InQuire 17.1

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InQuire

“Your campus, your voice”

The University of Kent’s student publication

Monday 20 September 2021 17.1

Meet and greet with the Kent Union President Your Guide to Freshers' Week Lifestyle Pages 9-11

Climate change and eco-anxiety Opinion page 7

A Transition for the Many Feature pages 12-13

By Nathan Collins-Cope Newspaper News Editor

E

arlier this month, InQuire sat down virtually with the Kent Student Union president, Aisha Dosanjh, to understand what she and the other elected officers were up to in the lead up to the start of term. Aisha, who was elected to her position in February this year, started off by telling us what was on the agenda for KU. “Instead of having manifestos, we had students vote on what our top priorities should be, back when we were elected as a team. So we are now working on those 8 student priorities”.

Those priorities can be found on the Kent Union website, under the section titled “Your Student Priorities”.

President Aisha went into detail on some of the other advances the union was attempting to make. “This year I’m really focusing on transparency at Kent Union and at the university, and really making sure that students are involved in Kent Union and the university’s decision making.

“Sustainability is also massive on our agenda at the moment – in terms of making sure that Kent Union is as sustainable as possible, and also trying to lobby the university on its sustainability policies. As you know, COP 26

(The United Nations Climate Change Conference 2021) is coming up really soon, and we have also got our 2025 strategy. So we’re really trying to make sure that the university is able to be as close to carbon net neutral by 2030 as possible” When asked about plans for society activity for the coming months, Aisha cast a positive tone on the idea of in-person activity. “In terms of restrictions, most society activity can take place on campus and in person, especially with the risk assessments we’ve been doing. But I think the most interesting thing about Covid is seeing how people have been really flexible and adaptive to the circumstances they have found themselves in.

“So it’s really up to students. I think it’s been really helpful making sure that there’s been online provision. I attended some baking sessions online, Diwali parties; loads of stuff that wouldn’t have been available otherwise. And I think especially for our international

students and others staying remotely, it’s going to be really interesting to see that provision of activity that is (in person and) also online”.

On the prospect of another lockdown in the coming winter, the KU President was understandably reluctant. “I really hope we don’t (have to). If it’s necessary then it’s necessary but I think it really hinders everyone’s mental health and wellbeing – and our ability to do what we need to do to, rebuilding the community” InQuire then asked Aisha if there has been any paradigm shifts in the running of the union post-Covid restrictions. “I think the most interesting thing that has happened is that we have really focused, in the past, on trying to deliver student expectations and the student experience, but with a lack of resource – whether that’s staff capacity or funding.

“But hopefully even though we do have those restrictions in place, we are not trying to make up for last year, we

“ I think I need to stop

trying to pretend that last year didn’t happen and start realising it was a massive part of our lives.

Overall, I am enthusiastic!”

are trying to make this a celebration of now being able to get together, and understanding that last year was so hard, and now we’re getting together to get back to work, get back to what we wanted to do in the first place and get back to our life plans that have been put on hold for such a long time.”

The President went onto describe to us what her role specifically entails.

“Essentially the role is what you make it, and this year we are working more as a team on a set of priorities rather than our own individual manifestos.

I think you’re really going to see that, and how we’re going to see our own individual personalities work towards a team effort” the executive officer stated promisingly.

“The most important part of this role is that it involves a lot of talking to students and a lot of fighting the university to listen to student feedback. Most of my job is going to meetings with senior staff at the university, and telling them why their idea isn’t useful to students – that’s pretty much what we do!” she stated with a chuckle.

Continued on page 3.

Claudia Andujar’s The Yanomami Culture page 14 Struggle Plus: Entertainment Cannes 2021: Top Picks

Science & technology Quantum computers: revolutionary or just hype?

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Monday 20 September 2021 InQuire

News

Meet the team Committee

Tarini Tiwari Editor-in-Chief

editor@inquiremedia.org

Alex Charilaou Newspaper Editor

newspaper.editor@inquiremedia.org

Jake Yates-Hart Website Editor

website.editor@inquiremedia.org

Ainy Shiyam Head of Photography

photography@inquiremedia.org

Vacant Head of Design Grace Bishop Head of Media & Events

marketing@inquiremedia.org

Johnathan Guy Head of Technology

technology@inquiremedia.org

Editorial Nathan Collins-Cope Newspaper News Editor

newspaper.news@inquiremedia.org

Vacant Website News Editor

website.news@inquiremedia.org

Sam Webb Newspaper Opinion Editor

newspaper.opinion@inqiremedia.org

Dan Esson Website Opinion Editor

website.opinion@inquiremedia.org

Vacant Newspaper Features Editor features@inquiremedia.org

Sam Watson Website Features Editor

website.features@inquiremedia.org

Grace Bishop Newspaper Lifestyle Editor

newspaper.lifestyle@inquiremedia.org

Katie Daly Website Lifestyle Editor

website.lifestyle@inquiremedia.org

Ed Streatfield Newspaper Entertainment Editor newspaper.entertainment @inquiremedia.org

Elena Martyn Website Entertainment Editor website.entertainment @inquiremedia.org

Juliette Moisan Newspaper Culture Editor

newspaper.culture@inquiremedia.org

Eleanor Summers Website Culture Editor

website.culture@inquiremedia.org

Vacant Newspaper Science & Tech Editor Jamie Neil Website Science & Tech Editor science@inquiremedia.org

Vacant Newspaper Sport Editor

newspaper.sport@inquiremedia.org

Vacant Website Sports Editor

website.sport@inquiremedia.org

Harvey Blazquez Newspaper Satire Editor

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Tahmid Morshed Website Satire Editor

website.satire@inquiremedia.org

A is for Aphra, S is for Statue

By Nathan Collins-Cope News Editor

T

he Canterbury Commemoration Society; who are responsible for a plurality of the statues in and around Canterbury (many will be familiar with Geoffrey Chaucer, who stands tall at the intersection between the High Street and Best Lane, opposite Sainsbury’s); are collaborating with the campaign group A is for Aphra. Their mission: to erect a bronze statue to commerate one Britain’s great forgotten writers – Aphra Behn (1640-1689).

A poet, playwright, novelist and possibly even spy - Behn is retrospectively regarded as one of the all time best authors of the Restoration era. She is the first known British woman to have been able to live off the income she made from writing, and inspired many generations of women.

“Her reputation was kind of sat on for 200 years; by 200 years-worth of men; who didn’t want her to be read – who didn’t want her to be taught!” said campaign coordinator Charlotte Cornell when InQuire sat down with her. “She expressed the view of freedom and love that didn’t accord with the traditional values of the Georgians and the Victorians”. Indeed, many of Behn’s works were adapted by men over the following century in an attempt to water down her themes. “She was the foremost playwright of her day – and still Britons manage to forget her. That’s the power of Victorian cancel culture, right!” the campaigner exclaimed with hearty smile.

Charlotte, who is doing her PhD at the University of Kent, expressed her deep love for the writer, on whom her doctorate is based on. “The project came before the PhD” she beamed, “it was always frustrating that I was teaching her (at A-Level), in the city where she grew up, and no one knew about her! She wasn’t born into a wealthy, connected family – it was her talent, her hard work and a bit of luck that made her the first person to smash those glass ceilings” referring to her being a the first contemporarily successful female writer who did not make use of a male pseudonym. “If we don’t celebrate that in Canterbury, we’re missing the grandmother of English literature – I think that’s what she is!”.

When asked whether there were similarities between her and Christopher Marlowe, a playwright for whom the theatre in the city centre is named, Charlotte answered in the affirmative. “Yes – they were both spies and they were both working class. Marlowe was the son of a shoemaker, Behn was the daughter of a barber. They were living within 50 yards of each other, albeit born 70/80 years apart. Behn’s grandparents might have knocked against Marlowe” she stated in a wonderous tone. “They were both a bit naughty by the standards of the day. They both wrote stuff that shocked people in the day – very similar!” Charlotte said with a grin. An example of this naughtiness can be found in Behn’s novella The History of the Nun – in which the main character, Isabella (who is a nun), indulges in erotic fantasies and commits bigamy.

Charlotte went further to shed light on how Aphra Behn was ahead of her time, hinting at an LGBTQ+ side to the writer. “She wrote love poetry to other

Corrections We will report any inaccurate information published as soon as the error is discovered. Editorial corrections will be printed on this page. For more information, contact Tarini Tiwari at inquire@kentunion.co.uk

women. Sexuality didn’t form identity the same way it does now. But still her poetry – like when she was writing to the fair Clarinda; it’s really brave for this time.

Its unabashedly saying ‘I’m going to love who I’m going to love – and the rest of you can go swing” “She also wrote Oroonoko”, she said referring to Behn’s novel, which is widely believed to be based on her experience in the company of an African slave lead-

er, in the English colony of Surinam - during a time which she is believed to be acting as a spy for Charles II. “(The book) becomes this ur-text for the abolitionist movement. It’s not an anti-racist text, but what it does is expose the horrors of slavery to a white public – and that hadn’t been done. Oroonoko doesn’t begin the abolitionist movement, it’s already beginning.”

She introduced the theme of the ‘noble savage’ that’s then continued in the following years.

The idea that these people, in the colonies, can feel; hurt; think; love and do all of the things that people in London can do.

In 1680, that hasn’t really been exposed, and that was the major milestone in changing the British people’s perception of those in slavery” The PhD candidate, who is a poet in her own right, further expressed why now is the right time for this rediscovery of Photos by A is for Aphra Behn. “There’s such a zeitgeist (for this), and her moment is right now”. “We wouldn’t have been able to do this 20 years ago. The movement is now for numerous reasons – one: there is a change in attitudes to statues” she said, referring to the top-

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pling of the Edward Coleston statue in Bristol, which took place due to his links with the Atlantic slave trade.

“There are only 25 statues of non-royal women (in the UK)” she said, pausing to let that fact sink in. “(Statues) are a lot of money, but they allow people to visualise and pin their own ambitions on those that have gone before them and that’s important – visualisation of a talent that might look like you or be where you’re from, or just be someone who you can physically put your arm round and whisper in the ear “you know – one day I’m going to be like you”.

Charlotte was then asked about the traction of the campaign. “Quite a lot of support! We have a committee that is made up of people from the city, representatives from both universities (UKC and CCCU) and people who are well connected or into the theatre – or just love Behn and want to help”. She went on to talk about the more high profile sponsors like Alex Gilbray, a Royal Shakespeare Company actress; Jessica Lambert, who is writing a TV series about Behn; Rebecca Rideal, who is a historian known for running of HistFest in London; along with Lucy Cobles of Cambridge University, who Charlotte proclaimed to be “the foremost authority on Behn”.

The campaigner talked about the group’s success of almost hitting the £10,000 of donations on the day of the interview, and discussed the next steps for advancing the cause. “Bronze statues, to last over 200 years, are expensive! Especially as Brexit and the pandemic has pushed up the price of bronze. It’s going to be about £80,000 for the statue”. “I’m encouraging anyone who can give anything - £2 or £5 – it doesn’t matter the size of the donation. At the moment, I want to prove the public will for the project – I want to say to the authorities ‘Look! Loads of people want to her celebrated – that’s really important to me. To all the students on campus: if you can give a couple of quid to the project, we are immensely grateful – because every single pound given is an expression of love and will for what she stood for”.

Charlotte then mentioned the possible geography of the memorial.

“There are five potential locations – students will know all five of them” she said we certainty. “I really really really want people to vote. Ideally donate and vote, but if you can’t donate, please vote!” The poll for this can be found on the A is for Aphra campaign website, along with a link to contribute to the statue’s funds.

The interview rounded with talk of the universities place in the city.

“Kent English Literature should be a powerhouse course. This is the city of Marlowe, Chaucer and Behn. I think she is part of that power triumvirate that we must be really proud of”.

Find out more about the campaign and how to donate at aisforaphra.org.

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InQuire Monday 20 September 2021

Students on the chopping block for national insurance hike

By Nathan Collins-Cope News Editor

B

oris Johnson has won a House of Commons vote to hike national insurance payments by 1.25%, meaning it will more than likely pass into law.

The Conservative government won the vote by persuading 317 MPs to vote for the bill, with 248 MPs voting against the highest tax rate since the Second World War. The move is intended to clear the backlog in the NHS and fund the social care crisis that the country is facing. It is estimated to bring in an extra £36 billion to the treasury’s fund.

This is particularly detrimental to ex-students, with an analysis done by the New Statesman calculating that graduates earning over £27,295 would be paying 42.25% of their income to the state, when student loan repayments are included. Graduates earning over £52,270 would pay a whopping 52.25% out of their income.

The party of lower taxes has justified the move by stating that it is intended to clear the backlog in the NHS caused by the pandemic, and fund the social care for the nation.

The Labour Party, who whipped their MPs to vote against the bill, has said that this is the “most unfair

way” of paying for the problems the country faces. The Labour leader Keir Starmer, went further, criticising the fact that the action “(doesn’t do what he claims. People will still face huge bills, many homeowners will have to sell their homes (to pay for their social care)”. The Leader of the Opposition was referring to the fact that less-able elderly will have to sell all their acquired assets in order to pay for carers under the current system.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, told Sky News “If you wanted to think of the most fair way of funding social care then National Insurance wouldn’t be it, because it’s paid by very low paid workers, younger people, and it isn’t paid by the older generation because it stops at retirement age.

“In my view, we should not be taxing work, we should be taxing wealth.”

Lord Phillip Hammond, former Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer under Theresa May, also criticised the move when speaking to the Times Radio. “It’s not just about party political advantage,” he stated. “Economically, politically, expanding the state further in order to protect private assets by asking poor people to subsidise rich people has got to be the wrong thing to do.”

One backbench Conservative MP who voted

against the bill, Anne Marie Morris, gave the scathing criticism of calling the intended outcomes of the bill a collection of “aspirational promises”. She pointed out that “that there’s no guarantee that much of the money will actually find its way to social care at all”, stating poignantly that “Help for social care is needed now; not in three or four years time”

News

Interview with the KU President Continued from front page

The interview took a more personal turn at this stage, as Aisha was asked what she was most excited about returning to. “It’s really hard to imagine what is normal – I don’t remember what crowds look like, I don’t remember what a night out at Venue looks like. So I think the most exciting thing is just talking to people. I don’t think I have seen that many people around in real life, still! So it’s really exciting just talking to students, and getting that full force of what it is like to be on such a busy campus again. “When you’re in your own environment, you surround yourself with the things that make you who you are. So it’s going to be exciting to be surrounded by so many people who are different to you, as well.”

When further probed on her mood for the coming year, Aisha hesitated slightly. “I’ve used the word excited a lot – I think that’s mostly it. I’m a little bit anxious about what the year is going to look like. I think was putting a lot of pressure on myself to make this a really good year. But I think I need to stop trying to pretend that last year didn’t happen and start realising actually it was a massive part of our lives. Overall, I am enthusiastic!”

The interview rounded of with InQuire asking if Aisha had anything further to communicate to the students. “I guess the only thing is – especially thinking back to the question on the plans for this year – I think really it’s about creating space to facilitate students to do what they want to do. I think so many people, especially the university, try and give students all these things to do, and it’s not always what they want, and I think really people just want a space to do the things that they want to do.

“Like running their own society event or running their own project, and just using the space on campus as much as possible – so really trying to create those opportunities for students to be co-designers in their student experience. That is what is really important to me this year.”

Sharon Graham becomes Unite’s general secretary

By Alex Charilaou Newspaper Editor

U

nite, one of the two biggest trade unions in the UK with nearly 1.5 million members, has elected its first new general secretary since the union formed over a decade ago. Sharon Graham, Unite’s first female general secretary, has replaced Len McCluskey in the role.

McCluskey was the union’s first general secretary and has held the role continuously since 2010.

Speaking on Graham’s victory, McCluskey described her as ‘the most formidable campaigning force in our movement’ and that it was ‘a fantastic achievement’ to be handing over to the first female general secretary.

Unite is one of the most important unions in the country, not least because it has been the biggest donor to the Labour Party in the past decade, and under McCluskey was the biggest union to support Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Previous general secretary elections have often been viewed as proxy wars for Labour Party internal conflicts: in 2017, Gerard Coyne’s unsuccessful challenge to McCluskey was widely-viewed as an effort by the Labour Right to make Corbyn’s leadership untenable.

Coyne, from the right-wing of the union, stood again in the 2021 contest, which was broadly

seen as a two-horse race between himself and the assistant general secretary Steve Turner. Turner was part of McCluskey’s United Left slate, a slate supported by much of the Labour Left and Communist Party (CPB) which has controlled the Unite apparatus since its inception. Graham, a left-winger supported by the Trotskyist

Socialist Worker’s Party, was accused by many of Turner’s supporters of being a vote-splitter who would ultimately lead to Coyne’s victory and the ousting of Unite from the left’s

Photos by Unite the Union & The Times

control. As many Graham supporters have since noted, they were proved wrong.

Graham’s path from underdog candidate to convincing winner of the election (with 46,696 votes to Turner’s 41,833 and Coyne’s 35,334) has been seen by some in her camp as vindication of their campaign focus. Graham’s comms strategy centred on framing her opponents as abstracted from the demands of members by all-consuming Labour Party struggles, and she signalled that under her leadership Unite would begin to ‘focus on the workplace’.

This approach has been seen by many as Graham’s natural instinct,

given she has been a union organiser for more than 20 years. Unite claims her organising and leverage department has a “100% winning track record”. As a quote from the New Statesman which Graham shared on Twitter summarises: ‘the true battle in the trade union’s general secretary election was not between left and right but between the leadership and rank-and-file members.’

One of the first to congratulate Graham was Labour leader Keir Starmer, who many claimed was hoping for a Coyne win. Though not as outwardly hostile to Starmer’s centrist leadership of the party as Turner, Graham has claimed there will be ‘no blank cheques’ for Labour under her leadership and there will be payment ‘on results’. One of the first tests for Starmer’s relationship with Unite’s new figurehead will be party conference this month.

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Monday 20 September 2021 InQuire

News

Afghanistan: How we got here

By Shaghayegh Ghezelayagh News Writer

“

Judge them by their actions, not their words.” This phrase has been echoed around the world when concerning the Taliban, especially after their sudden gain of power last month following the resignation of the president, Ashraf Ghani, who is currently exiled in the United Arab Emirates.

To understand the Taliban, one must understand the Mujahideen: a group which shared a broad belief in Islam and fighting the oppression of the atheistic Soviet Union. The superpower attempted to heavily influence Afghanistan, before invading the country in the lead up to the 1990s.

A power vacuum followed the defeat and withdrawal of the Soviets, with a civil war breaking out. The Taliban (literally meaning students, as they saw themselves as the ones educated in the pure Islamic way) emerged as the prevailing political class – something which the country yearned for after years of violence. They promoted a combination of Sharia law and Pashtun tribal codes - limiting human rights, particularly the rights of women.

After the Twin Towers were attacked on September 11, 2001, the United States pinned Osama Bin Laden as the culprit, going after him and his organisation, Al-Qaeda. The terrorist group, formed towards the end of the Soviet occupation period, believed strongly in the principles of extreme conservative Sharia law. They held a strong belief in effective military action based on cherrypicked tenants of Islamic. Bin Laden and his group were reportedly hiding and basing their operations out of Afghanistan, with some indications that factions of the Taliban had sympathies with the terrorist group. Thus, the United States, along with their NATO allies invaded the country with the will to annihilate Al-Qaeda and overthrow the Taliban. The US-centred occupation later evolved into the project of reconstructing Afghani-

stan into a stable, democratic nation.

Afghanistan hence became politically split: more rural areas were controlled by the Taliban whereas Kabul, the capital, and other cities were under western-friendly governmental control. This instability resulted in an influx of Afghan refugees seeking asylum around the world, particularly in neighbouring countries. In between the years 2001-2021, countries nearby such as Iran and Pakistan hosted the

most refugees, though Afghan nationals faced problems with the governments and were discriminated against heavily.

Americans expressed frustrations at fighting a war that was not theirs and many were against the initial occupation, with many leftwing activists, particularly Bernie Sanders’ supporters, accusing the United States of having ulterior motives in Afghanistan. California representative and daughter of army vet Lieutenant Colonel Garvin Tutt, Barbara Lee, was notably infamous for voting against the initial occupation in 2001 and was consequently called a traitor by the

news. The House Vote at the time was 420-1 – she stood completely alone. After 20 years, many have proclaimed she made the right choice, with little tangible humanitarian progress being made from the occupation.

In 2020, the Trump administration aimed to reduce US forces in Afghanistan by July, after making a deal with the Taliban. Complete removal was intended for May 2021. Biden Administration followed through with this plan, extending the removal of troops deadline to September 11, 2021.

Many considered President Biden’s withdrawal too hasty, as the Taliban made fast work in taking over large swathes of Afghanistan. The Western allies were caught off guard when the Taliban took control of Kabul, with US and other NATO troops and staff still evacuating from the capital’s airport. Prior to Biden’s removal of the troops, he made no alleged attempts at negotiating a ceasefire with the extremist group. Once the troops were withdrawn, the Taliban wasted no time in overtaking the country. The then weakened Afghanistan faced a transition overnight, with President Ghani promising to leave if civilians weren’t harmed. The Afghan army seemed to lack the strength and will to fight against the Taliban, with many Afghan nationals fleeing the country almost overnight, some to neighbouring countries and others to Europe.

So far, the Taliban has made many promises, mostly regarding preserving women’s rights, but nothing has been set in stone yet.

Religious minorities, women, and LGBTQ+ communities remain uncertain about their future, whilst certain groups in Afghanistan announce support for the Taliban and echo disdain for the West.

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InQuire Monday 20 September 2021 Have something you want to say? Write a letter to newspaper.editor@inquiremedia.co.uk and be featured in the next InQuire newspaper

W

Tarini Tiwari Editor-in-Chief

elcome—or welcome back—to the University of Kent. As the UK comes out of a year and a half of lockdowns, we find ourselves in uncharted territory. Feelings of anxiety around COVID-19 are balanced by excitement for a return to normal. As we step onto campus for the first time in a long time, we have a question to ask our university: what are we as students entitled to in a post-lockdown society? Of course, the obvious point exists of tuition fee reduction and rent rebates. Asking international students like myself to pay between £15,700 and £16,800 for an almost entirely

A

Alex Charilaou Newspaper Editor

s you start off at Kent, you're going to have a lot to figure out. New names; new places; a hundred and one different faces - it's all going to be a bit intense, especially after the 18 months we've all had. All I can say is, it will also be one of the most fantastic experiences of your life. The only proper uni experience many of us had was our first term of first year, and my only real advice is to savour every minute of it. Work hard on your course - engaging with our education is what we're paying for after all - but I absolutely promise that it will be

H Jake Yates-Hart Website Editor

i, yes, hello! It’s been a funny sort of year, hasn’t it? We’ve survived I don’t know how many lockdowns, serious mental fatigue, and another Cinderella remake to boot! In the wise words of Rose McGowan, ‘Imagine how tired we are’. To discuss the pandemic any further would be tedious. It’s already consumed so much of our lives, why should I waste any more of my editorial? What I will say is this: welcome to your fresh start! University gives us a chance to begin anew; to finally have agency (and responsibility) over our actions that we never had when we were younger; and ultimate-

Editorial

virtual year of study is deplorable. Safety matters, but so does treating your students as more than just cash cows.

I also believe we are entitled to more effort being put in by our university to justify our continuing to spend these exorbitant amounts on tuition fees. If Venue can open at full capacity, why can’t lectures? Surely if it’s a matter of safety, crowded spaces such as nightclubs would be closed still. This isn’t to discredit the safety risks involved with COVID-19. I for one am still dealing with a lot of anxiety around both contracting and spreading the virus.

It’s to do with feeling like universities nationwide have

taken advantage of the circumstances to extort students.

The University of Kent saved millions of pounds last year purely by not having to fully open a majority of its facilities. All this being said, I am cautiously optimistic about this year. Having not been in an in-person lecture since January of 2020, I do wish there was more being done by our university to make our educational experience more enriching. But the thrill of being back in seminar rooms, having actual face-to-face discussions with my peers, is already enough to make this upcoming academic year worthwhile.

the memories you make with your friends, housemates and coursemates that you will cherish, not the seventh or eighth grad skills seminar, or being in the library studying when your housemates are inviting you to a games night. Hard work is important, but don't let it consume you. On that note, InQuire! You'll be confronted with offers from a number of different societies - from sport to educational to absolutely fantastic and whacky - but InQuire is something different. If you care about good journalism, making more good friends than you can count,

and having finished products to take home at the end of it, join InQuire. It isn't always a doddle (there are deadlines and stressful moments), but there is nothing more rewarding than being part of a team - an empathetic, talented, creative team - which sorts out these problems, and delivers amazing journalism here and in the community. I look forward to meeting you!

ly, change the narrative that might have been holding us back all these years. At least, that’s what university has given me. I’m no longer the nervous little fresher far away from home, who rarely wrote for InQuire because he was too shy to share his thoughts. I’m now a sociable final year student who's also Website Editor!

The past two years have been extremely difficult on everyone, but students especially. I find solace in knowing we are a compassionate, empathetic generation that despite everything thrown our way, still has the drive to do what’s right… and look amazing while doing so. I

hope those coming to UKC, freshers or otherwise, can find comfort in this as well. Very soon, it will be our turn to take up the reins, and we’re going to rule! (But not, like, in a dictator way).We can take life seriously later.

For now, treat your shiny, pristine fresh start like it’s a New Year’s Eve party. Be excited for all the opportunities around the corner; create relationships that could last a lifetime; and most importantly, get absolutely smashed!

Also, watch out for the campus seagulls.

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Monday 20 September 2021 InQuire

Opinion

Why are lectures still online while clubs are allowed to open?

Joe Biden calls for a new foreign policy: I don’t buy it

Photo by The U. S. Army

Photo by Lucas Law/Unsplash

By Sam Webb Newspaper Opinion Editor

A

fter a full academic year of most teaching being virtual, many students are looking forward to getting back into seminar rooms and lecture halls rather than sitting in front of a computer all day. However, it seems that it may not be like this. The university have indicated that while seminars should all be face to face, that lectures will likely remain online. This is despite all government enforced coronavirus restrictions being lifted, which includes the reopening of The Venue on campus.

This frustration is by many students, who fail to see why Kent seem so adamant in charging large sums of money for minimal face to face teaching. Only two years ago lecturers were explaining how turning up to scheduled lectures in person is much more beneficial than watching recordings online, however now the university are refusing to allow these more beneficial sessions.

In July, Rhian Shillabeer, a politics student wrote an open letter to the university calling for it to rethink its decision on this which accumulated around 300 signatures. In a reply from the vice-chancellor for student experience, it was explained how the university felt that they could not make the decision to move back to in person teaching due to their duty of care, despite legal restrictions on gatherings having been lifted back in July. The response did not address the views of those students that had signed the letter and refused to offer any solutions or attempts to try and find a middle ground. When asked about finding a middle ground, such as wearing masks, temperature checks, being vaccinated or socially distanced, these suggestions all fell upon deaf ears, and did not seem to even be considered.

The decision to keep lectures online for the upcoming academic year is therefore unacceptable and undesirable for both students and lecturers.

All parties involved benefit much more from physical teaching in a

room together, rather than being sat in front of a laptop. Having lectures scheduled in your timetable is more beneficial in itself. Rather than being given the option to watch a recorded lecture in your own free time, which many students may not do, having a time and a place can help students to plan their week, and decide when is best to work and study, and when is best for relaxing and leisure. Having more scheduled teaching is beneficial when it means starting a regular routine, rather than having empty gaps of the day which more often than not will not be used as effectively. Having a more fixed routine is good for mental health, and coming into contact with other students and lecturers can only be positive in widening social groups and human contact.

There have been many studies that have found that during the Covid-19 pandemic, mental health conditions for all age groups suffered including loneliness, which is important as connections with other people is important in dealing with difficulties. It is unsurprising that over two thirds of young people said that their mental health got worse during lockdown.

Getting out of the house is normally good for mental health, with coming into contact with close friends being important in keeping these problems away.

It seems bizarre that the university would choose to keep lectures online while keeping most other facilities and events open as normal, including the library and freshers fair, as well as having lab classes and seminars face to face. This is without the fact that pubs, clubs, and other businesses in the entertainment and leisure industry are now legally allowed to open across the country, meaning that in person lectures are unlikely to make much of a difference in the big picture. It seems to be a case of the university being overly-cautious at a time where all people are trying to move on from the pandemic and go back to a normal, pre-Covid life.

By Alex Charilaou Newspaper Editor

I

n his remarks on the (official) end of the war in Afghanistan, President Biden was keen to project an image of success. Speaking on the chaotic airlifts out of Kabul over August, which some likened to the striking images of the Hanoi evacuation 45 years ago, Biden claimed ‘no nation has ever done anything like it in all of history - only the United States had the capacity, the will and the ability to do it’. Going on to scold the Afghan forces and President Ghani, who fled early in the takeover, Biden was loathed to take responsibility for last month’s events. Of course, the president is reticent to confirm what is all but clear already: the war in Afghanistan was a shameful, humiliating defeat.

Hundreds of thousands of troops and civilians dead, much of the country’s infrastructure decimated, ecological and holy sites alike destroyed, and all for nothing. Afghanistan is more firmly in the power of the Taliban now than it was twenty years ago. This is the biggest defeat for the United States in the 21st century, and it’s not even close.

Whilst an enthusiastic cheerleader for regime change in Iraq, Biden had been sceptical about the mission in Afghanistan as far back as the Obama administration. As reported by The Intercept, Vice-President Biden laid into members of the US national security core at a 2009 cabinet meeting over the issue. The meeting included then-Defence Secretary Bob Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both of whom wanted to redouble the US’s efforts in defending the failing Afghan government. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry had briefed the cabinet that day (coincidentally, and not without irony, the day Obama found out he’d won the Nobel Peace Prize) that the country’s government was no longer ‘aligned with US values’ – a euphemism for breath-

takingly corrupt. Biden was outraged by the notion that the United States should fight on for a government that had enjoyed almost no popular support and was hollowed out by mismanagement – in the words of Gen. David Petraeus, Karzai’s regime was nothing but a ‘criminal syndicate’. Biden’s protests did little to sway the Obama/Clinton/ Gates consensus on Afghanistan, meaning the operation fruitlessly dragged out for a decade longer. Biden’s antipathy to the US occupation is what ultimately led him to honour the deal Trump did with the Taliban, a complete withdrawal by September 2021 (already an extension from the May 2021 agreed by Trump). As Biden has repeated in the aftermath of last month, if Afghan forces would fold in a week after 20 years of US training and funding, what would a few more years do to help?

What Biden was keen to avoid, however, was an exit which looked like a shambolic exit which would cap off two decades of disaster. He failed to do this.

As security expert Paul Rogers has observed, the US government’s failure to assess the swiftness of the Taliban’s advance across Afghanistan was nothing if not ‘a complete failure of intelligence’.

Biden was not wrong to end the Afghan occupation, but he would not have withdrawn if he had expected the US-backed regime to crumble in less than a fortnight. This points to little more than a symptom of the US’s declining hegemony (see also the Taliban’s shrug in the face of increased sanctions, especially as they begin dialogue with China), an embarrassment for the United States and a sign of their increasing frailty on the world stage.

Joe Biden’s thinking on Afghanistan

“

is important, as it will help mould the United States’ foreign policy for at least four years. The centralisation of power in the United States is such that big questions of policy and ideology, and therefore of material interest, can be understood through the prism of the president. In his speech, Biden elucidates what America’s new foreign policy might look like: a hawkish emphasis on Great Game-style ‘competition’ with China and Russia, and a relatively timid pledge to fight terrorism.

Same old new, then.

Biden’s promise to ‘move on from a two-decades old foreign policy’ is completely hollow. He promises an end to ‘nation-building’, but that hasn’t stopped his State Department making moves to destruct democratically elected governments like Bolivia’s. He promises a foreign policy based on human-rights: a recent US drone attack in Kabul killed seven children, all from the same family. A foreign policy that ends in families chanting ‘Death to America’ at their children’s funerals is not one designed to protect human rights. Biden’s chilling bravado when boasting the US’s ‘over-the-horizon capabilities’, i.e. drones and missiles, is a nightmarish indication of the President’s preferred approach to 2020s US foreign policy.

Drones and missiles, militarised borders, a permanent state of exception.

In the era of climate refugees and those fleeing the destruction caused by countries like the United States, it must be stressed that Biden is getting his excuses in early. There is nothing ‘new’ about Biden’s foreign policy, and the failure of Afghanistan is only the beginning.

Biden Promises an end to ‘nation-building’, but that hasn’t stopped his State Department making moves to destruct democratically elected governments

7

InQuire Monday 20 September 2021

Opinion

The supply chain crisis highlights a broken labour market

By Sam Webb Newspaper Opinion Editor

I

n a modern, globalised world, empty supermarket shelves and supply chain issues are not generally what you would expect to see. However, in the past few weeks there are food shortages all across the country. Many large chains, such as Nando’s, McDonald’s and Wetherspoons are facing problems in receiving deliveries, which has led to some being forced to temporarily close or run a reduced menu. Smaller, local businesses are struggling even more.

However, a shortage of food is not to blame, instead there is a shortage of lorry drivers estimated at around 100,000.

This is by no means a new issue. Truck drivers in the UK are an aging workforce, and many retire each year. It is also not as attractive for young people joining the labour market to want to become a truck driver as in the past, with wages not rising with inflation, along with working long hours which leaves drivers with little social life. The training required to become a HGV driver is also expensive, and often drivers need to pay for their own qualifications. In recent years, the gap between truck drivers and shop workers has been shrinking due to many companies promoting better working conditions and pay, while forcing drivers to face more of a pay squeeze due to haulage companies making labour costs as low as possible in order to attract clients such as supermarkets and large chains who have powerful purchasing leverage.

However, this ongoing issue has been exacerbated due to two economic shocks in quick succession: Brexit and Covid-19. While the UK was still part of the European Union, many foreign drivers would come over, and would be happy to work the long hours for little pay offered by companies. This had the effect of masking how bad the situation was, especially for the barely regulated labour market, as it would seem that there were plenty of drivers to deliver everything needed. However, these European driv-

ers would simply plug the gaps for not just HGV drivers, but in many industries. Following the UK’s removal from the EU, many drivers left the UK, with only around 4% of these returning later on.

At the same time, many drivers were unable to obtain the qualifications necessary to become lorry drivers due to the impact of the pandemicw putting HGV tests on hold for over 12 months.

The number of drivers has therefore shrunk drastically, with many drivers going into early retirement due to the pandemic with no new drivers to replace them. With the UK formerly relying on EU drivers to help satisfy the increasing demand for deliveries, with visas for foreign workers now more complicated to obtain following Brexit, many drivers have simply not bothered. With a more globalised workforce, countries now need to compete with each other in order to attract workers to want to be employed for them, which includes offering high pay and making it easy to emigrate to work.

So how can this crisis be solved? The best way is to look not just for the short term, but also further into the future in order to avoid another crisis like this happening. This can be done with extensive efforts in order to benefit truck drivers and therefore attract more work-

Photo by Gerhard G/Pixabay

ers to the goods transportation industry.

The UK government should regulate the work of drivers more strictly, in order to ensure that they are given better working conditions for better pay. This can include high investments in improving facilities at service stations, as well as allowing more flexible hours: the reason many drivers leave is due to the unsociable hours the job demands, making it difficult to have a family life. Instead, the government has recently done the opposite, temporarily extending the maximum amount of hours drivers can work to 10 hours in a day in order to

match demand. A more beneficial temporary solution could be granting more short-term visas for European drivers while the backlog of trainees waiting for their necessary qualifications is worked through. The government could also invest in more trucking apprenticeships and grants in order to reduce the upfront cost normally paid for by truckers themselves. However, increasing these conditions is very likely to cause prices for goods across the board to rise significantly, due to retailers having to pass on these higher costs of transportation to customers. Some supermarkets such

as Tesco have started to try and attract drivers by offering a £1000 joining bonus for lorry drivers, as well as calling for the government to let them use the Apprenticeship Levy in order to fund teaching people how to drive HGVs. It remains to be seen what action, if any the government will actively take in order to fight these supply chain shortages.

Are nightclub double-jab requirements just a tactic to inject vaccine numbers among young people?

By Sam Webb Newspaper Opinion Editor

A

s undergraduate students make their way to university hoping for a freer and more successful year than the last, one government policy seems to target university life before the year has even started: vaccine passports.

These passports, first announced by the Prime Minister in July would mean that in order to enter a nightclub you would need to be able to prove that you have received two jabs of a Covid vaccine or otherwise be turned away at the door. Over the past summer, individuals have only had to have taken a negative test in order to be let into venues such as football stadiums, festivals, and

clubs.

So, what changes in September? Not a lot, apart from the fact that this is the time that students make their way back to universities, and a large part of student social life is in the club. This effort by the government to enforce vaccine passports is therefore less of an effort to tackle the pandemic, but rather to push more young people to get jabbed. While the government will keep preaching that the vaccine is not mandatory, most of their energy will be focused on forcing students and young people to get shots in arms before their first tequila shots. There were even reports in July that a ‘raging’ Boris Johnson planned to ban any student without a jab from attending lectures or staying in halls of residence. Therefore, while jabs are

theoretically not compulsory, in practice the government efforts to coerce individuals to get vaccinated can lead to young people to feel that the government is conspiring against them, even if they planned to get the jab anyway.

This policy on nightclubs doesn’t even attempt to be subtle. In his press conference in July, he stressed on nightclubs ‘and other venues where large crowds gather’ would be required by law to follow these rules but did not mention what the ‘other’ venues would be. This means that many Tory politicians are not aware of what their policy even is, due to the consistent lack of clarity of the Conservative party around the pandemic. If the resulting bill only targets nightclubs, this will highlight further the focus on directing blame at young

people, as the government has been accused of for the past two years.

Even if the focus on nightclubs is due to targeting venues which have the potential to become super-spreader events, this may be too late to be effective. Many festivals and sports events have taken place during the summer, and do not require social distancing.

This has led to an uptick in cases, including at Boardmasters festival in Cornwall, which is believed to have had 5000 cases linked to this one event, three-quarters of which were aged between 16 and 21, the age groups least likely to have been fully vaccinated yet due to having only been offered a jab for a minimal amount of time. The blind eye of the government on these events, and the timeframe of the ‘end of Sep-

tember’ seems evidence enough that it these policies are specifically targeting the UK student population.

Enforcing restrictions that will undoubtedly affect young people more than any other demographic is not the best way for Boris Johnson to win support from these groups. When these restrictions come into place many young people may have only just been offered one jab, therefore undermining his justification for leaving it this late. This may also harm the clubs themselves, who have already missed around 18 months of business due to the pandemic already. What is so broken about NHS Covid passes that they have to be replaced with double vaccine passports?

8

Opinion

Monday 20 September 2021 InQuire

Cryptocurrency: is investing worth the risk?

By Elise Sauvary

W

Photo by Behnam Norouzi/Unsplash

ho doesn’t love the sound of earning extra money you don’t have do a 9-5 for? Many students this past year have been looking for alternative ways to make money work for them throughout their degree to bring in some extra drinking money. Due to miniscule interest rates, many have turned to investing in alternative forms of income such as cryptocurrencies.

Those who do or have invested will give one of two responses: stating how much of a great investment crypto is, or a diversion in conversation from a sore spot in financial pride. Either way, it is worth at least researching into for students with cash they can afford to lose.

There are over 10,000 different types of Crypto coins and tokens, which is difficult to visualise when they don’t physically exist. But just like with debit payments, just because you can’t see the actual transfer of the coin doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a worth. They first formed in the 2008 financial crisis, as people wanted more control over their money instead of relying on the Government, banks, or companies. Investments in crypto meant that their money would be decentralized without a financial institution behind it. They are based off setting a limited supply of the coin, meaning its perceived value

is determined by the demand. So, a heavy demand from buyers will push its value upwards.

Cryptocurrencies are naturally volatile as interfering variables such as social media have a large effect on it as shown through the major crypto boost through The GameStop (GME) pump and dump. Many hopeful small investors joined discord chats and Subreddits to learn more about stocks, shares and bonds after GME. The main subreddit r/wallstreetbets had a big role in the short squeeze with lots of investors thinking they are in the right place to make some quick cash through shares. Those in these groups who were experienced in the way shares work (or just got very lucky) made a lot of money through GME, but investors that were less knowledgeable invested late and who held their ground for too long made large losses.

There was already a lot of investors in the digital currency. However, this increase in publicity and conversation in stocks caused a side step conversation into Crypto bringing a larger attention to Bitcoin, Ethereum and many other cryptocurrencies.

Currently to invest in crypto there are many apps and sites that can be used like Coinbase, Etoro and Binance. One thing to watch out for is the fee to take money out of the account on the sites. Many state that they are free and have no fees. However there tends to be hidden fees,

commission, brokerage fees and even cash charges to take your money out of the account and back into your bank. These sites also often have a minimum amount to invest which can range widely. This tends to put off small investors just wanting to dabble a small amount of change in the market out of curiosity.

On these sites you can set a stop loss which when the value drops below a specific point it will pull your money out automatically without you needing to monitor it. This is the same with take profit where you state a higher rate you are happy to pull your money out to insure you get the profit once this number is hit. Both of these allow a lot more security and less risk for investors, therefore minimising potential losses.

If you have some spare cash (Not your whole maintenance loan) which you can afford to lose, feel free to get involved in the crypto trend. Be smart and research before investing, make sure you know the purpose of what you are putting your money into and all the factors which cause it to fluctuate and set a stop loss to boost your security. But ensure that you are aware that you are taking a risk: no investment, especially in cryptocurrency is certain to bring in profits, and can very easily do the complete opposite. The best way to get involved it is to simply put time into researching the markets as crypto currencies may be a highly used payment transaction in the future.

By Tarini Tiwari Editor-in-Chief

T

he IPCC Climate Report 2021 was damning to say the least.

It called human influence on climate change ‘unequivocal’.

It offered a best-case estimate of a rise in temperature of 1.5°, still leaving us with horrific damage to the Arctic Circle. We’ve reached a point of no return. We can no longer undo the effects of climate change, but can simply reduce further damage. So, where does this leave us? Climate change is no longer something the Western world can ignore, using a familiar colonial mindset to treat it as a problem for other people, someplace else. For me personally, who’s seen flooding during the annual monsoon season in my native Mumbai worsen each year, and equally seen years with hardly any rain, I’ve been watching climate change worsen rapidly and terrifyingly.

Watching wildfires rage, droughts grow in severity, floods rush through the most developed of nations, it feels apocalyptic.

It reminds me of movies about climate disasters, with all the world’s leaders rushing together to solve a major global threat.

The only difference: in the real world, our politicians don’t care. Climate change is being met with a horrifically laissez-faire attitude. Unlike in films, our leaders care about fossil fuel barons getting their money, they care about appealing to the masses—who, driven by conspiracy theories and decades of climate change de-

We can no longer undo the effects of climate change, but can simply reduce further damage

“

nial, believe there is nothing we as a species need to do.

This brings me to something I’ve been facing a lot over the past couple of years in particular: eco-anxiety. The APA defines eco-anxiety as “the chronic fear of environmental cataclysm that comes from observing the seemingly irrevocable impact of climate change”. I feel an immense dread about the future of our planet, heightened by the lack of urgency by major world powers. As someone who believes strongly in intersectional feminism, LGBTQIA+ rights and BIPOC rights, even I struggle to feel motivated at times to fight for these incredibly important social causes because of the state of our planet. How can we prioritise equality when we don’t know if we’ll have a planet to fight for it on in a few decades’ time?

So, how do we cope? What’s the solution to eco-anxiety? Obviously, the best cure to any form of anxiety is eradicating the source. Reaching carbon-neutrality, switching entirely to renewable energy and seeing a world with a strong focus on climate conservation would ease this fear.

But, despite what we’ve been told by governments, the press and fossil fuel companies themselves (did you know the carbon footprint was invented by BP to shift blame for climate change? That’s right, the same BP who caused an ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico just over a decade ago), it’s not entirely down to individual human action to enact change. Therefore, my plan, and the plans of many others, involve putting pressure on our governments and economies to enact the necessary change.

Ways of doing this include buying less fast fashion, an economic protest against one of the most damaging industries to the climate. I should disclaim here that shopping sustainably is expensive and a privilege to be able to do. Second-hand and

charity shops are always a less-expensive option, but you should never feel guilted into spending money you don’t have in order to protest an industry that thrives on being priced so attractively. Another method of economic protest is cutting down on meat consumption. Going vegetarian or vegan is difficult and can be very expensive. Growing up on an Indian diet means I’m very used to it, but even cutting out meat for two days in the week can add up to major benefits to the climate.

The greatest power we hold against our governments, however, is our vote. Making your voice heard, indicating that climate change is the most important issue you need solved, is what will drive our politicians. If they don’t follow through on their promises, vote them out. If personal gain and power is what drives our leaders, then we need to shift how they source that power away from capitalist systems and fossil fuel giants and onto us as voters.

Our biggest hope comes from our generation. A generation that has been raised in the worst period of climate disaster in the history of our planet, a generation spurred on by a desire for a better future for our children, something our parents and grandparents clearly never considered enough. None of these solutions, none of these rallying words, will change the damning nature of the IPCC report and the severity of our damage on the planet.

My eco-anxiety will persist for a long time to come, perhaps forever if we as a species choose not to fight for a better future. In the meantime, know your power as an individual. You aren’t responsible for lessening climate change by turning off the lights. You’re responsible by protesting the economic system that created this crisis, and by voting in governments that will actually care. We have a chance, we just have to take it before it’s too late.

Photo by Markus Spiske/Unsplash

Climate change and the rise of eco-anxiety

9

InQuire Monday 20 September 2021

Lifestyle

Life

Breaking the Ice: Getting to Know your Flatmates!

Photo by Myke Simon/Unsplash

T

he time has come for freshers to move into their campus accommodation, and this is an understandably daunting thing to do. Meeting new people that you’re going to be living with for at least a year is terrifying, and it’s not easy to break the ice. Here are a few tips to make that initial period easier.

Buy a doorstop. This feels archaic, but it really works. Propping open your door tells your housemates that you’re willing to chat and welcomes them into your room. Equally, it helps set boundaries early—if you don’t have your door propped open, then people

know you don’t want to be disturbed. If you’re in a house setting with a landing, keeping your door open can prompt chatting with your housemates while doing uni work, for example. In my first year I often did my readings with my door open while the others on my floor did the same thing, allowing us to talk intermittently while also being in our own spaces.

Freshers Week can be tiring to say the least.

All the nights out, while fun especially after a year of lockdowns, aren’t the best way to get to know your housemates. Suggest getting a takeaway with your new neighbours and watching something on Netflix or playing some games. It’s a great way to bond with each other and the structure of a movie, series or game helps

guide the conversation.

Plan a trip together! Don’t worry, I’m not implying that you get a giant shared tent together and go camping.

However, the Canterbury area boasts many activities you can do as a group. Get the bus to Whitstable, go shopping in town or explore the parks and countryside.

Not only is it comforting to know that if you get lost, you’re lost as a group—I once accidentally went to Whitstable with my housemates when we were trying to go to town, and a possibly stressful situation became a funny story—but it also gives you a chance to learn more about the city and its surrounding areas.

Pick some freshers events to attend together. There are schedules available to see what’s on, and you can go to nights out, the Welcome Fair and various other events in order to explore more of the activities on campus while being in a group of people you know.

This is also a way to go on nights out safely, as you’re all going back to the same place after and can walk home together!

Set rules about cleaning early on. It’s always awkward to see the bin overflowing and confront the guilty party, especially when there was never a system put into place. If

“Freshers' Week can be tiring to say the least; it’s a great way to bond with each other."

you agree early on that people keep the space clean by wiping down the hobs and counters after cooking, hoovering once a week and taking the bins out when they’re full, you’ll avoid unsavoury conversations later and maintain the relationship with your housemates.

If someone in your house has friends over, make an effort to talk to them. It’s not only a chance to get to know new people, but it cements your friendship with your housemates as you’ve put in effort to make their friends feel welcome. It also means that you can now be a group of friends and plan activities together.

This seems cliché, but the most important thing is to be yourself. Especially after leaving school which can be quite stifling, uni is full of people who will appreciate your interests for what they are and share in them. Don’t sacrifice who you are just to make friends, because if they expect that of you then they were never meant to be your friend.

“Set rules about cleaning early on. it’s always awkward to see the bin overflowing and confront the guilty party.”

Top Tips for Keeping Safe in Freshers Week: 1. Don’t leave your drinks unattended! Whether you pre hard or only drink shots while at the club, make sure you keep your wits about you - although this restriction may be hard, it’ll be worth the hassle! One way to ensure this is to buddy up! Whoever you form a bond with first, make a mutal decision to help one another during the long night ahead. This way you’ll be with people you trust who can help if you have one too many jagerbombs (It’s easily done) 2. Preferably go out with the people you’re living with - someone will inevitably lose their room key (don’t let it be you!).

Obviously you will want to meet so many people so sticking with one group of people may seem limiting but it’s such a great way to bond with your new housemates (just don’t drunkenly kiss one of them - you’ll spend the next year avoiding them) 3. Never walk home alone at night! When you’re drunk and stumbling it might seem like a good idea but don’t forget you are significantly more vulnerable and it therefore becomes easier for someone to take advantage of a situation like that.

Just pay a little more for an Uber or the bus to deliver you home safely.

4. Stick as a group! Usually there is always that one person who decides it’s a great idea to go on a boozy adventure by themselves... if you can’t think of this person then chances are its you. Although you’re going to want to make new friends and explore Canterbury, just make sure you have at least one other person with you to stop you from falling in the river.

Apologies for sounding like an overbearing parent, we came to Uni to escape that! And finally, enjoy Freshers! It’s a great time to befriend new people and get your bearings with your new city. Just make sure you have loads of paracetemol and water for the morning headache! You’ll be needing it.

By Grace Bishop Lifestyle Editor/Media & Events Photo by Kaizen Nguyan/Unsplash

Photo by Inja Pavlick/Unsplash

By Tarini Tiwari Editor-in-Chief

10

Monday 20 September 2021 InQuire

Lifestyle

Life

A Guide to the Best Drunk Food in Canterbury This Freshers!

By Alex Charilaou Newspaper Editor

I

f you’re a new fresher descending on Canterbury this week, there’s every possibility you’re going to be stumbling out of Spoons, Venue or Chem, and are going to be looking for some amazingly inexpensive drunk food. Although it’s sometimes hard to beat a Maccies or a KFC, throughout this issue we’re highlighting some fantastic independent food joints in Canterbury that we highly recommend. Whether you’re craving a greasy burger and chips, or something

more exotic - meaty veggie or vegan, we’ve got everything covered!

Kebabs: Efes Hands down the best kebab shop in Canterbury – and a convenient two minute walk away from big Sainsbury’s, as well as a few doors down from the wonderful Penny Theatre – I cannot overstate the pleasures of a massive doner kebab from Efes, drenched in their legendary burger sauce and garlic mayo, getting stuffed down after a few Aperols.

It’s transformative.

An especially honourable mention also for the cheesy chips, my partner’s favourite: the soporific aftereffects are Photo by Kamal Bilal/Unsplash best enjoyed at

home, slumped in bed, Netflix-scrolling.

Other good kebab places in Canterbury: Ocakbasi of Kent, Munchies, Jasper’s.

Burger: Rad Burger Self-defined ‘slap up street food for the masses’, Rad Burger are, indeed, rad. You might well see their stall outside Venue when you’re out this week, and if you do, why not treat yourself? Their namesake radical burger, which I am faultlessly loyal to when I drunk-takeout, is simply delicious: a succulent steak patty, halloumi, bacon, and salad, all on a homemade toasted brioche bun.

Tout simplement délicieux.

For vegetarian burger enjoyers (I salute you), I’d suggest looking no further than the falafel and halloumi burger, no less a challenge than the meat options and no less a reward. On the other hand,

What Parts of Lockdown should be Treasured?

By Grace Bishop Lifestyle Editor/Media & Events

T

he last couple of years have been spent rather quietly, locked up in our houses watching the world turn upside down outside our windows.

Leaving us as nothing but slaves to our minds with immense uncertainty looming ahead. The majority of the experience has been heart-breaking, but what parts of lockdown should be cherished and remembered for decades ahead when our grandchildren ask us about Coronavirus? The lost time of the COVID19 Generation? How do you choose to remember your time in Lockdown? Are you a glass half empty or half full drinker?

Spending time with your loved ones: I’m sure most of us wanted to strangle our family at some point during lockdown, but the months of being stuck with them really did bring my family closer. We typically found ourselves arguing over the choice of film, or what’s for dinner on a loop - looking back they were laughable but at the time, slow cooked stew was the end of the world. I’m sure you’d agree.

There were moments where I wanted nothing

if you have greater self-restraint than I, opt for the halloumi or rosemary fries, both of which make for a wonderful, light drunk snack.

Other good burger joints: Notorious BRG, Chuck and Blade Burgers.

Indian: Masala Gate Who among us has not longed for a post-night out curry? Having wondered out of Glitterbomb, or one of the many pubs in town, who has not fantasised of being guided home by the piquant aroma of a bhuna, rogan or daal? Masala Gate is one of the best Indian takeaways in the city, and I can think of nowhere better to get an after-booze spice fix. Wonderfully, you can choose a range of fillings for a wide selection of curries: aside from a range of meat options, you can opt for vegetables, paneer or prawn. While I always go more than to leave the house, but being forced in with your family for 6 weeks with no rest bite meant arguments had to be squashed quickly.

Although, after the endless bickering we’d all reached a point where we stopped irritating one another… almost like we’d broken through the pettiness and reached peace?

This time definitely solidified these relationships. When else will we ever be forced to stay at home with them again? Months of memories stacked up to be cherished forever.

Avoiding the Monday Rush and Working from Home: Usually my heart sank on a Sunday evening from the anticipation of the Monday morning rush.

Being forced awake by a deafening alarm, getting pushed and shoved on the overcrowded bus to make it to a 9am lecture all the while it pours outside. I still get traumatic flashbacks which haunt me to this day.

However following each and every Lockdown enabling people to work from their laptops, Monday mornings had become strangely relaxed - something I’d never experienced before. Wak-

for a paneer jalfrezi (with pilau rice and a garlic naan), I must also vouch unorthodoxly for the chingri safrani, a richly aromatic sweet and sour king prawn dish which always, bafflingly, sits well after a heavy night.

Other good Indian places: Cinnamon, Kashmir Tandoori.

Photo by Jenn Kosar/Unsplash

Whether you’ve ventured out to a club or pub this week, however tempting a Maccies or a Spoons dinner is, spare a thought for the tasty, affordable, independent restaurants and takeaways in Canterbury – they never miss!

Photo by Tuân Nguyễn Minh/Unsplash ing up 10 minutes before the start of my lecture and spending the day in my joggers was a unusual luxury. Something which, I regret to say, will never happen again. Tragic.

Lack of Guilt from Be-

on FaceTime - making this experience all the more entertaining.

Reassessing our Values of Importance: The weekly 8pm clap for the NHS really did highlight the importance of our

“What parts of lockdown should be cherished for decades ahead.” coming Home Bodies: Everyone loves getting all dressed up in a new outfit and going out for drinks with their nearest and dearest; but lockdown seemed to turn me into a bit of a home-body, where cooking dinner and being in bed by 10pm quickly became the highlight of my day.

Being told to stay home felt like the whole country was taking a sick day - something of an enjoyable experience? You no longer had to worry about an excuse to stay home if you didn’t fancy socialising - just binge watch endless Netflix shows with a hot chocolate in hand. Bliss.

As this wore off and the inevitable cabin fever set in; there were countless evenings of self-care, face masks and hours spent

healthcare system. With the news morbidly updating us on the daily death figures, life seemed pretty bleak but the Thursday evening routine really invigorated the community (socially distanced of course).

One personal highlight was when my Dad played the Saxophone to the tune of ‘Over the Rainbow’ for the neighbours.

The community had returned - having been frozen in time for the last however many weeks.

Learning New Skills and Developing Routines: With so much time on our hands, it felt right to put it to good use and learn something new.

Since Boris had permitted us one form of daily exercise; a morning run became my new ritu-

al. Although a run on a Monday morning seems torturous, the fresh air did wonders for my mental health.

To keep with the health and fitness I’d taken up experimenting with a vast range of different recipes. Couscous and Kale became a part of my weekly lifestyle (something I never thought I’d ever admit).

Although this period has been unchartered territory for most of us, how did you cope within your lives of isolation.

Generations haven’t experienced this for over a century - but did our access to social media help to cure our boredom whilst spending way too much time glued to TikTok? Did this pause in our lives give us the opportunities to adjust our ways of living? Do you treasure or resent it?

Photo by Alexas Totas/Unsplash Photo by Sincerely Media/Unsplash

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InQuire Monday 20 September 2021

Life

Organising the Best Flat Parties for Freshers!

By Grace Bishop Lifestyle Editor/Media & Events

Photo by Helena Yankovska/Unsplash

F

lat parties will always be a right of passage for any fresher. But if you’re anything like me, you might be wondering.. where do I start?

Once you’ve taken a leap of faith and decided to host the party, there is a long list to think about.

How much booze do you buy?

Whats the music vibe? How do we make it a memorable night?

Welcome: Whether its Ring of Fire, Drunk Jenga or a classic game of Cards Against Humanity, drinking games are a great way of building bridges with people. Whether you’re sober or wasted, anyone can join in.

They have always and will always be a staple aspect of the halls experience. A deck of cards can go a long way and you’ll always secure an invitation to the next party. (Hopefully it’s not just for the use of your drinking games) Cocktails Night: First of all… nobody expects you to provide the booze for the whole night; how could you possibly provide enough Co-Op vodka to quench the thirst of over 50 people. Make the BYO rule known to ensure the drinks keep flowing all night long.

After a while everyone will be professing their undying love for each other before grabbing a 24hr McDonald’s and heading to bed for a world of pain in the morning.

Trust me… everyone has been there.

In my previous house me and my housemates had a cocktail ingredients poster which came in VERY handy during our

“Drinking games are always welcome; whether you’re sober or wasted, anyone can join in.”

The list goes on and on. However the main thing is, DON’T panic!

Hopefully this article will provide some insight.

The Importance of Wireless Speakers: Whether you or someone you know owns a speaker - befriend them! You will always be appreciated at flat parties nobody wants a night of silence.

A fixed party playlist is an essential for the night ahead.

You need to create a playlist that mirrors the vibe of the party; if people wanted a night of head banging old hits they would have gone to Vensday. Make sure you’re not listening to anything on repeat! Theres nothing worse than combining alcohol with break up songs. A recipe for endless tears.

Drinking Games are Always

lockdown kitchen drinking antics.

We picked a few different cocktails which had the same alcohol in common and got shaking. Not only was this a creative way to have fun, but it was also ridiculously cheap!

We ended up paying as much as

“Whoever attends your party could make or break the night, so invite everyone!.”

we would have for one cocktail at Citi Terrace! Cocktails always go down a treat and before you know it, you’ll be dancing on the table.

Themes:Theme Nights are always a good option.

Dressing up is a great way to have a bit of fun and to break the ice with new housemates. If you don’t see an array of neon, glitter and animal themed freshers during next week then something has gone horribly wrong.

(You’ll always see a rogue nun somewhere, usually looking for more vodka) Themes can also stretch to food and alcohol.

Mexican Margarita nights are always a hit! Or try Limoncello and pizza for an Italian vibe.

Decorations are welcome but not necessary, they’ll be wrecked by

Check out the InQuire website for articles like: - A Guide to Clubbing - Tackling Homesickness when at University - Things not to bring to University

morning.

Side Note: Advice for pre-prep before people arrive would be to clean any glasses (or buy disposable cups - they save you in the morning), put any valuables away and have the essential Instagram picture to post the following day while you’re head is next to a bucket. (Paracetamol and toast works a treat!)

The Guest List: Whoever attends your party could make or break the night, so invite

Photo by Jennifer Pallian/Unsplash

everyone! Freshers parties are a great way to make friends during a time when homesickness might be on the horizon. Who knows you might meet your lifelong best friends here.

However the most important thing is to enjoy it. You’ll never be a fresher again so cherish freshers and befriend as many people as possible. You never know who you’ll next bump into on campus, maybe it was a familiar face you can’t quite place from one of the endless flat parties you will attend.

Lifestyle

Motivating yourself to Start the Reading

By Grace Bishop Lifestyle Editor/Media & Events As Freshers week draws to an end, the dreaded pile of reading becomes more and more concerning. Welcome Week has maybe been a little too welcoming; with several unknown bruises and a headache lasting days. Although, dragging yourself from the comfort of your bed to an uncomfortable desk chair might seem like the most difficult task to achieve, but hang tight! Hopefully this article will provide some help in making this appear, a little more doable.

Swap the Heels for Slippers: I Imagine after countless nights out, your feet are most likely battered and bruised.

With Freshers flu looming, a pyjama day offers the perfect solution! Making yourself as comfortable as possible can help you remain focused for longer and with the typical English weather theres nothing more inviting than fleece joggers. So grab your cosiest jumper and a warm blanket you’re all set.

Boil the Kettle: Are you a tea or coffee person? Well, whatever your drink of choice - make sure you have plenty stocked for when you finally decide to get your head down.

Whether it be green tea or a feel good hot chocolate with extra cream - it remains a vital aspect of working from home.

Seminars in lockdown will have you drinking multiple per hour.

Stock up the Snack cupboard: Similar to the hot drink, a little selection of sweet treats is essential to maintain focus (plus its a great excuse to leave your desk). Nothing beats a biscuit and a hot cup of tea while you’re combing through endless pages of the module reader.

Trust Yourself: Although initially the reading seems impossible… just trust yourself. You didn’t get to University without hard work so believe in yourself. If you are a little unsure, don’t fear- this may be freshers nerves (everyone has them). My advice? Just throw yourself into it, once people discuss the material in a seminar you’ll eventually come out of your shell and begin to understand! Although the lecturers will always offer their help if you are stuck.

Grab some Stationary: You don’t need every single colour of highlighter or the most expensive pukka pad, just buy a cheap selection of stationary - a massively helpful addition when in seminars. Highlighters are particularly useful for quotations (just make sure you don’t colour the whole page in - not everything is important enough to highlight).

Finally, don’t worry too much. Although this is your first seminar and you’ll want to make a good impression, make sure you don’t stress about the reading too much. First year eases you in gradually and before you know it you’ll understand it.

“Whatever your drink of choice - make sure you have plenty stocked ”

12

Monday 20 September 2021 InQuire

Feature

A Transition for the Ma and Australasia – have contributed nearly 70% of global cumulative CO2 emissions, despite having no more than a fifth of the world’s population.

China and India, both of which are more populous than the whole Global North put together, have only contributed 13%. Nevertheless, it is the Global South which is going to pay the most overwhelming price for climate disaster – and as people are displaced by fire and flood, wealthier countries are continuing to retreat into, as Ajl puts it, ‘militarised fortress nationalisms’. A People’s Green New Deal is centred around synthesising two disparate ecological movements: those in the Global North, and those in the Global South; those countries used as

Alex Charilaou Newspaper Editor

T

hanks to the valiant efforts of new, more radical politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the United States and Rebecca Long-Bailey in the UK, the Green New Deal has become a household byword for bold climate action.

In the last few years – and doubtless for the next few – climate has topped the list of voters’ concerns across the Global North. As we’ve seen in places like California and Germany in recent months, it is no longer an issue of the future, but the present.

The GND in progressive circles has become such a used term to refer more generally to ‘climate action’ that it has become diffuse, though generally (and as in AOC’s campaign literature) it refers to a mass green infrastructure plan that has the dual effect of curbing carbon emissions and creating millions of new jobs. The GND has found a great deal of success among the young in the US and UK: around 50% of Americans under 35 have a positive opinion on the Green New Deal, while over 60% of young people in the UK think getting to net zero by 2030 is a priority.

Ajl’s book is not a simple paean for the GND, especially as it’s formulated by many in the Global North, rather it is a strong, even-handed critique of its limitations. One of Ajl’s charges is that the GND as formulated by AOC and senators like Ed Markey and Bernie Sanders, as well as the one proposed by the UK Labour Party in 2019, is Western-centric.

The Global North – Europe, North America, Japan

“A People’s Green New Deal is centred around synthesising two disparate ecological movements: those in the Global North, and those in the Global South.” our workshops and wasteyards, most battered by the pollution caused by our demands.

The wealthy and powerful in the Global North are, in Ajl’s understanding, split into two camps when it comes to the question of dealing with climate collapse: some become climate deniers, a declining phenomenon which reached its apex with the election of Donald Trump. An increasingly powerful second camp however, recognising the challenges to capitalist domination presented by the climate, are strategizing for what he calls ‘Green Social Control’. As Ajl emphasises, this is a capitalism which caveats as little as possible for the climate in order to prevent its worst excesses (for profit, not

GND protest in Washington, July 2019. Photo by Michael Veltman/Flickr

Photos by nrkbeta and Gage Skidmore/Flickr people). It’s fundamentally about control through exclusionary borders: ‘Structural exclusion, from popular development. Ideological exclusion, from concern or care. Physical exclusion, through hardened steel, concrete, razor-wire and motion-sensor kitted-out borders and militarized maritime zones.

And temporal exclusion, in the erasure of a past of colonial looting and atmospheric enclosure’. Some more emphasis on this concept in the book would have been welcome, but readers can glean a general idea – it’s present in the militarised nature of climate plans by those like President Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

It is not just capitalist green plans which come up for Ajl’s ire, but social democratic ones too. In the best chapter of the book’s first half, he eviscerates the entire historical and ideological tradition of social democracy, exposing it as a barely-tamed parasitism. Ajl insists that there are four fundamental traits of social democracy, all of which are fundamental to understanding modern GND discourse: firstly, social democracy is a class compromise between capitalists and labour in the imperial core (or what we might call the Global North).

“Un capita Mother Ea verted into raw materials beings into co a means of pr people that ar uable only fo own, and what th

Secondly, this compromise formulates under the threat of greater radicalism: in the post-war period, the rise of communism in the USSR, China and in global anti-imperialist movements, as well as among the war-weary and impoverished Western working classes.

Thirdly, this compromise requires constant economic growth to keep the capitalist class from having to redistribute wealth while enriching labour. Lastly, this ‘growth’ is euphemistic for imperial looting and unequal exchange from the Global South. All these factors are present in the AOC/Markey Green New Deal. If, as is likely, President Biden pushes

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InQuire Monday 20 September 2021

any

Feature

Reading A People’s Green New Deal by Max Ajl

Photo by Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Flickr

Photo by Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Flickr

Photo by Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Flickr

nder through reforms which bring green tech manufacture alism, to the United States (as AOC has called for), arth is conthat still means the South is bea source of Global ing exploited: they still demand s, and human would low-priced South lithium onsumers and American for batteries, the roduction, into use of export zones across Africa and re seen as val- Asia that displace indigenous commuor what they nities, and for the polluting excess of export d not for production to devastate their ecosystems first. The hey are.”

Green New Deal put forward

by AOC is not ecosocialist, and as such Ajl does not believe that it can be considered a just and effective way out of the climate crisis. Even the notion of net-zero is prob-

lematic. Net-zero does not mean non-emitting, it means balancing emissions with tree-planting or using carbon-dioxide-sucking technologies.

The former, if managed by the US state, no doubt would mean mass displacement of people in the Global South for reforesting (as well as destroying local biodiversity and water tables), and the latter would lead to the same imperialist labour exploitation which capitalist systems have always relied on.

It is not right to impose this on the Global South, especially when the richest states carry none of the burden. It is in this positioning that Ajl calls for a People’s Green New Deal – thoroughly ecosocialist – which will deliver not just climate transition, but climate justice.

It is as this point Ajl investigates the ecological demands made before the 2010s proliferation of GNDs, in particular the Cochabamba People’s Agreement. This was a process whereby representatives from across the Global South – particularly South America and Africa – came together to create a unified climate plan in response to UN measures which disproportionately benefitted the US and Europe. The eventual document compiled at Co-

chabamba had two main planks: firstly, to ‘define strategies for action and mobilization to defend life from Climate Change and to defend the Rights of Mother Earth’. Not overly dissimilar from a GND then. The second plank, however, was far more interesting: ‘analyse and develop an action plan to advance the establishment of a Climate Justice Tribunal’. The notion of a Climate Justice Tribunal is, as Ajl writes, anathema to a Global North settlement on climate. Climate writer Naomi Klein called Cochabamba ‘the most transformative and radical vision so far’.

The document that was created is like no other in the 21st century. One of the most interesting things it does is to tie the fortunes of ‘Mother Earth’ directly to those on it: it declares she is entitled to all the same rights human beings are. In Cochabamba, the Earth and all people are entitled to live and to exist: to respect; to identity and integrity; to water and nutritional food; to clean air and comprehensive health; to freedom from pollution and contamination. It’s revelatory and utopian in its scope, but as Ajl argues utterly achievable.

Unlike most variations of the GND, Cochabamba explicitly fires at capitalism as the main culprit of climate catastrophe: ‘Under capitalism, Mother Earth is converted into a source of raw materials, and human beings into consumers and a means of production, into people that are seen as valuable only for what they own, and not for what they are’.

Cochabamba demands restitution from the Global North for bearing the atmospheric and ecological brunt of their pollution, both in terms of financial debt relief, transfers of money and technology to the Global South, and the preparation on the part of the US, EU and UK for potentially millions of climate refugees.

So, given these developments, what does Ajl’s People’s Green New Deal look like?

My biggest problem with the book is that he refuses to say, in a detailed way.

There is no plan, a fact he emphasises himself.

The second half of the book does, however, elucidate some ideas which draw us closer to it, and they are particularly impressive in thinking through the ramifications of the climate crisis for the Global South as well as the North. Using Cochabamba as a starting point, and weaving through some of the 2010s GNDs, he reaches a sort of rough sketch of what a People’s GND looks like: complete decolonisation and demilitarisation, the repayment of climate debts from the North to the South, and a green, decommodified, democratically-controlled global economy. A tantalising, if vague, gesture towards a fairer world.

Max Ajl’s A People’s Green New Deal is not a simple blueprint or investigation – it is a provocation.

Taking aim at the idle, incompetent ruling classes has become the obsession du jour of the Covid-19 era, and rubbishing their climate plans (partial, power-grabbing and imperialist as they are) is a welcome task. What Ajl does more bravely is to criticise liberal and social-democratic darlings like AOC, Sanders and Corbyn – well-meaning as they might be – by spelling out the practical and ethical limits of their political projects, especially regarding the climate. Drawing attention to the (just) demands of the Global South is part of the conversation which lacks in the UK and US, and using already-existing developments like Cochabamba as a starting point is a necessity. Though Ajl could have been more thorough in his exploration of what a People’s Green New Deal might look like, readers come away with the absolute conviction that we need one.

“Max Ajl’s A People’s Green New Deal is not a simple blueprint or investigation it is a provocation”

You can buy Max Ajl’s A People’s Green New Deal with Pluto Press for £14.99, or at any independent bookstore.

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Monday 20 September 2021 InQuire

Culture

Return to real life: events to look out for in Kent in the coming months

By Juliette Moisan, Newspaper Culture Editor

T

his year, we are finally hoping that things will get back to some sort of normal, and so does all of Kent. Whether you’re new to Canterbury or returning for a new year, some events are definitely worth checking out! Ranging from musical performances to exhibitions, through all genres of performances and cultural happenings you can think of, they will hopefully constitute a way for you to (re)discover Kent as it is meant to be enjoyed.

Photo by Canterbury Festival

Heritage Open Days (September 10-19) The towns of Deal, Dover and Sandwich are opening the doors to many of their historical locations, creating the perfect occasion to learn more about the history of the region.

Folkestone Open Quarter (September 10-17) The festival offers a week of exhibitions, performances workshops, on-street entertainment, live music and much more. This is the perfect opportunity to meet local creatives and spark your inspiration!

Broadstairs Food Festival (October 1-3) Look forward to a large number of food stalls and very diverse products to sample, as well as tasting events to learn how to properly taste some of the products.

Canterbury Medieval Pageant (October 16) This event is an homage to the history of the city and offers a city-wide parade. As this year commemorates the 850th anniversary of Thomas Becket’s death, a new giant in his image will be walking alongside the other traditional ones during the parade.

Photo by Thierry Ball

Folkestone Triennial (until 2nd November) Returning for its fifth edition, the Triennal is “one of the UK’s most ambitious art exhibitions” and this year’s edition, titled the Plot, is focusing on movement. 23 new artworks are displayed in the town’s streets, joining the 74 other already existing.

Alongside the exhibition, you can enjoy film screenings, tours, skating jams and artist-led events in the town for the duration of the Triennal.

Canterbury Festival (October 16-30) The flagship event of Canterbury offers a large number of events, ranging from talks to walks. Accessible to all ages, this can be the opportunity to learn more about Canterbury and its prominent locations, but also to enjoy live music and performances.

Photo by Bob and Roberta Smith

Photo by Broadstairs Food Festival

A reflection on Claudia Andujar’s The Yanomami Struggle

By Elle Summers, Website Culture Editor

O

ver the course of the summer, the Barbican Centre hosted ‘The Yanomami Struggle’ photography exhibition, by Claudia Andujar. Andujar’s work highlights the hardships faced by the Yanomami tribe due to the introduction of new diseases to their homeland by the Western world. These photographs, and the message they convey, is highly important, especially after the past 18 months and the global struggle against Covid-19.

Claudia Andujar was born in 1931 in Switzerland, to a Jewish family. Following German military occupation, Claudia fled the country with her mother, who brought her to Brazil. This was pivotal in her life and, from here, Claudia made her first photography trip to the Karajá Indigenous people.

After spending many years travelling and working in journalism and photojournalism, Andujar

set off on her final assignment: photographing the Yanomami tribe. After being awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation grant, Andujar made the first of her many trips to the Catrimani River basin in the northern Brazilian Amazon, where she developed most of her photographic work with the Yanomami.

The Barbican exhibit was laid out in chronological order to depict a timeline of Andujar’s work.

Curator Thyago Nogueira explained how, when she first headed to Brazil, Andujar’s photographs were merely documenting the daily lives of the tribe, showing them building homes, hunting and taking part in different rituals. As Andujar became more involved with the tribe, she came to love and cherish them as individuals, leading to a shift in her work. She became more intent on depicting their struggle, imploring others to help them.

The rounded outer wall of the Curve space in the Barbican Centre provided a large contrast in the light within the room. Coupled with the black and

Claudia Andujar

white photographs, this added to the sombre tone of the exhibit. There were photos hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room, making the photography more immersive: the audience had to physically weave within the photos, and thus within the very culture of the tribe. The direct inclusion of the audience made the reality of the hardships the tribe had faced frontal and impossible to ignore.

When asked to consider their first impressions of the exhibit, Tom Rattner, of the University of Bristol’s Epigram, reflected upon the ‘sense of learning and the sense of vulnerability’ which the photographs portray. ‘You start by seeing shots of incredibly passive activities, ones anyone can do without interference, yet slowly and surely you start to see the western encroachment and the detriments that it brings.’

It is interesting to consider how the photographs depicted the appearance of the tribe physically changing over time, paralleling the shift in Andujar’s own perception of them. The most striking of these changes was seen through the Westernisation of the clothing style, with the tribe wearing wrist watches, shorts and t-shirts instead of traditional tribe attire and paint.

Halfway through the exhibition, a clear shift occured, mirroring Andujar’s growing political awareness of the tribe’s struggle. The inclusion of the vaccination programme carried out in order to save the tribe and the representation of individuals through their portraits for their medical records highly resonated with the situation we are facing today. The Western countries can now better appreciate how unknown diseases brought in by others truly impact a different culture who may not have the same immunity. The ongoing struggle against the Coronavirus mirrors the hardships that the Yanomami tribe has been facing for decades, making Andujar’s work poignant today.

Despite the Yanomami tribe’s

belief that leaving anything physical in the living world means that their spirit will not be at peace, they have consented to the display of Andujar’s.

This act reflects how important this photography exhibit was, as they feel others need to know of their struggle, making their plea an obvious cry for help.

The exhibition concluded with a short film hosted in the Pit in the Barbican Centre. Different photographs were paired with background music, bringing the images to life. It could be argued that the photographs spoke for themselves and didn’t need the addition of the highly melodramatic music. Yet, this could be seen as a summary, carving Andujar’s message in the audience’s minds upon leaving the Centre.

Visiting this exhibition has made me consider different parallels to our situation now. Even though we have now experienced ‘Freedom Day’ in the UK and restrictions have been removed, the Coronavirus threat is still omnipresent. With the talk of vaccination passports and Scotland announcing that adults will need to be fully vaccinated to enter clubs and major events from 1 October, the documentation of the Yanomami medical records highly resonates. Never in our lifetime has the Western population been so acutely aware of the struggle diseases can bring to different cultures, making Andujar’s message of the hardships of the Yanomami struggle timeless.

Claudia Andujar holding The Guardian, London, 1989 Robert M. Davis/Oxfam

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InQuire Monday 20 September 2021

rom the 4th of September to the 31st of October, the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge of Canterbury will be hosting its Autumn exhibition. Entitled “Get Started with Photography”, it was realised in collaboration with The Prince’s Trust youth charity. This charity provides young people, age ranging from 10 to 30, with the opportunity to return to education, employment, or training across the UK. This is achieved by providing free courses, grants, and mentoring opportunities, encouraging young people facing diverse issues, sometimes very serious, to regain their self-confidence and even start their careers.

Located on the 1st floor of the Beaney, this exhibition is ideal for newcomers to Canterbury. It provides a fresh take on the city and sheds new light on places we sometimes don’t even see anymore. Free of charge and easily accessible to a broad audience, you will be able to enjoy photos of iconic sites, such as the Canterbury Cathedral and its architectural beauty. Although exhibition-lovers might find it short, it is worth celebrating the hard work of inspiring and engaging amateur photographers.

O

This rewarding experience helped participants de-

Photo by Juliette Moisan

Nic Aluf Sophie Taeuber with her Dada Head 1920 Stiftung Arp e.V., Berlin

Seraphina Neville, Tate Modern, London

⭑⭑⭑⭑⭒

For those of you that know the storyline, you can imagine the intricacies of the set design. From the Isle of No-Pe-Po (previously Naboombu, yes I am mad about it too!) to the spell of Substitutiary Locomotion, the cast of Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Portrait of

Sophie Taeuber-Arp

By Juliette Moisan, Newspaper Culture Editor

D

Tate Modern, London

By Elle Summers, Website Culture Editor

ne of my all-time childhood favourites has flown into town over the past few weeks.

Playing at The Marlowe Theatre earlier in the tour, before heading to my hometown of sunny Southend-on-Sea, Bedknobs and Broomsticks was a musical wonder! Taking me back to my younger years, this performance truly brought magic to life, with Miss Price flying across the stage on a broom, passing right through parts of the set, it made me question if she wasn’t an actual apprentice witch!

This summer, the Beaney hosted a series of workshops organised by The Prince’s Trust - South Region. Bringing together young people from Kent and South England, the event gave participants the opportunity to learn about both the theory and the practice of photography. Through daily practical sessions, young aspiring photographers walked the streets of Canterbury to find inspiration. What results from these gatherings is a diverse collection of more than 60 images. The subjects and techniques are multiple, ranging from street photography or black and white filters to illusion.

Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris

Flying back to childhood with Bedknobs & Broomsticks

adaism emerged between the wars, as a mean to challenge any set notion of how things were supposed to work but also as an attempt to make sense of a world that didn’t make any anymore. Rejecting the boundaries that trapped artists, Dada art is unconventional, sometimes hard to understand and makes use of any and all techniques.

However, despite Dada’s claims to radically challenge all the existing norms and structures, they overwhelmingly focused on class struggles, generally going against the traditional bourgeoisie. Even if they prided themselves on their rejection of patriarchy, women were still seen as the ‘second sex’ and were often confined to their role as muses, lovers, or mothers. While Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia and many more of their male contemporaries are remembered as Dada prominent figures, female artists tend to be relegated to the background and their works, though groundbreaking at the time, are reduced to faint memories.

Regardless, women had a significant influence on Dada, and we can now witness an effort to honour

their work and right the injustices they were subjected to on the sole factor of their sex.

The Tate Modern, by shedding light on Sophie Taeuber-Arp, takes part in this conversation and finally puts at the forefront one of the Dada movement's most significant figures.

Born in Switzerland in 1889, Sophie Taeuber-Arp studied textile designs in Germany before returning to her country in 1914 to teach at the Zurich Trade School, in the Applied Arts department. She firmly believed that art was intrinsically linked to tangibility and constantly challenged the set idea that fine art was a discipline with firm boundaries.

Her formation had taught her the importance of the relationship between art and craft, cementing her belief that craft was in no way inferior to traditionally finer arts such as painting.

Her approach was unconventional and sometimes raised eyebrows, but she was intent on staying true to herself. Jack-of-all-trades, she worked

blew the audience away. The range of talent from children to adults was crazy, with Vinnie Monachello’s portrayal of Charlie Rawlins easily stealing the show. Despite my annoyance of the Island’s name change, it did not take away from the brilliant portrayal of the animal characters, with lifelike puppets being used on stage. The slick movements were eye-catching, and easy blending of the people controlling the puppets into the background added to the realism of the performance.

Despite being a big family favourite, the children in the audience behaved themselves throughout, clearly as captivated by the magic on stage as I was, apart from one minor heckle, which had the rest of the audience awing as one kid called goodbye in response to a line onstage. Although the songs we know and love were intertwined with some altered versions, the performance was a good adaption, working well with the stage space available. Travelling to “the street where the riches of ages are stowed”, my favourite song of the show had to be by far Portobello Road, an elongated version which really brought the marketplace to life.

The ending of the performance took an unexpected turn, away from the beloved ending of the original film. I won’t spoil it for you, but it was heart-wrenching, really heightening the emotion in the theatre. I would be lying if I claimed tears did not spring to my eyes.

If you have the opportunity to catch this magical show before heading back to Canterbury, I would implore you to, especially if Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a childhood favourite for you too.

The magical scenes, the nostalgia, the songs and the storyline will surely pull at your heart strings.

Expect to be transported back to “the age of not believing” and receive the sprinkle of magic you’ve been missing!

all the things traditionnally accepted. She used her creations to perpetually questions the rigid notions of gender and class.

Her radical approach, which she developed at the very beginning of the Dada movement, made her stood out among artists that had not necessarily yet reached her level of abstraction and disregard of the rules. She is considered integral to the development of Dada in Zurich, where it mostly originated, and thus to Dada as a whole. Even if her influence on design is still felt today through the changes she brought about, her name is generally forgotten.

Taueber-Arp’s work has never been exhibited in the UK before and has generally been overlooked.

The Tate’s exhibition honouring her gathers pieces from many of the major European and American art collections, and many of the artworks had never even been in the UK before. With this exhibition, the Tate offers Taueber-Arp’s work a more than deserved recognition but also takes a step in giving more visibility to artists whose work has been overlooked by history.

“Make the things we own more beautiful” with different mediums, such as interior designing, puppet-making, sculpting, jewellery-making, illustrating… She also worked for a magazine and was a teacher. This multidisciplinarity prevented her from falling into any kind of routine and her work kept a sense of freshness throughout her prolific career. Led by a desire to “make the things we own more beautiful”, she used vibrant colours and geometric shapes, both in her designs and in her compositions. For her, art also has the power to be political, and should be used as a mean to question

Sophie Taeuber-Arp, The King

F

By Gabin Berthouloux, Writer

Photo by Johan Persson

velop new perspectives on photography. As Grace Chapman remembers, “To put it simply, at the start of this course I hated black and white photos.

But during the course we were shown a book of black and white photography, and I fell in love with the style”. The photo display contributes to young people achieving their full potential and creativity.

Kyle Mckie, who captured the inside of the Canterbury Cathedral through a lens ball, explains how illusion photography grants you a different perspective on “viewing things like buildings, sunsets and lights”.

Tête Dada (Portrait Hans Arp) - Sophie Taeuber-Arp

canterbury through a camera lens

Culture

Private collection, on loan to the Fondation Arp, Clamart, France

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Monday 20 September 2021 InQuire

Film & TV

Entertainment

The Suicide Squad: Let’s face it, supervillains are the real heroes The Suicide Squad confirms what we all knew anyway: most of the time, supervillains are really the good guys.

Newspaper Editor Alex Charilaou argues that The Suicide Squad is one of the best superhero films of the 21st century.

The Suicide Squad – not to mention its director, a hotly in-demand James Gunn taking a brief reprieve from the MCU – commits a few carnal sins.

Firstly, it is far too sheepish in its distance from David Ayers’ coolly-received 2016 Suicide Squad, a flawed movie which Gunn nevertheless lifts heavily from. Gunn has refused to call his movie a sequel, a reboot or a relaunch, despite the fact that at least three of the main characters from this earlier effort carry over (including Margot Robbie’s effortlessly electrifying Harley Quinn).

It does nothing but confuse matters, perhaps explaining the film’s lukewarm reception at the box office, below even Covid-adjusted standards.

Secondly, it suffers a little from some thematic underdevelopment and pacing issues – nothing fatal, but less consistent in this regard than Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films, though by no means as bad as the rest of the DCEU. Finally, The Suicide Squad criminally, unforgivably underuses Peter Capaldi as The Thinker.

Aside from this, The Suicide Squad is a wonderful film for its genre, and I was genuinely shocked by how much it got away with. Gunn’s effort was in parts funny, emotionally affecting and sheer violent, gory fun. I’ve also taken to expecting sly subversions from superhero films, like the muted copout anti-militarism of Captain Marvel, or the worse kind of faux radicalism exhibited by Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which is far more reactionary as a film than it wants you to think. What I did not expect from The Suicide Squad was straightforward anti-imperialist agitprop, which is broadly what the film serves up. To briefly recap the plot, hardnosed government agent Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, once again a cut above the rest of the cast) sends the Squad to the Latin American island of Corto Maltese, led by new-recruit Bloodsport (quite obviously standing in for Will

Smith’s Deadshot from Suicide Squad; Idris Elba gives a workmanlike performance). Their mission: to bring down the ‘anti-American’ military government, who have been performing secret experiments on an alien parasite starfish. The parallels with a century-old American foreign policy are striking: it turns out the US government were funding ex-Nazi experiments on Corto Maltese, keeping the previous puppet regime in place despite its implied ‘excesses’ to oversee the manufacture of Starro as a weapon. In the final act, Waller commands the Squad to allow the creature to destroy the island, thereby tying up loose ends to protect American interests. They refuse, and Waller’s timorous office staff step up to incapacitate her, facilitating the Squad’s mutiny.

The film ends with the Squad using evidence they’ve col-

lected of the US’s various imperial missions in the region – according to Gunn, there’s a deleted scene of the President of Corto Maltese shaking hands with Ronald Reagan – to go free. Not to mention, the revolutionary democratic group the Squad had been helping throughout the film coup and take power, machine guns and fists raised.

The Suicide Squad serves as a corrective to the deluge of superhero films where the supposed ‘supervillains’ are clearly in the right. Black Panther’s Killmonger, for instance, is obviously vindicated in his political aims – the global liberation of black people. He is so extensively right that the film has no choice but to obfuscate this to maintain his villainy. By the final act, against every other part of the character’s development, he

Photo by Warner Bros.

is an empire-loving slaughterous imperialist. The Dark Knight Rises, similarly, wants to paint Bane as a villain for trying to destroy global capitalism, a system which has so benefitted Bruce Wayne to the detriment of Gotham. His evil comes, again, from his willingness to hurt people – there is no reflection in these films of the hero’s violence, and their implication in violent, oppressive, villainous structures. Bane must be portrayed as fanatical, nihilistic, demagogic… all the usual stuff, because he strikes a challenge to the established order. Voldemort operates similarly. He implicates the injustices upon which the Wizarding World is based – the oppression of elves, goblins, giants, etc. – but which it never talks about or faces up to.

He acknowledges the existence of social class, aristocracy, biological racism and unaccountable, undemocratic politics within Wizarding society – something that beneficent wizards like Dumbledore are prepared to countenance in silence, with the occasional homily about how wizards have behaved badly. In similarly chauvinist fashion, Iron Man’s Tony Stark is far more evil than the ‘supervillains’ he fights – watching that film is particularly unpleasant in its treatment of Afghanistan – he is a warmongering, exploitative capitalist, who is responsible for the deaths of millions (indirectly of course, his hands have to remain clean). It is incumbent on The Suicide Squad to remedy this, by reflecting the proponents of the US state (Waller most explicitly) as the villains they are. The film relishes this task and executes it masterfully. About time too. The supervillains are the heroes, as we always knew them to be.

The shotgun and the briefcase: The timeless significance of The Wire

By Daniel Esson, Website Opinion Editor

Photo by HBO

After the tragic death of Michael K. Williams, who stars as Omar, one of the most compelling characters put to television, The Wire has yet again been thrust into public discourse as it will for decades to come. HBO has become something of a television powerhouse in the past decade, distinguishing themselves with series such as Game of Thrones, Chernobyl, and True Detective. However, this classic series which many of us were too young to see or be aware of when it began, is the jewel in the crown.

The Wire ran from 2002 until 2008, receiving mixed reviews when it originally aired, but since has been reappraised as one of the greatest TV shows of all time, and for good reason. The show has been continually on my mind since watching it all the way through at the start of this year. In many ways the mid-2000s feel like a different world to the, thus far distinctly not roaring, 20’s in which we find ourselves. But The Wire, with its intricate matrix of connected themes, characters, stories and messages, remains at least as relevant now as it likely did to those who saw it when it originally ran.

When proselytising the virtue of the show to others, it’s often hard to explain in adequate scope and detail what it is actually about. Set in Baltimore, Maryland, the first season of its five

would lead viewers to believe they are beginning a police procedural drama, albeit more cerebral than the usual. Focusing primarily on a team of police and the drug-dealing gang who they pursue through the use of wiretaps, the show pulls no punches, and immediately plunges the viewer into an ocean of thickly-accented slang, local cultural references, and a gritty portrayal of the nature of life for the poor of northeast America.

However, the first season is merely the tip of the iceberg. Over the course of the next four seasons, the show continues to cover the nature of the Baltimore drug trade, but brings in a new institution of the city with every series, with new characters and themes, making it almost an anthology despite the fact the core cast of characters remains the same. The show expertly weaves together the stories of seemingly disparate, but in fact closely interweaving, institutions as the Baltimore drug trade, the port economy and labour unions involved therein, the local Democratic Party and city politics, the public school system, and the print media.

The show’s portrayal of Machiavellian realpolitik, as it exists in the real world, in the cogs of almost every institution and bureaucracy, is a country mile ahead of almost every political drama I’ve ever seen. In the massive cast of char-

acters every viewer will find several who remind them of people they’ve known and dealt with.

Most of the characters are morally ambiguous at best, but every single one, from low-level drug dealers, to ruthless stick-up artists to insecure and neurotic politicians, seems vividly realistic.

This is all no doubt informed by the fact the series’ creator, David Simon, is a Baltimore local, veteran reporter on crime, the police, and labour, with a keen understanding of what makes all sorts of different people tick, and how ‘the game’ is really played.

It may not be as flashy as some series, it could seem like a slow-burner, but it is in this quality that The Wire secures its place as an epic of television and of realist social criticism. Every single episode of the series could be subject to a series of essays, and the totality of the series contains enough social criticism, as well as artistic vision, to be the subject of several hulking volumes. In 2010 Harvard University even began teaching The Wire as a core object of study in a course on urban social inequality. However, I’d recommend you save yourself the tuition fees and travel costs, watch the series for yourself, and enjoy the countless hours of decoding, analysis and thought which it demands.

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InQuire Monday 20 September 2021

Music

By Katie Daly, Website Lifestyle Editor After a 40-year hiatus, ABBA are back with a bang. One of the biggest pop bands modern music has ever seen, ABBA’s latest release has soared to the top of the charts. Released ahead of their full album Voyage, the singles Don’t Shut Me Down and I Still Have Faith in You bring warming memories with the dulcet tones of Agnetha Fältskog and the supporting vocals of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, composer Benny Andersson and lyricist Björn Ulvaeus. Having surpassed 16 million streams collectively on Spotify since its release on the September 2, the double-sided single paves the way for the album to reach meteoric success.

ABBA’s most notable ballad, The Winner Takes it All piles on the pressure for the release of a new ballad after such a

long time apart but many would agree, I Still Have Faith in You is a marked success. The orchestral opening builds towards an exhilarating climax of thrilling harmonies and the sonorous backing of the electric guitar that you hope to hear in any of your favourite power ballads, urging you to grab the air and blare this in your car!

Potentially the catchier of the two releases, Don’t Shut Me Down is unmistakably ABBA in style. It opens tenderly with the gentle caresses of Agnetha Fältskog’s lower register which has maintained its clarity and ability to tell a story over the years.

Benny Andersson’s iconic glissando transitions the song into an up-tempo melody with an almost metallic-sounding 80s quality. The contrast in dynamics in this song are sure to make it a hit where it is bookended with sweeter, slower verses but

Entertainment

the bridge and chorus are lively

“The band are using innovative motion capture technology to create a realistic live performance feel to their tour.” and vibrant.

ABBA boast an unrivalled musical legacy with an illustrious career spanning over three decades. From unparalleled chart success to the pop cultural phenomenon that is Mamma Mia attracting enormous international audiences across stage and screen, the gravity of ABBA’s highly anticipated return for their global fanbase cannot be underestimated. Although the legendary flare and platform boot ensemble has been ditched in the promotion of this upcoming album, both singles will defi-

nitely flood a mature listener’s mind with fond memories and offer an exciting digression from the contemporary sound of modern music for the younger audience members.

ABBA are due to tour with the album but in a new and original way. In the so called ‘ABBA Arena’ specially crafted in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, avatars of the pop sensation as they appeared in 1977 will perform tracks from their latest album. The band are using innovative motion capture technology to create a realistic live performance feel to their tour.

The audience can look forward to backing from a 10-piece live band and a set list of over 20 ABBA favourites.

We look forward to the release of the full album on the November 5 and in the meantime, we may have just found two new goto karaoke tunes!

Photos by ABBA

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Monday 20 September 2021 InQuire

Film & TV

Entertainment

Cannes 2021

Newspaper Entertainment Editor Ed Streatfield takes a trip down the Riviera with this year’s top Cannes picks.

2010 for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives and the Un Certain Regard in 2004 for Tropical Malady, both works are seminal masterpieces in contemporary cinema. His work reflects themes of dreams, sexuality (including his own homosexuality), nature, Buddhism and Western perceptions of Thailand and Asia.

Organically evolving in this themes, now he flips the geographical lens as Memoria is his first English language film and first to be set outside of Thailand. It stars Tilda Swinton as an English woman who is haunted by a repeating metallic noise inside her mind, and tries to find psychological clarity in the streets of Bogota. His change of setting however does not compromise his meditative and slow cinematic style as his films can absorb the viewer in a Tarkovsky-esque floating timelessness.

In the first year of Cannes Film Festival post lockdown, masks were worn everywhere but the red carpet, the bouffant hairstyles and bloused garments can apparently slay the paparazzi and the virus with one stone.

More aptly as the international cinematic elite made their pilgrimage to the world famous festival, this was a fresh attempt at the defibrillator for the film industry, after the crushing effect of the pandemic on cinemas everywhere. This year Spike Lee headed the Jury, giving him the deciding vote if the jury was split on the choice of the award, such as with this year’s Titane. In doing so, he became the first black jury president in history, which is unquestionably earnt with masterpieces within his canon like Do The Right Thing. Always eccentric, his pink attire resembled a suave long-lost Super Mario Brother. Jumping the gun, he announced the Palme D’or for Julia Ducournau’s Titane an hour and a half early to a hall of anxious exasperation, giving the usual sterile formalism an unpredictable excitement.

Before we begin in earnest, I must briefly mention some films that did not make the cut but really deserve the anticipation. A Hero by the astounding Iranian master of drama Asgher Farhadi (A Separation), follows a man who tries to negotiate his way out of imprisonment from overwhelming debt.

This is bound to be brilliant, winning the Grand Prix, considered the second most prestigious award.

Another was directed by Cannes’ favourite enfant terrible Gaspar Noe: Vortex stars the master of the Giallo Italian horror genre and director of Suspiria, Dario Argento.

This provides a tonal shift away from the imposing and continuous nihilistic dread Noe’s films usually envoke as he steps into Ph the territory of drama. oto by Di Palme D’or: Titane (Julia ap ha Ducournau) na Di Described by the press as a fusion between str Shinya Tsukamoto’s relentlessly grotesque outré body ibu tio horror Tetsuo: The Iron Man and David Cronenberg’s n surgically detached psychoanalytical study of desire via car fetishism Crash, Titane stars Agathe Rouseelle as a psychologically disturbed woman who becomes impregnated by a car. Her sophomore feature film after Raw, the story of a vegetarian’s descent into cannibalism after peer pressure to eat raw meat in a hazing ritual at veterinary school. During the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival viewers received emergency medical treatment after fainting from Raw’s astonishingly provocative hyperviolence.

Fainting audience members is far and away the best accolade a horror film can receive as Raw produced the same overwhelming reaction as The Exorcist, The Blair Witch Project and Antichrist.

Titane is no different as the BBC’s Nicholas Barber proclaimed it “the most shocking film of 2021”. Ducournau is the second female director to win the award in history, and the first to not share the accolade, which is poignant given a history of controversy surrounding female representation, and a previous absurd mandatory high heels rule on the red carpet.

Jury Prize: Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who insists to his western audiences to simply refer to him as ‘Joe’, is one of the most enigmatic and ethereal directors of the 21st century. Winner of the Palme D’or in

Best Director: Annette (Leos Carax)

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After its release in UK cinemas in the past few weeks, Leos Carax’s Annette, a psychological melodrama rock opera has been met to onslaughts of fierce acclaim or bewilderment by critics and audiences alike. Starring Adam Driver as a standup comedian and Marion Cotillard as his opera singer romantic partner, they birth their first child Annette, who is bizarrely portrayed as a wooden puppet. A study of fame and fragile masculinities conveyed through Driver’s audacious comedian is one we are all too familiar with. The 2000’s were filled with edge-lord comedians who thought their snickering offensive provocations were somehow an act of martyrdom for free speech, in reality only a reactionary outburst of fragility in the face of accountability. Carax continually produces films which rupture the form of the cinematic medium, such as Holy Motors, which is the most perplexing and astoundingly surreal film of the 2010s.

Holy Motors takes the nostalgic genre forms of classical cinema and regurgitates them into the hyper fluidity of internet media consumption, prompting existential questions on cinema’s survival in the contemporary information age.

Similarly, Annette adopts and dissets the tenets of the distantly relevant Rock Opera.

The French Dispatch (Wes Anderson)

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Considered chic by some and kitsch by others, contemporary cinema’s most polarising hipster Wes Anderson seems to be escaping exponentially into his idiosyncratic world. With actors lauding his working environments, the cast for his upcoming feature The French Dispatch is abounding with talent, namely: Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Bunicio del Toro, Owen Wilson, Frances McDormand. I could go on. Calling it a ‘love letter to journalists’ and inspired by Anderson’s love of The New Yorker, the film centres around an American newspaper in a fictional French town following the events of the 1968 Paris uprising, with some art dealership on the side. While his work is often admirable in his obsession to detail, most notably in The Grand Budapest Hotel, his pastel coloured postmodern 1920s New York bourgeois kookiness can come across, as Family Guy once described it, like ‘you ate a pot brownie and woke up in a greeting card.’ As Anderson’s career has progressed his set design and operation has become relentlessly finetuned. However, the human soul present within his characters displayed in early works such as The Royal Tenenbaums appears to be incessantly withering, as Anderson further sinks into his art nouveau childhood box fort.

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InQuire Monday 20 September 2021

Photo by Rakshana Gopinath

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Monday 20 September 2021 InQuire

Science and Technology

Quantum computers: revolutionary, or just hype?

By Johnathan Guy, Head of Technology Relatively recently (late 2019), Google announced that they had achieved ‘Quantum Supremacy’, which was a long-awaited milestone in the field of quantum computing. This is considered an important point in the evolution of these devices, as it would mark the first time that a quantum computer has carried out a specific calculation that is beyond the capabilities of regular, ‘classical’ machines, i.e., it would be the first time that we have practically demonstrated that a quantum computer ‘beats’ a classical one.

This sounds very impressive, but if you dig deeper than the usual headlines related to such topics, you often find people who, conversely, claim that the technology is overhyped. So the question is: is this true? Well, to answer this, the easiest place to start is with what these machines are, and how they work. As many readers will know, classical computers (essentially) work on the basis of electrical signals, carried by wires, which change the charge held by transistors to either represent a 0, or a 1. A collection of these 0s and 1s is then used to construct data of all types imaginable: text, images, arrays; to name but a few. These operations are happening (at least on the surface), according to Newtonian physics (they aren’t entirely, but that’s somewhat outside the scope of this article). What then, is a quantum computer, and how does it differ?

As mentioned, ‘classical’ computers make use of bits, (0s and 1s) to store, transmit, and manipulate data. Their quantum counterpart, by contrast, makes use of quantum bits, or ‘qubits’ for short.

These ‘qubits’ are often interpreted by the media as being able to hold a value of ‘0, 1, or anything in between at the same time’, which (though not entirely wrong) is a bit of an oversimplification. In practice, qubits are made from many types of material, but the easiest to consider is an electron. Some may remember from GCSE or A-Level Physics the idea that light acts as both as a particle and a wave. The same is also true for electrons, and both are considered ‘quantum’ particles as a result.

The fact they act as waves is the important (and most relevant) bit for quantum computers. The electron is a quantum particle, because when measured, it is found at certain ‘quantum energy levels’ and to move between those levels, it must either absorb energy or release it.

Photo by NASA | Unsplash Electrons in particular also have another important, relevan property: spin. We can, for ease, designate one of an electron’s spin states; spin-up, as a 1, and another; spin-down, as a 0. If it helps, just imagine an arrow either pointing up or down.

Now, when an electron acts as a wave, if manipulated in the proper way using electromagnetic radiation such as microwaves (the type of radiation, not the appliance!), we can place the electron into a ‘superposition’ of these states, wherein it has probabilities of being in either state, but we don’t know for sure which it is until it is measured, and this is why some often say it is therefore ‘in both at the same time’.

vantage, and if so, why? The answer is yes – kind of. All kinds of problems that computers solve can be characterised into a small set of difficulty levels. Some readers may remember from A-Level Mathematics that, for example, the Travelling Salesman Problem, (wherein you have a list of towns that a salesman must visit and you want to find the most efficient route), is NP-Complete, which in short basically means that there is no (as far as we know) quick solution using ordinary computers, and the problem only gets harder to solve with more destinations added to it.

To put this in context, if you want to brute-force optimise a route of up to 10 destinations, it would take almost a full second for a standard home computer. While for 20 destinations, it would take about 2,000 years. Just 5 more destinations, 25 in total, you’d have to run your computer for about 10 billion years to optimize your path. This kind of problem is the type that it is believed quantum computers may be better at solving. So why is that? Well, if an electron can be represented by a wave, then again as per GCSE Physics, we will recall that waves interfere with each other. Some quantum computers can make use of this interference to ‘shrink’ the wrong answers, and amplify the right one. This happens thanks to the very nature of qubits and the things they are made from, alongside being partly thanks to entanglement as mentioned previously.

So will quantum systems ever replace classical ones? The short answer is probably not – their very design and the principles they rely on make them perfect for solving a class of problems that are often those quite difficult (but not impossible) for classical computers to solve, but equally, they are no better than classical ones at some problems, so it would be rather inefficient to spend millions of pounds on a quantum system when your standard home computer can do the job just as well. In the opinion of this writer, they are likely to become very important, especially in the world of cloud/on demand computing, but how important remains to be seen.

We may very well be standing on the precipice of another technological revolution.

“Our Sycamore processor takes about 200 seconds to sample one instance of a quantum circuit a million times [...]

This dramatic increase in speed compared to all known classical algorithms is an experimental realization of quantum supremacy” It is, arguably, more accurate to say it is in an indeterminate, probabilistic state.Another important quality of quantum particles is that, in the right conditions, they can become entangled with one another, meaning that changing the value of one, (or operations carried out on it such as measurement) affects the other, even if (to our best knowledge) the two particles are on opposite ends of the universe.

This unfortunately does not (as many believe) allow faster than light communication for reasons outside of the scope of this article, but it is one of the key features that gives quantum computers their ability to outstrip the competition.

So does using these qubits instead of ordinary bits produce any ad-

Photos by A is for Aphra

Photo by and from Google

InQuire Monday 20 September 2021

21

Science and Technology

‘Eco-friendly’ Cardano releases smart contracts

By Johnathan Guy, Head of Technology

Earlier this summer, Cardano (abbreviated to ADA), announced that they would be releasing smart contracts on their blockchain platform on September 12th. This is a major development for Cardano, a proof-of-stake alternative (‘alt-coin’) to Bitcoin, and the price of the currency was pushed to above $3 per coin in anticipation of the launch recently. Smart contracts are currently used by another Bitcoin rivalling alt-coin, Ethereum, and are touted by proponents as being fundamental to the future of cryptocurrency, especially in the wake of a recent global regulatory crackdown on both the coins themselves, as well as the exchanges.

Blockchain is, at its most basic, a distributed, decentralised ledger, of which anyone with a computer capable of running a ‘node’ can be a part. Being a node usually entails using your processing power to verify transactions and help to run the blockchain of a given cryptocurrency, in return for a small amount of that currency as a reward for doing that work. Smart contracts run on top of this network of nodes, and work in much the same way as a transaction would – i.e., two people (or more) agree to a contract with certain terms, written in lines of code. The benefit of this, as opposed to a standard contract, becomes clear with an example. Let’s say Alice owns a company and is looking to sell her products, and Bob is a customer looking to buy. Bob could choose an item on Alice’s site, and put the money into a smart-contract wallet. When Bob has the item delivered, it will be checked by the smart contract. The contract will then release the funds to Alice’s crypto wallet if it meets the requirements they agreed

upon at purchase.

At first glance, this seems like an overly technical solution to a simple thing that already exists and works fairly well – but as anyone who has dealt with contracts knows, paperwork, trust, transparency, security and fees can all be an issue in contract construction, execution, and any disputes that arise.

Smart contracts by contrast, because they are written in code, require no real trust – the contract is verified in the same way blockchain transactions are: by the network (rather than a given individual or institution). They are quicker, because as soon as the conditions are met, payment is made, eliminating in many cases issues of non-payment, or non-delivery. Blockchain is also, by nature, encrypted, meaning that hacking them and reversing/changing a transaction is very difficult.

Moreover, the fact that the network relies on a distributed ledger means that a hacker wouldn’t just have to change one record – they’d in many cases have to change the entire blockchain, or in others, have control of over 50% of the nodes on the network.

So, what does adding these smart contracts to their network mean for Cardano? Well, Ethereum is currently sitting as the second most popular cryptocurrency in the world, and its smart contracts are one of the most popular aspects of the coin, arguably partly responsible for its meteoric rise.

Will this push Cardano to new heights, perhaps even as high as Ethereum or Bitcoin? Only time will tell.

Photo by Executium on Unsplash

Monday 20 September 2021 InQuire

Gulbenkian What’s on...

Comedy: Gulbenkian's Funny Rabbit Comedy Club is back this autumn– radical and exciting, but also warm and snuggly as a bunny rabbit. Dates include Thu 28 Sep, Fri 8 Oct, Fri 5 Nov and Fri 10 Dec. Emily Atack is back with a brand new show. With humour, honesty and playfulness Emily explores everything from work to dating to her latest obsession… leaving the WhatsApp Group. Join Emily this autumn for her famous anecdotes and range of impressions, for what promises to be a truly incredible night on Fri 1 Oct, 8pm.

Outspoken, frank and funny, Sindhu Vee returns to Gulbenkian with a new show about the hair we want, the friends we have, and living the vast difference between virus and viral on Sun 3 Oct, 8pm.

Live shows: st at Tiffany’s Linton Kwesi Johnson: legendary reggae poet and social activist to perform at the Gulbenkian. On Friday 24 September 2021, Canterbury’s Gulbenkian Arts Centre will host a performance by Linton Kwesi Johnson, whose influential and radical voice made him the first black poet to have his work included in Penguin’s Modern Classics series.

Following her 4th successive chart album, 2019’s “Small World Turning” and a rapturously received performance at the recent BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Thea Gilmore will head out on tour later this year to perform material from all stages of her career. Join her at the Gulbenkian on Wed 29 Sept, 7:30.

Films: Free Guy, Fri 17 - Thu 23 September 2021 The Suicide Squad, Sat 18 - Tue 28 September 2021 The Nest, Fri 24 - Thu 30 September 2021

Please book tickets using our website, thegulbenkian.co.uk

Photos by The Gulbenkian

Gulbenkian announces outdoor cinema for students with action-packed 80’s hit Top Gun! Tickets free for University of Kent students as part of Welcome Week 2021.

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he Gulbenkian Arts Centre and Gulbenkian Uncovered feel the need, the need for speed and invite you to be up there with the best of the best for a FREE, special outdoor screening of Top Gun that will Take Your Breath Away, on Tuesday 21st September during Welcome Week 2021. Adrenaline packed and incredible entertaining, Top Gun has become an iconic ’80s action film - don’t miss seeing it on the big outdoor screen on the lawn outside the Gulbenkian.

The story follows a hot shot Navy pilot who’s sent to an elite fighter school to learn aerial combat tactics. Codenamed “Maverick”, Pete Mitchell, the impetuous daredevil Navy-pilot ace, is accepted into Miramar’s elite Fighter School, also known as “Top Gun”.

There, as the impulsive pilot competes with the best of the best, not only will he meet Charlie, the flying school’s curvaceous astrophysics instructor, but also the brilliant and highly competitive fellow student, “Iceman”, with whom right from the start, he will engage in a reckless contest. As Maverick is haunted by his father’s mysterious death, will he be able to suppress his wild nature to win the prestigious Top Gun Trophy?

Starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis,

Val Kilmer, and Michael Ironside, the cast is pretty good but the real stars of the film are the F-14 fighter jets, and director Tony Scott does an excellent job at capturing the intensity and excitement of the aerial manoeuvres. The soundtrack is also especially well-done, and features such hit songs as “Danger Zone” and “Take My Breath Away”, which picked up the Oscar for Best Music, Original Song.

As this is an outdoor event, bring a blanket, something to sit on and dress for the outdoors – we recommend dressing warmly – even bring a hot water bottle as the temperature drops.

Make yourself comfortable and settle in for an evening of film under the stars.

Bar service will be available and a range of snacks and hot food will be available to buy at the screening.

Student Event: Outdoor Cinema Screening - Top Gun will be at Gulbenkian Lawn, on Tuesday 21st September. The main feature will commence from 7:30 pm. Tickets: This event is free for Students of the University of Kent as part of Welcome Week 2021.

The film certificate is 12A. For more information and tickets please visit www.thegulbenkian.co.uk.

LOVE ISLAND’S I IAIN STIRLING COMES TO CANTERBURY

ain Stirling (Love Island, Buffering and Taskmaster) is taking his ‘extremely funny’ (Daily Telegraph) comedy back on the road for his biggest ever nationwide tourand will be at Gulbenkian Arts Centre on not just one but two dates, Sat 30 October 2021 and Sun 27 March 2022.

After selling out his 2018 smash hit U OK HUN? X and two consecutive Edinburgh Fringe runs in advance, Failing Upwards is set to be the hot ticket of the year. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Do you ever wonder how people manage to be normal? Iain does.

So much so he’s written a brand new stand-up show about it. Join the ‘star of comedy’ (The i) as he explores his inability to function in the most basic of public settings,

As well as being the iconic voice of Love Island (ITV2) Iain has recently written and starred in the brand new sitcom Buffering for ITV2. He’s also the host of hit comedy gameshow Iain Stirling’s CelebAbility (ITV2), starred in his own Comedy Central Live special and has been seen on The Russell Howard Hour (Sky One) The Comedy Bus, Drunk History and Russell Howard’s Stand Up Central (all Comedy Central), Virtually Famous (E4), Russell Howard's Good News and Sweat the Small Stuff (both BBC Three) and Fake Reaction and Safe Word (both ITV2). social media’s constant pressure to “live your best life” and that one time a man stole his shoes.

Tickets for the event are £18.50.

For tickets and more information please visit www.thegulbenkian. co.uk.

GULBENKIAN ANNOUNCES NEW GROUP FOR 18-25

I

f you want to build up your performance skills alongside your course, or want to continue a hobby whilst working or studying, why not join our new, free of charge, Gulbenkian Performance Company?

Anybody 19-25 can join, or 18 if you've left school.

Meeting on a weekly basis during the University term times, we will spend a couple of hours a week creating work as a group in a fun, relaxed environment, led by experienced director and facilitator Emma Willatts. There is no pressure to have performed before, and you do not need to be at university to take part.

The Gulbenkian's Creative Engage-

ment Manager, Becky Lees, said: 'The past 18 months have been a particularly challenging time for young people, with lockdowns depriving many of key milestones in their lives and causing additional stress and isolation, so it feels a more important time than any to ensure all young people have the opportunity to access these creative groups which will support social skills and confidence and improve mental wellbeing.'.

Bookings are now open for the Autumn 2021 Term, and can be accessed on the Gulbenkian website. Any questions please contact creativeengagement@kent.ac.uk.

23

InQuire Monday 20 September 2021

Satire

Unprecedented Student Interest in Masons

By Harvey Blazquez, Newspaper Satire Editor Record numbers of students in Canterbury are visiting local masonic lodges, and seeking membership to the secretive group. I spoke to a student who recently became a member of the masons, in an attempt to understand this recent trend.

It was on an overcast early September morning that I met Marcellus (his surname has been omitted to ensure anonymity) on a park bench in Canterbury. I had in fact suggested more comfortable surroundings – perhaps a café – but Marcellus insisted on the park bench for its ‘sturdiness and material certainty’.

“I can’t really say why I decided the join the masons,” begins Marcellus thoughtfully, his eyebrows flexing like steroid-ridden caterpillars: “I suppose I felt that my life was lacking meaningful interpersonal connections. In other words, I became lonely during the lockdowns and sought somewhere to anchor myself.” I offer Marcellus a Lidl ginger nut biscuit, which he rejects with such grace that I feel slightly disarmed. Regaining my composure, I bite into the unwanted biscuit and discover a pseudo-stale texture, punctuated by the unwelcome tang of second grade zest. There are crumbs on my crotch.

I ask Marcellus why he couldn’t join a sports club – tennis maybe: “I only have bad memories of tennis,” Marcellus slowly replies. He pauses before accelerating in a rather aggressive manner, “Do you know any secretive and centuries old sports clubs around here? Are you suggesting that I could find brotherhood and belonging in £4 million tent on campus? For goodness sake the thing only has four courts! The roof hardly even looks solid, its like they gave up and threw tarpaulin over the top!” There’s a frantic urgency to Marcel-

lus’ appearance, almost like Ophelia, yet Marcellus’ acute sense of structural integrity would never allow him to fall from a weak willow branch.

I had planned to question Marcellus on some of the unsavoury aspects of the masons, such as their dated stance on gender and lack of inclusivity. However, I took heed of his rejection of the ginger nut biscuit – a symbolic denial of all things unsavoury. It was time to close the conversation, his unwavering gaze was now beginning to unsettle me. Was he looking at me or through me? I stutter but eventually manage to ask Marcellus what his plans for the future are: “Of course I’d like to finish my degree, after that who knows? In-

surance has always interested me. I could only work somewhere with a proper staff kitchen, I haven’t had a cold lunch since David Cameron’s second budget.”

As I walked back from the park I tried to see what I had gained from that meeting. Clearly I had learned little about the recent upshoot in interest in the masons. What did I expect to gain from a meeting with a member of a secretive organisation? Was this just another hazy dream about George Osborne, where he enlists the help of Davina McCall in cutting down his weekly shopping budget? Maybe I was too harsh on those Lidl biscuits.

Sport

www.inquiremedia.co.uk/sport

InQ Quire

Olympic Aspirations

InQuire's account of the Olympics and Paralympics

Photo by Erik Zunder on Unsplash

Photo by Takashi Miyazaki on Unsplash

By Juliette Moisan Newspaper Culture Editor As the Olympics and the Paralympics respectively took place from the 23 July 2021 to the 8 August 2021 and from the 24 August 2021 to the 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, we reflect on these events, and especially the importance of the Paralympics and the results of this year’s edition.

The closing ceremony of the Paralympics chose to celebrate “a world inspired by the Olympics, one where differences shine”, putting at the forefront messages of inclusivity, change and togetherness.

Maybe even more strikingly than the Olympics do, the Paralympics, as they gained popularity with the public in the latter years, have served as a constant reminder of the fact that anyone can overcome their conditions and rise to greatness.

Sporting events of this magnitude always provide a sense of belonging, and seeing this year’s Team GB be so strikingly diverse and inclusive was inspiring. The individual stories of each of the athletes are also telling of the sweat and the hard work they’ve poured in their accomplishments.

Photo by Naomi Smith on Getty

Photo by Sky Sports The Paralympics this year were a landslide victory for China, who brought back 207 medals, among which 96 gold ones. However, the Great Britain’s team definitely made us proud, ranking second in the Games with 124 medals in total and 41 gold ones.

The closing ceremony brilliantly depicted the story of a young person’s discovering the Paralympic Games and the different abilities of athletes, as well as seeing the Olympic Village. His perception of the disabled athletes and their abilities evolves, and through this evolution we can’t help but reflect on sport and para-sport, but also on the inclusion of disabled persons in all of the aspects of life. Many athletes echoed this message, such as double gold-medalled Kadeena Cox, competing in cycling. After breaking the world record in time trial she had personally set in Rio in 2016, she said that she “totally expect there to be a young boy or girl seeing me and going on to be better than me.”

The topic of inclusivity and of open opportunities for all was omnipresent throughout the closing ceremony.

The importance of team work was also displayed,

with the wheelchair rugby team giving the GB Team its first-ever medal in a team sport, beating the USA in the final. Kylie Grimes, the only woman in the team, stated that she “would love more women in this sport”, to have it grow and be more popular throughout the UK and the world. Like wheelchair rugby, some sports are exclusive to the Paralympics and the media attention allowed for persons who knew little about disabled sports to discover more about them, such as boccia, goalball and sitting volleyball.

One of the British athletes that received the most attention this year was Dame Sarah Storey, competing in cycling after having to give up swimming in 2005. Storey won her 17th gold medal in Tokyo, 29 years after her first one. She thus became Britain’s most successful Paralympian since the creation of the Games. When asked whether she would also be attending Paris 2024, she said, “we’ve talked about Paris. I’d love to have a big ride from London to Paris” but that nothing is set in stone yet.

The Paralympics is also a celebration of perseverance, and, despite not earning any medals in

Tokyo, swimmer Ellie Robinson stated that, “I’m just so proud of myself getting this far”, “this is a story of triumph. This is not a story of defeat.”

This sends a crucial message of self-confidence to young aspiring athletes.

All in all, the Paralympics and the Olympics left a contrasted picture. Despite Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the organizing committee, stating that the Games had happened “without any major problems”, the decision to have the Games happen was very contentious, especially as the Games-related rise in Covid numbers was not addressed.

Additionally, the Games proved to be immensely expensive, and since they happened without any public, the building and operating costs were not offset by ticket sales. Following the Games, Japan’s Prime Minister announced his resignation. Regardless, Tokyo 2021 still had its merits, displaying athletic performances of the highest standards. The Paralympics may have a much more significant and tangible legacy, as it raised public awareness about accessibility and disability, and opened a conversation that had had yet to happen in Japan.