NOISE, FW 2020

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GYou Magazine

G-YOU Magazine// September 2020// Fresher’s Edition

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Contents: Welcome: Welcome from the Editor, Francisca Matias - pg 4 Welcome from the Board, Blake Gray - pg 5

Politics: Creating Change or Just Making Noise? Jarrod Grant - pg 6 Polarization, Owain Campton - pg 7

Sport: Scottish Football, Duncan Henderson - pg 9 Bittersweet Cycling, That’s Life - pg 10

Science: Zoomusicology: Do Animals Enjoy Music? Rado Seray - pg 12 Sound and Health: Are We Being Killed by Sound? Fuad Kehinde - pg 14

Showcase: Euphony, Jade Aimers - pg 16

Current Threads: Death of the Press, Kim Mannion - pg 18 Cause I’m movin’ on up, you’re movin’ on out, Holly Ellis - pg 20

Travel: Sound of my Italian Summer, Susanna Zarli - pg 21 Sounds of Silence, Francisca Matias - pg 22

Lifestyle Quakers Do it in Silence, Gwendoline Da Sousa Correa - pg 24 Quarantine and Sex: A Survey, Beth Leishmann - pg 26

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A Welcome from the Editor...

Noise... It is not just sound to which our ears bling n’ ring. Whether it involves your vision, touch, hearing, taste or smell - noise can be all that in our opinion. I came across the theme for this edition back in April when I was interviewing what is now the new (amazing may I say!!) committee of editors and producers of the G-You magazine. Mind you that at that time we were in midst loco-lockdown and what stood out to me the most at these times was noise.

For the past months the spectrum of noise has been at extremes, either a lot of noise from the news, people around us or/and no noise at all.

A great example of these extremes for me was when COVID-19 took a toll in Scotland and I was consequently headed back to Portugal (aka home). There were SO MANY people at the airport but there was no talking, everyone was muted. It’s that contrast and other versions of noise we were looking for when making this edition.

This edition is also about the noise you get during Freshers Week. For many it is quite overwhelming, the traditional hundreds of leaflets and chats with people that start as strangers only to become your bffs on the daily, and the far from normal wearing of masks and keeping social distance. It’s all very confusing but curious, it’s

that radio/tv static we try to uncodify.

From our science piece about Zoomusicology to the politics of polarisation to all that means to move out to reflections about sex during quarantine (A SURVEY!) and to Scottish football - we have it all! Have a read/scroll through the magazine and enjoy all that noise entails. It was a very fun and interesting edition to take on and we could not be prouder of what it has become!

So here ya are freshers, hope this magazine relates to you as much as it has to us who produced it.

If you’re interested in writing for us join our contributors group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GYoumagazine. The more the merrier!

Take care and keep on making noise for what makes your heart beat!

For now yours truly from Portugal,

Kika

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Welcome from the GUU Board...

What I can promise is that things will get better, and I'd implore you to remember that as term gets going. Experiencing the next year as everything builds back up to what it was will be a different experience , but on the bright side, it will give you a brilliant chance to try more things and figure out what you want to do to maximise what you get out of the experience.

Dear Freshers,

On behalf of the Glasgow University Union, I want to welcome you to Freshers' Week and the beginning of what will undoubtedly be some of the best years of your life. Lectures are important and you'll learn a lot from them, but it's extra-curricular and social experiences where Uni truly comes into its own. Lucky for you you've chosen Glasgow, one of Europe's best student cities, and a University world famous for student culture and experience. You couldn't have made a better choice.

Rather than beat around the bush, I'll be honest with you. We're gutted as much as you are that you cannot have the Freshers' week experience we all had and which you all deserve. You're entering Uni and moving away from home at one of the strangest times in modern history. When you should be getting to experience the freedom of adulthood and Uni living, global events are dictating things outside all our control. I can't imagine having started Uni like that back when I arrived, and in the short term its going to keep being tough. You deserve massive credit for making it here so far, and we're all here to support you through it.

With that in mind, we've worked hard to put together a programme of events and activities that will allow you to get to know other Freshers' and integrate with the Union community, as well as the University. We have 4 Union's at Glasgow and our one is the oldest and the best (although of course I would say that! Do check all of them out and get involved in as much as you can between us).

At GUU, from magazines you can write for to open mic nights where you can perform, from quizzes you can win prizes at to debates against European champions and from the most popular student club night in Glasgow to the highlight of the University calendar with the Daft Friday (D*** F*****) 12 hour long ball at Christmas, we have an amazing range of things for you to enjoy.

These pages outline what we've organised for this Freshers' Week and how you can get involved. As things get back to normal, we promise you'll get to experience everything else. We want nothing more than for you to be here with us when we can provide that, so remember that we and the whole Uni community are here for you at all times, and also remember, GUU has more fun.

Blake Gray Honorary Secretary GUU

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POLITICS

Creating Change or Just Making Noise? Can Mass Protest Secure Lasting Change?

JARED GRANT On the 26 th of May 2020, the citizens of Minnesota gathered en masse to protest their government’s inaction after a man was choked to death by police officers. It saw hundreds of thousands of people across the globe turn out to try and better the system in the United States and also within their own countries. This peaked on the 6 th of June, with nearly half a million people across the United States taking to the streets.

If you are a black person in the United States, seeing protests go on and on with no end in sight might give you a sense of extreme apathy. With every death; a mass protest. With every mass protest; violent backlash, and with every backlash; positive change seems further away. I imagine the same could be said of anyone looking at the global political situation right now. Protests are almost a common experience for us, yet the issues that these protestors champion seem no closer to being solved. Whether it be people fighting against authoritarian madness in Hong Kong or trying to inspire better environmental policy – it seems like these problems are almost destined to plague us forever.

ering the people living in the buildings above. But there is no more essential form of democracy than people voicing their opinions, and protests are not only an extremely effective way of doing so, they also are effective at creating change.

As much as the ongoing George Floyd protests can feel ineffective due to having not yet defunded the police, the continued calls have left an impact. In New York, lawmakers have repealed Section 50-a, a law that prevented the public from accessing the disciplinary records of police officers. This means that in the future, people will be more capable of singling out officers committing abhorrent acts and holding them better to account. In Minneapolis, the city from where George Floyd hailed, nine members of the city council have pledged to disband the Police Department, a pledge that is so well supported, it is veto proof.

On a more national level, an omnibus bill dubbed “The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act 2020” has been tabled by the majority Democratic House of Representatives, with hopes that when the next Senate election happens, they’ll be able to flip it blue and pass the bill into law. Whether or not that It can feel hopeless, pointless even, to go out and will actually happen, this means that half of the US organise or join a protest. It can feel like all you Government is actively listening to the demands of will be doing is shouting your lungs out and both- protestors and trying to enact policy based on them.

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POLITICS The scale and extent of the George Floyd protests have encouraged lawmakers to act on the issue of racial injustice and police brutality. Politicians are far more likely to vote on an issue, especially in a positive manner, if they know their constituents are so angry about it that they have taken to the streets to demand change. Protest is necessary.

For every day that these protests continue, for every person that joins in, for every news article that a politician sees about this issue, change becomes that much more likely to happen. The louder you get, the more likely they are to hear you.

A single mass protest may not solve the issue immediately, it may not even

solve it fully but with enough momentum, the governments of the world have no choice but to start listening to the noise created. So, if you can, go out and protest to better your life, go out and protest to better the lives of others. It is one of the most important methods for creating change that any person has and with enough voices fighting to better the world, it might just become somewhat of a better place for all of us.1

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Polarization OWAIN CAMPTON It is incredibly difficult to tell if we are more polarised now than we ever have been before because we cannot accurately compare our current situation to that of the past. In the 70s our parents did not have even a tiny fraction of the available communication tools and networks that we have access to today. Facebook, Twitter, even the first 24-hour television news channel were not options to our parents, but they’re a constant part of life now.

To debate the issues “back in the day” you had to buy a newspaper or listen to the six o’clock news, and then talk it over with your friends and family. What this meant was that typically you were speaking about the issues with less informa-

tion, and in an echo chamber with those of similar views. Still, to this day we flock into our own safe echo chambers, however, it is impossible to avoid the occasional troll and the doom thread where two sides of the arguments clash at length. We are exposed to a lot more political noise, which means it can seem that the world is completely divided, however, this seems more like a symptom of a world connected than a world in pieces. If during the 80s you brought a Welsh miner to meet a Thatcherite, I am sure you would have seen them have some choice words for each other they would never have seen eye to eye on issues of state. It is the same today, it is just a lot easier for the left and the right to meet.

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POLITICS es as of yet, he does seem to be moving back What we can tell, however, is that we have more to a slightly more centralised leftist position, to people than ever that are politically disengaged, engage a wider group, and pull in some of those with Pew Research showing over 50% of social me- disenfranchised central conservative voters. dia users are in this category, and this is where the danger lies. When the majority of people put their Ultimately, we may seem more polarised than ever, hands up in despair and say “I can’t be bothered but this is more likely symptomatic of us living in a anymore” it means that politicians are forced to world where the two sides of the aisle are able to do one of two things; either try to re-engage the debate more freely, and the middle group shrinking disenfranchised and politically exhausted, or play away into the background, exhausted by the conto the politically active wings. Playing to those stant shouting match, rather than the majority of who are active is the easier and straightforward us being specifically on one side or the other. So choice, as it just costs less money to encourage what is one to do? Well, keep voting to start with, them out to vote. The problem with this is typ- but also when you are debating the issues, be open ically those on the right are more likely to vote and receptive to other points of view, even if you than those on the left, with the right being old- never intend to move to the other stance. This er than the left, and those on the left then be- leaves you in a lot stronger position to coming more anti-establishment as they see the then try pull people out of their bubble. political landscape move rightwards. This means our political parties are becoming further apart As I wrote in an article three years ago (Call Out but this fluctuation of political parties moving fur- or Call In) “The “Call In” is a much more effective ther from each other, then closer again, is not tool at facilitating progress. This is where the two something unusual. In fact, the Democratic and sides speak person to person […] It by-passes Republicans in the United States were prac- our instinctive tribal nature, as it looks for ways we tically swapping sides between the 1860s and are the same, not different, giving the sense you 1930s, with Democrats becoming the party argu- are both a part of the one group. This stops either ing for a more involved government and Republi- of your automatic defence mechanisms flaring up. cans for a smaller and more limited government. We all know we may not be right, but what we have to do is not be afraid to admit to this, this’ll show Recently we have seen this division occur in others it’s safe to do so, keeping people more open 2017 and 2019 with May and Johnson’s Right minded. Doing this allows you to talk, to disversus Corbyn’s Left. The Conservatives were cuss your beliefs, where they come from, where able to play to a rightward leaning politically en- they are rooted, in a healthy conversation.” gaged voter base, with Corbyn scrambling to mobilise a smaller engaged semi-socialist left, while pulling in those who typically do not vote or, if they do, vote for third parties. Although Starmer is not very forthcoming on any particular stanc-

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SPORTS

Scottish Football DUNCAN HENDERSON Even by the usual standards, the last two months have

If the Aberdeen players were just ordinary members

been particularly tumultuous for Scottish Football.

of the public, an argument could be made that that

With a new season on the horizon, the SFA and clubs

their infraction could be differentiated from Bolingoli’s

hoped that the public’s attention to the game would

- pubs are legally open, and their main issue was having

be limited to what would happen on the pitch and the

a group size larger than guidelines permitted and a lack

questions that this season would ask. The biggest of

of physical distancing inside the pub. What Bolingoli did

all, being whether Celtic can take a historic 10 league

was objectively illegal and he could have received a

titles in a row, or if Steven Gerrard’s Rangers could

substantial fine for not completing his 14 day quaran-

stop them and win the Premiership for themselves?

tine period after returning from a higher risk country.

However, it must be acknowledged that footballers are

That hope this season would be remembered for what

not ordinary members of the public. Ordinary mem-

happened on the pitch rather than off it lasted a grand

bers of the public don’t typically have jobs that bring

total of six hours. After losing to Rangers in the open-

them into close physical contact with match offi-

ing day of the season, eight Aberdeen players - includ-

cials, club coaching staff, their own teammates, and

ing senior members of the squad - decided to go to a

their opponents match day squad. Football’s nature

crowded bar together. A few days later, two of them

as a contact sport means that its resumption is sub-

had tested positive for COVID-19 and Aberdeen’s

ject to special conditions - players must test nega-

next fixture against St. Johnstone was postponed.

tive each week, and must avoid doing certain things

Football’s trouble was compounded when Celtic left-

that are permitted for the remainder as us, such as

back Boli Bolingoli decided that a four day break from

going to pubs. In exchange for players adhering to

training would be best spent defying his club’s instruc-

these additional restrictions, football matches can

tions not to leave Glasgow and instead fly to Spain

now be played, letting players earn their livelihood

and on his return, decide that the mandatory 14 day

and preventing the liquidation of assets and subse-

isolation period was an inconvenience he’d rather not

quent collapse of many of Scotland’s football clubs.

bother with. Combined with Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths needing to be “reminded of his responsibilities”

All the players involved are now subject to internal club

after hosting a large number of guests at his house, it

and SPFL disciplinary procedures, and face conse-

soon became clear to see that Scottish football had a

quences ranging from being fined a percentage of their

big problem. Celtic’s next fixtures were also postponed

wages to being suspended for a handful of matches

and the Government took a stance - football was to be

as a result of having breached the restrictions that

shown a metaphorical yellow card, and any future inci-

allowed for the return to play. However, many argue

dents would see the suspension of the game in Scotland.

that this isn’t enough, and that a collective penalty needs to be levied against their teams as a stronger

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SPORTS deterrent. After all, it is clear that the current individ-

head when collective punishments are discussed in

ual punishments aren’t acting as intended, with many

any context, and now is no exception. Would it be fair

viewing the player’s actions as having the joint risks of

for the fans to see their club hit with forfeit loses or

spreading COVID-19 whilst also risking another shut-

heavy fines because one player broke the rules? Would

down of football in Scotland. If such a shutdown of

it be fair for an entire squad that stuck to the rules

football was to happen, many fear that clubs across

to be punished for the actions of the one player who

Scotland, particularly those in the lower leagues, would

didn’t? That is a decision the SPFL will have to make

not survive to see the resumption of play once again,

eventually, but for me, should a club be unable to play

and as a result, hardship would ensue for not only the

their fixtures due to player recklessness, those fix-

club’s players and coaching staff, but for everybody

ture should have be forfeited, not merely postponed.

associated with the club, even those working in the ticket office or the club shop. The argument for a collective punishment, such as match forfeits and point deductions, reinforces that with such a collective risk to everybody involved in the game, clubs should be forced to take more responsibility over their players actions.

Of course, the question of fairness always rears its

Bittersweet Cycling, That’s Life.

EWAN GALBRAITH It was a glorious Scottish Summer’s day when, one again, I asked myself the question I’d been debating throughout lockdown; “Is Glasgow really that bad a city to cycle in?” As I pushed a bike with a damaged derailleur rough a day that could only be described as dreich, I realised that currently my answer to Glasgow’s cycling question would be a resounding yes.

That dismal day’s commute home from stacking shelves, began like always; pulling on a well-worn waterproof outside of work, checking the charge on my bike lights, and free-wheeling downhill towards the freedom I had lined up for this evening.

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My helmet was tighter on account of the bandana I had employed to keep me cozy in the wind and rain, but aside from this, my typical twenty two minute journey was preceding as expected.

Until I had to hit the brakes to avoid a car that hadn’t looked before turning. Then I hit the pothole. It wasn’t until I noticed that I no longer had a chain, nor functioning gears that I hit my bike in frustration. Ignoring the pain from my bruised ego and fingers, I started pushing uphill, debating with myself as to whether my newest lockdown fitness fad had become too much hassle to carry forward into the next academic year.

SPORTS I’ll set the record straight by clarifying that I’m not an expert on cycling, bikes, or Glasgow’s City Council’s policy on cycle paths. What I am is a student who, until recently, had always found themselves cycling further and more frequently on holiday than I ever have in the city that I’ve called home for the past nineteen years. This isn’t merely limited to trips abroad, although a special mention is warranted to the city of Erfurt for raising my standards in regards to cyclists and cycle paths, but extends itself to ‘stay-cations’ to Aviemore and Fort William, towns that not only capitalise on their fantastic surroundings but who have also promoted good cycling practices so that such sights can be enjoyed equally by those on bike as those by foot or road. So where does Glasgow go wrong. Is it really fair to lay all the blame for my cycling doubts on bad drivers, poor roads, and no infrastructure? This lockdown I’ve taken it upon myself to spend a little bit more time on my bike, and share some of my highlights cycling in a city that I had thought previously blocked off to bikers.

When considering Glasgow it’s always worth starting with the Clyde. The city’s most iconic natural landmark is bike accessible on both sides of the embankment and allows cyclists to cross many of it’s bridges at their convenience. The Clyde is also at the centre of many of Glasgow’s best maintained and safest cycle paths and allows users to make their way around. For cyclists new to the city, the Clyde serves as both a reference point and as a route that can be followed from the Southside to the West End should one ever get lost. My favourite route involves tracing the river from one end of the city to the other, providing a safe and easily accessible way to get some exercise and get around the city

many

of

us

have

come

to

call

home.

Another passage from the city centre is the Anderston Footbridge, known colloquially as the Bridge to Nowhere. Started in the 60s with construction finishing in 2013, this cycle accessible footbridge provides easy access between the City Centre, namely Glasgow Central Station, and the WestEnd through Kelvingrove park and the Forth and Clyde Canal. The elevated walkway crosses the M8 and it’s not only practical but offers pedestrians and cyclists alike the opportunity to take in the cityscape in between shopping on Glasgow’s style mile or sightseeing round the Dear Green Place.

This route, followed by a jaunt down the currently pedestrianised Kelvin Way, past the Union and up University Avenue is not only a joy to cycle but links together some of my favourite places to visit prior to the start of the semester.

Cycling in Glasgow is always going to be bittersweet. For every glorious cycle in the sunshine there will be double the dreich days punctuated by rain, hail, snow and everything in between, Yet never let this be a barrier to entry when exploring this fantastic city. Cycling may sometimes feel like the dreaded ascent of a hill, unforgiving and insurmountable, made ever worse by weary legs. Yet upon reaching the summit, and in realising that Glasgow has so much to offer me on two wheels, that I understand what cycling is all about. As I lean forwards over the brow of the hill and feel the momentum carry me home I realise that everything is going to be all right.

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SCIENCE

Zoomusicology: Do Animals Enjoy Music?

RADO SERAF There is no human civilization that has failed to produce music. Whether it be through various musical instruments or by using our own bodies, music is something so unfailingly human that we all feel an urge to make it and can understand the emotions it elicits even if we cannot otherwise communicate with one another. Yet to this day we still don’t really have an accurate definition of what music is. The most widely accepted one is “the art of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion”, yet music has been produced that actively defies this definition, such as John Cage’s piece “4’33’”, which consists of a “composer” standing on stage in complete silence and simply cutting up the ambient noise of the room in three movements through gestures. Whether that is actually music is a debate for another day (I’d personally be inclined to say yes). What I am interested in exploring in this article is the effect of this murky concept called music on other species outside our own, both the music that we produce and the music that they themselves make.

Zoomusicology is an incredibly young field, only getting started in 1983, yet it has made interesting discoveries in the world of animal music. One of the most fundamental observations that have been made is that music has an emotional effect on animals, but this is largely species-specific.

An experiment performed on cotton-top tama-

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rins (little primates with adorable Einstein-like hair) concluded that they would be stressed out by aggressive music and become calmer and more social when listening to more chilled tunes. The researchers used both human and tamarin music and the effect was (unsurprisingly) much more noticeable with the latter. This showed that the little primates had some understanding of human music, but it did not resonate with them nearly as much as their own.

Another study involved playing classical music for kennelled dogs. The music would calm them down, but rapid habituation (the effects lessened when repeated) was observed. A follow-up study added other musical genres such as soft rock, Motown, pop and reggae and the results improved.

The wide variety of genres seemed to reduce habituation and helped the dogs relax. The best results were observed with soft rock and reggae, so next time your dog is stressed out by New Year’s fireworks, turn up the Bob Marley and hug it out.

Let us now turn to animal-made music. It is known that animals do create music, even though it can be a dangerous behaviour to have since it reveals one’s position. More often than not, music is used as a tool to attract potential mates. But other purposes for it have also been found, such as protecting one’s territory or guiding members of one’s herd.

SCIENCE Birdsong is easily the best-known type of music produced by animals and it has an interesting relationship with our own music. Various musicians throughout history, such as Mozart, claim to have been inspired by songbirds and zoomusicology seems to support such claims. Some bird species, who have a markedly structured approach to their music, have been observed to create music with similar features to our own, such as “arch-shaped and descending” progressions of musical phrases which often end with long notes and small variations of pitch between adjacent notes. This is thought to arise from similar motor constraints on both humans and birds. Other birds who are notorious for being “phrase-borrowers” (meaning that they copy musical phrases from other bird species) portray a use of rhythm and pitch that can resemble our own, perhaps due to borrowing from our own music. One zoomusicologist even claimed that certain birds sing using the pentatonic or diatonic scales, but only 6 of over 200 species were shown to do so. All of this seems to point to the conclusion that similar motor constraints and a general “cross-pollination” between humans and birds could have caused our similar understanding of music.

Other notable examples of music in the animal world are for instance whale song, which is strangely enough performed by males not only during the mating period but also once they have formed a family.

Or alternatively, there is the Asian corn borer moth whose song is performed at such a low amplitude and volume that it can only be heard at a distance of 3 cm and any female who is close enough to do so freezes up until the male stops singing. This is to avoid detection by predators while mating.

communication used by numerous species, but rather than conveying simple ideas like the presence of a predator or food, it conveys emotion.

Whether that be fear, closeness or desire, music is one of our most fundamental tools to communicate the contents of our hearts, regardless of our shape, size and possible plumage.

All of this goes to show that music is a form of

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SCIENCE

Sound and Health: Are we being killed by Sound?

Fuad Kehinde

Cars honking, trains screeching on their tracks, ships docking into a harbour. If you live in a city, a dense urban area or near an industrial site, environmental noise is likely a huge part of your life. And as urban areas have continued to develop over the past century, the nature of this noise has changed. We’ve gone from horses & carriages to cars dominating the road.

Traffic lights, pedestrians, bars, clubs, car horns.

Streets have become an endless source of inescapable noise. As a result of this change, it’s been a focus of many researchers in the last 2 decades to study the health effects of constantly being subjected to sound out of our control.

and is the reason why I’m going to focus on environmental noise instead of the about 98dB noise we willingly subject ourselves to in clubs (sounds above 85dB damage your hearing over time).

One of the well-documented symptoms of excessive noise exposure is stress. Hearing loud noises (particularly sounds we don’t like and that are out of our control) creates a stress response in our brains which releases a stress hormone, cortisol, into our bodies. Higher stress levels decrease the quality of our sleep, which can lead to negative effects on our physical wellbeing, mental health, education, immune system and productivity. But even when we’re awake, the loud noises of bars, When we look at quantifying the effects that noise restaurants and clubs make us more likely to reach pollution has on us, we need a scale to measure for comfort food or alcohol as a result of stress. sound on. For that purpose, the decibel (dB) scale is both well-known and quite useful. For example, A report released by WHO (World Health Organisacars emit a sound of about 65-75 dB and people tion) on the effects of environmental noise on our whisper at about 20dB. An important mathematical health also found that prolonged exposure increased (sorry-not-sorry for maths) note with the scale is the risk of cardiovascular diseases. There was even that it’s not linear, it’s actually logarithmic. Mean- some correlative evidence which suggested that ing, 80dB isn’t 4 times louder than 20dB, it is 100,000 prolonged noise exposure could cause Tinnitus and times louder! cognitive impairments in children. Although those last two do not yet have epidemiological backing.

Now that the boring maths stuff is out of the way, let’s talk about the real problems. There are 2 So, to answer the question proposed by the title main issues with sound that work together to af- of this article, yes, we are getting killed by sound... fect us in a lot of ways: how loud the sound is and kind of. While all these risk increases are relatively whether we have control over its source of the mild when compared to other things like smoking, sound. The second issue is particularly important it still constitutes 1.6 million healthy life years lost

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SCIENCE in Western EU countries a year. However, this issue isn’t so alarming that you suddenly need to cut off all sound in your life (how could you enjoy Beer Bar that way?). But it is still a public health crisis that policymakers need to look at. In fact, there is already all sorts of progress in this field.

If you live in an urban area, when was the last time you went to bed and it was completely silent? Like, really silent. There is likely always some level of sound from street noise or a party going on or planes flying overhead making it into your room. At night, when there are noises above 50dB, this increases the risk of all the bad health outcomes I stated earlier. However, there were guidelines set out in the EU’s 2013 7th Environment Action Programme for urban areas to reduce environmental noise closer to the goal of below 50dB at night. This project alone could

save hundreds of thousands of healthy life-years.

Along with creating environments that are safe for our ears, there is also more and more talk about changing urban soundscapes to make them more pleasant. Instead of the current street level noise with conflicting sounds i.e., cars driving and beeping their horns and construction everywhere; we could have street sounds that are far more pleasant. For example, as electric cars rise in popularity, money is being put into developing suitable sounds for these cars to make while driving (which would certainly help one avoid getting hit by surprise electric car). The goal of this research is to make a sound that both makes it clear that it’s a car and is also not horrible to hear. With the knowledge that we have now and the fact that we’re introducing more sounds into our environment, we now have an opportunity to change cities for the better.

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SHOWCASE

Euphony JADE AIMERS I watched her lips while she spoke.

“Are you up to much today?”

They were deep pink - flushed and sweet. I thought the dead skin on her bottom lip would taste like sugar, or honey.

I watched her lips because of the way she formed her words. I like the sweet spot- the millisecond-where I see her intention, before her voice follows. I sometimes imagine that one day, she’ll speak to me, and a new voice will come out. One I’ve never heard before...

I know it’s not fair to put that dream on her, but the voice gets old.

The voice is my voice. The same voice as everyone: packaged up differently, in different people, but the same, nonetheless. Androgynous. Warm. Boring.

“Not much. Just grabbing a coffee then studying.” I smiled. “Usual.”

“I’d rather be studying than making coffee.” She turned her back to me to start making the latte, and asked: “You take two sugars, right?”

Except it could have been anyone asking. The person behind me. The ginger news reporter that came on the BBC every night at 6. Without her face, the voice bounced off the walls and echoed through my memories.

“Brown.”

She turned back around, grabbed two sachets, and smiled. It seemed like that was the default under any of her tiredness or frustration: her dark eyebrows lifted, everything seemed to open up.

Around us, in The Little Cafe, our voice clashed as people chatted at tables and in the queue. It was a small place, right on the main road, but I liked the kaleidoscope of vocabulary that fluttered throughout. Different languages, different registers. The melting pot of academics, students, and regulars felt like change.

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SHOWCASE Her voice may have been my voice, and my best friend’s voice, but I didn’t see them in her, which is what sometimes happens with these things, these infatuations. You like a girl and then all of a sudden you hear your mum talking to you- asking you to pick up your laundry, or you hear your ex stating matter-of-factly: “I just don’t love you, James.”

No, not here: not with Cat. Outside, I could hear the sun humming against the concrete. Unlike us, and our voices, which stayed the same no matter who spoke; the sun liked to change. On concrete, it was numbed and dull. On water, it crackled, like shattering glass. My favourite time to hear it was sunset: it was like you could hear it pulling away from you, the sound being sucked out of the sky.

It was a hot day, and I wanted to get back to the park- to the shade, under the pine tree. I liked to listen to the bristles; and the way they nudged against each other. They had their own euphony in the shuffle of the woods.

Cat turned back, takeaway latte in hand. I thought about asking her out to dinner. I thought about it.

“Oh well, enjoy the sunshine,” she said, casting a glance behind me to the queue. She handed me my drink. She looked bored of it all already- and let out a breath. “I’ll endure it.”

Her dark hair was falling out of the ponytail: wispy segments curled around her forehead. A long day for her, a lazy day for me.

I said: “You’ll be fine” She replied: “Ah, I know.”

In our exchanges, I knew I could not hear her – a voice that was distinctively hers- under the voice that belonged to both of us. But I heard something. The way her footsteps sounded on the hardwood of The Little Café as I walked away from her– the way her jewellery clinked against the coffee machine as she cleaned. I imagined the sun would sound differently, reverberating around her: like the hum was afraid to touch her, to hurt her.

I left, coffee in hand, thinking about the way her lips puckered when she said endure. Like she was kissing the air; like her skin was a blade of grass, reaching out to dance with the wind.

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CURRENT THREADS

Death of the Press: The mishandling of tragedy on the part of journalists, journalism and media outlets.

KIM MANNION Thousands of job cuts at mainstream media al media. Sadly, this does not always happen outlets. Social media sites on which anyone and there are notable examples of times when can be their own broadcaster. A president of the press have rubbed salt in the wounds of the USa who slurs ‘fake news’ at any report- victims rather than simply doing their job of er who might ask an uncomfortable question. reporting and informing on it. The Sun, for Threats and challenge clearly loom over the instance, is widely banned from being sold journalism industry, and as a cornerstone of across Liverpool after its scandalous reportdemocracy, it is vital that we protect it. But ing of the Hillsborough disaster as it implied what happens when it doesn’t protect itself? blame on to the implicated football supporters.

On August 12th, three people lost their lives Attempting to understand why people choose in the tragic derailment of a train near Stone- to buy publications which thrive on scanhaven in Aberdeenshire. Rather than thoughts dal and drama rather than facts and qualbeing with the families of the victims or the ity reporting is unhelpful. Consumers have injured, #BoycottTheSun trended on Twitter the right to choose any paper on the shelf. after The Scottish Sun ran the ridiculously Blaming those who purchase them reinsensitive headline ‘Death Express’, next to moves the responsibility of editorial deciwhich a picture of the train driver who per- sion-making from the publications themselves. ished in the disaster was printed. One newsagent in Stonehaven has already announced The relationship between reader and publicathat it will cease to stock the red top. The pa- tion as one of a consumer and product is likely per’s editor, Alan Muir, has since apologised. why editors feel the need to resort to scandal and dramatization. Tabloids focus more on profReporting tragedy in a responsible way is sure- it rather than the traditional civic role of media ly the least we can expect from our nation- in a democracy which is one of public service.

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CURRENT THREADS The Sun or The Scottish Sun would probably The details of many tragedies speak for themlikely categorise themselves as a newspaper selves and do not need to be dramatized with which appeals to and is relatable to ‘ordinary sensational headlines to attract readers. The people’. Most people would be able to find in derailment of a train in the Britain of today themselves some empathy from such a tragedy would certainly come under this category. which meant that three people did not return home from what should have been an ordinary day – that could have been any one of us. Further polarisation between the public and the There was no need for insensitive graphic re- mainstream media should really be avoided if porting. Equally, many will understand the fur- it wants to save itself. News can be consumed ther pain that such a crass headline must have in seconds via social media, and all for free. caused for the grieving families of the victims. Does the generation who can have anything at the click of a button, want to buy newspapers The public can see where a line has been and read quality reporting, or is there really crossed. Not all media has to be pure- nothing that cannot be obtained freely online? ly hard news, but news of serious subjects should not be produced for entertainment It’s wrong to believe journalism is dead. Nupurposes. Even in our 21 st century world ance is everywhere, and oversimplification is where everything exists for the enjoyment dangerous. In the ‘post-truth’ age where you of the consumer, the journalist’s role in in- can say whatever you like to fit the narrative, stances like these is not the entertainer. with no evidence, and not only get away with it but be rewarded for it with a position of power, The desensitisation debate is central to the a proper press is more important than ever. reporting of tragedy. Does the reader or viewer need to see spectacular images of warfare Analytical, truthful and investigative journalor gory images of human tragedy? Reporters ism must be protected for the future of the who have witnessed it will want the world to world’s democracies. The exploitation of orsee the horrors in order to understand, but if dinary people’s personal pain is not the way we are exposed to constant tragic images, it is to go about this. The Scottish Sun would no longer shocking and people can be desensi- do well to consider this if they don’t want tised. Do the perpetrators, for example - terror- to put themselves on a ‘Death Express’. ists, always deserve publicity for their cause?

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CURRENT THREADS

Cause I’m movin’ on up, you’re movin’ on out

Moving out, moving on and making noise. What you can expect to hear when you move to University.

HOLLY ELLIS It might be the first time you’ve lived with people other than your family. It might even be the first time you’ve lived in a big city. I won’t lie and say things are going to be quiet, living in a city comes with a lot of noise. I can’t pretend I don’t notice the traffic that runs down Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night. The noise makes me irrationally angry and yet I never once thought to buy earplugs. I can forego a little sleep if it means not missing out on the cinematic masterpiece that was the cheating fiance on the steps of the Smiths Hotel. Sometimes I get the urge to file a council complaint because the clientele keeps me awake all night. I don’t ever file anything. Why? Mostly because I realise that my flat hosting afters till 4am the night before probably kept the little old lady who lives above us awake for the same amount of time. I’m sorry Lee, I hope you’re a fan of Gaga. Moving away from home means more noise and that’s okay. It’ll take a little bit of adjustment but it’s worth it. See, when you live with people in close confines you get to know them really well. One of my flatmates used to be able to tell when everyone got home safe by the sound of their doors closing. This particular talent proved to be quite helpful on a Wednesday night after Sanctuary. My second-floor flat on the busiest street in Glasgow has become my home.

Queen Margaret. I got my own toilet, I like a sing-along shower. My flat gets to hear my bad singing now. It was somewhat quiet in my flat the most notable noise was the sound of my flatmate buzzing back in on a Thursday night after Hive. The noise meant she’d lost her keys again. It wasn’t annoying, it was just a reminder she’d had a good night. It’s a shame I didn’t keep in touch with my flat. It happens, you meet new people and move about across the four years. In general, though, noise is to be anticipated. Murano kids, I applaud you for your bravery. Someone I know used to call campus security when things got too loud, she looks back on it with regret now. Maybe it won’t quite be the same this year but take the opportunity to have fun before things get too serious.

Fast-forward to second year and it’s the sound of keys fumbling in the lock to the new flat because no one can quite work out how to open the door yet. It’s even more of a labyrinth when you’re drunk. You’ll consider yourself lucky to have any keys at all by the time you move out again. Three times a week you’ll be greeted by the sound of a takeaway being buzzed up and despite the regularity, no-one seems to understand whether its the red or the green button that opens the front door. You start going to the union for the first time; Rewind to the first year of uni. I ended up in if you’re an international student you wonder why

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CURRENT THREADS you can hear Scottish students singing Country Roads with such intense passion. You wonder if there will ever be a night where they choose to play something other than Losing It or Pump It Up in the Well. You begin to miss hearing it when you can’t go again and berate yourself for ever being annoyed. You walk back through the West End shouting after nights out, you pick up a cone because you think it would make the perfect addition to your dirty student kitchen. You wonder why everyone who lives in the West End has the shared experience of hearing seagulls at 4am. You’ll probably get pissed off at the five rugby boys doing pres upstairs again the night before a 9am.

You will also probably be somewhat amazed that their pres playlists are made up of mostly Ariana Grande songs. You know who you are, Arianators.

You hit third and fourth year. You stay in a little more often and start working harder. You actually attend lectures. You hear more people in the kitchen making it up in time for 9am’s. You also hear the sound of the blender whirring in the morning because half your flat has gotten into smoothies and breakfast bowls. You rush and try to find a seat at the library at 3pm knowing that you should’ve gone earlier. You stay late at the library, even level three begins to quieten down. You still get a shock when the library announcement sounds to remind you that the cafes are shutting soon, you run down and grab as many cookies as you can. You attend your first, second, third or fourth Daft Friday and wonder how you could possibly stay up till 8am.

You don’t make it to the end and instead, end up in A&E listening to the chatter of other injured people because your friend got a concussion. It’s loud and the lights are bright but it’s Christmas so you take a photo with the tree in the waiting

room. You hope that fourth year will promise a little peace and quiet so you can focus on your dissertation; you realise that probably won’t end up happening because you feel like your time at university is running out and you still want to make memories.

Your fingers are crossed for the next year. You hope to be able to make as much noise as everyone else has been able to. You can’t wait to hear your flatmate bothering the Uber driver again about how long they’ve been with Uber to mask the sound of the girls spewing in the backseat. The noises won’t bother you eventually. You’ll get used to it. They remind you that you live in an amazingly vibrant city and that your friends are having fun.

Some nights you’ll be kept up. Some nights you’ll crash before you have a chance to make it to your own bed. Moving out means change, it’ll always mean something new. The switch from a quiet farmhouse or suburban semi-detached or rented family space to a shared twelve-person kitchen will always be jarring, to say the least. Moving out is loud, and overwhelming but it is freeing. It’s an opportunity to be loud and expressive, and to stay up late chatting in the kitchen. Perhaps there will be a few raised voices and arguments along the way, and I can’t promise that it won’t be a little messy sometimes but by the time you hit the end of University, you won’t want to change any of it for the world.

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TRAVEL

Sound of my Italian Summer SUSANNA ZARLI When I landed in Italy in early July it was the first time visiting my home country since the start of 2020. The long lockdown months spent in Glasgow had made me yearn to return home a bit more than usual: overtaken by restlessness and anxiety from not knowing when I’d be allowed to travel again, I’d spent days and weeks fantasising about the familiar sights I’ve grown up around. Needless to say, despite the usual disorienting feelings that often accompany every trip home for me, I found myself immediately wrapped up in the warm familiarity at the sight of the ornate and regal early 1900s palaces of the Turin City centre or, on a clear enough day, the beloved silhouette of the Alps cutting through the fog at the horizon. They represented everything I’d missed during that long period of longing and uncertainty, and I immediately made a mental note to treasure them for as long as I could. But to my surprise, the longer my stay in Italy continued, the more I found myself noticing all the different sounds and noises that dictated the rhythm of my daily life as well.

ing clattering of cowbells from the nearby farm, occasionally broken only by the passing of a train on the rail tracks behind my house. These immediately registered for me as the sounds of early mornings before school and late sleepless nights spent reading during my teenage years: the sounds of the Piedmontese province in all its serenity, which a younger version of me would often associate with an oppressive sense of dullness.

Halfway through July, I spent a few days visiting my grandma in Turin in the sixth floor apartment that once belonged to my parents, and in which I spent my early years of life. From my first night there, I immediately let myself float in the familiar sounds that one can only find in a big city, and that are, to me, deeply rooted in the realm of my childhood memories. From the frequent cars hurrying down busy streets to distant sirens demanding urgent attention, to the corner shop downstairs shutting and opening its heavy iron gates, these noises that are so deeply connected with the frenzy and business of urban lifestyles were easily the most calming for me. As they reminded me of the city’s chaos still living on even after dark, they allowed me to sink into a peaceful state of awareness that I was just one of the thousands of bodies in thousands of buildings that crowded the streets of my hometown.

There’s something extremely reassuring in feeling small in a big, always loud, always lively place.

Being usually more focused on visuals, I was pleasantly surprised by discovering how alert I was while rediscovering the way Italy sounds. I perceive sounds as the most intimate and subjective part of the experience that is visiting somewhere, and the most difficult to replicate even in words or thoughts once one leaves. For this reasons some of the noises that caught my attention tugged at my heartstrings in a particular way: for example, the quiet provincial village where my family lives Then came the sounds of holidays, as I visited was all chattering neighbours mixed with the lull- friends in their own hometowns in different re-

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TRAVEL gions. These were all different and yet all similar in the way they enhanced my excitement at discovering a new town, a new street, a new beach. For example, the cheery multilingual voices of innumerable tourists in a small, rocky beach in Liguria perfectly accompanied the sight of the clearest, sharpest blue sea I’d ever seen in my life; and the unfamiliar way the Southern cadence wrapped around the Benevento dialect was a thrilling experience all of its own, reminding me of my country’s never-ending cultural richness.

has cars and sirens and shop and uncountable different languages, dialects and slangs and yet they stir in me a much different sense of familiarity than those of Turin, and a different thrill from the tourists in Liguria, and again a different kind of calm from the sometimes unbearable quiet of my village. The biggest advice I can find in me at the moment for any traveler, including myself from now on, is inevitably to collect and make treasure of all the different noises you hear in a new place: even just the passing of a car will feel different to you from the same sound in your homeAs I write this in my Glasgow flat, still struggling town if you pay it enough attention. to rid myself of that giddy holiday mood that’s always quite hard to shake until a few days after one’s return, I think back to all the different sounds that guided my day: this one city, too,

Sounds of Silence FRANCISCA MATIAS The Sound of Silence - Modern life seems full of noise, and travel can be an excellent way of escape. Write about a trip that helped you cut out the noise, whether it was a retreat, a road trip or something different!

co-pilot). As corona came to Portugal, so did I! (Side comment: speaking of noise, the airports were FULL when I left in March yet no one was speaking to each other which was probably the weirdest experience I’ve had flying). Continuing... I hadn’t been home with the thought of a Ah road trips!!! Being from Portugal, I’ve always long-term stay in three years, which was a scary dreamt of travelling down the Portuguese South- thought, yet comforting at the same time. Seeing western coast. It’s that kind of trip you do with my high school friends and my family was defiyour friends when all of you pass your driver’s nitely a positive expectation. license (or at least one of you while the others

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TRAVEL So yes, fast forward to late May, when classes were completely done, apart from bits and pieces of the latest edition of the G-You Magazine ‘Up in the Air’. One of my bestest friends, Sara, who stayed in Portugal for uni studying Economics (random fast fact), asked if I wanted to join her and her uni friends in going down the coast. This trip was always something we’ve spoken about doing together since we had finished high school so I said I DO. Not knowing the people that were going was a little nerve-wrecking, especially for my anxiety-amused self, BUT knowing my friend Sara: she would only be with revitalizing people.

After a massive quarantine, I mean massive in all ways possible, it was time for me to turn off from my, let’s say, “Glasgow duties” and “family duties”, and tune in with the ocean, friends and the book Half of a Yellow Sun (which I highly recommend btw). We stayed in three different AirBnB’s along the way which I recommend if you do this trip because 1) it saves you from moving every day to a new place which wastes so much precious beach time and 2) if you’re a big enough group like us (8-9 people) time to do things takes foreeeeever!! Other than that our plans were to wake up with at least 5-6h of sleep (great, young-adult standards we know), eat, beach, dine and drink wine! Jk, that was just for the rhyme. We didn’t actually drink much wine, we drank Super Bock (the most wonderful Portuguese beer [lots of it]) and home-made Sangria!

And that was it. It was ‘simple stupid’ as one of my 6th grade teachers would say. It was beautiful and silent.

The sunsets, sunrises, the conversations, and friendships that made the trip what it was, pro-

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vided all the noise I needed, and little did I know how much I needed it. There were two memorable moments, one when we were on our second beach day and all I remember was listening to the ocean with my book in my hand and feeling this immense feeling of happiness like nothing else mattered; the other time was when we were in the car listening to Father John Misty’s ‘Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)’ on our way to the beach after an intense drinking and fun night, again the same feeling of happiness which I hadn’t felt in a VERY long time. I really cannot explain the various ways this road trip healed me.

I hadn’t properly slowed down for three freaking years (the rhythm at which I usually live is considered crazy for many) and before the trip, quarantine had helped me see a lot of things in hindsight.

Going down the coast was definitely a sound filter that I desperately needed and yet I hadn’t realised it until I was in it. Even the music playlists we listened to during the trip reflected a part of me that was way deep under my skin, yet I had lost the will and way to listen to it these past three years. The people which I didn’t know are now friends who I know I can count on for life. My friend Sara is my sister from another mister. And the Portuguese Southwestern coast will forever be my refuge, my home and have a place in my heart.

LIFESTYLE

Quakers Do it in Silence GWENDOLINE DA SOUSA CORREA I love noise. Like, really bloody love noise. My main hobbies include public speaking and music, activities defined by their noise. And yet, as much as I love that noise, I have spent my life as a Quaker, worshiping in the silence.

The silence is magical. Once all the talking, music, hustle, and bustle stop, all that is left is a peaceful bliss that puts me far more in touch with myself then any amount of talking about myself ever has.

A Quaker meeting is set out with chairs in a circle around a central table with flowers and religious texts for people to look at during the meeting. We sit in silence, not praying, but waiting for that of God within us to speak. Quakers don’t typically externalise their God. They/it is simply a concept to describe that voice within us that guides us through life’s trials and tribulations. Some people don’t even say God, they just talk about the goodness and light guiding us from within. The whole idea is just to observe and question our world and thoughts with what we trust is good.

It’s a wonderful feeling. Just to let go, to stop trying to solve everything, and just let your mind wander through whatever it wants to. Just letting go and accepting your thoughts and feelings.

And all ideas, actions, and convictions are considered equal within Quakerism. No one person out-ranks someone else and no meeting or contribution is more important. We have no priests or clergy. There is no set belief system. So much

so that Quakers in Britain are a religious charity rather than a church as it is totally up to you how you interpret the silence. Traditionally we don’t pray but if someone were to come along and pray within the silence there would be no problem with that. We have no festivals or set day of worship as no day can be more sacred than another. Weddings are just normal meetings. And as no one is more or less important, everyone in attendance signs the wedding certificate as a witness. The silence is a truly equalising force, allowing us to experience our own version of faith, together.

Now, Quaker silence isn’t quiet. I know, the whole thing is an oxymoron. We sit in silence and, if we feel moved by the spirit or conviction of feeling, we share. We stand up and give our ministry to our fellow worshipers. And with no hierarchy in sight, absolutely anyone can share.

The whole idea is very alien for most people who haven’t experienced it. That you are in a room full of people, you stand up and you can say anything that has been on your mind, and then sit back down and the silence continues. It’s insanely nerve-wracking and, despite having spent my life familiar with the concept, getting no feedback to your contribution is odd. But the freedom? Now that is liberating. The rest of the meeting don’t have to understand, they don’t even have to try and help, but if you feel it keenly enough and feel moved to share, they will listen.

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LIFESTYLE

Quarantine and Sex: a survey BETH LEISHMAN Several months ago, in the depths of Lockdown, we released an anonymous survey to get real student responses about their experiences of love and dating in the age of Covid - and boy, did they deliver. With over 100 responses across 8 weeks and a broad range of sexualities and gender identities represented, the results are finally in!

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LIFESTYLE THE RESPONDENTS Out of our 112 respondents, 73 identified as Female, 33 Male, and 6 as Non-Binary/Agender. The majority of students surveyed described themselves as Heterosexual (63%), whilst the remainder split between Bisexual (20%), Homosexual (12%) and Other (5%). There was pretty much an even split between singletons (45%) and those in relationships (46%), however ten students (9%) opted for ‘Other’, offering explanations such as ‘Seeing someone, but not officially together’; ‘At the cusp of a relationship’; ‘In a polyamorous relationship’; or just ‘shaggin’. Who said romance was dead?

SEX DRIVE A whopping 46% of respondents reported their sex drive to be higher than usual during the lockdown measures which is unsurprising given that only 15% of students who took part in the survey were quarantined with a romantic partner and therefore able to enjoy regular sex. For many, especially those separated from their partners, the time apart has proved very difficult: ‘I’m dying, I miss them so much’; ‘My boyfriend is in lockdown with his flatmate and I’ve had to move home from Uni’; ‘Feels like my virginity has reformed’; ‘I think I’ve reverted to being a virgin again after 7 or 8 weeks without sex’. However, for some long-distance couples who are no strangers to time apart, lockdown has not presented such a challenge, with one respondent explaining: ‘We’ve discussed how it almost feels like the stresses of a long distance relationship have lessened because it is not our responsibility to rearrange our plans to travel to one another.

There is no worry of financial loss, ignoring workloads or missing social events to travel to see each other because there is no option to. We’re far more prepared than the average couple to deal with this.’

SEX TOYS For many students, the inability to hook up and intense boredom accompanying lockdown have motivated them to explore their own sexuality, with 38% of respondents admitting they are masturbating more than they normally would and half of those surveyed answered yes to using sex toys for solo-sex. One student revealed: ‘My sex drive is higher than usual, so felt now was a better time than any to buy a vibrator/satisfier. I’d previously been too nervous/conscious about masturbating but since being in lockdown I’ve thought about it a lot and decided to experiment’. Another re-

ported a similar experience: ‘I’ve not really felt the urge to masturbate before lockdown, never wanted to touch myself until I got into a relationship and had first sexual experiences. I’ve loved getting to know myself better!’ This is in-keeping with national and global statistics revealing a marked increase in sales of sex toys under lockdown with Business Insider reporting a 126% sales increase amongst UK online shoppers in April. Another student divulged: ‘I’ve gotten to know my vibrator VERY well and have gone through 3 sets of batteries for it. I’m definitely dependent on others for physical contact comfort wise but not necessarily sexually.’ Unfortunately though, a few unlucky respondents have had to go without based on their living conditions: ‘I want to buy one but I don’t want the people I live with seeing I’ve bought one’ and ‘I went back to my parents’ house and left mine in Glasgow! So have had to go without lol’. The pressures of Lockdown have also caused some to experience less pleasure from masturbation: ‘Only sad wanks, not enjoyable ones’; ‘I feel like masturbation before lockdown was something fun and I’d do it fairly regularly, but now it feels like a chore. If I don’t do it I can’t sleep and it just reminds me that I won’t be seeing my boyfriend for another couple of months’.

LET’S GET KINKY Quite a common trend among respondents was that lockdown has piqued their interest in trying new kinds of sex. Several students have attempted phone sex but with mixed results: ‘We have had Skype sex but it is difficult when we’re both living in our family homes that don’t allow for much privacy’; ‘A week before lockdown a friend and I discovered we had feelings for each other and spent a night together. We spent a week in normal contact, dating normally, but since lockdown we’ve talked for hours every day. Our sexting is the best sex I’ve ever had’. For one student, time apart from their sexual partner has ignited their interest in new kinks: ‘Since being separated from my boyfriend during lockdown we’ve solidified interest in group sex and threesome scenarios that we’d only toyed with before, and I’ve ordered a vibrator/ new lingerie, so I guess you could say missing out on regular sex has made us value intimacy in our relationship more? As we’re more eager to experiment with shared experiences that’ll be exciting and fulfilling as a couple’. And to whoever wrote, ‘GOING TO TRY ANAL LOL’, we wish you all the best.

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