InQuire 18.5

InQuire

University of Kent 'letting talent walk out the door'

By Nathan Collins-Cope News Editor

The University of Kent’s ‘Organising For Success’ (O4S) programme has caused major discomfort amongst staff across the university. The programme, which was launched by the executive group in 2019, was intended to streamline the system by putting each school into one of six academic divisions, with the aim of saving money. However, many lecturers, especially within the Division of Arts and Humanities, have raised concerns about the initiative due to the division system cutting the number of professional (non-academic orientated) staff, leading to academic staff having to take on more administrative work for no extra pay. This has had the knock-on effect of giving teachers less time to focus on quality teaching. The university has responded to this by offering some staff voluntary paid redundancy in order to cut costs. The reorganisation has also been seen as a centralisation of power, with the elimination of the schools system meaning that individual subjects have less control over their budget. InQuire has been investigating O4S to try and get to the bottom of the dispute.

‘Each school used to have its own admin resource support,’ Dr Charles Devellenes, Senior Lecturer in Political and Social Thought, told InQuire. ‘But the divisions have meant that there is less time for students and for our research’. He described the feeling of being taken advantage of by the institution. ‘Because we love what we do, we will go above and beyond. And they exploit that– they will squeeze as much as they can out of us. We are working an average of 52 hours a week, which means that we cannot deliver at the level we want to. If we are overwhelmed by the amount of work we must do, the quality of education will naturally go down.

‘And because the university has a saturated market of younger academics and PhD students to fill the labour, they don’t care that they are letting talent walk out the door. Morale is at rock-bot-

tom.’

Charles added that students should care about academic research because it brings up the reputation of the university, which benefits graduate prospects. ‘80% research time is the gold standard for academic staff, and right now I only dedicate 27% of my time to it. This should matter to students as the university’s reputation is based on our academic research.’

An anonymous source close to the dispute filled in InQuire about some of the details. ‘The end of last academic year saw a clash between lecturers and the executive group. As it currently stands, the Heads of Schools are manoeuvring for the best settlement. The division management team don’t have any control over what they can do, as the executive group are the only ones that can make any real decisions.

‘It’s a nightmare from the student’s point of view. Anyone who is good at teaching is either leaving or has just stopped caring. If the courses get closed, the current students on those courses will still get taught to the end of the programme– but no-one can promise that the quality of teaching will be as good as previous students received.’

KentVision has also been a bone of contention amongst staff. The system that acts as a student/staff interface portal, which has had tens of millions of pounds pumped into it, was designed to streamline the processes of the university. One postgraduate demonstrator has told InQuire the system did not work for the first few months of this year, and continues to have so many bugs and holes that it has had the reverse effect of streamlining. They said this affected the quality of their teaching to undergraduate students.

Dr Heidi Colthup, a lecturer for the department of English Language and Linguistics and a member of the local UCU committee, picked up on this point when InQuire sat down with her. ‘Part of the problem is that KentVision was [being] implemented while the problems with O4S began. Students couldn’t access their timetables, which was the last straw for students who were

already struggling with mental health issues. Their port of call for stability and order had vanished.

‘It is harder for us to contact students on KentVision. The Student Data System (SDS, the system which predated KentVision) had a way in which you can email everyone on a module with just the press of a button. Now you have worked out who is on the module and compile them one-by-one at the start of the year. How is this easier?’

Heidi went on to talk about her view on O4S. ‘A lot of professional and academic staff took the voluntary redundancy pay, which meant that no one was left to fill their jobs. It seemed like there was not a great deal of succession planning here.

‘O4S is great in theory, but it seems to have been implemented rather haphazardly. We lost some extremely good people. It must be said that they have been replaced by people who are just as good, if not better– but you have to

Kent Union to hold ANOTHER referendum

By Sam Webb Newspaper Editor

allow people the time to get up to speed. The start of the academic year is simply not the time for that. There was a lot of academic staff scrambling around saying ‘where am I supposed to be, what students am I meant to be seeing?’.’

It is worth pointing out the backdrop of the sector-wide problem. Student fees were last increased in 2017 to £9,250, even though the rate of inflation has continued to rise at huge rates, especially since after the Covid-19 pandemic. Heidi said that this ‘does justify a reorganisation of the university to make ourselves attractive to potential students.

‘And the removal of government caps on universities has also battered Kent. Because Russell Group universities are accepting vastly more students than they used to, it means that there are less students that end up at Kent.

Continued on page 3...

Kent Union has confirmed intentions to hold another referendum on membership of NUS(UK). In a short statement on the Kent Union website, it is said that this was proposed by the Board of Trustees and follows on from a referendum on the same topic that was held last term. This will be the third Kent Union referendum on NUS membership in three years, with the previous two results indicating students want to remain.

The referendum will run concurrently with Lead Kent. The means that campaigning in the referendum will run from 27 February to 9 March. Voting will also coincide with Lead Kent and will take place from 9am on 8 March and will close at 9pm on 9 March.

The voting period for the previous referendum was open for a week, with results being announced on 1 November 2022. 59% of students voting in the referendum had elected for Kent Union to remain affiliated with NUS (UK). However, the referendum had a pre-decided quorum of 600 votes, and this number was not met.

In an interview with InQuire following the previous referendum, Kent Union President Zaid Mahmood had made it clear that Kent Union would respect the result of the referendum.

He was however clearly disappointed that there had been such a low turnout, saying ‘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’.

Kent Union also held a referendum on the same topic in 2020, which was also held at the same time as Kent Union’s leadership elections. In this referendum, 2540 votes were cast, with 76% voting to remain affiliated to the NUS.

The referendum is to leave NUS (UK), rather than NUS Charity. NUS (UK) is the national union representing university and college students across the UK. NUS Charity is separate from NUS (UK) and exists to support SU development and support SU’s with election processes. Visit Kent Union for more info.

Image courtesy of Nathan Collins-Cope

"Morale is at rock bottom

Meet the team

News Committee

Rashida Hassan Editor-in-Chief editor@inquiremedia.org

Sam Webb Newspaper Editor newspaper@inquiremedia.org

Gharam Al-Zubi Website Editor website@inquiremedia.org

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

Tom Cooper Head of Technology technology@inquiremedia.org

Emyr Ben Youssef Deputy Head of Media & Marketing photography@inquiremedia.org

Shopitha Sivanathan Director of Design design@inquiremedia.org

Editorial

Nathan Collins-Cope News Editor news@inquiremedia.org

Hestia Linford-Allen Opinion Editor opinion@inquiremedia.org

Priya Hawes Features Editor features@inquiremedia.org

Laurice Janielle Lifestyle Editor lifestyle@inquiremedia.org

Rhona Longergan Entertainment Editor entertainment@inquiremedia.org

Molly Field Culture Editor culture@inquiremedia.org

Elma Maka Science & Tech Editor science@inquiremedia.org

Kieran Webb Satire Editor satire@inquiremedia.org

Joe Crossley Sport Editor sport@inquiremedia.org

To get involved with InQuire, email the relevant section editor with an article idea, or come to one of our team meetings. We hold weekly meetings above The Venue every Monday from 7pm to discuss, pitch and debate article ideas. Follow us on Instagram for updates!

Kent Union votes against supporting industrial action

By Megan Brown Local Affairs Correspondent

The Kent Union parliament have voted against supporting the university strikes, with a majority of 13 votes from 17 cast being in support of the cause, but not the action. The decision was made in an emergency parliament meeting, held on 30 January, to discuss the upcoming industrial action and the circumstances surrounding the impending action. These included the demands of the UCU (University and College Union), the student response to the second round of industrial action and, ultimately, whether Kent Union should support the action. At the time of writing this, however, an agreement of a two-week postponement of industrial action has been agreed between university bosses and the UCU. Professor Richard Reece, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Education and Student Experience, wrote ‘[the postponement] isn’t necessarily the end of the current dispute, but it is the sincere hope of all parties that this pause will give national bodies the space to reach a long-standing deal that avoids further action.

'This postponement is a positive sign, and we urge all parties in the negotiations to use it to reach common ground.’

If negotiations are not successful, however, the next strike day will be Thursday 16 March. UCU General Secretary Jo Grady has been clear that even though the strike was paused, the ‘campaign continues’.

Considering this decision to not

support the industrial action, Kent Union said they would ‘commit to working towards mitigating the implications and effects on students’ education, access and welfare in this time’.

Through various student consultations held by Kent Union, in which 279 students participated, the primary concerns recorded were; the impact of severely reduced staff contact hours during the period of industrial action, the material which will not be covered during this period, and the manner in which this will affect both future assignments and exams. In response to the results of the student consultation, Vice President for Academic Experience Lupe Sellei, called the demands ‘impossible’ and stated that ‘academia is a choice that academics have made [...] They know what they've gotten themselves into’. Sellei continued, stating that students ‘should not be used as pawns’ in the UCU disputes, and do not deserve the level of disruption caused by the industrial action.

When this comment was brought up to Breanna Beck, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Kent, and Vice President of the local UCU branch Wednesday 1 February, she responded by asking ‘what kind of legacy are we leaving for [the students] if we allow this constant degradation of standards and working conditions to continue?

ing such a loss of standards in terms of

how staff are treated, and we should all be willing to fight for the future of higher education’. A second UCU representative, a student support and wellbeing worker from the University of Kent (who wished to remain anonymous for the risk of her UCU support jeopardising her job) reinforces Beck’s statement, adding that ‘the systematic destruction of people’s terms and conditions leads to the systematic destruction of lectures and the support staffs abilities to properly support and teach students… an exhausted lecturer isn’t going to see when a student needs help. Our terms aren’t unreasonable.’

The UCU has initiated industrial action, once again, in an attempt to have demands regarding pay, pensions, and working conditions seriously considered. In an official statement taken from the UCU website, the union’s demands include a meaningful pay rise to help in the cost-of-living crisis, an end to insecure contracts, aid in dealing with dangerously high workloads, and a restoration of pension benefits alongside the revoking of the 35% cuts to staff pensions. Official reports conducted by the UCU state that, of 2,662 members of university staff asked, 71% of respondents say that insecure contracts have damaged their mental health, while 43% reported that they believed their work-

ing conditions had damaged their physical health. Furthermore, around 60% of those responding said they had struggled to make ends meet, while 40% said they experienced problems paying bills. In an effort to prevent industrial action and compromise upon the UCU’s demands, university bosses offered staff a 5% pay rise. This was rejected however and labelled as not enough across the union. UCU General Secretary Jo Grady stated, ‘university vice-chancellors have been given multiple opportunities to use the sector’s vast wealth to resolve these disputes. Instead, they have forced staff back to the picket line and brought disruption to students.’

More information, advice and support around the strikes is available on the Kent Union website

Results of Kent Union Parliment Vote:

Corrections

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

On page 3 in issue 18.4, we incorrectly reported that the Prince Harry is 30-years-old. This is incorrect, and he is actually 38. We apologise for any confusion this may have caused.

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.

Photo courtesy of Emyr Ben Youssef

Photo courtesy of Megan Brown

Graphic courtesy of Kent Union Parliament, 30/01/23

Organising for Success?

Continued from cover...

So, these national problems, plus the mistakes made with O4S and KentVision, created the perfect storm.’

A second anonymous source was less sympathetic to the university. ‘The start of the academic year was a shitshow. (New staff) came in and had no idea what the job is– and that is not their fault– it is the fault of somebody in a very senior position who is getting paid a ton of money and is very entrenched in their position.

‘Academic staff in the Division of Arts and Humanities were told that their average wage was £80,000 per year, which is a far cry from [what] most of us are being paid. Part-time contracted lecturers (who have about the same teaching workload as those on research contracts) are earning barely £20,000 per year. Divisional Directors must be paid way over £80,000 for the average to sit at that figure. Meanwhile, it is the

same Divisional Directors that are telling us ‘you haven’t got enough students, you need to do better’. That is NOT a way to manage things. We are being told to put aside research and teaching more. You won’t see those divisional directors putting aside their research for more teaching. It seems like they are shoring up their own personal positions.

‘And one third of lecturers in the UK are on these precarious contracts (referring to part-time and shortterm contracts)’. The source admitted that Kent has done some work towards solving this, but that more must be addressed.

‘However, large numbers of profes-

sional staff are on short term contracts, which means we are often losing them within the same year. So, we have an ongoing retraining of personnel, which means this problem of no one knowing who knows who to speak about is end-

lessly perpetuated.

‘It seems like there is a lack of vision within the Division of Arts and Humanities. The directors of Arts/Hums are nice people who are great at their teaching and researching. But for some reason; whether it is down to the particular structure they exist in, or whether it’s down to pressure from the executive groupthings just aren’t working out. It feels like the Arts/ Hums are slowing being chipped away, here and on a national scale.’

The Vice-Chancellor

Karen Cox, who leads the executive group at the University of Kent and is ultimately responsible for implementing Organising for Success, previously served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the

University of Nottingham. She spearheaded a similar system dubbed ‘Project Transform’, between 2014-2017. This spawned mass disruption, with Nottingham releasing an official apology in the aftermath of the scandal. Karen Cox later left her position at Nottingham for the Vice Chancellor role at Kent. After being contacted for a comment, a spokesperson for the University of Kent responded by saying:

'Our academic divisions were set up a couple of years ago to bring administration teams together and create a more consistent experience for students across areas, while also ensuring we had more academic representation on our Executive Group. As with all changes like this, we have been reviewing as we go and making adjustments where we need to - throughout this, the quality of our teaching, student experience and staff working conditions have been at the forefront of our decision making.'

Alumni Member of Parliament visits the University of Kent

By Ben van Broeckhuijsen News Writer

On the 27th of January, the School of Politics and International Relations welcomed Abena Oppong-Assare, MP, to discuss her work, and her view on today’s politics. The Kent alumnus is known for her social advocacy, particularly focusing on the political engagement of those marginalised in society. She is the Labour MP for Erith and Thamesmead, Shadow Exchequer Secretary for the Treasury and Chair of the Labour Women’s Network. Director of the School, Nadine Ansorg, asked a set of questions, followed by a Q&A with those in attendance.

During her time at university, Abena did not consider a career in politics, but picked up some of the foundations

of what she does today in the study of international conflict. As such, she wanted to break into this field, but experienced difficulty; a lot of the programmes offered to graduates are overseas and require substantial financial investment. Instead, she went down the parliamentary route, doing work experience with Valerie Amos, the first black leader of the House of Lords. She also worked for Diane Abbott, the first female black MP, which Abena said opened her eyes and got her sucked into the political world. Building on this point, she voiced suggested that people who are geared towards becoming an MP need to go out into the world and engage with the electorate prior to going into politics. Summarising her argument with a piece of advice, Abena noted the importance of ‘being openminded and gaining life experiences’.

Talking about her job as an MP, Abena recalled the process of her election to the constituency of Erith and Thamesmead in 2019. She was persuaded to stand for her home seat at a very busy time in her life but acted on the belief that ‘you have to grab these opportunities when you can’. She had a week to speak to all 600 members of the local Labour party for her campaign and set out a few key areas of interest in the area. After the hustings and voting process, she was elected as the Labour candidate for the constituency, but remained unsure about her chances, seeing as the constituency had voted Leave in the EU referendum. She embarked on a campaign in winter, a season which traditionally sees lower turnout. Abena went on to explain that this was compounded by the fact that constituents felt Labour was not clear on its position towards Brexit and that the atmosphere was ‘toxic’. Despite these factors, Abena still won, recalling that she experienced ‘a bit of a culture shock’ upon entering Westminster politics, as the Labour party was going through a leadership election. She went on to note that the atmosphere within the party has since improved.

Nadine asked Abena if there was anything enjoyable about the beginning of her period as an MP, to which she responded that she experienced a lot of difficulty both in her constituency and in Parliament. She recalled the discrimination that women and children in her constituency experienced in the government’s handling of the pandemic, citing a lack of consideration for people who were disproportionately impacted due to falling into one or more categories of a ‘protected characteristic’. Abena is wellknown for her report ‘Leaving Nobody Behind In Erith and Thamesmead’, which provided data on how Covid19 was disproportionately impacting people who met one more protected

characteristic in her constituency. The report was covered heavily in the media, and some of its recommendations were taken up by the government.

When asked about her summer schools programme, Abena explained that she felt a lot of young people were disengaged from the realm of campaigning and politics, which is why she set up a way for young people to become involved. Abena said she feels that constituents under 18 do not get looked at enough because they do not have the vote yet. Using the example of the lockdown restrictions, she did not think the voices of school children were being represented in government discussions about its effect. With her summer school, Abena hopes to ‘empower young people to be the change they want to see in the world’. So far, Abena’s programme has organised workshops from Laura Coryton, founder of the Tampon Tax campaign, as well as employees from Facebook and LinkedIn.

On discrimination in politics, Abena recounted her experience of being redirected to the visitors’ entrance at Parliament, or instances where people would speak to her white counterparts, but not to her. Abena noted the importance of asserting yourself, and that she does not let it phase her, arguing ‘I knew what I was getting into’. Calling for the importance of allies in the political sphere, Abena explained that she expects her white counterparts to call out such behaviour if they see it happen. Furthering her point, Abena argues people are more comfortable talking about gender than they are talking about race. She feels that everyone should have the same level of equality, and lives by the motto ‘when I see injustice, I turn anger into actions’.

Abena was then asked about the process of making her way up the political ladder as a woman of colour, and

whether she encountered any difficulties, with or without the help of schemes such as her own summer school. In response, she mentioned her experience with the Fabian Women’s Network, and recalled telling them she specifically did not want to be mentioned by someone in politics. The mentoring she received there helped her build confidence and belief in her own abilities. On the Labour Women’s Network, Abena says it has been one of her priorities as chair to diversify the committee, requiring one of four people elected to the committee yearly to be of a BAME background. Now, more than 50% of the committee is of a BAME background.

On the current political culture in Westminster, Abena noted that despite the fact that she loves her job, certain events can have a depressing impact, such as the recent passing of the government’s ‘anti-strike’ bill. She went on to mention the National Infrastructure Bank bill, for which she sat on the committee. When Abena entered politics, these bill committees took a few weeks before the bill would go through, but this bill, as with many other bills brought in by this government, went through within a day. Criticising a lack of urgency, Abena expressed her dismay at the fact that the review of this bill will only take place every seven years, down from the ten years review period suggested by the government. Sadly, Abena argued bills such as these do not amount to ‘sexy politics’, meaning journalists do not cover bills that affect the British public in significant ways.

It was an inspiring experience listening to this Kent alumnus talk about her achievements and engaging with her about the politics of today. Her stellar career path as a social advocate will have given many students food for thought in embarking on a life post-university.

Image courtesy of the School of Politics

Image courtesy of the University of Kent

Net-zero independent review released: report and reaction

By James Bonthron Climate Correspondent

The new net zero report by Chris Skidmore, the Chair of Net Zero Review, has a number of recommendations on how the UK can reach net zero carbon emissions, the first of which is to back business through reviewing incentives for investment in decarbonisation. Part of the effort to support businesses include reviewing how the HMT incentivises investment in decarbonisation (through capital allowances and taxes), as well as increasing the number of incentives to invest in greener technology. The ‘Help to Grow Green’ scheme will also help to support businesses. This campaign would offer information and advice to small busi-

nesses so they could better transition to net zero carbon emissions.

Another priority in the report is backing local action. This would include backing at least one Trailblazer Net Zero City (which would become net zero by 2030) to set an example for others to aspire to, as well as encouraging local authorities to work towards net zero by 2030. Skidmore emphasises that the planning system to embed net zero emissions nationally and locally is something that needs to be revisited.

Also in the report were recommendations to deliver energy efficient homes.

This would include revisiting a 10-year mission to make heat pumps (which extract thermal energy naturally occurring in the environment and so produce no carbon dioxide) widespread through-

out the UK. It would also include ensuring that the Future Homes Standard is written into law, which will mean that no new homes built after 2025 will include a gas boiler.

The final set of proposals in the report call for using infrastructure (such as creating a National Net Zero Grid which would supply a consistent level of clean energy) to reach net zero, with a suggested development of a cross-sectoral infrastructure strategy to be finalised by 2025. These actions will help the transition to net zero, as they will increase the connectivity between renewable and gas sources (ensuring that energy can be supplied consistently without unnecessary wastage).

UK official sources suggest that there are currently 400,000 jobs in low car-

bon businesses and supply chains. It is believed that the turnover for these jobs was £41.2 billion in 2020. Meanwhile, the Net Zero Strategy (and the British Energy Security Strategy) aim to pour in £100 billion of private investment to support 480,000 more British jobs by 2030.

Some have used the report to emphasise the need for action, with Aviva’s Chief Executive Amanda Blanc saying, ‘I hope both the government and opposition parties will take careful note of it and together act swiftly on its recommendations’.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) was less receptive, with its official response saying that the government ‘must go further and faster than

this review if we want to see a future which delivers for people and nature’. Furthermore, the Guardian reviewed Skidmore’s report and criticised it on several points. Firstly, it argues that the report does not unequivocally recommend the level of improved insulation in homes that campaigners have asked for, with its 2033 cut-off point for the installation of new gas boilers only bringing forward the policy two years compared to what is already official policy. The Guardian also suggests that the report does not speak enough about the benefits of public transport in cutting emissions and does not go into enough detail on how emissions from transport generally can be reduced

Ex-Kent student from the Bank of England visits UKC

omist community. 'You can be a Nobel Laureate, but it is worthless without the ability communicate effectively' he told us with a humble smile.

By Nathan Collins-Cope News Editor

Put ‘Jack Meaning’ into Google, and you end up with the search engine attempting to define the name ‘Jack’. True to his name, Jack is trying to bring about a greater universal understanding of economics.

As an esteemed School of Economics Alumnus, who currently works in the Monetary Analysis area of the Bank of England, and is author of the first ever Bank of England publication, popecon book ‘Can’t We Just Print More Money?’, the lecture theatre was filled to the brim, with bright-eyed students hoping to catch some of the capital his words carried.

Jack does not look like your archetypal economist. His friendly and easy-going manner bares the resemblance of a tidy musician holding an acoustic guitar at a local open mic night. He picked up on this point when talking about how people have a warped view of what economists look like – referencing a study by non-profit advocacy group Economy. The charity asked random people at a music festival to sketch their idea of an economist. He showed us 3 of them –all badly drawn white men, with a briefcase (something he saw as an indicator

of a higher socio-economic background) with money on their mind. After the laughs had subsided, he used this study to illustrate the point of a perception problem with the bank – one of deep mistrust among the public.

He puts this mistrust down to a lack of understanding about the way the financial system works, with more than 50% of the country unaware of ‘everyday’ economic terms like GDP and inflation, as well as the difference between nominal and real wages. The responsibility of bridging the gap in understanding is one that he admits economists of the past have neglected. Jack quoted the former Bank of England Chief Economist (Andy Haldane) when saying that an economist that is good at communication looks at your shoes while giving an explanation, rather than their own.

The problem of communication manifests on all levels. He shared with students how economists in the Bank would hand senior staff 110-page reports on a daily basis. With busy workloads they did not have time to read through these colossal stacks of paper and brought in a rule of 6-page maximum, ensuring only the elemental essence was reported. And this was the crux of the issue – too much flexing and not enough de-complexing is going on in the econ-

The problem of access to the field was something that Jack felt personally. He grew up in a town on the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent, where the steel mill was essential to the local economy – one which closed during his childhood, bringing about financial hardship to many in the area. The people of his town did not have the words or tools to understand why this had happened, and he was driven to help fill this gap in knowledge.

The people of his town did not have the words or tools to understand why this had happened, and he was driven to fill this gap in knowledge. Coming to the University of Kent for his degree, enlightened Jack about the global economic forces at play, and how they impact everyday life. Things like choice of trainers, pick and mix, all the way up to climate threats can be understood through economics.

The all-encompassing explanations he found for human behaviour in the subject drove him to do a Masters in International Finance and Development Economics, which he followed with a PhD in Economics – both at the University of Kent.

Moving onto his experience at the Bank of England, Jack mentioned how the days of selection bias from a few top schools and universities were long past. The emphasis is now on diversity of background, with jobs at the Bank, although still very competitive, now highly accessible to those from any university. The aim behind this is to draw upon a wealth of life experiences. His attempt at getting a job at

the central bank was only successful after being rejected several times. What had changed? The experience he gained outside of the bank, which continues to help him to set economic policy in his current role.

'Real world experience doesn’t have to come from JP Morgan or the like – it is just as important to hear from those with a background in charity and non-profits.' His advice to budding economists was to roll with the punches, as all the people he knew at the Bank had only been accepted after several application attempts. Another lesson that Jack shared was that although everything learned in class is useful, it is important to also remember to consider the limits of what is being taught. 'All (economic) models are wrong,' he said with a shrug, 'but some are useful.'

After reminiscing on sunny days spent in the Keynes area of our campus, he ended the talk on a quote from the veteran British economist, which outlines the qualities of a truly great economist. 'The master-economist must possess a rare combination of gifts …. He must be mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher — in some degree. He must understand symbols and speak in words. He must contemplate the particular, in terms of the general, and touch abstract and concrete in the same flight of thought. He must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future. No part of man’s nature or his institutions must be entirely outside his regard. He must be purposeful and disinterested in a simultaneous mood, as aloof and incorruptible as an artist, yet sometimes as near to earth as a politician.'

Image courtesy of the Mission Zero Report

Terrorist Attack in Pakistan

By Colton Pemble News Writer

101 people were killed and more than 200 injured after a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan. The attack took place on Monday 30 January during afternoon prayer. Most of those killed were members of the police.

The mosque was located within a high-security police compound in the city. ‘It’s not a security lapse, it’s a security breach,’ said Akhtar Ali Shah, a former regional interior secretary. ‘From all entry points, there are multiple layers of security you have to cross’.

During a press conference the following Thursday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General Moazzam Jah Ansari revealed that the bomber disguised himself in a police uniform to gain access to

the compound and that police failed to ‘check the attacker because they thought he was their own’.

The attacker then entered the mosque during Zuhr prayers with an estimated 10-12kg of TNT and ignited it. There were between 300 to 400 worshippers inside the mosque during the explosion. Ansari added that a large part of why there were so many casualties was because of the construction of the building, saying ‘the 50-year-old mosque at the Peshawar Police Lines did not have pillars… so when the bomb exploded, the walls and roof caved in. My children (those inside the mosque) were trapped under the rubble for hours.’

The next 24 hours were spent combing the rubble for survivors and remains.

Constable Wajahat Ali, who was injured in the explosion, told AFP from the hospital that he ‘remained trapped under the

rubble with a dead body over me for seven hours. I had lost all hope of survival.’

There are conflicting claims about who is responsible for the attack. Initially, members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility. However, the TTP’s spokesperson, Muhammed Khorasani, has since denied those claims. The investigation is ongoing and Peshawar authorities have not yet released who is responsible, although Inspector General Ansari revealed it is believed there was a network behind the attack. At least 17 people have been arrested for suspected involvement during the investigation.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited a Peshawar hospital following the attack and swore there would be ‘stern action’ against those responsible.

Landmark court case rules Amazon is liable for authenticating products sold on its platform

By Ainy Shiyam Head of Media and Marketing

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that Amazon may be held liable for trademark infringement if it is deemed to be ‘using’ another party's trademark when advertising and selling counterfeit Louboutin footwear on its platform. The highly anticipated decision was first brought to two district-level courts in Luxembourg and Belgium which begged the question of whether the operator of the market place (in this case – Amazon) would be infringed for the advertisement of fake Louboutin footwear.

EU Trademark Regulation states that any unauthorized use of a registered logo by a seller without consent constitutes an infringement of their rights. Addition-

ally, it lists a non-exhaustive range of prohibited uses, including advertising, the offering or stocking of counterfeit goods.

The national courts asked the CJEU to determine whether Amazon, as an online marketplace, can be held liable for the use of a logo in an advertisement placed by a third-party seller. Amazon has argued that it is not liable for the content published on its websites, whilst Louboutin opposes that it is, with the advertisements placed by third-party sellers forming part of Amazon's own commercial communication. The court noted that Amazon's operating method is a combination of advertisements placed by Amazon itself and third-party sellers.

The referral is rather significant, as it considers the dual role of Amazon as both an online marketplace and a dis-

tributor of goods. This contrasts with the 2011 L’Oréal/eBay case where the Court of Justice ruled out eBay's liability for advertisements placed online by thirdparty sellers. This is because it was characterised only as an online marketplace not as a seller and/or distributor of the infringing goods.

The Coty case (2017), which involved Amazon, was interpreted by the court in conjunction with the EU Trademark Regulation to determine that Amazon does not use a protected logo if it only stores infringing goods without being aware of the trademark infringement and without aiming to put those goods on the market/offer them. The Advocate General argued that if a platform actively participates in the distribution of infringing goods which the seller joins, the platform may be liable for trademark

On Twitter, Sharif also called for unity within the government against anti-state elements.

Peshawar is the capital of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a region that has long been a main focus of the war on terrorism, due to the border it shares with Afghanistan and many other factors that allow terrorist organisations to thrive. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal’s 2022 assessment of terrorism in Pakistan, terrorist attacks and casualties have been increasing since 2020, especially against security forces.

Peshawar has frequently been a target for terrorist attacks, such as last year in

March, when a suicide bomber killed 63 and injured nearly 200 others at a Shiite mosque during worship. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for this attack. In 2014, seven gunmen associated with the Pakistani Taliban attacked a Peshawar school, resulting in at least 144 deaths, most of whom were children. Around the world, individuals, nations, and organisations have condemned the attack and offered their condolences. PM Sharif tweeted Wednesday: ‘We deeply value this show of solidarity at this difficult time. With support of our people, we will crush terrorists & eliminate them from our soil.’

mark infringement based on its use of another's trademark in advertisements for third-party infringing goods on its website. The court argued that the unauthorized use of an identical trademark implies, at a minimum, that the party is making use of the logo, and may create the impression to users that the ads come from the marketplace operator, thus leading to the marketplace operator's ‘use’ of the mark.

The court states that due to Amazon's ‘hybrid business model’ which sees it act both as a marketplace operator and a provider of logistics services for third parties, as well as its use of its own ‘well known’ trademarks on advertisements for third-party sellers' offerings on its vast marketplace site, there is potential for customer confusion as to the source of the infringing goods. The CJEU further noted that this confusion ‘may make a clear distinction (as to the source of the goods) difficult and give the impression to the normally informed and reasonably attentive user that it is Amazon that markets (the goods)— in its own name and on its own behalf.

The district courts will now be responsible for assessing the potential for consumer confusion, based on the CJEU’s guidance, concerning the two cases focused on the trademarked red soles.

responsibility for thirdparty sellers offering counterfeit products for sale. Additionally, the company hopes to motivate Amazon to take a more active role in the battle against counterfeiting on its platforms.

The CJEU's ruling is not a finding of infringement by Amazon; that decision will be passed back to the national courts in Belgium and Luxembourg for final judgment. It nevertheless leaves operators of online marketplaces using a hybrid model, such as Amazon, more vulnerable to direct liability for third parties selling counterfeit products on their sites. It also makes it easier for brand owners to bring claims against large operators, such as Amazon, for infringement rather than bringing a claim against individual counterfeiters. Brand owners should therefore take comfort from the CJEU's preliminary judgment.

Platforms using hybrid models, such as Amazon, may wish to rethink their website designs to ensure that products they are selling themselves are clearly distinguishable from third party products, so that consumers can identify the origin of adverts and the party selling the goods. At the moment, Amazon is in the process of appealing the decision.

Image courtesy of rahmankhan387

Image courtesy of Birgith Roosipuu

ELECTIONS 2023: MEET THE CANDIDATES students'

union president

Chris Chudley (they/them)

Chris is running on a platform of ‘accessibility, inclusivity, sustainability’. Having founded and coordinated the Plant-Based Universities campaign at the University of Kent with their policy motion receiving 467 votes in favour, Chris has a passion for positive change and experience in leadership. Chris has also occupied the position as the head of the Canterbury Homeless Outreach food poverty and claims this is an issue close to their heart, especially with food prices skyrocketing in the cost-of-living crisis. They believe that the support that Kent Union provides to support students with food and funding is invaluable and they would like to make sure this initiative grows throughout the next academic year. As a non-binary trans person with disabilities, Chris understands the struggles of LGBTQ+ and disabled students and hopes to use that understanding to promote LGBTQ+ and disabled welfare across the university. They also spent a year studying in the Czech Republic, so know how daunting international study can be. They mentioned that with this experience they have a unique understanding of the issues both home and international students face. Chris says, ‘I have loved my time at university, and I want to make sure every student can love theirs too.’

Isabella Poretsis (she/her)

As president, Isabella Poretsis wants to improve the student experience by uniting the community. She would do this through expanding student financial support and career opportunities, ensuring that students are able to focus more on their studies and less about their financial situation, as well as gaining the skills to support themselves after university. She also believes that mental health and support for personal issues is vital to academic success, and promises to be advocate this throughout your student experience, as well as improve the creative art opportunities at Kent for both personal wellbeing and to shine a light on the wide talents at Kent. Isabella believes that her broad range of experiences, both in her educational and her personal life, makes her uniquely qualified to be Student President. She has worked since 15 to support her own education and her family, and understands the impact that a lack of a stable financial situation can have on academic achievement and mental wellbeing. She was the station manager at CSRfm for two years, a social media manager for a Hotel, has worked as an editorial assistant for a travel magazine, has raised money for the homeless through a society she founded as an undergrad, and much more. She feels with her experience that she could successfully dedicate herself to improving career opportunities for all students and alumni.

Motheo Segale Kgosi Kgengwenyane (he/him)

Motheo is an international student and entrepreneur who says that his experiences will allow him to bring valuable skills and values to the role of Kent Union President. As a founder and CEO of multiple companies in LA and London, he says that this has taught him how to lead, delegate, and motivate a team. He believes these skills are transferable to the role of President, where he says he will work to ensure that every student's voice is heard, and their needs addressed. As someone who has lived in four countries, he says he understands the importance of cultural sensitivity and the ability to work with people from all backgrounds, which he says is especially important for working in a student union. He says he will work to create more opportunities for students to get involved in the union, and help shape its future. He hopes to use the student union to play a critical role in building a sense of community on campus, where he will work to create opportunities for students to come together, socialise, and form lasting friendships. He is keen on building a strong, diverse and inclusive community where every student has a voice and is valued.

Sage Clark (she/they)

Sage Clark is currently a first year student, and plans to make the union more accessible and eliminate any disconnect between Kent Union and students by making information clearer. She wants announcements from the union to be organised, clear, direct, and unintrusive, as well as for the union to be a champion for diversity, collaboration, innovation, and progress. Sage believes that ensuring the union is well supported will allow the union to tailor itself to the needs of the student body, and they believe that as a first-year undergraduate, they have a fresh perspective that could move the union in a positive direction. She wants to engage with students, listen to their concerns, and use this information to collaborate with faculty and administrators to design programs and initiatives that do the greatest amount of good for the student body. They wish for the union to be a place of belonging, where students feel included and are able to make their voices heard. She wants to make the union the body through which Kent becomes a community, and believes she has the commitment, dedication, and prior experience to make Kent an equitable environment.

Zaid Mahmood (he/him)

Zaid Mahmood graduated from the University of Kent with a BA in Business Management with a Year in Data Analytics. Having occupied the position of Student’s Union President for the 2022-23 academic year, he is currently seeking re-election on the platform of ‘Your Voice, Your Choice’. Zaid has brought about meaningful changes to the university during his time as president, such as lobbying for the £3 Rutherford Meal Deals, free daily brunch from Mondays to Wednesdays at Canvas, extra funding for the Campus Pantry, transparency between the union and students, as well as the university and hopes to do much more. Zaid says he ‘is dedicated and passionate about leaving Kent in a better place than when [he] found it’; he believes that with the wealth of experience under his belt and a passion to make change, he can ensure that every single student has the best possible experience at Kent. He plans on using his current stakeholder relationships and knowledge to ensure that real change is made at Kent, and he has a lot more he wants to achieve for the UKC community in a second year in the role. Zaid believes that he is a dependable and approachable person that students can come and speak to anytime about their worries or concerns which makes him the perfect person for this position.he has working with both Kent Union and the University.

vp welfare and community

Bill Page (he/him)

Bill is running for the position of Welfare and Community Officer at Kent. He understands the importance of students feeling safe and comfortable on campus and wants to ensure that all students have a positive experience while studying. As a mature student who spent his first year at university in lockdown, he knows first-hand the challenges students can face. He is passionate about making the university more accessible and welcoming to all students, regardless of their background. Bill's experience as the Vice President of Plant-Based Universities has demonstrated his commitment to amplifying the student voice and campaigning for issues that matter to students. He ran a successful campaign related to the cost-of-living crisis and environmental sustainability, which received the largest form of student participation in the ChangeIt history. This experience has equipped Bill with the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the needs of the student community. His campaign is about empowering students to run their own campaigns and addressing issues such as food affordability across campus, lighting on footpaths, and accessibility in sports and classrooms. He is also committed to creating a more inclusive and understanding learning environment for all students.

Shivali

Raichura (they/them/theirs)

Shivali Raichura is currently undertaking their final year in BSc Economics, pursuing a postgraduate in Philanthropic Studies. This is their first time running for Welfare Candidate, and is hoping to use this to their advantage. With their slogan, ‘New Candidate, New Perspective’, they hope to make a lasting impact on the union. They plan is to use their life experiences and input from the students at Kent to create change, as well as a desire to bring a new perspective to the KU. They are confident that they would be able to create a community at the university where everyone feels safe and supported. Their dedication to charitable work and involvement with the community drove them to found ‘Kent Mind’– A programme campaigning for mandatory mental health training as well as creating a ‘safe place’ initiative. By being their authentic self, they hope to show their trust and suitability to the students at Kent. They will advocate for better mental health support, provision implemented for vulnerable students, increasing support for LGBTQIA+ students; aiming to make sure everyone feels able to partake in sports and activities, and recognition of hardships caused by unique situations. They pledge transparency, accountability for their actions and openness to receive feedback from students.

Thomas Freeston (he/him)

Tom is your current Vice-President Welfare & Community at Kent Union and is standing for re-election to continue to Lead Kent and represent your voice. Over the past year Tom has worked with groups such as the Women’s, Accessibility and LGBTQ+ Network teams to build communities and campaign on a range of issues such as night-time safety, trans inclusion, and housing. As the current Vice-President Welfare & Community, Tom has led the Cost-of -Living survey and worked to ensure cost of living support at Kent (including hardship funds and subsidised food options) is easily accessible in one centralised webpage. Tom also lobbied for eating disorder support from Student Support and Wellbeing implemented into the Nursing Service, in addition to leading celebrations on Black, Disability, and the LGBTQ+ History Months. Tom has been at Kent since 2017, having studied BSc Psychology, and then MSc Management at the Medway campus. Throughout this time, he was President of Psychology Society, Wellbeing Officer for Respect The No, and a Team Member for the LGBTQ+ Network. Tom believes that his experience, knowledge, and skills put him in a position to be able to effectively create change and deliver more for students.

vp student engagement vp academic experience

Toni Abiodun (she/her)

Toni is a dedicated and passionate individual with a wealth of experience in various fields. As a postgraduate Criminology student, she has a strong background in Criminal Justice and Criminology, which she gained from her undergraduate degree with a Year in Professional Practice on the Medway campus. Toni has been actively involved with the Student Ambassador team for two years, serving in different roles in Medway and Canterbury. She has also demonstrated her leadership skills as the Vice Captain of the 1s UKC netball team and Vice President and BAME Advisor for the BAME Law society. As a pragmatic and confident individual, Toni is not afraid to speak up for what is right. She plans to use her skills and experiences as Vice President of Student Engagement to fight for the rights of all Kent students. Toni is passionate about student-led opportunities, inclusivity and diversity, and coordination, visibility, and transparency between Kent Union and the students. Toni's initiative aims to represent each student, allowing for equal opportunities for everyone, not only in Canterbury, but also in Medway. She is committed to promoting mental health support and student wellbeing, developing strong relationships between individuals on campus to increase employability prospects and networking, and finding practical solutions to the cost-of-living crisis.

Mima Osmani is a third-year international law student standing for Vice-President Academic Experience. Mima says ‘Employability, Equality and Equity, that's what I pledge to achieve!’

As a student at UKC, she has been the President of the Empowering Womxn in Law society, during which time she states she has worked to promote inclusion and diversity within the legal profession, through the creation of events and projects to empower and support underrepresented groups. Mima has also been a University Council student representative. This role, she states, has allowed her to ensure that student voices were heard at the highest level of university decision-making. Mima pledges to increase the employability of students by guaranteeing a high-quality education and a certain level of work experience. She also promises to champion wellbeing and mental health by starting initiatives and events which promote them. Mima will also be seeking to increase communication and collaboration between staff, faculty, and students, as she states that this will mean that everyone will have a voice in the decision-making process. Finally, Mima says she is committed to providing an equitable and inclusive academic experience for all students and will provide a weekly office hour for students to directly share their concerns with her.

As someone that is in their fifth year at the University of Kent, Matthew is someone who has seen the university in its various evolutions, and therefore claims to know the potential for what it can be. He has used his free time to work as a researcher at the Black Students Voice group, something which has given him an insight into how Kent Union and the university address issues affecting black students. This experience has given him a passion for decolonising the curriculum– something he would continue to advocate for if elected. He has also worked as part of the team helping to write policy for the university for the coming years and would use the VP Academic Experience role to cement the positive changes coming to the university. Matthew also believes in transparency and communication between organisations and communities at the universities, with a goal of streamlining the best parts of the university. He also seeks to promote the existing support opportunities at Kent. Where financial, career or course-based problems arise, they want to help students overcome any obstacles that come ahead of them. As someone that has used these systems themselves, they want to help empower other students who are going through such struggles.

A final year Biochemistry undergraduate student, Luis has promised to ensure that the student voice will continue to be heard, ensuring his will to fight for students in any ‘showdown’ that the role presents. After running last year, but not managing to win, he is keen to do better the second time around. He aims to increase the visibility and number of events for various Networks and Student Reps, gaining his passion for this from Chairing the Academic Network. Attending sub-committees and groups as part of this role; as well as working closely with the current VP for Academic Experience; are two experiences that Luis cites as helping him to have a better understanding of the VP position he is running for. He says that seeing the importance of the role first hand has led to him having a greater appreciation for the politics of Kent Union. He also wishes to represent all students, no matter the background or educational pursuit. He would make this possible by doing surveys and hosting sessions where people could voice their problems and opinions.

Samantha Arya Ada Bilkus (she/her)

A computer science undergraduate and student representative, Samantha is passionate about LGBTQ+ issues. Alongside playing a role in supporting the LGBTQ+ Network, she is also the President of Kent RAG, playing a major role in raising funds for various important causes. If chosen for the role, she has announced that she would work closely with the LGBTQ+ Network to help support them. Not shy of activism, Samantha also played a crucial role in the sit-in protests in Grimond last year. She paints herself as a hardworking, enthusiastic and caring person who has skills in listening and supporting people in need, while also drawing on her time as a student representative to stand up for people when the time comes. Her unique perspective of having autism is something she also leans on as something that sets her apart from other candidates. She promises to bring all these attributes to the VP position, if elected. As a trans girl herself, she hopes that this will allow her to bring a fresh perspective to Kent Union, and bring her enthusiasm, humour, hardworking attitude and love for the university.

Shania Jeevan (she/her)

Shania Jeevan is a second-year Biomedical Science student and is an international student from Dubai, standing for Vice-President Academic Experience. Shania is running on the campaign slogan ‘we have the power to make change’. Shania says she is passionate about ensuring that all students are represented by ensuring inclusivity for all and championing equality. She also prides herself on having several attributes such as setting high goals; holding herself accountable; being proactive, approachable, and resilient and being fair and balanced when faced with issues. Since joining UKC in 2021, Shania has been a student representative for her division, Vice President of UKC BioSoc and been a buddy scheme mentor. She lists one of her skills as being able to negotiate and represent student’s views on academics. She has three main aims. The first is affordability and value for money, which means that students deserve the highest quality of teaching as well as campaigning on making printing free. She also pledges to focus on policies and projects which benefit student wellbeing and help to motivate students. Her last main aim is to introduce two end-of-term exams, rather than just having them in the summer, as well as working to implement diverse assessments to create better timetables. She is also standing on a platform of individual academic and placement and employability support.

vp postgraduate experience

Ben Bradley (he/him)

Ben Bradley, who has been at Kent University since 2017, is running as the incumbent VP Postgraduate Experience. Ben completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Kent and felt that postgraduates were often overlooked when decisions were made by the university or the student union. This led him to take action to address these concerns. During his first year as VP Postgraduate Experience, Ben aided in achieving a 10% increase in the UKRI stipend for all UKRI-funded PhD students. He also organized the 2023 postgraduate summer project, which is a university-wide initiative that covers social, progression, employability, and wellbeing. In addition, Ben successfully lobbied for a permanent Postgraduate Student Experience agenda item in the Student Experience Committee. He also organized non-academic events for postgraduates, alongside the postgraduate network and Give-it-a-go. If re-elected, Ben would continue working on long-term projects, such as increasing the amount of time postgraduate researchers' email accounts remain active after graduation. He would also work with student support and wellbeing to investigate how postgraduate ILPS (Individual Learning Plans) are considered and implemented. Ben is also keen to hear from postgraduates about what matters most to them and ensure that their voices are heard.

Voting opens on Wednesday 8 March at 9am, and closes on Thursday 9 March at 9pm.

Profiles written by Rashida Hassan, Sam Webb, Nathan Collins-Cope, Ainy Shiyam, Tom Cooper, James Bonthron, Lumière O'Keefe, Kieran Webb, and Sophie Ware

Luis Howell (he/him)

Matthew Benjamin Bangura (he/him/they)

Mima Osmani (she/her)

The UK media must take accountability for their part in the murder of Brianna Ghey

By Hestia Linford-Allen Opinion Editor

Triggerwarning:discussionoftransphobiaandtransphobichatecrime

As LGBTQ+ History Month ends, I sit with a mixed heart. I work doing some social media stuff for university and I’ve been promoting some pretty cute events like zine making and the Joyland screening at the Gulbenkian (it’s so good- watch it!). It’s been consoling to see moments when our community can come together after the tragic murder of Brianna Ghey, a 16 year old transgender teenager earlier this month.

On the 11th February, Brianna was found stabbed in a public park in Warrington by members of the public, later being pronounced dead at the scene. Her alleged attackers, two 15-year-olds, one boy, one girl, were arrested the next day. It was a shocking moment that sent waves rippling through the community.

Brianna was described by her parents as ‘strong, fearless and one of a kind; a larger-than-life character who would leave a lasting impression on all that met her.’ She helped other trans women safely and legally access hormones online and maintained a TikTok following, to whom she shared her experiences growing up and transitioning. She was a young girl that should have had the chance to grow up without the fear of being attacked for who she was. Unsurprisingly, in the days following her death, reports emerged about years of transphobic bullying and harassment at school.

This country is letting down queer youth everyday. Brianna was one of a kind, but one of so many young trans people facing a rising tide of transphobia, undoubtedly fuelled by UK media. As a journalism student, I wake up everyday to study articles from mainstream, even left-wing media that peddle transphobic stereotypes and spew narratives that portray transgender people as either physically dangerous (especially common in the case

Statements from the Canterbury vigil for Brianna Ghey

Across the country vigils took place this month following the murder of Brianna Ghey. Compiled are a few quotes from LGBTQ+ speakers from the Canterbury candlelit vigil which occured on Friday 17th February and was organised by Canterbury Against Transphobia, @canterburywiththet on Instagram.

"Being trans is not a choice, it is something that we live with and we struggle with society's rejection and we do it anyway."

"In a fair world, the words 'this is who I am' should just be normal, unexceptional words, an obvious statement. In our unfair society 'this is who I am' are words that often require bravery. Our existence should never have been made to be an act of defiance and yet here we are."

"I have watched the same people who have politicised the very existence of people like me, like many of you here tonight, and like Brianna, attempt to flip this on us by saying we are 'using the death of a child to further our agenda'. I've watched them say this as though they had not used our entire lives to further their agendas."

"I was losing hope. But as I walked in here tonight and saw the sheer number of people here, some of that hope came back. We are not alone. None of us are. Brianna should not have been. None of us, including her, should have to worry about making it to the next day because of who we are."

"We do not stand here simply united in grief, we stand here tonight in defiance,

of trans women), or proponents of a new ‘trans ideology’ that does scary things like ‘capture institutions’ and brainwash people. (See the recent Telegraph article and ensuing GBNews coverage of UKC pronoun guidance)

After her death, UK media showed the same abysmal coverage to Brianna Ghey. The Times edited their original article to deadname Brianna and then, in another edit a few hours later, to remove all reference to her as a ‘girl’ once it became clear that Ghey was trans. After social media erupted, these changes were eventually reversed. But clear in these revisions is the editorial stance that trans lives, even in death, in senseless murder, are up for debate.

Trans people are facing increasing hate in their real lives too, with anti-trans hate crimes up by 56% last year- the largest percentage rise compared with other identity-motivated crimes. The Home Office has put forward that trans issues have been ‘heavily discussed on social media’ and this may have led to the increase. However, transphobic narratives have been allowed to grow unchecked in newsrooms across the UK, and are fanning the flames of a culture war that causes real life harm to our community. Millions of people are subjected to dangerously inaccurate media coverage that not only skews our understanding of our fellow humans and leads to a rise in reports anti-trans violence, but also discourages queer youth from seeking gender-affirming care, and creates an atmosphere in which our identities are topic for debate, which further actively harms our mental health.

and respect’. In the ten years since, media cover age hasn’t changed much. If anything, we are less likely to see trans voices in journal ism, with many actively quitting their roles in major publications due to institutional

‘It is clear that there is a marked tendency in a section of the press to fail to treat members of the transgender and inter sex communities with sufficient dignity and respect.’

-The Leveson Report, 2012

The media, and people in places of power are in part, responsible for the murder of Brianna Ghey. They have purposefully constructed and fuelled a hostile culture war in which transgender people, a relatively tiny and already socially marginalised proportion of our population, are victims to well-funded and politically-connected journalists and their ensuing biased coverage. The warped way in which the public absorbs trans issues then affects the ways in which our politicians talk and legislate on issues relating to transgender existence. Keir Starmer is left stuttering when asked ‘what is a woman?’, and suddenly we have multiple front pages questioning the validity of a trans person’s identity, in some perceived need to address a topic so clearly not in the public interest.

In documents from the 2012 Leveson Inquiry, (after the News of the World phone hacking scandal), evidence submitted by Trans Media Watchan advocacy group that monitors the UK press, proved that ‘it is clear that there is a marked tendency in a section of the press to fail to treat members of the transgender and intersex communities with sufficient dignity

queer people can make and edit the news that people see. Good journalism is so impor tant, now more than ever, as our mainstream media becomes more monopolised by the day. Transgender people deserve better coverage in life and in death. Brianna deserved better. Her death demonstrates a failure by society on the deepest of levels.

Photo shows a tree decorated with red ribbons in rememberence of Ghey from a vigil in Woking.

Image credits Owen Blacker/Wikimedia

Third time’s the charm: KU announces NUS referendum 3.0

By Tom Cooper Head of Technology

In the infinite wisdom of Kent Union’s Board of Trustees, it has been announced that another NUS referendum will be held in conjunction with the Kent Union elections. Since 2020, two other referendums have been run on the same topic, with students continuously electing to remain.

Kent Union have announced that the Board of Trustees have proposed that a referendum be held on the status of Kent Union’s membership to NUS (UK). You may be thinking you have picked up a copy of InQuire from February 2020 or November 2022, but don’t worry, this is February 2023 and Kent Union is again trying their hardest to push this through again. The previous two referendums maintained our membership, though not being overwhelming for staying with NUS- the first with 2540 people voting in total alongside the 2020 Kent Union elections, and the second not reaching the 600-vote threshold with only 421 people showing up during the week-long voting period last term.

Kent Union’s, or the holy Board of Trustees, reasoning for leaving NUS seems clear: the main reason being the 5% contribution that the union makes to NUS, approximately £26,000 a year. The ‘No’ campaign says that the funding can be used in ‘ways to help Kent Union

achieve its mission of providing the best student experience for the students at Kent’. Now if you’re getting flashbacks to a large red bus with similar promises about the NHS, you’re not the only one, I can see the irony in this as well. The stay argument is based on collective bargaining of all students having a joint message to align themselves with the work of the NUS: most recently £15 million in funding to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, but also pushing for rent refunds, which happened at Kent during the Covid period. NUS has overseen new legal protections for student renters; funding for mental health in England and notably, getting 75 universities, including Kent, to end the usage of Non-Disclosure agreements for victims of sexual assaults.

I struggle to understand why Kent Union and the Board of Trustees would push for a third referendum, or even the second referendum, after the overwhelming support to remain demonstrated for staying with the NUS. I myself support staying with NUS, as unless Kent Union can provide a better explanation for leaving other than their wishy washy statement about what they could use the money for, I am doubtful that they will get the leave vote they are hoping for. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t turn up. We should all turn out to vote, to have our voices heard and end this nonsense for the third and hopefully final time.

Photos by Kent Union and the NUS

Local protest and advocacy group Canterbury Against Transphobia organised a candlelit vigil for Ghey earlier this month

Photo by @canterburywiththet/Instagram

Photo by echiner1/Wikimedia

Andrew Tate and the rise of women-hating men online

By Isobel Logie Women's Issues Correspondent

Most people by now will be aware of the internet celebrity/former kickboxer Andrew Tate, who has recently been arrested in Romania, along with his brother, on trafficking accusations as well as counts of rape. After his rise to fame with kickboxing and his brief appearance on the Channel 5 show Big Brother, he has created (and capitalised upon) a whole new wave of misogyny through his various TikTok, YouTube videos and podcasts where he shares his ‘lifestyle advice’.

Over his prime years of fame, he has constructed an image of himself as a rich, fast-car playboy who knows how to live in luxury and can teach you how. A self-proclaimed misogynist, he has been extremely successful in his radicalisation and has managed to brainwash millions of younger men and boys to essentially join his cult. Within his videos, he preaches that women should stay home and be submissive to their dominant

male partners. He also preaches that women are a man's property and don’t know how to do anything for themselves. Saying things like this straight away is extremely dangerous on platforms like TikTok and YouTube due to a largely younger audience who are more easily influenced. Many schools and even universities have a rise of male students repeating his hate speech and making harmful jokes to female students about how they’re ‘inferior’ and should ‘stay in the kitchen’. In a Guardian article, a teacher said she sees ‘misogyny every day in my school, with everything from boys ignoring instructions in corridors from female staff to serious sexual assaults,’ while another said that ‘there seems to be an increased need for boys to control girls’. Misogyny has de-evolved 10 years back to the ‘women belong in the kitchen’ jokes and male superiority, and was kickstarted by a man who markets himself for his ‘divine potential’.

The ‘celebrity’ of Andrew Tate and his misogynistic content doesn't just stem from the newer ‘alpha male’ genre- it has been a long-standing issue from the incel com-

gerous. The term incel stands for ‘involuntarily celibate’ and is a community (primarily men) that consider themselves unable to attract women and believe that it is women’s and society’s fault that they can't. Incels often have forums on Reddit where they talk about how it is unfair for them not to be able to sleep with the women they are entitled to, and many discuss the ways they think women should be physically punished for not sleeping with them. There are many Reddit forums that discuss in extreme detail the violent acts they would want to perform on women and even share abusive videos to each other and laugh about it together.

The number of similarities between the ‘alpha male’ ideology and incels is surprisingly high and there are lots of overlaps in opinions between the two groups. Tate is just one in a long line of ‘pick up artists,’ or 'men going their own way,' known as PUA or MGTOW in online communities. The new wave of misogyny fuelled by internet personalities like Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson and even from UK politicians has really shown how little progress we’re making as a society to eradicate misogyny and how easily men can be swayed by a ran-

the sense that they would never act on any of their disturbing thoughts there have been counts of incels causing genuine harm to others such as several counts of American mass shooters and sexual assaults.

A book that you can read about this if you want to learn more is Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates, which really shows how dangerous the incel community can be through several undercover investigations

The apple can't fall far from a rotten tree

By Megan Gelson Opinion Writer

I’m not going to sit here and act like I’m surprised by the recent uproar

ever-present racial, violent, and discriminatory attitude that their criminal justice system has and shrug our shoulders, denying that we have that big of a problem. But we do- in more ways than

Take the recent case of missing mother Nicola Bulley: the investigation was botched and the lack of confidence in Lancashire Constabulary was front and centre.

for.

Earlier this month, one of the worst sex offenders in modern British history, David Carrick, was sentenced to life in prison after admitting to 85 serious offences and causing irretrievable destruction to at least 12 women. Carrick was said to have behaved like he was ‘untouchable’, according to Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, the High Court judge ruling over the disgraced police officer’s demise.

Carrick was said to have behaved like he was 'untouchable.'

Southwark Crown Court heard that he would use both power and control to stop victims reporting him, yet another set of perks that the job of a police officer provides.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: ‘These convictions represent a spectacular downfall for a man charged with upholding the law and empowered to do so, even to the extent of being authorised to bear a firearm in the execution of duty.

You were bold and, at times, relentless, trusting that no victim would overcome her shame and fear to report you.’ David Carrick’s behaviour, worryingly, represents another issue within the police system, the fact that police officers aren’t being vetted sufficiently before and during employment. Why? Well, it takes time and resources- of which the Metropolitan police lack. When investigating police officers, the force must look at investigations, penalty notices, allegations and most definitely if there is any scrap of doubt that the police officer is using the law for their own personal gain.

The UK police force, next to the NHS, is the only service in the UK that maintains and keeps our country stable and in good health. If we can’t keep our best lines of defence in check, what hope can we have for the future?

Photos by SallyV; Met Police/ Wikimedia

Images courtesy of Anything Goes With James English 292Jacob, Peter Wright, Carlos Valenzuela. Montanasuffragettes/ Wikimedia Commons

Jacinda Ardern leaves a mixed legacy

By Henry Ryu Deputy Opinion Editor

On 25 January 2023, Jacinda Ardern officially resigned as the Prime Minister of New Zealand, and in doing so left behind a mixed legacy, alongside some chronic issues that New Zealand still struggles with. Once highly popular with grand promises to solve the problems of New Zealanders, her government instead

cially famous among progressive, liberal, and leftist individuals worldwide. It was hard not to be captivated by her public image; she openly identifies with progressive values and became a feminist icon as she never failed to confront misogynistic or prejudiced speech against her. Her government did have its successes. Ardern handled the Christchurch mosque shootings well as she unified the country to reject extremism. The success of tightening gun laws in response is debated, but it was an appropriate response to New Zealand’s worstever mass shooting. The government also affirmed its support for New Zealand to become carbon-neutral. Progressive policies were passed during her tenure, as abortion was decriminalised, and conversion therapy was banned. The initial response to Covid-19 was also successful as New Zealand saw low case rates and for a long time didn’t need to impose harsh restrictions such as social distancing and mask mandates.

Conversely, her idealism often contradicted her governance and her popularity slipped because of her failure to fulfil her promises. Ardern’s government was characterised by some as being more third-way and neoliberal, contrasting the claims of her being a social democrat; meaning the economic stance of the government became less renowned. The measures to control the spread of Covid-19 also backfired as the strict border controls led to sluggish reopening. Vaccine passes also proved controversial and protests erupted.

Crucially, her promises to end the housing crisis and child poverty didn’t materialise. Her tenure as Prime Minister didn’t see much improvement in tackling the housing crisis, and the economic forecast, in general, doesn’t seem good as New Zealand faces ris ing unemployment and a recession. Policies to end homelessness have inadvertently led to rising crime and poverty hasn’t been slashed. David Seymour of the right-libertarian ACT Party said her ‘idealism collided hard with reality’.

Seemingly more renowned abroad than at home, her iconography and rhetoric wasn’t always translated into success. This doesn’t mean she was a complete failure; her premiership was stable, and her image was still inspiring. But

as much as she is an inspiration, she remains a lesson to aspiring politicians and politicians themselves that idealism tends not to survive a confrontation with reality. Ardern was especially unique as she was among the politicians who had a high level of personal support, as people flocked to her as an icon. The media and celebrities alike fawned over her, while reactionaries likewise spread unreasonable hatred, making her a quintessentially 21st-century leader.

Hence, Ardern leaves behind a mixed legacy. Especially towards the end of her term, she was no longer the paragon of governance and progress, but rather a normal politician that had many failures. She still rightfully earned the respect of world leaders and supporters as she proved herself capable of being Prime Minister at least for the six years she governed. Even opposition politicians in New Zealand have expressed personal respect for Jacinda Ardern, and even if her premiership was as much a failure as a success, she can still be acknowledged for her abilities

Kent Union Parliament votes not to support strikes amidst continued disputes

By Alice Stone Opinion Writer

Strikes have become a constant in our headlines and with good reason- they are happening all the time. The 1st of February marked the biggest strike day in a decade, with teachers, lecturers, train services and civil servants taking up their pickets in disputes over fair pay and pensions.

Universities in particular are taking striking seriously, with the University and College Union (UCU) coordinating strike action of 70,000 staff in total at 150 universities across the UK, with up to 2.5 million students expected to be affected in the further 17 days planned if demands are not met.

Members rejected the offer of a 5% pay rise in record numbers, pension disputes with the USS’s (University Superannuation Scheme) proposals still in full swing as the union predicts that a continuation of cuts and no benefits will see the average member lose 35% of their guaranteed future retirement.

Jo Grady, the UCU’s general secretary, called for university bosses to use their £40bn reserve and ‘get serious and make a proper offeror get out of the way’.

With such a passionate stance from the UCU, it is surprising that Kent Union at the University of Kent voted to not support the strikes after consultations with students via strike forums and social media were overall not in favour of these strikes. Or is it?

The recent pandemic has robbed many students and new graduates of an

authentic university experience and, with a cost-of-living crisis and continuing strike action on top of that, it is reasonable to see why some students no longer want to support them.

Losing out on lectures and having assessments marked on time can have a detrimental effect on not only your university experience, but also potentially on your grades, leaving students worse off. Students across the country have felt left behind in the ongoing series of disputes over pay and working conditions, and also that the universities have not done enough to make up for the losses.

Richard Reece, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Education and Student Experience stated in a Kent Union strike forum that: ‘Broadly speaking the university doesn’t think strikes are the right way to go around this,’ going on to say, ‘we would like to see more discussion between the various parties to try and hammer out appropriate agreements that are appropriate for both sides but also affordable across the sector’.

The university, despite its lack of support for the strikes, has brought out measures to adapt to the cost-of-living crisis and mitigate any impact made on students on strike days. Commitments have been made to reinvest saved salaries from members of staff that are striking into student experience, and the university says academic zero-hour contracts have been eradicated across the university, and the number of casual contracts have been greatly reduced. A £3 meal deal for staff and students in the Rutherford building has also been brought out following lobbying efforts by Kent Union.

However, some students and staff still feel not enough is being done to encourage real progress, with a huge number of students still supporting the UCU’s decision to carry out strike action.

The goodwill scheme brought out last year, whilst appreciated, hardly made up academically (and financially) for the teaching time lost, with some students receiving as little as £50 for up to 10 missed lectures. It seems that, amongst increased financial pressure, this could be a returning solution.

The Kent Marxist Society, a group hugely in favour of strike action

continuing unless demands are met, said of the strikes and Kent Union’s vote against them:

‘The decision by the Kent Student Union to vote against strike action is disappointing. We would have hoped that the SU would have acted in the interests of students, by organising a campaign of protest and pressure on university management to meet lecturers demands, to end this dispute quickly. Division between staff and students will only harm both groups.’

Students are fed up, and they have a right to be. But so do our lecturers and staff. Whether you think the strikes are justified or not, it has never been clearer that something has got to give. And it appears that university bosses don’t want it to be them.

The sector of higher education and universities is in dire need of reformation. Strikes are not going anywhere if disputes over pay are not resolved without discussions of solutions that work for lecturers as well as the sector, and it will be students that pay the highest price.

Since this article was written, UCU have signified ‘real progress’ with University management, which led to strike action being paused for two weeks, although General Secretary Jo Grady was clear that the ‘campaign continues’. Updated strike days can be found on the Kent Union Instagram or website.

More information, advice and support around the strikes is available on the Kent Union website.

Images courtesy of NZ Justice Dept./ Wikimedia

Images courtesy of Kent Union; UCU

#STAYON #STANDOUT.

Take your ambition further with postgrad study at Kent. Choose a Master’s to deliver the future you want.

• Exclusive scholarships for Kent grads, up to £5,000.

• Career-focused courses with placement options.

• Study a different subject to your undergrad degree.

• Stay in the UK or study at Brussels or Paris.

• Continue to be part of your societies and sports teams.

Find out more

kent.ac.uk/ stayon-standout

Deepfakes: A dark future ahead?

By Lumière O’Keefe Science and

Videos of celebrities doing strange things have sprung up across the internet in the past few years. From Robert Pattinson doing flips on his bed to Elon Musk promoting a proven bitcoin scam, there’s something uncanny about these videos that people can’t put their finger on. These videos are known as Deepfakes, and the implications behind this technology are causing fear and fascination across the world.

There is no single inventor of deepfakes, but in 2014 Ian Goodfellow, used a technology known as Generative Adversarial Networks. Without this technology, it has been argued that deepfakes today would not have been possible. This system uses two competing Artificial Intelligences, one as a ‘forger’ and one as a ‘checker’. The forger will attempt to place a face onto an image, and the checker will see if it believes the image is altered. If the checker believes the image is fake, it will send it back to the forger to try again. This process can be repeated thousands of times until the checker is finally fooled. Every frame of a video can undergo this process, and the end result will be a full video of someone doing something that in reality they have never done.

The first few uses of deepfake technology was mainly for entertainment purposes, such as placing actor Nicolas Cage in movie scenes he never appeared in, or remaking the entirety of The Shining with Jim Carrey replacing Jack Nicholson. Deepfake technology was even employed at the Dalí Museum in Florida to replace an actor with none other than Salvador Dalí himself. Dalí is famous for stating that he did not believe he would ever die, and the deepfaked Dalí seems to prove him right. However, as the technology grew in popularity and power, the darker implications were soon discov-

ered.

During the 2020 elections, there were genuine fears that deepfakes could interfere with the American presidential elections after comedian Jordan Peele was able to create a deepfake of former president Barack Obama calling former president Donald Trump

German benefits system and called for them to be deported back to Ukraine for military service. After contacting the Ukrainian embassy in Germany, Giffey was informed that Klitschko was not the person she was on call with. Giffey was a victim of a political deepfake, where a fake Klitschko was attempting to influence her opinion on Ukrainian refugees, counter to the real Klitschko’s opinion.

Alongside the terrifying political implications, pornographic deepfakes have caused a great deal of personal distress. Multiple websites online have appeared over the past few years dedicated to taking the image of famous people and deepfaking them onto pornographic scenes. Some websites even allow users to submit their own

scandal in the US where a popular streamer was found to have viewed deepfaked pornography of his fellow female steamers, one victim, known online as QTCinderella, called for people to ‘Stop spreading it. Stop advertising it,’ and said ‘being seen ‘naked’ against your will should not be a part of this job’. QTCinderella also vowed to sue the website hosting the pornography, with victory potentially leading to the criminalisation of deepfaked porn across the United States.

areas of society. From politics to porn, deepfakes blur the line between reality and fiction, and have gone from a harmless way to have fun to a criminal threat. It remains to be seen how the law and people’s actions adapt to the rapidly improving technology, and how many controversies it will cause before it is finally stemmed.

a ‘dipshit’. Paul Barrett, adjunct professor of law at New York University, stated ‘a skilfully made deepfake could persuade voters that a particular candidate said or did something [they] didn’t say or do’.

More recently in 2022, the mayors of Berlin, Madrid, and Vienna took part in scheduled conference calls with Kyiv mayor and former professional boxer Vitali Klitschko. 15 minutes into the call with Berlin mayor Franziska Giffey, she grew suspicious of Klitschko after he began to complain of Ukrainian refugees cheating the

images, often of friends, co-workers, classmates, crushes and exes, to deepfake onto a porn scene of their choosing. This has caused a huge amount of controversy over issues as far ranging as the violation of consent of the people being deepfaked, the use of the original pornographic actors’ work for other purposes, and fears that convincing enough deepfakes could be used as ‘revenge porn’ to make people believe someone is performing explicit acts that they never did.

Porn deepfakes have caused so much distress that many countries have amended and passed laws banning them. The UK itself plans on being the first country to criminalise the sharing of non-consensual deepfaked pornography, with fines and jail time being possible sentences. After a recent

The controversies surrounding deepfakes go beyond simply replacing faces. At the 28th USENIX Security Symposium in 2019, scientist Yiseroel Mirsky revealed that his team had managed to deepfake CT scans to make them appear as if they had lung cancer, when in reality they did not. Mirsky’s deepfake technology fooled radiologists at a rate of 99.2%, and warned that if hospital records were attacked and secretly changed it could cause massive damage.

Cybersecurity journalist Kim Zetter stated in a news report that during the 2016 presidential elec tion, Hillary Clinton was accused of not being well enough to perform presidential duties due to frequent coughing in public appearances. To quell the rumour, doctors released CT scans of her lungs to show she just had pneumonia. Zet ter questions how differently things may have been if Clin ton’s CT scans had been deepfaked to show her as having cancer.

Deepfakes pose a signif icant threat to multiple

Tech Correspondent

Image of Elon Musk (left), alongside a screenshot of an Elon Musk Deepfake (right) from the popular video-sharing app TikTok. Images courtesy of Flickr and Tiktok respectively.

Image of Nicolas Cage placed on Keanu Reeves’ character 'Neo' from the film 'The Matrix'. Deepfake courtesy of Youtube user ,Stryder HD

“[the Berlin Mayor] Giffey was a victim of a political deepfake, where a fake Klitschko was attempting to influence her opinion on Ukrainian refugees, counter to the real Klitschko’s opinion.”

Barack Obama, image courtesy of Joe Raedle / Getty

Ian Goodfellow, part of a team who developed the initial Deepfake technology, image courtesy of Justin Saglio/ MIT Technology Review

“Scientist Yiseroel Mirsky revealed that his team had managed to deepfake CT scans to make them appear as if they had lung cancer, when [...] they did not. Mirsky’s deepfake technology fooled radiologists at a rate of 99.2%.

Infrared lasers can redirect lightning strikes

By Elma Maka Science and Tech Editor

For the first time, scientists have successfully redirected lightning strikes using lasers as virtual lightning rods. This brand new technology, once further developed, is hoped to be able to reduce the incidence of lightning damage in urban areas and improve public safety by directing the strikes towards a point further from urban areas.

While it has been common practice in labs for several years to use lasers for managing electricity, it has never been adapted for real-world use until now. In the past, lightning rods have been used to redirect some lightning strikes due to their properties as metals (particularly their added conductivity), but they are limited by their height and can only protect a largely insubstantial area. It does not have the capability to protect miles of land, such as larger industrial regions of solar panels or factories. Because of their limited protective range, scientists wondered if there was a method to provide a greater area of protection without building an unfeasibly tall lightning pole.

In this experiment, a team of researchers from the Institut Polytechnique de Paris, led by physicist Aurélien Houard, installed the infrared laser alongside a telecom tower that already had a lightning rod set alongside it in the Swiss mountains, as remote an area as possible in the vicinity. Houard and his team theorised that a powerful laser could reach further heights in the air to intercept a larger area of lightning and usher it down to the shorter lightning rod, in a function similar to a ‘lightning funnel’.

The experiment was carried out between July and September of 2021, a period of the year where the warm weather and water-ridden clouds over the mountains meet and provide plenty of thunderstorms for analysis.

The laser was directed into the sky for six hours at

a time and blasted infrared light at 1000 blasts per second towards the clouds during thunderstorms. This rapid firing of infrared waves is able to knock off electrons from molecules in the air and use that to create a pathway of least resistance towards a certain area. By adjusting the direction of the laser blasts minutely, the lightning could be directed towards the top of the metal lightning rod that already existed nearby, also protecting the laser apparatus from receiving the lightning strike and being damaged.

Houard speculates on the future of the technology with a higher frequency laser. ‘This is a first step towards a kilometric-range lightning rod,’ he says. However, others in the field see it as having a much greater potential.

Howard Milchberg, a physicist at the University of Maryland (and uninvolved in the team’s research), compliments the effort, saying ‘it’s a real achievement, people have been trying to do this for years’. He also adds, as a theory, ‘If this thing ever became really,

Rembrandt: The art of science?

By Elma Maka Science and Tech Editor

Arecent analysis of paint found in Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ painting by a team of art historians, scientists and conservators has revealed a compound never seen before in historical oil paintings, Lead (II) Formate. While this may seem inconsequential to the average appreciator of art, it could hold the key to deciphering the painting methods of the period, and the best ways to preserve pieces of artwork from this era.

Rembrandt van Rijn, a world-renowned 17th century Dutch painter, was particularly well known for his ground-breaking and novel painting methods during the Dutch Golden Age, using a variety of techniques to make his artwork distinctive and innovative. Rembrandt’s paintings were often described as ‘rich in details and saturation’ with specific mentions for his use of lighting. At the time, there was no ‘generic’ form of paint sold, and most artists created their own, meaning paintings of the time often have a variety of different properties and may need to be conserved in different ways depending on the compound contents of their paint and varnish.

A project dedicated to the preservation of Rembrandt’s artworks, known as ‘Operation Night Watch’, was the root cause behind this discovery. Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ is known informally as the prize jewel of Amster-

dam’s Rijksmuseum, and measures a vast 3.63 metres by 4.37 metres. Published in the international edition of the German journal Angewandte Chemie

(Applied Chemistry), the project group of scholars self-describes themselves as ‘focusing on Rembrandt’s painting technique’, with their main aim to con-

tinue preservation and historical discoveries in a more informed manner by performing testing on minute extracted paint samples.

The discovery of lead formate in ‘The Night Watch’ painting, painted in 1642, has given researchers and art preservationists a better understanding of how to maintain Rembrandt’s artwork, as well as an insight into the painting and varnishing techniques of the time and whether this can be applied to other pieces of art, particularly those of a similar paint composition.

Researcher

Katrien Keune, Rijksmuseum’s Head of Science, said that as far as they know, ‘lead formate itself is not harmful to the

really efficient, and the probability of guiding a discharge was increased way beyond what it is now, it could potentially even be useful for charging things up.’

It is yet to be known whether this can be used for such ambitious projects in the future, but in the meantime, it is hoped to be a step in the right direction towards protecting homes and livelihoods from the ever-growing unpredictability of nature.

painting,’ but whether treatments were applied later may impact the painting in the future is still to be known.

The researchers decided to determine the curious origin of the lead formate in the painting by using centuries-old recipes to make a recreation of the paint Rembrandt used in The Night Watch.

For example, at the time, a common method for binding paints to pigments was siccative oil, made by heating linseed oil with lead oxide PbO. While this lead dryer has been found to lead to the production of lead formate in small amounts, this material has not been found in other oil paintings of the time, which begs the question, what did Rembrandt do differently?

Another theory is that Rembrandt didn’t do anything revolutionary to his paint recipes at all and that a conservation effort in the 18th century after the painting’s production, an oil-based varnish applied to the painting, provided a special combination which favoured the production of lead formate. The future of the research will now centre on dating the lead formate fragments to determine when they formed and what interactions may have occurred between the original paint and any later varnishing restoration attempts. Whether the creation of lead formate in this painting is a deliberate technique or a peculiar accident, it appears Rembrandt’s painting techniques are still making waves in the world of art centuries later.

Image from a high speed camera showing the moment a laser bends the path of lightning during the experiment. Image courtesy of A. Houard/Nature Photonics 2023

“If this thing ever became really, really efficient, and the probability of guiding a discharge was increased[...], it could potentially even be useful for charging things...”

Rembrandt’s 'The Night Watch'

Puzzles

Across: 1) No score (tennis) (4)

3) Round fruit (5)

7) Maximum force (4,4)

8) Fasten (4)

9) Eagerly (5,3,4)

11) Chair (4)

13) Tear (3)

15) Cook (4)

16) Resinous substance (12)

19) Existence (4)

21) Perfume sprayer (8)

22) Game (5)

23) Bird's home (4)

Down: 1) Chuckle (5)

2) Bravely (9)

3) Carry out (orders) (3,2)

4) Friend (informal) (3)

5) Leave out (7)

6) Character (6)

10) Get together (9)

12) Self-centredness (7)

14) Magic draught (6)

17) Attain (5)

18) Vote in (5)

20) Consume (3)

Find the solutions on page 25

Puzzles compiled by Matthew Sapsed

By Laurice Janielle Lifestyle Editor

My Friends Set Me Up On a Blind Date and This Is How it Went

It's been a little over a year since I last went on a proper date, as I’ve been single for most of 2022 and have kept my calendar booked and busy. Honestly, this was just an excuse to have some fun without feeling guilty because I get to call it ‘work’. I sound like a workaholic in her girlboss era, but I promise I’ve always been a hopeless romantic. I love love, but lately I’ve found comfort in being single. I like to think I’ve gotten better at avoiding the romanticisation of every interaction I have with an attractive person. I had a not-sohealthy habit of fabricating idealised storylines in my head every time I experienced something remotely suggestive of a ‘meet cute’. Just think of that one scene from the movie 500 Days of Summer (which I praised so much when I was 15), where he meets Summer in the elevator and was whipped from the moment she sang along to The Smiths. Yeah, that's me- an ick, I know.

But alas, these past few months, I haven’t been centring my life around meeting potential ‘soul mates’ and simply enjoying the beauty of new human connections. When my friend, Louie and I had dinner at Mungo’s and Taylor Swift’s discog raphy was on repeat, I had a light bulb moment. I literally gasped out loud, stood up, and excitedly told him about this pitch: my friends set me up with blind dates based on what they know about me. I took out my phone and sent a voice note to Priya (our lovely Features Editor) pitching it for the February issue. She was totally down for it and gave me the green light.

Besides it technically being ‘work’ for me, it felt empowering to feel emotionally okay again to date and meet new people. I was really excited to ask my best friends from back home to set me up with someone too. Just the thought of it felt like such a cute bonding experience for me and the girls- and it was.

Originally, I drafted around 4-5 of my closest friends to help me with this and centre it around how well they know me, but unfortunately, with only two weeks to the issue’s deadline, my flat mates were the only ones that successfully got someone to agree to this on such short notice.

One night out to Lidl, I asked my flatmates, Sarah and Kara, if they wanted to set me up with someone. They were super excited and Sarah even said she had ‘the perfect guy’.

Days later, they updated me and said our contender agreed. He texted, and I quote, ‘frfr thank you’- which I thought was such a sweet response. He also said that he was going to do some ‘research’ on what we could do around the area since Gillingham’s a bit lacking. I tried guessing several times who this could be because the only thing I knew was that I had met them before and had at least one conversation. Apparently, I had met him when I was ‘drunk’ and had called him ‘cute’.

This of course was ALL a lie. A ruse. What had actually happened was this: Two weeks post-Halloween, he came over to our flat with one of our other flatmates. I saw them go into the kitchen, and I thought oooooo she has a new guy over and called the girls over, giggling. It turned out that they all already knew him from a Halloween party they went to. The girls and I hung out in the kitchen and had a few conversations with him which I don’t even fully remember. Secretly, I did think he was cute, but I never saw him again after that.

We scheduled the date for the following Wednes-

day, so I had a week to sh*t my pants. It was fun trying to guess, especially when the girls would get offended at who I thought they would set me up with. Kara would say, ‘have some faith in us, please.’

Something I learned from this is that my friends cannot lie to my face. At some point, when I did guess him right, Juliet told Sarah to stop giving me clues and they had to come up with more lies to confuse me. They told me he was white and that he studies Biomed (he’s actually Caribbean and doesn’t study that subject).

Tuesday rolled around and I was told that he was going to pick me up at 4pm. I started feeling

modation’s gate with a bouquet of flowers in hand. This was my first time on a date outside an already-established monogamous relationship, let alone a blind date so I kept my expectations low. But there he stood, with the most vibrant mix of pink and yellow roses and purple tulips. I felt so relieved when I saw that it was who I thought it would be, but I couldn’t believe my friends really did ask him and that he had said yes with no questions asked.

Kara and Diya came down with me to drop me off. My flatmate Diya is like my big sister, so she joked about what time he was planning to bring me home. He said 9pm and I find it so funny

to demonstrate what he meant. I told him I mostly just think they’re pretty. He followed up with a story about someone he used to talk to. Apparently, he had slept late, overslept, and woken up to texts from the girl telling him she had her rocks, his birth chart, and his hair (I’m still laughing right now)- and said she’d curse him.

He took me to dinner at Nando’s, which felt like such a British rite of passage. We have Nando’s back at home, but it reminds me of when I would watch British vloggers film their little lunch dates back in 2016. During dinner, he asked me how I was being ‘graded on this’. I was confused at first until I got what he meant. He thought the date was coursework. It was so cute and funny trying to explain that this was for an InQuire article. Later, I found out from Sarah that it was probably because she told him that the date was for an assignment. Well, he quite literally understood the assignment, because I was having a great time. I forgot how exciting it is to share parts of yourself, have it be appreciated, and then also discover new parts of someone else’s life that is so entirely separate from

As per his plans, dinner was followed by a movie. M3GAN was the only thing showing at the Odeon in the next hour, so we went for that. I’m not a big fan of horror movies, especially corny ones, but I had a blast watching this with him. The movie was so hilarious and so camp, we kept making each other laugh and he’d teasingly force me to watch

The whole experience felt like something most 16-year-old girls yearned for. You know, the dinner + horror movie date combo. In some way, it fulfilled something I didn’t know I wanted, and it felt healing for the younger version of me who watched other girls on TV experience that but

ment you have with your friends. When else do the girls get together to dress you up and give you the best advice ever? Like, I’m afraid no cis man can relate to that.

Whenever I had a crush growing up, it would be very obvious and my impulsive nature would make sure of that. In high school, if I liked you, I’d pursue you. I don’t mind asking first or taking the initiative and I believe that comes from my innate need to take control and the comfort it provides for me. So, when I had to sit back and wait for this to unfold, it didn’t exactly feel relaxing.

In traditional Filipino culture, panliligaw or courtship is really important. The man’s pursuit is emphasized and bringing flowers or a fruit basket has always been a staple. Of course, we don’t see this much in the modern dating scene now but to my surprise, he showed up in front of our accom-

that she wanted me to ‘experience South London boys’.

Our conversations flowed naturally and I can now see what she means. Often, I find myself usually on the side that asks a lot of questions to keep the flow of the conversation going but it felt refreshing to have someone who balanced that. We talked about what we’ve been up to since the last time we saw each other back in November, what it was like growing up in London and me with Dubai, and astrology too.

I think somewhere along, we ended up talking about religion and our spiritual beliefs, and I mentioned that I leaned more toward spirituality. If I recall correctly, I described myself as a ‘manifestations, tarot reading, astrology girl’. And what he said afterward made me laugh so much. He looked at me scared and asked, ‘so… do you believe in those little rocks,’ while using his fingers

When the movie finished, a soft wave of sadness washed over me when I realized that the night was coming to an end, as I didn’t want it to. So just as he was about to order an Uber, I suggested that we could walk back home instead. It was raining but I came prepared (definitely grateful for Diya’s advice on the black combat boots!) He held the umbrella up the whole time, and would frequently check to adjust that I wasn’t getting soaked. The glow of the streetlights on the wet pavements, the chilly weather, I was literally living a scene from a rom-com. The streets were empty, and I couldn't see anyone else, so it was just us. I don’t know if it's me and my hopeless romantic ass but it did feel intimate and romantic.

He dropped me back to our flat where we found the girls sitting together in the hallway, waiting for us. I texted them prior, that if I wasn't back by 8 then they should be worried. We arrived a few minutes before 9 though, just like he said. We all hung out for a bit before Juliet pulled me away to her room and asked me how it went. 9 out of 10. I would say 10/10 but we must humble the man. I had already said yes to a second date, so that’s enough.

In all seriousness though, I had so much fun to the point that when we got home, my cheeks ached from smiling the whole night. I was fed well, had experienced a new movie, and learnt new things about myself and found a great guy who I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t stepped out of my comfort zone. It’s like they say, you never know until you try and at the end of the day, you’ll always have yourself and your friends to laugh back- good date or not.

I panicked because I was like… what… five hours alone… with a man??

By James Bonthron Climate Correspondent

While a widely held perception of what a nature reserve is, it is important to remind ourselves what actually constitutes one. Do they have to invoke the Amazon rainforest, or the vast plains of the Serengeti to be valued? Nearly every one would disagree. The Oxford dictionary defi nition is: ‘a tract of land man aged so as to preserve its flora, fauna, and physi cal features’.

Despite a couple of the natural spaces in Canterbury easily fitting into this definition, the question of whether or not a park or a place is designed to protect nature (at least not purpose fully) is harder to answer. For exam ple, it could be argued that this diction ary defi nition requires some degree of intent to pro tect nature, and so spaces that happen to conserve nature acciden tally do not count. In order to pro vide a more

WILD CANTERBURY:

mainly by concerned Canterbury locals. West Blean and Thornden Woods

Made up of 490 hectares, this part of Blean is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust and has recently welcomed European bison in the hopes that this will help to restore the area to a more natural state.

If we look at the entire Blean Wood National Nature Reserve, we will see that the area has many wildlife species. One notable species found there is the heath fritillary butterfly, but there are a number of butterfly, dragonfly and damselfly species to be found during the summer months.

Wood Nature

Incredibly, the Heath Fritillary was close to extinction in the UK in the latter part of the 1980s, but with careful conservation, Blean now hosts some of the largest colonies in the

The whole Blean Wood Nature Reserve is made up of almost 3000 hectares and includes Thornden Wood and West Blean Woods, as well as East Blean Woods and Clowes Woods (which is actually owned by the Forestry Commission).

Most of the woodland inside of the Blean complex is ancient woodland, with about a third of the area being classified as a Special Area of Conservation as well as being classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

While you can walk your dog around the West Blean Woods reserve, there is a designated dog walking route that visitors are asked to stick to- to reduce the disturbance that could be caused to the wildlife. Due to the introduction of the Bison, some parts of the area are now less accessible.

The whole Blean

Reserve is made up of almost 3000 hectares.

CANTERBURY: A GUIDE

Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve

This unique area is made up of 241 hec tares of different habitat, including reed beds and marshes. As a result, the area is home to a significant variety of species, in particular water birds. Access to the area is from the southern end of Stodmarsh village, or from Grove Ferry in the north. Overall, the area has more than six kilo metres of footpaths and there are even sensory trails with wheelchair access.

Stodmarsh is home to the largest reed bed in the entire southeast of England, which in turn is ideal habitat for many birds and insects. In fact, the reed bed is a boon for

buntings, bearded reedling and the charming kingfisher. Bitterns and marsh harri ers can also be found on the reserve. Hen harriers are also common in the winter, as well as up to six bitterns. Incredibly, there have been recent gatherings of over 60 hobbies (a species of falcon), as well as a number of black kites, osprey and spoonbills. Even more interestingly, American coots have also been spotted in Stodmarsh. In terms of insects, Stodmarsh is home to a number of dragonflies and moths. It also has a siz able population of water voles. The reserve is also home to rare plant species such as whorl-leaf water milfoil.

a nature reserve. Can a greenspace

be a nature reserve if the area is so inaccessible to the public? Does a nature reserve need to be professionally run, or is it a testament to the dedication of the volunteers if the place can be preserved without paid conservationists?

West Blean Woods is now partially inaccessible due to the introduction of the European Bison. Is it truly a nature reserve if you can’t fully access it? Whatever the answer, each space is vital to the conservation of Canterbury’s biological assets.

But these places are under threat. Old Park, with its turtle doves and its nightingales, is fighting for survival due to plans to drive a bypass through the northern edge. Tyler Hill nature reserve, for all its undiscovered homespun charm, is seriously neglected with a dwindling supply of volunteers. Even Stodmarsh, which is a great place to spot kingfishers among a plethora of other birds, is facing ever increasing development pressures. West Blean Woods is the most secure, but with its limited access, there are questions about how valid it can be considered as a natural space to be enjoyed by res-

If we want such places to continue to be nature reserves, we must engage with them more regularly and more actively.

Chequer’s Wood and Old Park make up one of the oldest remaining green spaces in Canterbury.

Images courtesy of Annie Spratt/Unsplash

February is the month of love and with Valentine's day seeming to take up the whole collective consciousness, it seems lately, relationships have been on everyone's mind. But every experience with love is unique and because it can be found in thousands of different places, I went out to interview students of UKC, find out their stories of love, and see if there were any lessons to be learned.

The first person I interviewed I met by chance, catching them on their way home. I had met them only once before for a total of about five minutes, but we exchanged greetings and talked about our days. They had a cheeky smile that could make you think everything they were saying was a sly joke, and yet it somehow put you at ease, as if, even if you didn't get the joke, you were still in on it. I asked if they would like to be interviewed, and after a couple of questions about my questions, they accepted.

Lumi: Have you ever been in love?

INTERVIEWEE: I have yes.

Lumi: And when did you know you were in love?

INTERVIEWEE: I knew about two months after dating her. Two months and it was fully in love.

Lumi: How did you know you were in love?

INTERVIEWEE: We’ve grown up together. We were friends for five years. Then it sort of just happened that we met up, and the rest of our friends weren’t able to attend so we started getting closer because of that, and then we started dating.

Lumi: And are you still with them?

INTERVIEWEE: No, this was before university.

Lumi: Do you have any regrets?

INTERVIEWEE: No, no regrets, nothing. Everything was learned from, you grow and you learn. It was emotionally immature at the time because it was the first relationship, the first time to properly be in love, but there’s no regrets, things don’t work out sometimes.

Lumi: Do you think the first relationships are the toughest?

INTERVIEWEE: I’d say so, because you don’t know how to deal with your emotions at the time, but then that’s how you grow.

After hearing their story of young love and the lessons that come with its immaturity, I carried on to Templeman Library where I met with a fellow writer who offered to help me find people to interview. Before that could happen, the person my friend was sitting with asked if I wanted to interview them. Between their eyes shying away behind a mop of almost-curly hair, and the way they fidgeted with the pen in their hand, they spoke with a confidence that caught me off guard. Never one to pass up an opportunity, I suppose.

Lumi: Have you ever been in love?

INTERVIEWEE: Yes, and currently I am as well.

Lumi: What was the moment you knew you were in love?

INTERVIEWEE: The first time, the moment I knew I was probably after a few, not exactly dates, but after a few events you spend together, eventually you are comfortable with each other. For me, that’s one of the categories of knowing if it is more than a friendship. When you’re comfortable being around them, when you enjoy being around them, when you actively seek to be around them, that’s basically the go-to for me. It’s only happened twice, and the second love is still happening.

Lumi: How did you move on from that first time to the second time?

INTERVIEWEE:

Well, after my first breakup it took roughly two years for me to bother searching again. I wasn’t even actively searching, my studies were my focus but they weren’t putting a lot of weight on my mental capacity so I decided to give it a go and try and love again, and then I found the right person.

Lumi: And do you think you took lessons from the first time you fell in love to-

INTERVIEWEE: Yes.

Lumi: Definitely?

INTERVIEWEE: 100%, um, after my first relationship I dumbed down a lot of things to give focus to the point that I am kind of never in a bad mood regarding relationships. Well, I will be for a split second but I don’t put any focus anymore on that. If I find something truly will annoy me, I will disregard it, to the point that I might, like, completely avoid it. So that’s the same reason in my current relationship I’m finding myself much more comfortable. If I find for some reason that I dislike something, I’ll either fix it straight away or I’m done. The first relationship was a lot of having to forgive. It wasn’t anything serious but it was just forgiving most things, getting over it but then starting to argue again, forgiving again, and I figured I was done with that. It's a very heavy thing to put upon yourself to constantly have to forgive. If I ever do get into an argument right now, I just simply won’t say anything, avoid the situation until it eases out throughout the day, and I figured that's one of the greatest things to do, the greatest skill I have right now, and the greatest lesson that I’ve learned.

A fter hearing their story of learning to de-stress and not worry so much when it comes to love, my friend pointed me in the direction of an acquaintance of theirs. By sheer chance, I had met this person before at a party hosted by a mutual friend of ours. After a quick catch up covering the year we hadn't seen each other, the interview began.

Lumi: Have you ever been in love?

INTERVIEWEE: No.

Lumi: Oh really?

INTERVIEWEE: No, I wouldn’t say officially in love.

Lumi: Do you think there's any particular reason for that or you just hav-

INTERVIEWEE: I’m not sure, I’ve had people very interested but I wouldn’t say in love.

Lumi: Do you think you would know if you were in love or do you think it would creep up on you?

INTERVIEWEE: I think it would creep up on me and slap me in the face haha, I would probably go ‘oh, alright then, guess this is where we’re at now’.

The way they spoke was very matter of fact, as if no love was lost on their loss of love. It was strangely reassuring to know that something that could be so stressful could just as easily not bother someone much. As I turned to return to my writer friend, the two people sitting with my last interviewee asked me a question. It seemed to be a day for good coincidences, as I had met these two at a social a few months before. Upon our mutual recognition, I asked if they wanted to be interviewed as well. After a few questions on their anonymity, they agreed, and I got ready for the first. Their hair was tightly pulled back to make sure it didn't get in their eyes as they worked, though when they seemed so focused, they spoke in a pleasantly relaxed way.

Lumi: Have you ever been in love?

INTERVIEWEE: Not really, no.

Lumi: Why do you think that is?

INTERVIEWEE: I mean part of the reason is I’m ace [asexual]. It’s kinda hard to fall for people when I’m not at all interested in that part of the relationship and obviously that’s quite a big part for other people.

Lumi: So you’re not aro [aromantic], just ace?

en’t quite found it yet?

INTERVIEWEE: I’ve just not found it yet, not found the right person.

Lumi: What do you think is the most difficult part about finding the right person?

INTERVIEWEE: I think it’s just a challenge, in today’s society. Everyone has different things they’re looking for, whether a casual or committed relationship, dating on apps versus dating in person, there’s so many mixed signals and mixed messages on what people want.

Lumi: Do you think anyone’s ever been in love with you?

INTERVIEWEE: Yes, definitely, happiness and safety.

Lumi: When do you think you would know you were in love, or do you think it would slowly creep up on you?

INTERVIEWEE: I imagine it would probably slowly creep up. I’d probably come to the realisation that- actually, I could be without them, but I’d rather not, it’s nice having them around, and I imagine that’s probably the point that I would realise I am in love.

F ollowing their story on the ranging difficulties of love and finding someone to fit your needs, I turned to my final interviewee. They spoke with a lot of warmth, the most I had heard all day, and their beaming smile made me hopeful for the story they were about to share. Love had been recounted in so many different forms and this final interview was no exception.

Lumi: Have you ever been in love?

INTERVIEWEE: I have, several times.

Lumi: Is it the same reason every time or do you fall in love for different reasons?

INTERVIEWEE: Some of the relationships where I thought I was, it turned out to not have been the case due to some manipulation in unhealthy relationships. Although, I’ve also had some really pleasant experiences, but they’re always for different reasons, because each person is different, so it’s different things with each person, it feels different with each person.

Lumi: And do you think you learn when things go wrong?

INTERVIEWEE: Definitely. You learn a lot of self-worth through really toxic relationships because you realise that you’re not gonna accept what’s someone doing to you and saying about you. I have a lot more self-respect after having gone through what I have.

Lumi: And are you currently seeing anyone?

INTERVIEWEE: I am, I currently have a partner that I’ve been with for about 8 months.

Lumi: What has made them different, what has made them stand out to you?

INTERVIEWEE: I’m just ace, but obviously if someone wants more than I can give them, it makes me uncomfortable and any feelings that I might have fade very quickly.

Lumi: Do you think it’s common for ace people to get with other ace people?

INTERVIEWEE: I mean it is common, but ace people also end up going with people who are allosexual, so they experience sexual attraction. It works out either way. so long as you’re happy with the other person and both sides are willing to work on it.

Lumi: So happiness is the most important part of love to you?

INTERVIEWEE: Well, they happen to be my first serious relationship after my unhealthy one, but actually I knew them for three years, so I knew them whilst I was in the bad relationship. They were first of all my friend, so I really learned to trust and ended up depending a lot on them. They really took care of me when I didn't actually ask them to so that made them different.

Isaid my goodbyes to my chance interviewees, to my fellow writer and their helpful friend, and headed home. Love is an unfathomably complex thing, with every story containing something unique, something painful and something wonderful. By the time this article comes out, Valentine's Day will have long since passed, but as we continue through these months and through life, love's stories will always be around us, and its lessons will always be with us.

How to spend your ‘me-time’ well

Seven activities to cultivate self-love

By Alice Stone Lifestyle Writer

Self-love is an important part of taking care of yourself, but it can feel like an overwhelming task sometimes. It can be hard to keep on top of your own wellbeing and often, it is easy to neglect our needs without even realising it.

In recent years, it has never been so important to take care of yourself, not just physically, but also mentally. The pandemic has left many of us to our own devices like never before, and the induced isolation still has a huge effect on people. But it’s not always negative to spend time alone if you keep a healthy balance, as it's actually incredibly beneficial to all aspects of your life. Doing things alone is important to maintain your wellbeing and build your self-esteem, helping you with not only your own fulfillment and happiness, but can also transfer across friends, family, and loved ones. It allows you to get to know the person who will always be a constant in your life: you.

However, using your ‘me-time’ to isolate yourself does not equal the cultivation of self-love. In fact, it can sometimes do the opposite if done out of fear or discomfort. A recent study by the University of Buffalo in New York found that young adults (18 to 26 years old) who seek solitude out of fear or dislike of social interactions, experience more anxiety when interacting with others on days when they have more alone time than usual, meaning they are more likely to overthink or catastrophise social events when they haven’t used their alone time effectively. Hope White, the study’s author, theorises that this is because ‘such individuals do not use their solitary time in ways that are restorative. Instead, they might spend their alone time ruminating.’

So, how do we use our alone time effectively in a way that is beneficial to our physical, mental, and spiritual health? Here are seven activities to effectively use your ‘me-time’:

Classic Coffee Shop Date

A simple idea, but a good one to start. Go to a coffee shop that you’ve never been to before, get a drink, and watch the world go by with a book or your laptop. It’s a great way to start enjoying your own company and get a bit more confident with being out on your own. Also, coffee is yummy and it's an opportunity to treat yourself! If you’re not a coffee person, try ordering a pastry or two, or any other drink you desire.

Weird Art Night

This is something to do if you want to channel your creativity. Get a big canvas/ piece of paper and go wild in any medium you prefer: paint, pencils, pastels, anything. Draw whatever comes to mind, see what you create, and see how strange you can make it. (This is also enhanced if you crack open a bottle of wine, but I didn’t tell you that).

Trinket Hunting

Collecting things is a fun way to embrace your inner childhood hoarder. Go around your local charity shops/antique shops and see what quirky trinkets you are drawn to. Whether it's vintage jewellery, strange ornaments, or some weird memorabilia, collecting unique items is a great way to fill your living space with trinkets and treasures that bring you joy and make your space feel more like you and therefore, more like home.

Haircut Date

Nothing makes you feel good quite like a fresh trim. Take yourself to a hairdresser and get a haircut, hair refresh, or maybe even a whole new makeover if you’re feeling it. A lot of barbers and salons have student discounts, so you don’t necessarily have to splash out too much. Even giving yourself a trim and spending a bit of time on yourself will psychologically give you a confidence boost and help revitalise your self-image.

Hike Date

Going for a hike is a simple way to get some fresh air and maybe even a new perspective, as well as getting a bit of exercise. Bring some snacks and go to a place you haven’t been to before and take in mother nature. With the Spring season ahead, it’s the perfect time to see things starting to bloom and wake up, which will make you feel more at one with the world around you.

Self Chef

Take the time to cook yourself a nice meal. It could be a meal you’ve never cooked before, a family recipe that's been passed down to you, or something that you come up with on the spot. Cooking for yourself is one of the best ways to boost your energy and nourish yourself. It’s a less expensive way to treat yourself to a nice, wholesome meal and prove to yourself you can cook something other than a cheese toastie.

Craft Time

It feels good to admire your own craftsmanship and it's also fun to master a new craft. Get a DIY kit or some materials together and make yourself something! It could be crocheting, clay moulding, sewing; you name it, making something with your own hands is a great way to make your alone time feel productive and cultivate your own skills and self-worth.

Let us know what you do to cultivate self-love and if any of these suggestions help you enjoy your time alone!

Navigating your queer ‘first time’

By

Afirst time at anything can be scary; my stomach has twinged with nerves at lowering the needle down on a new record, or at going through airport security by myself, or accidentally taking the wrong exit and inadvertently driving on a motorway for the first time (admittedly, that was more a feeling of impending doom). In any case, first times always involve some form of a fear of the unknown, and within that, a fear of getting it wrong- having queer sex for the first time is no different. So to quell those nerves, to celebrate queer history month, and because the experience should really just be fun, here is a navigational guide to getting your first queer sexual experience right- or, being okay with it maybe going a little bit wrong.

Finding the right partner for your first queer experience is imperative to having a good time, so don’t be afraid to be picky! Having come out, or realising you’re ready, I understand how you could be raring to go (I definitely was), but take some time to find someone you are comfortable with and you feel will be respectful of you! Now, this does not necessarily mean someone you’ve known for years on end, and could just as easily be the nice person you danced with at Danc-

ing Queen yesterday evening, as it could be the pretty person you have chatted to in every seminar since first year.

Before I had my first sapphic sexual experience, I was endlessly worried about the actual act; specifically, I asked myself, what if I’m not actually any good? To this, I would argue that no one is instinctively ‘good’ at sex, queer or not. Even if they were, no one can ever instinctively know what a new partner will like, or want from you, and no amount of queer porn can set you up with a ‘ready-to-go’ toolbox. So, simply, just ask. What do you want me to do to you? Would you like it if I did this? How do you prefer that? Is this where I think it is? Which words would be affirming to you? While there is a nagging conception that asking a sexual partner if they enjoy what you’re doing is ‘unsexy’, I can guarantee that maintaining open communication throughout will make sure that

they are having as good of a time as you want them to! Even if you don’t have any idea of what you’re doing (as you likely won’t during a first queer experience), learning what a partner enjoys and then doing that means you’ll have a much better idea of how to go about it. In turn, you’ll probably enjoy the whole experience a lot more because you’re not stressing about the unknown! In that same vein, during your first queer hookup, you may not know exactly what you like or enjoy, and that’s fine too. So, as things progress, let your partner know what feels good for you (in whatever way you would like) and don’t be afraid to throw some pointers out there.

While trying out all these new, exciting things, it is non-negotiable that you take time to get consent from your partner- a verbal agreement that they should also ask for from you. It’s sexy to ask for a ‘yes’, both at the beginning and then as you progress throughout, and means the whole

experience is communicative and positive for you both. Furthermore, make sure to have that talk about sexual health and protection!

Your first queer sexual experience will be incredibly exciting, so don’t get hung up on the technicalities of defining it! When I first started sleeping with women, I was confused as to what really counted as my ‘first time’, until I realised that it would, and could, only ever be defined by me. Queer sex is inherently diverse. It defies definition, so your ‘first time’ can truly be whatever you feel it to be. For myself, if I come away from a queer sexual experience having felt like I have had sex then, you guessed it, I had sex! And for those not completely ready for their first queer sexual experience, or for those who are simply not interested, this does not make your sexual identity any less valid- a sexual experience does not solidify a sexuality.

Ultimately, there is no getting it ‘right’ during your first queer experience (or, honestly, getting completely right in any experience after that). Your first queer time will be amazing purely because it will be your first time having queer sexso navigating it with openness, communication, and enthusiasm will only make this experience even better for yourself and your partner!

Molly Field Culture Editor

'I was confused as to what really counted as my ‘first time’, until I realised that it would, and could, only ever be defined by me.'

'[Doing things] alone allows you to get to know the person who will always be a constant in your life: you.'

Spring Outfits That Keep You On-Trend and In-Budget An Introduction to Aphrodisiacs

Spring Outfits That Keep You On-Trend In-Budget

By Shumaya Begum Lifestyle Writer

The New Year still fresh, trends are continuously developing, and it can be difficult to figure out what is in, what is out, and what is affordable. Fortunately for us, the key is hidden in the past. In recent years, we’ve seen the revival of many trends from the 90s and 2000s, such as graphic t-shirts, platform shoes and patterns. The trick to being stylish while staying in budget is by finding staple items which will work well with almost anything, and matching them with statement pieces to catch the eye. Here are some great outfits that are cheap and easy to pull off:

Neutral Glam

Colourful top with striped skirt & embellished accessories

Pink top: £15.99, ASOS | Rhinestone headbands £5.26, Amazon

This outfit is for those who want to stand out without spending a lot of money. Head accessories such as headbands, scarfs and scrunchies are very popular right now and an easy way to add a little glam to your look. For the top, it is best to find one that has one solid, bright colour, creating a delicate contrast to the striped skirt. Boots pair excellently with this look and if you want to go the extra mile, knee high boots are perfect.

Cool Girl

Graphic t-shirt and plaid/tartan skirt

Ashley Baxter Graphic Tee: £6.49, Shein | Yellow tartan skirt: £4.49, Shein

Graphic t-shirts are one of the few things in the world that express your per sonality without doing a lot. They can have your favourite meme, show or celebrity on them, or they could even be made by your favourite artist. Any graphic t-shirt is a great way to invite cool and interesting conversations. A plaid or tartan skirt is perfect for this outfit because the composition of the lines opposes the fluidity of the graphics.

Comfy and Cosy

V-neck knit jumper with wide legged trousers and loafers

Knit jumper: £25.43, Codibook | Loafers: £16.50, Shein

Sometimes there are going to be days where you want to be comfortable but look effortless, especially if you’re a hard-working university student. V-neck jumpers are perfect for this as not only do they compliment your collarbone, but they are easy to accessorise. If your jumper is on the darker side, such as black or dark blue, it is better to pair it with white or grey trousers to balance out the colours. This is the same with a light-coloured jumper; match with darker slacks like a dark brown. Loafers, ideally lug-sole loafers, add sophistication to the outfit and compliment the uniformity of the trousers.

Girl Next Door

Long skirt, white t-shirt, cropped cardigan and Mary Janes

The ‘Girl Next Door’ is easy to put together and flexible as you can mix and match the colours that suit you best. This is also a great outfit to introduce new colours that you don’t usually wear. The long-layered skirt is the statement piece of this outfit and can include any colour or pattern, such as flowers and polka-dots. Black Mary Jane Shoes make a dramatic contrast to the femininity of the outfit, adding a touch of formality. A cropped cardigan ties the whole outfit together as it inter twines the skirt and t-shirt underneath.

Which one will turn you on?

By Natasha Mather Culture Correspondent

With cuffing season and Valentines’ well and truly behind us, spring is now in the air. A time for flowers, chocolates, baby chicks and bunnies abound– in other words, it’s mating season! If you’re looking to embrace the spring atmosphere, or just to spice up your next date, why not try incorporating some aphrodisiacs into a lovely homecooked meal– foods known to increase libido and get you in the mood. Some examples make more obvious sense than others (spoiler: asparagus turns people on?), but read on for interesting insights into foods scientifically proven to increase sexual desire, and don’t be shy to try a couple out yourself!

Oysters

Starting off strong, ‘history’s most famous lover’, Giacomo Girolamo Casanova, was said to eat oysters for breakfast to increase his sex drive. He wrote about using ‘flirtation and oysters’ to seduce two separate women, leading to the contemporary idea that these shellfish have a way of turning people on. The science is still out on why exactly this is– one idea being that their high zinc content increases testosterone production in men. Some studies have claimed that their ‘unique amino acids’ lead to the production of serotonin, and rising happiness and excitement in good company can definitely help to move things in the right direction. With seaside Whitstable just a bus journey away, maybe try a trip to Wheeler’s Oyster Bar for your next date, and see if there’s any truth to Cassanova’s writings.

Chocolate

A romance classic for a reason, a lovely box of heart-shaped chocolates might be a great gift idea for more reasons than one. If the wonderful, melty, sensual texture isn’t enough to get things going in the bedroom, chocolate contains a chemical called ‘tryptophan’ which, like oysters, increases serotonin and by extension facilitates sexual desire. It’s also rich with phenylethylamine, a stimulant produced by the brain when falling in love. To strip it down from complicated, scientific language–chocolate is yummy, gets you happy and turns you on– the perfect date night treat.

Strawberries

What goes better with smooth and silky chocolate than bright, sharp, sweet strawberries? Apart from looking like an adorable little heart, a valentine in itself, the vitamin C in strawberries increases blood flow, making them a great contender for a sexy snack. Vitamin C is also believed to promote the production of oestrogen, the female sex hormone, and contains a myriad of vitamins and minerals essential for a healthy sex drive. Their aphrodisiac nature is also attributed to their beautiful crimson colour, red being a symbol of lust in cultures around the world. A great option for an easily accessible, healthy and delicious snack for two (or more- if you’re into that!)

Asparagus

A possibly surprising option to sneak into your romantic, home-cooked meal– asparagus is an aphrodisiac for more reasons than just its slightly phallic shape. This super healthy veggie is full of Vitamin E, which increases blood flow to the genitals, promoting better and more enjoyable sex. It’s also rich in potassium, which is important for healthy sex-hormone production. The Greeks discuss asparagus and its role in increasing libido in ancient love poems, and the Kama Sutra recommends drinking it as a paste before sex (let us know if you try that one!) You can enjoy the aphrodisiac powers of asparagus without getting the blender out– chop some up and incorporate it into your next stir-fry, pasta dish or whatever else is on your date-night menu.

With sweet or savoury options, snacks or meals, using food to spice up sex lives has been a practice for centuries. Even if none of these appeal to you, look out for other options rich in Vitamins C and E, or known to produce happy hormones, and see if there’s any truth to the idea that some foods really do just get you in the mood.

Shein, £11.49

Shein, £8.99

Boohoo, £15

Shein, £17.75

Shein, £16.49

Declassifying Culture:

By Molly Field Culture Editor

As students, it’s not always easy to access exciting cultural activities. Be that an exclusive exhibition showing, a candle-lit orchestral concert, or a life-drawing class, the cost-of-living crisis is raising prices for everyone. When your weekly shop is a struggle, it’s unlikely you’ll forgo a day’s meals to sit and listen to Taylor Swift played orchestrally. With rising prices noticeable even in our little city of Canterbury, it’s understandable that the glittering, moving culture of London can seem completely impenetrable right now (even if it is so attractive). InQuire sits down with the capital-based duo Cheapskate, who aim to tackle this inaccessibility head on.

Cheapskate is a newsletter and social media presence that promotes an interesting and diverse, range of free events happening weekly in London. According to Kate Samuelson, who created Cheapskate alongside Georgia Weisz, the publication was created out of a desire to ‘make the most of living in such an exciting city’, despite existing on a ‘pretty measly salary’. Samuelson admits she would ‘spend ages looking up free things to do on the weekend,’ but that there was nowhere ‘providing reliable information about amazing free events– it was

a real gap in the market’. Hoping to do something about this, the two creators (who have been friends since their secondary school days) formed Cheapskate in May 2019.

With an ambition to promote an eclectic range of events, the weekly newsletter spans exhibitions, food tastings, workshops, lectures, exclusive screenings and more- Samuelson explains how in the last week alone, Cheapskate has promoted a ‘Miley Cyrus wrecking ballthemed karaoke pop-up, a hot dog giveaway and a talk on the science of microdosing’. As a rule of thumb, the duo ‘only include events that [they’d] be interested in going to [themselves]; events that really stand out in 'London’s vastness’. Moreover, promoting events that help readers ‘feel part of their local community and build vital connections with others’ as the two feel that, despite it not being talked about as much as other necessities, ‘culture is incredibly important for our wellbeing’.

Speaking directly on the draw students can find in Cheapskate, Samuelson admits that ‘without wanting to generalise, students tend to be fairly cash-strapped yet often have time on their hands’, mentioning they did as an English Lit undergrad with six contact-hours a week.

Cheapskate can thus be used as an important tool for said students in experiencing the amaz ing goings on in the capital, without the finan cial worries or commitments one might expect from it.

Having just been awarded the prestigious Georgina Henry Award for Digital Innovation at the British Journalism Awards, some thing the duo describes as ‘a life-changing moment’, Samuelson dreams of moving further out around the UK: ‘we’d love to start expanding to different citiesCheapskate Manchester, Cheapskate Bristol, Cheapskate Edinburgh!’. The formula could work anywhere, and is only further made suc cessful by the newsletter format the duo have chosen to adopt: ‘I’ve always been drawn to the newsletter format… You arrive directly into someone’s inbox and can even greet them by name’. This personable for mat really does feel like a friend messaging you on a Monday morning to let you

Detroit in Canterbury: Square Peg Pizza

By Natasha Mather Culture Writer

Aslice of Detroit in a cosy old Sun Street building; Square Peg pizza tastes as good as it looks. With funky flavour combinations, mouth-watering crispy cheese edges, and a pillowy soft dough base, Square Peg have perfectly recreated the iconic, rectangular Detroit-style pizza right in the heart of Canterbury.

With queues streaming out the door before they had even opened (in -2 degree weather!), Canterbury’s newest pizza restaurant has launched in a whirlwind of success. After 33 Google reviews in their opening week, Square Peg are averaging a comfortable 4.9 stars, with reviews raving about everything from the food to the service, and the unique, lively atmosphere. InQuire exclusively sat down with COO Nick McPherson (with a slice of the Nacho Libre pizza– absolutely to die for, but we’ll get to that) about the concept behind the restaurant and how opening week is going.

The restaurant’s strong Detroit influence is clear from the moment you walk in the door, with framed photos on the walls of Michigan legends from Stevie Wonder and Eminem, to the Detroit Pistons and Tom Selleck, the latter even having a pizza on the menu named after

his breakthrough role– Magnum PI. The playlist in the restaurant is back-to-back Detroit hip-hop, immersing you in the culture of the city as you tuck into its uniquely delicious pizza. Nick explained the history behind this style of pizza, owing its rectangular shape to Gus Guerra, an Italian immigrant in the 40s who worked in an auto-assembly factory. Gus was inspired to use the deep, square metal trays used for industrial mechanics in the kitchen – giving rise to the instantly recognisable thick, rectangular Detroit pizza (a fun fact there for you to impress your friends while you tuck in!)

The thickness of the slice and the pile of rich, flavourful toppings on each pizza can look intimidating, but the light, airy texture of the dough stops it from ever feeling dense or over whelming. The team at Square Peg were committed to mak ing a pizza that ‘looks heavy but feels light’; including all the fla

vour and goodness of a hefty deep-dish pizza without the food coma or the bellyache. On the contrary, the high-quality ingredients make for a perfect balance of indulgence and freshness. The team have even gone as far as to import ingredients for the best blend of fla vours they can get – you’ll find authentic Tus can sausage on both the Da Vinci and Pepper Pig pizzas (though maybe don’t explain that last name to the little ones!)

Fans of Chuck and Blade– Square Peg’s sister burger restaurant just next door– will recog nise the fun, quirky vibe of the pizza joint. Nick explained the inspiration behind some of the menu items’ names: Detroit-based celebrities, song lyrics and even kids’ films, but also subtle nods to restaurants that have helped turn their vision into a reality. ‘The Descendant’ is named after a Toronto-based restaurant where the owners spent three days learning the ins and outs of Detroitstyle pizza, and the ‘Fiery Fagin’ shares a name with a burger next door, a nod to the link between the two restaurants. One to look out for– the ‘Green Goblin’ is a delicious vegan-friendly option just as flavour-packed as the rest, and Nick

A must-visit for students, Square Peg provides a great option for a nice dinner out that won’t break the bank. A regular-sized pizza ranges from £10-15 and was more than enough to leave me feeling absolutely stuffed. Plus, both Square Peg and Chuck and Blade offer a generous 15% student discount, so remember those Kent IDs! Whether it’s a flat dinner out, birthday lunch or your next Tinder date (pizza is perfect for sharing!), I’d definitely recommend you check out Canterbury’s newest contender in the pizza scene– just be prepared to come back for seconds!

Image Courtesy of Cheapskate London

Image Courtesy of Square Peg Pizza

Image Courtesy of Square Peg Pizza

A Gigging Guide to Canterbury

By James Sharp Culture Writer

As a Canterbury based musician myself, I know the perils and frustrations of being virtually un-bookable for a gig. If you’re just starting a new musical project, you’ll know what this feels like. It seems overwhelming to begin with– all you’re seeing are the same bands getting booked by the same places night after night. When you do apply, you’re told you need to boost your social media presence, network, and create an EPK (electronic press kit) to send off. You ask yourself: how can I send a comprehensive and persuasive message that outlines gigging history, a social media full of loyal fans and followers, and links to videos from past performances when I can’t get a show in the first place. It’s a paradox. Luckily for budding Canterbury musicians, I’ve compiled some tips and tricks for finally getting up on that stage and sharing your music.

1.Let me assume that you’re the next guitar prodigy of the country, but you haven’t played with anybody before and aren’t quite sure how to go about it. Or, have you got the pipes of Freddie Mercury, ready to strut your stuff and show off? Whatever you do or play, getting started and getting out there can be hard. If you are looking to join a band, I would recommend going onto some sites online that allow you to post free ads. This is 2023 after all, and the internet is the way forward. ‘Joinmyband’ is an online advertising platform where you can put out an ad to local musicians in any district of the country you choose, and get in contact to see if they meet your musical needs. There are paid for sites if you have the money, take 'BandMix' for example. This sort of thing is much less anonymous and more akin to your classic social media. You also may have seen the popup ad that tells you about ‘Tinder for musicians too–Vampyr’. I haven’t personally tried this, but the reviews seem okay. Now I must add, as with any form of online chat-based interactions, you

should be wary as to who you choose to meet up with, so do this at your own risk. I will say however, that I have had great success using ‘Joinmyband’- and it was how I found my own band mates! (We are @arkansasband on Instagram - go check us out) *cough*.

But also, let’s not forget the classic methods! Putting an ad up around the uni, on lampposts or cork boards is a great option if you are looking for local Kent musicians to jam with! Or take it into the heart of Canterbury and advertise, you’re bound to find someone.

gigs. Put your socials, bios and links all in one place and there you have it- an EPK. Though an empty EPK, it’s a start. This is where the next step comes in handy.

By Natasha Mather Culture Writer

Lights up on an intricately designed, oldworld set drenched in warm sunlight and tangled in greenery- immediately we are dying to pay a visit to the Marigold Hotel. The feel-good play, based upon the eponymous 2011 film written by Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again! screenwriter Ol Parker, follows a group of British retirees moving to a hotel in India for their final years. While a little slow in places, and a little ‘anti-woke’ in others to appease a largely older audience, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was ultimately an uplifting, feel-good story that left us warm-hearted, and a little teary.

The characters, initially firmly divided between the said British retirees and the Ban galore locals, begin the play by explaining to us why they’re here and what they’ve left behind;

2.

So you have your band, and you’ve jammed through a setlist you’re feeling hopeful for. Congratulations- If your lead singer hasn’t yet developed lead singer syndrome, your drummer hasn’t wound up the guitarist by playing over them when they’re trying to tune, your guitarist hasn’t wasted the rehearsal soloing the whole time, and your bassist hasn’t… I don’t know… raised his voice slightly? Then, you have conquered the hard part (I kid of course. Bassists aren’t always the small quiet ones- look at Peter Steele…). Now it’s time to build a presence. To begin with, I would recommend using Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Instagram is a must, as this is where most artists will promote, post and interact with everybody else. I never had Facebook before due to personal reasons, then I realised that it was crucial for contacting venues. Email is good, but promoters and venues reply on Facebook much more regularly. Finally, despite YouTube having been destroyed by the ad-pocalypse, it is a great place for you to post all of your videos from gigs, rehearsals and any other recorded material all in one place. There are also no limits on how long the videos are. I cannot emphasise how important having an image is, so having video and audio working together as opposed to SoundCloud is a must. SoundCloud is good, but YouTube is helpful when it comes to booking

3.So, you have social media, a fully formed band with a cracking setlist you want to release to the world, or maybe you’re a solo musician, either way- now you want to get out there and play your music in front of people. Lucky for you, UKC students have a plethora of gigging opportunities available to them; with the majority of them happening on campus. If you are a solo artist, Woody’s often host openmic nights (as does Origins), and if you are willing to go into the heart of Canterbury, the Black Griffin, Bramleys and Fond Coffee offer open-mic opportunities as well! Even if you’re in a band, you may as well unplug and get your band down there playing acoustic instruments to at least give you some expe rience. One incredible venue that is doing a great thing for local musicians and helping the scene hugely is HMV Canterbury. You can get booked in with them whenever, the only condition being is if they have the space! Contact them and get yourself booked in. You don’t need any evidence or prior experience, just go for it. I would also look into busking! Canterbury doesn’t require musicians to hold a licence. All you need to do is follow a few rules that can be found on the Canterbury City Council website, and you’re set! This can then be used as a launchpad for other gigs, and then possibly some paid gigs! You just want to get that experience, as once you have things to post, you won’t find it hard getting gigs.

4.

Making contacts is another crucial element to this. When you are at a gig, get someone’s number, get people to follow

you, and promote, promote, promote. Gigs lead to more gigs- period. Go to jam nights too! Again, Bramleys host jam nights, and if you are willing to do a little bit of travelling, you can head over to The Ship in Gillingham to get involved in their jam sessions! Not every show you play has to be just you on the bill, don’t be afraid to share the stage and support! Once you have that small following of people that know their money isn’t wasted by travelling to see a loyal and reputable band, you’ll be firmly on the circuit before you know it.

5.

Lastly, just have fun. Don’t let gear snobs, low follower counts, or rejections put you down. Playing music is fun, and if you can make money from it along the way, then that’s a benefit.

'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' at The Marlowe: A Review

backstories which, admittedly, did become a little difficult to keep track of due their volume and detail. However, despite taking a little while to get going, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel constructs the intricate, expansive world of the hotel (and Bangalore) painstakingly through both the sets and loving discussions of the city surrounding them. Perhaps as a result of the detailed backstories established early on, we found there wasn’t a single character we were really rooting against.

Retirees and hotel workers alike, we had a genuine fondness for each and every one of them (with only some of their jokes going over our heads due

to us arguably being the youngest in the audience). In fact, our fondness of the characters was so much so that when an unexpected villainisation or casting aside of certain characters towards the end occurred, it struck us as a little unfair.

There were beautiful moments blending Eastern and Western cultures, particularly the spellbinding mix of Hindi chanting and old English nursery rhymes as one character reminisced on her childhood in India. There was also something touching about Evelyn’s (arguably our protagonist in amongst the English retirees) master plan to help the young Indian call centre workers by teaching them about British culture, though we were a bit put-off by the connotations of a white saviour complex, an idea that was also seen throughout the rest of the work.

Most ‘aww’-inducing was the unlikely friend-

ship between Muriel– the ex-cleaner so set in her ways she wouldn’t even try a curry– and the young cleaner of the Marigold hotel– of the lowest caste, and therefore deemed ‘untouchable’ by other characters. Our hearts filled with joy as Muriel burst onto the stage after visiting her new friend’s home for dinner, raving about the delicious home-cooked food she’d enjoyed and furiously defending him to the other characters.

Overall, despite some questionable plot points and a bit of a slow start, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was a fun time with some incredibly touching moments and immensely loveable characters- something only further felt by the dance party at the end of the show that involved the cast encouraging members of the audience onto their feet. Touring the UK until mid-June this year, it’s definitely worth checking out if you find yourself near a show!

Image Courtesy of James Sharp

Image Courtesy of Wander Fleur/Unsplash

A Queer Book Recommendation List (That Aren't All About 13-Year-Olds)

By Izzy Logie Culture Writer

Typically, when searching for LGBTQIA+ media, the majority response involves comingof-age stories, high school romance, and teen drama. While I loved (and I mean, loved) Netflix’s recent series Heartstopper, and especially loved the impact it has had on a young, queer audience, as I’ve gotten older I find myself no longer relating to these high school relationships. Books, similarly, tend to reiterate these tropes, with some even going as far as to romanticise explicitly problematic relationships with age and queer characters (I’m looking at you, Call Me By Your Name). This isn't to say that there aren’t any ‘more adult’ LGBTQIA+ reads, they’re just a little harder to find, so I’ve decided to compile a few of my favourites here for you!

To kickstart your month of queer reads, I would recommend the increasingly popular The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Jenkins Reid’s book is a great introduction to modern queer literature and recently gained mass popularity online despite its release being in 2017. The book is written from the perspective of a journalist interviewing the famous bisex-

ual actress, Evelyn Hugo, and flips between this narrative and flashbacks of Evelyn’s life as a celebrity in Hollywood. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo has amazing representation, with bisexual, lesbian and gay relationships all intertwined in a heartbreaking and believable romance.

If 20th-century period literature is more your thing, then you should try E.M. Forster’s 1971 novel, Maurice. If you liked the film Dead Poets Society (which isn’t explicitly queer but I manifest that it is) or Lady Chatterley’s Lover, which took inspiration from Maurice, this is a perfect addition to add to your to-be-read list. As the book progresses, you follow the gay protagonist Maurice from school to university to adult work life and experience his growth from his first discovery of his sexuality to his first experience of heartbreak. E.M Forster’s poetic writing style captures a tender and real experience of gay love and is one of the few pieces of period romance to have a happy ending.

Lesbian sword fighters, space, necromancers and nuns; if any of these buzzwords sound appealing to you, you’ll love Gideon the Ninth by

Tamsyn Muir. In the first book of the series, Tamsyn introduces a fantasy world full of skeletons, nuns and slow-burn romance. You meet Gideon and Harrow, the nov el’s two protagonists, who fall into the classic (but my favourite) romance book trope: enemies to lovers. Gideon is sarcastic, violent, and a perfect contrast to how queer women are normally portrayed in novels- one of the many rea sons I adore this book.

My last but not least, queer book recommendation is Giovan ni’s Room

throughout the 50s and 60s, with multiple award-winning films being based off his work. The book centres around David, a young queer American man liv-

being written in the 60s, is still relevant to current-day queer issues.

In addition to these lovely queer reads, both University of Kent libraries will be displaying a selection of their best LGBTQIA+ reads for you to browse throughout these coming months, so get on down there and pick yourself up a queer read.

Poetry-Slamming Around Canterbury

By Molly Field Culture Editor

Surprisingly, poetry slams do not just exist as hyperbolic examples of events used to sensationalise the creative left in mainstream media- in fact, these slams are increasingly more accessible than one may originally conceive of. For the poetry slam novices, as we no longer are (as of a week ago), a poetry slam is a competitive art event in which a group of poets perform a selection of their work, often centering around a slam’s chosen theme. After performing, an audience and/or panel of judges will vote on their favourite pieces, with the overall consensus determining the poetry slam champion. This interactive, competitive form of poetry recital was designed in 1984 by American poet Marc Smith, who strived to move poetry from the stuffy culture of academia into popular culture. And into popular culture it has moved, with multiple poetry slams beginning to pop up at a quick rate across our little city. InQuire had the pleasure of visiting a few, to compile the ultimate list of poetry slams around Canterbury.

Nestled in the cosy, brick-walled, greenery-donned Fond Coffee, InQuire were delighted to recently attend the debut night of the Utterance Worldwide poetry slam, as hosted and curated by the delightfully

bubbly and equally passionate Alice Rose Gretton. The free poetry event is part of an ongoing programme in the lead up to Gretton’s Canterbury-based Sunrose Arts Festival, with winners of each monthly slam winning the title and a headlining spot at next month’s slam, as well as a paid slot at the Utterance Grand Slam Final at the aforementioned summer festival. The slam struck us as incredibly unique due to its ‘worldwide’ aspect, whereby performers from across the country (and the globe!) competed through video call (in fact, the evening found its winner in the formidable and charismatic S’Phongo, performing all the way from Zimbabwe). Aside from the stirring work of the evening’s winner, each and every purple-lit performer impressed us, with work ranging from poems involving ABBA, to those devoted to one’s inner child. With each performer performing three poems, the final one had to revolve around the event’s theme of ‘confidence’, a theme that led to some incredibly moving performances (only one beer deep and we were tearing up at almost every one), meaning voting was surprisingly difficult. Gretton’s command of the evening and empathetic personality created a noticeable safe and inclusive space for a diverse range of performers and audience members,

something we could tangibly feel put both parties at ease. With this evening running every last Monday of the month, InQuire really recommends taking a little trip to the Utterance poetry slams, so keep up with dates (tickets are limited) at their Instagram @sunroseartsfestival.

Another incredibly exciting poetry slam event emerging in Canterbury is the MixMatched Performance and Spoken Word night, normally hosted at Bramley’s Bar. The evening is neurodivergent+ led, and centres neurodivergent+ performers, although stress that anyone (performers or audience alike) is welcome. Their most recent evening, on the 15th of February in the flower-decorated performance space of the cocktail bar, asked poets to bring work based upon love, despair, and ‘atypical’ relationships. With a suggested donation of only £3, these evenings host an impressive roster of talented poets, each given a five-minute slot, as well as involving audience caption

competitions and collaborative poetry writing. Keep up to date with MixMatched’s evenings on their Facebook!

One final poetry slam, also hosted in the plush performance area of Bramleys cocktail bar, is the emerging Cacofonix! While entirely recognisable as a poetry slam- with eight poets, three rounds, and one winnerthe evening moves to blur the boundaries of art-making. As a standard, each Cacofonix show involves a local artist live-illustrating the poets as they perform; illustrations that then make up a printed poetry zine based on the evening. Furthermore, in striving to platform Canterbury’s poetry talent, performers receive professional set photographs taken on the night to enrich their portfolio. The evenings end with a bang, with acts never-before-seen in Canterbury such as an electric performance of freestyle rap and beatboxing by Jake Nathan and mistawolfe, or a hilarious and magical set by local close up magician Matt Harris. If you just want to attend, just turn up on the night and grab your £2 ticket on the door, dates to be found on their Instagram, @cacofonixslam.

Image Courtesy of Stavrealina Gontzou/Unsplash

Image Courtesy of Cacofonix

Image Courtesy of Atria Books

Image Courtesy of Penguin

Queer monsters: Reclaiming horror

By Alex Abrahams Film and TV Correspondent

Horror has historically been a queer-coded genre. Horror capitalises on the fears of the time, and because queerphobia has always been a consistent feature of society, it has always been a consistent feature of horror. The genre is inherently queer, with queer people gravitating towards it both as fans and as creators. Horror pushes boundaries and plays with what the public is comfortable- or uncomfortable- with, and as a result we find things like queerness being portrayed, or more often implied (i.e. ‘queercoded’), in a number of different ways. In honour of LGBTQ+ History Month, we explore the positive and negative history of queer-coding and representation in the horror genre up until today and what the future might look like for the spookiest genre.

As far back as vampire novels such as Dracula and Carmilla, we find queer-coded villains represented as the antithesis of the pure, often Christian protagonist. This tradition of queer-coding villains was continued into horror movies, for example Scream (1997), which featured homoeroticism between murderers Billy and Stu. The queer-coded villain has been such a prevalent trope that it has even made its way into media outside of the horror genre, Disney being one of the biggest perpetrators.

This constant queer-coding of villains may have begun as a means for queer writers such as Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde to explore queerness in their novels when they had no means of talking about it explicitly. Despite this, the queer-coding of villains has been used both intentionally and unintentionally by cisgender heterosexual creators to further perpetuate homophobia. The monster is queer, so the queer must be the monster.

For a long time, queer people have identified with villains because that was the only representation we got. We are a lot less likely to identify with the perfect nuclear family dynamic, and a lot more likely to identify with the strange outsider that comes in and disrupts it.

As much as people can tell us they’re ‘just films’, we know that representation

ause the way Buffalo Bill is depicted is eerily similar to the way many people think of transfemi nine individuals today.

Queerphobia has been a constant and hard to ignore feature of the horror genre that we have had to learn to make peace with so we can still enjoy the movies. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Early on in (1986), text on a screen reveals that Joan Lam bert, a character from the previous movie, was a trans woman. Though it is a blinkand-you-miss-it sequence, and is only revealed after the character dies, it is a nice detail. It also adds another layer of enjoyment to rewatching Alien (1979) as a trans person, especially since Lambert is never fetishised or dehumanised for her gender identity. On top of that, Alien feels very queer, not because of any one character, but because of the genderless uniforms, the film showing men undergoing traditionally ‘female’ experiences such as pregnancy and giving birth, and Ripley’s lack of a love interest, which even now is highly uncommon for a female lead.

acter openly state that they identify outside of the gender binary is quite impressive. The 2021 Chucky TV series features a young teenage gay couple as its central characters, and the first season ends with them both alive and happy, something which is incredibly uncommon in a lot of other horror media (Bury Your Gays trope).

Speaking of which, upon initial release, It: Chapter Two (2019) was praised for the inclusion of queer representation in the character of Richie, but upon further inspection this representation is not as positive as it seems. The film opens with an incredibly graphic depiction of a violent homophobic hate crime, resulting in the brutal murder of a gay man, leaving his boyfriend injured and distraught. Additionally, while Richie Tozier is clearly depicted as being gay and in love with Eddie, the film ends with Eddie dead and Richie grieving, contrasting violently with the heterosexual characters remaining relatively unscathed (for a horror movie, at least). Throughout the film, we hear homophobic slurs and see a violent hate crime, but Richie is never allowed to say that he is gay- or that he loves Eddieout loud. The fact that this film was released so recently, and was still praised for its representation is very telling about how queerness in the horror genre has historically been treated.

The Chucky franchise is surprisingly queer, for a series about a murderous doll. In Seed of Chucky (2004), we are introduced to Glen/Glenda, the genderfluid child of Chucky and Tiffany. They argue about their child’s gender, Chucky wanting a boy called Glen, and Tiffany wanting a girl called Glenda, only for Glen/Glenda to announce that some

The 2019 series What We Do in the Shadows is an interesting case as it makes clear through the dialogue that all of the main characters are queer, all of the vampires mention being in same-gender relation ships before, but it seems to shy away from showing any of this on screen. This is not necessarily a problem, as queerness is so much more than just the act of being physically affectionate with

der partner, but the show regularly depicts sex between men and women, while the queer representation remains verbal and subtextual. The most recent season does make several positive steps in the right direction and the series seems to be laying the groundwork for a slow-burn romance between Nandor and Guillermo, so perhaps we can expect more explicit queerness from

the show in later seasons. Queer representation in horror is

slowly getting more positive, with shows like The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), an exploration of queer guilt and shame which literally haunts the main character, and movies like Super Hot (2021), in which the sexuality of the lesbian protagonist is never questioned. Adaptations of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire are slowly becoming more and more explicitly queer as society becomes more accepting, the 1994 film being incredibly homoerotic already, and the 2022 AMC show explicitly exploring Louis’ identity as a Black gay man in the early 20th century.

There are also many positive depictions of queerness in horror outside of film and TV, one example being audio drama podcasts. Due to podcasting’s lack of barrier to entry, a lot of queer horror creators have gravitated towards this medium, and a lot of queer horror fans have gravitated towards listening to it because of the sheer amount of queer representation. Perhaps the two most well-known examples of queer audio dramas are Welcome to Night Vale, in which the main character Cecil is confirmed to be gay in the first episode, and The Magnus

a spooky summer camp, Neighbourly, which follows a number of queer residents of Little Street house by house, and asks the question: ‘Do you ever really know your neighbours?’, The Children of Room 56, which explores the horror of being young and queer in a small town, and Monstrous Agonies, which explores queer themes through monstrosity in the form of an advice segment on a radio show for supernatural creatures. While in traditional horror, we see the protagonists suffering at

character is an asexual man who later falls in love with another man. Lesser known queer hor ror podcasts include Hello From The Hal lowoods the stories of queer monsters includ ing a nonbinary Frankenstein’s monster and a transmasculine ghost, There

a disabled gay trans man who works at

the hands of a monster and surviving and escaping, a lot of queer horror turns that narrative on its head by having the queer protagonist as the monster, but in a much more positive light than we’ve seen in the past. The monstrous element is human and queer, trying to figure out how they relate to the world. Time and time again, we- the queer community- have been made into monsters onscreen and off. As long as there is queerphobia offscreen, it will make its way onto the screen, especially in the horror genre. But this doesn’t always have to be negative. Queer creators are actively working to refocus the narrative onto queer protagonists, and I am extremely excited to see where the

Image courtesy of Rogue Pictures

Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Veronica Cartwright as Joan Lambert in Alien

Louis and Lestat from Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Louis and Lestat from Interview with the Vampire (2022)

Dani and Jamie from The Haunting of Bly Manor

Image courtesy of Two Canoes Pictures

Image courtesy of Netflix

Image courtesy of Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor

Image courtesy of Warner Bros

Image courtesy of AMC

Brendan Fraser makes the ultimate career comeback in The Whale

By Gareth Griffiths Deputy Entertainment Editor

Most people have probably only heard of Brendan Fraser through ogy from the late 90s to early 2000s, or through various internet posts which highlight how much of a humble and wholesome person he is. In 2022 how ever, Fraser is hitting headlines, and for good reason. Fraser pro vides not only one of the most exceptional, emotional perfor mances of his career in The Whale, but quite possibly one of the most stand-out performances of the 2020s so far.

Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream director Darren Aronof sky’s The Whale revolves around Charlie, a reclusive, severely overweight English teacher who attempts to recon cile with his daughter (Sadie Sink) after being informed he has very little time left. The Whale ist film. 99% of the film is set in Charlie’s tiny apartment. This is understandably so, as the film is based on Samuel D. Hunter’s play of the same name, and the minimal use of space really makes it feel like a stage production. Not only that, but the film is shot with a claustrophobic 4:3 aspect ratio, conveying a real sense of intimacy and the isolation that Charlie feels stuck in his tiny world. In fact, the film does a terrific job of conveying how ‘stuck’ Charlie feels, both physically and mentally. The prosthetics used to portray Charlie’s obesity are exceptionally convincing, and under-

standably have earned the film nominations for Best Makeup and Hairstyling from the 95th Academy Awards (i.e. the Oscars), Critics’ Choice Movie Awards

and BAFTA. Fraser even consulted the Obesity Action Coalition to determine how Charlie would move and interact, which is clearly shown throughout the film. The subtleties of his movements and struggle to complete house tasks only increase our sympathy for the character, and his difficulty connecting to the world.

Charlie’s struggle with his mental world through his relationships and sense of self is where the film really excels. Fraser’s performance can best be described as humbling, emo-

tional, and extremely poignant. Just as Fraser himself comes across as a gentle soul, Charlie is equally sensitive as he attempts to inject positivity into his flailing relationships with his ex-wife and daughter. Perhaps this is because there is an eerie realism reflected between Fraser and Charlie, Fraser apparently having struggled mentally with interpersonal relationships himself in recent years. In an interview with Empire magazine, Fraser stated that he wept when the prosthetics were removed for the last time, claiming he felt like he knew Charlie. Fraser seemingly drew his performance as Charlie from a very personal place in his life, which is remarkably reflected in the film. If Fraser wins his Oscar nomination for Actor in a Leading Role (a real possibility following his Critics’ Choice Awards win), it could be considered one of the most triumphant career comebacks and an exceptionally positive reflection of not just him as an actor, but as a person having gone through similar struggles as his character.

As for the supporting cast, everyone has their moments to shine. Sadie Sink continues to prove herself as an extraordinarily talented actress, portraying Charlie’s estranged daughter Ellie. She is equally prickly and abrasive as her performance as Max in Netflix’s Stranger Things, and convincingly keeps her relationship with Charlie cold and distant. Hong Chau also provides a

notable performance as Charlie’s friend and self-assumed carer Liz, having been Oscar-nominated for Actress in a Supporting Role. Liz attempts to keep her relationship with Charlie warm and supportive, but at times can’t help but yield to the emotional turmoil he has caused her in the past and grapples with his unwillingness to accept his deteriorating state. Even Ty Simpkins and Samantha Morton have their moments. Simpkins playing Christian missionary Thomas whose attempts at helping Charlie through God seem initially altruistic but are seemingly futile, and Morton as Charlie’s ex-wife Mary, expertly conveys the emotional struggle Charlie has inadvertently put her through.

The Whale is a surprisingly layered film. Although it is set mostly in the same room with a tiny cast, you’ll find themes of mental health, religion, sexuality, obesity, and even alcoholism all intertwined in some way and dealt with relative sensitivity. One of the things I enjoyed most was how all the characters

are flawed in some way. They all have personal baggage they are all dealing with in different ways, yet none of them come across as the purest souls. Ellie is an outlandish teenager who seemingly wants nothing to do with her father, yet keeps coming back to visit him. Thomas comes across as confidently religious, yet is timorous and spiritless at times; a reflection of past transgressions. These make the characters strikingly real, and provide the film with exceptional emotional poignancy. Most strikingly is of course Charlie; whose past trauma clearly runs deep whilst dealing with having wronged his family, yet still attempts to initiate some redemption and optimism into the lives of those around him. Seeing this kind of positivity come from such a dark place is something we all need to see from time to time.

Puzzle Solutions

Across: 1 Love, 3 Apple, 7 Full pelt, 8 Lock, 9 Heart and soul, 11 Seat, 13 Rip, 15 Chef, 16 Polyurethane, 19 Life, 21 Atomiser, 22 Match, 23 Nest.

Down: 1 Laugh, 2 Valiantly, 3 Act on, 4 Pal, 5 Exclude, 6 Letter, 10 Socialise, 12 Egotism, 14 Potion, 17 Reach, 18 Elect, 20 Eat.

Watch The Whale at the Gulbenkian Cinema from the 3-9th of March.

Image courtesy of A24

Image courtesy of Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

The Steam Deck: A Portable Game-Changer

By Tarun Murali Games Correspondent

For years, gamers have been eagerly awaiting the next big thing in portable gaming tech nology, a system that would take the industry to new heights and offer play ers a truly immersive and engag ing experience. That system has finally arrived in the form of the Steam Deck, which allows you to play (almost) your entire Steam library on the go. The system itself is offered in three different variants, although to a thrifty consumer the higher end ones might not seem as appealing as they are essentially the same con sole, with a few trinkets added on. At its core, the Deck promises to deliver a truly next-level gaming experi ence. The console boasts top-of-the-line hardware, including a fast and powerful processor, high-performance graphics, and ample storage space, depending on your gaming needs and the model you choose, for all your Steam games. The console's design is not only stylish, but it also features multiple ways to set up and play different games with dual trackpads, the usual controller setup, as well as a touch screen display ensuring compatibility with most games. What truly sets the Steam Deck apart from its competitors is its connection to the Steam platform (previously only

available on PC), which gives players access to a vast library of games, both old and new. From classic games from decades past, to the latest and greatest releases, the Steam platform offers a seemingly endless supply of gaming

the Super Nintendo and to even more recent games on the Switch can be run on your Steam Deck without hassle. However, this doesn’t include titles exclusive to PS4, Xbox One or later systems as they require a little more ‘mus

desktop environment, meaning duties often relegated to your laptop or phone are available on the Deck as well, which, most importantly, includes emulation software. While emulation tends to remain a legal grey area, most people agree that as long as you previously owned or currently own the software you’re emulating, you're good to go. This means that games dating back to

just over a year ago. The console's intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate and find the games you want to play, and the system's compatibility with a variety of gaming controllers and accessories means that players can customise their gaming experience to suit their individual preferences. The Steam Deck is also incredibly versatile, allowing players to enjoy their

favourite games on their TV or monitor, as well as on the go. The console, although on the heavier side, can be taken outside and played, so you can enjoy your games no matter where you are. Weighing in at around 669 grams, the deck might be too heavy to be held undocked for long gaming sessions for some. However, I have personally never found this to be an issue. Despite outweighing most of its portable gaming peers, the Deck is still lighter than a gaming laptop which is currently its main competition. Its weight may add a feeling of discomfort if held in an unsuitable position, such as lying down, for a while. However, its button layout, thumb sticks and pseudo-mousepads don't feel uncomfortable after a brief adjustment period. In terms of docking, having only used a third party dock, I can't speak for the official dock but from what I've tried and heard, there’s not much variation in experience, as long as the brand is reliable. With Steam's controller layout and detection software working at its best in these situations you'll find gaming on a larger screen to be just as convenient.

Another potential limiting factor to the Steam Deck’s portability is it’s battery life. While official estimates are two to eight hours of gameplay based on its 40Whr battery, this time will vary depending on how graphically intense or unoptimized a game is. More ‘system intensive games’ like Elden Ring can drain the battery life quite easily, making your portable gaming experience a short one. However, I have found idling on the steam store or using desktop mode to give me easily over 10 hours of battery life at 95% and above. If it's lightweight indie gaming or short bursts of intensive gaming you’re looking for, the Steam Deck definitely comes highly recommended.

In conclusion, if you're looking for an affordable and comfortable way to access and play PC games, or just some industry standard setting hardware, you can’t go wrong by choosing the Steam Deck.

This Is Why: Paramore’s sixth album is their best yet

By Louie Goddard Music Correspondent

February saw the release of Paramore’s sixth album, This Is Why, as Hayley Williams returns to her bandmates Zac Farro and Taylor York after five-and-a-half years of solo work. Since their 2005 breakthrough album, All We Know Is Falling, the pop-punk group’s iconic sound and political

wokeness has recently been mirrored by artists like Billie Eilish ('Your Power') and Olivia Rodrigo (‘good 4 u’), among many others.

The album opens with the title track, which meticulously connects an experimental guitar line with a drum beat resemblant of past hits like ‘Misery Business’. The group’s signature angsty sound, particularly that offered by Williams’ resonant voice, reaffirms the trio’s status as pioneers of the poprock genre, while remoulding its boundaries, as the track seemingly ventures into psychedelic territory.

Paramore are noted for their extraordinary instrumentalism and this is evident in the track ‘Big Man, Little Dignity’. At

the beginning, the beat is carried by a flute and clarinet piece which meets the punk sound of the album’s predecessors, a bold move made by various punk artists in the past, such as Vampire Weekend (‘A-Punk’). The track seems to fall somewhere between Avril Lavigne’s ‘I’m With You’ and Green Day’s ‘Hitchin’ a Ride’, with a Tame Impala-esque twist, reasserting the album, as a whole, as one of psychedelic rock. Lyrically, this song overtly addresses the toxic masculinity complex, a theme previously explored by both the group and Williams’ solo work; ‘Know you could get away with anything, so that’s exactly what you’ll do. Big man, little dignity. Big man, little dignity. No offence, but you, you got no integrity’.

‘You First’ feels like a return to the group’s iconic roots, with Hayley Williams’ wrathful vocal performance reflecting that of ‘All I Wanted’ from 14 years prior. ‘Turns out I’m living in a horror film, where I’m both the killer and the final girl, so who, who are you?’ Williams exclaims in line with an outstanding melody which has smash hit potential. The track simultaneously screams 2000s while offering a spine-chilling relatability to listeners upon its release.

The nostalgic debut sound of ‘You First’ is carried through to ‘Figure 8’ and ‘Crave’, with undeniable lyrical maturity that comes only with two dec-

ades of song-writing experience.

‘I romanticise even the worst of times, when all it took to make me cry was being alive … what if I told them that now that I’m older, there isn’t a moment that I would change’.

is the mindset offered by Williams.

‘Liar’ offers a softer, indie sound, comparable to Lana Del Rey (Ultraviolence) and Suki Waterhouse (Good Looking), as a façade for a deeper, commanding portrayal of romance. ‘Love is not an easy thing to admit, but I’m not ashamed of it. Love is not a weakening if you feel it rushing in, don’t be ashamed of it’ Williams recites, perhaps in reference to her romance with bandmate, guitarist Taylor York. The song appears to address the taboo of romantic relations within a music group, yet her shamelessness, and desire to remain true to herself.

The album closes with ‘Thick Skull’, a beautifully composed track, which is without a doubt one of the record’s strongest. Paramore have said that this was the first song written for the album, which doesn’t come as a surprise. The

song seemingly shapes the album, with nods towards the psychedelic nature of the title track ‘This Is Why’, and ‘Big Man, Little Dignity’. The song begins with a calm, yet utterly heart-breaking ballad verse;

‘I am a magnet for broken people, I am attracted to broken people, I pick them up and now my fingers are bleeding, and it looks like my fault’.

The beat gets significantly heavier as the song moves beyond the first chorus, revealing Paramore’s signature sound. The emo-punk instrumental is accompanied unsurprisingly by heavy lyricism; ‘Only I know where all the bodies are buried, thought by now I’d find them just a little less scary’. The song appears to truly capture the sound of This Is Why, a tough feat considering it is without a doubt Paramore’s most diverse album to date.

If you like This Is Why, you might also enjoy Under My Skin by Avril Lavigne, Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard, and The Velvet Underground

Image courtesy of Valve

Image courtesy of James Archer/Rock Paper Shotgun

Image courtesy of Atlantic Records

What's On...

Film:

The Whale

Fri 3 - Thu 9 March 2023

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

Sun 5 - Sun 12 March 2023

TAR

Sat 11 February - Sun 5 March 2023

Elvis

Tue 7 March 2023

Fashion Reimagined

Wed 8 March 2023

Women Talking

Fri 10 - Fri 17 March 2023

The Son

Sun 12 - Mon 13 March 2023

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Tue 14 March 2023

Anything Goes (Recorded)

Wed 15 March 2023

Blue Jean

Thu 16 March 2023

Broker

Sat 18 - Sun 19 March 2023

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Sun 19 March 2023

NT Live: The Crucible (Recorded)

Thu 26 January - Mon 20 March 2023

ROH: Turandot (Live)

Wed 22 March 2023

All Quiet on the Western Front

Thu 23 March 2023

Live Events:

Rhys James: Spilt Milk

Sun 5 March 2023

Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical JR

Tue 7 - Thu 9 March 2023

SHIFT: EVER:LAND at Night

Fri 10 - Sat 11 March 2023

The Colyer-Fergusson Cathedral

Concert

Sat 11 March 2023

NT Connections: (Circle Dreams

Around) The Terrible, Terrible Past

Sun 12 - Mon 13 March 2023

Beans on Toast - Back out on the Road

Tue 14 March 2023

Funny Rabbit Comedy Club: Anuvab

Pal

Fri 17 March 2023

I Want My Hat Back

Sun 19 - Mon 20 March 2023

incredible dance companies coming to the University of Kent campus in March: BORN TO EXIST: the woman I know The Four Seasons

Sat 25 Mar 2023, 7:30pm

A Hip-Hop Dance Theatre production that analyses representations of females of colour with an intersectional focus to show untold individual journeys. Born to Exist forms Joseph Toonga’s third part of his Nationally acclaimed, Hip Hop Dance trilogy that invites change, and a sense of overcoming stigmas society holds towards ethnic minorities.

Thu 30 Mar 2023, 7:30pm

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 7:30pm

James Wilton Dance, one of Europe’s most in demand dance companies, presents The Four Seasons. This abstract, yet honestly human choreography relates each of the four seasons of the musical composition to the four stages of the universe, creating a kaleidoscopic visual feast for audiences that is not to be missed.

Gulbenkian: Supporting Student Productions

'Gulbenkian Arts Centre is the cultural heart of the campus and student productions have always played a really important part of our year round programme' explains Becca Brown, Gulbenkian Business Development Manager. 'We offer reduced rates for student societies for the Gulbenkian Theatre and Colyer Fergusson Hall, and our popular Café Stage.'

MTS: A Night at the Musicals & Spring Showcase

Follow along a classic story of forbidden love between a princess and prince from two opposing Houses. Think Romeo and Juliet, but with a twist...

International Showcase Kent Giving Week Finale

Student groups will perform cultural performances from singing to dancing in cultural attire. At the end of the night a winner will be chosen by our guest judges and awarded a cash prize.

Come and watch a jam-packed evening full some of the incredible talent we have all across the University, showcased in our very own Gulbenkian Theatre.

The Gulbenkian has two

By Rick O'Shay Former Ballistic Specialist

JamesCameron was feeling very frustrated with himself. Despite all of his overwhelming efforts to help raise awareness about environmental issues through his films, he felt like he wasn't making enough of anForimpact. all his massive boxoffice success, his impact on improving the world was nowhere near as high as an ambitious man such as himself would stive for.

He had tried everything - documentaries, action movies with environmental themes, even sci-fi epics with messages about sustainability. But still, he felt like people weren't taking the issue seriously enough.

One day, as he was driving through downtown Los Angeles, he saw a massive skyscraper looming over the city. It was a symbol of everything he hated- a monument to greed and excess, built at the expense of the planet. And in that moment, he had an idea. He called up his team of special effects experts and told them what he wanted to do. They were sceptical at first- after all, this wasn't exactly a legal or safe thing to do. But James Cameron was nothing if not persuasive, and he convinced them that it was absolutely worth the risk.

The plan was simple, in theory.

'I JUST WANTED TO BLOW UP A BUILDING'

EXCLUSIVE: James Cameron on his thirteen year break in between Avatar movies

They would rig the building with explosives and then set them off at a time when nobody was inside. The resulting explosion would be visible for miles and would send a message to the world that something needed to change. Of course, things didn't go exactly according to plan. There were complications with the explosives, and the building didn't collapse in the way they had hoped. In fact, it ended up causing more damage than they had anticipated, and people were injured as a result.

James Cameron was devastated. He had never intended for anyone to get hurt, and he knew that what he had done was wrong. He immediately turned himself in to the authorities and cooperated fully with the

investigation. In the end, he was sentenced to several years in prison for his actions. It was a steep price to pay for his misguided attempt at making a difference, but James Cameron knew that it was the right thing to do.

Years later, after he had

served his time and gone back to making films, he looked back on that incident with a mix of regret and gratitude. Regret for the harm he had caused, but gratitude for the perspective it had given him. He realized that real change couldn't come from blowing up buildings- it had to

SATIRE SHORTIES

come from people working together, using their voices and their actions to create a better world.

That was something James Cameron was more committed to than ever before.

By Kieran Webb Satire Editor

Sorry for the wait loyal readers! Satire Shorties are back yet again for another sensational and satire issue of InQuire. Whilst you make the agonising decision for who to vote for in the Kent Union elections, here are a few little jokes to keep you laughing. Enjoy!

FOUNDER OF DULUX PAINT FOUND DEAD ON A MOUNTAIN TOP

A police spokesperson said: “He could have done with another coat.”

LOCAL MAN REPLACES OLD MACDONALD AS HEAD OF FARM

He told InQuire: “I’m the new CIEIO.”

NEW ONLINE GUITAR TRAINING COURSE PUBLISHED

It includes three months free trial: with no strings attached.

LOCAL BAKER GRILLED ON WHY THEIR CAKES COST TWICE AS MUCH

She told InQuire: “That’s Madeira cake”

MONK WHO CLAIMS TO SEE FACE OF JESUS IN TUB OF MARGARINE

He told InQuire: “I can’t believe it’s not Buddha.”

LOCAL

MAN SURVIVES VIAGRA OVERDOSEWHILST WATCHING BRUCE WILLIS FILM

He told InQuire: "Thankfully I didn't Die Hard."

BRITAIN MOURNS SIR CLIFF RICHARD

The renowned singer has released yet another new album.

Filmmaker James Cameron via Gettyimages

Cameron's idea visualised courtesy of Pixabay

Bruce Willis via Dreamstime

Compliments to give a judge so that they like you if you’re on trial

By Sue Mee Lawyer from Doncaster

Hi, I’m Susan Mee. Did you know that you have rights? Great Britain says you do. And so do I. I believe that until proven guilty, every man, woman, and child in this country is innocent. And that’s why I fight for you, InQuire readers! Here are my tried and tested methods to win over a judge, which should sweeten your deal or get them to drop your case entirely. Follow it carefully!

“How am I seeing your muscles through your robe right now?”

---------------------------------------

“Okay Mr Tie” (if wearing a tie)

“Your Honour, he claimed he was the best judge” (if on trial for murdering a different judge)

“Before you read the verdict, I just want you to know I support your decision no matter what” ---------------------------------------

“I really want that tie” (if wearing a tie) ---------------------------------------

(When they bang the gavel) “You make that look so easy, no way”

---------------------------------------

(When they bang the gavel to quiet the courtroom, but everyone continues talking) “Everyone shut up right now! They’re trying to talk!”

Pull out a gun, aim it at the judge and say: “Give me that tie”. ---------------------------------------

If the jury also need to swayed in your favour, you can try a couple other neat courtroom tricks that have got me out of a few sticky situations!

“Damn, why do you all look so hot?” ---------------------------------------

When the main jury says “We the jury-” cut them off and say: “Are you a voice actor?” If they say no tell them: “you have such a good voice, you should try it.”

Get one of your pals to be in the jury and have them yell: “THIS JURY SUCKS”. You should then say: “Your Honour, permission to go beat the **** out of that guy?”

*Disclaimer* InQuire do not offer legal advice.

A string of bad luck

By Kay OssMorphine Mastermind

Once upon a time, there was a young couple named Jack and Jill who had been saving up for a month-long holiday in the Caribbean for years. They had dreamed of white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, and endless sunshine.

Finally, the day of their departure arrived, and they were filled with excitement and anticipation.

However, their excitement was short-lived when they arrived at the airport and learned that their flight had been cancelled due to a mechanical failure. They were told that the earliest they could leave was in a week's time.

Feeling disappointed but

determined, Jack and Jill decided to make the most of their extra time at home and set off a week later. Unfortunately, things only went downhill from there. As soon as they landed, they discovered that their luggage had been lost and wouldn't be returned for another two and a half weeks.

While they waited for their

bags, they decided to make the most of their holiday and explore the island. But on the third day, Jack suddenly fell ill and had to be rushed to the hospital. It turns out he needed an emergency tonsillectomy. The surgery went well, but the pain was unbearable and the only thing that could alleviate it was morphine. Jack was

listed as having drug-seeker behaviour reported when he asked for more morphine after the surgery and spent the rest of the holiday in a daze, unable to fully enjoy the beautiful island.

When it was finally time to go home, they were relieved to be leaving. But their misery wasn't over yet. As they arrived at the airport, they learned that their flight had been delayed yet again, this time due to a tropical storm.

Feeling defeated and exhausted, Jack and Jill finally returned home, their month-long holiday ruined by cancelled flights, lost baggage, a tonsillectomy, and a morphine addiction. They vowed never to leave home again.

"It is who I am and it’s who I’ve always been"

- Sam Smith on why Lunch is his favourite meal

Trouble in Paradise? Courtesy of Pixabay

By Joe Crossley Sport Editor

Continued from back page

'[We are] running [the campaign] again this year to build on making sure that people find a community on campus that they feel safe in that, they feel a part of and that they feel supported in. 'Sport at the end of the day is all about people coming together to share a passion and should be a great way to bring together people from different backgrounds.'

Thomas Freeston, Vice President of Welfare and Community at Kent, has joined Caroline on this campaign for the second year running and believes the visible aspect of the rainbow laces will lead to important conversations between the LGBTQ+ community and sports societies that will spark

greater inclusivity.

Tom said: 'We have had students come to us with issues around sports teams not understanding inclusivity and really what we wanted to do was be able to educate them and kind of empower them to feel confident about being kind of inclusive in their sport.

'The laces start a conversation as people often ask what are these for and Why are people wearing them.

'For if an LGBTQ+ student is interested in joining a sport and they go to watch a match on a Wednesday, and they see that everyone's wearing rainbow laces, then they might feel like sport is inclusive and that they can join in.'

Statistics from LGBTQ+ charity group Stonewall show that inclusivity is a real problem that sport has to tackle, with 43% of LGBTQ+ people thinking public sporting events aren't welcoming, whilst 33% of LGBTQ+ people who participate in sports or follow sports are not ‘out’ to anyone in their sporting life.

Tom noted how that particularly male sport promote toxic masculinity which can often be a barrier of entry for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Tom noted: 'there are quite a lot of male sports which have an element of outward masculinity and their socials can sometimes be quite loud and rowdy with macho behavior.

'There's a preconception sometimes that outwardly masculine people are less inclusive and tolerant which comes from the few bad people who

perpetuate toxic masculinity.

'This doesn't come from a place of ignorance or intolerance necessarily, it just comes from a lack of understanding and education and really that is what this campaign is all about; creating really simple, easy steps to be more inclusive.

'This won't be fixed overnight, and we know that it will take years of campaigning and education to change this, but we can do something quite impactful.'

'Communication is just such a big part of improving inclusivity,' Caroline added, 'If people feel respected and treated nicely, they'll be a part of your society and they might be the next rising star.

'So, give everyone a chance.'

As sports societies at Kent prepare themselves for the ever-competitive Varsity games, starting on the 19th of March, against Canterbury Christ Church, Kent Union hopes to see plenty of players from all sports showing their support for greater inclusivity with the LGBTQ+ community by wearing rainbow laces.

To find out more about the ‘lace up and speak up’ campaign and sign their pledge visit the Kent Union website for more information.

https://kentunion.co.uk/2022-2023/lgbtq-history-month

UK Athletics calls for spilt competition for transgender athletes

UK Athletics wants to reserve women’s competitions for competitors that are assigned female at birth, with all transgender athletes having to compete against men in an open category.

The legislation change would have to be enforced by the government to introduce an open category, which would replace the current male category and be open to athletes of all sexes.

British Triathlon, the Rugby Football Union, and Rugby Football League have all similar changes without any legal challenges. However, UKA Chair Ian Beattie said his organisation was fearful of making such a change having taken legal advice regarding the Gender Recognition Act of 2004.

Chair Beattie said: ‘It states that people with gender recognition certificates have to be treated as female for all purposes.

‘There’s not an exemption for that for sporting purposes.

‘If we don’t get a legal change, it will be very difficult for us to go ahead with this policy, the risks

Continued from back page.

Andrew’s team is now based on the Canterbury Campus after previously being situated in Medway- hence the name- and play in Tier 3B of the Futsal league system. There are three Tiers of futsal in England in which Tiers 2 and 3 have two divisions- A and B- which are of equal quality. Now in his fourth year of playing futsal, Andrew fell in love with futsal after taking up the sport when he came to the University of Kent and has played for Medway futsal for the duration of his time here.

Andrew said: ‘until the age of 19, I had never heard of futsal, but before I came to university, I was a junior international athlete.

‘Besides that, I was playing like 11-a-side but then I got injured doing training for athletics so then I stopped running and I came to university and thought why not get back into football.

‘There was three 11-a-side teams as well as a futsal team, so I originally started playing for the football team but didn't really enjoy it.

‘That's when I started playing futsal and have been now for three years.’

So, what is it about futsal that saw Andrew, who was a complete novice, want to carry on and

to the organisation would be too high.

‘I think, ultimately, we’re very keen we all recognise what we’ve got responsibility for– and the government are the only ones who can change legislation.

UKA’s statement has been criticised by groups that are celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month.

LGBTQ+ group Stonewall, famous for its Rainbow Laces campaign, has come out against the UKA’s approach, pointing to inconclusive scientific facts surrounding trans-athletes.

Director of communications Robbie de Santos said: ‘The 2021 Census data tells us that trans women make up 0.1% of the population in England and Wales.

‘The trans population may be small, but they have every right to participate in sports and enjoy the many physical, mental and community benefits of sports.’

But for Stonewall ‘the burden of proof should not be on trans athletes to prove a negative, the burden should be to prove that there are disad-

vantages which do exist.’

The UKA statement says that ‘there is currently no scientifically robust, independent research showing that all male performance advantage is eliminated following testosterone suppression.’

A Sports Council Equality Group (SCEG) report from 2021 found ‘that the inclusion of transgender people into female sport cannot be balanced regarding transgender inclusion, fairness and safety in gender-affected sport where there is meaningful competition.’

According to SCEG’s report, this was due to ‘differences in strength, stamina, and physique between the average woman compared with the average transgender woman or non-binary person assigned male at birth, with or without testosterone suppression.’

World Athletics has proposed continuing to allow transgender women to compete in female international track and field events and still use testosterone limits as the basis for inclusion.

UKA, which has a Transgender Project Group to

By Joe Crossley

make recommendations, does not agree with the use of testosterone suppression for transgender women.

Instead, it would like to reserve the female category for those who were female at birth but does not believe the ‘sporting exemption’ introduced in the Equalities Act of 2010 allows them to lawfully exclude transwomen in possession of a Gender Recognition Certificate from competing.

The EHRC said ‘We reached out to UK Athletics and offered to discuss the legal advice underpinning their statement.

‘We are disappointed that they have chosen to publicise their inaccurate advice and we would urge all organisations to consult our website which explains equality law and how it relates to these issues.’

This comes as LGBTQ+ History Month is celebrated across the UK, which has taken place every year since it was founded in 2004 by Schools OUT co-chairs, Paul Patrick & Professor Emeritus Sue Sanders.

become president and manager of Medway Futsal?

‘It’s just it’s so competitive’ Andrew explained.

‘It's so fast-paced and given my background in track athletics, it's ithe only sport that I've found that has a comparable adrenaline release to running on the track.

‘Whereas that an 11-a-side, you may play 90 minutes, but you'll be on the ball for two or three but in futsal because there's such a small pitch and it's five-a-side you are constantly involved, so everything you do has an impact on the game.’

This ‘constant involvement’ means more touches on the ball and so does wonders for a player’s technique. It doesn’t take an expert to work out that the more that a player is on the ball, the more refined they will become technically. . Andrew himself is a case in point: ‘When I started to play futsal, I was very unrefined’ Andrew said ‘I was very raw, as it was a different way of playing than playing 11-a-side.

'But across the course of the year, I adapted my game and learned how futsal worked.’

Futsal much like football is an easy game to play, but difficult to get really good at. But this is the same with any sport and is not a barrier for entry when it comes to futsal. Andrew clarified ‘Futsal is really is something that anyone can play.

'You might look at it from the outside and think it's technical and I'm not good enough to play that, but actually there were a couple of lads that joined in that year that I was talking about where I was coaching, and I really did witness a big progression across the course here.’

The benefits of futsal don’t stop with the technical side of the game. The intensity of the game and the length: two 20-minute halves, the improvement to a player’s cardio-vascular fitness are quite clear to see. As someone who has played five-a-side football, constant sprinting increases speed, agility, and fitness. Andrew noted the difference between other sports and futsal.

‘I've known people that have been what you've considered to be fit, athletic, who have come to play, thinking that they're gonna just walk over

everyone. And then, people would be exhausted after just a few minutes.’

Futsal doesn’t just provide physical benefits but does much to help mental health. The very game itself, because of its frantic pace, means there is little else to think about than the game- taking your mind away from the stresses of life, even if it is for 40 minutes. The social aspect of being part of a squad of 15-20 players, and the friendship that comes with bonding over the highs and lows of victory and defeat, contribute massively to positive mental health well-being.

In short, futsal is a sport that deserves some reignition. After an incredibly tough pandemic, where teams were unable to play, memberships at academies in Kent have skyrocketed. The relaunch of England Futsal is hoped to bring more eyes onto the game, which will inspire more novices to join up to their local clubs.

"Sport at the end of the day is all about people coming together"

'People are exhausted after just a few minutes' playing futsal

Andrew (second left top row) poses alongside members of Team Medway Futsal: Image courtesy of @TeamMedway

The Rainbow laces campaign has been run since 2013: Image courtesy of Swindon Town

Sport Editor

SPORT SUMMED UP

Sabalenka victorious during controversial women’s final B

elarusian-born Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elena Rybakina in three sets in a controversial women’s singles final at the Australian Open, as both women competed under flags not of their birth, neutral and Kazakhstan respectively. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the men's final to win his tenth Australian Open title in a 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 victory.

Chelsea look to overcome winter Blues with spending spree

Chelsea broke the British transfer record with the signing of World Cup Golden Boy Enzo Fernandez in a deal equivalent to £106.8 million from Benfica on deadline day on an eight-and-a-half-year contract. The Blues spent £323 million in the January transfer window as eight new players were added to Graham Potter’s ever-expanding squad, which now has 33 members.

MAGIC MAHOMES INSPIRES SUPER CHIEFS

By Reuben Flewitt Sport Writer

Super Bowl 57 can be regarded as one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time, with regular season and eventual Superbowl MVP Patrick Mahomes defying injury to lead the Chiefs to a remarkable comeback victory after the Eagles came short in the final game of the season. The Chiefs looked down for the count at halftime by 10 points, with KC Patrick Mahomes limping to the locker room after his ongoing ankle injury flared up. The Eagles looked strong favourites to hold on to the lead. However, Mahomes led four consecutive scoring drives out of the break, allowing the Chiefs to kick a game-winning field goal with less than a minute on the clock, making the final score 38-35. With that incredible scoreline, this Super Bowl is the first ever in which both teams scored 35 points, certainly living up to the excitement that was promised in the build-up to the game.

Mahomes is the first player to win the MVP, Super Bowl, and Super Bowl MVP in a season since Kurt Warner in 1999. This is Mahomes’ second Super Bowl victory, both of which have been won with coach Andy Reid. This is a milestone by which many would have said he needed to rank as one of the greatest QBs to play the game, including his coach.

Reid praised his QB saying: ‘He wants to be the greatest player ever and that’s the way he goes about his business. And he does it humbly, there’s no bragging.’

‘The great quarterbacks make everybody around him better, including the head coach. So he’s done a heck of a job.’

The affection is mutual, with Mahomes calling Reid ‘one of the greatest coaches of all time.’

He added: ‘I think everybody knew that, but these last two Super Bowls kind of cemented that.’

Reid’s two Super Bowls in four years makes him the first coach in the four American major sports leagues to win multiple championships after not winning one in his first 20 years as a head coach. Despite Mahomes’ throwing for just 182 yards, his three touchdowns were crucial in KC’s victory.

Jalen Hurts put the Eagles in an excellent position for victory too. 304 yards and a TD in the air plus 70 yards and 3 TDs on the ground allowed Philadelphia to dominate the time of possession battle.

However, the Eagle’s vaunted defence, a unit that racked up the second most sacks of all time in a season, could do nothing to stop Mahomes who remained untouched the entire game.

Entering the 4th quarter, the score was 27-21 but TD passes from Mahomes to Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore on plays from deep in the Andy Reid playbook bamboozled Philly’s stout defense. This put KC ahead for the first time in the game. Philadelphia pulled it back to 35-35 after Hurts’ record-breaking third rushing TD of the day and subsequent two-point conversion.

Mahomes needed to produce something special to secure the win. The 27-year-old, who was named league MVP shortly before the game, overcame his injury on a heroic 26-yard run to set up a chip shot field goal leaving just eight seconds on the clock.

The game promised to be a slugfest between Mahomes and Hurts, and this rang true, since neither defence could stop either QB. Hurts’ 3 rushing TDs added to an already stellar total and set a single-season record of 18 as well as the record for a QB in the Super Bowl. His incredible performance would certainly have been awarded Super Bowl MVP had the Eagles won.

Superbowl 57 was the Chiefs’ third appearance in the NFL’s greatest show since 2019, of which Mahomes’ and co have won two. The Kanas’ all-conquering winning machine has sparked dynasty talk now that Mahomes is the 13th QB to win multiple rings and Reid is the 15th coach to achieve the same feat.

But the Chiefs are keeping themselves grounded, and are ready to go again next season, their talisman insisted.

Mahomes said: ‘I am not going to say a dynasty yet, we are not done.’

‘I told you nothing was going to keep me off the field.’

‘I want to thank my teammates - we challenged each other, and it took everybody.’

Tight end Travis Kelce chimed in on the dynasty talk: 'You can call it a dynasty - you can call it whatever you want.

‘All I know is we're coming back next year, and our heart and mindset are on trying to get another.’

‘We were uncharacteristic in the beginning [of the game] but everyone had that look in their eye that they would leave it all out there on the field and that is what we did.’

He added: ‘It solidifies your greatness. You didn't get lucky once, it wasn't beginners' luck.’ Not only was Super Bowl 57 an incredibly entertaining one but it is a historic one too. This meeting between the two #1 seeded teams was the first to be contested by two black starting QBs. Furthermore, these two QBs had the youngest combined age in a Superbowl at 51. It was also the first Superbowl with a set of brothers playing against each other in Jason and Travis Kelce. How did the two teams get to the big game?

The Eagles were triumphant against an injury-plagued San Francisco 49ers taking the National Football Conference (NFC) title 31-7. Meanwhile, Kansas City avenged last year’s loss to the Bengals in the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship with a 23-20 victory in this year’s rematch.

The Eagles finished the season with a 14-3 record with a perfect start through eight games. Having gained the 1st seed, the Birds had a firstround bye and met the New York Giants in the Divisional round. The team showed no signs of weakness in the 38-7 victory which was followed by a thumping 31-7 win in the NFC Championship against the 49ers.

The Chiefs matched the Eagles’ 14-3 record this season. They fulfilled many analysts’ pre-season predictions, being the AFC’s representative in the Superbowl. The playoffs had been less of a walk in the park for the Chiefs than the Eagles. They won 27-20 over the Jaguars which took the Chiefs to their 5th consecutive AFC Championship game and a rematch with the Bengals after a nail-biting overtime loss last year. Mahomes suffered an ankle injury against the Jaguars that became one of the most speculated upon injuries in American Sports history. The many camera operators present at his press conferences zoomed in eagerly as he strode out of the room, allowing the Chiefs to downplay the effect this would have on his play. The supposedly injured Mahomes passed for 326 yards and two TDs in the 23-20 win in the AFC Championship.

With the way, these two young QBs played this season, and the success both organisations have had in building quality rosters in the past decade, it’s clear that these two teams will be competing for Lombardi Trophies long into the future.

Court drops charges against United's Mason Greenwood

Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood has had charges of attempted rape, assault, and controlling and coercive dropped against him by the Crown Prosecution Service, but still faces an internal club investigation into whether to reintegrate him into Erik ten Hag's first-team squad. The 21-year-old was due to face trial in November this year, but the charges were dropped following the withdrawal of key witnesses and ‘new material that came to light’.

Football goes green in support of environmental awareness

The Green Football Weekend took place from the 3rd to the 5th of February across the English Football League and Women’s Super League, where over 80 clubs joined forces to undertake initiatives to combat the climate crisis. Organisers hope that small actions taken by fans, clubs and players will combine to make a significant cut in emissions and a is chance to question football’s relationship with money from fossil fuel companies.

Borthwick off the mark in second Six Nations League game

England Rugby manager, Steve Borthwick secured his first victory as Red and Whites boss as his squad regained some pride after smashing Italy in their second Six Nations game, 31-14, after losing their opening game at Twickenham to rivals Scotland. Next up for England are Wales, who have lost their opening two matches.

England cricket's test side set pace for 2023with 'Baz Ball'

England’s test cricket team continued their ‘Bazball’ renaissance in their first test of 2023 against New Zealand. England manager Brendon McCullum’s record is now 10 of 11 and this win saw James Anderson and Stuart Broad become the most successful bowling partnership in test history with 1,002 wickets. England will look to continue this great form as they prepare for the Ashes this summer.

Steve Brothwick was named manager in December after Eddie Jones departed:Image courtsey of Sky Sports

Mahomes celebrates second Superbowl victory. Image courtesy of BBC Sport Carole Brenham, Shutterstock

Fernandez warming up prior to 1-1 draw with West Ham United: Image courtesy of VN Explorer

UKC's Rugby players donned the rainbow laces during last years Varsity game: image courtesy of Canterbury Varsity

Laced up:

Kent

WHY FUTSAL?

By Joe Crossley Sport Editor

Union campaign

'Lace Up and Speak Up' hopes to bring greater equality to UKC sports

By Joe Crossley Sports Editor

Kent Union has been encouraging greater inclusivity in sports societies as the University celebrates LGBTQ+ History Month.

Kent Union has continued its 'lace up and speak up’ campaign that began last year, which has seen rainbow laces being handed out to students who have been asked to sign a pledge that they will promote greater inclusivity and equality in sport.

Kent Union has also created different templates that societies download from their website and put pictures of them wearing rainbow laces and then repost them on social media stories.

Vice President for Student Engagement, Caroline Van Eldik, believes Kent Union’s campaign will foster more inclusivity in sports societies.

Caroline said: 'I thought the campaign would be a really wholesome way to get people to come together and talk about an important issue...

Continued on page 30.

"A LONG WAY TO GO"

By Sam Leah Sport Writer

Football, like all things, is not perfect. The so-called ‘beautiful game’ has its fair share of imperfections, with racism and discrimination still at large. The Euro 2020 Final is a stark reminder that England has not solved this issue. Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho all suffered racial abuse after missing crucial penalties, that would have given the England men's team their long-desired silverware.

Fast forward to today, and the recent release of this year's football ‘Black List’, a list of black footballers, administrators, LGBTQ+ activists, media journalists, and more, who have made a strong impact on the development of the game across all areas. The list was first published in 2008, and over the course of the last 25 years has shone a light on black professionals working in and around the sport. The aforementioned Saka and Rashford earned a spot on the list, as well as other notable names including Les Ferdinand, who is currently the only black Director of Football in the English game, and Andre Gray, former Premier League player and co-founder of the Black Fund, which promotes equality in investment.

Black football managers are also celebrated here, and among the names is current Crystal Palace manager Patrick Viera, the former Arsenal captain and a World Cup winner with France. Viera has been at the helm since 2021, turning the club’s woes around and bringing them up the table and into some more consistent form. Viera seems a great fit for the club on all levels.

On several occasions, Viera has stressed his disappointment at the lack of black managers in the

English football league. Statistics from the Football Association show that 34% of English Football League players are black, but only 4.4% of managers. There are, and always, will be opportunities for black managers to take charge at top-level clubs, of course, but sadly there simply aren't enough black managers currently operating in the top leagues to increase this number. Viera has stated that there is ‘still a long way to go’ in equal representation. He is undoubtedly correct. At the time of writing, he is the only black manager in the Premier League, and of the 98 total top-flight clubs across Europe’s top 5 leagues, only 2 have black managers.

In an interview on the Football News show back in October, Viera was passionate in his wishes for more black individuals in and around the footballing sphere to get into coaching at any level to ‘change the mentality’ but also to ‘fight discrimination…to be treated like everyone else’.

Viera also added that he 'felt no pressure' in terms of being the sole black coach in the Premier League, adding that as a manager you are judged on the wins and losses and nothing else.

Next season, however, the Premier League will likely see another black manager in the form of Burnley boss Vincent Kompany. Kompany, in a short period, has expertly demonstrated his management skills, giving a fresh bounce to a recently relegated Burnley side who had also parted with long-term manager and club legend Sean Dyche.

Kompany is still relatively young in the world of management, just 36 years old and having only retired from his playing career in the 2019/2020 season. Burnley is his second managerial gig and his first in the English Football League. During Kompany’s playing career, the Belgian demonstrated tremendous skill and reading from the

game, having captained Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Manchester City. It seems Kompany has learned plenty from Guardiola who is considered one of the greatest managers ever. Burnley has lost only twice in the Championship after 29 games played. In a very short period, Kompany has emerged as a very promising coach who is likely to carry on this form in the Premier League. It’s also important to note managers with perhaps less success, the likes of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank who was last at Burton Albion,

England Futsal U-19’s qualification for UEFA European Under-19 Futsal Championship, which will take place in September 2023, has justified the relaunch of England Futsal.

After the FA cut funding for futsal and grassroots football during the Covid-19 pandemic, there is now a sense that the sport is getting back on its feet and growing once again.

But while these young ballers are plying their craft on the international stage whenever someone is asked ‘what is futsal?’ the answer is usually ‘indoor football’.

Futsal is so much more than that.

From the international scene to local clubs, the sport is adored by all those who step inside sports halls to kick a size-four football.

To answer the ‘what is futsal’ question directly, it is much like football with a heavier ball.

It originated in 1930s in Uruguay and was developed by a teacher named Juan Carlos Ceriani. Futsal is played with a ball, a heavier smaller one at that you can pass, shoot and standing tackle off another player much like football.

The aim of the game, much like football is to score more goals than your opponent.

There is a goalie who is the only player who can use their hands.

Whilst in Britain most games are held in sports halls because of the usually awful weather, in sunnier climates games can be held anywhere that can accommodate two teams and has outlines for two goals.

In this country futsal remains relatively unknown despite the sport being held in high regard, in sunnier regions of Europe and South America. Futsal deserves a lot more respect than being seen as football’s lesser sibling...

Continued on page 30.

Premier League teams and 32 other teams across the EFL. Within it, there are several targets that these teams should aim to meet. For example, there is a specific quota that says that 15% of senior management role hirings at every club should be of black, Asian, or mixed heritage backgrounds. The results for last season showed that across all clubs, the quota was not met, at only 10.3%. Therefore, it’s evident that English clubs could be doing more to promote diversity and inclusivity within their teams.

pany to the Premier League as well as tion that Viera gives, as well as his activism around the issue, we may hopefully begin to see more and more black coaches come into the

The Black List also serves as a great point of information to highlight influential black names fully continue to open the doors

Patrick Vieira is the only black manager in the Premier League this season despite 34% of players being black: Image courtesy of Getty Images