InQuire 17.4

InQuire www.inquiremedia.org

The University of Kent’s student publication

Friday 29 October 2021 17.4

Kent Union Will Take Climate Special: Stance On Staff Strikes COP26, Sustainable Lego and Hydrogen Cars Science & Technology: Page 15

News: Page 2

The Walk with Little Amal: Her Canterbury chapter

2021 German Election: A Paradigm Shift Opinion: Page 7

By Amber Lennox, Local Affairs Correspondent

O

n the 21st of October at around 11.30 in the morning, students and residents walked into town to wait for Amal. The three and a half metre puppet of a nine-year-old Syrian refugee, whose name means ‘hope’, has been travelling across Europe to raise awareness to the plight of people fleeing war. On Thursday she visited Canterbury and left in her wake emotions felt by all.

Before her arrival, there was a sense that the community was already brewing. Waiting inside Westgate Towers for her arrival was Janette the Seagull and Amber the Fox; both large-scale puppets made in collaboration with a number of different groups. Janette was made by the students of Herne Bay High, supported by Kent University drama students, and she was there so the students could welcome Amal with a symbol which represented them and Kent.

Speaking to head of Kent Drama department, Jane Thomson, she said it had been a joy and a privilege to be a part of the project, which had brought the entire community together. A project which, drama student Emily Berry said, was a celebration of refugees and human rights all through theatre.

Janette clearly had an impact, when speaking to the children involved, they explained that they felt the walk was important as it “represents refugees who have to go through a lot just to get to a safe place.”

Amber the Fox was a separate project, yet nonetheless linked to our university. Overseen by Kent graduate Pete Morton, in collaboration with Sam Westbury and a multitude o f

Photo by Tom Shytermeja

different students in university art workshops, Amber was created with two weeks straight in building, and a further three rehearsing every single day; the dedication to the project was one the Pete seemed very proud of.

Pete explained that the team had wanted to greet Amal with a British wildlife animal, but also a multicultural symbol, and almost every culture recognises a fox within its storytelling. The project was important to Pete as it captured the struggle of refugees, and brings the message, that we should be welcoming refugees, to life. Though I would soon see that the project stretched much further than our local community, linking us to the rest of the world. Heralded by a band of drummers and exuberant cheers, when Amal arrived, she stole the collective breath of those gathered. The puppeteering was masterful and there was no-one in that crowd who, even for a second, thought that this wasn’t a real little girl.

We paraded up from Westgate Towers; all along the way people leant out of their windows reaching for Amal, and Amal reached back; exchanging a wave or a handshake, or even holding up signs handed to her welcoming her to Canterbury – a message which stretched to all refugees if the crowds’ demeanour was anything to go by. One particular boy was carrying a Syrian flag which Amal held proudly. InQuire caught up with the young man, Mohamad Darwish, and he explained that he had been here for two years. From being resettled from Egypt after fleeing Syria and now taking an English course

at Canterbury College. Mohamad was visibly moved by the turn-out of people supporting refugees and wanted to extend his deepest gratitude to Good Chance Theatre Company for everything they’d done in raising awareness for refugees.

On campus the parade took on a festival-feel. With music and dancing, Amal and the fox finally met on the field, backdropped by the Canterbury skyline. The children of Palm Bay Primary in Margate burst into spontaneous song, proclaiming to Amal that “five-thousand miles we’ll walk beside you, every step of the way” – tears were she by more than one onlooker. InQuire also spoke to Maryam Hashemi, a local self-employed artist who worked with all the schools involved with the parade; the streets were lined with horseheads and banners f r o m all different

Continued on Page 2

children of all different backgrounds.

Maryam also said she’d been lucky to work with Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN), which had an incredibly positive energy, with a lot of the refugees involved connecting with the project in ways they perhaps wouldn’t have others; for the first time seeing themselves represented in the foreground in a positive manner.

Outside the Gulbenkian a band started playing traditional Syrian music and the festival stepped into its own. A number of people, many of them Syria natives, began dancing and singing with Amal in such a display of joy that one young man was so moved he fell to the ground in tears, crying for his homeland, crying for Syria – a country which, in that moment, he felt mor connected to than he had in a very long time.

InQuire was fortunate enough to sit down with Kevin Fitzmaurice, the executive producer of The Walk, who said that although it’s been an incredibly long journey to get to where they are, it had been “absolutely amazing and inspiring to be a part of.” Kevin explained that the seed of Amal came from Good Chance Theatre doing the play ‘The Jungle,’ where producers, David Lan and Stephen Daldry, wanted to do more and thought that doing the walk many refugees have to make would be appropriately symbolic.

However, it was decided that the walk had to be a piece of art with refugees at the centre, telling their own story.

Thus, Amal was born.

Kevin said that both here in Canterbury, and across Europe, the reaction has been heart-warming.

Local children and community groups of Greece banded together to create a “fabulous event”, not dissimilar to the one we greeted Amal with in Canterbury. wWhich just goes to show how Amal’s united communities locally and internationally; we have celebrated her in unison, physically apart, but together in heart.

News Page 2

Entertainment: Pages 18-19

in conversation with george fay

Culture: page 17

kent uni stories Features: Page 12

Entertainment: Page 20

Chibnall's Era: the case for and against Plus:

Sport VACCINE NUMBERS OFFSIDE: FREE CHOICE FOR PLAYERS, INSIST MANAGERS

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Friday 29 October 2021 InQuire

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Meet the team

Continued from front page...

Tarini Tiwari Editor-in-Chief

The organiser wanted us to know that the project doesn’t work without the people of all the communities they visit, who he says have gone to extraordi-

Committee

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Alex Charilaou Newspaper Editor

nary lengths to create something, making special mention to the Fox, saying how impressed he was with both the workmanship and the puppeteering: “it was brilliant, and I hope those guys feel proud of the work they did,

because it was fantastic.” The day ended with a performance of Refugee Tales in the Gulbenkian. Hosted by Niamh Cusack, we heard stories from those who had made the dangerous journey to safety and listened to music

by people who were refugees yet now are thriving contributors to the arts world – with the intention to really bring home further Amals’ message of potential and unity where refugees are concerned. It was during this music

that Amal came onto the stage and danced with the very people she was representing.

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Ainy Shiyam Head of Photography & Design photography@inquiremedia.org

Grace Bishop Head of Media & Events

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Editorial Nathan Collins-Cope Newspaper News Editor

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Kent Union votes decisively to take position on staff strikes

By Alex Charilaou Newspaper Editor

L

ast Tuesday, Kent Union Parliament voted decisively in favour of a motion which gives it the power to decide Kent Union’s policy towards potential UCU (University and College Union) strikes this academic year.

UCU is a nationwide trade union which represents academic and professional services staff at universities, colleges and other further education institutions across the UK. Industrial action is currently being balloted by the national UCU over issues ranging from national pension cuts, declining pay, the use of insecure contracts in the sector, unsafe workloads, and serious equality failings.

A separate, local ballot is likely to go ahead in parallel to the national ballot over the failings of university management to meet the demands of Kent staff.

The local UCU has been in negotiation with the Vice-Chancellor’s team over issues like compulsory redundancies and precarious working conditions, including the university’s widespread use of hourly paid teaching contracts.

Claire Hurley, the President of UCU Kent, spoke to InQuire about the reasons their union has been forced into balloting for strike action, and the ways they want to relate to students if they do strike. Speaking about their local industrial action impasse, Claire confirmed that Kent UCU is in an official dispute with university management: ‘this is around the threats to jobs – academic jobs, jobs of our admin staff –

and unmanageable workloads across the university. The divisional restructuring has excessively increased staff workloads.

If Karen Cox and the executive group agree to our reasonable demands around preventing job cuts and reducing workloads, then we won’t have to engage with industrial action’. Despite UCU winning a negotiation with management that stopped the university undertaking compulsory redundancies for members this year, this agreement ends in December.

A second, local round of industrial action would involve trying to extend this agreement into the new year: ‘given the way the university is running at the moment, and the various problems around Kent with things like timetabling and KentVision, preventing the university from making a further round of redundancies seems like a reasonable thing to ask’.

Claire also confirmed that Kent UCU members would be asked to vote ‘yes’ to nationwide strikes: ‘there have been ridiculous cuts to nationwide pensions as a result of faulty valuations during the pandemic, saying there’s not enough money, that’s just lies.’

InQuire asked Claire how students should feel about the likely prospect of further industrial action in the coming months: ‘we’re doing this for students – it’s

in the interests of all of us. If staff don’t have the threat of redundancy hanging over them.

No member of UCU wants to harm students, we love our students: striking is always a last resort. We did a range of things in the 2018 strikes like teachouts and inviting students to picket with us.

We’d love students to engage with us in learning what civil disobedience looks like: most of our students are going to become workers, and unionisation is absolutely something they should have knowledge of.’ The motion – written and proposed by Vice-President Academic Experience Lupe Sellei and seconded by Kent Union President Aisha Dosanjh – makes it so that Kent

Union policy will be decided by an extraordinary session of Kent Union Parliament after deliberation with networks and student forums, and negotiation with UCU and university representatives.

Lupe told InQuire that the motion was introduced to give Kent Union networks and the student body at Kent more generally a voice in deciding what the position of KU should be, and ‘to stop it being purely the decision of the five Sabbs’.

Reflecting on the reasons she feels this democratisation is important, Lupe told us the following: ‘ultimately, my type of leadership relies on getting views and opinions from as many people as possible.

I’m not one voice – I’m the

voice of all the members of Kent Union’.

Kent Union President Aisha Dosanjh gave InQuire the following statement on the motion she seconded: ‘Ultimately, this policy is in place to further strengthen our democratic engagement with students. Any stance that Kent Union takes on high-stakes issues with the risk of disruption to students should be co-created with representatives from our diverse and wide-ranging student body’.

InQuire will continue to report on industrial action at the university as events progress

Photo by Kent Union

Corrections

Enquiries

We will report any inaccurate information published as soon as the error is discovered. Editorial corrections, including factual errors, missing photo credits etc., will be printed on this page. For more information, contact Tarini Tiwari at editor@ inquiremedia.org

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InQuire Friday 29 October 2021

News

Timetabling Issues at Kent Law School

By Madita Schindler News Writer

A

t the beginning of the new term a large number of undergraduate Law students were having issues concerning their timetables and modules. There have been reports of timetables not being finished in time for the first week of lectures and until now there have been ongoing changes to some of them.

What l e d t o

Photo by Ainy Shiyam

a lot of confusion for the students was the frequent and sudden change of rooms and times, and the switching between online or in person attendance.

According to one law student who wishes to remain anonymous, many of their seminars had to be cancelled during the first two weeks. Another issue was the miscommunication of some module requirements, as for example with Hollie, a third year law student, who experienced trouble with one of her modules. “I picked my modules for this year around 6 months ago and was told I was good to go with them. Only to find out in September that I now need an adjoining module from last year. Why am I only finding out about this now!”.

A conversation with Professor Lydia Hayes, Head of Kent Law School, revealed the root of the problem. Normally, the planning of the modules is a lengthy process which starts mid-November of the previous year. This means that usually there is a 10 month period scheduled for the preparation of the upcoming term. Due to the pandemic with its accompanying government and

university guidelines and restrictions for teaching, this process turned out to be a lot more difficult and spontaneous than usual. Thus, the University attempted to work out the modules and timetables for the following term in a much shorter period of time.

While these strains certainly applied to the University as a whole, since the timetables are not created by KLS but the University timetabling office - and indeed occasionally other courses of studies reported similar issues - KLS students were particularly affected, leaving many to wonder why this is the case.

According to Professor Hayes one of the reasons was that KLS with approximately 1700 students overall is not only one of the largest schools of the University of Kent, but also has an above average proportion of international students.

The share of remote learners is generally speaking also higher among these. This supposedly means more difficulties in integrating remote learners in a non-remote format. However, the question of why other courses managed to overcome these difficulties more effectively remained unaddressed.

Furthermore, there were complaints

on the part of affected students about lacking support concerning their flawed timetables. As Hollie tells it, she “went to Kent Law Student support for guidance on the issue – and was met with pure stonewalls and silence”. Meanwhile, Professor Hayes affirmed that the staff of KLS did their very best to help them out and resolve individual problems.

With the enormous amount of requests it seems that there were simply not enough capacities left, but everyone worked relentlessly to handle each query.

Nevertheless, the Head of Kent Law School sends her sincere apologies to all of the students experiencing timetable issues during the first weeks of the autumn term and wants to thank them for their active engagement and effort in contacting those in responsibility to achieve a solution.

Even though the majority of timetables are set by now, some students remain affected, most of them remote learners.

We can only hope that these issues will be resolved as soon as possible, so that all of the students can start the upcoming term successfully.

Spiking in Canterbury: A Growing Problem

By Megan Brown News Writer

I

n the early hours of 6th October 2021, two Canterbury Christ Church students were hospitalised due to an alleged incident of drink spiking.

Reports show that both students, aged 21 and 22, fell ill between the times of 1:15am and 1:30am. Both girls were foaming at the mouth and dipping in and out of consciousness. The two students and their 19-year-old friend, who looked after them, claimed that Club Chemistry security did not offer medical help or offer to call an ambulance.

The venue denied this, claiming “Both females confirmed they had pre-loaded with vodka before attending the venue. Their symptoms were all consistent with over-intoxication […] at no point did we refuse to call an ambulance and nor would we ever refuse to call an ambulance. […] Given the diligence with which our staff attended to both females (as we do for anyone) we find the false accusation that they were negligent deeply offensive”.

However, this response given to news outlet KentLive and the statement which Club Chemistry put out on their social media received backlash from the public. Claims of the venue victim blaming and disregarding their duty of care flooded the comments of the venue’s social media before all comments were limited. Club Chemistry provided an updated statement to KentLive, stating “our comment is that people need to stop putting things in other people’s drinks. If this happens you don’t have spiking, similar to if you don’t have rapists you don’t have rape.” Once again, this statement received backlash from the public, with students taking to Instagram to voice their anger. One UKC student posted “No one has ever thought of

this before! Chem just solved rape and drink spiking! How f*cking pathetic!”

Thursday 14th October saw the implementation of new measures at the venue after the drink spiking incident, including the provision of 1,000 cup condoms and ‘Spikey’ anti-spiking devices in an aim to prevent future incidents. This response, however, has also been criticised by many people, both students and the public, who believe that Club Chemistry only introduced these measures due to the publicity this incident has received in the media. One UKC student asks “why wasn’t it done before now? It really had to take an incident like this for them to implement this?” with others agreeing and asking why this happened only after police involvement.

While there have been many unofficial reports of drink spiking in Canterbury, no other venues have implemented further measures similar to Club Chemistry. It is suggested that this is due to unofficial reports having less weight in a drink spiking incident. Many victims believe that reporting will lead to the authorities blaming the victim, possibly suggesting they got too drunk, or not believing their story. Journalist Imogen Calderwood states “I don't think [drink spiking] is taken seriously enough by any authority, let alone by many bar owners, who understandably see claims of spiked drinks as a danger to business, and so play them down.” Calderwood goes on to state that bringing the issue into the public eye and having authorities admit this is an issue without “automatically accusing the victim of drinking too much and losing control” are the first steps of prevention.

During the period of investigation, InQuire has encountered dozens of unofficial reports and allegations from UKC and CCCU students against many popular Canterbury night spots, with

several of these allegations ending as Calderwood predicted: the victim being blamed, and their claim disregarded.

These claims offer a range of information from drink spiking incidents to a disregard of duty from members of staff.

All claims going forward are alleged and the sources will be protected under anonymity. Some of the most notable claims received were regarding cocktail bar The Cuban, with recent allegations of drink spiking and claims of staff negligence. One source states “my housemate was very drunk, to the point of being asleep. The bouncer saw her passed out and instead of checking she was okay, they tried to man handle her out of the club.” Another source corroborates this claim, stating “I can’t lie, The Cuban are the worst for looking after their customers when they’re too drunk or like this [spiked]. [The Cuban] literally just chuck you out.” The source continues, stating they have been kicked out when they have been overly intoxicated, being removed via a back gate into an alleyway “with the staff having little to no concern how I could get home”. They finish their statement that they have always had bad experiences at The Cuban.

Finally, another source claims that in the early hours of 15th October, they had to help a young lady and her friends in Canterbury High Street after she claimed her friend was spiked while at The Cuban. When asked if her friend was okay, she responded “no, we think she’s been spiked”, the source continues stating the victim could barely stand and her eyes were rolling back in her head. The bouncers were told, yet the girls were left to walk home alone.

The issues continue to popular nightclub Tokyo Tea Rooms, in which one particularly notable source claims that around the time of 16th June 2021, their friends were harassed, threat-

ened to have their drinks spiked, then barred when attempting to stop the harassment: “my friends went to Tokyo the other night, they were called some harsh words by a group of boys who also joked about spiking in their drinks. Like anyone that feels threatened, especially as two vulnerable young girls, they informed bar staff of what was happening, to which they didn’t do anything.” The source continues, alleging that upon their retaliation they were kicked out.

Upon informing the bouncers of the threat and the continual harassment, they were told that the group should have told them despite previously alerting the bar staff. They go on to say, “How is it okay for men to sexualise women and get away with it yet women retaliating they suddenly have a problem?”.

In light of the increase in spiking throughout the UK, universities across the country are taking part in the campaign Girls Night In, a movement created in response to “the lack of concern shown by local clubs and the government on the increasing numbers of people being spiked on nights out” (Girls Night In, Canterbury). The movement asks that everyone boycotts their local venues in an effort to put pressure on clubs to implement more p r e ventat i v e measures

against spiking. Several UKC societies have confirmed they are boycotting local Canterbury venues in solidarity with Girls Night In. The Canterbury Girls Night In event is on 27th October 2021.

The alarming number of unofficial reports InQuire has received paints a picture of an ever-growing problem within the Canterbury nightlife scene, with drink spiking seemingly on the rise since the easing of lockdown restrictions and many venues not having proper measures in place to deal with the problem if it arises. It begs the question: where can we go, and where are we safe?

If you or someone you know believe they have been spiked or has been assaulted as a result of drink spiking and you want advice and support, you can contact Student Support and Wellbeing on kentssw@kent.ac.uk or alternatively use the Report and Support feature at https://reportandsupport.kent. ac.uk/support. If you are off-campus, call emergency services using 111 or, in life-threatening emergencies, 999.

Photo by Kent Online

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Friday 29 October 2021 InQuire

News

The rise of 'eco-anxiety' in the lead up to COP26

By Hestia Linford-Allen News Writer

T

he scientific community has reached a consensus: climate change is very much real whether we have leaders that believe it or not. As we have seen the physical effects of global warming manifest in natural disasters, like the wildfires that continue to ravage Southern California, mental health professionals are starting to see the effects of climate change, and our government’s response to it, in their patients.

A recent study found that child psychologists are seeing a significant increase in young people feeling ‘eco-anxiety,’ a fairly new psychological disorder that affects individuals who worry about the climate crisis.

While eco-anxiety is still not recognised as a diagnosable condition, awareness within psychiatry is increasing as more professionals see fears about the state of our Earth come up in therapy sessions.

It seems that age has a large effect on levels of eco-anxiety. The Royal College of Psychiatrists conducted a survey of their members that worked for

O

the NHS, asking “In the last year have you seen patients who are distressed about environmental and ecological issues?” Results showed that psychiatrists for children and young people were hearing concerns about climate change at notably higher levels than those just dealing with the general population.

The sample size of the study was small, but as one of the first of its kind, it bears results that reflect increasing acknowledgement of the climate crisis.

The generational divide between younger people and the rest of the public has sparked a wave of activism and awareness for the environment. It has long been understood that older people care less about the impact of global warming, but as studies show, the environment is now one of the most important issues facing young people today.

Jess Callaghan, a second-year student in Wildlife Conservation, is currently studying the relationship between age and levels of eco-anxiety.

Photos by Markus Spiske

largest and most in-depth study of eco distress in young people. It concluded that the climate emergency requires ‘ethical, collective, policy-based action’ in order to protect the mental health of children and young people that are ‘disproportionately’ affected as they are developing socially, phys-

ically, and psychologically.

Governmental responses to climate change vary wildly depending on where you live. As the UK, US and EU race to introduce the most effective policy, Australia has begun to trail behind under the leadership of former and current prime ministers, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison, respectively.

Abbott’s repeal of a 2012 ‘carbon tax’ just two years after its inception marked a shift away from climate-led policy, under the previous Labour government, in favour of “action that doesn't damage our economy.”

Similar attitudes have been paraded by our Conservative cabinet. As Boris Johnson fashions himself as a climate leader in the run up to the COP26 summit in November, questions are being asked of negotiations for a trade deal with Australia. Just last week, leaked documents revealed that the UK government was willing to ‘drop both of the climate asks’ in the official text of the document. This will remove the binding conditions of the Paris Agree-

ment, removing any specific temperature commitments. Ministers have confirmed instead that references to the Agreement will be ‘implicit’ rather than stated in any final copies of the deal.

The Prime Minister has disavowed claims by climate groups that capitalism is in any way linked to the climate disaster, saying: “The whole experience of the Covid pandemic is that the way to fix the problem is through science and innovation, the breakthroughs and the investment that are made possible by capitalism and by free markets.” He has faced criticism for these comments, most loudly from Labour’s Shadow Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, who has accused the government of ‘facing both ways’ on the climate crisis. He points to plans for a new coal mine in Cumbria and the lack of response to concerns about insulation in British homes.

After the injunctions against Insulate Britain were granted last week, the group have issued an open letter to the Prime Minister, promising to step back from roadblocks before the COP26 summit in order to give Johnson time to ‘do the right thing.’ While many might not agree with the methods of the group, it is clear however that a lot of young people feel failed by their leaders, who continue to trivialise the importance of tackling the climate crisis.

The US and the Taliban sit down for 'professional' talks in Doha

n the 9th and 10th of October, a United States interagency delegation held talks with senior Taliban representatives in Qatar’s capital of Doha. The talks between

By Kieran Clarke the two was the first formal diaNews Writer logue since Joe Biden’s final withdrawal of the US Troops at the end of itarian aid workers in the region fear August this year – a process which had Afghanistan is on the brink of, - if not officially begun in February 2020 under already entered - a severe humanitarian the Trump administration, whereby the crisis, with UN Secretary General AntóUS Government and the Taliban signed nio Guterres stating last month “poverty the ‘Doha Agreement’, which saw the rate is soaring, and public services are removal of US Troops from Afghaniclose to collapsing”. In fact, the Unitstan and an end to the nineteen-year ed Nations Development Programme war. This cross-administration process (UNDP), who are tasked with eliminathas led to either side pointing fingers, ing poverty and sustaining economic with GOP politicians such as the Senagrowth, have predicted 97% of Afghans tor Lindsey Graham of South Carolina could plunge into poverty in stating Joe Biden failed to predict less than one year. As the fall of the Afghan Governthe world watches ment, while President Biden on, urgency for aid blames his predecessor had been felt interfor strengthening Taliban nationally - with forces through the 2020 demonstrations beDoha Agreement. ing held worldwide Edward Price, the curfrom London, UK rent spokesperson for to Perth, Australia the US Department of - showing their disState has since described dain for Afghanistan the discussion as “candid under Taliban rule. and professional”, claiming Many of the aristhere was a focus on humaniing issues have been tarian aid, the containment of blamed upon the soextremist groups, and most called “foreign money importantly for the US - the tap being turned off” evacuation of American by the United States, troops. Huwhereby they have manfrozen $9 Photo by Julie Fleming

She expressed disappointment in older generations for their limited efforts in combatting the eco crisis, saying: “I feel most comfortable talking to students and youth about climate change, as we make up the majority of recent environmental activists.” Her findings so far seem to corroborate those of the

billion in Afghanistan’s central reserves out of fear the money would enter the wrong hands. Nevertheless, in the opinion of some Afghani citizens such as that of Hayat Khan - a construction worker from Kabul - the money granted from outside organisations never makes it into the hands of those that most need it, irrespective of who is in charge.

Spokesperson Price also stated “meaningful participation of women and girls in all aspects of Afghan society” was spoken of at the Doha discussions. Since the Taliban came to power in mid-August, girls have been barred from attending secondary school, mirroring the hardline rule the Taliban held in the 1990s.

In addition, the Taliban have named an all-male Cabinet - however, they have offered the so-far unfulfilled promise that women may be an addition in the future.

Lindsey Graham seemed unsurprised about the change in direction of woman’s rights, stating in 2020, “I am very suspect of the Taliban ever accepting the Afghan constitution and honouring the rights of women”.

With the discussions taking place in Doha, the Qatari government acted as a media-

tor between the US interagency delegation and the Taliban rulers. This threeway relationship comes (according to the Qatari official - Sheikh Mohammed) as a result of the election of Joe Biden. Mohammed is quoted saying Qatari-American relationships were not in the best of shapes under the previous administration. However, Mohammed did not completely hold back criticism of Biden, stating that “abandoning Afghanistan would be a mistake no matter who is leading it”. Disagreement was met when it came to the handling of the extremist group Islamic State Khorasan Province, also known as ISIS-K, who were responsible for the suicide bomb attack on Said Abad Mosque, just a day before the Doha meetings.

The attack, targeting Shia minority Muslims killed at least 50 in the city of Kunduz, in North-Eastern Afghanistan.

Regardl e s s , m a n y h a v e seen

Photo by Anadolu

the talks between the United States and Taliban leaders of Afghanistan as a sign of improvement for those on the cusp of poverty. However, hopes remain relatively low in the eyes of many affected by the crisis - with no end in sight, and aggression within the region coming from three differing parties, the Taliban, ISIS-K and the United States. ISIS-K continue to instil fear into the lives of many Afghans, particularly Shia Muslims, with yet another attack on a Shia Mosque in the city of Kandahar, killing a further 47 people, just a week after the attack in Kunduz. Meanwhile, a New York Times investigation is currently scrutinising the intentions of the U.S Military in the drone attack carried out on the eve of American withdrawal, which killed 10 civilians, seven of whom were children.

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InQuire Friday 29 October 2021 Have something you want to say? Write a letter to newspaper.editor@inquiremedia.org and be featured in the next InQuire newspaper

O Tarini Tiwari Editor-in-Chief

ver the past few years of studying in the UK, I’ve come to realise that the system for applying for visas, living and working here is inherently racist. I remember applying for my student visa. The form took an entire day and required every flight I’ve ever been on, details of my personal and family history, and even whether I’d ever been convicted of a war crime (surely they’d already know if this was the case). It cost an extortionate amount to do the application, and required me to provide biometrics so that I could be identified at any time. I had to get an x-ray done to ensure I didn’t have TB (some-

I Alex Charilaou Newspaper Editor

've seeing lots of calls recently to introduce legislation which would mandate that nightclubs have to search customers on entry. This, to put it bluntly, is a dreadful idea.

One of the worst kinds of harassers I've seen in my experience is the nightclub bouncer. There are countless stories from across the country of bouncers using their power to assault, to disconcert and to self-gratify. Many of them - like a lot of cops - get off on their position; their ability to withhold entry or possessions.

Giving them more power is absolutely nuts. Legally

O Jake Yates-Hart Website Editor

ctober is almost over - how tragic!

I might not be one of your Facebook friends that share aesthetically pleasing autumnal images of Connecticut (as if anywhere in England would ever look like that), but I definitely think this is the best time of the year.

Well, Christmas Day is great, but is it worth spending an entire dinner with your racist uncle? Easter reminds us of the Jesus’s miraculous resurrection and its weird connection to chocolate eggs, but you can devour a bowl of Maltesers and watch Freddy Krueger take revenge from beyond the grave and have double the fun!

Editorial

thing India has had under control for decades) and had my passport held by the immigration office for a month before they returned it with my visa inside. Every time I arrive in the UK, I stand for about two hours in a queue for immigration while certain ‘good’ passport-holders are able to waltz through. My passport makes me inherently more susceptible to suspicion by people here because of an ingrained fear around migration. There are so many little things that the system has skewed against foreign nationals in the UK. Whether it’s not having enough documents to be able to complete a DBS check, or not being

able to order groceries online without a UK-based bank card. I’m fatigued by rhetoric asking why migrants don’t do things ‘the proper way’ or why refugees don’t arrive by legal means, but it’s because you need so much financial privilege as well as a near-native comprehension of English to even apply for a visa, let alone get a job that would allow you to sustain living here. My advice? Be kind to the people you meet who aren’t English. The system works against all working-class people in this country, but especially people of colour.

mandating that bouncers are able to touch every person - every woman - without their consent? This is open season for harassers and creeps, many of whom are already attracted to the kind of power being a bouncer affords.

It will also - we can say this with absolute certainty - hit people of colour and queer people much, much harder.

They are already unfairly targeted by many bouncers across the country, especially women of colour.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking there are easy solutions to preventing sexual assault at clubs. Giving bouncers stop and search power might look like a good idea, but

it absolutely isn't. Rushing into doing something, without properly considering the consequences, could be more damaging than doing nothing.

Giving nightclubs the ability to mandatorily search people doesn’t mean they would - they could just reject these obligations, as many places have done with Covid regulations. It just means they can find ways to harass people more easily and with more cover. There is nothing about the proposals which actually suggest to me they’d be enforced in a remotely helpful way. Also, not all bouncers, obviously.

Look, the above might be jokes, but the point is that Halloween trumps all the other holidays and here are the reasons for the season: Streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime go all out with their selection of horror films this month; No one would judge if you decided to gorge yourself on sweets and treats; and Halloween parties and club events are always totally witchin’!

This past year and a half, many festive events like Halloween couldn’t be properly celebrated due to the pandemic. So, I say as long as you stay safe and continue to test for COVID - as cases are indeed beginning to rise - go all out this year! Join the Halloween ball at The Venue

on Saturday, or attend a costume party, or even visit the local cinema to watch Halloween Kills.

I myself am excited to see the variety of costumes people are going to wear. Will I see a plethora of trick-ortreaters dress as Squid Game victims? Or will Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker remain the Halloween staple?

Whatever you decide, remember to bundle up. It’s getting colder out there, folks. Also, don’t wear anything culturally offensive - that sucks, and the Blair Witch will come after you… Happy Halloween!

6

Friday 29 October 2021 InQuire

Opinion

How Facebook's priorities on profit allow false information to be spread worldwide

A

s we find ourselves in the midst of another Facebook controversy, turning a blind eye towards the darker acts of the global tech corporation may be harder this time. The very foundations of democracy and civil duty have been brought into question with the growing significance big tech has claimed over our private lives.

Facebook have allowed the distinction between coherent and misleading information to become ever more clouded. While many of us suspected an eruption of scandals to emerge at some point, too many of us are unwilling to confront this ongoing suspicious activity.

The recent exposure placed on Facebook has been brought about by former employee Frances Haughen who claimed that the company has continuously failed to stop misinformation from spreading in favour of profits and denied adequate protections on the platforms of Instagram and Facebook.

A second whistle-blower, Sophie Zhang, has followed suit with both willing to testify in court regarding concerns over Facebook’s conduct and lack of sufficient monitoring on the platform. It seems that the exposure brought about

by Haughen may open the floodgates for further discoveries of Facebook’s inconsistencies into the public eye.

The global problem we currently face is an excess of information, which often overwhelms and distorts its reliability in our current era of antisocial social media. According to New York Univer-

sity and France’s Université Grenoble Alpes, between August 2020 and January 2021, articles from known providers of misinformation generally recieved six times as many likes, shares and interactions than legitimate news sources. Can we safely say that our right to clear information outweighs the importance of profit for big tech firms, and is it time for dramatic change?

We have seen the clear influence of Facebook in increasing misinformation and strengthening the spread of extreme ideologies. Two thirds of Republicans still believe the 2020 e l e c tion was rigged, and this view was undoubtedly heavily distorted by misinformation across social media. Growing online radicalisation and easy access to ex-

tremist views has garnered Facebook a reputation for being an unsafe platform that could potentially threaten the reputation and trustworthiness of democracy. This was infamously evident in the aftermath of the Capitol Hill riots.

Since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, misinformation has seemed

nated, which may be a fundamental factor in spurring on the longevity of Covid and allowing it to continue to spread and kill. The exasperated President Biden claimed, in response to questions over the responsibility of tech companies in allowing misinformation to spread, that ‘they’re killing people’. It

to spread like wildfire on platforms like Facebook. Such misinformation has been shown to have discouraged some users from going out and getting vacci-

was found through analysis of CrowdTangle data that nine of the top fifteen Facebook posts about vaccines promoted false or alarmist claims that were

Photo by Flickr/Trump White House Archived

By James Davis Opinion Writer

shared hundreds of thousands of times.

The recent Facebook outage, which also took down Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Oculus seems to be representative of the bumpy road the platform is currently facing. I silently, and admittedly selfishly, rejoiced at the sight of the platform squirming under the spotlight. Yet in retrospect, these social media platforms are not merely used for communication and misinformation, but in countless situations they provide the backbone for small businesses and creators who rely directly on these services for their income. Indeed, in the modern age, Facebook may be a necessary evil.

The sheer scale of the 2.8 billion users of Facebook presents an inevitable dilemma. How can one company substantially monitor such a vast amount of information? And is it fair for one media platform to have so much control over what is and is not shown to the eyes of unsuspecting users? We should not have to scramble around in the darkness for something as simple as being able to distinguish what is truth from fiction.

What many average users of Facebook and their other platforms may view as a slight blip in the disturbance of the endless scrolling of information, could in fact be the beginning of a new wave of changes to come. The intervention of government is becoming increasingly likely, but to claim that this would help reduce the spread of misinformation is questionable. While it is extremely unlikely that Facebook is on its way out, its tools of addiction and control may be forced to change in the near future.

A new Aldi store will only increase competition along Sturry Road

By Sam Webb Newspaper Opinion Editor

G

erman budget retailer Aldi has recently opened a second supermarket at a site on Sturry Road, just a stone’s throw from both Asda and Lidl. The new store will

Photo by Tom

Shytermeja

take residence next to B&Q and a coffee chain which is yet to be announced, and will also share a car park with both other stores. While there have been questions over whether a second Aldi is really that necessary in such a small city, the new store may indeed lead to some benefits for customers.

Being in the vicinity of both Asda and Lidl means that these stores may have a large chunk of their income swallowed up by the new A l d i .

T h i s m a y l e a d t h e m b o t h to take measures to

incentivise customers to continue to pass through their doors, choosing to stay loyal to the older supermarkets.

One way that they may try to do this is to simply lower their prices for groceries, making the weekly shop for all three budget retailers even lower than before.

Aldi is known as one of the cheapest places for grocery shopping, with both Tesco and Sainsbury’s having run ‘Aldi Price Match’ campaigns on their products in order to better compete.

While joining a relatively concentrated neighbourhood of grocery stores may be a risk for Aldi, they evidently believe that they will make enough income in order to justify the opening. Aldi is currently one of the fastest growing supermarket chains, and is the fifth largest in the country. Originally their plan seemed to be that they would close their other store on the western side of the city in Rheims Way. Earlier this year, this site was put on the market stating that it would become available ‘following the opening of Aldi’s new store in Sturry Road’. The listing was soon taken

offline, with the German chain instead deciding to now run both stores simultaneously within 1.3 miles of each other.

Out of the three superstores in the area, Asda will remain the only one that has the facilities to deliver groceries to customers in Canterbury, which may mean that it will remain the most profitable. This is especially true following the pandemic as many shoppers prefer to minimise contact with others, instead making use of online delivery or click and collect. However, both Aldi and Lidl may make moves in order to make these services available. Aldi is already on Deliveroo and does have click and collect options for some stores, albeit neither of the ones in Canterbury. However, Lidl do not have facilities for either home deliveries or click and collect in the UK. In 2020 they indicated that there were no plans to begin either of these two options, and instead would be continuing to focus on attracting shoppers to their physical stores.

What makes Aldi and Lidl different to their competitors are their ‘middle

aisles’, where special, often seasonal products are put on sale. The products change regularly and include anything from popcorn makers to dog beds. These aisles can attract regular customers, as they do their weekly shop at one of the German stores so that they don’t miss out on any products which will only be available for a limited time. For many, the experience of shopping at either of these stores and the randomness of the notorious middle aisle is enough to keep them coming back again and again.

Indeed, while it may have been a risk

by Aldi to open a second store in Canterbury, this risk might pay off. While they are likely to take some customers away from both Lidl and Asda due to their competitive prices, this is presumably part of their business plan. Many people make their way to the area for their weekly shop already, and trying out a new store would not be a huge issue. It would also force the hand of the other two supermarkets to make themselves more competitive and attractive to customers.

7

The Pandora Papers: Investigative journalism at its finest

InQuire Friday 29 October 2021

Opinion

By Sophia Lueneburg Opinion Writer

tween their work and their private financial choices might be an understatement. After the Panama Papers, calls for change were loud. So how come this enormous investigation was still necessary? The European Union has the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions. It showcases countries that are tax-havens and encourages EU members to put pressure on them to encourage positive reform in their tax legislation and practices through cooperation.

The catch is that each country has

T

welve million financial records, fourteen firms handling offshore accounts, 330 exposed politicians and 35 former or current heads of state. These are the dimensions of the Pandora Papers. The new scandal showcasing the secret finances of some of the richest people in the world made headlines earlier this month. Following the Panama and Paradise Papers, the third round has this time exposed a number of politicians and led to numerous resignations and investigations worldwide.The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has claimed it has run the largest journalistic investigation in history. It involved 600 journalists from over 140 media organisations and exposed the shady finances and spending of leading world politicians, celebrities, and billionaires. While spending money and holding offshore accounts or companies is not illegal, tax dodging costs the Photo by Thomas Charters governments of the world around £300 billion a year.

The way the richest store away their money seems on first to oppose their own sanctions. This glance not too relevant for the rest means longer bureaucratic chains of us. However, if you look at it from with further decentralized approachthe missing tax revenues the trillions es. Additionally, a country that newly of hidden dollars would have made, emerged as a tax-haven in the Panit becomes less a ‘them and us’, but dora Papers is the United States. instead a ‘what about us?’ If ordinary Long-known tax havens like Switcitizens have to deal with rising state zerland or Luxembourg provide good expenditures due to the pandemic conditions for hiding money, without or climate change while their leadasking many questions. These couners avoid mentioning their yachts tries are not on the non-cooperative or money made from dubious deals list. Why? Because economic and during their time in office, what does diplomatic ties between the EU and that say about their legitimacy? For these countries are simply too imthe moment, the Pandora Papers are portant. Luxembourg is even an EU just another financial scandal, but country. Pointing fingers at others is what if it really is the ominous Panalways simpler than at oneself. Espedora’s Box, and we have just opened cially in the fragile state EU relations it? This does not diminish the imare after Brexit, starting a deterioratportance and the incredible work the ing process from within might not be hundreds of journalists have done. a good idea. That does not mean that We need to continue exposing those it would not be justified, only unlikewho conveniently open an offshore ly to happen.

However, company or bank account months the peop l e before criminal activity by their firms p r o f i t ing come to light. We need to continue f r o m demanding answers from these politicians like Bolsonajuro’s economy minister and the president of the Central Bank of risBrazil. Both are named 4 dicin the Pandora Papers, to say that there is 6 a conflict of interest b e -

1 2

tions should not be exempt either.

Tony Blair, the former UK Prime Minister, bought a London property with his wife to be used as an office by buying the offshore company that previously owned it.

This enabled them to avoid paying £312,000 pounds worth of stamp duty. What are the immediate consequences? While new laws working against tax avoidance take a long time to be implemented, there were some speedy responses to the leaking of the reports. The Chilean President, involved in revenues from selling environmentally harmful mining companies, is to be criminally investigated.

The party of the Czech Prime Minister, who bought luxurious villas in France through offshore companies, lost elections earlier this week. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigned after calls from all sides from his government following a corruption probe.

He used public money to pay for the publication of a poll which gave him positive media coverage. While the papers have forced some leaders out of office, it is uncertain if it will have a lasting impact.

Kurz’s replacement Schallenberg follows his predecessor’s rhetoric and Kurz himself remains a powerful figure in Austrian politics– he remains both chairman and leader of his party. However, the Pandora Papers have put a new emphasis on the need for working taxation laws and anti-corruption campaigns. Oligarchs, celebrities, and high-level politicians might think twice in the future, as secret offshore accounts have been rumbled by one of the greatest achievements of modern times: investigative journalism.

Photos courtesy of: 1: Photo by Flickr/Mediabanco Agencia 2: Photo by Flickr/European People's Party 3: Photo by Flickr/World Travel & Tourism Council 4: Photo by Flickr/Marcos Corrêa- PR 5: Photo by Flickr/U.S. 3 Secretary of Defense 6: Photo by Flickr/Ivan Luis- MCTIC

5

3

Photo by Flickr/Lars Steffen

Why was the 2021 German election so different to those in the past?

By Hyunseok Ryu Opinion Writer

G

ermany recently held its 2021 Federal Election in which the long serving Angela Merkel did not stand. For the first time since the 1940s, a three-party coalition will be necessary, in contrast to the normal two-party standard. But what was most unique was just how much it changed in vote distribution. The country’s increasing polarisation had followed the trend of the rest of Europe: resulting in an increasingly fragmented political landscape with huge differences of political opinion. It was even more extraordinary because Germans didn’t necessarily have strong contempt towards Angela Merkel. While she was a disagreeable figure, not everyone was fond of her, but she was still effective in handling crises, and brought victory to her party in four consecutive elections.

And yet, the German people turned their back on the party that controlled government since 2005. The CDU/CSU union (made up of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria) trailed in polls and lost the latest election. Their vote share fell by almost nine percentage points: the worst defeat since the restoration of German democracy.

The centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) that obtained victory as the largest party have a tough road ahead of them, as Germany is more fractured than ever.

Normally, the largest party would obtain more than 30% of the vote and prior to 2002 the largest party typically got more than 40%. However, this trend has now officially ended in 2021 with the SPD claiming victory with 25.7%. This means that the Bundestag is now more fractured than ever as two parties (The Greens and Free Democratic Party) hold the power to decide which of the two main parties will control German politics for the next four years. We have to ask why so much has changed, and analyse what it means for the future of German politics.

The first different factor was how climate was truly on the forefront of the agenda. This can be attributed to the recent European floods where 196 German citizens were killed. It’s one thing to see the impacts of climate change affect foreign nations, but it’s anoth-

er to see it damage your own country.

A majority of Germans feel that climate change is an important issue and a vast majority believe that the government isn’t doing enough. The climate emergency is just as important as Covid, and right now it seems it will be central to future political agendas. This can definitely be seen in the gains made by the Greens and the SPD. The second factor was a growing appetite for change. Germany had 16 years of Merkel, and 12 of those years consisted of a grand coalition between the CDU/ CSU and SPD. Merkel never led with a vision, with her governments focused on handling crises and stable governance.

Because of this, Germany, despite its robust economy, has been waning in many aspects and as The Economist put it, we only need to look at their cars. Germany has lagged in digitisation while its automotive industry struggles to transition to electric, and the transition to green industry hasn’t been noticeable at all.

The third factor is that inequality has finally crept up, particularly for younger people. Like every European country, inequality has become a central issue and it has varied in type for everyone. Whether it’s income, home-ownership, pensions, or the job market, people - especially young people - are experiencing it firsthand. They’ve grown to be in favour of the parties that promise to either reduce and tackle said inequality (like the SPD or Greens), or identify the problems that the economy of Germany has (like the FDP).

The fourth and final factor is how Germans are ready to move on from Merkel.

A lot of news sources have reported on the latest elections and if the interviews of Germans are something to go by, everyone at least acknowledges her skill as Chancellor. However, acknowledgement or respect didn’t translate into electoral success. Enough Germans kept Merkel in power when she was leading due to her credibility and stability, but when she announced she would be stepping aside, the German population felt it was time for a change of government.

Germany has undergone a new and major transformation, and with it an upending of political tradition and expectation.

It shows how entering a new decade of issues, paradigm shifts, and ending eras ushers in the complete transformation of how our nations’ futures will be decided.

The views expressed in each article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of InQuire Media. To publish a response, contact newspaper.opinion@inquiremedia.org

8

Friday 29 October 2021 InQuire

Lifestyle

Open Relationships Are Hard, But They're Worth It Photo by Samanrha Gades/Unsplash

It would take an anthropologist to work out whether the difficulties with open relationships are, therefore, integral to human nature or societally imposed. I’d tend to say the latter. There are, after all, two main difficulties with open relationships. There is the visceral, tedious difficulty of safety – safety for all parties involved – and the more complex, human difficulty: jealousy.

They are worth unpacking separately, as they are different problems with different solutions.

Let’s start with safety. How do you stay safe in an open relationship? How does this question shift and change when you’re a man, and when you’re a woman?

I did not expect to have the kind of emotions I ended up having – jealousy, intrusive thoughts, irritation, and anxiety. The thought of my partner enjoying being with somebody else more than me became an idea I obsessed over, and it took a lot of work to begin thinking in a different way. The biggest problem in hindsight was moving too quickly – we should’ve stopped and taken stock a lot quicker. I realised at some point that these thoughts and anxieties were ghosts of old traumas and being in the open relationship helped me understand that some old wounds hadn’t healed. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just a learning curve.

Why, after all this, do I think open relationships are worthwhile?

They’re a lot of work, but they’re ultimately worth it. They will make your relationship stronger and are the test case for how much you trust each other – love is not static, it’s an evolution. It’s also a partnership. Communication is a muscle which needs to be exercised, and open relationships are the best form of exercise you can get. As well as this, it’s a progressive move, and a shot in the eye for controlling, domineering assertions of monogamy. It’s a reassertion of sexu- By Alex Charilaou al autonomy. Our bodies are our own, Newspaper Editor and we can do what we want with them.

"Historically monogamy has been a tool of enforcement to

exert social control of female

bodies and labour, reinforced through marital institutions"

Photo by Joshua Chun/Unsplash

I

tend to think monogamy is a con. As a feminist, I believe in individual sexual liberation: fundamentally, we are not built to have sex with one person exclusively for the rest of our lives. Historically monogamy has been a tool of enforcement to exert social control of female bodies and labour, reinforced through marital institutions.

I think monogamous relationships absolutely work for a lot of different couples, and I’d never dream of prescribing one size fits all approaches to people’s sex lives - that is, in fact, my primary complaint with monogamy. It is continually labelled as the ‘proper’ way to show love and relationships in the media and other cultural apparatuses without much in the way of deep, considered discussion.

I want to defend the idea of the open relationship as a viable and valid way forward for many couples, queer or otherwise.

I must firstly make clear the terms of my argument: I am not arguing for polyamory. Polyamory is the practise of having multiple romantic relationships at the same time, whereas open relationships are one romantic relationship where both parties have sex with other people as well as each other. I understand again that polyamorous arrangements work for many people, but I am not polyamorous and cannot argue the case for it.

Open relationships are, on paper, pretty easy to wrap one’s head around. You have sex with other people. It is, essentially, that simple.

Straight or queer? The most obvious thing to say i s use protection – this is generally sound advice. The situation is also m u c h improved in the last decade by the increased availability of PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, which much reduces the danger of nasties like HIV. But taking sexual health out of the question, we must talk more deeply about safe sex, and being able to protect yourself and your partner from harm. There is always an element of this when you’re having sex at all.

At least in an open relationship you have someone looking out for you and protecting you. The challenge is working out each other’s boundaries, and how much risk is okay.

It’s no secret that many spaces for gay and bi men are seedy and unsafe: Grindr is kind of disgusting. There are cultures of queer men that are unhealthy and working out how to avoid those cultures for the both of you is imperative. Of course, women are often at greater risk, especially when they are having sex with men. It’s a deeply sad reality, but one that must be considered for straight or straight-presenting couples. The best way to ensure safety is through absolute, unfiltered communication.

And then, there’s jealousy. Jealousy is probably the most difficult thing to overcome in an open relationship, but also one of the most necessary and worthwhile.

When me and my partner started our open relationship,

"I tend to think monogamy is a con.

As a feminist, I believe in

individual sexual liberation;

fundamentally we are not built to have sex with one person

exclusively for the rest of our lives "

9

InQuire Friday 29 October 2021

Lifestyle

Does University Life Meet Your Expectations?

I

think it’s safe to say the last 18 months have not lived up to anyone’s expectations! But despite these different times we’ve been living in, as things slowly return to normal, I thought it would be good to reflect upon the University experiences I have had so far. Being in third year (yikes!) has made me want to make the most of my final year as a student of UKC, which has mainly meant so far that I’m constantly tired! However, student life is back up and running, and it is something we are all grateful for.

Living independently, away from my family, has definitely exceeded expectations! Before starting at University, this concept was one of my biggest fears. How was I going to cope on my own? Well after all the lockdowns, this year I couldn’t wait to be back in my own space, doing what I want, when I want! Of course,

this does leave some people eating a packet of biscuits for dinner as they can either not be bothered or do not know how to cook! However, once you have a few basics under your belt and settle into a routine, this adulting lark isn’t so bad!

The partying side of University has definitely got to be a highlight. Coming

this, it’s okay to leave campus!

If Venue isn’t for you (although Vensday is always good to get involved in once in a while), then head into town for the party that is Chemistry, Cuban or Tokyo Tearooms. Indie Rock night has got to be a personal favourite of mine so far.

Looking to a more serious side of University, the academic commitments of my course have been fairly up and down.

Al-

"Whilst UKC may not have been all that I dreamed of it is what

you make of the opportunity

though the topI cover are of high interest to me, the contact time is quite low, meaning I have a lot more free time than I first anticipated. This is until deadlines loom their head, and then it’s full stress mode for me! Top tip –

ics

get ahead with the reading if you can.

It’ll really take the pressure of for the week running up to deadlines.

In terms of support from my academic school, I must say I was far from impressed last year. Yet now we are back in person and there has been some changes to the staffing in the department I have high hopes for what this year will bring.

Overall, whilst UKC may not have been all that I dreamed of (I still long sometimes for a formal dinner in a gown) it is what you make of the

opportunity that gives you the full student life you’ve been craving! Thanks to the wonderful people I’ve met along the way, the societies I have joined, the fun topics I have studied and all that Canterbury as a city has to offer, I would rate my experience highly!

Whilst some areas may not have lived up to my expecta-

By Elle Summers Website Culture Editor

that gives you the full student life you've been craving" from a hometown with one dreadful club meant the bar was set quite low for a night out in Canterbury! Yet from clubs to pubs to socials, I truly have had a blast. Even so far this year has been an utter joy to get out and meet new people. For the freshers reading

tions, other have exceeded them, making my time here all the more enjoyable.

Photo by Leon Wu/Unsplash

The Couples' Guide to Clubbing T

he prospect of sex in a nightclub is never hard to find; mosh pits of drunk people attempting to use their best pick up lines on whoever

Photo by Jacek Dylag/Unsplash

Photo by Hanny Naibaho/Unsplash

will bite.

Having only ever been to a nightclub once while I was single, I have to say it is pretty effortless to find someone willing. However what happens when you’re in a relationship with someone? How do you separate yourself from this traditional culture and remain faithful to your partner?

First of all; what do you define as loyalty within a relationship? Is flirty dancing with someone in a club cheating? Or are you a complete prude to protect your partner from overthinking? Personally, the thought of sexualised dancing classifies as complete disrespect to me, which is why dodging those people in a club is my utmost priority.

Clubbing Together: This can be a great opportunity to become social as a couple.

If you’re both together it lets others know that neither are interested in anyone else.

This can help solidify your relationship and bring one another closer together with friends too. All too often, relationships can swallow up a persons social life, so by combining this it helps to attain the best of both worlds. Clubbing Separately: In my experience I’ve never

a similar experience - if you choose a group of people more interested in the music and drinks than flirting, then it could prevent a situation from occurring. There is always strength within numbers. Avoiding People: The biggest issue with clubbing whilst being in a relationship is the awkward confrontation between yourself and the horny clubber, often enticing people in for a night of drunken passion until you tell them ‘no’. If you would like to avoid these people then a simple ‘no’ should work wonders; however if they refuse to take that for an answer then crack out your weirdest dance move. They will 100% get the ‘ick’ and move onto their next unsuspecting victim.

If all else fails and you start to feel uncomfortable with any kind of situation, then the bouncers and bar staff are your friends and will immediately offer their assistance. Never be embarrassed to ask, it is literally their job Finally; enjoy the night - once that

"The prospect of sex in a nightclub is never hard to find; with mosh pits of

drunk people attempting to use their best pick up line on whoever will bite" dated anybody who enjoyed the clubbing ‘scene’, so usually it was always me and my friends who ventured out.

If your partner enjoys dancing until the sun comes up to house music then I do have some tips on remaining faithful.

Try and choose a variety of friends who have a similar situation to you, even if they aren’t in a relationship, ‘seeing someone’ exclusively can help create

one person has been avoided just stick with your friends and keep the fishbowls flowing all night. Just remember to keep your wits about you and stay with everyone. Nobody likes a liability who always attempts to run away.

Sexual harassment is a predominant issue for females on a night out and 1 in 5 women aged 16-59 in the UK has experienced some sort of sexual violence (An Overview of Sexual Offending in England and Wales, 2013). Only 19% of women were surprised by this. Kent Union have a zero tolerance policy in regards to these issues, so if you feel uncomfortable with a situation - go to the bar and ask for ‘Angela’. They will immediately know you need assistance getting home and will discretely help you.

For more information on this visit www.met.police.uk/AskForAngela Call 101 for non emergency inquries to report an incident or get help Call 999 if its an emergency or a crime in progress.

By Grace Bishop Lifestyle Editor/Media & Events

10

Friday 29 October 2021 InQuire

Lifestyle

Identifying The Signs Of Abuse Photo by Susan Wilkinson/Unsplash

W

hen the word ‘abuse’ comes to mind there is such a variety of different types it makes it difficult to identify the solution to these issues. One thing to encourage is to remain mindful and respectful of what the victim wants in order to deal with their situation.

In an abusive relationship, the victim rarely has their boundaries respected so it is important to honour their wishes. It is also important to recognise that it is not your responsibility to rescue someone or fix their situation - they have the right to decide if and when they leave and how. The reasons as to why they might stay are often unclear for others and therefore need to be respected. Aside from calling the police there are a range of ways you can help someone; talk to the victim in a safe space and discuss the best support you can offer them, mark the day of abuse occurring as this can act as evidence when approaching law enforcement, help the victim create a safety plan, you can always interrupt the abuse by knocking on the door and asking what’s happening, and post hotlines for abuse around the local area. Calling the police is a great first step but it isn’t always the safest option for the victim. If you’re struggling with how to support someone please visit https://www.thehotline.org/resources/helpers-so-you-want-to-stage-an-intervention/ Physical: Physical abuse is any intentional act of causing injury or trauma to another person or animal by forceful bodily contact.

In most cases, children and women are the victims (this might also include sexual abuse).

Types of Physical Abuse: Assault (hitting/ punching), rough handling, burning, physical punishments, inappropriate restraint, making someone uncomfortable (opening windows/taking blankets), involuntary isolation/ confinement, misuse of medicine, forceful/ withholding of food, restricting movement.

Signs of this: Lack of explanation for injuries, inconsistency of story, bruising/ cuts on someone, frequency, unexplained falls, changed behaviour, signs of malnutrition, failure to seek medical care.

Domestic: Domestic abuse is a pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening and violent behaviour including sexual violence. This can be between a couples relationship or between family members.

Types of Domestic Abuse: Psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional.

Signs of this: Low self esteem, feeling as if the abuse is their own fault, physical evidence of bruising or broken bones etc, verbal abuse or humiliation in front of others, fear of intervention from others, damage to home or property, isolation from loved ones, limited access to money.

Domestic abuse includes any pattern of incidents of controlling or threatening behaviour/ violence between those ages 16 or over. This could be a partner or family member regardless of gender or sexuality. This could also include female genital mutilation or forced marriage.

Controlling behaviour can include assaults, frightening the victim, isolating them from sources of support, exploitation of money resources, preventing escape and regulating everyday behaviour.

Sexual: Sexual abuse is sexual behaviour or a sexual act forced upon a woman, child or man without their consent. This is an act of violence

Theft of money or possessions, fraud/scamming, preventing someone from accessing their money, unauthorised loans, pressure/ duress on someone in connection with loans or inheritance, denying assistance to access benefits, misuse of payments, living rent free without an agreement, false representation (using another persons bank account/ ID), exploitation of assets, misuse of a power of attorney.

Signs of this: Missing personal possessions, lack of money or inability to maintain lifestyle, withdrawal of funds, power of attorney after the person has ceased to have the mental capacity, family showing unusual interest in assets of a person, signs of financial hardship, changes in deeds/titles or property, failure to provide receipts for transactions Neglect: Types of Neglect: Failure to provide or allow access to food, shelter, clothing, heat, personal or medical care, providing care in the way the person dislikes, failure to administer medication as prescribed, refusal of visitors, lack of support for cultural, religious or ethnic needs as well as educational and social needs, ignoring/isolating the individual, unable to make their own decisions, lack of privacy.

Signs of this: dirty/ unhygienic environment, poor physical hygiene, sores/ulcers, malnutrition or weight loss, untreated medical problems, inconsistent contact with medical organisations, not taking medication, failure to engage in social interaction, inadequate clothing.

Discriminatory: Types of Discriminatory Abuse: Unequal treatment based on age, disability, gender, marriage, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation, verbal abuse or derogatory remarks, denying access to communication aids, harassment or deliberate exclusion, denying basic rights to healthcare, education, employment and criminal justice.

Signs of this: The person is withdrawn and isolated, expressions of anger/fear/anxiety.

"When the word 'abuse' comes to mind there is such a variety of different types, it makes it difficult to

identify the solution to these issues"

in which the attacker uses someone who they perceive as weaker than them, it stems from the desire to control and humiliate the victim.

Types of Sexual Abuse: Rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, inappropriate touching, non consensual masturbation/penetration, anything with a lack of consent, inappropriate looking/ teasing or innuendos, sexual photography/pornography, indecent exposure.

Signs of this: Bruising (particularly high to the thighs), torn/stained/bloody under- By Grace Bishop wear, bleeding or pain to genital area, diffi- Lifestyle Editor/Media culty walking or sitting, infections/ STD’s/ unexplained genital discharge, pregnancy, change in attitude to sexual behaviour, self harming, poor concentration, sleep disturbance, fear of relationships, fear of getting help, reluctance of being alone Emotional; Types of Emotional Abuse: Enforced social isolation, removing communication aids when they need assistance, preventing someone from meeting their religious/cultural needs, preventing expression of choice and opinion, failure to respect privacy, preventing stimulation or meaningful activities, intimidation, coercion, harassment, threats, humiliation, bullying, verbal abuse, patronising and cyber bullying.

Signs of this: Air of silence when a particular person is present, withdrawal in psychological state, insomnia, low self esteem, uncooperative/aggressive behaviour, change in appetite/weight loss or gain, signs of distress (tears or anger), false claims to attract attention Photo by Mika Baumeister/Unsplash Financial; Types of Financial Abuse:

& Events

Top Spooky Events Happening This Halloween

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s October is now well under way, it is not surprising that many of the student population’s minds have turned to Halloween! With social secs of societies trying to come up with some original themes to help them host a party this year, or just groups of friends trying to toss up between the biggest party in town to attend it can all seem overwhelming. So, here is a variety of events happening both on campus and around town to help you make up your mind!

Staying on campus: If you prefer to party where you know, then UKC is hosting many events that may be of interest to you and your friends! On Saturday 30, Woodys is hosting a Halloween House Party. With no entry fee, the bar is advertising the night with the tag line ‘Roll Up. Roll Up. The circus is coming!’ Fancy dress is encouraged, and with SU drink prices, who can say no?

Of course, Venue is getting in on the action with a Vensday Halloween special on Wednesday 27 October! Ticket prices are £6 before 11pm. It is safe to say, this will be the biggest party on campus this month.

In Town: Alternatively, you could head out into town to see what the clubs there are hosting. With a few to choose from, here are some of the bigger events happening...Chemistry is pulling out all the stops this Halloween, hosting Halloween themed events on the 26, 27 and 31 October! From Chainsaw Massacre to The Big Freshers Halloween Nightmare, these tickets are selling out fast, so make sure to get yours soon if you want to get involved.

On the 30 October, Tokyo Tearooms is opening its doors to The Purge. With a promised evening of surprises, this usually sell out event is the place to be! And remember to listen out for the purge siren, for a selection of drinks will be dropping in price to a mere £1.50 for 10 minutes only!

Other: If none of these options seem to tickle you fancy, then no fear! For there are plenty of other Halloween themed activities.

Why not sign onto the ghost tour around town, with all the best spooky stories about the historic city, it’ll be sure to add an element of fear to a crisp October evening.

If a tour isn’t quite satisfying the need to be scared this Halloween, why not join a Ghost hunt? Running on Sunday 31 October until 11pm, you can learn about the dark secrets of St Augustine's in Westgate.

By Elle Summers Culture Website Editor

Photos by Nicolas Picard/Neonbrand/Unsplash

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Friday 29 October 2021 InQuire

Feature

The Abuse of homeless people i

Our local affairs correspondent Amber Lennox speaks to Mic

Photo by Jon Tyson/ Unsplash

By Amber Lennox Writer ichael Cordes is studying to become a hairdresser; he’s finished his barbering course and starts his hairdressing course later this month at Canterbury College.

Prior to this he was a gas engineer for 20 years, however, due to a car accident in 2019 he can no longer perform the job. He believes in standing up for what’s right, tries to be there for his friends as often as he can, and, like many of us, has multiple alarms on his phone that won’t shut off. Michael is also homeless.

At the end of May, Michael broke up with his partner; due to the involvement of stepchildren, he described it as a “toxic situation” saying that he “had to go”. With no family to fall back on and still retraining from being a gas engineer, Michael found himself on the streets overnight.

Although the sight of the homeless is not an uncommon one in Canterbury, Michael is bringing to light something that is perhaps not so commonly understood. The homeless, now more than ever, are victims of abuse which most are turning a blind eye to.

The first thing Michael wanted to emphasise when I spoke to him was that this abuse is not just here, and it’s not just him.

The abuse started “from day one” and it occurs every single day wherever he goes.

The main demographic, Michael immediately pointed to when asked who would do such things, were students. Not school students. University students. This is University of Kent students, Christ Church students; this is us.

It’s not always students, many other different people are also perpetrating the abuse against Michael and those in his position. However, whether it’s one person or one million people the result is the same, says Michael: they should all know better.

Michael does highlight that a lot of abuse can come from individuals who “beg for a profession.”

He explains that they’re not homeless but can be very territorial of what they see as their ‘patch’.

What’s more is, the last thing Michael wants to be seen as, is someone who begs, mentioning that this tarnishing can sometimes aggravate people who are looking for a fight.

The abuse itself is wide ranging and shocking in its severity. Michael has a sign outside his tent documenting some of his experiences, however, the roughly A3 sized piece of damp cardboard,

M

cannot possibly capture the atrocities Michael has been victim to. Whilst talking with him, I noticed scabbing over Michael’s nose and forehead; these injuries were sustained in self-defence when Michael had been backed into a corner and was being threatened to be cut up in his sleep.

“I’m not a violent person, but I was backed into a corner, if I can walk away, I will walk away” Michael said, but sometimes it’s not so simple.

Michael says that he thinks carefully about where he stays, saying that despite all of the abuse on the streets, it’s far safer to stay in town than out of it.

“Things can escalate very quickly if you’re in the middle of nowhere and they’ve only got to follow you back.” Michael explains why living in a field can be more dangerous, “You’re isolated, there’s no one to hear you scream, nothing”.

"Walk a day in our shoes; most of you wouldn't survive an hour" Whilst Michael remains in town, there are others who have ignored his warnings and he reports that they’ve ended up getting beaten up really badly, with no help to be had.

Sat with Michael whilst we were talking was another man sleeping rough, Steve White, whose story is no less difficult than Michael’s.

Steve has been homeless, on an off, since he was 12 years old. He is now 37. He has suffered untold counts of loss and grief from the death of his parents to years of sexual abuse. Steve now struggles with severe alcoholism as a result. “I need to drink.” Steve explains, “I drink to forget.”

Whilst he acknowledged that it was in no way an excuse, Steve says that this vicious circle he is now trapped in has led him to committing various crimes including shoplifting and fighting, which has resulted in him spending a number of occasions in prison.

However, when I asked Steve if he would ever feel incentivized to use support such as rehab or therapy if they were readily available to him his answer was no: “it wouldn’t work, I’m too far gone. I’ve had stuff in my life that’s happened to me… it would keep coming back to me.” He added that after any given session he’d just be left on the streets at night “thinking, thinking, thinking – all the memories coming back – thinking, thinking, thinking.”

Steve’s voice cracked as he admitted that he feels like he’s not from here, “all these people, I can’t relate to anyone. I just don’t feel like I belong anywhere.” There is a distinct lack of faith in humanity, and a cynicism that these people have evidently had to adopt in order to survive, which now means many of them cannot see a way out, nor do they hold any hope in others helping them.

Steve’s story means that he’s often had dealings with the police, however, he says that due to his crimes, it’s as though he’s been deemed to have “picked his side”.

That is, that if you’ve acted outside the law, you can’t then go to the law for help, because the police see it as hypocritical; whilst it was acknowledged that no-one would ever admit this, this is the effect felt by those who are homeless.

But Steve said that a lot of people who are homeless won’t go to the police anyway due to a stigma that signifies them as being a grass which, ultimately, makes life even worse for them.”

Michael added an even more damning view to the matter explaining that whilst the police patrolling the street don’t discriminate against the homeless,

the force’s superiors tend to overlook them when it

Photo by Amber Lennox comes to prioritising resources.

On one occasion, Michael was beaten horrifically, and it took 6 hours for the police to respond; Michael compared this to a situation when a man who was homeless “kicked off” in McDonalds, and the police arrived within 10 minutes.

So, with an apparent complete lack of support from the police, and many turning a blind eye, Ste-

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InQuire Friday 29 October 2021

Feature

in Canterbury goes unnoticed

chael Cordes about his experiences on the streets of Canterbury.

Photo by Brandi Alexandra/ Unsplash

ve explains that he’s been set on fire, urinated on, dragged down the street in his sleeping bag, and

Photo by Amber Lennox beaten to within an inch of his life. But Steve and Michael count themselves lucky; when sleeping rough in Brighton, Steve witnessed people beaten to death on the streets on multiple occasions.

Steve’s heartbroken response to any responses of shock was simply, “it’s a part of life though, isn’t it?”

Despite the fact that these people are living only

streets away, they clearly exist in an entirely other world.

Despite Steve’s evident opposition to therapy, I asked Michael if there was any support of any kind available, his swift and damning response: “absolutely none.” With a low voice, almost to himself, Michael admits: “there’s things happened to me in my sleep that are never ever going to leave me.”

If the homeless do get support, Michael’s certainly not expecting to find it from the council.

Previous to his current dwelling, Michael was based in the shelter of Pound World, with permission from the manager in charge of letting the building.

Michael was able to stay there sheltering inside the abandoned doors.

However, Michael says that there was an uncanny correlation between him speaking up about the treatment of the homeless in Canterbury and Pound World suddenly being boarded up, preventing him from remaining there, and the factor Michael points to is that Pound World is directly opposite Tourist Information.

Michael also explains that, albeit unofficially, a conversation took place where he was offered a flat with three months rent if he stopped speaking out about the abuse. When asked why he wouldn’t take up such an offer, he said his integrity’s worth far more.

Neither Michael nor Steve appear to expect to find any help with any charities either. “It never makes its way down to here,” Michael said matter-of-fact-

ly. In fact, both go as far as to caution against giving money to homeless charities because, at least in their experience, the homeless rarely feel the effects. Michael is currently partaking in a report with the charity ‘Pathway’, a homeless healthcare charity, which is presently looking into where the money is apparently going if, as Michael and Steve assert, it’s not making its way to the people who need it.

Of course, there are good people out there. A man who goes by Scott stopped by towards the end of my time with Michael and Steve with an offer for dinner.

He too had stories to tell, admitting that he’d seen Michael attacked only recently and, echoing Michael and Steve’s concerns about university students, acknowledged that the abuse seemed to

"This is University of Kent students, Christchurch students; this is us." have worsened in the last few weeks since the beginning of term.

Michael is one of the more fortunate ones he says, with a course and a plan to get himself off of the streets, along with offers of help due to his time in the press, Michael says that although he will have to sleep rough for a few more months he will eventually save up his money together and he seems certain that he will get himself off the streets.

However, Michael wants people to know that he’s not ‘bucking the trend’, but rather he says that he’s a “fair representation of any of the guys” on the streets. He points to the fact that many of the homeless, also suffering unimaginable abuse, are ex-service personnel who have served the country, “where’s their help?” Michael asks.

Michael says that all he wants is for everyone out on the streets to be safe; “I want to know that when I leave here that I’ve done something, because that

these things aren’t just happening to me, it’s everyone out here. I just stood up and said it.”

Moving forward, Michael’s hoping to change people’s perceptions of what it means if someone’s homeless. He cautions that no one plans to end up on the streets and that anyone could find themselves there, claiming that 90% of the population are likely only one pay-day away from finding themselves without shelter.

He urges people to talk to people who are homeless. Although he admits that around 50% of people who are homeless don’t want help anymore, he says that this is because they’ve been on the streets for so long that they’re now trapped in a vicious cycle, which doesn’t allow them to look beyond the next three minutes.

Yet Michael insists that this is just more reason to try to engage with them; “talk to them, ask them what they want,” he explains that no one ever asks what they want, and that this simple act could make such a difference.

Beyond just changing peoples’ views, Michael wants to see targeting the homeless to become a hate crime. Setting people on fire, beating them to within an inch of their life, and countless other senseless acts, is something that people are currently going more or less unpunished for, as Michael and Steve are evidence of.

“As far as human rights are concerned, we haven’t got them, this is 21st Century Britain,” Michael proclaimed somewhat incredulously. Steve interjected, confidently stating that a “a dog’s got more human rights” than people who are homeless, to which Michael agreed, saying that a dog will at least be given safe shelter and be treated.

This comment was sparked when I noted, given the sometimes-severe injuries they can sustain, what medical help is available to the people forced to live on the streets. Whilst it had been established that unfortunately help for mental health is scarce, the hope would be that at least people’s physical health is better looked after. However, nothing is so simple, Michael explained that without a permanent address, proof of identity, or a council tax bill, many people on the streets are abandoned to suffering if anything ever goes wrong for them, be that falling ill, or being attacked.

Steve’s parting words beseeched people to not tar everyone with the same brush; “we’ve had lives, I’d love someone to come live mine.”

Michael, similarly, said with certainty: “before you judge, walk a day in our shoes; most of you wouldn’t survive an hour.”

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Science and Technology

Friday 29 October 2021 InQuire

COP26: what we need to get out of the world’s biggest climate conference

By Alex Charilaou, Newspaper Editor

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etween 1 and 12 November, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place at the SEC Centre in Glasgow, as the UK becomes host for the first time since the conferences began in 1995. Many see COP26 as the most important COP since 2015, the year the Paris Agreement was ratified. This is partly because COP26 is the first COP to happen after 2020 (due to the delay of COP26 because of Covid-19) – the Paris Agreement laid out multiple stipulations due to be implemented by 2020.

Many signatories are, it appears, unlikely to have met these stipulations.

The Paris Accords were the most ambitious international climate treaties ever signed, and almost all countries in the UN were signatories. When Donald Photos from Unsplash, design by Johnathan Guy T r u m p pulled the United States out of the agreement in 2020, there was an international incident – newly-elected Joe Biden recommitted the United States to the Paris Agreement just months later.

The Paris Agreement committed signatories to a number of climate ameliorations between 2015 and 2050. The most significant of these was to affirm the goal of limiting global temperature increase to below 2 degrees Celsius – the amount needed to prevent climate breakdown on a scale which would cause mass extinctions and displacements.

To achieve this, the Paris Agreement compels UN countries to reach carbon net-neutrality by 2050.

There are several elements of the Accords which are due to have b e e n completed by signatories in time for the first COP after 2020. Every country is supposed to present a net-zero development strategy, as well as determining their net-zero contribution vis-à-vis the other parties at COP. Arguably the biggest embarrassment at COP26 will be for developed countries – defined by the UN as the EU, US, UK and other Global North countries – who were strongly urged by the Paris Agreement:

“Wind, solar and hydro-electric power sources could be mass produced by countries like Brazil and Indonesia”

‘to scale up their level of financial support to the Global South, with a concrete road map to achieve the goal of jointly providing USD 100

billion annually by 2020 for mitigation and adaptation while signifand of this just a fraction was to China. A substantial amount of Chiicantly increasing adaptation finance from current levels and to furna’s fossil fuel use is, therefore, a direct result of the mass-production ther provide appropriate technology and capacity-building support’ of commodities for American markets. The Global North produces In 2019, the last year there is data for, the EU (then including the over 30% of carbon emissions, despite only having 15% of the world’s UK) provided just $27bn in climate aid. Currently, the Biden admintotal population. COP26 must focus above all else on degrowth in istration has pledged $11bn by 2024 – four years too late. This means the Global North, and working out how European, North American, that the developed world has failed to meet even half of its climate and Australasian countries can reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. aid commitment by the 2020 deadline. This will likely be a source of This needn’t be at the expense of infrastructure: as Spanish ecological contention during the talks, and part of the reason countries like Chieconomist Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos has argued in her analysis of na are not Global South degrowth movements, reducing GDP engaging a n d preventing wasteful overprowith the duction does not have US and to lead to a decline in EU’s acculiving standards. Insations of stead, degrowth net-zero ensures producunsetion capacity is riousfocussed on the ness. necessities of Furlife, and less theron profitable more, but ultimately green valueless comtechmodities. n o l Some of the o g i e s best technologies must be at that can be givthe heart en, at low-cost, to of asset Global South countries shifts beare arguably energy sources. tween the Wind, solar and hydroelectric power Global sources could be mass produced by the large proNorth and duction capacities many countries like Indonesia and Brazil already Global have, and the clean energy produced can be kept by the countries South as they’re produced by. This would be simple for the United States and part of any Europe to agree to at COP26. Consumers in the Global North and C O P 2 6 South could also push for small fixes like electric cars and phasing out settlehigh-emission vehicles like SUVs and yachts. m e n t .

It would not be correct to think the problem is only the Global T y p e s North’s, however. As COP26 begins, a number of Global South adof green ministrations with abysmal climate records – India, Brazil and Indotechnologies that would be useful to Global South countries include nesia as well as China – need to understand that their development agricultural techniques and products which emphasise sustainability must not come at the expense of a barren Earth. As we go into COP26, – this can include Global North patented innovations in fertilisers, our goal must be to ensure not just the survival, but the continued pesticides and livestock maintenance. These can, however, negatively habitability and sustainability of the planet, and this cannot be done affect crop yield – a balance has to be had between demands of people through burning fossil fuels. How can and should modern demands be and of climate. It might also include technologies which enable more synthesized with this goal? This is, arguably, the main challenge that efficacious plastic and metal recycling such as PureCycle, a new techmust be faced by world leaders at COP26. In the opinion of this writer, nology which more cleanly recycles polymers, and laser object deteca Global Green New Deal – mass state-investment by every country tion for differentiating magnetic and non-magnetic metals. This is in in the world on green industry, coupled with degrowth in the Global addition to less ubiquitous technologies, such as those that enable North – is the carbon capture. Carbon capture is, however, in its infancy: the largonly way est carbon capture facility can absorb 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide forward. per year, a miniscule amount compared to annual emissions, which some estimates put at 50 billion tonnes a year.

Given a great deal of the 2020 commitments have not been met it’s more crucial than ever that, as Greta Thunberg has said, COP26 ‘leads to big changes’. Although US Climate Envoy John Kerry has urged China to cut down on its emissions (over 10GT of carbon emissions a year), per capita (or per person) the United States is the third biggest polluter in the world, just behind Saudi Arabia and Australia. With a population less than a quarter the size of China’s, the United States gave off almost 6GT emissions in 2018, (which is the last year that there is recorded data for). These figures are made more stark by the fact that almost 25% of Chinese domestic production capacity between 2010 and 2019 was on exports, primarily to the United States. McKinsey figures show that in the 2000s, that figure was as high as 40%. In comparison, since 2000, an average of just 10% of US producPhoto of the Scottish Event Campus, Glasgow, by Fredrika Carlsson tion capacity has been on exports,

“The Global North produces over 30% of carbon emissions, despite only having 15% of the world’s total population.”

InQuire Friday 29 October 2021

15

Science and Technology

Just plastic bricks? LEGO’s plans to build a sustainable future using materials science!

By Holly McPhillips, Science Correspondent

plastic – a plastic polymer material that becomes molten and pliable when heated and hardened on cooling – that is strong and durable hat do the Star Wars Millennium Falcon, Elsa’s magical ice with a glossy finish. For fast brick production, ABS was the materipalace from Frozen and a 1960s Ford Mustang have in comal of choice because its high heat deflection temperature means that mon? They can be built from LEGO. The brightly coloured moulding the plastic into shape takes an incredibly short time of less interlocking plastic bricks unleash a fierce imagination, making it althan ten seconds, and when the plastic is removed from its mould, it most impossible to not be lost in a world of your own. As of today, undergoes very little deformation. It is this combination of 60 years the world-famous Danish toy production company has of research and development into creating the perfect developed a plethora of sets, covering a wide chemical components, coupled with an optimised range of themes, from architecture to film to production line which creates the 37,000 education. This innovation has kept the bricks per year that makes finding a susattention of consumers over the past tainable, oil-free alternative so difficult 60+ years, with the LEGO group reto find. porting a 21% growth in consumer In order to tackle this challenge, sales in 2020 compared to 2019. the Sustainable Materials CenIn fact, the novelty played tre at LEGO headquarters was a part in my recent purchase commissioned. After explorof the Flower Bouquet, part ing some possibilities, the of LEGO’s Botanical Colone that gained the most lection, which was released attention was polyethylene, this summer. It does not PE. Typically used in plastic only look stunning, but it bag and bottle production, also includes components a bio-based version can be made from plant-based made, fulfilling LEGO’s goal plastic using sustainable of sustainable production. materials. This is part of PE can be made from petroLEGO’s sustainability stratechemical sources but also via gies, which also include - but dehydration of ethanol, which are not limited to - phasing out is a product of the fermentation single-use plastic bags from sets, of glucose sugar from corn starch operating as carbon neutral and or sugarcane, hence ‘bio-‘. Dehyengaging with communities to recydration of ethanol is then achieved cle their preloved bricks – by 2030. using catalysts like activated clay or The right material to fulfil the persulfuric acid, which yields ethene. This fect “click and stick” mechanism of these Photos by Xavi Cabrera & product is then polymerised, creating long renowned plastic bricks has had its fair share NASA chains of ethene units, to give PE. of research and development. Since the 1960s, LEGO However, this bio-based plastic is not yet suited for bricks have been made from a petroleum-based substance, acrylonimaking harder, stronger and more ‘traditional’ bricks. Instead, pieces trile-butadiene-styrene, ABS. All three components of ABS are desuch as trees, branches and leaves are made from this material, which rived from crude oil refinement and steam cracking. It is a thermois in keeping with an environment awareness theme. In addition to

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bio-PE not invading LEGO sets entirely, sugarcane-based PE fulfils only part of the definition of a sustainable material on LEGO’s website. That is, the ethanol is a renewable source, but the fermentation processes yield a lot of waste, and the bricks are not recyclable.

However, this may change soon as in the summer of this year, researchers reported on the early stages of developing strong, durable bricks from recycled plastic bottles – thus fulfilling LEGO’s sustainability criteria of using a recycled material in manufacturing. Further development and testing are currently underway to increase the durability of this recycled plastic to make it strong enough to be bricks, which will hopefully make it into sets in a few years.

Though the group has the highly ambitious goal to make all products from sustainable m a terials by 2030, t h i s progressive attitude gives us hope that large c o m panies a n d organisations are becoming aware of how they can improve their impact on the environment.

Thanks to LEGO’s sustainability efforts, we hope that as we build a world in bricks, we can also build a Photo by BrickFinder.net greener future.

Hydrogren fuel cells: the future of fuel and transportation?

By Johnathan Guy, Science and Technology Editor

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Los Angeles based start-up company, Universal Hydrogen, intends to start testing a retrofitted hydrogen fuel cell powered 40-seat jet next year after raising $62m in funding during a new round of investment. The announcement comes in the run-up to COP26, one of the world’s largest climate-related events where governments come together to discuss methods of tackling the climate crisis. One such method that is being raised at COP26 is hydrogen power, a currently quite expensive and arguably inefficient means of using hydrogen gas, either naturally occurring or extracted, Photo by Darren Halstead in order to power various machines (including cars). As we know, since the birth of the modern petroleum industry, most of society has used refined hydrocarbons to power everything from lamps, to automobiles, trains and planes. But as we are all too aware in the modern age, both the extraction processes

Background photo by Possessed Photography used to obtain the oil that these hydrocarbons make up as well as the by-products they produce when used (especially if that use relates to combustion engines) are damaging the planet: our home. In the early 1970s, (more than 70 years since a Swedish scientist, Svante Arrhenius, first theorised that carbon dioxide emissions would cause the Earth to warm faster than it otherwise would), the general public gradually became more aware of the ‘greenhouse effect’ being caused by gases in the atmosphere, and slowly more concerned. The chorus of consensus which the scientists were singing became ever louder, until today, where (in the UK at least), a third of the country consider the climate to be the most important issue facing us (above crime, tax, pensions, and even education). This has led to, over the last thirty or so years, massive improvements in green technologies, ranging from new methods of generating electricity to new modes of transportation. Electric car usage, for example, has risen 600% in the last 5 years alone, with many major car manufacturers racing to switch to it. However, humming along in the background,

far more unnoticed by the general public (and many governments, it would seem), has been hydrogen power. Proponents of this technology argue that hydrogen power has all the benefits of things like lithium-ion batteries, with far fewer drawbacks. For one, hydrogen fuel cells’ supply chain and production relies on far smaller amounts of rare earth minerals like lithium than batteries, meaning less extraction is necessary, resulting in less damage to the planet (and communities) – though storage remains a key issue.

Also, the only direct by-product of hydrogen fuels cells (aside from electricity and heat), is water. It does, though, have big drawbacks.

Currently, the most common way of creating the purified hydrogen necessary to make it useful in fuel cells is via a thermal process conducted using natural gas. Alternatively, it can be produced by electrolysis, which as the name suggests, itself requires electricity. There are some ‘greener’ alternatives to producing it, such as via microbial biomass conversion, which uses bacteria to break down wastewater into usable gases, or solar-driven processes, some of which use specialized semiconductors to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen.

These processes grow ever more numerous and gradually more efficient.

What, then, is the future for hydrogen fuel cells? In a previous issue, it was noted that many technologies are not, at least in themselves, a solution to the crisis we face. Many are, at best, a sticking plaster.

Hydrogen fuel cells are arguably a standout technology in this field because although their production is currently costly and (in many cases) uses fossil fuels, if the extraction processes can be made more efficient, and less damaging, they might have all the trappings of a climatologically revolutionary technology.

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Friday 29 October 2021 InQuire

Culture

Pumpkin Spiced Culture

By Alice Lyskawa, Writer

W

Photo from Marilee and the Sea on Unsplash

hen we think about Halloween, we usually think of childhood memories. Yet, have you ever really taken the time to think more about what Halloween is about? Do you know anything about what Hallow-

e e n looks like in other countries?

Would you be able to guess what it really is like outside of your country? I went out to find the answers for you.

As a French student in the UK, I am very fortunate to be surrounded by many international students. I interviewed some of them to gain more insight into Halloween, something that proved to be not as basic as it seemed.

I first talked to Valentine, a French student who lived in India as a teenager. I asked her what Halloween in her school was like. As a former pupil in an American school, she remembers Halloween

as one of the biggest events in the school year. According to her, the American community held Halloween close to their heart. The school organized parties and events, both during classes and outside of them. Her school organized a special dinner for the occasion, buildings were covered with Halloween decorations… In this American environment, there was no way that someone could be unaware of the upcoming event. As she said, "everything in October was about Halloween". Her French perspective in looking into this American tradition is interesting, and she described the overall organization as a bit « extra », even if it is something that would appear normal to an American.

To compare traditions, I asked a friend from Germany what Halloween was like for her. In her country, there is barely any events related to Halloween, and it is more of an elementary school event. The influence of Halloween seems to barely exist in Germany’s culture, especially compared to American culture. This shows that the American culture seems to have a limited influence over foreign schools.

It is even more interesting to take a look into what happens within families and in the streets, outside of school. Annie, an English student whose childhood was split between France and the UK, describes many differences between the two cultures. When she was little, she used to go trick-or-treating in her British village.

Over there, children were following a traced path. Even though she and her best friend were little, they were allowed to run anywhere, as everyone was aware of the Halloween night. Adults would plan for it and would always have sweets to offer.

She was quite disappointed when celebrating Halloween in France: she remembers some adults who did not even know how trick-or-treating worked, as « No one knew the rules ». She evokes the memory of the overlooking of Halloween traditions, and especially the welcoming signs outside of houses. In England, there would be signs on houses indicating to children whether they could come in to collect sweets. This was not the case in France.

In Germany, trick-or-treating exists, and it is quite what you would expect: little kids go around dressed up as monsters.

In Portugal, trick-or-treating happens too. Catarina, a Portuguese PhD student, told me what kids do where she lived: she remembers that kids would go into the streets, looking for sweets and muffins, wearing specific clothes too. She even recalled a major part of the Halloween tradition, laughing while she told me about it: the toilet paper trick.

At the same time, our German friend said that such tricks would never happen in Germany. Seeing cultural differences is quite funny, and what is even more interesting is analyzing a foreign culture influence over each country.

Even though Halloween finds its roots in Celtics culture, it became the worldwide famous commercial holiday we know today mostly thanks to America. The American soft power is the direct cause of the increment of Halloween’s celebrations in European countries through the last few years.

In Portugal, Catarina noticed that Halloween has only become a famous holiday in the last few years.

When I asked a Russian friend about Halloween, she confirmed the theory: not even Russia is immune to America’s influence. Yet, today, the Halloween celebrations in Russia are largely the result of a European influence. From what we discussed, we supposed that Europe had been influenced by the United States, and so Europe became, in a way, a new ambassador for Halloween, influencing Russia.

Those discussions between international students do not prove anything, but this tendency was quite interesting to underline.

The theory is refutable, though. For instance, my German friend recalls that she felt like the number of Halloween celebrations decreased where she lived, near Frankfurt. This teaches us that those individual perspectives cannot represent a global situation. However, culture is about individuals and feelings, which is why comparisons are to be kept in mind.

Therefore, I began to think that Halloween really depends on each country’s culture.

Valentine, with her experiences in France, India and an American school, stated something similar. Indian and French cultures are not that much into Halloween, especially compared to Americans. Annie, who is British, stated that it is a key moment in the year for her, and maybe even her favourite holiday.

She especially likes trick-or-treating, as it allows her to meet people she would have never

met otherwise.

When asked why she thought the British loved Halloween so much, she said, "They clearly are influenced by Americans, who are extra about everything, and especially Halloween".

Digging into this European and Franco-British perspective, I also asked her what, for her, would the main difference between the British and the French when it comes to Halloween celebrations be. For her, trick-or-treating is a testimony to how differently the presence of Halloween was rooted in each countries culture. In England, people welcome children knocking on their doors during Halloween. In France, people rarely appreciate unknown kids coming to their house.

This difference goes further. In France, people were not that fond of Halloween celebrations, but they grew on them and their culture. Annie celebrated alternatively the holiday in France and in England, and she clearly noticed the increment of Halloween celebrations in France every time she came back. For her, the Anglo-Saxon culture is consistently influencing Europe. Her testimony recalls the Americanisation tendency we touched on earlier, the sort of insidious soft power hidden in trickor-treating.

Valentine remembered vividly how in her American school in India, Americans always found a way to preserve their culture, despite being abroad.

Halloween, nowadays, remains a mostly American party, one that managed to expand through its expatriates and in English speaking countries. Even though it is evolving, the holiday still has a hard time blending completely into European cultures.

And you, to what extent would you say that Halloween is part of your country’s culture?

Photo from thespruce.com

Vienna signs up for OnlyFans

F

Photo from khm.at

By Juliette Moisan, Newspaper Culture Editor

or a while now, and even more so with Covid and social restrictions, museums and cultural institutions have turned to social media to promote exhibitions, artworks and events. Recently, the Vienna Tourist Board, that spearheads the different Viennese museums, opened a new online account. After Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, the latest addition to their online fleet is… OnlyFans.

The Board's turn to this platform comes after a number of their ads were cancelled and their online posts were forcibly taken down. In 2019, a post featuring a painting by Peter P. Rubens was taken down

by Instagram, who argued that the depiction of nudity, even done in a creative spirit, was against the application's community standards. The Albertina Museum, in Vienna, saw its TikTok account blocked after posting photographs taken by Nobuyoshi Araki, on which female breasts were shown, despite being artfully obscured. Overall, most platforms currently possess community guidelines prohibiting depictions of nudity, especially of female nudity.

Female breasts and nipples have been consistently

censored and policed by Instagram, while the algorithms tend to let pictures of male nipples roam free.

While paintings and sculptures have been relatively safe from censorship up until now, changes in algorithms mean that they are now censored almost automatically, and the accounts posting them suspended without warning.

Currently, the only worldwide platform that doesn't regulate nude content is OnlyFans. The subscription-based social media allows users to sell and purchase original content, usually explicit.

Therefore, the museums of Vienna have turned to this platform to share content that was deemed too suggestive for other applications. Works by Egon Schiele and Amedeo Modigliani, notably, but by many other artists, will be posted on the platform.

A spokesperson for the Vienna Tourist Board, Helena Hartlauer, explained their approach, after it was heavily teased online: “Of course, you can work without that, but these artworks are crucial and important to Vienna". The city has a very rich history in being forward-thinking, and it is a place where artistic innovation has been brewing up for

decades. "When you think of the self-portrait by Schiele from 1910, it’s one of the most iconic artworks" from the city. Of course, there are more important fights than this one, by Helena Hartlauer's own admission: the Viennese museums could have chosen to use other contents to promote. However, these artworks were pivotal at their time, and their importance shouldn't be forgotten just to appease online algorithms far away from artistic considerations. It wouldn't be the right way to remember the memory of artists who thought against artistic norms and for their freedom of expression. A hundred years after the famous words epitomising this idea ("to every age its art; to art its freedom") were pronounced, it is urgent to allow the diffusion of art everywhere, without borders. As Helena Hartlauer said, not being able to use artworks as "a communications tool" is "unfair and frustrating. That’s why we thought [of OnlyFans]: finally, a way to show these things.”

The first subscribers to the "OnlyFans Vienna 18+" will also receive Vienna City Cards, or admission tickets to see some of the more contentious artworks in person.

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Culture

in conversation with george fay

kent uni stories

By Elle Summers, Website Culture Editor

E

ach of us have our own stories at UKC as we embark on our university journey, but do you ever stop to think about how these memories may unfortunately fade into a blur of just our overall experience? Well, George Fay, a third-year Law student, has made sure the stories of his time at UKC are kept timeless through the medium of podcast.

Kent Uni Stories is a podcast hosted and created

by George, talking to other students about their time at Kent and tackling topics from women’s safety to mental health. George has taken on these topics and explores them in an informal setting, creating podcasts that UKC students can access, relate to and learn from. InQuire had the pleasure of speaking with George about his work with his podcast, giving us a greater insight into his inspiration, behind the scenes and his plans for the podcast in the future.

Whilst talking with George, he expressed how important it was for him that this podcast acts as “a record of my Uni experience”, holding his memories from university forever. George best described Kent Uni Stories as a ‘time capsule’. The interviews he conducts will forever keep conversations with his friends alive, and in years to come, they can look back and see what was important to them now, what their worries were and exactly where they were in

their lives.

I asked George about the mental health series his podcast covers. He gave a greater insight by explaining that, “because of lockdown, I wanted to talk about the importance of maintaining mental health and talking about how people are… It is very handy as my mum’s a therapist, so I invited her on and we had a chat about good mental wellbeing techniques.”

When asked to explain this further, George told me about how he and his mum “covered techniques in grounding yourself if you’re feeling anxious, or good well-being moves to make, such as getting outside if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, talking to people, the stigma of men’s mental health, and some issues that people have talking to their parents.” Even though we have basically returned to normal life, the conversations started by George in lockdown are still crucial today. They highlight the need to check in on your friends, as they may be struggling behind closed doors. Some people may feel they can’t talk to their parents about their own mental health, as they know their parents are already struggling with their own. Yet, for George’s mum, “it might actually bring you closer together as you have a shared experience that you’re able to openly discuss with each other… You’re both together in this situation.” This really interested me, as I had never considered it this way myself, and so this episode of George’s podcast opened my eyes to a different perspective, highlighting the importance of these types of conversations.

George gave me an insight behind the scenes of Kent Uni Stories. He “initially started a podcast with my friend Liam before in summer of 202 to try and test the waters… And then I took the equipment from that to Uni and started Kent Uni Stories.

Basically, it’s a laptop with an extension lead plugged into it and two USB microphones, and then I’ve got some mixing software which inputs all the audio information… I get feedback through my headphones of what we sound like, and then I click record.” For George, “the podcast format is good be-

By Juliette Moisan, Newspaper Culture Editor

O

n Sunday 17, InQuire got to attend the inaugural performance of Carmen: Her Life and Loves, as part of the Canterbury Festival (16-30 October). Carmen is one of the most famous and loved operas. The story focuses on the life of the eponymous character, Carmen, a beautiful Gypsy girl. The story is driven by love, lust, and jealousy, and the songs, especially the habanera Carmen sings to warn of the dangers of love, mark a staple of the genre.

The Kent Chamber Opera's version of Carmen, which sets the scene almost a century later than the orig-

- George Fay (@kentunistories)

cause it just feels like you’re having a natural conversation… but then it’s there forever.”

Talking about his guests on his podcast, George explained that ‘so far, I’ve spoken to my mates from Uni and my mum, mostly because they all feel comfortable talking to me, and when they feel comfortable, they’re a lot better at long-form conversations.” But he expressed a wish to push his interviews, further stating, “I want to get the lecturers' perspective, to hear Kent Uni Stories from the other side of the story.” This would be an interesting next step for Kent Uni Stories, as it could offer the flip side of the coin regarding the experiences people have at university. We can sometimes get so caught up in our student community that we don’t take the time to realise how important lecturers are in shaping our university experience, and so to bring this idea to the forefront would be highly interesting.

One of the podcasts I was most interested in was his episode on women’s safety. In this one, his friend Hope and him have an open and honest conversation about how Hope herself has at times felt unsafe, and the measures she had to put in place to keep herself out of danger. To me, it was very important that George had chosen to use his platform to discuss this issue, and that he was open to learn while live recording. George told me, “I learnt that there was a lot that I wasn’t aware of. There has never been a time that I’ve walked home and been worried. I’d never really given it that much thought.”

George explained that “It’s not in my nature to ever want to make someone feel uncomfortable, so knowing that girls do in those situations was pretty heart-breaking to hear.” The conversation George chose to have with Hope was definitely a “necessary conversation to have” and it is nice to see a university-oriented platform concerned with bringing awareness to some of the issues that women face on a daily basis.

podcast to the forefront, and help span a greater audience, especially for the episodes in which George chooses to focus on key issues, such as women’s safety and mental health. George told me “I have considered [working with KU]. I’m stuck between making sure I make the content I want to make. If I decide I’m going to do it, I will, because it’s mine.

Whereas if I’m working with another organisation, I’m worried they would try and overhaul my side of stuff and dictate what I have to do, which isn’t why I set up my podcast in the first place. That’s not saying I’d rule it out, if KU approached me” to cover problems they may face “as I have the perfect platform for this, so I’d be open to it, but I think the last thing I want is for my own creation to be taken away from me.”

Looking to the future, George concluded “I have not decided what to do with the podcast once I’ve graduated, I may want to pass it on to someone who is still at Uni and keep it going, let them pick up the legacy. I just need to find the right person who is willing to do it.”

Kent Uni Stories podcast can be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Described in three words

by George himself as ‘fun, informative and honest’, I would recommend you check it out!

George can also be found on Instagram (@kentunionstories) where he advertises his upcoming episodes, but he also explained how ‘word of mouth' is quite a big way of being advertised.

‘Why don’t we just teach the men not to do that.’

Regarding George’s plans for his podcast, we spoke about the potential for a collaboration with Kent Union to bring his

Review: Carmen, Her Life and Loves

Photo from kentchamberopera.co.uk

‘A lot of the time people talk, but don’t really listen.’

inal, is a stark success. Everyone in the cast delivers a perfect performance, and their interpretation feels genuine. Special mention to Indyana Schneider who interprets Carmen brilliantly and who never fails to convince, both as a seductress and as a criminal. Lawrence Thackeray (Don José) and Nick Dwyer (Escamillo) also deliver convincing performances as Carmen's lovers. The tango dancers, who don't appear in the original story, offer breathtaking choreographies, making their dancing seem almost simple, and efficiently reminding us that the scene is set in the city of Sevilla, in Spain. Finally, the Chamber Opera, made up of eight instruments, sets the pace of the play with strength and nuance, and the musicians' intensity gives the impression of a much larger opera.

The production is also brilliantly realised, as the simplicity of the decor offsets the onstage outpouring of passions, reflected by the use of different coloured spotlights.

The only problem was the volume at the beginning, with Don José's voice drowned out by the orchestra but, as soon as they found their pace, the whole ensemble was in perfect synchronicity.

This production of Carmen will tour in Kent for a few select dates, so I highly encourage you to catch one if you can!

Photos from George Fay

Book Pick Photo from Colleen Hoover on Twitter

Headphone graphic from planete-stickers.com

InQuire Friday 29 October 2021

Verity

I

By Ainy Shiyam Head of Photography & Design

f there’s one word to describe this book it would be – terrifying. The book follows Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling author, who, to get out of debt, is offered a deal to continue writing the bestselling series started by Verity Crawford. Verity couldn’t finish it herself due to her injuries from an accident. Lowen heads to Vermont on the invitation of Jeremy Crawford, Verity’s husband, and she begins her journey into the famous author’s mind. While digging through Verity’s notes, she comes across a manuscript which appears to be Verity’s autobiography. Lowen gets caught up in Verity’s story, weaving together a villainous narration of her life events. It makes Lowen question the truth amd entangle herself in a web of obsession, lies and death. Colleen’s works are usually contemporary romance (such as It Ends with Us, Confess and Ugly Love), and this book is completely different from her normal style of writing. It kept me up at night and, to this day, I’m in a complete mindfuck at the ending!

Photo from Ainy Shiyam

18

Friday 29 October 2021 InQuire

Entertainment

Censor: British Cinema's History of Horror Censorship

By Ed Streatfield, Newspaper Entertainment Editor

P

rano Bailey-Bond’s directorial art. Contextually, Britain had the strictdebut Censor is a tantalising new est censorship of any western European British psychological horror perination regarding cinema. After the reod film. The film stars Niamh Algar as lease of home video, a loophole allowed Enid, an authoritarian reticent censor any film to be published without cerduring the 1980s ‘video nasties’ moral tification for VHS release, as the BBFC panic. She vehemently believes that if only gave certification for cinemas. Mary society was ridden of any ‘morally corWhitehouse, the conservative figurerupting’ influences found in media, Brithead pushed for gory horror films to be ain would transform into a cinematic banned to prevent societal degradation, dream of blissful violence free fantasy. and copycat killers. Seventy-two films However, as she encounters a film which were then compiled in a list which contriggers childhood trauma of losing her travened the Obscene Publication Act sister, she’s unyieldingly convinced the 1959; the ‘video nasties’ list. Ironically, director is her captor. Therefore, the film this list was regarded as the tablets of revolves around dualistic metaphor of Moses by horror fanatics. Containing media censorship for the self-censorship a mixture of subversive classics and from traumatic experiences. Shot with nauseatingly salacious films includ35mm film, Super8 and VHS, the cineing The Evil Dead, Posmatography replicates the luminous session, Cannibal but muffled hues found within Holocaust, I Spit cassettes, especially from the on Your Grave psychedelic Giallo technicoland The Drillour terrors of the time. Mirer Killer. The roring Cronenberg’s VideoBritish press drome, Bailey-Bond raises consequentialcontinually pertinent quesly waged a war tions in the mass media on all fronts age of the psychological as the Daieffects of being exposed to ly Express synthetic violence, published a the overreach notoriousof governly misment conleading trol and censorImages courtesy of ship o

f

Silver Salt Films, BFI, Film4

front page: ‘Four Children in Ten Watch Video Nasties: six year olds hooked on violence, sex and horror films’. Of course, this study was conducted involving children who after saying they had watched these films, couldn’t state the plot, as they were timelessly lying about seeing these films for the prestige of their playground peers.

The Video Records Act of 1984 then gave total overwhelming control to the censors of the BBFC, with no guidelines, to ban or cut to shreds any film they deem necessary, which was only revoked in 1999 after drafting guidelines drawn by the public.

The film acutely reflects the authoritarian veneer of Thatcher’s Britain as Enid ignores the merciless quelling of the 1985 miners’ strike on her radio, as state

ordained real violence is legitimised but macabre fantasy is a luciferian root of suffering. Although Bailey-Bond demonstrates impressively mature direction for her debut with a compelling plot, at times the film confirms conservative biases unintentional to the message of the film.

Although from Enid’s fanatical confirmation bias home video stores become as dank and dreary as Dracula’s dining room, this doesn’t prevent Michael Smiley’s character, a leery sexist horror studio producer from being objectively so. Although this may be Bailey-Bond’s unquestionably justified depiction of horror’s history of misogyny, all of the proponents of horror within the film are unmistakably dubious, even outside of Enid’s perspective. Nevertheless, this film positively

confirms the future of horror is female

Image courtesy of The Daily Express with Rose Glass (Saint Maud), Julia Ducournau (Raw) and Jennifer Kent (The Babadook); closing the eyelids of the male gaze monopoly.

The climax of the film results in brutal blood curdling violence which raises the question of whether horror consumption influenced these actions, which aren’t subtle and ambiguous, but frustratingly misleading. However, despite this the film still provides finetuned performances, direction bursting with potential and another exciting voice within the canon of Britain’s new wave of horror directors.

7/10 Censor is Available on Curzon Home Video, Amazon Prime and Apple TV

Jodorowsky's Dune: The Greatest Sci Fi Never Made

By Harry Brown, Entertainment Writer

I

n 1984 fans of Frank Herbert’s Scifi Novel Dune were excited to finally see a live action adaptation of the acclaimed work. However, many would leave the cinema after watching David Lynch’s adaptation feeling disappointed.

The film was a commercial and critical failure with Critic Roger Ebert at the time calling the film ‘a real mess, an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion into the murkier realms of one of the most confusing screenplays of all time’. Yet one cinemagoer was excited to see the mess of the film and that was Avant-Garde filmmaker, Alejandro Jodorowsky (The Holy Mountain).

Jodorowsky had been in development hell with his vision of Dune just under a decade earlier, and disappointed that he had never been able to complete it.

He had big plans (the film was to be ten hours long) although early screenplays reached 14 hours. The cast would include his 12-yearold son as the lead, painter Salvador Image courtsey of Dali, diMUBIress rector and

actor Orson Welles and Rolling Stones’ front man Mick Jagger. At one point in development the music was to be done by prog rock band, Pink Floyd. Commissioned to draw up the story boards and concept art of the growing script was Jean Giraud, H.R. Giger, and Chris Foss.

They had to try and bring the director’s

line as concept art and storyboards were all completed before the finance had dried up. This was due to the sheer ambition of the project. The film had a $9.2 million budget, 2 million of which had been used before filming even began.

Dali, who dreamed of being Hollywood’s highest paid actor, wanted to be paid

he knew of how talented a director Lynch was so he would obviously succeed. He was dragged to a Paris screening of the film by his sons and gradually became happier and happier when watching the film as he realised how awful the film was, whilst other fans were becoming more disappointed. Jodorowsky’s Dune

Images courtesy of Sony Picture Classics

Photo by Columbia Records ideas to life which according Jodorowsky himself included ‘whore-ships driven by the semen of our passionate ejaculations’.

He also veered from Dune’s original ending by wanting the young protagonist Peter to turn into a sentient planet and travel around the universe. The grand ideas of Jodorowsky can still be seen on-

$100,000 per hour for his scenes. The point of most contention between Jodorowsky and producer, Jean-Paul Gibbon, however, was the run time, which was much more than the 2 hours wanted by the producers. When hearing that David Lynch would adapt Dune, a project he had worked so hard on, he was in pain as

would not leave an empty mark on scifi filmmaking as many who had worked on his pre-production team would go on to be a part of the filmmaking team for Alien, bringing with them the ideas conjured up for Dune. The extensive script, storyboards and concept art were sent to many studios and would end up influ-

encing many sci-fi films to come like Star Wars, Terminator, and the Fifth Element. Hope- fully Dune fans can be excited in a different way to how Jodorowsky was when Denis Villeneuve’s interpretation releases on 26th October.

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InQuire Friday 29 October 2021

Entertainment

Squid Game: Breaking Bones, Hearts and Records

By Conor Spencer, Entertainment Writer

O

ctober 12th saw a landmark moment in the history of digital media as Hwang Donghyuk’s Squid Game hit 111 million views in its first month on Netflix, smashing the previous record set by period drama Bridgerton less than a year ago.

Though the show’s viewing figures speak for themselves, Squid Game has also earned itself widespread critical acclaim from numerous major outlets, with Vulture praising the show as “a hugely addictive dystopian drama,” whilst the BFI commended the series’ ability to stir “horror, science fiction and social commentary into only the latest manifestation of pop culture’s favourite way of critiquing the dogeat-dog world of late capitalism.”

Less than a month into the show’s release, Hwang has already been

confronted about the possibility of a second season, yet it feels that the world is yet to truly digest the first nine episodes that are in easy reach for millions.

In what was initially visualised as a

"...fans do not need to open their web browser to understand the show’s deeper symbolism but instead, open their curtains and visualise the rat race, the sacrifices needed for success and the piggybank of materialism that shadows our every decision." limited series, Squid Game follows the journey of 456 seemingly debt-riddled contestants in pursuit of a 46 billion won prize, equivalent to 38 million dollars. What separates the play-

ers from boundless riches is a series of simple minigames which appear innocuous at first before the price of failure becomes apparent. Though hundreds play the game, the show fixates on a small cohort of the contestants whose real-world struggles appear in greater clarity as the series progresses, as does their ultimate fate in the face of the games.

The brilliance of Squid Game is its ability to leave an indelible mark on your memory and cerebration. Visuals such as stairways that look like M.C. Esher prints on psychedelics or oversized children’s playground apparatus stained with blood are not forgotten easily. The show is weighted perfectly so that your emotional connections with contestants reach their peak only in the show’s most sinister moments. Whilst the overall narrative and conclusion of the series may feel predictable early on, Hwang Dong-hyuk instils a great selection of subplots, character arcs and cruel developments to ensure that viewers are compelled to hit ‘next episode’ every time. However, when the river of Hwang’s revelations runs dry, fans do not need to open their web browser to understand the show’s deeper symbolism but instead, open their curtains and visualise the rat race, the sacrifices needed for success and the piggybank of materialism that shadows our every decision.

Wherever you turn today, Squid Game references are lurking. It might be through conversations at work, or it may be through videos on social media where the show is combined with our favourite pop culture figures such as Spongebob Squarepants or even Adele.

Households are only a few button clicks away from being able to engage with

Images courtesy of Netflix

this smash hit, but they are also only a few meters away from being outside their front door and engaging with the world which Squid Game is symbolic of because in a capitalist society, we are all part of the 456.

Squid Game is Available on Netflix

Blue Banisters: Lana Del Rey at her most pared-back

By Alex Charilaou, Newspaper Editor

L

cise. The world of 2020 was not a world Lana Del Rey was ready to emerge into.

On Blue Banisters, Lana recognises she must.

It is not her best album – Norman Fucking Rockwell! was one of the finest extended plays of the 21st century so far – but it is her most raw and intense work to date. Blue Banisters is very clearly a work in progress: much of the album is taken up with Lana trying new things, some of which do not land. Nevertheless, she must only be commended for (on album number eight no less) branching out into new territory.

It cannot be avoided that this is a particularly

ana Del Rey’s eighth studio album – and second this year after March’s Chemtrails Over the Country Club – is something of a unique entry for the singer-songwriter.

One thing Lana Del Rey is often unable to stomach is reality. Every one of her albums has had some kind of unifying theme or idea, most of them temporally located somewhere in the 20th century. On 2015’s Honeymoon, LDR is situated as a baroque, melancholic avenger – a 1920s New Woman intent on breaking hearts and getting high on the beach. 2017’s Lust for Life imagines Lana as a sixties new-age Woodstocker, folksily grooving and groupie-ing, while 2019’s Norman Fucking Rockwell! transformed her into a crooning, psychpop tour guide, projecting a beautiful homage to 70s California.

Blue Banisters is the first of LDR’s albums to deal contemplatively with the present moment – the first to properly engage with reality. On Chemtrails, Lana took refuge in a faux WASPy reflection of the 50s, going out of her way in interviews and comments to clarify this was an evasive exerImage courtesy of Lana Del Rey

frontloaded album. The first half of the album is undeniably the highlight.

It’s a shame – rather than a slow burn, it sizzles up in half an hour then peters out. The whole album is still good (she couldn’t make bad music if she tried), and songs like ‘Wildflower Wildfire’ and ‘Sweet Carolina’ are commendably sweet and melodious. ‘Dealer’ and ‘Nectar of the Gods’ are low points on the album: boring and repetitive call-backs to weaker

works like Ultraviolence. If I were rating this album in two sections, the first eight songs would be an 8/10, and the final seven songs would be a 5/10.

Those first eight songs are some of the biggest highlights of LDR’s career. ‘Text Book’ is a casual, fiery transmission from Lana, who takes little time to situate us: ‘There we were, screaming Black Lives Matter, in the crowd by the Old Man River’.

The eponymous second track on the album is slower and more sensual, trading in Lana’s usual fare of violent men and daddy issues for a narrative much more focussed on the power of sisterhood and female companionship. It’s gorgeous, and once again gives Lana’s characters space to respond to the ‘Santa Clarita fires’ and evoke the kind of camaraderie they have thus far lacked.

This gives way to the third – and best – track on Blue Banisters. ‘Arcadia’ is a beautiful, bejewelled love letter to LA, and the fullest statement of intent Lana has ever written, fusing past and present, love and estrangement: ‘America, I need a miracle’. Following a strange, hypnotic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly interlude, ‘Black Bathing Suit’ opens with

‘Grenadine, quarantine, I like you a lot/ It’s LA, ‘Hey’ on Zoom, Target parking lot’. The closest in style to Norman Fucking Rockwell!, it is firmly situated in 2021 – smooth piano gives way to cluttered, rapturous Fiona Apple-style cacophony in some of the experimental music Lana has ever tried. The sixth song, ‘If You Lie Down with Me’, is Sign of the Times meets Tennessee Williams with a contorno-dose of Fitzgeraldian decadence for good measure. It juggles a lot of elements, but each of them completely sings. The seventh and eighth songs – ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Violets for Roses’ – are less punchy, but glide by gracefully, aided by a solid score and luscious, evocative lyrics. None of these songs would be as stand-out as they are without Lana’s vocal delivery, which is unfailingly consistent.

Blue Banisters is, by dint of being by Lana Del Rey, one of the best albums of 2021. How it fits into her journey as an artist is fascinating. It isn’t as polished as some of her previous works, but they display real growth and maturity as an artist. Gone is the Republican housewife, in comes the engaged, down-toearth chronicler of 21st century America, whose every breath is laced with honey.

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Friday 29 October 2021 InQuire

Entertainment

Chibnall's era: the case for & against Jake Yates-Hart, Website Editor Okay, straight off the bat, I’ll say that the Chris Chibnall era isn’t the best. Yet I feel like I’m parodying that Britney Spears fan video, as I scream into the void, ‘Leave Chibnall alone!’ With so little word count, here’s my hot take: There’s a lot to like about Chibnall’s Doctor Who! Visually, this is the best the show has ever been. Each scene looks polished, with gorgeous lighting and colouring used throughout both series. The establishing shots of new locales are framed in such a way that it allows the audience to completely immerse themselves in these alien worlds. I also appreciate Chibnall’s decision to be more inclusive, hiring a diverse cast and crew that helped create fresh, new stories that I felt I hadn’t seen before in the show. This is more so in terms of series 11, which excelled specifically with episodes set in the past. It’s in these stories, that this era of Who really shines.

The Doctor has always been the antithesis to injustice throughout the universe, and so taking the character back to key moments in history, now as a woman with a much more diverse band of companions, has allowed for greater commentary on a variety of social issues that still plague the present day. Rosa, perhaps the best episode of the Chibnall era, delivered a powerful message about how one courageous act has had an impact that will last forever. It’s the bravest the show has been for a while, ensuring that the true hero of the story is a real-life person, Rosa Parks. The episode is gut-punching, educational, and above all, empowering.

Graham and Ryan’s arc is another highlight.

Their relationship, and how it evolves over time, is really intriguing. The series starts out with Graham trying to get Ryan to accept him as his step-grandfather. When they have a shared loss, their different methods

Rory Bathgate, Senior Designer of grieving pushes them further apart. It takes a whole whirlwind of adventures with The Doctor for Ryan to make peace with his abandonment issues (each of his parental figures have left one way or another) and finally accept Graham as his only family. Series 12 sees the duo have a lot more fun together, and Bradley Walsh and Tosin Cole have clearly gelled more into their roles. The writing and performances help deliver a touching full circle moment between the two after they finally say their goodbyes to The Doctor.

And perhaps my hottest take? I don’t mind that The Doctor is revealed to be the Timeless Child. The twist itself fits with the Time Lords’ elitist nature and adds to their very long list of atrocities.

The Timeless Children does further complicate The Doctor’s mysterious origins beyond an alien vagabond, but it doesn’t make her ‘The Chosen One’. This was not something that was ‘prophesied’, it was childhood memories that were manipulated, and further complicates The Doctor’s relationship to the only real home she’s ever known. It further reinforces a regular motif on the show: ‘Time can be rewritten’. That idea recurs throughout the show to great effect since its return in 2005. It offers a new world of possibilities, and Chibnall’s decision to have the Doctor actually be from another universe, only reinforces this.

Alex Charilaou, Newspaper Editor When I think of the Chibnall era, I think of decay. I think of paint drying on a wall and nails on a chalkboard. I think of the dialectic between boring and offensive, which Chibnall has finally synthesised. A bland monochromia descends whenever I watch or think of the current show.

The damage he has done to Doctor Who would be impressive if it weren’t so sad. So bad is Chibnall’s vandalism that the BBC was forced to hire a significantly more expensive and in-demand Russell T Davies to helm the show after what must be called, charitably, its rocky period.

It really is upsetting to see a show I love so much in such a sorry state. Nevertheless, I will begin my dissection of Series 11 and 12 with the elements I’ve been less critical of, and we’ll work our way up.

Firstly, I’ve appreciated – for the most part – Chibnall’s commitment to diversity on and off screen. Davies and Moffat left a low bar to exceed on this front: a person of colour had never written for Doctor Who before, and there’d never been more than two episodes in a series written by women. Chibnall holds a number of records on this front. Under his tenure, we’ve seen the first and second female Doctors, first Doctor of colour, first Master of colour, first writer of colour, first Black director and first composer of colour. Series 12 had the highest number of women writers in the series’ history.

Secondly, the show has never looked prettier. The cinematography and direction – for the most part – have been the highlight, reliably delivering where other parts of the production have fallen way off the mark.

Finally, there have been a handful of genu-

inely engaging stories (none of them written

by Chibnall).

It Takes You Away is a frosty, compelling mind-bender, while The Haunting of Images by BBC & Gage Skidmore Villa (Chris Chibnall) Diodati was a fun, scary romp.

Everything by Vinay Patel is gold dust.

This cannot make up for the sum total, however.

The Chibnall era is, unfortunately, profligate with shortcomings. Dialogue is bland and robotic.

Characterisation is slapdash and workmanlike.

Plots are at best contrived, at worst fanwank of the highest order – Time Lord Cybermen?

Timeless Child? Introducing one of the coolest plot twists ever in the Ruth Doctor, then swiftly disregarding it? Worse than careless.

Poor Jodie Whittaker, as well as the rest of the cast, have tried to make do with what little they’ve been given; thus far, with limited success.

Why, ultimately, does it matter that Doctor Who has gone bad? It’s just a sci-fi show, they’re ten a penny, especially with the deluge of Disney+ and HBO copy-and-pastes. Watch something else.

It’s deeper than that though. Doctor Who is more than a cheap British sci-fi show. It’s ingrained in the hearts and minds of millions of people, young and old, around the world. For better or worse, it still affects these people in profoundly big ways. Doctor Who needs a soul, and for the past few years it hasn’t had one.

Let’s get this out of the way right from the start: Doctor Who is not dead. Far from it. Like its titular time traveler, this is a show with more than a few regenerative tricks up its sleeve, and any culture-savvy contemporary showrunner can put it back on track.

Perhaps the greatest asset of Doctor Who is the fact that as a TV offering it’s not strictly science-fiction. There is no doubt that the classic scifi trappings are there, and writers such as Steven Moffat have used the core element of time travel to wonderful effect. But what Russell T Davies so correctly identified as the throughline for the modern incarnation of the show, and made its core aspect from the first minute of the 2005 revival, is its enthralling, transformative dramatic value.

This having been said, the great sin of the Chris Chibnall era has not been the sullying of the show’s reputation, though it has undoubtedly lost cultural currency amongst the public, but simply the waste of four years. Think of all that has happened since 2018, and how Doctor Who — a show that has always reacted to the times — could have reacted in turn. With such limitless potential for setting, subject matter and timeframe, and with the most diverse cast and writing team in Doctor Who history, there was a huge potential to make nuanced social and political commentary with a national audience.

Chibn a l l h a d an established portfolio as

a drama writer in the form of Broadchurch, and many fans assumed his hiring represented a commitment by the BBC to run Doctor Who as a hard-hitting drama first and foremost.

Chibnall, in contrast, appears to be of the opinion that the show should be a source of escapism from everyday life. This has not always been a bad thing, such as during the 2020 lockdown when he realised the positive impact Doctor Who could have and enlisted writers such as Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat to write new, free to read short stories, and hurriedly arranged for Jodie Whittaker to record some hopeful words from the 13th Doctor. The largely episodic nature of Series 11 and the announcement that it would focus on all new enemies with a higher production budget likewise implied a focus on exciting adventure stories, rather than the involved story arcs of previous seasons. But it quickly became clear that Chibnall’s era would try to fulfil both its social and escapist roles simultaneously, and fail at both in the process. 13 and her companions exist in a world of social unrest, moral ambiguity and exploitative evil — that is to say, our world — but mostly meander through episodes with such lack of agency as to make viewing physically painful. The 13th Doctor herself is presented as unquestionably good, her character traits a beige median of all the Doctors that came before her. Yaz, a woman of colour and female police officer, is largely written like any other companion, asking ‘audience insert’ questions, but is robbed of the agency and perspective that her character should offer.

The fresh opportunity of this era has been squandered, the very best episodes of this era proving middling by the standards of any other. What really hurts isn’t what has been committed to screen, but what might have been in its place. For Chibnall, it’s the end: “but the moment has been prepared for.”

Tahmid Morshed, Website Satire Editor Chris Chibnall is an interesting fellow. Even though he’s best known as the creator of Broadchurch, Chibnall has been in and out of the Whoniverse since the 2005 revival. From writing episodes on Doctor Who and Torchwood to finally running the show himself, his career has not been one without contention.

Some have accused him of altering Doctor Who in a non-favourable way, while others say he was the shot in the arm that the show needed. With controversial storylines to accusations of poor writing, many things have been critically panned.

But is it all true?

Objectively, Chibnall’s arrival has coincided with a noticeable drop in ratings, but one can say that this has been the case since the second half of Steven Moffat’s reign. However, do ratings really matter for a jewel in the BBC’s arsenal?

Maybe people don’t watch TV anymore, maybe viewing habits have changed. Doctor Who is still very popular with many people around the world.

Nevertheless, some fans think that a ratings drop is equivalent to a bad show run by a bad showrunner.

On the more subjective side, Chibnall has undertaken some of the most debatable decisions in recent Doctor Who history. Canonical changes to the Doctor’s origins have drawn ire from a fair amount of the Who fandom. Fans have felt that giving more of an origin story than 'mysterious person who ran away’ has taken away from the experience. But is this really a surprising change?

The Morbius Doctors existed back in the 1970s so this seems like something that Chibnall has built

on, albeit in a more haphazard way than most other showrunners.

Accusations of poor writing have been levelled at Doctor Who recently. While the show is known for its campiness and silly family friendly atmosphere, Chibnall’s iteration seems confused on this. Some episodes seem to be taking the classic ‘Doctor Who is educational’ route while others aim to be a family friendly thriller in 50 minutes. Nonetheless, it’s all very hit or miss. From parodying James Bond to mocking contemporary issues, this era has become increasingly heavy handed. While no one can really claim that Russell T Davies or any showrunner was wholly subtle, Chibnall seems to drop messages on the viewers’ heads using an anvil, to the chagrin of some. Finally, accusations have been levelled at the classic Who style three companions. Ryan and Yaz are polemical to fans but Graham seems to be universally loved. Is the problem the quantity of companions, or is it something else?

Overall, Doctor Who has had its issues but it will survive. Its popularity and charm world-wide is endearing. Many a family have sat down in the evening to watch it and many will continue to do so. The beauty of a show that is as fluid as this means that a new showrunner can always build on or move on.

Maybe that’s what will happen when Davies takes over again. Or perhaps he’ll regenerate the series into something contemporary, just like he did in 2005. Only time will tell.

InQuire Friday 29 October 2021

21

Satire

Gulbenkian

Friday 29 October 2021 InQuire

Photos by The Gulbenkian

Funny Rabbit Comedy Club: Elf Lyons and Matt Green R

emember, remember the 5th of November! This Bonfire Night we are setting off chuckles, giggles and laughter will be exploding in our theatre with headliner Elf Lyons & Matt Green at Gulbenkian Arts Centre’s Funny Rabbit Comedy Club – radical and exciting, but also warm and snuggly as a bunny rabbit on Fri 5th November.

Elf Lyons is an award-winning comedian, theatre maker, comedy writer and voice artist. She is also a secondary school Drama Teacher.

Because you can never be too busy and Elf loves being heckled by both teenagers and Stag-dos from Hull. Elf has been nominated for Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality, Fringe World Perth's Best Comedy Show and in 2018 Elf won Pick of the Fringe at the Adelaide Fringe, Australia.

Matt Green is "Really funny" The Scotsman. An accomplished actor, writer and comedy performer, Matt is a regular on the stand up

circuit, he has performed at clubs, corporate gigs and theatres including The Comedy Store, The Glee Club and The Stand, and across the UK and beyond since 2003. He is also a highly experienced compère and resident MC for The 99 Club in London.

Matt’s recent television credits include Cinderella: After Ever After (Sky One), In the Long Run (Sky One) and Cuckoo (BBC Three), along with Cradle to Grave (BBC 2), Doctors (BBC 1) and the final series of Fresh Meat (Channel 4).

Tickets for the event are £7 (Concessions available). Age guidance/certificate: 16+. For tickets and more information please visit www.thegulbenkian.co.uk.

Festive Film season at the gulbenkian arts centre

C

elebrate the most wonderful time of the year with us at Gulbenkian! With an abundant selection box of treats lined-up, be swept away by well-known classics as well as festive family favourites.

Schedule: The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG) Fri 3 Dec, 7:00pm. Tickets: £6-£8.95 The Polar Express (U) Sat 4 Dec, 11:00am. Tickets: £3.50£4.50

Delightful and darkly comic, ghoulish holiday musical The Nightmare Before Christmas kicks off our Christmas season on Friday 3rd December & full of Yuletide cheer, who can resist Santa’s biggest helper in our screening of Elf on Tuesday 7th December.

Rediscover the childlike wonder of the season with Christmas family favourites including Aardman Animations’ Arthur Christmas on Saturday 18th December, the joyous and anarchic take on the icon Charles Dickens’ tale The Muppet Christmas Carol on Sunday 18th December, and The Polar Express stops by our screen on Saturday 4th December. Cheer on pint-sized hero, Kevin as he runs rings around

Home Alone (PG) Sun 5 Dec, 3:00pm. Tickets: £3.50-£4.50 Elf (PG) Tue 7 Dec,7:00pm. Tickets: £6-8.95 ROH: The Nutcracker (Live) Thu 9 Dec, 7:15pm.

Tickets: £14-£16

two would-be burglars in this Christmas caper full of pranks and booby-traps galore in Home Alone on Sunday 5th December. Let yourself go once again with Disney’s Frozen Sing-Along which skates onto our screen on Sunday 12th December.

Come and escape the cold in our cinema and be wrapped up in the world of old Hollywood as we celebrate with a 75th anniversary screening of evergreen classic It’s a Wonderful Life on Sunday 12th December.

Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without the inspiring and opulent Royal Opera House’s The Nutcracker. Experience one of the m o s t enduring and enchanting versions of the age old tale The Nutcracker. Follow a young girl’s journey as an enchanted present leads her on a wonderful Christmas adventure in this beautiful classical ballet, danced to Tchaikovsky’s magnificent score. It will be screened live at Gulbenkian on Thursday 9th December and recorded live on Sunday 12th December.

For more information and tickets please visit www.thegulbenkian.co.uk or call 01227 769075.

ROH: The Nutcracker (recorded) Sun 12 Dec, 2:00pm. Tickets: £14-£16 Frozen Sing-Along (PG) Sun 12 Dec, 10:30am. £3.50-£4.50 It’s A Wonderful Life (U) Sun 12 Dec, 6:00pm.

Tickets: £6-£8.95 Arthur Christmas (U) Sat 18 Dec, 11:00am. The Muppet Christmas Carol (U) Sat 18 Dec, 3:00pm. Tickets: £3.50-£4.50

INQUIRE MEETS COMMUNITY STARS OF SUPPLIANT WOMEN

T

o celebrate Suppliant Women coming to the Gulbenkian in November, InQuire spoke to members of the production’s local community chorus to find out more about their experience.

The Suppliant Women is part of a series of three productions that will take place at the Gulbenkian. It is one of the oldest surviving Greek plays, written by Aeschylus around 500BC. The story involves fifty women leaving everything behind to board a boat in north Africa and flee across the Mediterranean. Escaping forced marriage, they hope for protection and seek asylum in Greece. At the production’s heart is a powerful chorus of young women drawn from Kent, arguing for their lives, speaking to us with startling contemporary resonance. An extraordinary theatrical event, full of music and movement, The Suppliant Women is part play, part ritual, part theatrical archaeology. It offers an electric connection to the deepest and most mysterious ideas of humanity – who are we, where do we belong and, if it all goes wrong, who will take us in?

InQuire spoke to Rhona, Bryony, Johanna and Loïs – members of the young women’s chorus – about their experiences coming from the local community into a professional, high-buzz production.

‘What’s really exciting about the play,’ Rhona told us, ‘is the emphasis on these modern themes: things like democracy, refugees, these big ideas. And the focus on women is so contemporary-feeling and refreshing’. Rhona was excited

about the rigour of the production: ‘there are 15 of us in the women’s chorus, and it’s an amazing opportunity to work with professionals to make something that’s slick and high-quality.’ When we asked what the draw was for Kent students to come and watch Suppliant Women,

Rhona discussed how though the play may seem old and alien, it has a lot of current vitality: ‘it touches on things like consent, belonging and social integration – really dynamic and impactful themes.’

Johanna and Loïs agreed that while the process has been rigorous, it has also been exciting: ‘it has taught us a lot of things, a whole professional world of working on a project’. Despite the professionalism of the crew, both chorus members were impressed by the patience shown by them to the amateur community singers.

Bryony is not a student – she is one of several young women who are from the broader Kent community. She is excited about being to experiment with classics and musicals, her two biggest interests: ‘it’s really nice to be able to work with the composer of Suppliant Women, who is with us in Canterbury for rehearsals. It’s a very rhythmic, flowy score. Really lovely.’ When InQuire Asked Bryony about the contemporary resonances of Suppliant Women, Bryony revealed that the play contains one of the first written references to democracy ever found in a fiction text: ‘it’s incredibly current’.

The Suppliant Women is on every day at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre between November 11th and 14th. Full ticket price is £15 – there is a substantial discount for student and Gulbenkian members.

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InQuire Friday 29 October 2021

Satire

This month's inquire Horoscope Aries - March 21st - April 19th

Virgo - Aug. 23rd - Sept. 22nd

Life may beat you down. But you’d be lucky for it to grant you death, you dog.

You have been struck by love this month. By everyone around you. There is too much love. Flee.

Pisces - February 19th - March 20th Today you may have come down from your recent high with a brutal thud. Your dealer must be selling you some stepped on product. Try Jimbo on Spring Lane.

Taurus - April 20th - May 20th

Leo - July 23rd - August 22nd

Animals may take a particular affection to you this month. But god knows that I don’t.

Your schedule may look busy this month, but it’s important that you dedicate time to things that matter to you: 3 hours per week of handjob practice.

Aquarius - January 20th - February 18th If you're feeling restless today, don't fight it. Use your energy to do something physical. Murder a prostitute and blame a trucker.

Gemini - May 21st - June 20th

Libra - Sept. 23rd - Oct. 22nd

Ask yourself, why have you allowed yourself to go down this path? Where are you heading on this journey? Use Google Maps or you will fail your Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.

It's fine to fantasize about all the choices out there, but don't commit to anything today.

Your imagination and spirit are a bit too high to settle on anything in particular.

Just enjoy all the choices for now. But don’t tell your girlfriend we told you that.

Cancer - June 21st - July 22nd

Sagittarius - Nov. 22nd - Dec. 21st Are frustrations running high? Are the people around you unbearably annoying?

Here’s some good news for you. You’re pissing them off just as much.

It’s time to get rid of the negative energy.

Clean your home, be rid of the washing in the sink. Be rid of the clothes in the washer.

Be rid of the corpse under the floorboards.

You can’t blame the smell on the bad chilli for much longer.

Capricorn - Dec. 22nd - January 19th You may feel some cabin fever this month.

If you have the urge to go off by yourself for a while, do so. Try a new diversion. Drive down a country road you've never explored.

Keep driving. Sod off.

Scorpio - Oct. 23rd - Nov. 21st This would be a good day to pursue some new interests. Emily has had enough. Stop asking her.

Images courtesy of Astroshaman.com

Views expressed in InQuire's satire articles are those only of the writer and InQuire does not endorse any of these opinions, this section is dedicated to entertainment purposes only and nothing within should be taken as true, otherwise factual, or as a call to action. We use fictitious characters in our stories, except in regards to public figures being satirised directly.

Puzzles

Solution for last issue's Crossword Across Across: 1 Plane, 4 Flower (Plain flour), 7 Used, 8 Throttle, 9 Career, 10 Ignore, 11 Masking tape, 14 Status, 16 Parade, 18 Take part, 19 Noon, 20 Defeat, 21 Piece.

Down: 1 Pasta, 2 Address, 3 Enter, 4 Farming, 5 Often, 6 Enlarge, 11 Methane, 12 Instant, 13 Arrange, 15 Theme, 16 Put up, 17 Drone.

Solution for last issue's sudoku 5 3 7 8 6 4 2 9 1

8 6 4 1 9 2 3 5 7

9 2 1 3 5 7 6 8 4

3 7 9 4 2 6 8 1 5

4 5 6 9 1 8 7 2 3

1 8 2 5 7 3 4 6 9

7 1 8 2 4 9 5 3 6

2 4 5 6 3 1 9 7 8

6 9 3 7 8 5 1 4 2

1 3 8 9 10 11 12

Cat's contented sound (4) Drain (5) Travelling (by car) (7) Edition (5) Last move in chess (9) Frozen water (3) Turn (6)

Down 1 School of fish (3) 2 Lift (5) 3 Cue (6) 4 Impediment to an author (7,5) 5 Breathe (7) 6 Cricket player (12) 7 Protector (8) 10 Railway coach (8) 13 Become successful (informal) (4,3) 15 Take in (6) 18 Name (5) 21 Brief swim (3)

14 16 17 19 20

Climb up (6) Tattoo (informal) (3) Moving staircase (9) Set (5) Thrilled (7)

22 23 1

2 4 3 1

Initial (5) Assist (4) 2

3

4

5

6

7 9

8

10

12

11

13

17

19

7 9 8 4 1 7

Puzzles compiled by Matthew Sapsed

18

20

22

7

14 15

16

5 3 9 5 6 7 9 8 2 6

8 6

21

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Pick up InQuire 17.5 in two weeks for answers!

Sport

www.inquiremedia.co.uk/sport

InQ Quire

VACCINE NUMBERS OFFSIDE

FREE CHOICE FOR PLAYERS, INSIST MANAGERS

By Samuel Leah Sports Writer

S

ince the Premier League kicked off in mid-August stadiums have been regularly full of fans as restrictions across the United Kingdom are reduced and the sporting world takes further steps toward normality. This is thanks to the successful vaccination programme that currently stands at just over forty-five million with two doses. Younger groups are now being offered their jab witb booster jabs for the elderly. With the reduction in hospitalisations this therefore gave the green light for several major sports competitions to resume with fans in stadiums.

To begin with, some proof of vaccination was required in order to attend but now that fans are regularly attending once again, questions have started to be ask if players must do the same.

The message presented at the started of the season from FA and other officials was that there was no mandatory requirement for players to get the vaccine, however after only a few weeks and with player cases appearing more rapidly, the stance has supposedly changed. The Premier League are set on producing ways to urge players to stay safe and get vaccinated. The CEO of the forementioned Premier League, Richard Masters, held on to the belief that players would organise their own vaccinations by the end of September. Now, in the middle of October with cases across the country rising once again along with talks of new variants; solutions must be found in order to improve the percentage of vaccinated players in England's top flight.

The situation has undoubtedly garnered a lot of attention from the public after Chelsea FC's player N'Golo Kante tested positive for the COVID-19 virus a month ago, the manager of the team, Thomas Tuchnel, was pressed on the matter during a press conference and subsequently quizzed regarding his view on vaccinations and if he knew if all his players had received the vaccine.

"The player's are adults" Tuchnel responded, going on to add "and have a free choice whether they want to get the vaccine or not".

Kante, who turned 30 in March, served the routine ten-day isolation period and returned to normal subsequently. As of yet, there has been no confirmation regarding if he had been vaccinated or not.

Fur-

Photo by Hakan Nural

thermore, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, boss Nuno Espirito Santo organised for his entire lower-percentage whose mother passed away last year from complisquad to all travel to a vaccination centre and have of unvaccinated cations with the virus, has encourgaed not just his both doses as a team, under advice from their players which may team but the players in the wider league to get the club's personal doctor. As a club, they've clash with the forejab. remained cautious throughout the enmentioned managThough, he too admits, that the decision simply tire pandemic with their work indeed ers who stated the cannot be forced on anyone. A Sky Sports poll conpaying off; they are as of writing, the uptake of the jab is ducted at the start of the season revealed that only only club in the league to have an a personal choice.

7 out of 20 clubs had over half their players fully 100% vaccination status.

However, as of revaccinated; two-thirds of the entire league still yet Liverpool Boss, Jurgen Klopp, has cently it seems all to be jabbed. been somewhat vocal on the matter. these factors have Newcastle United, for example, have a very small The German manager, was happy to helped. percentage of fully vaccinated players. The major report that 99% of his squad were fulVaccination rates reason behind this has been stated as ly vaccinated and that he hasn't had to in the league have vaccine related conspiracies theories "convince any of his players" to get the increased, at least alongside the spread of rum o u r s jab, with the belief that they are aware in part, since Sepon social media. Something the vaccine protects others as well as tember, and as of that is a familiar trend in the yourself. the latest Premier ulos taropo wider population as a whole.

In terms of trying to covince specific League weekly reh u o ean M D And it's not just in club footplayers that are in support of port - 68% of Pre& r e meist ball either. various COVmier League playa Bau ik M by The international team ID-19 e r s are now double Photo came under fire earlier vaccinated, with a much this season after it was rer e l a t e d larger percentage of 81% of playvealed that five players had conspiracy theories, government ers having received their first dose. refused the jab all together, deputy medical-officer Jonathan Van-Tam has The Premier League, some say, once again due to anti-vaccioffered to record various messages 'clearing up' should therefore be applauded for nation theories in circulation. any misinformation in regards to the jab. In an their work in upping numbers of fully FIFA have stated that unvaccinated attempt to sway such public figures opinion. vaccinated players. While there is still work players would still be allowed to atThis is certainly in the interest of Health Secto be done, the difference made is clear and fans tend but are still urging for vaccines retary Sajid Javid who has also emphasised he can certainly feel a lot more at ease as a result. to be received. England Managis 'disappointed' in the few players that have There's still no enforced 'rule' that players require er, Gareth Southgate, was part refused the vaccine. This political condemnaboth doses of the vaccine in order to continue to of a pro-vaccination program tion seems to have done little in swaying the play and it may look like some players will continfor the NHS following the Euro 2020 forementioned sceptic players, it has to be said. ue to follow their own advice despite the League's Championship this summer - its e l f So, what does this mean for the fubest efforts. delayed by the ongoing pandemic. ture of the league as a whole?

It seems many would agree that fans as well as This received backlash from fans as a result, he Well, the Premier League officials seem to be managers will feel safer if they know the majoriresponded by commenting that he could undercracking down hard, stating concern about ty of their players were doing their bit to control stand the skepticism and that some players might the low level of vaccinationed players in total. the potential spread of the virus and avoid further have some anxiety surrounding vaccinations. He It's been rumoured that incentives will begin to be infections. Matches, at present, continue to carry also pledged not to reveal his team's vaccination introduced for clubs that have over half their playon as normal with no major COVID-19 restrictions; status, leaving the decision ultimately up to them. ers fully vaccinated. how long it'll stay that way remains to be seen.

One player who has recently been vocal on the Personal reminders will be sent to the clubs with subject of vaccinations is Chelsea FC and England midfielder, Mason Mount. The 22 year old served an isolation period this summer after coming into contact with a fellow teammate who tested positive and admitted that it was that period of isolation leading to a missed involvement in a game which served as a driving factor; now having received both doses.

In an all too familiar trend with even pro-vaccine voices, Mount also added that he still doesn't think anyone should be "forced" to get the vaccine.

However, on the flip side of this injection rePhoto by Belinda Fewings lated coin, then-Wolves