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Tories lose ground in Canterbury Conservatives lose 8 seats in Canterbury • Also lose 1,330 nationally • Worst local election results since 1995 • UKIP lose only two candidates By Jordan Ifield Newspaper News Editor
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he local council elections saw the Conservatives lose eight seats in Canterbury among a backlash against the government’s handling of Brexit. This included leader of Canterbury Council, Simon Cook, who lost the seat to Liberal Democrat, Mike Sole, by a margin of 238 votes. Speaking to Kent Online, the defeated Cook said that he had “no regrets”. He said: “We ran a very good council for four years and I am pleased with what we have done – but it is a big shame. Life goes on.” The city will remain Conservative-run but will have to be more willing to compromise with their counterparts in other parties.
Bill Bowkett’s insightful experience on living with autism Feature Page 12
Labour were the main beneficiaries of the election in the constituency, winning seven councillors. The Liberal Democrats doubled their councillors from three to six. UKIP lost their only two candidates. In total, the Tories lost 75 councillors across Kent, as they went on to lose 1,330 councillors in England, their worst result in local council elections since 1995 when they lost over 2,000. Notable losses included Folkestone & Hythe, no overall control; Gravesham, Labour gain; and Swale. Many pundits have since speculated that these results signify a backlash of the government’s handling of Brexit and may be further displayed in the upcoming European Parliament elections later this month. More on the EU elections on page 3...
Photo by The Complete University Guide
Friday 17 May 2019 14.11
Photo by the University of Kent
Kent drops to 49th in University Rankings By Bill Bowkett Newspaper Editor
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he University of Kent has dropped five places to 49th in the Complete University Guide league table for 2020. This shocking news is the first and only result yet received about the University’s overall rankings for 2019, as other prominent League Tables such as the Guardian and the Times Higher Education (THE) have yet to be released. This is the lowest position the University has held in the past decade. Last year, the University saw one of the largest drops in University rankings, going from 25th in 2018 to 44th in 2019. The University of Kent, which was granted its Royal Charter on 4 January 1965, is no longer the best higher education institution in Canterbury, with the improvement of the University of the Creative Arts (UCA) which has seen a seven-place rise to 48th. Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) now finds itself in the bottom 20, with the public university finding itself 117th, down 6. Cambridge retains its place at the top of the table with Oxford retaining second place. The standings - which rank more than 120 higher education centres are based on ten measures, ranging from entry standards and student satisfaction, to research quality and graduate prospects. Universities are
also ranked in more than 70 subject categories, as well as student-staff ratios and facilities. Dr Bernard Kingston, chairman of The Complete University Guide, said: “The evidence is clear; the increased emphasis, including funding, on employability and career planning within academic departments and student services is bearing fruit.” “Many institutions now have this as a core element of their strategic plans with the introduction of innovative programmes of subject-specific careers events focussed on embedding and signposting graduate destinations.” The University has been approached for comment. In an interview last September, Vice-Chancellor Karen Cox told InQuire that the University of Kent’s league rankings were due to a number of factors. She explained: “For one, it is effected by the way we calculate the Students and staff ratio. “It needs tightening up. We are also looking into the quality of staff we hire in light of the rising financial constraints facing workers. “And the second reason is the National Student Survey, particularly on areas to do with feedback and assessment. “It seems reasonable and rational that you [students] want feedback on your work and we will make sure staff and ourselves are aware of this.” “It is good for us to stand back and
ask, ‘what do we need to do?’, rather than just continuing to do what we have always done.” This year’s student-staff ratio, according the CUG collection, marginally decreased to 18, meaning that for each staff member there are currently 18 students. Although these figures suggest that each student would have less contact time with academic staff, the CUG states in its criterion that “a low student to staff ratio does not guarantee good quality of teaching or good access to staff”. Many ranking tables even dispute the necessity and impact of this feature, with the Guardian arguing that the ratio of the number of staff members to students does not accurately reflect teaching intensity and does not reveal who is performing the teaching. The University of Kent’s research and teaching intensity has remained incredibly high, ranking 0.85 out of 1. Its teaching quality is ranked as Gold by the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). Graduate prospects have decreased to 78.0 out of 100.0, down 4.4 from 2019, and the average UCAS tariff score of new students entering the university has reduced from 137 to 134. Student satisfaction, based on data from the National Student survey (NSS) for final-year undergraduate students, is another area which Kent has dropped in, going from 4.04 out of 5.00 in 2019 to 3.99 this year.
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Kent Union upholds suspension of Liberty Union By Alejandro Javierre Website News Editor
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K
ent Union have upheld their decision to suspend Liberty Union until the new academic year following an appeal made by the society. On the 28 March, a disciplinary panel found that UKC Liberty Union had breached Kent Union rules, and thus several sanctions were imposed against the society. The panel levied six sanctions against the group, which included a suspension of society activities until the 14th of June, the implementation of Union
reviewed social media guidelines along with the removal of any social media group chats, the requirement for all UKC Liberty members to take online Diversity and Inclusivity training before the start of next year, and the individuals names of members involved were passed onto the University for its own disciplinary procedures. As part of Kent Union’s policy, individuals and societies have the right to appeal the results of any disciplinary procedure, and Liberty Union appealed the decision of the investigation, made up of Union staff members, Sabbatical officers, and a representative of the
University of Kent’s Management team. Liberty Union then decided to appeal the decision by the panel discussion. Since Kent Union’s annoucncement, the society have released a statement in response to the findings of the panel, claiming that the society is against all members of the society being punished “for the distasteful comments of a few”, and also highlighted the reality that over 30% of Liberty Union members who are members of an ethnic minority will be required to complete the Equality and Inclusivity training. The society did, however, welcome the findings by the panel that Liberty Un-
ion, and the committee itself, were not “inherently racist”, and Liberty Union has taken responsibility for a lack of sufficient monitoring of the group’s chats. The appeal was seen by the President of Kent Union, Aaron Thompson, who had previously not been involved in the investigation procedures. Consequently, President Thompson, after reviewing the minutes of the panel discussions, found no signs of failure to follow Union procedure and no signs of bias among panel members. The appeal has since been officially denied as of the 11 of April, and Liberty Union’s suspension has been upheld.
Friday 17 May 2019 InQuire
EU Elections: Who will win the South East? By Jordan Ifield Newspaper News Editor
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uropean Parliament elections will go ahead in the South East on May 23 after the lack of progress on passing Brexit, with polls expecting another anti-Conservative vote swing. Kent Union are hosting a debate for the candidates on the 16 May, with all parties that have fielded 10 candidates being invited. Six candidates have confirmed their attendance: Change UK, Conservative, Greens, Labour, Liberal Democrats, and UKIP. Change UK’s candidate in attendance is Richard Ashworth, notable for having been the Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, before leaving in 2018 after frustrations over the lack of progress made with Brexit. The Brexit Party and Socialist Party have yet to confirm their attendance. Polls have placed The Brexit Party, newly created under the former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, as the overall winners of the election, just above Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour. InQuire have conducted a mini-poll into how our readers would vote in the election, and found that Labour were most likely to win with the Brexit Party coming a close second. Strikingly for the Conservatives, more readers responded that they wouldn’t vote rather than vote for their candi-
dates. 10 MEP’s will be selected in the South East region to represent constituents in Brussels In an attempt to drum up support for Labour’s EU campaign, leader Jeremy Corbyn launched their party manifesto in Chatham and spoke to activists at the University of Kent’s Medway campus. Despite claims that Labour’s position on Brexit hindered their performance in the recent council elections, losing 84 councillors and 6 councils, Corbyn dismissed the idea. “We’re not trying to win the votes of just leavers, or just remainers. Instead, we’re reaching out to everyone.” Instead the MP for Islington North declared that “The real divide in our country is not how people voted in the EU referendum. The real divide is between the many and the few”. Voting opens on the 23 May 2019.
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Jeremy Corbyn speaking at Labour EU Parliament Election manifesto launch at Medway campus (Photo by Kent Online)
Photo by Gage Skidmore
Chancellor Gavin Esler to run as MEP in EU elections By Alejandro Javierre Website News Editor
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niversity Chancellor Gavin Esler has announced that he will be running as a Minister for European Parliament in the upcoming European Elections as a member of the Change UK Party. The prominent remain pundit, news journalist, publisher, and author will be running alongside other famous figures in journalism including Rachel Johnson, the sister of Backbench conservative MP Boris Johnson, to stand with the newly formed party previously known as “The Independent Group”. There were around 70 people from across the country who were chosen as MEP candidates for the group, with more than 3500 people originally offering to stand as a MEP in the upcoming elections, as claimed by Change UK leader Heidi Allen. Mr Esler, who is currently the figurehead of the University of Kent as its Chancellor and runs the “In Conversation” series on campus, will be running as a MEP for the London region. The announcement came hours before another Change UK candidate was forced to step down after an “inappropriate” tweet regarding Romanians in London from 2017 surfaced. In the official announcement conference, Mr Esler argued that Brexit was based on “cheating and lies” and claimed that the current UK political system was “a worldwide joke”. Speaking to InQuire directly, Mr Esler clarified that “my decision to run is entirely separate from my role as Chancellor”, and “I know how
News at a glance
concerned many students, our excellent student union reps, and our staff are about the implications of Brexit. Knowledge has no borders.” “Our staff and students from EU countries are superb and the diverse cultural experience is part of what makes our university life so wonderful.” Esler also remarked how “no one born in the 21st century voted for Brexit”, and that it is the Chancellor’s desire to let new voters “have their say”.
“No one born in the 21st century voted for Brexit” Current estimates by political survey organisations, such as Survation, Opinium Westminster, and YouGov predict Change UK to hold around 3-4% of the total vote share in the upcoming elections, superseded by both the Liberal Democrat Party, and the newly formed Brexit Party, but it is too early to tell where this percentage will translate into corresponding proportions of election MEPs for the Party. The 2019 European Elections will take place on the 23rd of May, where registered citizens of every European member state will decide on their elected representatives for European Parliament, and UK turnout to these elections has been steadily increasing over the past several years, with more increases in turnout expected in May.
Lambeth Conference to go ahead at Kent The University has decided to allow the Lambeth Conference to be held on campus, despite opposition from Kent Union over the conference’s ban on same-sex couples. After a meeting with the University, the Union has decided to decided to provide accommodation to same-sex spouses who have been denied an invitation, a proposition the University agreed with. The Union will also be hosting lectures and seminars during the course of the conference based on LGBT+ themes and inviting attendees of the conference to attend.
Universities fail to catch cheaters
Homeless crisis in Canterbury
A recent investigation by Channel 4 found that only 1% of students that use essay mills are caught. Out of the 99 universities contacted, 58 claimed that they had recorded instances of “contract cheats” whilst international students (those not from the EU) were responsible in 58-73% of cheating at each university.
Canterbury City Council have come under fire after it was revealed that 80% of those in temporary housing are no longer in the Canterbury district- within 60 miles. Speaking to KentOnline, former Council leader, Simon Cook, claimed that “it is absolutely a moral duty on this council to keep within the district so far as humanly possible.” Homelessness charity, Porchlight, have since claimed that the Council’s actions aren’t good enough.
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Photo by the University of Kent
Universities told to close race attainment gap A study by Universities UK and the National Union of Students (NUS) found that there was 13% gap between white and BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) students. The report recommends that universities: provide strong leadership to removing the gap, have conversations about race and develop racially diverse and inclusive environments.
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Year of News By InQuire News Team
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o final edition of InQuire would be complete without a roundup of what’s happened this academic year.
Canterbury’s newest nightclub Tokyo Tea Rooms accused of cultural appropriation
including ‘chavs’ and Harry Enfield’s ‘Tory Boy’ character. Students were also been warned by the Union against dressing up as a gender they do not identify with “if the purpose is to belittle”.
Union backs second EU referendum Following on from the fancy dress controversy, Kent Union created, and consequently passed, a proposal supporting a ‘People’s Vote’ and being “in favour of Remain.” The Union outlined several reasons for the proposal: “A number of promises which were made by the official Leave Campaign (members of which are now very senior members of Government) have at best been made to have seemed ill-advised and absurd, or at worst outright lies.” Photo by Wikimedia Commons
“Let’s bait people into being abusive” Continuing on from the Carl Benjamin controversy, an InQuire investigation found that an anti-fascist (Antifa) Facebook group chat, which included Kent Union officers, discussed intent to ‘bait people into being abusive’ at his controversial talk at the University, They then further ignored requests from the Union to contact security for student safety. On 27 November, an active member of the chat sent: “The plan is to hand out leaflets with Carl Benjamin’s most virulent anti-semitic comments and try and bait people into being abusive.”
Universities could go bust in wake of no deal In a year which has once again been dominated by the B-word, leading academics in February branded a no deal Brexit as “one of the biggest threats” ever encountered by universities, adding that “it would take decades” for the sector to recover.
“I’d back Boris”- Jacob Rees-Mogg at Kent Another invited guest from Liberty Union, infamous Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg MP spoke at the University of Kent and opened up his opinions on a Tory leadership contest. Having gathered the audience’s opinion, who were mostly in favour of Boris Johnson, he too concluded that he “won’t put my own name forward” but that “if a vote were tomorrow, I’d back Boris”.
Election 2019: Year of the woman
Starting off the academic year explosively, the newly opened cocktail bar in Canterbury, Tokyo Tea rooms, made national headlines after being criticised for appropriating Japanese culture. Members of the public reacted angrily after images emerged online from the club’s Facebook page showing two members of staff dressed in Asian-inspired outfits on its official launch night in August, after undergoing a £1 million makeover back in July. The two were seen wearing formal kimonos, the traditional dress of Japan, and Shimada-styled nihongami wigs. They are wearing white makeup traditionally worn by Geishas, Japanese hostesses trained to entertain men with conversation, dance, and song. “Sex for rent” offered by landlords in Canterbury
An investigation by Unified’s Classie Opulencia uncovered that up to eighteen Canterbury landlords had offered ‘sex for rent’ schemes to students. Landlords initially offered the undercover student ‘Isabelle’ accommodation with payment, only to suggest ‘sex for rent’ arrangements when ‘Isabelle’ claimed she did not have sufficient funds for their initial offer.
University “masterplan” for hotel and conference centre
Photo by Emily Heath
Controversial YouTuber set to speak at Kent causes backlash from students In a trend that continued throughout the year, Liberty Union caused controversy when inviting the YouTube personality Carl Benjamin to speak at the University. A group of students launched a campaign to de-platform the now-UKIP MEP candidate for South West England because of his “horrible” views on race, religion, and other subjects. Although this eventually failed and he attended, this is not the last time you would hear of him again in this year.
Racist graffiti spotted on campus Whilst unfortunately not constrained to the University campus, Neo-Nazi racist graffiti was found at the back of Elliot College in November. The graffiti, which read ‘KKK’ followed by a swastika, a Nazi symbol, was quickly removed. Photo by Alejandro Javierre
SU shop to re-brand into Co-op For many students the SU Shop has become synonymous with their university experience, and in March it was announced that from next year it will be rebranded as a Cooperative ran by students.. The current stores, previously called Essentials before a rebranding as the SU Shop last year, is primarily being stocked with products from the Cooperative Food Group, though the management is overseen by Kent Union.
With the University of Kent’s expansion continually happening around us, it was announced that the university “is considering partnering with an operator to establish a hotel and conference centre within the Campus Heart or its fringes”.
Union to go ahead with ‘fancy dress guidelines’ Kent Union came under fire from students and academics for its ‘fancy-dress guidelines’. The guidelines stated: “Students groups are free to engage in fancy dress whilst ensuring they abide by the Fancy Dress Guidelines which include being offensive, discriminatory and prejudice to an individual’s race, gender, disability or sexual orientation or based on stereotypes.”
Another year, another Kent Union election. However, this year was unlike many others as for the first time, all full-time officers elected were women. Sasha Langeveldt, incumbent Vice-President (Activities), defeated challengers Connor Hanagan-Morrissey and Lauren Thynne to become President for 2019-20 term; she will take over from current President, Aaron Thompson.
Photo by Lee Evans
Canterbury now backs remain Whilst Kent Union’s support for a second referendum set the precedence, a survey conducted by Survation found the Canterbury residents would vote for remain if there was another Brexit referendum. In 2016 Kent voted in favour of Leave 59% to 41%, although Canterbury was the closest constituency in the region.
One in four rapes result in charges Photo by Amazon Among the banned costumes included celebrities known for their sexual misconduct or abuse of power, like disgraced DJ Jimmy Saville, or historical/religious figures such as the Crusades and Nazis. Other costumes cited by the Union include; priests and nuns, cowboys and Native Americans, ISIS bombers, Israeli soldiers and The Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him); and political stereotypes,
An investigation by new Website News Editor, Alejandro Javierre, found that one in four rape cases reported to Kent Police result in charges. Data released by the Ministry of Justice and Rape Monitoring group showed that in 2016-2017, there were 1,569 officially recorded incidents classified as rape in the county.
Dozens of students stand in solidarity of Christchurch To round-off the year in an uplifting moment, hundreds of students joined in the ‘Jummah on the Plaza’ to support the Islamic society in prayer after the horrific events in Christchurch, New Zealand. The collective prayer was hosted by a collaboration between the the University, ISOC, Canterbury Mosque and Kent Union.
Friday 17 May 2019 InQuire
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Opinion Pete Buttigieg: America’s saving grace?
Photo by Wish
Photo by Pete Buttigieg | Wikimedia
We gays should grow up
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By Olivia Warr Writer
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ete Buttigieg is one of the Democratic nominees for the 2020 presidential election. The 37-year-old looks to be the kind of leader that the United States needs. He could be a transformational candidate who, if successful in his primary campaign, has a good chance of preventing Trump from embarking on his second term. Buttigieg presents himself as the voice of millennials, in which his views rightfully reflect the contemporary issues affecting young people. The major scrutiny that has befallen Buttigieg has mostly been a result of his policies. Critics deemed his answers to voters’ questions generic and have criticised his lack of exploration. But it should not matter whether his policies are generic or not – so long as they are beneficial to the country and attainable. Buttigieg expressed support for an array of policies that would be good for America. Some of the most important of these are tougher action on climate change, gun control reform, and LGBTQ+ rights. These are issues that have gained huge attention over recent years and are areas that desperately need addressing. Some have argued that Buttigieg is making empty
promises when he brings these issues into his campaign, however these are areas in need of reform; Buttigieg has not promised to end climate change, he has made clear that his work will take steps in the right direction. Buttigieg’s lack of policy expansion is instead a deliberate move – voters are not looking for policy papers. This is accurate to an extent; many voters are keen to give their support to an individual, rather than a manifesto. Regardless, Buttigieg should offer an explanation of what he plans to do if elected; this would boost his support, especially amongst the older generation of voters. Buttigieg has received a huge backing, and his success so far has come as a massive surprise. He stands in quite a contrast from some of the other, more traditional candidates. He holds a lower place in office than most; as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He is a lieutenant in the US army and a war veteran. He is also married to another man. And although his sexuality should not make the foundation of his campaign, if America can elect an openly gay president in 2020, it will speak volumes for equality and mark an astounding break away from the regressive nature of the incumbent chief executive.
he LGBTQ+ community, especially within the institutionalised ‘progressive’ social attitudes entrenched at the University of Kent, are not helping themselves. They are not helping me, a queer student. I do not want to be a victim. There are challenges and difficulties facing us to be sure, but acting as there might be danger or conspiracy around every corner is not a way to reach a fulfilling life. The University of Kent has decided to host the ‘Lambeth Conference’ of the Church of England (which is still knocking about, believe it or not) in 2020, the second time it has been hosted at the University since 1978. The concern, or outrage, that this conference is being hosted at UKC does not appear to spring from theological concerns. There does not appear to be any outrage at Old Testament injunctions against homosexuality (not unique in monotheism to be sure) or institutional CofE ostracization of gay people. No, the outrage arised because Archbishop Welby did not think it appropriate that the same sex partners of his own clergy attend. I did not realise that the Church of England was so abundant in membership that it could turn people away. The Church of England appears as if it needs more allies than opponents. Not that LGBTQ+ folk have ever been allies of Christianity or any monotheism. Monotheism has and always will despise deviants – whether that be on sexual, ethnic, theological or philosophical grounds – because deviants are an innate threat to their divine and totalitarian order. This issue brings us to the main threat: militant and theocratic Islam. The states of the world that have the most regressive laws and practices towards LGBTQ+ are those that are the most theocratic or Islamo-Fascist. The despotic regimes of Iran or Saudi Arabia (or the former ‘Islamic State’) punish the legitimate and beautiful expression of homosexual love and affection as criminal behaviours worthy of the death penalty. For this reason alone, gay folk ought to celebrate President Trump’s recent announcement that he wishes homosexuality to be decriminalised worldwide. President Trump is a divisive figure; however, on this issue he deserves encouragement and praise. The LGBTQ+ community of our University should spend more time organising and highlighting these disgusting regimes than ‘micro-aggressions’. We are not a homogenous voice, and if dissent is (ironically)
supressed within our own community then what right do we have to demand freedom of thought and expression for those repressed in barbaric circumstance? We are fortunate to live in the 21st century, in the United Kingdom, on a university campus. It is true to say that there are parts of our nation that are not so enlightened. It is true to say that disgusting attacks occur against the LGBTQ+ community because of the mere audacity that they dare to exist and express themselves as is their right. These bigoted attacks must be challenged at every opportunity. Those who have struggled, for a century or more, to make sure I have the freedom to sit and write this article deserve (long awaited and overdue) recognition. I’m not so opposed to LGBTQ+ history month/awareness events, but it would be preferable that this was integrated into the national curriculum alongside ‘normal’ history. But we are not always a victim, or a victim all the time. LGBTQ+ folk can, and indeed do, achieve great things. I would be more ashamed to ‘come out’ as a political Conservative than a queer man. It is fair to say that conservative forces have usually aligned against the liberation of the LGBTQ+ community, although this was almost always as a supplicant to religious interests. Recent developments of the libertarian right prove encouraging, showing that perhaps gay folk don’t have to axiomatically align with ‘progressive’ politics or figures just because they seemingly advocate for us to have more and more rights; despite us being in the greatest position of legal equality in human history. Those who have toiled, fought and even bled for this outcome deserve our thanks. Those who want to exploit and puppet us do not. Self-pitying victimhood serves only to indulge in a constructed reality that the world is out to get us, that around every corner is a homophobic or transphobic foe lurking. The world is waiting for our stamp as much as anyone else’s. The future will be written by who are bold enough to act, not those clamouring for safe spaces and trigger warnings. The mentality of victimhood will only hold us back; we should be ready to drive forward the motions of history. Now is our time more than ever. We gays should grow up. We have nothing to lose but our fear. Disclaimer: the author of this article has chosen to remain anonymous.
‘Self-pitying victimhood serves only to indulge in a constructed reality that the world is out to get us, that around every corner is a homophobic or transphobic foe lurking’
Friday 17 May 2019 InQuire
Brexit Showdown
Opinion
Two writers give their take on whether the U.K. government should back a ‘People’s Vote’
Photo by WoodleyWonderWorks | Flickr
‘We could have two referendums. As it happens it might make more sense to have the second referendum after the renegotiation is completed...’ By Rhys Brown Young Europeans Canterbury
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his is not a quote from a remainer, but from a staunch Brexit advocate Jacob Ress-Mogg. There are numerous reasons for a ‘People’s Vote’ or a confirmatory second referendum, not least the recent polling which shows more support for remain than leave. Although many remainers wish to stop Brexit all together, the vast amount of people, leave and remain voters alike, are simply not happy with the current state of Theresa May’s deal. Here are some of the key reasons a ‘People’s Vote’ is the best way forward:
It’s not undemocratic To quote another prominent Conservative politician, ‘If a democracy cannot change its mind, it ceases to be a democracy’ (David Davis 2012). A frequently used argument by the opposing side is that remainers are betraying the people’s will, but that is simply not true. Instead we want what is best for this country and for people to have more of a say. Voters change their minds; more information is available than there was in 2016, and the full impact of Brexit is now better understood. Not to mention 2 million new voters are eligible to
vote since 2016, do they not get a say? Should the snapshot of public opinion taken three years ago be the driving force behind a Brexit that will drag on for at least the next 10 years?
The current deal is bad, really bad The 51.9% of people who voted leave did not all vote for a no-deal Brexit, and they certainly did not vote for the current deal on the table. Nobody voted for a deal that makes you poorer whilst giving the UK less autonomy. May’s deal does not deliver on any of the promises that those who voted for Brexit were offered and leaves us tied to the EU without the huge say we currently have. Parliament is a mess, no one can command a majority. Is it not time for the people to make themselves heard?
Lies, deceit, and fraud There is an often-forgotten dimension to the referendum in 2016, which is the fact it was tainted with dark money, fraud and misconduct. The Electoral Commission ruled that the Vote Leave campaign broke electoral law, and they have subsequently been fined. Just to add more fuel to the fire, the electoral commission itself was called out by the High Court for its misconduct in giving the leave campaign an unfair advantage. There have also been several reports from the government and NGOs regarding Russia’s interference in the referendum. This is without mentioning all the ‘unofficial lies’ told during the campaign. Remember that red bus that said we would get £350 million a week, which we would spend on the NHS? A blatant lie. Let us learn from our mistakes and make a second referendum a truly fair act of democracy. This is not an article advocating remaining in the EU, but instead a call for a democratic vote to move this country forward. If Brexiteers are so sure they still have majority support, then why are they scared of a second vote? If the result still shows support for leaving the EU, on whatever terms, then that mandate can be implemented.
A second referendum would undermine the 2016 vote By Elizabeth Few Writer
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aving already voted to leave the European Union, holding a second referendum would only cause further disarray to current politics. The main argument behind changing public opinion regarding Brexit boils down to its poor handling so far. If a deal had been made in a smoother transition, would people’s opinions be the same? Theresa May is constantly opposed and criticised no matter the decision she comes to, having already had two drafts refused by government. It is clear to see that the government is a mess. But had the vote gone the other way, would politicians still have acted in the same child-like manner? As much criticism as the PM receives, there does not appear to be any better ideas coming from Parliament. The way the government has handled Brexit is shameful – politicians should have offered guidance and support to the Prime Minister as she tried to establish the best deal possible. Must we be reminded that May herself did not want Brexit in the first place, so taking on the role to lead the country through the exit is admirable. Having a another vote would further undermine both May’s efforts and the original ‘People’s Vote’ held in 2016. Yes, it would allow another year of the younger generation to vote, but when looking at the turn out statistics for
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the first vote it is hard to see whether this would really make a difference. Statistics from the Independent show that of the 64% of young people registered to vote, only 8% used their right, compared to 65% of 25-39-year-olds. For reference, based on population data from the Office of National Statistics, it would have required 73% of young voters for the UK to have voted to remain. This debate will always come down to the argument between the younger generation versus the older. Scotland, for instance, let 16-yearolds vote for national independence and found that it was the younger generation that held the more liberal views. The older generation have wider life experiences and awareness of political issues; however, it is the younger generation that will have to live with what the vote concludes. Allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote would have added an extra 1.6 million members to the electorate, meaning it would have reduced leave numbers to a point where the concept of a majority would have been highly controversial. However, it cannot be counterfactually certain as to whether this would have changed the outcome. Even government is split over whether we should have a second referendum. The Labour party are currently refusing to back the call for a confirmatory vote. Is this Corbyn yet again backing away from any proper sense of responsibility as leader? He is always the first to criticise any of May’s actions, but has failed to come up with any proper solutions to the issues he condemns. Sure, lies were told by many politicians during their campaigns in the lead up to the 2016 vote, but voters knew what they were voting for. If a second referendum is held, would it really be worth the hassle? When Brexit is voted through once more, we would be back to square one and if it were retracted, then we would have to sheepishly back into a corner and apologise to the governing body of the EU, and indeed the world, for the debacle caused.
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Editorial
We have more in common than you think
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By Molly Hope Editor-in-Chief 2018/19
he year is nearly over, final exams are underway, and graduation is fast approaching. I won’t pretend to be able to impart profound words of wisdom about what the future holds—you can turn to your star sign for that—I am just as clueless about the future as the rest of you. I can only speak on what I have seen, experienced, and learned this year, and perhaps I can impart some small grain of valuable advice, whether you’re graduating or beginning your University experience. As Editor-in-Chief of InQuire, I have been lucky enough to have met hundreds of new and interesting people this year. I interviewed our Union President, Carl Benjamin, a sexual assault survivor, the heads of many societies and sports teams, activists, lecturers, politicians, and many more. The privilege of reporting on, and engaging with, these many radically different ideologies, arguments, and beliefs, has taught me the importance of respectfully listening to diverse viewpoints from a neutral standpoint—an ability
I did not have as a fresher. When I first attended university, I felt empowered by the dynamic, intellectual atmosphere, which provided a platform and newfound confidence to speak my opinions loudly, irrespective of what anyone else thought. I was able to make myself heard, and I was proud of that. As I leave university, however, I feel empowered that I know the value in listening, of staying quiet, of developing an informed opinion, and making decisions that I believe in wholeheartedly because I have taken the time to thoughtfully consider their implications. Despite all the amazing and interesting people I’ve had the opportunity to meet, it is the everyday conversations with those around me that have truly made my university experience. The late-night conversations with my flatmates, the heated seminar discussions, the committee meetings, and drunken conversations in the Venue smoking area. Engaging with the people around me, whether they’re my best friends or a perfect stranger, is what taught me how much you can learn from respectfully engaging and listening to those around you. What has become increasingly apparent to me is that what I appreciate and value most about a person is not how closely their values and beliefs align with my own, but how willing they are to listen to what I have to say, how politely and intelligently they argue their beliefs, and how respectful they are of opinions that vary from their own. The beautiful thing about university is that when you meet people
and they become a part of your friendship group, their political beliefs and the many ways they may differ from you, seem to fade, and you are just left with a good friend who you can laugh with while discussing stimulating topics. Some of my favourite people I’ve encountered are those whose beliefs differ drastically to my own and some of my worst arguments have been with people who, on the face of it, hold similar opinions to my own. The most important lesson I learned, and only advice I can impart, is not to presume judgement on someone who, for example, voted for Brexit or someone who reads the Guardian—I can confidently say, from experience, that there is invariably more common ground than you think.
Photos by Kent Union
Lifestyle
Balancing mental health with university
M Ben Duchac| Unsplash
anaging a mental health condition can be difficult enough without adding the stress of university and maintaining a social life on top. Many of you may be feeling the pressure at the moment with it being exam season, so here’s some advice on how to stay calm and positive!
Friday 17 May 2019 InQuire
How to:
style with ease By Eloïse McCrohan Writer
Our mental health fluctuates as our lives do; we meet new people, lose touch with others, have failures and successes, have good and bad days. Everyday you grow as a person and begin to become a better you. Give yourself the time to process the things that happen and don’t criticise or obsess over destructive thoughts. Everybody has bad moments in their life. If you’re experiencing a bad moment, chances are a good one is just waiting around the corner. And if you’re experiencing a good moment make sure to enjoy every minute and use it as a memory to help you in difficult times.
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More people have mental health conditions than you might think:
According to YouGov more than 1 in 4 students suffer from mental health problems, 27% to be more exact. That means that in the average class of 20 students there are 4 other people with mental health conditions that understand exactly what it’s like to balance university with a mental health condition. From my experience people are understanding of any mental health conditions.Just remember your mental health is only one part of you and you have a million other skills and sides to your personality.
Lastly, seek help when you need it:
Sometimes simple things like watching your favourite film with a takeaway and loads of chocolate can really make a difference. Our lives can be so hectic that we don’t notice when we’re feeling overwhelmed and taking a step back can allow us to see things better. Spend some time with family and friends or do something that you know always cheers you up. If you still feel like you’re struggling and need help don’t be afraid to reach out. The university’s Student Support and Wellbeing Service is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and is located in Keynes College, you can book an appointment either in person or call 01227 823158. The team also runs crisis drop-in sessions for students who urgently need help from 2pm-4pm every day. The university also runs Canterbury Nightline on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8pm-8am on 01227 824848 or message them 24/7 on listening@canterbury.nightline.ac.uk. Samaritans run a free 24-hour phone line on 116 123 and their Canterbury office is at 32 Northgate, CT1 1BL.
By Alys Parsons Writer
Exam and revision tips Kinga Cichewicz| Unsplash
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The Creative Exchange| Unsplash
t’s official. Exam season has finally arrived and many of us will be up late revising and writing those seemingly-endless dissertations. While hours of revision and examinations may not sound appealing to everyone, there are ways to make these intense times more enjoyable while also getting the most out of revision.
Change your study location:
Life isn’t just sunshine and rainbows:
Good luck to everyone over exam season and for those balancing exams with mental health conditions remember exams may seem like the most important thing in the world but they last for such a short period. Exam stress may be impacting your mental health, but it should improve once they’re over. You can do it!
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Ally Star| Unsplash
tylebook is all about wardrobe management. So if you’re wardrobe is as messy as mine, or you simply love being organised, this may be the app for you. The app digitalises your wardrobe so that your morning struggle for something to wear is simplified to a few swipes on your phone. Much like in the manner of Cher’s fashion machine from Clueless, and in all honesty, who hasn’t dreamed of having her digital wardrobe? This is an app that will save you from making endless piles of clothes on the floor and the stress of not knowing what to wear. You digitize your wardrobe by taking a picture of each piece of clothing that you own; this does take time and patience, but your efforts are greatly rewarded. Once you have taken a picture of a piece of clothing, where the background is automatically edited out, you are then free to sort all your photos into the categories that you choose. (Top tip: It is important to find a background of a different colour than the items to simplify the background removing process.) If you are not pleased with the result, you can always edit out the background manually. Once you have done this, you make outfits, or looks, by selecting different pieces of clothing and placing them onto a white background, it becomes slightly addictive to figure out what works with what, and before you know it you’ll have plenty of outfits to choose from. The app offers a variety of services as soon as you have a few clothing items in your wardrobe. For instance, a very handy feature is the calendar, which lets you plan your outfits in advance. This means that you have one less thing to worry about in the habitual morning panic. Another feature is the holiday section, where you can choose all the items you want to pack. There is also the inspiration feature which lets you save images of different outfits to your phone, which I’m sure will pique the interest of Pinterest fans. Stylebook also has a section dedicated to style statistics, which offers a variety of information on your wardrobe, such as the number or articles, their value, what you wear most or least, the colour, material, or size you wear the most, as well as the shops you are prone to. The app does require some effort, but in the end it does give you a digital wardrobe and the freedom to play around with your clothes from your phone. By doing this, it also lets you see the entirety of your wardrobe easily, which will help you avoid buying similar items. Stylebook gives you the opportunity to play around with your clothes and get more accustomed to your style, as well as letting you worry about one less thing in the morning. It is definitely an app that a modern day Cher would swoon over.
We all like to have a place on campus where we prefer to study. For me it’s the library café where I can look out over the beautiful views of Canterbury City. However, staying for long periods of time in the same place is likely to make you more prone to distraction and losing focus with your work. After a few hours, try moving to a different place, another café or even somewhere in town. With plenty of friendly study places on offer, why not take advantage of them!
Have some healthy snacks on hand:
It’s become all too easy to nip to Essentials and pick up something quick and easy. While this may be the convenient option, having some healthy snacks on hand will not only reduce the need for a quick fix but also provide healthy study energy. Especially if you have a lengthy exam fast approaching. - Cereal bars, fruit, wholemeal sandwiches and rice cakes are all good options. But since it’s the exam season, just remember you need to treat yourself every now and then!
Create a music playlist:
If there’s one thing I can’t get through the day without, it’s music. It lightens the mood and prevents me from getting too distracted. Whilst this case may be different for others, try creating a playlist of your favourite tunes and see if you like it. Update the content of your playlist regularly and mix up the tunes a bit. And why not try adding a couple of hits from your favourite movie or game soundtrack to spice it up!
Revise in colour:
If you’re producing endless pages of revision notes, then why not try adding some colour to it? Write different sections, topics or important points in separate colours. It always helps me to memorise them better. A different highlighter colour for each topic or even little pictograms can be an entertaining and memorable way to revise.
Take regular breaks:
Nothing feels worse than staring at a computer and your notes for hours on end only to feel drained and potentially sleep deprived. Set yourself an hour or two of study time and then grab a coffee, take a 10-minute walk or change your study location. It’s surprising how a short break can refresh the mind and bring it back into focus for your remaining revision session. Do your best! Go into that exam hall with confidence and give it your best. When all those revision nights, exams and dissertations are out of the way, it’ll be a well-deserved break once summer arrives!
By Grace Pulford Writer
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Lifestyle
Food
Quick and W easy summer snacks
hen it comes to summer most people find that their appetites decrease and so a big hearty meal isn’t exactly what we want. A more snacky and easier to make food is more ideal, especially if you are spending most of your time outside and enjoying your summer holiday (as you should be!).
Here are 5 snack ideas for you to try this summer:
1) Apple slices and peanut
Photo by Blue-Belle Kulpa
By Blue-Belle Kulpa Newspaper Lifestyle Editor
2) Refreshing sorbet. The ingreIngrediants:
1) Apple, peanut butter. It can also be almond butter or other variations. Maybe even try peanut butter and jam.
2) Pineapple, fresh mint. You can also add apple or other fruits and experiment with making your own sorbet.
3) Celery, cream cheese or some variation of soft cheese. 4) Pitta, hummus. Optional - carrots, cucumber or other vegetables.
5) One fresh tomato, basil (preferably fresh), lemon, a baguette. Optional - soft cheese, ham, butter.
dients of which are frozen pineapple chunks and mint. The recipe is simple; blend them together and you have a cold and healthy snack for a hot day. This is an easy snack which does require time to cut and then freeze the pineapple chunks but it seems worth the prep time.
3) Celery and cream cheese. Another classic dipping snack, nothing beats some healthy veg and some dairy. Just remember to peel the stringy side of the celery so it isn’t chewy!
butter. Nothing beats a snack that involves no cooking and little prep time. If you’re craving something sweet then this snack is the way to go. It’s a great mix of healthy and sugar. Callum Lewis | Unsplash
4) Pitta bread and hummus. An- 5) other dipping snack, which is a personal favourite. This snack is so easy to make; just put the pitta bread in the toaster or under the grill and when its a slight golden brown and crispy you take it out and carefully tare it up ready to be dipped into the hummus while hot. You can also have this with freshly cut carrot, cucumber and other vegetables of your liking instead of the pitta. They all work together to make an easy and healthy snack!
Tomato bruschetta. A slightly more complex, yet still delicious snack or starter. It is basically salsa on toasted bread, the only difference being that it is freshly made from tomatoes and the bread isn’t the sliced loaf kind. There are hundreds of recipes online on how to do this simple dish which is great for when you have friends/family over. An even easier version of this coined ‘Pizza-inspired flatbread’ by Buzzfeed uses fresh tomato and feta cheese on top of flatbread (known to us as crispbread). This would be an easier alternative for those who have yet to channel their inner chef and just want an easy snack.
It is understandable that everyone has, by now, figured out what their prefered snacks are. But why not give these easy and healthier snacks a go? At least you’ll know exactly what you are eating and create less harmful waste as well. After all summer is all about trying new things and enjoying yourself, if you keep your body happy and healthy you will be as well.
Friday 17 May 2019 InQuire
Travel
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Lifestyle
Why you should holiday closer to home Going back to the same place a few times is also a nice idea, though you may have been there once and thought ‘yep, I can check that off my travel list’ there is nothing better than knowing a foreign place well. Being able to navigate yourself around with ease and know the best and cheapest places to go is quite the feeling of accomplishment. Then again, that depends entirely on how long you have stayed in said place, if you stayed for a month then you can discover it pretty well but if you only went for a weekend then maybe a second trip will be due in the future. Overall, if you’re new to travelling and don’t want to break the bank then do your research and start off travelling nearby. Then you can get a feel for it and be confident in your ability to be an independent traveller. All that’s left to do then is sit back and enjoy the holiday.
Top tip on packing: separate your liquids in a waterproof bag and rolling your clothes instead of folding them really does save space.
Dariusz Sankowski| Unsplash
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ith the price of basically everything increasing and airlines cancelling flights or changing which airports they fly from, like Flybe during Easter, it is expensive and hard to plan a holiday. Not only do you have to decide on where you are going but also how you are getting there and where you will be staying. And then you need to work out what you can actually afford. Most of these problems can be made easier however if you decide to holiday closer to home. And I don’t mean the town next door or the beach that is an hour away, I mean sticking to European Countries. Not only do you have the advantage of being close to home if something happens but you will most likely find that friends and family may have travelled there already and so can give you tips and advice. Take Paris, France for instance, planning a trip there has many possibilities as you can take the ferry, the eurostar, a coach or a plane. And there are even more options for accomodation than travel; you can stay in a hostel, a hotel, an airbnb, you can couch-surf or even stay with friends or a relative. Each of these options varies in price and distance from where you want to be and explore and so are well worth a thorough looking into. Travelling to a new country or place that is still close to home is also a good exercise for those who have not travelled much. This being because you not only learn the ropes about travelling with others and/or on your own but you can also figure out what kind of traveller you are and how you go about it while still having the safety net of being close enough to your family/friends in order for them to help if you get into a pickle. You will figure out packing; what you actually need and what you shouldn’t pack next time because you didn’t use it.
By Blue-Belle Kulpa Newspaper Lifestyle Editor
Things to do this summer
H
ere’s my list of the best things to do this summer and how to make the most of it!
The Tate Britain in London has several exhibitions over the summer period. Until the 11th August visitors can see Van Gogh’s works on display and learn about the artist’s influence on fellow artists and his connections to Britain. For those looking for something more unusual there is also an exhibition on Magic Realism in Germany until the 14th July. Most of the gallery’s exhibits are free to enter but those aged 16-25 can also apply for a free Tate Collective membership which reduces exhibition costs to £5 and gives you 10% off food in both the gallery’s gift shops and cafés, making for a cheap but enjoyable day out. The Barbican features an exhibition on Artificial Intelligence from May 16th until August 26th, the exhibition features the latest in AI and explores whether it truly possesses any threat to humanity. TimeOut is also showing a selection of films over the summer months. With films ranging from Grease and Bohemian Rhapsody to Back to the Future and Top Gun - there’s something for everyone. Prices range from £29.00 to £38.50 and whilst this may seem expensive the films are screened on the top deck of a boat and also include a sunset cruise on the Thames. A pretty cool treat for finishing exams and a step up from most outdoor film screenings. The programme of films runs from June 4th until August and more details can be found on the website: https://checkout.timeout.com/ london/time-out-movies-on-the-river The Marlowe has a wide variety of shows over the summer period
Aleksandra Boguslawska| Unsplash
to delight theatre fans. Comedians Jimmy Carr ( 28th May and 6th July), Michael McIntyre ( 3rd June) and Al Murray ( 11th June) will all be making stops in Canterbury on their nationwide tours. The best-selling musical The Bodyguard runs from the 14th25th May and musical lovers can also catch two special singalong screenings of Grease and The Greatest Showman on the 15th June. The brand-new musical Club Tropicana which features the very best songs the 80’s has to offer, and stars X-Factor winner Joe McElderry runs from the 17th-22nd of June. Throughout the summer the theatre is also running exclusive previews of Edinburgh Fringe comedians including Desiree Burch, Josie Long, Ivo Graham and Adam Riches. A festival celebrating 50 years of The Gulbenkian begins on the 3rd June and ends on the 22nd June, the festival includes outdoor film screenings, a Battle of the Bands, classic films and a music festival. Go to https://thegulbenkian.co.uk/festivals/ gulbenkian-50-years-festival/ to find out more. For those looking to travel outside of Canterbury the annual Rochester Dickens Festival runs from the 1-2nd of June however the World Custard Pie Championships also take place in Boughton Marshalsea on the 1st of June; a tough choice indeed. For music lovers the area boasts several festivals over the summer. For jazz lovers the Margate Soul Festival takes place from the 2nd-4th of August, The Stour Music Festival in Boughton Aluph runs from the 21st-30th June and the Deal Festival of Music and the Arts is held from the 28th June to the 13th July. By Alys Parsons Writer
Anthony Delanoix| Unsplash
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Feature
Why finding out I have autism was the best thing that has ever happened to me.
F
or me, the latest figures from the National Autistic Society make depressing reading. Only 16% of autistic adults in Britain are in full-time paid employment. Only a third are in any form of work at all. Of these, many – mainly those who are high functioning – are in low-skilled environments which do not require the same levels of communication or work ethic as other, more
demanding, jobs. These statistics worryingly compound a stereotype of someone suffering from the condition that I and one in 100 people live with (the majority of whom are male): a tentative, vulnerable, nerdy and shy individual in need of constant attention, who ticks a checklist of apparently unnecessary personal characteristics. When autism gets discussed, it is often framed and represented with pity; the voices of those that are actually diagnosed are never heard. Millions of citizens like me are silenced. Only during my adolescence did I fully realise why I had spent my whole life feeling inadequate, apparently incapable of performing basic tasks and feeling guilty all the time for the many mistakes I made. Growing up posed great difficulties. When I was two years old my mother, who was several months pregnant with my sister, filed for a divorce from my father. She, my younger brother and I moved to be nearer her family in Hertfordshire. We did not have a lot of money and making ends meet was difficult. For the majority of my primary education, I was fed free dinners by my school. From a young age, my mother noticed some peculiarities in my behaviour and at the age of two I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. My development was not ‘neurotypical’ compared with that of other kids. Then, and now, my mum would often remind me that I sometimes forget to make eye contact with people; a characteristic considered a developmental delay indicative of autism. I remember my first day of nursery when, for the first time in my life, my mother let me go and left me to interact with others. For me it was a terrifying and chaotic experience, marked by the sound of others screeching during playtime: by toys flying everywhere. I was baffled, lost and confused. Later, at primary school, I was the small boy in the playground lying on the bench talking to the teaching assistants while others played. By the time I went to secondary school, I had developed a deep aversion to the blaring sound of the period bells which screeched in my ears like verbose primates. I was left out of social groups for being clumsy and awkward, and struggled to interact with peers who had little in common with me. The lowest point came during a geography trip to Chamonix,
“Never did I expect a decade ago that I would be in the position I am in now.”
France, when a group of bullies stole my clothes, ran them under the shower and put them back in my suitcase. The incident filled me with fury, prompting me to punch a hole in the hollow hostel wall. I struggled in class in subjects that did not at all relate to my specific preoccupations. Never easily calmed, I often thought that the best way to combat this was to cover my ears, close my eyes and imagine that I was somewhere tranquil where my thoughts would be able to roam free. Often I wish I’d been able to understand what I was growing up with sooner, but when my mother first explained it to me, it was difficult to piece together what it meant to be autistic. Yet, as I matured, and found out more, I began to realise how my condition has served me as a vindication to live. Autism gives me a sense of purpose to use what I was born with to my advantage. Like many with this lifelong condition, I see, hear and experience the world differently from people without autism. Whilst there is no ‘cure’, I, with the right support, have so far been able to live a fulfilled and active life thanks to a passion that has remained with me: writing. My childhood was marked with therapies. I remember my grandmother picking me up from school earlier than the rest of my year to travel to London—where I would receive light treatment at the same time as my dyslexic cousin and my grandfather, who had been diagnosed with cancer. There, I would exchange dialogue with the lady who provided the service, Suzanna. She was a wonderful individual with whom I had deep conversations about ourselves and our similarities, which gradually over time gave me greater confidence to talk. During those weeks, I would go and meet my grandparents at their house where they would always have a copy of a daily newspaper, which we would read together. There, I would discuss the headlines with them and take the ideas back to school. Once, we had to write a piece of poetry during an English class, and I did mine on recent poverty figures (conveniently, we were also reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens that week, which I was absorbed by). I read my poem out loud to the class, got a rousing reception from my peers (not always my kindest critics until this point) and received the highest mark. It was from there everything snapped into place. Having previously being directionless, I found a new love for something: writing. It was writing that enabled me to communicate at that time in a way I couldn’t always through the spoken word. My English teacher, Ben McDermott, came up to me at the end of term to say he was reviving the student magazine and that he wanted me to volunteer as a reporter. Fixated on learning, I found a deep and wondrous love of literature, particularly the Romantic poets such as Blake and Wordsworth. I took the analytical skills I had learnt in class to my school magazine and TV station. I commissioned in a way that related well to my fellow students; from investigating the abhorrent cuts to school funding to interviewing local politicians on issues such as the Syrian refugee
“From a young age, my mother noticed some peculiarities in my behaviour.”
crisis. I even got to commentate on senior football matches with my brother. I found a knack for news and I became highly proficient in IT, designing the mag’s web page. Emotion never rarely preoccupied me when writing. I preferred to state the facts, thanks to my autism. One of the symptoms that I have is that I am a borderline obsessive. What I mean by this is that I am often fixated on a number of interests, which allows me to focus on those issues for prolonged periods of time. My obsession is an idiosyncratic talent of mine that allows me to myopically, attentively, focus on subjects that help to broaden my horizons and educate others which in current affairs I found important in holding key institutions we love (and loathe) to account. Granted, there are obstacles to being on the spectrum, particularly in high-tension scenarios, which I have had to combat in order to feel at ease with the responsibility of engaging with others in order to reach the ‘facts’. Conducting an interview continues to be an onerous task that brings an exhilarating whirlwind of emotions. From personal experience, the most difficult engagements do not involve established politicians, celebrities or public figures who deliberately deviate from questions in order to avoid revealing an untold truth. Not at all. It is the general public when I am out doing vox-pops that give me the jitters, because talking to them requires building a new relationship with strangers in order to build a sense of trust (something that is awfully lacking in the industry right now). But despite the continuous difficulties, my
“In the past, no one understood why I could not cope.”
Photo by Daria Istayeva
Friday 17 May 2019 InQuire
13
m
By Bill Bowkett Newspaper Editor
confidence is gradually growing and I am seeing genuine improvement in my people skills. The knowledge I’ve acquired from talking to groups of people – and understanding what angles are best to take – when reporting on the news has managed to build me a ‘thick skin’, essential to keeping my emotions in check and acting with the greatest level of professionalism. Never did I expect a decade ago that I would be in the position I am in now. I was honoured to have been awarded ‘Most Outstanding Student’ at the 2017 Shine School Media Awards – a national competition rewarding secondary schools which produce outstanding newspapers, magazines, podcasts or websites. It was a wonderful experience being able to take that reward at a place as stunning as the historic Stationers’ Hall, in the City of London. I knew that day that journalism was the career that I wanted to pursue. Key to the health of every democratic society, it gives a voice to those whose stories deserve telling, while keeping a check on, and holding to account, those who occupy some of the most powerful positions. Currently I am reading politics at the University of Kent in Canterbury, as well as writing for my student newspaper InQuire, where I will become editor
for the 2019/20 academic year. To me, journalism is a career for the curious. My curiosity about civilisation and society first drew me to seek out the truth. The news can be both stimulating and horrifying, and a lot of the time it can be difficult to remove our unconscious biases and opinions away from reportage. But as someone on the spectrum, I passionately want to avoid distracting thoughts and tell the stories that deserve telling. In the past, no one understood why I could not cope: why I seemed dull-witted and abnormal, never having the words to explain the queer feelings no one else seemed to experience; and neither did I. I now know I should never have tried to ‘fit in’, but instead embraced my condition, as I do now. It has helped me gather more friends, build a better relationship with my family, read more. Most importantly, it has given me a new direction to help others see themselves more clearly. I am glad of my condition and that I have been able to put my past struggles to good use. Being diagnosed with autism is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I am not simply a ‘broken normal’, as many people claim. We are extraordinary people capable of extraordinary things.
“We are extraordinary people capable of extraordinary things.”
Entertainment
t is incredibly difficult to discuss Avengers: Endgame without spoiling it; and considering it made over a billion in its opening weekend, it seems practically everyone that cares has already seen it. But, as a courtesy to those with priorities other than seeing the twenty-second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (for some reason), this will be a spoiler-free review. Following the immense cliff-hanger of Avengers: Infinity War (which comic fans like myself gleefully watched those unfamiliar with the Infinity Gauntlet story-arc weep uncontrollably at), Endgame carried an unprecedented level of hype. Right from the start, it must be addressed: not every character gets their moment in this film. Infinity War does a better job of balancing its characters, even with more sharing the screen consistently throughout its full run-time. Five of the big six Avengers get satisfying conclusions to their ten-year narrative arcs. Robert Downey Jr. gives a performance matched only by his turns in Infinity War or the first Iron Man, and thankfully is tied for having the most screen-time with Chris Evans. Captain America is given the most moments of fan service by the Russo Brothers, which is unsurprising considering they’ve been writing and directing the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan since their MCU debut Captain America: The Winter Solider in 2014. Scarlett Johansson also gives her best performance as Black Widow since Winter Soldier, further cementing that anything to do with the character going forward should be handled by the Russo brothers. Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye absolutely needs to have his Disney+ series focus on his one scene (teased in Endgame’s trailers) as Ronin; it has the potential to rival John Wick for stylised and brutal action sequences.
Brie Larson feels fairly mechanical onscreen and leaves the impression of being miscast compared to the other Avengers. Ultimately, it feels like an odd choice to have this character, who hasn’t got the same personal agenda
against Thanos as the other leads, show up and be such an influential force in the fight against old wrinkle-chin himself. Speaking of Thanos: do not go in expecting this to be a Thanos-centric film like Infinity War. To this film’s detriment, Thanos regresses to other archetypal Marvel villains in his mannerisms and motivation. It’s a shame Captain Marvel’s introduction didn’t come in phase four, to allow for a Thanos prequel film similar to the excellent Thanos Rising arc by Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi before Endgame. To summarise Endgame’s plot is to say that twenty minutes of its opening third could have been allocated to an additional twenty minutes in its final act to give more time to each character. Some key fights with are passed up in favour of extended comedic scenes (which weren’t always funny) leaving some characters’ climax unsatisfying. Avengers: Endgame is a cultural and cinematic event, worth experiencing spoilers openly with friends. If you’re a colossal MCU fan, or a more forgiving viewer, then you’ll probably overlook this film’s numerous flaws and have a good time. If you’re a fan of the comics, or have spent time theorising how this film will wrap up ten years of history, then be warned that your theories are probably better than what this film provides, and you’ll likely leave the theatre a little disgruntled at its unreasonably-missed opporivanjewsusosorio | Pixabay tunities.
May 10th
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The Hulk cannot be discussed without incurring immense spoilers; suffice to say, those familiar with the comics will be satisfied. That being said, if you want a time marker for when during the three-hour run time to use the toilet, I recommend going as Bruce Banner has lunch: you’ll miss nothing but cringey dialogue and referential humour. Thor, however, is incredibly divisive in Endgame: some will find him hilarious; others (as I experienced) will find it funny for a short while, and then be disappointed with how his emotional weight in Infinity War is disregarded almost entirely for humour here. Other characters are given roles of varying importance. Nebula is made a critical component to Endgame’s plot, with Karen Gillan excellent as always. My only issue with the character is that she doesn’t get quite the finality one would assume she should logically have at the conclusion of Thanos’ saga, given her familial ties to the mad titan. The other Guardians are woefully unseen, aside from a few one-liners from Bradley Cooper as Rocket (who definitely deserved more screen time). Leaving other characters to the periphery makes logical sense when the film is so focused on tying up the stories of characters who began the MCU. Captain Marvel is most definitely a negative narrative force in this film. Her appearances are only as a ‘deus ex Machina’, and any scene with her has the Avengers taking an immediate liking to the character to seemingly affirm to the audience that it’s correct she takes centre stage in phase four of the MCU.
Detective Pikachu
Photo by Warner Bros. John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum
May 17th
By Connor Tomlinson Writer
Now showing:
Photo by Lionsgate
Aladdin May 22nd
Avengers: Endgame Epic end to an era
Film
Photo by Disney
Rocketman May 24th
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Photo by Alamy Stock Photo
Agnes Varda: Death of an icon By Eloïse McCrohan Writer
O
n 29 of March, Agnès Varda died at 90 years-of-age, one of its greatest film directors who was commonly referred to as ‘the mother of the French new wave’. Her debut, La Pointe Courte, is considered by many as one of the very first new wave films. Perhaps her most famous film, Cléo de 5 à 7, enabled Varda to take her position as one of the most influential film makers in the genre. The film follows the titular Cléo for two hours, while she awaits medical results telling
her if her life is soon to come to an end. In the film, Agnès explores Paris, as seen by Cléo, for what she believes will be the very last time. Cléo is a typical example of a Varda character; she is a strong woman who is still at the mercy of Varda’s sense of humour. Though a likeable character whose strength is undisputed, she is still at the mercy of female stereotypes, such as her coquettishness – which shows no bounds – and her superstition. For instance, she declares at one point while admiring herself in the mirror: “Being ugly, that’s the real death.” There is a hidden political agenda throughout the whole film which
appears when one of the characters switches on a radio, where news is told of deaths after a Muslim protest in Algeria. This was typical of Varda, who had a political consciousness and was never afraid of speaking her mind. She was never one to shy away from taboo topics, like in L’une chante, l’autre pas, which follows the story of two girls raising money for an abortion. Showing Varda’s darker side, the film explores poverty, abortion, depression and suicide. It has a strong political agenda as it speaks of women’s struggle to be given the right to contraception and family planning, but it also happens to describe the joys of the
protests and the sense of unity which Varda had experienced. The film was met with varying reactions; some still considered the subject taboo and were disgusted at it being put to film so openly, whilst others were relieved that the taboo was gradually being lifted. Here again, we come across some very strong women, a trademark of Varda’s films, who fight their way through difficulties with a strong will to survive. Varda’s feminism and characteristic sense of humour became well known to many throughout France and she is, to this day, our adored mother of the French new wave.
Photo by Martin Kraft
Friday 17 May 2019 InQuire
Music
15
Entertainment
Superfood swansong: A rotten end By Brad Gray Writer
I
n the early 2010s, a growing movement in Digbeth, Birmingham started birthing bands onto the UK indie-rock scene. B-Town, a term almost universally panned by those bands identified by it, rippled through a genre cluttered with emotionally-fuelled, ‘serious’ music. Bands like The 1975, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Wolf Alice and many others, led the charge for ‘grown-up’ indie. It was this music gaining traction and getting airplay on BBC Radio 1. B-Town held a middle finger up to that. Its biggest names, the likes of Peace and Swim Deep, did not take themselves seriously at all. Their music, stage presence and all-round image felt relaxed and unpolished. Gaining an initial cult fanbase, B-Town’s biggest names started to grow more popular, and in 2014 Superfood released their debut album, Don’t Say That. Boasting a sound more similar to Brit Pop than 2010s indie, it reeked of fun, with colourful music videos to go along with their happy-go-lucky guitar riffs and sing-song vocals. Three years later, the four-piece halved, and the newly formed duo released Bambino. Like its predecessor, Bambino was full of chirpy samples and fun lyrics. Yet unlike Don’t Say That, the band’s second album had an air of maturity to it. Superfood could have
very easily have followed in the footsteps of indie-rock titans The Kooks, The Strokes and The Killers by playing it too safe with their second album. But bravely, they took chances, and Bambi-
“The break up wasn’t a bombastic split; a mere fizzling out.” no was critically acclaimed as an evolution of their sound. However, the cracks were starting to show. Whereas The 1975 and Catfish and the Bottlemen have grown to be two of the biggest acts in the UK, the bands from B-Town never lived up to the hype and last month, Superfood became its first big casualty. On their Twitter page, Superfood announced their break-up with very little fanfare, tweeting “farewell show announcement tomorrow x” to the bafflement of their fans. The next day, they explained further: “Right now, the cogs of Superfood have slowed down and it’s time to go away.” For a band who showed such promise, and with two critically acclaimed albums under their belt, the break up
Photo by SUPERFOOD, Brighton Great Escape 2013 wasn’t a bombastic split; a mere fizzling out. The show at London’s Scala was sold out. Their crowd looked a lot like how Superfood sounded; young and carefree. The two remaining members, Dom and Ryan, were joined by session musicians on bass and drums, and the show followed through on what the group promised on Twitter: “A huge party”. It
was clear though, that behind the happy faces was a band on thin ice. Within a few songs, the band got into clear arguments with the security staff and seemed frustrated by the rowdiness of the crowd. They settled down though, giving their packed room a greatest hits selection, and even popping in a rarity from their debut EP. Superfood will be missed by their
small, but loyal fanbase. Although many will remember them as failing to achieve their full potential, the two albums they produced will be looked back upon with fonder eyes than they were given upon release. Perhaps when the current titans of indie die, Superfood will have another chance to shine. For now, both remaining members will go solo, and it will be a new ride to enjoy.
Puzzles Across: 1 Sum, 3 Plaice (Someplace), 7 Hypnosis, 8 Rite, 9 Aggregation, 10 Claret, 12 Nectar, 14 Bad-tempered, 17 Reef, 18 Adaptive, 20 Crayon, 21 Run. Down: 1 Shy, 2 Manager, 3 Paste, 4 Abstain, 5 Corgi, 6 Standard, 9 Ad-libber, 11 Therapy, 13 Curator, 15 Defer, 16 Plain, 19 Van.
Across 1 Shut (5) 4 Husky (6) 8 Confidential (3-6) 9 Vote against (3) 10 Petty quarrel (4) 11 Cutting tooth (7) 12 Amazing (slang) (3-3) 14 To the back of (6) 17 Playhouse (7) 19 Ambition (4) 21 Burgle (3) 22 Foregone conclusion (2,7) 23 Read casually (6) 24 Dissertation, for example (5)
Crossword
Sudoku Hard
Last Issues’s Crossword Answers
Entertainment
Sudoku Easy
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Down 1 Pretty (4) 2 In theory (2,5) 3 Occasion (5) 4 Mean (6) 5 (Student paper) report (7) 6 Cavity (5) 7 Produced from different species (6) 12 Time to come (6) 13 As yet (2,2,3) 15 Apply with pressure (7) 16 Save (6) 18 Piece of live coal (5) 19 Joint of a door (5) 20 Lodge (at a hotel, for example) (4)
Fun & games Puzzles by Matthew Sapsed
Arrowword
Science and Technology
Have I got newts for you
Britain’s newts free from killer fungus By Steven Allain Writer
life Health Project. It is important to identify disease risks before they occur so that measures can be put in place to prevent any devastating impacts n 2013, a new species of pathogenic fungus was the diseases may have on wildlife, not just newts. discovered in the Netherlands after causing a Amphibians play a vital role in healthy ecosysdecline in the country’s fire salamander populatems being food for many other animals, whilst tion by 96% in the space of three years. consuming vast amounts of insects in the meanSince then, the disease, known scientifically as time. Amphibians are already having a tough time Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (or in the UK with the loss of habitat being one Bsal) has also been found in wild of the biggest drivers of declines. Photo by Elijah Gould newts and salamanders in GerWhilst this is good news, many and Belgium. So far, there is still the risk that the evidence suggests that Bsal from captive newts only newts and salamancould be accidentally ders at a risk from the introduced to wild disease, although populations if capsome frog species tive keepers or may act as carriers. breeders do not Further research follow the corconducted by a rect biosecuriteam at the Instity protocols. If tute of Zoology you keep captive based at London newts or salaZoo found that the manders, please fungus was widemake yourself spread in captive popaware of the signs ulations of newts and of disease and whom salamanders in the UK. to report such cases to. This is worrying. If the funIn terms of amphibians in gus escaped into the wild, then the local environment, if you our own newts may be at risk. find sick or dead animals in your Reassuringly, new research conductpond then please do report these to ed by ZSL and its partners have shown that wild Garden Wildlife Health. This is true of any wildlife, newts within the UK are currently free of Bsal. the research mentioned above would not be possiThe team analysed skin swabs collected from more ble without the cooperation of the general public than 2,400 newts from ponds across the country reporting cases if illness and disease in animals as well as data gathered through the Garden Wildfound in the gardens and public places.
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Perspectives
Friday 17 May 2019 InQuire 17
Climate hungry
The environmental costs of war By Emily Carter Writer
W
ar creates tremendous amounts of pollution. Scorching arable land means natural environments are destroyed, along with its potential for farming. New research shows that 33% of arable land has been lost in the last 40 years. We cannot feed the planet’s growing population without this land, making this a global issue. As individual militant groups grow in numbers, they turn to industries like mining for precious metals and fossil fuels in order to fuel their fighting. These are all industries that have a devastating impact on the environment; directly pumping carbon dioxide and other harmful gases into the atmosphere. It is estimated that the US military pumps 73 million tons of greenhouse gases a year into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, in Britain, according to the Office of National Statistics, carbon emissions are estimated to have decreased since 2017. Emissions as a result of wars in the Middle East, however, are not included in the official statistics. Britain and the United States have been involved in bombing Syria and Iraq since 2014. In 2016, the US dropped 12,192 bombs in Syria and 12,095
in Iraq, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. These bombs produce huge blankets of smoke, creating long-term contamination of the environment. The military cannot control the distribution or burst of white phosphorus ammunition when deploying it, pushing the climate closer to breaking point. War directly affects human life not only now, but also in the future, by creating a harmful climate for generations to come. For example, in Iraq an increase in cancer, birth defects, and other medical conditions have been directly associated with war-related environmental damage and toxins from military vehicles and weaponry. It is easy to think of these numbers as mere statistics, yet we forget that they represent people. We do need to act against extremists, but there will be no world to fight over if there is no world. The climate disaster must take precedence. Climate hungry. Power hungry. Safety hungry. We must stop ignoring that our constant killing and wars are causing climate change. We must do something to combat this forgotten statistic in the climate change debate, instead of ignoring the brutalising environmental costs of our armed conflicts. Photo by Josep Monter | Pixabay
Neuroexistentialism
How do we find meaning in the age of neuroscience? By Emily Carter Writer
D
id you choose to drink last night out of free will? Are we just a bunch of neurons firing off? Neuroscience suggests that we do not freely make decisions. Even when we choose to pull yet another all-nighter with our housemates, our bodies are against us. When neuroscience makes discoveries about the nature of our existence, this can cause us to re-evaluate who we are and can cause existential anxiety. Neuroscientists like Libet challenge the assumption that we have free will. He asked participants in his experiment to flex their wrists and record when they thought they made a conscious decision. He measured this using an Electroencephalography (EEG) machine and found that there was brain activity hundreds of milliseconds before they reported having made a conscious de-
Photo by David Marcu | Unsplash
cision. Existentialism is all about the struggle to find meaning in life and our existence. Libet’s experiment, and those like it, challenge the idea of free will and choice over our actions. Neuroexistentialism is, therefore, all about how science can give us anxiety. The mind is just the brain and disenchants us from knowing the nature of our existence. Existential philosophers in the 18th and 19th century were disenchanted from religion in offering a source of meaning and value to existence, religion was replaced with science. Darwin’s theory of evolution demonstrated that we all have the same origin in having one common ancestor. This created anxiety, if science held all the answers to the nature of our existence, we could not know what our existence truly was. Camus explained our anxiety is due to living an absurd and meaningless existence; we have free will when we un-
derstand that life is absurd, and yet we choose to live it anyway. Sartre argued on the other hand that we create our own meaning through action; we have free will in order to create ourselves. Kierkegaard thought we should confront anxiety about our existence by “taking a leap of faith” to struggle with understanding the nature of our existence. Neuroexistentialism leads to a denial of morality, new findings contradict and challenge our conception of existence. We are left to come to terms with the idea that we are just biological systems who rely on patterns of reward and punishment. Science cannot give us a more rational understanding of the world and our place in it. Instead, science can lead us to feel even more alienated and apart from knowing the nature of our existence. Neuroexistentialism is not disenchanting, it is liberating. Science makes new discoveries which
force us to rethink who we are. New discoveries do not mean we ought to give up free will nor morality. Even if we are just a network of complex neurons firing off, it does not mean everything can or should be reduced to neuroscience. Neuroscience can reduce love to a chemical reaction of certain hormones, but this neglects to explain personal experiences of love. We can find a greater kind of meaning in life from self-creation and having the free will to do this. Deducing existential meaning from how neuroscientist may explain our personal identity makes too much of a leap according to Todd Mei, a Lecturer in Philosophy at Kent. Science may help us understand and interpret life but cannot show us how we exist in the world. An existential enquiry is different to a scientific enquiry, so we should not confuse the two. You may be your brain, yet you should not confuse the science of your brain with how you understand your existence.
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Culture
Austria’s grotesque revolutionaries: Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele
Arts
By James Thomas Writer
Photo by Wikimedia Commons
A
century has passed since the deaths of Austria’s revolutionary artistic duo, Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. They paved the way for artists who sought to explore the grotesque side of the human body and promoted the idea that real life could not be portrayed in a perfect sense. Despite being 28-years apart in age, their paths crossed in 1906 when Schiele arrived in Vienna as 16-year-old prodigy. Klimt without a doubt became the biggest influence on Schiele’s artistic life and allowed his ideas to flourish into a style that paralleled, if not overtook the works of Klimt’s himself. Klimt was a master of intimacy. Much like the views of the time, Klimt saw women as a wonder of nature, obsessed with the curves of their bodies and their distorted positions, portraying the idea of the development and decline in portraits he painted. Take the sumptuous shot of Female Nude Turned to the Left (1912-13). Klimt’s juxtaposing of delicate and harsher lines begins to tell a story of the woman behind the painting, charging it with emotion. It creates a narrative for the viewer to speculate, as their eyes dart around the drawing. In doing so, Klimt immediately creates an air of exposure and fragility. The erratic dance of lines contributes to the uncertainty, nothing is solid or rigid, not a single straight line, no beautifying of the female or any certain focus. The depiction of taboo subjects is a dramatic shift in the world of art, straying from the academic style. In the drawing, the woman’s head does not even have a complete pillow to lay upon, it is simply
Photo by Wikimedia Commons
Festival time:
What to expect and how to prepare By Blue-Belle Kulpa Newspaper Lifesytle Editor
Photos by Pixinio,Chris Phan,urban75, Jonathan Cox, Nils Starkmeth
the space seeping in and surrounding her. It is this emptiness that Klimt and Schiele want to portray in their works, something that was never seen. The meeting with Klimt in 1907 marked the start of Schiele’s presence in the Vienna’s art sphere, one that he would thrive from such an early age. From there, Schiele raised his artistic vision to new levels. In his early works, Schiele was unable to hire actual models, so he had to make do with young prostitutes, street children and even himself. Schiele was going for gritty, true-to-life figures who occupied Vienna’s streets. Thomas Michelle sums up Schiele perfectly with the idea that “Schiele worked quick and dirty”. His paintings and drawings, like Klimt’s, did not fit in line with the classical way of thinking and teaching. In Self Nude Portrait in Grey with Open Mouth (1910), the wash of grey over the figure reveals a man that is grimy and would exude a musk of a foul nature. From the heavy eyelid to the emaciated rib cage and missing of an arm, Schiele bathed in all that was grotesque and filthy. Like Klimt, his mastery of line is shown in his female portraits. Schiele was said to never erase any marks he made and modern evaluation of his works confirm this, nothing was out of place and alludes to this overarching idea of disorder and lack of structure in his subjects’ lives. The two Austrians were a flagship for changing the artworld and introducing a new way of looking and presenting the human form. The raw emotion and presentation of their sitters made their contemporaries view art in a new light, whilst elevating the medium of drawing to a next level.
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he first impression that you make of any event is based on their advertisement. Festivals fall in the same situation. You learn where, when and who is performing, however it often happens that the information you receive may not entirely prepare you for the event. So here are five things you are guaranteed to see and experience at a festival in England and how you can prepare for them: 1) Mind the queue. The queue will be long, so make sure to turn up a few hours early. If it is a smaller festival such as the City Sound Project festival, which we had in Canterbury at the start of May , you can expect a much shorter queue. 2) Have cash on you. They are not cheap, especially if it is a free entry festival. The food stalls know they are going to sell so they are not going to have low prices, and they might not accept card either so remember to bring some cash. 3) Changes. If the festival is on for more than one day and you want to go more than once then you can expect a few changes. Some stalls may no longer be there, or they have simply been moved. There might even be new stalls, and if the festival is quite big then you could be discovering new ones which you did not see last time. Try not to get overwhelmed by the changes and expect the layout to be a bit disorienting, especially if it is busy. 4) Expect rain. The English weather can often ruin any plans that you might have outdoors, so be prepared for rain. And nothing works best against rain at a festival than a rain poncho. Yes, they are highly unfashionable and no, they do not compliment your outfit. But there is something about wearing a rain poncho with confidence that just looks cool. Let’s face it, if it rains and you have one of those bad boys in your handbag or pocket and other people have nothing to protect themselves, who’s winning? 5) Bring a blanket. It will get crowded, and the likelihood of getting a bench or chair is not high. Top tip: bring a blanket – picnic style. The majority of people at festivals do this and you can see why. You are standing up for hours looking at stalls, queuing, getting food and trying to get a good view of the stage. Your feet need a break, and a picnic style sit down is the way to go. In preparation of a shower of rain, bring a plastic bag, then your bottom is saved from getting damp and you can remain comfortable.
Books
Friday 17 May 2019 InQuire
Marlowe’s exhibition
on Kent’s writers comes to life S
Photos by Martha Kiyan
ince the Kent’s Remarkable Writers exhibition opened its doors on the 6 April at The Marlowe Kit, it became a loveable spot for locals and tourists who wish to find out more about the lives of prominent and alluring figures in literature such as Christopher Marlowe, Aphra Behn, and Joseph Conrad. Located in the heart of a The Poor Priests’ Hospital, the museum’s atmosphere transports you into the past. The squeaking staircase and the arched medieval doorway, as well as the dimly lit lights and the whispering voices from the dark corners, contribute to this immensely captivating spectacle of an exhibition. Ascending the staircase, we enter the part of the exhibition dedicated to the mysterious and enigmatic Christopher Marlowe. His portrait, drawn when he was studying at Cambridge, emanates a ghostly presence. The motto on the portrait says Quod me nutrit me destruit, meaning ‘that which feeds me destroys me’. This is a suitable description for his grand fame on the Elizabethan stage and his premature death that remains a mysterious secret. Attendees are welcomed to try on Renaissance costumes and imagine themselves as actors in Marlowe’s plays – Dr. Faustus, Edward II, Tamburlaine, Dido Queen of Carthage and The Massacre at Paris – surrounded by the epoch’s finest props. The latter was influenced by a nine-yearold playwright, who at that time was a pupil at Kings School and witnessed the influx of refugees coming to Canterbury Cathedral from Catholic France. La Rochelle Bible is presented on display but since it is fragile, it can only be observed from behind the glass.
19
Culture
By Martha Kiyan Writer
In the Escape Room, Marlowe’s Ghost is set to send shivers down your spine. “Are there any ghosts? Please tell me there are no ghosts!’’ said Kotoko Sato, a teacher from Japan, who was later persuaded by the staff to attend this highly praised experience. Who knows if there aren’t? In Aphra Behn’s room, we are able to immerse ourselves in the writing process of her play The Rover, using some parchments, ink and a quill to complete the epilogue. It is a wonder how Mrs Behn was able to make a living out of writing for 20 years, considering how women were supposed to ‘keep quiet’ in the expectations of the societal mindset of the 17th century. The next object displayed in her room, The Scold’s Bridle, strengthens the gravity and sternness with which society punished women for their behaviour. She became a prolific writer who broke the barriers of society by being one of the first female writers, who questioned the power of men, and served as a role model for future female writers. Joseph Conrad’s personal belongings are on show, including his typewriter. Conrad’s family members were avid lovers of board games, such as the chess and the nard, and anyone who wishes to play them in a cosy replica of his living room is welcomed. The installation of a flickering lighthouse and sacks is an artistic form of paying respect to the writer, who became the beacon and his influence with novels such as Heart of darkness. This exhibition is free and is open on Saturdays from 10am to 5pm, and Sundays from 12pm to 5pm.
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Culture
Arts
Party With Pug (right), Forever Loyal (far right), Springer Energy (bottom); Photography by Oliver Trapnell
Jennifer Hogwood’s
art makes me feel over the Moo-n! By Oliver Trapnell Writer
O
n 16 March, The Artique Gallery hosted on the colourful, childlike paintings of Jennifer Hogwood. They described her work as the “most diverse collection to date, which takes us way beyond the forests and fields of rural England”. The entire On 16 March, The Artique Gallery hosted on the colourful, childlike paintings of Jennifer Hogwood. They described her work as the “most diverse collection to date, which takes us way beyond the forests and fields of rural England”. The entire gallery was dedicated to her works, including her well known McMoos, as well as a new range of portraits made especially for the event. The McMoos are instantly recognisable, staring the titular McMoo family in an array of circumstances. The family posing together never fails to bring a smile to my face, especially when the names of the pieces include a clever cow-based pun. These works reflect the importance of family and can be easily accessible to many people, regardless of nationality or background. They capture the beauty of rural England, with many of the images representing the natural charm of the British countryside. Hogwood uses graceful, carefully placed brush strokes to bring a sense of realism to the McMoos which is further reinforced by her choice of colour palate, reflecting the depth of the fur on each family member. A large majority of her pieces utilise finely cut small pieces of glass, to give a sparkle to the pieces. Especially in portraits such as Me and Moo in the Misty Morning, Snowed In and Love in the Moonlight, the glass serves different purposes. From the light of falling snow, to the twinkle of stars in the night sky, the reflections add a special shine to each piece and add an amazing depth of field. Hogwood has begun using Swarovski crystals to add an extra layer to her work. These are not only a fun
‘The most diverse collection to date, which takes us way beyond the forests and fields of rural England.’
Flutterby Love and Prety Little Moo (centre right) , Into The Blue (bottom right): Photography by Oliver Trapnell
addition to highlight specific areas of the paintings, such as eyes, bee trails and flower stigmas, but also add a three-dimensional effect to the images which makes her work entirely unique. The pieces which stood out were the paintings showing coloured dogs. These five pieces, depicting dogs of various breeds in an array of impactful colours, were truly outstanding. The depth of expression that Hogwood manages to express through the eyes of each animal is stunning, especially in Forever Loyal and Springer Energy. Growing up around dogs, she magically recreates the excitement and energy of the animals by using a wide colour palate consisting of bright, vibrant colours. These two pieces in particular represent a great display of skill which has cemented Hogwood’s place in contemporary art. The first piece – titled Dancer – depicts a beguiling black mare in a monochrome palate, which to me amplifies the power behind such a ravishing animal. Rougher brush strokes recreate the muscular physique of the horse by highlighting angular edges such as the jaw and nose. It establishes the raw power and magnificence of the mare. The second piece I’m Watching You illustrates the intensity of the leopard it portrays. Even using a simple colour sample, Hogwood captures the texture of the leopard fur masterfully, and is truly a testimony to her skill. The way in which she captures a moment caught in time is a sight to behold, and I would encourage any art lovers out there to see the portraits in person in order to capture the realism on show.
Friday 17 May 2019 InQuire 21
What’s on... Missing Link 19th to 26th May 2019 The Keeper 19th to 22nd May 2019 Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake 21st to 26th May 2019 Mid90s 23rd to 25th May 2019 Avengers: Endgame 24th to 28th May 2019 Dumbo 25th May 2019 Loro 26th May 2019
By Kateryna Slobodian Gulbenkian Correspondent
50th Birthday of the Gulbenkian Photos by The Gulbenkian
The Future is X-rated A
season of controversial films from 1969, curated by Lawrence Jackson, Lecturer at School of Arts, University of Kent. Three films that represented a cultural watershed: The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah), Taste the Blood of Dracula (Peter Sasdy) and Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger). These films were distinguished by the conjunction of three elements: firstly, they were mainstream cinema releases; secondly, the Peckinpah and Schlesinger received significant critical acclaim, Midnight Cowboy winning the Oscar for Best Picture; thirdly, all were certificated X for their explicit content. This mini-season at the Gulbenkian of three films from 1969 is intended to capture a moment that, culturally, anticipated the greater freedoms of the 1970s and beyond. Just a few years later lay X-rated arthouse and studio smash hits such as Last Tango in Paris and The Exorcist. Before that, in 1969, these films blazed a trail and foretold the future.
A
Red Joan 29th May to 2nd June 2019
#JeSuis
Eighth Grade 30th May to 4th June 2019 Ash is Purest White 1st June 2019 Wonder Park 2nd June 2019
RSC Live: The Taming of The Shrew
Donbass 2nd June 2019
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The Wild Bunch 3rd June 2019 Exhibition on Screen: Van Gogh and Japan 5th June 2019 RSC Live: The Taming of The Shrew 6th June 2019 Tolkien 7th to 17th June 2019 Birds of Passage 8th June 2019
Prices Full - £8.70 GulbCard Member - £6.70 Senior - £7.70 Registered Disabled - £7.70 Student - £6.00 Student GulbCard Member £5.00 Unemployed - £7.70
akash Odedra Company presents #JeSuis, a touching dance-theatre piece about individuals struggling to find their voice in the stand against oppression. Through a diversity of dance, music and cultures, these seven dancers from Turkey deliver a tribute to all the people, whether they are in prison, a refugee camp, or in a house behind closed curtains, whose stories have not yet been ‘hashtagged’ and where their freedom of movement, their speech, religion or liberty remains at stake. #JeSuis was born from the belief that our ability to speak out and stand together will see us through to brighter times.
Singing with Nightingales
ustin Audibert (Snow in Midsummer, The Jew of Malta) turns Shakespeare’s fierce, energetic comedy of gender and materialism on its head to offer a fresh perspective on its portrayal of hierarchy and power. In a reimagined 1590, England is a matriarchy. Baptista Minola is seeking to sell off her son Katherine to the highest bidder. Cue an explosive battle of the sexes in this electrically charged love story.
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olk music star and Mercury Prize nominee Sam Lee (with guests) brings you a very special concert. Wild nightingales will be among the guest artists when the Mercury Prize-nominated folk star Sam Lee brings his acclaimed SINGING WITH NIGHTINGALES event to Gulbenkian, combining music and storytelling with a live streamed link to the woods, where the male birds sing their courtship song. The concert is produced by folk music promoter, The Nest Collective, who’ve been holding Singing with Nightingales events in the woodlands of England since 2015, taking place again this spring in Kent, Sussex, and Gloucestershire. For this special event, Sam Lee will be joined on stage by guest musicians and will communicate, via a live link, with an ornithologist who’ll guide us through the woodland, into one of the UK’s last remaining strongholds of the fast-disappearing bird, said to possess one of Nature’s finest voices. Sam Lee says: “The song of the nightingale has been captivating human hearts and firing imaginations since ancient times but the numbers visiting Britain are in decline, and it is very rare to hear them now even in the countryside. Yet by combining stories, music and folklore with a live broadcast from wild starlit woods, we can conjure a journey to where the nightingale nests, so that audiences can experience the timeless magic of nightingale song in ear-tingling proximity and let them listen in in on the rarest of concerts – human musicians dueting with a superb songbird.”
Still I Rise T
RIBE//s debut work from a bold new female choreographer Victoria Fox. Still I Rise is a defiant and uplifting work danced by a fearless female ensemble. Raw and emotive movement is combined with Fox’s powerful punchy dance style. Inspired by the poem by Maya Angelou of the same title, its words resonate in our current unsettled world. From pounding beats to moving classical arias, the music drives the movement to create a stark world where hope dies last. Falling down, gathering up…we rise.
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Sport
Team Kent’s Intense year of sport E
ndurance, effort and, above all, spirit are just some of the words that can be used to describe the University of Kent’s year of sport. From intense matches, to events of celebration, InQuire’s Newspaper Sport Editor, Megan Warwick, looks back at the best sporting moments from the 2018/19 academic year.
Varsity Photo by Kent Union Activities
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he biggest sporting event in Canterbury, where the University battles it out against Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), Varsity was bigger and better than ever. Highlights include pole finesses’s first ever Varsity outing, a triple win for UKC Hockey, CCCUs’ dramatic win in the Women’s Basketball, and American Football’s crushing score of 46-0 to the Kent Falcons. The final tally was 30-10 to UKC, making the university victorious yet again!
This Kent Girl Can T
he empowering TKGC movement was led by Kent Union Vice-President (Sport) Emily Window, in which women-only sessions were ran in order to allow women who feel able to participate in male dominated sports. There were sessions on American Football, lacrosse, trampolining and weightlifting.. The campaign raised money for Coppafeel, through sport taster sessions and TKGC t-shirt sales. Photo by American Football Facebook
Friday 17 May 2019 InQuire
Movember
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he importance of raising awareness around mental health and male suicide would not be possible without Movember. Movember ambassadors Cameron Jones (Kent RAG), Harry Copping (Men’s Lacrosse), Pete Wampamba (Men’s Rugby), and Toby Loynes (Men’s Hockey) acted on behalf of UKC to get sport teams involved in growing out moustaches and organising events, such as the Rugby Casino Night and Men’s Lacrosse 24-hour passing session. All of this contributed to the University of Kent collaboratively raising Photo by over £15,203 for the charity. Not Movember at UKC Facebook only were the events successful, but the awareness raised for the campaign was incredible, with the sporting community coming together in full support.
Sports tour
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side the serious events that had happened this year, Sports Tour took place once again. This year, ILoveTour took the student to Croatia for a week of sport playing and bonding together as a University. It was a fun trip, full of interesting photos and stories.
Charity awareness Photo by Netball Facebook
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port teams got thoroughly involved in campaigning and raising money for Charity. Cheer threw their annual Masquerade Ball, Netball organised fun competitive sessions for different sports teams, Equestrian hosted a cowboy themed social, Lacrosse held a Circus Ball, Boxing held a showcase, and many more clubs hosted events that contributed towards helping those less fortunate.
Photo by Emily Heath
“This year has been overwhelmingly exciting! Our groups have achieved so much, of which I am extremely proud. The committement to not only creating an amazing student experience, but also contributing to the local community and being a force of good in the world of charitable acts has been inspirational.” - Emily Window, Kent Union Vice-President (Sport)
Photo by Meg Warwick
Team Kent Ball T
his intensifying year of sport would not be made so special without the appreciation and celebrations of those involved at the Team Kent Ball. The awards named who was Club of the Year, Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman Photo by Kent Union of the Year, and more Activities in appreciation of all of the hard work students have dedicated to sport throughout their time at Kent. Look on our website to see the full aticle.
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Sport University of Kent Women’s Fencing 1st Team promoted to Premiership By Megan Warwick Newspaper Sports Editor
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or the first time in its history, the University of Kent’s Women’s Fencing 1st Team have been promoted to the Premiership. The team’s promotion came after defeating Cambridge University with a score of 135-79. The team’s Instagram (@UKC Fencing) posted: “shout out to the Women’s Captain Ashley, for her amazing attitude and positivity throughout the season.” The Men’s 1st Team had similar success this year, winning the cup and coming runners up in the league. The Men’s 2nd Team found success and won their leage. Five of the club’s individuals have represented Kent Excalibur this year, taking home the trophy for Kent. UKC Fencing have had a thrilling season, with the Women’s 1st being awarded Team of the Year at the Team Kent Ball, and the club’s President, Patrick Stillman, winning Sportsman of the Year.
S port Kent up www.inquiremedia.co.uk/sport
InQuire
four places in BUCS rankings By Megan Warwick Newspaper Sport Editor
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he University of Kent (UKC) finished 46th in the BUCS league out of 153 higher education institutions, with a total of 502 points in the league, 89 points in the cup, and 715 points overall. This is an improvement on last year’s score, in which UKC finished 50th, but with a higher point score of 725, showing that universities have dropped in terms of points. The highest score last year was over 6000 points but has dropped just over 900 points. Local rivals Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) finished 78th in the league with a total of 267 points., Winners of the BUCS this year were Loughborough University, who finished the year with 5087 points, followed by runner-up Nottingham University (4875 points) and third place Durham (4068 points). Many Kent teams won their respective leagues. Women’s Fencing 1st Team
became league champions with a point difference of 56 points. They have since won their playoff into the Southern Premiership. Other victors this year included Men’s Fencing 2nd Team, Men’s Football 1st Team, Men’s Football 3rd Team, Men’s Hockey 1st Team, and Men’s Squash 1st Team. An honourable mention goes to Women’s Lacrosse, who won their league and were also the only team to be undefeated throughout the whole season, with a goal difference of 150. Some UKC teams finished second in their leagues, including Mixed American Football 1st Team, Men’s Badminton 1st Team, Men’s Badminton 2nd Team, Women’s Basketball 1st Team, Men’s Basketball 1st Team, Men’s Fencing 1st Team, Women’s Hockey 1st Team, Women’s Netball 1st Team, Women’s Netball 4th Team, Men’s Rugby 1st Team, Men’s Rugby 2nd Team, Women’s Squash 1st Team, Men’s Tennis 2nd Team, Women’s Volleyball 1st Team, and Men’s Volleyball 1st Team.
Photo by Kent Sports Images
Photo by Kent Sports Images
Photo by Kent Sports Images
Photo by Kent Sports Images
Photo by BUCS Photo by Cassandra Barnard, InQuire
Sports at a glance: Sports training sessions
Men’s Rugby big wins
Cricket Varsity
The Union are putting on training sessions for anyone involved in a sports teams over Wednesday 15 May – Friday 17 May. These training courses include leadership training, captains training, new committee training and more!
Both UKC Men’s Rugby and Medway Men’s Rugby were announced winners at the Team Kent and Team Medway Sport Balls. It has been a good season for both, due to their effortless charity work. Chairman of UKC Men’s Rugby, Kieron, stated: “I was in shock, not a single person in the club was expecting to win the award. I was just thinking I am so proud of everything the club has done this year.”
The sun is shining and cricket summer Varsity is about to take place. Having scored two out of three victories against Canterbury Christ Church (CCCU) February, it is now time to see if Kent can take home the treble. Jordan Garland, Captain of the Women’s 1st Team, said: “Summer Varsity is one of my favourite events of the year, most of us have finished exams by then and it is in the middle of the univer-
sity cricket season. It’s a completely different team from last year and after winning indoor varsity; we want to remain the champs, were in it to win it.” The event will take place Monday 27 May at 10am-6pm, Polo Farm Sports Centre. European Varsity On 5 April, Kent Union Vice-President (Sport) Emily Window, Sports Coordinator Ryan Penny, and nine Canterbury and Medway students travelled down to Brussels, Belgium to take part in the first ever European Varsity, to celebrate the University of Kent’s (UKC) twenty years in Europe.
The students played friendly tournaments of benchball and basketball, before playing a point scoring event Volleyball and 6-aside football match. Both were won by the Brussels campus. Window stated that “it was so much fun and everyone who took part made the weekend run smoothly!”