InQuire 18.2

InQuire

The importance of Black

Nathan's visit to Mt. Everest

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Democratise UKC: a path to student empowerment

By Nathan Collins-Cope News Editor

Cost-of-living: KU send letter to government ministers

By Sam Webb Newspaper Editor

Anew

year at the University of Kent has brought to the forefront some old questions. What is the best way to run our university? How can we get the best out of our experience here? Is the university accountable for its decisions? InQuire sat down with a spokesperson for the Democratise UKC, a campaign which claims to have some answers to these questions.

We asked Democratise UKC what they are all about. ‘Fundamentally, our cam paign is about empowering the students and staff. These are the people who keep the university functioning, so we feel like it is only fair that they get a say in who sits on the university governing council. Currently, there is an over representation of vested interests gov erning the university, which has led to decisions that have caused widespread discontent amongst staff. If you look closely, there are 16 ‘Lay people’ that sit on the current university council, which includes an investment banker, a finan cial services consultant and a senior fig ure from the retail business John Lewis to name a few. Are these the people we want representing us at the highest lev els of university governance?

‘One example of tensions between the staff and the higher ups we have heard of is various Heads of Schools collec tively demanded a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor.

I mean students don’t have to look further than our drops in the university league tables to see something is not right.

What we are campaigning for here is for 50% of the university council to be elected by staff and students. That way we can increase the accountability of those in positions of power. Right now, we’re in a situation where we have an overcentralisation of authority, and staff are just not being heard!’

The conversation then moved on to what else DemUKC would like changed.

‘We also stand for refunding students

for what they missed out on during the coronavirus era. To say that we got the same standard of education in that period as we are now is farcical. Why is it right that we paid the same price for what were essentially PowerPoints and video calls? Our access to the library was restricted as well as all other resources that we pay for with tuition fees. The research on this one is clear– in-person lecturers and seminars cause much bet ter grades. Just ask yourself: why is the university currently making a big push for greater attendance?’ said the spokes person, in reference to the new system of self-logging attendance to lectures and seminars. 'Meanwhile, the univer sity used Covid to capitalise and get out of the massive £60 million debt they were on’. ‘As usual, students get screwed over. The most compensation I heard of was the odd £20 or so refund being given to students. Coffee vouchers were given out in some cases! We aren’t ask ing for all the money back, but what we have been given has been frankly insult ing. All this while strikes and Covid con stantly disrupted courses’.

The spokesperson then went on to clarify their position on staff strikes. ‘You must look at it from the staff’s perspective. Their pay has been falling more and more as the years go by, along with their pensions being cut.’ The Uni versity and College Union (UCU) esti mated in December last year that the cut to the staff national pension scheme amounted to 40% in real terms under the proposals. ‘So, you can hardly blame staff for speaking with their feet in this instance’.

The strike action that took place last year in response to these pen sion cuts was supported by Kent Union.

‘We also want to end any practices and zero hours contracts. We made some progress on this last year when the uni versity U-turned on the Postgraduate Teacher contract they tried to spring on the teachers at the last minute. The pro posal was tantamount to a zero-hours contract, meaning that teachers were not given confirmation on how much

they would be earning for the year, and therefore left unable to plan their finances. Without pressure from organ isers such as Alexandra Roise Paul, these exploitative contracts may still be in place. We need to root out any other such exploitation!’

‘The last key thing we stand for is the decommercialization of our university, since it seems we are being used relent lessly as an avenue to make money from. We understand that the univer sity needs money to function, but it seems like it’s becoming excessive. The plight of students’ low income used to be recognised in society, and it seems we’ve gone backwards from that.’

We then asked DemUKC how they planned to achieve these outcomes. ‘We are hoping to work closely with Kent Union and their elected bodies to put pressure on the university. They are a union primarily funded for the pur pose of student representation after all, so I feel like our philosophies align in many ways. The current President Zaid Mahmood was a former member of Democratise UKC, so we’re hoping that he will stay true to his roots!’

‘We also need to raise awareness for the cause, so that we can get people on board with what we are all about. If we are to be taken seriously, we need to receive a mandate from students and staff. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be prac ticing the democratic values that we preach!’

InQuire, Richard

Reece, Deputy Vice Chancellor Edu cation and Student said: "Our number one priority has always been on giving our students the best possible edu cation and experience. This includes access to a wide range of facilitiesboth physical and digital - across our campuses, and high-quality teaching that will ensure they have excellent employment prospects after gradua tion."

"When the pandemic hit, we found ourselves in unprecedented times but did all we could to continue delivering the best possible experience in light of Government restrictions. We contin ued to support students’ experience and education with online and, wher ever possible, face-to-face activities."

"We recognise that any disruption to student experience is difficult, and sup ported our students to ensure that pro gression and graduation was assured against the backdrop of strike action. One-off goodwill gesture payments were made to students based on the withheld wages of striking staff. All stu dents continued to receive other sup port during strikes – including from our professional services staff who remained committed to our student’s wellbeing and education."

If you wish to stay up to date with Democratise UKC, follow them on Ins tagram @democratiseukc. If you wish to get involved, send a message.

KentUnion have penned an open letter to the UK government in collaboration with several Stu dent Union’s across the South of Eng land in order to ask how students will be aided in getting through the cost-ofliving crisis.

The letter was addressed to Andrea Jenkyns MP (Parliamentary Under-Sec retary of State for Skills, Further and Higher Education at the Department for Education) and The Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP (Secretary of State for Education).

In a video posted on Kent Union’s Instagram page, Kent Union (KU) President Zaid Mahmood said that ‘we want to make sure that your experi ence and your education isn’t impacted and isn’t hindered by financial hard ship’. After giving examples as to how KU is attempting to directly tackle the cost-of-living crisis for students at the University of Kent, Thomas Freeston, the Vice-President for Welfare and Community acknowledged that these measures are ‘small solutions to a much bigger issue that needs to be tackled on a national level’.

The open letter is being sent to the government to ‘demand that they take students seriously, they understand our struggle, and realise that [students] need help from the government as much as any other group across the country’.

One of the things it high lights is Student Finance has not been adjusted for inflation, meaning that UK students receiv ing the highest main tenance loan will be around £2000 worse off than they should be.

It also presents some damning statistics as to how students are being affected by the...

"To say that we gotthe same standard of education in that periodas we are now is farcical

Image

of

Image courtesy of Democratise UKC

News

Meet the team

Rashida Hassan

Editor-in-Chief editor@inquiremedia.org

Sam Webb Newspaper Editor newspaper@inquiremedia.org

Gharam Al-Zubi Website Editor website@inquiremedia.org

Ainy Shiyam

Head of Marketing & Media media.events@inquiremedia.org

Tom Cooper Head of Technology technology@inquiremedia.org

Emyr Ben Youssef

Director of Photography photography@inquiremedia.org

Shopitha Sivananthan Director of Design design@inquiremedia.org

Editorial

Nathan Collins-Cope News Editor news@inquiremedia.org

Hestia Linford-Allen Opinion Editor opinion@inquiremedia.org

Priya Hawes Features Editor features@inquiremedia.org

Laurice Janielle Lifestyle Editor lifestyle@inquiremedia.org

Rhona Longergan Entertainment Editor entertainment@inquiremedia.org

Molly Field Culture Editor culture@inquiremedia.org

Elma Maka Science & Tech Editor science@inquiremedia.org

Kieran Webb Satire Editor satire@inquiremedia.org

Joe Crossley Sport Editor sport@inquiremedia.org

To get involved with InQuire, email the relevant section editor with an article idea, or come to one of our team meetings. We hold weekly meetings above The Venue every Monday from 7pm to discuss,

and debate article ideas. Follow us on Instagram for updates!

The goverment's Kami-Kwasi budget

By Ben van Broeckhuijsen News Writer

Onthe 23rd of September, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the ‘Growth Plan 2022’, a ‘mini-budget’ calling for expan sion of the supply side of the country’s economy ‘through tax incentives and reform’. In essence, supply-side eco nomics is a theory that argues low tax ation and deregulation of the financial markets will lead to economic growth. Following her narrow win in the Con servative leadership election, Prime Minister Liz Truss, aided by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, aims to put growth at the forefront of this government’s agenda, ‘even where that means taking difficult decisions’. This ‘Trussonom ics’ approach has been met with fierce criticism from both sides of the politi cal spectrum, with Labour leader Keir Starmer calling the mini-budget ‘the worst unforced economic policy error of my lifetime’, and senior Tory MP’s such as Damian Green arguing they would lose the next election if it did not change.

The effect on graduates is substantial, with them becoming the top taxpay ers in the country. As Alice Thomson at The Times points out, when includ ing national insurance and student loan repayments, graduates earning £50,000 a year will be paying a mar ginal tax rate of 51%. Graduates earning £28,000 a year will pay a marginal tax

ing on whether it will stick to a pledge made earlier this year to increase bene fits in line with inflation. Experts argue this would amount to pandering to the top 5%, while ignoring the increasing financial hardship for the lower classes. Former Home Secretary Priti Patel told an audience at the Conservative Party Conference that the government was ‘spending today with no thought for tomorrow’. Following heavy polit ical backlash, Truss and Kwarteng took a U-turn at the conference and announced that the 45p rate cut would be scrapped from the budget. Prior to this U-turn, The Bank of England was forced to intervene on the 28th of Sep tember, arguing that if the volatility of the market were to continue or worsen, ‘there would be material risk to UK financial stability’. Since the U-turn on the scrap of the 45p rate cut, mar kets have stabilised somewhat, with the Pound bouncing back from hitting a record low against the Dollar on the 26th. Nonetheless, many of the divisive economic policies are still on course to be implemented, with largely negative effects on the British people— except for those at the very top of the income pyramid.

The cut in stamp duty is an example of a policy which is intended to provide those buying homes with fewer financial burdens. As a result of the Growth Plan, the cut-off points for those who must pay stamp duty (a flat tax paid by home

buyers, based on the value of that prop erty) on a new property has risen from £300,000 to £425,000. This means that for homes valued at between £425,001 and £625,000, a first-time buyer will pay 5% of the property’s value in stamp duty tax upon purchase. As explained by the HomeOwners Alliance: for a first-time buyer purchasing a property worth £500,000, the new stamp duty is £3,750, which is 5% of the £75,000 beyond the £425,000 cut-off for stamp duty. This measure was intended by the government to aid buyers in an increas ingly unstable housing market.

However, many have pointed out the net-negative effect on more relevant figures like rising interest rates. Cor respondents at the Financial Times argue this financial benefit is essentially worthless following the panic that the mini-budget has caused among finan cial analysts and the markets. The Bank

investment in small businesses and entrepreneurship through financial leniency in the City has been criticised for amounting to a modern-day form of trickle-down economics. The Shadow Chancellor has brushed off the pos sibility for trickle-down economics being able to deliver 2.5% growth of the national economy, maintaining ‘it has failed before and it will fail again’.

Jo Michell, Associate Professor of Economics at UWE Bristol, claimed in an LBC broadcast on the 3rd of October that the political goal of this mini-budget is to essentially create a sugar-rush in the UK economy, making the Tories more electorally viable in the next election. The Resolution Founda tion thinktank has said that the decision to keep the 45% top rate of income tax means the richest 10% of the UK has lost some of the gains they were set to make, but that the richest households will still gain almost 40 times more from this mini-budget than poorer families. Put into numbers, ‘the top 5% of households are still set to gain £3,500 on average next year from the remaining tax cuts, compared to just £90 on average for the poorest fifth of households’.

The political fallout of the mini-budget has eaten away at the slim majority that Truss won in the Conservative leader ship, eroding her mandate to govern. Home Secretary Suella Braverman has called the pressure for Truss to drop the 45p rate cut a ‘coup’ within the party. At the time of writing, Labour has a 25-point lead over the Conservatives in the polls and a 40-point lead over the Conservatives in the Red Wall, a tradi tional working-class heartland in which many constituencies had switched from Labour to Conservative in the last gen eral election in 2019. Following the Growth Plan, Liz Truss’s approval rat ing (-33) is lower than Boris Johnson’s lowest ever approval rating (-31), sig nifying that if the Tories do not find a way out of this freefall quickly, they will

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Image courtesy of Total War

Kent Union cost-of-living government open letter

Continued from cover.

...crisis. This includes claims that 68% of students have said that they are now unable to afford course materials, and that after paying for essential outgoings, a third of students are left with only £50 a month.

The letter had been signed by 243 Kent students at the time of closing, and will now be sent across to the Ministers for Universities and Education.

The letter asks ‘We would therefore, like to know what you as the Minister for Universities intend to do to support students during these difficult times? As higher education student finance falls under your ministerial remit, how will you be ensuring that the student loans system is fit to cater for the ever-increas ing cost of course materials, accommo dation, travel and energy bills as well as being adjusted for inflation? What strategy will the government develop to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis and the unique impact it is having on students?

In particular, what targeted support will

the government give to students with disabilities, caring responsibilities and those from lower socio-economic back grounds?’

It ends by saying that ‘we are urgently approaching a crossroads in this crisis, with the all-time high rate of inflation coinciding with the start of the academic year. We would implore the government to act and to remember students as a uniquely vulnerable group that are fac ing the brunt of this crisis.’

In a statement to InQuire, Zaid Mahmood, the Kent Union President said: ‘The cost-of-living crisis has been worsening day by day. Kent Union and the officer team this year has been working closely with the university to find ways to help ease the pressure off students. We have done this through a range of ways like renaming and pro moting the Food Bank (Now Campus Pantry) much more, creating a web page (https://www.kent.ac.uk/student/ cost-of-living-support) that contains all cost-of-living support so students don't

have to spend hours trying to find all this information in different areas of the website. This webpage also includes all hardship funds available to students and all information on how to apply. We have also worked with the estates team on freezing on campus accommodation rents, as well as increasing the Bed and Flex catering budget to £12 a day.’

‘However, we know that these are small fixes to a much bigger issue which can only truly be tackled by the Govern ment and their policies. We have col laborated with Student's Unions in the south of England to write an open letter to the Minister for Education and the Minister for FE\HE education which shows them the reality of the cost-ofliving crisis with students as well as demands that they take us seriously.

We have asked them how they aim to support students in this crisis, how they will review the student loans system to meet the rising costs of accommoda tion, energy, course materials etc. We have also asked them for a strategy in supporting students who are from lower

socio-economic backgrounds, have accessibility needs or may have caring responsibilities as these groups are feel ing the impact of the crisis at a deeper level. It is so important that students add their voice to initiatives like this because we have to be loud for the gov ernment to listen to us. Students have

always been the last group to be taken into consideration with Government policies and we have had enough. We deserve to represented correctly by the ministers in charge and we deserve to be heard when we are struggling. We need to stand together and stand up for our selves to get what we need in this crisis!’

'Woman, life, freedom': Iran’s liberation quest

By Anonymous

Onthe 16th of September 2022, a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini (known as Jina or Zhina Amini by her family) died in Tehran, Iran, under circumstances alleged to be police brutality by Iran’s so-called morality police. The Guidance Patrol enforces Islamic dress codes, usually concerning women and their hijabs that cover their hair. There have been several controversies over acts and issues surrounding this sect of police, particularly because of their treatment of women, such as their usage of vio lence with batons and their strictness in

treated, in which a statement was released saying she was brain dead when admitted. The post has since been deleted. Amini’s brother noticed bruises on her head and legs, and the women detained with Amini said she had been severely beaten for resisting the officers who had arrested her. After her medical scan and a photo of her at the hospital was released, a number of independ ent physicians on social media hypoth esised that she had suffered a brain injury, as seen by the bone fracture and haemorrhage in her medical scene. The Iranian government denies these allega tions, stating that she had a history of heart disease.

Several leaders such as U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have condemned the actions of the Iranian government’s suppression of protestors and have shown support to the Iranian protestors. The govern ment actions has included shooting pro testors with birdshot and metal pellets, deploying tear gas and water cannons, along with restricting their internet. As of 22 September 2022, internet connec tion in Iran has been severely limited, with access to Instagram and WhatsApp being completely blocked in an attempt by the government to limit protestor’s abilities to organise. This is the second time the government has attempted to restrict internet in Iran since 2019, when internet was shut down com pletely and inaccessible for a month in November 2019.

The circumstances of Mahsa Amini’s death follow that on 13 September 2022, where she was arrested by the Guidance Patrol at the entry of Shahid Haghani Expressway, visiting from Saqqez Kurd istan Province to see her family in Teh ran. She was then transferred to the custody of the Moral Security Agency. Her brother Kiarash Amini who had accompanied her was told she would be taken to the detention centre to undergo a “religious class” and would be released an hour later. He allegedly waited at the police station for two hours and was told his sister had had a heart attack and a brain seizure, being taken to Kasra Hos

pital. For two days, Amini remained in a coma and died in the intensive care unit on.

The following day, protestors gath ered outside Kasra Hospital in Tehran. Human rights group allege that security forces deployed pepper spray against protestors and several were arrested.

A protest in her hometown Saqqez fol lowed, with the Kurdish feminist slogan “woman, life, freedom” [zan, zendegi, azadi] being used- a phrase in which has become international. From 18 Sep tember, protests and marches spread day by day in different cities, with the city Sanandaj facing partial closure on the day and security forces scatter ing around. According to the Hengaw

the protests continued. People marched in various Iranian cities. Women burned their headscarves and many cut their hair in acts of solidarity. As of 28 Sep tember 2022, the death toll has risen to 76 according to BBC News, though the number is suspected to be much higher. Amini’s death has also caused an uproar on social media, with the hashtag Mah saAmini breaking Twitter’s recordexceeding 80 million tweets. Martyrdom is an important theme in Iranian literature and society, with most streets being named after Iranian martyrs. Many have said that Mahsa Amini has joined the list of martyrs, whose name Iranians will never forget.

Image courtesy of Kent Union

Ethnic and racial inequalities present within the NHS

By Rebecca Moronfolu News Writer

Followingthe resurfacing of the Black Lives Matter movement, the issue of systemic racism has been widely debated in and out of the socio-political sphere. Although most debates of systemic racism revolve around the law and the police, many have argued that it is slipping into the healthcare system.

With multiple reports suggesting dis parities and racial inequalities within the NHS healthcare system, a govern ment commissioned report has dis missed the idea that systemic racism played a part in the disparities of health outcomes, stating they ‘no longer’ per ceive ‘Britain to have a system where the system is deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities’.

The report was criticised by health care leaders. One of the leading voices was Deputy Chief Executive of NHS Providers, Saffron Cordery, who argued that to ‘pretend that discrimination does not exist is damaging as is deny

Changes to Kent railway services

By Henry Luck News Writer

ing the link between structural racism and wider health inequalities’. One report commissioned by the NHS Race and Health Observatory found that there is ‘widespread ethnic inequalities in healthcare’. Across the five depart ments that were reviewed, there was a trend of ethnic minorities having inad equate experiences within the NHS when compared to their white patients.

Researchers from the Universities of Manchester, Sussex and Sheffield reviewed 161 research papers within a 10-year period which included 178 stud ies. There were also differences noted between the treatment of various ethnic minorities groups therefore suggesting that some minority groups have ‘par ticularly poor access, experiences and outcomes’.

The mental healthcare sector within the NHS was identified as having some of the biggest disparities where peo ple from black ethnic groups received poorer treatment than other ethnic

groups. There was evidence that black groups received ‘harsher treatments’ such as being more likely restrained and be placed into seclusion. In addition, inequalities in ethnic minority groups accessing mental health treatment have been highlighted, with GPs referring white people at a significantly higher rate.

Another report by MBRRAC-UK pub lished in November 2021 found that black women are still four times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth when compared to white women, with women from Asian ethnic backgrounds being twice as like to face demise. Despite the divide between the eth nic groups narrowing compared to last year’s report, many have said that more needs to be done. The November report also addressed how poverty played a role in maternal health and mortality, highlighting that there are other poten tial factors that come into play.

Southeastern

railway have announced that all first-class tick ets are to be scrapped as part of its timetable alternations in December. The train operator says it has made signifi cant changes to the services it operates across the county as it responds to a ‘seismic change’ in the way we use the rails, especially after the Covid-19 pan demic.

The new timetable, which is set to be launched on 11th December, will look to accommodate 82% of the passenger numbers seen before the pandemic–with the current weekday peak travel at just 50-60% of 2019 levels. Among the changes will be the introduction of a sub-one hour service linking Maid stone East to Charing Cross, along with increasing peak services on the Ashford line.

Southeastern revealed that across its network only 28 people now held a firstclass season ticket- with scrapping the premium ticket freeing up 60 seats on 12-coach trains.

Meanwhile, sales of regular weekly, monthly and annual season tickets over the last six months were down 68% from the six months prior to the pan demic. The annual season ticket sales have plunged by 85%, due to the sharp increase in people working from home.

As a result of the changes, it is ush ering in a new 'standard hour’ timeta ble which ‘will mean a more consistent service throughout the day, with most trains leaving stations at broadly the same time each hour, with additional trains at peak times’. This was done to suit the standard work schedules of most passengers.

Southeastern has confirmed a new all-day hourly service from Maidstone East to Charing Cross- calling at Lon

don Bridge and Waterloo East. Operat ing Monday to Saturday, it will also call at West Malling, Wrotham, Borough Green, Otford and Swanley before going fast to the London terminals.

The current direct service to Blackfri ars will be scrapped, with passengers travelling to that station now having to change at London Bridge.

However, there will no longer be any direct services from the North Kent line to Charing Cross. In a bid to prevent congestion in and around the tracks at Lewisham, passengers will have to change at London Bridge.

On the Medway Valley line, there will be two services an hour between Pad dock Wood and Strood, calling at all stations via Maidstone West. But most off-peak services from Strood will ter minate at Paddock Wood. However, ser vices used by school children will not be affected.

Image courtesy of Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona

Image courtesy of Kent Online

Rashida Hassan Editor-in-Chief

It is finally October. This month signifies a lot for me, not only is it my birth month, it is also Black History Month. Black History Month means a lot of things to a lot of different people but to me this month signifies resilience. Resilience of a race that has been oppressed for far too long and yet refuses to give up on their fight for justice and equality. The concept of asking for justice or equality for all races may seem a bit far-fetched to some readers as we like to think we are all equal. I mean, we are right? It’s 2022. That’s what it says on the tin – equal ity for all under the law, equal opportunities but we know

from experience, it is absolutely not true. The Race Rela tions Act that banned racial discrimination in the UK was passed in 1965 – only 57 years ago. Speaking about race and racial inequalities tends to make most people uncomfortable, it is a subject that is almost always met with hushed tones. This Black History Month, I implore you to wonder why that is. Why do we refuse to speak about this issue that still plagues our world today? Why would we rather pretend these differences exist rather than embracing them and using them to ignite a conver sation? We are different and these differences that exist

between us should be celebrated. Black History Month is the time to do that. Educate yourself. Push yourself to question everything you have been taught to believe. Have the uncomfortable conversations with your friends and family. I’ve never been a fan of shying away from dif ficult conversations and this month (and for the rest of your life really), neither should you. We as humans can not grow until we get a little uncomfortable; the only way out is through.

Sam Webb Newspaper Editor

Herewe are, a few weeks into the new university year. Beginning (or continuing) a year at univer sity can be a shock to the system with new oppor tunities and events constantly being offered up to you, and suddenly you may find yourself with little time to yourself due to the constant pileup of commitments that you have signed up for. However, spending time now and then to do nothing and just relax is just as important as furthering your career prospects, and improving your education. You want to avoid burning out, as in the long run this will cause more harm than good. If you feel your

For

Gharam Al-Zubi Website Editor

this issue I would like to use this space to write about a major topic that deserves your attention.

By now you must be familiar with what is happen ing in Iran, but in the slight chance you’re not, let me enlighten you.

For the past month, women in Iran have been protest ing against the Iranian regime and its insanely strict and senseless laws on women. For most of us, when we read this, we don’t really grasp the gravity of the situation, we fail to notice the courageousness of these women.

self starting to reach this point, take a short amount of time for yourself, and put your other responsibilities on the side. Different people will deal with something like this in a myriad of different ways, be it curling in front of the TV to watch a comfort show, reading a good book, or meditating, there are many different ways to designate time for yourself. And it doesn’t just have to be by your self! Spend time with friends, or people who care about you. For many people, university may purely be about getting top marks in order to secure the best-paying job in the future, but it should also be about discovering new

The Iranian women are currently putting their own very lives on the line, against a patriarchal system that doesn’t look like is going to end. Without sugar coating it, these women are literally risking years in prison, getting killed or both.

Internationally and across social media platforms, women are expressing their solidarity with the Iranian women by cutting their hair - which is a symbol of rebel lion. But I think we need more than solidarity, we need to do something about all of this so we can protect these

opportunities, meeting new people, and having a good time. Luckily, we are now at a point in society where speaking about your mental health is no longer a taboo, so if you explain your situation to someone at Kent Union or at the university, there will always be someone, some where to listen without judgement. On the Kent Union website, there is a page called the ‘Wellbeing Hub’ which has links to a multitude of resources in order to help you feel supported.

women. If you’re a UK citizen, I urge you to email or send a letter to your MP asking them to publicly back the Ira nian women. Also, there is always the option to donate to human rights organizations as you probably already know. Good organizations in this situation would be The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) and The Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organization (IKWRO). If you can spare a minute or two, I urge you to be apart of this movement and push back on these injustices that affect us all one way or another.

Student politics isn't annoying- it's vital

By Megan Gelson Opinion Writer

Placards, angry crowds and in some places, police barricades. These are typical examples of what you’d expect at a protest. Some can be calm, some can be angry. But they all have one thing in common: desire for change. When the word protest comes to mind, it’s often depicted as angry groups marching the streets with their heads held high and the same agenda written on their wooden handheld signs. But as the Black Lives Matter movement and Enough is Enough hangs in the wind, the real problem is that the current gener ation don’t know how to make their voices heard.

It’s fair to say that the last couple of months have caused social feeds to burst with outrage over prime-minis terial promises, calls for the monar chy to be abolished amidst the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and postal workers not getting paid nearly as much as they should be.

As strikes organised by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Trans port Workers hit the headlines fol lowing what has been called ‘the summer of discontent’, we must look to their methods to exact real change.

As for new and returning students that are settling into academic life, it’s important to discuss the influen tial impact that their unique voices and point of views can have not only on the student body but also on the wider community.

But some are afraid to speak out.

Whether it be because of ethnicity, or society's depiction of young adults as being ‘too eager to complain’ or because they ‘simply don’t under stand the gravity of the situation’, it’s causing students and the youth to cower behind the curtain.

However, to some, they feel like they have no other option but to act. In 2018 for example, two Sussex Uni versity students began the vital steps to bring a law suit against the British Government urging them to review their carbon-zero commitments and asking for them to propose new ones, based on the latest scientific evidence set out in the Paris Climate Accords.

Arguably, you could see student activism as a way of students request ing not just change but a conversation to be made out of the outcome of their actions. Without the placards and the rallies, how else are they supposed to get their point across?

Malaika Gangooly, then a journal ism student at the City University in London' spoke to The Guardian in 2020 about the depictions that peo ple had of her holding and taking part in protests in relation to the Black Lives Matter protest she held in her hometown of Chingford.

In the article, she said: 'People thought I was maybe too young to start protests.'

'But the younger you are, the bet

ter it is to get involved, and the more important it is. If it’s not worked in generations before us, then we’re the generation that has to try and make it work.'

Consequently, if students don’t use their voices and speak up against problems that don’t seem to be get ting attended to, it will lower morale and make students believe that they can’t make any palpable change and that the only power that they have is to fin ish their schoolwork and enter the world of work. However, you could argue that since you will in the future be making a contribu tion to society by giv ing a percentage of your hard earned wage to the running of the economy, your own opinions and views should be taken into account and listened to. Because if the government won’t listen to their constituents wants and needs, they probably won’t survive in the next term.

By speaking out, students can build the necessary social skills to develop channels of communication between themselves and society- and not just by sending a tweet on Twit ter- that brings awareness to certain overlooked and forgotten conver sations. Besides, how else do you think the Ask for Angela campaign or the Period Poverty problem gained national attention? Just by speaking out or starting a poll online via You Gov or Change.org, palpable change can begin to spread across society.

Kent Union, as an organisation, rec ognises the instrumental impact that students have on their peers and how students’ own voices, whether it be through words or action, can be com bined to create a stronger and collab orative community. With the student parliament, Kent Union has created their own micro-democracy where students can campaign and vote for desired change inside and outside of the university. Kent Union currently has five officers who represent differ ent aspects of their values:

Zaid Mahmood is the Students’ Union president; Ben Bradley is the Vice-President of Postgraduate Experience; Thomas Freeston is the Vice President of Welfare and Com munity; Caroline van Eldik is the Vice-President of Student Engage ment and Lupe Sellei is the Vice Pres ident of Academic Experience.

Equally, all of our officers work together to bring promise, commu nity and represent the student body’s interests at heart.

They collaborate with all depart ments to make sure every student has the best and equal opportunities when studying at the university and throughout their scholastic life.

Recent campaigns that the uni versity have undertaken include a campaign that is aimed to make sure all students are safe when walk ing around the campus, involving improving lighting around campus walking routes, and making sure there is additional CCTV in hidden footpaths, improving visibility and security.

By speaking out, students can make people’s lives safer, enjoyable and create more room for growth and opportunity.

It’s high time that the adults sit down and stop making assumptions because soon enough it will be us in charge of the decision making and the lessons will begin.

Are you looking to make a pivotal change- whether it be small or largeinside and outside of university? Why don’t you check out these resources below, and also consider forwarding your suggestions to student parlia ment which is available at kentunion. co.uk?

• Change.org

• Write a letter to your local Member of Parliament. Don’t know who they are? Search members.parliament.uk/ members/commons.

Visit the Kent Union website to find out more about student representa tion and elections, or find your KU officers out on campus, or in the Mandela Building.

Images courtesy of Kent Union

Zaid Mahmood, Student Union President Ben Bradley, VP Postgraduate Experience

Thomas Freeston, VP Welfare and Community

Caroline van Eldik, VP Student Engagement

Lupe Sellei, VP Academic Experience

“People thought I was maybe too young to start protests.”

Singaporean pragmatism & the fight for LGBTQ+ rights

By Henry Ryu Opinion Writer

Inthe annual National Day Rally of 2022, the Prime Minister of Singa pore, Lee Hsien Loong announced that the Singaporean government will begin repealing Section 377a of the Penal Code. This ends a colonial-era law that penalised sex between gay men. The law wasn't and couldn't be enforced, meaning it was de facto legal to be homosexual, however, LGBTQ+ rights activists opposed the law as it is still technically illegal to be homosex ual.

There was also constant debate as to repealing or preserving the law. LGBTQ+ rights activists argued that a legal hostility was present against homosexual men (some even spoke of psychological duress) and that it is an antiquated law (most former colonies have abolished it). Those in favour of preserving it argued how the country remains largely conservative, alongside the importance of preserving the moral values of Singapore.

However, the Prime Minister

stated in his speech that he believes social morals have changed and that decriminalisation is the correct step forward. This is true according to polls, as most people support the repeal, less support preserving the law, and the rest have no strong opinion. Mr Lee made it clear that it is time for Singaporeans to accept that it's normal for someone to have a different sexual orientation and sexual behaviour should remain pri vate. The repeal will be tabled in Parlia ment by the government and is set to be debated by MPs, and if the ruling party tows the government line, the repeal is likely to pass.

Conversely, the Prime Minister made clear the government's intention to preserve the traditional definition of marriage within the constitution. Sec tion 377A was constantly challenged constitutionally, and if the traditional definition is enshrined within the con stitution there would be no such threat.

The legal aspect is another discussion, however, the socio-political aspect is glaringly clear. Singapore's govern ment is known for its realpolitik and its understandable obsession with pre venting strong division within the pop ulation due to a history of race riots and violent division.

Singapore remains a conserv ative society, with a substantial portion of the population not sup portive of advancing LGBTQ+ rights. There are a lot of socially conservative Christians, Muslims, and irreligious

individuals. Mr Lee highlighted the culture wars of the West, explaining extreme contempt for other views and how one side ‘pushing hard’ will cause the other to ‘push back even harder’.

It's not certain what this exactly means for Singapore, but a few things can be certain. Most Singaporeans will likely understand that this is a usual case of Singaporean pragmatism, sat isfying one side and the other. There is potential for gradual advancement of LGBTQ+ rights in the country. Although it may take time, people are slowly becoming more open to the nor mality of someone being homosexual. But social conservatives can also be sat isfied that at least now and for the fore seeable future, Singapore’s approach to marriage will remain ‘the traditional way.’ Diverse views will be adequately satisfied, at least in the eyes of the gov ernment.

Before being disappointed or perhaps incensed with these plans, it is impor tant to remember how the Singaporean government operates. It doesn't always do what may be perceived as morally right, but rather what is tough but cor rect. For some, this repeal is not enough and for others it's too much, but the Sin gaporean government is only concerned with the careful balance of moral values and social stability. Agree or disagree with this decision, it's a classic case of their pragmatism.

This doesn't mean the advocacy for improving LGBTQ+ rights is over, as

activists still have a lot of work to do, but for now, they can at least be assured that legal persecution against homosex uals will soon be impossible.

Singapore has garnered a reputa tion for being an enigma of realpolitik, notorious for its authoritarianism and lack of freedom, particularly by West ern standards. The country has policies including a mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking, ethnic quotas to ensure every ethnicity is integrated into public housing, compulsory pensions being taken out of wages, and civic national ism to ensure a national identity that transcends ethnicity and background.

The government's history is also laden with arresting communists, terrorists, and reactionaries without trial, as once again, it's obsessed with stability.

Prime Ministers have also been known to sue rivals and newspapers for libel, often winning. In fairness, the procedures were legal, and the courts are independent in a country known for fierce anti-corruption. But it does show how aggressive the government is against those who threaten it. Former and first Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew made clear in his final interview with the Straits Times that no government in the world wants the opposition to succeed. Can any other modern government party say the same?

The country does remain one of the most stable, prosperous, and relatively free, especially considering the region

Thanks (climate) king?

By Hestia Linford-Allen Opinion Editor

WhenPrince Charles ascended the throne after the death of his mother a few weeks ago, many envi ronmentalists were quick to celebrate, with some outlets naming him the ‘climate king’. There is cause for some optimism: the now-King Charles has spent a large portion of his life discussing the perils of pollution, industri alisation and other environmental causes. Last year he attended COP26 in Glasgow and urged world leaders to adopt a ‘warlike footing’ to fight global warming. The late Queen also delivered a speech via videolink. This year’s UN climate change conference is set to take place next month in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Charles was formally invited and set to make a speech, but just this week, following a meeting with the new Prime Minister Liz Truss, King Charles has announced that he will no longer be attending COP27.

Buckingham Palace has stated that the ‘agreement’ for Charles not to attend was made with ‘mutual friendship and respect’ for the King’s role to act on the advice of the current government. The trip to Egypt would have been Charles' first overseas visit as King. According to the palace, the King sought advice and the Prime Minister gave it. In the days after the Queen's death, it was widely publicised that, as King, Charles would not give up on his love for our environ ment. But the U-turn on his attend ance at COP27 marks a new period of Charles' life- and his commitment to

combating climate change, all while appeasing a new government.

Charles' views on the environmental crisis are already interesting. Like his father before him, Charles has cited a surge in the global population as contributing to the worsen ing climate. In a speech given at Oxford Univer sity in 2010, then-Prince Charles stated: 'When I was born in 1948, a city like Lagos in Nigeria had a population of just 300,000; today, just over 60 years later, it is home to 20 million’. He went on to claim that this Earth ‘cannot sustain us all, when the pressures on her bounty are so great’. Anxiety about overpopulation is not recent. Charles’ father, the late Prince Philip, called for ‘voluntary fam ily limitations’ in the 90s, and argued that humanity was reaching ‘plague populations’. Even beloved-Sir David Attenborough has waded into the frac tious debate, noting that ‘population growth must come to an end’ in a BBC Newsnight interview from 2018.

The ‘overpopulation myth’ has been debunked so many times over the years that it feels disingenuous to say that Charles must’ve just not been told. Surrounded by well-paid advisors and regularly meeting with climate experts, surely someone would have told Charles to shut up. This idea, that we can blame countries with growing pop ulations (those cited often just happen to be in the Global South) for putting such a strain on our Earth’s resources is simply untrue. Overpopulation might seem like a logical explanation behind the looming climate crisis, especially as

our population creeps up to 8 billion. So why is the idea so problematic?

Let me give you a comparison. The average person in Nigeria emits 0.61 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. In the UK, you’re releasing 4.85 metric tons a year, at least. In other words, it would take 8 Nigerian people to equal our individual emissions. Our lives in the UK are permitted by massive pollu tion, and there is a worrying tendency to blame the consequences on peo ple that live very far away from us. To compound that, these are the people that are, and will be, experiencing the worst effects of climate change. Paki stan has just entered a ‘second wave of death’ following the devastating floods this summer. After decades of British imperialism that drained peripheral regions and arable soil, Pakistan was left to flood, and over 1,100 people have died. Climate change often affects those that are already most vulnerable, and who cannot afford to travel or move house. We must address the impacts of colonial endeavours on our planet, and work with scientists across the Global South to rebalance environmentalist efforts.

Charles has an interesting brand of traditional environmentalism. ‘There's millions and millions of young people out there on whose behalf, they may not realise it, I've been trying to work for the last 40 years. One of the things that motivated me more than anything else is that I didn't want to be accused by my grandchildren or children of not doing the things that needed doing at the time’ he told Chief Negotiators Reception at COP26. There is an irony in this. The Royal Family has facilitated massive environmental destruction,

accumulating their wealth (which sits at an estimated $28 billion) by exploiting the natural resources- coal, diamonds, soil health, etc, of many of the coun tries now blamed for overpopulation.

Promoted to King, Charles will now be required to take more private jet flights than ever to complete his busy sched ule of international diplomatic visits.

In a cringe-worthy level of detail, that has been repeated in nearly every news paper, Charles has refitted his Aston Martin to run on a diet of biofuel- from excess ‘white wine and cheese.’ Quaint, but it's still an Aston Martin isn't it? The fact is that Charles can come out with gimmicky eco-stunts exactly because he can afford to not care. He has historically refused to inte grate new technologies into his exist ing ecological enterprises, dismissing projects like atmospheric carbon vac uums and better batteries, as products of ‘mechanistic thinking’. According to the Guardian, Charles regards wind turbines as ‘horrendous’ blots on the landscape. At the same time, he has installed solar panels on his London mansion and country home.

As a long time eco-war rior, Charles becoming King represents a larger clash between more traditional forms of happy-clappy environmental ism and the need for a more tech nological based, modern approach to decarbonising our planet. Loving

it's in.

Singapore does remain a broadly conservative society in its approach to LGBTQ+ rights, but interestingly the government has shown itself not too opposed to LGBTQ+ individuals. Lee Kuan Yew was notably open about his views: that gay people shouldn't be per secuted, and he asked doctors whether homosexuality was a choice (the answer was no). He mentioned social cohesion and was careful not to infuriate the reli gious population, but personally, he stated he would have no problem if one of his children came out as gay.

Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong also clarified that the government is completely open to employing homo sexuals in government jobs, and the Minister of Home Affairs and Law made it clear that the government would not tolerate discrimination or violence against any group.

This shouldn't distract from the anti-LGBTQ+ attitude of Singapore. Most people do oppose same-sex mar riage and aren't open to a family mem ber coming out as homophobia remains prevalent. Nonetheless, the approach of the government is very interesting, as it doesn't seem concerned with active discrimination against LGBTQ+ per sons or the advancement of their rights, but is still aware that being homosexual is not a choice and is entirely natural. Pragmatism will likely remain both a sword against and a shield for the LGBTQ+ community.

trees and organic apples does not make someone an environmentalist. Organic farming can sometimes be more carbon intensive than its industrialised coun terpart, and large amounts of land will need to be donated for the construction of solar panels, geothermal, and wind powered turbines.

The question is now whether Charles will continue to put environmental efforts at the forefront of his life. It was reported that various friends of the King said he will not give up on our planet. But in a televised address last week he said, ‘It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply’. His late-mother was known to stay quiet on matters of policy and government. It is infuriating that caring about the environment is now political. Charles must use his position in the best ways he can. While for me as a young ‘un, the monarchy doesn't really matter, but for older people, (who are more likely to doubt the science behind

Image courtesy of Wikimedia

The tale of Hong Kong A timeline of recent pro-democracy protests

In

2019, Hong Kong erupted into protest while the world watched.

Starting in March, at the smallest demonstrations hundreds gath ered, while at the largest, more than a million took part. Hong Kong became a source of geopolitical study as one of the global epicentres of commerce, business, finance, and freedom became embroiled in conflict with its people struggling against tyrannical forces ordered by Beijing. For those who aren't from or live in Hong Kong, there was the privilege of seeing these events as a source of discussion and analysis, but for Hong Kongers it became an intense war over aligning oneself with the fight to preserve Hong Kong’s sovereignty, or to join China in its nationalism.

A murder, followed by the largest protests in history

If you visit Wikipedia, you will find that officially the protests were the ‘Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement.’ This title refers to the murder of Poon Hiu-wing in 2018 by her boyfriend in Taiwan. At the time, there was no extradition treaty with Taiwan, meaning that to trans fer fugitives to Taiwan, there needed to be an amendment to the current treatise. The main problem was that the amendment included the possi bility of extraditing prisoners to mainland China as well, a country where human rights violations and crushing of political dissent are the norms. This grew into protests immediately, as after all, pro-democracy move ments against the increasing authoritarianism of the Chinese state were frequent. The failed Umbrella Revolution occurred in 2014, and the young activists who led the movement in 2014 were being persecuted, meaning there was concern over the erosion of political freedom and autonomy in Hong Kong. These are just two such events. Since the hand over in 1997, protests were constant against the Hong Kong government and indirectly, Beijing, with the youth particularly distrustful of the Chi nese government.

And so, with a single murder, the islands of Hong Kong exploded in protest fearing for their future.

Rejection of tyranny met by brutality

The youth were at the forefront of activism and protests against the police, government, and Beijing. It was Claudia Mo who said that ‘these are the people fighting for their rights and their future’; once Hong Kong falls the young will be robbed of freedom and justice. Icons such as Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, Nathan Law, Ivan Lam, and many others garnered popularity and notoriety. Students were also a principal group amongst protesters, shown by their distrust by the police. People from all groups and ages also rallied against the extradition bill, this included families, unions, doctors, and lawyers.

However, this wasn't met with appropriate responses by the police, as grievances grew against the police day by day with them using unneces sarily violent measures against protests which were often peaceful. The Yuen Long attack and the Prince Edward attack were the most egregious examples of their brutality. The actions by the police were inexcusable, as in Yuen Long the police did nothing while triads brutally attacked not just protesters but also members of the public and journalists, and in Prince Edward station it was the police directly responsible for egregious violence. In a protest, it might not be so easy to tell who caused the chaos, but in these attacks, the source of violence was clear.

There were moments of intense fighting as the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong (PolyU) was placed under siege. Protesters dodged rubber bullets, choked on tear gas, and were blasted by water cannons that were dyed and contained irritants. Some protesters responded by throwing bricks and petrol bombs.

If not a victory, then consolation it shall be. The protests weren't without some victories. In the 2019 local elec tions, the pro-democracy camp and localists won a landslide victory with a majority of Hong Kongers delivering a fierce rebuke against the actions of the pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong. It was also a strong mandate for those elected, as many activists obtained their first official posts in local governments.

Sanctions were also imposed on Beijing as ‘one country, two systems’ is no longer the doctrine in place. It was one of the significant events that led to countries seeing that China is not to be trusted and how capable they

By Henry Ryu Opinion Writer

future dealings. Britain fulfilled its obligations to the former colony by ensuring that Hong Kongers fleeing persecution and oppression can reside in the UK. If Hong Kong was to truly fall, then at least there was a place to start anew. Since last January, over 88,000 Hong Kongers applied for a visa in order to flee the crackdown in their home.

Supposed security at the cost of identity

In 2020, Beijing passed the National Security Law which actively fought against everything remotely pro-democracy in Hong Kong. Due to this bill, Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow were jailed, Nathan Law was put in self-exile, pro-democracy newspapers were shut down, and pro-democracy activists are being arrested on a regular basis. The young are being educated to be ‘patriotic’ like those on the mainland, and stu dents in some universi ties can't obtain a degree unless they are inducted into the National Secu rity Law. The streets and heritage of Hong Kong are also no longer safe, as history is being erased while Hong Kong tradi tions die out.

It is the beginning of the end for Hong Kong's identity, as one of the freest places in the world for both enterprise and individuality is crushed by the heavy hammer of Chinese oppression. Businesses, international events, and skilled workers are leaving, depriving the island of its eco nomic strengths. Its economy will shrink and the brain drain will likely continue as the young don't want to stay. Homegrown talent is disap pearing, and the city is now unfriendly to foreigners, meaning Hong Kong will have to rely on the mainland Chinese.

As awful as it is, Hong Kong has fallen fully into Beijing's grip and the future looks bleak for whoever remains, especially for those who oppose the looming tyranny.

Hong Kong's history, identity, and truths Hong Kong was a political issue both within the city and across the world. Whether it was a simple topic of discussion or a passionate issue for whoever was interested, for Hong Kongers the protests struck at the very heart of the Hong Kong person. On the deepest level, the protests became a fight between those who sought to preserve Hong Kong as they knew it and those who desired immediate absorption by Beijing.

The stance of Hong Kong as a true part of China with ideals of nation alism, ethnicity, and culture has validity and merit at least on a surface level. Culturally, economically, ethnically, and somewhat linguistically, mainland China and Hong Kong have deep links. And there remains the indisputable fact that since 1997, Hong Kong has remained under the sovereignty of China. Those of a more authoritarian perspective may also argue that the violence used by police was fully authorised and cor rect, although it didn't result in added stability.

But the century of British colonisation must not be ignored. Although Britain was similarly oppressive and even racist during the majority of the colonial period, its influence is profound as it gradually instilled values of economic freedom, an independent judiciary, and individual liberty. It's what made the city such an attractive place for business and residence to the world while Hong Kongers enjoyed the prosperity of the city (albeit with many problems).

Its culture of fighting against oppression also starts with British colo nialism, not with a Chinese takeover. Hong Kong has a history of strikes, riots, and protests against oppression. Death and suffering due to cruelty are no stranger to Hong Kong, and in doing so this has created a small city of rebellion.

In full honesty, the identity of Hong Kong is a bit of an enigma as it is uncertain what exactly the city represents due to just how unique its history and status are. Is it represented by intense weather, economic liberty, protest, or how they make milk tea? A lot of Hong Kongers them selves are not sure, but they know there is an identity, and that it doesn't involve Chinese tyranny.

The final governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten said that ‘Hong Kong's values are decent values’, and ‘Hong Kong people are to run Hong Kong’. Those values are being erased, and the Hong Kongers who run the island are no longer allegiant to more than half of its people. For those who are escaping the tightening grip of Beijing, this spirit of resistance against tyranny is undying and it lives on across the world. This journey may have ended in sadness, but we are reminded of the importance of free dom and the valiance of the Hong Kong people remains inspiring.

First the plague,then the famine

By Ben Hasted-Hewitt Opinion Writer

It’s

no secret to anyone that the cost of living is currently on the rise, with the UK inflation rate having gone from <1% at the start of 2021 to 9.9% in August of 2022, yet this rise may become expo nential if we don’t act soon.

On the 24th of February 2022, Russia’s invaded Ukraine in an attempt to ‘reclaim their sovereignty,’ triggering a crisis for the Ukrainian people as well as countries dependent on Russia’s oil and Ukraine’s wheat. As a result of this invasion, Russia has refused to trade their oil with countries supporting Ukrainian sovereignty and has led oil prices to rise, at a rate equivalent to the 2008 financial crash. While a lot of us have felt this impact on the prices of petrol, its impact in the farming world is also significant.

Oil is a key component in modern fertilizer production and hence farmers have been feeling the impact of a rise in the price of fertilizer recently, with prices once again being comparable to the 2008 finan cial crash, but with no immediate end in sight. Farming has never been exceptionally profitable, with startup costs being extortionate . 1 acre of arable land averages to <£7000 as of 2019 and farming equip ment, even second-hand, can be incredibly expensive too. This was highlighted in Jeremy Clarkson's show ‘Clarkson's Farm’ which saw him only make £100 profit in his first year with upwards of £40,000 spent on equipment. On top of this, farmers are what’s known as ‘price takers.’ Being a price taker means that farmers don’t determine the price they sell their crops for, as all of a type of crop are the same, two farmers can’t produce different types of wheat, just different vol umes. This leaves farmers at the mercy of those buying their crops: a dangerous situation for an industry with such low and volatile profits.

As farmer’s profits are often volatile and very low, issues such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had a significant impact. Since fertilizer production is dependent on oil, the price of fertilizer is sky rocketing, making it more difficult for farmers to plant crops. The UK is facing limited supplies of wheat due to a combination of leaving the EU and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia is the greatest wheat producer in the world, who we have no trade with due to the invasion, meaning we have to go down the line for others to import from as there is very little chance the UK will become self-sufficient on wheat production.

Currently it’s listed that the UK imports US, Canadian, German and French wheat, all of which are tariffed to varying degrees due to trade agreements post-Brexit. So when wheat begins to become more scarce, what do we do? There’s a fair few options that will have varying degrees of long term effects:

China and India are the 2nd and 3rd greatest producers of wheat in the world and substantial trade for wheat with them could help to bring the price of wheat related products down., However, this could severely undercut our domestic farmers, making it impossible for them to compete if/when prices start to get back to normal, leaving many farmers in a difficult position, limiting the crops they can reli ably put in rotation, hurting fragile profit margins and creating more international dependencies.

Another alternative is massive government subsidies. By subsidis ing domestic wheat farming, we might hopefully be able to maintain our wheat production and dampen the rising costs, helping to main tain the cost of living. However, subsidies come directly out of tax payers wallets, meaning either taxes go up (which is unpopular with a Conservative government) or funding has to be cut elsewhere, which is never popular.

While there certainly are other alternatives to these two, a lot of these alternatives are far from desirable or in the long term they may be catastrophic, but feel free to research your own preferred outcome.

Certain people may respond by asking 'why don’t you just eat food that doesn’t need wheat?', which creates a problem in itself. By basic supply and demand, as wheat becomes scarcer it becomes more expensive and we switch to substitute foods, However the more we consume the other foods, the scarcer they become as they need to make up for the wheat consumption, which is an average 20% calorie intake worldwide with certain areas being upwards of 50%, meaning the cost of all foods are going to skyrocket as wheat diminishes.

So in a concluding statement, is it all doom and gloom? Most prob ably yes unfortunately, and there’s not much we can do. This problem is entirely out of our hands now and all we can do is prepare for it. This is going to be a significant problem for everyone, both omnivores and vegans alike for several years to come, especially while the gov

The black bauhinia with wilted petals flag, used as symbol of resistance during the 2019 Anti-Extradition protests

Image courtesy of Jacky CTensd/Wikimedia

Photo

Studio

courtesy of Corey

Study contradicts government claims over hydrogen for heating

By Elma Maka Science and Tech Editor

Anew

study has cast doubt on government claims that hydro gen can be used as an efficient alternative to heat homes and in turn cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The report, published in the Jour nal ‘Joule’, analysed over 30 studies concerning the use of hydrogen and heating. Each study found that the use of hydrogen to heat homes was ineffi cient compared to current methods and more expensive than the use of alterna tives such as heat pumps.

Unlike fossil fuels, when hydrogen

burns it gives off water rather than car bon emissions, leading to promising new ways to decarbon ise the country’s energy consumption. Hydrogen is generally considered a ‘clean fuel’, and can be found in sub stances everywhere, from natural sources such as water and plants to fossil fuels such as coal and oil.

Already, the UK has started to imple ment methods of low emission in public transport, with 3,854 hybrid buses, 785 electric buses, and 22 hydrogen fuel cell buses as of March 2022.

Last month, Business Secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg told parliament that hydrogen was a ‘silver bul let’, and that ‘with some adjustments’ it could be piped

through to people’s houses to heat them in the winter. While many energy scientists agree that hydrogen can be used to efficiently store excess renewable energy, such as on especially sunny days when solar panels generate more electricity than the power grid needs, redi recting this energy for heating homes is impractical.

The author of the report, Jan Rosenow, says that ‘using hydro gen for heating may sound attrac tive atfirst glance, however [...] heating with hydrogen is a lot less efficient and more expensive than alternatives such as heat pumps, district heating and solar thermal’.

While hydrogen can be obtained from water, one of the most abun dant resources on the planet, most of the world’s manufactured hydrogen is made using fossil fuels, through a process that pollutes more than sim ply using methane gas. For hydrogen

to be considered truly ‘green’, it must be made using electricity from renewable sources. According to David Cebon, Professor of Mechanical Engi neering and member of the Hydrogen Science Coalition, this is incredibly inefficient.

‘In the UK, heating homes with green hydrogen would use approxi mately six times more renewable electricity than heat pumps’, he said.

The published report is par ticularly pertinent as it comes just before the COP27 global climate summit in Novem ber, where almost 200 coun tries will be discussing their plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and their plans for following renewable energy alter natives.

The report also expresses con cern that there is a risk that time may be wasted discussing the future use of hydrogen to heat homes rather than implementing clean heating strat egies that already exist.

At present, the UK government is offering grants of £5000 to encourage people to swap their fossil fuel-burning boilers for heat pumps.

Sparks fly! Why some materials can emit mysterious lightning flashes

By Holly McPhillips Science and Tech Writer

Luminescence is a fascinating property that is expressed in many colourful glow in the dark Halloween decorations every year. This phenomenon involves the emission of light from a substance as a result of different chemical reactions. There are many different types of lumines cence that exist. For example, in cases such as the glow of fireflies, the reaction responsi ble is described as biolumines cence, since the light emitted is a result of certain biological reactions inside the insects. Another example is known as chemiluminescence, where certain chemicals interact to trigger reactions that will result in a strong glow, which is especially useful in drug discovery and toxicology. Fur thermore, luminescent bright sparks are coined as “cold lightning” and have important applications in materials sci ence.

Materials science is a very broad research area that explores relation ships between the structure and properties of functional materials.

By combining our understanding of materials on an atomic level to that on a larger, macroscopic level, we are able to fine-tune desired properties or even introduce new ones, which can replace materials we currently use that are not environmentally or economi cally-friendly. From a materials chem istry perspective, luminescence can occur through different avenues and can enhance materials for practical use.

that causes the structure to fracture or deform. The force may also be some thing as simple as rubbing or scratch ing the material, resulting in emission called triboluminescence. Minerals like zinc blende and quartz emit bright sparks when they are rubbed, resulting in a small scale lightning storm in your hands.

In fact, mechanoluminescence, where glowing properties are achieved by applying an external force to a material, has shown to be a promising feature in structural monitoring and sensoring applications. There are different forces that can be used to induce lumines cence; the force can be an applied stress

Scientists have a theory as to why these mysterious flashes occur under such conditions. In fact, it is sim ilar to what happens in lightning charged clouds during thun derstorms. Consider a crystal line material that is made up of different kinds of ions that carry positive and neg ative charges. Ideally, these charges alternate throughout the material, resulting in a neutral-charged structure. When the material is put under stress, there is a lot of movement on the atomic scale. Both positive and negative electrical charges are forcibly separated, and this creates regions that have more of one charge than the other. As the material equili brates to the applied stress, the elec trical charges recombine and as they do, they collide with nitrogen gas present in the air which releases

energy as a flash of light. Therefore, triboluminescence only occurs when nitrogen is present, meaning that the emission does not occur in a vacuum. Like lightning, the light emitted is also mainly in the ultraviolet (UV) region of the electro magnetic spectrum, which is invisible to the eye. Only a limited amount of light is emitted in the visible region. There fore, you wouldn’t easily observe mech anoluminescence unless you were in a very dark room or had a UV detector. Nonetheless, mechanoluminescence is becoming an interesting phe nomenon to study because it has real life applications. The long-term effect of

external pressure and stress on mate rials that are used in tall buildings, bridges or aircraft is important to mon itor to keep people safe and to maintain their efficiency. By incorporating lumi nescent particulates within building materials, their emission can be moni tored and it can be used as a probe to detect structural failures. Even though luminescence created this way is not as bright and colourful as some Halloween decorations, the power to make “cold lightning” in your hands through some thing as simple as grinding minerals is a very exciting prospect.

“In the UK, heating homes with green hydrogen would use approximately six times more renewable energy than heat pumps. ”

Image courtesy of Duncan L via GettyImages

“Minerals like zinc blende and quartz emit bright sparks when they are rubbed, resulting in a small scale lightning storm in your hands.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg in Felixstowe, image courtesy of Tim Hammond

Quartz Crystal, image courtesy of JJ Harrison via Wikimedia

Nasa successfully fly spacecraft into asteroid in direct hit

By Sam Webb Newspaper Editor

Nasa’s

Double Asteroid Redirec tion Test (DART) mission has successfully collided into an asteroid, destroying itself into the pro cess. The collision was intentional and designed to test whether space rocks that might threaten Earth could be nudged safely out of the way.

The probe was launched from Earth in November 2021, and on 26 September 2022 intentionally crashed into Dimor phos, the minor-planet moon of the asteroid Didymos.

Rather than attempting to completely destroy the asteroid, the aim of the mis sion was to determine whether it would be possible to divert it into a slightly tighter orbit around its companion space rock.

The spacecraft’s sole instrument, the Didymos Reconnaissance and Aster oid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO), together with a sophisti cated guidance, navigation and control system enabled DART to identify and distinguish between the two aster oids, targeting the smaller of the two. These systems guided the 570kg boxshaped spacecraft through the final

56,000 miles of space into Dimor phos, intentionally crashing into it at roughly 14,000mph to slightly slow the asteroid’s orbital speed. DRACO’s final images, obtained by the spacecraft sec onds before impact, revealed the surface of Dimorphos in close-up detail.

Dr Carolyn Ernst, the instrument sci entist on Dart’s camera system, was extremely excited to see Dimorphos. ‘It looks adorable; it’s this little moon; it’s so cute’, she said.

The test has been described as a land mark planetary defence test, and the collision is the first step in testing humanity’s ability to prevent a cosmic object devastating life on earth, similar to one that caused the extinction of dinosaurs. While there are no immediate objects that would prove as a threat to human civilisa

tion, experts say that it would only be a matter of time before an asteroid big enough to wipe out a city crosses paths

of view on Dart’s camera just before going blank. Initial cal culations suggest the impact was just 17m off the exact cen tre of

Dimorphos.

While it will take weeks before scientists working on the mission will be certain as to whether the experiment has worked, many showed opti mism and confidence that the mission had been successful. Certainly, on the evidence of the pictures coming back from 11 million kilometres away, everything appeared to go exactly to plan.

with Earth.

Controllers based at the Johns Hop kins University Applied Physics Lab oratory (JHU-APL), erupted with joy as images of Dimorphos filled the field

Dr Lori Glaze, the direc tor of planetary science at NASA was convinced that something remarkable had been achieved. She told reporters that ‘we’re embarking on a new era of humankind, an era in which we poten tially have the capability to protect our selves from something like a dangerous hazard ous asteroid impact. What an amazing thing; we’ve never had that capability before’.

Researchers will determine success by closely following the changes to the

Fashion meets science:

orbit of Dimorphos, in order to see how much the collision may (or may not) have affected the orbit of the asteroid. A global team is using dozens of tele scopes around the world and in space to observe the asteroid system. They will precisely measure Dimorphos’ orbital change to determine how effec tively DART deflected the asteroid. The results will help validate and improve scientific computer models critical to predicting the effectiveness of this tech nique as a reliable method for asteroid deflection.

‘The Dress’ of Paris Fashion Week

By Elma Maka Science and Tech Editor

This Womenswear Spring-Sum mer 2023 Paris Fashion Week (as it is officially known), onlook ers were stunned as supermodel Bella Hadid walked the runway in a skintight white Coperni dress. But this was no ordinary dress. In fact, it had been sprayed onto her body out of a can just minutes before.

The Coperni dress was made from a substance called ‘Fabrican’. This spray-on fabric technology was devel oped by Dr. Manel Torres in 2003 as part of a PhD project investigating different ways to speed up the con struction of fabric. While some such as fashion critics call his silly-string inspired invention a ‘gimmick’, others have expressed their admiration for witnessing ‘fashion history’.

Fabrican is made of a combination of liquid polymers and either natu

ral or synthetic fibres, delivered through a pressurised medium, such as an aerosol can or a spray gun. The fibres are in a liquid solvent and when they are sprayed and come into contact with air, the liq uid solvent evaporates but leaves behind the cloth fibres to form a non-woven fabric on any surface, includ ing water. The fabric is non-flammable and can be removed, washed, and re-worn, or dissolved in a chem ical solution and used again as part of another aerosol can.

Even the type, feel and col

our of the fabric pro duced can be simply changed by adjusting the makeup of the fibres inside. The fibres can make any fabric from wool and mohair to cotton or nylon,and the spray can even be used to

make repairs on existing fabric in this way. This is of particular importance to Dr. Manel Torres, who has many hopes for Fabrican outside of fashion, includ ing potential medical use as sterile spray-on medical patches over injuries or, with the right composition adjust ments, to aid even the clean-up of oil spills.

“The test has been described as a landmark planetary defence test, and the collision is the first step in testing humanity’s ability to prevent a cosmic object devastating life on Earth”

“The fabric is non-flammable and can be removed, washed, and re-worn, or dissolved in a chemical solution and used again as part of another aerosol can.

Image courtesy of Julien De Rosa, via Getty Images

Moonlet Dimorphos 11 seconds before impact, image courtesy of NASA/JohnHopkins APL

Swedish geneticist wins Nobel Prize for decoding ancient neanderthal DNA

By Elma Maka Science and Tech Editor

Svante

Pääbo has been awarded the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discover ies involving the genomes of extinct hominins, including Neanderthals and other extinct species, as per the official citation from the Nobel committee.

While it may seem strange that research into long-extinct Neander thals would be awarded a Nobel prize in Medicine, Pääbo’s research actually has far-reaching implications for mod ern medicine.

Although the modern human genome is mostly Homo Sapiens, bits of Nean derthal and Denisovan DNA from our extinct human relatives are spread through the population today, most of

going unnoticed and confused for Neanderthals.

Of the Neanderthal genes that Pää bo’s research has identified, some of them can affect even the way we respond to different types of infec tion, including the severity of dis eases such as Covid-19.

Equally, a Denisovan version of a gene called ‘EPAS1’ was discovered to help people survive at higher altitudes with lower oxygen and is found widespread throughout the modern-day Tibetan population.

Pääbo was able to identify that the transfer of these genes from now-extinct species into Homo sapiens occurred approximately 70,000 years ago, fol lowing their migration out of the African con tinent, meaning that archaic Neanderthals began interbreeding with the modern Eura sian humans at around this time.

which we hadn’t understood the signif icance of. Pääbo’s research also helped to discover and place an entirely unknown relative, the Denisovans, into their own clade after decades of

The first Neanderthal skeleton was discov ered over 150 years ago in Germany, but at the time the only dif ferences that could be identified were based on the differences between the Neanderthal bones found and those of modern-day man, because DNA sequencing was only invented in 1977.

Pääbo first started his investigation as a side-project once he graduated from medical school, by trying to sequence

the DNA of mummies. However, he discovered this was a very difficult process; over many years the mum mies’ DNA had been heavily degraded into short fragments and was contam inated with DNA from bacteria and humans who had interfered in the modern-day.

As a result, Pääbo decided to develop a new technique to over come this, which involved using DNA from mitochondria (organelles in cells that hold thousands of copies of DNA). Through this, Pääbo man aged to sequence DNA from a piece of bone approximately 40,000 years old.

Unfortunately, mitochondrial DNA is limited in the amount of infor mation it can give, which was not ideal in Pääbo’s attempts to decode the entirety of the Neanderthal genome. To aid him in his search, he was offered the chance to estab lish a Max Planck Institute in Leip zig, Germany. At the new institute, Pääbo and a team of scientists grad ually improved methods of isolating and analysing archaic DNA from bone remains.

It took until 2010 before Pääbo finally succeeded in his efforts to sequence the 3 billion base pairs.

Through his groundbreaking research, Pääbo created a whole new scien tific field, known as “paleogenomics”, based on the reconstruction and anal ysis of genomic information in extinct species. By revealing the genetic dif ferences that distignuish the modern humans from their extinct relatives, his work supports research into what

lution and pre-historic migration. Although Homo sapiens, Neander thals, and Denisovans were all prim itive hominids thousands of years ago, only Homo sapiens were able to effectively establish complex cultures, advanced innovations and figurative art. While Neanderthals similarly lived in units, had large brains compared to much more distantly related hominids, and were able to use tools, these skills developed very little over thousands of years compared to Homo sapiens.

On the significance of Pääbo’s work, Anna Wedell, a Nobel committee member said, ‘thanks to his seminal discoveries, genetic variants that are shared among all now living humans, but absent in Neanderthals and Denisovans, have been iden tified. The list of such genetic variants is not very long, and understanding their functional implications is a focus of intense research’.

exactly makes humans the unique spe cies they are today and what prevented their extinction. It’s also being utilised extensively by the scientific commu nity to better understand human evo

It is hoped that Pääbo’s research in this area will pave the way for a far greater understanding of human genetic physiology as well as help to confirm ideas about the evolution of the human species as a whole.

“Of the Neanderthal genes that Pääbo’s research has identified, some of them can affect even the way we respond to different types of infection, including the severity of diseases such as Covid-19.”

Svante Pääbo, image courtesy of Karsten Möbius at the Max-Planck Institute

“By revealing the genetic differences that distignuish the modern humans from their extinct relatives, his work supports research into what exactly makes humans the unique species they are today...”

By Ainy Shiyam Head of Media and Marketing

The Devil works hard, but Kris Jenner works harder

Ifyou are on any social media platform, you might have heard or seen the phrase; “The Devil Works Hard, but Kris Jenner Works Harder.” Jenner’s master manipulation tactics have become an internet sensation with twitter and TikTok creating memes in their own right. The devil comparison evolved into an ubiquitous homage to her branding and leadership skills that makes the odds of a dubious media narrative and perceptions to be in the favour of the house of Kardashian-Jenner. While such an ability and desire for control should seem villainous in every way, Jenner’s goofiness, warm maternal nature and her obvious appreciation for being included in the public appearances alongside her daughters has made her tactics both genius and legendary. The jury still might be on the fence about her leg endary tips and tricks that have always worked in her favour, even in the most hopeless situations. But one thing is for sure, she really is the fairy god mother of branding and management.

Momagers, stage moms and moms on Tiktok crave for fame that has the same outcome as Kris Jenner. Jenner not only flipped the script on the stereotype of being on reality TV but in return made a fortune by managing her daughters who let’s be honest, had no real talent whatsoever. But unlike the upcoming content creators, Jenner had started her nefarious journey long before anyone knew of the Kardashians as they are today. Her first hus band was the one and only Robert Kardashian Sr, a lawyer based in California - who famously was on the defense team for the OJ Simpson trial. As one can put two and two together, Kris obviously had a lavish lifestyle as one could hope for. But when her first marriage ended and moved on with Olympian Bruce Jenner (now known as Caitlyn Jenner) they did not possess the wealth that Kris was used to. She knew in order to make things work she had to find a way to generate wealth using her new husband's gold medals. She started to send press kits, looking for speaking or promotion opportu

isn’t desperation, but a carefully curated work ethic.

It is a known fact that Kris Jenner has the ability to turn any branding opportu nity into a pot of gold, regardless of how good or bad the opportu nity might be. At the end of the day bad publicity is enough to gen erate a consider able amount of dough. Among the drama/dis tractions that she was credited to include the family’s flagrant partying and large gatherings while the rest of the world was shut down during COVID. Around the same time news had started to leak to the media that Kimye had filed for divorce after a good seven years of marriage.

The most publicly discussed subject in the whole of 20 seasons of Keeping up with the Kar dashians was the story about Jordyn Woods and Tristan Thompson’s affair. Even though Woods claims that she did not sleep with Thompson,

just goes on to prove to how many lengths Jenner would go on to protect the ones she loves while feeding the general public drama filled stories to generate publicity about.

Most recently she was the mastermind behind flooding the internet with the news that Kim and Pete Davidson had broken up to divert the fact that Khloe Kardashian had decided to have another baby with Tristan Thompson via surrogacy. One could go on with more examples as mentioned above. It never ceases to be fun, dramatic and

they have gone beyond that very reality-TV plat form. There has been a lot of analysis about how Jenner makes it happen. One theory is the rise of social media, in which the Kardashian Jenners are experts at. The family drama that would play out on the Television screens for an entire hour is now better suited for Instagram reels, Tiktoks and memes on Twitter. The family’s branding is so robust that unlike other reality television stars, there is no real value in the TV show as a market ing tool anymore.

If you want to have a successful personal brand maybe learning a few power moves from the Kar dashian-Jenner matriarch may not be the most terrible idea. Now you can get a masterclass from and only Kris Jenner on personal branding on masterclass.com for a monthly subscription of £14.

Flash-forward to the early noughties, her second born Kimberly Kardashian was trying to build a name for herself in the gossip magazines with the help of the heir of the Hilton empire - Paris Hilton. But when Kim’s sex tape was leaked to the media, Kris saw it as an nefarious opportunity to make the best of the situation - make her daughter’s name be known in the Hollywood. In a normal situation, a parent would definitely be scrambling to make things right. But as horrible as it sounds Kris was a woman who knew to make every situation good or bad work in her favour. Every single step that this woman takes is thought through ever so care fully from the best to the worst possible scenario. She had weathered jokes and spoofs but everyone including her haters - were in awe of her hustle. It

One might argue that the Kardashian-Jenner empire was as popular as the roman empire. But just like Rome, their empire wasn’t built in a day. It took a lot of ded ication, hard work and a little sprin kle of luck. Whatever lasting impact that Kar dashian-Jenners might have on the internet for years to come, Kris Jenner will always be the one who turned her 5 talentless daughters into multi-millionaires. For that she will always be legendary.

Image courtesy of Screenrant

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UKC's very own visits Mount Everest

By Nathan Collins-Cope News Editor

I’mnot going to lie to you- I was a little scared when I agreed to take on this trek. I had only done a handful or two of single day walks up ‘mountains’ in the UK- Scafell Pike, Snowdon, that type of thing. The highest of these was Ben Nevis, which has an escalation of 1345m- about the esca lation of the Nepalese capitol, Kathmandu. We flew here to start this nerve-racking, yet exciting journey.

From this bustling and brightly coloured city, we embarked on our journey into the Himalayan Mountain range. Our first leg of the journey began with a 3am wakeup to catch a 30-minute flight to Lukla’s Tenzing and Hillary Airport- an extremely short landing strip named after the two famous adventurers, who led the team on the first known successful summit of Everest. An 11.2-degree incline stretching 527m towards a sharp end of solid rock, this airport is known as one of the most dangerous airports in the world. It is often shrouded by clouds and mist- being at an escala tion of 2,846m above sea level. While waiting for our ride into the mountains, we got talking to some hardcore Alpine Climbers who had summitted Everest several times. One of them told us a story of how on a previous visit, they were scheduled to take a small propellor powered plane early in the morning. Due to an error in the passenger mani fest, he discovered upon arrival that there was no more space on that craft, and that he would have to wait for the next one. Upon arriving at Lukla airport, he discovered that everyone in the previ ous plane had died due to the plane missing the runway and crashing into the mountain. This set a tone of exhilaration at start for of the journey.

Upon landing, we had to find our own way to Manjo– an almost 9-mile trek which on average takes over 6 hours along rough the mountain path, ascending and descending at various points. Pic ture a jungle spawl over huge hills as far as the eye can see, with the journey broken up by Bud dest prayer wheels- to be spun for good fortuneand massive bridges suspended three or four hundred-meter drops over the Dudh Koshi (Milk River). The mid-May sun was bearing heavily down on us, with temperatures of over 30 degrees. This was not the Himalayan weather I had anticipated.

My almost 20kg hiking bag made each sweaty step heavier, not to mention the already thinning oxy gen- I began to wonder whether I was cut out for this challenge. It was only day one!

I was further humbled when I was overtaken numerous times by porters carrying supplies into the mountains. The Sherpas are the ethnic group that live in and organise the tourism the Nepalese Himalayas mountains. They are the lifeblood of the area, with porters carrying on average 40-60kg of supplies on their backs, with some carrying 125% of their body weight. They often get paid by the kg, so they would take on back-breaking weights to make ends meet. All of this while trekking in old trainers or even sandals sometimes, which was a sharp contrast to my thick-soled hiking boots.

Since they have lived in the mountains for gener ations, they had adapted to the high altitude and terrain, breathing much easier than us sea-level dwellers. With no roads carved into the moun tains, this is one of the few viable options alongside the use of donkey and yak herds, to keep transport

supplies such as gas, food, oxygen and whatever other demands the mountain tourism industry the third-world nation so greatly relies upon.

The locals also can be hired as guides for treks and alpine climbing. The higher the risk, the more they get paid. Everest Base Camp trek is fairly low risk compared to other Himalayan Mountain adventures, but tourists can hire guides if they do not feel comfortable going alone. Porters can also be hired to carry the bulk of your bags. This has been called by some as problematic, due to west erners paying small amounts for the locals to carry

tourist and worker lingering in the background. Others argue that it is a positive, as they are making more money than they would be with out the tourism coming into the country. I am not seeking to cast a judgment here, rather to give an overview of the debate currently going on. We decided to do the trek without a guide or porter, as we wanted to test our endurance and be as self-sufficient as possible. The trail is well trodden and not so difficult to follow, with many tourists and locals going up and down to ask if we were unsure about directions.

After arriving at Manjo and staying in a lodge for the night, we officially entered Sagarmatha (Nepalese word for Everest, literally translating to ‘Sky Head’ or ‘Goddess of the Sky’) National Park, where we paid a fee of 3000 rupees to pass. This was mainly a strenuous ascent where my will was tested once again. I was reminded of how much of an amateur I was when we bumped into a particularly inspirational individualLhakpa Sherpa. This female icon is the women’s world record holder for most successful Mt. Everest summits. She was on her 10th attempt when we met her, with an American film crew following to document it. She told us of how she came from extreme disadvantaged background, being born into a family of 11 children in a cave. Everest had always been in her sights, practically being born on its doorstep. She did not let her poverty prevent her ambition, funding her first attempt at the 8,848m-high mountain by peel ing potatoes and washing dishes for her uncle. This blew my mind, considering my goal was to merely reach the base of the mountain. We were lucky enough to befriend the 48-year-old, along with her daughter and niece, sharing laughs and even a short dance on the trail. Passing each other many more times on the trek, our groups would overtake one-another several times. She later commented how fast my trio was compared to others, and that we should consider going to the top one day- a comment which I profoundly humbled by, coming from such a mountaineer ing rockstar. As well as an appreciated confidence boost to my nervous mind.

After the shorter trek of 5 miles, we arrived at the Sherpa capitol, Namche Bizaar. This town is built into the mountains, in the shadow of Kongde Ri- the first snowy peak we laid eyes upon. At an escalation of 3,440m, we had to stop here to accli matize for two nights so that our bodies could adjust to the low oxygen levels. This was more than welcome, given the sheer life of the town we were lucky enough to soak in. From the Hungry

overwhelming weights, often causing long term damage to the backs of these people. With moun tain tourism being their only export, the econom ically disadvantaged people have little choice but to do this gruelling work, with power dynamic of

Yak Live Music bar to the Irish pub, this town bore more than a mark of western influence. Yet it did not lack for a somewhat authentic feel, filled with Buddhist iconography, brightly coloured prayer flags and a Sherpa culture museum not far from

"From this bustling and brightly coloured city, we embarked on our journey into the Himalayan Mountain range"

the settlement. But this eclectic place had not always been touched by the prosperity it now has. We found this out upon meeting another legend in the Nepalese mountaineering community- Kanche Sherpa.

One of the last surviving members of the 1957 Hilary-Tenzing expedition, the 88-year-old was one of the porters who helped carry equipment for the famous pair at the young age of 19. Born and raised in Namche, Kancha told us (through his grandson translating, for the price of 800 rupees each) how the town used to be no more than a collection of small tin huts, held together by nothing more than a few pieces of rope. This was pre-mountain tourism, with his fam ily struggling to eat every day. He talked warmly of Edmund Hilary, and of how grateful he was for bring ing so much attention to the region. Kancha had no

can’t escape someone trying to sell you a Coca Cola. These tea huts were useful as a place to stop for lunch, as we carried only small snacks on our person. I was highly recommended to avoid ordering a fish dish, as the sea is far from from the mountains, with one never knowing how long hut owners have kept their stock for. Dal Bhat seems have been the safest choice. A dish native to the Indian subcontinent, it includes white rice (bhat), lentils (dal) served with a vegetable curry (tarkari) and a mixture of spicy vegetables. I must admit that it was not my preferred dish of choice, but it was better than the bad imitations of western meals often served. More on this later.

The temperature had drop significantly to a cool 12 degrees as we approached our next destination, but you wouldn’t hear me complaining. The concentration

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idea of the significance of the expedition at the timehe merely needed work, being hired by Tenzing Nor gay. He told us how they didn’t have strong enough ladders at the time, and therefore they used tree trunks to bridge the big gaps they sought to cross, high up on Everest. Part of his job test the makeshift crossing once laid over the steep chasms, to ensure they were safe for the group to continue. This brought home just how much danger this man had out himself through. He also told us of the downside of doing years of carrying heavy loads for cash, indicating that his back was in a lot of pain all the time. Nonetheless, he assured us that he was very comfortable in his role now, talking to people from all round the world who come to see him.

needed for the intense declines along with the effort required for the excessive inclines caused spent a great amount of energy, with heat glittering through me with each taxing step. We were catching glimpses of great white peaks in the distance but we still had a way to go. The thickets of trees were beginning to thin, to reveal the dusty cliffside paths we ahead. The ever-thinning oxygen was a sign of challenges to come.

The mountain town of Thyanboche, the home of Tenzing Norgay, was a relief to reach. We checked into a lodge and spent the night. We were a little under whelmed by the views, with heavy clouds blocking the distances, but we were excited to check out the famous

After completing acclimatization, we headed for Thyangboche. Although we were only to trek 3.6 miles as the crow flies, the pattern of steep incline, then decline, then steep incline again meant that this seemed like a lot further and more strenuous than the other day. It is important to note that we were able to take breaks at various points at tea huts, which are dotted all the way along the trail. Due to the western tourism, it is very common to find food and drink we would be accustomed to. Even in the Himalayas, you

Monastery located in the settlement. The Tibetan building is at the centre of the town, decorated with colourful emblems, chortans and prayer flags. The entrance had a red square archway, with various ani mals depicted it. We were lucky enough to go inside and see the beautiful artwork depicting various stories of the Buddha’s life. In the middle of the main room was a huge golden statue of the deity, with to our sur prise, modern, multi-coloured LED lights decorating the base of the figure. It was hard not to notice the sharp contrast between old and new, and once again

Images

"At an escalation of 3,440m, we had to stop here and acclimatize for two nights, so our bodies could adjust to the low oxygen levels"

reflect on how much western influence had come to this part of the world.

If we were disappointed by the view from the moun tain town on arrival, it was certainly made up for the next day. We were awoken by the sound of a gong ring ing throughout the town at around 6am. It must have been around 0 degrees Celsius, so we pulled on some layers to go outside and see what was going on. The sight that met us took my breath away

All around us were incredible white mountains. Every direction we looked was a feast for the eyes. Views of Tawache, Nuptse, Lhotse, Thamserku, and my personal favourite Ama Dablam (The Mother’s Necklace) surrounded us in all directions, decorating the clear, fresh blue skies of the morning. The sun was just coming up from the east, and I was finally begin

myself down. Unpleasant as it was, this was good for my body’s adjustment, as it meant it was forced to adapt to the lower altitude.

From Dingboche we went to Lobuche, stayed the night, then moved onto our last stop- Gorok Shep. The snowy peaks surrounding us felt almost in touching distance at this stage. The air was extremely dusty at this point, with a buff being required to avoid the dry throat of the ‘Khumbu cough’ (named after the region we were now in). To call Gorok Shep a settlement is almost an overstatement. A collection of no more than five buildings, the hamlet is not one of the most com fortable places to stay. It was around -15 degrees at night, and felt very remote from civilisation. We stayed in a lodge which was cold even during the day and served food which made my altitude sick stomach turn. My advice to you, if you have never had yak cheese

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ning to understand why this monastery was up here. This was where the gong was being struck, and was echoing every 30 seconds or so- calling the monks for their morning prayer. The thin air, which was had been beginning to cause me headaches the night before, was now adding to the spiritual exhilaration. It is no wonder why these mountains are considered holy by so many. After spinning in awe for a while, as well as taking some pictures for the ‘gram, we packed our stuff and headed off onto the next step of the adventurewith newfound excitement in our step. We had another five and a half miles to walk.

Arriving in the hamlet of Dingboche, the difference in the oxygen levels were becoming more noticeable. We had reached an escalation of 4410m, with every breath requiring a gasp at the end of the days trek. This was our second acclimatization stop, as our bodies needed to adjust to the around significantly less breatha ble air- around 75% of the sea level. Some mountain explorers opt to use Diamox medication, usually used

before, is DO NOT order a pizza. It is extremely strong and sour and put me off eating for the rest of the day. Stick to Dal Bhat!

Everest Base Camp was little over an hour away, and we were excited to see what all the fuss was about. The adulation of reaching our destination was incredible, although somewhat grounded by the nausea and head ache- which seemed to be a constant at this point. We had reached the bottom of the highest mountain in the world! In front of us we saw the magnificent Khumbu Icefall, the unstable first step of the Everest ascent, cut ting between the intimidating omnipresent mountains. Unfortunately, we were only permitted to go into the outskirts of the colourful camp, as you need a permit costing $11,000 to simply access the base of Everest. We promised ourselves that one day, with more train ing and greater savings, to take on the giant.

I would more than recommend the EBC trek to any one interested. It is admittedly tough, but is a challenge that anyone with a basic level of fitness can take on,

to treat glaucoma and epilepsy, as it helps with treat the symptoms of altitude sickness- headaches, feeling sick, loss of appetite, dizziness, shortness of breath etc. We decided to test our abilities without the aid of pills, which took its toll on us at various points. The best way to describe the low altitude is comparing it to the feeling of when you’ve just finished running and you’re trying to catch your breath, with the difference being it hardly subsided. I recall waking up in the middle of the night during our first night at Dingboche, feeling like I was choking, almost spluttering myself into a frenzy. Luckily, I was warned about this, so I managed to calm

requiring minimal training of a few runs a week for the 8 weeks leading up to the trek. My thanks to Ezra Thakker and Elijah Khan, who supported me emo tional and at times financially on the trip, for whom I could not have done the trek without. I dedicate this article to you!

If you wish to see more pictures of our Everest Base Camp trek, or see our other mountain adventures we got up to, follow us @motleymountaineers, our shared Instagram account.

"One of the last surviving members of the 1957 Hilary-Tenzing expedition, the 88-year old was one of the porters who helped carry equipment for the famous pair at the young age of 19"

Those who Do and Don't do HALLOWEEN

By Sabah Quraishi Lifestyle Writer

Yeah I mean absolutely, I think that's why I give in to cel ebrating it, but yes sometimes I have felt left out of it.

Me personally, I used to celebrate when I was younger so I didn’t really get that feeling but eventually when I started growing up I stopped, I didn’t really feel left out because there’s plenty of other stuff I did on Halloween so I didn’t really get that feeling. - Rafay Shakeel, UKC Pakistani Society, President

In the beginning, not everyone honestly, but after they saw my willpower about not drinking, they could see that I can have fun without drinking and without going out too much.- Yasmeen Hamad, UKC Arab Society, Head of Communications

Oh yeah 100%. Now you know, it's the 21st century, people respect other cultures, other views - you do you.

- Shyla Mehjabin, UKC Bengali Society, Events Manager

No, I don’t feel respected because people say, ‘just have some fun and let loose’, but even they never really under stand why they're celebrating it in the first place.

- Safa Afzal, UKC Pakistani Society, Events Manager

Here we have mixed experiences, but when it comes down to it, non-Muslims don’t cele brate Eid. In the same way, Muslims believe that they shouldn’t take part in religious events which aren’t their own. It’s just a dif ferent belief that should be accepted like any other.

Another religion that holds beliefs against Halloween, is Judaism. In their religion, Halloween is considered a gentile festival (meaning it’s non-Jewish). Despite this, many Jews decide to partake in Halloween regardless. Jews that follow a more ortho dox lifestyle though, tend to stay away from Halloween celebrations and focus on the Jewish holiday Purim. This is a holiday to celebrate when a woman named Esther, who was Queen of Persia saved the Jewish community from a plot to have all of them killed. Nowadays, people refer to Purim as the ‘Jewish Halloween’, as some of the tra

ditions involve dressing up and giving out gifts, which can include treats. We spoke to members of the UKC Jewish Society, Zach ary Hollenberg- President and Gabriel Van Dijk- President/Treasurer. Here’s what they had to say.

Interviewer: Are you allowed to celebrate Halloween?

Zachary: There's nothing against it. When I was a kid, I would dress up and I’d carve pumpkins.

Interviewer: Based on our research, we’ve read that Halloween isn’t allowed to be cele brated in Judaism.

Zachary: I think in more conservative movements, it is something they avoid because it is more of a pagan influence.

Gabriel: We do have our own holiday

where we dress up, it's called Purim and we got something like that. There are people who celebrate it [Halloween], I personally have done it. I've gone trick or treating and stuff, I’m not serious though. I go with friends but it's not something that I look forward to and have it locked down that I’m going out…

Interviewer: Were you ever told anything about not celebrating it or is that followed by those with more conservative views?

Gabriel: No. No… I wasn't born with it. It’s not like my parents were like ‘dress up lets go out’. As I got older, when I was teenager, I’d maybe go out with friends.

Halloween.

It’s a fun time right? Kids dress up and trick or treat. Teens and adults dress up and get drunk. However, it’s not for everyone. So let’s talk about it.

What is Halloween?

A common nickname for it is ‘The Devil’s Birthday’. Originally, Halloween was a Pagan holiday known as the Eve of Samhain. On this day, it was believed that the veil between the natural and supernatural world would break down allowing the inhabitants of each to interact. When the Christian communities became more prom inent in areas dominated by Pagans, they wanted to reframe Samhain as a two-day Christian celebration to gain more followers. These days were called All Saints’ Eve, followed by All Saints’ Day. This later became ‘All Hallows’ Eve’ when Irish immigrants moved over to America, where their traditions were shared.

That was Halloween in the past. Today it’s a day of fright nights and parties but ultimately, it isn’t for every one. Many countries outside of western society don’t cel ebrate this occasion at all, either due to religion, or due to the fact it simlpy isn’t a part of their culture. With the growing diversity in the west of the world, we see more and more people with different beliefs who celebrate dif ferent holidays and don’t take part in the ones normal ised within Christian societies. One group that does not take part in Halloween are Muslims.

Let’s start with the basics: Muslims are individuals which follow the religon of Islam. In Islamic beliefs, one of the most grave sins is known as Shirk. Simply put, this is the association of God with other deities. Essentially, taking part in the worship or celebration of another reli gion and/or their God would be classed under this. It’s just like how non-Muslims don’t celebrate Eid, and how non-Christians don’t celebrate Christmas. Simple right? It’s just a difference in belief. So on Halloween, most Muslims won’t trick or treat, and you probably won’t see anyone celebrating if you visit a Muslim country. But some do, just to have fun with their friends, just like people of other religions tend to take part in Christmas.

We talked to some students from the Canterbury cam pus during Freshers’ Week, and the following is what they had to say about their own beliefs and the way in which people respect their differences. We first asked students about what they were taught about Halloween growing up and how they view it now. Here’s what they had to say:

Everyone has their own views and beliefs on a multitude of topics and events. The standpoint other religions have on hol idays which aren’t their own are normal. Not everyone shares the same holidays. So, if you want to get your costumes and pumpkins ready for spooky season, go for it! Or just ignore all of that and just grab a pumpkin spiced latte. At the end of the day, we should all respect each other and spend October 31st however we see fit.

Have you ever felt left out of Halloween celebrations?

- Safa Afzal, UKC Pakistani Society, Events Manager

Do you feel that your views and beliefs towards Halloween are respected by others?

THE IMPORTANCE OF BLACK COMMUNITIES IN MODERN FASHION

by Camron Bayig Head of Fashion for

POCAS Society

The year 2020 marked a renewal for the fashion industry: the Black Lives Matter protests that followed George Floyd’s kill ing led to a thorough rethinking on how to better implement inclusion and diversity within an industry accused of perpetuating systemic racist and elitist oppressions in its heart. Indeed, because the fashion world is historically white-dominated, the absence of non-white individuals in presiding positions weakens their opportu nities to share voices, experiences, and cultures authentically.

The incapacity of ensuring diversity within the decision-making spheres of the industry contributes to the erasure of marginalized communities (especially Latino and Black) as pioneers for many current fashion trends. Stripped of their recognition for making fashion, their creativity is systematically tied to the name of influen tial fashion brands that reappropriate their culture.

Nevertheless, the emergence of a new generation of designers that have carried the resurgence of streetwear in luxury fashion has implemented a shift in the way fashion subcultures are appre ciated, and re-identified as belonging to the right groups. The work of designers like Virgil Abloh (the late Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Artis tic Director) highlighted how Black African and urban cultures are legitimate and important constituents of modern-day fashion. He placed them at the forefront of high fashion, reinforcing their place as undeniable sources of inspiration for modern and luxury fashion.

This article will commemorate Black History Month by exploring a series of fashion trends taking their origins from Black communities.

The Omnipresence of Trainer Culture

Trainer culture (or sneaker culture) is a form of cultural expression that centers on the wearing of trainers to express one’s personality, sense of fashion, status, and also on the act of tracking and collecting the most in-vogue shoes on the market.

The first trainer was created by a British company called J.W. Fos ters and Sons. They later grew in popularity during the 1980s, along with Black urban music genres such as hip-hop and rap, and due to the prominence of African American athletes like Michael Jordan, who exhibited the shoes on the basketball court. This makes sport and music the main spheres of influence that carried the transition of sneakers from basic sportswear items to tools of cultural expres sion. Starting with celebrities, the trend rapidly conquered urban black youths wishing to resemble their idols- furthering the popu larity of trainers. Embraced by kids of colour, trainers became mark ers of social differentiation and identification with the sneakerhead culture that started in black suburbs.

Bearing heavy social and political meanings (often at the expense of the Afro-American community), trainers have never been just shoes: since their invention in the 19th century, they have conveyed several messages from national identity, race, and class to mascu linity and criminality within the Black community, and to overall society.

As an example, Nike’s all-white Air Force 1 trainers are often seen as ‘felon shoes’ when worn by black drug dealers, who embody the hyper-masculine figure of the ‘thug’ in society. On the contrary, trainers were a means of raising public awareness on the disastrous economic condition of the black community during the Olympic Games in Mexico City (1968), when American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos removed their Pumas when mounting the medal podium.

Sneakers are therefore powerful reflections of the realities affect ing black people and the views and stereotypes that society attaches to them. Starting off as a niche industry in the 1980s, sneakers are now a very high-value industry, embraced by the most famous lux ury brands. The industry's popularity is also boosted by the craze resale market, which completely changed the way of consuming sneakers. Getting a hand on the most popular drops is now a matter of the most computer-savvy, those who have mastered the electronic

art of being selected for sneaker raffles.

Hoop Earrings Mania

Made of gold, bronze, or silver, hoop earrings are classic pieces of jewelry that are traditionally worn by Black and Latino women across the globe.

The invention of gold hoop earrings can be traced back to the ancient Sumerians who lived 5000 years ago, in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey). However, archeologi cal research have shown that hoop earrings have existed in many parts of the world: as they were also present in other parts of Africa (such as Ancient Egypt) and Asia (Vietnam and India). Yet, what characterizes hoops across all these different cultures is that they are powerful symbols of strength, power, and unity; all values associated with their wearing. In ancient Egypt, both male and female royalty and religious figures wore them, as gold hoop earrings were strongly linked to the warmth and light of the sun- believed to be provided directly by the gods and deities.

Hoops earrings are an iconic statement piece (the item of an out fit that instantly catches one’s attention) whose popularity has been carried by several music eras, among which the emerging hip-hop and R&B scene in the 2000s is the most recent. Famous musicians such as Lauryn Hill, Eryka Badu, and Aaliyah embraced them, and therefore prepared the ground for their reappropriation for female members of the African American community.

Nowadays, hoops are considered symbols of strength, identity, womanhood, empowerment, and most importantly, they represent resistance to discrimination. Agreeably, they hold a huge political meaning, since they were the iconic accessory of female activists during the Black Power movement. Along with afros, hoops were standout pieces that constituted the outfits of civil rights activists such as Nina Simone and Angela Davis, who protested against racial segregation and equal rights. Thus, their significance is linked to the dissidents of radical emancipatory figures.

Statements of identity for women belonging to both Latino and Black communities existing in white-washed landscapes, hoops have been relegated to the status of a ‘hot must-have item’ in the fashion industry.

The Durag: More than a Classic Headpiece

The durag is a hair-covering tied around the forehand, which is meant to protect and maintain Black people's hair into a ‘waves shape’. They can be in many colors and fabrics, including silk, satin, or cotton. According to American author Vann Newkirk, the term ‘durag’ can be traced back to the United States in the 1940s and 1950s after a rise in the availability of commercial hair products for Black people.

Although the origins of the durag cannot be traced with acute precision, we do know that it has been an instrument to bypass the Tignon law, enacted in 1786 in Louisiana. The aim of this law was to enshrine Black people’s inferiority in American law, forcing them to hide their hair in a tignon headscarf, in a sign of their lower sta tus, and also to prevent women of colour to ‘outshine’ white women by wearing their hair out. Nevertheless, Black women completely embraced the cloth and decided to decorate it with feathers and jewels, becoming a full-fledged accessory.

In the 19th cen tury, slave women wore it to maintain their hair, dur ing labour on plantations.

They began to be worn in the way we know during the 1970s

when they were marketed as ‘Tie-Downs’ by the company So Many Waves. Their transition to fashion statements was carried by Hiphop stars who contributed to its popularization as a style accessory belonging to Black culture. Durags became a symbol of fashion and streetwear, displayed by rappers like Jay-Z, Cam’ron, and Nelly.

In 2020, Rihanna made history for being the first Black woman to wear it on the cover of British Vogue. This allowed the ‘potent sym bol of Black life’ to be ‘viewed through the prism of high fashion’ as stated by Edward Enninful, the editor-in-chief of the magazine, who commented on the uniqueness of this moment. While high fashion has found inspiration from Black streetwear style and has therefore reappropriated the durag through several collections, its exhibition on runways is often accused of emptying the object of its original significance, to better profit from its popularity in the streets.

Being respectful and avoiding cultural appropriation

Aside from luxury fashion, this brings us to a broader topic on double standards over urban culture, and how to avoid cul tural appropriation of trends that origi nated from Black communities.

It can be difficult not to cross the thin line that separates cultural appreciation from cultural appropriation.

However, genuinely educating ourselves on the cultural and polit ical significance of garments, accessories, or any fashion items belonging to someone else’s culture is an important effort to not reproduce the power dynamics behind cultural appropriation.

While cultural appreciation is about understanding one’s culture in order to cross-culturally bond with others, cultural appropria tion defines the act of picking or stealing from another culture for personal pleasure or benefit, often in an attempt to seem different ‘cool’ or ‘edgy’. The latter completely disregards the importance of any object belonging to a specific culture.

When wearing an object that does not belong to your culture, there is a list of questions that you should try to answer in order to find out if you might be culture appropriating. Researching the object being worn can help predict whether it will make people from the culture concerned uncomfortable. In addition, consider whether or not you are consciously using the social privilege allowing you to wear a specific object without having to worry about the stereotypes and stigmas that society may associate with it. Finally, ask yourself whether you can socially benefit from wearing the object you have chosen, and whether or not you are participating in reinforcing the marginalization of communities that have started a trend or object.

Image courtesy of Lefteris Kallergis/ Unsplash

Image courtesy of Mike Von/ Unsplash

Running Out of Meal Ideas Already? A Student-Friendly Beginner's Guide to Meal Prep

By Ainy Shiyam Head of Media and Marketing

Last summer, I got in the habit of doing Meal Preps for two rea sons. One, I wanted to improve my relationship with food and two, I wanted to cut back on spending money on Deliveroo and Uber Eats.

This meal planning method gives you a head start on the week, often leading to faster, healthier, stress-free eating. Learning how to prepare meals will seriously change your weekly meal game since it can save you a lot of time in those precious (some times hectic!) post-university hours. It also ensures that you are getting a nutritious option on the table in no time. Believe me, as a busy university student myself, this one was a game changer.

Here are my top tips to begin Meal Prepping.

1. Plan and Prep Schedule

Set aside a good hour or two on the weekend to draft a meal plan and build your shopping list. Another good habit is to pencil-in meal prepping into your calendar and treat it as a priority, just like how you would treat an important meeting.

Also, plan when you would be doing all of the shopping, prepping and cooking. Consider consulting your housemates on times that you would be actively using the kitchen and how long it would likely take. Find what works for you, and over time it will end up feeling like second nature.

2. Organise your Pantry and Keep Inventory

The main principle behind meal prepping is to use what you have to hand to make a meal. This is why taking note of what you have left in your pantry is crucial. One way to do this is keeping staples (such as rice, quinoa, pasta, cous-cous, etc) nearby so you can check off items as they run out and be added to your next shopping list.

Not only will this method make food shopping feel like a breeze, but it will save you money and significantly cut down food wastage.

3. Cycle your Meals and Vary your Meals

One misconception in meal prepping is that you need to cut down all ‘unhealthy’ foods from your plan. This is far from the truth. You have the power to make your meal plan as diverse as you like, without having restrictions on what you can and cannot have.

One clever way to tackle this problem is to write down your favourite meals for the week, shuffle the order for the next week, and repeat. You can also keep the menu interesting by switching the source of protein each week. For exam ple, you can have chicken breasts one week, and the week after could opt for beef or turkey. For plant-based diets you can switch around legumes, quinoa, and tofu. Just like that, you won’t keep repeating meals until you can’t stand the sight of them, and will avoid decision fatigue. It’s a win-win.

4. Shop for In-season Produce

Shopping what’s in season is the best way to encourage yourself to try new kinds of produce. For example, squash is usu ally more readily available in autumn, whereas tomatoes are best in the sum mer. In-season produce is often more nutritious, tastier, and affordable than imported off-season products.

If the vegetables that you want are not in-season, do not shy away from buying from the frozen aisle. Not everything you prep must be made from scratch.

5. Stick to your List

Avoid temptation: Don't shop on an empty stomach and skip the snack food aisles. If you don’t see it, you won’t be tempted to buy it. Healthy whole foods like produce, dairy, meat, fish, and eggs are often found around the perimeter of the store.

In general, if you stick to your shopping list and don't browse, you will avoid unnecessary purchases that might go to waste or are NOT part of your meal plan.

6. Use containers with compart ments

You don't need a whole new set of Tup perware, but the right container— one with dividers for different foods— can be invaluable.

Compartments can help with portion control and increase food variety to help you meet your nutritional needs. I personally prefer glass containers as they are hypoallergenic, BPA free and are microwave and dishwasher safe, plus they can help you see what you have without lifting a lid to look inside.

But glass containers can be pricey, and Amazon does sell really good containers for meal prep. Whatever containers you choose, it is a good idea to label the date it was prepped after you have packed it. This way you can prioritise eating the meals that are closest to expiring.

7. Essential pantry ingredients to start meal prepping.

A fully stocked pantry will always set you up for meal prep success. Here are some staples I always have on hand: Oats, Quinoa, Brown rice, Spices and herbs, Canned beans, Dried beans, Whole-grain pasta and chickpea pasta, raw nuts and seeds, Olive oil and olive oil spray, Low sodium vegetable broth, Canned fish— tuna and salmon, Dried beans and nuts.

In Defence of Medway Nightlife: Clubbing Catalogue

By Laurice Janielle Lifestyle Editor

Whenone hears of the Medway campus, it’s not unusual to hear complaints synonymous with ‘boring’ and ‘lifeless’.

But as the common phrase goes: one man's trash is another man's treasure. Since the 2004 Universities at Medway expansion project, large volumes of clubbing-loving young adults have moved to the area. And with this, the pressure to appeal to this demographic becomes greater than ever. Truthfully, if you really want to experience clubbing and nightlife, Medway would probably be the last place that comes to mind. Except that you’ve decided to read this article, further proving my incentive to spotlight the very few of our town’s pride & joy.

Tap ‘n’ Tin, Chatham

This local nightclub, just 10 minutes away from the Pier Quays student accommodation is a well-known spot for local Medway-based students. With free student entry from the first hour of opening, start your week off with their ‘We Love Monday’ themed events (open from 8PM to 3AM). During Freshers’, the club hosted a Neon Rave with their bot tom floor blasting alternative, chart-topping hits, and decade anthems. Mollie’s Bar mixes drum and bass, while the top floor parties to R&B, hip-hop, and urban beats. Fridays and Saturdays are also open from 10PM to 4AM. Paid entries for these days start from 11PM at only £5 (£4 for students) and after 12AM is £6 (£5 for students).

drink, a Music student tells us. ‘Most of the time, I ended up paying in cash.’ - Best Day for Clubbing: Monday

The Casino Rooms, Rochester Established 30 years ago and having been the first venue in Kent to be awarded the National Policing Award for Safety, The Casino Rooms are frequented by clubbers all around the South East. With Multi-Room

Private Hire Venues, they’ve hosted events such as PDC World Darts (which was aired on Sky Sports), Charity Boxing, IPW: UK Wrestling, Mixed Martial Art Events, live music gigs, and the Demelza Charity.

Dress up as something scary on their Halloween Weekender on the 28th and 29th of October, with tickets starting from only £5. On top of that, there will be free and professional face painting available during your time there.

Their biggest daytime rave event, UKG Brunch is happening on the 5th of November; featuring DJ Luck & MC Neat, Scott Garcia, who’s written the hit UK garage track, ‘Its a London Thing’, Ghanaian musi cian Kofi B, and many more. Then, if you want to experience bingo on a larger, more immersive scale, try Bongo Bingo night on November 12. It's a blend of traditional bingo, dance-offs, and rave intervals - tickets are selling fast!

The general dress code is to avoid sportswear, which includes hood ies, vests, caps, and sports shorts. - Best Day for Clubbing: Saturday

The Deep End, Pembroke Campus

old swimming pool and skittle alley were transformed into what we see today. Every Tuesday night, the Music Society host live performances and open mics. This laid-back, easy-going ambience is perfect for the introverted and those who prefer a lowkey night out. The following night, however, better caters to our partygoers with weekly Wednes day-themed club night events. It's not close to how hard Canterbury’s Venue or Club Chemistry would be, but it is a safe, within walking distance and student-dominated club. They have great and affordable drink deals and additionally throughout the week, different societies like the LGBTQ+ Society and the Pub Games Society host events here. According to habitual attendees, after parties back at the Pier Quays accommodation are the cherry on top. - Best Day for Clubbing: Wednesday

The Source Bar, Maidstone

Showcasing local DJs and providing quality dance music in the area, The Source is open three nights a week, (Wednesday, Fridays, Satur days). A 25-minute ride down south from Gillingham, the venue throws a jam-packed party every Friday (10PM - 4AM) called Get Sourced. Dance with friends to your favourite genres of music: Alternative, Drum n’ Bass, Hip Hop, House, UK Garage. There’s the free first-hour entry and drinks start from as low as £2.50 before 11PM. As for their Halloween festivities, you’d want to look forward to raving to house music with the popular Faded X Halloween, happening on the 29th of October.

Images courtesy of Szabo Viktor/ Unsplash

By Lumi O'Keefe Culture Writer

Canterbury Phantoms: The Spooks That Stalk the Streets

Have you ever heard a whisper in the shadowy corner of an empty pub? Or footsteps following you on a deserted, cobblestoned street? As Halloween approaches and the veil between our world and the next wears thin, InQuire uncurls a long list of haunted happenings that reveal the eerie history of our city. From beheaded bishops to chilling children, here are some Canterbury tales to tell that will shudder your soul!

Canterbury cathedral is infa mously believed to be stalked by the ghost of a former Archbishop, fondly named ‘The Forgotten Bishop’. Whilst Thomas Becket seems the obvious spooky sus pect given his prominent status as a Saint (and equally prominent assassination in 1170), the spectre that is said to haunt the cathedral belongs to former Archbishop of Canterbury, Simon Sudbury. In order to fund a costly war with France, Sudbury raised the flat poll tax to a shilling per head. The peasantry of England were outraged, even more so because of the unfairness of having to pay the exact same amount of tax as the bourgeoisie. The tax was announced in 1380, however when it came to be levied in 1381, the peasants organised a revolt. Sudbury, as

the creator of the tax, was one of the first targets of the revolt, and was captured halfway through a mass and taken to Tower Hill to be executed. After eight consecutive sword swings, his head was decapitated and placed on display at Lon don Bridge, whilst his body was buried in Can terbury. Despite the gruesome tale behind his death, his spirit is not vengeful. His pale, thick ly-bearded face, and grey, robe-clad body is said to appear within a tower bedroom of Canterbury Cathedral. Once the occupant of the bedroom has gotten into bed, Sudbury’s spirit will harmlessly tuck them in for the night. Perhaps the bishop is making amends for his unfair ways, or simply show ing he did not deserve his fate. His mummified head is still on display at Sudbury in St Gregory’s Church, which he helped to rebuild, and the mayor of Canterbury places a wreath on his tomb every year during the Christmas service.

The Bishop’s Finger is a wellknown watering hole on St Dunstan’s street, frequented by students and residents of Canterbury alike. Named after the fingers on the signposts of Pilgrim’s Way, designed to point pilgrims to the tomb of Thomas Becket, every Friday night the reg ulars are joined by the ghost of Ellen

Blean: the Vindicating Housekeeper. According to legend, Ellen Blean was the housekeeper of a Canon, a type of clergyman, who lived on St Dunstans Street. Upon discovering that the holy man was having an affair with a younger woman, she took it upon herself to enact the Lord’s pun ishment by poisoning both him and his mistress with a meat pie. After disappearing from the city shortly after, her body was found bricked into a wall near the Canon’s abode. The circum stances around her death are entirely unknown, although theories include an act of revenge per formed by the Canon’s fellow clergymen- or, the possibility that she bricked herself into the wall as repentance for committing the cardinal sin of murder. Now, her spirit haunts the lane on which she used to reside, her footsteps echoing and wails resonating across the entire length of St. Dunstan’s street. Every Friday her ghostly image appears in the Bishop’s Finger, as if to warn the revellers to maintain the Pilgrim’s Way and follow the word of God, lest they meet a fate as vengeful as the one she enacted or as misera ble as the one she endured.

Tiny Tim’s Tearoom is known for its sweet cakes and delightful teas. With scones as large as your head, bluesy piano music, and that classic Can terbury quaint medi eval style, there is little to suggest the

true horrors that were revealed in this Tearoom of Terror during routine ren ovations. After a fire entirely destroyed the Chinese restau rant that occupied the building, resto ration works began in 2000. During inspections of the building, the workmen reported strange changes in tem perature, shivers up their spine, and the sounds of children playing and laughing in the empty upper floors. As work began on the damaged building, many parts had to be stripped and entirely replaced. However, upon removing a set of 186 panels on the third floor, it was discovered that attached to each panel was a child’s tooth, a lock of hair, and a date of birth and death. As if this was not strange enough, some of the teeth were capped in silver, which is believed to be a blessing which aided the children in passing to the afterlife. However, not all succeeded in their journey. Every morning when opening the tea room, the baker swears he still hears three little children laughing upstairs, their spirits eternally bound to the otherwise charming building. You can still visit the third floor where the panels were removed, and if you listen out as carefully as you can, the sound of children’s laughter may ring through your ears.

Pussy Riot at The Gulbenkian: A Review

By Sam Webb Newspaper Editor

With Pussy Riot, the infamous feminist Russian punk-rock arts collective, you will always be guaranteed a powerful show. Known for their aversion towards Vladimir Putin’s Russian establishment, and their elabo rate and fearless protests against everything that modern-day Russia represents, Riot Days exhib its the intertwinement of Russian politics with the Orthodox church, the judicial system, and the brutality within their prisons.

Riot Days is essentially performed as a mem oir of Maria (Masha) Alyokhina, focusing on the complete events surrounding her arrest in 2012, which occurred following Pussy Riot’s pro test-performance inside the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Spanning the events right from the planning of the routine to the arrest and imprisonment of Masha along with her other band members, Riot Days attempts to show the brutality of the Russian regime, all while putting on an engaging piece for the audience.

Little, but fascinating details are disclosed, including how the group managed to circum vent security to sneak an electric guitar into the Cathedral in order to perform what they enti tled ‘Punk Prayer: Mother of God Drive Putin

‘In Russia, there are no women priests. In Russia, there are Pussy Riot.’

Image courtesy of Tandem X Visuals/Unsplash

Image courtesy of Emily-Jane Heap/Kent Live

Images courtesy of Andrea Riondino/ Unsplash and Marty O/Trip Advisor

Image courtesy of Anna Artemeva/Getty

UKC People of Colour Arts Society: Community Through Collaboration

By Laurice Janielle Lifestyle Editor

The UKC People of Colour Arts Society is dedicated to all those belonging to ethnic communities in and around Canterburyand provides a safe space for members to share their artistic work, promoting the expression of oneself through a variety of different mediums, and allowing cultures to thrive with communal care. The group was established only two years ago when the current president, Ife Maria, was still a first-year student. InQuire sat down exclu sively with Ife as well as Tori Nakornsuwan, Head of Art and Design, to discuss what the society has achieved in the past year, what they plan to do more of, and why it’s important to curate a space like this one.

Events in the past year have mainly consisted of open mic nights, listening parties, and film screen ings. Open mics gave performers the liberty to showcase their many talents- from singing and playing instru ments to reading spoken word and The events foster a and supportive community, enough for people to just get up and vibe. Ife points out that these events were the most memorable to her because they attracted and welcomed people who weren’t yet a part of POCAS to stop by.

She said, ‘we had a listening party in my kitchen. It was for album of the year, so we just talked about all the music that we liked from 2021. Dis cussing it and listening to people’s suggestions.’

One of the film screenings hosted was Kanye West’s documentary, Jeen-Yuhs. The trilogy pro voked interesting discussions after each install ment. Ife also mentioned their Sip and Paint event, where drinks were served while students painted whatever they wanted.

Image courtesy of Daniel Robert Dinu/ Unsplash

in specifically, there just weren’t a lot of Asian people and, you know, being Asian, being a person of color, and being a creative, I didn't really have that space to express myself.

Whereas coming to uni, I met so many people and so many cre atives and it really feels like I can be open with myself. I can focus on achieving the things I want when it comes to myself or the things that I do - as in art.’

Tori is now more comfort able with her culture when it comes to art, but she tells us of her experience with art class back in school. ‘Everyone I stud

music. Born in Hackney, Shoreditch, a place full of creatives, Ife then moved out of London to Swindon. A majority white area, where until the age of 15, Ife found her self the only black person in her class. She felt as if the spotlight was on her grow ing up with music lessons.

‘Because I was the only coloured person, it felt like everyone expected a lot, and back then it almost made it scary to try and actually put myself out there and enjoy’.

Common for most ethnic minorities, there’s often a prev alent pressure to push oneself and perform better than their white counter parts just to feel accepted- to feel enough.

In her role as President, Ife wants to encourage people of colour to express themselves through their creative outlets. ‘I know I'm a creative per son, and I see other people who are but I feel like they just need that extra support, an extra push.'

Follow their Instagram, @ukcpocas for updates on upcoming events:

● Museum of London, Grime Exhibition: Explore the 2000s Rap Scene from East London that influenced not just the music culture in the UK but in other countries too.

● Listening parties to music from different cul

● ‘Paint and Swap’

'Even if I didn't know what someone was drawing, that doesn’t really matter because it’s how you interpret it. Art comes in differ ent forms. It means differ

'People need to tell them that we see you, we see what you're doing, and we’re here to sup-

Image courtesy of Hello I'm Nik/Unsplash

What Does The University of Kent Actually Read?

By Molly Field Culture Editor And Natasha Mather Culture & Literature Correspondent

Asfeverish (borderline obsessive) book worms ourselves, our team at InQuire were interested in finding some quality bookish inspiration in a saturated sea of regur gitated TikTok recommendations. While this is nothing against the Otessas, the Colleens, or the Dark Vanessas of the contemporary literary landscape, we craved variety. So, we looked out ward towards our fellow Canterburians, inter ested in uncovering what exactly (although not exhaustively) our university community is read ing currently, their favourite books, and their best spooky literary endeavours. Spilling across campus, clubs, seminar rooms, and, even, dating apps- our investigation draws to a close with the release of this article and a conclusive answer to the question: what does the University of Kent read (and should I read it, too)?

Oliver Double (Head of Comedy and Popular Performance):

Currently reading? I always have more than one book on the go. Currently, I'm reading Mel Brooks' autobiography, All About Me - a total joy. As for my other read, that's a collection of essays, edited by John Mair, called Boris John son: Media Creation, Media Clown, Media Casualty? I'm reading that mainly because I wrote one of the essays, so obviously it's highly recommended!

Favourite book? I read so much that it's hard to say, but a book I read recently that I really enjoyed is An Autobiography by Angela Davis. It was originally written in the early 1970s, but there's so much in there that resonates today in the light of the Black Lives Matter movement. Angela Davis is amazing.

Spooky rec? The Birds and Other Stories by Daphne Du Maurier is my top tip for spooky reading. The Birds is short but incredibly creepy.

Louvain (A Friend Molly Made in the Venue Smoking Area):

Currently reading? A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. It’s a lengthy novel which follows the lives of four men in New York. Centred around protagonist Jude, a dark childhood is revealed as the book goes on. I would recommend it as it is beautifully written and whilst I’d be mindful to check for content warnings before reading due to some of the subjects handled, it deals with heavy themes without coming across as trauma porn.

Favourite book? It changes all the time but, at the moment, it’s The Seven Husbands of Eve lyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I love a good plot twist and this book ties together loose ends seamlessly. I also have fond memories of reading it because I read it at the same time as my best friend and we had a lot of fun discussing it and working through the story together.

'Sometimes reality comes crash ing down on you. Other times reality simply waits, patiently, for you to run out of the energy it takes to deny it.'

Spooky rec? Not spooky in a traditional sense, but, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. It

explores super dark themes and looks into the dynamics of small towns and family secrets. It also has amazing plot twists.

Rashida Hassan (Inquire’s Editor-inChief):

Currently reading? I’m currently reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown- I would abso lutely recommend it for anyone who’s interested in religious cults and the way they operate. It's a very intense book because although it’s fiction, most of the information about the cult, religious artefacts, weird encryptions and symbols men tioned are real. There’s also the classic whodun nit, and who doesn’t love a good murder?

Favourite book? Trying to come up with my favourite book of all time is such a daunting task. However, Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami is such a beautiful articulation of the feminine experience and what it means to be a woman. Kawakami excellently succeeds in addressing issues of bodily autonomy particularly for work ing class women as well as the different relation ships women have with their bodies, woven with dry, wry humour.

‘And what was I expecting? The kind of body that you see in girly magazines. A body that fit the mold of what people describe as "sexy”. A body that provokes sexual fantasy. A source of desire. I guess I could say that I expected my body would have some sort of value.’

Spooky rec? Animal plete mindfuck.

Lily Webber (Templeman Library Wel come Desk):

Currently reading? Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame and would absolutely recommend it. It's beau tifully written (but also very accessible) and is a thrilling tale of adventure and heroism, it's a classic!

Favourite book? comfort book) is Emily Bronte's Heights because Cathy and Heathcliff's relation ship is iconic, and reading it makes me feel so safe and cosy.

Spooky rec? I would recommend Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho hilarious and deeply unsettling at the same time - perfect for spooky season!

Dr Patricia Novillo Corvalán (Head of Comparative Literature):

Currently reading? books on the go at one time. The one I'm par ticularly enjoying right now is Mariana Enriquez' collection of short stories, ing in Bed, whom I'm going to see next month in London, at a talk where she will present her novel Our Share of the Night. eerie, yet super-cool stories set in post-dictator ship Argentina in the 1980s/1990s, where the real world is infiltrated by ghosts, zombies, and many other uncanny visitations.

Favourite book? Predictably, [my favourite book] would have to be the books I chose for my PhD thesis: James Joyce's Ulysses and Jorge Luis Borges' Fictions. Both deal with infinity, time, memory, identity, and labyrinthine cities: Dublin and Buenos Aires. They've provided end less material for a lifetime in academia!

Spooky rec? The Virago Book of Short Sto ries, a number of which I'm using for a module I teach on the Comparative Literature MA.

Ru Su (Head of Mandarin):

Currently reading? I've been reading Clas sical Chinese for Everyone- A Guide for Abso lute Beginners by Bryan W. Van Norden. As a Mandarin teacher, I found Chinese classics are fascinating and the modern Mandarin language is greatly influenced by them one way or another. This book not only explains the grammar but also the Chinese philosophies by quoting directly from the sayings of Confucius, Laozi (founder of Daoism) and some Tang dynasty poetry.

Favourite book? I recommend The Asian 21st Century by Kishore Mahbubani to everyone, especially younger generations, as this will give you some insights which are rarely discussed in the mainstream Western media.

Bekka (Molly’s Housemate):

individuals entering a loop in which they cannot escape mental treatment following a diagnosis regardless of their behaviour. He also discusses the possibility that the world is controlled by psychopaths, and the role class/wealth has in determining society’s response to someone with psychopathic traits.

Natasha (InQuire Culture Writer/ Co-Writer):

Currently reading? I’ve just started Jane Eyre. It’s one of a very long list of books that I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read (as a literature student), so I was very happy to get around to it. I was worried it might take me a while because of the inaccessible language, but I’m loving it so far– I adore the way Jane’s character is written and the absorbing plot makes it difficult to put down.

Favourite book? The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood. I read it when I was 15 and fell so in love with it that I immediately turned back to the first page and read the whole thing again. I also chose to write an extended essay on it, and I think it says a lot that even after weeks of gruelling research and an all-nighter to finish the essay I’m still not sick of this book– in fact I probably love it even more. True to Atwood’s style, the characters are so believable and dis tinct I can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that they aren’t real, and I adore the dark and

A brief psychology of horror films: Why do we like being scared?

By Gareth Griffiths Deputy Entertainment Editor

Horror is my favourite genre of film. The ways filmmakers cre ate suspense and manifest a spine-tingling atmosphere has always intrigued me. Whether it be a masked slasher picking off teenagers one by one, or aliens stalking the quiet countryside, there's something oddly appealing about watching characters being placed in terrifying jeopardy. But what is it specifically that we enjoy about horror films? Why do we essentially pay to be scared out of our skins? Is it to fulfil some cathartic thrill-seeking desire as we do with extreme sports? Or perhaps it's a way of displacing our subcon scious societal fears? To get some sense of why we like being scared so much, we must delve into the psychology of hor ror films.

The thrill we get from watching char acters being placed in life-threatening, stressful situations tends to derive from our sense of morality. The entity posing the threat is often presented as utterly inhuman and unsympathetic. You never see Michael Myers's face in Halloween

him despite the fact he is, as far as we know, human. Likewise, the Xenom orph creature in Alien invokes feelings of revulsion with its horrific and otherworldly appearance. However, the typical horror protagonist is portrayed as a positive, empathetic figure that an audience can identify with. Unlike the killer or the monster, the protagonist could easily be someone who lives next door. The appeal comes from being rewarded with the moral satisfaction and relief when the threat is dramati cally vanquished after the pro tagonist's battle for survival. However, sometimes this moral disposition has been switched between both survi vors and monsters. In films like Hal loween and Friday the 13th, there is often a 'virgin survivor' who makes it to the end after the killer has eliminated those portrayed as immoral or sexually promiscuous. This moral deficiency provides some limited reasoning for their deaths, providing the audience with a perverted sense of justification, and elevating the protagonist as mor ally purer by com parison. Some

horror films have even made the mon ster somewhat empathetic. In The Fly for example, Seth Brundle (Jeff Gold

blum) slowly transforms into a hor rific cross between a human and a fly as a result of an experiment that goes wrong. Heavily influenced by the clas sics that came before it, The Fly pre sents a similar moral dilemma to films like Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde; do we feel disgust or empathy? Is he a victim or monster? The sense of disgust we feel as Brundle transforms into this repulsive inhuman creature is counteracted by the fact he used to be a regular human with ambitions, and has no control over his predicament.

This moral dilemma between disgust and empathy creates gratification for an audience because it is presented at a safe distance, and we can experience its intrigue without experiencing the anxi ety of the dilemma in real life.

Some horror films are not simply about good versus evil and whether a macabre killer or monster will get their comeuppance. These films centre on cleverer plotlines that carry under lying social and political undertones.

In such movies, the horror aspect is framed within social satire to address societal problems in creatively terri fying ways. Take Jordan Peele - quite possibly the master of socially satirical horror films of the last decade. His three horror films, Get out, Us, and the recent Nope, all address issues with race, gender, and social class in nail-biting ways. They transport audiences into a reality where these issues are a matter of life and death, and what kind of ramifications there could be if they go unresolved. As such, the appeal of Peele's films is that they provide us with a cathartic satisfaction for the darker side of the human psyche. Similarly, 2000's Amer ican Psycho starring Christian Bale as banker/serial killer Patrick Bateman has satirical undertones about business economics. Bateman brutally murders young, affluent businessmen who think they know the system better than any one else. Whilst we are horrified by these atrocious acts, we uncomfortably maintain a sense of understanding for why Bateman does them. He breaks the confines of social and political norms, killing off those who exas perate issues with consumerism and gentrification. This again cre ates a moral dilemma of whether we should feel empathy for a killer. We find satisfaction in characters breaking social norms, but our suspension of disbelief reminds us that these characters extremists who have psychotic

ten

dencies

towards appalling acts. Filmmak ers voice these brewing social issues through the safe lens of fiction, and pro vide audiences with the subconscious satisfaction of watching these issues come to light in terrifyingly real ways. Horror is possibly one of the most intriguing genres of film. The fact that audiences come away having experi enced a maelstrom of negative or con flicting emotions is a testament to this. They activate our adrenaline systems, without us having to experience any of the horror first hand, satisfying our primal fight or flight system in a safe zone. They transport us to worlds where underlying political and social issues have conspired to provide us with a horrifying peek into how these issues could develop if they go unresolved. Horror allows us to confront the darker parts of ourselves. The blood, violence and gore challenge our comfort zones, inciting chaos in a society obsessed with order and stability. In the world of hor ror, there are no limits, and the bound aries of order and stability are broken. Breaking these boundaries allows us to enjoy challenging our comfort zones, and experience the thrill of ten sion and anxiety from a safe distance. As such, we can enjoy the chaos without any of the moral repercussions.

As a certain clown prince of crime once said, 'the thing about

Nope: Jordan Peele continues horror streak – Scarcely supernatural, but haunting all the same

By Math Prime Entertainment Writer

Nope tells the story of two siblings running a family ranch in Cali fornia, in an area which begins to fall victim to a series of strange, and suspiciously alien, events. It is Jordan Peele’s third feature since his transition from spoof to horror. With it, he re-cap tures the same daunting filmmaking style that has established him as one of the most unique auteurs active in cin ema today. Peele stays in character by

become the central piece of his style of horror. While the film has fewer of these moments than his prior films, Get Out and Us, it still remains daunting as ever. Just unfortunately, some of the burning is a little too slow as it takes a while to fully get into things.

The opening hour of the film is spent creating the layout of the mystery. This mystery being the explanations behind the alien side of the film, and one strange, and somehow equally dis turbing, story of a monkey. While this mystery is well developed and will keep

boring. Essentially, the first hour of the film is just set up. Don’t get me wrong, it still has good moments. The opening scene is great. It offers a perfect set up, some decent discomfort and something grim to think about, even if you don’t want to. Aside from this, there are some brief moments of tension, but nothing more that really offers a good scare, or even much discomfort. One scene is momentarily unnerving, but ultimately anticlimactic and loses its touch on a repeat viewing. The rest of the first half is spent with some nice looking shots, good music, and an okay dynamic between its three main actors (Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya and Brandon Perea), but ultimately some slow devel opments which drag at times. The second half of the film, however, makes a great pay off. This section, straight after the twisted explanation to the monkey storyline, is opened by Steven Yeun. The subsequent scene is one of the most horrific scenes ever put to screen. Close your eyes if you find yourself claustrophobic. The action is turned up and the alien attacks far more frequently as the story really gets underway. Most of the second hour is

spent with the characters inches away from death and not much time is given to allow them to breathe. When they get a second to rest, horribly distorted screams tend to hang ominously in the air. Some scenes are also complimented by extremely painful looking situations. Along with this, the dynamic between the characters picks up, with Palmer and Kaluuya’s characters displaying some particularly touching moments between brother and sister. While there are brief bursts where the film glimmers with excellence, it is occasionally over shadowed by scenes becoming slightly contrived and its solutions forced. However, this does not detract from its excellence and are really issues for the more pedantic viewers.

Peele works with Hoyte Van Hoytema as a cinematographer for the first time on this film and it makes for a huge improvement on the visual imagery from his prior two films. Twisted shots of shadows over a horse’s face make them look almost like a skeleton, or blood raining over a house contrasted with a thunderstorm in the background make the film satisfying to watch. The score makes the film more enthralling,

and the performances take their time, but ultimately become entertaining. Overall, while there is an argument to be made that the film is more action than horror in many parts, when he does make his attempts to be scary, Peele refrains from cheap thrills and offers something that has a more last ing effect beyond the roll of the credits. Nope is a slow-starting, yet thoroughly entertaining mystery, with many unique elements. A story that strives to make a point about the hunt for the spectacle, and the tragedies that can sometimes follow.

Nope can rented to watch on sev eral platforms, including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.

Images courtesy of Universal Studios and 20th Century Fox

Images courtesy of Universal Studios

Games that go bump in the night

By Tarun Murali Games Correspondent

Halloween

has been bringing good old-fashioned fright and cheer for decades now, through jack-o-lanterns, cheap candy and store-bought costumes. Alongside them, it also brings with it a glut of horror themed video games to entertain those who want to stay in. But how did this popular phenomenon of the horror video game come to be?

The earliest version of the horror video game can be dated back to the 1980s, with the likes of Castlevania and Alien (based on the film) being made around that time. Yet it wasn’t until the late 1990s that video game graphics could start to match consumer expectations of immersive horror experiences. This allowed the genre to not just be a tag attached next to other, more popular ones but to develop itself as its own type of game.

Even with this evolution, the genre couldn’t come under the mainstream limelight without the popularity of a few integral videogames. Here’s a brief overview of some of these iconic horror games:

SILENT HILL:

Published by Konami in 1999, the first Silent Hill is considered by some to be one of the greatest video games ever made. With its psychological horror and atmosphere building approach opposing the conven tional horror formula of jump scares and ‘big bad’ monsters, it left a lasting impact on many people. This impact can be seen even today with people clamouring for news on any developments related to the fran chise. Unfortunately, other than a few impressive sequels, the response to the rest of the franchise appears lukewarm without any hints of the genius seen in the first game. Despite this, we cannot take away from what it has managed to achieve and leave behind and can only have our fingers crossed in the hope that reanimation of the fran chise is possible in the future.

RESIDENT EVIL:

Another early entry into the horror video game genre, Resident Evil (otherwise known as Biohazard in Japan) was published by Capcom in 1996. This franchise is credited with defining the survival horror genre and inspiring a plethora of games. Unlike Silent Hill, it continues to remain a mainstay in modern horror gaming, with new entries almost every year. The franchise itself is one of the highest, if not the highest selling horror game franchises. It also has many commercially, but not critically, suc cessful films and tel evision shows. With recent entries consist ently making it to the number one spot on the top selling list we can definitely expect more from the series in the coming years.

The ‘Let’s Play’ and collaborative generation of horror videogames:

DEAD SPACE:

Released in 2008 by Visceral Games, the first Dead Space is a horror game taking place in a dystopian future on board a spaceship with the similarly styled sequel coming out in 2011. This franchise is known for its sound design, interesting atmosphere and the second game’s ‘unique’ advertising campaign (‘Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2’). The franchise has found itself going along many avenues to milk the mainline game’s success, through its spin-offs, comics and its singular animated film. Dead Space and its sequel have many avid fans, which makes it no surprise that Electronic Arts have announced a remake of the first game , scheduled for release in Janu ary 2023. This will allow an entirely new generation to experi ence this franchises particular flavour of horror just as the generation before them did.

SYSTEM SHOCK:

System Shock is another horror video game taking place in space, although it is significantly older than Dead Space. Released in 1994 by Looking Glass Technologies, System Shock is genre-defining title, although it is quite dated by modern standards. The game, while visually similar in its graphics to its contemporar ies, managed to set itself apart through its unique mechanics and storyline. The game spawned a critically acclaimed sequel in 1999. Despite this success, the studio which had initially made the game has been defunct for a while now. This is not to say that its future is bleak mind you, as a remake is on its way courtesy of Night Dive Studios.

While ‘Let’s Play’ may seem a vague concept, it describes a symbiotic relationship that the horror genre seems to have developed with YouTube, starting in the mid 2000s and getting stronger each year. Instead of having to play a horror game yourself, you can watch someone else play it and still experience the thrill of the game. While not at the same heights of popularity as they initially were, franchises like Five Nights at Freddy’s, Outlast, Amnesia and Slender can only enjoy their success today because of that initial boom. Twitch has kept this phenomenon alive to this day where those games, along with their broadcasters, continue to sell the genre to an entire generation through a shared experience they provide. Collaborative horror games such a Dead By Daylight, Phasmaphobia and The Forest have also widened the audience by allowing those who might not be brave enough to enter these gaming worlds alone to instead do it with the support of a group of friends. Adaptations like this are key to the growth of the horror genre, and have ensured that horror games are not just for spooky season.

While this overview mentions a few of the iconic games that defined the horror genre, it is by no means comprehensive. With it being a difficult genre to define, it also includes titles like DOOM, F.E.A.R and Deus Ex which take a more of First-Person Shooter approach despite having horror roots. Not to mention spiritual successors like Prey and late 2000s masterpieces like Bioshock. It makes it nearly impossible to collate it all into one article, so if you do find this genre exciting, the onus is on you to discover more and frighten yourself silly.

Track review: Stormzy– Mel Made Me Do It

By James Lapping Entertainment Writer

Heavy is the Head, featuring the iconic f**k Boris anthem – ‘Vossi Bop’.

humble.

The

G.O.A.T. is back. After almost three years away, Stormzy is making up for lost time with an absolute banger titled, ‘Mel Made Me Do It’. Coming in at 7 minutes long, Britain’s top MC is certainly ambitious, and looks like he has a point to prove.

It feels like a lifetime ago that Stormzy seemed to be reaching the pinnacle of his career. In the summer of 2019, he became the first British rap per to headline Glastonbury with an era defining performance. If that wasn’t enough, he topped off that year by releasing the platinum selling album

‘Mel Made Me Do It’ shows a continuity of form and is a celebration of maintaining his place at the top of the game. With bars like, “I’m like a young black Biden with a trim” and “Know Khaleesi couldn’t fathom all the fire I spill”, the confidence is brimming throughout, and rightfully so, with Stormzy reaffirming that “My accolades are big ger than my head”. Although the track is lengthy and the beat is repetitive, this just shows how strong the lyricism is throughout the track. Even though many of the bars may seem typically brag gadocious, there is still a lovable cheekiness and no doubt that underneath it all, Stormzy remains

An 11-minute music video accompanies the track, tying in neatly with the lyrics. The video includes a monologue written by Wretch 32 and narrated by Chewing Gum and I Will Destroy You creator and actress, Michaela Coel. This celebrates black pioneers of success, all of which feature in the video, such as Arsenal legend Ian Wright, multiple award-winning rapper Little Simz, and Olympians Dina Asher-Smith and Usain Bolt.

After a long time away, this new release builds the hype for what Stormzy has in store for the rest of the year and the start of 2023. I think we can all agree that we are happy that Mel made him do it.

If you like this, you might like: Bugzy Malone, Yungen and AJ Tracey.

Image courtesy of Konami Image courtesy of Electronic Arts

Image courtesy of Capcom

Image courtesy of Nightdive Studios

Image courtesy of Sony

As we get closer to the spookiest time of the year again, we look at some iconic horror games and the genre's history.

A transcedent musical legacy: Eminent spiritualjazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders dies

By Harvey Blazquez Entertainment Writer

and dissonant piano playing driving the chaotic highs.

immediately followed by the aggres sive cacophony of ‘Red, Black & Green’.

Pharoah

Sanders, the tenor saxo phonist who was key in the devel opment of spiritual jazz, passed away on the 24th of September at the age of 81. He leaves behind a varied cat alogue of music that is awe-inspiring, yet completely accessible to the average listener.

At the beginning of his career, Sand ers played in John Coltrane’s group as the two delved into free jazz, a genre based around the deconstruction of jazz conventions. After Coltrane’s death in 1967, Sanders continued this explo ration of the avant-garde for another half-century, producing a series of astoundingly experimental albums. Sanders’ 1969 album Karma remains the definitive spiritual jazz album. The album contains the 32-minute master piece ‘The Creator Has a Master Plan’, which begins with Sanders’ signature overblowing sound. This sound, created by a change of air pressure from the mouth, lifts the pitch of notes, raising the piece to ethereal heights. The track varies in intensity, with the percussion

This chaos is broken by the use of motifs from Coltrane’s A Love Supreme

The calming sound of one motif, played on bass, gives a sense that Coltrane, though dead, is some how part of a greater spiritual force that propels the music forwards. ‘The Creator Has a Master Plan’ also makes use of a vocal mantra at several points in the song ‘The crea tor has a master plan. Peace and happi ness for every man’.

The 1971 album Thembi is a rather unique stage of Pharoah Sanders’ dis cography, with the album containing six shorter songs as opposed to 30-minute odysseys. This allows Sanders to explore a wide variety of soundscapes, with the relaxing beauty of ‘Astral Travelling’,

Central to Sanders’ sound is his pure, unmoder ated emo tion, which is the driv ing force behind his improvisa tions. The diversity of instru ments used on Thembi, from sax ophones and flutes to a cow horn and an African balafon, allows him to convey this emo tion with vibrant colour.

On his next album, Black Unity (1971), Sanders was again influenced by African music. The album marked his return to long, meandering improv isations, with the 37-minute title track the sole song on the album. Black Unity has an infectious groove, which sits beneath the spellbinding harmonic and melodic explorations of Sanders and his band. The album is his loosest in some

ways, as the musicians have complete freedom to improvise over the steady rhythm that acts as a backbone to the music. And yet, despite this looseness, Black Unity is one of Sanders’ most coherent and polished albums. This contradiction, of looseness and coher ence, is a result of Sanders’ complete faith in his emotions. This, after all, is the defining characteristic of spiritual jazz.

One year before his death, Pharoah Sanders released one of his greatest albums: Promises Sanders collaborated with electronic musi cian Floating Points and the London Symphony Orchestra to deliver a haunt ingly beautiful swan song. Sanders’ play ing over Floating Points’ composition is sparse and delib erate, creating a relaxed, psychedelic atmosphere that

has the same transcendental power as his earlier works. The album lacks the chaos of Thembi and Black Unity, with Sanders peacefully, and triumphantly, leaving behind another artefact of his greatness.

Pharoah Sanders' discography can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube Music and other music streaming services.

Don't Worry Darling: An unsettling experience that doesn’t quite live up to the hype

By Ify Amaechi Entertainment Writer

Don’t Worry Darling begins to deliver on its promise of intrigue the very moment that we realise something is wrong about the idyllic desert paradise within which it’s set (which doesn’t take very long).

Of course, we the watchers know that this is a psychological horror from the moment we set foot in the theatre; we've likely seen the trailer, taken note of the name (Don't Worry Darling implies, oxymoronically, that there is in fact, something to worry about), have maybe even heard about the drama and rumours that poured from behind the scenes (spitgate comes to mind). How ever, even when disregarding all of that foreknowledge, it's not hard to see that there's something sinister lurking just below the surface of the Victory Pro ject’s cookie cutter, perfectly manicured façade.

Don’t Worry Darling is focussed on its central couple of Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) and their seem ingly perfect 50’s style life in surburbia.

Dinner parties with friends, shopping

with seemingly unlimited credit and gossiping with her fellow housewives about what exactly it is that their hus bands do at their mysterious jobs for the Victory Project. However, it doesn’t take long for their perfect life to unravel once Alice starts pulling on that thread, quickly revealing little inconsisten cies to both herself and the audience.

Whether it's the sight of perma-preg nant Peg (Kate Berlant) indulging in yet another cocktail, or Bill's disquiet ing reverence for the legendary figure Frank (Chris Pine). Even the way they all stand, rapt to attention & clearly on edge as Shelley instructs the wives in ballet, speech chock-full of Frank’s maxims like how ‘there is beauty in control’. The shoe definitely drops when the story draws our attention to Margaret (Kiki Layne), a despondent, former inner-circle wife who's been rel egated to the side-lines since commit ting Victory’s one cardinal sin.

Without getting too deep into ‘spoilery’ content, Olivia Wilde does a good job of portraying that Frank’s vision for the future implicitly hinges upon his tra ditional, misogynistic ‘values’. Frank casts a long shadow throughout the growing desert town.

His por trait looms over the women in their dance studio like the author itarian dic tators of old, always watch ing. He’s also fond of giving

speeches (either in person or over the radio) peppered with conspiratorial phrases like ‘discretion above all else’ that serves their purpose by alienating the residents of the company town of Victory, California from non-believers, people who would look to take away what they’d worked so hard to achieve. Importantly, he doesn’t overdo it with his calls to biological essentialism, his speeches are just complimentary (and hence, subtle) enough to both sexes to come across as unassuming and eventu ally entrap his prey; entry level dogma. Wilde herself (the director, co-pro ducer and actress for Bunny, Alice's closest friend) described the movie as being ‘The Feminine Mystique on acid’ which firmly establishes feminism as one of the key themes of the movie.

Here, ‘The Feminine Mystique’ refers to Betty Freidan's magnum opus, a key piece of American feminist litera ture that is often credited as kindling the flame of second wave feminism in America by bringing to light the feelings of dissatisfaction and unfulfillment that housewives were suffering from in an era where ‘femininity’ itself was inextri cably bound to domesticity.

For me, this dissatisfaction is subtle, perhaps too subtle. As the main char acter, Alice (Florence Pugh) is the only wife that we really get to see go about her daily rituals. Her descent into madness, and the subsequent clarity it brings, comes about as a result of her beginning to pick up on the strange ness of the town and the goings on with Margaret, not because of some sense of unhappiness. In fact, she seems perfectly happy to cook, clean, shop & drink an endless array of cock tails whilst never questioning any of it, although this can all be easily explained by her brainwashing.

In my opinion, the closest she gets to dissatisfaction is when Jack brings up the idea of having children, something that they'd both been against in the past. Even when her suspicions begin to rise, there is never a confrontation between her and Jack about her role. There is never a whisper of discontent about the repetitiveness of their routines or how much she just wants to get away from Victory (at least until the shit hits the fan, and even then it's mainly because she's actively in danger, although a throwaway line about loving her job

and how it should be her choice to work is shoehorned in there). So, Wilde's description of the film falls short to me, since the closest example of dissatisfied housewives that we see are Peg (who we can infer doesn't care about being preg nant from all the drinking, is less than pleased with her husband & frets too much about fitting in with her peers) and Margaret (who we have no knowl edge of how much she like or disliked being one before she became ill), who we only see in snippets.

Don’t Worry Darling focuses less on the feminist themes of its predecessor and more on the burgeoning misogyny in a ‘post-feminist’ era where dissatis fied men feel that they’re being cheated out of their ‘birth right’ as providers & heads of the household by modern society’s push towards equality, and are being groomed to be violent & hos tile towards challenges to what they have been led to believe is the natural order of things. However, its discussion of this topic is only skin deep and this paired with an anticlimactic ending leaves the viewing with a sense of dis appointment.

It is by no means a bad movie, but Don’t Worry Darling fails to deliver on ise and ends with loose threads (Is the captain now? tiated the move to Victory, Bunny or Bill?

What was up with that red plane?) and so, I’ll give it a 3 out of 5.

Don’t Worry Darling is out now in cinemas.

“There is a place where love forever shines, and rainbows are the shadows of a presence so divine, and the glow of that love lights the heavens above, and it's free, can't you see, come with me.”

Leon Thomas – The Creator Has a Master Plan

Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Image courtesy of Peter Van Breukelen / Redferns file

What's On...

Film: Moonage Daydream

Fri 21 - Tue 25 October 2022

Ticket to Paradise

Sat 22 - Thu 27 October 2022

ROH: La Bohème (Encore)

Sun 23 October 2022

Both Sides of the Blade

Mon 24 - Wed 26 October 2022

Amsterdam

Fri 28 October - Tue 1 November 2022

Relaxed Screening: The Dark Knight

Sat 29 October 2022

Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris

Sun 30 - Mon 31 October 2022

NT Live: The Seagull

Thu 3 November 2022

Family Film: Hocus Pocus (1993)

Sun 6 November 2022

Live Events:

Shôn Dale-Jones: Still Floating

Fri 14 - Sat 15 October 2022

John Woolrich & the Benyounes

Quartet: In Darkness Let Me Dwell

Sat 15 October 2022

Turin Brakes

Sun 16 October 2022

Lunchtime Concert: East Meets West Wed 19 October 2022

Bollywood Brass Band Wed 19 October 2022

Jason Byrne: Unblocked

Thu 20 October 2022

Roger Eno

Fri 21 October 2022

Funny Rabbit Comedy Club: Ravi Holy & Rob Kemp

Fri 21 October 2022

The Dark Sat 22 October 2022

Canterbury Music Club – London Handel Players with Dancers

Sun 23 October 2022

Flo & Joan: Sweet Release

Wed 26 October 2022

Mark Thomas: Black and White

Thu 27 October 2022

EVER:LAND at Night

Fri 28 - Sat 29 October 2022

Beth Nielsen Chapman – CrazyTown

Mon 31 October 2022

Chris McCausland: Speaky Blinder

Tue 1 November 2022

Gulbenkian

Black History Month at Gulbenkian Arts Centre

At Gulbenkian we are committed to offering a diverse programme year-round, working with companies and artists who represent all parts of our community.

In October we have a number of events that celebrate the talents and creativity of Black artists listed below:

On Stage:

Homeward: Soul Food by Lyrici Arts

Mon 10 Oct, 7.30pm

Medway based Lyrici Arts at the table for a soulful storytelling feast that will draw you into a journey that is both intimate and epic in scope. Four compelling tales from four remarkable Black heritage artists, take audiences around the world and across time on a passage of self-discovery. This is a Creative Estuary co-commission and supported by Gulbenkian Arts Centre.

On Stage: Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Tue 18 Oct, 8pm

Ladysmith Black Mambazo is one of the world’s greatest and most distinctive vocal groups. For sixty years the legendary acappella male choir have invoked the soul of South Africa with their intricate rhythms and harmonies and powerful, uplifting songs. They shot to global stardom after featuring on Paul Simon’s Graceland album and have been touring the world ever since and have won five GRAMMY Awards – Nelson Mandela called them 'South Africa’s cultural ambassadors'– and they tour now to celebrate Black History Month.

On Screen:

Queen of Glory

Thu 13 Oct, 7pm

‘Queen of Glory’ is the story of Sarah Obeng, the brilliant child of Ghanaian immigrants, who is quitting her Ivy League PhD program to follow her married lover to Ohio. When her mother dies suddenly, she bequeaths her daughter a Christian bookstore in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx where Sarah was raised. A follow-up on the classic immigrant’s tale, Queen of Glory provokes laughter and empathy, as its heroine is reborn through her inheritance.

CONCERNING CUSTARD CREAM SHORTAGE

By Cuthbert Kareem Founder of CreamPeace

TheUK’s custard cream shortage is getting out of control. Not only have all Tescos and ASDAs across the nation run out, but now so has the Co-op. So, forget your plans of munching away on these delectable biscuits while you grind away in the libraryyou will have to find another (deeply unsatisfying) snack to get you through these tough times. The shortage is expected to be the worst since the horrors of 2016, when UK biscuit factories found themselves flooded due to the impact of Storm Eva. Rather than having a custard cream with their tea, Brits were forced to have a slice of toast as an accompaniment.

When compared with other global shortages, this biscuit scarcity must remain at the top of the government’s agenda, and the biggest priority to fix as soon as possible. One concerned shopper said that ‘I went to Tesco specifically to stock up on 41p custard creams, but when I

arrived, I was disturbed to find the shelves completely empty. It really takes the biscuit’.

The reasons as to the shortage remain unclear, but some locals have their suspicions. Jeff Urkaik believes that a cartel has taken control of the custard cream market. ‘My hunch tells me that the cartel has forced factories to stop their deliveries so that they can gorge on them themselves, and drive up demand.

When eventually they release the biscuits back into circulation, they will be able to charge stupidly high prices in order to increase their profits, while also keeping many packs aside for their own enjoyment’. The facts remain certain: shelves are empty, but supermarkets have remained silent. It appears to be a grassroots issue, where those at the top fail to listen to the issues of the public. The eerily quiet

SATIRE SHORTIES

reporting on this very issue have caused some biscuit fanatics to take matters into their own hands. A petition regarding the transparency of biscuit sales and production has so far attracted 392 signatures. To help us discover what has happened to our beloved daytime snack, join Creampeace and sign the petition.

The futures of our children depend on it.

By Kieran Webb Satire Editor

MY BEST FRIEND HAS TWENTY FINGERS claims local man

Finley Gurr told our reporters: ‘He looks a bit odd, but you can always count on him’.

LOCAL LABOURER LOSES JOB

Chuck Woods claims: ‘I used to work as a lumberjack, but I couldn’t hack it, so they gave me the axe’.

MR. KIPLING LORRY NARROWLY AVOIDS COLLISION

The driver of the lorry said: ‘I was forced to make a sudden emergency stop. Thankfully the lorry had exceedingly good brakes’.

ALADDIN DISQUALIFIED FROM MAGIC CARPET RACE

A spokesperson for the event toldus: ‘It appears he’s been usingperformance enhancing rugs’.

LOCAL CHOCOLATE ADDICT BECOMES MAGICIAN

The magician known as Mandrake the Magnificent claimed he had ‘a few Twix up his sleeve’.

CANTERBURY WOMAN THINKS SHE IS INVISIBLE

BRITS FORCED TO TAKE OUT LOANS FOR BUTTER

Money saving expert Martin Lewis said: ‘it’s best to make payments spreadable’.

Lucy Glass, a hairdresser on Canterbury High Street, suffered an immense shock last night when she claimed that her body was no longer visible. Lucy’s husband Noel brought her to the hospital for immediate examination, but they were told ‘the doctor can’t see you today’.

Image courtesy of Sam Webb

The Satire section for this issue introduces a new segment - 'Satire Shorties'. This segment showcases short, satirical, and outright bizarre stories that should make you chuckle. Enjoy!

Rock-paper-scissors players demand change to ‘unfair’ rock advantage

By Brock Papyrus Scissors User

Many competitive players of the popular game ‘RockPaper-Scissors’ have called for changes to tournament rulesets that would significantly impact the Rock move.

‘Whilst other moves have a slight transition into the chosen stance, Rock is able to be triggered without warning,’ explained Ben Hefner, a major supporter of the proposal and top rank player in the New York Rock-Paper-Scissors League (NYRPSL). ‘Therefore, if a player throws down Rock while they’re still in neutral and their opponent is going Paper, they can seamlessly pull off a Scissor Cancel (switching to Scissors) and counter them if quick enough. This tactic is unfair, and players that continue to abuse it are ruining the honest community that Rock Paper Scissors was built on’.

Hefner suggested replacing Rock’s fist stance with a thumbs-up, increasing the time it would take to perform the stance whilst also negating the available time

which allows players to author the purpose of the game to their liking. A dramatic change in the Rock-PaperScissors world isn’t an entirely new concept. Having originated from China in the Ming Dynasty, with the first mentions of the game being in Xie Zhaozhe’s book Wuzazu, Rock-PaperScissors was originally known as shoushiling. It was later imported to Japan, known as mushi-ken, where ‘frog’ (represented by the thumb) triumphs over the ‘slug’ (represented by the little finger), which in turn defeats the ‘snake’ (represented by the index finger.

A wide range of animals and hand signals have been used throughout history in different interpretations of the game, including Jan-ken,

which uses the Rock, Paper, and Scissors signs that the modern version of the game is derived from.

Though throwing hand gestures to win against an opponent is necessary, the mental condition too must be tuned to positively influence physical actions. It is this synergy between mind and body working together that gives the game the appeal and overwhelming fun it is known for.

Speaking to Kaufman again, he added: ‘I can see where players are coming from wanting to ‘debuff’ Rock. It does have an overwhelming advantage over Scissors. However, Scissors can easily bring down Paper. Although now that I think about it Paper is super effective against Rock. Of course, you have to consider that Scissors does tend to get beaten by Rock in pretty much every match they’re against each other.’

When reality peaked: Reflections on Gangnam Style 10 years later

By Jung Kook Casual K-Pop enjoyer

The early 2010s were an era of instant hits. From ‘Call Me Maybe’ to ‘Party Rock Anthem’ and the ‘Harlem Shake’, digital platforms such as YouTube and iTunes ushered in a new era of publicity- and virality.

On July 15, 2012, South Korean singer PSY unleashed his immense omnipotence upon the world, premiering the much beloved music video for Gangnam Style on YouTube.

With attention-grabbing EDM synths, an incredibly chaotic music video, the iconic horse-riding dance, and the absolute classic ‘Oppa Gangnam Style’ line– it was no surprise that the song immediately hijacked the airwaves, becoming a cultural phenomenon that would shake up the world.

Gangnam Style’s larger-than-life, cartoonish presentation was read by some as a gimmick, it serves as a satirical social commentary on the lifestyle in Seoul’s Gangnam district and the people trying to live up to the area’s lavish reputation.

On December 21, 2012, the music video set a record for the first video to surpass 1 billion views on YouTube. Since then, Gangnam Style has racked up an impressive 4.5 billion views on the platform. This milestone reflects the impressive viewership that has allowed Gangnam Style to retain its place among the top 10 most-viewed videos on YouTube.

With such impressive figures backing it up, why is it that Gangnam Style was so successful? The better question to ask yourself would be ‘why isn’t it more successful?’

At the time of writing, 7.75 billion people are living and breathing

on the planet. At least 3.25 billion of these people have yet to view and experience Gangnam Style in all its magnificence. This shall not be permitted. Such heretics will not be tolerated in our new empire. In contrast, the music video for ‘Baby Shark Dance’ has 11.4 billion views on YouTube.

Avid K-Pop fan and expert Jay Cartwright said: ‘I am horrified and disgusted that fans of the Baby Shark dance would even consider soiling the good name of our Lord and Saviour PSY. Those figures are completely unrealistic and obviously fake, where’d they get those extra three and a half

billion viewers? There’s not even eight billion of us’.

He added: ‘PSY did for K-Pop what Tom Cruise does for missions– the impossible. Somehow his music transcended genre and borders to grace the ears of every faithful listener’.

PSY himself reflects on Gangnam Style frequently, often saying he has no regrets and would not have done things differently. However, he did not expect a song about a specific area of South Korea to do so well overseas. Of course, our noble leader shows great humility in discussing his magnum opus.

Though he is excellent in every way, things have not always gone perfectly for PSY. At a press conference for his album PSY 9th he said: ‘There were even people who thought my name was ‘Gangnam Style’. Some people overseas who would say ‘Hi, Gangnam Style’’.

Disrespect towards our Messiah from heathens such as these will face the vengeful wrath of PSY worshippers, known as the ‘PSY Corps’, a virtuous and militaristic group intent on converting all non-believers to adopt Gangnam Style as a way of life.

University of Kent does not condone cult worship of any kind, K-Pop deity or not.

Images courtesy of Yamasan/iStock and Oskar Lieberman Ben "Rock Your World" Hefner

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PSY in Gangnam Style via YouTube

INDONESIAN STADIUM STAMPEDE ENDS IN TRAGEDY

By Joe Crossley Sports Editor

The death count is believed to be at least 125, with another 323 people seriously injured at a football stadium in Indonesia after fans tried to escape the sta dium.

A stampede ensued as tear gas was fired into the stands. It was feared that the death toll was as high as 174, but according to East Java Vice Governor Emil Dardak, some names were recorded twice.

Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java, became a horror scene after police used brute force to repel thousands of Armea FC fans that stormed the pitch after their side lost 3-2 to Persebaya Surabaya.

The Ministry of Women’s Empow erment and Child Protection have reported that at least 17 children were among those killed, and another seven were being treated in hospitals.

Gianni Infantino, the president of football world governing body FIFA, called the events in Malang ‘a dark day for all involved in football and a tragedy beyond comprehen sion’.

Indonesian police have begun probing 18 police officers that fired tear gas into the stands that led to crushes in the exits as fans made attempts to flee the unfolding carnage.

Amnesty International has insisted the Indonesian government investi gate the use of tear gas at the stadium, and ensure that those responsible for violating guidelines are tried in open courts.

FIFA stipulates within its safety regu lations that ‘crowd control gas’ should not be carried or used by pitchside stewards or police. East Java police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they were aware of such regulations.

In a news conference, Indonesian police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said: ‘I ensure that investigation on this case

will be conducted thoroughly and seri ously.’ This coincides with the ban of Arema hosting any home matches for the rest of the season.

Some of the 42,000 Arema fans threw bottles and projectiles onto the pitch, furious that their side had lost to their rivals Persebaya for the first time in 23 years. This promoted the arrival of riot police who attempted to quell

the unrest, and seeing the stadium become the site of a riot with at least five police vehicles being toppled and set alight.

‘Officers fired tear gas, and automati cally people were rushing to come out, pushing each other and it caused many victims,’ a 43-year-old spectator told the AFP news agency. ‘Nothing was happening, there was no riot. I don’t

know what the issue was, they suddenly fired tear gas. That’s what shocked me, didn’t they think about kids, women?’

Hooliganism is widespread within Indonesian football with fanaticism leading to fans being aggressively violent. Before the tragedy in Malang, Save Our Soccer, an Indonesian watchdog, reported that over the last 28 years there have been 78 game related deaths.

Widespread mourning has taken place in Malang as families come to terms with the unex pected losses of loved ones.

Arema players and officials laid wreaths on Monday in front of the stadium. ‘We came here as a team asking forgiveness from the families impacted by this tragedy, those who lost their loved ones, or the ones still being treated in the hospital,’ head coach Javier Roca said.

Arema FC president Gilang Widya Pramana expressed his sadness and his deepest apologies to the victims and the Indone sian people, and said he is ready to take full responsibility for the tragedy.

He said that the management, coach and players were in shock.

‘I am ready to provide assistance, even though it will not be able to return the victim’s life’ Mr Pramana said in a news conference at Arema’s headquar ters in Malang.

‘This incident was beyond prediction, beyond reason … in a match watched only by our fans, not a single rival’s supporter’ he said, sobbing.

'BATTLE OF BRITAIN' BACK ON

By Joe Crossley Sports Editor

Tyson Fury has issued another ultimatum to Anthony Joshua in a bid to finally get contracts signed for the potential 3rd of Decem ber fight, dubbed the ‘Battle of Britain’.

The initial Monday 5pm deadline, set by Fury himself, was missed by AJ and his team, leading to the heavyweight champion coming out across his social media platforms in an effort to push forward contract talks and to belittle his would-be opponent.

In the video the Gypsy King stated ‘If you’re a man and you’ve got any sort of dignity and pride about you, you’ll get this contract signed today’.

It was thought that contract talks were being held up due to broadcast ers, but Tyson said via a video posted across his social media accounts that ‘now we have BT, DAZN and ESPN all on the same page. They are happy with everything, they are all ready to rock and roll’.

‘This is it, there is no more days, weeks, months. You’ve had the con tract now for over two weeks and you still haven’t signed it. Let the British fans have what they want.’

The Pair were close to finalising the all-British dream match back in 2020 that would have had all four major boxing world titles to compete for. However, Fury was ordered to take on Deontay Wilder by a United States judge to form the trilogy of fights that the Gypsy King would even tually come out on top of.

Fury claimed that promoter Frank Warren pushed forward negations in order to get Josh ua’s signature on the contracts. The Gypsy King stated that Warren, his promoter ‘convinced me to let Queens berry carry on negotiating with your team this week, despite me knowing that you were never going to do this

fight’.

‘Joshua, the ball is really in your court’ said Fury who clearly feels that he is giving the former two-time uni fied a massive opportunity despite the proposed 60-40 purse in his favour.

‘You’re a beaten man and I’m a world champion,’ reasoned Fury ‘I’m chuck ing you a massive bone but I know I can punch your face in so I’m willing to give you an oppor tunity’.

AJ has lost three out of his last five fights includ ing back-to-back losses to Olek sandr Usyk who took and defended the unified WBA, WBO and IBF in Sep tember 2021 and August 2022 respec tively.

Despite the hold up in talks, Joshua was adamant that he would put pen to paper on the Sunday before Fury’s Monday deadline stating that ‘of course I’m going to sign the contract –

it’s just with some lawyers at the min ute’. Despite this promise, Fury was not convinced, stating on Twitter that ‘I had a bet with Frank that it didn’t matter what we offered you, you would not take this fight’.

‘You have had 14 days, pull your fin ger out and make this fight happen for the British boxing public. Don’t be a coward, instruct your team to get this deal done.’

Eddie Hearn said there was ‘no chance’ the contracts would be in place due to Fury’s ‘unrealistic’ deadline schedule that ‘baffled’ the boxing pro moter.

Hearn was not impressed by Fury’s social media comments telling Sky that ‘You can’t publicly keep pulling out of a fight and then restart negotiations when there has been so many positive conversations had. We’ll see what hap pens from here’.

Speaking to the Press Association News Agency, Hearn advised Fury to put an end to his meddling in the negotiation process stating ‘I don’t

think Tyson Fury really wants the fight, I think he wants to fight Manuel Charr. They couldn’t get AJ at a better time, he’s just come off a fight to Usyk’. Usyk himself has put his name in the hat to fight the ‘Gypsy King’ muddling the heavyweight merry go-round. The Ukrainian champion said ‘We’re in negotiations talking about a match and we’re doing our best to make this bout happen’.

‘But, if Tyson Fury is not interested in a match next year, then it’s not possible to fight against him. I’m not interested in fighting any other boxer, so let’s wait’.

‘He’s talking about 500 million pounds for the fight. He’s a lunatic, but in a good sense I mean. I’d also want 500 million, but it’s something crazy’.

Despite the best efforts of Warren and Hearn, it appears that Fury has turned his attention away from AJ and towards the 37-year-old former WBA ‘regular’ champion, Mahmoud Charr, as his replacement opponent for a bout in December.

Image courtesy of AFP

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a man andyou’ve got any sortof dignity and prideabout you, you’ll getthis contracttoday"signed

THREE LIONS FINALLY ROAR AFTER DISMAL NATIONS LEAGUE CAMPAIGN

By Joe Crossley Sports Editor

Gareth Southgate and his 28-man squad have had a tumultuous international break. The Three Lions visited Millan and hosted Germany with neither performance being entirely convincing. The 1-0 loss to Italy certainly pilled on the pressure, whilst the 3-3 draw at Wembley did provide a source of optimism for Eng land fans. With there being no other international break until the start of the Qatar World Cup, England’s recent Nations League form has dampened hopes that football will come home in 2022.

Playing against an Italy team who failed to qualify for Qatar 2022, England were unable to assert their authority in what was a tight game. Eventually the tie came to life in the 68th minute after a long ball for ward from veteran defender Leon ardo Bonucci fell into the quick feet of Giacomo Raspadori, who cut onto his left, placing the ball into the top right corner of Nick Pope’s net. The Three Lions were unable to reply with a goal of their own, ending what was yet another flat performance in the Nations League.

There have been plenty of critics of Southgate including ex-England striker Gary Linker, who tweeted on Friday night that ‘I think Gareth

Southgate’s tactical master plan of not giving us any hope in order not to kill us is working beautifully thus far’.

With the loss to Italy, two losses against Hungary, and three draws, the results in England’s 2021/2022 Nations League campaign have been far from what fans have come to expect. Reaching the 2018 World Cup semi-final and the 2022 Euro’s final has raised expectation on the men’s national team. Therefore, being rele gated from group A3 has been a major shock to England fans who have been treated to some brilliant performances over the last four years.

Southgate was the first to admit the poor run of form but defended his tac tical system. ‘We are in a run of bad results’ the Three Lions boss told the press after the loss in Milan. ‘It’s for us to put that right. The only way to do that is to stick with what we believe, stick with what’s got us success in pre vious tournaments, and in the end the players have got to stay really tight’.

England then found themselves 1-0 behind to their old rivals Germany in the 52nd minute at Wembley. The much maligned Harry Maguire gave away a careless penalty, which was then converted by Ilkay Gündogan.

The Manchester United captain’s lack of sharpness due to hardly featuring for his club, playing just 190 minutes this season, was on full display. The red shirts had a mountain to climb

after Kai Havertz also got himself on the scoresheet with a tremendous fin ish from outside the box into the top left corner.

Southgate looked to his impres sive bench for inspiration. Arsenal star Bukayo Saka, who had just been awarded the FA’s Men’s Player of the Year, and attacking midfielder Mason Mount were called on to save what was becoming another infuriating evening.

The two injected some much-needed tempo into the match and began to force the issue onto the Germans.

Finally, after 521 minutes without a goal, Luke Shaw bundled the ball past a sprawling Marc-André Ter Stegen who watched on as England at last found the net. The Lions had finally begun to roar.

The Germans were helpless to stop a 12-minute flurry of goals. The two sub stitutes combined to draw the game level, with Saka dancing past defend ers and driving into the 18-yard box before laying off the ball to Mount who thundered the ball into the top right corner. Saka again was instrumental in forcing a penalty out of Nico Schlot terbeck after yet another surge past bamboozled defenders. The Dortmund centre-back certainly left his mark on Jude Bellingham in what was an ugly challenge just inside the box. Captain Harry Kane continued to creep ever closer to Wayne Rooney’s all-time goal scoring record, scoring the penalty,

and now needing just three more goals to overtake the Manchester United legend.

As the rampant Monday night Wem bley crowd tried to digest the strength of character that those in red shirts were showing, Serge Gnabry hit a strong shot from outside the box that seemed to be going nowhere but into the arms of the diving Nick Pope. Yet the ball spilled from the Newcastle number one, allowing the waiting Kai Havertz to spoil England’s night. Whilst a draw was a disappointing end to the game, there had been signs of much needed improvement for the Three Lions.

Southgate summed up the emotional roller-coaster that the game had taken us on. ‘We scored and the roof almost lifted off, and we all remember what it feels like for a goal to go in. Then we had an absolute punch on the nose at the end. I am sure everyone here was not enamoured by rewriting three match reports, but I was not chuffed myself’.

England’s short-lived comeback against the strong German side has given Three Lions supporters some reason for optimism. Three goals in quick succession finally brought some entertainment to Wembley stadium after what has been a dreary Nations League Campaign.

England are third favourites to win the 2022 World Cup (according to

The Telegraph betting calculator), but the performances over have been far from that of potential champions. But England players have rushed to the defence of their under-fire manager. Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling told talkSPORT ‘for all Gareth has done since he’s come here, it’s been nothing but positive, so I don’t quite under stand the questions that are being asked of him’.

Jack Grealish similarly told BBC Sport that the criticism of Southgate ‘was harsh but sometimes that's what you get if you're English’. The Man chester City Winger reasoned that ‘we reached the [Euro 2020] final last year- then [there was] the [loss to] Hungary at the start of the last camp, but before that the last time we'd lost a game over 90 minutes was Belgium in November 2020’. It is clear although the England manager recently has come under fire, he has a unified squad to take to Qatar, something that has to be credited to his man and squad man agement.

Whilst England displays have been dismal during their previous five matches, the second half display against Germany of Southgate’s men showed their determination and char acter. But of course, there are major question marks on how prepared this squad is for the World Cup that is now just 53 days away after the lacklustre performances of late.

Image via Sky Sports

Image courtesy of Alastair Grant/AP

MORALITY OF QATAR 2022 QUESTIONED

By Samuel Leah Sports Writer

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is fast approaching. After England wrapped up their last few Nations League games, manager Gareth South gate will be now busy putting together a strong and exciting squad of players.

Yet there is an anxious feeling about the uneasy nature of the competition being hosted in Qatar, a country with several issues which has put the compe tition in a negative light, and has caused backlash from many current footballers.

Tony Kroos, who won the World Cup with Germany in 2014, said that Qatar ‘should not be hosting the competition in the first place’, while fellow inter national teammate Joshua Kimmich added that footballers should ‘use their publicity to raise awareness’.

Qatar secured the rights as early as 2010. They had several selling points to the committee, most notably the prospect of hosting the competition in an Arab state for the first time. Accept ing that the competition would have to be moved to the winter due to Qatar’s scorching summer heat, they won the bid, fending off competition from the likes of the USA, Australia and Japan. Bid chief executive Hassan Al-Thawadi said that they were aware the result was a ‘bold gamble and an exciting pros pect’. There have also been numerous allegations of bribery or corruption in the Qatar's 2022 World Cup selection process involving members of FIFA's executive committee, though Qatar’s officials in the 2022 bid team have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing,

But Qatar 2022 has been incredibly controversial. The most glaring issue being workers’ rights. The country hired a large workforce from neighbour ing countries in order to construct or upgrade existing stadiums to fit capac ity, as well as increase accommodation for travelling supporters. The number of deaths of migrant workers is large, some 6,500 being reported since 2010, as a result of poor working conditions.

Many times, they were expected to con tinue working during extreme heat with very little breaks.

A shocking inquiry carried out by the Guardian in 2013 revealed many fell under slave status, as they worked hours with no access to water or food, were not paid, and were given poor work and liv ing conditions. The Qatari government has been questioned on this several times, with little to no response or reply, although a rare quote from the Qatari ministry of labour and social affairs said that they had ‘increased numbers of trained labour inspectors, and carry out regular random inspections of work places’. Jim Murphy, who was Shadow International Development Secretary from 2013 to 2014, described the con stant death during construction as a ‘torrent … a trickle of worrying reports’.

While the treatment of migrant work ers has been a major talking point, Qatar has a history of troubling human rights issues which lies more under the surface.

Fans have brought up the issues regarding safety for some supporters.

For example, homosexuality is illegal in the country, and in some cases ‘Flog ging’ is performed, which is the act of

punishment involving whips or lashes, despite it being prohibited by human rights law. England LGBTQ+ fan group, Three Lions Pride, have repeatedly urged Qatari authorities for reassurance that their supporters would not be prosecuted, adding that they are ‘fearful of attending or planning to attend the final’ as they feel ‘unsafe and uncertain’.

Women’s rights groups have also expressed the issue of sexual violence. Many cases are looked over or disre garded, some being referred to as ‘extra martial sex’ with the victims largely ignored. Woman’s rights researcher Rothna Begum said that she believes that ‘the risk of sexual violence increases greatly at major sporting events’.

Amnesty International researcher, May Romanos, added: ‘the police treat you as the accused rather than the victim’. This comes even though the Qatari Supreme Committee have promised a ‘high-quality healthcare system’ for vic tims of sexual assault or violence.

Whether at a sporting event or else where, rape or sexual assault is some thing that needs to be treated with the upmost importance, and victims of such assault should be aided, not alienated.

Qatar also have strict laws surround ing alcohol consumption, with public alcohol consumption prohibited, and drunkenness in public being illegal. Fans will be allowed to consume alco hol in certain ‘zones’ before and after the game, with only alcohol-free varie ties sold within the stadium during the game. Certainly there will be cases of alcohol abuse outside the designated zones. The question is, what will be the

punishments on those caught breaking the rules?

Former Manchester United legend Eric Cantona has made his thoughts very clear on Qatar 2022. In January of this year, Cantona publicly made the decision to boycott the tournament. The Frenchmen stated that Qatar seems to be ‘neglecting the footballing side of the tournament’, seeking only to make profit. In fact, it has been reported by Bloomberg that the country will be $17 billion better off by the end of the World Cup. Fellow ex-United player David Beckham has been a paid endorser of Qatar and the 2022 World Cup, appear ing in a range of promotional material for the country. Cantona criticised this, and wasn’t shy to inform Beckham that he was making a ‘big, big, mistake’. So, should players be boycotting the competition in light of all these issues?

That’s easier said than done. Despite the circumstances, the World Cup is still a big deal for many athletes. To be selected in a World Cup squad is the result of lengthy, demanding work, and for many footballers in later stages of their career, it may be one of very few chances they’ll get to represent their country at a world cup. Cristiano Ron aldo, for example, remains Portugal’s all-time top goal scorer in international matches with 130 goals in 198 games, but the dominant centre-forward turns 38 next February, and will be into his 40s by the next international tourna ment. Retirement may be on the cards by then, and so Ronaldo will want to be a part of what could be his last World Cup.

As of writing, no England players in

contention have revealed that they do not want to travel and forfeit their place in the World Cup squad. Some teams have made small changes so that they can still participate whilst having their voices heard. For example, Denmark have unveiled a kit with the crests and lettering concealed, as well as an allblack third kit in remembrance of the migrant workers who passed away dur ing the construction of the infrastruc ture in Qatar since the bid victory in 2010. It’s a subtle and clever design that did not violate any already existing rules governed by FIFA, whist still sending a clear message to the world. With everything that has been said, from current footballers, experts, fans, as well as the general public, please keep in mind that while the World Cup will be no doubt a celebration and showcase of the current best footballers in the world, it will also come with equal controversy.

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