Issue16

WWW.MANCUNION.COM 27th FEBRUARY 2017 / ISSUE 16 FREE

2,500 march to Reclaim the Night We spoke with those who took to the streets to protest sexual violence, harassment and victim blaming, to ask why they believe it is so important...

Page 11: Special opinion feature: Student safety ‘Are the police letting students down?’ and ‘We do not live in a rape culture’ Jennifer Sterne Editor-in-chief 2,500 students took to the streets of Manchester on Thursday 23rd of February to ‘Reclaim the Night’, protesting the prevalence of violence against women, street harassment and victim blaming.

The annual march from the student area of Fallowfield to the University of Manchester Students’ Union was attended by a range of student and non-student representatives, led by a women-only bloc. There was also a LGBT block, a youth and families block, and a Muslim block.

The number of students attending was down on previous years, with 2016’s march attracting 3,500 students, but reduced numbers have been blamed on Storm Doris.

The march ended with a rally in the Contact Theatre car park, where Councillor Sarah Judge, the lead member from Manchester City Council on all women’s services, spoke of the fact that “across our city we still have stats like a third of women experience domestic violence, the rape crime reporting rates are so low, yet we all know it’s happening everywhere. This has to change.”

The Mancunion and Fuse FM spoke with some of the people on the march to find out why they were there and why they believed events like Reclaim the Night were so important.

Naa Acquah, General Secretary of the University of Manchester Students’ Union, told us she believed it was “really important that we keep doing this every single year.”

Mental health affected by high student debt

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It was her fourth Reclaim the Night, and she explained how “every year it just gives you that real empowerment to take back the streets.”

Saffa Mir, Community Officer at the Students’ Union, said she was marching at Reclaim the Night, in particularly the Muslim bloc, “because we believe our voices are being silenced, and we’re here to show that we, as Muslim women, do have a voice”.

When asked if she believed Manchester’s streets were safe she responded: “No. Certain streets, especially the ones we’re about to walk down now, are not safe at all, they’re not safe from catcalls, sexual violence, sexual harassment, not all at all — and we’re here to tackle that.”

One girl, when asked why she was marching, said it was because she had been raped by her ex-boyfriend.

But she added that she thought it was great “when people do this, it makes you feel so much better to see you’re not alone.”

Personal experiences of sexual violence or assault were brought up by a number of women at the march, with women speaking about being followed to their doors, groped in broad daylight and catcalled on the streets.

Most spoke of feeling vulnerable and unsafe alone, particularly within Fallowfield and along the Curry Mile.

Emma, a University of Manchester student, said: “It would be nice to not always have that bit at the back of your mind, saying ‘what if’, and always being on guard”. Another student added that women should not have to “change their lifestyle because of the fear of being attacked.”

MMU Manchester Mayoral hustings

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One female student told us she was marching because “it’s time that women feel comfortable to walk around by themselves — because we’re not sexual objects, we’re people.”

The march was disrupted towards the end by a group of young people throwing things into the crowd and heckling.

Responding to this incident student Ella said: “It’s sad because they feel that they can’t do anything, because especially when you look at the black community, especially black men, there’s a big divide and it’s viewed as if feminism is destroying the black community. And looking around here there aren’t a lot of black women. I feel there could be a better outreach to the black community here.”

We spoke with some of those watching the march pass through Curry Mile, including Tony and Anton who were watching from H&D Hair Design. They had not heard about the protest before, and when asked whether they thought protests about sexual violence were necessary, they responded simply, “look at what’s happening — there must be something wrong if everyone is out like this”.

They added that they believed “these things have got to happen, and the voices have to be heard to let people know what’s going on, with all the things that are going on in this world.”

Not everyone on the march believed it was an effective way to tackle the issues, Kritik Patel, a Genetics student, said: “I

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A social “awokening”: we need to start taking responsibility

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Features : Refusing the Israeli Defence Force

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Music: In Conversation with Laura Marling

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Fashion: The Fashion editors personal style

don’t actually think Reclaim the Night does anything useful.”

When asked why, he said: “Because it’s just one night. And the issues that they are campaigning on tonight are important, but it’s only done once a year.

It should be more of a sustained direct action, like more demonstrations, more campaigning on campus, on issues like more lighting on streets, against catcalling”.

Despite this, most of the people we spoke with spoke of the march as a means to raise awareness of the issue, including Helen Clegg, third year and

Letter from the Deputy Editor

This week’s issue of The Mancunion promises a look into the yearly Reclaim the Night and what the people marching had to say, as well as a student safety special in our Opinion section.

However, as some of you may be aware, with the help of Amnesty International and the NUS, this weekend the People’s History Museum will be throwing it’s doors open to host our Women in Media Conference. A conference which I am very proud to say I am a Co-chair of.

All money raised this weekend will go to Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH), a small local charity that provides long-lasting help to women involved in sex work; from their safe house in Manchester’s red light district they provide workers with everything they need to keep safe and well.

Women in Media was an idea completely created and developed by the student volunteers involved in the Manchester Media Group, and it wasn’t just the female ones either.

Put simply, we aim to surround our delegates with fantastic women who have incredible media careers and empower confidence in other students to do the same.

As someone who is proud to be from a Manchester working class family I have never felt that my socioeconomic status has impaired me in anyway. I didn’t struggle through school or college, my family’s encouragement never faltered and my aspirations weren’t shackled to a postcode. Only now, approaching my final semester, I feel that my class will become a hurdle. And this is because of one simple thing: The education system isn’t the same as the real world.

The media is an industry which relies heavily on unpaid work when first starting out, and unfortunately this is a luxury which leaves many behind. With reports of unpaid internships, poor work experience and even

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bidding for internships, a large number of high profile media professionals and celebrities have come forward to speak out about this issue.

Although it can often feel that these opportunities are only for the privileged, things are changing.

Creative and industrial industries are one of the fastestgrowing sectors in the region, with the industry growing faster than anywhere in the UK. Manchester is home to Media CityUK, which is due to expand in coming years.

Hopefully, this is a sign that media concentration in London will spread it’s wings and share the distribution.

This is why I’m particularly looking forward to sessions such as ‘Our Manchester Women’ and Robyn Vinter’s workshop ‘The class barrier: Why Media needs more

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founder of the newly formed Feminist Society at Salford University, who said “if we shout about it enough then people will pay attention.”

After the march, Jenni Smyth, Women’s Officer for the University of Manchester Students’ Union expressed a huge thank you on Facebook “to all 2500 of you who braved storm Doris and came out to Reclaim the Night.

Together we raised our collective voices and filled the City with noise, colour and light as we said NO! to sexual violence, street harassment and victim blaming”.

Editor-in-chief: Jennifer Sterne editor@mancunion.com Deputy Editor-in-chief: Elise Gallagher deputyed@mancunion.com Postal address: University of Manchester Students’ Union, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PR Phone: 0161 275 2989 Subeditors: Gemma Sowerby, Robert Parris, Jane Simmons, Hannah Foy, Christopher Tchen, Lauren Bramley, Adriana Elgueta, Lauren Pizzey, Stevie Grieves sub@mancunion.com

Head News Editor: Yasmin Mannan Deputy News Editor: Rosa Simonet & Lily Sheehan Science Editor: Georgie Hines news@mancunion.com science@mancunion.com Head Features Editor: Jacob Nicholas Deputy Features Editor: Emma Shanks features@mancunion.com Head Opinion Editor: Tristan Parsons Deputy Opinion Editor: Marina Iskander opinion@mancunion.com Head Fashion Editor: Sarah Kilcourse Deputy Fashion Editors: Sophie Soar and Talia Lee Skudder fashion@mancunion.com Head Food & Drink Editors: Lily Carden & Miriam Mizzi foodanddrink@mancunion.com Head Film Editor: Eliza Slawther Deputy Film Editor: Shema Begum film@mancunion.com

Working class women’. Although last year’s conference exceeded expectations, we’ve made a conscious effort to make this year’s line up even more diverse in terms of media genre, age, race, and class.

Tickets are still available and if you can’t make it you are still able to donate to such a worthy cause! Each day kicks off at 10am and finishes at 4pm, all information can be found at our website: womeninmediacon.co.uk.

There’s something there for everyone, so I hope to see you there!

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this issue of The Mancunion.

Head Lifestyle Editor: Rachel Adams Deputy Lifestyle Editor: Araddhna Patel lifestyle@mancunion.com Head Music Editor: Joe Casson Deputy Music Editor: Katie Shepherd music@mancunion.com Head Sport Editor: Harry Newton Deputy Sport Editor: Alex Whitcomb University Sport Editor: Ben Ryan sports@mancunion.com Books Editor: Roma Havers books@mancunion.com Theatre Editor: Brogen Campbell theatre@mancunion.com

The Mancunion is the official student newspaper of the University of Manchester., established in 1969 with a readership of around 20,000. It is printed weekly for 20 editions and is distributed across campus and the city.

All writers are volunteers and new contributors are always welcome. No previous experience is necessary, just a passion for student media and a good story. You can get involved by turning up to a meeting, the times of which are listed on the Mancunion website’s Join page.

We gladly accept contributors from outside the University of Manchester.

Head Online Editor Rebecca Carr Deputy Online Editor: Holly Smith online@mancunion.com

The Mancunion is part of the Manchester Media Group, along with Fuse FM and Fuse TV. This body encompasses all of the Union’s official media outlets, and organises training, outside speakers, and social events for Manchester students interested in student media.

Copyright belongs to the photographers. If you wish to reproduce them contact them

If you have any comments, questions, complaints, or would like to contribute, please e-mail the Editorin-chief or Deputy Editor-in-chief.

Arts Editor: Laura Joyce arts@mancunion.com

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Government planning £14,000 tuition fees The government is planning to allow universities to offer shorter courses for higher tuition fees

Emily Hulme News Reporter

and life.” But a spokesman from the Russell Group advise that the most appropriate way for students to study for research-intensive degrees, is full-time across three years.

The Mancunion asked University of Manchester students what they thought to the prospect of putting their three year course into two years at a more expensive rate. Riannan Singh, Third year Maths student said “I could not imagine the pressure a student would feel if they were to try and cram my course into two years — and to have to fork out more debt for it at the same time? I think it would be a loselose situation for students. For maths, that is anyway.”

In response Johnson says, “I absolutely recognise that for many students the classic three-year residential model will remain the preferred option. But it clearly must not be the

Proposals for a ‘short course’ degree programme has been put forward by the government, in order to offer students the option of a more intense, more expensive but shorter degree.

University Minister Jo Johnson has announced the proposal today, in an attempt to offer students more choice when it comes to their higher education plans. Instead of paying £9,000 per year for the usual, three-year long course, students would pay up to £14,000, which is a higher fee than some courses in the USA. Johnson says the proposal comes in response to students “crying out for more flexible course and modes of study which can fit around work

only option.”

There is a further concern, displayed by The University and College Union that it would do little to open up the university experience to more students. They suggested the government should avoid a “pile ‘em high and teach ‘em cheap” approach to students’ education.

On the other hand, students and parents would have one year less to pay for accommodation and other living fees. Students would also have the opportunity to increase their earnings by entering the job market a year earlier than before.

The government would have to vote on the proposal and consider to advise from education professionals during the parliamentary process before it became a solid piece of legislation.

Photo: Thomas’ Pic @ Flickr

High student debts leading to stress and poor mental health

A recent study has concluded that the cost of living for many students is having a negative impact upon mental health and academic success Izzy Oldman News Reporter According to a recent study, the accumulation of university debt — along with extortionate living costs — is contributing to stress and mental health issues amongst students.

The research, conducted by the financial technology company Intelligent Environments, suggests that as many as 75 per cent of students who received a maintenance grant for their studies feel stressed about money, with 39 per cent stating that they could not afford their weekly food shopping and 27 per cent admitting to missing payments on rent.

University debt is even going as far as to damage friendships, relationships, and exam results, but for the most part it is leaving students without the means to be independent.

This is the case for English and French University of Manchester student Gemma, who says: “Now that I’m in final year, with no time for a well-paid job, I’m realising that it was in fact my wages that were helping me stay out of my overdraft every month – now I’m constantly in the red.

“The maintenance loan isn’t enough – I’m lucky that my parents can partially support me, but for people who don’t have that option, it’s a cruel reality.” She also believes that “a lot of people are in genuine need of [greater] maintenance loans”, but there are also “some students who cheat the system”.

The truth, therefore, is that frugality accounts for much more in student life than many expect. Despite this, The University of Manchester is still preparing to raise its own tuition fees from £9000 to £9,250 per year.

Similarly, those with disabilities and special support needs are also being hit significantly hard due to budget cut-backs, but have even less freedom to pursue part time work.

Alex Smith, a University of Manchester second-year languages student, is an example of such a student: “I would identify as a disabled student and have found the lack of funding for students with additional needs to be highly unsatisfactory, I love my course... but times are getting hard... especially for disabled students.

“I attend meetings with a study coach as part of my DSA entitlement, but next year this will be cut… I’m now highly dependent on antidepressants just to cope with the financial burden of university.”

In a statement, The Students’ Union’s Wellbeing Officer Izzy Gurbuz outlined some of the services that the Union offer students who find themselves with money troubles: “Financial pressure can have a huge effect on students’ wellbeing, from worries about debt affecting your mental health, to the need for a part time job leaving you with no time for socialising or sports. £9,000 fees are already too much, which is why we’re asking students not to fill in the NSS, as it’s being used as part of the TEF to raise fees even further.

“The scrapping of maintenance grants and slashes to the Disabled Students’ Allowance have also exacerbated financial problems for students. The Students’ Union Advice Service can give advice on Student Finance and additional funding sources, and they can also provide emergency loans of up to £100. The University also has some great online resources around managing your money here.”

The University of Manchester’s Press Office added: “We know that 4 out of 5 students worry about having enough money to get through the academic year, and that money worries can affect diet, academic performance, and mental health. With this in mind, the University has partnered with Blackbullion, an online financial education resource designed for students.

The resource, which is free for University of Manchester students, comprises of a series of online modules helping students to gain skills in saving, budgeting, and more.

“What we love about it is you can access the modules from your phone and get money skills wherever you are. We have also developed a series of online resources with tips and apps to ease the stress of managing money, available through the My Finances tab on My Manchester. Our online support accompanies our Student Support and Advice Service based in the Atrium of University Place where we are happy to speak with students about any money worries they may be having.”

Photo: Ryan Melaugh @Flickr

Man shot outside Moss Side Takeaway A man, rumoured to be involved with the notorious Doddington Gang, was shot in the thigh

Araddhna Patel Senior News Reporter Two men have been taken into custody after a man was shot in the thigh. Armed police were called to Great Western Street near the Silver Spoon takeaway at 3pm on Sunday the 19th of February 2017.

The victim was rushed to hospital in a serious condition.

Crime scene investigators and a team of forensic officers started work on Monday at the scene of the shooting to determine what happened.

The two men, aged 20 and 35, were

arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, and questioned by the police.

It was later reported that this targeted attack may have been due to rising tensions between an old established gang and a new crime group.

Manchester Evening News learned that the police believe the victim was associated with the notorious Doddington gang, based in Moss Side.

Detectives believe he may have been involved with the new gang, the majority of its members being of Libyan and Somali heritage.

According to Manchester Evening News,

Chief Inspector Mark Kenny of Greater Manchester Police’s City of Manchester Team stated: “When something like this happens it can cause worry and unrest in the community.

“I want to offer my assurances that we have extra patrols in the area and a dedicated team of detectives working on this case.

“Our enquiries are at an early stage but we do believe this was a targeted attack, and that there is no wider risk to people living in the area.

“We know that Moss Side is a very tight knit community so it is possible that somebody may hold key information about those

responsible.

“If you do know who is responsible, or have any information about what happened to this man, who is seriously injured in hospital, please come and talk to us.”

The police stressed the severity of the crime and pleaded for anyone who had information on the attackers or what happened to the victim to contact the police directly or anonymously report to Crimestoppers, the independent charity.

Since then, we have learned that the victim remains in a serious condition but is expected to recover.

Photo: A Pepperhill @ Flickr

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MMU Union hosts second hustings in build-up to GM Mayoral Election

Photo: Barney Weston

Barney Weston Political News Reporter The Union at Manchester Metropolitan University hosted the second hustings in the build-up to the election of the Greater Manchester Mayor last Thursday. Over 100 people, most of which were students, watched the hustings.

Andy Burnham for Labour, Jane Brophy for the Liberal Democrats, Sean Anstee for the Conservatives, and Shneur Odze for UKIP, were all in attendance. Following the death of Deyika Nzeribe from a heart attack in January, it was too late for Will Patterson’s attendance, as the Green Party’s replacement candidate, to be organised. Stephen Morris for the English Democrats, and Peter Clifford for the Communist League, were not in attendance.

Organised by the Manchester Metropolitan University debating society, the four candidates answered three questions: How they expected to grow Greater Manchester and live up to the idea of a Northern Powerhouse within the context of local council’s budgets being cut, and how they planned to control the policing budget within the context of the Reclaim the Night march, which happened immediately after the hustings.

The Mancunion asked the evening’s opening question; “with over 100,000 students in Greater Manchester, how do you expect to win their vote?”

Sean Anstee for the Conservatives described how he wanted to put Greater Manchester’s economy in a position where it could stop students from leaving the region having graduated. He cited the importance of working with employers, creating skilled jobs, and affordable housing.

Jane Brophy for the Liberal Democrats, who has a child at the University of Manchester, cited the importance of remaining in the EU to students, referencing the ERASMUS programme. She also spoke of the importance of the issues of climate change, job security, and getting people on the housing ladder. Within the context of Reclaim the Night, she described how “some students don’t feel safe walking around the city at night.”

Shneur Odze for UKIP explained his intentions to regulate transport, making it economical and to allow for it to get you round all Greater Manchester. He dismissed Jane Brophy’s concerns over ERASMUS in favour of the belief that they want us as much as we want them. He also spoke of suiting the need for accountability within the context of students paying tuition fees. He cited this as a way for students to get

involved in civic and communal life. Testament to this, he described his intention to work as Mayor with a council of leaders from all walks of life in Greater Manchester, students included.

Andy Burnham for Labour spoke of the need to outwardly value students. “We value you, we welcome you, and we want you to stay here.” As a reflection of this, he cited the need to lower travel costs for younger people, get tough on landlords, protect the community in the context of policing cuts, get carbon neutral with support for cycling lanes, and end rough sleeping.

On who students thought performed the best at the debate, the answer was unanimously Andy Burnham. On who they would vote for if there was an election tomorrow, the answer was the same. They cited his experience and his oratorical skills as reasons why. “He was very clear and concise, I thought” said one student. “He’s got the best vision for students” said another.

One student cited Shneur Odze as performing second best. “I’m surprised how well he came across.” Another common comment amongst students was on the lack of difference between the candidates.

“Basically, they’re all the same” said one student.

Manchester alumnus Milo Yiannopoulos resigns from Breitbart News Ollie Potter Senior News Reporter

Photo: leweb3 @Flickr

On the 21st of February, former University of Manchester student Milo Yiannopoulos resigned from his position as Head of Technology News at Breitbart.

This comes amid huge controversy over comments Milo made on a livestream video for the podcast Drunken Peasants in January 2016, suggesting that sex between boys and older men “could be a coming-of-age relationship, in which those older men help those younger boys discover who they are.”

His resignation came just a day after publisher Simon & Schuster cancelled his autobiography Dangerous and the American Conservative Union uninvited him from their annual CPAC conference because of the comments.

Renowned for his inflammatory comments and opinions, leading to his permanent banning from Twitter in July 2016, Yiannopoulos has become a figurehead for the movement known as the ‘alt-right’, a loose collection of ill-defined groups and forums based largely on the internet.

Milo has been vocal in his criticism of Islam, feminism and political correctness, and is one of the most vocal supporters of President Trump, whom he refers to as ‘Daddy’. In 2016, he infamously described feminism as “cancer”, whilst also condemning Muslims and the Black Lives Matter movement, claiming the latter “does not care about black lives” and is instead motivated by “attention, money and like most activism, more money”.

In October 2015, he had been scheduled to speak at the University of Manchester’s Free Speech and Secular Society debate with Julie Bindel, before he was banned because of his comments on rape culture. Earlier this month he was pre-

vented from speaking at the University of California, Berkeley, following violent student protests on campus.

In the Drunken Peasants podcast, Milo condemns consent as “arbitrary and oppressive”. Though he admitted the law regarding the age of consent was “probably about right,” Milo alluded to his own relationships as a young teenager in order to argue some people are capable of giving consent when they are under the age of consent.

In a recent Facebook post he stated that one of his own sexual relationships began “when I was 17 with a man who was 19,” and that the video had been “selectively edited” to cast him in a negative light.

To the disbelief of the livestream’s viewers, he said he was “grateful for Father Michael”, adding that he “wouldn’t give nearly such good head, if it wasn’t for him”. Milo denies he was supporting the notion of paedophilia, defining it as “attraction to children who have not reached puberty”, which for him makes it a separate issue to younger teenagers’ relationships with older men.

When asked if he was advocating “cross-generational relationships”, he replied: “Yeah, I don’t mind admitting that.” In the final segment of the video, he describes “hugely positive relationships” in the gay world between younger boys and older men.

The conversation has exploded on social media, with it becoming clear on 20th of February that Breitbart were considering sacking Milo if he did not resign.

Defending his comments on Facebook, he admitted that “I am certainly guilty of imprecise language, which I regret”, before describing paedophilia as a “disgusting crime, of which I have personally been a victim”.

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Disadvantaged teens four times less likely to apply to university Teenagers from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and poorer areas are significantly less likely to win a place at university, or even apply, compared to their socially advantaged peers

Yasmin Mannan Head News Editor Official figures reported in The Independent have shown that teenagers from the most disadvantaged areas of the UK are four times less likely to apply to university than their better-off, socially advantaged counterparts.

The statistics suggest that a teenager’s chances of a successful application, or even applying at all, to a degree course are heavily dependent on where they live.

In December 2016, The Independent reported that there was a record gap between rich and poor students winning university places, causing some to express concern about the lack of social mobility within education.

Press Association analysed UCAS data to reveal that 55 percent of 18-year-olds living in the top ten percent of parliamentary constituencies in terms of university applications applied for a degree course by the main 15th of January deadline.

In contrast, only 24 per cent of those living in the bottom ten percent of constituencies had applied by the same point.

The highest application rate, identified by Press Association, was in the Conservativeheld seat of Wimbledon, south-west London, where 70.3 per cent of eligible students applied to go to university.

At the opposite end of the scale, in another Conservative-held seat in Havant, Hampshire, the application rate was 17.4 per cent.

Sir Peter Lampl, founder and executive Chair of the Sutton Trust, commented on the data and told The Independent: “The fact that London has the highest proportion of young people going on to university reflects both high aspirations and improvement in the capital’s schools.

“The massive difference in the numbers going on to university between the top and bottom constituencies reflects the fact that the chances of getting to university are very much dependent on where you live and where you go to school.”

The Sutton Trust have also drawn attention to stark educational inequality at a secondary school level, implying a north-south divide.

A spokesperson from the University of Manchester stated: “The University of Manchester is located in one of the UK’s most deprived urban regions — therefore much of our work to widen access is focused on gifted but disadvantaged young people in the Greater Manchester area. We are the only university in the UK to rank social responsibility equally alongside world-class research and outstanding learning and student experience as one of our three core goal.”

The spokesperson pointed out various pro-

grammes aimed to increased social mobility at the University of Manchester including the Manchester Access Programme and Undergraduate Access Scholarships, Schools outreach, and Year 10 summer schools.

They also stated that “in the current climate, with recent research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation indicating that 7 million working families are living in poverty, we are committed to helping the next generation achieve their full potential and become global citizens” and that “The University of Manchester offers eligible students one of the most generous support packages in the UK”.

The diversity officer of the University of Manchester’s Students’ Union, Ilyas Nagdee, stated that: “Educational institutions have a duty to ensure they are attracting students from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply to university – our university does this through their widening participation team and our fantastic Access All Areas group sees students going into communities to support their aspirations for higher education.

“It is vital that universities continue to do and fund this work and we will continue to monitor and push for more work in this area.”

Photo: Lincoln Memorial Univeristy @Flickr

“Micemageddon” Manchester to open UK’s first in the Learning LGBTQ+ retirement community Commons Tom Patterson Senior News Reporter A video of a mouse that was spotted in the Alan Gilbert Learning Commons building has been widely circulated on Facebook this week. The video, titled “Micemageddon”, was shared via the ‘Spotted: The University of Manchester page’ and has been viewed over 17,000 times.

‘Spotted’ allows people to anonymously post pictures and videos of unusual things that they see around the University campus including several showing rodents.

In March last year, another video of a mouse in the Learning Commons was viewed on the ‘Spotted’ page over 16,000 times.

Mice eat sporadically from a number of different food sources throughout the day rather than relying on larger meals. According to the Manchester Council website, in order for traps to be effective “all rubbish and food waste should be removed.” So any crumbs and other food that is being dropped on the floor in University buildings, may be providing an alternative to the bait in the pest control traps.

There has also been extensive work on Oxford Road since last year, as part

of the council’s GROW project which aims to “see more than £1 billion invested into city centre infrastructure by 2017”.

However, a council spokesperson told The Mancunion that they haven’t had an increase in the number of rodent reports in recent months. Which, they say, suggests that the problem hasn’t been exacerbated by the work.

They did add that there are other pest control services that operate in Manchester so they couldn’t definitively say whether or not the road works have had an effect on the overall reports across the city.

The Mancunion contacted the university to ask if they were aware of any rodent problem and has received the following statement from a University spokesperson: “The major building works currently taking place on campus are disturbing the ground, which will inevitably bother rodents and bring them to the surface. We are currently carrying out extensive baiting and trap laying in the buildings and areas surrounding the works as a result. If anyone spots a pest, they should report this to House Services on 0161 275 2606, who will arrange for our pest control contractor to attend to the issue.”

Photo: staceycav @Flickr

Yasmin Mannan Head News Editor Manchester city council has released plans to open the UK’s first retirement community aimed at primarily lesbian, gay, and transgender people, including all those who identify as non-heterosexual.

The announcement follows a report by the Manchester-based LGBTQ+ foundation, commissioned by the council, showed that older LGBTQ+ people experience higher levels of isolation and loneliness than their nonLGBTQ+ counterparts.

The Guardian noted that the report revealed that many older LGBTQ+ residents were fearful of discrimination in retirement homes and wanted a safe environment to express their identity.

Paul Martin, chief executive of LGBTQ+ Foundation, told Pink News that: “Our research highlighted that over half of the lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGBTQ+) people over 55 surveyed felt that their sexual orientation would have a negative impact on getting older, with

social isolation identified as a major concern. Manchester prides itself as an Age Friendly City, and we welcome the announcement of this scheme as a significant move towards improving the lives of older LGBTQ+ people in the area.”

The suggested retirement community will house both heterosexuals and LGBTQ+ residents but there must be a minimum of 51% LGBTQ+ residents at all times.

The housing will have specially trained staff based on site and pets will be welcome. As well as the LGBT Foundation, the project is being supported

by Stonewall Housing and the Homes and Communities Agency.

Bob Green OBE, CEO of Stonewall Housing, told Pink News that: “Stonewall Housing has been talking with our communities about the need for older LGBTQ+ housing for some time because we need and want a better choice of where we live in our later lives. It is very exciting that Manchester City Council are leading the way in delivering the dream of LGBTQ+-affirm-

ative Extra Care housing and we look forward to working with them and a range of partners in making this dream a reality.”

The Guardian reported that Manchester has the highest number of LGBTQ+ people outside London and is due to see a rapid growth in the number of LGBTQ+ residents over 65 in the next 20 years. They further highlighted that more than 7,000 over-50s living in Manchester identify as LGBTQ+.

Carl Austin-Behan, who last year became Manchester’s first openly gay lord mayor, told The Guardian: “In this day and age, when people are more open and able to speak freely about their sexuality, some of the older generation are still a little bit more reserved with it,” he said. “It’s important that once they’ve come out and been themselves … that 20 years later they don’t feel like they can’t be themselves, and aren’t discriminated against.”

No specific site or launch date has yet been announced.

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Science

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Martin Shkreli Harvard talk interrupted by fire alarm and walk-outs Invited by a student group, Shkreli’s talk at Harvard University was met with protests and controversy Aliya Ismangil Science & Technology Reporter

Martin Shkreli, former CEO of Turing Pharmaceutical, was invited to speak at Harvard University by the Harvard Financial Analysts Club earlier this month.

Moments before his talk was due to start, the fire alarm was set off, resulting in an evacuation of the building by police. The event eventually proceeded after a half an hour delay, but not without further interruptions by student heckles and walk-outs. The Boston Globe reports that Shkreli responded: “Nobody cares, goodbye.”

In 2015, Shkreli was widely condemned and criticised for increasing the price of Daraprim, a drug used to treat AIDS, from $13.50 to $750 per unit.

He is currently awaiting trial, free on a $5,000,000 bail, for an

unrelated case of securities fraud. Shkreli was also more recently under fire for the alleged harassment of journalist Lauren Duca on Twitter, earning him a suspension from the social media site.

The event at Harvard was mainly focused on hedge fund management and healthcare. During the talk, several waves of stu-

Photo: H2RP Entertainment@Flickr

dents walked out to attend the ‘teach-in’ event held in a lecture theatre close by.

Organised by the Harvard College Global Health and AIDS Coalition, the panel discussion raised issues on unethical pharmaceutical practices and the treatment of AIDS. Shkreli did not address any of the past drug-hiking allegations.

However, towards the end of the event he did comment on a solution to high drug pricing through government intervention, stating that President Donald Trump should start a drug company, something he would be happy to support.

Another event was held the day after at the University of Massachusetts, in Boston, where Shkreli defended the high price of some drug treatments. Although similar controversies were raised before the event, the talk ran with minimal interruptions.

Shkreli was also set to appear at University of California with right-wing sensationalist Milo Yiannopoulos earlier this month, but the visit was cancelled just half an hour prior to its start due to the break out of heated protests.

Manchester drug testing lab accused of ‘manipulated’ police evidence Hundreds of people may have been wrongly prosecuted as investigation reveals manipulation of 500 drug test results in a forensic lab in Manchester Serena Holloway Senior Science & Technology Reporter

A forensic lab in Manchester is currently being investigated for internal manipulation of drug test results used in criminal prosecution by the police.

Randox Testing Services (RTS) analyses blood, saliva, and hair samples to provide forensic results for the use of police forces across the UK. An internal investigation at RTS’ Manchester site found that many drug toxicology results may have been manipulated by staff.

Forces around the country are now having to review as many as 484 cases since November 2015 for potential miscarriages of justice, as the false results produced by RTS may have led to the

incorrect prosecution of hundreds of individuals.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) have confirmed that a full criminal inquiry has been launched. Two male RTS employees, aged 47 and 31, have been arrested by Greater Manchester Police for perverting the course of justice and are out on bail until March.

Chief Constable Debbie Simpson of the NPCC said that they are working in partnership with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to help police forces in their review of each case. She added that the “CPS will take appropriate action in any cases [of incorrect prosecution]”.

RTS, based in Northern Ireland, said the investigation revealed “manipulation of quality control data” that is used to support the test results, and not of the samples themselves. They also stated that no alcohol samples had been affected.

However, they admitted that many results had been “compro-

mised” and insisted that they are “working tirelessly to fully assess the impact and implications for each case”.

A drug-driving case against a 26-year-old man from Chester has already been dropped following re-review of blood test data originally conducted by RTS. The CPS said that there was “too little evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction”.

On their website, Randox Testing Services describe themselves as “a market leader in the Forensic Toxicology and Drug and Alcohol testing industry”. They have worked alongside Greater Manchester Police for the past two years and pride themselves on being the “[testing] provider of choice”.

Before 2012, an independent state-run Forensic Science Service provided all forensic science services to police forces in England and Wales. Following closure by the Government, forensic testing for the police since then has been conducted inhouse, or contracted out to private companies such as RTS.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Andrew Wakefield returns to UK for controversial documentary screening Disgraced doctor, Andrew Wakefield, has returned to the UK to reignite his ‘anti-vaxx’ message with a new documentary Tabitha Hanks Science & Technology Reporter

Earlier this month, Andrew Wakefield, well known for his now discredited paper on the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and its association with autism and bowel disease, received an award and gave a Q&A session at the UK premiere of his controversial film Vaxxed.

The event took place at Regent’s University in London and was hosted by the Centre for Homeopathic Education (CHE). A university spokesperson said in a statement that the university had not been provided with the title of the film and had since severed links with the CHE. Wakefield was the chief author of the 1998 paper “Enterocolitis in children with developmental disorders,” which alleged a link between the MMR vaccine and increased rates of autism in children. The paper was declared fraudulent by the US Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention after an extensive follow up study conducted on over 95,000 children.

The original paper was published in The Lancet, which retracted it in 2010; the same year that Wakefield was removed from the General Medical Council’s medical register in the UK. ‘Vaxxed’ is a documentary directed by Wakefield in support of the anti-vaccination (‘Anti-vaxx’) movement. The film focuses on the claim that the CDC omitted data in their study dispelling the link between the MMR vaccine and autism, and heavily defends Wakefield’s 1998 study. Wakefield is currently a leading member of the ‘anti-vaxx’ movement, which has support from President Donald Trump.

The documentary is estimated to have grossed over $1 million in initial box office sales, but was recently removed from both the Tribeca Film Festival and the Curzon cinema prior to screening due to the controversial message of the film. It had also been due to be shown to European Parliament, but this was abandoned after public protests.

Concerns have been raised that the film could reignite public doubt in the MMR vaccine. This could lead to another generation of un-vaccinated children and further outbreaks of preventable disease, such as the 2012 outbreak which resulted in 1,219 measles diagnoses in children across Swansea.

Dr. Simone Turchetti from the University of Manchester’s Centre for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine commented: “What is interesting about scientific controversies is that they never end. Uncertainties always keep on haunting us. But vaccines affect so many people that this lack of closure heightens public concerns.”

Although it has been almost 20 years since Wakefield’s paper linking MMR to autism was published, there is still widespread public doubt on the safety and efficacy of vaccines, and propaganda from ‘anti-vaxx’ groups could reignite public skepticism and endanger the health of many who go un-vaccinated.

Photo: qimono@Pixabay

Global 7

ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

In theThenews this week... important and interesting stories from the wider world this week.

Stories by: Lily Sheehan, Chloe Hatton and Macarena Martín Martínez

Presidential Hitchhiking candidate made raccoon into hologram rescued France Jean-Luc Melenchon, the 65-year-old far-left candidate for the French presidency, held a rally in Lyon on Sunday, while at the same time a hologram of him was projected by satellite to crowds in Paris. The challenge of travelling cross-country to rallies during the electoral campaign is exhausting and timeconsuming, but the member of the Socialist Party appears to have solved the problem thanks to technology by appearing in multiple locations at once via hologram. Critics and other parties complain that this was just a trick to try to cover his actual policies.

US A raccoon has been spotted hitchhiking around Washington D.C., clinging to the back of a rubbish truck. Helena B. Evich, a journalist, spotted the creature and alerted the driver as to the nature of his extra passenger. Happily, they notified the police, who helped to catch the creature, and released him into the nearby Larry Graves Park. Speaking to the Washington Post, a spokeswoman for American Disposal Services confirmed that “the raccoon is unharmed and was removed safely for all,” in a happy ending to the raccoon’s thrilling adventure.

Mexican foreign minister “irritated” by US Mexico Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray has expressed “irritation” towards Donald Trump’s staff over American foreign policy. Videgaray told visiting US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that Mexico was worried about his administration’s impact on immigrants’ rights. Tillerson acknowledged that with “two strong sovereign countries,” such as the United States and Mexico, “there will always be differences.” Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly promised his Mexican hosts that there would be “no mass deportations,” despite President Trump’s earlier rants on the subject. Neither American or Mexican officials mentioned Trump’s now infamous wall.

Where’s Wally?

At the dentist!

Trump’s popularity — as a costume — soars International The sales of Donald Trump’s “orange” mask and blond wig have increased lately, as a result of the numerous Carnival parties due to take place at the end of February. Suits with red ties are also highly in demand from the costumers to complete their American President outfits. The most original ones would add a wall made of plastic, and a figure of Melania Trump made of cardboard to this costume.

Whilst the Trump costume is the most wanted for adults, amongst children characters from the DreamWorks animation film ‘Trolls’ are proving to be the most popular.

Cucumber found after Fifty Shades Darker

UK

Cop solves tough (maths) problem US A police officer in Ohio has answered a very unusual call for help — a ten year old’s extremely tricky maths homework. Lena Draper was very confused by the problem (8 + 29) x 15, and so reached out to Marion PD via Facebook Messenger. Although this was thought to be the first ever homework question answered by the police force, Lt. B.J. Gruber didn’t back away from the problem, advising the girl to “do the numbers in the parenthesis first.” Having answered this problem, Lena saw her chance to utilise this fountain of knowledge by asking for help with a second question. Her mother has since taken to Facebook in order to thank the police department.

A dentist has come up with the perfect way to distract patients from their pain: placing a “Where’s Wally?” puzzle in the ceiling of his examination room. Aware of his patients’ fears, he has attempted to make it easier on them – by giving them something to focus on as they undergo different procedures. He has uploaded a photo doing his thing as his patient stared up at the ceiling. It seems that a lot of people have loved the idea as the photo has already gained more than 1,700 comments. However, some people considered how annoying the poster may become when you have already found Wally.

In Science this week...

Australia The Hayden Orpheum Cinema, in Sydney, posted a photo on Twitter of a cucumber which had been found after their ‘Student Night’ showing of Fifty Shades Darker, the erotic romance movie sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey. Social media users went wild finding the funny side of the story.

Some of them pointed out whoever is posted holding the cucumber might have to wash their hands. Another commented: “Glad to see that people are still remembering to stay healthy and eat ample potions of vegetables even if they are out having fun! I see a glimpse of hope for humanity.”

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

‘Real Influencers’ video schools the public Spain A group of Spanish teachers have launched a video called ‘Real Influencers.’ This campaign seeks to emphasise the importance of teachers due to their influence on society, generation after generation, even though such a contribution usually goes unsung. The video lists all the trends that society’s “influencers” have established, in comparison to the important role of teachers in society. The video gained popularity almost instantly. Bloggers, Instagramers and Youtubers have posted pictures with the T-shirt that the brand Rarely has created for this campaign, on which “I am not a real influencer” can be read, as a way of supporting the cause.

‘Goanna girl’ kicks lizard out of restaurant

Australia Samia Lila, a twenty five year old French waitress, battled with an enormous reptile in order to remove it from the Australian restaurant where she worked. The creature was thought to be a goanna, a lizard that was estimated to be about 180cm long. However, the creature’s size posed no threat to the waitress, who first blocked its path with a chair, then picked it up by the tail and swung it out of the restaurant. She has since been commended for her bravery by both her employer and by the international community, especially as it was only her second time seeing a goanna.

Duerte critic arrested for drug trafficking The Philippines Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, a prominent critic of President Rodrigo Duerte, has been accused of extorting money from known drug lords at the notorious New Bilibid Prison. After spending the night at the Senate on Thursday to evade arrest, she surrendered to police the following day, saying: “it is my honour to be imprisoned for the things I am fighting for.” Senator de Lima maintains her innocence, claiming that her arrest is a consequence of her opposition to Duerte’s war on drugs.

Science by: Megan Harvey

Attenborough returns for ‘Blue Planet II’

UK The much-loved David Attenborough will return for a new 7-part documentary series of ‘Blue Planet II’. The programme will be a sequel to 2001’s ‘The Blue Planet’ and will air later this year, with insights into newly discovered and never-before filmed sea creatures. The announcement arrived during rumours of Attenborough’s soon retirement. However, it is clear that he is not planning on slowing down any time soon. It has taken about 4 years to film the series, which covers “new and exciting scientific discoveries which has given us a new perspective of life beneath the waves,” says Executive Producer James Honeyborne.

NASA announces new habitable planets with the potential for life

Space Seven earth-sized planets have been discovered in a solar system just outside of our own. The solar system TRAPPIST-1 was first discovered in 2010, but the planets it contains have been found recently using the Spitzer Space Telescope. Three of these planets are deemed “habitable” and have the potential to contain water and even oceans, and will likely support alien life. According to the scientists, evidence of finding life is likely to be “strong, very strong or conclusive.” This discovery is particularly exciting because of its proximity to Earth, being only 40 light years away, which will allow us to study the solar system in more detail.

Vitamin D protects against respiratory diseases

UK It has long been known that vitamin D supplements can help protect against many bone disorders. However, a new study has confirmed that vitamin D supplementation can also protect against acute respiratory infections such as colds and flu. A report from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition last year showed that vitamin D obtained by natural means, such as exposure to sunlight, is too low in the UK because the sun is not strong enough in this country. Therefore, they recommend everyone should be taking vitamin D supplements.

Mysterious radiation spreading across Europe Europe Mysterious spikes in Iodine-131 radiation have been found across Europe. First picked up in Norway in January, the radiation appears to be gradually spreading across the continent, and scientists have no explanation. The unexplained source of the radiation has been the reason for the delayed announcement, but the short half-life of the substance suggests that it was introduced very recently. Current conspiracy theories include secret Russian nuclear missile launches or hidden pharmaceutical businesses. However, officials stress that there is no imminent threat.

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Feature

ISSUE 16/ 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Refusing the Israeli Defence Force Ella Kashti looks at the story of Tair Kaminer, who was imprisoned for refusing conscription

Photo: Tair Kaminer

A

t the age of eighteen, all Israeli men and women must register to join the Israeli Army, for three or two years respectively, unless they take the option for a year out to volunteer on social grounds before joining the army, or if they declare that they cannot serve for religious reasons. Most Jewish religious girls don’t serve in the army. Tair Kaminer — now twenty years old — took the social opportunity, and arrived at an Israel-Gaza border town called Sderot in the summer of 2014 to begin one year’s work. Born into a political family, Tair was around those who opposed the occupation and already knew of her cousin, Madat, who had refused conscription in 2001. Because of this, she decided it was necessary for her to experience what she would be participating in, before she agreed to help the Israeli Defence Force. It was on this year out that she witnessed events that would lead to her refusal to serve the IDF, and land her one hundred and fifty-five days in prison.

“If you were in a room with a gun and Hitler walked in would you kill him?”

When the state of Israel was founded in 1948, Palestinians were pushed out of land they had inhabited for decades. After the Second World War Jewish refugees emigrated to what they believed was their promised land from God. The West Bank (of the River Jordan) and the Gaza Strip remained the only Palestinian territories where Israelis did not live, but they were occupied by Jordan and Egypt respectively. After the 1967 war the West Bank and the Gaza Strip came under Israeli occupation, and Israelis began settling there.

Now the Gaza Strip is home to an estimated 1.4 million Palestinians. Situated on the West coast of Israel and bordering Egypt, a mere onehour journey from the vibrant Westernised economic capital city of Tel Aviv, Gaza houses a large population of Palestinian refugees. Israel has held Palestinians under blockade since 2005

when Hamas (an extremist Islamic faction whose declared aim is to annihilate the state of Israel) gained control of the Palestinian government, and have since controlled what goes in and out of Gaza, including food, arms, and people.

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is responsible for enforcing this regime, and when young people in Israel are drafted, they serve this operation. Tair, keen to open her eyes to the reality of the conflict, therefore chose to spend her year living amongst those affected by the occupation (remaining in Israeli territory), in the impoverished town of Sderot, on the Gaza Strip border. Due to a “combination of what I saw, the war jibes amongst the children there,” and “racism towards the Arabs”, Tair decided when her enlistment date came in January of 2016, she would refuse to serve. Tair was moved by hearing the children she worked with talk of their non existent summer holidays that year due to war, and joking that whilst they may get one next year, the year after is unlikely.

To finalise her decision, and to make sure she was making the right choice for herself, Tair did further research to find other past refuseniks, to investigate what the service as a soldier in occupied territories actually means, and what rights the Palestinians had. She described it “hard to enlist” once she had found out the answers.

However, she also found that whilst it is the law to serve in the IDF, there are a handful of official reasons that can allow exemption. These include pacifism, health, religion or a lack of financial ability, since soldiers are unpaid. Tair did not fall into any of these categories, because she did not describe herself a pacifist, but simply against the policies of the occupation.

When Tair’s enlistment date arrived, she arrived with her parents and declared refusal on grounds of ‘conscience’. She would serve the army, participating in a body whose actions were against her moral values. She was instantly sent to serve twenty-one days in prison; the standard initial punishment in the IDF. By the time of her release, she had had these twenty-one days reissued five times.

Near the beginning of her imprisonment, Tair was put in front of the ‘Conscience Committee’, whose job is to evaluate those who refuse service on similar grounds. Should they find her to be a legitimate pacifist, she could have been released

immediately on these grounds. However, to be a pacifist is to reject all violence and wars, but Tair’s statement and refusal was against this specific regime. She recalls being asked “If you were in a room, with a gun, and Hitler walked in, would you kill him?”. This kind of question was clearly chosen to throw people off, and get them back into uniform. But Tair was not willing to be labelled a pacifist as it undermined what she was standing for, and chose to return to jail.

I asked Tair if she was afraid. She replied “yes, I was scared. But what the Israeli government is doing and the consequences of serving are scarier.” She noted that every time someone was imprisoned for these reasons, especially young girls, there’s a lot of media coverage. For Tair and those trying to get a message out to get people rethinking and questioning their participation, this was more than welcomed, and Tair “hoped she had had some impact”.

“What the Israeli government is doing and the consequences of serving are scarier” Once imprisoned, Tair recalls what daily life was like. Since she was not in a prison for criminals, she lived amongst others with offences ranging from taking the same route of refusal as Tair, to rudeness to commanders, or simply not being dressed correctly. Insultingly, she was referred to as ‘solider’ throughout her stay, as well as repeatedly having to announce “yes sergeant” or “present” whenever it was demanded of her.

In the army, soldiers are ordered to pay “respect without reason” as Tair put it, to your superiors; something that she was not comfortable with.

However, for the majority of enlisted soldiers, it is a reality they accept blindly; it’s just how the system works. Though she described the experience as “humiliating”, she said that in this sense, it was not more so than the humiliation of being a solider in training. However, her liberties were fewer. Though she had no personal phone and limited access to

contacting her family, she recalls that the strongest punishment she faced was simply her lack of freedom.

Each time Tair was to be released, a warrant was sent out for her to return the same day. Clearly a fearless woman, Tair often prolonged her stays at home from one day to two, and returned late, to be met with further punishments. All these tactics seemed to also contribute towards the army’s efforts to show the heavy price you pay should you refuse service on this ground, discouraging others who may feel they would like to do the same. Refusing to serve the Israeli army for certain reasons is not something you get away with lightly. All the while, there was the option to claim mental instability diagnosed by a psychiatrist who was, frankly, unlikely to claim she was stable.

This would have allowed an early release back to comfort.

However, Tair persisted, and her story, which was documented in a weekly journal entry in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, clearly had some impact as there are currently three more girls in the same prison, serving for the same reason. Tamar Zeevi and Tamar Alon are currently serving their fifth batch of twenty day sentences, which by the end of February will have accumulated to one hundred days. Atalya Ben Aba is serving her first twenty days currently, too. Together, they are part of a resistance movement, named MESARVOT, which literally translated is the female word for refuse in Hebrew. It is a support network for those who have refused service, so they are not alone in their fight.

Since her release in July of 2016, Tair now studies Arabic whilst she volunteers in a school and continues her activism. “As a political activist you attend many political events and demonstrations where you need the Arabic language. In addition, it is always important to be able to speak other languages [other than] Hebrew, that everyone [is] forced to know because of the occupation. It is important so you can show that you are a real partner, it is good to have the option to speak it with your friends.” Whilst she feels the ever-present difference in the life of her friends contrasted to hers, she maintains she does not regret her decision not to serve in the Israeli army, but instead to fight for her beliefs.

Feature 9

ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

A student life: The Revolutionary Marxist

Students hedge their bets as gambling addictions grow How would we live without our student loans? New data reveals that’s what many are having to figure out, owing to the rise in rates of UK gambling addiction among young people

Photo : @Ed Rosier

Jacob Nicholas Features Editor here are few things you can say definitively about the current political climate, but one of them is that parties and groups further away from the centre are growing enormously, and have been for several years. Ed Rosier, chair of the Marxist society, agrees. “Yeah definitely, I think that point now is almost beyond doubt,” he told me, going on to argue that “there’s no way around it, people’s lives are getting worse because of the material economic conditions they’re living under, and that’s driving them to the left and the right in terms of voting trends.”

You might well think that this would see a boost for the Marxist Society, but Ed’s not so sure things are that simple. “I think it’s not so much the polarisation, I think the single biggest factor that’s affected the society in Manchester is Jeremy Corbyn’s election as leader of the Labour Party,” he explained, adding that whilst this could be seen as a result of this polarisation, “this isn’t simply a reaction to the present situation, this is people seeing a leader who’s come out and said he’s going to break with the last twenty years of Labour Party doctrine about capturing the centre ground”.

Ed believes that Corbyn is now being seen, “rightly or wrongly,” as “a great hope for future success of the left”, and so although “whether or not he delivers that is yet to be seen… for Marxists now, the Corbyn movement is still an incredibly exciting thing in that people are now willing to go out and find alternative answers.”

Surely though, the Corbyn movement is more likely to benefit Labour Students than the Marxist society? “I think a lot of people have joined Labour students because of the Corbyn movement, which I think is a good thing,” Ed agreed, “but people are recognising the fact that Corbyn’s economic and social policy, as good as it is and as radical as it is, that isn’t actually going to rescue us from the crisis that we now face… whilst the Corbyn movement’s good, it needs to go further.”

So, the Marxist society is, like all more radical groups, on the up, but what does it actually do?

“The main function of the society comes from our weekly meetings,” Ed told me, explaining that they alternate between public meetings and reading groups each week. “With public meetings, someone comes in — either a student from the society or sometimes we get outside speakers in, and they come and give a talk analysing the situation or analysing whatever topic we’re looking at that week, and then we throw it out to the floor to have discussions,” he elaborated.

Ed was keen to emphasise how good these discussions can be, claiming that “the level and the quality of discussion has really improved this year due to more people become more politically aware and active, due to the situation they’re in”.

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To read the rest of our interview with Ed, and all our other features, head to www.mancunion.com

Photo : Nicu Buculei @Flickr

Emma Shanks Features Editor

C

ombined with all the other fresh freedoms university life affords, it is for most students the first time such a seemingly endless supply of disposable income is there for the taking.

Some choose to relieve their financial impulses with an excessive shopping trip to the Arndale, others get booking for the blow-out summer to come.

But worryingly, a record high number of students, more so than any other demographic, are turning to gambling and the odds aren’t always stacked in their favour.

Most of us would admit to having purchased the odd lottery ticket or football accumulator here and there, or even having put a bet on the Grand National when the time of year comes around. In fact, 80 per cent of young people have gambled at least once in their lifetime.

“80 % of young people have gambled at least once in their lifetime” And it’s not hard to see the attraction — in view of high tuition fees and rising living costs, alongside intense study, why work a part-time job that requires fixed hours and travel when the Internet allows the thrill of perfect procrastination material while boosting your budget — from the comfort of your own home?

Relative to the rest of the world, the UK’s percentage of young people who gamble is still pretty low, however they are notably more at risk than the adult population of developing a problem.

In 2015-16 GambleAware, the leading charity in the UK committed to minimising gambling-related harm, funded treatment for a total of 379 clients in the north of England aged between 15-24, ten per cent of which were students.

So when does a bit of risk-free recreation become a serious setback? I spoke to one student who, though having never having felt like he was becoming addicted, is well aware of the need to control his gambling and warns against the false sense of

security that short-term financial gains can give: “Getting into the habit of trying to make up for your losses is easy to happen without clocking how much you’ve actually been spending”.

New research carried out by ICM shows that one in seven young people, aged 16-24, (14 per cent) in the North-West of England have also lied to a family member about their habit. Though never having bet more than a pound or two at a time, another young person admitted that he felt obliged to keep it from his mum — “I know she doesn’t approve of it so she’d be constantly on my case if I told her”.

What’s more, almost a quarter (24 per cent) of those aged between 11-14 were more likely to go on and lie to their parents about their gambling than their drinking or smoking habits. And while these dependences make themselves physically known to a person, gambling addictions can go on undetected up until the verge of collapse.

In fact, this ‘hidden addiction’ has recently been seen to have direct links to poor mental health, crime and alcohol problems. Of the 379 clients who received treatment between 2015-16 funded by GambleAware, 44 per cent were found to be in some form of debt, eight per cent owed over £10, 000, 16 per cent had experienced relationship loss, and six per cent had experienced job redundancy.

Dr. Jane Rigbye, Director of Commissioning at GambleAware said that, “young people are most at risk of developing a gambling problem, because they perceive risk and chance differently. Parents need to be aware that for a significant minority it can become a serious and hidden problem. We want to get people talking about their gambling habits and prompt them to seek help before their actions become problematic.”

One person I spoke to, whose addiction started as a young adult, explains how letting the situation spiral out of control can result in ruin: “It started out at just one or two pounds a day and grew to 10 or 15. I won 700 once on an accumulator on 6/7 teams, and 500 from a fiver on F1. There were never really any big losses, maybe 40 or 50 was the biggest one. The problem wasn’t that I was putting large amounts on one bet, just small amounts on many. Not winning would have been a better solution”.

When asked how he knew when to stop, he said, “when you have a problem like that you think you’re dealing with it, ban yourself from one website and then you move onto the another. It was a big emotional strain when I borrowed money thinking I

could pay the loans back. I’d have no money for next month’s bills and would continue gambling in the meantime”.

“I lied to everybody because I was in quite a lot of debt. I’d get anxious whenever post turned up at our house that my wife was going to open it. I wouldn’t talk to my family about it because I knew they would say that it was the wrong thing to be doing, that I was wasting my money, and I just didn’t want to be told the truth”.

“ I just didn’t want to be told the truth” He shares how this has impacted on his life up to the present day, “my wife has taken my card, she monitors everything. I don’t take any money out of my account, if I need anything she uses her card and I transfer her the money back. If I need any throughout the week I have a small allowance of cash, 20 pounds.”

When invited to give advice to someone currently suffering from a similar addiction, he said to “tell friends and family because you need to get support from people you know.”

In order to stop people from developing a gambling problem, and to ensure that those who do receive fast and effective treatment and support, GambleAware is currently piloting a YouTube based, online advertising campaign in the North of England to tackle this issue.

Bootle MP, Peter Dowd has said that “problem gambling can lead to stress, depression, anxiety and emotional difficulties. GambleAware’s new advertising campaign is working to remove the stigma surrounding problem gambling as being the ‘hidden addiction’ by promoting and encouraging conversation amongst young people and those most at risk.”

If you or somebody you know are suffering from any of the above issues raised, head over to the GambleAware website or equally, Sarah Littlejohn, the Head of the University of Manchester’s counselling service, advises “students who are worried about their behaviour in relation to gambling to seek help either from us, their GP or Gambling Anonymous.”

Opinion

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Where will this populism lead us?

Liam O’Brien Contributor The inherent instability of Donald Trump’s administration will end in one of two ways. Either, a) the President with be arrested or impeached, or a) the United States will declare war against a weaker, and predominantly Muslim, nation, under a pre-text of security. Soon, it will not be enough for President Trump to enact security at home, and so he will take measures abroad.

As well as security issues, such actions will also serve to cover for his apparent lack of ability to lead a nation of any size, let alone the U.S. This lack of political ability is well demonstrated by the recent resignation of Michael Flynn from the administration.

“Soon, it will not be enough for President Trump to enact security at home, and so he will take measures abroad.”

This turbulence, though, serves a purpose; it is part of a observable pattern within authoritarian political movements, which can be summarised as follows: Step one: identify a grievance unique to a particular group in society (the target base).

Step two: reinforce and exaggerate the extent of the grievance.

Step three: scapegoating a group as the supposed cause of national problems. Step four: conditioning the base target group to associate a problem with the scapegoat. Step five: promise solutions to solve the problem, and punish those causing it.

Step six: pass the solution onto the target base, stating that they must share the weight of the burden such as sacrificing liberty for security. Step seven: continually state that the problem is not yet solved and more must be done.

Step eight: take steps to (further) militarise aspects of the culture and society. Step nine: portray those who are not a part of the base as traitors to the cause. Step 10: declare war against internal and/or external enemies.

Whilst all of these processes are carried out, there are also attempts to silence dissenters, and a gradual but overt elevation of the candidate to increasingly high levels of status to the point that a cult of personality begins to form. In addition, there is also the constant use of emotion over reason as a tool of persuasion...

This is an excerpt. To read Liam’s full article, head to www.mancunion.com

ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

personal attacks, and other false reporting READ THIS: Pewdiepie As clickbait, flood online journalism, any media outlets are becoming increasingly dangerous and clickbait

The popular Youtuber, ‘PewDiePie’, or Felix Kjellberg, has recently been the subject to a media storm concerning allegations that he had made ‘anti-Semitic’ comments and had advocated ‘fascist’ beliefs. He has been coined an anti-Semite by multiple major news outlets, most notoriously the Wall Street Journal.

One action that has led to these accusations derives partially from a video in which PewDiePie displays two men holding a sign that read ‘Death to all Jews’. For this, and nine other videos in which the Wall Street Journal found to contain antiSemitic or Nazi imagery, the young Swede has faced fairly severe consequences. His network, Maker Studios, cut ties with him and his show, Scare PewDiePie, which has been cancelled. He has, however, retained access to his 53 million YouTube followers.

What startles me is the unbelievable power that some media outlets have that allows them to twist the truth without facing consequences. I believe that, whilst his jokes were indeed crass and a little puerile, upon closer inspection it is clear that Mr. Kjellberg is certainly no ‘anti-Semite’.

The headline ‘When did fascism become so cool’ from The Independent is an outrageous misrepresentation of the YouTuber.

Whilst his choice of words were stupid, Mr Kjellberg has clearly stated that he was demonstrating the lengths to which people would go to for five dollars. He even says in the video, “I didn’t think they’d actually do it!”, and that “I’m not anti-Semitic or anything”.

The Wall Street Journal took his video completely out of context. They portrayed the man as an active supporter of anti-Semitic beliefs. They even used a video of him dressed in a fascist uniform as evidence for their claim, one in which he was satirising the media’s representation of him by dressing up as a racist. because

of this horrible and repeated falsification, his reputation has been inexorably tarnished. Even esteemed author J.K Rowling jumped on the bandwagon without proper research, retweeting the aforementioned article from The Independent.

By no means am I excusing him of all blame. With such a large viewership, he simply must act as a role model and should have been more sensitive to the fact that many of his viewers are children.

However, this relentless personal attack on him is extremely worrying.

Furthermore, there is an underlying issue in journalism here: fake news, clickbait, and hyperbole. Larger news outlets are capable of spreading malicious rumours, influencing millions of people and sometimes simply lying to their readers unchecked. This is particularly the case with regards to online news. Do we receive much real news anymore, or is it just another clickbait title made to draw you in?

Part of the reason PewDiePie was targeted is that he is the most subscribed-to, and arguably the most successful, YouTuber on the planet. This means that any story defaming him, or portraying him in a negative light was bound to generate a lot of attention. The result has been the spreading of unfair and malicious lies.

He is not the first online figure to have been publicly defamed. In 2016, there was a particularly nasty case of false reporting, whereby one Youtuber, Keemstar, who runs the news channel ‘Drama Alert’, accused a 62-year-old Twitch streamer of being a paedophile, in doing so reducing the man to tears on his own video game stream. Whilst Keemstar made a public apology, the spreading of spiteful rumours about an innocent person for clicks — in a similar vein to the Wall Street Journal’s work on PewDiePie — borders on psychotic.

Perhaps one reason for the recent preva-

Photo: camknows @ Wikimedia Commonsdia Commons

Joseph Whitfield Contributor lence of this issue is that so many more people use online sites to get their news, rather than picking up a physical paper.

Of course, for online media outlets, the more clicks, the better. Therefore, there is a temptation for writers and editors is the use fantastical, eye catching headlines to lure in the reader. As a result, many outlets are coming to appear the same, in running similar stories in order to captivate as large an audience as possible.

“News outlets are capable of spreading rumours and influencing millions of people, even simply lying to their readers unchecked.”

My final example of ‘false media’, is the incredible blunder that many outlets made in sharing the headline that CNN “Aired 30 minutes of pornography”. This

headline went viral and was reported widely across social media, until it was revealed that the source of this news was a single tweet saying “uhhh CNN is straight up porn right now”. After this was discovered, many sites either deleted the headline or changed it to “CNN denies airing pornography”. The fact that insufficient checks or background research was performed for these articles exposes the illegitimacy of certain outlets and danger that they pose.

All of this makes the reader further question the accuracy of all online content.

One might presume that, as technology advances, and knowledge becames more readily available, the reliability of these articles would have improved. However, we are faced with quite the opposite: a degenerative news system whose main priority is money. I would simply advise caution with what you read online.

A social “awokening”: we need to start taking responsibility Social media has kept our ‘woke’ generation from taking any real action , says contributor Holly James After a tumultuous 2016, being ‘woke’ seems to be the latest trend. In fact, the term featured on MTV News’ list of words to use in 2016, was shortlisted for Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year, and #StayWoke remained a consistent hashtag on Twitter. It is a phrase that has become almost irremovable from social media, commonly found floating around Twitter and Reddit, sometimes as a badge of pride and others as a sarcastic jab at ‘social justice warriors’.

But what does it really mean? Urban Dictionary defines the term ‘woke’ as “being aware”, in “a state of enlightened understanding”, or simply as “like being in the Matrix and taking the red pill”. Being woke implies an awareness or knowledge of, as well as a genuine concern and wish to engage with, social and political matters, in particular those concerning injustice, inequality and systematic oppression of particular social groups.

Almost ironically, the term itself has been appropriated from the Black Lives Matter movement, where it was used to signify the importance of staying conscious of the systematic racism of state apparatus and institutions. It is sad to see yet another word appropriated from AAVE (African American Vernacular English) with little or no acknowledgement of its background. Still, one would hope that the sentiments of the term — awareness of and engagement with social inequality, oppression and injustice — would carry over in its transition to the mainstream.

This, however, is debatable.

Increased political awareness among the social media generation is undeniable.

Facebook and Twitter in particular have

become key platforms not only for the dispersal of information, but also for sharing and discussing current affairs and issues.

Social media has been an important tool in the apparent political awakening of today’s young people, but it lies at the heart of a variety of problems. Everyone is now afforded a place from which to voice their opinions and engage in debates — and we do. On the one hand, these platforms keep us informed, they allow us to open dialogue around the things that matter to us, like social issues and injustice, voicing our views and hearing those of others. In many ways, it is a liberal utopia; one long, constant discussion in which all stances have the opportunity to voice their opinion, where we can all learn and share ideas. This is, however, a view that undoubtedly sees social media through rose tinted glasses.

“If we are the ‘woke’ generation, don’t we have a responsibility to act on the injustice we are so quick to call out and to work towards social change?”

The reality is not so utopian. While social media has the opportunity to, and undoubtedly often does, allow these things to happen, it is not all so idealistic; it can sometimes be a platform that engenders petty arguments and general pedantry.

Views are often shouted instead of spoken and opposition is ignored instead of

Photo: Joe The Goat Farmer @Flickr

acknowledged. In an online world that has the potential to be very personalised, we do not have to see things we do not want to see, and we often don’t. The content we do see is often so removed from ourselves or so fleeting that we unconsciously scroll past, vaguely acknowledging and not really engaging. It allows us to lazily sit back and think that voicing our views is enough. We click and type away, casually marking ourselves as ‘interested’ in protests we’ll probably never go to and lazily scrolling past petitions we know we should sign.

How much do any of us really do? Is it enough to simply discuss and vaguely acknowledge? If we are truly declaring ourselves the ‘woke’ generation, do we also have a responsibility to act on the injustice we are so quick to call out, to work toward positive social change?

This is not to say that speaking up, starting discussions, debating, protesting and voicing our opinions is not important.

We must keep the dialogue surrounding the issues we care about open — acknowledging racial, gender and class inequality and speaking out against hateful regimes and their leaders is of vital importance.

However, we must acknowledge that this is only the first step. What comes out of these discussions — the things we voice, the social change that we acknowledge must occur — requires action that we have not yet shown we are willing to take.

In its transition to mainstream culture, the term ‘woke’ has taken on a more lighthearted tone, no longer filled with the genuine anger and frustration at injustice. It has become commoditised, turned into a selling point for brands that have seen the fashion in political movements and jumped on the bandwagon. If we really care about social change, it is time to acknowledge that political awareness is not just a fashion statement — we are all responsible. We are all capable, on an individual level, of inciting positive change, of taking small steps to a better world, of personally making a difference. Being politically and socially conscious is of vital importance, but this consciousness must extend to all areas of our lives. The important thing to do is to think – about what you say, what you buy, where you buy, what you do, and what you can do.

Opinion 11

ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Special feature: Student safety

Are the police letting students down?

Security on campus and local Police services for students seem to be inadequate for dealing with the safety and crime issues that the area faces, writes contributor Simon Taylor

Last week, my close friend was violently assaulted on Oxford Road in broad daylight. She was walking down the busiest university street a mere 200 meters from the Students’ Union. While heading into Subway, she made eye contact with a homeless man. He must have taken this the wrong way as he followed her to the door and began aggressively yelling at her and then proceeded to punch her in the back of the head three times.

Fortunately, four men, to whom I will always be grateful, came flying out of Subway to her aid. They scared him off while managing to capture a photo.

Apparently, he claimed that he had tried to “flirt” with her and she had not responded so he found it necessary to attack her. Worryingly, as he fled a pair of sharp pliers fell out of his pocket — the incident could have been far more severe. As it was, my friend escaped with a mild concussion.

I have come to realise that this sort of story is not too unfamiliar to Manchester students; the majority of people I have told have reported similar incidents (though few as violent) along Oxford Road. Even worse, this story, so far, is not the most remarkable, but what followed was. The four men who helped my friend continued to look after her in Subway and then called the police.

They waited over an hour and, after calling again to check if they were still coming, the police said they were too busy to come in person. They took my friend’s number but gave her no log number and only called her briefly two days later to confirm her name and basic details of the incident.

They didn’t ask for the photographs of her attacker nor were they clear as to whether anything would be done to find the perpetrator. If the police were to have done their job, they would have four witness statements, pictures of the assailant, and CCTV of the whole incident. I think this would be considered a ‘watertight’ case.

Instead, a mentally unstable and violent man still roams the streets, a danger to himself and others.

Having reflected on these events for a few days I have come to the conclusion that the police have neither the budget nor the inclination to properly protect students, and perhaps the rest of the population. Either way, this is a local and national embarrassment.

“My friend was told that Greater Manchester Police would not investigate the incident because it would not be in the ‘public interest’ to do so.”

I myself was burgled at the start of this year and it took over a week for the police to come round to take statements. In fact, the thieves even made the mistake of ordering from my housemate’s Amazon account, allowing us to view their address.

Yet, even then the police did not seem capable of

Photo: piku @ Flickr

apprehending them. It must be noted that all the individual officers and staff that I encountered were incredibly professional and helpful. Rather, it appears that there are just not enough of them.

Hence, this is a systemic issue. After calling the police for the sixth time, my friend was told that Greater Manchester Police would not investigate the incident because a) it would not be in the ‘public interest’, and b) it was not worth the expenditure of resources. Furthermore, the person she spoke to on the phone said the reasons why there are “seven officers out in the field for South and Central Manchester” was excessive paperwork, not cuts to police funding. I find this to be unacceptable.

With all this in mind, if the police are failing to keep university students safe on the road which runs through the heart of the campus, then the university has a responsibility to provide more security. There appears to be fewer guards patrolling the university campus this year compared to last.

Moreover, the homeless problem is worsening.

In my first year as a fresher I was struck by the number of people sleeping rough and begging on

the streets of Manchester, especially along Oxford Road. Many of them would ask you for change. For the most part, they would wish you a good day regardless of your level of charity. However, there is a more worrying nature to many of those on Oxford Road. They ask more earnestly, even fervently, often not taking no for an answer, with some even following you meters down the road. The university must react to the challenges stemming from the growing homeless problem because it compromises the safety of students. I am not certain of the best solutions moving forward, but if students are paying the university £9,000 a year we should feel safer while walking through its very centre.

I believe that students should demand more from the police force and more from the university; I would like to see more.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of crime in or around the university campus and has a similar story to share, please e-mail The Mancunion’s news team: news@mancunion.com

Reclaim the Night: We do not live in a rape culture One of the main claims of the Reclaim the Night movement, that we live in a rape culture, does not stack up

On Thursday 23rd February, protestors took to the streets of Manchester to “reclaim the night” in protest against “sexual violence against women, street harassment, rape culture and victim blaming”. All of those causes are absolutely worth fighting. Any proponent of equality will understand and agree with the sentiments expressed. That is, except for one thing: the idea that we live in a rape culture. The phrase describes a society where rape is omnipresent and sexually normalised. This claim requires inspection.

In January 2014, the subject of rape culture gained international attention when former President Barack Obama remarked: “It is estimated that one in five women on college campuses have been sexually assaulted during their time there.” However, according to a United States Department of Justice study released in December 2014, on average, one in 164 college women aged 18 – 24 reported experiencing rape or sexual assault (including unwanted touching) between 1995 and 2013. These statistics cast substantial doubt on claims that we live in a rape culture.

“‘...if you drink and, while intoxicated, engage in sex that you later come to regret, have you been raped?’”

The origin of the one-in-five statistic is from a 1985 survey of college campuses conducted by Professor of Psychology Mary Koss. A little over 3,000 women were asked 3 questions to determine how many had experienced rape or attempted rape. 15.4 per cent of these women had been raped and 12.1 per cent had been victims of attempted rape. The media picked up on this story instantaneously but scholars questioned the results as they represented a severe deviation to previous estimates. It turns out that one of the three questions was: “Have you had sexual intercourse when you didn’t want to because a man gave you alcohol or drugs?” As Christina Hoff Sommers, author of Who Stole Feminism?, points out, the ambiguity of the phrasing was called into question:

searchers investigated rape reports in a small metropolitan area with a population of about 70,000 people. The researchers determined that the “false charges were able to serve three major functions for the complainants: providing an alibi, a means of gaining revenge, and a platform for seeking attention/sympathy”.

“Amongst this, there is a tragic reality for some men.”

Photo: Luchia Houghton

Francis Edge Contributor “If your date [...] encourages you to drink with him and you accept a drink, have you been administered an intoxicant, and has your judgement been impaired? Certainly, if you pass out and are molested one would call it rape. But if you drink and, while intoxicated, engage in sex that you later come to regret, have you been raped?”

Furthermore, only 25 per cent of the “raped” women described the incident as rape, and 40 per cent chose to have sex with their ‘rapist’ afterwards.

Correcting for biased data interpretation, the actual number of victims fell to 3 – 5 per cent. Nevertheless, feminist lawyer Catharine Mackinnon famously proclaimed: “By a conservative definition rape happens to almost half of all women at least once in their lives.” Is this viewpoint accurately represented by studies?

If we add the more inclusive definition of rape then we would expect, or have been told so by activists, that there would be a dramatic rise in the

number of reported rapes. According the FBI’s legacy definition, there were about 80,000 incidents of rape in the U.S. in 2013. Using the revised definition, which includes drunk sex, the number of rapes increases to approximately 109,000 with a rate of one incident per 2,900 persons, both male and female.

Does this support a notion of rape culture?

Furthermore, as well as statistic inaccuracy, there is the pressing issue of victimisation of men.

Since the 1970s, one of the most prevalent claims has been that just 2 per cent of rape accusations are false. The main source of this was Against Our Will: Women and Rape, a popular book written by American feminist Susan Brownmiller — a claim for which there is no data available. Though, this didn’t stop it from becoming one of the official slogans amongst feminists.

A more accurate figure is that 41 per cent of accusations are false. This figure comes from a report carried out between 1978 and 1987, in which re-

If for a moment we assume the accuracy of rape reporting, the women in this town experienced seven actual rapes a year. Based on our previous calculations, this amounts to an exaggerated 0.7 per cent lifetime probability of being raped, or 1.7 per cent, if we assume only 40 per cent of rapes got reported.

Bruce Gross, director of University of South California’s Institute of Psychiatry, Law and Behavioural Science, points out the lack of accountability for making a false rape accusation: “Essentially, there are no formal negative consequences for the person who files a false report of rape.” Furthermore, “when rape cases go to trial, alleged victims are protected by ‘rape shield statutes’. In brief these statutes are designed to prevent defence attorneys from using the accuser’s sexual history ‘against’ her. At the same time, these rape shield laws may suppress evidence [including] prior false accusations of rape filed by the alleged victim.”

Amongst this, there is a very real and tragic reality for some men. This was exemplified by the case of Jay Cheshire, a 17-year-old boy who, after rape allegations were made against him, was cleared. According to coroner Grahame Short, Jay was a sensitive young man who had “found it difficult to cope with the police investigation.” Allegations made against the 17-year old were withdrawn by the complainant just weeks after being filed, resulting in the investigation being closed — and she was not prosecuted. Yet, two weeks after the teenager was acquitted of the charge, with his adult life still ahead of him, Jay hung himself from a tree in his local park.

Not one second was reclaimed for him.

Music

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ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Album Album

Ryan Adams — Prisoner

Fea-

Ryan Adam’s newest album sings of heart-break and divorce, but some lyrical missteps mean it doesn’t quite live up to his previous efforts, Released 17th February via PAX AM writes Tariq Salarbux Tariq Salarbux Contributor

7/10

Divorces are tough: take Ryan Adams’ word for it. Prisoner, his sixteenth album, is so inextricably linked to the recent breakdown of his marriage to pop singer Mandy Moore that it might have well have been titled Hey, Let’s Get a Divorce!

The record predictably delivers heartbreak coddled in Adams’ mismatched sonic universe, happily jumping from vicious power chords to handpicked folk; an impressive blend that he always brings together with his unmatched flair for melody.

On the album’s title track, he proudly wears his influences on his sleeve — his love for the Smiths bleeds through the jangly riff, whilst the broad, welcoming warmth of the song tips its hat to vintage Springsteen. The result is rainy Americana that sounds as familiar as it is new; it reminds us that Adams’ palette has grown considerably over the years (the wild, incomprehensible hair remains a distant

remnant of his days as the enfant terrible of the alt-country scene).

‘Shiver and Shake’ is deliberately gloomy hark back to Adams’ take on ‘Shake It Off’, from his recent cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989. Both 1989 and Prisoner tackle the breakdown of relationships, but whilst the former had Adams capturing Tay Tay’s confident “It’s not me, it’s definitely you” sentiment, here he is excruciatingly fragile, vulnerable and regretful, his shaking a literal physical manifestation of how much he misses his ex-wife, rather than the figurative purging of so-called “haters”.

‘Breakdown’ has a magnificently curated sound. Built around an achingly handsome twelve-string riff, it is joined by a heavy melancholia of swirling guitars and heart-wrenching vocals from Adams, breaking back into his Nashville sensibilities. Unfortunately, the lyrics stop the song from being the centrepiece of

the record; “Thorn in my side / Pain I can’t hide / Diamonds that won’t shine” comes across as a clichéd, even trivialised tirade.

This is peculiar, since it comes from someone whose previous work is littered with distinctive and unforgettable takes on heartbreak. However, given that the record is inspired from what he has admitted as being the toughest period of his life, it is tempting to take the words as ultra-transparent. After all, clichés almost always come from a place of great and terrible truth.

‘Do You Still Love Me?’ is another song that seems to suffer from the problem of sub-par lyrics being overlaid over a fantastic track. Still, the incandescent, epileptic sound of crashing guitars infuse the song with an intimidating insecurity, making you wonder if Adams’ question is more of a pathetic plea to not be hurt rather than one asking for the truth.

‘Doomsday’ finds him in better form

Photo: album artwork

with his words “my love, how can you complicate a kiss”, which features his trademark mournful harmonica, while ‘We Disappear’ is an ethereal closer driven by an unflinching drum-beat over which Adams finally seems to find acceptance. His echoing guitars accompany the album to the end, with a mild

sense of something new on the horizon.

A couple of lyrical missteps aside, Prisoner is an accomplished addition to the canon of classic break-up albums. Tellingly, it leaves you inconveniently and impatiently waiting for your next heartbreak, for a passable excuse to stagger back into the all-too-lucid pain of the record.

Live

Live: Galactic Empire

Yes it’s a joke gone way too far, but as Star Wars-themed metal bands go, Galactic Empire are one of the good ones, writes Joe Hunt Joe Hunt Contributor

6/10

selected by Alex Corns

Tracks of the week

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…. Darth Vader shreds guitar to crowds of screaming fans while Boba Fett keeps rhythm on drums and a Jedi knight punts merch round the back. This is not a strange piece of fan fiction, but rather something that actually happened, albeit at a different time and a different place.

On Friday the 10th at Satan’s Hollow, Star Wars-themed metal group Galactic Empire played the third consecutive soldout show of their current UK tour.

When I arrive the basement venue is filled with a motley crew of Leias, Yodas, families with kids and old men who have an impressive amount of hair for their age. I make my way past the giant glowing eyed Satan to the edge of the stage. The lights dim, there’s a moment of silence, and the band enter to the sinister chorus of John William’s ‘Duel Of Fates’.

Vader leads the troop, his lightsabre swings, deftly removing any haughty

notion that I wouldn’t enjoy seeing a Stormtrooper play bass guitar, while deepening my worry that this may not have been the best thing to bring my girlfriend to on one of her few visits before she leaves for Argentina. They are all in full costume, tweaked for copyright reasons and with the allowance of a pair of nikes here or there. It’s an impressive sight: even the roadie is decked out as an imperial soldier.

The entire set consists of instrumental adaptations of Star Wars theme music, which is where things become a bit of a hard sell for the non-devoted. However, importantly and perhaps surprisingly, the joke doesn’t wear thin (although they do only play for thirty minutes). While not that musically exciting, the successful transposition of an orchestral film score to a rock quintet has to be appreciated.

It is undoubtedly John Williams’ famous compositions being flung between

the guitarists’ fretboards and I’m struck by how well they lend themselves to the adaptation. When I say this later to an extremely dehydrated Boba Fett he agrees: “Yeah I don’t think John Williams knew in 1979 that he was composing progressive metal tracks but turns out he was.”

How hot is it in that outfit? “Very.”

Performing in large crash helmets has the potential to limit band-crowd interactions. However, Galactic Empire circumvent this with genuinely funny skits prerecorded in the various characters voices. Littered with references, these prevent the spectacle from becoming monotonous. At one point a lucky audience member is brought up on stage and force-choked by the band’s lead guitarist.

Needless to say, it’s not something you see every day.

Galactic Empire are decidedly niche, and a novelty not really worth seeing for those with only a passing interest. How-

Photo: album artwork

ever, the performance is full of humour and well thought out, offering plenty for fans of both the films and the music. If this sounds like your kind of thing, then it probably is. Take it from someone who is

by no means a metalhead; for a Star Wars fan, Darth Vader headbanging his way over to you is a strangely thrilling experience whatever your musical leanings.

3. ’My One And Only Love’ by Bob Dylan

2. ‘I Bow Down’ by Pixx

1. ‘Love’ by Lana Del Ray

In anticipation of his 39th (!) studio album, a three-disc set

With this new single (which introduces the 21-year-old’s

Lana Del Rey recently claimed that whilst she had made her previous

comprised of songs from the Great American Songbook,

upcoming debut album The Age Of Anxiety) the British indie-

four critically acclaimed albums for herself, her fifth would be for her

the septuagenarian enigma that is Bob Dylan has released a

pop singer Pixx is at her most ambitious. The song’s lyrics are

fans and this, the first single from the upcoming album, is unlikely

second single, and a second cover of a Sinatra classic (lyrics

in themselves dramatic and, especially in the chorus (“I salute

to leave any of them disappointed. Whilst ‘Love’ is by no means a

by Guy Wood and Robert Mellin). His notoriously smoky

your kindness / I bow down / to your good will”) appear almost

major reinvention, with a generally relaxed feel and familiarly short,

voice sounds far more relaxed, happier even, than it has in

sarcastic, but it is her beautiful, unique, haunting vocals which

repetitive verses, there is a noticeable transition from earlier singles

years and the track is all the better for it. Dylan’s admiration for

really impose a fascinating feeling of trepidation: going by the

like ‘Born To Die’. She is no longer ‘in the moment’, so much as looking

Sinatra is obvious and it is for this reason that this song comes

title of the album, it is likely this is intentional. Sung over creeping

back with experience at others, evidenced by the song’s opening lines:

across with all its intended emotion. Dylan’s arrangement of

‘80s-style synths and a woody guitar, the emotion of the song is

“Look at you kids with your vintage music / You’re part of the past now

string, horns and steel guitar work perfectly here and, whilst

easily felt. That’s not to say it’s all doom and gloom: the more

you’re the future”. Whilst her songs have often tackled the difficulties

fans of the Nobel-prize winner may crave for another album

the drums kick in, the more danceable the song becomes. The

and complexities of love, she has now taken a more awoken tone,

of original songs, Dylan continues to sing what Dylan wants to

wonderfully inventive and spectacularly shot accompanying

ready to embrace the emotion that has for so long driven her songs

sing, to nobody’s great surprise.

music video is also well worth a watch.

and to reassure her listener that it’s “enough”. For fans of her music, this track, for now, certainly will be.

Music13

ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Feature

In Conversation with Laura Marling

13th February at Goldsmith’s Students’ Union

In unprecedented times of bad and ugly, it’s important to keep an eye out for the good. Ben Lomax picks out his top 5 songs both good in name and good in nature.

Rebekah Shaw speaks to Laura Marling about femininity, creative production, and moving on from LA at the folk musician’s first student conference Rebekah Shaw Contributor

Ben Lomax Contributor recent project The Reversal of the Muse upon her latest creative work. The project, a series of podcasts discussing creativity in the female experience with other women working in the music industry in positions ranging from production to songwriting, saw Marling work with guests including HAIM, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris.

Suitably placed as the final track of the album, ‘Nothing Not Nearly’ has a sense of finality about it, stopping short of concluding the issues raised within the album but certainly learning from them. Distorted guitar and assertive lyrics such as “love waits for no one” are indicative that Marling has gained both knowledge and confidence through the

“Semper Femina is calmer and considered, yet Marling remains just as passionate, if not more honestly so.

Despite being in search of answers, she is exploring them with an older and wiser head upon her shoulders.”

Photo: Press Shot

In a musical career spanning just nine years, Laura Marling is imminently releasing her sixth studio album, and it is clear that Semper Femina represents a new stage in Marling’s artistic career. Working on a collaborative project The Reversal of the Muse last year, and self-directing her music video for first single ‘Soothing’, the singer-songwriter has been exploring her creative abilities.

Her exclusive student press conference, broadcast live on Facebook, was an opportunity to be grabbed, considering Marling has only given interviews sparingly over recent years. Her eagerness to emphasise the importance of student journalism seems evident, and this excitement was keenly shared by the representatives from student newspapers all over the country sat in Goldsmith’s Students’ Union, decked out in ambient dusky lighting.

The conference followed a format interspersing selected questions from students and online fans with three acoustic performances from the album tracklist: recent single ‘Wild Fire’, and the final two songs of the album ‘Nouel’ and

Top 5: ‘Good’ songs

‘Nothing Not Nearly’.

Charmingly flippant and relaxed, yet serious about her wishes for the album, Marling happily answered questions on her inspirations, experience in the music industry, and the importance of exploring — even if not fully understanding — femininity.

ticularly apt response to a purportedly ‘post-gender’ world in which misogyny nonetheless remains rife.

The subtleties of this argument are present throughout the album, and legitimating feminine experience is just the start of it. “Fickle and changeable, semper femina”

“Marling highlights her focus on female experience. Initially wanting to exercise power over the trope of men writing about women, she later decided to write from a woman’s perspective” Addressing the big question of her inspiration for Semper Femina, Marling highlights her focus on female experience. Initially wanting to exercise power over the trope of men writing about women, she later decided to write from a woman’s perspective.

Vehemently insisting on not attempting to assert a defining position on feminism and feminine culture, she instead sees this album as a way of exploring her experience amongst others in the world we live in. This seems a par-

sings Marling in ‘Nouel’, paraphrasing the Virgil quote which inspired the album’s title.

Now tattooed on Marling’s body, the phrase roughly translates to “always a woman”, subverting the meaning of the whole sentence, which associates femininity with less flattering characteristics.

In this sense, Marling and her new album embody a fitting challenge to male attempts to define womanhood.

Marling was eager to talk to me about the impact of her

The project inspired her to further probe other creative industries such as visual art and film, as well as widening the discussion about the nature of femininity. Most importantly, it confirmed to Marling that she was on the right track by inquiring after a multi-faceted, thought-provoking issue in understanding feminine experience. She concluded that Reversal of the Muse “allowed me to keep asking questions about these things, and that’s what I want to keep doing”.

“Whereas Short Movie [her 2015 album, recorded in anticipation of a move to Los Angeles] was based on a landscape, this album was more based in thought,” Marling explains when questioned on her creative move between the two. She ascribes English homesickness on tour as an important feeder into Semper Femina’s reflective core.

In comparison to the anxious urban bustle of Short Movie, Semper Femina is calmer and considered, yet Marling remains just as passionate, if not more honestly so. Despite being in search of answers, she is exploring them with an older and wiser head upon her shoulders.

exploratory creative process behind Semper Femina.

The discussion ends on a more personal note, with Marling suggesting that if she had not become a musical artist, she would have wanted to become a chef or a writer. For anyone dying to know Laura Marling’s favourite self-written song, it’s ‘Rambling Man’, from I Speak Because I Can, which has never been off her touring setlist. “It’s very satisfying to sing and it’s quite fun to play,” she explains with a smile on her face; “I’m probably playing it in my sleep now, I suppose!”.

She finishes the conference on a question about her experience in the music industry, busting the myth of a glamorous lifestyle with an exhausting, scary reality, particularly for a female. The restricting fear of being alone, which she highlights here as part of the female experience as a touring musical artist, is a recurrent theme of many of her songs, even before Semper Femina. Marling doesn’t proclaim to have the answers to these issues, but she’s continuing to ask the right questions.

Semper Femina is released on 23rd March 2017.

Photo: Press Shot

5. ‘Good Name’ — William Onyeabor Last month sadly saw the passing of ‘70s & ‘80s Nigerian funk legend William Onyeabor whose rhythmic, synthesizerdriven tracks earned him admiration from the likes of Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) to David Byrne (Talking Heads), his mysterious and elusive persona also becoming the subject of Vice’s short documentary Fantastic Man. A scratch over ten minutes — not uncommon amongst Onyeabor’s Kraftwerk inspired catalogue — and released a short while before he gave up music due to becoming a born-again Christian, ‘Good Name’s moral message over repetitive beats is quintessential Onyeabor.

4. ‘Nothing Good Ever Happens At The Goddamn Thirsty Crow’ — Father John Misty Soothing country crooner Father John Misty (AKA Josh Tillman) lays down his trademark wit over soft string arrangements, lamenting his experiences in an L.A. whisky bar. It’s an impossibly beautiful ballad over which Tillman tells how his girl “blackens pages like a Russian romantic” and “gets down more often than a blow-up doll.” True romance.

3. ‘Good Morning’ — Kanye West Kanye may have consistently been the bad boy of popular music since he “Made that b**** famous” at the 2009 VMA’s, but musically he’s no stranger to being very good indeed (even starting his own record label named ‘GOOD Music’). Good morning is the stylish opening to 2007’s Graduation, which featured a handful of “good” tracks and a number of great ones. As would become standard for West’s discography, it signalled the start of an album that would change hip hop forever.

2. ‘Feel Good Hit Of The Summer’ — Queens of the Stone Age “Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol” growls QOTSA frontman Josh Homme over the thumping monotone verses before bursting out with “C-c-c-c-c-cocaine” for the chorus. Perhaps unsurprising, then, that it saw them manhandled out of a Rehab centre in 2007 after opting to open their set there with this number.

1. ‘I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)’ — Jamie XX ft. Young Thug & Popcaan Jamie XX effortlessly weaves together the Caribbean vibes of steel pans and Jamaican singer Popcaan, with soulful acapella samples and a career highlight performance from “Thugger Thugger.”A highlight of an already great album and easily one of the best tracks of 2015, ‘I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)’ takes the top spot as the “goodest” of an already good list.

Music

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Record Reappraisal Album

ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Record Reappraisal: Ryo Fukui — Scenery

Released 1976 via Trio Records

A retrospective on a masterpiece: Jack Greeney explores why everyone should know about one of jazz’s finest albums, but so few do Jack Greeney Contributor At the beginning of the 1970s, American jazz at its most creative had long since been and gone. There floundered a genesis of newer genres, more innovative, exciting and popular than ever before. Over the years, jazz dropped lower and lower down the pecking order, increasingly playing second fiddle to rock, funk and soul.

Even the most revered of artists tried to keep up, welding their musical styles with more commercially lucrative music. Fusion grew and fusion failed. The United States had grown tired of the increasingly experimental and complicated developments, and people wanted music they could dance to. American jazz had become a musical underclass.

Elsewhere in the world at this time however, the genre experienced a rather contrasting fortune. In ‘70s Japan, jazz was only just beginning to dig its feet into the ground. After World War II had come to its atomic conclusion on the western shores of Honshu and Kyushu, American culture was seen as being too, well, American. In fact, during the 1940s, there was even an attempt to ban jazz music wholesale, being labelled “enemy music”.

This hostility did not prove to be so steadfast. During the post-war Allied occupation, the presence of American troops in the Land of the Rising Sun began to increase. Growing weary of native traditional music, slow and folky, troops lusted for the music that had once graced their ears back home. Musicians were hired, shown, and taught. Japanese jazz was kicked off with a swing.

As the years went on, Japan’s newfound national obsession with jazz ballooned. It was in 1976, though, that the genre came to a previously unreached summit, when Hokkaidoan pianist Ryo Fukui released his debut record Scenery. Incredibly, Fukui had only began to learn his instrument six years prior, self-taught from the age of 22. Encompassing mastery seemingly far beyond these few years of experience, Fukui stunned Japanese audiences with distinct takes on classic jazz standards.

Photo: album artwork

Entirely instrumental and driven by the piano playing of Fukui, the hard bop style is remarkably accessible, and yet to no detriment of quality: a combination considered almost fictitious to most.

Playful tunes meet possessing ballads: grippingly melodic keys sweep and swathe backwards and forwards amongst themselves, a musical winding forest pathway. It’s gorgeous.

The album is a dreamland: at once as sombre as it is uplifting. The second track, ‘I Want To Talk About

You’, aches the heart: a slow, pleading yet peaceful tone gracefully wanders by. Astounding both in aesthetic and technique, gliding keys simply ooze one into the other as smooth as butter. And yet immediately afterwards, the third track ‘Early Summer’ erupts into a sky-high tempo piano solo, a tip-toe chase as frantic as it is wonderfully crafted. ‘Scenery’ is a melting pot: its stirrer, Fukui’s consistently powerful, elegant style.

Out of everything, the truly great feature of this

modal masterpiece is the creation of such originality from such often heard jazz classics. There is a clear presence of creative improvisation, refreshing and reworking plenty-played tracks from Crosby and Coltrane in a distinctly unique manner. And for as much as the piano leads the way, the others in the trio only add to the superb aural quality of the music: the drums are resounding yet skillfully tethered and the bass pleasantly wanders, cumulating in a brilliant solo on the penultimate track ‘Autumn Leaves’. It’s really quite a combination.

The album ends with the eponymous sixth piece ‘Scenery’, sublimely mingling the noticeable dichotomy of mood throughout the album together into one track. Both gleeful and earnest, this final track is almost ceremonial of the album’s impending conclusion. As easy as it is to become saddened by the definiteness of the music, it is just as easy to become saddened by a reminder of the absolute absence of acclaim this album and its creator received. It feels such a shame that a wondrous creation of sound borne of supreme natural talent went by almost unnoticed around the world.

After crafting another beautiful album the following year, Mellow Dream, Fukui rarely visited recording studios. He was a believer in the power of live music over anything else: to him, performance and improvisation were essential. Frequenting the jazz clubs of Tokyō and Nagoya, Fukui became a fan favourite: revered only by word-of-mouth. A year after his final recording, a live album from his time at the ‘Slowboat’ jazz club closer to home in Sapporo, Fukui sadly passed away with malignant lymphoma in March 2016.

The music world is rife with injustices. Surely amongst these, one most prominent injustice can be said to be the music the Western zeitgeist has failed to even acknowledge. Japan may have been late to the jazz party, but they brought one of the best gifts to the table. Scenery didn’t attempt to break barriers. It is simply an incredibly personal, supreme blend of jazz from all eras: and a crying shame that it is as little-known as it is exquisite.

Album

The quirky Swedish artist returns with a Jens Lekman — more mature album that’s as entertaining than ever, writes Calum Pinder Life Will See You Now

Calum Pinder Contributor

8/10

Released 17th Feb via Secretly Canadian Jens Lekman’s last album I Know What Love Isn’t was a more subdued affair than his first two: Jens’ inventive lyricism was present but musically the album was more

tained quirky tales. Generally set to typical baroque-pop strings and pianos, Lekman litters tracks with synths and samples. Album opener ‘To Know Your Purpose’ sets the tone for the album, with a more full-

changes in his attitude. Instead of his previous melancholic “matrimonial obsession,” he now exhibits a cynical glee at the the mixture of hope and regret he sees in the practice.

reigned-in. Despite being a solid record, it lacked some of the experimental flair of Night Falls Over Kortedala. This unfortunately resulted in lower turnout at his live performances, which did not go unnoticed

by Lekman.

In response the Swedish musician imposed restrictions on the subjects of his next album, aiming to make drastic changes to his style. However, finding this to be stifling and painful, Lekman went through a series of musical projects for inspiration.

Five years later, the result is Life Will See You Now, an album that showcases a more mature and developed artist ready to dazzle once again.

As with previous albums, Life Will See You Now is composed largely of self con-

bodied orchestral arrangement. Lekman deals with ageing in an unusual way, looking back on his teenage self through the eyes of an older person.

This peculiar, detached self-awareness is a continued theme throughout the album.

‘Postcard #17’, one of two remnants from his aforementioned experimental writing processes, addresses his insecurities following the release of his last album. It seems appropriate given the song comes from the postcard series, a collection of songs written and released on a weekly basis whilst Jens was trying to start writing his new album.

‘Wedding In Finistere’ mirrors ‘If You Ever Need A Stranger’ from Lekman’s first album, and again Lekman illustrates the

Perhaps due to this self awareness, Lekman gently experiments with his established style, to generally positive results.

‘How We Met, The Long Version’ is set to a traditional disco beat, while on ‘What’s That Perfume’ Jens reminiscences about a lost love over calypso steel drums and claves. The previously mentioned ‘Wedding in Finistere’ combines warm brass and Caribbean drum lines to transport the listener effortlessly to the beach. Lekman’s lyricism and joyful composition on this track make it a definite peak of the album.

Despite the experimentation, however, Lekman doesn’t stray too far from what he knows.

The variation in style through the album leads to some minor downfalls. Acoustic

Photo: album artwork

ballad ‘How Can I Tell Him’ lacks some of the flair found in the rest of the album, although Lekman compensates for this with his beautifully bittersweet lyrics. Closing track ‘Dandelion Seed’ also starts off with Lekman appearing to play it safe with a simple acoustic guitar line. But, as the organ comes in on the final verse and Lekman be-

gins name-dropping places from his home town in a manner similar to his old albums it begins to feel less like he’s playing it safe.

Rather, he’s comfortable in the music he makes. Lekman realises he doesn’t need to overhaul his style, but simply expand it.

With Life Will See You Now he adds another fantastic album to his collection.

Pearson is looking for motivated final year students and graduates to join our general marking team and mark responses to Pearson exam questions where teaching experience is not necessary.

This is a fantastic opportunity for recent graduates to earn that extra bit of cash to help fund their Summer.

Marking will be carried out in our ‘Marking Centre’ in Salford Quays and in our central London and Manchester office for 3-5weeks from the 17th May. To be eligible to apply you need to have completed your degree within the last 10 years or be completing your degree this Summer.

General markers will be paid as a rate of £8.45 per hour. Interviews will be held from March at our offices in Manchester. Impressive candidates will be invited back to interview for the Supervisor role, for which the pay is £11.45 per hour. To apply, please use the following link to access our online application form: https://form.jotformeu.com/62554442255354 or scan the QR code on this advert.

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57003 General Marker 270x340mm.indd 1

20/01/2017 11:03

Fashion & Beauty

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ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

This week we’re talking all about our personal style, the lessons we’ve learnt and the inevitable changes that are to come!

Just me, being me

Our Fashion and Beauty editor Sarah Kilcourse runs through what makes her style hers

Photo: The Mancunion

Attempting to describe my own style is own of those things I find strangely daunting, partly it’s the fear of sounding pretentious, equally realising it’s a very personal thing to describe. Do I really want to pigeon hole my own look? Then I remember I don’t wear anything that dramatically exciting in the first place.

Fashion has been my love since I was a child; I used to draw my mum designs of the clothes I wanted her to wear — trust me when I say my mum suffered a fashion blip from 2000-2007 (sorry mum).

From there it blossomed; one, accepting I would never make it as a designer, and two, exploring the clothes that I, me, myself, wanted to wear.

When I reached the age where I no longer looked like a spotty potato, I fell into the lure of wanting to look in some way ‘grown up’ or ‘sexy’: mini skirts, tight tops and skinny jeans were staples.

I won’t deny it I still love those pieces now but I have advanced in my wardrobe too.

With age came the understanding that bodycon is not the only option. Slowly but surely I have ventured further into the plethora of fashion silhouettes, midi skirts, culottes, over-sized jumpers (a particular favourite) have merged with my itty-bitty clothes. I definitely always like to keep an element of my outfit fitted, even if that means wearing a giant jumper dress so my legs peak out of the bottom. There’s something in me that refuses to be demure all the time.

Since coming to university the greatest shift in my style has most definitely been colour. I never used to shy away from colour, and then I started working at DKNY - we wear black. Suddenly, my mind was converted to the joys of a neutral palette, minimalism and timelessness. However, the best thing working there has taught me is how clothes should fit; that the size of my clothes has no relation to my size. The number one fashion lesson for anyone – don’t fixate on size!

I would be doing my sense of fashion a dishonour if I did not devote some time to my numero uno fashion bae – the black ankle boot. Preferably pointed. I wear them pretty much every day, have varying heel heights and styles (depending on the occasion), there is no better shoe. Come winter I don my ankle boots with a giant polo neck jumper so I can look as much like Liam Neeson circa Love Actually as possible. In summer I part with my black boots in favour of birkenstocks, plus, as of last year, the most divine pair of tan brown mules.

I don’t think I would feel comfortable to sum up my sense of fashion with an adjective or a phrase, but there is an inherent me-ness in everything I choose to wear. Much as I may love Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Alexa Chung or Liam Neeson’s clothes (read jumpers), my style is that moment of putting on an outfit and thinking it will make my day just that bit better. But don’t hold me to that when I turn up to lectures in my gym kit!

Wannabe Posh Spice

Style on stilts

Having begun university in monochrome monotony, Deputy FashDeputy Fashion and Beauty editor Talia ion and Beauty Editor Sophie Soar discusses her drastic(ally necesLee-Skudder reveals her signature style sary) style evolution Most of the time I don’t tend to follow the rule ‘less is more’; instead I live by the motto that more is absolutely fabulous. This mantra means that I often mix leopard print with fur and/or feathers and my trusty leather look trousers. My style is similar to a child in a sweet shop; I want to wear all of my favourite items at once so my feather jacket from Mimi and Bow with my faux fur stole from Zara is not an unusual combination for me. Whilst I have a few daring pieces, I tend to keep my top and trousers/skirt simple and in plain colours. A classic V-neck t-shirt is the ultimate companion to my wardrobe, while in winter I usually opt for a fluffy grey jumper or a turtleneck.

Leopard is my go to print and is usually the only pop of colour in my otherwise monochrome look. About four years ago I bought a leopard print cocoon style coat from Tesco — yes, Tesco which happens to be amazing for the odd designer inspired pieces at super affordable prices — which has seen me through the seasons. It is light enough to wear in the spring but also great for winter when you can layer underneath it. It is perfect for throwing on at university to brighten up my outfit when my daily look is a boring uniform of jeans and trainers. Somehow the Baltic library doesn’t seem to be a worthy destination to rock my feather jacket.

Whilst prior to university I was adamant that I would not convert to a casual everyday look, it had never been my style; I have found myself wearing a variation of the same items each week. Comfort and warmth have overtaken my desire to be well dressed — but my university look of jeans and a jumper definitely does not define my style. Jackets are my absolute weakness. Biker, bomber, fur, or fringed you name it and I probably have some variation of the style hanging in my wardrobe.

Encouraged by my mum from a young age that a good jacket is an investment piece, I have acquired a huge selection over the years. Luckily I have bought the same size in jackets for the past six years so I now have quite a collection of different styles. I am a total hoarder when it comes to clothes, so I very rarely throw anything out, meaning that I do have some questionable items hanging in my wardrobe, but as my wise mother says ‘fashion comes round in a full circle’ so I must hang on to my more out there pieces because they will almost definitely be cool again.

For now I am waiting for purple sequin blazers to make a comeback…

Heeled boots are my ultimate footwear choice but I am also majorly coveting mules at the Photo: The Mancunion minute, my favourite are my mules in, you’ve guessed it, leopard print that I spotted in River Island just before Christmas and have been a firm fixture of my wardrobe ever since. Currently I am styling them with my leather look jeans. The shoes are perfect for dressing up a plain outfit. Despite having a heel, the shoes are comfortable and great for transitioning my outfit from day to night.

When it comes to jewellery, I am definitely not a simple kind of gal. I am usually draped in bangles, necklaces and rings by my favourite jewellery designer Daniella Draper, a brand started by a local girl from Cleethorpes. A battered silver aesthetic complete with stunning stones from citrine to amethyst and rose quartz, the jewellery is completely different to styles you would ordinarily find on the high street. These accessories complete my look and give me, along with most of the female population of Cleethorpes, a signature jingle jangle with every movement. Not quite appropriate for the lecture theatre.

According to my housemates I channel the Posh Spice look circa ’96, I am not sure that’s entirely true but I’ll take that over Sporty Spice any day. Long live the LBD and fabulously high heels.

Photo: Julia Pecegueiro

When I started university almost three years ago now, I arrived with a uniform I adopted several years before.

Black jeans, black top, black coat, black shoes… you probably get the picture. I took solace in the shade; there’s no difficulty in styling plus it’s flattering and easy to wear (although sometimes impossible when searching for that one particular black top amongst fifteen identical others).

I resolutely believed I had found my chosen style of monochrome monotony, with an occasional guest star role of red lipstick or a pink top on nights out.

Following the indiscernible occurrence of an unexpected plot twist, my wardrobe converted to a cacophony of colour and material. Every item has a story to tell and, best of all, I can now tell my t-shirts apart (not that this makes dressing for the day any easier or quicker). In true Carrie Bradshaw fashion, I keep my money exactly where I can see it: hanging in my wardrobe. My parents and the loan repayment system probably have a different opinion as to where my money should be but we can’t agree on everything. Instead I argue my wardrobe to be more an investment towards my career goals as a fashion journalist: a walking résumé perhaps?

It only goes to show that our personal style continually evolves and adapts to our environment and new chapters in our lives. For instance, my wardrobe possibly contains a good half of all vintage products that circulated the Northern Quarter in 2015 or the Didsbury charity shops in 2016 (don’t knock ‘em til you try ‘em). I hold the belief that our style and clothes strongly reflect who we are, which is in turn is strongly influenced by where we are. I often wonder how I would differ had I studied at a different university, lived in a different city, or denied the presence of any other colour in my wardrobe.

My friend once noted the striking contrast between our close group’s clothing choices. Each and every one reflects their wearer’s characteristics, presenting a group of very different personalities and personal style. But then, whilst the wardrobes clearly change enormously from person to person, they all complement one another - (insert any cliché “friends forever” quotation). As anyone who’s lived in halls or shared a house will know, it makes for one fabulously enormous communal wardrobe.

So in first year, I was black Nikes, khaki coat, and black body con dresses all over. Now, I am multi-coloured jeans, six-inch boots and vintage jackets. And whilst I like to think I’ve found my style, what suits me and what makes me feel good, it’s interesting to think how this might change in another three years… Hopefully when I don’t have to sacrifice a few meals to justify a new pair of heels.

Fashion & Beauty 17

ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Pink, please!

Contributor Kitty Mitchell-Turner reveals the inspiration behind her style evolution In my eyes, having your own personal style is of paramount importance. In a sense I would say I am massively into fashion and style, perhaps not in the high fashion sense, but I really love looking for new styles and trying out new things. If I had to sum up my style in three words it would be mad, pink, rainbows.

There are most definitely recurring themes throughout my wardrobe. I am almost always wearing Doc Martens, and more often than not I’m also in leggings (Black Milk and American Apparel are my favourite). I love love love pink, bright patterns, and characters such as Mulan, Hello Kitty, Miffy, and My Little Pony. I’m not so good at dressing smart or looking sophisticated, and in my eyes nothing beats high waisted leggings and a crop top on a night out.

I would say that a lot of my inspiration comes from Japanese fashion, particularly the streets of Harajuku. There are a lot of different denominations of J-fashion and I wouldn’t say I subscribe particularly to one; but rather I enjoy forming new ideas from exploring a variety of them. Growing up in Brighton has also had a large influence in shaping the way I look. With so many people expressing themselves through their appearance and countless individual shops, it’s so easy to be influenced by all the cool characters around you.

Alongside clothing, I believe hair and makeup are just as important within personal style. I have never focused particularly on accessories, and despite having twelve piercings I tend to always keep the same jewellery in them, so not very exciting. Like the rest of my clothes, my hair and makeup are tainted with glitter and rainbows.

My hair is currently pink with streaks of blue, lilac, lavender, and green in it. I frequently change up the colour, but some sort of pink is always involved. I’m super into make up as well, hence why I write for the fashion and beauty section, and I love experimenting with lots of highlighter, different lip colours and fitting as many shades of eyeshadow onto my eyelids at any one time (my record is eighteen, in case you were wondering).

Even when I am working out or in my pyjamas, my look is consistent. My pjs are usually pink with Hello Kitty or Miffy on them, and my gym clothes tend to be made up of patterned leggings and bright pink tops, feeling good within yourself and your clothing is important whether you’re working out, napping, or doing a food shop, so I always leave the house in an outfit I’m happy with.

I do get a lot of stick from strangers because of my appearance, laughing, pointing, staring, making comments and on one occasion a man at the bus stop gave a small scream when I turned round and he saw my green lipstick. But the positivity that stems from my wardrobe, make up collection, and the compliments on the street makes me so happy, so who cares what anyone else thinks?

I truly believe that surrounding myself with cute characters, bright colours and a load of pink makes me so much happier and brightens my day, and is enjoyed by those around me.

Another London Fashion Week has been and gone, seemingly all the way back to the Victorian era! Three top British designers provide a counterrevolution to the current feminist movement.

Prepare to cover all!

Photo: roksanda.com

Photo: burberry.com

Photo: erdem.com

Ashley Graham: fashion’s game-changer Following the release of Vogue US’s first ever cover image to feature a plus-size model, Shannon Winterbone discusses a potential turning point in the fashion industry

Photo: EventPhotosNYC @Flickr

Fashion can sometimes make us feel like we have to fit a certain size or be a certain weight. This, coupled with what the music and film industries label as ‘ideal’, can become extremely harmful. For example, think of the proliferation of articles telling us why juice cleanses are so beneficial, which celebrities are openly advocating the use of waist trainers on their social media, and how the sales of diet pills continue to increase. Are these fashionable slimming techniques really that healthy?

However it’s worth also considering the rising profiles of plus-size models who are not only changing the way fashion is exhibited on the runway and in glossy magazines, but are also re-imagining the world’s perspective on how we define health and beauty.

Vogue US made a recent breakthrough on inclusivity with its choice to make Ashley Graham the first plus-size model to be on its cover. However, the decision was met with much controversy when Graham was seen to be the only one seemingly covering her body while the other six models were not. Along with Gigi Hadid’s scarily photo-shopped wrist which hid much of Graham’s waist-line, many people took to social media to question why the only plus-size model in the line-up was the one directed to cover her body. Graham hit back at these comments, however, and stated, “I chose to pose like that.. [sic] no one told me to do anything.” Graham’s assertion that Vogue US did not insist on her posing differently to the other models advocates her stance on how the fashion world is beginning to give a wider variety of women greater visibility. By actively promoting her healthy eating and exercise regime, Graham is an example of how it’s possible to live a healthy lifestyle without being ‘sample size’.

By tackling body positivity issues in TED talks and through various fashion campaigns, Graham has been fighting to break the barriers between ‘sample size’ and sizes which go beyond. Most recently, Graham made history during New York Fashion Week by being the first plus-size model to walk for Michael Kors, which has catapulted the need for the inclusion of plus-size women in the world of high-fashion. These moves

by Michael Kors and Vogue US show how the fashion world is beginning to acknowledge that women come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and that fashion has to be accommodating for everyone. By promoting ideas of inclusivity, designer fashion has the ability to make so many women feel good about themselves, and hopefully more brands will follow on from Michael Kors’ excellent example: “I have always waved the flag for a wide range of customers. It’s my job. My job is to make everyone feel great.”

Photo: The Mancunion

Film

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ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Top 5

Review

Oscar Acting The Eyes of My Mother Snubs

The Academy does not always get it right

Photo: chescasantos1234 @Flickr

Shema Begum Deputy Film Editor 5. Jacob Tremblay (Room, 2015) Last year Brie Larson took home the Oscar for Best Leading Actress for her role in Room. The Academy however failed to recognise her counterpart in this film – Jacob Tremblay.

The now 10 year old played her son, Jack, through whose eyes we see this film, and emphasis must be given to his age.

Tremblay gives one of the best child performances ever, it is powerful, raw, and will move you to tears. The harrowing story of a mother and child who —SPOILER ALERT — escape from their captor would not have been as profound, if it wasn’t for Tremblay’s strong performance. The Academy has many times previously nominated child actors, most recently Quvenzhané Wallis, so it is a shame that Jacob Tremblay could not be added to this exclusive list.

4. Amy Adams (Arrival, 2016) Critics and audiences alike presumed Amy Adams would be nominated for her role as linguistics professor, Louise Banks, so it was quite the surprise when she was excluded from the Best Leading Actress nominations. Adams is the soul and driving force of Arrival. Her performance brings realism and emotion to what is a sci-fi film. Having previously been nominated five times before, she is now considered to have inherited Leonardo DiCaprio’s bad luck with the Oscars.

3. Michael Fassbender (Shame, 2011) Michael Fassbender brilliantly portrays Brandon in Steve McQueen’s Shame. For a character that does not speak a lot, arguably it is a very challenging role, though this only proves to demonstrate how impressive Fassbender is in this film. He effortlessly brings depth, and humanity to his character. The intricacies of Fassbender’s gestures and expressions, reveals the nature of Brandon and the emotional battle within him.

Michael Fassbender’s performance is the anchor of this film, and he most certainly deserved an Academy Award nomination at the very least.

2. Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine, 2010) Derek Cianfrance’s brutal relationship drama shifts back and forth in time, depicting the courting and slow deterioration of a married couple. Despite Michelle Williams’ very well deserved Leading Actress Nomination, the film as a whole was overlooked. Though particular attention must be given to Ryan Gosling — who was snubbed completely — as he arguably gives his best performance as Dean. Blue Valentine is an example of a film driven by its characters, and Gosling is exceptional at portraying the emotional evolution of Dean.

How he did not receive an Oscar nomination is beyond me, however perhaps the same can be said for his performances in Drive, and Lars and the Real Girl — what has the Academy got against Ryan?

1. David Oyelowo (Selma, 2014) Selma celebrates the journey of Martin Luther King Jr, as he advances the civil rights movement through an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, which meets resistance from local authorities. This was one of the most critically acclaimed films of all at the time of it’s release and there was a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding it. The biggest shock of the 87th Academy Award nominations was David Oyelowo’s exclusion, and his snub has since gone down in Oscar history.

It sheds further light on the underlying issue of diversity in the industry.

A story told in three parts, The Eyes of My Mother is a triumphant attempt at modern horror, from first time director Nicolas Pesce

Tara Bharadia Film Contributor The Eyes of My Mother opens with the penultimate scene before regressing back to the early years of Francisca’s childhood to tell the story of how things came to be.

The use of monochrome is a bold decision by cinematographer Zach Kuperstein. A technique more commonly used in art films, the producers have married art with horror in a way which attempts to show the terror that can be hidden in the beautifully simple.

Unlike classic horrors, the chronological depiction of Francisca’s life helps aid explanations of why she is the way she is.

From mutilation of others to stealing of a baby, Francisca is a truly terrifying woman, formed from of the deepest recess of your nightmares, capable of anything and very much so a product of her environment.

The actions of Francisca are driven, and almost excused, by her love for her mother, but we’ve seen the power of her own volition (even when her mother was alive) besides Francisca choose perform eye and vocal cord removal at no older than the age of 12 and on the day of her mother’s death. As Francisca grows, there a lot of unanswered questions relating to the death of her father and Kimiko.

There are apparent signs but it is what is not said, which gaps are not filled, which make the film more horrifying by letting the viewer

explore the possibilities.

Francisca’s namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, the patron of animals, is alluded to heavily during the film. This naming is purposeful and this is evident in Francisca’s traits in her need to make her own animals out of Charlie.

The torture and killing of Charlie is very different, in purpose, to that of Lucy. Charlie is kept as a friend for over 10 years, blind and mute, she believes he gives her life purpose.

When things go south for Charlie, Francisca sees Antonio as a gift from her mother but the reason she keeps Lucy captive like Charlie is not quite clear, as she treats Lucy differently to Charlie. Lucy’s attempt to scream after her disfigurement is one of the most bloodcurdling sounds you’ll hear this year. Her desperate attempt to escape the madness

is heart-breaking and chilling — especially when we know how useless it is.

The classic hero of the film is Antonio, Francisca’s stolen son, who inadvertently frees his mother from captivity in the barn.

And even though the classic villain is and should be Francisca, I can’t help but feel that Charlie is also at fault for the beginning of the spiral of events and her silent father only helps to isolate her more, causing her tendencies to rise to the surface. Francisca may commit gross acts of violence in the most tender manner, but at the end of the day, she is just a woman trying to salvage her loneliness.

3.5/5

Photo: Borderline Presents

Review

The Founder Eloïse Wright Film Critic The idea that John Lee Hancock’s latest film was probably just another narrative about making it in America meant that my anticipation for it was rather low. But as the film unfolded I was caught off guard by its surprising density.

The Founder —which has interesting ironic undertones — explores the conceptual origins of fast-food and the empire of the food-chain McDonald’s. It is 1954 when we are introduced to the insatiable salesman Ray Kroc; convincingly played by Michael Keaton. Struggling and fast-paced, he is the embodiment of the free market system and good old American capitalism. Unsuccessfully attempting to sell milkshake makers to diners, an order of eight from a San Bernardino burger stand piques his interest. What distinguishes this thriving restaurant from the ones that struggle to sell a single one? He drives all the way from Illinois to find out.

The stand, of course, is the original McDonald’s. The whole concept of the busy place confuses Kroc, he can’t seem to grasp that his food is presented to him almost instantaneously after ordering it, or that no crockery is required, or that he can eat it where ever he pleases. The movie addresses the shift of fast food and the initial learning curve consumers experienced superbly, and it is at this point that we first encounter with the McDonald brothers.

Featuring terrific performances by John Caroll Lynch (The Zodiac) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation’s Ron Swanson) as Mac and Dick, they manage to convey a down-to-earth pair who simply strive to have their own piece of the American Dream after years of persistence and hard work. Except they came up with a notion that would revolutionise America, and they didn’t even know it.

Over a particularly well shot scene of dinner between our three main interests,

An overnight sensation 30 years in the making

a fascinated Kroc listens to the brothers recount their long and arduous process to coming up with their unique system. Hancock unfolds the brothers’ past through a series of flashbacks of their thirty-year struggle. The story rises to an electric climax as they calmly come to explain their Eureka moment by pinpointing the weaknesses of competitors, such as poor quality food and slow service that attracts undesired clientele — here it is teenagers that are the problem. It is Dick who localises where they are losing and could potentially save time and money. From past experience, he assesses that certain items are guaranteed to sell, and by pure logic decides to strip the menu down to the basics such as hamburgers, fries and milkshakes.

The next point is a stroke of genius, simultaneously in the film-making and in real life, as the scene shows Dick arbitrating his staff around a mock-up chalk kitchen, manoeuvring it over and over in order to create their pioneering time-effective system. This is the stuff capitalist dreams are made of.

Concise, minimal, and easy to keep cleanliness and quality in check, the McDonald brothers are perfectly content with their creation. But Kroc thinks differently, and has the gut feeling he has stumbled upon a rare opportunity. His love for business immediately latches onto the

fact that the McDonald’s structure can be endlessly replicated, urging the brothers to “franchise it”. Here the direction puts the viewer in a conflicted spot, aware of the potential Kroc sees, yet faced with the brothers’ sincere attachment to their creation and high-quality standards. Soon enough, Kroc comes up with just the right hook to reel them in— American values.

Each town he drives by has 2 things: a church and a court house. Both places where the American Family congregate, both symbols associated to these common values: The Cross and the American flag. Kroc insists that the “Golden Arches” of McDonalds could be of the same meaning, a place where “decent, wholesome people come together”.

After a tug-of-war business relationship between the three, Kroc’s hunger for more pushes him to cease all decency and figures out how he can pull the business from under the McDonald’s brothers’ feet through real estate trickery. In a poignant — and for the audience — uncomfortable phone call between the brothers and “The Founder”, Kroc hits them with the disheartening truth: “I’m national. You’re local”, succinctly addressing the at times chilling American capitalist drive.

4/5

Photo: FilmNation Entertainment

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Feature

Q&A With with Ben Wheatley Director Ben Wheatley and actor Micheal Smiley preview their new film Free Fire at HOME with a special Q&A

Alasdair Bayman Film Critic Introducing Ben Wheatley’s new film Free Fire, the director and actor Michael Smiley are in a jovial mood. “I have just bought a new pair of jeans that have lycra in them” Smiley pronounces in his deep Irish accent, whilst stretching this legs to emphasis the joke.

Almost acting as a warm up act to the film’s black comedy, Smiley knows how to work his audience. Focusing on the film, its cast is an international one with the likes of Armie Hammer, Oscar winner Brie Larson, Sharlto Copley, alongside the British talent of Smiley, Cillian Murphy, and Sam Riley. As a defined auteur who isn’t afraid of tackling any genre, Wheatley has established himself as a film workaholic who regularly creates a film every year. With producer credits on the absurdist The Greasy Strangler, Gareth Tunley’s upcoming The Ghoul, and Peter Strickland’s mesmeric The Duke of Burgundy he is more than just a director. As the post-screening Q&A would reveal, he is one of Britain’s best film-makers and a true cinephile.

After Wheatley’s homage to the action genre/ 70’s B Movie, the director and Smiley once again reappear. Joined by HOME’s Artistic curator Jason Wood, the two men undergo the formalities of any Q&A — still both men’s passion for their medium shines through. Starting where he left off, Smiley inquisitively asks a member of the audience on the front row if he, like the actor “has any elastic in your gullet”.

After another few minutes of comedic rambling, Woods interjects, “well that’s all we have time for’’. Hallelujah it wasn’t.

After interviewing the film-maker at the London Film Festival, Wood wastes no time in getting into the really meaty subjects of the outlandishly hilarious film. Free Fire is executive-produced by the godfather of

Review

James Gill Film Critic

contemporary American film, Martin Scorsese.

Wheatley described that a meeting between himself and Scorsese was set up in New York when touring with Sightseers in the US. The Italian-American had been made aware of British films such as Andre Arnold’s Red Road and Wheatley’s second feature film Kill List when shooting Hugo in London. “It’s a weird thing when you talk to someone who you have bought really expensive coffee table books about’’, which I myself can ditto. “As I looked at him as he was talking and thinking I’m not just one hand shake away from the history of cinema.”

After Wood’s conversation with Wheatley and Smiley expanded to the audience, I wasted no time in raising my hand. The promise of a free t-shirt was on the line for any audience member who asked a question. Yet, as I had seen on the director’s twitter account there was a secret second option: A funky orange Japanese Free Fire tour poster. Asking for said poster instead of the t-shirt, Smiley jokingly implied ‘F**k your t-shirt’. Greeted with a nervous laugh, I continued: “Obviously you are working with Laurie Rose (cinematographer) again who did such great work on High-Rise and your other films. As Jason suggested, it is quite a claustrophobic film. But he (Rose) adds a lot of

depth to the scenes with Dolly shots and POV shots of canisters exploding. What was the experience of that?” Redeeming my request of a poster with a respectable question, as Woods himself pointed out, Wheatley explained that there was a lot of planning and story boarding involved in the cinematography.

Continually he and Rose “built the whole set initially in Minecraft because it is the only 3D programme I can use”. Further, 1700 drawings were created in an attempt to film the organised chaos found in the shootouts.

Filming with sometimes up to six cameras in very long takes, Rose was enabled to run the action right through to capture every inch of the warehouse. With the continual use of Laurie Rose, writer Amy Jump, and actors such as Michael Smiley, Wheatley has furthered his winning formula. What become most apparent in the Q&A was his urgency to just be working in the film industry and both men’s humility and humour. Free Fire manages to capture the comedy of previous works such as Sightseers whilst working as a step forward for the director in terms of scale and budget.

Free Fire is released on the 31st March by StudioCanal.

4/5

Photo: Chris Payne

Hidden Figures An ordinary film about the extraordinary

Coming two years after the overly sentimental St.Vincent, Theodore Melfi returns to the directors chair for Hidden Figures. The inspiring true story of how three African-American women fought against gender and race discrimination to assist in arguably the greatest human accomplishment of the time, launching astronaut John Glenn into orbit. An event which turned the tide of the space race and united America in it’s desire to reach the moon.

The three women depicted in Hidden Figures begin as ‘computers’, someone who performs long and often tedious mathematical calculations prior to the invention of electronic computers. They all aspire for greater things but due to the societal hurdle of skin colour find great difficulty in getting acknowledged, let alone respected. Katherine Johnson’s talent (Taraji Henson) has incredible mathematic ability, Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) has natural leadership skills and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) is a fantastic engineer. All three actresses are commanding in their roles, which isn’t entirely positive as the weaker performances are more noticeable with the weakest of all being Jim Parsons’ portrayal of head engineer Paul Stafford.

A character whose only purpose in the film is to reinforce the fact that people of colour face discrimination. Melfi must have doubted the audience’s ability to denounce

racism on its first appearance so decided to make Stafford repeatedly, and to no additional story benefit, belittle Katherine.

Parsons’ character is not the only story element that if removed would have made the film less forgettable. Another example of this is the needless romantic subplot involving Katherine and Army Officer Jim Johnson. Romance for the sake of romance is usually for one of two reasons, either the scriptwriters needed an extra 15 minutes runtime and got lazy, or the film needed to be more accessible for the general public (to bring in those box office returns).

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) who plays Johnson is a great actor and it is a shame that his talent is wasted in this role.

Whilst there were many scenes showing discrimination against the women of the West Computing wing, and people of colour as a whole, one particular example was overplayed. After Katherine is assigned to the Space Task Group, a collection of the

greatest scientific and engineering minds in America, she is constantly on the receiving end of racial prejudice. This occurs to such an extent that they are made to seem villainous to fit with the generic Hollywood narrative: character faces adversity, almost succumbs as a result but is eventually victorious. There is nothing new or original here. Just another underwhelming “based on a true story” film that seems to hit the cinema screens every few weeks.

In years to come it will be the films that took risks that will be remembered and sadly Hidden Figures took none. The outcome is an ordinary film about the extraordinary.

One that uses the leads to push an agenda rather than treat them like the pioneers they were. Yet another addition to the pile of potential classics.

2/5

Review Feature

The Lego Batman Movie

A Batman movie we may not deserve, but one we needed

Photo: Warner Animation Group

Andrew Wong Film Contributor The Lego Movie was a surprise to many, it overcame a lot of people’s expectations and due to its success we now have The Lego Batman Movie; directed by Chris Mckay and starring Will Arnett as Batman. The Lego Batman movie is ultimately a spin off to its predecessor rather than a sequel, as the entirety of the film stays within the Lego DC universe; thereby having fewer references to other Lego franchises as a whole. The film centres around our favourite caped crusader who’s really quite a narcissist, which is not what people expect when they think of the mainstream Batman.

The huge advantage this movie has is the property of Batman itself. Over the years Batman has had a large range of media that this film can pull from, you have weird characters and that you may even ask yourself, “were they actually real?”. The film embraces this by poking fun at all the other incarnations of Batman over the years – having references to as far back to his first appearance in 1939 and even brave enough to delve into the really camp era of Batman in the 1960s. There are call-backs to all versions of Batman, and if you are a long time Batman fan being well versed in the Batman mythos, a lot of the subtler jokes are only going to enhance your viewing experience.

The beginning of the film immediately establishes the tone of the movie, maintaining that huge sense of humour, giving the film such a high level of energy. This is apparent throughout the majority of this movie, where they have a continuous flurry of jokes, to the point where the jokes are so tightly packed together it can sometimes be exhausting to process it all. There are parts where the film does slow down to the point it can be a shock, in contrast to the first half an hour of this film of high energy — you aren’t initially segued into the more heart-felt family dynamic of this film.

That being said, the theme of family and how people need one another is a strong element in the story, and one that works well.

One of the highlights of this film has to be the Joker, depicted

by Zach Galifianakis. Galifianakis’ portrayal of the Joker has the character in a love-hate relationship with Batman. It’s presented in a version of a lovers spat, as the Joker wants Batman to admit that he loves to fight him and hates him, and above all else he needs the Joker to feel complete. But Batman can’t admit that as he has emotionally isolated himself from everyone, which creates a hilarious scenario leaving the Joker feeling betrayed and unappreciated.

Moreover, the animation is a delight to look at, with its unique aesthetic style of looking like the actual Lego sets you can purchase. The colours are done brilliantly, with the use of dark colours and bright oranges to make Gotham city look visually pleasing. The presentation of the Lego style of stop motion animation makes everything in this film that much more endearing. The fact that Lego are building blocks for creativity, the film is only limited by its imagination.

If you are a long time Batman fan, I would highly recommend this film for you. However, if you are a fan of films in general, there’s enough in this film to keep you engaged and certainly enough to have you laughing out loud. The Lego Batman Movie is a breath of fresh air, highlighting the lighter sides of the Dark Knight — showing us that Batman is a superhero that doesn’t need to be constantly dark and serious to be enjoyable.

4/5 Photo: Levantine Films

Books

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Preview

Preview: Writer’s Conference

Roma Havers discusses the upcoming Northern LightsWriter’s Conference on the 18th of March Roma Havers Books Editor

On Saturday the 18th of March, Creative Industries Trafford will be hosting the Northern Lights Writers’ Conference at the Waterside Arts Centre in Sale between 10am and 5:30pm. The conference will include talks, workshops, panel discussions, networking opportunities and book signings with acclaimed writers and publishing professionals. It will mainly concern literary fiction and genre writing and will include a keynote speech from Award-winning author Sarah Dunant.

Tickets will cost £30 for the day with a £25 concessionary price.

Salt Publishing’s Chris Hamilton-Emery described last year’s event as “a brilliant writers’ conference” and by Adrian Slatcher on the Manchester Literature Festival blog as “a winning formula.” Northern Lights has so far welcomed guest speakers AL Kennedy, Will Self and Louise Doughty, author of Apple Tree Yard, recently adapted for the BBC. Appearances will include authors Cath Staincliffe, Alex Wheatle MBE and Liz

Williams who will be sharing advice for emerging and mid-career writers, while David Gaffney will be delivering a flash fiction writing workshop and launching CIT’s latest flash fiction competition.

Literary agents Piers Blofeld and John Jarrold, editor Julie Crisp and Alysoun Owen from Writers & Artists Yearbook will also be in attendance.

org. Full details of the conference can be found on the CIT website: www. creativeindustriestrafford.org. Follow @ CITrafford using the hashtag #NLWC2017

The Pub They speak their secrets in slurs wipe off bad memories on the back of their sleeves taking off caps as I open a bottle they tell me their troubles with a glass half full.

‘It looks to be an exciting lineup with plenty of opportunities throughout the day to learn from professionals’ It looks to be an exciting line-up with plenty of opportunities throughout the day to learn from professionals working in different fields and an opportunity to work on your own writing.

Tickets can be booked by calling the Waterside box office on 0161 912 5616 or by emailing info@creativeindustriestrafford.

Poet of the Week Liv Barnes

Everyday, the usual.

You can find bright eyes in the dim light of this old bar hear clinking of jars, that’s the key to unlocking them.

They spill out their innards on the tables the stories they tell the stools are my favourite fables.

Photo: Northern Lights Writer’s Conference

They engage in conversation with the walls mutters and murmurs welcomed by all four.

It’s easier to stare at them than half reflections of one another sat around Farah Elhouni continues to explore the Arabic literature from Orange 4 in the Main Library If a man breaks down in a bar and no one later learn that Mustafa may or may not in the English translation, shows a side that is hears do they make a sound?

Farah Elhouni Review

More from Orange 4

Books Contributor

The Arabic collection in Main Library’s Orange 4 is a relatively small but rich collection of books. Three books only begin to scratch the surface of the Arabic literary experience. The following are three more to delve into the treasure trove that is Orange 4. Set in two countries, Lebanon and Sudan, these books are all available in English, adapted from Arabic in Main Library.

Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih [Orange 4 (892.73 S73 )] This novel written by Sudanese novelist Tayeb Salih is a beautifully written and structured work on postcolonialism and power. This is essentially a reflection on the relationship between postcolonial Sudan and its former colonists, subtly dealing with the power play and the divide between the global north and the south; the west and the east. It raises the question of whether a disequilibrium between cultures can be a cause for their differences.

‘To decipher the political, social, and philosophical symbolism that is characteristic of his work’ The story follows the protagonist who recently returned to his homeland, whom we learn more about through his relationship with the mysterious Mustafa Sa’eed. Through these odd conversations we learn about his life in London, the global north, and his professional and sexual adventures. We

have a reason to confide in our protagonist himself. Through them we learn more about the differences that exist between societies and how the imagination of Salih, the author, attempts to remedy them through his use of symbolism.

Selected by a panel of Arab writers and critics as the most important Arab novel of the twentieth century, his story is especially important for readers interested in Arabic literature, not only for the literary status this work holds, but also for a chance to decipher the political, social, and philosophical symbolism that is characteristic of his work.

‘It raises questions that delve deep into human nature its inevitability, its repetitiveness, its necessity.’

The Broken Wings by Khalil Gibran [Orange 5 (892.78 K51 )] Kahlil Gibran, a leading figure of idyllic literature, wrote The Broken Wings to document his first encounter with love, albeit never realized.

Published in 1912 Beirut, Lebanon, traditions and customs of that era are chronicled in this novella. The story follows Gibran himself, and his beloved Salma, and the way they face familial and societal pressure in the form of circumstances and traditions.

One of Gibran’s most popular works, this is a cliché love story which depicts the turbulences many lovers face in a conservative society. Gibran’s ‘version’ of this widely circulated scenario of star-crossed lovers is set apart from other similar themed stories in its descriptive and poetic nature.

His romantic use of metaphors, not quite lost

unique to Arabic literature.

Beirut ‘75 : a novel, by Ghada Samman

‘This is a cliché love story which depicts the turbulences many lovers face in a conservative society’ [Orange 4 (892.7309 S10 )] Ghada Samman’s first full-length novel was written and published months before war broke in Lebanon, predicting what later came to be known as the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990). Not only is this a story about the dangers of war, it is also a social commentary on the Lebanese society, set in the capital city of Beirut.

As many socially critical novels set in the Arab world, it follows the lives of a number of characters within the city to illustrate certain stereotypes about the people and reflect social problems ranging from poverty to sexual repression to desperation and problems rising from sectarianism. It raises questions that delve deep into human nature: its inevitability, its repetitiveness, its necessity. It examines the human condition and leaves it to the reader to decide whether or not war has to be a part of it. To paraphrase an oracle - a character in Beirut ’75 - we come to realise that the result is always ‘sadness and blood. Lots of blood’.

It is relevant today because it tells us that just like the author, paying close attention to social problems allows us to predict when societies might crack. But it also gives us hope that maybe, if we act in time, we might be able to turn it around before it’s too late.

These weather worn men grow roots here Photo: Comma Press with time counting liquid rings on the wood, tell their age in the lines.

Old souls who never looked for any glory or gold Just sitting back on worn out thrones now moulded to weight they carry in chests.

Arms on rests and legs under the table, these guys are part of the furniture.

Quietly saying their prayers with heads pressed against beer mats, Fingers facing the sun.

Drinking golden liquid only fit for Gods you could say that churches can come in more forms than one.

The dregs off the bottle imitate priests as they listen to confessions that pour from mouths.

Fighters remove their fingers from glass necks as they hear the bell ring for the final round.

Searching their pockets Counting out last blessings Handing over money I never see their change.

If you would like to be considered as Poet of The Week please email a selection of poetry to books@mancunion.com

FINAL YEAR STUDENTS! The University will use the National Student Survey (the NSS) to put up tuition fees.

Tuition fee increase

Genuine student feedback

SAY YES

You will be told to fill in the National Student Survey (the NSS) from the 30th of January to the 29th of April.

What you will NOT BE TOLD is that the NSS, your feedback, will be used to increase tuition fees for future generations of students.

Student feedback is important, so fill out the Manchester Student Survey (MSS) instead to have your say. The MSS, unlike the NSS, will not be linked to tuition fees.

Fill in the MSS to say NO to increasing tuition fees!

Find out more: manchesterstudentsunion.com/nss

Food & Drink

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The Refuge: Sunday Lunch Jenny Sterne Editor in Chief

Let’s face it, it’s not often students cook themselves a full Sunday Roast, and if they do it just doesn’t quite compare to one cooked at home.

So instead they do what millennials do best, we eat out. There are hundreds of options to go for a great Sunday Lunch in Manchester, but so far I have found none better than at Refuge.

If you haven’t ventured down to Refuge at The Principal Manchester you are definitely missing out. My last visit was my second experience, but this time rather than sharing their mouth-watering small plates, we decided to experience their newly launched Sunday Roast sharing platter.

The platter will be known to anyone who has experienced Volta in West Didsbury, and if you have you will understand me when I say it was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Luke Cowdrey co-curator of Volta and The Refuge, described the platter as being “the same family style sharing vision,” and in my mind this highlights perfectly what Volta and the Refuge do so well. The experience of eating with them is shared, it feels like a family dinner – although your surroundings at The Refuge may be a little more upmarket than most of our family kitchens.

But despite this, the shared nature of the meal means you cannot help but feel comfortable and at home in your surroundings, the fact that the food works both in the cosy venue of Volta in West Didsbury and in the grander situation of Refuge is testament to this.

Photo: The Refuge

meat; rare roast beef, suckling pig and chicken, with roast potatoes, carrot and swede, red cabbage, buttered greens, Yorkshire puddings, heavenly cauliflower cheese and pan gravy.

The addition of cauliflower cheese is a stroke of genius and really adds to the feeling of it being your traditional home cooked Sunday lunch, although I don’t think I’ve ever tasted cauliflower cheese quite like it.

It is strange however, the Vimto-braised red cabbage I have not been able to get out of my mind since I went. As a massive fan of red cabbage generally this was a real treat, and even once almost bursting I was still not able to leave any left on the plate.

Our food was served with the most lavish Bloody Mary I’ve ever seen, definitely an order I’d recommend if you do decide to make a visit, although the Refuge also have a wide selection of craft beers which were also very tempting – considering the strength of the Bloody Mary I resisted this temptation.

Our meal ended with a shared apple tart, served with Madagascan vanilla ice cream – although sticky toffee pudding is definitely something I’ll have to go back for – be smarter and faster than me before you go so you have room to not have to share.

Sunday Lunch at The Refuge is served from 12 noon and priced at £39

The platter for two people has three types of

Miriam Mizzi Co-Editor

The Hip Hop Chip Shop Photos: Miriam Mizzi

Word on the street is, The Hip Hop Chip Shop, whose main residence is in Northern Quarter bar Kosmonaut, does the best fish and chips in Manchester’s city centre. Their other outlet, a food truck, has even won a national fish ‘n’ chip award for best mobile operator. Of course I had to put this claim to the test, and due to the name also promising some easy on the ears hip hop, I headed down to see if my ears and stomach could both be satisfied at the same time.

My fellow fish fanatic and I headed there straight after finishing a weighty afternoon of university, so, we could not be more ready to slouch on a comfy seat and dig into some, hopefully tasty, food. Due to our early arrival, the bar was fairly empty, we took our pick of the tables and mulled over the one-sided, to-the-point menu. On closer inspection, we spotted some hip hop inspired dish names such as ‘Shell L Cool J’ for a crab burger and ‘DJ Kool Kerk’ for a Jerk battered fish dish, something I personally thought was a fun addition and even pushed us to read the descriptions of dishes we might never normally have looked at.

Once we had ordered and whilst we waited

for our food to arrive, we shifted our attention to the hip-hop, which the food’s name so boldly assures. I can’t confess to being a music buff — maybe I should just stick to food — but the song selection seemed to have taken a lot of thought, and it resulted in a relaxed yet lively feel. The music wasn’t too loud, so conversation was still easily had, but it was loud enough to give a sweet undertone of melody throughout our stay. Finally, somewhere that’s managed to adjust their volume knob appropriately.

Our waiter jolted us out of our musically

We were met with a crisp outer layer of batter and, once inside, flaky layers of perfectly cooked fish. induced swaying with platefuls of delicious looking fish, freshly fried chips and a burger tempting even to those not inclined to indulge. As the food was placed in front of us, we had the tough decision of what to try first. Out of respect to our main reason for coming, we started by each sharing bites of the ‘battered

fish biters.’ We were met with a crisp outer layer of batter and, once inside, flaky layers of perfectly cooked fish. When paired with a spread of strong tartar sauce and minted mushy peas, each mouthful was a true delight.

Next, we couldn’t wait to try the crab burger.

One of my favourite street-food options, which I always end up going for at festivals, much to my friends’ amusement. What arrived was a thick, hearty burger, filled with flavoursome crab, topped with coleslaw and encased by a brioche bun. Our immediate idea to remove the bread and focus on the burger inside proved clever as we didn’t seem to be making any kind of dent in the amount of food we had.

We still had sides of chilli battered onion rings and halloumi fingers to try.

After a few sips of our lager and a bit of a break, we restarted and finished our sides and mains. The onion rings definitely aren’t for the spice-wary as they had a punchy kick.

Luckily, we love that so the end product was impressive, despite us now basically turning into batter ourselves. The halloumi was thick and generous and is a must order for all those cheese obsessed.

By the time we had finished our food, the

bar had begun to fill up and it seemed as if we were the only ones who weren’t part of ‘the coolest people in Manchester’ club. Top-knots and checked shirts were in abundance, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when the mood in the bar was full of energy and the cool-guys serving us were friendly and attentive.

Note: find The Hip Hop Chip Shop in Kosmonaut.

10 Tarrif Street, Manchester.

M1 2FF

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ISSUE 16 / 27TH FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Lily Carden Food & Drink Co-Editor

Mix and Match Stir Fry

This straight forward method for making stir fry will ensure you’re never limited by a supermarket deal again Buying a stir fry deal from a supermarket always leaves me pushing mystery veg around my plate and wishing for more chicken or noodles.

The simple way to get around this is by making your own. It seems really complicated but actually, it couldn’t be easier, just choose from this mix and match list and follow the cooking instructions.

Serves 2 Takes 20-30 minutes or so plus 1 hour marinade time

Photo: Lily Carden

Ingredients Protein Chicken, strips OR Salmon OR Beef, strips Marinade Teriyaki Carbohydrates 2 Portions Rice OR 2 Portions Fresh Egg Noodles

Photo: Lily Carden

Vegetables (choose a mixture, you want about 1 extra large handful per person) Pepper batons Carrot OR Courgette ribbons (use a peeler) Baby sweetcorn Onion wedges Sugar snap peas OR Mangetout Spinach OR Bok Choi Spring Onions

Place the strips of chicken or of beef of the whole fillets salmon in a plastic sandwich bag with about 3tbsp of teriyaki, seal and leave to marinate for an hour or so.

Prepare the vegetables so that they’re all in fairly narrow strips to help them stir fry evenly and if you need to cook the rice then do so now.

If you’re eating salmon then wrap it and the remaining marinade in some tinfoil to bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 12 minutes.

Heat some oil in a wok or large frying pan on the hob (side note: I bought a wok from Wing Yip for about £7 and once I’d seasoned it (the oven method is best), it worked brilliantly). When the oil is hot put in the chicken or beef strips and stir fry until cooked (that’s only a couple of minutes for the beef but longer for the chicken to make sure it’s safe).

Add in the vegetables and let them wilt, stirring constantly over a high heat. Chuck in the carbs, stirring to heat them through and distribute everything evenly. Break up the hot salmon and stir through.

Serve in big bowls.

Harissa and Turmeric Dal

Lily Carden Food & Drink Co-Editor

This dal is vegetarian, vegan, simple, cheap and packed full of flavour. What more could you want?

Serves 2-3 depending on hunger Takes 25 minutes to make

Ingredients 1tbsp olive oil 1 small onion, diced 3tsp turmeric powder 1-3 tsp harissa paste 250g red lentils 400ml coconut milk 400ml water 1 lime, juiced

I’ve been making this a lot recently as it’s quick and tasty (and importantly, cheap). It tastes great on its own but if you want to jazz it up then either top it with diced roast sweet potatoes, serve with rice or naan (the best tip is to buy a naan from your local takeaway and add it to your own meal).

Don’t like spice? Just use less harissa (though some is needed for flavour).

You can buy it easily from the international aisle of many supermarkets, if you can get it, I particularly recommend rose harissa.

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions until soft.

Add the harissa and turmeric and cook for one minute.

Pour in the lentils, coconut milk and water, stir everything together.

Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft but retain their shape and no longer taste bitter.

Ladle into bowls and drizzle a generous amount of lime juice over it.

Hey presto, it’s done.

Serve with your chosen accompaniments.

Photo: Lily Carden

Arts

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ISSUE 16 / 27TH FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Feature

Lie Lie Land Are they Putin on the Ritz? Bambi and the political art

Charlie Spargo Editorial Advisor Artists have never been known to shy away from political statements through their work, be it Picasso’s criticism of US intervention in Korea or Ai Weiwei giving up his freedom to stand up to the Chinese government.

However, it is street art where we see some of the most of-the-moment political messages being made. Even the public and — debatably — unownable nature of graffiti is a political statement in itself.

Many of the best graffiti artists go to great lengths to preserve their anonymity, and London-based artist Bambi is no exception. Her pieces cut to the very core of politics today — most recently making headlines with a piece called ‘Lie Lie Land’.

It appeared in Islington earlier this month and plays on the promotional imagery for multiple award-winning La La Land. Lead actors Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone have been replaced with Donald Trump and Theresa May, who are seen dancing together hand-in-hand.

Known for her stenciled graffiti works, Bambi employs representational imagery to offer social commentary and address political concerns, often through the depiction of notable

contemporary figures such as Ai Weiwei or David Beckham. Her work focuses on contemporary female identity and its relationship to patriarchal culture, as well as the commodification of the art world and various political injustices.

Speaking to the Huffington Post, Bambi said she decided to spray the sketch after seeing film posters plastered across London with a strong performance anticipated at next week’s 89th Academy Awards.

She said: “A happy couple dancing without a care in the world, this film was released during a dark political time in our world.”

But why the rise in political art on the street? With its biting reality and tonguein-cheek humour, street art has become a kind of public expression to articulate socio-political criticisms all the while expressing individual artistry. Placing them in especially deprived areas only amplifies their message allowing them to reach out to the masses.

Bambi previously sketched a mock up image of the Statue of Liberty in Camden, days after President Trump was inaugurated and called it ‘Make America Sane Again’. Similarly, a mural in Lithuania that showed Putin kissing Trump was shared widely on social media in May whilst a swastikainspired “Truck Fump” found itself in the Northern Quarter’s Stephenson Square.

Photo: duncan c @flickr

“If you lived in the 80s and remember it, then you didn’t live it.”

Issued as part of ¡Viva! Spanish & Latin American Festival 2017, La Movida is set to be HOME’s next major exhibition. The piece offers a contemporary view of the socio-cultural movement La Movida - literally translating as “the movement”.

The movement took place between 1977 and 1985, and was set in postFranco Spain. During this period,

Pedro Almodóvar, renowned Spanish film director and former member of the movement explained, “It’s difficult to speak of La Movida and explain it to those who didn’t live those years. We weren’t a generation; we weren’t an artistic movement; we weren’t a group with a concrete ideology. We were simply a bunch of people that coincided in one of the most explosive moments in the country.”

The exhibition boasts new

Our top picks across Manchester this week

With Assad’s regime suppressing information sharing in Syria – and particularly anti-government sentiment – creatives have had to find alternative ways to distribute their work. In a country where school children have reportedly been tortured for writing anti-Assad graffiti on a wall in Dera’a, a city in the South, the act of making critical art is not only powerful, but dangerous. Parallel Republic: The Art of Civil Disobedience at the People’s History Museum brings a selection of works by critically acclaimed Syrian artists and citizen journalists out of the online world and into the real, displaying paintings, illustrations, film, animation and music in the museum’s Engine Hall.

The ‘parallel republic’ of the title refers to an imagined or virtual world, where Syrian artists and activists can share information and express themselves. Curated by British artist Sarah Faraday and Syrian artist Ibrahim Fakhri, based in the UK since 2004, this exhibition makes the idea of a ‘parallel republic’ manifest, highlighting the creative activism of some of the most active and acclaimed Syrian artists, collectives and citizen journalists, including Khalil Younes, Sulafa Hijazi, Lens Young Dimashqi, Comic4Syria, Art & Freedom and Alshaab Alsori Aref Tarekh.

Upcoming: La Movida at HOME the country aimed to rid themselves of the cultural delay that had followed Franco’s reign. In order to move into a state of democracy, La Movida opened up the public eye to the taboo notions of open debate, sexuality, pornography, clubbing and drugs to name a few.

The popular Spanish saying “If you lived in the 80s and remember it, then you didn’t live it.” is said to encapsulate what it is that La Movida stands for.

What’s on this Week?

Parallel Republic: The Art of Civil Disobedience at People’s History Museum 21 January–2 April 2017

Feature

Laura Joyce Arts Editor

Editor’s Picks

commissions inspired by this problematic time period, along with various national works that revolve around the themes of freedom and excess. La Movida was certainly a movement ahead of its time, and it is no surprise that we see it coming up as inspiration for contemporary artworks to this day, forty years after the transition to democracy.

Group exhibition: La Movida at HOME, Manchester. 14 April–11 June

Photo: HOME

Sooni Taraporevala: Home in the City, Bombay 1976-Mumbai 2016 4 March 2017 – early 2018 Photographer, screenwriter, filmmaker Sooni Taraporevala will present a series of black and white photographs depicting life in Bombay/Mumbai from 1976 to the present day. Capturing the city in which she grew up, Taraporevala’s images, cutting across class and community lines, are an insider’s affectionate view. The images, complex and intimate, quirky and quotidian, celebrate the odd and the everyday and are a significant contribution to the social history of one of India’s most diverse cities.

Exploring a metropolis as its shape shifted over four decades, these works are personal documents of the city’s eccentrics, its children, its elderly, its landscape: a gentle mirror to culture and politics, with the secret sideways glance of a flaneur.

The display is guest-curated by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi, for Sunaparanta, Goa Centre for the Arts, with patronage from Dattaraj & Dipti Salgaocar. Taraporevala’s images are accompanied by a new text by essayist and travel writer Pico Iyer.

Taraporevala was born in 1957 in Bombay and left India when she was 18, to attend Harvard University on a scholarship. After securing a MA in Cinema Studies at New York University she returned home to work as a freelance photographer. The film for which she wrote her first screenplay, Salaam Bombay!, was nominated for an Oscar. This led her to write amongst others, Mississippi Masala, Such A Long Journey, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, The Namesake, as well as her directorial debut, the National Award winning Little Zizou. In 2000 she authored and published her photographs on the Parsi community, made over thirty years. The book PARSIS A Photographic Journey, was a critical and popular success and was reprinted in 2004. Her photographs have been shown at Institut Valencia d’Art Modern, Spain; Musee du Quai Branly, France; National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi; the Tate Modern, and are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi and the MET, New York. The recipient of many awards, in 2014, in recognition for her contribution to the arts, she was awarded a Padma Shri by the Government of India. Her current work includes directing a Virtual Reality short film and writing a series on a historical figure for television.

Theatre 25

ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Reviews

Funny Girl

Standing ovations all round for Sheridan Smith as she is truly sensational as Fanny Brice Brogen Campbell Theatre Editor The much anticipated musical Funny Girl is currently touring the UK after its critically acclaimed run at The Savoy Theatre in London.

The tour of Funny Girl starts at the Palace Theatre, Manchester.

The musical tells the mostly true story of Broadway star Fanny Brice. Brice was renowned for her exceptional comic skills and singing ability.

Fanny Brice was famously portrayed by Barbara Streisand in the 1968 film of the same title.

The story begins with a successful Fanny Brice in her dressing room on the open night of her new show with Ziegfeld Follies. As Brice waits for call time she begins to reminisce about her life. The musical thus revolves around how Brice got her big break and bagged a husband on her way up.

Fanny Brice is true performer. This was perfectly illustrated by a tilted proscenium arch set frame, which offered a mirrored image of the Palace Theatre audience seating. The staging affirmed how Brice truly lives on stage, always ready to perform for an audience. Naturally this role required a born performer to successfully illustrate the exceptional talent which was Fanny Brice. Sheridan Smith was the actress to rise to the occasion.

Sheridan Smith has obvious funny bone and

was able to encompass Brice’s humour effortlessly having the audience howling with laughter throughout. One of the funniest scenes had to be when Brice and her love interest, Nicky Arnstein, played by Chris Peluso sang ‘You are Woman’. Even the two actors seemed unable to stop from laughing at the hilarity that was being performed on stage.

Smith quickly established her singing prowess with a rendition of ‘I’m the Greatest Star’ and the first act ended on an epic rendition of ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’. Smith and Brice seem to be one and the same both destined to be one of the greatest stage actresses of their generation.

The focal point of the entire musical is Fanny Brice, the heroine everyone is rooting for to succeed. Along the way she meets her love interest Nicky, whose gambling addiction and feelings of emasculation leads to heartbreak for the pair.

Brice’s strong community base in Brooklyn is warmly portrayed by her mother (Rachel Izen), Mrs Meeker (Zoë Ann Bown), and Mrs Strakosh (Myra Sands). Her loyal friend Eddie Ryan (Joshua Lay) showcasing some of the most impressive choreography including flips. The entire ensemble is outstanding but the show really is stolen by Sheridan Smith.

The staging is simple with the cast bringing on different pieces of set and props to illustrate the

changing locations. This adds to the fast pace nature of the play, as the audience are hurtled through the life of Fanny Brice as she becomes a rising vaudeville star. However, the show isn’t all laughs. Smith transitions from comedy gold to raw emotion in a matter of minutes. The musical number of ‘People’ left many audience members weeping along with Smith who sheds tears on stage. The silly faces and Broadway smiles covers the emotional complexity that Smith is somehow able to demonstrate whilst always keeping up the joker façade Fanny Brice is famous for. Behind the ready smile there was glistening in Smiths eyes. The show really is a master class is acting.

The second half of the musical is far more troubling then the first. The reprised rendition of ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ left no doubt that Fanny Brice was made of steel. Funny Girl has all the ingredients for a roaring success; emotions galore, catchy songs and a sensational leading lady. This really is Sheridan Smith at her best.

Funny Girl obtained a thoroughly deserved standing ovation. It truly is astonishing.

Funny Girl is currently being performed at the Palace Theatre until the 25th February., before it continues on its UK Tour.

Cloud Avenue

Part of the MIFTAS season by the University of Manchester Drama Society this play is all about time travel with a twist Margherita Concina Reviewer The Surrealist atmosphere of Cloud Avenue begins with the venue itself.

With its peculiar smell of wood and its enormous ornamental dream-catchers, the self-proclaimed “creative wellness centre” Wonder Inn felt like a different dimension.

Vegan-friendly beverages in hand, we entered the middle-sized white room which served as both stage and auditorium to find a young woman with quirky goggles standing proudly in front of her time machine, a contraption consisting mainly of a large fabric panel and bronze-coloured ornaments. And then the magic happened.

Violet (Anya Ryan) informed us that she’d built the machine to revisit her own past. She wanted to relive her childhood adventures and help her younger self to cope with the issues she’d struggled with, namely the conflict between her love of the wonderful, solitary world of her imagination and her need to form meaningful bonds. The venue certainly did not offer the spatial advantages of a theatre: there was no room for large and impressive props or an elaborate scenery.

Yet the brilliant writer, director, and puppetmaker Cara Loolij did an amazing job in materializing Violet’s world; I’m itching to see what she could do pull out of her hat in a high-budget production. An ingenious use of a projector, Chinese shadows, and stunning puppets bring her story to life in a way that can only be described as visually stunning. Whether the blurriness of the projected images was intentional or not, it fits in perfectly with one of the play’s main themes: the misguidedness of relying completely on our memories, however vivid and exciting. The vivacity of the construction lies not only on its visual beauty, but also in the clever use of sound, managed by Zoe Kent, and the beautiful original score by Alyx Adams.

The cast of four doubled as puppeteers, carrying the papier-mâché version of young Violet through India and China and back to her childhood home in Cloud Avenue. Laura Sagar and Bradley Pascal were amazing as Violet’s comical parents, never failing to make us laugh at all the

right moments. The two-dimensionality of their characters was not only amusing, but also essential to the comprehension of Violet’s personality. She sees her parents as superficial people who would rather send her to a therapist than try to understand her. The latter, John (Stanley Myers O’Mulloy), is the only person who shows a genuine interest in her. Or rather, he tells us that he does, insisting that he’s happy to be her friend and that he’s concerned about her. However, there is little in his body language to suggest this. In most of their interaction, the actors are seated at a distance from each other, in the awkward, static position of a therapy session. This is certainly realistic, but does nothing to improve the chemistry of two actors who supposedly share a unique connection in their understanding of the world.

Overall, my main concern with this play is that it’s too short. The themes Loolij managed to condense in a mere half hour are varied and compelling, but I think their elaboration would have been clearer within a longer narrative. It’s hard to reflect on the nature of reality, the perspective offered experience and the limits of artistic independence when you’re struggling to keep up with the work’s extremely fast pace. Furthermore, I would happily have spent the whole night in Violet’s magical world.

Photo: University of Manchester Drama Society

Photo: Palace Theatre

Artificial Salt

Part of the MIFTAS season by the University of Manchester Drama Society this play is all about time travel with a twist Fergus Macphee Reviewer Student theatre is something that is looked down on with scorn by many in the art world. People often view it unfairly as nothing more than poorly written plays, with formulaic storylines, and suspect acting. Julia Morgan’s Artificial Salt; the latest offering in new writing from the University of Manchester Drama Society, has made absolutely sure to dispel these misguided myths and stereotypes about the world of student theatre.

Performed at the Wonder Inn in the city centre, audience members are first met with next to no staging, simple wash lighting and, three actors wearing matching plain white t-shirts and blue jeans. There is nothing out of the ordinary about this, but what many in the audience do not realise is that this bareness is only going to increase in the form of the piece itself. This is because Artificial Salt is an absurdist play, in the truest sense of the word.

Therefore the audience are subjected to a play with no linear storyline, or plot for that matter, but instead a kind of episodic dramatic reading that can sound completely nonsensical on first listening.

With absurdist theatre there is, of course, always method to the madness, however the sign of an effective absurdist play is whether the method is seen by the audience, as well as the writer. Artificial Salt’s biggest strength is undoubtedly that it passes this test with flying colours. Morgan’s script is absolutely stunning in its vocabulary and ability to exploit all the wonderful facets of the English language. She is clearly someone with a vast knowledge in this area and it is through her wonderful use of language that the play begins to develop meaning. The dialogue is rife with alliteration, word association between actors, and even occasionally rhyme which all serve to create moments of great comedy and subtext.

This would not be possible without the strong performances all round from Molly Steadman, Mary Morris, James Meredith, and even the offstage voice of Anna Merabishvili who reads the stage directions with excellent clarity. Steadman and Morris, both simply named woman one and two have superb chemistry and their high energy performances allow them to bounce off one another well, in comparison to Meredith’s lone ‘man’. Meredith is equally adept at playing his role with an enduring intensity; the converse nature of these differing performances almost certainly being a comment on gender roles and sexuality. A special mention must also go to Meredith for a hilariously ridiculous monologue describing a fictional machine, which I was unaware until after the performance that he completely changes and improvises every night.Action

and its relationship to language are also explored in Artificial Salt and Meredith’s speech is a good example of this. With very little movement accompanying his confusing dialogue, both the audience and Meredith are left bogged down in the futility of language to great comic effect. In fact this becomes a theme that Morgan uses regularly throughout the play, as many of the long sections of speech are performed as just that; sections of speech. Where the play becomes fascinating is through conversely elongated sections of silent and often stylised movement, like when Steadman repeatedly stretched a piece of lace cloth across her face, or when Morris and Steadman wash Meredith’s feet in deathly silence. These were at times mesmerising to watch, and even for a play so steeped in language, I found myself begging to know what these characters would be saying while the sequences were going on!

One particular scene stuck in the memory as it perfectly utilised both language and action, in a display of how situation and the way in which we say something can completely change its meaning. In it Steadman repeatedly recites the Lord’s Prayer as she is wrapped in a thick white sheet and bound with rope.

She becomes more and more distressed until her words become screams. I found this to be genuinely chilling and it can be read as a critique of religion, in the way that so many people’s enduring faith can supply no direct answers. This is made all the more effective with the addition of the beautifully composed score from John Pierce O’Reilly and Bonnie Schwarz, which enhances the horror of much of this repetitious movement.

Make no mistake; ‘Artificial Salt’ is not for everyone. As an audience member, one has to really focus to reap the rewards that the piece can offer and there will be those who do not tend to go to the theatre for experiences such as this. The brevity of the play (at around 50 minutes) is a great strength in this respect, as if it was much longer it could become difficult to remain totally engaged. My singular criticism would be that for a play so devoid of narrative, I found it slightly unnecessary and distracting to be broken up further by so many quick black outs and long scene changes. This is simply picking holes in an otherwise brilliant production. However special mention must go to the University of Manchester Drama Society for putting their confidence in a play that is so different and experimental to much of the student fare.

For those who think they would not find Artificial Salt enjoyable, I would highly advise to look out for more work from Julia Morgan in the future. If her penchant for linguistics, writing and directing are anything to go by here, then her next production will surely be something that you would be mad to miss.

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Lifestyle Experiencing China at Tsinghua University ISSUE 16/ 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Jack Greeney describes his experiences studying abroad in China over summer, and urges everyone to take opportunities offered by the university

Photo: Jack Greeney

Last summer I was fortunate enough to travel to Beijing for a scholarship at China’s highest-ranked university. It was fantastic to be accepted onto the Experiencing China summer programme at Tsinghua University, expenses paid. This opportunity was offered by my school (Arts, Languages and Cultures) here at the University of Manchester — I first saw about it in a general email and applied on a whim. When success followed I couldn’t believe my luck! Exams ended and I grew increasingly excited.

Then, disaster almost struck. Floods closed Visa

Services for weeks: application pending, I feared the worst. Perhaps I should have anticipated July flooding, this being Manchester. Luckily I collected my passport the morning of departure; three flights later, I arrived in China. Exhausted, rattled by time zone and temperate, I found my hostel and crashed. Waking at night, I caught the subway to the Forbidden Palace gateway, lit up in the darkness. China was right in front of me, and it was stunning.

The next morning I hauled my suitcase through the subways to the university. The campus was

huge, surely larger than my hometown. Its beauty and scale left me awed and lost. Eventually I checked into my halls bedroom and unpacked.

The first few days were extremely social, packed with fellow coursemates to meet. A wonderful atmosphere flourished, welcoming and talkative: everyone made lasting friendships with exceptional quickness and ease.

During the week, morning sessions featured lectures from an array of world-class keynote speakers presenting a variety of topics, with a focus on China: environment, education, history, culture, economy, governance and relations. After lunches, we went out into the city in groups with a guide. Three friends and I chose to investigate galleries. This was an excellent decision, enabling

its wine.

Learning was only half the experience, however.

Plenty of activities were set up, like basketball, language learning, and Tai-chi. Many evenings we ventured out to see famous landmarks of Beijing and the traditional hutong; others we would stuff ourselves full of delicious Chinese food and picnic out on the athletics field all night in the warmth.

During weekends, the university provided incredible bucket-list-defeating trips: the Great Wall of China, Olympic Stadium, Temple of Heaven and extraordinary traditional performances at Lao She Tea House amongst them.

The morning after the final day, my best friends and I woke up far too early in the morning (a wincing 4am start) to go and see the sunrise flag-

Photo: Jack Greeney

Photo: Jack Greeney

us to visit world-class art areas such as the 798 Zone and Today Art Gallery.

Over the course, we drew up coherent plans on how to improve the areas. On the final day we presented our ideas in speeches to hundreds, and later with huge posters in an expo hall. In addition, we were instructed to write a poem (which I presented, only narrowly surviving near-fatal stage-fright) and create a human structure (which flopped, but at least I wasn’t in charge). Afterwards there was a wonderful gala dinner and ball for everyone, which was hugely enjoyed: and so too

raising at Tiananmen Square. It was incredible to end my stay in Beijing where it had begun, outside the Forbidden City gateway, surrounded by new friends. In this instance, the words ‘life-changing’ are no cliché. Memories from this time I shall permanently cherish and yearn for once again.

Our group is set to reunite this summer.

I highly recommend keeping an eye on your university inbox for anything that might crop up.

As it was for me, it might well be fruitful. China was certainly experienced — and China was incredible.

Advice column Head Lifestyle Editor Rachel Adams is here to answer your questions and offer you some advice with your problems

Xavi: “I’m worried about exam results coming out really soon! How do I relax myself?”

If you’re worried about exam results, I’d recommend trying to take your mind off them.

I know that’s easier said than done, but at the end of the day, there’s nothing you can do to change them now! Go out with your friends, ring a family member, or just go for a walk. Getting fresh air will help you feel better, and will reduce your anxiety. Hope it all goes well!

Anna: “I struggle a lot with anxiety, what help is available and how do I find it?”

The university has a really good Counselling Service which can help you out if you’re struggling with any kind of mental health issue. I would also recommend talking to someone; a friend, a member of your family, or even your Academic Advisor. One of the worst things for anxiety is to suffer in silence, so make sure you find someone you can talk to. There are loads of online resources available for you as well, like Nightline where you can anonymously talk to someone.

Jake: “I’m worried about not knowing what I want to do after university. Where can I get help and advice with this?”

First of all, it’s perfectly normal to feel worried and scared about not knowing what you want to do after university. Hardly anyone knows, so you’re not alone! If it’s making you worry a lot, then I would suggesting using the Careers Service and read some of the material they have on offer there, or make an appointment with a Careers Advisor who can give you more information and advice. Apart from that, just sitting down and having a think about what you would enjoy as a job might give you an idea of what sector or section of employment you would want to go into.

If you want to get your question answered by the Lifestyle team, submit your question online — the link is available on The Mancunion: Lifestyle Facebook page.

Photo: wurzle @Flickr

Lifestyle

ISSUE 16 / 27th FEBRUARY 2017 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

27

Are cocktails giving you brain damage?

We talk about the dangers of drinking too much alcohol, and suggest how everyone can cut down and improve our drinking habits

Photo: ambernambrose @Flickr

Sophie Manley Lifestyle Contributor One quick comment before I bombard you with scary facts about alcohol: it can be really hard in life to get it all right and be healthy all the time, and I’m not saying you should be all at once.

We’re all under so much pressure in this world already, without feeling like we can’t enjoy simple pleasures and let loose every so often. It’s important to not feel deprived and to make fulfilling choices that feel good. I personally am working towards a mental

state where I feel great about making the healthiest choice, and it’s a really exciting journey.

Alcohol is, unfortunately, one of the biggest killers in the world.

Alcohol abuse is embedded into our society to such an extent that most people wouldn’t go to social occasions or music events if they weren’t going to drink. Decreased inhibitions, questionable decisions and ‘hilarious’ displays of clumsiness (AKA your brain shutting down) seem to be the only way that we can go out, enjoy ourselves, and fit in. I am by no means tee-total or have any desire to become so while I’m still at university, but it’s something I’d really like to be by the time I’m 30 – I hope that most of the damage can be undone (or at least slightly repaired) while I’m still young. And yes, 30 is still young.

I’m writing a lab report on the “Effects of Ethanol on Performance” and subsequently have done a lot of research to find out what exactly ethanol does when it enters our body. The first thing that shocked me was the amount of evidence proving how bad alcohol is for you, and the fact that it’s a misconception that a little bit is good for you. No alcohol is good for you. Period. What’s good for you is the other nutrients in the drink e.g. antioxidants in wine, yeast in beer etc. When the mainstream attitude to smoking changed around 2005 or 2006, the government ruled that all smoking products must have visual and written warnings of its harmful effects, but alcohol kills more people than cigarettes do!

Where are the pictures showing brain damage and rotting livers on alcoholic drinks? The list of potential poor decisions, and the consequences of emotional and psychological trauma?

Alcohol is a Central Nervous System (CNS) depressant. Your CNS is made up of your brain and spinal cord and controls most functions in your body and mind. Ethanol (the alcoholic component of drinks) depresses the CNS; in other words, slows it down and stops it from working. Ethanol acts on various receptors in the brain: this results in decreased motor (movement) functions, confused thoughts, decreased awareness and poor coordination.

It also interferes with your ability to lay down memories and to learn by blocking specific signalling pathways. You’re all thinking,

Do not use ‘girl code’ to destruct ‘girl power’

Photo: rh2ox@Flickr

Girl code should be used to empower women, not bring them down Sarah Jane Thoms Lifestyle Contributor Today, the term girl code gets used a lot throughout everyday conversations, films, television shows, and social media posts. If girl code was used in the way that it was originally intended, to support other women, to discourage cheating, to encourage honesty, and

to ultimately enforce girl power, then I would not be able to fault it. As a concept, yes, girl code is something amazing and should empower women. However, this on most occasions never appears to be the case.

It has been brought to my attention how girls use the theory of girl code to punish another woman for a man’s actions. This act

“well yes we know all that!”, “I frequently wake up with no recollection of the night before.” “My friend was throwing up all night last week, it was hilarious.” Why? Why is it funny to see people poison themselves, to the point where their body has to reject everything in their stomach so their organs don’t shut down?

Prolonged drinking causes irreparable damage in the brain, destroys your liver and diminishes your immune system. Short-term drinking decreases the effects of your immune system, making you much more likely to contract a virus or bacterial infection after a night out; and long-term drinking increases the immune system, causing inflammatory diseases and internal damage.

Alcohol is commonly known to be bad for people with digestive disorders including IBS and interferes with a lot of medications.

Quick fact: the reason people with less body fat get drunk quicker is because alcohol is very soluble in water but not soluble in fat. So if you have more fat cells in your body, alcohol is less likely to pass out of your blood, and will head straight to the liver to get broken down. It also makes sense that if you’re a bigger, or a taller person, there’s more blood for alcohol to get absorbed into, thus the concentration of ethanol at any one point in your body will be less.

I understand that it is very important for people to belong in their society and to fit in with cultural norms, and social drinking is a part of that. I’m not writing this to try and convince everybody to stop drinking and boycott all bars and nightclubs, I’m writing this just to draw your attention to it. The next time your friend chooses not to drink on a night out, respect that decision. If you see your friend about to cross the line between drunk and smashed, give them a glass of water. Value yourself sober. Your sober self is good enough, fun enough, and happy enough. And if you turn to drink to escape life, have a good look at what you’re escaping from and try and fix that instead, rather than just forgetting it for a night.

This article is taken from Sophie’s blog, Holistic Health and Relatable Science. Read more at holistichealthfromascientist.com

not only encourages a girl to remain in a relationship that she is not valued or respected in, but also belittles the place of women within society against men. It suggests that men can live a sexually free life with no consequences but that women cannot. It is understandable that a girl that has deep emotional feelings for a boy would choose to believe anything that he says in order to keep him in her life. However, the story of a girl forgiving her cheating partner and remaining in a relationship with him whilst ridiculing, targeting, and holding an undying grudge against the ‘other’ girl has become too common within our society. The point that I am trying to make is that men and women should receive the same treatment in regards to their sexual behaviour. If you forgive your partner, you do not have the right to mistreat the ‘other’ girl. Girl code encourages women to expose cheaters but what happens nowadays if you tell a girl that her boyfriend is cheating on her? You are automatically deemed as the one in the wrong so it has now become easier to just keep quiet. There is a reason that there is no such thing as ‘boy code’, but I’ll leave you to think about that one.

It is ironic to have a concept named girl code that has grown to ultimately revolve around men. You should be able to trust that your boyfriend will not cheat on you, rather than relying on other women to not engage in a relationship with him. Some girls do not know that a boy has a girlfriend when engaging in sexual relations with him, yet more often than not, the boy gets away scot-free and all blame is placed onto the ‘other’ girl. At the end of the day, it is him that has loyalties, not a stranger. As hard as it may be, emotional feelings must be pushed aside when dealing with a situation such as those mentioned in this article and you must try to see the bigger picture.

A concept that once was about unifying women has become something that is now used to weaken them. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie claimed that “we raise girls to see each other as competitors not for jobs or accomplishments… but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are.” If girl code continues to be used in any other way than its original intended form, we run the risk of strengthening gender inequality rather than eliminating it. There are more important things to be in competition with a fellow woman for than for the attention of men. We cannot risk mistaking the need for ‘girl power’ with the use of girl code.

Pearson is looking for motivated final year students and graduates to join our general marking team and mark responses to Pearson exam questions where teaching experience is not necessary.

This is a fantastic opportunity for recent graduates to earn that extra bit of cash to help fund their Summer.

Marking will be carried out in our ‘Marking Centre’ in Salford Quays and in our central London and Manchester office for 3-5weeks from the 17th May. To be eligible to apply you need to have completed your degree within the last 10 years or be completing your degree this Summer.

General markers will be paid as a rate of £8.45 per hour. Interviews will be held from March at our offices in Manchester. Impressive candidates will be invited back to interview for the Supervisor role, for which the pay is £11.45 per hour. To apply, please use the following link to access our online application form: https://form.jotformeu.com/62554442255354 or scan the QR code on this advert.

Please email aaresourcing@pearson.com if you have any queries.

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Manchester athletes picked for North squads

Several players from the universities’ Rugby and Netball clubs have earned places in the Universities’ North Regional Squads and will be given a chance showcase their talents on the national stage Ben Ryan University Sport Editor

The girl’s netball club have become one of the stand out clubs in the Athletics Union so far this year. Regularly team of the week and consistently delivering wins across the board, including five wins out of six a few weeks ago, some of their club members have been shown the due recognition they deserve. Ellie Smith, Olivia Leach and Claudia Payne have been successful enough to have earned places on the Universities’ North Regional Squads, which allows them to trial for the English National Squads. Vice Captain Olivia Edwards gave us a few words on the girls and their outstanding achievement.

Ellie Smith (GA/GS) – “Plays in the University first team and is a training partner for Manchester Thunder. Ellie’s commitment to the first team over the last three years has been pivotal in the teams success and survival in the league. Consistently gets 90% shooting accuracy and is a talent to watch for the future.”

Claudia Payne (GK) – “First team captain and has lead the team in a very successful league campaign, where it is likely the first team will finish 3rd of the Northern Prem division. Played in the first team for three years. Claudia is excellent at reading the game to produce game changing turnovers, which has allowed her team to see so many victories.”

Olivia Leach (GA/GS) –”Second team player. Second team have their final games over the next few weeks where they hope to secure promotion. They have also reached the quarter final of the cup. Her contributions to the team

have been invaluable throughout the season and you could not ask more from a fresher. She has fit into the team so smoothly and will be playing first team netball next year. Another shooter with superb shooting accuracy.”

“Each of the players more than deserves their places in the North Regional Netball Squad and there selection recognizes all of the hard work that they have put in over the last season during training and matches, in addition to all of the training they do outside of UoM. All three players will be an asset to the North regional squad, Ellie and Olivia because of their excellent attacking abilities and shooting accuracy, and Claudia for her ability to read the game and produce turnovers. From a club perspective, it is great to have such a large representation at this level and we will support all of our players as they train to make it into the national team. The fact that players from both the first and second teams have made it into the north regional squad reflects the extremely high level of netball that is being played across the club currently.”

The men’s Rugby club have also had some outstanding achievements.

Three of their players, Guy Bradley, Charlie Reed and Alfie Dudman-Jones, also made the Universities’ North Regional Squads for 7’s and will progress forward to the 7’s English National trials.

Chris Calvert has also been contacted

by Championship Rugby side Rotherham over a professional contact, which is a remarkable feat. The Chairman of the Rugby club Jos Edwards had a few words for us on each of the guys and their outstanding achievement.

Guy Bradley (Centre) - “Guy is a dynamic centre, who despite not be the quickest or biggest in the team finds

Manchester City 5 AS Monaco 3 Harry Newton Sport Editor

Disclaimer: I will try and not dally on any shoddy defending or poor refereeing. There was abundance of both throughout this game, but if all you take from a 5-3 Champions League match is the defending or a dodgy decision, then football isn’t the sport for you.

If this game was a film… 300

It was simply epic. The highest goalscoring opening leg to a Champions League game. There’s impressive stats like ‘most corners in the first half of a FA Cup third round game in the North West this October,’ and then there are statistics like that! Penalty appeals turned away, stunning goals, penalty appeals given, thumping challenges, and pace pace pace! If the game was a film, only Gerard Butler could play Sergio Aguero. Or I guess Eddie Murphy

himself beating defenders and crossing the gain line often. Has a strong hand off that often creates space for other players to offload to – saw best when he crossed over for UOM’s try at varsity.

Very solid defensively and large frame make him an ideal sevens player.”

Charlie Reed (Fly half) - “Charlie Reed is a match winner, first team fly half he loves playing with front foot ball and often can create something out of nothing due to his quick feet. A man for the big occasion and pressure situation – seen scoring the winning conversion as

if you were going for a different sort of style.

Comeback Kings 1:0 City took the lead on the 26th minute from what can only be described as Witcraft from Leroy Sane to set up Raheem Sterling with a tap in.

1:1 AS Monaco equalised through Manchester United legend Radamel Falcao, after Caballero made an error that surely he wouldn’t be able to make up for ever*.

1:2 AS Monaco took the lead from a flying header from Falcao. Perfect cross.

The end is nigh, the world is over, City will never comeback from this. *City came out the second half raring to go, but Monaco were given a penalty decision five minutes in (seems a tad harsh). Up step King Will Caballero who emphatically saved, and the crowd went mental.

2:2 On the 58th minute Sergio Aguero equalises from a thunderbolt of a shot (it wasn’t powerful – the keeper fumbled it in, but they all count).

2:3 Three minutes later Falcao scores a purely beautiful goal. He outmuscled Stones and he chipped Caballero from inside the box. Purely beautiful. Stones felt dejected after his error that surely, he wouldn’t be able to make up for ever**.

3:3 Aguero channelled his inner-Hercules and was not allowing Falcao to

a fresher from the sideline against Sheffield and landed the winning penalty in the final play of the game against St Andrews this season from half way to see the first team win 36-34. The space provided by the 7s game is perfectly suited to his strongest attributes.

Alfie Dudman Jones (Winger) “What kind of player he is: A born finisher and leader. Alfie is the top try scorer for the Uni side this year, and is also the first team captain. He has taken many games by the scruff of the neck and lead the side to victory, this was seen

take the limelight; David Silva whipped in a corner over the heads of everyone, Aguero leant back and volleyed the ball with expert control into the bottom corner.

3:4 John Stones!!** After Yaya Toure knocked on a corner, John Stones tapped in at the back post, and the Englishman celebrated more than an Englishman has since we had that dead sunny day in August 2011.

3:5 Leroy Sane finishes off the night in just the way he deserves – with a goal!

Aguero is played in delightfully from a David Silva chip, and he plays the ball across to Sane for a classic FIFA 17 sweaty goal.

MAFFS • Sergio Aguero has now scored 156 goals in 237 in all competitions for City.

That’s a goal every time your Gran watches Emmerdale.

• Radamel Falcao has 24 goals in 29 games. That’s 25 goals more than he could manage at Manchester United (I know).

• Raheem Sterling completed 100% of his take-ons. That’s 100% more take-ons than Jordan Ibe has completed in this seasons Champions League.

Man of the Match Sergio Aguero’s second half for Manchester City was simply world class.

The energy that the little man had was emphasised by the fact that he won the

best at St Andrews where he scored three of the four tries for UOM from the wing. He’s the quickest player at UMRFC and whenever he’s given space to run at players it takes a lot to stop him.”

“It means a lot that finally the talent we have is being recognised on a national level and that will draw other talented players to attend the university knowing that the rugby club is fully behind furthering their rugby playing aspirations.”

most tackles out of any player on that pitch – the centre forward! This proves that the Argentinian is keen to learn under Pep Guardiola, who expects a lot of defensive work rate from his attackers. He scored two great goals (well one pretty rubbish one, and one amazing one, so that’s averaged out at great), and then assisted Leroy Sane with the last goal. He was well and truly man of the match, and has proved a lot of doubters wrong over the last few weeks.

Like a DJ at a sweet 16th, I’d also like to make a few shout-outs.

The first one is to my Mum – you’ve always been there for me and I don’t ever say thank you.

The second is to Pablo Zabaleta. The Argentinian came on when City were 3-2 down, and the passion he brought to the team was definitely a contribution to the win.

The third is for the lesser known Silva in this match – of AS Monaco – as he was truly fantastic and gave the City defence a torrid time, he will be difficult to stop in the return leg.

The fourth is to Raheem Sterling. After a tough year, last year, and mass hysteria from much of the country this year, he has kept a cool-head and been City’s best and most consistent performer this year. His pace, positioning and footballing intellect has been second-to-none.

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Formula 1 Season Preview: New Excitement Jack Greeney looks ahead to the start of the new season of Formula 1 and the radical rule changes which seek to inject some excitement back into the sport

The 2017 Formula 1 season is “lights out and away we go” next month. On March 26th, the new year of motorsport’s premier competition will start off where it has for all but two of the past 20 seasons: Melbourne, Australia. However, Formula 1 will be looking very different to last year: and not least due to the absence of a reigning champion, after Nico Rosberg’s “classy” retirement.

Although there won’t be any new circuits for the drivers to get to grips with this time around, the destination list remaining largely unchanged aside from the removal of a German GP, there will be major rule changes in action for the developers to handle. In a renewed effort to generate greater appeal for the sport, new F1 regulations aim to enable the machinery to race faster and appear more dramatic. Tyres will be fatter, increasing in width by around 25 per cent compared to 2016, with rears up to 405mm and fronts up to 305mm. The front wing will be 150mm wider, aiming to eke out every

morsel of downforce it can possibly get ahold of, for vastly improved cornering speeds.

The new plan seeks to make the cars up to five seconds per lap faster than in the previous season: a sizeable quickening of the pace. Wider, longer, and much faster: it’s as if last year’s batch of cars spent all the winter off-season in the gym. At least on paper, these changes point towards a new era of physicality in Formula 1, testing the drivers in ways they have not been tested for a decade. These changes hope to take the sport by the throat and inject a sense of rawness that some feel has been declining over recent years: and in the process, end years of domination from Mercedes. Whether these intended aims will come into fruition, however, is yet to be seen.

There is certainly the possibility that the results will entail a dramatic change. Senior F1 insiders say downforce gains could hit a 40 per cent increase by the end of the year, a huge increase. Engineers have certainly become excited by the news, the

BBC reporting talk of 130mph bends becoming 150mph belters, new sections of full throttle track space opening up, and cornering forces ballooning upwards by more than 1G. All of these exciting new statistics remain only as educated guesses until testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona gets underway on February 27th; but the signs are certainly promising.

Whether the increased speed will lead to better racing, however, is still an open question. In these modifications, the FIA did not seek to render overtaking any more difficult than it already was, but there are fears that the new shape and size of car will have just that effect regardless. Increased width will lead to increased drag: with cars slower in the straights and faster in the corners, braking distances will be reduced, which will make overtaking a bigger challenge for each and every driver in each and every seat. On the other hand, the changes might lead to a closer pack of race cars, especially at

Photo: alessio mazzocco @Flickr

the front: a prospect which always makes for exciting viewing on the race track.

It’s not just a thrilling prospect for the viewers, either: teams hoping to reap the benefits of a shakeup in the order also seem to be returning to the sport with a newfound enthusiasm to bring down the current order. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner promises a “brand new engine” and a “change of philosophy” after a big winter for the outfit, describing the atmosphere in the camp as “excited for the year ahead”. If it’s enough to get the blood pumping for even the most well seasoned and highly decorated of Formula 1 bosses, that surely bodes well for the humble spectator.

The new season of Formula 1 has certainly continued to set itself up to be one of the most pacey and exhilarating years the sport has seen in many a year. Let’s hope that this newfound speed leads to not just better lap times, but more stirring and competitive track racing too.

BUCS Success for University Karate With a busy weekend at BUCS in Sheffield, the Karate team had success

David Brierley Sport Reporter The BUCS University Nationals occurred in Sheffield on the weekend of the 17th-19th of February this year, seeing action from 6,620 athletes across nine disciplines, all vying for medals and coveted BUCS points. Just under 500 Karate-ka from across the country converged on Pond’s Forge International Sport Arena to take part in this huge sporting weekend, competing in the disciplines of individual and team Kata (athletic performances of set techniques) and Kumite (semi-contact combat). Manchester set off in the young hours of the morning across a misty Snake Pass, taking a team of 12 members, 10 of whom were competing for the very first time.

Saturday saw the performance of Novice, Intermediate, and Senior Kata, which saw former medalist David Brierley competing in Senior for the first time after moving up from Intermediate, Zuzana Bujnovská seeking to improve her Bronze in Women’s Intermediate from last year, and many novices competing for their first time. A string of close 8th place finishes presented encouraging results for future competition success for our novices, and first year students Allen Wang and Theo Fisher made strong first impressions in a Senior category with 81

competitors all seeking BUCS Gold – David unfortunately bowing out in the 3rd round 3-2 to Sunderland. However, the day was Zuzana’s, who took home silver in her final BUCS performance in a close final under the Pond’s Forge spotlights.

Sunday brought the Kumite events, where novices James Turner and Nick Hemingsley both claimed 8th in the Men’s Novice -80kg event. A frustrating fight for Allen Wang saw him narrowly lose his first fight, and unfortunately Theo also lost out in a slim margin in the second round of his senior -75kg category. However, in -67kg Macedonian National Team member and Manchester fresher Adil Mehmed stormed into the final in stunning style, winning his first fight in 45 seconds, and making it through without dropping a single point against his opponent. With the lights dimmed and the crowd baiting their breath in anticipation, Adil took to the tatami against his opponent Adam ElShafei from Strathclyde, who had previously won the -60kg event.

A lightning punch from Adil sent him into an early lead, but Adam soon overtook him in points with a heavy roundhouse kick to the side, putting him 2-1 up. Over halfway through the match and Adil retook the lead with a show-stopping head kick, placing him at 4-2 into the closing seconds of the match, with Adam’s only options being to score with a head kick or a throwing technique to

win. The tension mounted as a bad kick from Adam sent Adil to the floor, worrying the crowd that had already seen four injuries end the hopes of gold that day. However, Adil recovered and took to the tatami for the last fifteen seconds, defending himself against an onslaught of techniques from Adam who hoped to

either score with a kick or force Adil off the mat, with the potential of disqualification. Adil stood his ground and held Adam off in the dying seconds, with Pond’s Forge erupting in a massive roar from the Manchester crowd as his victory was assured. To take a gold and silver from such an inexperienced and young

team was a great result from the weekend, and the University of Manchester Karate Club looks forward to BUCS 2018, where our team will be returning more experienced, more eager, and even more Purple and Proud.

Photo: Anisia Spirollari

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Club profile: Athletic Club Bilbao Athletic Club Bilbao retain their reputation as a club that believes in more than just money Magnus Henderson Sport Reporter In some far-flung areas of the world, football equals life. The sport boils down to its tribal best where football is not just a healthy competition, but a clash of cultures and beliefs. South America is renowned for their passionate addiction to club football, most famously with the Superclásico, played between Boca Juniors and River Plate; the fiercest domestic rivalry in the world. In the more civilised or commercialised Europe, such clubs are hard to find. There are a few, however, still kicking about and causing a fuss, despite the evolution into modern football.

The most successful institution of this type is Athletic Club Bilbao. Part of the Basque Country, located in the Western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain, Athletic Bilbao are unique when it comes to unity. The club have a cantera (‘quarrying’) policy of playing only Basqueborn (or Basque-related) players which has been the case since their foundation in 1898. Originally that was the case with the majority of football clubs, but instead of developing with the globalisation of football, Athletic, out of stubbornness or pride, have stayed true to their origins.

Similar to Barcelona, Athletic are in a part of Spain who have historically opposed Madrid as a city of arrogance and oppression who hold control over the Catalonian and Basque regions despite their want for independence. In the 13th century AD, the Kingdom of Navarre (Basque) peacefully merged with the Castilian Kingdom (Madrid) because of their superior power and

trade goods. The alliance has been fractured over time however, with numerous unsuccessful campaigns for independence taking place in the past century.

All clubs have history, but not many cling to their history as lovingly as Athletic. The club’s stadium is named San Mamés, after the semi-legendary figure, Saint Mammes.

Mammes was an early Christian thrown to the lions by the Romans out of punishment for his religion in the 3rd Century AD. According to tradition, Mammes pacified the lions and was subsequently made a Saint.

Athletic Bilbao’s most commonly referred to nickname is Los Liones, and I am sure you do not need a translation to figure that one out. The very fact that San Mamés is nicknamed “La Catedral” confirms the religiosity surrounding the club.

It is not just the unity of Athletic which makes the club so special; their footballing history stands on its own two feet. Bilbao is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top flight, the other two being Real Madrid and Barcelona. Likewise, that trio of Spanish historical gold are also the only three clubs in La Liga that are not sports corporations, instead being owned and operated by its club members.

In terms of silverware, Los Liones are up there with the most established clubs in the division. Having won La Liga on eight separate occasions, Bilbao are fourth for titles won in the history of the league. More surprisingly, only Barcelona have managed to win more Copa del Rey trophies than Athletic’s 24. In fact, Bilbao picked up plenty of trophies in the first few decades of their professional existence, and, until Madrid came to power in the 1950’s, Athletic was the most

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

successful club in Spain.

Real Madrid are the Basque club’s fiercest rivals because of their footballing history and political differences, however neighbours Real Sociedad offer a more sportingly competitive rivalry and a fairer competition with the resources on offer. Sociedad, like Athletic, used to only enrol Basque-born footballers until they signed Irish striker John Aldridge in 1989. Since then, ‘The Royals’ have moved with the rest of modern football and invested in foreign players to keep up with the growing quality in the European leagues.

Athletic, on the other hand, invest in infrastructure. With their ‘cantera’ policy, Athletic build and lift local talent to the heights of the top division. Eighty percent of Bilbao’s players came through their academy, with the others signed from different regions of the Basque country. The continual stability of the club proves that proper investment into grass-roots can reap rewards. While critics

can accuse Athletic of being short-sighted, the club have actually globalised, but in a different way to the rest of the pack.

Iñaki Williams, son of a Ghanaian father and Liberian mother who escaped difficult circumstances in Africa, was born in the Basque country and, when he scored against Torino on the 15th of February 2015, became the first black goal-scorer in the history of the club.

With this sort of environment, narratives seem to appear out of nowhere. The same has been true of this season. Yeray Álvarez, at 21 years of age, was called up to the first team during the pre-season for the 2016/17 season. He became an integral member of the first team squad at the beginning of the season, starting 17 out of a possible 20 matches before being diagnosed with testicular cancer on December 23rd. 46 days later, Álvarez played a full 90 minutes in a 0-3 loss to Barcelona at the Nou Camp. Five days after that fixture, Álvarez extended his

contract until 2022.

There are very few clubs in the world like Athletic. Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara are famous for producing home-grown talent with the likes of Javier Hernandez and Carlos Vela graduating from their youth academy. Parallel with Bilbao, Chivas only field Mexican-born players and are one of the most decorated football clubs in the country. The two Milan clubs, Internazionale and AC, came into existence because of a row between footballing ideologies.

Have you ever wondered why AC Milan are known as ‘Milan’ whereas Inter Milan are known as ‘Inter’? AC had a policy of only investing in Italian talent while Inter, hence ‘Internazionale’, only promoted foreign talent.

Almost all of the clubs similar to Athletic Bilbao have died out with the globalisation of football, so, instead of criticising the Basquebased club, fans should laud the institution for believing in more than just the money.

Costa vs. Lewandowski

Diego Costa is ripping up the Premier League this season, but is he better than Bayern’s number 9?

Dane Massey Sport Reporter Diego Costa has arguably been the standout player in the Premier League this season: he has been the catalyst in Chelsea’s surge to the summit of the table. Costa has scored 15 league goals, which gives him a goal on average every 136 minutes. He has also registered five assists, as he continues to impress fol-

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

lowing a disappointing campaign last season.

There is no denying Costa’s quality, but many football fans will be quick to point out his below par performances last term when Chelsea finished 10th.

Understandably, this could lead to questions about the Spaniard’s consistency, but one striker who can’t be criticised for his consistency is Robert Lewandowski – the Bayern Munich and Poland star is on fire once again this season.

In Saturday’s 1-1 draw away to Hertha Berlin, Lewandowski scored a stoppage time equaliser – his 25th goal of the season so far – which means he has now scored a quarter of a century of goals for six seasons running at Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. The Pole is a goal machine who epitomises the ultimate modern day number nine.

The former Dortmund man is two footed, excellent in the air and can hold the ball up and go in behind. Costa shares similar traits to his striking counterpart, both forward’s characteristics make a defender’s task an absolute nightmare.

As he did two seasons ago and in his time with Atletico Madrid in Spain, Costa is terrifying centre-backs week in week out, just as Lewandowski has done for the last half a decade.

The statistics appear to swing in favour of the Bayern striker this season, but the club’s talisman has only scored one more goal than Costa in the league.

He has a further nine in German cup competitions and the UEFA Champions League combined, while Costa has not played in Europe due to the Blues failing to qualify last term, and has one goal in

one FA Cup appearance, which came on Saturday at Wolverhampton.

When examining a striker’s statistics, most people tend to look solely in the goals scored column, but there is much more to the game of a centre-forward than just goals. After an era of tiki-taka and false number nine’s, the traditional number nine is firmly back in fashion, and the front men form the fulcrum of their teams – including Costa and Lewandowski.

With possession now less influential, many of the game’s elite managers base their style of play around swift, fast, direct, expansive, counter-attacking football. Two prime examples are Italian duo Antonio Conte and Carlo Ancelotti, who like most football fans across the world, enjoy the fast-paced, high-energy side of the game as opposed to insipid solely possession based football.

Conte and Ancelotti represent not just successful, winning managers, but also managers who want their teams to play the right way. A huge part of this depends on the performance of the striker, who as well as scoring goals, is tasked with bringing their teammates into play and creating chances.

Both Costa and Lewandowski demonstrate this. They embody traits of an old-fashioned number nine, engaging in bloody battles with defenders. But they also have shrewdness and striking nous about them, running off defenders intelligently, getting in the right places at the right time to both score and create goals for their teams.

Aside of their striking sensations, however, Chelsea and Bayern are teams

Photo: Nazionale Calcio @Flickr

notoriously filled with pace and power.

This undoubtedly helps Costa and Lewandowski, but their expert hold up play and their ability to link up play proficiently means that it equally works the other way, giving the players behind them more space and freedom to operate.

It combines to make a good recipe for excitement and success, and the key ingredient is a world-class striker who connects everything together. There are many reasons why Chelsea and Bayern are England and Germany’s premier clubs this season, but having a world-class centre-forward boosts any team’s chances of winning silverware

immensely.

Who is the better player?

As we have seen, both Costa and Lewandowski are supremely talented footballers, two of the best in the world in their position. Lewandowski may have scored more goals this season, and been recognised as one of the best for a longer period than Costa, but the fact Costa is in a tougher league where it is harder to score goals just about gives the Spaniard the nod. His all-round play, tireless work rate and determination mean that Costa’s exemplary attitude rubs off on all his team-mates – he is a centre-forward who ticks all the boxes.

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University Clubs sporting the LGBTQ+ multicolours

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Why are England’s top Referees going abroad?

Mark Clattenburg is leaving to take up a job in Saudi Arabia, but why are referees going abroad?

Luke Maguire Sport Reporter

On first inspection, the reason may seem obvious: money, money, money!

With the likes of China offering some premier league players ridiculous salaries of over £400,000 a week, referees are treated no differently. What’s the point in having some of the best players in the world in your league if you don’t have the best officials? However the enticement of money only scratches the surface of the reasons behind this and we need to dig deeper to fully understand why big name referees are deciding to swap the green shores of Britain, for the deserts of Saudi Arabia and big cities of the USA, to name but a few of the destinations referees are heading to.

This story was sparked by the shock reports that Mark Clattenburg, argued by some to be one the best referees in the Premier League, and possibly the world, was resigning from his position in the Premier League to take up a new post as head of referees in Saudi Arabia, replacing Howard Webb (another memorable refereeing face from the Premier league) who recently resigned from the position.

You could be forgiven for thinking this as rather odd; Saudi Arabia are not exactly renowned for their prowess in world football or for the quality of their national league. The furthest they have reached in the World Cup is the last 16 in 1994 and since then the furthest they’ve reached is the group stage.

However oil has made countries such as this vastly wealthy, and with some spare cash to splash around, Saudi officials have deemed improving the country’s football image on a global stage as a top priority.

Clattenburg’s move is of course partially motivated by the large wage increase he is likely to receive, but it is also reported that he has become disillusioned with the lack of support referees receive from the Referees Chief Mike Riley, and the burdensome politics associated with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). It is true that in England particularly, referees do come under intense

scrutiny with every big decision they make, often becoming subject to intense media attention. Referees are human, like everyone else and so are capable of occasionally making mistakes, yet in England they are expected to be almost super human in that every performance should be perfect without any mistakes being made. Referees who do make mistakes receive a torrent of abuse from the media and fans alike, making an already difficult job even more unpleasant.

Therefore it’s not hard to understand why a referee like Clattenburg would want to get away from all of it to places where he’s likely to receive a much greater level of respect.

Initially it appeared as though Clattenburg’s move would be immediate, however he is scheduled to officiate in Saturday’s match between West Brom and Bournemouth, and it has now been confirmed by the Premier league that he will remain until the end of the season.

Clattenburg’s departure has been followed by speculation about Michael Oliver’s future as he is linked with a move to the USA to officiate in the MLS. This is coming just days after Clattenburg’s shock revelation about his upcoming move to Saudi Arabia.

Some commentators have described this as the beginning of a ‘refereeing crisis’. Morale amongst top Premier league referees is certainly low at the moment, though it arguably has not reached this tipping point yet. However if we continue down this path of losing our best match officials to foreign leagues, this crisis risks coming to fruition.

So what’s the solution to all of this? It is very difficult, yet small steps could be taken in the right direction to encourage our current top referees to stay and promote the development of future homegrown referees. Greater protection for referees from the PGMOL, and particularly from Mike Riley, would go a long

way to helping referees feel more confident that they will be supported both on and off the pitch. New video technologies will help referees correctly make decisions in tricky circumstances and ensure that there can be no debate as to whether, for example, a player has deliberately dived or whether a penalty should be given for a genuine foul.

The culture of disrespect and abuse among fans in England towards match officials is now so deeply embedded, it may be unlikely to ever be eradicated. However greater education for the younger generation on respecting referees and their authority on the pitch, may make some headway towards alleviating this problem.

Mark Clattenburg and Michael Oliver are not the first referees to move abroad for greener pastures and if more is not done to combat this issue, they certainly will not be the last.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons