Leopard March 2019

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High Rent, Low Tax, Lower Standards: Campus Living Villages at Goldsmiths

Student Halls provider makes use of offshore tax havens NEWS

by Joe Lyness & Joe Leam

Student housing provider Campus Living Villages are profiting from the privatisation of university accommodation while based offshore to avoid paying tax.

In 2016 the multi-national corporation purchased a 50-year lease to three halls of residence from Goldsmiths, University of London in a deal totalling £37 million. The main holding company used to do this is based in Jersey, where the standard rate of tax is 0% for most corporations.

This company is controlled by an investment management firm named Arlington Investors, who are domiciled in the Cayman Islands, another offshore tax haven with no corporate tax.

As the Cayman Islands are not held to the same standards of financial transparency as mainland UK, their legal documents are unavailable to both the public domain and HMRC. However, according to the Campus Living Villages website, Arlington represents major family office investors from the Middle East.

The directors of CLV Goldsmiths Holdco are listed as Trident Trust Company who, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Offshore Leaks Database, are connected to 96 entities mentioned in data from the Panama Papers.

Although none of this is illegal, it may cause anger amongst students, some of whom are paying upwards of £200 per week for a single room in what has been described as largely inadequate accommodation.

Since the tender for the sale of the lease, the price of a standard room at Raymont Hall has increased by £40, rising to

£185 per week.

Over the same time period, this is double the rent increase of Loring Hall, which remains directly controlled by the University.

In the original contract between Goldsmiths and Campus Living Villages, a framework for rent increases was outlined, although this information was redacted from a freedom of information request.

Despite dramatic rent increases, complaints about the living conditions at CLV owned halls are widespread.

Ben Hodge, 20, lives at Raymont Hall, and like many students gained his place at Goldsmiths through clearing.

This limited his choices for accommodation and forced him to accept a room that was very expensive.

The fee was justified by the building’s recent refurbishment.

However, just after moving in he noticed damp marks across his ceiling and in his kitchen.

“When we first moved in”, said Hodge, “there were leaks in ceilings; we reported it immediately and nothing was done. We had cups all around the kitchen collecting water, they kept saying they would sort it and never did.”

“We came back from the pub one evening and the plaster was hanging off the wall and all my stuff was soaked. Then during the night bits of the ceiling started falling down.

“The next night more kept falling and by the time I woke up half the ceiling was on the floor and all over my stuff. The next two nights I had to sleep on the floor in a friend’s room until, eventually, they sorted me some accommodation at a hotel.”

During the two weeks he was forced to spend in a hotel, Hodge received no form of allowance despite it being listed in the housing contract that tenants should receive £20 a day to cover expenses while their room is being fixed.

The UK student housing market has proved popular with investors in recent years. In 2017 alone, investment totaled £4bn according to London-based property consultancy Knight Frank.

But many students feel like they are not taken seriously while being expected to pay such high rent.

“They think because we’re first years they can get away with it.

They think we will just shut up and leave it. They expect us to

live in a hovel and maybe fair enough if you’re paying £60 to live somewhere cheap like Leeds, but I’m paying £207 a week for this.” Hodge said.

This has not been the only problem with construction in Campus Living Villages halls. In November 2016, the company was forced to provide students with a 35% rent decrease, which amounted to £650,000 in compensation, after extensive construction works were not completed on schedule and ran into term time, disrupting the students’ living.

Students have also complained about a lack of security, despite it being advertised that there will be 24-hour staffing.

Another Goldsmiths student, Shamil Redpath, had his laptop stolen after a group of men thought to be in their thirties found their way into Surrey House, attempting to sell drugs.

“I’ve been without a laptop for three weeks at university.

I had an essay written on it, all my notes, and 7 years’ worth of pictures on there. It’s heartbreaking. It’s not a luxury to be able to go to a friend’s flat and expect possessions not to be stolen, especially when you are told you pay for 24-hour security.”

The Accommodation Cost survey, completed by the National Union of Students and Unipol, found that the price of a private standard room in London is over £2000 higher per year than equivalent accommodation provided by the institution.

The National Union of Students Vice President for Welfare, Eva Crossan Jory, who is an ex-Goldsmiths student, is alarmed by this trend: “It’s worrying to see so many companies making so much money from charging students extortionate rents, many of whom have to work multiple jobs just to meet their living costs.

We strongly urge institutions not to sell off or outsource their accommodation to private providers companies who will charge significantly higher rents.”

The MP for Lewisham Deptford, Vicky Foxcroft, expressed concerns about students paying what she describes as “extortionate rents.”

Foxcroft also touched on the effect this has on local residents: “Such disproportionately high rents also have a wider impact on the local community, particularly in an area like Lewisham which is facing such an acute housing

shortage, creating a divide between local residents and the student population.”

She concluded: “Many of these privately-owned companies fall short when it comes to keeping up repair works, leaving students to live in sub-standard accommodation. This is made all the more unacceptable by the fact that some of these companies are not registered on mainland Britain and therefore avoid paying full tax.”

A spokesperson for Goldsmiths, University of London said: “We understand housing in London can be a real issue which is why we offer halls accommodation with over 60% of our rooms below the average price for student accommodation in the capital.”

“Goldsmiths works with external accommodation providers as the most cost effective way to meet the needs of as many students as possible. It simply could not afford the tens of millions of pounds which would be needed to develop enough of its own accommodation to meet these requirements.”

A spokesperson from Campus Living Villages said: “We strive to find the right balance between providing the best student experience and ensuring an affordable price, whilst taking into account that many students operate on a tight budget. Rents for our accommodation at Goldsmiths Student Village are set in line with the retail price index and current rate of inflation, and are agreed each year with the University.”

“We have recently undertaken a significant programme of works to refurbish our Surrey House and Raymont Hall accommodation to refresh the buildings and bedrooms and improve the living standards for students. This included measures to bring in a range of environmental benefits, such as a ‘living roof’ at Raymont Hall. Unfortunately, as with all major building works, there have been some issues since the refurbishment was finished, including defects with the living roof which led to leaks. As soon as we were made aware of this, we worked hard to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

We take student safety and welfare very seriously and our Village Managers are always available to speak to any resident who has concerns.”

NEWS

by Sophie Ruh Taylor & Shreya Ukil

Photos: WILL HERBERT

In 2015, over 300 Goldsmiths students made the radical decision to not pay their rent to accommodation providers.

Instead, they originally compiled over £100,000 of rent money within a Students’ Union bank account, however in the years since the rent strike, due to fear of legal action, many graduates have retrospectively paid back Goldsmiths and the collective fund now stands at £47,450.

This rent strike was a protest against high costs of rent for what Joe Leam, then Loring Hall resident, has called ‘horrid conditions’, including mice infestations and sewage blockages. He told us: “direct action was needed [...] to make them listen and maybe lower the prices”. Strikers issued an ultimatum: to have their money paid, Goldsmiths had to ensure that accommodation would meet housing charity Shelter’s basic housing criteria - this includes housing that is not cold at night and does not contain pests or damp - and lower the rent to no more than half the average student

maintenance loan, which comes to approximately £100 a week. These are actions which Joe calls: “justice for having to pay those prices and [be] subjected to those conditions”.

He says: “[High rent prices] were almost classist in that it will directly affect [the university experience of the] poorest students”.

The rent strike sparked a war with Goldsmiths’ management who, in retaliation, sent legal letters to students’ non-term-time addresses to reclaim the monies owed. But after negotiations with the SU, both sides agreed that strikers would not be subject to debt collection as long as the unpaid rent money remains in an SU account.

Before Eva Crossan Jory, former SU President, left her post, management had said the SU could spend it for students, in whatever ways the student population deemed best. However, when the student body voted to return the money to original strikers, Goldsmiths’ management refused to allow this action. If the SU were to do so, management stated that they would be chasing the debt.

The money remains frozen and unused, and with no meaningful negotiations between university management and SU representatives, the two sides have remained in deadlock for the past three years.

In 2018, stung by ever increasing accommodation prices, both in Goldsmiths and Campus Living Villages (CLV) operated halls, a new group of first year students joined veteran strikers to form Goldsmiths Housing Action group (GHA) .

With three years of failed negotiations behind them, they turn

effigies, and faced eviction threats and bailiffs. However, the UCL campaign saw activists win around £1 milion in reparations, a win that motivates the continuation of all recent ‘Cut the Rent’ campaigns.

“It set a precedent that students are not going to budge; they will escalate; they don’t want to be taken for children. They have so much resilience”, says Clementine.

She goes on to assert: “There are loads of campaigns going on nationally [in different universities] … our main aim is to encourage groups across the country to start ‘Cut the Rent’ campaigns, giving out training, spreading the word and the DNA [of what it’s all about]”.

Yet the movement at Goldsmiths had withered in the last three years, despite living conditions fluctuating year to year whilst rent rises. This has disproportionately affected the students of Surrey House, Raymont Hall, and Chesterman House, the three halls owned by CLV. Between 2014/15 and 2018/19, Goldsmithsowned Batavia Mews has seen a rent increase of 12% going from the weekly rate of £106.12 to £119; but in CLV’s Chesterman House, rent increased by 32% within the same time period, and inflation in both during those two years was about 9%.

Clearly a protracted campaign, its existence will always come under threat as each cohort graduates and moves on from Goldsmiths. Adding to the difficulty of the 3-year length of a normal University degree is the fact that SU sabbatical Officers have 2-year terms. “After UCL, a lot of us had to leave the student body, so it dwindled, but we decided to make sure it becomes a national campaign”, says Clementine, now a postgraduate student at Goldsmiths.

As it stands, the SU are the keepers of the £40k spoils of war, but as the campaign stagnates, so does the chance of anybody seeing this money as it gradually depreciates in value.

to direct action. In the past two months, the group have made their demands known to the university’s senior management with sit-ins (see our February issue) and protest marches within Goldsmiths campus and halls. They also coordinated protests in a National Day of Action with several other universities across the country on 6th March.

The GHA continue to disrupt official events like Undergraduate and Postgraduate Open Evenings, speaking to prospective students and their parents with images of fallen ceilings, sewage blockages, and rodents in halls. Red ‘CUT THE RENT’ banners and the now iconic red smoke bombs have resurrected the old movement that had stemmed from the Londonwide activist group which grew out of the ‘University College London’s Cut the Rent’ campaign.

Clementine Boucher, one of the founders of the 2018 Goldsmiths Housing Action group and a former campaigner in the national ‘Cut the Rent’ movement, told us past campaigns got ‘very violent’. The activists in the UCL campaign saw clashes with security, burned

Photos: WILL HERBERT

Over 40K waits in SU bank account after 2015 Rent Strike

Photos: WILL HERBERT

New student tru

SU elections are short and sweet for some NEWS

by Will Herbert

Earlier in March, students voted in the Students’ Union’s annual Spring Elections for, among other things, the four full-time sabbatical officer positions, who have an important say in how the SU is run and how students are represented by their union at Goldsmiths.

The current Campaigns and Activities officer, Joe Leam, was elected as the SU’s next President (to replace current President JT in June) after he won against new contender Hannah Lindstedt by roughly 83% of the vote.

Joe ran on a manifesto that promised improvements to student support services, greater accessibility to campus, and an end to graduation fees among other things. He also credited his win to his Joe Leam cover version of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ on stage at the SU, which he first laid down in last year’s campaign for Campaigns and Activities Officer.

Other results were a lot tighter, however. Lauren Corelli won her position of Education Officer ahead of second place Delphine Bueche by just 8 votes.

The SU uses something called Single Transferable Vote (STV), which gets voters to rank candidates in order of preference (see ‘What is the ranking system?’).

One advantage of STV is that it uses voters’ next best choices to create a sort of majority of

compromise around one candidate, however since voters often stop ranking candidates at a certain point this sometimes does not happen, especially when there is no incumbent running, as was the case for Education, and Campaigns and Activities Officers.

Lauren’s slim lead only gave her a minority victory but this is in no way uncommon, especially for Education, and this was current Education Officer Taylor McGraa’s experience when she first ran in 2017. In her manifesto Lauren spoke about ‘Forging Academic Communities’ and students getting financial compensation for lost teaching time during last year’s strikes.

The Campaigns and Activities role also returned a minority victor in Beth Lowe. The conversation around this role had been strongly influenced by ‘Cut the Rent’ and campaigns against staff outsourcing. However, Beth won on a platform of her work running LGBTQ+ and charity events with the Womxn’s Football Team.

Many challengers had pointed to problems with the SU itself when campaigning. However, incumbent Mona Mounir had been critical of the union in her manifesto and on social media before the campaign, after reflecting on her work as Welfare and Liberation Officer last year.

Mona defended her position successfully, while highlighting a “need to tackle structural oppressions within both the university and SU” and promising actions like relaunching the ‘Challenging Academic Knowledge’ learning space.

The week of elections (2nd to 8th March) was not without its controversies or problems. Some candidates complained that the SU’s decision to give away ‘Krispy Kreme’ donuts at polling stations once 1000 votes were reached led to a last second influx of illinformed and easily-manipulated voters. However, the final vote count of 1569 votes was basically the increase of around 2 to 300 that trends from previous elections suggested, incentives not included.

A more harmful event was the racist defacement of Education candidate Hamna Imran’s campaign material on campus, which the SU and College have said they are investigating. This attack on Hamna’s material partially led to the occupation of Deptford Town Hall by ‘Goldsmiths Anti-Racist Action’, along with what they call the College’s “lack of action” in responding to racism.

The entire campaigning and voting period was confined to 5 days from the Monday to Friday.

As always, candidates were told not to campaign outside this period: making the SU Elections short and sweet for some and a difficult week of little reward for others.

Also elected were Joe Leam and Fiona Sim to the National Union of Students delegate positions; Kieren Offlands to the position of Union Chair; and Hamza Taouzzale and Saif Ul-Abideen as Student Trustees.

Lauren hugging current Education O

Students from BAME backgrounds are less satisfied with SU election NEWS

by Will Herbert

ustee Saif Ul-Abideen

The occupation of Deptford Town Hall by ‘Goldsmiths AntiRacist Action’ creates a rather mixed image of student politics at Goldsmiths. While it is fueled by claims of institutional racism and neglect, this movement led by women of colour has won several important concessions from the College already, not in the least mandatory bias training of studentfacing staff.

Equal complexity is suggested by the results of a recent poll done by the Leopard into the experience of BAME background (Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic) and International Students at the recent Students’ Union elections. Over 6 days (between 12th - 17th March) in the week after the election we surveyed 40 students from varied backgrounds to ask them how happy they are with the results, if they feel represented by the candidates and the winners, and if they used the ranking system.

On average, BAME students gave a 2.7 on a scale of 1 to 5, when asked how happy they were with the results (5 being ‘very happy’ and 1 ‘not at all’) and white students gave a 3.1. When asked, ‘how confident are you that the winning candidates will represent your interests’, on a scale of 1 to 5, BAME students on average gave 2.5 and white students returned 3.

However, white students were over 4 times more likely to give a 4 or 5 for the latter question; with only 2 out of 24 BAME respondents giving a 4 and nobody giving a 5. This suggests that many BAME students might have been indifferent or slightly disappointed by the results.

This was despite that fact that BAME students gave very positive results when asked: ‘Out of all the candidates who ran, how confident were you that someone represented your interests?’ This suggests that people of colour usually have strong confidence in one or two candidates but are less confident in the whole field of candidates.

These results appear to be reflected in how students voted in the election. Goldsmiths SU uses a version of the ‘Single Transferable Vote’ (see. What is the ranking system?) to pick candidates, which encourages students to rank candidates in order of preference.

When a candidate is knocked out, everyone’s next choice receives the votes for that candidate, unless voters put ‘no further preference’ in which case the votes are discarded.

Hamna Imran and Omar Yasser Hasham were the only persons of colour and International Students running for Education and Campaigns and Activities Officer

respectively. When they were knocked out over 50% of their voters had put ‘no other preference’, more than any other candidate in any position. It is possible that BAME and International Students who voted for them considered Hamna and Omar to be the only candidates worthwhile in those categories.

However, when we asked students if they ranked all, some, or just their favourite candidates, we could not see any significant difference between how any group voted and BAME and International Students were actually slightly more likely to rank every candidate in every position from their favourite to their least. It is possible that on average, slightly more politically engaged students have taken our poll and were always more likely to rank all candidates, but the results we have are unable to tell us how people’s experiences of students politics are affecting how they use the STV system if at all. What we do know is that BAME and International Students are less likely to feel that their interests are represented by the winning candidates than white and the results are the same for International Students, whose happiness with the results averaged 2.5 compared to Home and EU students average of 3.

When we asked respondents to comment on the election, some said that the one week for both campaigning and voting was not enough time for BAME students to engage with the election. Some believed that because BAME students are more likely to live far away from campus, they need more time to engage with the election.

Others blamed societal and outright racism in student politics and the SU. One respondent said: “Goldsmiths has an obsession with image and only people who fit that

image seem to win, and usually that image is white, middle class and wearing street wear.”

Another criticised what they believe is a “[lack of] procedures in place to deal with racism against candidates.”

One International Student said that they did not know at first that the Students’ Union was “related to governance and politics in the university” and that it was “presented [at] the International Students’ Induction Day as more of a social and activity organisation rather than a representative one.”

Asked to comment on the short length of the election, SU President JT said: “We really welcome feedback from voters and candidates about the election and new ways to increase turnout.

Previous consensus and feedback from candidates was that the five day period of voting and campaigning overlapping was best for candidate wellbeing but we’re happy to consider other ideas for next year.” Asked about the issues raised by International Students, he said: “The officer team attend every first year induction, as well as the English Language Centre presessional courses to outline the role of the SU, including the activities it hosts and its representative functions. We also provide booklets that explain our functions in the thousands of tote bags we leave in halls and give out during welcome week. However, we recognise International Students have traditionally had lower engagement with us and would welcome feedback on how to improve that.”

JT also said that the SU was appalled by racism against candidates and was reviewing its policy for next year. (See our article on the student occupation of Deptford Town Hall, which will include his full response)

with the lowest first choice votes from students is eliminated and their votes are given to other candidates based on their voters’ second choice. This process continues with the votes for the lowest candidate being transferred over to their voters’ next prefered candidate until one candidate is left standing or reaches a majority of the vote.

Students do not always use the STV and some only vote for their favourite(s); while others maybe only rank a few candidates or rank all the candidates for one position and not another.

The Leopard’s poll into the BAME (Black, Asian, or Minority

Ethnic) and International Student experience of the election showed that voters were fairly evenly split between using the ranking system all of the time, some of the time, and none of the time; and this has no significant relationship with how well voters felt represented by the winning candidates.

However, when simply asked ‘How happy are you with the election results?’, voters who ranked all the candidates all the time responded with the most positive results. This perhaps suggests that students who fully use the STV system have a more positive outlook, and experience, of student elections.

Officer Taylor McGraa

What is the ranking system?

NEWS

by Will Herbert Goldsmiths students use a version of the ‘Single Transferable Vote’ (STV), when voting in SU elections. This means that students rank candidates in order of preference and when the votes are first counted, the candidate

(left to right) Joe Leam, Lauren Corelli, Beth Lowe, Mona Mounir

Staying Power: Goldsmiths student occupation demand antiracist action NEWS

by Shreya Ukil The Tuesday after the Students’ Union elections (12th March), a group of discontented students met inside Deptford Town Hall (DTH) to protest the racist abuse faced by an Asian student in the recent SU elections.

Her posters had been torn down and defaced with graffiti mocking her accent. The student in question felt that both the university and SU had been slow to respond to her reports. Her request for access to CCTV footage took over a week to be processed and she pointed out that this was particularly unhelpful and highly stressful in the face of her campaign, as candidates only had a week to make themselves known around campus before voting closed. There were also no immediate public condemnations against such acts from either the university or the SU. Her experience struck a chord with many of Goldsmiths’ Black, Asian and minority ethnic students (BAME). It became not just about one racist attack, but about the supposedly needless bureaucracy faced when reporting racial abuse, and the way BAME students feel unheard and made to be silent by their university. The protest soon became about much more than this one incident and evolved into an ongoing occupation of DTH by the group, which now calls itself the Goldsmiths’ Anti Racist Action group (GARA). The first two days saw protestors occupying the council chambers, but classes continued as usual. However, in the following days seminars were cancelled and protestors who ventured into classes to talk about their cause were said to be ‘aggressive’ and ‘threatening’ by the University in official emails.

The protestors themselves find these adjectives a ludicrous overreaction to what they allege

was simply “two tiny Asian women speaking up” and the language is, they feel, the same that is hastily attached to any BAME students trying to speak up.

They felt “hurt” and “dismissed” that the university should send a general email to students to reassure them that the campus was a safe space despite GARA occupation, but had taken no such step in condemning racism.

Public support from the SU only came in the form of an Officer’s statement on the fourth day of the occupation. The image of Goldsmiths as a progressive university has come under increased scrutiny due to the GARA occupation, particularly as the early days of the occupation happened during Goldsmiths Applicants’ Days and future students took tours of the same building that current students were camped out in, protesting institutional racism. As with other higher education institutions, Goldsmiths is no stranger to a BAME attainment gap.

BAME students underperform in comparison to their white peers.

Reports from 2017-18 show 71.6% of BAME undergraduates received either a first class or upper second degree, compared to 89.7% of white undergraduates in the same year.

The University has publicly committed to “Decolonising Goldsmiths”. They took the measure of appointmenting Dr Nicola Rollock as Goldsmiths’ academic lead to address discrepancies in the experience and outcomes of BAME students.

But both GARA and Mona Mounir, the SU Welfare and Liberation Officer, argue that the resources which are allocated to Dr. Rollock, who only works as academic lead a few days a month, are inadequate.

Mona insists: “the University’s commitment to BAME concerns must go beyond a tokenistic approach and see a true investment in time, resources and money.”

University management took a strong step in deciding to lock up DTH for four days with the protesters inside. Students used rope to send supplies through balconies to the protesters, though management maintain that security were not instructed to block supplies being sent to occupiers via the front door. In many cases, security staff did indeed allow supplies to go through to the students. However, the doors remained locked and students used ladders to sneak in more protesters through side windows.

University management authorised additional security staff and this sparked allegations of violence and danger to students inside. The new staff, though contracted by CIS like the regular staff were not the same group that enjoyed a recent show of solidarity from students in their fight to be brought in-house and be employed directly by Goldsmiths.

A number of public complaints were made and many students expressed concerns that the University had shut off heating, hot water and internet for a number of days; there were also concerns that fire exits were blocked, however New Cross Fire Brigade were satisfied

that codes were adhered to. This is not the first student occupation Goldsmiths has seen, but Education Officer Taylor Mcgraa pointed out: “In past occupations, in 2015, when it was a largely white student group protesting, DTH remained open.”

On the abuse that an SU election candidate faced, which was the catalyst for this occupation, SU President, JT, says : “We were appalled at this case and it’s clear that the actions of students since have led the College to recognise it should have done better, and will change its approach in future.

We’ll be looking at what we can do differently if something like this happens again when it comes to planning next year’s election.”

SU Sabbatical Officers have been negotiating with the University’s Senior Management Team, and on the seventh day of the occupation management allowed DTH to be reopened on weekdays 9am-7pm (update: following meeting on 22/03/19, DTH to be open everyday 9am-7pm) provided occupiers remained only within the Council Chambers and there were no damages to the building. Student ID must be shown on entrance, however names will not be recorded.

They have already made several concessions, more, we learnt from Taylor and Elina Flyrin, founder of Democratise Goldsmiths Society, than previous occupations have seen. As of Thursday 14th March, the college has already committed to the following, with a scheduled meeting with SU and GARA representatives on Friday 22nd March to continue discussions:

100k to be spent between now and August 2019 on additional specialist mental health and wellbeing staff Acknowledging the value of mandatory training on issues of diversity and race awareness Cleaning staff to be brought inhouse from 1st May 2019

Photos: WILL HERBERT

Discussions with UNISON, our recognised union for in-house support staff, about the future of security provision.

Their complete letter can be viewed on the college website.

At the time of writing, GARA remains committed to continuing their occupation until the full manifesto is met. Management continue to consider the demands and continue negotiations with the SU, with student officers and GARA members present. GARA are vocal that changes should be committed to before the Financial Budget is set for 2019/20. The manifesto itself is wide-ranging. Phoebe Fisher and Simana Gurung, first years studying History and Economics and part of the GARA occupiers, say that of all

the points in the manifesto, having BAME staff in Wellbeing is one of the most significant. They feel BAME students have the burden of having to prove something is racist and are disbelieved when they do so, leading to underreporting to the hate crime reporting centre and underuse of counsellors. They feel that currently counsellors are neither trained to, nor intuitively, understand BAME cultural nuances. For these students, joining the occupation was important because they felt it was the only time they had been heard. Each talked of examples in seminars when they called out peers and teachers on racism, and were either ignored, accused of overreacting, or told it ‘isn’t really racism’. Phoebe passionately said: “There is an imaginary atmosphere at Goldsmiths, people have this image of being progressive, of what Goldsmiths is about and what people here should spend their time thinking about. Racism is a dirty word. Why do the people who tell us it doesn’t exist then refuse to believe when we point out instances of racism. If you can’t see it at all, how can you judge what is and isn’t there?” Phoebe pointed out that she was very happy with the History

department and the steps it had taken to decolonise the curriculum (including more modules that challenge ethnocentric teaching), but that there need to be collegewide initiatives. Simana felt that Deptford’s colonial past is glorified with statues of colonisers and slave ships. This is particularly jarring to the students when put in the context of the university’s operating hierarchy; management, a group of largely white people, sit with offices in DTH; in the next rung there are the academics who have among them a few more people of colour; then a student body of around 40% BAME students; and a cleaning and security staff made up almost entirely of BAME workers.

Hamna Imran, Sean Cummings and Lara Pereira, studying BA Applied Social Science, Community Development and Youth Work Degrees, talked about the importance of reinstating the cut contact hours. They point out that 80% of the students on that course are from BAME backgrounds, as well as having a high number of mature students, and students from less academically strong backgrounds. The graduates of the course go on to do social work

within the community.

They feel that the course is everything Goldsmiths says they are about and question why it is not their flagship course. “It should be nurtured, promoted and invested in,” Sean said. Students were not the only ones to show support for this manifesto; representatives of Goldsmiths UCU (union for academic teaching staff) also dropped by with messages of solidarity and more practical help in the form of food and drink.

In their branch meeting, staff voted unanimously in favour of supporting every single demand of the GARA manifesto. However, not all students agree.

Campaigners make the point that occupation is a last resort, Phoebe and Simana said: “We have disrupted ourselves too! This was not done as an adventure. It was not the first step”. They encourage all students to visit the occupation and ask questions.

GARA will be organising teachouts starting from Monday 25th March led by staff and student experts to start discussions around the issues they raised. They intend to continue the occupation until all their demands are met.

How to stay sane and cry no more than twice a week HEALTH & SUPPORT

by Your Local Mum Friend

To everyone who is stressing and not coping because of assignments and exam prep: I am the same and here are some ways I have found to stay sane and cry no more than twice a week 1. Cody Ko and Noel Miller videos are comedy gold; hilarious, and make you forget about all that Philosophy reading that makes no sense and you’ve been procrastinating writing notes on.

Start with ‘That’s Cringe’ and ‘Trashtagram: Violin Guy’.

2. Keep socialising with your pals over the break, whether that be studying or drinking (whatever floats your boat). Getting lonely and feeling down in the dumps is never fun when you have lots of academic work to do. I know it seems like an absolute mission at times to take care of your mental health at this time of year, but it will be worth it in the end.

3. Make yourself some good food!

We all love a good bit of pasta, but mix it up sometimes so you feel like you have your life more together than you do! Pad Thai and Pitta Pizzas are cheap to make.

4. It’s OK if you have a shit day. It is OK if you wake up and feel like crap; accept it and try and work out why you feel that way even if you don’t want to admit it. Talk it out with a pal online or in person and write that shit down so it doesn’t take up any more space in your brain. To be honest, emotions are annoying during this time of year, so it’s good to dig up the old self care kits.

5. Change up your study place AKA first years, do not stay in your room the whole time. Your mental health will hate you for it and life gets grim. It may be a bit of a trek, but the British Library and Senate House (if you’re not boycotting) are good: open spaces, lots of light and nice to wander around the area in breaks or after your study session.

6. Goals. Write down what you want to achieve! Do not just mindlessly read some book about a theorist you don’t give a flying fuck about, plan down what you want to learn, get it done, and then have time off to chill and drink your overpriced oat flat white and cinnamon bun from Mughead. <3 You’ve got this and my little tired ass is rooting for all of us to finish the year on a high! S.A.D babes: daylight savings is coming and so is the summer, you’re nearly done with your fight. To all my pals struggling with how they look at the moment because exercise and good eating habits have gone out the window: this period is only temporary and you will go back to being kick ass once you submit your last essay.

Good luck to you all! love, your local mum friend xxx

New Goldsmiths Societies Spring Up NEWS

by Sophie Ruh Taylor

A lot of students must wander around the Welcome Fair thinking, “There are just not enough societies here for this tent”, because each Spring new ones pop up.

Here, three Presidents of fledgling societies talk about their babies.

Agaˊ ta Hošnovaˊ : The Film Society

Why did you set up the Film Society?

I studied Film Studies for two years in Prague, which is my hometown, and we would have weekly screenings at my friend’s flat, so I got used to watching films in a group. I liked it, it’s more fun with people sharing the experience. I also wanted to get involved with the Goldsmiths community life.

Do you have any plans or expectations for this semester?

Our main aims are to get people together, especially people from different departments [...] and to think how we can show films that are not necessarily accessible but can be perceived or comprehended by anyone. For example ‘120 BPM’ is about the AIDS epidemic in Paris in the 90s, which [...] was a big issue in the day that we can bring to light a bit. So I’m keen on LGBTQ rights, mental health, broad issues like gentrification that us as Goldsmiths students can somehow relate to.

We also want to establish connections with cinemas and festivals, especially independent ones, such as Deptford Cinema or PeckhamPlex [...] for example on our socials we could get discounted tickets, or use their spaces.

We’ve [also] been in touch with one female screenwriter who’s really interested in having a talk about a movie that then we could see together.

The Film Society meets every Tuesday in RHB 144, £3 joining fee CAGNS meets every other Wednesday in room 255; Free to join

Rosie Holmes: Comic and Graphic Novel Society (CAGNS)

What does CAGNS do?

We’re planning to meet for comic swaps, to discuss comics [...] essentially it’s a book club but for comics and graphic novels.

It’s not just for fans of comic books but for people who are at least interested. What we really want is to get the society to be as inclusive as it can. We want to be open for people with 1000 comics and those who have never touched a comic in their life, to encourage interest in them and encourage reading for leisure.

Why did you start the society?

To express passion for comic books and graphic novels, and to learn; in all honesty, I’m President but even I don’t know everything there is to know. I definitely want to discover more about this form of literature [and] art. Other forms of media and literature have a community and society so why not comic books?

Agathe Fauchille: The Capoeira Society.

What is Capoeira?

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian sport that was created among African slaves that had been taken to Brazil, and who were actually forbidden to fight. As a way to practise martial arts, they started hiding it in dance and music.

We play it in a circle, some of us clapping our hands, singing, drumming, or using the berimbau [traditional one-stringed instrument].

Even though it’s a martial art, it’s a very welcoming and friendly atmosphere [...] having done many martial arts, I haven’t found any of them as friendly as Capoeira.

Because, OK, it’s fighting, but people are there to have fun - they don’t even call it a fight, they call it a game.

Do you have any plans for the rest of the semester?

Depending on how well the society gets going, how motivated people in the group are, we’ve made a few suggestions [for] field trips. There’s a really strong community between different Capoeira groups to the point [that] if you were to go visit Birmingham for a day, people would meet you there, show you around.

I would love to go to Brazil! From the launch event, a lot of students expressed their desire to go so it’s something we’re considering. We have contacts who can show us around, and Capoeira is really played everywhere in Brazil.

Join the Capoeira society Facebook group for information about class times and rooms, £3 joining fee, £3/class for members, £5/class for visitors, free for first-timers.

NEWS

by the Goldsmiths Model United Nations Society Committee

As one of the most formidable players in the University of London domain, Goldsmiths Model United Nations is a political society where students recreate scenes of the United Nations. Goldsmiths Model United Nations was founded in 2015, then re-launched in 2017, and again in 2018, under fresh leadership of Daniel Deefholts.

The United Nations is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1945 after the end

of World War II with the aim to prevent future wars and promote peace and security. The UN Charter promotes other guiding principles, for example to develop friendly relations among nation states based on the principles of mutual respect of equal rights and the selfdetermination of peoples.

Goldsmiths Model UN is a student simulation of the real UN. Since 2017, the society has trained students from various interdisciplinary backgrounds including Politics and International Relations to Global Media and Communication Studies.

Goldsmiths MUN has attracted students not only from the UK, but internationally from South Africa, Brazil, Germany and the United States who study at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Model UN has given students around the world, and at Goldsmiths, the opportunity to develop their skills and interest in international affairs.

Photos: AANANDITA GUPTA

Fresh success for Model United Nations

Students perform as delegates from the UN’s 93 member states by attending conferences. At conferences, students sit in committees like the UN Security Council and the Economic and Social Committee. Modelling the inner-workings of the United Nations enables students to learn the art of diplomacy.

Goldsmiths Model UN is an eclectic environment, mixing together different perspectives on global issues and encouraging solutions to these problems. At Goldsmiths MUN, students have extensively developed their skills in leadership and diplomacy with the ambition of building a future career in international government and diplomacy.

So far, Goldsmiths MUN has attended many beginners-level conferences at King’s College and Queen Mary, University of London.

In December, Goldsmiths delegates were awarded a certificate of outstanding participation from Queen Mary Model UN. Some delegates have even voluntarily attended conferences this term at the University of Westminster and the London School of Economics and Political Science. The Model UN society has even organised a social mixer locally in New Cross that allows members to network with each other.

“This year was a success for Goldsmiths Model United Nations”, said Daniel Deefholts, President for Goldsmiths Model United Nations.

“We have boosted our membership numbers and improved our Model UN training programme that is now focused on specific skills, but most importantly we identified students with a strong sense of leadership

who are determined to make a difference in the world”.

On Friday 1st March 2019, Goldsmiths Model United Nations organised a panel discussion on campus where panellists discussed “Are World Leaders Really a Threat to Human Security?”. The Model United Nations Society raised this question to a panel of esteemed thinkers who delivered insightful perspectives. The debate hosted thinkers and intellectuals from various backgrounds that engaged the audience politically with their different stances.

Debate moderator and Goldsmiths MUN delegate, Marwa Noori, found the debate incredibly engaging. She moderated speakers Mr. James Woudhuysen, Dr Katherine Hall, Irving Huerta, Marzia Maccaferri and Lisa Mckenzie. The panellists debated on topics ranging through human security, the rise in populism and role of global organisations. Marwa states: “It was interesting how the background of each panellist had influenced their opinion, like Marzia Maccaferri who shed light on the reality of populism whilst growing up and studying in Italy”. The greatest moment from the debate was the Q&A session whereby members of the audience shared their views and asked questions. The session proved that the panel discussion had provided much food for thought to the audience, which is what the society endeavoured to achieve. It was Marwa’s first time moderating a debate. The society is pleased with how successfully the debate went and the feedback they received from the audience.

An interview with Beth Lowe, the new Campaigns and Activities Officer NEWS

by Will Herbert

On 8th March Beth Lowe was elected as next year’s Campaigns and Activities Officer for the Students’ Union. She takes over the role from current officer (and next year’s President) Joe Leam in June. Beth is a third year student who studies Education, Culture, and Society and is also President of the Womxn’s Football team. She ran on a manifesto that promised to increase the SU’s engagement with students and South East London; improve mental health awareness and support; and improve inclusivity within sports and societies.

Congratulations on the win.

Obviously, people have to write a very broad manifesto when running for election and promise a lot of things. But when you start next year, what are you looking to prioritise as Campaigns and Activities Officer?

I would say definitely that the priority needs to be - as it’s the start of a new academic year - new students coming in, especially international students. As you’ve seen there have been a lot of issues in the last couple of year surrounding international students and I think, as much as my manifesto didn’t particularly focus on that element of things, I think that student well-being, making sure that more marginalised groups - like liberation groups, BME students, LGBTQ+ - there need to be things in place to make sure that everyone who’s coming into the uni as well as students who are already here are positively influenced by the work I’ll be doing.

Is there a particular way that you think Goldsmiths has let down those groups in the past or the SU has not engaged with them properly?

People are coming to a big city.

You’re in a big city: it can be quite lonely, it can be quite isolating.

And I just think don’t think there’s enough in the Students’ Union to engage all students.

It is very much like ‘Oh alcohol!’ and then they put on two alcoholfree events in a whole week and yet you’re excluding a massive group of students who maybe don’t want to meet people and stand in the corner of a bar and try and make friends that way.

Students halls again are a very specific demographic of students.

We have so many students that travel in; we have students that commute, and students that don’t want to be in a bar-drinking environment. So it is how do you make sure that from the off, students feel supported by the Students’ Union. Know what it is.

Know what’s going on. Know that they can come and talk to us. I think definitely prioritising the students’ voice, students’ welfare; all those things are super important in my mind.

I think it is difficult at this stage to come in and say ‘I’m going to do this, this, and this’ because I don’t want to have false promises, when I don’t know what I can actually implement yet. All I know is what I feel really passionately about and I will make sure that those things are carried forward. But I don’t

want to come in and say ‘I’m going to make sure that this happens and this happens’ because I don’t know to what degree I can make things happen in the first month of being in my job.

But there are really important things. I definitely want to prioritise, upon speaking with a candidate who was running against me (we’ve had a meeting since), the things that the people, who were running against me, were really passionate about because they were clearly really important things and I wanted to make sure that just because they didn’t get in that [those ideas] weren’t going to be implemented.

I think it’s more to do with communication. It all links back to how you access these groups. It is all very well to go ‘We’re open to these wider groups!’ but you have to actually go to these groups, meetings, and speak to people in these groups to let them know that we are available. It is all very well to tell them, ‘you can use our Students’ Union space’ but they’re not going to know that unless you go and speak to them.

So I think it is more about engaging with groups in the wider community to see if it’s something they would be interested in. It’s about getting the voice [of] not only student groups, but the wider community as well.

What kind of things were those?

Like the Anti-Deportation Support Network [Robert Munton campaigned with this idea]. I think that is a massively important thing that definitely needs to be considered. I’ve already started to research. I’ve contacted SOAS’s support network. We’ve got a meeting with them in a couple of weeks to talk about how we can start setting that up here.

You talked just now about making the SU more immediately accessible and more catered to the needs of students. One of the big things in your manifesto is that you want the SU to be a community ‘creative hub’, so how does that feed into the students’ experience and what do you exactly mean by that idea?

I am seeing that from more of an events point of view. Events that are on in the SU are very limited to a specific (place)… like we don’t use the space we have in the SU. For example, there are so many external meetings in South East London, as a community, that could use the SU, if it was accessible to the wider community. And I think by opening it up to the wider community you’re also engaging students because it is more of a hub rather than you use it once a week for a club night.

This is a space that could be used for meetings. There are so many different meetings that are on in South East London to do with homelessness, to do with gentrification, to do with school support and education support, and they could use this space if it was open to them.

Regarding the student side of that, what are the more specific events that could be done through that, or is more about getting people onto site?

And engaging with them over the summer?

Yeah, ideally! I mean the role starts in June. So that means I have two and a half months before the term begins so that’s a massive time which I can use to educate myself. Get the student voice in, get the wider community voice in.

It’s all about listening - that’s what I am. I’m representing the studentbody and what they want so I need to listen and engage for that to happen.

One of the big things that a lot of people put in their manifesto and you put in yours was to do with well-being and mental health provisions at Goldsmiths and how that needs to be improved.

Obviously, the amount of short term counselling [s] has gone back from 6 to 4. Which is just one example of how the service is becoming smaller. So how do you actually fight against that when it is such a financial issue?

It is such a financial issue and also a lot of it is out of the hands of the Students’ Union. In my manifesto I didn’t say that I am going to increase that [funding]. The main thing is: as someone, and I don’t mind saying this, who has gone through the mental health system I am aware of all of the issues that are faced and how it can make you feel as a student. If you are on a waitlist and you’re told you have a month before your appointment and you get to three weeks later and they go ‘Oh sorry you’ve got another month’, ‘Oh sorry you’ve got another month’ that has such a detrimental effect on how students feel. Whether they feel valued; whether their mental health feels valued; you feel lonely, even if you’ve got all the friends in the world, you think ‘Wow, no one cares’. And

Photos: WILL HERBERT

I think it is more about making sure that if there are going to be waiting times that are five months, then that needs to be effectively communicated with the not only the university and their teachers and their lecturers but also with the students themselves. There can’t just be this fobbing off as if it doesn’t matter.

Yeah but when it comes down to this, you can have all the communication in the world but how do you actually get the ‘five month waiting time’ down or how can the SU have an effect on that?

I think that comes down to campaigning really. They’ve shown through so many campaigns at this university what mass effective campaigns can do in terms of effecting change. We can’t magic up massive amounts of money to change the system because a lot of that is out of the SU’s hands.

This is the issue with a lot of this. I’m not going to sit here and pretend like I know all this stuff.

I don’t. All I know is: there’s a problem and I feel there are steps that can be taken to improve it.

What those steps are, currently before I start the role I don’t know.

But, to pin you to something, you’re saying it has to come from the campaigning side of your position?

Yes! Of course!

And that’s about starting new channels of communications rather than going through the existing ones?

There is very limited mental health support, there are long waiting lists and very little communication between wellbeing and students. It is not effective to get a puppy in once a term to deal with stress even though this is something the SU does. I think it undermines the whole issue and takes away from the struggles students are facing. Working with the Welfare and Liberation Officer to deal with the issue at the root cause is something I want to do for sure.

Do we need to take direct action?

I think that there are various campaign routes that we could take. You could join in a national campaign. You could create a more local campaign. All I know is that there are issues that I am definitely going to educate myself on over the next month, two months to make sure that by the time you get to summer I’ll know a plan of actions that I’m going to take.

We’ve been speaking about campaign; you’re more from the activities side of the role.

People elected to the SU tend to follow through more on their platform than what they put in their manifestos, when it comes to student politics. So how are you going to gear what you do to campaigning as well as activities?

That’s a massive thing that I want to address. The manifesto that I ran on is what I knew, which is sports.

I’ve never lied about that. What I’ve done over the last three years has been mainly to do with sports. But

within sports I have run campaigns to do with LGBTQ, to do with the ‘Anti-Lad’ campaign: to cut down on toxic masculinity within sports teams, the binge-drinking culture, sexual harassment in sports team.

So I have experience, not of these wider campaigns, but of sportsbased campaigns and I want to make it clear that I want to further myself in that regard.

I understand that activities and sports is really important but the campaigning side of things is also massively important. You’re talking about institutionalised racism, you’re talking about the marginalisation of international students, of LGBTQ+ students, of so many groups of students who need the [support] of the SU and I will do that.

Just because my previous experience hasn’t been that, doesn’t mean I won’t listen to the studentbody and fight for the students’ experience until the day I finish my job and further beyond.

I’d feel bad not asking about sports so let’s take one thing - the ‘Anti-Lad’ Campaign - what was the plan with that?

So I feel the main issue in regards to what prevents a lot of people from taking part in sports, particularly the more male sports at university - the men’s teams - is that they can be very excluding. And I’m fully aware of that. Changing that needs to come from in the teams: there need to be more workshops, there needs to be training, there needs to be all these steps in place to make sure people are understanding the implications

of their actions. Because I think a lot of it comes from ignorance. I think if you’re a cis-male playing sport and you’re in an environment where you’re binge-drinking and you’re perpetrating ‘lad culture’, you don’t necessarily realise the implications of what you’re doing until someone sits you down and makes you aware of it. We already had slight touching on it in training.

At the beginning of each year all the sports teams have a training session with the SU and it is very lightly touched upon (or it was last year) and I think that needs to be a (bigger) focus point in making sure societies are taking steps to be more inclusive.

Does this training continue throughout the year?

Oh 100%. There need to be regular workshops and also checkins with captains and committees to make sure that they are not just saying ‘We are being inclusive this year’. Because it is all very well and good to say ‘We had stickers on at training that had your pronouns so we’re an inclusive team’. It is deeper than that and I’m fully aware of that. The ‘Anti-Lad’ campaign started up a couple of years ago and it never fully got off the ground, which was a shame and I really want to make sure that that is put in.

How and why are Police Forces able to criminalise Drill Musicians NEWS

by Mehroz Shaikh

A review and follow-up of Brick x ‘Looking Past Street Credibility’ event

Many police forces, along with the Crown Prosecution Service, are using civil courts to sanction young musicians of the newly popular rap genre called Drill, along with the genre itself. Their lyrics and music videos, published on YouTube, are used as evidence, mostly in civil courts, to put sanctions on their creativity through what are called CBOs (Criminal Behavior Orders). CBOs can ban or impose restrictions on these artists from doing or saying a certain thing. If they breach that order they can then be found guilty of a crime.

The worry is this not only prevents freedom of expression but also unfairly targets underprivileged, mainly black communities from neighborhoods that are underfunded and neglected by the government. Alex TaylorCamara, a barrister from Garden Court Chambers who practices exclusively in criminal defense and has defended several Drill rappers and ‘gang members,’ said that such prosecutions were too simplistic and naïve with no regards given to what really leads to actual crime, whether murder through stabbings, or drug dealing. The complexities are put aside, he said.

Bricks, a new space for Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students to run cultural events at Goldsmiths, organised an event recently with MTC Solicitors, a law firm based in Kilburn that has been working in the community around that area and across London for 15 years. The event was called ‘Looking Past Street Credibility: an Exploration of the Implications

Drill Music has on Legal Proceedings.’ It brought together a panel of professionals — a solicitor, a barrister, a record label producer, a prominent Drill rapper, a prison guard and radio jockey, and a journalist — who work very closely with and are part of the Drill music scene. They discussed the development of Drill music being used in court in order to sanction the musicians of that genre along with those that are associated with them. In the heated and complex discussion, the panel explained that the youth involved in the Drill music scene and the kind of lives they lead are a consequence of their circumstances. Antonia Kim Charles, who runs MTC Solicitors, said that if the teenagers or young adults from disadvantaged neighborhoods are dealing drugs, it is because they have no influences other than people involved in criminal activities. She said it was unfair to treat them as criminals, which is why she pursues their defense as a lawyer.

The prosecutors, from the Crown Prosecution Services, are usually ruthless according to the lawyers from MTC. During a recent trial in a criminal court, one prosecutor - whose name cannot be revealed because the case is ongoing when asked why the two black defendants from the case aged 17 and 18 would have committed what they were being accused of replied: “They’re just scumbags!” This kind of bias against young black people is not uncommon in such cases, said Samir Pasha, a lawyer and consultant at MTC, who hosted the panel discussion.

According to Mr. Taylor-Camara, the barrister from Garden Court Chambers who was also part of the panel, Drill musicians (aged generally around 16 – 23, according to Mr. Pasha) are tried in civil courts, where one’s civil behavior is put on trial, and get sanctioned there with their music produced as evidence. When sanctioned by the civil court with a CBO, they are not allowed to use words related to certain killings, death, and group rivalries. The groups are formed by the residents of certain postcodes and their friends, who then refer to themselves by that postcode. The police and the media, according to Ms. Charles of MTC, have branded them as ‘gangs’ to stigmatize and make them appear as a major threat to the society. Ms. Charles always refers to them as ‘groups’ rather than ‘gangs’ as she believes it to be more appropriate.

If the musicians breach the sanctions they get criminal charges and officially become criminals.

Mr. Taylor-Camara said this will

have consequences for the rest of their lives, especially if they want to explore career paths other than what appears to be set out for them already. CBOs also mean that the musicians’ lyrics need to be vetted by the police. CBOs ought to make the rappers selfcensor, standing in stark contrast to the very ethos of Drill music.

Death, killings, drugs, these are the realities of these musicians’ lives, said Corey Johnson, the Managing Director of the record label Defenders Entertainment, who was at the panel. When one considers the lack of representation of these musicians’ lives and the realities they face in an emphatic light, it isn’t shocking to see that something as forceful as Drill music has become the main source of expression. Drill music is a type of rap music with main emphasis on the words and the beat, according to Mr. Pasha. Drill music came from Chicago originally before arriving in London, where it was taken on by the rappers here as a means of expression, Ms. Charles said. The music contains storytelling that deals with brutal killings, drugs and poverty, matters that are very pertinent in the musicians’ lives. As a means, the music allows them to express their frustrations, dreams

and hopes as well as political and philosophical commentary in the form of poetry. The music at times also contains threats to members of rival postcode groups.

The music videos, which are increasing in viewership on YouTube every day, show the musicians wearing masks and boasting of their power. This is of course common in most rap music.

The boasting, according to Edmund Christie from Love The Beat Radio who was part of the panel, is a way for these youths to protect themselves from the dangers they are forced to face growing up in their neighborhoods. It is a way to cope with their circumstances that can be detrimental. It is in a way a “cry for help,” he said.

By producing music and publishing it online, quite a few of these musicians are now able to make a living without becoming involved in serious criminal activity.

“They are now making more money than their parents make per month,” said Mr. Pasha.

Mr. Johnson said that producing music optimises their creative and intellectual potential, but that there is hardly any funding for programs that can support this. Mr. TaylorCamara said that Drill music, primarily used as a means to prove

attacked due mainly to cultural and generational discrepancy, an ‘out-of-touch-ness’. There is a large discrepancy between the ruling political parties and their elites, and the actual lives in the neglected neighborhoods, about which decisions are made by the former.

Another discrepancy is between generations; old against young. The music made by musicians with a similar background as his stands in stark contrast against the older, and mostly white, population’s cultural dispositions. Added to all this is the speed with which new music technologically disseminates, which Nic Coakers, the journalist from GRM Daily who was at the panel and who has written a lot about Drill music, said is amplifying the situation, which was agreed with by other panel members including Drillminister.

As the music disseminates, so do the voices of these musicians.

Drillminister pointed out that their voices seem to be spreading faster than the older generation can adjust to, causing it to appear threatening. News media, which just like the music disseminates rapidly, by using words like ‘gangs’ also paints a dark picture for the society at large. Ms. Coaker pointed out that the education system

has not kept up with advances in technology, let alone the realities of the neglected communities.

Mr. Taylor-Camara said that there has always been “resistance” towards new music, pointing to the reaction against heavy metal genre when it first came out. But music as evidence in civil court, after which they can easily get criminal charges, is relatively new. The law system along with the media, he said, is basically criminalising not only the musician but also the whole genre of Drill music. All this materialises in court. Most cases are tried in front of a jury. Drill rap like rap in general is created through different experiences of the rappers, producers, lyricists, friends and others intermixed with emotions of the artist in the form of a poetic rap composition, said Ms. Charles.

This complex mix of quasi-realities and fantasies are tried in front of a subjective jury, making fair verdicts problematic. An out of touch, mostly white and elderly jury’s verdict is likely to be biased against the mostly black late-teenagers or young adults. The prosecutors on behalf of the state bring cases against the rappers and even those who are remotely associated with them, according to Ms. Charles, for misbehavior and crimes. The

prosecutor uses the music to prove bad character, to make the jury see the youths without sympathy for their respective circumstances and backgrounds.

Mr. Pasha said that when these defendants are as young as 15 years old they are poached by more experienced adults, who may already have been incarcerated in the past, in their neighborhoods usually to deliver packages containing drugs and earn a few of pounds. The teenagers see an easy way to make money that their own family cannot give them, he said. At the panel all the members agreed with this situation. Mr. Johnson said that the issues are not character based but socio-economic, prompting a cry of “Word!” from the crowd.

Drillminister said, baffled, that the Crown Prosecution spends time and so much public money prosecuting kids “for music!” rather than fighting the real forces behind the crimes such as drug cartels and criminal syndicates, in addition to the abject neglect of the neighborhoods. He said that the government should focus on stemming the issue by “getting them when they’re young” because by the age of 15, “it is already too late.”

Photos: MEHROZ SHAIKH

“bad character” in court, as a whole genre is being condemned. This is counterproductive considering that removing Drill music, as Police Forces seem to be trying to do, would take away the source of creative and productive output that can actually help these youths.

Though Mr. Taylor-Camara did concede that there were a few “bad apples,” who incite crime through their music, he said that the genre has nothing to do with it. It is rather an individual matter, he said, pointing to some of the music by Drillminister which deals with issues that concern the political situations, which cut across communities affecting the whole of British society, like Brexit.

Drillminister is one of the most prominent Drill musicians, also known as Young Drilly. He always appears in a balaclava, the reason for which he said is that it allows him to feel safe to express himself more freely. He was born and raised in South East London and his work gives “a voice to his inner city childhood, exposure to the struggles of the workman, minorities and now youth culture,” according to his biography on his website.

Drillminister explained at the panel that Drill music is naturally

Images: harrybakerguitar.com

Student Halls provide hotel level service NEWS

by Will Herbert

Harry Baker Luna MUSIC

by Youness Elharrak

Your recent track [Luna] is really nice and reminds me a bit of R&B from the 2000s; could you tell me a little bit about the musical influence you had?

So when I wrote this, I was on a cliff in Portugal. It was the first song I had written in about a year - I had this huge writer’s block and I was writing songs but they didn’t have a spark to them. But, I was in this really good place, and I had my nylon strung guitar that my mate lent me, and the song kind of came out. I came back after summer and started to put bits together, and met up with a friend to track drums. It didn’t come out too well; we were playing on a jazz kit but the snare was too gritty and didn’t have the sound I was looking for. I ended up sampling some drums and got a beat down. I then played the guitar parts over it and then tracked vocals and added the synths and all the extra vocal bits with a friend. A lot of my music is inspired by Soul, and I find the most important bits of my tracks are always the bassline and little bits that I put in that you might not notice [at] first.

Yeah the track is full of varying textures that are really nice to listen to. How much of your style is production based and instrument based?

So everything on the track was played by myself; all the guitars were live, which I did at a friend’s and at mine. The drums were all sampled so I did that all in my room, and the bassline was also played in. For the harp part, my friend sent me one note, and I sampled it and played around with that which was good fun, so it’s all pretty raw but at the same time bedroom-based.

Amongst the talk of “tenants’ rights”, students might be surprised to learn that nobody living in university halls is actually a tenant.

Anyone who lives in halls run by Goldsmiths, Campus Living Villages (CLV), Unite, or Chapter Living will technically be a ‘licensee’ of the room they live in. Contracts with licensees generally have fewer rights than those with tenants, however landlords will still be expected to keep the flat in a good state of repair. The exact rights of licensees depend upon one’s contract; generally, ‘licensing agreements’ are used when you stay in a hostel or hotel but they are also the situation in most student halls.

The ‘Student Accomodation Code’ created by Universities UK and GuildHE is supposed to ensure students a decent quality of living and is signed up to be applicable to all Goldsmiths-run halls. The Student Accomodation Code mentions licensees and tenants.

The ‘National Code of Standards for Larger Developments’ (NCSLD), which CLV is signed up to, refers to students as ‘occupiers’ and admits: “Previously the term ‘tenant’ was employed, but this has been altered because in almost all cases the residents of buildings managed and controlled by educational establishments do not have the legal status of a tenant.”

The main difference in legal status is that tenants are able to get an extended period of notice before eviction; licensees only need to be given enough time to pack their bags. The national codes for student halls are supposed to give a measure of protection as good as any tenancy agreement but this can often be lacking in the reality of how halls are managed.

Security has been one issue in CLV-run Halls. According to NCSLD: “All buildings have a security plan detailing an appropriate level of management to maintain security standards and this plan can, on request, be shown to occupants.”

NCSLD also expects building managers to keep a written log of complains, to survey occupant satisfaction every year, and in cases where the code has been broken, to recognise the authority of a “tribunal” which can exclude companies from the code.

Following these codes should makes students’ licensee statues an insignificant detail of living in halls.

If they are followed in full, of course.

How long have you been producing and playing instruments?

I started playing guitar when I was about 10, I got a guitar for Christmas and have been playing since. I’ve been singing for about 6 years; I started when I was around 14. Producing, I’ve only really felt in the last year that I’ve kind of come to terms with it a bit better, and I’ve finally been able to produce and master, and get things out by myself. Because before, with the other albums, I felt a lot more comfortable with someone else doing the nitty gritty, but now I’m at Goldsmiths and I’m immersed in the technology, I’ve decided to learn these things myself. I’ve also had a listen to your previous music, in particular your last release, ‘Art. She. Said’. A track that really stood out to me was ‘You’, it’s quite upbeat and danceable and reminds me of Anderson .Paak.

I was just about to tell you the main inspiration track was ‘Dang’!

I heard that beat and that that’s just the coolest ever. But also, I didn’t want to create a track that was completely the same but I just love the energy of it and wanted to recreate the busy bassline, subtle synths; there was a lot of Anderson .Paak on that track.

Have you got any more music that you’re planning to release soon?

I have another single coming out next month called ‘With You’, which I also wrote during the summer.

It’s very different to anything I’ve released before. It’s very Latininspired, but still has a Neo-Soul influence with the beat. I’ll also be releasing one more single before I release the EP, which should come out around late April.

Do you have any events coming up?

I have a gig on the 27th February at the Road Trip on Old Street; it’s kind of a celebratory gig for ‘Luna’; I have some friends from home who helped record ‘Art. She. Said’ coming up to play with me, which will be great!

Where can we check your music out?

The best place would be Spotify, and it’s also available on iTunes and Soundcloud. I’ve also just released a lyric video for ‘Luna’ which is on Youtube.

Thank you and I look forward to listening to your new releases!

Cheers, thank you!

MUSIC

by Kate Walker

As is often reported, we are living in an era when rapid technological developments are affecting the worlds of both music and journalism more drastically than ever; from the boom in streaming services which offer access to a supposedly infinite stream of personally curated music at the touch of a button, to the apparent democratisation offered by social media sites that allow anyone to be a critic. It would be easy, then, to take pity on the music journalist - standing with one foot on each decaying ledge of an ever-widening abyss. Yet, in the face of seemingly impassable challenges, music journalism seems to be slowly recalibrating and adapting to the change. In an ocean of disposable online content, it is print publications that are managing to stay afloat, often buoyed by an emphasis on quality, longform writing and refined core specialisms. A wider resurgence of zine culture in recent years has seen the rise of a format that is perfectly suited to where music journalism is at the moment.

Independently published, niche, uncensored, and usually made for the sheer love of it rather than any profit, zines have become associated with minority voices who otherwise might not have space to speak. Goldsmiths boasts a flourishing zine culture, and here at The Leopard we want to shout out our fellow print published pals by showcasing two recently launched music zines that are pushing the boundaries of what music journalism can be.

See You Mate (Yeah See You Mate) Born in summer 2018, this South London based, fully illustrated zine is back after a lengthy hiatus, launching its second volume on February 23rd. See You Mate is a must-read for the lowdown on London’s most experimental pop, post-punk and electronica acts; Issue 2 features interviews with such hype-worthy acts as Snapped Ankles, Jerskin Fendrix and Jockstrap. Whilst the first volume was written in full by Goldsmiths Masters student Cal Cashin and designed by visual artist Hannah Woollam, this second issue offers a vital platform for many talented contributors to showcase their work. To celebrate their eminent second volume, the See You Mate team hosted a launch party in the suitably grimey setting of the Brixton Windmill, giving further opportunity for local acts to play to a packed out crowd. The showcase opened with a powerful and vulnerable performance from Avice Caro, who sang wittily composed songs about butterbeans and pigeons, to a soundtrack of her Mitski/PJ Harvey-esque guitar playing. Next up was Goldsmiths band Legss, who contributed their 80s-tinged Arctic Monkeys version of spoken word indie rock, followed by the duo Water Baby who had the crowd spellbound with their inventive and infectious avantgarde pop. The headliners were the indomitable trio PVA, whose storming psychedelic synths left the Windmill spinning.

Uniting a DIY ethos with high quality, ambitious writing on the best of local music, See You Mate is a zine doing what zines do best.

To get your hands on a copy of their next issue, keep an eye on their socials and visit seeyoumate. bigcartel.com.

Figure of Eight In their manifesto, Omnii Collective state their aim to create, celebrate, and inspire a generation of womxn and non-binary sound enthusiasts who are well-informed, well-versed in terminology, and excellent producers and engineers..

With the support of Wired4Music Generate and Goldsmiths Alumni & Friends Fund, Omnii have launched their first ever zine which is a further step in doing just that. Figure of Eight covers everything discussed in the collective’s popular entry-level

Images: seeyoumate.com / omniicollective.com

Goldsmiths’ most exciting music zines push journalism boundaries

sound engineering workshops, including the technical aspects of sound production as well as live and studio engineering. The zine is filled with practical and beautiful illustrations of equipment, paired with easy to read information, demystifying an area of expertise so often dominated by cis-men.

Since the collective’s formation in late 2016, Omnii have been devoted to their cause of growing a supportive and safe community of like-minded individuals, supplementing their regular workshops with an informative blog

series of tech-focused interviews with womxn and non-binary producers, as well as a number of events and gigs. Omnii’s zine was also launched with a party, aptly held on International Women’s Day at DIY Space London. To celebrate their growing community the party featured a showcase of DIY music from ACM, Tuffragettes and Alice and The Bugs. A copy of Figure of Eight can be viewed in PDF form on the collective’s website. Spread the word!

MUSIC

by Greta Westwood

December 2017, the transformed multi-story car park Peckham Levels has hosted a night named ‘Ghost Notes’. This name references a muted or skimmed-over note, hinting to the fact that this is a music night, particularly one where such rhythmic subtleties can be co-experienced during the intimate live sets. Ghost Notes is a project that showcases the UK/London jazz scene and one of the most exciting

Mary Ball (1922-2006), Retrospective ART & CULTURE

by Ana Kozlova Mary Ball’s exhibition, Retrospective, is a captivating and noteworthy approach to the way we should and could be looking at art. Held in the Constance Howard Gallery at the Deptford Town Hall, the exhibition features a collection of colourful textiles done by Mary Ball throughout her career as an independent artist. Walking into the well-lit and beautifully curated showroom, there weren’t a lot of pieces but the impact each made was significant. The centre piece is a collection of intertwining, delicately sewn pieces of silk cloth, draped

ways of seeing this in action is through their weekly Tuesday slot, ‘The Spaces In Between’. This event is hosted by bassist Rudi Creswick alongside other core members – drummer Jake Long (Maisha) and keyboardist Jack Stephenson (Vels Trio), as well as special guests who join the jam.

One of these nights - a December special last year hosted a stage spilling over with talent; Yussef Dayes (drummer of former Yussef Kamaal) alongside spontaneous appearances of multiinstrumentalist Tom Misch, and widely-toured rapper and model Loyle Carner who was shoulder to shoulder with rapper Barney the Artist and singer Joy Crookes.

In contrast there have also been simpler set-ups; an example being ‘The Spaces In Between Final Sessions’ featuring Rosie Turton on sax (Rosie Turton Quintet) and

over one another as if displaying a blossoming tree. Surrounding this, the walls display a variety of works starting from an oddly-shaped and roughly-mended piece from 1964 all the way to a more freeflowing jellyfish-like form from 1980s. Almost all of Mary Ball’s pieces remain untitled, instead her approach is more fluid. The way her works are showcased emphasises the exploration of movement of textile, painting a picture through the shapes, textures and colours of her works. Personally, the alternative view of creating a more rigid and layered texture out of something as fragile as silk, usually associated with softness and lightweightedness, piqued my interest, settling as a comforting your-grandma’shome kind of feel in my chest.

The sewing techniques and shape choices, within and of the pieces, form a compelling exhibition worth popping in to see for 10 minutes.

@Constance Howard Gallery, Deptford Town Hall Basement.

Exhibition is free to see from 11am until 5pm, open until the 23rd of May.

for one of the tracks, a special appearance made by Jordan Rakei.

Ghost Notes have also showcased DJ acts, with some of the best selections pointing to what Balamii Radio has presented each Friday.

One such night featured Maxwell Owin who often plays with Joe Armon-Jones (We Out Here). The tracks produced by these artists are unmistakably repping the spawning South East London scene, especially with tracks like ‘SE Discotheque’ from their co-produced album ‘Idiom’. These beats are further contextualised through the backing visuals of passing trains from Peckham Rye station just opposite the venue – Peckham Rye being a reference point for many of the SE jazz musicians (as can be seen with Moses Boyd’s ‘Rye Lane Shuffle’).

Though Ghost Notes has only risen in popularity, at the beginning of February 2019 it was announced

that their nights in Peckham Levels were coming to a close. The result of this was a daily line-up for the rest of the month (a very fun February!) The cause of this was an issue relating to the venue itself; the co-owner and programmer explains that they are “unable to operate within the Peckham Levels Project anymore”. Nevertheless, the project is far from said and done. Ghost Notes have already made summer plans – one of which being ‘We Out Here Festival’; a festival curated

by Gilles Peterson in association with Brownswood Recordings, taking place in Cambridgeshire 15th-18th August, as well as many others soon to be announced as we gradually grow nearer to festival season! Even if Peckham Levels did provide the perfect backdrop for London’s leading jazz, the project will continue to keep us tapping on the edge of our seats.

Images: Ana Kozlova

Ghost Notes An Ongoing Project?

Colette

FILM & LITERATURE

by Grace Higgins

Images: Lionsgate

Inspired by real life french author, Colette, this film recreates the life of a woman ahead of her time.

From writing scandalous stories, starring in provocative plays and having affairs with women, Collette completely shatters pre-existing ideas audiences have collected about women born in the late 19th century. Collette is about a woman who marries a so-called author who gets ghost writers to write for him.

He eventually asks Collette to help him by writing down the events of her ‘scandalous’ school days when he incurs some debt and doesn’t have money to pay his ghost

writers. Quickly becoming a success, Collette’s life becomes more wild just like her books.

Transforming from a quiet countryside girl to a woman who knows what she wants, Keira Knightley embodies feminism in this role in how she manages to outsmart and override the patriarchy, despite starting with nothing but paper and ink.

However, it could be argued that this feminism was emphasised to the point of being unrealistic, with possibly too many scandals, which are cut through too fast so we quickly forget about her husband’s affairs thirty minutes ago, and are absorbed into her relationship with a trans partner. This leaves us to the question, can too much information too fast be a good thing or bad thing in a film?

A country, a book

FILM & LITERATURE

by Maria Juaniz

This literary section will hopefully appear in the next issues of The Leopard presenting literary works from different authors belonging to various nations. If due to space limitations this is not possible, it will be continued on the upcoming website. All authors will belong to the literary milieu, yet their works will have little in common apart from our personal attachment to them. The pieces will be commented on from a subjective interpretation of the concepts appearing in each. A short presentation of the principal theme will be provided, but considering this is not a review of the work, and with the intent of not revealing too much so as to challenge the reader to read the novel (or to tempt others to read them again), this section aims to

delve into the more philosophical aspects brought forward by the authors and their works. To begin our short literary voyage, I thought it adequate to start with Hermann Hesse’s Demian. This German masterpiece, written just before The Great War devastated the European way of life, is a short novel in which we follow the figure of Emil Sinclair from his childhood years into early adulthood. The protagonist is involved in a personal search for the meaning of life and the need to determine the realness and importance of the world surrounding him. Prompted by the appearance of a mysterious new classmate, fittingly named Max Demian, Emil is forced to analyse his own persona and that of the individuals surrounding him: his family, friends and classmates. He realises there is a hidden struggle going on in the world between those who carry the mark of Cain and those who don’t; between awareness and compliance, between the unconscious and conscious mind. It is the spiritual world that is at stake, tells us Hesse by way of Demian,and only those brave enough to face

it and to open themselves to its powerful force will be deemed worthy enough to carry Cain’s mark through their passage on earth. We must critique the world and the illusory society in which we live and eventually understand that in order to survive we are somehow forced to find a balance in life by way of a profound comprehension of the self and of our inner spirit.

Demian, while - or rather because - he remains a mysterious and unattainable figure throughout the whole novel, becomes Emil’s closest companion; a sort of amicable spirit aiding him in his journey into adulthood. We are reminded here of the figure of the Daemon, with Max conceived as a corporeal form of the Greek concept. This journey, we learn, is an odyssey in which the human subject is pushed into due to our nature. An arduous adventure consisting of leaving behind our greatly limited utopic childhood existence and voluntarily entering into a world so tenebrous that most of us choose to spend our life as unquestioning entities in a nonetheless challenging reality.

Demian.

Die Geschichte einer Jugend

(Demian: The story of Emil Sinclair’s youth)

by Hermann Hesse, published 1919

FILM & LITERATURE

Image: Netflix

by Joshua Lamb

Chiwetel Ejiofor’s BFI-backed directorial debut premiered on Netflix at the start of the month, and chances are it’s been slightly overlooked. The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind is a thought provoking, heartwarming tour de force of emotions, about a philanthropic achievement in Malawi, and it’s a true story.

Ghost Girl/ Gwei Mui

by Jennifer Tang ART & CULTURE

by Anne-Louise Fortune

Ghost Girl/Gwei Mui is a compelling piece of verbatim theatre, centred around the unusual circumstances and experiences

Based on the book written by the film’s main character, young William Kamkwamba, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind follows a village and family of farmers in Malawi in the early 2000s, during a food crisis. Ejiofor crafts a run of the mill story, building context and engaging emotion for the majority of the running time, as the characters struggle with solutions to simply eat. Some may argue that this tedious approach is detrimental and too slow, but it’s entirely necessary, as it makes the life-changing achievement of a young boy and a community even more powerful. The film, told predominantly through the lens of a child, doesn’t shy away from the adult struggle of the film’s characters. Much like Ejiofor’s talents as an actor, it’s intelligent, controlled and at times of hardship, raw. Newcomer Maxwell Simba is astonishing as William, whilst Ejiofor has plenty to do in front of the camera too, playing William’s desperate, hard working and stubborn father.

The characters speak both English and Chichewa, with the latter being the predominant choice. This brave decision from the director simply adds a layer of authenticity and engagement with the characters, that most films refuse to implement when using American or English stars.

It’s not just a dreamy film of achievement, it comments on democracy, honour, political corruption, and the power of education. What Ejiofor has achieved is a drama that is bold, uplifting and above all, overwhelmingly poignant.

during Mui’s childhood as a British-Chinese woman. The story is based on an interview with British-Chinese people who have been adopted, entangled with the personal experiences of Jennifer Tang, the writer and director.

In the tiny space of a former pub, four actors led us through the story of a girl born to an immigrant Chinese woman, but raised on an informal but agreed basis by a white couple. It’s a picture of a moment in this country’s history when ‘paperwork’ was deemed less important than it is in the 21st century. A time when everyone was willing to busk their way through a situation, adjusting as needed as their daughter grew up.

As well as being a tale about quasi-adoption and found families, this is a story about being trapped

To be or not to be: Goldsmiths launches new poetry magazine FILM & LITERATURE

by Grace Higgins Opened to everyone in Goldsmiths’ multipurpose exhibitions space down New Cross High Street, The Factory Magazine creators offered free beer and a microphone to anyone who wanted it. As it turns out, a lot of people wanted it, and not just the free beer.

Packed full of students, The Factory Magazine launch was a definite success, some people struggling to even fit in the room as people shuffled in from the cold streets and into the small pop-up shop.One of the editors commented that they had more submissions than the magazine could publish,

meaning they could only publish the best. However, the mic was not limited to just those in the magazine. We heard from many perspectives, including poems about broken hearts, discrimination and even a slinky with a mind of its own. But ultimately, The Factory Magazine offers a voice to people, no matter who you are. If you want to sign up, email them at creativewritingsmiths@gmail.com.

Instagram: @gold.creativewriting Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ groups/429960027171131/?fref=ts Twitter: @creativewritinggoldsmiths

Photos: GRACE HIGGINS

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind Review

between two cultures – and never quite being able to fully feel like a part of either of them, exploring what national labels really mean to Chinese immigrants.

In a country where ‘immigrants’ are frequently demonised, the Chinese community regards themselves as the hidden immigrants – the population of people that the White-British ‘natives’ never quite noticed.

With a running time of just over an hour, this show manages to successfully address both racism and how it shapes identity, managing to probe the question of why some forms of abuse are regarded as acceptable whilst others are condemned. The tight writing and outstanding acting combine to make you wish it was longer.

With a cast of four women, this becomes a piece of theatre focused on the female voices in the story, although male characters are present – played by the women as they portray multiple roles. This production was initially presented as a part of the CAN – Chinese Arts Now Festival in January and February 2019, before transferring to the Camden People’s Theatre for a longer run later in February.

It is to be hoped that the show manages to arrange a national tour, or perhaps a transfer to a slightly larger London venue – this was a great story, told skilfully, that made you think long after the final notes of music had rung out.

@Camden People’s Theatre Show is over but follow @Jen_Tang on Twitter for updates on upcoming events!

Tracey Emin, A Fortnight of Tears ART & CULTURE

by Katrina Nzegwu A Fortnight of Tears is Tracey Emin’s exploration of the nuances of human suffering – a study of pain through her experiences of her mother’s death, her first abortion in 1990, and struggles with insomnia.

Indeed, upon entering the gallery, one is greeted with an ode to sleeplessness, a paragraph that serves as frontispiece to Insomnia Room Installation (2018) – 50 selfies taken by Emin whilst lying in her bed. Emin’s face and shoulders are larger than life, creating a sense of the uncanny. The recurring setting (her bed) creates a reference point, emphatically representing the passage of time. The second room is home to the first of three monumental sculptures: The Mother (2017). The bronze monolith kneels; its dappled surface suggests mauling hands on the material, accentuating the underlying theme of physical affliction. The other two sculptures – I lay here for you, and When I Sleep, (2018) – lie in the

foetal position facing one another, their misshapen arms guarding bloated bellies. Their position creates a dialogue between the sculptures, which participates in the recurring theme of maternity.

The exhibition also features new paintings from Emin – abstract forms rendered in a limited colour palette of pinks, red, greys and blacks on raw canvas. Some feature writing; the most emotive of the collection is a figurative triptych, the bold brushstrokes and corporeal colours hinting at visceral pain.

However, in comparison to Emin’s bronze statues, the paintings are somewhat underwhelming; one surmises that this is due to their inferior scale, for instance in relation to Emin’s monumental neon elegy, I Longed for You, (2019). Somewhat confusing is the inclusion of the film How It Feels, (1996) – although a beautiful and moving piece in itself, its presence seems curatorially incongruous.

The exhibition ends with four vitrines containing preliminary sketches, models and writings from Emin’s archive. Tackling the subjects terror, mortality, love and sex, they operate as conclusions of what is, in essence, one’s traverse through Emin’s psyche.

@ White Cube Bermondsey. Exhibition is free to see and is open from 6th February until 7th April 2019.

Tate Modern: The C C Land Exhibition Pierre Bonnard, The Colour of Memory ART & CULTURE

by Callum Martin

Post-impressionist painter Pierre Bonnard is often referred to as a ‘painter of happiness’, but the Tate Modern’s retrospective The Colour of Memory offers a different sentiment.

The exhibition features a range of his paintings from intimate nudes

of his wife, Marthe de Meligny, to expansive landscapes inspired by the South of France. Many of the paintings are notable for their aesthetic beauty – the treatment of light and perspective in works like Nude Against the Light (1919-20) is stunning to experience, and his use of colour is expressive in dreamlike pieces like the Bathers at the End of the Day (1945). Every painting in the collection, regardless of quality, feels alive with the desire to see the contents of the world and sparks a curiosity to experiment with the different ways in which you can see it. The beauty of a Bonnard painting is evident not in what is displayed but in his approach to painting. Bonnard primarily painted from memory and through this he gained a freedom to paint details important to him rather than dogmatically document what the eye saw. His ability to completely evoke the atmosphere of a moment in a visceral way makes for a more enriching experience, guiding you to see from a different perspective by inhabiting Bonnard’s experiences.

Upcoming Events Saatchi Gallery Arctic: New Frontier by Yuri Kozyrev and Kadir Van Lohuizen Until the 5th May Free to view Yuri Kozyrev and Kadir van Lohuizen were awarded the 9th edition of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award dedicated to the Arctic. The photographs are an alarming testimony to the speed of transformation in the region and the upheavals that are taking place on a global scale.

Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) How Chicago!

Imagists 1960s and 70s

Image: Katrina Nzegwu

Until the 26th May Free to view Co-curated by Goldsmiths CCA and De La Warr Pavilion Bexhill, showcasing the work of Chicago Imagists.

Calling Bonnard a ‘painter of happiness’ seems a particularly limiting way in which to characterise the artist, because while his work is filled with a loving attention to the detail of moments, the underlying melancholy and mystery of life can still be felt a great deal. His work is more than simple aesthetic pleasures and the strongest part of his work is the detail or aesthetic of the work rather the vast and deep sensations of space and feeling prompted by his technique. @The Tate Modern until the 6th of May. Tickets are £18 per person and £17 for students.

On the 4th April at 19:00 Free to view and attend Documentary showcasing over forty interviews with the artists intertwined with a wealth of rediscovered archival footage and photographs. It brings to life the milieu of Chicago in the 1960s, and also showcases the legacy of the Imagists’ work in contemporary art production today.

Themes include the Imagists’ emergence within the national context of Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, the rise and fall of taste within art history, and the uncharacteristic equality afforded to women artists among this Chicago group.

FILM & LITERATURE

by Sophie Taylor

The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson If you’ve watched the Netflix series, read the book. Jackson’s ability to invoke the imagination still blows me away - although no house can be scarier than a self-destructive kitchen in Loring Hall.

The Fortress of Solitude, Jonathan Lethem

ART & CULTURE

Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art Screening: Hairy Who & The Chicago Imagists Documentary

The Lit List: Housing special

Tate Modern Magic Realism: Art in Weimar Germany 1919-33 Until the 14 July Free to view Explores German art from between the wars, drawing upon the rich holdings of The George Economou Collection.

This presentation explores the diverse practices of a number of different artists, in the context of growing political extremism, the new realism reflected a fluid social experience as well as inner worlds of emotion and magic.

Ok, a bit of a cheat.

New York in the 80s is the captivating setting here, not any one house. But this underrated story of friendship across racial divides deserves a mention—like how most New Yorkers are priced out of real estate the way Londoners are.

The Bricks That Built the Houses, Kate Tempest Also a cheat. Kate Tempest is a rapper/ poet, and as a result her prose electrifies, rhythm juxtaposing the life in SE London which she writes about.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte Named for a particularly draughty house (Chesterman, is that you?), this book is a dramaqueen obsessed with obsession and toxic love. Like a less sophisticated Kate Bush. Must-read.

Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier Set in lavish Manderley, where a new bride is followed by the memory of her husband’s dead wife, possession and haunting are given new meaning in this book, as CLV’s possession of Goldsmiths halls is given renewed attention.

Where is my change?

COMMENTS

by Lara Pereira

As a mature student, single mother with English as second language I applied and was accepted on to the course, Applied Social Science Community Development & Youth work in Goldsmiths University of London.

The course offer I had sighed guaranteed me that I would have access to a full time 3-year degree, consisting of lecturers with immense knowledge, professional placement and support during this pupillage.

My first day as a student in Goldsmiths was September 26th 2016 at 10:00am. I sat in class with my £9.99 sports direct rucksack filled to the top with my best companion “impostor syndrome”, but feeling proud for having been accepted in Goldsmiths University of London. I was sure I did not belong there; however, I was hoping no one would take notice of that.

As a single mother I had made all

People’s Question Time: All A Circus COMMENTS

by Maddie Drury

Bexley’s largest sports hall is packed full of aggressive, loud locals, many waving their hands maniacally and booing with a crowd of hundreds. But this is not a sporting event. Sadiq Khan sits surrounded by London Assembly members, attacked from all sides by angry constituents and opportunistic career sharks.

Welcome to People’s Question Time. The event was set up by Sadiq Khan as he entered Mayordom, giving an opportunity for constituents to pose questions to himself and Assembly Members on issues such as housing, economy and air quality. But here in Bexley

the pivotal changes necessary in mine and my children’s life, so I would be able to fully engage with my studies in this renowned institution. I soon came to the realization that the program I enrolled onto was not the one I was studying. Instead of 17% contact time which was agreed on the contract, I was in fact receiving 11% contact time.

Changes to the course were made by the management in StaCs department with light consideration of how that would impact on the students on this course, that is constituted with 80% BME students, who don’t come from traditional education.

As a mature student and a non-English native, these type of changes impacts greatly on my ability to achieve my full potential in my studies. Nearly 3 years later and £56,00 worth of debt from student finance, I am to graduate thanks to my own efforts and the invaluable support from the lecturers on this course. After this long journey and on my way to fulfill my dream, I have to ask: Where is my Change????

and Bromley, questions are few and far between, as residents seize their opportunity with the microphone to batter Sadiq’s climate policies and minimal response to knife crime. Here, where 63% of people voted to leave in the Brexit referendum and safely within the Tory blue belt, Sadiq was never going to have an easy ride. But on this chilly March evening, he is a lamb set up for slaughter.

Seemingly to most of the UK, he is a welcome alternative to the previous Mayor Boris Johnson. Yet from within the capital, his support is dwindling. His climate policies such as the introduction of more bike lanes, an increase in the congestion charge and a ban on TFL buying diesel vehicles offer hope to younger generations but have caused outrage amongst die-hard Londoners, who see the moves as invasive and disruptive.

He repeats the line: ‘I will not apologise for cleaning up our air’, only to be met with disapproving shaking of heads and even collective booing.

What a contrast to the nearly 8000 young people London saw

Numbers & speed, the afflictions of our time COMMENTS

by Delphine Bueche

Whoever we decide to attribute this quote to, Albert Einstein or sociology professor W.B. Cameron, this comment has never been more relevant.

Currently, Goldsmiths fees stand at £9,000 for Home and EU students, and £16,000 for internationals students for one BA year. As university students, we all know it by heart. But this is not the only price we have to pay.

Numerical measures have become the new divinity to have faith in. In the field of Higher Education, this comes from the College pushing its students to fill the NSS to avoid cuts, to students choosing their university following the QS World University Rankings (‘Discover the world’s top universities’). Would Goldsmiths, ranked 396, have escaped it? Are students still coming to New Cross because they are passionate about their field of study and believe the university will let them, or help them, spread their wings? One would hope so. But the numbers, even here, have taken their toll on the way we evaluate our achievements:

-How much did you get?

-69%.

-Just 1% off a first!

-I know right, so annoying.

-It’s fine, a high 2:1 will be good enough for your employer.

So how should we rate art? The question is timeless. In a creative university such as Goldsmiths, are percentages the right way to go?

But we don’t have time to think of alternatives. So, we simply forget about it, we consider it normal, we let it happen. This is just part of the system, it is how students are

strike from school to challenge government climate policy, while people (in Bexley) continue to bury their heads in the sand and rip Sadiq Khan down for his drastic efforts to improve London’s air quality. Calling it ‘The Big Smog’ should be an insult, not an affectionate turn of phrase.

This astounding arena of

assessed and it is the only way to make a degree worth something when it is time to enter professional life. We all think about the grades, we jeopardise our creativity to meet the course requirements, and the requirements of the first company we’ll enter.

Why do we do that? Because, apparently, numbers don’t lie.

Numbers mean precision, efficiency, transparency. In our era of neoliberalism, we prefer quantitative statistics over individual quality. People may not take the time to read the comments section: not only are they always too long, they are also too subjective, and subjectivity is not to be trusted. Numbers mean objectivity, accountability. Today, graphs, charts, diagrams, percentages give a quick, simple and true answer to the complex problems of everyday life.

We think about how to get x percent of our fees back after having missed a few classes (that some might not have gone to anyway) because our lecturer happened to be absent, striking to secure their pension. We do not seek to understand why the industrial action originally took place. It is too complex. Being a walking wallet is much simpler.

We check how many likes we have received on Facebook for a provocative post rather than think about the significance of what we are writing. We decide which show or film to go and see depending how many stars it received: it would be a shame to lose one’s time and money.

This does not mean we should not do all of that. A student can reclaim some money for lectures they have missed because they need it, whilst seeking to understand both sides of the picket line. A provocative post on Facebook can be very well thought through, and be successful.

A five-star show can be excellent, and better than a two-star one.

This is just a call to take the time to stop, and to take the time to think.

I would like to thank Professor Cris Shore, who joined Goldsmiths earlier this year, for his lecture ‘From Transparency to Tyranny’ in October 2018, which inspired this short article.

aggression is not constructive.

Sadiq’s idea for the event is a solid gesture to create more open relationships with the people who represent us, but is ultimately a circus with Assembly Members acting as ringmaster, and Sadiq Khan himself, the clown.

Special Housing Horoscope by Maddalena Dunscombe & guest illustrator­Liza Ganelina

Aries 21.3. - 20.4

Cancer 22.6 - 22.7

Libra 24.9 - 23.10

Capricorn 22.12-19.01

Home might just be a day, a time of day, maybe when the sun reaches your centre.

You are the prism that is needed in the world. Keep your words cut clean and honest so that the light will shine out of the right corners.

It’s always a good day to have the washing on the line, always a good day to clean out the fridge, it is always the best day to let yourself feel comfortable in your own home.

You do not have to contain yourself to the crab-like shelter that is your skin. You are allowed to breathe beyond the bed.

The ceiling is heavy so sink into somewhere dark and blue. The fish there carry stars on the ends of their fins. They are like tiny lighthouses in the night. It is okay to look for comfort in lonely places, and if the walls are too loud, soothe them.

There ARE fairies at the bottom of the garden - they linger in the long grass and the dark side of the bluebells. They are curled up in the daffodil’s trumpets. When the breeze blows you can hear them sing; listen.

Taurus 21.4 - 20.5.

Leo 23.7 - 23.8

Scorpio 24.10 - 22.11

Aquarius 21.1 - 19.2

There is a giant willow somewhere that has grown just for you.

You will learn that the whole earth is your garden. When you roam walk heavily, let the earth shake, set the weeds free and build where the ground is trusty.

Maybe you have never been told that you are brave, or maybe you have never believed it: there is so much time left in learning and time to be left to learn alone. You can build a house out of old bones, but you could also go out to find some new materials.

Remember Spider-month, remember there were tiny creatures that made a home of your home and grew a family in that month before winter. This is a compliment - your home is sweet and welcoming. There are less spiders in Spring though, so why not invite a human in for a cup of tea?

The moon may have a hold on your house this month, might make it pale and uneasy. Bear with the strange light and try to forgive it.

Burn a fire in your best forge, create something bright that will feed off the sun when she returns.

Gemini 21.5 - 21.6

Virgo 24.8 - 23.9

Sagittarius 23.11 - 21.12

Pisces 20.2 - 20.3

The planets are wise this month, they turn in the sky above your window by your bed; if you look closely you can see them spinning.

Know that even if you stay at home all day, you, a speck in the cosmos are spinning too, in the arms of the universe.

Time has come to return to an old home. Lift the latch, open the windows, let the dust scatter on the sill - your presence is a breeze in this hidden place. When the sun filters through the trees it casts a pattern on your living-room floor and touches your shoes. You will find joy in this place again.

If you feel your blood humming, it might be time for a re-invention.

Another coat of paint or just a good hoover or dance in every room of the house. Enjoy the music wherever it finds you, wherever it moves you fill your home with vibrant, singing colours.

A home does not always need to be permanent, just as the seasons change, you might need to replace the roof, the paper windows; but it is you that is made to withstand any weather.

Your hands will build what is right for you in that moment, but you are allowed to change.

An Interview with Dr. Elizabeth Evans DEPARTMENT RESEARCH

by Claudia Schroeder

Dr Elizabeth Evans is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at Goldsmiths whose research has explored the relationship between gender and politics, focusing on the relationship between feminist activism and political representation.

She is a co-founding editor of the European Journal of Politics and Gender.

The first thing I wanted to ask was how you got into this area of research and how your interests have developed over your academic career?

Good question. Starting fairly far back, I went to an all girls school and whilst I was at school, I hadn’t ever really thought about gender inequality, because it was always presented that “of course, girls and women could do anything that they wanted to”. After I left and went to university it became quickly apparent to me that my time at a girls’ school was in some respects this space in which I hadn’t really had that gender dynamic, and it was when I went to university and I saw the ways in which people were interacting, it was kind of shock to me! So I started reading a lot of stuff about feminism and I got really into it, and involved in student societies and things like that, and started thinking about it more. I would write every essay

about gender - I would always pick the gender question - and I was just really intrigued as to why the patterns of power and marginalisation and oppression continued and operated in all these different ways; the intersection of race, and class, and sexuality.

So it’s something that I kind of carried on - I did a Masters and then a PhD on women’s political representation, because it seemed to me that while grassroots activism and feminist activism was really where the energy was with regards to thinking about change and thinking of new ways of behaving and engaging with one another, it was also really important that there were women in positions of power. So I was then interested in the kind of formal dimensions of that. My career to date has been a mixture of trying to focus on those formal aspects while also paying attention to what’s going on in the feminist social movement, and how they interrelate with other forms of social activism, whether that’s around disability, or race, or class.

What I’m interested in is patterns of marginalisations, and the ways in which they continue to be reinforced despite some legal gains: the cultural forms of oppression and inequality, and the discursive forms as well.

there really wasn’t much in terms of high-profile activism, a lot of feminist activists had taken up jobs within local government, within universities, so there wasn’t really that feminist activism that we’ve seen sustained since the early 2000s.

Of course, I don’t dismiss the idea that we’re currently in a Fourth Wave of feminism. The move to online forms of activism is a quite significant shift in terms of ways people engage with ideas around feminism, so I suppose I would characterise it in that way. But I would say this use of the wave is only useful when we think of it in a context-specific sense. In my book, I didn’t like the fact that there was a lot of writing about how around 2010 we were in this Fourth Wave of feminism in the UK. I thought, “well hang on a second! We haven’t really had a third wave yet! What happened with our third wave?

Or are we just assuming that what happened in America in the 1990s is our third wave?” Because actually, what’s going on is very different in the two contexts. And that kind of reading-over from North America which inflects British politics and a lot of European social movements as well I think is quite problematic.

I see that you’ve written a lot about the various waves of feminism and how those are characterised. How would you characterise each of the waves and where do you think it’s sort of going at the moment?

I’m interested in what you think about women in formal politics in comparison to women in grassroots politics and women in academia. How do these things connect; would you say they’re working together or contradicting each other in some ways?

I do use the wave narrative. I should say I’m very aware of and sympathetic to the critiques of using it as a narrative, because it’s hugely Western way of thinking about things - particularly with the way first wave feminism is used to refer to the late 19th century/ early 20th century campaign for the vote for women, when actually we still live in a world where women can’t vote in every country. I suppose I think of it as being a useful heuristic tool to think through the phrenology of the women’s movement but it has to be context-specific. So I would think of, in a UK context, the First Wave being around the campaign for legal rights. The Second Wave would be post-1960s campaigns for liberation and a kind of freedom from the shackles of gendered expectations that women will be in the home, that women should be subservient to men. I think of the Third Wave as emerging early 2000s and being connected with a kind of reinvigoration of the feminist movement. During the 1990s, certainly in the UK

I think some women in politics are very good at continuing to engage in grassroots activism and are responsive to grassroots movements. And I think there are other women politicians, and I guess probably women in academia, who have distanced themselves from what’s going on within the movement and are writing about the demands of the Women’s Movement based on a very particular idea of what the Women’s Movement looks like based on their own experience from when they were younger. I think sometimes that means there is a tendency for some to be out of touch. That leads to a competing range of claims that are being made about who represents feminists, who represents the Women’s Movement.

So you get very high-profile women MPs - take Theresa May for example, who identifies as a feminist. You can find a picture of her with one of those Fawcett Society t-shirts on that says “this is what a feminist looks like”. Yet at the same time, while she was

Home Secretary, she oversaw the detention of women in Yarlswood, and she was still Home Secretary when the evidence came to light of the sexual abuse and harassment of women within that detention centre. So she has very liberal feminist views I suppose, and is interested in getting more women into power, but doesn’t always think about how what she’s doing speaks to the most marginalised women in society. I think sometimes there’s a chasm between the two.

It’s interesting at the moment with the US primaries kicking off there’s a real conversation around “does it need to be a woman to be representing women’s interests or not?” What do you think about that?

Ideally, I would like a woman who does represent feminist interests, simply because there’s been no woman president yet and whilst you can criticize the focus on an individual, I think it has symbolic relevance and importance, and it sends a clear message, right? Obama as the first African American president, that was hugely significant. That’s not to say that whilst he was president, he got rid of racism in America I mean clearly not, right? It was under his time as president that the Black Lives Matter movement emerged. But during his time as president there was also an uptick in young African American men taking an interest in politics, and feeling like they are part of the political conversation. I feel like that symbolism is hugely important, but it can’t be the only means of advancing a particular group’s interests. It has to be backed up by a social movement, by institutional organisations, by pushes for legal reforms and an active grassroots base as well. I think you need all of those ingredients, basically.

Do you feel like academic feminism is now at the cutting edge of feminist thinking or is it kind of trying to catch up with what’s happening on the ground?

I never, ever, ever think that academic feminism is at the cutting edge! It’s always responding, and I think that’s what it should be doing. It should be responding to, analysing, trying to capture, trying to theorise or think through what’s happening at the grassroots. I certainly don’t think that sitting up here on the seventh floor of this not-quite ivory tower means that I can come up with new strategies for the feminist movement. That’s sort of the height of arrogance – feminism is a collective project, and

it’s not about individual academic feminists making a career from writing about feminism and trying to shape the movement. It’s about responding to, and being part of a dialogue between and amongst academic feminists of course, but between activists too. It has to be a two-way process.

Are there any organisations around London or books you have read recently you would recommend to people interested in these issues?

I think that Sisters Uncut are doing really great work, I think that their focus on intersectional feminism is really great. They manage to do some great campaigning around specific issues to do with housing prices, and to do with the ways in which disabled women have been negatively impacted by the cuts. Similarly, Southall Black Sisters, who are a long-standing feminist group, have had a series of really significant wins through their focus on access to public funds and the laws around immigration. I think that they’re two really great organisations – one a kind of newer one, intersectional,

High rent leads to student segregation COMMENTS

by Will Herbert

It is clear if you look at the prices and number of rooms in halls, like I’ve been doing this month, that there is a sort of three tier system of accommodation. The high priced intercollegiate halls; the more local ‘lower’ priced ones; and the accommodation that doesn’t show up in statistics - living at home.

Many of us have known for a long time that this broadly means students renting from Goldsmiths Halls or Campus Living Villages are disproportionately white compared to the University as a whole.

Students from BAME backgrounds are more likely to be from London and therefore, are more likely to live at home during their degree, because that is simply cheaper and involves taking out fewer student loans. The problem is that students make friends during those first few

and another one which is rooted in black feminism and has been really important.

In terms of things that I’ve read that have come out recently that I’ve really enjoyed, I think that the book ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ [by Reni Eddo-Lodge] was just fantastic. She weaves gender throughout the book, but she has a specific chapter on feminism - I found that book really politically inspiring but also I learnt a lot from it.

There’s a great book by Leah Bassel and Akwugo Emejulu called ‘Minority Women and Austerity’ that was also really great in its analysis of both the impact of austerity on minority women and the responses of activists to that.

In terms of theory , there’s a book called Feminist Queer Crip by Alison Kafer, which is about bringing together feminism and queer studies and disability studies, which was really interesting in terms of new theoretical directions.

(Image: Goldsmiths University)

weeks of university, which they will likely keep for their whole degree. This will inevitably be heavily influenced by one’s living situation. I could not quite believe it when a few months ago someone in the Students’ Union told me that around 40% of Goldsmiths students are from BAME backgrounds. That was just not what I thought I saw when I looked around campus.

My idea of what Goldsmiths looks like probably began when I lived in Surrey House in my first year, which had a large majority of white students. I’ve only reassessed this idea quite recently.

I later found out that - of course - 40% is about the correct number, according to the College’s own reports on enrolment.

People of colour living offsite and white people living near the College is obviously an oversimplification. However, if we are going to set up our student accommodation to follow the private market in moves towards luxury and high priced accommodation, then we will find that it helps perpetuate segregated ways of living at university.

You can read a lot of bad things about the halls that Campus Living Villages operate in the lead article of this issue, but one of the biggest problems with them and the way Goldsmiths has thought about its accommodation is that they are essentially mimicking the

Why disabled students must run in their officer elections HEALTH & SUPPORT

by Radhika Das

Rachel O’Brien, the NUS Disabled Students’ Officer, was first elected for the years 2017/18 and has been re-elected to serve her second term. Rachel ran our Disabled Students’ Leadership Workshop earlier in February in the Liberation Room, SU, which was designed to enable disabled students to develop their confidence, become effective leaders and build skills in campaigning and organising.

She says: “Be it full-time officers or part-time officers, if that’s TSO or one of the others, either the university’s Trustee elections or to be a delegate at one of the NUS conferences, disabled students at Goldsmiths University should run in their officer elections.”

She mentions that this is because running for one of these positions and winning it means that the individual will have access to power

‘luxury flat’ trend of the private sector. This kind of set up makes more money, and is more secure financially, but provides far fewer rooms at increasingly high prices.

Not that ‘luxury’ has always been students’ experience in halls but you can clearly see with the refurbishment of Surrey House, that is what they have been going for: something which looks ‘posher’ than what you expect of student halls. This is reflective of Goldsmiths’ wider approach and what they have begun to offer students more recently.

Chapter Living in Lewisham, Town Hall Camberwell, and next year Ewen Henderson Court run by Unite are all recent accommodation options at Goldsmiths.

Students and parents can no longer afford to go to student halls just so they can have the experience of living with other students. If the College does

resources as a disabled student, further adding that it is done in order to campaign a platform for issues that disabled students are facing on campus and in a wider society. In a video addressing the same, she adds that a disabled student would have resources behind those campaigns in order to see them through and make sure that they’re successful and effective, where she states: “You’ll also be able to influence power within your Students Union and within the university and possibly even wider than that, both locally and nationally, if you run for a position which enables you to do that.” As an Officer, her priorities are in protecting our healthcare services and building grassroots activism and she believes that disabled students’ voices are important to the extent that they can become authentic leaders through their identity as a person with a disability. She aims to continue pursuing her work in enhancing campus counselling services, as well as in creating resources to support and encourage disabled students’ groups to run their own campaigns on similar issues. Finally, on asking her why it is important to put forth these issues, she responds: “Running in the elections and putting forward those issues that disabled students are facing, means that you can start to construct a movement around them. One person in one officer position can never change the world and can never change liberation for disabled students. But working together, we can start to change things if we start to build a movement.”

not incentivise them by offering something at the low end of what they would pay for the area, then they’ll stay at home if they can.

Ultimately, this means that students from BAME and white backgrounds are much less likely to mix. This does not even have anything immediately to do with class or income; it is just a demographic fact that Black or Asian students are more likely to be Londoners.

I’m sure the social impact will start to a look even worse when you start thinking about people’s household income as well. University is supposed to be a place where people can move out beyond their life so far and meet and learn from new people. If we are essentially segregated by our living conditions, then Goldsmiths will only ever be so successful in facilitating the socialisation of students. There is an increasing risk that we may be sliding towards that as a reality.

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Goldsmiths Lose Varsity “

SPORT

by Simon Throssell

I don’t know how we lost!” exclaimed Goldsmiths’ badminton captain as he and his doubles partner knocked the shuttlecock into the net. They had been up early on a Saturday morning, making their way to St Dunstan’s College, Catford to take part in the annual Arts Cup challenge between Goldsmiths and UAL. The first sporting matchup of the day, le Badminton, started even stevens.

One win for the women’s doubles, one loss for the men’s doubles, followed by one win and a loss for the mixed doubles. The pairs were similar in playing style, playing the shuttlecock deep and long, forcing the players back to the baseline before tapping it gently over the net. Less similarity can be said in regards to their kits. Goldsmiths were donning their yellow and black attire, whilst the UAL cohort’s kit ranged from blue ‘UAL Sport’ tops and tracksuit bottoms to black jeans and an Aladdin Genie t-shirt.

“I don’t know how we lost!” echoed

the mixed doubles team on the other court. The action inside the gym finished 4 - 2 to UAL. As the clock struck 11 am, the opposition had taken an early overall lead in the 2019 Arts Cup. Goldsmiths 0-1 UAL. To be close to the sporting action is something every fan dreams of, whether that’s being courtside at the Lakers or behind the substitutes bench at Wembley. I got the chance to be as close to the volleyball match as you could ever be - standing on the legs at the far end of the net. The referee said the net provided was too unstable to be played with unsupported so chose me to balance it out - bit rude… Toss, smack, serve, pass, set up, spike, point, toss. Smack, serve, pass, set up, spike, out, point. Toss, smack, serve, pass, dig, dive, set.

The first set goes in the favour of UAL, 25 points to 20. In the second set, Goldsmiths played a number of well-placed hits forcing their counterparts to either hit the ball out, into the net or miss entirely.

The crowd also contributed to the Golds comfortable 25-10 victory in the second set, with SU President JT leading the Goldsmiths rabble in chants of *dum dum dum dum dum, dum dum dum dum Goldsmiths*. The occasional clash of players and miscommunication cost the Golds some easy points in the third set. The big characters

on the team often took matters into their own hands, literally, but the team spirit remained strong throughout. After every point, whether in favour or against them, the Goldsmiths team would high five or shout ‘Golds!’ to keep the spirit levels high. A total of 44 points were played in the third set, unfortunately going 25-19 in favour of UAL. It was all to play for in the fourth set - a win for Goldsmiths would take it to a deciding and shorter fifth set, a win for UAL would continue their strong sporting performance in the morning sessions. The speed of the action slowed down in the fourth set. Serves were taken with much more care, prioritising accuracy over attack. A few substitutions were made. New formations were tested. Points were won. Points were lost. Serves were held. Serves were broken. Goldsmiths were ahead and then UAL were ahead.

Goldsmiths brought it back but not until a fine display of volleyballing talent and a quick succession of points helped UAL to reach the target of 25. Only three points the difference, 25-22. Another close, entertaining and well-played game of volleyball but a consecutive Varsity victory for the Golds wasn’t to be. After two sports, it was Goldsmiths 0-2 UAL. [=

The afternoon’s action switched bases from St Dunstan’s to the sports pitches at the Jubilee Ground. There were many matches happening simultaneously, including the men’s rugby and men’s football 1’s, women’s football and the men’s 2’s.

The women’s football team, who played out an exciting 3-3 draw last year, put those penalty blues behind them on Saturday and defeated their UAL counterparts by 2 goals to 1. The men’s 2’s claimed an incredible fightback after being 2-1 down at half time, but came back brilliantly in the second 45 to win 3-2. The score at 2:00 pm was Goldsmiths 2 - 3 UAL. The crowds’ chants of ‘Foundation Art Degree’ and ‘Have you ever read a book?’ continued to annoy

the UAL cohort for the rest of afternoon. Three tries for the men’s rugby team gave them the victory, 17-10. Putting all politics to one side, it must be said that play was disrupted for some time after a UAL player is treated by medics.

We do hope that everything was OK with them. On the adjacent football pitch, almost one minute after the rugby team had scored their first try, the men’s 1’s were 1-0 up then tied 1-1 then 2-1 ahead, 3-1 ahead and with a spectacular goal that saw the crowd flock onto the pitch to celebrate the masterpiece that it was - the full time whistle blew and Goldsmiths 1’s had won fantastically, 4-1. The overall score going into the final sport of the day was Goldsmiths 4 - 5 UAL.

With that, it was finished.

Goldsmiths had lost Varsity for the second year in a row. A poor morning of results proved to be the deciding factor, despite some hope being brought back with a fantastic set of victories in the afternoon. The cheers from the UAL support were completely drowned out by the Goldsmiths verse during the cup presentation ceremony. Team and crowd spirit was still high as people departed on the 171 bus back to New Cross, preparing themselves for the night’s festivities at the SU - that is if you actually managed to get in.

A big well done to all the players, coaches and officials, both from Goldsmiths and UAL. Many thanks to everyone from the SU who helped organise the big day and a cheer for the supporters who braved the wind and cold temperatures to get behind the teams.

This report makes the Varsity score official. Printed in ink, distributed to the many - it confirms that Goldsmiths lost Varsity. But, apart from that, what is the point of this article? Having a record of your loss is something you don’t want to see again, right?

Well here’s a thought. In the words of David Brent: “If at first you don’t succeed, remove all evidence that you ever tried.”

Image: Simon Throssell & Terrelle Iziren

In the case of a draw, there would have to be a deciding sport.

Suggestions of a tug of war had been quickly dismissed, risk of too many injuries. There was talk of a relay race but most of the teams had gone home, changed or showered and some players certainly didn’t want to upset their tweed. All of that was largely put to one side as the umpire signalled for the start of the mixed hockey match-up.

The game started off well, the ball whizzing past the UAL keeper to give Goldsmiths an early lead.

But UAL were to quick grab an equaliser - a low-driven cross into the box flicked into the back of the net. They repeated this same move as the teams swapped sides in the second half. A short corner at the far end was moved out to the wing before the UAL player cut inside to give them a 2-1 lead and bring them closer to an overall Varsity victory. Despite going down in the first half with a cramped leg, captain Kris Willmott brought the scores level with an emphatic drive and quick retrieval of the ball. 46 seconds later, though, and UAL regained their lead. It was clear to see that the Golds were getting tired - it had been a long day for all spectators and players. Both umpires looked at each other as their watches signalled the end of the allotted time.

by Terrelle Iziren Varsity 2019 belonged to UAL who won 6-4 overall, after Goldsmiths began the tournament with a slow start during morning events at St Dunstan’s College, Catford.

Badminton kicked off the games this year, with several strong rallies throughout matches between both teams in the men’s, women’s and mixed games. Following the men’s 11-8 defeat, it was a slow start for Goldsmiths and UAL in the mixed doubles. Goldsmiths did win the second set 21-16, although it wasn’t enough to prevent UAL’s early dominance, as last year’s Varsity champions ran out 4-2 badminton winners overall. This was then followed by mixed volleyball. Only the women’s team have played league volleyball for Goldsmiths this season and it had been a solid BUCS campaign. They finished third out of eight teams in South Eastern 3A, only six points off champions Buckinghamshire New University. On the day though, Goldsmiths lost in sets 3-1 against a strong UAL side. Desire from both sides was unquestionable but clearly in Varsity, the form book flies out the window. After two sets, it was one-a-piece in a close fought game. However, after the interval UAL stormed into the lead. Goldsmiths’ rivals put in an exemplary defensive display, throwing themselves on the line to deny the New Cross outfit a first win in Varsity 2019. Elsewhere, there was a 4-2 victory for the Women’s Football side while the mixed hockey team suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat.

Wired Radio were later on hand to provide sporty, upbeat tunes throughout the afternoon alongside some witty sports reporting too.

Be sure to check that out on their Mixcloud page, where you will also find our Leopard Roars podcast for a summary of all the Varsity sports action.

2-1 to Arts

Volleyball:

3-1 to Arts

Men’s basketball:

51-33 to Arts

Women’s basketball:

52-38 to Arts Men’s Football 2nd:

3-2 to Goldsmiths

Women’s Football:

2-1 to Goldsmiths

Men’s Football 1st:

4-1

Impressum

The Leopard would like to make the following corrections of the issue released in February:

EDITORS IN CHIEF

The article called ‘Grace Bonner Wales: A Time for New Dreams’ was written by Katrina Nzegwu and not as was credit.

The proper version can be read at issuu.com/leopardnews In the article “Goldsmiths’ Security Staff Look to Independent Trade Union to solve Outsourcing Troubles” we reported that security staff at Goldsmiths received 28 days of annual leave. In fact, security staff can receive up to 28 days leave, depending on the hours they work, and this does not usually happen.

We apologise to the trade union UNISON, who have been representing cleaning staff at Goldsmiths. In our article “Cleaners Feel Sidelined by the College and Unison”, we reported that the union had cancelled a Christmas social at Goldsmiths for its members.

UNISON had cancelled a meeting with cleaners about the process to bring them in-house because they believed there was no new information to report, however the Christmas social did go ahead as planned.

Across: 1 Second, 4 Wind, 9 Anagram, 10 Leave, 11 Eat, 12 Arguments, 14 Forbid, 15 Button, 17 Amusement, 20 Rat, 22 Chill, 24 Include, 25 Note, 26 Method.

SPORT

Badminton:

Corrections

Down: 1 Share, 2 Chapter, 3 Narrative, 5 Ill, 6 Drain, 7 Smug, 8 Reason, 13 Moustache, 14 France, 16 Through, 18 Union, 19 Edit, 21 Trend, 23 Let.

UAL Clinch Varsity Trophy Despite Fierce Goldsmiths Fight back

Will Herbert Shreya Ukil Dana Broadbent COPYEDITOR

Hannah Walker LAYOUT EDITOR

Mihaly Verebes

Section editors NEWS

Will Herbert Shreya Ukil Dana Broadbent COMMENTS

Laura Moyies DEPARTMENT RESEARCH

Claudia Schroeder ARTS & CULTURE

Ana Kozlova Anne-Louise Fortune FILM & LITERATURE

Josh Lamb Grace Higgins Mieke Fæste Maria Juaniz

to Goldsmiths MUSIC

Men’s rugby:

17-10

Kate Walker Youness Elharrak Greta Westwood

to Goldsmiths

HEALTH & SUPPORT

Cheer:

Danielle Desouza Radhika Das

Arts win (full scoring tbc)

SPORTS

Simon Throssell Terrelle Iziren

Hockey:

3-2 to Arts

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