InQuire 18.3

University staff set to strike later this month

LGBTQ+ hate crimes on the rise in Kent and Canterbury

By Nathan Collins-Cope News Editor

With so many issues arising from the war in Ukraine, the fallout of Brexit and the pandemic, it can be easy to forget more insidious localised problems. The Kent County LGBTQ community have how ever not forgotten, with a 27% rise in crimes against gay and lesbian people and a whopping 55% rise in transphobic hate crimes respectively since 2020.

By Megan Brown Local Affairs Correspondent

Ina year that many had anticipated to be the first to restore ordinary and traditional academic life fol lowing the recent tumultuous period, the possibility of industrial action raises new concerns of yet another disrupted academic season. The University and College Union (UCU) recently voted to take industrial action on a national scale. The walk outs are planned for the 24th, 25th and the 30th November 2022. In an article released on 24th October of this year, the UCU states that ‘over 70,000 university staff at 150 universities could now strike after UCU members overwhelmingly voted 'yes' to strike action in two national ballots’. This new industrial action is unique from previous strikes and demonstra tions, which had initially been localised within the specific areas which voted in favour of industrial action, such as at the University of Kent.

On November 3rd, Kent Union Par liament met, where one of the topics of discussion was UCU’s recent decision to follow through with industrial action.

trial action.

Parliament

no definitive dates for industrial action have been chosen as of yet, but the reasons posed by the UCU relate to issues regard ing pensions, working conditions, and equal pay. This reason was brought to public attention by the UCU, which says in their October 26th article on their website that ‘university staff are crucial workers in communities up and down the UK. They are sending a clear mes sage that they will not accept falling pay, insecure employment and attacks on pensions. They know their power and are ready to take back what is theirs from a sector raking in tens of billions of pounds.’

These problems are analogous to the issues raised in the last period of industrial action. It is predicted that the University of Kent may start to see disruption commencing in late Novem ber/early December, with the possibil ity of further action taking place in early February. However, this is ultimately speculative. Kent Union Parliament will meet again on the November 22nd to affirm its position regarding the indus

On Wednesday 2nd November, I uploaded a question poll to my own personal Instagram account asking for student’s thoughts on the upcoming industrial action. The results indicate a potential divide within the student body regarding the upcoming industrial action. From a pool of thirteen students, six students stood in solidarity of the union’s action, and seven stood against. Fourth-year psychology student Isaac Rowan is quoted as saying ‘strikes are supposed to be disruptive, and lecturers do everything in their power to make it easier for [students]. All [lecturers] ask for is a touch of solidarity. Focus your energy at the real enemy.’

However, a part-time Master's student who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions from the faculty is quoted as saying ‘given that I did my undergraduate degree at [the University of Kent] and have already felt so much of an impact from the industrial action that went on throughout my undergrad alongside the pandemic, I’m really con cerned students that have experienced previous strikes and disruption, will begin to resent the staff rather than

sympathise with their cause. We just want one year without disruption, it’s not fair that we pay so much money, yet many of us have not seen an uninter rupted academic year.’

Kent Union President, Zaid Mahmood advised Kent Union Parliament to encourage students to discuss the pos sibility of industrial action with lectur ers and staff members. Many lecturers would disclose whether or not they are taking industrial action and indicate any impact that students may encounter.

For anyone with concerns or questions regarding the industrial action poten tially occurring here at the University of Kent, Kent Union will be issuing details on the industrial action and the next steps in the upcoming week. Kent Union and the Student Support and Wellbeing teams are available to help remedy any anxieties arising as a result of this issue.

If you want to find out more about the strikes or have your voice heard on the issue, feel free to attend one of the strike forums arranged by Kent Union: Mon day 14th November, 5:30pm-6:30pm via Teams; Wednesday 16th Novem ber, 2:30pm-3:30pm in GLT3.

InQuire spoke to a University of Kent postgrad student, Jane Brigham, a transgender lady originally from New Jersey, who was involved in an incident of abuse. ‘My friends and I were on the bus back from ASDA on Sturry Road in the evening of the 5th October 2022. A group of five teenagers in St Edmunds School uniform got on the bus and sat nearby us. My friend Liz (not real name), who is also a transwoman, became the target of discriminative mockery from four of the youths- ‘What is it?! Is it a boy or a girl? What a freak’.’ Jane went onto tell us how this later escalated after a bump in the road caused her friend Lucy (not real name) to knock into one of the teens. ‘The guy tried to make out like Lucy intentionally kicked him. But we reckon they were looking for an excuse to start trouble, since they had actively discussed whether to say something directly to us, beforehand’. A third friend of Jane’s tried to diffuse the situation, to no avail– ‘this one boy just would not stop throwing threats and insults at us’.

This caused Jane and her friends to throw unkind words back, which led

Lupe Sellei, Vice-President for Aca demic Experience, stated in an address to the

that

Image courtesy of Kent Union

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Hestia Linford-Allen Opinion Editor opinion@inquiremedia.org

Priya Hawes Features Editor features@inquiremedia.org

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

Students report hate crimes on campus

to older students stepping in to back up their younger siblings.

A stranger stepped in to try and diffuse the situation, and distracted the group of youths until Jane’s group disem barked at Keynes bus stop. However, the St Edmunds boys were not done. ‘One of my friends was whacked in the back, while another was tripped up by a tree branch that had been thrown by them. We tried to keep walking, but they were persistent. One of them approached Lucy, got in her face and began shout ing threats again. Liz stepped in to try and diffuse the situation, attempting to pull Lucy away from this increasingly aggressive bigot. The boy delt her a right hook to the left shoulder for her efforts’.

Another alleged hate crime occurred later in October to a separate postgrad student, a bisexual man who wished to

remain anonymous. He told InQuire of how a group of youths around the age of 17, were hanging around Tyler Court giving out similar types of abuse. James (not real name) and his friends attempted to ignore them and make their way home via the St Stephens Hill exit to campus. When James’ friends turned down Downs Road to walk home, he was left alone to walk down the remainder of the hill. James told us how the group of youths used this as an opportunity to catch up with him, surround him, and shouting ‘gay’ and ‘faggot’ at him. James asked if they had anything better to do with their time, for which he received a severe beat down from the group, being punched multiple times in the face. ‘I was so con cussed that I went home and threw up. My friend saw the state I was in, and she

insisted we got a taxi to A&E. We were there for hours.

‘I now feel like I must walk around Canterbury constantly looking over my shoulder. My friend has been nice enough to say that she will walk me home whenever I have to stay late on campus.’

Both incidents have been reported to the police.

With Canterbury MP for Rosie Duff ield recently making remarks that she would ‘rather be arrested than call Eddie Izard a woman’, many have said that she is part of the problem rather than the solution. The Labour member has a history of speaking out against transgender people, with her once say ing that she does ‘not accept self-ID as a passport for biological men to enter protected spaces for biological women’.

to remove trans protections from the Equalities Act of 2010 - meaning that discrimination against gender non-con forming people would no longer be illegal. This would mean that trans people who have not gone through the extended and arduous process of being legally recognized as their iden tified gender would no longer be able to access single sex spaces like shelters, bathrooms or hospital rooms. Sunak also plans to remove transgender stud ies from sex education in the school cur riculum.

Initiatives you should really know about...:

By Rashida Hassan Editor-In-Chief

Thisyear, Kent Union has done a commendable job at trying to increase awareness about initia tives they have put in place to support and help UKC students on their social media platforms such as their Insta gram page and website. However, when asking around, it became evident that a lot of students are still unaware of all the initiatives KU has put in place. Below are some of those initiatives available from KU to make our time at university a little bit easier.

Campus Pantry

The Campus Pantry is located in the Mandela Student Centre adjacent to the Venue. According to Kent Union, it was set up as a short term solution to tackle food insecurity which is a growing con cern amongst university students (and indeed most of the population). With the cost of living crisis rearing its ugly

Corrections

We

head, the Campus Pantry is an amaz ing way to help students who are suf fering financial difficulties. To access the Pantry for the first time, students would need to visit between the hours of 12:00 and 16:00 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; all you need to do is visit the Mandela reception and show your student ID. Alternatively, students who would need to access the Pantry more than once would have to contact Kent Union’s Advice Service in order to receive the right support.

To donate to the Campus Pantry you can visit the pantry’s all year round donation points located in the Man dela Student Centre, Keynes Atrium, Parkwood Co-op and Plaza Co-op. They welcome donations of non-perishable, unopened foods as well as gluten and wheat free alternatives.

Access to Activities Fund

Societies are some of the most enriching experiences when joining university and gives students the opportunity to learn

a new skill (or improve on a pre-exist ing one), and also to branch out and try something new and exciting. How ever, memberships for a lot of societies, sports especially can cost anywhere from £60 to £100, as well as having to purchase your kit/jersey separately.

Kent Union now offers a maximum of £200 per academic year in order to cover some costs of joining a society. This can include all of your membership fee, 50% of a premium gym membership and other things such as equipment. You can apply for the fund on Kent Union’s website by visiting the Committee Hub under the Get Involved drop down menu. This fund is currently on hold due to the large number of applications that have been recieved. Kent Union are hoping to reopen it again; updates will be put on the Committee hub.

Jobshop

The Kent Union Jobshop is an online and in-person employment service that was set up to assist Kent students

Enquiries

In 18.2, the solutions for the 'down' words in the crossword were incorrect, and were those from 18.1. We have added these amended solutions, along with this week's solutions on page 14.

If you have spotted any inaccuracies in this issue, please contact us at newspaper@inquiremedia.org so that a correction can be issued in 18.4.

on both the Canterbury and Medway campuses to find temporary, part-time, and seasonal employment. Jobshop fre quently makes regular posts on their Instagram page @jobshopkent about jobs in the area. Alternatively, students can email jobshop@kent.ac.uk, have an in-person (or online) drop in session on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 to 12:30, and 13:30 to 16:00, or sign up for Jobshop’s newsletter for job alerts.

Canterbury Nightline

Canterbury Nightline is a non-judge mental listening service run by and for students. This service is available all night for University of Kent and Can terbury Christ Church students from 8PM to 8AM on Fridays and Saturdays. All calls are confidential and anony mous which can be helpful if you need a listening ear. As they astutely mention on their website: you can talk to them about any problem, big or small. Their phone number is 01227 824848.

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Kent students vote to renew our affiliation

By Sam Webb Newspaper Editor

Students at the University of Kent have voted in a referendum to remain a member of NUS UK, the campaign branch of the NUS (National Union of Students), which aims to rep resent student interests on a national scale. Voting was open for a week, from the 24th to the 31st of October. The results were announced at midday on November 1st.

A total of 421 votes were cast, and while the referendum had a quoracy of 600 votes, Kent Union have indicated that the results of the referendum will still be respected and ratified by the Board of Trustees. 59% of those voting elected for Kent Union to continue to be a member of NUS UK.

A referendum was held on the same topic in early 2020 with a much higher turnout of 2540 votes being cast, where 76% voted to remain in the NUS.

NUS UK is a nationwide coalition of

student unions made up of around 95% of higher education providers across the country. The referendum did not con cern the membership of NUS Charity, which provides training and support directly to student unions, including helping them run elections for sabbat ical officers.

In an interview with InQuire, Zaid Mahmood, the President of Kent Union, who campaigned to leave NUS UK in the referendum said that while Kent Union is affiliated with the NUS, and attends campaign and training days that ‘in the past few years NUS isn’t as engaged as much’.

Arguing the need for a second referen dum so soon after the one held in 2020, he said this time it was necessary to focus on whether the NUS was ‘some thing that’s financially viable for Kent Union to be affiliated with’. In order to be a member of NUS UK, unions are required to pay 2% of their grant given by their university. For Kent Union, this will be around £26,000 this year.

Defending the decision to hold the recent referendum, Zaid alluded to the national politics at the time, and the wording of the actual question of the 2020 NUS vote: ‘leave and remain were used, which had certain connotations at the time’, referencing the UK’s chal lenge to leave the European Union, an issue which had led to large amounts of polarisation across the country.

Zaid was evidently disappointed that the turnout for the referendum was so low, but was clear that Kent Union would still respect the outcome of the referendum when ratifying the decision. ‘I think students aren’t that engaged with student politics [as much] as they should be. This really does affect their entire education, their student experience, and their entire career at university. The NUS does represent them at a national level so I hoped more people would be involved so that we met quoracy.’

In May 2022, the UK government announced that it would cut all ties

with the NUS after alleging that it had failed to tackle ‘antisemitic rot at its heart’. It is currently under an inde pendent investigation by Rebecca Tuck KC, and in the meantime, any direct communication between the govern ment and the NUS has been suspended.

Zaid spoke about how he had spoken with Chloe Field, the NUS Vice Presi dent for Higher Education and current acting chair of the NUS UK board, and explained that regardless of the out come of the investigation that she ‘will be working to make sure that NUS does meet its core purpose of representing and fighting for students’.

Several university unions are not members of NUS UK, including those at St Andrews, Southampton, Lough borough, and Newcastle. However, Zaid was clear that despite campaign ing to leave NUS UK, he believes the organisation is an important institution which seeks to prioritise student inter ests. ‘NUS used to be really radical and has fought for a lot of change. A lot that

we take granted for now as students were some things that NUS had fought for years before. I think affiliation with NUS is still something that is impor tant, but some unions have shown that without being affiliated they can still succeed and grow.

‘I think they are a massive national body and don’t think they will get weak ened that easily, every organisation has bumps, but it is something that NUS will probably work on.’

Braverman’s Home Office on the rocks: The 'critical' migration crisis in Kent

By Ben van Broeckhuijsen News Writer

On the 6th of November, hun dreds of protesters from Action Against Detention and Deportation stood outside Man ston migrant centre demanding its closure. The Kent processing cen tre was opened to hold a maximum of 1,600 migrants but was housing 4,000 people for several weeks. On the weekend of the 29th of Octo ber, 1,500 migrants having crossed the Channel were sent to Man ston, with the Home Office strug gling to find room amid an influx of migrants entering the country. Ten days before the arrival of this group of migrants, the Home Office announced an outbreak of diph theria in Manston, but refused to confirm the exact number of cases, only stating it was ‘very small’. The Guardian has since found that this number was limited to eight cases. The same investigation found that scabies is widespread, and that there has been an outbreak of norovirus. At the same site, security contrac tors hired by the Home Office were removed for attempting to sell can

nabis to asylum seekers. Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock has denounced the Home Office’s handling of these issues, claiming ‘the home secretary has completely lost control of an asylum system which has been broken by 12 years of Tory neglect’. As of the 7th of November, the population at Manston had been reduced to 1,600.

The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, is facing heavy criticism for her purported inability to deal with a backlog of migrant process ing applications, unsafe conditions at refugee centres and her abrasive comments on the issue of immigra tion into the UK. Visiting Manston on the 4th of November, Braverman was decried for travelling the 19 miles between Dover and Manston in a chinook helicopter, which costs about £3,500 per hour to fly, accord ing to experts from the UK Defence Journal. The Home Secretary has admitted the asylum system is ‘bro ken’, with the number of arrivals of immigrants on small boats cross ing the Channel having gone up to 40,000 in 2022. Documents leaked to The Times show that as early as September, during her first stint as

Home Secretary, Braverman was warned about potential overcrowd ing risks at Marston, as well as the fact that numerous families were held there for much longer than the legal limit of 24 hours.

In parliament, Braverman has defended herself by arguing she did not ignore advice, and remains ada mant that only the Tories can ‘stop the invasion on our southern coast’ and subsequently suggested parlia ment ‘stop suggesting they are all refugees in distress’. This assertion of her position as Home Secretary came a day after a migrant process ing centre in Dover was attacked in what the Counter Terrorism Com mand has said ‘meets the threshold for a terrorist incident’. The assail ant, motivated by extreme rightwing ideology, threw three petrol bombs at the centre, before driv ing off and committing suicide. In October, the Home Office reported an increase of 26% in hate crimes across England and Wales when compared to last year.

As reported in the same data given to the Home Affairs Select Commit tee, 96% of the people who arrived on small boats in 2021 had not had

their claim processed, and of the 4% whose claim had been processed, there was a success rate of 85%. Meanwhile, in the last week of Octo ber, 41 small boats were detected crossed the Channel (as per the Min istry of Defence), with an average of 35 people per boat.

The Home Office has attempted to implement several policies to better process or even halt immigration into the UK, but record show that the number of claims has gone up considerably since last year. One such measure is the Rwanda asylum plan, in which some asylum seek ers (mainly men arriving on small boats or in lorries) would be sent to Rwanda on a one-way ticket in order to claim asylum there. The plan has been subject to continuous human rights challenges and so far, zero flights to Rwanda have successfully been completed. When summoned to the House of Commons to answer an urgent question by her Conserv ative colleague Sir Roger Gale to respond to concerns over the issues at Manston, Braverman instead sent junior minister Robert Jenrick in her place.

Image courtesy of NUS

Image courtesy of Facebook

Bison births offer fresh hope for Canterbury's biodiversity

By James Bonthron Climate Correspondent

Thebison are back for the first time in 6000 years, and they’re coming to Canterbury.

Isabelle Tree’s book Wilding (released in 2018) tells the story of her family, and the radical changes it made to the Knepp Estate (situated in West Sussex), transforming it from an unprofitable farm into a huge eco-tourism attrac tion. It’s no exaggeration to say that it took the conservation world by storm. The concept of Rewilding has since exploded in usage and has entered the mainstream lexicon.

Just four years later, the first baby bison to be born in the wild on British soil, stumbles out into the world. Are these two events connected?

Rewilding essentially involves letting nature take care of itself, enabling nat ural processes to shape land and sea, repair damaged ecosystems and restore degraded landscapes.

Even within the term, there are two categories: reintroduction and leaving land to recover. The latter is self-ex planatory, but the former is quite con troversial. For example, there’s debate over how long should have passed since extinction and whether it’s an introduc tion since the land has changed in the meantime.

This is quite meaningless to the baby bison, of course, but it is quite impor tant for how we conserve nature.

The UK is one of the least biodiverse places on Earth. Even though most of the land is used for farming, nature tends to be squeezed. In some places, it is simply easier to research reintroduc

tion than try to persuade farmers to give up their land or change how they farm.

The reintroduction of the species has had some controversy. Whether it’s the debate over if a species gone 6000 years is truly ‘native’, or if it’s the dis cussion on how their Blean Wood home should be used, bison are still generally accepted.

This is not so much the case for other species, like the lynx (which would be reintroduced in Scottish Highlands) or the dreaded wolf. The bison project is uniquely lucky, as it has the backing of the Wildwood Trust and Kent Wildlife Trust.

The whole scheme is part of the Wilder Blean project by Kent Wildlife Trust to transform West Blean and Thornden Woods. The scheme parallels that of the Knepp Estate because it also utilises Iron-Age pigs to regenerate the area.

Plant-Based Universities launch campaign for plantbased catering on campus

By Chris Chudley Guest Writer

Students at the University of Kent are campaigning for totally plantbased catering on campus to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the University and combat the climate crisis. Animal agriculture, industries like meat, fishing, and dairy, produce more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transport sector, and contrib utes to 51% of all emissions worldwide. Not only does the industry directly pro duce a huge number of emissions, but animal agriculture is also an incredibly inefficient use of land, resources, and energy, using 83% of global farmland, yet only producing 37% of our protein and 18% of our calories. However, tran sitioning to a plant-based food system would free up 76% of global farmland,

the size of Europe, Australia, and the United Staties combined. The proper use and rewilding of this land would result in the UK becoming carbon neg ative, able to draw down more carbon emissions than we produce.

Joseph Poore, a researcher at the Uni versity of Oxford states that ‘a vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gasses, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use. Avoiding consumption of animal products delivers far better environmental benefits than trying to purchase sustainable meat and dairy.’

The University of Kent sustainability policy commits the university to ‘reduce the impact of food served in [its] outlets and internal catering’. Yet the Univer sity has made very little effort to reduce animal products, and in some cases,

has reduced the number of plant-based options offered on campus. But, the sci ence shows that transitioning to plantbased catering on campus would be one of the most effective and easiest ways to reduce the university’s environmental impact. The Plant-Based Universities campaign wants to work with the Uni versity and Kent Union to help them keep to their sustainability promises and ensure that everyone has access to healthy, affordable, eco-friendly food on campus by transitioning to a plantbased catering system.

Plant-Based Universities currently has 48 active campaigns at universities across the UK, as well as campaigns in Australia and The Netherlands, all demanding the transition to 100% plant-based catering on campus by the end of the academic year. With uni versities already serving plant-based

options, this campaign is the next logical step towards a more sustainable future. In fact, it is universities that publish much of the climate science that warns us of the damaging impact that animal agriculture has on the environment, so it only makes sense for universities to heed their own advice. These centres of learning have the potential to pave the way towards a more just and sustaina ble future, not just within academia, but across the whole of society.

The campaign at the University of Kent plans to enact this much-needed change through Kent Union’s ChangeIt platform which allows students to vote and submit policy for the union, with policy implemented upon reaching the majority of 400 votes. In late Novem ber, Plant-Based Universities will be submitting the policy motion, and we will have 21 days to vote in favour of

it. Throughout these 21 days in late November and early December, the campaign will be hosting a number of events around campus to raise aware ness of campaign, including a panel with representatives from animal and climate groups, a coordinator of the national Plant-Based Universities cam paign, and health professionals to speak about the importance of the campaign and answer any questions you might have.

Keep an eye out around campus for events, follow KTV for regular updates, and join the University of Kent PlantBased Universities’ mailing list by scan ning the QR code above.

But most importantly, go and vote via the ChangeIt platform in late November to have your say in building a more just and sustainable future!

Image courtesy of University of Kent

Image courtesy of Indiana Dunes

Jellyfish invade British coasts: what, how and why?

By James Bonthron Climate Correspomndent

Asthe climate crisis gets worse, strange things are happening to species, especially jellyfish.

After there were ‘reports’ of crocodiles off the Yorkshire coast earlier this year (thankfully later debunked), Brits have glanced suspiciously at the ocean in recent months.

Perhaps alarmingly, the Marine Con servation Society (MCS) has reported a superabundance of usually tropi cal-sea-loving jelly fish.

In fact, three more species were spot ted this year than are usually present around the British and Irish coasts.

A staggering total of circa 1300 jelly fish were spotted by MCS volunteers between the 1 October 2021 and 30 Sep tember 2022.

The new jellyfish are thought to be arriving due to an increase in ocean temperature.

This is a serious warning that climate change is affecting British waters and it’s a situation which is reflected in oce anic bodies around the world. While the UK does not host great coral reefs, the processes which affect the coastline are similar. Jellyfish, being rather hardy

creatures, are more resilient to oceanic changes.

In many tropical areas, an abun dance of jellyfish is linked to a decline to biodiversity. Jellyfish blooms, for example, are a natural occurrence. In recent years, they have been occurring more frequently. The underlying cause of such blooms is an increase in the amount of microscopic plankton. With global oceanic temperatures increasing (and with British coasts being regularly polluted), the amount of plankton avail able for jellyfish is increasing and this is allowing more jellyfish, and more jelly fish species, to thrive.

This has greater environmental impli cations than just for jellyfish. Arguably, the UK has been long overdue for an ecological shake-up: as an island, its faunal assemblage has stayed relatively the same for several thousand years (give or take a few large mammal spe cies).

So, the UK will potentially find itself in a strange place in the near future, where native species decline but the gross number of species actually increases.

It’s not just climate change which has altered the natural range of species for aquatic organisms- oceanic travel and trade has long been a cause for alien species being introduced into countries.

The Suez Canal, for example, is a hot bed for transporting alien species across previously unsurpassable aquatic barri ers. Its opening in 1869 has led to many alien fish species arriving in the Med iterranean. This is called ‘lessepsian migration’ and most of it occurs from the Red Sea to the migration. So far, one estimate (using data by FishBase, 2006 and Golani, 1999) of alien species in the Mediterranean is 63.

The rather dangerous Portuguese Man O’War has also been increasing in num ber over the last twenty years. Although not a true jellyfish, it is often mistaken for one. While having a bad reputa tion (they are toxic if touched), they do actively hunt humans, and so simply keeping some distance from them will keep swimmers safe.

Jellyfish can also be useful to aquatic ecosystems. In their native tropical seas, they are important food sources and are also important sources of nutri ents for other species.

There is an upside for turtle lovers, though, because there’s also been an increase in live leatherback turtle sight ings off the coast of Scotland.

Privileged or paramount? Government spends £4 million to trial Latin in State Schools

By Sophie Ware News Writer

Last year under Boris Johnson, the government proposed a £4 million plan to bring Latin into state schools, and was a suggestion continued by both Truss and Sunak’s governments. It hopes to reduce the 'elitism' between the public and pri vate sectors, and as announced by the education secretary, a Latin Excellence Programme (LEP) has been set up. In a bid to increase the number of students taking Latin GCSE, this September will see the programme enrolled in schools for the first time. With the current eco nomic situation in the UK, along with recent reporting that 90% of schools will go bankrupt by 2023, many have questioned whether this is the right time to spend money on controversial programmes.

The programme will be trialled in schools for the next four years, followed by an evaluation for future years. The

aim of the programme will not only be to teach students Latin but present them with opportunities to visit Roman sites. It will also aim to enrich students with knowledge about the founda tions of their language. The main aim expressed by the Department for Edu cation (DfE) is the need to bridge the gap between the classes, however, many argue that there are starker and more pressing divisions between publicly and privately educated peoples than knowl edge of Latin. Former Chief Master at King Edward’s School in Birmingham, John Claughton, calls the attempt ‘far cical’, believing it may be part of a ‘lev elling up agenda’. Claughton adds the plan has ‘opened up the old wounds about rich and poor, privilege and dep rivation’. It will also take time away from other subjects such as modern foreign languages, which are arguably more important languages to learn.

Classicists have praised the proposal, hoping more students will see the love they so feel for the subject. Mary Beard, a Classicist Professor, is 'delighted'

that students will be taught the 'chal lenging' language. Further claiming it is an introduction 'to a whole range of literature that are different from their own'. Despite Claughman’s criticisms, the former Chief Master suggests that ‘the subject can bring so many benefits to young people’. Jobs in areas such as classics and law would find the early entry into the studies of Latin advanta geous.

However, can the subject of Latin be broken away from the elitist stigma of posh, public school boys? Studies from the British Council Survey show only 2.7% of state school students study Latin at Key Stage 3, compared to 49% of independent schools. Many have argued that we should be aiming to end the educational gap between state and private schools. However, is this a big enough gap to begin trialling Latin in state schools?

Famously, the Latin language and classical history are recited by people in power. During his farewell speech, Ex-Prime minister, Boris Johnson com

pared himself to the Roman dictator, Cincinnatus. Without a Classics degree, this is a quote fair few people would understand, and in this, the complex subtleties of his speech were lost.

In the 1960s, Oxford and Cambridge University removed the mandatory Latin O-Level entry requirement. Within the next decade, the number of students taking Latin dropped by 30% as the subject began to be seen as 'bor ing and irrelevant.' This does pose the question of whether the newly accessi ble Latin may bring about the reversal of such requirements. If this were to become the case, the Latin once aimed to close the gap would stretch it open further.

The proposal stops at GCSE level.

It will be almost cer tain that students learning Latin in state schools

will be unable to continue such studies at a higher level. In May 2021, the gov ernment also announced cuts to reduce art funding in universities by 50% for the academic year beginning 2022. This has been seen by the LEP and Govern ment that adopting Latin into second ary schools is the best way to bridge the social gap between state and publicly educated students.

Image courtesy of Nikolay Kovalenko

Rashida Hassan Editor-in-Chief

Webb Newspaper Editor

Gharam Al-Zubi Website Editor

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Hello

again! I can’t believe it’s already November, the autumn leaves have fallen and winter is upon us (I say this with a heavy heart – I absolutely despise winter). I would like to say that it’s been a long term but truly it’s gone by in the blink of eye and here we are, half way through the InQuire issues for the year and on the last one of the term. When I ran for this posi tion in May, I was completely oblivious to all the doors it would open for me, and all the lovely people I would meet and add to my team who I am now proud to call

my friends. It’s been a somewhat stressful term consist ing of late nights in the Student Media Centre editing sections and compiling the newspaper, dragging trol leys stacked to the brim with 500+ newspapers around campus to fill the InQuire bins and Monday meetings that ran late because we stayed just to talk a little more. Now more than ever, I’m unequivocally steadfast in my decision to join InQuire Media. As I did in 18.1, here I am again singing a siren song to draw you the beautiful sandy shores of InQuire. If you haven’t gotten involved

with a society at this point, I encourage you more than ever to do so. University is the time to explore your pas sions and even find some new ones. My advice for you is to try EVERYTHING. University is an exciting period of exploration and is one of the very few times in your life when you have no responsibilities and a lot of free time (hopefully), this is the best time to step out of your com fort zone and do something that scares you. Make sure your university memories are ones you look back on with fondness, the time is now.

Asyou will have seen from our front page for this month, we report on how the University and Col lege Union (UCU) will be carrying out industrial action later in November in order to campaign for better pay, working conditions, and pensions. This means that many (but not all) lecturers will be on strike on the 24th, 25th, and 30th of November. The National Union of Stu dents (NUS) has already shown support for this action, whereas Kent Union will decide their stance at Kent Union Parliament on 22nd November. While this may be an anxious period of time for some students, I would argue that this action does not go far enough. The reason I say this is because it is too easy for the

university to implement mitigating circumstances in order to make up for lost time in the classroom. This can be done relatively simply, by ensuring that anything that was missed due to strike action will not come up in exams, or as potential essay questions. This can therefore keep students overly satisfied, and give UCU a relatively weak position at the negotiation table.

Instead, marking boycotts are a much more effective course of action in order to implement actual change. By withholding assignment marks and refusing to publish grades, this attacks the primary purpose of a university: to deliver education. If these marks are not given, then it is extremely difficult for students to graduate, which the

university will look to avoid as much as possible. This will, understandably cause anger and concern among students, but this is necessary in order for uni versity staff to hold a strong position when negotiating. A marking boycott of this kind was held last year, which Kent Union decided not to support, but which did lead to more constructive negotiations with the university and UCU. The biggest concern in this course of action is therefore to ensure that students understand the details and reasonings for the events, and tread the fine line between positive and negative disruption in the eyes of the student population.

Since we are now in November when work is get ting more serious, deadlines are approaching or have just passed, I think it is very important to understand how easy it is for burnouts to happen. As an English major student, I am being assigned at least two incredibly long pieces of work to read on a weekly basis. I personally find finishing certain, lengthy novels impossible, especially if I have an assignment, upcom ing presentation or part-time work. When you have too

many things on your plate, burning yourself out can be an easy thing to do, and the worst thing about it is that you don’t know it is happening. You suddenly find your self procrastinating work, feeling drained and helpless. So if you want to get work down, efficiently that is, I would advise you to know your limit and make sure you don’t stress and overwork yourself. With nearly half a term remaining, it is important for your wellbeing and academic standing that you take it one step at a time and

make sure to relax when you can.

If you would like to make sure you don’t fall victim to burnout, simply familiarize yourself with the ways of prevention. Exercising and maintaining a balanced and healthy diet is one way you to prevent it. Physical health has always had an impact on mental health. Ask for help when needed is also one way you can steer away from burning out, even if it is just simple advice, you should definitely go for it and see if it benefits you.

compiled by Matthew Sapsed

Sam

Student politics: a neoliberal playground

By Harvey Blazquez and Henry Ryu Opinion Writers

Thekey issues facing British stu dents are the marketisation of their universities and the commodifica tion of their education. In a system where we pay for our education, students are inclined to act as consumers, who seek value for money instead of educational fulfilment. The role of the academic has diminished as marketisation runs ram pant, with academics forced to serve their consumer students rather than provide education. To make matters worse, teach ing staff are paid pitiful wages as part of precarious, demeaning contracts.

These are the issues that student poli tics should deal with, but the marketised university system renders student politics incapable of tackling these issues. Rather than providing a base for radical change, student politics operates within the neo liberal university environment. Well-in tentioned student-run campaigns are almost always contaminated by the insid ious, manipulating force of neoliberalism.

Modern student politics is very different to the student politics of the 1970s. Then, the University of Kent had a reputation for radicalism, with the 1970 occupation of the Cornwallis building by hundreds of students an example of a mobilised and engaged student base. Today, engagement is much lower, with virtually no base for the advancement of radical ideas. The 2020 Kent Union Student Leadership elections had a turnout of just 16%, and 2021 was even lower with 10%; slivers of the student population.

The Kent Union sabbatical officers, who are elected on such low turnout, therefore, cannot claim to truly represent the stu

dent body. It is also important to note that the officers are paid by Kent Union, which receives 21% of its funding from the Uni versity. These circumstances, alongside the limited powers that officers hold, place severe limits on what the sabbatical officers can actually achieve in office.

One success of a previous sabbatical team was the campaign to make students exempt from paying campus accom modation fees in the summer term of 2019/20 when the pandemic left most rooms empty. However, when we look at this policy closely, its neoliberal rationale becomes clear. The decision from the uni versity was a reaction to the feeling that students were being denied the proper ‘university experience’ by the pandemic and subsequent move to online learning.

The idea of a ‘university experience’ is a key component of the marketised uni versity and a central feature of most uni versities’ branding. Thus, the university’s decision to offer this concession, after pressure from the sabbatical officers, did not constitute the empowerment of the student but rather a refund for the disap pointed consumer.

The Democratise UKC cam paign is an example of how a well-intentioned, student-run campaign can inadvertently advance the interests of neolib eralism within the university.

Democratise UKC propose that half of the univer sity council should be elected by staff and students. The idea that deci sion-mak

ers at the university should be elected and accountable is incontestable. However, the idea that students should have a say in these elections is problematic. By empow ering students to pick the decision-mak ers, we would only advance students' role as consumers and add further insult to the role of the academic. The university model is based on the idea that academ ics, who have dedicated the majority of their lives to studying their subject, know how to run their university. The neolib eral sphere of student politics encourages students to seek more power, as the empow ered student is the ideal servant of the marketised university.

The recent NUS referendum under lined the issues with student engagement, with just 2% of students voting in the ref erendum. This is no criticism of students, who rightly ignored a pointless ref erendum which has no bearing on the real issues facing students.

In essence, the Pres ident of the Student Union made the argu ment that one group of career politicians should be free from the grasp of another group of career pol iticians. The event was similar to in 2020, when the Kent Union

Vice-President for Postgraduate Experi ence argued that the Kent Union should leave the NUS and spend the membership fee, which accounts for 2% of the Union’s budget, themselves.

So, what is the purpose of these ‘dem ocratic’ functions? The most obvious answer is that it allows individuals to further their personal aims. This happens in one of two ways: with student leader ship positions serving as CV fodder for individuals, or with them allowing indi viduals to ‘perform’. Kent Union itself promotes the idea that student leader ship roles are good for employability.

What Kent Union does not admit is the second function of student politics: performance. Those elected to student leadership positions must know they can’t make significant changes, instead, they revel in their roles as performers in this ‘democracy’. The NUS referendums of 2020 and 2022 are obvious examples of performative student politics, with student politicians using the opportunity to roleplay as serious politi cal actors dealing with serious issues.

The current state of university ‘democ racy’ relies on an undemocratic founda tion where the vast majority of students deservedly don’t care to participate in a pointless election of unfulfilled and superficial promises, and those who are engaged are opportunists or tragic figures who haven’t realised the disempowered status of Kent Union. This situation exac

erbates the undemocratic circumstance the university is experiencing due to crushing neoliberalism while attempting to deceive the electorate who cares.

The most important issues facing stu dents cannot be resolved by our current system of student politics, which oper ates within the confines of the modern, neoliberal, and marketised university. Students now only have power as con sumers in a marketised system. Modern student politics involves the mobilisation of this consumer power, which is allowed to succeed only because it conforms with university decision-makers’ policies. Meanwhile, academics are disregarded and disempowered, unable to reclaim the role they deserve as those who run this university. Students must mobilise once more, not as consumers but rather as a collective who can advance the radical ism necessary to challenge the marketised university. Academics must be restored to their powers as people responsible for handling education, and be immune from consumerist pressures. These two com munities deserve to be cured of the symp toms of this miserable marketisation and revive the rightful spirit of education.

Reckless environmental decisions are a reflection of the public’s apathy

By James Bonthron Climate Correspondent

TheUnited Kingdom is setting a dangerous precedent and it’s a sad reflection of British people’s general lack of appreciation of the spe cies found here.

They say that a week is a long time in politics. With the UK swapping Prime Ministers twice in three months, a week in politics these days can seemingly her ald in a new political era.

It is vital that we remember what’s at stake, beyond the schadenfreude of watching ministers gain and subse quently lose their positions.

Three ministerial positions have cer tainly been in the environmental spot light- COP26 President, Environment Secretary and Climate Minister.

The new Prime Minister has made some interesting decisions regarding these posts, especially in downgrading the importance of the COP President and Climate Minister. These ministers will now no longer be able to attend cabinet meetings.

A key lesson, which was learnt just a few weeks ago, was that our decisions as a country must reflect those of the inter national market. The United Kingdom is sending out a lethal message by losing ground on climate and environmen tal leadership. It’s a mistake to assume that environmental issues are not a key factor in economic growth. The World Bank, for example, estimates that the Philippines could experience a GDP

loss of almost 14% by 2040 if no cli mate action is taken. The days of stock brokers ignoring environmental issues should be over.

To further compound these erroneous decisions, former Prime Minister Liz Truss decided to (in effect) ban King Charles III from attending COP27 in Egypt. This position has not changed under the new leader Rishi Sunak. Sen ior ministers such as the COP President are expected to be attending (suppos ing that there’s not another U-turn, which has been a favourite move of the Conservative party of late). This is not reflective of what is ‘sensible’ econom ics.

The Prime Minister’s decision to focus on ‘domestic commitments’ and the ‘autumn budget’ is rather ridiculous and has rightly sparked anger from many other countries. How can the United Kingdom claim any kind of leadership if its Prime Minister wants to lessen its support of one of the most important and expansive negotiation events on climate? However, Rishi Sunak recently revealed on Twitter that he will now go to COP27, after previously indicating that he was too focused on the domestic economy to attend.

So, if it’s not an economic issue, then what is it?

It’s a political decision to reduce atten tion on environmental issues and it’s a reflection of the lack of appreciation

the British public have for both how climate change affects this country and how important the country is for bio diversity.

Sure, we all know that there’s a prob lem. A WWF report in 2022 found that wildlife populations globally had dropped 70% since 1970. Young peo ple tend to be the most active regarding environmental issues.

Still, there is an illusion that there’s a great deal of environmental action by the youth of today in Britain.

The distressing truth is that much of that energy is wasted on campaigns to protect the biodiversity of other coun tries.

It’s not controversial to suggest that most people are more concerned with the plight of the polar bear or giant panda than the lesser stag beetle. It’s understandable- not only are those spe cies more charismatic but perhaps (as large mammals ourselves) we find it easier to empathise with them than the rather alien insect species that we share the planet with.

A 2018 Npower poll found that, out of 2000 adults, a third were unable to identify a common species of tree. This is shocking, considering that the UK has over 60 native species. The recognition of insect species is probably proportion ally poor.

Yet, if we want to be better environ mental activists, it is vital that we as

a nation embrace these humble creatures. If we don’t know what we have, it will be easier for future governments to reflect the passiv ity of the public over biodiversity.

A dangerous line of thought which could come from ignorance of British biodiversity, is the idea that we have no interesting or important species to pre serve. Why bother to prioritise wood lands in the UK if the Amazon rainforest is the proverbial ‘lungs of the earth’?

Why does it matter if we pump sewage into our seas if the Australian Great Barrier Reef supports more species than several British Isles put together?

This is what determines if we attend COP27, what determines if the Climate Minister and COP26 President are allowed to attend cabinet meetings.

The UK is one of the least biodiverse places on Earth. We don’t host great migrations of wildebeest. Nor are our coasts prowled by magnificent tigers among a thick line of mangroves. We hardly have any endemic species. In fact, two notable animals that the coun try sports are the rather small Scottish Wild Cat and rather hidden Scottish Crossbill.

What the UK does have is the immense privilege to host significant populations of species which are struggling else where. Look no further than seabirds for a glimpse of what the UK has to offer. According to the Royal Society

for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the UK has 80% of the world’s Manx Shear waters and almost 60% of the Northern Gannets.

As climate change worsens, the ranges of beloved species of bats and birds and whales and fish and plants will all change. They will suddenly disappear from their usual haunts and may turn up from unexpected places. It’s pre dicted that the Scottish Crossbill will be forced out of Britain and into oblivion due to climatic issues. The UK will need extremely strong leadership to handle the pressures of new arrivals as well as the declines of existing resident species. We have shown that we are willing to engage on the issue of poor biodiversity with reintroductions of various spe cies (for example, beavers) but without significant interest in such things by the general public, then perhaps more U-turns on environmental issues should be expected.

If that’s true, the Prime Minister’s deg radation of the Climate Minister’s and COP President’s role is just the begin ning of a death spiral which will turn the UK into a shadow of its former self.

“A dead or dying educational spirit in a marketised jungle. ”

Images courtesy of HTO & Hameltion/Wikimedia

Photo by NUS/Wikimedia

Education is a right. A six-figure salary isn't.

By Joe Coker President @kentmarxistsociety

University is supposed to be a time for learning, broadening your perspectives, making friends, and enjoying the freedom of independence.

Instead, many students face a deluge of uni versity debt, astronomical tuition fees, cuts to mental health services and even having to use foodbanks. The university is not being run in our interests, but against them. As Marxists, we understand these pres sures inflicted on students as part of the creeping marketisation of higher education. A system run in the interests of the market instead of for need will always see students as customers, or to put it bluntly, cash cows.

The university sector is shedding croc odile tears aboutspending around £1,750 more per student per year than received due to ‘static’ tuition fees in 2020. The incon venient fact that the Russell Group univer sities alone amassed a £2.2 billion surplus in 2020/21 shows that raising tuition fees is not to help balance their books; instead, it will line their pockets. It is students who are being forced to shoulder the costs of educa tion, with average university debt standing at £45,000. With rising inflation, students will have to pay back far more. Educating the next generation of workers should be a

necessity, not a luxury.

In the pursuit of extorting money, univer sities are also shutting down departments and courses. At Roehampton University, 100 academics have had to re-apply for jobs after 19 courses were scrapped. At Wolver hampton University, 250 jobs have been slashed. University management have made it clear what they think of student mental health. On average, £39 is spent per student on mental health services versus a whop ping £2690/student expenditure on market ing. In a national study, 37% of first-years reported symptoms of depression. Even outside the lecture halls and seminar rooms, students face worsening conditions. In a recent NUS survey, one in ten students have used a food bank. 20% cannot buy toi letries and 41% have neglected their health to save money. Students suffer despite mil lions flowing through education, just as workers face freezing this winter whilst the energy sector rakes in billions. It is com pletely irrational that Kent’s vice-chancellor gets a £220,000 yearly salary whilst students are unable to afford basic necessities.

University staff also suffer from the deep inequalities detailed above. Kent Marxist Society supports the UCU’s position that staff working conditions are student learn ing conditions. Overworked, underpaid staff are not able to deliver the high-qual ity education that they want to provide.

The university, despite hav ing a £2.6m statutory sur plus last year, is threatening jobs in the Arts & Humanities Division to pay off building debts and fund new building projects during one of the worst financial crises the UK has ever faced. In response, the local UCU branch

voted to start a strike ballot.

The attacks on staff, including a 35% cut to pensions, has triggered a fightback. The UCU’s recent national ballot win shows that workers will not take this lying down. Faced with compulsory redundancies, UKC staff moved to strike and boycott Assessment & Marking last year. Both actions protected staff from compulsory redundancy over the last two years. Staff have been less at risk of exploitation and burnout, thus protect ing student learning conditions. Militant union action protects workers and students. Whether you’re student or staff, the univer sities have a single priority: money. Cuts to education and staff pay, worsening mental health strain, struggling to pay the bills- no one is safe in the pursuit of wealth. The uni versity will try to divide students and work ers, claiming that staff strikes hurt students. But what is more damaging to students’ education: staff fighting for better teaching conditions, or universities leeching off the wallets and welfare of students and staff to wring out more cash?

These attacks on staff and students are not isolated to campus. The capitalist system is in crisis, offering only austerity, widening inequalities and economic chaos. With gov ernment borrowing in the billions, workers will again inevitably be made to foot the bill. This winter, many families face a brutal choice: heat or eat. Thousands are at risk of eviction due to rising rent. A decade of aus terity has triggered a care sector catastro phe. Hospitals struggle with ambulance queues, set to worsen with another winter crisis. Workers are facing real term pay cuts and attacks on their conditions.

At a recent Kent Marxist Society picket visit, CWU postal workers told us about cuts to sick pay and overtime, having to

work in the dark, unrealistic work goals from out-of-touch managers. This is the story of hundreds of thousands of workers across the country. Without a clear anal ysis or political direction, the situation is utterly demoralising. Marxist theory, how ever, offers us both a way of understanding why this crisis is happening and a guide to action. What is to be done? Students should not underestimate our power when united around bold, concrete demands.

In 2010, faced with the tuition fee rise, students and staff united in a mass move ment. Jointly, the UCU and NUS organ ised a demonstration of 50,000 students and workers in London, enduring police kettling and baton charges. Sadly, the movement was unsuccessful and tuition fees tripled. If student leadership had con nected their demands with workers in other unions, connecting their struggle with the 2011 public sector strike, and threatening the capitalists with rolling strikes, they may have been able to bring the education cartel to the table.

The Kent Student Union recently organ ised a referendum to disaffiliate from NUS UK. While it is true that the NUS has become progressively weaker, riddled with careerism and bureaucracy, we must argue against the fragmentation of the student movement. Kent SU alone cannot fight against the rise of tuition fees and the costof-living crisis. By linking up with student unions across the country, we can coordi nate a national student campaign against the issues that face us and our lecturers. With the next upsurge of the student move ment, the potential will exist to completely transform the NUS into a fighting organ isation. Students also need to link their struggle with workers; not just in word, but

in concrete organising. UCU and Unison staff across the country are fighting against the bosses. 59% of Kent students that voted chose to support the renewal of membersip with NUS UK.

We must stand with strikers, attending picket lines instead of crossing them, and using our collective voice to demand better pay and working conditions for workers. We must also educate ourselves politically in the class struggle. Students and staff know more about education than a vice-chancel lor on a six-figure salary. While we welcome the aims of groups like Democratise UKC, we must go further. Rather than sharing the university boards with the bosses, students and workers should democratically control the campus themselves. We can and should decide the way education is delivered: on the basis of need, not profit. We should also fight for free education and a massive fund ing boost for our deprived departments and facilities. These can be funded through the expropriation of the banks and monopo lies, where the wealth of society is guarded by the capitalists. Education is a right, not a privilege. Ultimately, none of these demands are compatible with capitalism. Education, staff and student welfare are all victims of this system.

Kent Marxist Society is part of the Marx ist Student Federation, with groups in 50 universities and colleges nationally. We are affiliated to Socialist Appeal, a revolution ary organisation of students and workers united in fighting to replace capitalism with a society run on democratic workers’ con trol. We say join our fight for free education and democratic workers’ control of society! If you want to join the fight against capi talism, you can find us on social media or email us at kentsocialistappeal@gmail.com.

South Korea's problematic president

By Henry Ryu Opinion Writer

2022 marked the true return of conservative governance in Korea. Yoon Suk-youl won the presidency by a narrow margin, while local elections resulted in a landslide for the main conservative People Power Party (PPP). These elections marked intense polarisation in Korea, espe cially at the presidential level, where Yoon won by the narrowest margin in Korean history. Since this victory, Yoon has lacked focus and understanding in handling his new presidential powers, ultimately failing to navigate this unfa miliar avenue of politics, and succumb ing to reactionary demands.

For context, the conservative victory was due to discontent which boiled over in 2021 against the liberal presidency of Moon Jae-in and the governance of the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). A variety of factors, such as no improvement in social mobility, a prop erty crisis, and rising anti-feminist sen timent among young men combined to oust the DPK from the offices it held.

Yoon was the Prosecutor-General in charge of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office of Korea (SPO) and was in regular conflict with Moon on matters of pros ecutorial reform. Their relationship soured severely after Yoon prosecuted a close ally of Moon. As Moon’s popular ity slid, Yoon’s rose, and he unexpect

edly won the primary to become the PPP’s presidential candidate.

Since being elected in a vitriolic and chaotic election, Yoon has failed to repair the distrust and lack of faith the people have in their government. Yoon has lower popularity than any president did in their first year; hovering around 30%. From the moment he entered office, he has been enacting, u-turning, and failing controversial policies. This includes the continuing dispute over the relocation of the presidential office: an unnecessary and costly project, which has been soundly criticised for increas ing security risks for a pointlessly sym bolic gesture. The government also plans to abolish the Ministry of Gen der Equality and Family, ignoring its contributions to welfare for the sake of pandering to young men and ensuring a lack of social progress in a country with deep-rooted sexism. In another domes tic controversy, the govern ment is targeting freedom of expression as it tries to take down a satirical cartoon of Yoon.

Yoon has also been caught up in diplomatic errors which severely cost him his popular ity. He failed to prop erly pay respects to

the late Queen Elizabeth II during her funeral, held a talk with Biden for less than a minute and was caught swearing on camera. This has all impaired the perception of Korea, if not definitely embarrassed the nation as their head of state displays himself in such a boorish manner. The state of the economy (a major driving force behind Yoon’s suc cessful campaign) has also shown no significant improvement, with specula tion remaining over whether liberalis ing the economy will cure the ills of the Korean economy.

This altogether displays the incompe tence and ignorance of the new presi dent and his administration. He hasn’t learned the basics due to not having any experience other than managing an institution known for being stubborn and corrupt. His government has also been caught up with multiple superflu

ous and expensive policy efforts, often resulting in embarrassing blunders, all in an extremely short space of time. This has generated a rapidly growing deficit of trust towards the government. Yoon’s plans haven’t solved the coun try’s problems, and any of his successful policies will make this country worse. But he remains the president of Korea and he must govern, and not yet reach ing a year into his 5-year term means he has time to readjust the direction his government is taking. His government needs to stop concerning itself with pedantic issues that do nothing but stoke polarisation and exacerbate social struggles. He has no political skills, so he should take the time to learn what his role fully entails instead of committing to an individual style that doesn’t help improve public perception, and realise that he should fix his attitude before the country is humiliated further. Opening himself up to the opposition in the National Assembly for cooperation will be key to improving the liveli hoods of the people, while both ruling and opposition parties need to straighten themselves out by putting aside petty arguments and bringing forth genu ine criticism and plans for

legislation. Yoon and other conserva tives must also realise that ignoring the chronic sexism and aligning themselves with the far-right will only induce a cycle of regression.

Yoon absorbed the worst of Korean conservatism and was then chosen for a job that he’s unsuited for. Yet despite his incompetence, he can still be a blank slate that could bring a positive change, and a new direction isn’t fun damentally wrong. His pro-Japan pol icy is controversial, but it’s true that reconciling diplomacy is important. Appeasing North Korea didn’t work so deterrence is the only other option, and if his economically liberal direction is reigned in, a balance can be struck with support for workers and welfare.

But if Yoon continues not to embrace the importance of social progress and what the presidency actually entails, he has no choice but to go. Conversely, if he proves he’s worthy of success then he could make himself just barely deserving of the country he leads.

Image courtesy of Steve46814/Wikimedia

Photo by People Power Party/Wikimedia

Image courtesy of KMS

Rosie Duffield, It's time to go

By Hestia Linford-Allen Opinion Editor

Content Warning: Transphobia

WhenI was a kid, I used to sit with my mama and watch these awful clips of 70s comedy that she just absolutely had to show me. I’m not going to lie, this activity definitely caused some mother-daughter arguments, especially when the skits contained casual blackface and other socially repressive tropes. I remember feeling so tired having to explain why I wasn’t actually enjoying the Black and White Minstrel Show and praying that when I moved to uni, I wouldn’t ever have to see another Monty Python clip again. But there are some moments that I fondly remember. My mum intro duced me to Limmy, wayyyy before my boyfriend did with his Twitch stream clips. And Stewart Lee, Eddie Izzard and Julian Barratt. Mama told me that she used to watch these shows with my dad, with her uni mates and laugh for hours at the pub, rehashing jokes they saw on TV at the weekend. I can watch her laugh, the tiny lines on her face disap pear, and imagine her at my age, before university (she went when she was 30), before children, and before she got older and had to defend her comedy faves from accusations of bigotry. I guess if anything, though, the problematic-comedy-watching gave us space to discuss some pretty deep issues: the intersections of comedy and oppression, sexism, and the rising tide of white man ‘edgy’ comedy.

Eddie Izzard always stuck out, she was extraordinary to me, even then. Their piercing blue eyes, rimmed with dark kohl and frosty sil ver shadow, which, at the time, was the height of 90s-noughties makeup, spoke to me. I’m sorry if you have no idea who I’m referring to right now (go watch some of her stand-up, it's amazing!), but if you’ve watched the Narnia films, Izzard voiced the talking mouse in Prince Caspian, or the bad car, Sir Miles Axlerod, in Cars 2. I realise that these references are maybe a little niche, being voice acting roles and all, but also just look her up.

If you aren’t aware, Izzard has been openly genderfluid for almost three decades, but decided to go by she/her pronouns in 2020. Early in the 90s, she began to perform on stage in dresses, and identified as a transvestite, explaining: ‘I don't call it drag; I don't even call it cross-dressing. It's just wearing a dress. It's not about artifice. It's about me just express ing myself.’ Since then, fans have sold out multiple arena tours to watch Izzard perform complex, yet hilarious stream-of-consciousness comedy in over five languages- all in a pair of stilettos. It all seemed to be going pretty well for Izzard, who raised over a million pounds for Sport Relief by running a marathon every day for seven weeks (they took Sundays off to rest).

Where is this all going? Why am I writing about Cars and my mum and talking mice? Who cares about Eddie (not in a mean way)? She's a bit irrelevant today, particularly for us youth, no? Well, not if you’re Can terbury Labour MP Rosie Duffield. Yes guys, that’s right. Our local MP, who has devoted much of her political career to fighting for the interests of women that experience abuse and domestic violence, has decided that for the good of the girlies, she must now become transphobic.

One of the most prominent and noisy anti-trans lobbying groups in the UK is the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Alliance- known as the LBG Alliance or LGBA. Formed in late 2019 to ‘prevent the dissemination of the lie of gender identity,’ the LGB Alliance mainly promotes fear mongering narratives of trans people as dangerous predators, women’s bathroom invaders or con fused children, under the guise of free speech and the preservation of ‘sexbased rights.’ The ‘advo cacy group’ currently has 60,000 followers on Twitter, where the organisation is most active.

On October 21st this year, the LGB Alliance held their second annual con ference in Westmin ster. The event opened at

Statement from Kent Labour Students

regarding the

conduct of Canterbury Labour MP Rosie Duffield

By Rosie Jackson Chair, @ukclabour

8:30am and boasted a number of talks on the theme ‘Great Strides for Pride’. Sessions in the main hall countered puzzling topics like ‘the New Intolerance,’ or, if you fancy a more intimate affair, you could head to the smaller workshops in which you could ask questions to ‘survivors’ (people that have chosen to detransition). The conference advertises high-profile speakers, which this year included ex-academics, veterans of British feminism and a few random MPs to discuss the transgender issue. One of these MPs was Rosie Duffield, the Labour MP for Canter bury. Duffield, who has a history of transphobic remarks, was asked at the conference about the possibility of misgendering someone becom ing a hate crime.

She responded: ‘Is that a serious thing? Is that coming to parliament any time soon? I hope not because you might as well arrest me now. I’m not calling Eddie Izzard a woman.’

Firstly, a trans person does not have to be charitable, funny, or even nice, for you to respect their basic rights. They literally just have to be a person. Like a human person. Rosie chose to pub licly misgender a beloved British comedian, in a room full of people that would only ever reinforce her beliefs. Let’s not act like she’s brave, some sort of free-speech activist, or even a pioneer for the rights of cis people. Please girl, it’s really not that radical to refuse to call a transgender woman a woman. It’s been done. Turning to transphobia for the views and clicks, after a lifetime working against domestic violence and sexism really is a career change. The rights and liberation of cis and trans women are inextricably linked. You can’t just start a trans panic because you’ve become politically irrelevant.

Founding members of the LGB Alliance have held major positions in religious, conservative groups in America, many of which lobby for anti-abortion, anti-gay and anti-trans policies. In 2019, Bev Jackson, co-founder of LGBA, publicly defended working with The Heritage Foundation, a US right-wing think tank, writing: ‘The leftwing silence on gender in the US is even worse than in the UK. This story explains why working with the Heritage Foundation is sometimes the only pos sible course of action.’ She then goes on to retweet an article by the Witherspoon Institute, another conservative think tank, that opposes abortion and same-sex marriage.

Jackson did later address her ‘problematic’ endorsements, ‘As a social ist feminist, I do find these alliances problematic. Take the Heritage Foundation. Many deeply anti-women policies. Yet it was their publicity that made it possible to launch a gender-critical movement in the US.’

This is so neolib it makes me want to scream. To give in to big-money, American, think tanks is a betrayal of the traditions of British feminism.

Trans people are dying, getting killed and killing themselves, in sta tistics I have memorised. Trans people have twice the mortality risk of cisgen der men and women; being more likely to experience violence, dis crimination and homelessness.

Trans people are twice as likely to be victims of crime. Accord ing to Stonewall, 41% of trans people and 31% of non-binary people will have experienced a hate crime or incident due to their gender identity in the last 12 months.

These alliances are not merely ‘problematic.’

They are deeply regressive, and cannot be allowed to infiltrate the Labour party.

Variousfactions within the Labour Party have now called for Keir Starmer to remove the whip from Rosie Duffield. LGBT+ Labour, Labour Students and Young Labour Under 19s have all released statements in support of the LGBT+ community. Our own Kent Labour Students Society posted this statement, penned by their Chair, Rosie Jackson.

Weat Kent Labour Students are proud to represent the Labour Party at the University of Kent and to work closely with Canter bury Labour Party. It is with this pride in mind that we believe Rosie Duffield, the MP for Canterbury, Whitstable and the Villages, can no longer truly represent her constituents. We echo the calls of Young Labour, LGBT+ Labour, Labour Students, and the 35 other Labour clubs and socie ties calling for the whip to be withdrawn from Rosie Duffield.

Rosie Duffield's remarks about Eddie Izzard are the most recent of years of increasingly inflammatory comments towards transgender people. She has stated she would rather be arrested than call Eddie Izzard a woman, recently attended the LGB Alliance conference, and has endorsed comments referring to transgender people as 'heterosexuals cosplaying'. Her attitude towards the transgender community is nothing short of barely concealed hatred, and it is therefore clear that she can no longer represent her trans gender constituents fairly.

Labour won in Canterbury in 2019 with a majority of only 1,836. Rosie Duffield is the first ever Labour MP to win in our constituency. Our party brought in the 2004 Gender Recognition Act and is the party of fairness and equality. Keir Starmer has stated that transgender women are women and he has supported LGBT+ Labour's 10-point pledge. We are the progressive party for the people, and Duffield's vitriol has no place within it.

We do, of course, condemn bullying and the threats Rosie Duffield has received, and we credit her for the work she has done for victims of domestic violence and women. There are conversations to be had about how we can protect vulnerable women while also including trans women in our mod ern-day feminism, but Rosie Duffield's actions show a discernible misuse of feminism to perpetuate an unfair narrative and representation of transgen der communities.

We are her constituents, and some members of KLS are also on the exec utive committee of Canterbury CLP, but nevertheless- and with disappoint ment- we call for her to lose the Labour whip. We hope that she will be replaced by a Labour candidate who can more fairly represent each and every constituent in Canterbury.

Image courtesy of KLS

"You can’t just start a trans panic because you’ve become politically irrelevant."

Labour MP for Canterbury, Rosie Duffield

Image courtesy of Chris McAndrew/Wikimedia

Image courtesy of Giuseppe Sollazzo/Wikimedia

Image courtesy of Marc Nozell/Wikimedia

Labour Candidate for Sheffield Central, Eddie Izzard

Racial bias in Medicine: The fatalities of Oxygen Sensors

By Elma Maka Science and Tech Editor

Recent retrospective studies of treatments during the Covid19 pandemic have highlighted a profound disparity in the readings of blood oxygen from pulse oxime ters between people with lighter and darker skin tones. An initial retro spective report on the matter was pub lished in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2020 , which prompted multiple larger scale reports confirm ing their initial results.

in lighter skin. The estimation that oximeters make about light absorp tion takes into account that some light energy is scattered by the structure of tissue in the skin, but because studies often oversample light-skinned indi viduals, the impact of melanosomes hasn’t been investigated properly and has led to an overestimation of oxy gen in the blood of darker-skinned patients.

Pulse oximeters are crucial devices that estimate the oxygen saturation of the blood by shining light through tissue, usually the fingertip. The way that pulse oximeters work is relatively simple.

Haemoglobin that is oxygenated in the blood absorbs infrared light more efficiently than the red light, and the opposite is true for haemoglobin that is deoxygenated. Depending on the amount of each light that is detected having been absorbed, the oximeter makes an estimation on the amount of oxygen in the blood. However, these signals are affected

Pulse oximeters are essential in patients who may have rapidly fluc tuating oxygen levels and are unable to have frequent arterial bloodgas tests to test for the oxygen in their blood. They were also initially developed and introduced in popu lations that were not racially diverse.

The researchers from the initial report found these devices often give inaccu rate readings for people with darker skintones and this can have life-alter ing impact, especially in the diagnosis of hypoxaemia; low levels of oxygen in the blood.

a recent report Oxford University’s Department of Population Health that the coronavirus pandemic is likely to have worsened the disparity that Black mothers already face, already being four times more likely than white mothers to die during childbirth. The report revealed one of the most likely causes of this disparity was inadequate medicine management.

discrepancy in oxi metry estimation is understood, it is nec essary to make this piece of healthcare equipment work effec tively for all. An ideal solution would be the design of a new genera tion of oxygen-sensing devices that wouldn’t need self-assessment of skin tones or ethnic ity and could instead detect and account for skin pigmentation on its own, as well as the many other individual factors that can affect pulse oximetry measurements.

by melanin in structures of the skin before the light reaches any blood ves sels.

Melanin that is distributed in the skin is known as melanosomes, and these structures in darker skin are both larger and more frequent than those

Follow-up reports published in Nature confirm that pulse oximeters often overestimate the actual oxygen satura tion of Black patients, which means they are three times less likely to be diagnosed with hypoxaemia than white patients. Following this, a study analysing a larger popu lation found that 35% of patients identifying as Black had oxygen treat ment delayed or entirely missed, compared to 20% of white people documented. This has potentially fatal impli cations; more compre hensive analysis in the report showed that peo ple with occult hypoxae mia (hypoxaemia with seemingly normal blood oxygen values shown on monitors) are prone to organ dysfunction and in-hospital mortality, with Black patients in this group suf fering the worst organ dysfunction.

While clinical reports into this phe nomenon were not widespread until the Covid-19 pandemic, the evidence for this disparity has been building for decades. In fact, this study follows

The original study’s findings prompted the US Food and Drug Agency to re-examine the sig nificant impacts of this bias, and in 2021 they released a safety communication that highlighted the lim itations presented by pulse oximeters. It is highly probable that very few exist ing healthcare staff and patients were aware of the ramifica tions, and following this announcement, last month the FDA announced that the Medical Devices Advisory Committee would convene in November to gather all available evidence and find ways to improve the accuracy of this life-determin ing equipment. Unfortunately, this discrepancy cannot be simply adjusted by using fixed racial adjustments for cer tain medical instru ments as these also often do not account for individuals of a mixed heritage or individual differences in measurements, and can increase health inequities rather than improv ing them. Once this

Pulse oximetry equipment is also fre quently found in the majority of smart watches that detect people’s blood oxygen levels. As a result, it is also important to spread awareness of this imbalance amongst the general popu lation who are using smartwatches to self-monitor their health. There are

also many other commercially availa ble pulse oximeters used to self-assess circulation or are distributed by the NHS to those suffering from the longterm impacts of Covid-19, which could mean the issue of occult hypoxaemia is larger than once thought.

“A study analysing a larger population found that 35% of patients identifying as Black had oxygen treatment delayed or entirely missed, compared to 20% of white people documented”

Diagram indicating the function of oximeters, image courtesy of Nature

“Pulse oximeters are essential in patients who may have rapidly fluctuating oxygen levels... they were also initially developed and introduced in populations that were not racially diverse”

Hand with Oximeter, courtesy of GettyImages

Smartwatch, image courtesy of Verge

Cryptomining is dying... and the environment will benefit

By Lumière O’Keefe Science & Tech Writer

Cryptocurrency is no stranger to controversy. From being the primary currency used in largescale drug deals to wiping peoples’ savings with a single dip in its highly volatile market, there is no shortage of reasons to be wary of it. However, when graphics processing units (GPUs) went missing from store shelves in 2020, one of the most egregious parts of crypto reared its ugly head to the general public: cryptomining.

Cryptomining, at its core, is the use of electronic hardware to verify cryp tocurrency transactions, and in return be rewarded with cryptocurrency. While this seems innocuous enough and helps prevent fraud in the crypto market, cryptomining comes with a long list of troubles and dangers.The first issue, and the one that caused the most widespread public dismay, was the shortage of GPUs in 2020. Any RTX 3000 series GPUs would be wiped from store shelves the second they arrived, leaving casual gamers unable to upgrade their PCs. This is because verifying cryptocurrency transactions requires a huge amount of mathemat ics, and GPUs have some of the best

price-to-power ratios available for performing arithmetic functions. As a result, as soon as a powerful GPU became available, cryptominers would immediately purchase and add them to their vast collection of GPUs to mine currency faster.

However, this is the most sur face-level issue that comes with cryp tomining. In order to earn the most crypto from verifying transactions, miners would leave arrays of hundreds

or possibly thousands of GPUs running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. According to the Digiconimist’s Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, verifying a single transac tion of Bitcoin racks up an energy bill equivalent to $173. If Bitcoin mining was a country, its energy consumption would be greater than that of Argentina, placing it in the top 30 energy consumers. This is for only a single crypto currency out of the hundreds available on the market. The environmental damage of such enormous electricity consump tion is apparent, with fossil fuel plants working at increased rates to meet the demand gen erated by cryptomining oper ations, spewing an estimated 65 megatons of CO2 into our atmosphere every year.

As if that wasn’t enough, you might be contributing to this consumption without even real ising. ‘Cryptojacking’ malware is commonplace, making up 35% of cyber-attacks in 2018.

This malware silently runs on your computer, smartphone, tablet, or server, and uses your device’s hard ware to mine cryptocurrency for the hijacker’s profit. Cryptojacking can be extremely hard to detect, with one of

the most notable signs being a sudden increase in your electricity bill as the malware uses energy to mine the coin.

in September it will no longer use cryptomining to verify transactions, and will instead switch to the proofof-stake system of validation. This method works by cryptocurrency hold ers using their cryptocurrency to 'vote' for a validator. The currency they used to vote is then locked away as a 'stake'.

a single transaction of Bitcoin racks up an energy bill

If the validator succeeds in validat ing a transaction they will receive a cryptocurrency reward, much in the same way that miners receive rewards, except this reward is then shared amongst those that voted for the vali dator.

However, if the validator fails to validate the transaction or validates a fraudulent transaction then some or all of the cryptocurrency that was put forward as a stake will be lost. Rather than huge arrays of GPUs all consum ing electricity in an attempt to validate a transaction, a single user voted for by the community will be responsi ble for validating transactions. The commuity also has a vested interest in voting for a com petant validator. As only one user is consuming electricity, this leads to a 99.5% decrease in electricty consumption to validate a transaction.

While other coins still use the mining system, it is becoming less and less profitable, as every transaction verified means that the next will become slightly more mathematically complex, requiring more computing power than anyone except the largest mining farms can afford.

In fact, immediately after Ethereum made the switch, up to 80% of miners shut down entirely due to no longer being able to make a profit.

It is also extremely easy to get infected, with the malware being downloada ble from almost anything that can be downloaded, including emails, web sites, zip files, and many more.

However, cryptomining is a dying industry. One of the most popular coins to mine, Ethereum, announced

Cryptomining has a long and ugly history, however its com plete disappearance is closer on the horizon than many have predicted. While cryptocurrency will continue to trudge its way through controversy after controversy, the phasing out of cryptomining is one of the more unani mously accepted moves that the crypto market has made.

“If Bitcoin mining was a country, its energy consumption would be greater than that of Argentina, placing it in the top 30 energy consumers.”

Energy

“Verifying

equivalent to $173”

‘Gamer Cells’: Teaching dishes of neuron clusters to play Pong

By Lumière O’Keefe Science & Tech Writer

Howmany brain cells does it take to play Pong? According to scientists at Cortical Labs in Melbourne, about 800,000. Dubbed ‘the DishBrain system’, this technique works by combining embryonic mice neurons with human neurons grown from stem cells in elec trode-coated petri dishes. The elec trodes both stimulate the cells and record changes in neuronal activity, and by converting these responses into a visual depiction of the game, scien tists were able to make the ‘gamer cells’ learn to play Pong in under 5 minutes. The method used to ‘teach’ the cells is similar to the system that is used to teach powerful AIs such as Google’s ‘Deepmind’ (which is currently being taught to play Starcraft II). Whenever the cells missed the ball, electrodes

would send random sig nals to random portions of the cells. However, when the cells hit the ball, the electrodes sent a signal of uniform strength to the exact same area of the cell cluster.

Using this basic system, the cells learned to move the paddle to hit the ball in order to avoid random signals and receive uni form ones. Whilst it took AI around 90 minutes to learn Pong, it took the neuron clusters less than five.

However, these ‘critiques’ are not to be confused with a reward and pun ishment system. Theoretical neuro scientist Karl Friston of University College London explained that ‘these

cultures learned how to make the world more predictable ... these mini brain cells have no sense of reward or pun ishment’. Scientists at Cortical Labs based their system on Friston’s theory that cells want to remove as much ran domness from their environment as possible and move towards a ‘predict able’ existence. Whilst these initial experiments seem to prove this the ory, Takuya Isomura at the RIKEN Center for Brain Science in Saitama told Nature that ‘a detailed explana tion of what kind of stimuli can actually make that difference’ was needed before it could be considered scientific fact. Sci entists hope that this manipu lation of neurons will be able to be used in studies of the human brain, as well as advances in AI and computing.

In 2013, RIKEN’s K Computer used the equivalent of 250,000 desktop computers worth of processing power to simu

late one second of 1% of human brain activity. Whilst the humble cluster of 800,000 neurons used in DishBrain is a far cry from the 8-10 billion neurons present in a fully developed human brain, scientists are hopeful that the system could be used to beat Riken’s record and sim ulate more brain activity for use in research.

Beyond this, scien tists could use these isolated neuron clus ters to analyse how the brain responds to various chemicals and medications, or even tailor specific medica tions to specific people by testing medications on neu rons grown from their stem cells. This would be especially helpful in treating neurological diseases such as Alzheim er’s, Parkinson’s, and epilepsy. Cortical Labs also hopes to develop the cells

into ‘biological processing units’ for the

researchers that this tech nology can be developed much further. Cortical Labs scientist Dr Brett Kagan told the BBC that the gamer cells are ‘very much like the nascent computer industry, when the first transistors were janky prototypes ... but they led to huge technological marvels’. Plans have been made to further develop the technology, with Dr Kagan stating the next experiment is likely to be re-running the game of Pong whilst exposing the neu rons to ethanol to see the effect the drug has on the neuron clusters, and if this mirrors the impact of alcohol in human brain behaviour.

computing industry, with the aim of greater processing power at lower energy consumption. It is hoped by

“These cultures learned how to make the world more predictable ... these mini brain cells have no sense of reward or punishment.”

Pong video game, image courtesy of Alamy

“Scientists could use these isolated neuron clusters to analyse how the brain responds to various chemicals and medications.”

Across: 1 Gift, 3 Wrap, 7 Nuisance, 8 A lot, 9 Magi, 10 Talk down, 11 Asleep, 14 Embryo, 16 Trimming, 19 Rein, 21 Scar, 22 Telltale, 23 Star, 24 Deer.

Down: 1 Gouda, 2 Festive, 3 Wheelie, 4 Award, 5 Knot, 6 Norway, 12 Spruce, 13 Painter, 15 Burette, 17 Merit, 18 Gold, 20 Idler.

Amended crossword solutions from 18.2:

Across: 1 Autumn, 4 Sale, 7 Retain, 8 One-off, 9 Mushroom, 11 Rage, 12 Abracadabra, 15 Idle, 17 Anaconda, 19 Tomato, 20 Indeed, 22 Knee, 23 Winner.

Down: 1 Age, 2 Teacher, 3 Mango, 4 Swear, 5 Lifeguard, 6 Doomed, 10 Up and down, 13 Crayon, 14 Broaden, 16 Erase, 18 Alibi, 21 Ear.

An open letter to the survivors I know, and the ones I don't

By Amina Mukhtar Fearure Writer

Content Warning: Sexual Assault

My therapist has been introducing an exercise into our sessions lately. She asks me, Moona, if your anxiety was to speak, what would it say?

And the thing I keep going back to is this: a couple of days ago, a statistic found its way onto my Twitter timeline (note: how interesting it is that the place we go to dis tract ourselves reminds us of just how scary this world is?). The statistic was a haunt ing one: 25 rapes are recorded every day in London. Here, the voice of my anxiety was a sopranic screech, angry and raw. It was the same screech I felt when Sarah Everard first went missing, whilst having this silent understanding of what happens to women who disappear in the night. The very same voice boomed from inside me when Salma Bahgate, a 20-year-old student from Egypt, was stabbed 17 times for rejecting a man’s

advances.

I am reminded here of the warranted anxi ety I sometimes feel as a consequence of my womanhood. Haven’t we all felt the fear of rejecting a man on a night out, huddling close with girlfriends, being as polite as possible in order to remain safe? Haven’t we all walked home at night, turned our location on, took the main streets, stayed on the phone call, and still felt utterly unsafe? Haven’t we all been Sarah, or Salma? Here, my anxiety whispers, there is so much blood, and most of it has been cut open from the bodies of women.

Survivors become a political point, a statistic. 25 rapes a day.

this space as another informational piece on how to prevent sexual violence. I think there is enough online discourse about that, but I believe that online conversations water down the experience of assault itself. Survi vors become a polit ical point, a statistic. 25 rapes a day.

So, I am writing this for the woman who told me that she purposely dances horribly during nights out in order to keep predators away, and how she laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. Here, her anxiety protects her, at time when she should have her guard down.

I wonder if something happened to me here, would anybody remember my name, or would it be my rapist’s name that people think of when they think of me? We all know Brock Turner, but none of us know Chanel Miller! Here, my anxiety plans exit strate gies, maps out all possible outcomes, and tries to protect me again and again.

My therapist says: so your anxiety is the love you have for your own body? And I know how silly that may sound, but perhaps she is right. Maybe, just maybe, this anxiety is armour protecting this body in a world that makes it feel too frail, too weak. It is a small child that begs for attention. It is constantly angry. And I think that this anger is good. This anger protects. It garners change.

So to you reading this. I believe you. I believe that you are scared. I believe that you feel the very same anxiety I do.

Of course, there are people to blame here. I think there is a severe lack of education about consent. I think that our justice system is so broken that perpetrators are not effectively held to account. But I do not intend on using

Every time my friend and I walk home from the library at night together, I always think the same thing: I wish the streetlights were brighter. It is not enough to be with another person, as a woman. We are still scared of what lies in the darkness. I am still scared.

But I also believe in your resilience. I know you are angry, and call it a little rebellion, but that makes you more powerful than you could ever know.

Image courtesy of Getty Images

Let's talk about indigenous

By Priya Hawes Features Editor

America, land of the free. The place you go to seek opportunity. An oppor tunistic haven if you will. Over here in Europe, and the rest of the world, we are heavily influenced by American cul ture; from music to the film industry, from literature to the city that never sleeps. We unconsciously find ourselves immersed in all the attributes the rest of the world has glorified about America. When thinking about America, what is the first thing that springs to mind? It could be the many famous presi dents, maybe even one orange faced individual in particular, or it could be the famous cities such as Los Angeles where nowadays everyone seems to be an influencer. I guarantee it is not the 500+ ‘native American’ tribes still living there to this day. I use quotation marks as I believe they should be called Amer icans; after all they were there first and are still, although decreased in num bers, there. So, this begs the question: What happened? I am certain many of you are aware of who Christopher Columbus is, or you’ve heard the name somewhere. Maybe your friend decided to do some investigating and told you over your dry, probably cold canteen food when you were still in school that he ‘discovered’ America.

Now the problem with this statement is that it is sadly used so liberally, we don’t think twice about it. It’s a part of our history books and we like to think what we are being taught is fair and true, even when the atrocities are unim aginable. What do we do when what we’ve been taught has been heavily sug ar-coated to the extent, we think the Europeans saved them? Taught them our ways because our way of life seemed to be the best at that time. I’m not say ing you should hate Europe, don’t get me wrong, there are definitely some good aspects about the small continent, but I think it’s time we relearn what we’ve been taught, but from a different perspective.

So, let’s start from the beginning. In this article I will try to provide an angle from someone who does not have any direct connections with America, old or new, in hopes to raise awareness and ultimately shed some light on the events that happened not all that long ago.

A history of how ‘America’ came to be.

Starting from the beginning, initially native peoples of north America lived an almost uninterrupted nomadic existence for over 10 millennia. Living a peaceful and simple life, however, in

the 1500s, upon the arrival of colonial settlers, inevitable conflict followed as the clash of ideologies and division amongst the American tribes them selves, led to forced assimilation of the native people into the European way of life. Indeed, it was believed by many American settlers, particularly those who were looking to expand east over the Appalachian Mountains, that it was their God-given right to expand the United States’ dominion over the entire North American continent.

To reflect this cultural belief, the term ‘manifest destiny’ was coined in 1845, and would play in a huge role in the treatment of native Americans well into the 20th century. So, we see how this conflict has been spread out amongst several hundreds of years. This could further explain the injus tice felt by native Americans in the poems I will be discussing later. Many key decisions made by the relatively young democracy were not necessar ily always intentionally detrimental to native Americans when viewed through a western perspective. However, most legislation passed (such as the Indian Appropriations Act, Dawes Act, Home stead Act and many more) were sim ply ignorant and unsympathetic to the gravity and pace of change that native Americans would have to endure. Inev itably, this mismatch led to the violent bloodshed of native people protecting their human rights and imposition of

these native peoples into atrocious con ditions inside reservations. This pas sage of history provides a harrowing narrative of clashing identities, and the seismic imposition of ideas, systems and beliefs, having untold ongoing destructive consequences.

Existing projects to raise awareness

The REDress project by Jamie Black is a visual reminder of what was once there. Striking images of, you guessed it, red dresses, hang scattered from tree to tree. They portray an image of death and despair as the empty dresses flow in the wind. Natives are known for being spiritual, and it is believed that the col our red not only represents blood, but it is the only colour that spirits can see. Those who perished in the 18th century can now see those who chose to fight against the cruelties and still choose to keep their way of life alive. It is a hom age to the women silenced by those with weapons, the weaker bodies who did not have a chance against the dis eases brought in blankets. Sometimes weapons are soft and comforting. Like humans, it is not always what is on the surface that counts. I could go on about what other projects there are, but I think it is important to continue look ing at all other parts of this atrocity in

order to understand the gravity of the situation.

Literature

You may ask yourself why literature is important in an article about rais ing awareness for indigenous peo ple. I think poetry in this case serves a real time point of view from a per sonal attachment to the history of the inhumane and violent crimes indig enous people (not all that long ago) had to go through and still to this day have to live with as the atrocities have, although minimised, not diminished. Writings such as those from Deborah Miranda give us a sense of how histori cal traumatization is intergenerational. Meaning, you do not have to have lived through these traumas to actually expe rience the effects from them. They are inherited. Imagine your family being stripped of their culture and forced to live in a place where their culture is only celebrated within the community. You go through life worrying about your loved ones and whether they are safe, from both physical and mental vio lence. Art also allows people to express themselves, and spark conversation. Looking at Adorno’s theory of aesthet ics submerging as wordless gestures provides us with the knowledge that art can be an attempt to resist unjust polit ical stances. This type of art allows us to

America: is it really that great?

Image courtesy of James Ross/EPA

indigenous lives

see how socio-political conditions shape how art is important and what the inter pretations behind it can be.

What is interesting about Mirandas poems is the fact that she herself is not fully native American. She is also half French. There is a clear divide in her poems due to the lack of knowledge of her ancestry as she never knew her grandmother as mentioned in ‘for my other grandmother’. It just proves how even though she was not physically pres ent to see her grandmother, part of her lives in her from appearance, which is a great way of showing how the pain and injustice indigenous people feel today is valid as they live with the knowledge of their ancestry being treated inhumanly for merely trying to protect their land. This is not only true for her but many descendants and ultimately does beg the question: what can they do other than wonder what could have been? The culture they could have been exposed to, the lessons you could have been taught. The strength you could have mustered up if only there was more knowledge on their family history. Having a clear guide through life due to their upbring ing would have been so different. The point is that they did not wipe out just a large chunk of the population, but the culture died along with it.

Culture is a strange concept to me. What does it mean to you, dear reader? I invite you to sit and think about your life, whatever background you may have and think about how the culture you were born into has affected your way of life, both for good and bad. I encourage you to think about what has made you who you are today, what knowledge you

ten to. Culture is a social construct, yes, but have we not all fallen into that trap? Culture is so engrained in our way of life that we subconsciously do not even realise it exists. Now imagine that being stripped from you. All the music you love, your way of going about your day even if you do not have a strict routine. It takes time to adjust, but adjusting does not mean accepting. Finding your place in the world is not as simple as just existing, it is feeling comfortable in soci ety and spaces around you which you like to believe is what you yourself have created. Imagine having that privilege of being able to claim social constructed spaces for your own.

Literature is a gateway to spreading these stories and although it is not tra ditional to write these stories down, they are usually reiterated throughout generations. The problem with this is that things often get lost in translation. There is no proof of what was exactly said as there is no physical evidence. It is sad to see that one needs evidence, and with evidence comes validation. If there is no evidence, how do we know something even existed all those years ago? When doing research about what has happened in the past it may strike you how deeply hurt descendants of the tribes are. This is due to historical trau matization; it is passed down through generations as mentioned earlier and I would like to stress how real it is. Being of mixed race myself and a mother who had to move countries due to unsafe circumstances, I feel as though any day now something bad could happen.

The spectrum is endless, from some one shouting racist remarks or being

knowledge not merely what is on the surface.

Art allows people to express them selves, spark conversation. Looking at Adorno’s theory of aesthetics sub merging as wordless gestures provides us with the knowledge that art can be an attempt to resist the unjust political stances. This type of art allows us to see how socio-political conditions shape how art is important and what the inter pretations behind art are.

How will raising awareness help the situation?

Raising awareness does not only make indigenous people feel heard, as this is only the first step. Healthcare plays a large role when it comes to quality of life. This also includes access to health care, quality of healthcare, and health status and outcome when injustices may occur. Imagine being of a more vulnerable minority and not being able to get the best quality care. Writing this from a Europeans perspective is almost unfathomable. With free healthcare on the continent and in the UK, sometimes I feel we choose to ignore the world around us. This is not a criticism, merely stating how humans like taking care of themselves.

For now, understanding history from many sides is vital for our generation and those to come to evolve as human beings and put in the work to try and live our lives as peacefully as possible.

after the attack, because let’s face it, it was an attack. They did not shoot, they did not beat, they did not handle the situation with violence. Although I do believe that was the right way to deal with it, the comparison between the dealings of Black Lives Matter protest and this is shocking. It is important to note it is not just indigenous peoples that suffer under ignorance but other races as well. Anyway, with that said, I would like to tell you a story.

Ignorance is bliss

Days before the Capitol was stormed, rallies of Trump supporters gathered around. Specifically, there was a large group of young male Trump supporters standing around trying to make a dif ference. All of a sudden, a man, dressed in native American attire emerges from the crowd, singing and playing his drum to a native song. As the footage shows, the native and a young man come face to face. All the while being very tense, the teenager did not seem to understand what was being said to him. ‘You stole my land’ the man says, calmly, with no emotion on his face. The shock and con fusion on the young man face, although trying to repress it, speaks volumes on the ill education on the history of the land he was brought up in. This is not his fault; the education systems need to be changed. They need to provide the full story, not just the parts that try to justify people’s actions.

So, after all this, I invite you, dear reader, to take a step back this Novem ber for Native American heritage month

What Are UKC Students Wearing For Winter

By Laurice Janielle Lifestyle Editor

On a cold and gloomy October afternoon, we went around campus looking to capture the style and essence of Canter bury’s students.

Emyr spotted Sunji who wore a cream jumper from Zara, shopping for a meal deal at Co-op. He stud ies biomedical science and was on the way to the Templeman Library for a study session. He was down to model for us outside Co-op. His trousers are from H&M, the top he wore underneath was a Ralph Lauren t-shirt his mom got for him. His Nike Airforces were my favourite piece of the look, and Sunji revealed to us that he got them on Boxing Day years ago, back when he was still in Year 10.

Hafza (she/her)

Sunji (he/him)

‘I was really bored, I was eating strawberries one day and I was like you know what, I want to dress like a strawberry.’ Her friend crocheted this adorable white cardigan, decorated with strawberries. Hafza accessorizes her white hijab with red and green hair clips from Shein and tops off the look with a red hairband from a Sunday market in West London.

Kush (he/they)

A Drama student in their final year, we bumped into Kush on his way to rehearsals. Despite the changes in weather, Kush said ‘you could never go wrong with a pair of sunglasses,’ his shades are from a Primark sale during the summer. The beige scarf was a gift from their friends. Their knitted sweater is from the women’s section at a Stradivarius branch in Madrid. Kush complemented his look with his grandma’s pearls of his family’s rings found around the house, and earrings from either H&M or ius. The silver watch he often wears carries an interesting backstory.

Scouting the Library Cafe, our photographer, Emyr points in her direction. Isabella is a postgraduate student from Columbia and is studying Conservation. Her white and black bejewelled beret is from Store 50, a local charity shop in the high street. Her white silk tube and matching blazer are also thrift finds. ‘Dress for less’, she says giggling.

The black skirt is from Bershka, which she pointed out was the only ‘store-bought’ piece of clothing she had on her. As for accessories, Isabel la’s necklaces are from Zara, and she bought her chunky rings from a Primark sale.

Leah's outfit caught my attention at the Keynes bus stop. Her grid-patterned trousers C&A, a Dutch retail company. She got her earrings from a jewelry shop in Harajuku, Tokyo. Her vin tage-inspired bag is from an online vintage store.

Shar'le (they/them)

Isabella (she/her)

After A levels, Kush and a few friends went on a holiday to Portugal. One night they were out drinking and the men ouside were having arm wrestling compe titions. A man he had met that night asked Kush to hold his watch for him while he went to arm wrestle for some free drinks. ‘I put the watch on and I was absolutely over the limit, and I don’t remember anything past that. So I unintentionally may have borrowed his watch and its been a staple piece in my wardrobe this whole time.’

Shar’le admitted to their obsession with shopping on Vinted. Their ‘slightly too small’ pink converse and vibrant floral bottoms were both from the online marketplace. ‘I’ve never had anything from [Lucy & Yak] that actually fit but these pants are so comforta ble.’ Something they bought five years ago from ‘Heartbreak’ on ASOS, their white polka-dotted puffer jacket has aged into their constant piece, to the point where people recognize Shar’le for it.

Debbie and Dieneil (she/her)

Both second-year Pharmacy students from the Medway campus, Debbie and Dieneil broke down their casual study fits. Debbie’s New Era cap is from Urban Outfitters and her jumper is from Pull & Bear. Her black trousers are from Stradivarius and she wore her blue Jordans. Dieneil told us she got her comfy hoodie from Broken Planet, a huge sustain able brand on Instagram. She wore Pull & Bear blue jeans with white Filas.

Leah (she/her)

Images Courtesy of Emyr Ben Youssef, Director of Photography

TRAVELLING TO LONDON ON A BUDGET

By Natasha Mather Literature and Culture Correspondent

Withthe holiday season upon us and plans for winter break in full swing, train tickets, hotel book ings and fun, festive activ ities are starting to take their toll on bank accounts dimin ished from a term of Uni life (those daily £4 Co-op meal deals really do add up). Luckily for you, we’ve rounded up some of our best tips for travelling to London on a stu dent-friendly budget, so you can do Winter Wonderland and still, just about, be able to afford the ticket home!

Coachcards/Railcards

Particularly for those that often visit long-distance partners, friends, or whose family homes aren’t in Canterbury, we strongly recommend getting your hands on a Coachcard or Railcard. The cost of travel, even if it’s just home for the holidays, really does bite, and that extra 1/3 off journeys will end up making all the differ ence in the long run. While part ing with £30 for a 3-year coach card, or £70 for a railcard just before the holiday season may feel like an unnecessary expense, you’ll soon realise that it’ll be worth it for your three years of travel during Uni. Not only that, but you’ll also be left with more in the bank for fun adventures when you actually get to your destination. Insider tip for Canterbury students: if you take the free 40 minute shuttle bus from Keynes bus stop to the Medway campus, you can catch the train from Gillingham station to London Victoria for £6-7 for a single, or £13-14 return!

Accommodation

When it comes to London accom modation, do your research. The best deal will vary based on when you’re travelling, where you’re staying and how long your visit will be. For trips longer than 3-4 days, it might be worth booking an Airbnb as having access to a kitchen means you can save by cook ing your own food. Otherwise, for stays of one or two nights, Premier Inn or Travelodge would probably be a better bet. Take an afternoon out to trawl through and search for deals, while making the most of hotel comparison sites- Trivago is more than just an ad to skip at the start of a YouTube video. Plus, this could be a fun activity to do with those you’re trav elling with, picking out a cute Airbnb or deciding whether to splurge on one night at a nice hotel– a great way to get excited a few weeks pre-trip! If you have friends in the area, sharing a place or staying with friends is always a great way to keep trip costs down, sharing a bed or sleeping on a couch for a few nights might just be worth the savings.

Advice Column: Uncle Aporia* on Long Distance Relationships

Citymapper

In 2022, there’s no excuse for still using Google Maps to get around London. Not only is Citymapper infinitely more user-friendly, and (in my expe rience) more reliable about bus and tube timings, it automat ically gives you price comparisons for different transport methods throughout London, so you know whether the bus or the tube is your better financial bet. That being said, more often than not, walking is the easiest and cheapest way to get around central London, and Citymapper makes it incredibly easy to navigate. I’m particularly a fan of the option to choose between the quickest route or sticking to main roads, as the feeling of safety and security knowing you aren’t cutting down side alleys when walking through London at night is definitely worth making the switch. Pro-tip: turn audio navigation on and stick your headphones in while walking to get real-time navigation guidance. This way you can avoid giving the stereotypical ‘lost tourist’ look when staring at a map on your phone.

Activities

There are plenty of ways to enjoy Christmas in London without splurging on Winter Wonderland churros: if doing your Christmas shopping along Oxford Street is an absolute pipe dream, grabbing a hot chocolate and walking it endto-end, taking in the Christmas lights and glancing through the festive shop displays is a great way to get in the holiday spirit. Another top-tip, download Eventbrite or visit their web site and set your price filter to ‘free’– there are hundreds of free festive activities going on in London every single day, and you might stumble upon a hidden gem right around the time of your visit. Pantomimes, pop-up Christmas markets, small church carolling events, and more are special ways to enjoy your visit without spend ing a penny. You might even discover a new holiday tradi tion you’ll want to go back and visit every year.

Whether it’s just a weekend away, or you’re planning to spend your whole month off embracing the festive season in London, you don’t have to do it living in your overdraft. Putting time and effort into researching budget-friendly alter natives to more traditional Christmas tourist activities can end up saving you a huge chunk of money, leaving more for meaningful gifts for family and friends (or nights out once you’re back at Uni- we’re not judging). Either way, being thrifty this festive season could lead to a more interesting, unique and unconventional holiday with better and funnier stories to share at your NYE parties, and isn’t that what Christ mas is all about?

*Aporia is the Ancient Greek word for a state of puzzlement.

Dear Uncle Aporia,

I've left home to come to university, but my boyfriend still lives at home. How can I stop him being jealous of me socialising with peo ple on my course?

- Concerned of C Block

Dear Concerned,

That’s a tricky situation, because it’s not just who you social ise with that’s changed. Going to University often changes lots of things about your life, besides your friendship group and location. You’re a part of a world that he may not know how to relate to. It’s possible to keep a relationship going through that kind of life transition, but it takes a lot of work from you both. He needs to feel like he’s on the journey of discovery with you (and he has to support it!), and you need to help him feel like he’s part of your new life. Equally, you need to support his ambitions. Even if he’s staying at home, the next few years will probably involve big changes for him. It’s important that the relationship involves you both growing together, rather than growing apart. Good luck!

Dear Uncle Aporia,

I spend every day waiting for the holidays so I can see my girlfriend in person, but after a week with her we get into arguments. What should I do?

- Hopeful of Hales Place

Dear Hopeful,

It’s really good that you look forward to spending time with her. Long-distance relationships don’t really work without the in-person time to look forward to. But it’s very easy to put too much pressure on it. It’s relatively rare for two peo ple to be able to go a whole week purely in each other’s company without needing some space. And remember that you have been out of practice of spending so much time together. Try to build in some down-time during the holidays, and keep in touch with your wider support net work, who can help keep you grounded.

Keep calm and carry on.

Dear Uncle Aporia,

When my boyfriend comes to visit, I can't wait to see him, but he seems less keen. Any advice?

- Anxious of Forty Acres Road

Dear Anxious,

How far away is he coming from? There’s a chance that maybe he’s emotionally checked out but hasn’t con fronted you about it yet, or it could be that travelling a long way doesn’t leave him feeling sexy. When’s the last time a long journey left you feeling fragrant and chilled out? Perhaps give him a chance to freshen up before the big reunion- doing this together can be a fun way to reconnect. Though if this unsettling feeling prevails, you should talk about it with them. Good communication really helps work through these points of tension. It could be that it’s something easy to fix that you just haven’t thought of before. Hope that helps.

Images Courtesy of H. Michael Karshis & Sludge/ Flickr

By Isobel Logie Women’s Issues Correspondent

With the rise of environmental issues, many might feel the pressure from media, their peers, and themselves to be sustainable in all aspects of life. On average, a person who menstruates will have 450 periods in their lifetime. In the UK alone, around 4.3 billion period products are used each year and most standard products contain 90% non biodegradable waste. In an ideal world, an individual who wants to live sustainably would easily be able to change their lifestyle regarding their period and reduce their carbon footprint entirely. As a student though, this is not always accessible as many ‘green brands’ are either extremely expensive or simply not stocked in standard shops.

There’s a large variety of period brands and products that label themselves as ‘sustainable’. It’s surely a step forward that the stig mas around periods have lessened and has recently been recognised as an environmental issue. The vast number of choices can be over whelming and you may find yourself either struggling to decide which is right for you or worried about switching from your go-to brand. Interested in easing your decision-making process? Dip your toes in this informative listicle that has advice from both science and other students from UKC on keeping your flow green!

THE MENSTRUAL CUP

Can be reused for 6 months to 10 years

Menstrual cups are cups made of silicone that are inserted into the vagina to catch menstrual blood. They can be worn for 6 to 12 hours depending on your level of flow- a huge improvement from standard pads and tampons, which are meant to be worn for 4-8 hours before there’s discomfort.

The longevity of the cup means you can wear it overnight and not have to worry about bloody bedsheets or ruining your pjs. Though the material is designed to mould to the shape of the user, they are not a ‘one size fits all,’ so many people who cannot wear tam pons may be hesitant to try it out. Seven students from the University of Kent who have used menstrual cups were interviewed about their experience.

Why did you decide to start using menstrual cups?

Luna: I had been feeling guilty about the amount of waste I was producing with conventional menstrual products. After some research, I found out that it’s healthier for your vaginal pH levels and you can leave them in longer than tampons, since they can contain more liquid which was ideal for me.

‘L’: I decided to use them to try to reduce my single use plas tic use, as I use pads, so to be more environmentally con scious.

Do you think menstrual cups are better than pads/tampons?

Bella: Yes, menstrual cups are much better in my opinion. There’s less wastage, it prevents huge numbers of pads/tam pons going to landfills every year, it’s cheaper in the long run, more convenient and more comfortable.

Aisha: For the right person, yes. Personally, I found I had a problem with positioning, so reusable pads work better.

Hannah: You don’t need to take them out as many times dur ing the day and they’re better to work out in.

What advice would you give to someone using a menstrual cup for the first time?

Rachel: Watch videos on YouTube (especially on removal so you aren’t left panicking like me!!) and when you are insert ing/removing - relax. Let the muscles relax.

Bella: You could practice when you’re not on your period to familiarise yourself. Take your time and have patience, it will be so worth it when you get used to it!

Lucy: Don’t be disheartened if it doesn’t go quite right the first time. You will very quickly be able to tell when it’s been inserted correctly or not after a few uses.

How would you rate the comfortability?

Very uncomfortable

Not that comfortable but manageable response

Comfortable

More comfortable than standard period product

= 1 response

CLOTH PADS

Can be reused for 2 to 5 years

Unlike standard sanitary pads, cloth pads can be more easily manu factured and can even be handmade by those that have the time and right materials. Often made with thick cotton, it acts like a sponge so it’ll only need changing when full - much like a standard pad. They can be worn for 4 to 6 hours depending on flow or for however long it takes to feel full, also similar to standard disposable pads. The difference is if washed correctly, they can last for up to 2 to 5 years, which saves a significant amount of money. A downside however, is that even though they save money in the long run, cloth pads can

by

pads.

Other Options

Feeling The Pressure to Keep Your Flow Green? Here's A Guide to Sustainable Period Products New in Canterbury:

Though the men strual cup and cloth pads are the most well known prod ucts, there are also other ways to be green. Many highstreet pharmacies are selling more eco-friendly pads and tampons that contain less plastic and toxic materials, and are the same price as established brands. A lot of tampon brands are also opting out of the plastic applicators, so it’d be worth looking at the packaging to check. Remember that there is absolutely no pressure for you as an individual to buy more pricey sustainable options. It’s not always easy, but by being aware of your options you can help in small ways.

way to try out new things than starting local… with a twist. So, they packed up the saddles, put their cowboy hats away and opened The Cheeky Ramen.

Just a three-minute walk from the Canterbury Cathedral, their speciality menu offers its custom ers flavour in every single bite, there is something for everyone. For the spice lovers, a mouth-water ing spicy miso ramen topped with succulent pork and a stained egg will probably catch your attention and for those who aren’t quite as adventurous; the creamy garlicky broth of the signature ramen will make you feel at home.

Fancy

a cheeky ramen?’ is a saying that’s about to become fre quently used amongst those living in Canterbury. Formerly known as the ‘Korean Cowgirl’, the owners of the established Cave Hotel in Boughton decided to dive deeper into Asian cui sine and landed in Japan. What better

Of course, there are options for vegetarian friends with the amazing vegetarian ramen (my personal favourite) that can be made vegan by not adding the egg. Every broth has been tried and tested multiple times giving you the most all-rounded experience of flavours. You can tell the chefs and staff take good care of the food they are serving. A friendly team awaits you as you walk through the doors, with the waiters giving you the best experience possible. There’s a welcoming ambience, with options for intimate dining tables and larger spaces for your family and friends. It’s a well-oiled machine, to say the least. Not only do they serve ramen, but also heavenly gyozas.

One customer said, ‘I don’t think I ate a single one with my eyes open the whole time.’ It’s probably about time to go and try this place out, especially because they’ve now just introduced a 20% student discount. So, forget about having a cheeky Nando's, try a cheeky ramen instead, you won’t regret it.

Priya Hawes Features Editor

Images Courtesy of Cave Hotel

Image courtesy of Karolina Grabowska / Pexels

Image Courtesy of Monika Kozub / Unsplash

The Devil Loves You!

By Molly Field Culture Editor

Anight

of devilish creativity or of legit imate demonic activity? This is the question our team at InQquire were left asking ourselves as we snuck off from Bram ley’s Bar and into the night on an unassuming Wednesday last month. Attending what we thought would be, and what was advertised to be, an infernal blend of cabaret, open-mic, one-man-show and sermon, we may have been naive in thinking that said evening, hosted by someone called ‘The Honourable Reverend Blackheart’, would simply be a lighthearted celebration of all things spooky, just in time for the start of Halloween season. Cocktails clutched in our hands (scarily good drinks, by the way), we took a walk with the devil, so you don’t have to and you should, too.

‘The Devil Loves You’ is a new, monthly per formance hosted at Bramley’s Cocktail Bar on

Seven Stars. Promising to be an evening of entertainment, exaltation and rumination, the event set itself in the live-music area of the cocktail bar, decking it out with dried flowers, low lighting and, of course, the satanic flag hung proudly over the stage. Performers draped themselves across tables and couches, deco rating themselves in all black, in long scarfs, in tinted sunglasses, and in dark make-up. Referring to each other as ‘brother’ or ‘sister’, a select few members of the group began the show with acoustic, folk-style melodies, strum ming gently on their guitars, before the formi dable Reverend Blackheart took to the stage.

His ‘sermon’ involved a heavy Southern Amer ican accent, personal anecdotes, and plenty of earnest laughs. It read like a heightened stand-up set, blending the role of preacher and comedian. After every dramatic proclamation, the brothers and sisters would shake their tambourines and hands excitedly, continually proclaiming ‘the devil loves you, the devil loves you!’. The group stayed in their charac ters (?) throughout the entire evening, something we found

at first to be completely off putting, staring longingly at their ‘reverend’ and drinking in his every word - as did most of the audience. It was all so convincing, in fact, that half way through the ‘sermon’ we asked a waiter clearing our table whether or not itthis was satire. They replied that it was whatever we desired it to be.

The night closed with an open-mic, in which multiple very talented musicians and spo ken-word poets took to the stage, spinning songs ranging from original pop-punk tunes to Broadway Bb-sides, and hilarious poems dis cussing, not exclusively but most memorably, how we should all want to be more like Adam Driver.

Speaking of the night, culture and literature correspondent Natasha said: ‘I’m unsure if I should be concerned by how quickly and com fortably I was put at ease by the devil-worship ping cohort proclaiming their devotion to the ‘“big man downstairs’”. The apprehension and confusion at the thought of having stumbled into a genuine cult quickly dissolved into admi ration of the performers’ talent, and a pleas ant sense of an evening well spent, enjoying a wonderful (if slightly unorthodox!) lineup of performances. If you’re looking for an out-of-

the-ordinary Canterbury night out I can’t rec ommend it highly enough.’

While Sarah, an InQuire culture writer here at InQuire, was ‘successfully, and surpris ingly quickly, inducted into the sparkling cult of God’s cooler brother’, adding that (also, ‘Bramley’s cordials and cocktails must be bewitched’).’

We were, and honestly still are, at a loss as to whether this evening was a high-concept, immersive piece of performance, or a genuine satanic church congregation. Something we are all sure of, though, is that the evening was incredibly intox icating. The performances were sincere and surprisingly funny, the group were warm and wel coming (even offering us one of their tambourines at one point), and we have experienced nothing like it in Canterbury before. Have a sneaky look at Bramley’s Instagram (@bramleysbar) for upcom ing dates because, whether as a result of indoctrination or not, our team at InQuire will be returning next month to hang out with the Devil, again.

Master of the House: An Interview with Les Mis' Ian Hughes

By Molly Field Culture Editor

Les Misérables deserves its place as the West-End’s longest running musical, as proved by the unequiv ocal talent and storytelling prowess of the current UK tour and recent stint at Canter bury’s Marlowe Theatre. With an almost fully sold-out Kent leg, the show was just as impressive as the capital’s, even more so having adopted the 2019 updated staging. Speaking to the charismatic Ian Hughes, currently playing the raucous yet sinis ter Mr Thenardier on the show’s travels, InQuire uncovers exactly why audiences keep coming back to see Les Mis, and exactly how an actor prepares and executes an assimilation into such a well-known and pivotal role.

‘It’s a sweaty part,’ Hughes admits, laugh ing. While not being on stage as much as other cast members, crowd-pleasers like ‘Master of the House’ and ‘One Day More’ were carried, in part, by Hughes’ continual high energy, comedic flair and impecca ble timing. The former particularly, being the Thenardier’s main theme, was a riot, injecting well-needed lightheartedness into an otherwise serious show: ‘[Thenar dier] releases the pressure valve for the audience, to stop the play being relent lessly downbeat’. Speaking of how it feels to inhabit that comedic space within a sin cere piece, Hughes said ‘It’s a hoot! It’s a really lovely part for a character actor/notgood-looking actor’. Juxtaposed with the dramatically tragic, powerhouse perfor

mances of standouts like Rachel Ann Go, play ing Fantine, and Siobhan O’Driscoll, playing Eponine, Hughes and his on-stage wife, played by the hilarious Helen Walsh, were audience favourites.

Following the miseries and individual lives of Parisians in the French revolutionary period, Hughes believes the reason Les Misérables still so greatly resonates with audiences is ‘the music obviously, [it’s] some of the best-writ ten music in the world’. Arguably, Hughes is correct. The touring cast were pitch perfect, doing complete justice to the complex arrange ments and awe-inspiring harmonies. My plusone and I teared up almost immediately as the cast started singing the first bars of ‘Look Down’, the opening number, as each ensemble member poured themselves into their solos. Hughes went on to say that as well as the ‘ear worm’ music, Les Mis’ story is ‘one of love, of redemption, of people fighting for what they believe in- and I think, partly, here we are in a period where that’s never been needed more’. Going further, ‘[Les Mis] is about our common humanity, the show ends with ‘to love another person is to see the face of God’, and if there’s a takeaway, that’s probably it.'

' You can live your life but without the love of other people, it’s a bit meaningless- a message that timeless will always resonate’.

And it certainly does always resonate, Hughes even relaying how he had met one theatre-goer

who had travelled to see the production 400 times.

In light of knowing how dear the show is to avid theatre-goers, I wondered whether Hughes felt pressure becoming involved, par ticularly with a character so widely-known and seemingly understood. However Hughes, as evident when watching his performance, found the opportunity exciting: ‘the great thing about these shows that run for a long time is when you get a new actor in the role, you can’t replicate what’s been done. They cast you because they think you can bring something new and differ ent’. Clearly gauging the reaction of the audi ence, Hughes whooped, hollered, and skittered round the stage, adding in physical bits I had not witnessed having previously seen it on West End. Coming across as incredibly authentic, of these improvisations, Hughes said ‘particularly with Thenardier, they want the actor to find it themselves… this energetic buzz is my take’.

While the musical’s run has ended in Canter bury, the tour continues on until January, grac ing the cities of Sunderland, Leeds, and Cardiff (the city Hughes is originally from, making it a poignant end for him). Furthermore, Les Mis holds a permanent residency at the Sond heim Theatre in London. While tickets can be a little pricey, booking through StudentBeans can score you a 5% discount, while apps like TodayTix can provide hefty discounts and daily draws, too.

Image Courtesy of Bee Felten-Leidel/Unsplash

Image Courtesy of Danny Kaan/ Marlowe Theatre

By Natasha Mather Culture Correspondent

Seeing Double: An Interview with Funny Rabbit's Founder

Funny Rabbit, held monthly at the University of Kent’s very own Gulbenkian, is not your average comedy club. When asked to describe Funny Rabbit, Oliver Dou ble (the show’s founder) reached for the words alternative, diverse, warm and playful– and after an evening enjoying the show, our team at InQuire can’t help but agree. From the funky pin badges handed out to each audience member before the show, to the interactive joke contests and audience singalongs, the acts did an amazing job of making us feel as though we were part of an exclusive secret club– and a laugh-out-loud hilarious one

dynamic mix of both students and professionals, including (but not lim ited to) a deaf comedian explaining the difficulties of telling jokes in BSL, and an actual Vicar who somehow had us all singing gospel songs by the end of his set. Double explained that the team behind Funny Rabbit are conscious of the overrepresentation of white men in the stand-up indus try, and as a result actively seek out a more diverse range of talent to show case at their monthly performances. The club also serves as a safe space for student performers to gain expe rience and confidence performing to a crowd– not that we felt we were doing any favours, the student acts were hilarious and got some of the biggest laughs of the night.

Established in 2019, Double described how Funny Rabbit con tinued and even thrived throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. While the show has gone on over Zoom, in per son and socially distanced, one key aspect maintained throughout was the active involvement of the audi ence. Before those with a phobia of audience participation stop reading, it was made clear that all participa tion was 100% voluntary, and Double facilitated a more inclusive alterna tive to comedians’ usual crowd work (making fun of couples in the front row, or roasting an unlucky audi ence member’s job). The host’s

quickfire questions, for instance, ‘if you had to murder one of the mup pets, which would you choose and how would you do it’, were a refresh ing change of pace that we found infinitely funnier, with the added bonus of an audience that was more comfortable and far more willing to engage.

The show’s advertising, taking inspiration from vintage, handmade comedy club adverts really encap sulates the feel of this thoroughly modern club, a comedy-show that is a little bit different and out of the ordinary, and distinctly ‘Funny Rab bit’ no matter who’s on the bill that month. The corresponding month’s poster also serves as a caption com petition during the intermission, with prizes as incredible as Peppa Pig pasta shapes and all-purpose season ing – a little insight for anyone plan ning on attending next month, check out the poster and get thinking now!

Outside of Funny Rabbit, Dou ble himself has been a pioneer of research into stand-up in an aca demic context. His several published works, including Stand Up, the first book to explore the discipline in terms of both its history and what it is to be a performer, are as engaging as they are informative. Our short conversation on the globalisation of stand-up comedy was fascinating, as Double explained how the rapid popularisation of the medium is a phenomenon as recent as the 2010s,

and has been met with incredibly mixed responses. He described how the art form has particularly taken off in Estonia, where there are currently debates over what to name ‘stand-up’ in the national language. Audiences in India, however, found the con cept of stand-up incredibly alien as recently as the 2000s– Double recounted the story of an audience member in Mumbai halfway through a stand-up set asking when the show would begin. His most recent book, published only last year, chronicles the history of British stand-up and alternative comedy, examining the context from which it arose and its far-reaching influence today.

This expertise in the subject matter clearly translates into performance as Double was a wonderful host, able to seamlessly work with and play off the audience to get us laughing and prepare us for each act. He described stand-up to me as inherently a conversation between an audience and a performer, and he did an amazing job at cultivat ing the feeling of being a part of the show, rather than an observer out side of it.

With its unconventional inside jokes and monthly rituals, topical political ukulele singalongs and incredible prizes, we’re not surprised Funny Rabbit has sold

out

Deaf Daniel and Black Daniel: Canterbury’s

Promising Young Comedy Talent

By Molly Field Culture Editor

Canterbury’s comedy scene is something of an enigma; in the relatively small city we have the pleasure of living in, there is a noticeably high volume of comedy gigs, per formances, and open-mics. Think: The Drap er’s Arms semi-regular Funky Chicken, The Gulbenkian’s monthly Funny Rabbit, hosted by the University of Kent’s University’s own Oliver Double, and the touring Cat Daddy evenings (it remains unclear why Canterbury comedy nights lean towards animal-orientated names). One stand-up event the team at InQuire regu larly frequent is that of Stand-Up on the Stour,

hosted at the Mooring Cafe by the UKC stand-up society. This is where I first encountered the two young, emerging comedians Daniel Lambert and Daniel Anenou, known as Deaf Daniel and Black Daniel respectively. Already incredibly funny in their short sets, InQuire were excited to be invited by the two to their solo show ‘Deaf Daniel and Black Daniel’ as part of the Faver sham Fringe Festival.

Set in the cosy upstairs of a typically-Kentish pub, the two Daniels - after understandable but well-manoeuvred nervous starts - had the audience enraptured, with little to no misses

throughout both of their individual sets. As expected by the show’s name, the Daniels’ sets revolved around the two advertised facets of their identities: deafness and blackness. With out deferring far from these two starting points, the comediansboys managed to keep their sets interesting and engaging throughout, expertly engaging with audience members who seemed eager to join in with the jokes. Having seen Lambert now three times, I was aware of a few of his classic bits, and was surprised to find myself laughing again (even when knowing the punchline), a testament to the skillful delivery

of both Daniels. I particularly enjoyed Anenou’s deadpan reactions to the audience member’s reactions, toeing the fine line between awkward comedy and awkwardness (think: ‘’Bazinga!’). Coming across as two likeable guys, it was a joy to join the audience in encouraging the comedic pursuits of these two developing performers.

If you’re interested in catching either of the Daniels in action, which I recommend you should, check out @ukcstandup on Instagram for upcoming Stand-Up on the Stour dates, or see them at their best on November 22nd at Alberry's.

Image Courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

We Saved Elsewhere!

By Sarah Smith Culture Writer

Last Wednesday evening, clutching my overpriced offpeak return ticket, I boarded the train to Margate, in search of the art auction being held in an effort to crowdfund life-saving funds for the independent music venue, Else where- a venue crushingly hit by the cost-of-living crisis and an ongoing decline in ticket sales. Elsewhere, however, is not only a music venue but also a community arts space, a bar, and has a store that sells records, books, apparel, and well-priced accessible tickets to other gigs. A gem of Kent’s ‘Riviera’.

The event I attended was held in the town’s Crab Museum, a fascinat ing place exploring the crustacean, as well as climate change, through that ever-crushing lens of capital ism. It had a bar serving craft beer from a small fridge and a stage with a sound system. Walking into a cheer ful and boisterously voting crowd, a newly-christened auctioneer in a cream suit and top hat yelled out the mounting prices and I settled in nicely with a craft IPA recommended to me by one of Elsewhere’s staff (it was good). I bid on art. I made some friends. I asked around- had they reached their crowdfunding goal?

Throughout the course of the evening, Elsewhere sold around £2000 worth of art, mainly by local artists. I ended up making a friend- a jazz and R&B musician from London who found the event through Fever, the events app. We buddied up and I ended up crashing at her Airbnb. We walked around the beautiful seaside town the next day and explored Lim inal Gallery (a tiny gallery currently featuring Damien Cifelli), before

going for a delicious brunch at Fort’s diner with some of our new friends. These said friends recommended other cool venues to me, including the Tom Thumb Theater (one of the tiniest theaters in the world).

But back to Elsewhere. I still wanted to know- had they met the crowdfunding goal and would they be able to host more magical nights like this in the future?

When I got back to Canterbury, I saw they had posted that Hot Chip, an English synthpop band formed in the 90s, had donated two signed vinyls to the cause. Elsewhere threw in some special secret tickets for the winning bid. They had also set up a membership scheme as a reward for donating to the crowdfunder, enti tling members to an exclusively-de signed T-shirt by a prolific Margate artist, 20% discount at their bar, presale access to new shows via mem bers mailing list, and Golden Tickets raffle (for every show announced, one member receives two free tickets via the members raffle). Awesome.

On Thursday the 27th of October, I checked the Crowdfunder page and it was official, they’d reached (and surpassed!) their fundraising goal: £27,102 with 338 supporters in 21 days. I had to know more. How had a venue in Margate found that kind of cult following and reach? Somewhere so loved and that had hosted such a positive and inclusive event must have a great origin story. I asked Sammy, Elsewhere’s owner.

When was Elsewhere founded? By whom? What was the vision?

Elsewhere was founded in 2018

by myself, Alex Barron and Ciaran Cliffe. The vision was to open a fully dedicated grassroots music venue.

What's the crowdfunding situ ation at Elsewhere, right now?

Elsewhere has recently had to reach out to its community for help with a crowdfunder to ensure that it can survive the cost of living and energy bill crisis that has seen energy bills increase by 150% on last year's energy bills and has seen audience attendances drop off by 49%.

'The community that makes Elsewhere what it is and always has been, came out in their droves to show support for the venue. We were suc cessful in reaching our finan cial target and so in the short term the venue has been saved. '

What’s your plan and best case scenario moving forward? Any one you’d like to shout out in gratitude?

Well, there is only me left as an original founder of the venue now. The plan is to operate the venue as a Community Interest Company which would grant us greater access to funding opportunities which should enable the venue to improve its equipment and facilities, help to realise the ambition of creating an educational hub for the building's daytime hours and ensure that parts of our programme can be more finan cially accessible than others. I'd like to show gratitude to the

community and my colleagues who all make Elsewhere such a magical place and the Music Venue Trust who have provided so much support and infrastructure to an industry that is pretty much making it up as it goes along as we respond to what feels like a disorderly queue of crises after crises.

Any favourite stories over the years?

There are so many! Opening the venue with two nights of local bands and packing the whole building out before the last lick of paint had dried, turning the venue into a forest for the gilly suited Snapped Ankles, whole weekenders of live music, re-opening from lockdown for sat down events which really challenged my program ming/organisational skills, hosting England mens and womens football match screenings and making the safest and most wholesome place to watch the football, pumpkin carv ing workshops, anti-airbnb protest sign making workshops, seeing my friends build entire sets made out of props and transforming our main room for their club nights, the list goes on...

Clearly, no matter the obstacle, whether it be Covid, the choking grasp of capitalism, or the ever-rising tide of cost of living, there’s one thing people hold onto in turbulent times: good music and good art. I know where I’ll be next month. Check out Elsewhere’s Ins tagram page, @elsewheremarg8 for upcoming shows and events. See you there!

Maria Bartuszová at The Tate

By Molly Field Culture Editor

this female-curated residency incredibly touching (something only exacerbated by the presence of her family members at the opening). With major inspirations drawn from the precarity and vitality of nature, the abstract sculptures are deli cate, oozing and full of life- having been made utilising Bartuszová’s own breath through her unique methods of casting.

Images courtesy of Joe Humphrys/Tate

sion for the majority of her life, Bartuszová had little opportunities to exhibit during her lifetime, marking

With sculptures including seeming ly-weightless, suspended drops of plas ter, delicate egg-shelled wall hangings, and bursting canvases, the exhibition feels incredibly grounded in the precar iously organic life of Bartuszová. Work ing ‘inventively and quickly, using the fleeting and liquid process of casting to create simultaneously solid and deli

cate artworks’, her ‘pneumatic casting’ technique involved blowing air into balloons, and other such objects, before allowing plaster to solidify over the sur face. The results are breathtaking, so thin they appear to be on the verge of crumbling into the air, and contain, as she described, ‘tiny void(s) full of tiny infinite universe(s)’, with the intent to express feelings of ‘personal crisis in their fragility and destruction’.

As part of Tate’s exploration into showcasing female artists’ revolutionary contributions to modern sculpture, Bar tuszová’s exhibition sits proudly among other artists such as Cecilia Vicuña, Magdalena Abakanowicz, and Barbara Hepworth. Furthermore, on Friday 24th

Images Courtesy of Sarah Smith

From Shakespeare to Star Wars:InQuire chats with local actor Simon Paisley Day

By Gareth Griffiths Deputy Entertainment Editor

Simon Paisley Day is a local actor from Whitstable who has starred in Sherlock, The Crown, Doctor Who, and Star Wars. He has also had an extensive theatrical career, consist ing mostly of Shakespeare, spanning from Measure for Measure to Macbeth

InQuire got the exclusive opportunity to speak with Simon about his diverse acting career, and tips for budding actors.

Gareth Griffiths: Good morning Simon! It’s lovely to get the opportunity to chat with you. I understand the pan demic has presented many obstacles for filmmaking over the last two years. As an actor, how did the pandemic affect your career?

Simon Paisley Day: Throughout the first lockdown I remained quite opti mistic and thought it wouldn’t affect me. I swiftly realised however that it would.

'Theatres were closed, TV productions were shut down and I wouldn't be earning anything.'

Theatres especially took a lot longer to get back up and running, because you're playing to a live audience. By the second lockdown however, theatre, TV and film companies began to make a comeback by regular testing and bub bling their actors together. So, if they were shooting a film, actors would have to say goodbye to their loved ones for a couple of months until the filming was over because they couldn't risk cross infec tion. They wouldn’t even risk cast members sharing taxis or accommodation even if they appeared in the same scenes together. It was rather bizarre, but I understand why it was needed. If an actor playing my size of role tested positive, then they couldn’t film anything.

GG: How does working in film, TV and theatre compare, and do you have a pref erence?

SPD: I enjoy the short theatre tours. I'm incred ibly wary of the

longer ones which last up to a year because I get quite bored of doing the same play over and over. With film and TV, you learn the lines, shoot the scene a couple of times, and then you move on. You don't get stuck repeatedly doing the same thing. Having said that, I do miss audience reactions in the theatre.

On a TV or film set, when the scene is over there's no applause. No one comes to the stage door and goes, ‘Darling, you were mar vellous!’ and many actors thrive on live audience.

In film and TV, the most you’ll get is a direc tor approaching you after a take and say ing, ‘Good job!’ and moving on.

GG: Speaking of theatre, you’ve done a lot of Shake speare. How does Shakespearean act ing compare to more contemporary acting?

SPD: It depends how well it's rehearsed. If you don't get sufficient rehearsal, you're not directed well, or you're not acting with the right people, it can be very tricky. But if all those things are right, then there's nothing like it.

getting typecast, and it can get repet itive. If you shuffle into an audition quite unconfidently, they might think that you would be good for a role which requires you to be unconfident. Like wise, if you walk into the room and you stand up tall and speak confidently then they’d probably think you’d be

talk to you about was Dominic Cum mings. It’s a coincidence that you were in Brexit: The Uncivil War alongside Benedict Cumberbatch who played Dominic Cummings, and now you're playing Dominic Cummings yourself in the new drama, This England. So, what can you say about that role and how did you prepare for it?

Well Dominic Cummings is quite shy and doesn't like the media, so there wasn't much footage of him to go on. But I watched what I could find, and I just played him as a slightly arro gant, more intense version of Cumber batch’s. You can't do anything more than what's on the page. You should play the role as yourself and let the character come to you. I’m sure he’s not as arrogant as I portrayed him to be, I'm sure he's a perfectly nice husband and dad.

Have you got a particu larly big role in the series then?

industry?

SPD: Well, most people say to bud ding actors, don't even bother. There’s so much rejection and disappointment that it’s not worth doing unless you’re dedicated enough. But I would say still give it a go, because you never know what might happen.

I've said to countless drama students you need to figure out what your character is saying, and then say the line with the intention of the simplified idea in your head. So effectively, you’re saying the Shakespearean line with modern English intention, and hopefully it

You frequently play quite authoritarian, military-type characters. Is that some thing that happened by chance or is it something that you always wanted to do?

SPD: Most actors end up

good as an authority figure. Quite early on it seemed to me I would get cast in authoritarian roles. I went to a public school for the last three years of my education, and I learned to speak posh. So, I’ve got used to playing lawyers and all sorts of military people. But because I’ve been typecast so much I’m itching to play something completely different like a criminal or low-life who isn’t very articulate. I keep telling my agent that if any of these sorts of roles become avail able send them my way!

GG: One authoritarian role you played was in Star Wars: The Rise of Sky walker; you played General Quinn in a scene where you get choked by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). As an avid Star Wars fan, I must ask– what was it like being on set? Was that you being thrown in the air or was it a stunt double?

SPD: Well, it was a combination of me and a tall, skinny stunt guy. The stunt guy is who you see being thrown in the air, and they had to give him a bald cap so he looked more like me. But it hap pens so fast you can’t even tell it’s not me. They winched me up to the ceiling in a harness and I had to be on the ceil ing pretending to be choked for about half a minute. The whole thing was over in a flash. But was it enjoyable? Not really. You could tell there was a lot of pressure on set and everyone else was rather gruff and business-like. JJ Abrams, the director, he was nice. But I wouldn’t say it was the friendliest set up.

GG: The other recent role I wanted to

SPD: Yeah, I'm like the second biggest role in the show after Ken(neth) Bran agh as Boris. Which is nice because it's a massive break for me. I've played small parts over the past two years because of the pandemic and suddenly I get 55 days of filming, so it was huge to me.

GG: That's great to hear. Have you got anymore upcoming roles you can talk about?

SPD: Well there’s a pos sibility of a film in India I might be doing in December and Jan uary. It’s a drama about the Amritsar massacre, which happened 100 years ago when some British officers shot down a group of Sikh protesters at the Golden Temple of Amritsar. That should be interest ing.

GG: I’ll have to keep an eye out for that. I have one last question, and that was whether you have any advice for budding actors trying to break through in the

So, if you enjoy it and if you can take rejection, then give it a go.

GG: I appreciate that, that’s a very opti mistic outlook!

SPD: Yes well, if you’ve got the passion for it then I’d say keep it up, because you never know when your face might land on a casting director’s table and

'It’s like learning a dif ferent language, but you need to speak as if it’s nat ural dialogue.'

'It's not just about whether you're talented, it's about whether there's a need for what you've got in terms of how you look and how you sound.'

This

now on Sky Atlantic and

Image courtesy of United Agents

Simon Paisley Day as General Quinn in Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker

Simon Paisley Day as Petruchio in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

Image courtesy of Disney

Image courtesy of Manuel Harlen/ The Arts Desk

Album Review: Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’

By Louie Goddard Music Correspondent

Taylor Swift’s Midnights is an ingeniously orchestrated synthpop album which explores 13 sleepless nights throughout Swift’s life. The first two tracks perfectly capture the synth-pop sound of Swift’s new era, while offering an abstract portrayal of love. Melodically, ‘Lavender Haze’ is one of the best songs on the album. It lies somewhere between the alterna tive chime of the album’s predecessors Folklore and Evermore, and dream pop (think Lorde’s Melodrama). The album’s second track, ‘Maroon’, is just another lyrical triumph by Taylor Swift, and seemingly continues to explore the heartbreak discussed in her 2012 single ‘Red’, just from a darker perspective (a fitting metaphor).

social media bios to “I’m the problem, it’s me” has positioned it as the appar ent lead single. The upbeat melody accompanies a deeply harrowing lyri cism: a stunning contradiction.

done with angst, through an up-tempo yet soft electro rhythm. These two quite different musical techniques have been combined before by an array of indie artists, from Chet Faker to Amanda Tenfjord, and for Taylor Swift to bring indie-electronica into the mainstream so beautifully is monumental for the genre.

“I hosted parties and starved my body / Like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss / The jokes weren’t funny, I took the money / My friends from home don’t know what to say”

Hollow Hearth, though Swift refuses to conform to the genre’s typical dawdling tempo.

Next up is ‘Karma’, a techno tune with a sound comparable to Swift’s 2010 song ‘Better Than Revenge’. Melodi cally, this track veers closer towards pop than indie. The penultimate track, ‘Sweet Nothing’ is a delicately beauti ful pop song, written in collaboration with Joe Alwyn, Swift’s boyfriend of six years, under the not-so-anonymous pseudonym William Bowery. Their naivety as songwriters on this track is refreshing, and much appreciated alongside tracks like ‘Anti-Hero’.

effortless”

Taylor Swift’s synth-pop debut was unexpected, but I’m here for it. In just thirteen tracks, Swift has truly con fronted and remoulded the boundaries of the genre with poise. Despite the minor Lana-related disappointment, the release of Midnights will prove itself monumental and I’m excited to see the impact it will have on the mainstream music scene.

The next track on the album, ‘Snow On The Beach’, features the extraor dinary song-writing and vocal of Lana Del Rey. Although it’s a beautiful song, major disappointment lies in the fact that Lana Del Rey can hardly be heard.

The next two tracks see Swift con tinue to navigate the synth-pop genre into which she’s been reborn. ‘Midnight Rain’ combines a catchy hook with meaningful lyrics (and plenty of words that rhyme with “rain”). This feels like one of the more contemporary songs on the album, and the boundaries of electro-pop are grippingly disregarded. This is followed by ‘Question…?’ with a very similar beat to ‘You’re On Your Own, Kid’. This track depicts yet another broken relationship, for which she’d “like some explanations”.

Track eight, ‘Vigilante Shit’, gives major Reputation (2017) vibes. Swift confronts toxic masculinity while fan tasising about revenge. This is fol lowed by ‘Bejeweled’ which tears down machismo. Swift celebrates her power in a song that is written and produced to absolute perfection.

The tenth track, titled ‘Labyrinth’, is a nod to the difficulties of navigating relationships and sexuality. This song seems to fall into the ethereal wave genre more so than indie-electronica, not dissimilar to Emily Jane White’s

“Outside they’re push and shoving / You’re in the kitchen humming / All that you ever wanted from me was / Nothing”

Track thirteen, ‘Mastermind’, brings the album to a close. Perhaps the most intriguing lyrical piece on the whole album, we hear Swift critically picking apart her romantic intentions, from engineering hypothetical situa tions, to abandoning a good thing to avoid disquietude.

“No one wanted to play with me as a lit tle kid / So I’ve been scheming like a crim inal ever since / To make them love me and make it seem

If you like Midnights, you might enjoy Home Video by Lucy Dacus, Ghost by Elena Sidiro and Lizzy McAlpine

An extended version of this article covering the extra songs on Mid nights (3am Edition) will be avail able at inquiremedia.org

Halloween ends: Does this ending ever really start?

By Math Prime Entertainment Writer

One of cinema’s most iconic kill ers, in one of its most disorgan ised film franchises, returns to the screen with its claimed end in Hal loween Ends. Michael Myers makes his 12th appearance in the 13th instalment in the Halloween franchise (including two remakes - and Halloween 3, in which he fails to appear). Or the 4th instalment in the canonical franchiseif the newest trilogy are the ones to be considered canon.

If you aren’t already aware of the con cept, the Halloweens are films

Illinois. Often with Laurie Strode – or relatives – as the central targets. But, as we often see, anyone else along Micheal Myer’s path will also do.

Halloween Ends the trilogy that spawned from the success of the 2018 return - a film that ignored all but one of the prior films in the series, making itself a sequel only to John Carpenter’s original Ends takes place four years after the events of Kills (2021), with a wounded Michael Myers in hiding, and the population of Haddonfield left to deal with the consequences of that horrific night four years prior. One surprising detail is how the response of the town is handled this time round.

Whereas before Myers would become almost a tourist attraction, with cos tumes, masks, and play knives being sold for people dressing up as him – on his murder anniversary too - now the townsfolk almost seem to suffer from some kind of collective PTSD.

Murders, accidents, and deaths around the town all impact harder as peo ple reel away in fear of Myers’ return, and cit

opening

scene is one of the series’ more outland ish ones, with an, equally horrific as it is ridiculous, accident that occurs while a teenager (Corey) babysits on Hallow een night. The film then follows Corey sometime after, where he is blamed for the accident by a town that rather enjoys belittling him. Laurie makes some appearances, and has discovered a newfound peace, attempting to leave Myer’s killings in the past. Myers him self, however, is all but seen until about halfway through the film. Even then, this is a brief glimpse before he is shut away again until the final 20-30 min utes.

The primary obsession with Corey’s story feels misplaced for a Halloween film. The film becomes almost like a strange, and rushed, horror romance -

a poorly done one too. Up until Myers really comes into it, very little horror or killings actually occur. And with a film that is meant to be the conclusion to a more than 40 years old series, you would think branching out into new genres would be something the writers would refrain from doing.

This being said, the film does have some strengths. The handling of Myers overall impact on the town and the conclusion to this is well handled, with depth and touch. Laurie's arc is also satisfyingly completed with a lit tle twist to subvert expectations on an otherwise expected end. The music is strong as always and provides inten sity, although not much was needed for most of the film in that regard. And, when the killings do happen, the horror is done well enough to make you want to look away. Or for some, to keep watching.

Overall, Hallow een Ends is a disap pointing conclusion to an otherwise good trilogy that brought Myers back to the big screen - again. With all the minor

details done right, the major details of the film just become farcical, cliched, and anticlimactic. Where it barely needed a detailed storyline, it becomes so padded with unnecessary charac ters and developments that it forgets its most crucial parts, and unfortu nately suffers heavily for it. All of this, when you trim the fat, sadly results in essentially what should have just been a twenty minute ‘four years later’ added to the end of Halloween Kills

“I’ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mir ror / It must be exhaust ing always rooting for the anti-hero”

izens seem to turn on each

Halloween Ends is out now in cin emas

Image courtesy of Republic

Image courtesy of Beth Garrabrant/ Teen Vogue

Images courtesy of Universal Pictures

Think about your next move carefully: It’s tactic's turn in the spotlight

Square Enix’s recent efforts to renew interest in their older IPs (Intellectual Property) through remasters and re-releases has finally reached the iconic Tactics Ogre. The re-release is said to have a few changes, all of which look to be in Quality of Life (small changes which improve player experience without changing gameplay) or in its appearance. While this re-release is great news for fans, the period between this release and its original has been a long one, leaving other titles to carry the genre’s torch. We’ll look at some of the indie titles which, while neither big budgeted nor long awaited, have managed to scratch that fundamental itch a tactics game in line with Tactics Ogre influence should provide.

Brigandine: The Legend of Run ersia (Available on PC, Playstation and Nintendo Switch)

While its predecessor, Brigandine (otherwise known as Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena in the West) had a

strong hold over tactics and fantasy fans alike, its latest release appears to have gone relatively unnoticed despite its excellent gameplay and overall perfor mance. The game itself isn’t very simi lar in its appearance and mechanics to Tactics Ogre, or games in that vein, but it is undeniably a fantasy tactics game with strategy elements. The strategy is mostly found in its empire building and unit placement but its turn based com bat remains its highlight and selling point. With a large cast of characters and monsters to recruit and different mechanics regarding affinities, weap ons and skills, it will definitely leave a fantasy tactics fan charmed.

Into The Breach (Available on PC, iOS, Android and Nintendo Switch)

Although Into the Breach’s genre isn’t strictly fantasy (more science fantasy, than science fiction), its gameplay and appearance definitely reserves it a spot on this list. Its pixel art aesthetic and turn based combat, involving terrain manipulation and skill moves, is rem iniscent of other tactics games. It also adds a futuristic setting to it by having you control Mechs to defeat Kaiju like insect monsters. Its roguelike elements and diverse team formations make it extremely replayable. Not to mention, its most recent update added even more features without changing its low price point making it a definite buy for peo ple with small budgets and an interest in tactically rich games.

more akin to Advance Wars and Fire Emblem than Tac tics Ogre and the like, War Groove is a game with beautiful pixel art and

By Tarun Murali, Gaming Correspondent

approachable tactical combat. It brings with it some variety in units and differ ent maps that keep things inter esting, as well as a multiplayer option if you’ve run out of sin gle player con tent. While not as mechanically complex as some of the other games on this list, it comes with some difficulty depending on the level you’re playing in. Having a low level of entry for the genre coupled with its availability on most platforms makes it a game worth checking out.

The Mercenaries Series (Available

on PC and Nintendo Switch)

Visually and mechanically the most similar game to Tactics Ogre on this list, the Mercenaries Series brings with it some mechanical depth and decent character art although arguably a mixed bag on its story front. Titles in the series include Blaze, Rebirth and Saga, all of which share similar pixel art and mechanics to each other with the occasional change in story and certain gameplay elements. While not revolu tionary in what it does thus far, it does leave you wondering what future titles in the franchise can bring to the table, making it good choice for old school JRPG tactics fans.

Tactics Ogre: Reborn will be released on the 11th of Novem ber on Playstation, Ninentendo Switch and PC

I hated Blonde and you should too

By Deborah Odumosu Entertainment Writer

We are currently living in the world of remakes and fiction alised true stories, although these can be amazing, do they some times take it too far?

The sexualisation of Marilyn Monroe’s traumatising life, as many of us have learned, is tragic, yet recreations of her life are still beloved. One such retelling of her life has recently stirred up quite a lot of controversy as it exposes some of the rawness of her life that most of us have previously ignored. Blonde is not a biographical story but rather a fictional one based on the novel of the same name, by Joyce Carol Oates.

The film begins at Marilyn’s child hood home with her mother, Gladys, who claims that Norma Jeane’s father is a famous actor who abandoned her; thus beginning the glamorisation of Marilyn’s daddy issues throughout the movie. The movie then continues to show that Marilyn’s life wasn’t easy, juggling with her career, seeking group therapy, visiting her mother, and bat tling with herself.

The central theme of the movie is Marilyn’s struggle with her identity. She is two conflicting people in one body: Norma Jeane and Marilyn Mon roe. Norma and Marilyn continue to clash and fight each other throughout as she tries to figure who she truly is. One scene which really hits this nail on the head is when she insinuates to her manager as ‘Marilyn’ that she’s pregnant but the minute she enters the car, Norma Jeane sets in and she wants to keep the baby.

The world mostly sees Marilyn and the only people who see Norma Jeane are the men who take advantage of her, Edward Robin

son and Charlie Chaplin Jr. They know and prey on the fact that she is con flicted about whether she truly wants to continue with a career where men in higher power treat her disgustingly dif ferent due to her looks and her ‘bubbly’ personality.

What would a Marilyn film be if it didn’t mention her many questiona ble marriages? Her first husband ‘The Ex-Athlete’ is abusive and controlling. His family makes fun of her as she’s not in touch with her husband’s Italian culture but her low self-esteem means it doesn’t occur to her to be upset by the bad way she is treated. Then the sec ond husband appears, ‘The Playwright’ who is still infatuated with his first love ‘Magda’. Norma Jeane struggles as she tries so hard to become the person that her husband desires; it’s upsetting to watch. Her whole life revolved around impressing the same people who sexu alised her for money, not just at work but at home as well. As Marilyn’s career becomes more successful, her outbursts become more sporadic as Norma Jeane begins to hate the persona that was built around and for her. She starts to not recognise her husband and to rely on medications that numb her true self.

The film may not be completely his torically accurate but one aspect of Marilyn’s real life that the film does keep truthful is her male fans obsession with her; the ordinary men who idolise

and scream for her attention. A simple glance to a smile drives them wild. She is one of the most significant examples when discussing the Male Gaze and the film explores and the difficulties of being the object of this mindless obses sion or receiving adoration from men, whether they’re rich or poor, married or divorced. Although Marilyn doesn’t care, Norma Jeane does. Her life begins to spiral while her consciousness falls in and out, leading to her death. The combination of overmedication and very little support from the people who she thought cared about her became too much in the end.

The film is dedicated to making her life look as traumatising as possible, with long dramatic scenes filled with Marilyn’s blood curdling screams and her many forced abor tions that were incred ibly unsettling to watch. It’s unclear if the director’s made these choices to try include more drama and dynamic changes into the film, but it just felt disrespectful to Marilyn’s mem ory.

sion with trying to become Marilyn before and during filming of Blonde She even went as far as visiting her grave to speak to Marilyn and visiting other significant places that were spe cial to her. Trying to relate to the char acter that you’re portraying is one thing but to use it for your own personal growth is another, especially for a fic tional novel that was deemed by many people before it even came out as dis tasteful. It’s quite frankly, sad.

Will we ever escape the fictionalisa tion of those who have already suffered enough from the same entertainment world that now seeks to benefit from selling their stories, or are we doomed to repeat history over and over? If you haven’t seen the movie, you should save yourself from watching a 2-hour 47-minute roller coaster of an appalling performance that romanticises trauma for the sake of entertainment.

is available to stream now on Netflix

War Groove (Available on Playsta tion, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and Play station)

Ostensibly

de Arma’s insane obses

With the re-release of the seminal tactics game, Tactics Ogre, this November, we look at some indie darlings in the same turn based fantasy genre.

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Gulbenkian

What's On...

Film: Family Film: Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

Sun 13 - Sun 27 November 2022

Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker

Tue 15 - Sun 20 November 2022

Black Adam

Fri 18 - Tue 22 November 2022

Triangle of Sadness

Sat 26 November - Thu 1 December 2022

The Muppet Christmas Carol Sat 10 December 2022

Live Events: T24: Alice Through the Looking Glass

Thu 17 - Fri 18 November 2022

The Brighton Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble with Joanna MacGregor

Fri 18 November 2022

There's a Rang-Tan In My Bedroom

Sat 19 November 2022

Kent Dance: Fusion

Sun 20 November 2022

Mark Watson: This Can't Be It

Thu 24 November 2022

Funny Rabbit Comedy Club: Noel James & Rosie Wilby

Fri 25 November 2022

An Evening with Cowboy Junkies

Fri 25 November 2022

Estuary Sound Ark

Sun 27 November 2022

Delicate Fri 2 - Sat 3 December 2022

The Sandy Denny Project Sun 4 December 2022

Alternative Caberet: School of Arts Comedy Showcase

Tue 13 December 2022

Christmas Swingalong Wed 14 December 2022

By Carol Ling Women's Issues Correspondent

So,you’re all cosied up watch ing your favourite Christmas movie when you receive a notification. In true Love-Islandstyle you announce to the room that you have a text only, to real ise in horror it’s from an unknown number. ‘Hey, it’s (insert your ex’s FOUL name here) just wanted to say merry Christmas… I miss you.’

THIS IS THE FIRST CONTACT IN MONTHS. WHY NOW?? WHAT DO I SAY BACK??? DO I IGNORE IT?? I DON’T KNOW EITHER?? ONE OF THESE MIGHT WORK?

If none of these work then you can make use of our emergency advice. In the face of adversity, you need to demonstrate intellectual domi nance. The perfect way to do that? By challenging them to a game of 8-Ball Pool. The next step is cru cial. Demolish them. Make them feel embarassed. Make them regret ever reaching out to you in the first place. Prove how inferior they are by completely destroying them. If you can't play 8-Bool Pool try Clash of Clans. Merry Christmas cuties <3!

How to respond to an X-MAS text from your ex SATIRE SHORTIES

MAN DESPERATE TO SELL HIS PUPPETS

Canterbury resident Burt Handford is accepting any offer for his used hand puppets. He said: ‘I just want them off my hands’.

ESCAPED PRISONER

Linda Capaldi was shocked after learning she had spent a blind date with an escaped convict. Doug Owtader, the escapee, told her he 'came from a gated community'.

MAN CHARGED FOR 42 COFFEES

Joe Bean, from Ashford, refused to pay his bill at his local Costa after being overcharged, claiming he asked for ‘4 tea, 2 coffees’.

Heavy on the exclamation points. If you seem too eager, they might get scared off and leave you alone.

This is another textbook scare tactic that should keep them away.

For those who can’t get pregnant this is another similar option.

Keep things professional. They don’t deserve a merry.

If you pretend to be a sweet old woman trying to use speech to text then maybe they’ll get turned off enough to give up.

Play dumb. Honestly this question would be too time consuming for a desperate and most likely horny ex to respond to.

Use confusion.

FANCY TOILET PAPER HARMS ENVIRONMENT

Toire Lett, of the Continuous Research into Agriculture Party (CRAP) announced that premium, extra quilted toilet paper would be harmful to the environment and cause deforestation. She said: ‘We’re flushing away our future’.

The new 'Satire Shorties' segment makes a return in the Satire section for this issue! 'Satire Shorties' showcases short, satirical, and outright bizarre stories that should make you chuckle. Enjoy!

By Kieran Webb Satire Editor WOMAN CATFISHED BY

My FOUL ex. Image courtesy of iStock

In Memorium: The £3 Tesco Meal Deal

By Mark Spencer Tesco Worshipper

Tesco has raised the price of their widely beloved lunch time meal deal as food costs soar. The sandwich, snack and drink deal will rise to £3.40 for Clubcard members after having been priced at £3 for more than a decade. It will also rise from £3.50 to £3.90 for those without a loyalty card.

Meal deals are a staple of British culture. Step inside any Co-op, Sainsbury’s, or even Boots pharmacy, and you will find a lunchtime meal deal of some kind–normally priced between £3-5. Even Marks and Spencer. At one point, even Marks and Spencer offered a meal deal that offered a selection of mains, sides, and desserts with a bottle of wine for £12.

However, none have been as successful and iconic as the Tesco meal deal. Despite the rising cost of living and food costs in line with inflation, Tesco have been the last to crumble to pressures for their meal deal cost to finally rise from £3.

Some may say that the 2013 horse meat scandal may have been the greatest tragedy to hit Tesco, but most of us wouldn’t bat an eyelid. Things have gotten much more serious. The £3.40 meal deal doesn’t have as nice a ring to it as the original.

I think I speak for everyone when I saw that the cost-of-living crisis

has gone too far. Sure, paying twice as much for my energy bill is a bit of an inconvenience, but there’s a war on… that’s got to be it right?

Why else would anyone have the gall to challenge Tesco’s national service?

If the British public are to feel any kind of safety or security about their livelihood, they need an

affordable lunch. As was discussed in September's issue of Inquire, Lunch is the most important meal in all of existence.

The Tesco Meal Deal is a spiritual experience, one that feeds both the body and the soul. To deprive the poorest in our society of an affordable means to nourish their

metaphysical wellbeing is outright criminal and bordering upon an infringement of their human rights.

Those most loyal to Tesco during this difficult time of mourning are still being looked after, if not as much as the good old days. The Clubcard may hold the key to our salvation. If we rounded up all of those without a Clubcard and exiled them, that may solve all our problems– like some kind of Tesco Minority Report. I doubt Putin has a Clubcard.

University of Kent is still affiliated with Co-op.

Liz Truss: Self-made lottery winner

By Alette Tiss Potential Prime Minister

LizTruss will receive £115,000 per year, an allowance awarded to ex-PMs.

The Public Duties Cost Allowance (PDCA) allows former Prime Ministers to claim back up to £115,000 on expenses like offices, staff, and travel for the rest of their lives.

Though payments are only made to cover the cost of ‘public duties’, MP expenses have often historically been used to serve personal purposes.

The costs that could be reimbursed would include Met Police protection for public visits, staffing, support for charity work, managing social media platforms and maintaining ex-PMs office.

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned on the 20th October 2022 and has now been replaced

by former candidate Rishi Sunak.

Given the short length of Liz Truss as PM, and the economic turmoil inflicted upon the UK under her leadership, does she deserve it?

Many would argue that as Truss was not a publicly elected national representative, which was already a breach of our core democratic principles, that rewarding such a brief and catastrophic term as PM via the PDCA would rub salt in the national wound.

Truss will already be receiving a severance payment of £18,860 (which is a quarter of the Prime Minister's salary of £75,440), something all former ministers are entitled to, as long as she does not take another paying job in government within three weeks.

However, Truss will continue to receive an MP salary of £84,144 if she returns to the backbenches.

The honourable thing for Truss to do now would be to voluntarily forgo the PDCA… but £115,000 is £115,000. After absolutely demolishing the value of the pound, we all must take what we can get.

Most former prime ministers claim the entire amount, or very close to it.

In 2020/21 Sir John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron all claimed more than £110,000, while Theresa May claimed about £58,000.

Surely you must be thinking– why do ex-PMs receive such an allowance?

Especially during a cost-of-living crisis, shouldn’t the award of the PDCA be withheld by the Cabinet Office and its Finance Team permanently?

You may be right, but without a financial incentive– why would anyone want to be Prime Minister? It would be absurd to think anyone would be selfless enough to serve their country without significant personal gain.

Therefore, such a reward is necessary to those brave leaders that did so much for their country– increasing the need for food banks, tripling energy bills, and the return of fracking. In terms of charisma, Truss was certainly the

tap water to Boris Johnson's sparkling Pellegrino, but no one can ever take away the fact that she was Prime Minister - whether we like it or not.

Surely a wet lettuce couldn't have done a better job, could it? We'll probably find out in a few weeks, of the world hasn't come crashing down on us thanks to some new mega disaster. In terms of British government, however, with two Prime Ministers resigning in the space of less than four monthsone question still remains: will Rishi Sunak be Rishi 'soon out'?

Truss should have resigned with the closing remark: 'Lettuce eat cake'.

A popular meal deal choice from Tesco Image courtesy of Kieran Webb

Vladimir Putin does NOT have a Tesco Club card . Via Mikhail Svetlov

Liz Truss quite happily resigning Image courtesy of PA

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Courtesy of GettyImages

IT'S MAKE OR BREAK FOR SOUTHGATE

By Sam Leah Sports Editor

World Cup football is right around the corner, so get ready for packed out pubs, singing of ‘Sweet Caroline’, and an ongo ing tense debate regarding if football actually is coming home or not.

England will hopefully be looking to continue their strong streak of interna tional tournament displays, after reach ing the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and final of the 2020 Euros. How ever, despite remaining on the favourites list to win this year’s World Cup, many are of the belief that England may not go as far as they’re expected to.

It was a Nations League campaign to forget for England, who couldn’t manage a single win in six group stage games. Among the results was a 4-0 defeat to Hungary, England’s worst home defeat in almost a century. After such a success ful and impressive past record, many looked to England manager Gareth Southgate, voicing criticism of his tac tics, his player selections, and the fact that the Three Lions simply weren’t play ing with the same confidence and excite ment as before. Particularly after the 4-0 thrashing, Southgate was questioned over his England future, after chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ and the players and staff were met with boos from the crowd. Southgate acknowl

edged that he was ‘aware his future as manager was in question,’ adding that he knew that he would most likely be sacked if the Three Lions don’t perform well in Qatar. So, whether fans like it or not, Southgate will be the person to lead us into the tournament.

Southgate’s 26-man squad will be by no means an easy decision, as many of the players that featured heavily at last year's Euros run might end up miss ing out on the tournament. Midfielder Kalvin Phillips has been struggling with injury for several months, while defend ers Kyle Walker, John Stones and Reece James, players invaluable to Southgate, are all doubts. As of the time of writing, in-form young Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has also joined the injury list, and time will tell if he or any of Southgate’s other mainstays will recover in time for the tournament.

These players are all invaluable to Southgate and the way he sets up his England team. Including them if they’re not fully fit is a risk, however not includ ing them at all is arguably an even big ger risk. These kinds of decisions will no doubt haunt Southgate as he tries to put together a team. England have such a gifted backlog of players at the moment that no matter which players Southgate picks, there will be a few that will unfor tunately miss out. This is his chance to prove that he can still manage at the highest level, and more specifically can

continue to coach the English national team. A smart squad selection will con firm that.

Southgate became manager in 2016 and has had an impressive run with a promising England side. After recently signing a contract extension that will see him through to 2024, there’s no reason why he doesn’t keep his job after the World Cup. Southgate has also men tioned that his contract extension ‘isn’t protection’ from a potential sack, so focus really is on him this tournament to see if he can improve things. Football managers are disposable, and especially after seeing the strength of character within the Women’s team under Sarina Wiegman that cruised to a Euros victory; perhaps a switch-up in the hot-seat is inevitable.

It would be a massive surprise for Eng land to win the tournament. The Three Lions Nations League run has demon strated that there are teams that can pick Southgate’s men apart. Certainly it would take a tremendous effort to even reach the final. I’m in the camp of South gate scepticism. I think that in the face of some bad results, not enough was done to turn things around. I would relish a new manager and fresh ideas in this team. Then again, Southgate could blow everyone away in Qatar and come away with a string of strong and convincing performances. Let’s hope for the latter.

NFL ROUND-UP

By Reuben Flewitt Sports Writer

With just over a third of the NFL season in the books

InQuire takes a look at the highflyers of the season so far and predict which team will lift the Lombardi Trophy come February. All records, stats and injuries are correct as of week 7.

Buffalo Bills

The American Football Confer ence (AFC) and arguably the NFL has a new king. The Bills’ quarter back Josh Allen is the most unplay able man in the NFL with a weapon of an arm that can throw 70-yard touchdown strikes, the power to run through line-backers, and the athleticism to hurdle anyone in the league. With the number one defence in the NFL and a top-three offence that averages 6.6 yards a play, not even the Kansas City Chiefs could stop them when they met in Week 6.

Philadelphia Eagles

Still undefeated at 6-0, the Eagles have been powered by the much-im proved QB Jalen Hurts to the top of the National Football Conference (NFC). Hurts’ threat of running the ball has never been in doubt but his offseason improvement in passing has taken the Eagles’ offence to a new level. Offseason addition AJ Brown combined with the emer gence of Devonta Smith provides an excellent complement to the Eagles top-five rushing attack that leads the league in touch downs. The new look secondary headlined by Darius Slay and James Bradberry is con ceding just 188 yards/game and the team has a +12-turnover differen tial, the best in the league by seven points. However, the biggest factor in the Eagles’ success is their men in the trenches. Their O-line and D-line are ranked first and fifth in the league respectively, giving Jalen Hurts plenty of time to pass whilst not affording opposing quarter backs the same luxury.

Kansas City Chiefs

Although they lost one of the best wide receivers in the league when Tyreek Hill demanded a trade to Miami, the Chiefs look as strong as ever. The reason they are still dominating the league is Patrick Mahomes, the quarterback who leads the league in yards and touch downs. Similarly, the defence lost a lot of big names in the offseason, but they’ve come back stronger too, sitting 3rd in rush yards allowed/ game. Tight end Travis Kelce leads his position in almost every stat and their young receiving core is platooning effectively enough to replace Tyreek Hill’s output, who leads the league in receiving yards. The receiver room is bolstered by a week 7 trade for Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney, another

New York Giants

At 6-1, the Giants are playing their best football since the heyday of Eli Manning, over 10 years ago. Dynamic running back Saquon Bar kley looks back to his best after two long years recovering from injury and currently sits second in rush ing yards. New Head Coach Brian Daboll has transformed the attitude of the Giants who have finished with losing records for the last five seasons. Their wins include impres sive showings against two solid squads in the Ravens and the Pack ers, showing that they may be able to make noise in the postseason. Where they may fall short is with quarterback Daniel Jones who does show he is a capable game manager who can move the ball efficiently, but does not possess the big play moments. However, they are a solid outfit and, as the legendary Bill Par cells is frequently quoted as saying, ‘you are what your record says you are,’ which for the Giants is cur rently the second best in the NFC.

Minnesota Vikings

With a 5-1 record the Vikings sit at the top of the NFC alongside the Eagles and Giants despite not playing much convincing football.

‘Gosh, we could play better,’ quar terback Kirk Cousins acknowledged ‘but we win. I’ll take this any day’. Whilst their wins may be ugly, they do possess one key asset in wide receiver Justin Jefferson who is the best young receiver in the league. Although their pass defence leaves a lot to be desired, their ability to stifle the run has kept them in a lot of games. If Cousins can continue to pick out Jefferson for big plays, the Vikings should be a lock to win a weak NFC North.

Cincinnati Bengals

Despite having the worst record on this list at 4-3, the AFC’s repre sentatives in last year’s Superbowl are still a top team. Their three losses are by a combined eight points, a very fine margin in the NFL. After the Bills and Chiefs, their offence is the best in the league on third downs. With arguably the most underrated defence in the league that hasn’t allowed a touch down in the second half of any game this season, the Bengals look strong enough to make a second half push. This is without mentioning Joe Bur row at quarterback, who is now back to his best after two years removed due to injury, making chunk plays to elite wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. However, with Chase missing for the next 4-6 weeks, they will have to find offensive production elsewhere.

Image courtesy of Shropshire Star

speedy weapon for Mahomes. The AFC championship game is proba bly going to be an explosive shoot out between Mahomes and Allen, a matchup the Bills won in the regular season.

QATAR 2022 WORLD CUP PREVIEW

By the Inquire Sport Team Joe Crossley Sports Editor

It is no surprise that Brazil are the bookies favourites to win Qatar 2022 with a star-studded squad and an unbeaten record that stretches back to their Copa America final loss to Argentina back in July 2021.

Brazil’s manager Titi has an array of talent that most national team man agers could only dream of. The expe rienced centre back pairing of Thiago Silva and Marquinhos will surely be too solid for even the best strikers dur ing the tournament, especially when considering that Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker is behind them and defensive midfielder Fabinho will be sweeping in front of the experienced

pairing. It will be hard for any team to break down the spine of this Brazil side.

Then there's the attacking talent that the Brazilians are so famous for. With the likes of Neymar, Jesus, Raphinha, Vinicius Junior, Richarl ison and Antony all likely to feature, goals should not be a problem at all. Certainly, spectators will be treated to plenty of samba magic on display at Qatar that will light up the tourna ment.

With a strong balance between attack and defence, it will be no surprise if Brazil go all the way to lift the trophy.

Sam Leah Sport Writer

Iwill agree with Joe that Brazil are a very strong pick; fielding a very talented squad at the minute. For the sake of variety, though, I would encourage you to keep an eye on the Netherlands, as they are very much a dark horse.

The Dutch have never been elimi nated in the group stage of a World Cup, and I don’t expect this to change. The current squad are a good mix of experience and young promising talent, two things that complement each other very nicely in international competitions. I was critical of Louis van Gaal's reappointment as manager when he took the reins last year for the third time, but he has proven doubters wrong with his exciting pressing tac tics and creativity in attack, which has taken the team on a 15-game unbeaten streak.

Some players to watch include tal ented young attacker Cody Gakpo, and experienced fan favourite striker Memphis Depay. Versatile midfielder Frenkie De Jong is the centrepiece of the team with his pressing and passing ability, while top-quality centre backs Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Ake will shore up the defence.

Van Gaal and the Netherlands will

aim to go as far as they can in Qatar. If they go all the way, it’ll be their first World Cup final appearance since 2010, and maybe even, the first ever World Cup in their history.

Reuben Flewitt Sport Writer

We have not seen a World Cup winner outside of Europe since Brazil in 2002 and I predict that this streak will be broken in Qatar. Whilst I agree with Joe that Brazil are certainly going to make an impact in this tournament, Argentina are my pick to win it all.

La Albiceleste are fresh off Copa América and Finalissima triumphs, their first trophies in 28 years, and I think they can carry that momentum forward. It is currently only the World Cup that eludes Lionel Messi’s trophy cabinet, and the heartbreak of 2014 could be prevented again now that Argentina have a bolstered squad that blends experienced veterans and ener getic young players up and down the pitch.

Lionel Scaloni’s squad features a stronger defence overall than previous tournaments led by veteran Nicolás Otamendi, and includes younger enforcers such as Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez. This formidable pairing will be backed up by a much more competent pair of hands in the net with Copa América shootout hero Emi Martinez.

Leandro Paredes and Rodrigo De Paul will provide plenty of forward passes and aggressive presses from midfield. Brighton’s strong start to the season has been powered in part by Alexis Mac Allister who will hope to shine for country and fill the injured Paulo Dybala’s shoes, with chances being finished by Inter Milan ace Lau taro Martínez. Experienced virtuoso Ángel Di María can provide creativity off the bench if the need arises.

Should Messi finally bring glory back

home, it would be Argentina’s first World Cup victory since 1986, a tour nament that will live in infamy in the hearts of English fans forever.

William Jenkins Sport Writer

It is time for an underdog story in the World Cup. Portugal's chances of winning the trophy have been labelled at just 6% by the bookmakers, an uphill battle for Fernando Santos’s men. They have never lifted the World Cup, so what a story it would be. Group H, with the likes of South Korea, Uru guay and Ghana will be difficult, but given their resources, they are likely to progress to the knockout stages.

It is clear that their main man Ron aldo has not been happy lately at Man chester United, however, the passion for football is still clearly within him and he will be waiting for his chance to strike for his country. The football ing icon will know that this is his final chance at World Cup glory, something that will likely fire up his boots.

Manchester City duo Ruben Dias and João Cancelo are both excep tional players who will be alongside the veteran powerhouse Pepe and fine goalkeeper Rui Patrício. Portugal's back five should prove to be a defiant defence.

Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva in the same midfield is looking like a deadly combination. Both players who have the intelligence to look up and play the ball, which is second to none.

Supported by Atlético Madridyoung superstar João Félix, Portugal offers a scary attack that any defence will fear to face.

After winning the Euros in 2016, Por tugal proved that they have the ability to win big tournaments and despite their underdog status it shouldn’t be a surprise to see Portugal in the latter stages of what looks to be an exciting tournament in Qatar.

Image courtesy of Reuters

Image courtesy of Eurosport

Image courtesy of Getty Images

MAX VERSTAPPEN CROWNED DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION

By William Jenkins Sports Writer

Following a commanding 32nd victory of his Formula 1 career at the Japanese GP, Max Ver stappen seized the World Championship trophy for the second time. The 2022 season has proven to be a masterclass from Verstappen, amassing 14 wins out of the possible 20 races, with the poten tial to take this number even higher with the two remaining races. This 14th win in a single season has seen him surpass the previous record of 13 held by F1 leg ends Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.

At most circuits this season, it seemed to be a one-horse race. As Max Verstappen charged forward in his raging Red Bull car, it seemed impossible for anyone to get past the 25-year-old. Just as he said early in his illustrious career, ‘my ulti mate dream is just to become World Champion, and not only once’. This ambitious dream came true through his pure speed, precise corners, and perfect laps.

Max Verstappen was born into a rac ing family. His father, Jos Verstappen, was a credited Formula 1 driver. It is no wonder that Max Verstappen followed in his dad’s footsteps going on to rocket his way to becoming the youngest Kart ing World Champion. The young Dutch driver showed so much talent, he man

aged to skip racing in Formula 2, and jumped straight into Red Bull’s sister team. Aged just 17 and three days, he became the youngest person in history to participate in a Formula One race weekend before making his Grand Prix debut as a full-time driver 163 days later, beating the previous record by almost two years. After a poor start to the 2016 season from the Russian Red Bull driver Dani Kvyat, Verstappen was then thrown into the more competitive Red Bull team that was fighting for wins every week.

Verstappen’s first outing for Red Bull’s senior team came in the 2016 Spanish GP where he became the youngest ever vic tor in F1 history, after taking advantage of a first-lap collision between Mercedes rivals Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamil ton. Leading your first race would leave most people shaking, worried about any mishap that could occur, yet Verstappen never looked rattled. After the race, Ver stappen proclaimed that he was ‘was just trying to focus and drive the best [he] could’. It was clear that this young driver was future World Championship mate rial. Ricciardo, Verstappen's then team mate noted how ‘everyone questioned the decision [to swap drivers] during the week, but he has proven today that he is a top-class driver’.

After last year's Titanic battle between Hamilton and Verstappen, which was decided on that famous and controver sial final lap of the final race, Verstappen

certainly entered 2022 with a big smile on his face; beating the 7 time World Champion to the trophy was a massive achievement. Whilst the Red Bull team principal Christian Horner thanked the ‘racing Gods’ for what happened that day, it seemed as though those Gods were not with Red Bull in the beginning of the 2022 season. The first race in Bahrain concluded with both Red Bulls failing to finish whilst the ‘prancing horses’ at Fer rari were able to hold a one-two finish, the first time since Singapore 2019. Ver stappen left the race tired, distraught, and angry commenting how ‘motorsport is unpredictable, and these things can happen.’ Two races later in Australia, the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc took home the grand slam, meaning he led every lap from pole position and grabbed fast est lap, as Verstappen fell under due to a DNF. It seemed that the Monegasque Leclerc was heading towards his first World Championship. Yet, with three races left to go, Red Bull not only had already ensured Max Ver stappen was crowned World Champion, but also won the Constructors Champi onship Trophy, the first team to over come the dominant Mercedes team since the beginning of the Turbo Hybrid era in 2014. Through the almighty speed of the Red Bull driver, and a few strategic mishaps from Ferrari, Verstappen pro ceeded to dominate the championship, claiming it at a rain soaked Suzuka

where he had finished 27 seconds ahead of his teammate Sergio Perez after Leclerc was handed a penalty on the last lap. After his victory in Suzuka Verstappen went on to say that ‘it’s very special also to do it here, in front of all the Honda people, all the Japanese fans’, referencing Red Bull’s engine manufac turer. Honda’s home race was ‘tough for us to drive’ Verstappen noted after oblit erating every other driver. As the saying goes, it’s not how you start, but how you finish, and Verstappen finished with his dream accomplished; a double World Champion. It is without doubt that Verstappen will have his name held in the book of For mula 1 legends. A driver who others fear when they see his lion helmet steam ing towards them in their mirrors, the engine roaring as they know that this young Dutchman does not back out of a fight. As Lewis Hamilton said in 2019, ‘it’s very likely you’re going to come together with Max if you don’t give him extra space, so most of the time you do’. Verstappen's aggression and determina tion to win echoes the previous greats of Aryton Senna and the young Michael Schumacher. Still at the young age of 25, this Dutch-Belgian Double World Champion has years of racing ahead of him. Like the lion his helmet resembles, he will hunt for the drivers, the records, the trophies; and when he’s hungry, he’ll bring them down.