Impact Magazine Issue 249 by Impact Magazine

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Letter from the PRINT EDITOR

t’s getting to that time of year when everyone is starting to ask the important questions.

First years are asking themselves: Am I getting better at remembering to wash my pants? Am I ready to stop feeling guilty about skipping lectures? What is it about Pryzm that makes it the best nightclub in the world? Second years are asking themselves: Should I be working harder now that this year counts towards my degree? How on Earth do I still have freshers’ flu when I’m not a fresher anymore? Can I cope the entire year living with that annoying housemate who I accidentally agreed to live with last Christmas?

Third years are asking themselves: WHAT am I doing with my life? What AM I doing with my life? What am I doing WITH my life? What am I doing with my LIFE? (This might just be me.) Postgraduate students are asking more difficult and intellectually challenging questions and then attempting to answer them with research and academic rigour. Questions like, ‘how long can I put off getting a job for?’

While we are split into our relevant tribes, in this world of turmoil we must remember: there is more that unites us than divides us. The common strands of thought, the problems that every last one of us face as a student at The University of Nottingham. The questions on everybody’s lips.

Questions like: Has Andy Hoe ever taken his shirt off during Baywatch? Can we ever stop those pesky Apprentice-candidate rip-off merchant wannabe entrepreneurs on the Buy/Sell page? What would happen if Lord Byron and Percy Shelley went for coffee? How much does it cost to join the Mahjong society? What is the Mahjong society? How does a glider fly when it doesn’t have an engine and can’t flap its wings? What happens when you wear pink hot pants in Peru? Are boys weird and creepy on tinder? (spoiler alert: yes.) Why has the Print Editor written this when it’s normally the Editor-in-Chief?

Luckily for the students of the University of Nottingham, this magazine contains the answers to all these questions*. And if this has fallen into the hands of someone from Trent, luckily for them there are some nice pictures with lots of colours!

So read on, learn new things and do your best to be distracted from the existential dread of what to do with the rest of your life.

Ben Baruch

*Except for why this is not being written by the Editor-in-Chief. We’re trying something different. If you don’t try it, you’ll never know. You might even like it. I’ll stop now.

INTRO

CONTENTS Features SOLD! £50 for a Crisis ticket The Anatomy of a Student Long Distance Blues and How to Beat Them You’re Welcome

24 Hours on Tinder The Neptune of Nottingham

04 08 09 10

12 14

Lifestyle Perusing through the Summer From Iran to the UK Monotone Photoshoot Rhys’s Pieces of Lifestyle Advice Herbs for the Heart Nottingham’s Science B reakthroughs How Soon Is Now?: A Dystopian Present Discovering the Discovery Building

16 18 20 24 26 28 30 32

Entertainment A Long Way from Mickey Mouse The Romantics Go for Coffee Market Square, aka the centre of the universe From the Console to the Big Screen The Gaming Societies of UoN The Art of the Music Video

34 36 38 39 40 42

Extras #homeawayfromhome Puzzles And Games

Sport For Sorrow and for Joy Replacing Federer with… Federer? IM Like a Bird Waving the flag, for Flag The Affordability of Sport + Fitness at UoN

48 50 52 54 56

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Impact investigates the issue of reselling club tickets for very high prices.

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Ben Baruch, Impact’s Print Editor, devised a cunning plan to see just how much money somebody could get from selling a ticket. The plan was simple enough. I, or someone who felt devious enough, would write on the group that they had a Crisis ticket for sale and see quite how much the most desperate punter was willing to pay for it. This ingenious trap was ready to be sprung, with only one glaring flaw: I forgot to do it. So much for responsibilities. Sorry Ben! However, there was always Ocean. I have to admit, I’m not the biggest fan. The cheesy music, sticky floors and the fact that you can’t pay by card make those long queues for Crisis seem like they are worth it. Nonetheless, I did have a ticket which I was intending on using. The idea was to make a post about selling a ticket during pre-drinks. I thought that with a bit of alcohol in my system I would be more adventurous in my asking prices. Safe to say, though, that the alcohol got the better of me and no post was made. My career as an investigative journalist wasn’t looking too distinguished after this. After my failed attempts, I decided to go old school, and just contact people on Facebook who had posted on the page. From the responses that I received, many students told me that they sell and buy tickets at face value. However, this was mostly to their friends. For those unlucky few whose friends either don’t like them, or simply don’t have Crisis tickets, the consensus was that you were expected to pay some extra pounds.

“The group was created with the intention for students to help each other, not to make business.” Buying tickets on FIXR, depending on the night, timing and whether you are buying VIP, can cost you anything from £6 to £10.75. Impact talked to a student who said that they were “getting offered extortionate sums” for a Crisis ticket. That “extortionate” amount was £17.

£17 for a Crisis ticket is a lot of money, but compared to other stories that I have heard, it does not seem too bad. One student told Impact that someone tried to charge them £30 for a ticket, while Rebecca told Impact that she has “seen Ocean tickets for £30, and Crisis tickets going for £50 in the past”. She goes on to say that generally “[f]or the big nights, Ocean tickets go for £9 [and] Crisis tickets go for £12”. If people are willing to pay for an increased price ticket, however, and at times even offer a large amount themselves, is there really an issue with reselling tickets at higher prices? According to Rebecca, there are three big problems with this. “Tickets are not allowed to be resold in the first place,” Rebecca informs me. “No one is allowed to make money on them as they are the club’s property. The only thing they are legally allowed to do is ‘exchange’ a ticket for the amount it was bought”. Secondly, Rebecca argues that the group was created with the intention for students to help each other, not to make business. The third argument she makes is that a “bitter student community” is created “when some students just rip others off”. The next step in the investigation was to contact Crisis, for what is an article about reselling club tickets if I did not get into contact with the representatives of Nottngham’s biggest student night? I got in touch with Andrew Smith, the Managing Director at Carpe Noctum. Carpe Noctum is an events company, and one of its trademark brands includes Crisis. Andrew told Impact that, for years, they “prohibited the resale of tickets as part of [their] terms and conditions, primarily because [they] couldn’t guarantee a reproduced ticket would be of sufficient quality”. He does admit, though, that they could not ignore the issue of reselling tickets forever. Thus, they partnered with FIXR as their ticketing partner, which “allowed transferring tickets through their app”. Asked what their current position on reselling tickets was, Andrew said that “you can resell, so long as it’s via FIXR”.

Yet reselling tickets doesn’t seem to be the issue. The problem comes from people doing it for profit. “By buying overpriced tickets you do fuel the market itself”, Andrew suggests.

“Students will be able to report ticket holders who are reselling any ticket, for any of our events, for more than 20% of its original face value.” So, what is being done to tackle the issue? Rebecca told Impact that an app is being developed that “will replace the group”. The app will “allow students to easily access what they are looking for, and easily report individuals who are misusing the app and selling tickets at extortionate prices”. There will be a rating system put in place and “individuals with low ratings and many complaints risk facing a permanent ban from the app”. The app, which was originally slated to be out in February, should be out sometime in the next few months. According to Andrew, Crisis is also taking steps in regard to this issue. On Monday 23rd October, Crisis will have “introduce[d] a reporting feature on the website, whereby students will be able to report ticket holders who are reselling any ticket, for any of our events, for more than 20% of its original face value. Anyone reported will then have their tickets cancelled, money refunded and their tickets will be put back on general sale”. He said that they would also be “appealing to the buy/sell ticket page organisers on Facebook to assist [them] in raising awareness of this new feature”. Frenie Hilado, a second-year International Media and Communication student, told Impact: “After hearing this, buying a resold ticket never sounded more appealing”.

FEATURES

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OPERATION:

UNIVERSITY EDITION BRAIN:

Consists of trying to figure out what the heck the lecturer is talking about, which noughties hits they’re going to play at Ocean this Friday and attempting to calculate just how much debt they’re going to be in by the time they actually finish their degree.

MOUTH:

The student’s mouth has perfected what is commonly known as ‘Bullshitting’: slow, condescending tones punctuated with occasional philosophical comments whilst nodding along to a PhD student.

LUNGS:

They too contribute to the chorus of coughs that drives the lecturer crazy. This one actually isn’t ‘The Student’s’ fault, it’s all that Fresher’s Flu, like Christmas, is certain to come around once a year.

LIVER:

‘The Student’ takes advantage of this vital trooper. We’re surprised that they’re still functioning at all considering all those tequila shots that have been downed at The Bodega of late. Go home and drink some water.

EARS:

The student takes in very little of its surrounding stimuli. It’s more concerned with shimmying along to Lana Del Rey’s latest hit in an attempt to drown out impending deadlines.

HEART:

Suffers palpitattions at pre’s when Psycho Killer comes on or when they make eye contact with that cutie in the lectures. *Sigh*

STOMACH:

The student’s stomach is the gastric equivalent of Bear Grylls. The thing has managed to process day after day of packet noodles, not to mention all the processed McDonald’s and questionable kebab meat from nights out.

Esther Kearney Impact presents the anatomy of a Nottingham student

FEATURES

LONG DISTANCE BLUES + HOW TO BEAT THEM Chloe Erin Top tips for star-crossed lovers So, you’ve moved to uni, or you’re back for another year of fun and frolics. All around you, relationships are dropping like flies; couples breaking up because the miles between them are just too much. However, have no fear! According to one 2015 study, those in long distance relationships can be just as emotionally fulfilled, if not more so, than people who are lucky enough to live close to their partner. It’s hard, and if you’re like me, you’ll have spent many a night crying into a dessert. Having collated the tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years, I present to you my survival guide for keeping the love in long distance.

1. COMMUNICATION

3. SNAIL MAIL + “DATES”

I cannot stress this enough; if you don’t set aside time to talk to each other, things go downhill fast. We all have our own lives, schedules and various commitments, but thanks to the glorious technological advances of the last 10 years, it is ridiculously easy to communicate regardless of geographical location. Texting, phone calls, FaceTime, Skype – you can have your partner’s face in the palm of your hand, and telling them all about your day makes it that little bit easier to be apart.

Let’s face it, we all like getting things in the post. Buying something from Amazon is like a surprise present from yourself. Get your paper out and write something from the heart – it’s less than a pound for a stamp, and putting a smile on their face is priceless. If love letters aren’t your forte, try making them a care package - little things like their favourite sweets, a playlist of cheesy songs, cosy socks to keep their feet warm when you aren’t there to be a personal radiator.

If, like me, you struggle with your mental health, long distance can be even harder. When I’m stuck in a week-long depressive episode, or I’m having anxiety-fuelled thoughts, the fact that I don’t have my girlfriend physically there to reassure me can make things much worse. However, it’s important to remember that your partner is not a mind-reader: if you are unhappy or feel like your needs aren’t being met, the quickest way to solve this is to be honest with them. A conversation about what is worrying you will bring the two of you closer and make both of you happier in the long run.

2. VISITS Counting down the days (hours, minutes…) to seeing your significant other is the best part of long distance; knowing that soon you’ll be spending some quality time with your favourite person makes it all worthwhile. Talk to your partner about when they’re next free for a visit – get your diaries out and get your trains booked. It can be ridiculously expensive to travel, particularly if you’re in different countries or even continents. Book as far in advance as possible to nab the cheapest fares - and a 16-25 Railcard will slash a third off your expensive tickets. If you prefer National Express (and hey, it’s cheap and cheerful) they offer “funfares”: non-refundable, non-amendable tickets, but for a fraction of the price.

“Buying something from Amazon is like a surprise present from yourself.”

Another way to keep things happy is to schedule occasional “dates” – a few hours devoted solely to each other. My current favourite date is watching an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine with my partner using the genius website www.rabb.it. You can video call and watch whatever your heart desires simultaneously – get the popcorn out, snuggle down and enjoy Netflix and chill from afar. Of course, everyone’s relationship is different, and you’ll know what works for you and what doesn’t – be open, honest and, most of all, enjoy being in love. Spend time with friends and family, keep yourself busy and take care of yourself. Though there are many naysayers, it is genuinely possible to make the distance work, so keep going.

IMPACT

YOU’RE WELCOME Maddie De Soyza An insight at how Welcome Week looks from the view of the Mentors, the guardian angels of your arrival at university Welcome Week. The new, slightly more positively-connoted name for what most people remember as Freshers’ Week. Well, I say we remember it; for whatever alcohol-induced reasons, that probably isn’t the case for some of us. But there is one thing we can all agree on: whatever you want to call it, the week at the beginning of your first autumn semester might just be the most intense week anyone could experience. And that’s just for the Welcome Mentors. Armed with pink t-shirts, emergency vom bags and an almost superhuman level of sleep-deprivation, we lined the streets of Nottingham night after night during Welcome Week, our main aim that of preventing very bevved eighteen-year-olds from running out into the road. I had never considered a career as a

“There is a real sadness and feeling of emptiness at the end of the week when you realise it is no longer socially acceptable to wear a pink t-shirt every day.”

lollipop-woman before Welcome Week, or marvelled so much at the incapacity of drunk people to comprehend the colours of traffic lights. It was an eye-opener, to say the least. Though for me, the week wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. Being part of the Welcome family was, for the most part, so much fun. Contrary to the belief of many first-years (“Why on earth are you doing this if you don’t even get paid?”), I actually gained a great deal from the experience, including some amazing new friends and hilarious memories. Below are some stories from my fellow mentors, who I’m sure would agree that the week was one to remember, even if the most prevalent memory is that of new students aggressively chanting ‘you can shove your pink t-shirt up your arse’. Ah, mems.

FEATURES

SEAN / LEAD MENTOR / BROADGATE PARK “Welcome Week was tough to say the least but so so worth it! The late nights followed by early mornings really took it out of me, but when I got to see the new students having a fab time it made it all worth it, particularly when I saw their gratitude. “I also got so much out of Welcome Week myself. I remember feeling quite out of place on the first day of training, but as the week went on it began to feel like we had all known each other for ages. “Lots of the time I found myself getting along with people I would never have usually spoken to. I definitely saw myself develop as a person. I still miss the Welcome family!” CAT / MENTOR / RUTLAND HALL “What a week! Despite the general confusion as to why we would volunteer for this role, being a Welcome Mentor was an incredible experience. Showing the new students to their rooms on move-in day was surreal to say the least, especially when I moved a student into a room which had been mine only three months before! “My highlight of the week was making it onto Greg James’ Snapchat Story doing the Welcome Dance to ‘Came Here for Love’. There is a real sadness and feeling of emptiness at the end of the week when you realise that Welcome is over and it is no longer socially acceptable to wear a pink t-shirt every day. “The trips to QMC, the sleep deprivation and endless vomit was definitely worth it for a lifetime worth of laughs and memories.” NATHAN / MENTOR/ LENTON AND WORTLEY HALL “Being a welcome mentor can probably be summed up by saying it is as rewarding as it is tiring. The most challenging aspects for me seemed to occur when helping at the club nights, the most serious of which was when a new student

“I don’t think many people realise that Welcome Committee are recruited in January and plan the whole of Welcome alongside the SU.”

was removed from the club and had to be guided onto the bus I was on. “He was extremely agitated the entire journey and kept trying to leave the bus. Trying to keep him calm was all the more tricky as it was 2am and he was pretty drunk, meaning our conversation was going in circles. However, the gratitude from the people on the bus and, later, the boy himself was one of the best things about the whole experience and helped answer the frequent question we all found ourselves asking: why are we doing this?” CHARLIE / LEAD MENTOR / DERBY HALL “Welcome 2017 was my second time taking part in the Welcome programme, and I loved being the lead mentor for Derby Hall. Meeting loads of new people was the best aspect for me, including getting to know my team and hearing their funny stories from their first year in halls, as well as chatting to the new students and (hopefully) reassuring them on their moving-in day! “Getting to attend all the Welcome Week events was also an added bonus, as well as munching on the free pizza and milkshakes and getting to watch Greg James do a DJ set in Ocean. I would definitely recommend taking part in the programme to other students; it’s such a laugh and a positive atmosphere is kept up the entire week. It’s an amazing way to start the year!”

Impact also spoke to Zoe, a member of the Welcome Committee, without whom the Welcome Programme would not exist.

Working tirelessly for months on end, the Committee helped organise events, train Mentors, and generally look after the thousands of new students coming to the University of Nottingham in 2017. I thought I was sleep-deprived; these guys were on another level of tiredness, and yet still managed to keep a smile on their faces. ZOE / WELCOME COMMITTEE: WELFARE COORDINATOR “Being on Welcome Committee this year has been an amazing experience. It’s impossible to sum up how crazy, fun, intense and incredible the whole experience has been! “I don’t think many people realise that Welcome Committee are recruited in January and plan the whole of Welcome alongside the SU, as well as running everything during Welcome Week itself. Welcome Week is a very stressful week with quite a few challenges. One of the things I found hardest was balancing a lack of sleep with dealing with situations, like ordering 1500 cookies for mentors to give out, only to realise only half of the cookies had been delivered! “My favourite moment from the week was being in Ocean while Greg James was performing. He was playing ‘Came Here For Love’ and all the mentors were lining the balcony doing the dance we had choreographed to it. It’s a memory I will cherish forever! The whole experience has taught me so much and the amazing friendships I’ve made in the Welcome family made it all worth it.”

IMPACT

24 HOURS ON TINDER

The ladies of Impact Features got the flint and firesteel out, sat back and watched the sparks fly

Lucy Robinson “‘Roses are red, so are your lips, sit on my face and wiggle your hips’ “As ludicrous as it sounds, this was what I had been waiting for. Amongst all the “hello”s and “how are you”s, this was undeniably the moment that I had somehow longed for. Call me narrow-minded, but this was what I thought tinder was all about. Surely, everyone on it was just as creepy and borderline perverted as this, right?

“Wrong. Of course, there were countless guys brandishing six packs on their profile pics, sending vulgar chat up lines and throwing around the ‘I’m over 6ft’ topic left, right and centre as if this was the key to my heart. “However, despite all this, there were actually guys with actual substance. People with some sense of normality, who used their bios to show off their wit rather than their lad values, could make small talk without any use of an innuendo and who managed to refrain from telling me all about their love of Jaeger and weed. Amazing. “Maybe if I let these conversations progress their sexual nature would heighten, but for now I’ll take my gif exchanges and cheesy chat up lines and call it a day and leave with my innocence, if maybe ignorance, intact.”

Jo Ralphs “I set up my profile on tinder with the absolute basics – a photo, my uni and nothing else. After swiping until I ran out of likes I had 51 matches; I could be pretty sure none of these matches were interested in my personality. “After a day of letting messages roll in, I sat down, boyfriend nearby for moral support, and opened them up. The men of tinder did not disappoint. The very first message was “Are you a cigarette? Because I’d love to put your butt in my mouth”. I was charmed. Other memorable opening lines include “My ex was called Jo so this should be an easy transition”, “I may not go down in history but I’ll go down on you” and “Well Jo I’m here. What were your other two wishes?”. Wow. “I did get quite a lot of “Hey x”, so if you’re using tinder to actually chat people up that’s probably not the way to go. “The best message I got? A cheeky gif. Simple, classic, elegant.”

Lucy

FEATURES

Hollie Freeman

Emma Heasman

“As I watched Tinder download slowly onto my phone, I felt slightly dirty as a new user, and I braced myself as I dived into the world online dating.

“Bio: Essex/Notts. Part time Midget, Full time Rocket. “After several swipes past topless males, ‘gap yahhh bio’s’ and the ever-present dog filters, I came to one conclusion: Tinder is full of two types of ‘lads’, as presented, The ‘F*** boy’ and the ‘The Creepy settle-downers.’ 1. ‘I thought I would start by saying I’m 6ft 9 inches, and yes, that is two separate measurements ;)’ After declining John’s generous offer and advising him that that’s not the way to a girl’s heart, he further told me that I wouldn’t be able to take 9 inches anyway and unmatched me. 2. ‘How are we going to tell our kids we met on tinder.’ No thank you James. Just no. Thanks. After 24 hours of Tinder it was clear to see that there are many eager people, some downright creepy, but the majority, obviously lurking around to see if they can catch their next one-night stand. In my opinion Tinder is great for a laugh, and as long as you don’t take it too seriously it’s an eventful experience. However, if you’re seriously into the dating game or a very sensitive person, I would 100% NOT recommend.

“My bio was simply ‘send me your best chat up lines’ and I eagerly awaited the responses. ‘I’ve lost my teddy, will you sleep with me instead?’ was a personal favourite of mine, and one of the first replies I received.

Hollie

“As someone whose chat up lines are pretty lacklustre in life I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to fine-tune my skills. I sent a cheeky few, such as ‘are you from Tennessee, ‘cause you’re the only ten I see,’ and ‘if you were a fruit, you’d be a fineapple.’ My fear felt misplaced as most of the people I chatted with were polite and interested. A gif into my inbox was always great, a waving bear and fried egg dancing made it less sinister and a cool, modern way of chatting.

“The originality of some users was great, and particularly their poetic talents: ‘roses are red, violets are blue, I’m bad at introductions, how are you?’. Similarly, but perhaps more worrying, was an introductory message of ‘roses are red, violets are blue, I’ve learnt that you have to be open to get in my van, or I’ll kill you. The fun gifs, receiving anything from graphic sexts, to reactions of smiley faces and love hearts all cheesy pick-up lines and verbal abuse when over the screen with an influx of cheesy chat you turn down their sexual requests and up lines was great. I really enjoyed my time bruised egos. You can attempt to mentally Shanai Momi on Tinder; will I delete the app? prepare yourself but it seems like Tinder Who knows…?” boys will always throw in some surprises.” “You’re waiting around for your late friend or have a few moments to spare between lectures. What do you do? Tinder, of course.

I’ve definitely swiped left on a fair few people but it’s the funny and slightly eccentric bios that are sure to grab my attention. Most recently one match was with Alex* whose bio read, ‘I live with my grandparents. Yes, I know I’m 25. But that will hopefully change soon’. It was clear that Alex had a witty dark sense of humour and had probably generated a host of stories being a young person living with their grandparents!

Emm

“His chat up line wasn’t too bad either, ‘Would you like a cringy chat up line or can I just have your number?’. Slightly forward, and I sometimes enjoy a cheesy chat up line, but the confidence was good. Why not skip the awkwardness and cut to the chase?”

n Sha

IMPACT

THE NEP UNE OF NOTTINGHAM Jennifer Peck An interview with Nottingham’s very own God of the Ocean If you attend the University of Nottingham it is inevitable, and probably essential, that you know who Andy Hoe is. An inspiration to Nottingham students past and present, Andy Hoe is the boss of Ocean, and we love him for it! Working alongside his amazing team, he has made his club into a pivotal part of Nottingham’s student culture. Impact gives you the answers to the questions we’ve all been wondering; an inside exclusive on the man we all love (and admittedly fan-girl over whenever we see him outside Ocean on a Friday night). How long have you been the owner of Ocean? “I’ve been running the Friday night there as a promoter for the last 15 years, and I took over ownership almost 10 years ago.... seems like a lifetime now! “I’ve seen so many students come and go, 2 or 3 siblings from some families even. The last few years, through Facebook, I’m seeing LOTS of the old

faces getting married, having babies etc....many of whom actually met in Ocean. It brings a smile to my face every time; bizarrely I remember lots of names/faces from the last 15 years!” What did you want to be when you were younger? “I actually trained as a chef for a while, and had ideas about having my own restaurant. But I was always into music and got a job working as a DJ in 1989 and sacked off the chef idea as DJ’ing paid better! Believe it or not the DJ job was at the very same club which is now Ocean, it was called MGM back then.” Who makes the legendary Ocean playlists? “I am pretty much responsible for the shameful playlist, and I can only apologise. My partner in crime Steve (Vimto) I guess is equally responsible as he has DJ’d at Ocean since I took the Friday night there. I have actually worked with him for the last 20 years or so. So, we’re both to blame.”

Has there ever been a time when you wanted to move on from owning Ocean? “I can’t see me ever moving on from owning it completely, it’s become a huge part of my life over the last 15 years, and will be until the building falls down!

“I am pretty much responsible for the shameful playlists, and I can only apologise.”

“I worked very hard to make it what it is, and I’m extremely proud of it and the love the students have for it. I’ve worked in many clubs over the years, and nothing comes close to the loyalty that everyone seems to have for Ocean. “I have actually stepped back a little bit the last couple of years; my two

THE ERECTION SECTION

young kids are now school age so we had to holiday according to school terms, which meant missing quite a few weeks. Before that, I don’t think I missed a Friday night for about 12 years! “This summer just gone we decided to put our kids in school in Canada after buying a house there in March. My wife and kids are there full time, and I’m backwards and forwards between there and Nottingham every few weeks. So technically, I’m commuting! “But I’m still doing all the same work as before; if you send me a message, it comes to me, I deal with it, I’m still sat there every Friday getting bombarded with messages all afternoon and I reply. I want to make sure everything is the same, even if I’m not physically there that night, I’m still cracking the whip from wherever I am. Steve, my older son Tom and my General Manager Mark are slowly getting used to me hounding them from afar… I guess I’m a control freak like that!”

Have you ever taken part in the famous Ocean Baywatch yourself? “Yes, pretty much every GraduOcean (the last night of the year in June) my top comes off for the last Baywatch of the night...usually around 4am. Steve made me start doing it and I hate him for it. Sometimes I’m smart and work out for a couple of weeks beforehand, other times I just look like a fat middle aged man who managed to blag his way into the DJ box and stripped off.” Why did you choose carpet for Ocean? “The club has always had carpet, long before my time. In fact, the infamous one I replaced a few years ago (a remnant of which hangs from the wall in the Impact office) I’m pretty sure was at least 15 years old and not very pleasant. “The current one I think is 3 years, or possibly 4.....time flies!” What has been your biggest regret? “I don’t do regrets. I just try and do ‘everything’. If you want to do something, then you should at least try to do it, otherwise that’s where the regrets creep in. “Although, I did go out with a load of old students a few years ago, ended up at Crisis. Regretted that. Because I had a stinking hangover for 2 days. (And it wasn’t as good as a Friday).”

What has been your biggest achievement? “Ocean, without a doubt. “Some people use the word ‘lucky’. I haven’t been lucky; I took lots of risks initially, worked my ass off for a long time, with total commitment. I must have done something right because students from both uni’s seem to love the place. But now it’s moved on from me working my ass off (I still work hard, just not ‘as’ hard).

“Ocean is now a bit like a snowball that keeps on rolling, that’s solely down to its reputation and the new students that come in year after year.” “Ocean is now a bit like a snowball that keeps on rolling, that’s solely down to its reputation and the new students that come in year after year, who may have heard about it from older brothers/sisters/cousins/friends.....and every year the Ocean Love continues!”

IMPACT

PERUSING THROUGH Joseph Marsh

What to do in Peru Stellar sunsets, big smiles and some overly revealing swim shorts, here is your comprehensive guide to the hidden beauty of Peru, student’s edition. This summer I had the pleasure of spending a month in Peru, home of Machu Picchu, a wonder of the world since 2007, and of course our favourite bear called Paddington. I sand-boarded in the desert, crossed canyons, rafted rapids, climbed mountains and even wrestled in the ring; what a long strange trip it was! If it’s not currently on your list of places you want to visit, then it should be. I must remind everyone to bring swim shorts if you intend to visit a hot country, otherwise you may find yourself in an embarrassing predicament which involves wearing the lower half of your girlfriend’s swimsuit.

For any modelling queries, you can contact me by email with any opportunities

It’s also worth noting that homosexuality is not widely accepted in the general population at the time of visiting the country, so my attire at the time raised some eyebrows and some confused faces. I hate talking about money, but we’re all poor so it should probably be said. Peru is relatively cheap. However, if you want to do fun stuff, be prepared to spend a little bit than expected. I didn’t quite budget correctly, having expected to spend roughly £20 a day and actually spending around double that. I did do a fair amount of activities and drink far too much, to be fair. Expect a return flight of roughly £600, and spending around £30 a day on average, depending on what you wish to do. Without a doubt it’s no secret that the biggest tourist destination the country has to offer is the infamous Machu Picchu. Over 1 million tourists every year go on a pilgrimage to the ancient Inca Citadel located at the peak of the mountain. It’s hard to put into words and the pictures hardly do it justice, but I’ll leave them here anyway. The ruins are located just above a small town called Aguas Calientes, in the Cusco region. A popular question is, “great, so how do I get there?”. A popular response is “oh that’s easy, you take the train”. However, the flaw

with this plan is, a return train will cost you somewhere in the range of $100-$150 USD. Why does it cost so much? Well that’s elementary my dear reader. It’s because people will pay it, it’s a tourist trap. The train route is incredible, takes roughly 3 hours and provides comfort for the journey. However, what if I told you that you can do it for just $1? I don’t know about you, but all that money saved will allow me to purchase many more VK’s this year at Ocean, so how could I say no to something like that? Just as a caveat, this isn’t completely legal or safe. However, in my humble opinion it is the best way to get to Machu Picchu. It’s really quite simple: instead of getting on a train, why not just walk on the tracks? It’s relatively easy to get to the nearby town of Ollantaytambo, and from there it’s just a short walk. By short, I mean 28 kilometres; as someone with a severe lack of fitness and chronic poor health, I can say that it’s not difficult, it’s just fairly long, taking roughly 8 hours.

“I don’t know about you, but all that money saved will allow me to purchase many more VK’s this year at Ocean.” It really is that straightforward, but there are risks involved. The biggest being, unsurprisingly, is the trains that often come along the tracks. Along the whole journey there is room at the side to wait and avoid being impaled by a massive steam engine, though. There are also some points where there are police at checkpoints, and they will likely try and send you back if they see you. The trick is just wander up into the

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THE SUMMER After you finish the 28 kilometres you will be shattered. You’ve managed to save an awful lot of money, though, and after a night of rest you will be heading up Machu Picchu, so you can’t really complain.

“We found some American geez along the route who was basically Bear Grylls.” Some final closing remarks: Peru is an incredible country, but there are obvious dangers. It is no different to the rest of South America and faces many risks, be prepared to experience a lot of attention if you are clearly a westerner, especially if you are a female. You will find yourself harassed often in the streets by vendors selling various tours, goods and services.

Obligatory picture of me literally living on the edge

hills and walk past them. The terrain is mainly flat, though you will occasionally have to venture into tunnels, which is quite scary, so I would advise caution here. Occasionally you have to go on rogue exploring missions to navigate around some of the impassable parts of the tracks; however, it’s quite fun really – I felt like a bigger adventurer than Dora the Explorer. On the way you do find the occasional shop or place to grab some food. We ended up laying on some hammocks for a short while and fell asleep for an hour or so; make sure you bring insect repellent because we forget and got absolutely eaten alive. Ideally you start this trek early, but we failed to wake up on time and started quite late – around mid-day if I recall correctly. As a result we didn’t quite make it to Aguas Calientes before sunset, which actually proved to be quite troublesome as it required everyone to find some kind of light source. My phone was stolen a week prior to this, so I had to carefully follow the tracks of the people in front. Luckily we found some American geez along the route who was basically Bear Grylls and had a proper torch and helped us along our travels. Word to the wise, make sure you leave early. You sometimes have to walk along the tracks and bridges with a near certain death drop just next to you.

A popular offer would be free massages. I travelled with five girls and one other guy, and all of the females got offered a free massage, yet not me. Which is a shame really, because I would have quite liked one; I don’t have the money to be paying for massages!

Do you know what’s better than an avocado? An avocado fresh from a tree

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FROM IRAN Sharabe Shiraz School’s in! Having grown in a family that values education more than anything else, it wasn’t a total shock that my dad wanted us to come to the UK for a year to study for his Masters. We moved in the August of 2008 to the beautiful city of Brighton. A lot has happened in these 9 years; obviously the following events are things that have stood out in my memories, and some of them may be exaggerated a tiny bit. After all, emotions play a big role in how you recall your thoughts and feelings in a particular moment in time. In Iran I went to a school filled with strict routine practices such as daily exercise, nail polish/length checks, compulsory mouthwash uses in the morning and a shit-tonne of homework given every day. Some of the homework I got given included having to memorise whole A4 sized poetry, the gastro-intestinal tract, Iran’s neighbouring countries (their capitals/ main exports/imports/populations), names of imams – the list goes on. I vividly remember a maths exam where my teacher took off 0.25 marks because I forgot to put a decimal somewhere, giving me a shaming score of 19.75/20. It may have been the angriest I’ve ever felt as a kid. This gives you a sense of the intense pressure they put us under, you had to be perfect. This was all from the ages of 7-11 years old.

“Here I was at the epitome of ‘culture’, ‘the west’, ‘the civilised part of the world’ and 12 year olds literally just said “fuck you” out loud in the corridors.” A summer spent moving over to the UK led into my first day of year 7 at the local comprehensive school, my first English-schooling experience. For the occasion, my mum had forced me to cut my long hair into an odd bob because “You’re going to England, they don’t accept messy long hair on girls”. I also had two huge dictionaries with me, one converting English to Farsi and another Farsi to English.

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TO THE UK From my first day, and the first few months, all I remember is sitting at the very front table by myself. I think my brain was overwhelmed with adjusting. Everything I had ever known from school rules, to friends, to schoolwork and societal expectations was toppled. Here’s one example of a particularly brain-cell-toppling moment: In Iran I got in trouble once because I said “I’m so hungry I could eat my own poop”. This was me trying to make my friends laugh, but it got me landed in the principal’s office. I received a warning and got told “young ladies from our school should never talk like that, you are representing the school” etc. And here I was at the epitome of ‘culture’, ‘the west’, ‘the civilised part of the world’ and 12 year olds literally just said “fuck you” out loud in the corridors and, in one instance, spent time throwing custard at one another. I mean, where do I even start? Coming from an all girls primary school in Iran to a mixed comprehensive in Brighton, one aspect I was so excited about was the prospect of being friends with actual boys. At the time ‘boys’ felt like a species of human I had only known in the form of the cousins I used to fight with all the time back in Iran. It was exciting to make some actual male friends. As a 12 year old, however, this translated into having a crush on every other boy that would walk past, just because they were a guy. This lead to a lot of embarrassing and funny stories, such as literally asking every boy out at year 7 camp and (after standing in front of the whole year singing a rap song in Farsi, which I thought was impressive) getting rejected by every single one. I mean, to this day I am literally sweating thinking about that day. I lacked social awareness of cool and uncool; cool was not a part of Iranian vocabulary growing up. Cool was getting 20/20 in your maths tests, not knowing how to have chill in front of boys you fancied!

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MONOTONE PHOTOSHOOT All-red looks were everywhere this fashion week. Everyone from Christopher Kane to Topshop unique; instead of dulling down for autumn/winter they were brightening up. Wearing head to toe one colour can seem a bit daunting at first, a bold choice to wear to lectures at least. To keep it wearable, and not to blocky, play with textures like the PVC and the heavy knits used in this shoot

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Models: Kim Ho, Lucy Miles, Pria Duncan-Benington Director: Elle Magill Words: Elle Magill Makeup: Molly Barratt, Elle Magill Photography: Amber Baxter-Clarke, Elise Voyenli, Emily Woodcock

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OF LIFESTYLE ADVICE Rhys Thomas It may be called shit-in-a-pan, but it has all the fuel you need for tackling student life

I know the drill. You’re getting home from the 4-6 lecture on a wet Tuesday evening, soaked to the bone. There’s work you have not done for tomorrow that should take a week and you’re most certainly not in the motivated mood required to make miracles. The last thing on your mind is cooking, let alone getting those five portions of fruit and veg into your gob. But I promise two things with this article: making a good meal can be cheap, fast and easy, and it can make you feel more alert and more functional. Whilst there will be recipes at the end of this article, I’m first going to let you into my meal-trick which ensures five portions of veg, good sources of protein and is easily made within

twenty minutes. If you ask the people I live with, I’ll eat this most days and have come to call it shit-in-a-pan. What this meal consists of is a

“The beauty of this is you can be having curry-themed spices one day and Italian herbs the next.” variety of frozen veg, put in a bowl and microwaved (microwaved veg retains nutrients better than raw or any other cooking method). Whilst that’s going on (usually for six minutes, a stir and another six minutes) I’m frying up some mushrooms, quorn/whatever, chickpeas and kale in a few herbs and

spices until cooked through. I then add the frozen goodies into my frying pan, mix it up and then serve in the bowl I used for microwaving with some pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. The beauty of this is you can be having curry-themed spices one day and Italian herbs the next: the meal has a variety and is full of good textures but ceases to get boring. I’ve figured it out to be around 600 kcal, if you’re into those figures. It’s also quite cheap to make, especially if you swap the quorn for some lentils or eggs. Likewise, it can become a bit more calorific if you add in some meats or cheeses.

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My wintery version, a hearty shit-in-a-saucepan is also pretty similar, though contains a few more complex carbs and an extra 5-10 minutes of cooking time. For this, you’ll bring some pre-washed rice to the boil in a shallow-ish amount of water, add a stock cube of preference (I like Kahlo’s low-salt ones but of course that’s an indulgence compared with the old Oxo cubes), tip in a good mix of frozen or raw veg, some chili flakes and herbs and allow to cook through. When the rice is cooked, the rest will be too. Simply serve it up in a bowl, you can either drain the liquid and stir in some chickpeas, pre-cooked meats or whatever you fancy, or (and I haven’t keeled over from this just yet) serve it with the liquid for a nice saucy and warming dish.

PILAF Serves 4-6 (keep it in the fridge for your lunches) 90ml olive oil (not extra virgin, that’s just for drizzling people) 4 small white onions 3 red peppers (cut into strips) 2 tablespoons of tomato puree (add a bit more if you’re keen) 1 tablespoon of caster sugar 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds (or one of ground) 100g currants, (or raisins, sultanas etc. raid the baking drawers, but get the weight right) 400g bulghar wheat (the only odd ingredient but it’s traditional and one of the healthier carbs – you’ll find it in all supermarkets) 400ml of water handful of chopped chives (any fresh herbs really, or a teaspoon of ground herbs) Salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large pot, sauté the onions and peppers until soft (12-15mins on a medium-low heat).

Add the puree, sugar, coriander and currants stirring them for two minutes.

Add the bulghar, water and some salt. Stir to mix and bring to the boil. As soon as the water boils (top tip is pre-boil a kettle and use that water if you’re in a rush) cover the pot with a fitting lid (unless you’ve lost it, then just find one that fully covers it).

Take it off the heat and leave it for 20 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed. If it is a bit dry drizzle in some olive oil.

Add the fresh or ground herbs, a touch of pepper and taste before adding salt if needed.

This is best eaten warm and I’ll usually add in half a can of chickpeas just to up the protein content a bit. However, it makes a great lunch alone and is perfectly fine at room temperature for packed lunches (though do refrigerate if storing).

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HERBS FOR THE

HEART Rhys Thomas Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about those little flavour boosters

GINGER

Pair it with: Beetroot, chicken, carrots Ginger appears to be highly effective against nausea: It has a long history of use as a seasickness remedy, but it may be the most effective when it comes to pregnancy-related nausea, such as morning sickness. Ginger has been shown to be effective at reducing the day-to-day progression of exercise-induced muscle pain. These effects are believed to be a result of Ginger’s anti-inflammatory properties.

SAGE

Pair it with: Pork, plums, broccoli Research has shown that even small amounts of sage, smelled or consumed, can increase recall and memory retention. The brain activity also demonstrates increased concentration and focus, which means that for adding a bit of it to your diet may be a subtle, but effective brain booster come exam season. The rosmarinic acid found in sage (along with rosemary) acts as an anti-inflammatory agent in many parts of the body, such as the stomach. Adding it to meals can get the entire digestive process back on track and reduce inflammation throughout the gut. Another overlooked benefit of sage is its masses of vitamin K, an essential vitamin for bone density, that isn’t always easily found. A single serving of Sage has 27% of your daily recommended intake.

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CINNAMON

CHIVES

Pair it with: Rice, yoghurt, parsnips

Pair with: Potatoes, eggs, strawberries One of the most important compounds found in chives is allicin, which has been noted to reduce levels of â&#x20AC;&#x153;badâ&#x20AC;? cholesterol in the body and to improve heart health. Allicin is also connected to lowering blood pressure. Potassium is also found in chives, meaning this humble herb can have a major impact on reducing cardiovascular strain.

Cinnamon can lower blood sugar in several ways, including slowing the breakdown of carbs in the digestive tract and improving insulin sensitivity.

Furthermore, quercetin, which is found in good quantities in chives has been directly connected to lowering plaque in the arteries, effectively preventing atherosclerosis and lowering your risk for stroke and heart attacks.

The effective dose is typically 0.5-2 teaspoons of cinnamon per day, or 1-6 grams, which means a good sprinkling on the morning yoghurt or some roasted veg will suffice.

Studies have shown that cinnamon can lower fasting blood sugars by 10-29% in diabetic patients.

TURMERIC

Pair with: Curries, white fish, lentils Curcumin, one of the chemicals in Turmeric, may help reverse many steps in the heart disease process. The main benefit of curcumin when it comes to heart disease is improving the function of the endothelium, which is the lining of the blood vessels. It is well known that endothelial dysfunction is a major driver of heart disease. This dysfunction is an inability of the endothelium to regulate blood pressure, which can cause blood clotting among various other factors.

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Ben Edge university over the past few months

3D SELFIES In collaboration with Kingston University, a group of PhD students at the University of Nottingham have literally taken a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to convert a single colour image into a 3D facial model. could prove useful for facial recognition, enhancing video games or even as a medical tool to simulate plastic surgery.

cvl-demos.cs.nott.ac.uk/vrn/

INFORMATION STORAGE Whilst attempting to manoeuvre regions of magnetism in a wire, researchers from the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Spintronics Group chanced upon an unexpected discovery. This phenomenon provides them with the ability to manipulate structural elements of a magnetic material, and could be used to vastly improve modern technology. Although the majority of hard drives and servers rely on magnetic techniques for data storage, mobile phones and other portable devices are unable to. However, the physicists hope that their new discovery could lead to the creation of a

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IMAGING THE COSMOS 1.5 million mega pixels. That’s the size of the largest infrared image of the sky ever taken, unveiled at the start of August by Nottingham astronomers. In order to capture the image, Dr. Simon Dye and colleagues used UKIRT – a 3.8m sophisticated telescope situated near the summit of a Hawaiian volcano. This colossal image is the conclusion of over a decade of work on a global, Nottingham-led project known as the UKRIT Hemisphere Survey (UHS). The UHS also released an additional catalogue of almost two billion stars and galaxies detected in the image.

FLYING MOTORCYCLES Richard Glassock, a researcher at UoN, has unveiled his reshape the future of travel. His novel idea centres on a standalone motorbike that can be attached to electric aircraft as an auxiliary source of power, thus increasing the potential air time. Due to their economical and ecological advantages, all-electric aircraft have soared in popularity over recent years; however, these green machines are not without their limitations. Glassock’s designs, which are powered by

CONTAGIOUS YAWNS A study conducted by researchers at UoN has uncovered the reason behind the contagious nature of yawns. Upon primary motor cortex region of the brain, and any attempts to oppose the urge will actually result in it increasing. For the study, thirty six volunteers were observed watching video clips of another person yawning. By researching yawns and other impulsive behaviour, scientists intend to further their understanding of conditions such as epilepsy and Tourette’s.

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Elle Magill 85 years on, Aldous Huxley’s dystopian world shares more than a few similarities with the present day

Over the past few years there has been a massive surge in popularity for science fiction that speculates about technological dystopian futures, from Orwell’s mass sales of 1984 to Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror. With a world on the verge of environmental ruin, on the brink of a political meltdown and with science and tech leaders warning of the dangers of artificial intelligence, it is logical that seeing this presented in fiction would give us some sense of control, in a seemingly out of control world. In the bleak midst of the Great Depression, spanning the years 1929-1939, Aldous Huxley released the iconic novel Brave New World, a forefather for the dystopian genre which set the tone for many modern pieces of fiction we see today. We can observe a pattern in the popularity of dystopian films and literature; demand tends to spike during turbulent periods of world history, arguably times like the

“If Brave New World made the readers of 1932 feel comfortable, Charlie Brooker’s series Black Mirror does the opposite.” ones we are living in now. In the last couple of years there has been an onslaught of disturbing, dystopian, technologically-advanced worlds: Ex-Machina, Nerve, Total Recall, In Time, The Hunger Games, the new Blade Runner 2049 and the Divergent series, to name just a few. At the time it was released the society depicted in Brave New World was deemed outlandish and alien; genetically engineered people who

were conceived and born in a test tube, living in complete social stability, enjoying promiscuous behaviour and copious amounts of drugs. Never have I ever… While we are still a long way off from complete social instability, Huxley’s society rings true. Perhaps most unnerving is how spot-on Huxley’s eugenics speculations were. In Huxley’s novel, humans are no longer viviparous and rely on the mass production of genetically modified foetuses that are perfectly designed for their designated role in society. In 1932, the idea that pre-birth a child could be genetically altered by a scientist in a lab seemed like wonders of the imagination. However, in 2003, the National Human Genome Research Institute, the Department of Energy and their partners in the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium announced the successful completion of the Human Genome Project. They had mapped the human genes, figured out what genes mean what, and what makes us who we are. Suddenly Huxley’s world was far less fictitious. Suddenly Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’, was our world, it was now. Huxley’s world was set in 2540, 608 years into the future from 1932 when it was first published. Perhaps the brilliant technological advances described in Brave New World were so beyond comprehension, and the world so unrecognisable that it made the readers feel a little safer in their own. If Brave New World made the readers of 1932 feel comfortable, Charlie Brooker’s series Black Mirror does the opposite. An anthology series, most of Black Mirror is set in the not-too-distant future. Brooker draws on current culture to create his dystopian futures making the world not so unrecognisable, so alien. The

technological advances in the series are not too implausible either. In fact, some of them are now a reality, only 6 years after series one aired. The premise of Series 1 Episode 3, ‘The Entire History of You’, is that everyone

“Demand tends to spike during turbulent periods of world history, arguably times like the ones we are living in now.” has a device implanted in their heads that records every moment of their waking life and allows them to replay those recordings at will. At first glance, this could be deemed a seemingly desirable technological advance; imagine being able to have perfect recall and relive all your best memories. Of course, this is Black Mirror, so things are never as peachy as they seem. The protagonist’s insecurities are magnified; quite literally going over and over the shortcomings of his day in his head, his life unravels in spectacular fashion, aided by this surgical implant. Along with technological advances comes new disturbing ways to cheat the system; criminals could literally rip out your implant and steal your memories from your head. Perhaps even more disturbing is that it appears real life has caught up with science fiction. Google Glasses failed due to them being hideously ugly, but rest assured where one soul-destroying corporate company fails, another is there to pick up the slack. Last year, Samsung patented ‘smart’ contact lenses with a built-in camera. A dash-cam for your cornea. The future is now.

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DISCOVERING THE

DISCOVERY BUILDING Anna Cole Anna Cole gives us the lowdown on BioCity’s new Nottingham research building

BioCity is a company that not many of the general public seem to have heard of. However, that might be about to change, in Nottingham at least. Famous among the science community in the UK, they have greatly aided the Biotech and Medtech specialists in providing the laboratories, equipment and the space needed to continue their research.

The research that will go on here, and at every lab across the country, BioCity or not, seems very out of reach. To give some perspective, the new site is situated where University of Nottingham alumni Dr Stewart Adams discovered ibuprofen in the 1960s. BioCity have had an establishment in Nottingham since 2016 for medical advancements; however, £30 million just went into their new 50,000ft2 state-of-art building for biology and chemistry research, dubbed the ‘Discovery Building.’

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Ibuprofen is a common household item now (especially for hungover students), and this is the kind of cutting edge research that will be happening right here in the Discovery Building.

“The dynamic nature of the sun’s surface means that the lights will most likely never look the same twice.” Not only that, but the building will be appear as more of a landmark. The outside is covered in light installations that are connected to NASA satellites observing the solar flares from the sun, designed by Nottingham Trent

University alumnus Wolfgang Buttress and Dr Martin Bencsik, an Associate Professor in Physics at Nottingham Trent University. The dynamic nature of the sun’s surface means that the lights will most likely never look the same twice. The connection between ongoing science research and the beautiful display on this building will help to illustrate that the advancements we are making every day in biology, chemistry and physics are not as far away as they seem. If you would like to visit the Discovery Building and see it for yourself, you can find it on Lower Parliament Street in the city centre, complete with an onsite coffee shop.

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MICKEY MOUSE Max Randall A Look at Real-World Issues in Cartoons Until recent years, cartoons largely consisted of simplistic stories and humour, which kept the medium open to the accusation that is is ‘not to be taken seriously’. Of course, these elements can still be found in the best animated series’ in production today, but the last decade has seen the emergence of more thematic sophistication intertwined with the silliness of cartoons, generating an entirely new potential in what the medium can achieve

Shows like Rick and Morty, Bojack Horseman and Adventure Time all contain attributes of their goofy predecessors, and are still hugely comical, but they are also imbued with a cultural awareness and emotional intelligence unprecedented in the art-form. While intelligently-constructed cartoons have existed for a while (think Futurama and The Simpsons), there are few previous instances of the thematic maturity we enjoy today. Dealing with serious issues through satirical comedy is integral to the success of shows like Rick and Morty. Rick’s nihilism, alcoholism and self-hatred are running themes (and gags) on the show, as are Morty’s anxiety, Summer’s self-esteem issues and Jerry’s inadequacy.

Though delivered comically, the show’s popularity means that millions of people can be united in the understanding that these issues are common, and more often than not, completely normal. Indeed, recent episode ‘Rest and Ricklaxation’ shows that without their problematic traits, Rick and Morty are incomplete. This open discussion of often-neglected topics sets shows like Rick and Morty as captains on the steamboat of collective public consciousness, and will hopefully continue to positively influence attitudes as their fan-base grows.

Bojack Horseman deals with real-world issues more frankly. There are moments of superb drama in the show, and these are cleverly prevented from becoming overly-sentimental by the medium in which they are delivered. The absurdity of the fact that the

main character is literally a talking horse always keeps the viewer slightly detached from the emotivity of the content. This allows us to consider the raw ideas being put forward without the excess of emotion that we might feel if a real on-screen person were, for example, drugging themselves into a suicidal stupor. Like some type of Brechtian Mickey Mouse, Bojack and his cohorts (e.g. the asexual Todd) allow us to seriously and unflinchingly explore ideas about mental health, sexuality and failure.

Adventure Time differs from the two cartoons previously discussed, as it is predominantly aimed at children and teenagers. This does not, however, negate from its ability to engage with real-world issues. The lovable anthropomorphised video game, BMO, is shown to have a highly fluid personality, and frequently switches

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gender. Steven Universe takes a similar progressive leap with Stevonnie, whose storylines explore combatting bigotry, and making sense of experience as a non-binary individual. This is an enormous step for cartoons aimed at younger audiences, as for the first time, LGBTQ+ issues are not being concealed. Fundamentally, giving a non-binary identity to an

“People have come to expect a certain degree of intelligent social commentary from their cartoons.” iconic character means that young people who enjoy the show are more likely to gain an understanding of people with non-cisheteronormative identities, and hence confusion and fear of the unknown can be avoided. The popular cartoons of today owe a large amount to their predecessors, who paved the way for shows that now have the freedom to wander. Shows like Family Guy, South Park and The Simpsons all changed public understanding of what was acceptable in cartoons, and in doing so garnered a

great deal of controversy. The Simpsons offered, and still does, a highly intelligent approach to ‘touchy’ subjects, and presented progressive ideas in ways that forced the audience to question their own preconceptions. The episode ‘Homer’s Phobia’ forces the audience to share Homer’s journey from homophobia to understanding and respect for the gay character, John.

Family Guy and South Park thrive on controversy; they are defined by their ability to offend. Both shows have moments of greatness, delivering biting social commentary and mocking humanity’s self-righteousness by defecating (sometimes quite literally) on topics that many people would hesitate to even discuss. While there is certainly value in satire, Family Guy’s declining viewership has in recent years led to punches below the belt in attempts to stay relevant. The episode ‘A Shot in the Dark’, which deals with the highly-publicised Trayvon Martin case, appears to make light of a hugely sensitive issue, and received widespread criticism. While the episode does make an interesting point about the media’s general ignorance of minority violence, it signifies a now-outdated approach to serious topics.

There is a trend whereby the newer, most popular cartoons today seem to be stepping in the general direction of sophistication. People have come to expect a certain degree of intelligent social commentary from their cartoons, meaning that the medium has finally broken the shackles of expected levity and can engage with

“The show’s popularity means that millions of people can be united in the understanding that these issues are common, and more often than not, completely normal.” mature themes in meaningful and insightful ways. These new shows may be the beginning of a whole new era for cartoons, and the intellectual freedom now granted to creators means the future is looking very bright indeed. As a doughnut-eating, Duff Beer-drinking American once exclaimed: “Woohoo!”

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THE ROMANTICS GO FOR COFFEE Esther Kearney What do you get when you cross Lord Byron, Percy Shelley and Starbucks? One fine Monday morning, Lord Byron shuffled up to his local Starbucks with a shocking hangover and a messy man-bun. He scoped out the commoners around him, and after much debate he tied his new pet bear up to the bicycle racks, ignoring the looks of awe that this encouraged. “Stay,” he ordered the creature, as he slid a pair of Ray-bans on to hide his dark under-eye circles. He walked inside and was greeted with the familiar

face of Percy Shelley, sitting with his MacBook in the corner of the café. The two stood up and commenced their usual super-secret handshake. Their friendship had been cemented after enduring the long, tedious silence of mankind from the top of the Alps. Yes, it was mutually agreed between them that locking oneself into a luxury ski-lodge for five days had really helped them develop their identities as writers. Especially when their only companion had been the

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butler Jeeves, who had brought them their entrées every night.

“You may be familiar with my work, I’m famous for my Long-Form Poetry,” he announced proudly.

After much debate about where in the café had the best lighting for their Instagram picture, the two made their way up to the counter.

“Nobody cares!” someone yelled from amongst the crowd.

“What do you want?” asked the grumpy barista. Byron paused, and from his man-purse removed a piece of parchment that appeared to be written on in blood. He cleared his throat and began. “To the Barista of the Starry- Eyed Buck,” his voice boomed. “Oh Christ.” “Thine cream of frothy tenderness, thy diluted (fat-free, dairy-free, lactose- free) soya milk, And the wan lustre of your espresso-shot From contemplation – where serenely wrought, Seems Vanilla’s essence gave it a kick from its despairAnd what follows should be a sweet, fragrant air-” “So, an Americano with vanilla syrup.” The girl moodily rang it up. “Oh! And can you put it in this?” he said handing over his skull goblet, grinning. “Where did you find this, in the Halloween section at Poundland?” she sneered. “No actually, it’s the skull of a monk which I found on my grounds.” There was no reaction. “Name?” He scoffed. “Byron,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“That’s it, I’ve had enough of this.” The angry employee reached for the walkie-talkie behind her. “Mary, can you come out here? We have a code ‘Idiot’.” A woman with long dark hair and a pissed-off expression appeared in the doorway. Her badge revealed that this was Mary, and that she was the store’s manager. “What’s all the commotion out here? Is he the reason we’re already getting customer complaints at 9am?” she questioned, casting an accusatory glance at Percy, who was doing his best to look doe-eyed and innocent. Struck by a sudden bout of emotion, he was unable to muster an answer as he took in what he considered to be the worthiest Dame in all of England. “Dear Lord, you are beautiful,” he exclaimed in awe. “Excuse me?” She was taken aback. The two stared at each other over the counter, now unaware of the masses of chagrined customers that were tapping their feet and looking at their watches in annoyance. “Cool necklace,” he continued, flicking his dark locks back and trying his hardest to look nonchalant. “Oh, thank you. It’s a vial of my ex-boyfriends blood. I’m sentimental. Wait a second... You look familiar… Are you the guy that got kicked out of Oxford for writing about atheism?” Her previous aura of anger was already dissipating as his eyes lit up in recognition. “You mean this? Why then yes.” With a sudden flourish, he produced a copy of his pamphlet, The Necessity of Atheism.

“Brian,” she repeated with a dull tone, not looking up as she scribbled it down.

“I’m low-key fangirling right now! I’m really into writing myself and don’t even like coffee!” She ripped off her apron and badge.

“No…. the famous Lord Byron… the poet…?” He ran his fingers through his hair and gave her his side profile in a sad attempt to jog her memory.

“I agree, you’re totally too good for this place. Let’s run away together!” He jumped over the counter and proceeded to whisk her off her feet.

“Whatever… NEXT!” she yelled in annoyance, shoving the goblet into the hands of her colleague.

The two then rushed out of the café and off into the distance without a backwards glance. Everyone was silent for a moment before resuming with their orders as though nothing had happened.

Percy sauntered up to the counter and gave a shy cough. The girl looked at him with raised eyebrows as she waited for him to tell her his order. He reached into his long duster coat and drew out a scroll which, when opened, tumbled across the floor. After clearing his throat, he looked at the barista in earnest and then around at the quickly mounting queue.

Meanwhile, Byron was in the corner looking forlornly at his coffee goblet which now read ‘Lord’ Brian. “I should have deem’d thee doom’d to earthly care,” he muttered angrily to the misspelling on his goblet, and frantically tried to rub it off.

IMPACT

MARKET SQUARE, aka

THE CENTRE OF THE UNIVERSE Amy Wilcockson Amy Wilcockson explores the history of Nottingham’s favourite meeting place

Every time we students go on a night out we walk past it. In fact, every time we head into town, we walk through it. With the prominent Council House building at one end and pretty fountains at the other, Old Market Square lies at Nottingham’s centre, and has done for a number of years. In 2017, Old Market Square played host to ‘The Wheel of Nottingham’ and a beach during the summer months, whilst a traditional Christmas market and ice rink will fill the Square during the winter. But has it always been this way? Certainly not, as the Square has a rich, diverse and sometimes bloody history. Back in the ‘olden days’, when both the Norman invaders and Anglo-Saxons shared a living space, the site on which the square now sits was the original half-way point between Castle Rock, where the Normans made their homes, and the Lace Market where the Saxon town was situated. Therefore, when the builder of Nottingham Castle, William Peveril, decided to create a new market space between the two settlements, this neutral ground was chosen, and Market Square began its reign as

Nottingham’s prime meeting point. Ever heard of the Shambles in York, the quaint street of overhanging shops that dates back to the fourteenth century? Who knew that Nottingham also used to have a Shambles, situated where the Council House now stands tall? Even by early standards of hygiene the Shambles, Nottingham’s meat market, was unsatisfactory, with caves of raw sewage beneath the market itself. Tasty. The Square in its earlier forms was also used for putting criminals in the stocks, the site for public floggings and duckings in a pool of dirty water. The Square is also linked to two of Nottingham’s most famous institutions: Robin Hood and the Goose Fair. Reputedly, Old Market Square is where Robin Hood won a famed silver arrow in a contest engineered by the evil Sheriff of Nottingham, before riding off with Maid Marian into the sunset. Perhaps his enemies were foiled by the smell of sewage. On a more factual note, the Square was the site of Nottingham’s Goose Fair for hundreds of years. The event gets its name from the geese driven from Lincolnshire to Nottinghamshire by huntsmen to be sold. The Square held Goose Fair from

its first beginnings reputedly in 1284, until the Fair was moved to its current location, the Forest Recreation Ground, in 1928. This change in venue was due to the redevelopment of the Market Square, and building of the Council House during this period. Indeed, the Council House was officially opened in 1929 by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), who opened the doors with a key that is still displayed inside the building today. Fun fact: the architect who designed the Council House, T. Cecil Howitt, was the architect for other prominent buildings in Nottingham, including Nottingham Trent University’s Newton Building and the University of Nottingham’s very own Portland Building. So the next time you walk through Market Square, and gaze up at the Council House’s famous clock, be thankful you’re not walking through a smelly meat market, or wading your way through open drains and sewage. Surely a bit of pigeon poo from the Square’s thousands of avian residents is better…

ENTERTAINMENT

FROM THE CONSOLE TO THE BIG SCREEN Georgia Butcher There have been many (in my personal opinion, too many) video game movies, ranging from films based on large, complex MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft, to the rather silly mobile game Angry Birds Although it would be wrong to say that all video game-based films are below par, it is fair to say that whenever a gamer hears that their beloved game is being turned into a film, a small shiver of fear runs down their spine.. Will it stick to the lore? Will they remember to include certain characters? Will key aspects be cut, or drastically changed? These fears are incredibly common and, in many cases, valid. Too often filmmakers feel the need to cut or change things which fans would class as key aspects, in order to make the film more suitable for the cinema. The recently released Warcraft: The Beginning (2016), for instance, was heavily criticised for its focus on individual characters, instead of the lore, making the plot seem rather barren in comparison. Yet this is only a marginal change in comparison to the more recent Assassin’s Creed (2016), which not only used entirely new characters and a completely new setting, but also dramatically edited the well-known features (such as the animus and the bleed effect), all in order to make it a ‘better film’. Yet it would be wrong to say that all video game films are ‘bad’ (though some, such as Super Mario Bros (1993) are truly awful). Some films, such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) for instance, although still not entirely accurate when compared to their original source, are still incredibly enjoyable films. This is perhaps because the film is only loosely based on the game, and so removes itself from audience expectations.

It would therefore seem that films based upon games can seemingly only be enjoyed or praised when they acknowledge a separation from the original game. Akey point raised by the makers of Warcraft: The Beginning was the desire to create a film accessible to both fans and non-fans of the original game. To achieve this, it is therefore unsurprising that key aspects were changed or simplified, to avoid confusion amongst those who have not played the game. Therefore, before passing judgement on the adaptation of a game to film, consideration needs to be given to whether it can be classed as an enjoyable film in its own right, separate from its source material as a game.

“It would be wrong to say that all video game films are bad.” No film is likely ever going to be able to include every desired detail. Directors are always going to change certain aspects for their own gain, whether that involves over-dramatising a battle-sequence or inventing a new character to add a new level of conflict; there are always going to be features that we may disagree with. It’s important to the treat the film, and the game on which it is based, as separate, and to try to enjoy them without reference to the other, without setting ourselves up for disappointment.

IMPACT

Isobel Sheene Gaming at the University of Nottingham isn’t just about the consoles. UoN is known for its wide choice of over two hundred societies for students to join. Many of these are gaming groups, and with such a range of options out there, Impact decided to get together a round-up of some of our university’s best societies for gaming

UoN’s dedicated video game society, Game Soc is perfect for meeting like-minded individuals, no matter your favoured genre or platform. A socially-focused society, sessions are twice a week, one being a casual night in Mooch, and the other being a gaming extravaganza. Regular external socials such as bowling and Laser Quest also give plenty of opportunities for making friends and having some healthy competition, and trips to gaming expos are always a highlight. Regardless of skill or interest level, there will be a game and a group of friends ready and waiting for you. At only £5 for the whole year, the membership is well worth the investment.

Whether it’s a game you’ve loved for years, or something completely new to you, Mahjong is brilliant to play, and a great society to get involved in. Focused on the famous Chinese tile game and its combination of skill and luck, the UoN Mahjong Society encompasses a great mix of fun, socialising, and cultural exchange. Members enjoy weekly sessions, tournaments in Spring, and exclusive offers and discounts in Nottingham, for only £3 a year.

Whether it’s pen-and-paper RPGs that you enjoy, or if LARPing is more your thing, this is the place to be. Regular events are put on most nights of the week, depending on your activity of choice, and the society is open to everyone from complete beginners to gamers who’ve been playing most of their lives. Games available to play include D&D, Warhammer, board games, collectible card games, and many more. At £5 for the year, it’s a great deal, especially considering the number and variety of games and weekly events. Membership also includes socials, and the opportunity to join in with one-off events throughout the year.

Another one for those looking to unleash their inner child and just have a bit of fun; grab a Nerf gun and get shooting! Sessions are weekly, with structured games like King of the Hill and Capture the Flag, as well as opportunities to socialise at the regular pub meet-ups. Events also include trips bowling, ice skating, and going on pub crawls, so this is definitely one for the more social among you, all for a membership of £3 a year.

ENTERTAINMENT

Casual players and competitive gamers alike are welcome in UoN’s very own Chess society. Weekly sessions can teach you some of the more complex rules and strategies, so whether you’re relatively new or at the top of your game, this is the society for anyone who enjoys chess. There are also opportunities to compete in regular internal competitions and external leagues for competitive players, and the chance to volunteer with the Chess in Schools and Communities Scheme for the more community-minded members. Meetings and social events are also great for making friends, with a membership of only £4 a year.

These bricks aren’t just for kids! Get your creative juices flowing and join for everything from casual building sessions to themed competitions, not to mention trips to Legoland, Lego film nights, stop-motion animation projects, and the chance to play some Lego-themed board and video games.

Interested in poker? Interested in making some friends who like it too? UoN’s Poker Society regularly organises live poker tournaments, and you can meet and socialise with people who love the game as much as you do. As well as live tournaments, members often play online, and cash games sometimes happen alongside tournaments if you want to inject even more excitement into proceedings. Worth checking out if it’s your thing!

One for anyone who still considers oneself a child at heart, this is one of the more physically active gaming societies available at UoN. Prepare to throw yourself into all your favourite games from your childhood: Ninja, Sardines, Duck Duck Goose, Wink Murder, and of course Hide and Seek. With a list of games longer than a conga line, this is definitely the place to be for a bit of light-hearted fun and games, as well as some great themed events, all for the great price of £2 a year.

At only £3 for the year, this society is the place to be to meld your love of gaming with your creative side. Socials abound, and there are more Lego bricks to be found than you could ever need. Take an idea and run with it!

Ever wondered what that game characters in Agatha Christie books always seemed to be playing? Now you can try it out! This game is particularly suited to the mathematically-minded, since the game uses probabilities and complex tactics, but anyone can join, and the society is very social, so don’t be put off by a fear of maths! Open to anyone from complete beginners to accomplished players, this is the perfect chance to learn something new or to perfect your bridge skills. With opportunities to compete in tournaments, and regular weekly sessions for the incredibly low price of £1 for the whole year, this is one of the best value-for-money societies out there.

If board games are your thing, this is the place to be. Board Game Soc has well over a hundred games to its name, with the largest and most diverse collection in any UK university. Ranging from the traditional to the unusual, including favourites like Cluedo and Monopoly as well as based-on-a-series games like the Game of Thrones and Discworld games, there is definitely something for everyone. This society is great, whether you are a casual gamer looking for a fun way to socialise, someone looking to try out a new game or two, or a highly competitive player seeking to flex your gaming muscles against some true opposition. Meeting weekly, and only £3 for the whole year, this is definitely the choice for you if you want to brush up on your Risk strategy or Articulate skills.

IMPACT

Shanai Momi ‘Mama........ just filmed a band’

ENTERTAINMENT

He thinks the sun shines out of his arse #youcanleadagoosetowater #swanorgooseorwhatever

You wait ages for a bus and then three come along at once! #derbyroad #traffic #sunset #every7minutesmyarse #youvebeentangoed

Ben Baruch

What you turn up to Blade Runner at 11 minutes to 9 #movies #datenight

# HOMEAWAYFROMHOME

44 IMPACT

Nab the last space #classycanal

Anyone for cricket? #thecricketers #mrbluesky #thetrentbridgeofbeeston

#melons #peachy #fruity #getyour5aday

Is the half price eye test because he only has one eye? #whitestripes #beehive #BEEston

Rest in Beeston #circleoflife

Heavenshire Promenade #moonlight #potholes #dusk #nofilter

EXTRAS 45

IMPACT

Time to get

PUZZLED How well to you know the University of Nottingham and the surrounding area? Enter our quiz and you could win 2 tickets to Disney Crisis on 29nd November! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

How many campuses does the University of Nottingham have? Where is the Impact office located? Where does the 904 Hopper Bus go? How many blocks are there in Broadgate Park accommodation? Which cinema was the only pre-World War II cinema in Nottingham? The boating lake is man-made. True or False? What was the previous name of the Motorpoint Arena? Who has more students? University of Nottingham or Nottingham Trent University. What Bond theme-playing band played their first gig in the Portland building? Which former Deputy Prime Minister officially opened the Ningbo campus in 2005?

Send your answers on an email to ruby.tyler@impactnottingham.com by 5pm on Monday 20th November for your chance to win.

EXTRAS

hard

6 5 8

Source: www.sudokuoftheday.com

easy

2 7 3 7 9 1 6 1 8 4 1 2 9 6 7 9 8 7 6 4 2 5 9 1 5 3 6 9 1 5 2 9 4 5 2 1 9

2 1 8 4 5 1 8 7 4 1 7 8 5 3 2 4 6 9

IMPACT

FOR SORROW AND FOR JOY: THE TWO MAGPIES THAT TOOK A NEW TEAM UNDER THEIR WING Liam Kenny and Joe Mackenzie How does supporting a Second Team at University test pre-existing footballing loyalties?

Born in Nottingham, Notts County are the world’s oldest football league club. Founded in 1862, they play their games at the famous Meadow Lane. With cheap tickets for under 21s, it’s not a bad idea for a Saturday outing - but what if that one trip on a Saturday leads to another one? Then to a midweek game? Then losing your mind at a ninety-minute winner; and all of a sudden you’re having a police escort to Mansfield away. Before you know it you’ve changed your spots and you’re hooked.

LIAM

Joe and Liam are two students who know the answer. Both of them are keen football fans, Joe an Arsenal fan from Essex, and Liam a Chelsea fan from Wales. Both support the same team that their fathers supported. Who they supported was never a choice, but after meeting in first year and bonding over their shared love of the game, they both decided to take a brave step towards supporting their local team, Notts County. How does this new footballing love weigh on their lifelong allegiances?

JOE

SPORT

LIAM

JOE

I’d grown up as a typical football fan, infatuated with the big teams the same as many a young man in Britain – following in my father’s footsteps by supporting Chelsea.

Being a football fan is not easy; for every high there’s a damning low. Growing up as an Arsenal fan means I have experienced a vast plethora of emotions due to football. From winning the league at White Hart Lane to losing the League Cup Final against Birmingham after going six years without a trophy, I have really felt it all. No matter what the result or what the performance, I was always loyal to Arsenal. However, after getting accepted into the University of Nottingham I began a tumultuous footballing affair.

The dizzy heights reached were never enjoyed fully. Although I Ioved and supported the club, I never felt emotionally connected due to being such a far distance away. Upon coming to Nottingham to begin my studies I took a slight interest in Forest and County and would keep up with results. One day I decided to attend an FA cup game against Peterborough United; County went 2-0 down within ten minutes and all seemed bleak, but the fans stayed and supported, rescuing the tie to earn a replay. I’ll never forget that day, the emotion in these men on the terraces was like their own kids were playing: pure. Away from the bright lights and fancy programming of elite football, supporting a local lower league team offers an insight into the city’s people and culture respectively. You learn to enjoy games again. In the lower rungs of the football pyramid anyone really can beat anyone, so it’s exciting. Bottom can beat top and no one will raise an eyebrow. Soon after I started attending County regularly, a new owner named Alan Hardy came in, and appointed ex-Premier League star Kevin Nolan as player-manager. Since then it has been exciting times at Meadow Lane, and there is a real buzz around the place. I feel an emotional connection to it after watching the team lose ten in a row this time last year, the turnaround is remarkable.

“I’ll never forget that day, the emotion in these men on the terraces was like their own kids were playing, pure.” Now on a Saturday the first result I check (if I’m not at the game) is Notts County before my boyhood club Chelsea. I love supporting the club, and I think lower league football will continue to grow, as many people fall out of love with the disillusioning price of watching football at the top. Soccer Saturday is a haven for lower league fans and it’s a great rush hearing Jeff Stelling announce a County goal. I must admit, it is a greater rush than a Chelsea goal ever gave me, as you know just what it means, it really does matter. I would advise anyone who attends university away from home to support their local club, as it changes your perception of football in general, gives meaning to the FA Cup first round draw, and an understanding of the people who share the city with you, it really is a brilliant idea.

“I am left posing myself the question: ‘can I support two football teams?” Thanks to our good friends Margaret Thatcher and John Major, train privatisation has resulted in astronomical train fares. When I considered I’d have to pay for a £50 return train ticket to London and £75 for a match ticket, I realised seeing Arsenal regularly just wasn’t a viable option whilst a student in Nottingham. The only decision I had left to make was whether or not I was Notts County or Nottingham Forest. This was quite an easy decision, as Notts County is significantly cheaper. Add that to the fact Kevin Nolan is manager and Shola Ameobi is the big man up top, and it really was a no brainer. I have been regularly seeing County matches for over a year now, and have witnessed them go from the bottom of League 2 to genuine title contenders. Of course, going to see County every week has by no means diminished my love for Arsenal. I still watch them at every available opportunity, but I am left posing myself the question: ‘can I support two football teams?’ Supporting two football teams has long been considered a taboo in the footballing community, but given the economic and geographical reasons that have resulted in my supporting a second team; I think in some cases it is okay. County are currently three divisions below Arsenal and only ever likely to face them in a cup competition. Had I picked Forest as my team to support then it could be a different story. Going to cheer on the mighty Magpies every week has been great. I have developed a strong affinity for them but I cannot deny that Arsenal will be the team that always holds the number one place in my heart, despite the unbridled thrill that regularly attending County games has given me.

IMPACT

REPLACING FEDERER WITH... Tyler Gerrard Tyler contemplates the major changes on the horizon for world tennis, questioning whether the next generation of champions will be able to carry the quality of the era that preceded them Just when you thought their days of dominating the Grand Slams were over, arguably the two greatest players of all time had yet another year to remember. Rafael Nadal won the French and US Open, his first Grand Slam titles since 2014, and Roger Federer won the Australian Open and Wimbledon, his first since 2012. In many ways, it has been a strange year, with Novak Djokovic suffering a dramatic decline after so many years of dominance and Andy Murray failing to match his achievements of 2016. This meant that there was a void to be filled, and to the surprise of many, Federer and Nadal filled it. It started off with the Australian Open, a tournament that Djokovic has dominated, winning six times. However, he suffered a shock second round exit to Denis Istomin and with Murray falling in

the fourth round to Mischa Zverev, all eyes naturally turned to Federer and Nadal. They both battled through tough semi-finals against Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov to set up an absolute thriller, which Federer came through in five sets. Federer decided to skip the French Open in order to focus his efforts on Wimbledon and it was no surprise to see Nadal victorious once again in Roland Garros, for an incredible tenth time. When Nadal is on top form there is no one who can stop him on a clay court. He went through the 2017 French Open without dropping a set. However, a few weeks later at Wimbledon, Nadal had another early exit, losing in the fourth round to

“While Tennis fans may have enjoyed the sense of nostalgia, it doesn’t have positive implications for the future of the sport” Gilles Muller. With Murray and Djokovic suffering injury-hit losses to Sam Querrey and Tomas Berdych, Federer emerged as the clear favourite. He handled the pressure immaculately, playing a brand of tennis that we have become used to over the years at SW19, and like Nadal in Paris, he didn’t drop a set all tournament.

SPORT

FEDERER? The final Grand Slam of the year at Flushing Meadows saw Murray and Djokovic missing through injury, paving the way for yet another Federer - Nadal showdown. However, Federer lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martin del Potro and Nadal won easily against surprise finalist Kevin Anderson in straight sets. Both Federer and Nadal deserve a huge amount of credit for the seasons that they had. They have struggled in recent years with injuries and have been written off by many, so to roll back the years like they did was unbelievable. However, while Tennis fans may have enjoyed the sense of nostalgia, it doesn’t have positive implications for the future of the sport.

“No one is expecting the next era to match the Big Four, but at the moment it is hard to identify the next genuine superstars” With Djokovic and Murray playing below par, this should have been an opportunity for the up-and-coming stars of the game to make a real impact at the Grand Slam events. On a positive note, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev have both established themselves in the top ten, and Zverev was even able to win two Masters events, which are the tier below Grand Slams. Unfortunately, the likes of Nick Kyrgios, Grigor

Dimitrov and Milos Raonic have stagnated, suffering a series of early exits at the slams. The players that have been taking the place of Murray and Djokovic have been experienced players like Berdych, Cilic and Wawrinka. The top ten still has a very experienced look about it, with the average age being 28 and the average age of the top four being 29. While this partly reflects developments in sports science that have enabled players to play for longer, it also reflects the lack of talent coming through. Tennis fans have been very fortunate over the last ten years or so to have witnessed an era of fierce rivalries at the top of the game and exceptional talent. No one is expecting the next era to match the Big Four, but at the moment it is hard to identify the next genuine superstars of the sport. Some may argue that the lack of hierarchy would make Grand Slams more interesting and unpredictable, but make no mistake about it: tennis needs big names. Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray cannot go on forever and we can only hope that their successors provide even half as much entertainment as they have.

IMPACT

LIKE A BIRD Tom Monks Tom Monks takes us through the average Saturday routine of the University of Nottingham Hand Gliding Club, and with some help from pilots Michał, Eugen and Callum, discusses the implications and huge thrills that enrapture the life of a student who takes the sport under their wing

MC: “I remember the initial acceleration which pushes you into the seat. I remember the view, which looked like nothing I’d seen before. After we disconnected from the cable, silence. Nothing but a slight wind whistle. I thought it would be much more like flying a plane, but it’s completely new.” EJ: “It was something indescribable! I remember the first flight very clearly. When the glider started moving slowly and then suddenly: “damn, it’s so fast and steep!” When we reached the top of the launch I knew I wanted to be experienced enough to do it on my own. In August I reached my goal; my first solo flight, which I will always remember!” CE: “I was shocked at how quiet it was. You can only hear the rushing air going around the glider. When you are soaring through the skies you see some breath-taking views from the air with the whole day allowing you to recharge the batteries before another week back at uni.”

What made you want to take up such an unconventional student sport? MC: “I wanted to try something new and exciting. I wanted to feel the ultimate freedom (and something my mum would object to). I was considering joining skydiving or gliding. I decided to join gliding as it is much more affordable and puts you in control. Flying without an engine sounded weird, but I don’t regret it.” Gliders work through thermals, or columns of rising warm air. When the sun shines on a field, the ground absorbs the energy and warms the surrounding air, creating upward winds that can lift gliders weighing more than half a tonne, keeping you airborne in the summer for many hours. A 1km cable launches the aircraft, taking you from 0-60 in around 2-3 seconds. At 1000ft, the cable detaches and from there the glider is always descending.

When Impact rocked up to UoN Gliding Club’s stand at Welcome Fair, crossed wires meant that asking for an interview somehow led to us suddenly jumping in a engineless toothpick of an aircraft that weekend, and being flung hundreds of metres into the sky. Michał Cenzartowicz is a fourth year Electrical and Electronic Engineering student who has been gliding since his first year. Eugen Juravliov is in his Foundation year and started Gliding last February. Callum Evans has just started gliding as he enters his third year studying Electronic and Computer Engineering. They each took a moment to reflect on the first time they took to the skies...

However, it isn’t unheard of that someone could travel from Scotland to London, with the world record flight being 3000km. Many people say gliding is the ultimate form of flying. It’s just you, the air, and almost complete silence. Do you agree? What makes you keep coming back? MC: “Until genetic engineering allows us to grow wings of our own, gliding is the ultimate form of flying. You honestly leave all your worries on the ground.It’s just you, the plane, and an occasional bird. It is a great way to reset after a whole week of studying. Not a single flight is the same. You always learn something new.” EJ: “To be honest, it’s the sensation of the flight, but also our club and society is filled with amazing personalities. It’s not just the pilot who makes the glider fly, flying is a result of great teamwork. Above all, it makes me want to be a part of a gliding club.”

SPORT

What are your hopes as a club and a pilot for the year ahead?

Now, gliding is probably one of the most expensive sports at the University, yet gliding with the University is one of the most reasonably priced ways of doing it. What are your thoughts on the cost of your hobby?

But what about the early starts? Most students would find the idea of waking up early on a weekend morning unbearable, do you sometimes wonder what the hell you’re doing when you could be lying in bed?

MC: “We are co-funded by the SU and RAF. This makes it very affordable to fly. We pride ourselves for being an incredibly cheap club to fly with. Membership in many non-uni clubs greatly exceeds £400, so if you want to try it, now is the time.”

EJ: “Yep, sometimes I get this feeling, but when you are up there, you realise that it is definitely worth it. I remember at some points it was a little bit difficult, because I wanted everything to be done in one moment. Gliding requires patience. The most frustrating moments for me are when weather doesn’t allows us to fly. When I’m in the air, however, all the problems are left on the ground.”

It sound like you still get a lot for your money, and the socials more than make up for any deep holes in your overdraft… MC: “Well, we spend whole days together at the airfield. There is a club bar serving 90p pints and 25p shots, so we organise a few parties there throughout the year. We try to make one or two socials per month, such as bowling or bar crawls, and we meet in Mooch every week for a pint… or seven.”

MC: “We do not push you into getting a licence, becoming a pilot or anything else. The main goal is having a great time. It is our hobby and I personally love helping other students to fly. Therefore, our primary hope for this year is great weather. I would add that many of our past members now fly for EasyJet and British Airways. Others say it was very helpful in job applications to engineering and business-related jobs.” CE: “One of my main goals in the future is to work towards becoming a solo pilot. Although I have just joined the club, I now have a training plan in place and a log-book to track all my progress. Within the first few flights I was starting to perform basic manoeuvres and hope that before next Easter, when the annual trip to Scotland happens, I will have my solo licence.”

IMPACT

WAVING THE FLAG,

FOR FLAG Tom Monks Impact sits down with two players of one of the UK’s more obscure sports, discussing the spirit and pressures within life at one of UoN’s emerging clubs If you happened to take a quick scoot around Welcome Fair, you’ll have added about twenty new words to your vocabulary; all of them the names of sports. These sports always have something in common; their club members had not heard of the sport before coming to university. Three words that won’t be new to you are ‘flag’, ‘American’ and ‘football’.

Put them together, however, and you get the absolute epitome of what a university sport club should be. Impact sat down with second year English and Philosophy student Miriam Thompson, who plays wide-receiver and joined the club last year, and Steph Warren, a wide-receiver and safety who’s craving for game time has taken her all the way to the international arena with Great Britain.

SPORT

‘Flag’, as they affectionately call it, is a non-contact variant of American Football, where teams of five players must remove a tag from the opposing ball carrier to ‘tackle’ them and end a down. Steph summed up the sport’s core principles: SW: “You can’t hit people! There are tweaks to the rules and different team sizes [compared to American Football]; it is more compact and you always practice as one rather than in terms of your position, but the biggest difference is that it’s non-contact. It’s an addictive game, there’s so much thinking that goes on; I spent over an hour the other night on the phone drawing up a play with a teammate! In my first year we had twelve plays, now we have thirty-six.” It may seem technical, but as Miriam explained, it’s something anyone can get involved in: MT: “We don’t ask for any previous sporting experience. I had never done a sport before, so I wanted something relatively easy to get into as I wouldn’t get through trials. I had no idea what Flag was but was open to trying something new, so I went along to the taster session. I’ve loved the sport ever since and started to compete in games just a month after joining, despite not understanding all the rules!”

“I don’t do uni sport because I want to be judged on my ability, I come because I like to play.” SW: “If we did trials, the system would have to be completely different. No-one has ever done anything like Flag before. If you turn people away because they don’t look great to begin with, you can end up losing out on those who will develop into really good players.”

Steph had initially played Netball for the English Society when a teammate asked her to come and play for a new Flag American Football club she was setting up, so was helping someone out rather than fitting the typical model of wanting to try something new. Having been fully converted however, the now GB international has some reflections on choosing a sport at uni. SW: “You can always go back to other sports after you leave. Here you have so many options, and you might never have that much choice ever again, in terms of the things you can try. You do not get the same opportunities at other clubs, so you might as well throw yourself into it. The more you put in, the more you get out. The small sports have amazing little communities.” One of those opportunities came in the form of trials for the Great Britain squad, when Steph began catching scouts’ eyes after two years of playing. Now her fellow countrywomen have competed at the European Championships in Madrid and Copenhagen, but as Steph made clear, to her it was just another chance to get out there and play. SW: “It was surreal, I guess. My main thought though was; ‘I like playing, and now I get to play more, and at a higher level’. It was exciting, of course, but to me it just seemed like a chance for more Flag! Sometimes I forget how much of a big deal it is for people, playing for GB. You see other squad members and can tell that the ‘GB’ part means a lot to them. I care just as much, but mainly because it gives me another chance to play. It’s great to represent your club, and the national side means a lot for the development of the sport.” Both have realistic plans for the future. They hope that the newly created Nottingham Trent University team will be up for having a first ever Varsity match, but know that stability is the main focus. With the club still small,

members might leave and one day the club could cease to exist. Steph heralds ‘Greavesy’, their coach, for helping the club ensure longevity when he took on the job all by himself: “He can be grumpy, but all good coaches are dedicated like that.”

“You might as well throw yourself into it. The more you put in the more you get out. The small sports have amazing little communities.” In terms of BUCS, more development in the sport is needed before anything can happen. “You can’t run a league without teams”, as Steph put it. Having graduated, however, she is quietly content with staying in the community Opal series, in which UoN finished 12th last term. It seems that Steph’s sole motivation really is the chance to just get out there and catch footballs. Indeed, when asked about going into coaching, she simply replied: “I could start coaching… but I could also play!” SW: “We just want as many people as possible to take part. We’ve always operated on the basis of including everybody. Even though I realise I can play, I wasn’t interested in trials. I don’t do uni sport because I want to be judged on my ability, I do it because I like to play. It’s great to be committed and I am desperate to do well, but it shouldn’t be a chore. As soon as it stops being fun, I’ll stop showing up.”

With thanks to Miriam Thompson, Stephanie Warren, Andrew Mathers, Richard Greaves and Tara the Spaniel

IMPACT

THE AFFORDABILTY OF

Jimmy Moorhouse With the £40 million David Ross Sports Village now having been open for around a year, Impact asked 100 people for their thoughts on the facilities available at the University of Nottingham, and whether or not it is worth the price we pay. We also consider the additional costs of sports clubs, and whether or not students believe to be getting their money’s worth when being an active part of the Green and Gold family IN YOUR OPINION, HOW REASONABLE IS THE COST (CLUB MEMBERSHIP, EXPENDITURE PER SESSION) OF PARTICIPATING IN YOUR CLUB? 53 RESPONSES

SPORT

“DRSV HAS MADE ME A MORE ACTIVE PERSON”

AGREE

DISAGREE

OTHER

Of the 100 people who participated in the survey, 70% confirmed that they had a sports and fitness membership at UoN, yet only 36% described themselves as competitively active or an athlete. This means that 64% of people own a gym membership purely for gym and class use, rather than in order to be part of and play for one of our 70 different sports clubs. Although some previous reports have suggested that a gym membership may be too expensive, most people responded that they believed the price, of £199 for a full year membership, was reasonable. We must take into account that DRSV cost a significant amount of money to construct, and whilst some may complain that the affordability of sport and fitness at Nottingham is too high, there are top facilities and classes on offer. It is easy to complain or argue that the price remains too high, yet when we asked whether those who had purchased a membership regretted their decision, over 70% stuck by their original choice.

“Whilst some may complain that the affordability of sport and fitness at Nottingham is too high, there are top facilities and classes on offer.” The survey also suggests that most students who are an active part of a sports team at Nottingham pay between £20 and £30 for clubmembership, and over 45% of responses described this as very reasonable. When we questioned students why they hadn’t joined a sports club at university, 28% said this was due to the additional costs, whereas most others stated that they either weren’t interested in joining a club, or didn’t believe they were of a high enough skill to join their sport of interest.

The survey appears to have created a split in the student population, as those who have a membership seem to use it regularly, with the majority going more than twice a week, whilst 24 out of the 30 people who don’t own a membership, stated that they didn’t have the funds to buy membership. 39% of students also believe that DRSV had made them more physically active, which is an excellent return on those who own a membership. It seemed to be the tendency amongst students to say that DRSV may not have been worth the £40 million price tag, whilst 39% said they were unsure; as students, we perhaps aren’t in the right position to analyse this sort of fee. It remains clear that the majority of students prefer the facility to the old one, and felt in general that the new complex has more than lived up to their expectations. When taking into account both facilities and sports clubs expenditure, most in the survey opted to sit on the fence on whether they believed it to be worth the price. However, when we consider the state of the art facilities on offer, as well as the wide range of sports clubs available to join, students are beginning to consider that the price of fitness membership and sport club participation at UoN is fair. Finally, as a long-term investment, we can hope that the facilities on offer to students continue to improve, perhaps leading to more pricing incentives and reductions in the future.

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