InQuire Issue 11.11

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InQuire The University of Kent’s student newspaper

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19 February 2015

Issue 11.11

Meetings Mondays at 6.15pm, Student Media Centre

Are superfoods hyped?

Is art a man’s world?

Features Page 9

Culture Page 16

Interview with City Sound Project Entertainment Page 14

Vice-Chancellor under fire for £26,000 flights • £26,000 spent on business and first class air travel in 2014/15 • Salary payrise of £43,000 in 2013/14 to £265,000 Ruby Lyle Newspaper Editor

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ame Julia Goodfellow, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Kent, has been revealed to have spent £26,635.18 on air travel in the 2014/15 academic year, this is an increase of £19,748.43 spent on flights in 2013/14 (previously £6,886.75).

Furthermore, 92 per cent of air travel has been taken in either business or first class.

These statistics have come from the University and College Union (UCU), who released a report on 11 February on the pay and expenses of ViceChancellors in UK universities.

When asked about the ViceChancellor’s travel expenses, the University said: “The University has a strategic objective to become a globally recognised research institution by 2020. In support of this objective, the Vice-Chancellor is expected to travel extensively to establish international links

with overseas universities, and to promote the University internationally. Due to 2014/15 being the University’s 50th anniversary year, the ViceChancellor was also required to undertake more travel than

Along with this total of £32,308.83 spent on flights and hotels, another issue raised by the UCU report was the matter of pay for vice chancellors.

In 2013/14, Goodfellow’s pay rose £222,000

usual.”

The average flight costs for other UK Vice-Chancellors for the previous academic year was £8,560.

In conjuncture with the costs of air travel, it was also found that Dame Julia Goodfellow spent £5,673.56 on hotel accommodation. This is a total of £2,683.63

higher than the average expenditure by university vicechancellors.

• Accommodation wellmarket as the experience value of the of £1,115,000

• £5,673.56 spent on hotel rooms in 2014/15 t

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£265,000, a rise of £43,000. As was reported at the time of the increase, the British Prime Minister is paid £142,500.

UCU also raised the point, however, t h a t , on a v e r a g e , university s t a f f are paid 6.7 times less than university VCs.

On Kent’s VC pay rate, the University stated: “The University of Kent is a top 20 UK university and the ViceChancellor’s salary reflects her positon as the leader of an ambitious multi-million pound, international organisation. It is in line with the sector average pay for vice-chancellors and is comparable to similarly-sized public and private sector organisations.”

On 17 November 2015, InQuire interviewed the Vice-Chancellor.

On the matter of justifying her pay in relation to cuts to national funding and education, she had this to say: “The calculation of my wage is done by the remuneration committee, without me being in the room.

They will consider the going rate for Vice-Chancellors of other universities in the UK, as

person in similar roles, and their achievements each year. The amount I get paid is appraised each year, based on a number of objectives that are set for me.

“In relation to other ViceChancellor’s pay cheques at other universities, my wage is actually around average.”

Another aspect of the role of Vice-Chancellor at Kent is the provision of accommodation by the University. UCU has found that Goodfellow’s home has a current market value of £1,115,000. According to Right Move, Canterbury has an average house price of £262,602.

Goodfellow’s 2014/15 bill was also found to include management consultancy fees of £150,238.

Prospects.ac.uk state that the role of management consultants is to “solve issues, create value, maximise growth and improve business performance”.

In this category, Kent’s Vice Chancellor has spent below average, with others paying fees of £499,360.30 on average.

Continued on page two.

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Ife Ogunsakin

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ith new cases being found every day in the United Kingdom and a death rate of 1 in 10, Meningitis has become a serious issue, especially amongst students who are most vulnerable to the disease.

In many cases, students are not aware they have actually contracted the disease, as the symptoms can be mistaken as a bout of flu, with warning signs such as a fever, vomiting, drowsiness, difficulty waking up, and confusion. If meningitis is left untreated, it may lead

to hearing loss, problems with memory, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, speech problems, vision loss, and ultimately, death.

Considering the risk of getting meningitis and the dreadful complications associated with it, it’s hoped that students in Canterbury would be rushing to get the vaccination. On the contrary, statistics show that only about 50 per cent of students across the UK who are eligible to get the free vaccine have actually taken it, and a large proportion of students are still very much at risk of contracting the disease.

The charity Meningitis Now has renewed its call for students to take action to protect themselves from a particularly deadly strain of meningitis this winter. All teenagers aged 17 and 18 are eligible to receive the ACWY vaccine for free, whilst older university students aged 19 to 25 can also claim the free vaccination. It is important to note that university campuses and other areas where young people are in close proximity are prone to outbreaks of meningitis, especially because, as said

by Sue Davie, Meningitis Chief Executive: “Up to a quarter of students carry the bacteria that can cause meningitis, compared

to one in ten of the general population.”

As not all types of meningitis have vaccines, students are advised to get vaccinated for the types that are available, learn the signs and symptoms of the disease, and look out for themselves and their friends.

If you are worried about Meningitis or believe that you may have contracted the virus call the University Medical Centre on 01227 469333 for help and advice.

Photo by Humans are free

at Universities contribute Protest mosque £909m to local economy Lauren Sullivan Newspaper News Editor

Features Saga Rad

Students ignore meningitis vaccinations

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t has emerged that the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University have contributed a staggering figure of £909m to the Canterbury economy in the year 2014/15. This is according to research from Viewforth Consulting Ltd, specialists in higher education impact analysis.

The two universities have

provided opportunities in the area for full-time employment, offering a range of careers across a variety of sectors.

Currently, 4,930 staff members are employed between the two universities, making them the largest employers in the area.

Outside of university grounds, students are also responsible for the expenditure of £280m and have generated 9,900 jobs in Canterbury.

Ursula Kelly, Director of Viewforth Consulting Ltd, said:

“The results of our analysis show the importance of the two universities to Canterbury, to Kent, and to the South East region as a whole. Many local businesses will benefit from the presence of the universities and their students, who bring money into Canterbury and create jobs in nearly every sector of the economy.”

Looking further afield, Canterbury’s main universities are worth a total of £1.3bn to the South East region.

Goodfellow’s expenses examined Continued from front page.

In the previous interview with the Vice-Chancellor, InQuire also asked what is involved in Goodfellow’s role.

She stated: “So the role of the Vice-Chancellor of a university is very much like the ChiefExecutive of a company. I act as a sort of Managing Director for the University, which is a very complex job. I look outward on a local, regional, national, and international level, and work with alumni around the world to develop the University. I also have a national role this year with Universities UK, so I do quite a lot on national higher education policy. When I’m here I have a set number of

meetings that I chair, and I’m available for people who want to come and see me.”

Despite this description, in light of the expenditure by vice-chancellors across the UK, Michael Moran from UCU has called for greater transparency in universities. He argued: “While some continue to enjoy inflation-busting pay hikes and all the trimmings of first-class flights, staff pay continues to be held down.

“It is deeply worrying that ministers are considering relaxing the one measure we have to hold universities to account when they should be forcing far greater scrutiny of how public money and student

fees are spent.”

After speaking with Dame Julia Goodfellow, Tammy Naidoo, Kent Union President, reported that the ViceChancellor would publish both her own expenses and the University’s expenses policy on Kent’s website. This was said to be in an effort to display greater transparency on expenditure and the reasons for it. Naidoo continued to state: “As normal we will continue to hold the University to account on their activities and expenditure to make sure whatever they do is in students best interest.”

Follow InQuire to learn more about Goodfellow’s expenses when details are released.

Lauren Sullivan Newspaper News Editor

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n 7 February, police were called to the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus after protesters from Britain First staged a demonstration at Canterbury Mosque day.

The members of the protest stood outside Canterbury Mosque, holding a banner demanding “no more mosques” but were disrupted by visitors and made to leave after 45 minutes.

Despite the protest, Muslim community leaders from the University of Kent Islamic Society insisted that the day had not been spoilt by the demonstrators. The society’s Vice-President, Ihsan Khan, commented: “There were only about five of them and we must have had almost 300 people come to visit us who were very interested to hear about the mosque and our faith.”

The mosque offered vistors the chance to learn about Islam , try on hijabs and witness a prayer meeting. Mr Khan said that the centre is family orientated and that their message to each visitor is ‘asalaamualaikum’ meaning may peace be with you. Mr Khan also said: “It’s a pity because the day was far more popular than we expected and people of all faiths and of no faith was given a warm welcome”.

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Voter turnout for 2015 KU elections low in Medway Natalie Tipping Editor-in-Chief

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he Kent Union Sabbatical Elections are coming round for another year, and with them come questions about participation from within the student body.

Data provided by the Representation and Democracy department of Kent Union showed that both voter turnout and involvement from students studying at the Medway campus was much lower than from students at Canterbury in last year’s leadership elections.

Last year, 24 people ran for one of the five different positions available, of which 88 per cent were students from the Canterbury campus. 46 per cent of the candidates were Humanities students, and 67 per cent were UK nationals. Of the 24 candidates, 96 per cent were full-time students, and 83 per cent were undergraduates.

Voter turnout in Medway was also very low last year, with only eight per cent of Medway students voting, out of a total of 4,145 voters. This means that from around 9,000 students at the Medway campus, only 720 people voted.

The figures relating to the involvement of Medway students asks startling questions about the Union’s impact at the Medway campus, and whether students there feel represented by the candidates who go on to represent them to

the University and on a national level.

In terms of subject areas, the vote was evenly spread, with 24 per cent of Social Sciences students voting, 26 per cent of Humanities students, and 20 per cent of Sciences students.

There is therefore little disparity between subject disciplines and student engagement with the elections.

The figures also ask questions however about the priorities of student voters, as the number of students who voted for each position differs drastically.

Of the 4,145 students, 3,696 voted for Union President, while only 3,277 voted for VicePresident (Education). The Vice-President (Education) role garnered the fewest votes, despite the fact that this role is in charge of lobbying the University on matters to do with tuition, the central idea of university for many.

With over 20,000 students, the Union is hoping to greatly improve these numbers this year, with all sabbatical elections related to the Medway campus - Greenwich Students’ Union and Kent Union - taking place at the same time. A spokesperson for the Union said: “For the first time in a long time both Kent and Greenwich SU elections will run at the same time. This means GK Unions and the students at Medway will benefit from having a consistent approach to both sets of Leadership Elections.”

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raduates who fail to pay back their student loans could be prosecuted.

This is due to many students avoiding paying back their loans, including those moving abroad in an attempt to not pay.

Ministers have warned they will take tougher measures to ensure that future student loans are paid back in full.

Universities Minister Jo Johnson said: “As more loans are issued to new students each year, it is vital that the

repayment process is robust.”

In the UK, students are granted loans of £9,000 for tuition fees as well as an average amount of ar £4,040 for maintenance loan.

Johnson continued: “We will take stronger action to trace borrowers, including those overseas, act to recover loan repayments where it is clear that borrowers are seeking to avoid repayment, consider the use of sanctions against borrowers who breach loan repayment terms, and, if necessary, prosecute them.”

Loan repayments start when a graduate earns over £21,000 at

SUSPECT bomb hoax caller Vanessa Relton has now admitted that it was her who contacted the University with false information.

Last year, the University of Kent received threatening calls about a bomb in the area and immediately evacuated several buildings.

After investigation, it turned out that these were in fact false claims. Relton was caught when a security guard who took one of the phone calls recognised her voice and reported her to the police. She was arrested and pleaded guilty to three offences of communicating false information with intent to make people believe that a bomb had been planted on the campus.

THREE teenagers have been arrested after a boy was attacked outside shops in Canterbury. The victim suffered serious head injuries and was taken to hospital, where he is recovering. An 18-year old boy from Deal, and a 17-year old boy and a 17-year old girl, both from Canterbury, have been arrested on suspicion of assault.

Prosecution for student loan repayment avoiders Lauren Sullivan Newspaper News Editor

At a Glance

a starting rate of £30 per month plus inflation.

A potential increase in how much students are set to repay was announced by the government in July 2015, when they revealed plans to scrap maintenance grants. This is expected to affect over half a million students in England alone. The grants, which are non-repayable sums of money intended to aid students with a household income of up to £42,620, shall instead be replaced with increased maintenance loans reaching £8,200.

Furthermore, there are currently calls for an increase on the £9,000 tuition fees cap.

Kent’s Vice-Chancellor, Dame Julia Goodfellow, is someone who supports this, attributing this to a possible increase of 30,000 students coming to study in the UK, and the resultant strains on how much can be spent on individual students.

Incoming students to Kent will also be hit with increased campus accomodation prices.

For instance, some Rutherford accommodation is set to rise by 19.21 per cent in the next academic year.

POLICE have issued a warning after numerous mobile phone thefts in Canterbury. Officers are urging people to be aware of their possessions when out and about after two iPhones and an LG Spirit were snatched each costing hundreds of pounds. Sgt Thompson from Kent Police said: “Our message is don’t give someone the chance to steal your phone.”

A 52-year old man has been arrested after reports of damage to property at Rochester Cathedral. Candle sticks, a Turkish carpet, and a cross were among the items vandalised.

Acting Dean Phillip Hesketh commented on the incident: “The police to their credit responded very quickly and the most important thing was no one was hurt or injured.

No one at any time was in danger.”

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Genetic modification given the go-ahead Analysis M

Issues Karisma Indra

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here is a giant uproar each time someone mentions the words ‘genetic modification’. Whether it is GM Crops or Genetically Modified Embryos.

Recently, a British team of scientists have been given the so-called ‘green light’ to research and test genetically modified embryos, with specific focus on the first few days of life. So, of course, the decision has courted controversy.

However, the team has specific aims, which they hope will eradicate some of the problems regarding genetic illnesses.

There are already processes in existence known as gene skipping, but this is a process that occurs during the life of a human, and not during the embryonic stages.

Essentially, by allowing the team of scientists to conduct their research, the scientific boards are offering an opportunity for babies to be born without as many genetic defects; this may for example make possible the removal of genes that cause epilepsy or Huntington’s Disease.

Photo by Wikimedia

By being able to modify the genes at the stages preceding birth, scientists are opening up avenues for lessening the suffering for those who have inherited conditions.

Often these conditions are debilitating, and so consequently it is necessary research to be developed in the field, so scientists will be able to modify genes so as to avoid genetic mutations, which cause such diseases.

Scientists cannot guarantee however that genetic modification will only have positive outcomes. By trying to remove one genetic mutation or irregularity, another disease could be caused.

ary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a classic, revered within the gothic genre and within in the field of science. There has always been a preoccupation with comparing new methods and processes within the scientific field to the folly of Victor Frankenstein when he created his ‘Monster’.

One such reference has been in regards to ‘designer babies’, whilst genetic modification of embryos may not be as much about selecting the perfect genes but about skipping faulty genes, there is still a worry that this new revelation will be the slippery slope to modifying embryos for aesthetic reasons.

It is also worth remembering that the ‘green light’ for British scientists to modify embryos is currently a temporary measure generated purely for research purposes. However, it is worth considering the benefits as well as the concerns with regards to future embryonic modification that could lead to the birth of children.

Concerns regarding the morality of the embryonic manipulation are already widespread and fierce. Some see the process of screening embryos to modify their genes as morally reprehensible, because it could potentially

harm the unborn baby, but more have a problem with the religious side of this debate.

Some religious individuals feel that embryonic modification is a small-step away from ‘playing God’, and that scientists should not cross over that figurative line.

However, I believe that it is short-sighted to reject the idea of genetic screening and modification of unborn babies.

Firstly, there is minimal risk associated with such processes, and given the nature of the conditions that could be prevented, perhaps it is worth the small amount of risk associated with such a process to avoid years of suffering from a genetically inherited disease.

Genetic modification can be a life-saving device if it can be implemented during pregnancy; currently there are thousands of varying genetic illnesses that could be prevented by simple gene modification. From relatively common illnesses such as Cystic Fibrosis to the more uncommon muscle diseases such as Muscular Dystrophy, all such inherited diseases could be prevented and possibly cured.

The lives of many individuals could be made exponentially better just by the process of genetic modification.

Take the example of genetically inherited muscle

disease and what a difference genetic modification would make to the quality of their life.

A specific example would be Duchene Muscular Dystrophy, which is one of the most common of the muscle wasting diseases. Like all muscular dystrophy types, it has no cure, although there are currently on-going trials regarding gene-skipping. The problem of course is that there are many types of muscular dystrophy and each type has variations in the gene, thus it is very difficult to find cures. For geneticallyinherited illnesses such as these, which have little hope of actual cure, it is a salvation if these defects can be detected and solved at the embryonic stage.

From a purely scientific perspective and with little regard to the religious implications of such a project, genetic modification of embryos for the purpose of lessening potential suffering and the transmission of genetically inherited diseases is a great idea. Confusing the two ideas is a mistake; genetic modification of embryos for selective breeding is a whole different game from genetic modification to lower the chances of inherited diseases.

Perhaps there is something to fear about the relationship between the two, but only time will tell.

Photo by Wikimedia

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Issues & Analysis

The unfair rise of prices for flights during half-term Issues Sunny Singh

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his February half term will see airline prices being up to eight times more expensive compared to flying at other times of the year, with the average price per seat being twice as much as it would be if taken two weeks later.

The study, conducted by FairFX (a leading international payment service provider), considered the cost of return flights to 75 holiday destinations from 12 UK regions. A standard economy flight from Manchester to Verona was found to be £474pp departing 13 February, but only £55pp flying just two weeks later ,resulting in a price increase of 762 per cent during the school holidays. London to Grenoble didn’t fare much better, increasing from £46 to £326 if taken two weeks earlier.

The biggest flight price rises

Analysis Sunny Singh

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ravel companies and airlines repeatedly cite the same ‘supply and demand’ mantra to justify the increase in prices by highlighting the price drop during non-peak periods, but this doesn’t even address the mark-up during the summer holidays – it distracts from it.

The truth is apparent: corporations use the widelyaccepted half-term dates in order to take advantage of families from a range of different backgrounds and increase profits, eating into potentially tight budgets, which could make the idea of going on holiday unappealing or even impossible for some families.

Considering this practice is widespread across all kinds of corporations, it is not deemed as ‘unfair practice’, and is therefore completely legal.

Holidays are becoming

were to countries that are popular skiing destinations during the February half-term, such as Switzerland, where prices were over 400 per cent higher than at other times of the year. Besides the routine price hikes airlines and travel companies orchestrate during the school breaks, this year sees an even higher mark-up due to Valentine’s Day coinciding with the half-term holidays, adding to the incentive to travel. This will not only affect couples wanting to have a romantic getaway, but also families desiring a break from domestic life.

Families are constrained by the half-term holiday, unable to fly during term time due to the sanctions placed against parents who take their children out of school during the active academic year.

Governments charge parents £60 if they take their kids out of school during term time, which can rise to a further £2,500 if

the case goes to court. Schools have set strict criteria as a result of this legislation. General policy states that unauthorised absences “remain on a child’s record and will be monitored for further action by the Education Welfare Service. Parents could be issued with a fixed penalty notice and/or court action.”

Choosing to opt for domestic holiday camps in order to save money during half-term also proves inconsequential. Prices for a four-night stay in February

half-term at Center Parcs can be as much as £670 higher at £1,099, versus £429 if travelling in March, as discovered by father Paul Cookson from Chillington, Devon. Regarding the issue, he stated that “I don’t want to take my daughter out of school for a holiday just because it’s cheaper”. The 42-year-old set up the family campaign group ‘Holiday Price Index’ following his resentment of the increase in holiday prices during school holidays.

This resulted in an e-petition that attracted more than 140,000 signatures, causing a debate at Westminster that took place in 2014, discussing the possibility of staggering school holidays in order to prevent periodic price increases.

However, the debate resulted in the decision to leave termdate judgements on a local level rather than sporadically standardising them nationally, which works in favour of the holiday providers.

necessary in an increasingly stressful world, not only for children suffering from the stress of school life, but for the parents who facilitate them. Without breaks away, children are more likely to have depression growing up, and less likely to perform well academically. The personal, financial, and academic strain of this issue is not only apparent, but has been apparent for years.

In 1960 the House of Commons recognised “the need to extend and adjust the holiday period so as to relieve congestion at peak periods” with regard to “educational, tourist trade and transport” interests. Fifty years ago not only was the problem acknowledged, but the solution was bluntly stated.

Adjustment of the holiday period is needed with as much urgency now as it was in the 60s, so why hasn’t this taken place? It’s difficult to coordinate nationally, yes, but it’s not impossible, and it

surely doesn’t take over fifty years, so why hasn’t anything been done?

The answer, to me, is purely a financial one – the government gains a significant amount of money from the taxation of tourism.

The Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills said the UK holiday industry was an “extremely competitive market” that relied on profits from peak periods. Considering these peak periods are a result of locally standardised term dates, and the government is unwilling to interfere in the decision-making process for these dates, it can be inferred that they are being led by economic goals, rather than for the potential benefits to its constituents.

The fines to parents for letting their children miss school are also ludicrous considering how cases cannot be standardised.

Having a fixed penalty fine therefore reflects the same absurdity as mandatory sentencing, whilst putting more

money into the government’s hands.

A system needs to be implemented where the government can guide constituencies in order to serve their constituents better and

make it impossible for holiday companies and airlines to abuse time that is set aside for the good of families, replacing financial goals with healthorientated objectives, whilst ensuring a moral outcome.

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EU exit likely, says Ian Bremmer Fraser Whieldon Distribution Co-ordinator

The process of withdrawing Britain from the European Union would be complex, it leading foreign policy would take place over many expert has said that Britain months, with no guarantee of should stay in the European continuity in the negotiations, Union, despite the fact that the what with David Cameron institution has abandoned its having said he would founding principles. step down before the next Ian Bremmer, the President election. of the Eurasia risk consultancy And then of course there is group, told The Daily Telegraph that very election to consider: that withdrawing from the EU no one can safely predict what and the single market would will happen. The next Prime lead to much larger and more Minister could be Jeremy complex problems than Britain Corbyn, it could be George would face if it stayed part of Osborne, it could be Theresa the EU. May, or even Boris Johnson!

“Brexit” would make Scottish These are the unknowns independence more likely, Bremmer is warning about. would also weaken the West That being said, I would argue against Russia and China, and that Bremmer has missed out would cause immense damage on one crucial aspect of the to Britain’s global financial referendum campaign: what position. Essentially, Bremmer people feel about the EU. is arguing against a dip into the You only have to look at the unknown, which could prove to four million people who voted be a very persuasive argument UKIP last year, or how close for voters in the referendum. the polls are between those AD_120800_Student Awards_Inquire_Layout 1 07/12/2015 10:36 Page 1

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who want to remain in the EU and those who want to leave, to see the anger and resentment many feel for the European supranational institutions.

For whatever number of reasons: from the migration crisis, to the Euro crisis, to the placing of European law above that of Britain’s own law; many people feel frustrated and deceived by the EU. This is partly down to misinformation, the mass of negative headlines in the tabloids and right-leaning newspapers; and partly down to an instinctive suspicion of European values. In the UK, there is a distinct division between the British way of doing things, and a European way of doing things.

Here at the self-styled ‘European university’, it is difficult to understand these sort of feelings. Everyday we see the benefits of European integration. There is the

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fantastic diversity of students and academics not just from across Europe, but around the world.

Secondly, there are the fantastic opportunities to travel and study that UKC’s links with Europe afford us. Everyone knows at least one person studying abroad, either in Europe, America, or elsewhere.

So for people like us,

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Bremmer’s argument makes perfect sense.

To the ordinary British citizen, however, those not afforded the great opportunities of the EU, you can throw as much data and reasons at them as you like, but when it comes down to it, it’s what they feel that counts when they’ll decide if they either leave or remain in the EU.

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Justice for junior doctors Jack Hsuan

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nd so the NHS is in the news again; this time with the new contract put forward

by Jeremy Hunt. To drastically simplify matters,the debate is over what will be classified as over-time. Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, wants the amount doctors get paid for overtime to be reduced. Both sides are accusing the other of being inflexible, and Hunt has brought out the ‘political agenda’ manoeuvre, claiming there are individuals who are attempting to throw blame on the Tory government. Let’s be honest; the Conservatives aren’t exactly making life easy for themselves, are they?

Let me put it out there; I have no strong political affiliations towards any party. Having said that, I do feel a certain sense of loyalty and pride towards the NHS. I studied Post-World War II Britain in A-level history, and I have to say, the NHS is one of the finest achievements that the British government has accomplished. And we managed to achieve it because the government was mostly unified, working together to improve the welfare of every British citizen. Back then, my history teacher claimed that making an enemy of the NHS was one of the greatest political taboos a government could make. And it seems she was right. For the most part, it seems the country is in general agreement with the British Medical Association (BMA).

Of course they are. The respect held for doctors compared to the respect held for politicians is at opposite ends of the spectrum. When a government chooses to go against a pillar of British society, one must act with caution. The NHS has faced cuts for a long time now, but the issue people have is how ruthlessly the Tories are acting. Privatisation is a dirty word when it comes to the NHS, but under the current government, the likelihood of it happening seems to be on the rise.

But what about the doctors themselves? Whilst everyone assumes that medicine is one of the highest paid professions in the country, it is simply not true. Junior doctors are making £22,000 as their starting salary. To put that into context, graduate engineers are making £27,500, whilst lawyers are making £40,000 (according to High Fliers Research).

Obviously, whilst money plays a massive part in the talks, another question raised was over the safety of the patients.

The BMA claims that overall pay would be cut, but also it would remove the penalties of doctors working excess hours, which, they claim, would be a risk to the safety of patients.

Ultimately, that has to be the primary concern. Whilst Hunt cites a recent report that health care on the weekend is inferior, his plan to make doctors work every day of the week seems flawed. I’m not pulling these opinions out of

thin air. My mum was a nurse, my dad is a consultant, and I have two cousins both studying medicine. They are some of the hardest working people I know, because their job demands it.

My dad only has one (not on call) day off every fortnight.

That day is usually spent planning something for work anyway. His weekends are spent either in the hospital, or on call, meaning he may need to rush to the hospital at any moment. They all have a gift for hard-work and keeping on top of things, because they manage it all as well as anyone could ask for. Yet they rarely get a moment of peace. Their life as a doctor is almost all-consuming.

To throw more work onto the pile they already have to deal

by a narrow margin and principally it should have been a bill that deterred fraud, but it has been predicted however to endanger the capability of hundreds of thousands from voting, with cities highly populated by students suffering the worst, for example, Canterbury’s voter numbers falling by 13 per cent.

A more concerning figure however is that over twice as many voters will be removed from the register in the ten poorest areas in the UK, in comparison with

the richest areas outside London. This disproportionate representation of certain groups may lead to a worryingly undemocratic reality, which will clearly have deeply concerning affects on the outcome of the election.

Lord Tyler has subsequently denounced the scheme, naming it “Tory gerrymandering at its worst” and “an attempt to manipulate the electoral system in its favour.”

Whilst this at first seems a rather conspiratorial comment, it resonates in firm truth, as

with is simply too much. To expect junior doctors to be able to handle the hours that are proposed, without any kind of benefit, is frankly, ridiculous.

Just as teacher’s complained about the ignorance of their plight towards Gove, now doctors talk the same way about Hunt. What knowledge does he have of the stress that doctors already work under?

Of course, no one really wants a strike. There was a brief glimpse of hope that peace talks would succeed, but they have fallen through. A huge number of non-vital operations will be cancelled (around 4,000). The junior doctors will work in case of emergency, but, when 40,000 members of your work force leave, there will

undoubtedly be consequences to the welfare of the patients.

The question of importance is who will the blame fall upon.

Because, whether it be the doctors or the government, whoever shoulders the blame should be prepared for a tough future. There is no doubt in my mind that this will be used as ammunition in the 2020 election.

The question comes down to two elements: the quality of care, and money. What Hunt ultimately seems to be aiming for is doctors having to work longer hours for less pay.

Now, I don’t know about you, but that seems a tad unjust, considering the importance of their job, and the number of hours they already put in.

Photo by Gary Knights | Flickr

Canterbury voter numbers fall by 13 per cent Maddy Dunn Newspaper Comment Editor

C

urrently, around 800,000 people have dropped off the electoral register nationwide since the renewed electoral registration reform bill was put through, against the advice of its own independent expert body to delay the reforms.

The bill has been deemed the biggest and most incomplete reform to the register this century. It was initially passed

statistically Labour’s voter base will feel the hardest hit of the reforms, with Corbyn’s Labour being previously “gifted” as the Statesman expressed, by the student base, and winning the support of electorates from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

However, both these groups are also statistically some of the most alienated from politics.

This reform is likely to worsen their representation in politics, especially as the redrawing of geographical boundaries for the 2020 election is predicted

to favour the Conservatives.

Whilst the cutting of seats from 650 to 600 will also reportedly likely see a disappearance 10 of Wale’s 40 seats.

One thing is clear, in order to override this detrimental reform, Labour will need to enthuse their voter base once again, and bombard individuals with notifications about the importance that they individually register to vote, otherwise Labour could face very real problems with support when the 2020 election arrives.

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TEDxUKC: Beneath the Surface

Jessica Duncan Newspaper Features Editor

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e interviewed Moonira Mamoon, the Communications, Editorial and Marketing Director for TEDxUKC, standing for Technology, Entertainment, Design at The University of Kent, about the society and their upcoming event, Beneath the Surface.

What is TEDxUKC and what do you do?

TED is a platform for students and staff to express their views on an issue or topic that they’re passionate about, within the different themes of the talks.

TEDxUKC aspires to provide this to students and staff within the University.

What have you got planned this term?

We have a one day event on 14 May, which we are organising at the moment, which we are currently looking for speakers for to do a fifteen to twenty minute talk. Speakers can either be groups or individuals from campus, applications could cover any topic of interest, personal story, or pressing issue that needs to be discussed. The only requirement is that the subject of discussion links directly or indirectly to this year’s theme. Our theme this year is Beneath the Surface, a broad theme that covers physical, emotional, or social aspects of the phrase. The speaker deadline has been extended to 29 February and you can apply online

through our website. TED is a global community, so its an accredited activity to have on your CV. Where can people find you?

To apply as a speaker visit our website and fill in the form at the bottom, for

more information about us, visit our Facebook, Twitter, website, or email us.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ tedxukc/ Twitter http://twitter.com/TEDTalks Email tedxukc@gmail.com.

Photo by TEDxUKC

Green enough? Money at home Sibhekile Magagula

Photo by Ian Britton| Flickr

I

t should go without saying that one of the most pressing issues of the 21st century is global warming.

This leads to natural disasters such as floods, typhoons, wild fires, and drought. It is good to see world leaders taking action against global warming, with summits, such as COP21, held in Paris late last year. Men in suits and ties sitting around tables with their heads together shouldn’t be the remedy for global warming, although it is a starting

point.

Global warming, as scientists have revealed, is caused mostly by human activity. With the view of industrialising our land, we chop down trees and other vegetation that may stand in our way of erecting buildings for commercial purposes. What’s more, those buildings we construct are likely to be fossil-fuel driven. So without vegetation for rain to seep into when it falls, the rain stays adrift on land, consequently leading to floods. The fossil fuels that we burn in our newly-established commercial enterprises diffuse carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. A continuation of this atrocious activity eventually causes a depletion of the ozone layer. With that in place, we no longer have a regulator for weather, which is why you may feel hot in the middle of December and shiver in the middle of June.

So what to do? Well, the measures to take aren’t rocket science.

Simply reducing the cutting down of trees would help. Besides, we need vegetation for both aesthetic and inspirational reasons.

Green symbolises life, vibrancy, exquisiteness, and even tranquillity.

We can further reduce the need to use paper. Luckily, technology is there to help us in that regard. Moreover, we can avoid the burning of fossil fuels – coal, oil, gas. Instead of these, it is advisable to opt for clean and renewable energy, such as bio-energy, geothermal energy, solar energy, and wind power. This is the most preached solution, since carbon emissions are the prime causes of global warming.

With that and more, global warming can be eradicated. The prevention is less costly than the impact. We have only one planet and it is ours to save.

Jessica Duncan Newspaper Features Editor

T

he struggle is real for us students needing easy money without having to take too much time out of our uni work. Here are a few suggestions for those needing some quick cash.

Ebay In order to buy new clothes, you need both money and space in your small university room. We know that as students we are pushed for both, so online sites such as eBay allow you to sell your unwanted clothes without even leaving your bedroom (until you have to post it to your buyer).

Etsy For those of us who are blessed with creativity, a great earner is setting up your own Etsy shop, an online shop on which you can trade, however the site takes 3.5 per cent commission for each sale, and there is a lot of small print to read before you consider doing it.

From vintage jewellery to handmade shelves, there’s plenty of variety depending on your access to materials and artistic talent.

Surveys Surveys such as the National Student Survey or university surveys often, but not always, give rewards for responding quickly or simply completing the survey. Requiring minimal effort, you only need your views and opinions to complete these. Check your emails frequently, as you may miss the opportunity if you aren’t quick enough, but there are also places online to do so.

Start your own website Are you the next Mark Zuckerberg? If you are and have an idea that you feel the world has been waiting for, why not start up the new social networking craze? Although you’ll probably need an initial start up cost and someone with knowledge of programming, the reward could be great, if not a little risky.

Sell old course books If you still have books lying around, then that is money sitting on your bookshelf! We all want to get a good deal on books at the start of the term or want to buy them in advance while we have money, so why not sell your books that you definitely don’t need to other students who are looking to save money.

Photo by J D Mack| Flickr

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Are superfoods hyped?

Malika White

S

uperfoods - foods that have supposed health benefits - have been a buzzword for health bloggers and nutritional supplement providers alike, as a result of a growing public interest in health.

There are a number of foods bearing the superfood label including blueberries, beetroot, and even chocolate. The verdict on whether particular foods possess more health benefits than others is still very much up in the air between experts, so in light of this, let’s analyse the health claims behind some of the best loved superfoods.

Beetroot is claimed to be a superfood due to the fact that it is a vegetable rich

in nitrates. Upon consumption, these nitrates are converted by the body into nitric oxide, a chemical believed by scientists to lower blood pressure. An additional health benefit of beetroot was highlighted in a 2010 study, which suggested a link between a beetroot rich diet and the prevention of dementia, as the vegetable was shown to increase blood flow to specific brain regions.

Beetroot has also been linked to improved exercise performance.

Chocolate has been branded a superfood because, being produced from cocoa, it is loaded with health boosting minerals, including iron, magnesium, and zinc, alongside antioxidants. The alleged health benefits of chocolate include its ability to reduce stress hormones in

Photo by Peter Grima| Flickr

adults, a lowered risk of stroke, and even protection against bowel cancer.

However, dietitian Alison Hornby points out that cocoa’s health benefits should be weighed against the fact that chocolate is also made with sugar and fat, meaning that: “Chocolate is an energy-dense food that could contribute to weight gain and a higher risk of disease. As an occasional treat, chocolate can be part of a healthy diet.

Eaten too frequently, it is an unhealthy choice.”

A good source of Vitamins C and K and containing high levels of antioxidants, blueberries are the most super of the superfoods.

It has been claimed that a diet high in blueberries can lower the risk of a heart attack, protect against heart disease and certain cancers, and improve spatial learning and memory. Alison Hornby adds to this: “Blueberries are low in calories and high in nutrients, including phenolic compounds with an antioxidant capacity significantly higher than vitamins C or E.” Due to their fantastic health benefits, nutritionists recommend blueberries as part of a healthy diet.

While it’s true that some foods may be better for us than others, it is important to keep in mind that a superdiet, with the emphasis being on a healthy, balanced diet, is most effective to achieve optimum wellness.

Spend, Save, Splurge: Sports Shalyia Arumugathasan

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here is always a dilemma when it comes to picking fitness clothes.

On the one hand it is a way to motivate yourself to go and exercise more, and on the other, you’re essentially buying clothes that you are going to get sweaty and dirty. I’m not going to lie, sometimes I love a good splurge on my fitness gear, but sometimes it just isn’t worth the money. Therefore this article is going to show how you either save or spend when buying fitness clothes.

Firstly, we’ll begin with saving. There are so many places you can go to get really nice gym wear and still keep within budget. One of my favourite places to go when I am shopping on a budget is Sports Direct, they sell sports brands such as Nike, Adidas, and more, but at a far more reasonable price. My best purchase from there is a pair of Nike fitness leggings which I use for yoga or jogging. They’re easy-wear and go with any sort of fitness top, you can either get a top from Sports Direct, or simply get a t-shirt from Primark

or H&M. Then you have the perfect fitness outfit, for probably less than £25.

But, once in a while everyone wants to have a little splurge on gym clothes, whether it’s to convince yourself you’ll be more motivated, or just because you’re bored of your current outfit. What is currently on my fitness wish list is the new Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Fitness range at Marks & Spencers. I can’t really suggest one thing I like because I pretty much like every item she has recently come out with. There are some gorgeous sports bras in either pastel grey or pink, or even a floral pattern. The collection even has post-fitness wear, such as a cardigan wrap. It is such a beautiful range and definitely worth the splurge when you fancy treating yourself. With all this choice, Photo by Jessica Duncan sport can be fashionable.

Features

10 Useless Facts

Jessica Duncan Newspaper Features Editor

Photo Caroline Alves | Flickr

1. There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball.

2. Golf courses cover 4 per cent of North America.

3. When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home, the stadium becomes the state’s third largest city.

4. Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles (274 km) per hour.

5. In the four professional major North American sports (baseball, basketball, football, and hockey) only seven teams have nicknames that do not end with an ‘s’.

6. Dartboards are made out of horsehair.

7. Table tennis balls have been known to travel off the paddle at speeds of up to 160 km/hr.

8. There is actually no danger in swimming right after you eat, though it may feel uncomfortable.

9. In the United States, more Frisbee discs are sold each year than baseballs, basketballs, and footballs combined.

10. In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of five times around the equator.

Photo by Mike Behnken | Flickr

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Photo by Jenny Edwards

Simple Fusilli Pesto Jenny Edwards This is my slightly adapted version of a very basic, yet healthy, vegetarian student meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 4 and a half mugs whole-wheat fusilli 1 broccoli, cut into florets 1 red pepper, cut into thin strips 95g pesto Olive oil Dried oregano, or dried mixed herbs (optional) Dried chilies (optional) 1 teaspoon of garlic (optional) Fresh basil, roughly chopped Feta cheese, to serve

Method: 1. Preheat your oven to 200C. 2. Place the prepared peppers on a baking tray (lined with foil, or grease-proof paper), cut side up. Drizzle them with olive oil, and sprinkle with dried oregano (or dried mixed herbs) and season with salt and pepper.

Roast them until the flesh is tender, for about 35 minutes.

3. Whilst the peppers are roasting, cook the penne for 15-20 minutes. Add the prepared broccoli to the pot of boiling water for the final five minutes of cooking. Drain and return to the pan over medium high heat.

4. Add the peppers and chopped garlic to the pan with the pasta and broccoli, sautĂŠ for a couple of minutes, or until fragrant.

Add the pesto and half of the feta that you are planning on using. Toss in the pan until well combined. Remove from heat and add the basil.

5. Sprinkle with the remaining feta before serving.

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Fun & games

Crossword Hard 1

2

3

4

5

6

taken as the national emblem of Wales (4) 26. Tom ___, British dramatist whose works include The Real Thing (1982) (8)

7

8 9

10

Puzzles by Matthew Sapsed

Sudoku Easy

11

15

7 9 2 2 8

13 14

1 3 1

12

1 4 8 3 7

17

16 18 19

20

7 8 5

2 6

9 5 6 8

3

2

Sudoku Hard 5 3 6

7 8 9 2

7 9

2 5 3 4 3 2 1 6 6 3 1 5 8 9 1

26

Across

(7) 11. A type of crisp lettuce (7) 13. UK TV crime drama series starring Brenda Blethyn (4) 15. See 5 17. Friedrich ___, 19thC socialist who wrote the Communist Manifesto with Karl Marx (6) 19. A group of

1. The iron glove of armour (8) 5/15. US actress who won a BAFTA in 2016 for the 2015 film Room (4,6) 9. Ridge ___, 1993 Namco arcade video game (5) 10. A deep-fried ball of ground dried chickpeas

countries in special alliance (4) 20. The stage name of the English singer Elliot Gleave (7) 23. The phenomenon of sediment accumulating (7) 24. Something unusual, perhaps worthy of collecting (5) 25. A vegetable

Fr

Last issue’s answers Crossword Easy Across 1. Con 3. Stir 5. Bull (Constable) 9. Admit 10. Lengthy 11. Hands-on 12. Agree 14. Caesar

15. Top dog 18. Agent 20. Narrate 21. Respond 22. Butty 23. Poet 24. Type 25. Cod Down 1. Cha-cha-cha

Arrowword Solution A C T O U R T O R R E M I S S G U S T I F L U N I T L A X L I T E R P E R

R E N T I S E E E D S A A T W A

G O A L L E A I P N L T Y U R E G O N G I D D Y

1. US comic strip created by Jim Davis (8) 2. UK TV sitcom starring Nick Helm and Daisy Haggard (5) 3. A hill, a rocky height (3) 4. A likeness of a person (6) 6. In sport, the chief official (7) 7. French lifestyle magazine first published in 1945 (4) 8. A mountainous republic in central Europe (8) 12. A person who drives away

24

25

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Crossword Hard

Across 1. Canterbury 8. Ocarina 9. Radio 10. Kick 11. Heathers 13. Dorset 14. Knight 17. Coiffeur 19. Sark

2. Nominee 3. Satisfaction 4. In line 6. Utter 7. Lay 8. Unfavourable 13. Eagle-eyed 16. Drastic 17. One day 19. Ensue

Sudoku Easy 4 7 2 9 6 5 1 8 3

5 9 8 3 7 1 4 2 6

6 3 1 2 8 4 7 9 5

7 8 4 5 9 6 2 3 1

2 1 6 8 4 3 5 7 9

9 5 3 7 1 2 6 4 8

1

21

22

22. Euler 23. Doorman 24. Nosy-parker Down 2. Nail 3. Enamel 4. Baritone 5. Rudge 6. Monk 7. Corset

12/1. Geoffrey Chaucer 13. Decree 15. Grammar 16. Tundra 18. Igloo 20. Kent 21. Cook

Sudoku Hard 1 2 5 4 3 8 9 6 7

3 6 7 1 2 9 8 5 4

8 4 9 6 5 7 3 1 2

8 7 2 3 6 9 5 4 1

4 6 3 2 1 5 9 8 7

9 1 5 7 8 4 2 3 6

7 5 4 8 9 1 3 6 2

6 2 1 4 3 7 8 5 9

3 8 9 6 5 2 1 7 4

back into a former bad state (7) 18. Six singers who perform together (6) 21. A kind of heavy jacket (5) 22. Billy ___,

English singer whose hits include White Wedding (1982/1985) (4) 24. In anatomy, the enamel which covers a tooth (3)

Crossword Easy

Down

23

5

a spirit (8) 14. Any of the small bodies composed of rock and metal that move around the Sun (8) 16. A falling

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16 17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

Across 1. Roam (6) 5. Complete (4) 9. Various (13) 10. Straightfaced (7) 12. Coliseum (5) 13. Elegant (6) 14. Moral excellence (6) 17. Plot (of land) (5) 19. Largest bird

(7) 21. Smug (4-9) 23. Previously (4) 24. Assessment (6) Down 2. In danger (2,5) 3. Colour (3) 4. Judgement (6)

5. Dreamer (9) 6. Free (5) 7. Among (4) 8. Getaway (6) 11. Quickly (9) 13. Oust (a ruler, e.g.) (6) 15. Teaching (7) 16. Notepad (6) 18. Hooked claw (5) 20. Conceal (4) 22. Arrange (a trap, e.g.) (3)

Arrowword Famous

Groove

Before

Slow down

Odds and ends

Metric measure

Black bird?

Compete

Allow

Garden statue?

Damply

Opponent

Wellpaid Festival

1 4 8 9 7 3 6 2 5

5 3 7 1 2 6 4 9 8

2 9 6 5 4 8 7 1 3

Say hello to French cheese

Ear part Sarcasm Sour (tasting)

Poems

Pride Rotter 100th

Colours (hair, e.g.)

Young horse

Refute

Family

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Top tips for wannabe gamers

Katherine Payne

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ored of sitting on the sofa next to your controller-wielding other half? Do classic video game references go straight over your head? Or maybe you’re just looking out for a new way to spend your downtime. Before you press play, here are some tips to set you on the right path!

Don’t spend too much Don’t think you need to spend £350 on a shiny new console, or £500 on a gaming PC. The PS4 and Xbox One have signalled a new generation of gaming, but it’s not necessary to start with anticipated new releases. Iconic older titles shouldn’t be missed, and if you’re unsure of where to begin, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 era is the perfect place. Both consoles have a brilliant collection of titles from the last ten years, and asking for suggestions from friends or acquaintances will easily get you started.

Believe in power of recommendation Many gamers develop their passion later in life (myself included) compared to those who have been button-mashing since childhood. If you have close friends who are gamers themselves, their insight into your personality and interests will influence their gaming suggestions. Avid fans LOVE talking about video games, it’s a fact. Plus, there’s the wonderful advantage of

borrowing games from friends (leading to an unspoken agreement that you now own that disc. Forever.)

Obviously this tip is a little redundant if you don’t know anyone who loves spending time in virtual realities.

Luckily, recommendations can come from anywhere when you’re connected to the internet. YouTube is brilliant for

delving through all kinds of gameplay, reviews, and top-ten lists, and there are countless forums and online communities.

Start with what you love!

It’s always good to know what titles have been critically-appraised and which ones have been deemed unmentionable by gamers, but it’s

primarily your personality that will lead you to some incredible experiences.

If you often seek escapism in fantasy films or books, your first taste of Skyrim will probably be more memorable than your first race in Forza. Ultimately, there are video games out there for everyone. So, follow these tips and grab a controller!

Photo by pixabay.com

In the spotlight: Machine Gun Kelly Lydia Rugg

Having seen the musician and his

W

riting a spotlight article on the Cleveland-born rapper, Machine Gun Kelly, seems slightly ironic, as it is well known that he doesn’t much care for the celebrity status.

The artist eloquently pens lyrics for the song “Spotlight”, on which Lzzy Hale from the band Halestorm features. In the song, Machine Gun Kelly, real name Richard Colson Baker, battles with the troubles that come with fame and how he must sacrifice these for making his art. The song features on his latest album ‘General Admission’, which came out in October 2015.

Interspersing audio appearances on the song from Lzzy Hale’s iconic killer vocals is an introduction to the record and sets the tone for the theme of the album, a close intimate admission into the rapper’s life. With deeply personal lyrics about lost friends, deceased musicians (such as Kurt Cobain) and his daughter, “Spotlight” is a brilliant opener for the rest of the album.

Photo by wikipedia.org

band playing Islington’s 02 arena in November, I saw in person just how good he is.

With the quick rapid-fire speed in which he delivers his intricate lyrics, alongside the head-banging, kick flipping, crowd surfing and in-crowd moshing which make for a stage presence comparable to a punk band from the 70s.

The rapper is a hybridisation of punk, rock, and rap influences with a ‘wild boy’ reputation.

Kelly is gradually maturing however into a sophisticated representative for his fan-based movement, Lace Up, which encourages people to always be true to themselves. The rapper is also a talented actor, appearing in the cult classic SLC Punk sequel Punk’s Dead, among other TV and film projects.

Kelly has appeared numerous times on Tim Westwood TV and on Westwood’s

show on Capital XTRA, providing killer freestyles, but the rapper has not yet had any mainstream radio play due to explicit content and language.

His current album has sonically sophisticated tracks that are worthy of airplay. An example of a song I believe should have radio play is “A Little More” featuring Victoria Monet, which is built up with a friendly piano riff, strings, and a classic and steady, almost military, beat.

In the track, Kelly explores areas of bullying, racism, compassion, and politics, and is supported by Monet, who offers a powerfully honest and optimistic hook line and chorus, “we all just need a little more love”.

With an appreciation of live instrumentation and a broad awareness of genres, Machine Gun Kelly is definitely one to look out for in 2016 as he continues to tour his album, so check him out.

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n a h t s t n u o c s i d e r Mo e s l e e r e anywh ands r b e t i r u o v a f r u on yo

All for £12 for 12 months

All details correct at time of printing August 2014

nus.org.uk

Your stu d e nt d i s c o u nt c a rd

A review of new boxing film Creed Holly Chapman

T

he latest Rocky instalment takes a new and innovative turn by focusing on the next generation of boxers. Having quit the ring, Rocky turns his attention to training Apollo Creed’s youngest son, Adonis ‘Donnie’ Creed (Michael B. Johnson).

Being that there is a cult following of the Rocky movies, it was interesting to see how director Ryan Coogler could bring a fresh and original perspective.

Coogler presents us with Donnie, who

is struggling with his identity as Creed’s son, but still aspires to be a boxer.

His choice of career path is met with obvious hesitation from the characters close to him. As in Rocky IV, Apollo Creed’s match against the formidable Ivan Drogo resulted in his death, meaning Donnie’s choice to become a boxer is met with immediate opposition from his adoptive mother, Creed’s widow, Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad).

With boxing being the most documented sport in film, Coogler presents Donnie as an unconventional fighter. Unlike most movie boxers, such as Slyvester Stallone’s Rocky; Mark Wahlberg’s Micky Ward; or, more recently, Jake Gyllenhaal’s Billy Hope; where the fighters are often degenerates and come from under-privileged backgrounds, Coogler presents Donnie as an intelligent young man with other career options. Although Donnie does not start off from privilege in the beginning, Mary Anne does adopt Donnie and gives him a stable family home.

As the film progresses, Stallone stops being the boxer and adopts the role of

trainer and mentor. However Rocky faces a new fight on his hands, one that is away from the ring. With his wife Adrian and friend Pauly’s passing, Rocky has to find the will to fight on when his health takes a turn for the worst.

As Rocky’s fight continues, Donnie has his name exposed in the media, which sends him from being a rookie boxer to becoming the challenger to the heavyweight boxing champion, Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew).

The final showdown between the two fighters is exhilarating and will have audiences on the edge of their seats.

As both boxers slog it out round after round in the ring, the fight grows more and more intense this proves that boxing is the most cinematic of sports, with the brutal headshots and well choreographed long shots.

The film is an enjoyable watch and although the material is not too complex, it does have certain of sentimental moments. The story follows the interesting theme of Donnie trying to establish his identity and gain acceptance as being Apollo Creed’s son.

Photo by Cinematic Excrement| YouTube

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InQuire meets: Student Republic

Natalie Tipping Editor-in-Chief

What events do Student Republic run at the moment?

We now run all the city’s main student nights at various venues across the city SR Mondays at Cuban, INTRA, Agenda, INTL & Desi (rotating monthly on Wednesdays) at Pound, Jäger Rocks on Thursdays at Brewery, NXT on Fridays at Venue and Dirty Disco on Saturdays at Penny. Plus we like to do unique events for the students like boat parties on the Thames, trips to Amsterdam and Ibiza, and themed bar crawls around the city throughout the year.

Obviously CSP is probably your biggest Canterbury event, but for those who don’t know, what is it?

City Sound Project was something we started back in 2012, as a way to get big national and international artists to come down to Canterbury to play to the students here. We takeover loads of different venues across the city, and put big music shows in each one showcasing everything from live bands to house music, grime to rock, garage to spoken word.

We use clubs, pubs, bars, warehouses, castles, towers, secret gardens, underground tunnels, old hospitals, and open streets - basically anywhere we can get our hands on! We put festival-level sound, lighting, and production in every venue we use to make it unique and it

adds to an incredible atmosphere!

We started as a one-day event on a cold, rainy Sunday in October 2012 with four venues; and now take over the entire May Bank Holiday Weekend with sixteen stages across the city centre.

Every CSP venue is exclusive to festival wristband holders, and this year we’ve got every single major venue in the city (alongside some really cool Heritage Venues) including The Pound, Ballroom, Steinbeck & Shaw, and Alberrys.

What can we look forward to at this year’s CSP that we haven’t seen in previous years?

We always look to add unique and quirky spaces to the festival and this year, for the first time, we’ll be using an old 13th century hospital as one of our stages!

Plus we’ll be once again using

Westgate Hall, a giant warehouse-like space in the centre of the city, as our main stage, showcasing our biggest lineup to date!

What’s your favourite thing about working on CSP? I think it’s without doubt hearing the feedback from everyone after the festival, and watching everyone having the time of their lives during the event.

We attract nearly 5,000 people to the event each year now, so it’s great to know that we’re doing something right!

What’s something everyone can look forward to with this year’s festival?

We’ve got some really superb artists coming down to City Sound Project this year - real top level stuff!

So keep your eyes peeled for our headliners as we announce the full lineup over the next few weeks!

Photo by Student Republic

Top five Netflix shows

Pumped up Varsity playlist

Bethan Stoneman Newspaper Entertainment Editor

Arctic Monkeys - “I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor” The Killers - “Mr Brightside” Calvin Harris feat. Tinie Tempah “Drinking From The Bottle” Busted - Year 3000

Jess Glynne - “Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself” Eminem - “Lose Yourself” The Fratellis - “Chelsea Dagger”

Karisma Indra

I

t’s that time of year when you don’t feel like getting out of bed and sometimes not even out of your pyjamas, so what better way to cheer yourself up than with Netflix?

Breaking Bad Diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, a high-school chemistry teacher teams up with a former student to manufacture crystal meth to provide a better life for his family. This show’s true merits lie in its tragedy and family dynamics. The story, however, is bizarre, after all who could relate to a man turning to a life of crime to support his family. This truly is a marvellous show, though should perhaps be watched in small doses due to its serious nature.

White Collar White Collar features Neal Caffrey, an exconvict who convinces the FBI agent who captured him to free him if he promises to help the FBI solve cases. The acting is top-notch, as are the story-lines, you will be hooked from Caffrey’s first charming smile and will want to know more about his mysterious past.

House of Cards Starring Kevin Spacey, House of Cards is a political drama dealing with the machinations of various people within the American political system. The main character (Spacey) has just been passed over for Secretary of State and so schemes with his wife to create an elaborate plan that will deliver him to a position of power.

Homeland The series follows bi-polar CIA agent Carrie Mathison, who believes that US Marine Corps sniper, Nicholas Brody, has turned traitor after being held captive by

Photo by Zennie Abraham| Flickr

Al-Qaeda, and now poses a security threat to the US. Each episode is filled with intrigue, paranoia and excitement; it is truly a quality show.

Pretty Little Liars The show focuses on a group of teenage girls from a small town in Pennsylvania, who are stalked by an anonymous cyberbully: A. The amount of drama that happens in a small town has to be marvelled at, each episode is filled with teenage and youngadult angst and drama. A great watch with friends on a lazy day.

Nicki Minaj - “Pound The Alarm” Blink 182 - “All The Small Things” Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk” Coldplay - feat. Beyonce - “Hymn For The Weekend” Destiny’s Child - “Lose Your Breath” ABBA - “Dancing Queen”

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Culture

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Gulb Youth Theatre: What Are They Like?

Claire Still Newspaper Culture Editor

F

ollowing an outstanding production of The Edelweiss Pirates in 2015, which was selected to be performed on the National Theatre Olivier stage, The Gulbenkian has yet again produced an exciting company of young performers to take part in National Theatre Connections 2016.

Running annually since 2003, the National Theatre Connections festival gives young people across the UK and Ireland experience of professional theatremaking, and access to the very best new writing for theatre. With over 500 youth theatre companies, 10,000 young people, 41 partner theatres and 40,000 audience members involved, The Gulbenkian is proud to support and take part in this event.

Chosen from a pick of ten plays, this year’s performance is What Are They Like? by Lucinda Coxon. The

Photo by The Gulbenkian

production presents an all-teenage cast playing the roles of middle-aged parents struggling to accept their childrens’ inevitable adulthood. Lamenting the fact that their childrens’ innocence is now lost, the youthful cast act as

worried mothers and fathers, venting their feelings on stage as they recall memories of their own upbringing.

This role-reversal performance provides an interesting perspective for the audience, bringing a connection between both childhood and adulthood.

The play is suitable for all ages and will be on show at The Gulbenkian Theatre on Monday 29 February at 7:30pm and Tuesday 1 March at 7:30pm. Tickets are £7 at full price, or for a student £5. Groups of 10+ are only £4.

Currently hoping to raise £1,000 towards the cost of making and staging the play, any donations are greatly appreciated.

You can also follow their blog and keep up-to-date with the show’s progress, along with photos and sneak-peeks.

Simply visit storify.com/Gulbenkian/ gulbenkian-and-what-are-they-like, or follow them on Twitter @GulbWATL.

A beginners’ guide to the GulbSlam G

What? ulbSlams are essentially The

Gulbenkian’s version of poetry slams: competitive performance poetry.

Slam poetry has found popularity among teenagers and young adults in recent years as a form of self-expression - let loose on stage, performers can express their thoughts and views of the world through the beauty of spoken word, ranging from heartfelt love poetry and bittersweet, personal confessional pieces, to searing social commentary, or even uproarious comic routines.

GulbSlams are held monthly on the Café Stage and always attract a wide range of poets of all ages and backgrounds. Featuring some of the UK’s top performance poets and a host of local talent, the GulbSlam never fails to provide a fun packed night out for both performers and audience members.

T

How? he Slam consists of poets

performing in a fast-paced competition during which they each have three minutes to impress judges that are randomly selected from the audience. The contestants are each given scores (0-10) from each judge based on the content and performance, and at the end a winner is revealed and given a 10 minute opening slot at the next Slam. Slams vary greatly in their level of competitiveness and as host Dan Simpson always says “The point isn’t the points, the point is the poetry!”

T

Who? o the first time slammers – you are

free to do work in any style on any subject, but it must be original content.

Each poet has three minutes to perform, any time over that and you lose points!

Email beth@workers-of-art.co.uk putting “Gulb Slam’ as the subject to book your performance slot.

Audience members are encouraged to participate, by cheering, whistling or even heckling the host or judges. Slam poetry is not a passive performance so if you think the poems are great or suck, be sure to make your voice heard!

What’s on at The Gulbenkian Drama NT LIVE - HANGMEN (15)

Thurs 3 Mar - 7pm Following a sell-out run at London’s Royal Court Theatre comes Matthew Dunster’s awardwinning production, Hangmen - a deeply funny new play, broadcast live to cinemas by National Theatre Live.

The Broke ‘n’ Beat Collective

Mon 7 Mar - 7:30pm & Tues 8 Mar 7:30pm A mash-up of hip-hop, theatre and puppetry that you won’t want to miss.

Yerma

Fri 11 Mar - 7:30pm A Kathak interpretation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s classic tragedy.

StrangeFace - Work In Progress

Mon 14 Mar - 7:30pm A punchbag puppet suffers an existential crisis and embarks on an odyssey through the doors of perception.

Poetry Cafe Live - Gulb Slam

Wed 2 Mar - 7:30pm Each month, poets battle it out on stage with their brilliant spoken word to be crowned king or queen of the Gulb Slam - and you can take part.

Cut out the voucher below to redeem at The Gulbenkian on Broken, the new production by Motionhouse theatre company.

Take this voucher to The Gulbenkian and get: - A £6 ticket to see Broken, the new production by Motionhouse theatre company.

- Advance booking recommended.

Bring voucher to The Gulbenkian ticket desk to redeem.

The next slam will be held on 2 March from 7-10pm.

Tickets cost £5 for members of the public or £4 for students.

Photo by LightToneStudios

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Your campus takeaway

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www.hut8takeaway.com Hut 8 is your campus takeaway - we are based in Turing College and deliver across the campus. We’re open from 12:00 - 00:00 during the week and from 17:00 - 00:00 at the weekends during term-time. Order online or call us.

Receive a 10% discount on any food and drink when you dine at Hut 8 with your society!

Plus a FREE soft drink for every society member present on the society’s first visit!

Terms and conditions apply. Presidents visit us in-store for your card and info.

Is the art world really sexist?

Ciara Doyle

I

n 1971, American art historian Linda Nochlin wrote an essay entitled, ‘Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?’ This essay explores the obstacles that prevented female artists from succeeding.

Nochlin was inspired to write after a famous gallery owner asked her the very question that entitled her essay; he claimed that he wanted to show more women artists but “couldn’t find any good ones”. But, of course, we know that there were many “great female artists” in 1971, and there are even more today. So, why does is appear that female artists are not given the same recognition as men?

This view can be supported by statistics from art curator Maura Reilly, which show how women have been underrepresented in the art world.

Since 2007, only 25 per cent of solo exhibitions at the Tate Modern in London have been of female artists, and in 2015 only seven per cent of works on view at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) were by female artists.

These numbers are discouraging, however issues such as these have

sparked backlash from feminists, outraged at the potential issue of sexism in the art industry.

For example, The Guerrilla Girls are a feminist activist group that started addressing issues of sexism in the art world 30 years ago. Wearing gorilla masks and sporting the names of

deceased female artists, such as Frida Kahlo, they aim to shed light on the inequality evident in major art world traditions and institutions.

They originally formed in 1985 as a response to MoMA’s exhibition, An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture, which featured 152 male

Photo by Voces de Pradillo | Youtube

artists, but only 17 females.

They use protest art as a way of raising awareness regarding lack of female recognition. One of their most famous works is a poster from 1989, depicting a nude female with a gorilla mask and the slogan ‘do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum?’- highlighting the fact that while only five per cent of artists displayed at the Met were female, a huge 85 per cent of the nudes shown were of women.

Through their forms of protest, they appear to have made an impact; in their latest campaign they state that galleries that once showed only 10 per cent of female artists now show up to 20 per cent. But we need to ask ourselves if this mere 10 per cent increase is really enough, especially in a world that continues to fight for gender equality.

So, it appears that the issue of female recognition within the art world is still ongoing, despite being highlighted by groups such as The Guerilla Girls.

However, we must not forget that there are still many great female artists out there, even if they are not always given the appreciation or recognition they deserve. Let’s hope this changes in the future.

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Sexism in poetry

Kyle Lovell

P

eople often find it difficult to believe when I explain that the poetry community isn’t just a group of people sitting around, drinking tea, and quoting Carol Ann Duffy to one another over social media. People fall in and out of love with poems and people, rivalries are formed, and occasionally someone will have a book published. Amongst all this, controversies and criticism are born.

On 11 January, Sarah Howe won the T.S. Eliot Prize for her debut collection, Loop of Jade. Shortly after, the Sunday Times published an interview with Howe, written by the journalist Oliver Thring. The headline of the piece was: Born in the rubbish tip, the greatest poetry of today. This is where things begin to get murky.

For the most part, the poetry community criticised the underlying sexism found in the article, to which Thring wrote that his “gentle interview” had led to “deranged poetesses” attacking him on social media. He later apologised for the “deranged poetess” tweet, calling it a “stroppy reaction” to the criticism he had received. Yet even in the use of the word “poetess”, we can see that there exists a fundamental

division being made in the minds of individuals that separate male poets from the female poetesses.

This reaction seems to reflect a principal thread of criticism that has been levelled against female writers for years, in that they are too unstable to create valuable literature. Perhaps the most famous example of the supposed “deranged poetess” exists in Sylvia Plath, who committed suicide after a period of intense creative output. This selection of poems would eventually become the celebrated Ariel, which dealt with sombre and personal themes.

As such, this seemed to some to add substance to the idea that female writers were disturbed, and so incapable of writing anything of importance.

Yet even when they are “stable”, women are still subjected to criticism

that appears wildly unfair. It is difficult to imagine a male poet being criticised for “allusion, scholarship, and a brusque, sixth-formy emphasis on her own intelligence”, especially when the prize that Howe won was in the name of T.S. Eliot, a poet famous for his allusion and scholarship.

However, there are bright points to arise from this debacle. Alongside Sarah Howe, her fellow nominee Claudia Rankine won the Forward Prize for her genre-bending book of poetry and criticism, Citizen.

Additionally, women such as Kate Tempest, Warsan Shire, Sarah Fletcher, and Talin Tahajian are leading the charge for a new generation of poets, and show that not only do stunningly talented poetesses exist, but they often have more interesting things to say.

Photo by Teresa Grau Ros | Flickr

Graphic novels: literature or art?

Calum Collins

I

t’s difficult to know where to put graphic novels and comic books on the cultural scale: are they art? Are they literature? The most apt answer is probably both; while in fiction you have illustrated, quick-to-read novels such as Animal Farm as well as your sweeping, magnificent works of literature like Jane Eyre, graphic novels work in pretty much the same way; not all of them are fantastic works of literature, but there are certainly ones that shine, both in their written and visual content.

Watchmen is perhaps the best example of this.

Watchmen is arguably the most well-known piece of graphic novel literature to date. This graphic novel is particularly interesting because it deconstructs the genre that made graphic novels great: superheroes. It’s about costumed vigilantes fighting crime, who are all put out of a job when a real, all-powerful superhero arrives on the scene (it’s very nearly metafiction.)

Written by the superb Alan Moore (who also wrote V for Vendetta), it presents a fascinating world of moral bankruptcy,

Photo by byronv2 | Flickr

and its central character, Rorschach, is one of the most fascinating creations to ever grace the pages of literature.

This example has demonstrated how graphic novels, despite their visual illustrations, can take on an important role in the world of storytelling and thus literature, and the University of Kent School of English seem to agree; in third year English Literature, students are able to take a module called The Graphic Novel (the module code is EN717 for those who are considering

it.) Although the graphic novels studied on the course have changed over the years, from Image Comics such as the excellent Pretty Deadly, to more superhero based works such as The Dark Knight Returns, the same message remains: graphic novels have been a part of literary culture for decades, and with next year’s module even covering Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, it is clear that they continue to thrive even more so in our modern day.

Statistics further support the graphic novel’s popularity today, with 2014 seeing its biggest year for sales on record, grossing an estimated $460 million via both comics shops and traditional retailers.

So, how do we ultimately decide what is added to the great canon of literature? The answer is we don’t: it’s what makes the biggest splash when you throw it into the the pond of popular culture. Watchmen made a pretty big cultural tidal wave.

At the end of the day, literature can take many forms, from Shakespearean plays and poems, to novels and short stories, and it is time we accept that graphic novels are part of that canon.

Top 5 apps to get you writing Many of us enjoy the pursuit of writing, whether it is fiction, prose, poetry, or even plays. However, sometimes it is difficult to pinpoint the best ways to do this, but never fear, help is near. Here is a glance at some of the options available...

1

Microsoft Word This seems like the most obvious app of all, but you have to admit, it’s one of our most treasured oldies.

After all, Word is an application we are all familiar with, it is easy to use, and is something familiar. Want to write on the go? Well the Word app is perfect for that, especially if you don’t want to learn a whole new system.

2

Creative Writing As the name implies, this app is designed to help aspiring writers, the chapters include ‘How to write a book’, ‘How to Write Well’, and ‘Long Live the Love Poem’. It covers a broad range of writing skills useful for budding writers, and given that it’s free, it is well worth trying.

3

How to Write a Book Another free app for selfhelp writing. The chapters include ‘How to Write a Book’, ‘How to Publish a Book’, ‘Start Writing a Novel Today’, and many more. This seems like a good starting point for anyone aiming to write a novel. It may not contain everything, but it certainly gives you an idea of what to expect.

4

Script Writing For those of us who enjoy writing plays or film scripts, this app is a great stepping stone. Containing chapters such as ‘How to Write a Screenplay’, ‘How to Write a Script’ and ‘Screenwriting and Scriptwriting’, this app is a fantastic introduction to the world of script writing, especially if you have an interest in film and television.

5

Writing Magazine Although the issues of this digital magazine require purchase, it definitely seems worth the money.

The magazine is filled with top tips for writers and helps broaden your understanding of the publishing world. Regular features include: ‘Your Writing Critiqued’ and ‘Stepby-step Advice on the Latest Techy Tools for Writers’.

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Jennifer Makumbi in interview A brief guide to the author and her work:

J

O

f course, what we are here to promote is The Wonderful Week of Words in support of Lumos, the amazing charity set up by JK Rowling to help young children. What does this week mean to you and why do you think others should get involved?

To me this week means that we get to reach out to young people and create or encourage future writers and readers.

It means that we perpetuate one of the most fundamental social and mental activities of humanity. We get to share stories and experiences. Since stories are adventures and places of discovery, in this week we make sure that children – lying in bed or on a couch – will still be transported to remote places and live lives, even though ephemeral, they would never dream to physically. That is a magical thing.

We all love stories, but with the advent of the internet and new technologies, how important do you think storytelling is to teenagers and young adults in our modern day?

Contrary to what people think, the internet and new technologies have enhanced storytelling. Remember, telling stories is a human condition. We actualise the world beyond us through stories. It is also the realm we escape to.

It is almost impossible for technologies to eliminate or replace storytelling, because any technology that comes along integrates storytelling itself. We tell stories every day, all the time at a basic and perhaps subconscious level, “Oh My God, you cannot believe what has just happened. There is this man…”.

So yes, there is a lot of preoccupation with the internet and new technologies, but teenagers go there to tell and find stories. Now, stories that happen in worlds we had no access to reach teenagers and young adults more readily. They are more informed.

Technology has brought us the eBook.

For writers, there is software for script

ennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is a Ugandan writer, currently living in Manchester, who writes both short stories and novels. While her novels are normally set in Uganda and are influenced by Ganda oral traditions, the short stories are normally set in Manchester, her adoptive city, and are about immigration experiences. She has won numerous prizes for her work: The manuscript to her novel, Kintu, won the Kwani Manuscript Project Prize in 2013 and was longlisted for the Etisalat

Prize 2014. Her short story, Lets Tell This Story Properly won the overall Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2014. She is currently working on her second novel, The First Woman Was Fish and a collection of short stories, Travel is to See, Return is to Tell.

She also teaches creative writing at Lancaster University part-time.

Jennifer will be visiting The University of Kent for the Wonderful Week of Words event, being held from 29 February - 4 March. She will be

holding a talk on the Friday at 7pm to discuss her experiences in the world of literature and to answer any questions you may have. Jennifer is just one of five talented authors coming to this week-long event to promote reading and writing, and celebrate the art of storytelling. The week is in aid of Lumos, a charity founded by JK Rowling that supports underprivileged families, around the world and in the UK. So be sure to come along, meet the authors, and support a worthy cause.

writing and for novelists too. In Africa, where books are still expensive because we don’t have established publishing houses, short stories are read primarily on phones.

like The Secret Seven, The Famous Five, Nancy Drew, Hard Boys, Tin-Tin. But my father preferred the classics and brought me abridged forms of Mark Twain’s books, Dickens, and Jane Austen. We had one library in Kampala where I used to go. But then war came and it was destroyed. After that, I stopped being picky and read whatever I got my hands on, mostly what I borrowed from school friends whose parents had travelled. I wish I was growing up now – there is so much to read. In Uganda we had an author, Barbara Kimenye, who wrote the Moses Series, I wish they were available worldwide.

Finding the inspiration to write new stories can be tricky for many young writers. What personally influences your writing? Do you write from experience?

I am inspired to tell the world about my culture, my country and my history.

When I was growing up in Uganda, I read a lot about Britain, especially

Ugandans to step back and look at themselves critically, to ask themselves difficult questions, but also to celebrate themselves. We must do that as well. I write primarily from experiences, both mine and other people’s, but also from imagination, from dreams, from what I hear and see.

Having won numerous awards, what literary piece would you say you are most proud of and why?

What was its significance?

This is a hard one because looking back I am proud of all my work and achievements equally. But perhaps I am partial to my novel, Kintu, because it is the first Ugandan historical novel. It is the surprise of readers, the emails and messages I receive that touch me most.

Kintu is the novel that readers come to me and say, thank you for writing that novel.

Finally, do you have any personal advice for young writers? What do you think is the key to success in writing a great story?

“

I am inspired to tell the world about my culture, my country and my history.

”

Did you have any stories you loved reading as a child that you wish you could give to children both here in the UK and around the world?

As a child, before I could read, I grew up with oral storytelling. I would sit with my grandfather after supper and he would tell stories about the small wily hare or the slow tortoise and how they outwitted huge animals like the elephant, the fast and furious lion, leopard, and cheetah, and made them do silly things, get them into trouble while they escaped unscathed. How the dog, the fox, the wolf – three sisters – fell apart.

How the elephant got a tiny tail.

Stories like that.

When I started to read, it was mainly western books

“

I think a gripping conflict is key to any story.

London, and the USA through novels and comics. In Africa, I read a lot about the Igbo people in Nigeria through Chinua Achebe, how Kenya was colonised through Ngugi Wa Thionga and life under apartheid in South Africa through numerous authors and poets.

What the world knows about Uganda is Idi Amin, AIDS, and homophobia, and I am inspired to correct this. Uganda is just like any other country in the world. We are beautiful people – not just the landscape and wildlife – we are welcoming, but we also have our ugliness, and I tell about these equally.

I would like the world to know about us the way I know about the places I grew up reading about. For fellow Ugandans, I draw pictures of who we are, I ask

”

My personal advice is twofold: read a lot and don’t write in isolation. I believe that a writer’s work is as good as his or her reading skills, because we are our first readers. If your reading skills are not strong then you are in trouble.

Secondly, because writing is a lonely exercise, it is important to let fresh eyes and a different perspective go over what you are writing before you go too far.

Get into the habit of receiving critical responses to your writing, however hurtful. It is good training. I think a gripping conflict is key to any story.

Though other aspects of storytelling are as important, I think conflict is the first aspect to fix because it gives the story momentum.

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Editorial

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The Sofa Olympics

Matthew Seary Website News Editor

T

he explosion of eSports has come quite suddenlyespecially over the past five years.

In 2010 there were only 614 tournaments globally. By 2014, this had rocketed to 1,895. When online free-to-play game DOTA 2 held its annual tournament in 2011 with a prize pool of $1.6m, it was viewed as huge; when in 2014 the prize pool was crowd funded to $10.9m, it was record breaking as the largest prize pool in eSports history. In 2015, it did not slow down, with the prize pool breaking $18m – the first place winners of this tournament became instant millionaires.

And it’s not only DOTA. League of Legends has over 67 million

players every month according to owners Riot, and more than 134 million viewers watch competitive gaming, which is more than the populations of the UK and France combined.

Over 32 million people watched the 2013 League of Legends championship – far more than the Major League Baseball World Series and the NBA finals together.

Sponsors are getting in on the action too. Big names such as Red Bull, Coca-Cola, Ford, American Express, Doritos, and Monster are all getting involved by forking out money to sponsor teams and have their name on streams and merchandise.

ESPN has begun to broadcast eSports live on TV and internet streams, with a special halfhour preview on ESPN2 for League of Legends. The Score, a sports news mobile application, has also begun to report on eSports in the same way they do for traditional sports.

Even just googling ‘eSports’ or ‘the rise of eSports’ brings up hundreds of results from major top sites and organisations.

Underneath ‘Fox Scores’ basketball results is an article on the Call of Duty team at world championships.

And it’s not only online.

In the Sangam Stadium, League of Legends attracted 40,000 people and the song ‘Warriors’ by Imagine Dragons was recorded precisely for the League of Legends 2014 World Championship.

In the same year, DOTA filled the Commerzbank Arena, a Bundesliga stadium, for the Frankfurt tournament.

In 2013, the US government officially recognised eSports players as professional athletes.

It’s not unreasonable either.

Many of these involved with eSports have to take into account the mental and physical limitations they have. DOTA players are known to train for

eight or more hours a day, particularly in China, where eSports players are considered superstars.

This new kind of sport is taking the world by storm, and it looks unlikely to be stemmed anytime soon. Amazon bought Twitch for around $1bn, whilst YouTube have created YouTube

Gaming as a rival to Twitch, and there have been several companies trying to rival them, such as MLG, Azubu, Hitbox, and Daily Motion.

As Thiemo Bräutigam, Editorin-Chief for The eSports Observer, says: “2016 will be the year that eSports will break new ground”.

Photo by wikimedia.org

#IamKentSport Thank you to the tremendous staff of Kent Sport for creating a comfortable and engaging environment that is allowing me to reach my fitness goals! Though I am an international student, Kent Sport has provided a place where I feel welcomed and challenged every single day.

Josiah Owen, international student

Sport at Kent More people, more active, more often

Inter College • Intramural • Let’s Play • One-off events • Fitness and Dance inquire_sportatkent.indd 1

15/02/2016 11:04:06

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Participants for EEG Study of Visual Selection Ref: 1548 16 positions available £15 one off 1 - 1.5 hours Based at Canterbury campus Do you have some time to spare? Why not take part in some exciting research!

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Tutor

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Team Medway flying high in BUCS leagues Annie Trafford he sports teams from the Medway campus have been enjoying a stream of wins in recent weeks.

In terms of the usual league matches, the Netball 1s won 37-16 against King’s College London 2s, which puts them in a good position league-wise, while Netball 2s lost 19-53 against St Bart’s, but said they felt good about the teamwork, despite the loss.

Basketball 1s lost to LSE 4350, an unlucky defeat, while basketball 2s overcame their recent unlucky run to win 6053 against Chichester.

Football 2s made a great comeback from 1-0 down at half-time to beat King’s College London 1-3 at full-time.

The rugby 1s lost 12-58 to Canterbury Christ Church University.

A special mention should be given to Thomas Wright from Team Medway cross country, who competed in the BUCS event on 6 February and came 136th out of over 400 athletes.

The Medway Badminton team (pictured) have remained unbeaten for the whole season, meaning that they won their league - BUCS 5A. The President of the Medway Badminton team had this to say about their victory: “I am really impressed with the dedication and performance of the whole team.

“Being part of the committee really emphasised my drive to win the league, and we are all delighted that we managed to.”

Continued from back page.

The lacrosse matches therefore became the defining points givers from Monday’s action, with Kent winning both matches. The men’s team were lucky to squeeze a final winner through to beat CCCU by one goal, 4-3, whilst the women’s team thrashed Christ Church by 19 goals to one.

With a lead of six points at this stage, 15-9, Kent looked to cross the line with Tuesday’s action, as it was still all to play for.

The teams did not disappoint, winning six out of the seven fixtures played on 16 February.

Kent started the day well with a win in the equestrian competition. They then went on to romp home in the Men’s Rugby 4s match (22-0) and the American Football (24-0), a first for this years’ competition.

Kent also won the Men’s Rugby 3s and 2s matches, and won by an impressive margin at the swimming in the evening,

by 98 points to Christ Church’s 56.

The only fixture on Tuesday that Christ Church won was the trampolining, in which they won by 38 points to 14.

With the score at the end of Tuesday 21-10, there was no chance of Christ Church coming back to win the competition, but there were still bragging rights at stake in the cricket matches, which took place on Wednesday 17 February. Christ Church came in fighting, and won both of the men’s games, but unfortunately for them the women’s team for Kent were too good, and won one final point for Kent.

With the Men’s Rugby 1s and the Women’s Rugby still to play on 24 February, the score stands at UKC 22-12 CCCU. This means that with those matches left to play, Kent has secured Varsity victory for another year, with CCCU still never having won.

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Upcoming Medway Fixtures

24 February Men’s Badminton Queen Mary’s 1s v Medway 1s Men’s Basketball Oriental and African 1s v Medway 2s Medway 2s v Buckinghamshire 2s Men’s Football East London 2s v Medway 1s Netball Arts London 1s v Medway 1s Arts London 3s v Medway 2s Men’s Rugby Medway 1s v King’s 2s

Varsity victory for University of Kent

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Photos by Team Medway

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InQuire Friday 19 February 2016

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Women’s Volleyball spike to victory Patrick Kamalu Website Sport Editor

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aving won Varsity last year, the women’s volleyball team were looking to recreate their success, as well as bounce back from a recent defeat against Royal Holloway 1s.

The pre-match warm-up was already filling the audience with anticipation, and when the match started, it certainly did not disappoint in terms of thrills.

UKC were rampant from the start as they stormed to a 12-6 lead within the first 15 minutes.

CCCU could not cope with the formidable presence of Winky, UKC’s outside hitter, who was having a phenomenal game and dominating with her powerful spikes, which helped to secure the first set, 25-17.

If CCCU were to stand any chance of winning the match, they would have had to perform better in the second set. However, it was UKC who further imposed themselves on

the court as they continued the same way they finished the first set.

The score-line reflected their dominance, and at 18-10 to the away side, UKC could sense victory on the cards.

Featuring some outstanding performances from the likes of the club president, Isabelle Schreuder, as well as Fabiana Tesauro, the team closed out the second set 25-17.

The third set proved to be significantly tighter, as CCCU showed amazing fighting spirit to not give up the match so easily, holding their own against UKC. At one point the home side were leading against Kent 6-2, and for a brief moment it appeared as though complacency and fatigue were beginning to weigh heavily on the UKC team. But the Kent side held their nerve to level the scores and ultimately take the lead to seal the third set 25-22, meaning they were crowned Varsity champions for another year.

Photo by Connor Murphy

Football 3s lose 1-3 Photo by Connor Murphy

Max Beckett Website Editor

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Photo by Team Kent | Facebook

Men’s Basketball dribble to victory Fraser Whieldon Distribution Co-ordinator

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he atmosphere, which was already tense due to the swelling crowd, quickly heated up as UKC and CCCU tipped off at around 7:20PM. CCCU committed three fouls early on, one of which caused a shouting match between their coach and a referee.

CCCU did not allow this to get in their way, however, with No. 29 scoring an impressive three point shot with only four minutes left of the first quarter.

The incredibly tense atmosphere soon spilled over into aggression, as one UKC player had to be escorted off the court with blood running from his nose.

The first quarter ended in a tie 6-6.

CCCU employed some impressive teamwork and quickly gained the upper hand in the second quarter, leaving the halftime score at 20-11 to CCCU. During the break, a sense of levity was delivered to the court by the CCCU Jets, the Christ Church cheerleading squad, who performed a short demonstration of gymnastics, to the cheers and applause of the crowd.

The teams reassembled on the

court for the third quarter and CCCU were able to increase their lead to 26-13, double that of UKC, who were struggling to get the edge on their opponents.

UKC eventually found their feet, and with quick work and accurate shots, brought the score up to 30-26 at the end of the third quarter.

The final quarter came, and UKC were swiftly able to draw level, and then pull ahead of CCCU on 32-30, following an impressive couple of shots.

CCCU soon caught up, with tension building in the last minutes of the game, as both teams seemed unable to out-do one another.

Then suddenly, Kent managed to score a three point shot, putting them ahead of CCCU. Not to be outdone, CCCU kept pace with the Kent squad. In the last minute of the match, the score was 39-38.

A CCCU penalty put the two on a 39 point draw, and with both sides delaying by calling frequent time-outs, the tension was immense. The crowd were on their feet, standing on chairs, banging drums, and chanting.

Kent took several penalties, enabling them to pull ahead of CCCU, and with seconds to go, Kent scored a final penalty, ending the match victoriously 43-39.

ight from kick-off, it was quite apparent that CCCU meant business.

Within fifteen seconds, they had already created the first chance of the game by testing the UKC defence with a promising move through the centre of the pitch. They were the first to every ball, winners of every header, and faster to every position. UKC definitely had to up their game.

Both sides seemed to lack in terms of finishing quality, with many efforts going high, wide, or both, so it is no surprise that when CCCU’s first goal eventually came, it was a scrappy one.

A conveniently-placed free-kick led to a goalmouth scramble, with a CCCU striker finally turning the ball in, just from being in the right place at the right time. Their second goal came just a few minutes later, when a UKC defensive mishap placed the ball right in front of a CCCU striker, who just had to turn it past one player before comfortably finishing it past the keeper one-on-one.

The rest of the half and a lot of the second half didn’t see any goals, but played out in similar fashion. UKC were being out-muscled, out-run, and out-played.

Towards the end of the second half, CCCU sealed their win with a third goal, again with a one-on-one situation coming out of a surprise attacking break.

UKC showed a lot more promise in the latter 45 minutes, shooting a lot more and generally playing better, with a lot of impressive onetouch passing moves along the ground. However, despite this, and despite clinching a late finish near injury time, it was merely consolatory.

The score at full-time was an unfortunate loss for Kent, with Christ Church winning 1-3.

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Varsity victory for University of Kent

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Natalie Tipping Editor-in-Chief

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or yet another year, the University of Kent are the Canterbury Varsity champions, currently leading by 11 points, 22-11.

In contrast to previous years where the competition finished on the Wednesday night with the Men’s Rugby 1s and the Women’s Rugby matches, this year the main competition has finished without these matches being played. Those two matches have been postponed until Wednesday 24 February, and will be played that evening at Canterbury Rugby Club.

The main competition kicked off with the men’s and women’s badminton, with Kent winning

the majority of the matches to take the first points of this year’s competition. The women’s team won their matches 6-2, while the men’s won 7-1.

Saturday continued to go well for Kent when the Women’s Volleyball team romped to victory, winning 3-0, which took the overall Varsity score to the same margin, Kent 3-0 CCCU. The first Christ Church win wasn’t far behind however, with the Men’s Volleyball team losing by two sets against a superior CCCU team, with the final score being Kent 1-3 CCCU. That was Christ Church’s only win on the first day of competition however, with Kent winning both the men’s and women’s basketball matches.

The women’s team won 56-50, while the men’s won 43-39.

Sunday was a more even day, with both Kent and Christ Church winning two matches each. Kent Netball 4s won by a massive 54 points to 10, while the 2s also won, 45-35. The 3s and 1s weren’t so lucky however, with two close matches seeing the former lose 34-38, and the latter lose by just one point, 3132.

As has become tradition in recent years, Monday was the busiest day for the competition, with tennis, hockey, football, rugby, and lacrosse, all being played.

The men’s football was an even spread, with Kent winning the 4s (2-1) and the 2s (4-2), but losing the 3s (1-3) and the

1s (1-3). The women’s football match also went to CCCU, who won 0-1.

The hockey was also evenly spread points wise, with the Women’s Hockey 2s winning on penalty flicks, and the Men’s Hockey 2s winning 5-2. The first teams were unlucky to lose both of their matches however, with the men’s team losing 2-7, and the women’s team losing 0-1.

With Monday not changing the score massively, the tennis gave Kent one extra point, with the Men’s Tennis 2s winning by 10 sets to 2, while the women’s team also won by eight sets to four. The Men’s Tennis 1s unfortunately lost by four sets, with the final score in those matches being 4-8 to CCCU. Continued on page 22.

Badminton stun in Varsity opener Patrick Kamalu Website Sport Editor

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he badminton matches were hosted at the CCCU Sports Centre, and the home crowd were certainly vocal as they cheered on from the sidelines.

But this did not faze the away side, who began the proceedings with the self-assurance and confidence that has been so characteristic of Team Kent in the past.

The first games to be played were the men’s doubles, and it was the Kent side that prevailed as the team consisting of Ryan and Ben recorded a 2-0 victory, with the games finishing 21-7 and 21-10 respectively. On the other court however, the women’s doubles were not as fortunate, as they narrowly lost their game in three sets after a stunning comeback by CCCU, who were down a set.

This was only a minor setback it seemed, as the first women’s singles game to be played resulted in victory, which was followed by wins for Rudy in the men’s singles by two sets to nil (21-16 and 21-12) and the team consisting of J.R and Ryan Monk, who also won in straight sets. Despite the large margins in some of the matches, the overall level of badminton being played was breathtaking at times by both UKC and CCCU players.

The final game played proved to be a fierce encounter in the final women’s doubles game. The UKC women’s side, having already secured overall matches-won percentage to win Varsity with a game to spare, were hoping to conclude with a victory. The hotly contested match seemed to be going their way when UKC went a set up; however, CCCU clawed their way back into the contest by levelling the scores, leaving it all to play for in the final set.

They completed the comeback to beat UKC by two sets to one, but it was Kent who were joyous as they celebrated the first win of Varsity 2016.