rallied the troops (in this case, Emily Glynn and Bea Garcia) to test out the pros and cons of this service: PROS It’s really easy to download and to set up. Once downloaded from Google Store, go into Netflix and choose the series/film you want to watch.

Then, you click the “NP” button on your taskbar, ‘Start the party’ and it generates a URL you can send to the group chat.

Note: you need to set up your name once in the chat. I thought it would have been linked to my account, but in retrospect, maybe this is something Netflix did intentionally so even you freeloaders - not just the account holder - can enjoy the feature. How nice.

Netflix Party also drops off your guests at the exact minute you’re at. As someone who has tried to coordinate a dual-watch session with friends in the past, this is an absolute godsend. There’s no: “Okay, is everyone ready?” or “I’m on 00:03.”...“but I’m on 0:10.” nor any instances “oh, I’m already half an hour in.” The play/pause is linked, so everyone is always in the same place.

The downside to this (but not enough to be an official con) is that if you need the loo or more snacks and you don’t want to miss anything, you need to formally announce to the group what you’re up to. If you’re not FOMO-prone it’s quite nice actually - I disappeared for 10 minutes to get some more wine and make some toast and nobody noticed I was missing.

Yet while the play/pause is linked,

WHAT I THOUGHT I MIGHT DO DURING THE COVID-19 SHUTDOWN: • Learn a language • Redecorate • Keep a detailed log of this historical event for posterity you still have autonomous control over subtitles which will be handy if you’re watching with someone who for whatever reason, hates subtitles. My party all use them and didn’t realise this feature existed

WHAT I HAVE ACTUALLY DONE SO FAR:

• Binged Peep Show • Messaged all my coworkers the same bland messages • Glared out of my window at my neighbours John and Janet who are using their new spare time to conduct noisy tasks each day at 9.00am

until, in classic British fashion, we all apologised for the gross inconvenience of imposing words on other people, and had a go at flicking them on and off for testing purposes.

CONS The other two people in my group reported freezing at different points, or the video would play but the message bar would lock them out.

We had to stop the film to figure it out, with one of us having to leave the party and re-enter. However, it didn’t affect the video playback.

We also didn’t like how, once it’s all over, you have to actively terminate the chat. It seemed very cold, like kicking someone out of

pre-drinks. “What is the etiquette,” my friend asked. What indeed?

Also, there are no emojis at all. My friend insists this is absolutely unforgivable.

The biggest con, however, is that if you want to change series or carry the session on with another film, you have to create a new session each time. Even more annoyingly, this applies to new episodes of the same series e.g. if Netflix auto-plays to the next episode, it will kick everyone out of the session and you have to set up a new party and invite everyone again which ultimately defeats the purpose of the extension.

Overall, the group consensus was three out of five stars. Aside from the freezing, the average rating is because the extension is quite literally average.

Until the issue with the session conclusion is rectified, it’s only really worth starting a party for a film.

It’s still better than coordinating a watch party on different streams, but it’s nothing so life-altering that we will tell our grandchildren about it in 60 years, during those inevitable Sunday lunch-spoiling recounts of the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020.

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REVIEW Film: The Platform Yaroslav Matveev Screen Contributor

There are three kinds of people: the ones above, the ones below and the once who fall.

The Platform is a psychological thriller by a Spanish director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia. This film tells the story of a vertical prison with one

The Platform is much more about the story, about people; its aim is not to entertain, but to make people think cell per level where people come voluntarily to fulfil different needs.

A scary feature of this prison is that the only way to get food is a platform which comes to your level once a day, and there are just two minutes to ‘regale’. It sounds alright when being on the first levels but what if a person finds themself at the bottom…

It is necessary to make it clear straightaway – The Platform is not really a typical film for chilling out to. It isn’t funny, vivid or explosive;

REVIEW Film: The Banker Oliver Morgan Screen Contributor

Showcasing some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry such as Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie, The Banker is the first of its kind for Apple TV+. What this film presents is a quality example of how two-hour feature film should be made it is well-produced, intriguing and highly addictive to watch, and brings to

it probably won’t even make you cry. There is nothing exceptional about visual and audio effects – they are just the right level and are wellchosen and match the genre.

The Platform is much more about the story, about people, its aim is not to entertain but to make people think. Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia did a great job in achieving this, despite not being a frequent director, hits the target perfectly every time, with three out of his four films garnering a number of nominations across the years.

This is a very wide and symbolic film, with many scenes where the situation on-screen may look odd but has a deeply embedded meaning. The most obvious and clear message, which should be a basis for further musings, is basically replicating a message from Don Quixote: “The owner of wealth is not made happy by possessing it but by spending it and not by spending as it pleases but knowing how to spend it well.” Needless to say, Goreng (Ivan Massague) chose the Don Quixote book as the only item to take with him to prison.

In terms of the cast, although there are no stars even of a local scale, they all are doing a great job in fulfilling the role given them by the director.

Trimagasi (Zorion Eguileor) plays the role of a serpent, who is trying to eat in Goreng’s mind and make him one of the many ‘spoiled’, selfish and unable to think prisoners.

Imoguiri (Antonia San Juan) is an indicator of hopeless truth and blind worship to reality. Baharat (Emilio

light a hugely dominating issue of racism in mid-20th century America.

Based on the true story of two black businessmen, Joe Morris (Jackson) and Bernard Garrett (Mackie), the plot focuses on the rise of a realestate empire which then bites off more than it can chew. This can also be said for the film itself, as its rather lengthy build-up highlights the background story of Bernard, but takes up a large portion of the film. Whilst the plot is easy to get sucked into, the pace of the film in the first half is a little difficult to keep up with, and it does feel as if some of the characters are introduced to the viewer in rather a rushed manner.

Nevertheless, the tangled web

Buale) is a poor freedom fighter and idealist who is being swallowed by the system because of his mental weakness and unpreparedness to the brutal reality. Miharu (Alexandra Masangkay) – goes overheads to reach the goal, sweeping almost everyone on her path. Massague’s character is changing during the film and adapting the best from everyone to finally become an ‘ideal’ human being and finally reach the nirvana.

The Platform can hopefully become an eye-opening film for many, because it’s not really about the prison at all, it’s about real life,

about us, how we live, and how can we finally become better.

It’s a dark film, and we don’t just mean the lighting. Images: MovieDB

of characters, business deals and relationships all add to the authenticity of the story, and it is easy to forgive the production team because of how addictive it is to watch. Director George Nolfi retains the viewer’s attention by utilising a veritable array of montage scenes, cutaways and relatively unimportant character discussions - it sometimes

which AfricanAmericans and other minorities experienced during this time. This isn’t to the story’s detriment, however, as it forces the viewer to invest themselves into the lives which these characters are trying to live, acting as a reminder of just how starkly different the world was only half a century ago. However, this film would have been greatly improved if it was a little more realistic. A large portion of it feels like the conventional ‘feel-good story’ following a pair of businessmen who

each character makes the portrayal of this story more than solely a pleasant watch.

Even though the struggle of doing business and making money is sometimes glossed over, one character, Matt Steiner (Nicholas Hoult), certainly helps the viewer to rationalise the situation and question the mindset of blinkered Americans during the 1950s and 1960s.

Overall, The Banker transforms what is a relatively mundane topic of a business transaction into an action-packed, political masterpiece. Invest your time into

This film is a quality example of how two-hour feature film should be made feels as if he is trying out every trick in the film production handbook to keep it intriguing. But this is a film about banking, after all.

Not only is it a piece of thrilling entertainment, but importantly it also delves into the deep and disconcerting levels of segregation

pursue the American Dream.

Yet where it lacks in content through being somewhat predictable, it makes up for in droves by the quality of the acting.

The sheer masterful depiction of

this film, and you certainly won’t regret it.

Jackson and Mackie do a good job at masterminding a interesting business plot. Images: MovieDB

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

35

Do you want to be the next Games Editor?

Games

We're electing a whole new committee at our AGM, and this is a great opportunity to get more involved.

If you want to run, please email ben.warner@forgetoday.com!

Nominate yourself by 12pm Tuesday 28 April

The best games to play during lockdown Dark Souls

Callum Brown

Something that puts people off Dark Souls is the extremely high difficulty. The game is brutal, unforgiving, and requires lots of time and patience to truly master, meaning it’s the perfect game to play if you find yourself having to self-isolate in the near future.

You’ll suddenly find yourself with

plenty of time to learn how the game works, and explore the wonderfully bleak yet intriguing world that it has to offer. Alongside the exploration, you’ll discover how addicting the gameplay can really be.

My favourite thing about Dark Souls is that when you encounter a difficult boss (which is most of them) you will die repeatedly, but each time you do, you’ll get better; learning their attack patterns

Yash Raveendra

If you’re a seasoned gamer, I’m sure Kingdom Hearts is a game that you’ve heard all your friends rave

about. A collaboration between Disney, Pixar and Square Enix; it

features the story of protagonist Sora, and his journey to find his friends. On his journey, he meets

Gwynnie Naylor

While in self-isolation during this coronavirus pandemic, I found my Nintendo DS that had been sitting untouched in my room for months.

Struck by a sense of nostalgia, I booted it up and started playing Professor Layton and the Curious Village, the first in the Professor Layton series. I discovered that

these games are perfect for selfisolation; they require no wireless connection, and if played correctly without using cheat sheets online, you can spend hours solving various mysteries and unravelling a tapestry of intricate puzzle pieces.

The Professor Layton series follows Professor Layton, a Poirotlike figure who travels the globe solving mysterious cases with his apprentice Luke. It’s a well written

to be bored while doing so!

the country being in lockdown and

suggestions of games to play while

we’re in at the moment, what with everyone socially distancing to keep

everyone safe. It’s vital right now that we all do our bit to flatten the curve, so please do the right thing and stay at home. But you don’t have

We asked our contributors for their we’re stuck at home, so if you’re not

sure how you’re going to pass the next few weeks, why not check out one of the picks on this list? Stay safe everyone, and enjoy!

and coming up with new tactics.

Eventually, after several attempts, you will finally defeat the boss, and the sense of accomplishment is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Admittedly, this does mean that the game takes a long time to finish, which is why it’s perfect for when you’re stuck at home with nothing else to do for a few weeks.

Kingdom Hearts

Professor Layton

These are scary and uncertain times

several famous faces such as Mickey

Sebastian, Ariel and the crew

Sparrow!

interconnected and well thought

Mouse, Aladdin and even Jack This RPG always has you on the

edge of your seat and challenges you with intense battles. You’re never

doing the same thing in Kingdom

Hearts; you could be fighting off

a thousand Heartless in the great battle of Hollow Bastion, or singing

in Atlantica! The stories are all

out, though they can get frustrating at times, it pays off as you advance through the levels. This series has

endless challenges and is bound

to provide you with hours of fun if you’re up for the quest!

your heart out in a musical with

series, with each game full of unexpected twists and turns, which also forces you to flex your brain with tricky brain teasers in order to solve each case. The music is absolutely fantastic, and the graphics vastly improve from the first to the last game. A very pleasant afternoon can be spent solving puzzles and unravelling mysteries, my personal favourites being the Curious Village and Pandora’s Box. Skyrim

Ash Williams What better way to pass the time in the real world by adventuring in one of the best-realised virtual worlds of all time?

You all know about Skyrim by

now; the RPG juggernaut with

literally hundreds of hours of

questing, dungeon crawling and

mountain-hopping to sink your teeth into.

ahead.

Unlike a lot of the games on this

Now, that’s all well and good

list, Skyrim doesn’t really have

years since its release, Skyrim

ends when you’ve had enough.

on its own, but over the many has cultivated one of the biggest modding communities in gaming, so if the base game isn’t enough, or you fancy replacing all the dragons in-game

with

characters

from

Thomas the Tank Engine, go right

a defined endpoint. Instead, it There’s plenty there as is, but

there are so many mods that add

onto the game, giving you almost

limitless replayability and creating

a customisable experience that no game has matched since.

36

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Games

FEatu Ash

re

First Impress

GameWilliam s Edi s tor

ions

Like Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 Golden before it, it’s Persona 5’s turn to get the customary mid-life upgrade. The original version became my favourite game of all time when I first played it back in 2017, but if the early hours are anything to go by, Persona 5 Royal might usurp the original’s crown once I’ve reached the credits over 100 hours from now.

See, with a game so long, I wasn’t prepared to try and review it in time for this issue that would be crazy. Instead, I thought it’d be worth giving my first impressions, and asking the question: is it worth buying, especially for people who have played the original?

The short answer is yes. Many of the changes that P5R implements show up later in the game, much further than I’ve got

so far. However, it’s no spoiler to say that there’s now an extra semester’s worth of content, with an extra palace, and confidant links to level up.

Making choices throughout the story will decide whether you unlock that extra stuff, but be aware of what characters are saying, and you should get there no problem.

Asking players to get through 100+ hours to find something new would be a very risky move

by Atlus, and thankfully, they haven’t done that. The base game was already stellar, but Royal’s changes nicely tweak the formula to make it more accessible for newcomers, while making things more interesting t o

veterans. Palaces have been reworked to make use of the new grappling hook, which opens up alternate pathways for eagle-eyed players and sometimes lead to a new collectible called Will Seeds.

Bosses have more phases, and more closely resemble the character’s personality and distorted desires that formed the palaces in the first place.

There’s a whole new area to explore: Kichijoji, complete with its own bar where you can play darts and billiards. There are so many more little changes I’ve neglected to mention, but rest assure that this is not the same game with a slightly different name.

It all culminates in the

definitive experience of my favourite game ever. Atlus has a habit of improving on mechanics that I already thought were excellently done, and it’s happened again with Royal.

The game still has the issues that have plagued the franchise for years, chief among which is the excruciatingly long time it takes to get going and let you run free through the streets of Tokyo. P5R hasn’t addressed that famous hurdle, but I urge you not to let that stop you from experiencing one of the best JRPGs of all time.

Everything good about the original game is still here, so if Forge did more than five stars, this game would

certainly qualify based on what I’ve played so far.

I’ve got so much more to go, but I can at least say that I’ve been falling in love with Persona all over again. The characters, music, and style that made the original so good are back in full force, and the promise of more content later down the line will keep me going.

So back to the original question. Is this worth another buy? Well, I’d say it doesn’t matter who you are, the original is an absolutely fantastic game, and Royal only makes it better.

This is the best version of one of the best RPGs ever, and I think that’s worth an extra 50 quid. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got another 100 hours of game to get through. See you on the other side, Phantom Thieves.

Images: Atlus

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

37

Games Catherine Lewis

How Animal Crossing is helping me cope during lockdown When I was anticipating the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons at the beginning of March, there was no way I could have expected what was going to happen to everyones’ lives within a few short weeks. By the time we got to the release date, we were unknowingly only three days away from the country going into lockdown, so even as I was talking to dear old Tom Nook after arriving on my island, I had no idea what was to come.

Ever since its debut on the Gamecube, the Animal Crossing series has provided players with a whole new world to explore and escape into, and I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that New Horizons couldn’t have been released at a better time.

It’s taken the internet by storm; after its

release, a wave of peace just seemed to spread across the web. Worries seemed to fade, talk shifted from fears of the current climate, to what fruits everyone had on their island. People weren’t bashing others anymore, they were taking out their anger on ugly villagers they got by mistake that they want to evict.

The game has spread this wonderful feeling of togetherness, bringing friends and strangers alike closer and spreading joy in its wake. Meeting up on a friend’s island is a great way to keep up with them during the lockdown.

Me and my boyfriend love meeting up on Animal Crossing to take cute pictures and catch fish together, and it’s helping us cope with our separation and feel like we’re together even when we aren’t.

But it’s not just the distraction it provides, but the routine that New Horizons has given me that’s really helped. Routine and motivation is something I need to remain decently functional throughout long periods of time indoors, or I fall into a lethargic slug-like state.

It’s not fun. Thanks to Animal Crossing though, I’m waking up at a consistent time to check on all my villagers in the morning and see what’s new on the island. You best believe I’m not missing buying my turnips on a Sunday morning.

I can motivate myself with little tasks throughout the day like collecting the sea shells off the beach, and making sure to give all my villagers a gift every day to make them happy. I’ll check in at different times of day to see what all of the animals are doing; watch them do their cute little dances together or their attempts to catch butterflies. Even if I’m not doing anything productive in real life, it helps me feel like I’ve done something good with my time, and generally keep my spirits up.

M o s t importantly though, it’s given me something to look

forward to every day. It’s so important, especially in times like this, to be optimistic and be able to find a positive in each day, and for me, Animal Crossing has helped immensely. Whether it be anticipating a new villager moving in, seeing if there’s a new visitor in my campsite, or something so simple as seeing what clothing is being sold every morning, the game keeps me constantly looking ahead for positive reasons.

It might seem silly that my reason for getting up every morning is to say hello to my little group of animal islanders and listen to them talk about the upcoming Bunny Day event relentlessly, but every day it’s provided me with just the break I needed from everything happening in the real world.

Whenever I’m listening to Louie the gorilla go on about how crazy

it is that he found an egg in a rock, I’m not listening to constant talk about the pandemic. While it’s important to keep up to date with the latest updates, I do also think it’s important to not be constantly swamped in it.

At the end of the day, it provides a well needed escape from the real world. Your island is yours to do with what you want, and that’s the magic of it. Even when the real world is completely out of control, you can feel calm and in control of another world where there are no problems other than trying to find that one rare fish, or kick out a creepy villager who keeps being rude to your favourite one.

I may be a million Bells in debt to a rotund tanuki, but I’d have it no other way, and I hope that others can find the same simple joy in their island life as I have.

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Science & Tech

Do you want to be the next Science & Tech Editor?

We're electing a whole new committee at our AGM, and this is a great opportunity to get more involved.

If you want to run, please email ben.warner@forgetoday.com!

Nominate yourself by 12pm Tuesday 28 April

Decoding the celestial diamonds in the sky Researchers study a pulsating white dwarf binary system to understand what lies in store for our Sun 7.5 billion years from now

Artist's depiction of the binary star system studied.

Image: Mark Garlick / University of Sheffield Aashray Millindar Science & Tech Contributor

In about 7.5 billion years, our Sun will begin its journey into old age. It will grow into a red giant, and it will

be larger than the orbit of the earth.

75,000 years after that, the outer layers will be blown away and only the extremely hot and dense core will remain. The Sun will become a white dwarf star, smaller than the

Earth, but with half of the Sun’s mass.

White dwarfs, though very common in the universe, aren’t fully understood. They are made up of mostly carbon and traces of

oxygen. They are so dense that any object would weigh a million times its Earth weight if it was placed on the surface of a white dwarf. But the stellar interiors of these small cosmic objects aren’t fully known.

Researchers led by Dr Steven Parsons from the University of Sheffield are on their way to getting a more comprehensive understanding of these celestial bodies.

They studied a binary white dwarf system. This system is an eclipsing binary, which means that one of the stars passes directly in front of the other periodically as seen from Earth. This is an ideal situation as scientists can determine the radius and mass of the white dwarf, providing clues as to what the white dwarf is made of.

Using HiPERCAM, a camera that takes pictures in five different colours every millisecond, the reachers were able to figure out that one of the white dwarfs was pulsating. They studied how waves travelled across the surface of the star. This technique, known as

asteroseismology, along with the system being an eclipsing binary, helped the researchers find the pulsating white dwarf is actually mostly helium.

This is rare, as by the time stars reach the white dwarf stage, they have fused helium into carbon in their core. What’s left is a carbonrich core. This led scientists to believe that in its evolution, this star had interacted with its partner and that interaction has made it an anomaly.

This opens up avenues to understand the transition of a star from main sequence to white dwarf, revealing more about the interiors of the small yet scorching objects.

Scientists will be continuing to use HiPERCAM, but will also enlist the help of the Hubble Space Telescope in their study. This study will help us understand not only the structural composition of these objects, but also what kind of future lies for our beloved sun.

Paper or plastic: How polymer banknotes impact the environment Louise Elliott Science & Tech Contributor

On 20 February this year, the Bank of England released the new £20 banknote, featuring a portrait of the artist J.M.W. Turner, to update and replace the old design. Much like its £5 and £10 siblings, this banknote is made from a polymer material, replacing the paper version. While there are advantages to manufacturing notes from polymer, this is a decision which has proved to be controversial. In an age where we are beginning to realise the severity of the impact which our heavy reliance on plastic and polymer materials is having on our environment, and where plastic use is discouraged, changing our notes from paper to plastic feels hypocritical. So, is there really a hidden cost to our new banknotes?

According to the Bank of England, the polymer banknotes have many advantages over their paper-cotton predecessors, including increased cleanliness, heightened security

and greater durability. It is this third quality which is said to make these notes a more environmentally friendly option in comparison to the paper-cotton notes.

Despite emitting more CO2 in the manufacturing process, polymer banknotes are predicted to have a lifespan 2.5 times longer than that of papercotton notes. This, in theory, should make up for the increased carbon costs involved in making these polymer notes. However, these estimations from the Bank of England are based on something called ‘functional units’, the function and use of 1,000 banknotes over 10 years.

In reality, it is difficult to estimate the number of banknotes a person will use over a particular time, and thus the amount of emissions released in manufacturing those notes. Recently though, the British Retail Consortium has done just that

and estimated that a £5 note will be exchanged 258 times in its lifetime, and a £10 note will be exchanged 594 times. From this, estimates

can be made on the carbon footprint of manufacturing the polymer banknotes needed by one person in the average year.

This footprint is three times larger for polymer, compared to paper £10 notes, and 2.76 times larger for polymer £5 notes, compared to paper ones. Even more damningly, in January 2020, just four and three years after the release of the new polymer £5 and £10 notes respectively, 50 million of these notes had to be taken out of circulation and disposed of due to bad damage. This again sparked criticism of the polymer notes, the increased lifespan and durability of which are theoretically what should make them a more environmentally friendly option.

While the evidence around using polymer notes as a more environmentally friendly option may not yet be concrete, there are certainly other payment methods far costlier for the planet. Apple Pay is currently estimated to create the most carbon emissions due

to the carbon costs involved in manufacturing the phones itself.

On average, this creates a carbon footprint of 54kg, with each phone only used for two to three years before disposal.

In contrast to this, you might be surprised to find that the bankcard is the most environmentally friendly way to pay, despite being made out of PVC. Each card is generally used for three years before disposal and only has a carbon footprint of 20.8g to make, this rises to 40g when the technology for contactless payment is included but is still significantly lower than the carbon involved in other payment methods.

In the meantime, should you be lucky enough to find one of these controversial new polymer £20 banknotes in your pocket, you can find some isolation entertainment via the special £20 Snapchat filter.

Available through scanning the snap code on the Bank of England’s website, when pointed at your cash, this filter will turn it into a portable piece of artwork!

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

39

Science & Tech New ozone hole discovered over Arctic

Researchers have discovered a new hole in the ozone layer above the Arctic - but there is no need to panic Amy Heels Science & Tech Contributor

Planet without people: what would Earth be like if humans all disappeared?

SCI-FI Louise Elliott Science & Tech Contributor

Great Orme goats roam the streets of Llandudno, fish and swans return to the clear canals of Venice, and deer in the Japanese city of Nara take to the streets in search of food. Scenes of these animals, in unusually urban settings, are doing the rounds on the internet worldwide, surprising many of us with how quickly nature moves back into our quietened cities.

We’ve already seen the impacts that reduced travel and #stayingathome are having on local wildlife and greenhouse gas emissions, but what would happen if we were to disappear entirely?

I’m sure we’ve all wondered about it at some time: what if, even in the absence of natural disaster or catastrophe, people were here one moment and gone the next? In the short term, nothing much of consequence would change. Streets and roads would be cleared as cars crash and trains derail, immediately stalling the release of all emissions due to transport. Within a few days, light pollution would be eliminated as power plants begin to fail without the supply of fuel or human supervision, leading to mass blackouts across the world. On a clear night, our pet cats and dogs would be able to see the Milky Way galaxy from pretty much anywhere, while species whose migratory patterns or behavioural triggers had been hampered by artificial light

would once again begin to thrive.

A few months into this new people-less age and some cities are underwater, as underground tunnels flood and water flows out into the streets. Inevitably, the safety systems in nuclear power plants fail, irradiating many ecosystems and killing much of the wildlife. Elsewhere, however, life begins to thrive in areas where it was once banished. Already, plants and animals begin to penetrate our buildings, as wildlife moves back into urban landscapes. The many exotic animals and plants in the UK, now left unchecked, alter our island’s biodiversity as surviving tropical birds thrive in parks, and Japanese knotweed becomes widely established.

Globally, billions of livestock will be let loose, but with no one to rear them only the hardiest will survive to repopulate the countryside, plains and national

Species whose migratory patterns or behaviour patterns had been hampered by artificial light would once again begin to thrive parks (along with our now feral pets, of course).

Within a few decades, cities are beginning to crumble as weeds and weathering break apart concrete and

structures collapse. Cities at higher latitudes are encased in ice and snow, while desert cities, such as Las Vegas and Dubai, are rapidly buried beneath sand dunes. Eventually, the satellites sent into orbit decades earlier fall down to Earth again, with no one to control their flight or interpret their data. Interestingly, global warming will continue for at least half a century after we’re gone, but as farmland reverts back to forest and vegetation cover grows, excess CO2 is reabsorbed, and the climate begins to cool.

After a few hundred years, Earth as we know it is unrecognisable.

Wilderness and urban landscapes blur together. Animals and plants thrive in areas where they never before occurred, with lions and elephants maybe even populating Europe. Marine life has recovered from overfishing and whales are abundant, despite the vast amounts of microplastic still present in our oceans. On land, the only thing representative of the human race are stone structures and billions of rubber tyres. While human existence has clearly shaped the ecological landscape and biodiversity of this new world, almost all traces of our existence, physically, culturally, and climatically have been erased.

While this might be a scary thought in some ways, it is comforting to know that nature will always recover if we make the effort to let it. So, it’s worth remembering that when we turn the lights off on leaving a room, it's not the planet that we’re saving, but ourselves.

The ozone layer protects life on the surface of our planet from ultraviolet (UV) radiation. It is therefore easy to panic when there are reports of yet more damage to this armour on which life on Earth depends.

However, scientists who study the atmosphere have identified a rare gap in the ozone layer above the Arctic which is a harmless, and hugely interesting, environmental phenomenon.

The ozone layer is found approximately 15 to 35 kilometres above Earth, meaning it lies mostly within the lower stratosphere. The layer varies in thickness seasonally and geographically and is generally thinner near the equator and thicker near the poles. However, holes can form in the ozone layer. The main cause of ozone depletion is the presence of CFCs and HCFCs (found in old refrigerators and aerosol sprays) in the atmosphere — when UV light hits these chemicals, they release chlorine which reacts with ozone (O3), causing it to break down into regular oxygen, O2.

The main cause of ozone depletion is the presence of CFCs and HCFCs in the atmosphere The effects of this chlorine-

catalysed ozone depletion are enhanced by polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) which form at the poles under the very coldest of temperatures. A period of three long, dark months with no sunlight cools the air, which is trapped and chilled by the polar vortex. These clouds provide a surface for the chemical reactions which cause ozone depletion in the spring when UV light returns.

This happens every year in the Antarctic as winter temperatures there are much colder than in the Arctic, which has a more variable winter climate. This year, however, the Arctic has braved a polar vortex

8 April 2019

8 April 2020

Above: False-color view of total ozone over the Arctic pole.

Images: NASA Ozone Watch.

— an onslaught on swirling cold air resulting in the rare Arctic ozone gap scientists can now see.

This particular ozone hole is not a cause for concern for human health because it is currently positioned in such a way that the sun will not

directly hit largely populated areas.

In the near future, scientists say there is a chance that the ozone hole could expand, meaning those populating some areas will need to apply sun cream.

Temperatures are already starting to increase, and humanity’s commitment to reducing the amount of chlorine and other harmful chemicals in the atmosphere means it is unlikely this ozone gap will impact our everyday lives. This measure has also helped the more troublesome ozone hole in Antarctica which is now on its way to recovery due to a reduction in reactive chemicals.

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Science & Tech

in the blood of a patient. If COVID-19 RNA is found in the blood, the patient can be diagnosed as positive for the virus.

This new technology can be

related to manufacturing, energy production, consumption and public health. Students could incorporate a robot, sponsored by the company Cyberselves, to explore the use of robotics, AI and virtual reality in their projects. Participants were also given the opportunity to be the first in the world to play around with the genome of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), recently sequenced by scientists at the University of Sheffield. Dr Dennis Wang granted access to this data, published just

days before the event.

Hackmed is usually one of the most popular events of the year, however, due to the rapidly developing COVID-19 pandemic, there were losses in participant numbers. Despite this, all those who came found it an enjoyable experience, adopting protective measures to ensure their own safety and the safety of others. Mentors made sure to regularly disinfect tables, encourage participants to label plastic cups and wash their hands. The organisers monitored the coronavirus situation leading up to the event and were faced with the decision of whether to postpone until after summer. Since so much work had gone into preparation, participants were notified that the event was still going ahead, though they had the option of participating remotely.

All teams worked hard to produce inspirational projects and after a difficult decision, the winning team “COVID-19” was announced, the group who exploited the novel data to create a home-testing kit for the disease.

The inspiration behind the winning team’s project came from the inefficient nature of current COVID-19 testing methods.

Scientists look for signs of the virus in the blood, and at present it takes 72 hours for test results to come back. This is because of the limited staff availability and materials, which are quickly running out as the rate of cases increases. The proposed project made use of a new technology known as Nanopore sequencing, a method to detect viral RNA in the blood. Thanks to researchers worldwide, the RNA of COVID-19 is known and can be compared to other genetic material

where they insert themselves. This way then can distort the essential proteins fungi need to survive.

Working from there they designed and tested more compounds, which they found had additional modes of action, including the production of Reactive Oxygen Species leading to mitochondrial damage and programmed cell death. Additionally, the compound also appears to “alert” the plant defensive system, which then produces hydrogen peroxide to protect the plant from pathogen invasion. This very broad effect makes the fungicide a very powerful compound for combating plant disease.

Professor Sarah Gurr, one of the team members, said: “This is such a timely and important study. We are increasingly aware of the growing burden of plant disease caused by

fungi and of our need to safe-guard our calorie and commodity crops better.

“The challenge is not only to discover and describe the mode of action of new antifungals but to ensure that chemistries potent against fungi do not harm plants, wildlife or human health.

“This new antifungal is thus an exciting discovery and its usefulness may extend beyond crops into the realms of fungal disease in humans and, indeed to various applications in the paint and preservative industries.”

Because fungal and mammalian mitochondria differ significantly,

the new fungicides shouldn’t affect humans. Indeed, tests showed that these new chemicals had little effect on human cells, being even less toxic than some commercially used products. They were also safe to plants and aquatic life and didn’t induce any mutations.

The University of Exeter has filled out a patent and is now searching for interested investors.

Professor Gero Steinberg said: “Our longterm aim is to foster greater food security, in particular in developing nations”.

Hopefully this goal can be fulfilled and this new compound can soon start protecting our crops.

Hackmed 2020 winners invent coronavirus home testing kit Malgorzata Urbacz Science & Tech Contributor

The annual student health hackathon returned to the University of Sheffield on 14-15 March. For 24 hours, students from all over the country came together to solve the medical challenges which society faces today.

Hackmed is a student-led event which brings together undergraduate and postgraduate students with an interest in

medicine and technology. The event is sponsored by companies who are looking for innovative ideas to potentially enter the market. They present challenges to participants who use their creativity to offer radical solutions.

This year’s challenges included the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to eliminate stigma around mental health issues, linking sensors measuring pollutant levels to health data, and the use of the Internet of Things to address issues

Protecting our cereal crops Exeter researchers discover a novel chemistry to protect our wheat and rice from fungal disease Sabina Musiał Science & Tech Contributor

15 per cent of global crop production is lost to plant diseases annually. To increase the world’s food security and save resources, many scientists around the world are doing their best to find new ways to combat these diseases. Finding new compounds is challenging, as they need to be toxic to fungi but must not be harmful to the plants treated with them, humans consuming the food, or aquatic organisms. They must also target more than one process in the fungus cells, otherwise, a single mutation can introduce resistance

into the fungus rendering the whole process ineffective.

A team at the University of Exeter, led by Professor Gero Steinberg, has discovered a novel fungicide to protect against a fungus called Zymoseptoria tritici.

This fungus causes Septoria leaf blotch in wheat and rice plants.

The team has discovered the mode of action of mono-alkyl lipophilic cations (MALC), which target the mitochondria, the “powerhouses of the cell”, stopping fungal respiration and energy production.

They found that MALC are attracted to the negatively charged inner membrane of the mitochondria,

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The proposed idea impressed all judges, including Dr Dennis Wang, who provided access to the data enclosed in a home-testing kit which requires a small drop of blood, similar to a blood sugar test for diabetes. It does not require medical professionals – people can test themselves at home and remain in self-isolation. It is also much faster in terms of producing results – under 24 hours from sample to result.

The proposed idea impressed all judges, including Dr Dennis Wang, who provided access to the data. A member of the winning team spoke about her experience at Hackmed 2020, encouraging others to join next year. She said: “Because you’re limited to 24 hours to create and develop a brand new tool, you’re forced to think outside the box and put your coding and development skills to the test. You realise that you’re capable of more than you think.”

With huge pressure on global healthcare services, scientists are looking for input into developing strategies to combat this pandemic.

With all hands on deck, perhaps the help of fresh-minded medicine and technology students is what’s needed to come up with new solutions for major healthcare issues, including the coronavirus pandemic.

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

41

Sport Thoughts

press.sport@forgetoday.com

Forge_Sport @ForgeSport

How greed threatens to divide clubs and fans Henry Clark Sports Contributor

When Gareth Southgate took the England job, one of his key ingredients for success on the pitch was to re-engage with the fans off it.

It led to the unusual step to engage with the press in an American football-style media day whilst on the pitch the players embraced the support like never before.

Since then the likes of Raheem Sterling have become figureheads behind not just driving change for the better in football but in society as well. This hasn’t always been the case as players are so often viewed through a cynical microscope due to their wealth and status.

As television revenues and finances in the game continued to boom, the relationship between football fans and players continued to fracture.

The coronavirus pandemic has shaken the world football to its core with the suspension of all competitions, including Euro 2020.

Naturally, heads began to turn to

those best equipped to help, leading to calls from the Health Secretary Matt Hancock for footballers to do more to play their part.

His comments have been met with widespread criticism for singling out footballers since it has since emerged

Liverpool were criticised for their decision to furlough some non-playing staff, before eventually reversing their decision.

Image: Ruaraidh Gillies

The suggested wage deferrals which have been touted would see hundreds of millions lost in tax revenues that Premier League captains led by Jordan Henderson had already been holding discussions.

Suggested wage deferrals touted would see hundreds of millions lost to tax revenues and players were concerned that wealthy owners of the clubs could use it as a form of profiteering.

There have been cases of irresponsibility and hypocrisy, notably Jack Grealish and Kyle

Walker, but the vast majority of Premier League stars show that status can be put aside in the most serious crisis this country has faced since wartime.

Yet many Premier League clubs are now threatening to undo this good work by furloughing staff. This is not an easy time for any business, football clubs included. But the

scheme, set up to largely support smaller businesses who fight day in, day out financially, was never designed to support multi-million pound football clubs in one of the world’s richest leagues.

At a time when the collective integrity of this generation of Premier League footballers is being questioned, it’s desperately

disappointing to see wealth motivated owners of top-flight football clubs fleece the country, including their own supporters, of critical funds.

In the years to come football needs to be remembered as playing its part and not for depriving those who make the game what it is out of sheer greed.

Rugby League’s globalist conundrum and its impact The Australian international rugby league team Image: Andrew Tallon

James Morrissey Sports Contributor

As is clearly visible across all sports, this recent pandemic has shut down all activity as we once knew it – but in the case of rugby league teams, it could be all the more devastating.

Due to their relatively small budgets (comparable to League One football clubs), teams in England’s top tier rely on the business brought in by foreign competition to bolster revenue.

Whilst there is no doubt that global competition brings many benefits to the game, in such times its effectiveness and financial sustainability are being called into question. Even as early as 13 March we saw that the Catalans Dragons, hailing from Perpignan in Southern France, had no choice but to cancel its home fixture due to the escalating Coronavirus situation in France,

while at the same time other games went ahead in England. Three days later Toronto Wolfpack announced that it had suspended training and stood down all UK based staff as four of its players began to experience symptoms.

Three days later a team announced it had suspended training as four players showed symptoms These problems could have serious consequences for the ability of the league to stay afloat in a postpandemic world given that clubs will wish to complete the current season rather than void it, so as to not lose out on vital matchday revenue. If this is to be the case then

it would put a much larger strain on clubs based outside of the UK given the cost of travel in a shorter period of time and future potential travel restrictions that could be put in place. This may result in such teams having to forego their home advantage for the remaining fixtures, which is often seen as the difference between a win and a loss in tight games. It is no surprise that Toronto is one of the teams to have come forward to suggest that there should be no relegation this season, given its struggles in the league.

In spite of this it has been announced that two new teams will join the English league structure from 2021: the Ottawa Aces and a New York rugby league side. This is a clear indication of where the game wishes to grow its fanbase – even if that does mean opening itself up to the risk of its current predicament resurfacing in the future.

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forgetoday.com

Sport

The best sports films and documentaries to watch on demand while social distancing Alex Brotherton Sport Editor

In these incredibly difficult and unprecedented times, sport may seem like an insignificant

afterthought. And so it should be; contrary to what the legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said, there are things in life much more important.

But, here at Forge Sport, we do

Image: Movie DB

Diego Maradona Ciara Treacy Before watching this documentary I knew little about Diego Maradona, but by the end of it, I found myself a fully-fledged fan. More than the story of the highs and lows of the Argentine footballer’s famous spell at Napoli, director Asif Kapadia

uses never-seen-before footage to submerge us in Diego’s life.

From rising out of an impoverished shantytown in Buenos Aires, to being treated like a God at the height of his career, we witness the demons that can come with such success.

From drug addiction to adultery, it’s a heart wrenching tale. You’ll see Maradona not only as a football

appreciate its importance. For students in particular, sport provides entertainment at the weekends, a tonic for mental health and a chance to socialise. So, with no live sport happening during this

lockdown period, we’ve got the next best thing for you.

We asked contributors to tell us about their favourite sports films and documentaries, so that you can still get your sports-fix while socially

distancing at home, and they duly delivered. We have everything from cheerleading documentaries to films about disgraced athletes. So grab some snacks, stick your feet up and enjoy.

I, Tonya Miriam Küpper

become the first American woman to land a triple axel in a competition.

We witness Harding’s abusive relationship with her husband, who resorts to violent tactics and death threats to get rid of one of Harding’s main competitors, Nancy Kerrigan. Harding is implicated in his endeavours, a tag that thereon

defines her career as a skater.

The standout performance of Margot Robbie makes the movie special – she’s ambitious, crazy, violent and sympathetic - as does the suspenseful cinematography during the skating scenes.

I, Tonya is a drama based on the true events in the life of Tonya Harding, played by Margot Robbie. We follow the career of the promising, professional figure skater as she tries to qualify for the Olympics and player, but as a father, son, brother and husband.

From the beginning to the present day, you cannot help but root for Diego; his life was no easy ride. Football fan or not, this is a must-watch.

Available on All4

Adam Hills: Take His Legs James Morrissey

Image: Fleets

The Test Henry Clark There has always been a certain mystique about what goes on inside the inner sanctum of an international cricket dressing room. Is it that really that different the atmosphere from club cricket?

What is going through the minds of international players as they step

out to perform on the biggest stage, knowing each game could be their last?

Amazon Prime’s The Test: A New Era For Australia’s Team is an eyeopening docuseries charting the return to glory of the Australian men’s national cricket team after the ‘Sandpaper-gate’ scandal cast a shadow over the game Down Under. With exclusive access to the

In Channel 4’s documentary Adam Hills: Take His Legs, we follow the journey of comedian Adam Hills as he sets out to establish the Warrington Wolves Physical Disability Rugby League (PDRL) team; highlighting the progression from formation to pinnacle as they face Australia’s best

Image: Dani Yako

PDRL team in their quest to become world champions.

This heart-warming and emotional tale features all the characteristics of sport that make it so endearing, but through the lens of those who are unable to participate in the same way as their superstar counterparts. It left me with a tear in my eye more than once. The players’ honest and humorous stories show

how PDRL has allowed them to thrive both on and off the pitch. As many of us are finding out during the current isolation period, this documentary truly highlights why we all need sport’s positivity in our lives.

Available on All4

team during last summer’s World Cup and Ashes series, viewers get a glimpse into the ‘play hard but fair’ attitude of former Aussie star turned-Head Coach Justin Langer, tasked with rebuilding the trust of a nation and its cricket team.

Available on Amazon Prime Image: Movie DB

Moneyball Alex Brotherton

Image: Movie DB

Available on Netflix

A biographical sports drama based on Michael Lewis’ book of the same name, Moneyball tells the story of how the Oakland Athletics use sabermetrics to change baseball forever.

When several of his star players leave, general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is tasked with building a

competitive squad with a restrictive budget. He turns to Yale economics graduate Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), who uses data analysis to build a team of undervalued players, discarded by others, who are flawed overall but excel in particular areas of the game.

Beyond the on-field action, the film delves into the behind-thescenes workings and politics of a major sports organisation, as Beane

and Brand pitch their radical datadriven approach to recruitment

against traditional, intuition based scouting.

Pitt puts in a strong, emotional performance as Beane struggles to bury past demons on his mission to revolutionise baseball, and make the Championship game.

Available on Netflix

Forge Press

Wednesday 15 April 2020

Sport

Got a sports tale to tell? press.sport@forgetoday.com All or Nothing: Manchester City Ben Warner

All or Nothing: Manchester City is a detailed record of one of – if not the – best seasons in English football. The Amazon Prime original series has been around for a while now, mainly focusing on American football and basketball teams, but

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they took a sojourn into soccer ahead of Manchester City’s recordbreaking 2017/18 season.

Film crews embedded within the club for a year, managing to get exclusive, in-depth insights into how a major football team is run on and off the pitch, as well as emotive interviews with people from the very top to the bottom of the club. The

eight episodes chart City’s progress to winning its third Premier League title, reaching a record 100 points on the last day of the season, and a wonderful bond growing between the players. As a City fan myself, I’m a little biased, but it’s definitely worth your time.

Image: Movie DB

Available on Amazon Prime Cheer Ciara O’Sullivan

Image: Movie DB

FIFA World Cup Official Film collection Alex Brotherton During these football-less times we find ourselves in, there is at last a shining light out there for all diehard fans; Amazon Prime has the official films of every single men’s

World Cup that has ever been played.

From vintage Pelé to Maradona’s magic at Mexico ‘86, from an unplayable Ronaldo (the original) in ‘98 and ‘02 to England’s unlikely heroes in 2018, you can watch it all.

With exclusive never-seen-before footage of some of the most iconic moments in World Cup history,

Netflix’s Cheer is a six-part docuseries about the Navarro College cheer team from Texas and their journey to the biggest competition of the year. Typically an insular sport, the series exposes the true nature of competitive cheerleading

The Russian Five Yaroslav Matveev

The Russian Five tells the story of how ice hockey team Detroit Red Wings changed the development of the NHL, reaching its first Stanley Cup for more than 40 years in the process.

The film details the difficulties,

obstacles and doubts that Detroit faced in bringing famous Soviet players to the USA, an unprecedented policy at the time.

Joshua Riehl strikes a balance between satisfying hardcore fans with detail and insight, while making the extraordinary tale of Scotty Bowman and his Russian players accessible and understandable

Documenting successes and challenges alike, by the end of the series it’s difficult not to feel emotionally invested in the Navarro cheer squad from the very beginning.

Available on Netflix

these films are a nostalgia-ridden gold mine for football fanatics. 90 years of history, 21 tournaments, all available at the click of a button.

Football is coming home, literally.

Available on Amazon Prime Image: Movie DB

The English Game Ben Woodcock

Image: Movie DB

in the US, while exploring the fierce leadership, intense commitment, and extreme athleticism required to make Navarro one of the most successful teams in the country.

We learn of the personal hardships some team members had to overcome on the way, and get a real insight into the team dynamics illustrated within the programme.

This miniseries drama explores the birth of the FA Cup as the peoples’ football competition. We follow the journey of Glaswegian pair Fergus Suter and Jimmy Love who sign for Darwen FC, a pioneering club in Lancashire hoping to become the to

ice

hockey

first working class team to lift the FA Cup. Both face hurdles on the pitch, against The Old Etonians in particular, and off it, as they battle issues at home and struggle to survive while working in a dying cotton industry.

Suter’s cup ambition sees him leave Darwen for local rivals Blackburn FC, but

will his decision be vindicated? This is a thrilling drama that ventures beyond football into 19th century class struggles and more.

Available on Netflix

novices.

Available on Amazon Prime (It costs £1.49 to rent, but it’s definitely worth it)

Do you want to get involved with Forge Sport?

Why not run to be on our Sport team at the Forge Press AGM? We have vacancies for Head of Sport and Sport Editor You can make great new experiences, work as part of a team, and help organise the annual Sheffield Varsity If you want to run, make sure you email ben.warner@forgetoday.com before 12PM on TUESDAY 28 APRIL

Image: Movie DB

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press.sport@forgetoday.com

Sport

Forge_Sport @ForgeSport

The Varsity we all deserved Michael Ekman Sport Coordinator

With Varsity having been cancelled this year, we thought it would be best to revisit some of the highlights from tournaments of past years to rid us of those Varsity blues. We

know how much all the athletes were looking forward to competing at this years competition and how unfortunate the circumstances are that it has to be cancelled but it is understandably the only rightful decision.

We here at Forge Media were all

looking forward to covering the big event and were equally sad to hear of the cancellation with everyone of us raring to go after months of preparation. However, it goes without saying that obviously everyone’s well-being is more important than anything else.

After all the hard work that I know this year’s athletes and teams have put in, they all deserved the chance to show off their skills at Varsity. Since that unfortunately won’t be the case, I can only hope that any remaining athletes will be able to compete next year and

that any final-year students will be able to make it back to cheer their teammates on.

SEE YOU IN 2021...