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WWW.MANCUNION.COM 11th APRIL 2016 / ISSUE 19 FREE

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Cameron ban proposed for Senate Charlie Spargo Editor-in-chief

A motion has been put forward for the next Students’ Union Senate to debate the banning of Prime Minister David Cameron from the Union building to stop him manipulating “venerable [sic]” students.

The possibly-satirical proposal, titled ‘Ban David Cameron from the Students’ Union building’, calls Cameron a “dangerous Tory” and his government “undemocratic”.

“David Cameron is a dangerous Tory whom has continually attacked the welfare state with the intent of destroying it since the Tory government assumed absolute power in a so called ‘democratic’ vote”, reads the motion.

“David Cameron and his right-wing Tory government were elected by a minority of the electorate, and zero students voted Tory, therefore we must make a stand against this undemocratic regime by banning David Cameron and his Tory government from our democratic Students Union and our University Campus.”

Cameron’s campaign to stay in the EU is questioned too. “David Cameron has said that we should vote to stay in the EU, but he is a Tory and therefore he must have lied…

“To prevent him being able to manipulate venerable students at the University we must ban him.”

Naa Acquah, General , said: “The recent idea which has been submitted by a student to ban David Cameron is an example of us as a union allowing students to openly submit their ideas and policies to our democratic structure. As a Students’ Union, we are committed to empowering our students to shape what the union does or believes by participating in our democratic structures.”

In February a motion was submitted to Senate calling for the banning of controversial and widely unpopular Republican Party nominee Donald Trump from the building.

Senate will take place on the 14th of April. Other motions to be discussed include opposition to bursary cuts, the introduction of an Inclusion Officer in all society committees, and the creation of a dedicated studio for Fuse TV in the new SU redevelopment.

Should we leave the European Union?

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Interview with an astronaut

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Cameron’s “personal experience” of tax avoidance Jennifer Sterne Head News Editor

David Cameron, despite avoiding media questions, has been ambushed by a student at Exeter University who alluded to Cameron’s “personal experience” of avoiding tax— only a few hours before he revealed this to be true.

Cameron was addressing students on the EU referendum when one student claimed to be “very interested in what the collective EU states could do to combat tax avoidance—something [he claimed Cameron] has personal experience of”.

There were no other direct questions about his tax affairs or the letter which resurfaced recently, which outlined Cameron’s attempt to lobby the EU not to crackdown on offshore trusts.

In response to the student the Prime Minister, with a straight face, stated he had “made tax and transparency the number one issue” at international summits.

The Prime Minister added that Britain was becoming the first country with a register of beneficial owners of companies. He went on to claim that tax, transparency and beneficial ownership would be on the agenda at a planned tax conference in London in May and also spoke of plans to raise £12bn through a crackdown on tax avoidance.

He admitted to the students that more needed to be done to crackdown on tax avoidance, specifically in order to ensure that universities and public services gain more funding.

The press were unable to question Cameron at the event, after the report in the Financial Times revealed he had personally intervened in 2013 to prevent offshore trusts being involved in the EU-wide crackdown on tax avoidance.

After speaking to the students however, he was interviewed by ITV’s Political Editor Robert Peston in which he admitted both he and his wife owned shares in the Panamanian trust set up by his late father.

Continued on page 2...

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Government to miss Higher Education target

News

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Highlights P14 P8

Music:

Notorious B.I.G. ‘Ready To Die’ – a feminist masterpiece?

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Fashion: Dressing for the job you want

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Film: Review: High-Rise

Continued from page one...

They were sold in 2010 for around £30,000.

Cameron told ITV in the exclusive interview that he “wanted to be as clear as I can about the past, about the present, about the future, because frankly I don’t have anything to hide.” Despite having omitted such an involvement from any statements in the four days previous to this revelation.

Cameron’s personal involvement in the ongoing debate over tax avoidance was placed into question after his family’s connections to Blairmore Holdings

Charlie Spargo Editor-in-chief

A student at Warwick University appears to have been the victim of racial abuse from a flatmate or guest to her halls of residence prompting the university to launch an investigation.

Faramade Ifaturoti, a first year biomedical sciences student according to her Twitter bio, tweeted a photo yesterday of a bunch of bananas with two racial slurs scrawled in marker pen on them.

“Just entered the kitchen and look at what one of my flatmates has done. I am extremely disgusted” she posted on her now-private Twitter account.

The post went viral very quickly, gaining thousands of retweets. An hour after posting the photo, the university responded, tweeting: “we’re really sorry you’ve had to experience this, it is completely unacceptable – please DM us your email + we will escalate”.

Many, including Ifaturoti herself, have criticised Warwick for failing to react quicker. She tweeted “I’m highly disappointed that it took a Twitter escalation in order for you to respond.”

Warwick Students’ Union released this statement regarding the incident: “Warwick SU has a zero-tolerance policy on racist behaviour. We unequivocally condemn this shocking and disgusting act, which should clearly have no place in either our University or society at large.

“We have reached out to the student affected by this episode and have contacted the University to offer further support. Should a formal complaint be raised regarding a specific individual’s conduct, the SU will of course treat it as a matter for urgent disciplinary action.”

Warwick’s student newspaper, The Boar, broke the news of the abuse. The Warwick Anti-Racism Society, who are also offering the student support, told The Boar: “The Warwick Accomodation handbook has absolutely nothing regarding racism, yet the institution will happily shout about diversity and champion signing the Race Equality Charter.”

Photo: @Faramade_ @Twitter

A university spokesperson told The Independent: “We are aware that a racist incident has been widely reported on social media. The university is investigating this as a matter of urgency.”

By Tuesday night, the hashtag #WeStandWithFara was a top trend in the United Kingdom to express support and solidarity with the student.

If you have experienced discrimination or prejudice at university we encourage you to contact the Students’ Union Advice Service (manchesterstudentsunion.com/adviceservice) or University Counselling Service (manchester.ac.uk/counselling).

In light of the news of the racism experienced at Warwick University, a group of student newspapers including The Mancunion have come together to launch a nationwide investigation into the extent of racism at UK universities.

We have each released an online survey to collect responses from students regarding their experiences and opinions on racism on campus and its prevalence. The results will be collected and pooled to produce nationwide statistics on how widespread racial prejudice is and how well students feel their universities or Students’ Unions deal with the problem.

Current Affairs Editor: Joe C. Evans Magazine Editor: Elise Gallagher

Visit Our Website www.mancunion.com The Mancunion Mancunion Extra

Manchester’s hidden gems

ceive a group invitation.

Stephen Hawkins, a third-year Exeter student and Conservative City Council Candidate, told Exeposé: “What should have been a fantastic, shining opportunity to meet someone that many of the University of Exeter Conservative Association see as a political juggernaut, has been shrouded with confusion, miscommunication, and opaqueness.”

John Chilvers, president of Exeter Labour Students, speaking to The Independent, said: “I think Cameron must have realised that in Exeter there is only

one student political group that is out all year round making a difference in the community—and it’s Labour Students.

“It’s about time that we got the recognition we deserve and I’m pleased this has come from the top.”

Many students on Twitter also complained that in choosing to hold his speech over the Easter holidays, Cameron has deliberately chosen a time when no students were on campus.

Racial abuse in Public continues to back junior Warwick halls doctors’ strikes

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Lifestyle:

Inc, the offshore trust set up by his father was brought to light by the leaked papers from the database of Panamabased law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Downing Street initially released a statement claiming that neither David Cameron nor any of his immediate family were benefiting or stand to benefit from offshore funds.

The event in Exeter also caused controversy when it was discovered that while every committee member from Exeter Labour Students was invited, none of the Conservative students re-

@TheMancunion Editor-in-chief: Charlie Spargo editor@mancunion.com Deputy Editor-in-chief: Marcus Johns deputyed@mancunion.com Postal address: University of Manchester Students’ Union, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PR Phone: 0161 275 2989 Subeditors: Gemma Sowerby, Shaun Carter, Nadia Cheung, Lauren Nolan, Karenza Cutting, Emily Piper

Head News Editor: Jenny Sterne News Editor: Merle Streck Science Editor: Andy van den Bent-Kelly news@mancunion.com science@mancunion.com Features Editor: Liam Kelly features@mancunion.com Opinion Editor: Isaac Atwal opinion@mancunion.com Head Fashion Editor: Kassi Allcock Deputy Fashion Editor: Kathryn Murray Deputy Fashion Editor (Beauty): Millie Kershaw fashion@mancunion.com Head Food & Drink Editor: Ellie Gibbs Deputy Food & Drink Editor: Helena Maxwell-Jackson foodanddrink@mancunion.com Head Film Editor: James Moules Deputy Film Editor: Nicole Tamer film@mancunion.com

Merle Streck News Editor The latest wave of industrial action undertaken by junior doctors from the 6th – 8th of April was largely supported by the British public, a YouGov survey found. 59 per cent of people asked approved of strike action, while 23 per cent opposed it.

The YouGov survey further found that almost half of the British population approve of and support the all-out junior doctor strike planned for the 26th – 27th of April between 8am and 5pm. This strike will be the first time that junior doctors will not be providing emergency backup.

Chair of the BMA junior doctors’ committee, Johann Malawana, said: “We deeply regret the disruption this will cause and this is not a decision we have taken lightly.

“Junior doctors have no other choice—the new contract is unfair and would be bad for the delivery of care, and the NHS, in the long term.”

Previous polls revealed the likelihood of declining support if the junior doctors refused to provide emergency cover, however, the survey revealed that 45 per cent supported the strike, 38 per cent opposed it 15 per cent did not have an opinion on the matter.

Many participants of the survey, a total of 45 per cent blamed the Department of Health for the continued dispute over junior doctors’ contracts.

Further outrage was spurred last week when the government announced that the new contracts they are plan-

ning to impose will “impact disproportionately” on women’s wages.

Dr Rachel Clarke told The Independent: “The Department of Health hasn’t even tried to hide the discrimination at the heart of its new contract. In other words, for [David] Cameron, the alleged champion of women, women’s salaries are mere collateral damage.”

To show support for the junior doctors a protest was organized by Plan C Manchester outside Spire hospital in Whalley Range Hospital in Manchester. The protest also meant to highlight the growing trend of the government’s healthcare privatisation and austerity strategies.

“We don’t want the public to be fooled into thinking this strike is just about Saturday working conditions.

We want to support the Junior Doctors who are already fighting against the continued privatisation of the NHS and to keep the pressure on the Conservative Government” said Kevin, a member of Plan C MCR. Holding banners reading “Stop the NHS Sale,” the group protested against Spire Healthcare who are in charge of delivering public healthcare contracts.

The company came under scrutiny recently as it was revealed that spire had paid a total amount of £3 million in taxes in between 2008-2010 despite making an operational profit of £123 million in 2010 alone.

Plan C Manchester will be protesting alongside junior doctors in future strikes and want to encourage more people to support industrial action for improved contracts and a safer NHS.

“Shocked by the nationally reported, vile racist incident at Warwick University on Tuesday, the Boar—Warwick’s student newspaper—decided to contact as many student papers across the UK as possible in a nationwide attempt to investigate the true nature of racism at universities,” said Matt Barker, Co-News Editor of the Boar in a collective statement to press.

“We are already finding a worrying percentage of racial abuse goes unreported and that there are unclear or non-existent channels for reporting such abuses.”

The Manchester survey can be found at goo.gl/forms/L7DYIjmMeq. Head Lifestyle Editor: Eva Katz Deputy Lifestyle Editor: Alice Williams mancunion.life@gmail.com Head Music Editor: Henry Scanlan Deputy Music Editors: Matthew Staite, Rob Paterson music@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.

Head Sport Editor: Will Kelly Deputy Sport Editor: Harry Newton sport@mancunion.com

All writers are volunteers and new contributors are always welcome. You can get involved by turning up to a meeting, the times of which are listed on the Mancunion website’s Join page.

Books Editor: Yasmin Mannan books@mancunion.com

the University of Manchester.

Games Editor: Josh Goldie games@mancunion.com Theatre Editor: Elise Gallagher theatre@mancunion.com Arts Editor: Ashley McGovern arts@mancunion.com Head of Photography: Hannah Brierley Photographers: Ege Okyar, Przemek Piwek, Thomas Chan, Avinash Kumar, Daniel Saville, Kayleigh Brook mancunion.photography@gmail.com

We gladly accept contributors from outside

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.

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

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TEDx Conference to be Held at the University of Manchester

TedX will returning to the University of Manchester for the day on Saturday 16th April with an ‘Infinite Possibilities’ lecture series Alexandra Bickell Reporter TEDxUniversityOfManchester will be returning to the University of Manchester campus on Saturday 16th April with a daylong conference titled ‘Infinite Possibilities’. The popular TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) talks operate under the tagline “Ideas Worth Sharing” and their short, snappy yet informative approach has proved to be extremely popular with experts and the general public alike.

This event is intended to create an “immersive and engaging” day for everyone attending and the organisers hope that their guests have the credentials to enable this.

Steve Rawling, the first speaker of the day, has over 25 years of experience in the media industry and is currently a ‘creative leadership programme trainer’ for the BBC. He is known as the “Infinite Storyteller” for his gift of the gab and his role is to train media professionals to develop a similar talent. Steve’s talk will aim to show people “how to be more creative” and to “inspire, motivate and influence” his audience.

Ash Dykes, 25, is a modern-day explorer and experienced mo-

tivational speaker and has survived extreme conditions over the course of his travels. From trekking solo across the Gobi Desert in Mongolia to more recently travelling through the jungles of Madagascar on foot, he has seen more adventure by age 25 than most people will in a lifetime. His lecture will discuss these daredevil journeys in a session named “Ash Dykes: Against the Odds.”

M J Hyland is a novelist, essayist and current lecturer at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester. She will also be speaking as a guest, on her experience with the incurable condition multiple sclerosis. After her diagnosis with the disease in 2008, Hyland began to attempt to raise awareness of it through multiple media channels, including radio interviews and magazine articles. She has also published numerous highly successful fiction and non-fiction works on the subject, several of which have been shortlisted for prestigious prizes.

These accredited guests are just three of the speakers that have been announced so far—there are several more to come and extra information will be released over the next week.

Tickets will be released at 12pm on Saturday 9th April and are expected to sell out very quickly—over 4,000 people have registered interest on Facebook alone. The venue has been con-

Photo: tedxuom @Instagram

firmed as Rise, 235 Deansgate in Manchester and further details of the day will be provided with the tickets.

For more information, search “TEDxUniversityOfManchester – Infinite Possibilities” or to buy tickets visit: https://www.ted.com/

Muslim women academically outperform male counterparts Academics find that Muslim women now outnumber Muslim men in the number of people aged 21-24 with higher education degrees, in stark contrast to past statistics Emily Hulme Senior Reporter A comparative study conducted by Dr Nabil Khattab of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar and Professor Tariq Modood from the University of Bristol found that more Muslim women, approximately 25% aged 21-24 have gained degrees at university level, compared with 22% of Muslim men of the same age.

The research further found that girls are out-performing the boys before university too. After studying GCSE results of over 6,600 candidates in England, the academics show that Muslim girls aged 11-14 score higher on tests in school than Muslim boys.

Dr Khattab and Professor Modood said this was a “cultural transformation” of previous trends, especially “when one considers that in 1990 and 1991 that Pakistani and Bangladeshi men admitted to higher education outnumbered their female peers by more than two to one and more than three to one respectively.”

The research proves interesting in comparison to recent research showing a gender gap among Muslims both in education and the labour market. “While older men are more likely to be degree-holders than their female counterparts, younger women are more likely to have degrees,” Dr Khattab explains.

One of the reasons the research was described as striking was “the well-established educational disadvantages among some Muslim ethnic groups, most notably Pakistanis and Bangladeshis”.

Muneera Lula, Politics and History student at the University of Manchester says: “The reason these findings seem so ‘shocking’ to people is because they have preconceptions of Muslim women, that they are docile, homely, and passive rather than the intelligent and driven people they often are.”

The academics explanation for this ‘shift’ might be that young Muslim women “understand that they are likely to face labour mar-

ket penalties due to widespread stereotypes and racism, perhaps more so than Muslim men.”

Khattab explained that this new research “can reinforce their determination to obtain higher education qualifications not only as good as those of the majority group but even better, in order to resist the anticipated labour market discrimination preventing them from achieving a desired job.”

Responding to this, Lula asserts that the “British Muslim women push themselves in education as a way of making it clear, with a cap and gown, they aren’t to be underestimated” adding, “I will take up the opportunity for all the women far smarter than me that never had the chance.”

Majority of students want to scrap UCAS clearing Students have revealed their concerns with the current system, claiming it has a ‘bad reputation’ and that they feel embarrassed to say they had used it Georgie Hines Reporter Research conducted by The Student Room has found that 59 per cent of students want university admission process to change and just over half believe that the UCAS clearing system has a ‘bad reputation’.

UCAS, the University and Colleges Admissions Service, market clearing as a way to connect students unhappy with their current choices to universities unable to fill their spaces.

The study was undertaken last month, when The Student Room asked 6,300 of their members for their opinions on the matter.

The website is the largest student community in the world, with over 1.8 million members. It is widely known for its free advice on every aspect of university life—whether it be about applications or health and lifestyle.

The results of the survey proved that students were less than favourable to the clearing system. 48 per cent were uncomfortable to admit to using the system and 20 per cent would judge those who had used it as ‘desperate’.

Hannah Morrish, education community manager at The Student Room has said the reason for this is clear: “Clearing reinforces that despite their best efforts they were not good enough and missed the goal they had been working towards over the last year” and “that can be really disheartening.”

One University of Manchester student disagrees, and is happy with her experience with the clearing system. She said: “I used clearing because I missed a grade and wasn’t happy with the offers I had. My first choice still accepted me but they put me on a different campus (in an entirely different county) and the modules I could do were really limited because of it.”

I had to decide: “Do I stick with the safe option I don’t want, or try and find something better?” Whilst deciding to reject any offers was a tough decision, “especially as I’d been told it was really difficult to get a decent place through clearing, it was a lot easier to use than I thought.”

“It was pretty quick call to an operator to find out if they’d accept you, and then you’d get put through or called back by a tutor to do a quick telephone interview. Even that was pretty painless, they seemed to just want to know you were actually interested in the subject and weren’t just panicking and applying for everything.”

“The tutors seemed happy to have filled the places as well, not like they were judging you for having got in through clearing”.

She also stated that whilst “I wouldn’t say I’m embarrassed to have gone through clearing, it wasn’t the first thing I mentioned when I met people once I got there.”

“I wouldn’t describe anyone as desperate for going through clearing. I don’t think anyone else should be judged for rethinking their options last minute.

“There’s a stigma about clearing that people think you deserve the place less because you didn’t do a formal interview, didn’t work as hard for it, or you only considered the university later.

[That is] definitely not the case for everyone.”

UCAS have refused to comment on the original article written

by The Huffington Post UK.

Photo: UniversityBlogSpot @Flickr

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Government to miss 2020 Higher Education Target

If current trends continue the government will miss its 2020 target for widening participation Rebecca Noël Reporter Recent reports from the Social Market Foundation think tank have found that the government is on course to miss its targets for widening participation in higher education. Whilst progress has been made towards ambitious targets set by the government for 2020, current trends are not sufficient enough to ensure they are met.

Widening participation in higher education is a topical component of government education policy in the UK and Europe. Its aim has been to increase the number of young people entering higher education, particularly those from underrepresented groups, for instance, lower income families, ethnic minorities, or people with disabilities.

David Cameron set the target of doubling the proportion of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education as well as increasing the number of students from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds entering by 20 per cent. The Widening Participation report did note that 28.8 per cent more young full-time students from disadvantaged backgrounds entered higher education in 2014/2015 compared to 2009/2010.

However, this increase is thought to hide large differences between institution intake rates with many taking fewer disadvantaged students than 6 years ago. Only 10 institutions contributed to 32 per cent of the increase in disadvantaged students attending higher education whilst 9 decreased their number and 12 saw no change.

A further 24 institutions saw an increase but of only 25 students or fewer suggesting a need for intervention in a wider range of HE establishments.

Official statistics focusing on type of schooling prior to higher education from the government website actually show that there has been a 6 per cent increase in the difference gap between those progressing to higher education by the age of 19 from independent and selective state schools and non-selective state schools between 2009/10 and 2012/13. The percentage difference of those attending the most selective universities is larger still.

Michael Spence, University of Manchester Students’ Union’s Education Officer, speaking to The Mancunion, said: “The government’s so called focus on widening participation has always seemed to me to be little more than lip service.

They care about statistics and not the actual people who need help, they’ve got targets but don’t

know how to follow through. Also there is more to widening participation than just getting people into Higher Education, we need to ensure people have the support that they need to get through their studies.”

Following on from this, some have proposed that pushing for more students to become involved in higher education is not necessarily beneficial. For instance, when asked on the matter, some Manchester students commented that “whilst there have been increases in the number of young people attending university, higher education may not be the right choice for everyone.

Therefore the drive to encourage as many as possible to go to university is not necessarily a good thing.”

Peter Horrocks, vice-chancellor of Open UniverPhoto: Nottingham Trent University @flickr

Brexit could cost UK £3.7 billion generated from EU students

sity has said focus cannot solely be on 18-yearolds entering higher education if ministers are genuinely concerned with incorporating all societal groups into advanced studies, since mature students also “make a huge contribution to our society and economy”.

The government now needs to decide whether their focus will be on improving the performance of those institutions making little progress, which would involve more than outreach alone, or to put more emphasis on those who contributed the largest amount the widening participation. They also need to focus on raising prior educational attainment since these rates, along with higher education participation, are actually lowest amongst white populations as opposed to those from BME backgrounds.

This could be achieved through the provision of extra tuition or summer schooling and improved involvement from the institutions themselves, according to Emran Mian, director of the Social Market Foundation.

Similarly, Maddalaine Ansell, Chief Executive of University Alliance states that “more needs to be done right across the sector to identify potential and talent wherever it exists, so that intakes reflect the whole community.” She suggests that institutions “collaborate in shifting the focus away from just recruitment to genuine outreach”.

The government needs to adjust its strategy drastically if there is any hope of reaching the targets set for 2020, perhaps through focusing on providing better support to students throughout higher education, determining whether it is right to encourage everyone into higher education routes, particularly university, and focusing on a wider demographic, including those who could enter into higher education at a later age.

Death and rape threats made in feminist cupcake dispute

Photo: (Mariam) @Flickr

Charlie Spargo Editor-in-chief

Jennifer Sterne Head News Editor Analysis by Universities UK (UUK) claims that students from the European Union “spend money and create jobs in all corners of the UK”.

According to the research, students from other EU countries studying at UK universities generate £3.7 billion for the UK economy, and they support over 34,000 jobs in the country.

The research, based on 2011-12 student numbers, revealed that the EU students create £1.44 billion through spending on campus, and another £220 million on fees and costs.

The rest of their contribution is created through off-campus spending of £1.49 billion on goods and services, including food and rent.

The UUK report also broke down the money generated by region, which revealed that London benefits from European students the most, generating £788.9 million via income and 7,580 jobs. Northern Ireland gains the least, with £78.1 million and 841 jobs.

5 per cent of the UK university population is made up of EU students, with most of them coming from Germany, with 13,675 students.

Dame Julia Goodfellow, president of UUK and vice-chancellor of the University of Kent, said EU students “make a very important academic and cultural contribution to university life, creating an international, outward-looking culture on campuses which, in turn, benefits UK students.

She added that leaving the EU and “putting barriers to

work and study makes it more likely that European students and researches will choose to go elsewhere, strengthening our competitors and weakening the UK universities.”

Angus Dalgleish, professor of oncology at St George’s, University of London and speaking to Times Higher Education said that a vote to leave the EU would not make a “blind bit of difference” to the money brought to the country by EU students.

Dalgleish claims the £3.7 billion figure released by UUK did not include the money which the country loses from EU students, referencing the money they take out as student loans and don’t pay back. In 2012 THE reported that 42 per cent of EU students were not keeping up with repayments.

Jo Johnson, the Universities and Science Minister has commented that the UK’s “success as a knowledge economy hinges on our ability to collaborate with the best minds from across Europe and the world.”

He claims it would “be reckless to cut ourselves off from the rich sources of the EU funding, the access to valuable shared research facilities and the close institutional ties that provide so many opportunities to British students and academics”.

Johnson and 13 former ministers are all signatories to a letter to The Times argued that leaving the EU would “weaken our universities and lessen their positive impact”.

Photo: Dave Kellam @flickr

The organisers of a ‘gender pay gap’ bake sale held last week at the University of Queensland received death and rape threats after charging customers more or less based on their levels of privilege.

As part of the annual Feminist Week, Queensland’s SU’s Women’s Collective sold cupcakes for which those identifying as men were charged AUS$1.

Women and members of other minority groups received varying discounts based on the pay gap of the faculty they were members of, based on data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics which showed that men working full time earned an average of $1,587.40 a week, $298.10 more than women—with the disparity greater in STEM professions.

LGBT*, disabled, and BME students also received discounts based on the disparities in pay in their chosen industries.

While the cupcakes on offer were sold within an hour, a small number of fellow students complained with venom against the principle of the bake sale. “UQU, which is meant to represent all students, is engaging in conduct that’s blatantly discriminatory against men to try and make some asinine political point,” wrote one student

on an unofficial Facebook group, UQ StalkerSpace.

The group has 37,500 members and is intended for general, often humorous discussion—including videos, memes, and requests for information—about student life at UQ. Abuse was posted to the Facebook page for Feminist Week, which, according to Madeline Price, the gender and sexuality vice-president at the UQU, was “hearteningly” mostly from those not at the university. She received e-mails and private messages personally attacking her and making threatening remarks to organisers and attendees.

Price told The Guardian the event was only meant to be a conversation starter, but that the actual sale went ahead unhindered. “We did have quite a few students who identified with one or more factor and thus received quite heavily discounted items due to the pay disparity they receive in real life,” she said.

“The majority of men who approached the bake sale did so in solidarity to the cause—they handed over $1 without even considering the other factors.

“Many were surprised to learn that their status as a man with a disability or identifying as LGBTIQA+ also allowed them a discount proportionate to their economic losses in real life.”

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White children fall behind at GCSE due to “lack of parental support” Despite being high achievers at age 5, white children tend to fall behind ethnic minority groups at GCSE level, study says Georgie Hines Senior Reporter White British children are falling behind students from ethnic minority groups at GCSE level, despite being in the top 3 highest attaining groups at age 5.

They fall to 13th in an attainment table by age 16; behind pupils of Chinese, Indian, Asian, and black African descent.

The research by the CentreForum thinktank suggests that this substantial fall in performance is due to a lack of parental support in white families.

Jo Hutchinson, CentreForum’s associate director for education, has said: “We are talking about things such as parents attending parents’ evenings at school, talking to their children about subject options, supervising homework, ensuring that the family eats together and has regular bedtimes.”

The report also suggests that a parent’s aspirations are becoming less important than the support they provide. Hutchinson says that “most parents actually want their children to continue in education and be successful in education.”

“What sometimes differs is the extent to which they have the knowledge and the tools and resources to help them to make that aspiration real.”

“It’s not just aspirations but behaviours that support the aspirations.”

CentreForum’s executive chairman and former Liberal Democrat schools minister in the coalition government, David Laws, has said that the suggestions in this report aren’t definitive.

He said: “I don’t think we know all the answers to this. We know that we’ve got this very bad performance of white pupils versus other ethnic groups.

“We know from this analysis

that it’s not embedded in the beginning of education because actually they appear to be doing relatively well at the beginning of their journey.

“So something is clearly happening about their ability to take advantage of the opportunities that other ethnic groups do manage.”

But it seems that these findings are not being accepted too readily. A University of Manchester student told The Mancunion that she is concerned over the report, claiming that accusations about the lack of support in white families is “offensive”.

“To say that white children are failing at GCSE because our parents do not show enough support is... wrong.

“I come from a family where the children have a pretty wide range of academic abilities and it isn’t because some parents are or were more involved than others.

Photo: White77@ Pixabay

“There are other factors: the school, natural ability, the interests of the child”. These suggestions are “completely unfair”.

Expressing her disapproval further, she says: “In parts of the report they may have well as written ‘white parents can’t

discipline’, because that’s what it sounds like.”

Preview: The Closet teams Positive coping mechanisms may help UK academics deal up with MISSGUIDED Harriet Gaynor Reporter The Closet is a student-led charity clothing shop occupying the old RBS building at The University of Manchester, which aims to promote sustainable fashion and youth entrepreneurship.

It represents a collective of youth creativity and aims to showcase the power of student action, by encouraging participation in charity projects.

Since The Closet’s opening in February, the store has been host to a variety of fundraising events such as their cheese and wine night and “Fill a bag for £5” sale. But their next event is one that has had everybody talking!

The Closet have teamed up with the clothing company MISSGUIDED to hold a sample sale and it is expected to be the biggest event at The Closet

to date.

The event begins this Monday with the official launch party, where you can expect heaps of fashion, live music and a whole bundle of freebies. The event is free for anybody to attend so make sure you get down early to avoid disappointment!

The MISSGUIDED sample sale will occupy The Closet for a further two weeks, with all proceeds going to Manchester Mind, a mental health charity. The store will be open from Monday 11th April – Friday 22nd April between 2pm and 6pm.

For more information and to keep up-to-date with all the events happening at The Closet, head over to their facebook page: www.facebook.com/theclosetmcr or follow them on instagram: @theclosetmcr or on twitter: @thecloset_mcr

with stress of the job

A study on UK university academics has revealed the need to teach staff how to deal with stress in a positive way Rossy Natale Reporter A new study has found that possessing certain character traits allows academics to cope better with stress in the workplace.

Stress is undoubtedly a huge issue in the workplace across many professions, and those in academia are clearly no exception.

A 1998-2004 study conducted by the Association of University Teachers found 49 per cent of academics have levels of stress high enough to require treatment. This was 5 per cent higher than what was reported by A&E consultants.

‘Stress Among UK Academics: Identifying who Copes Best’ is a new study that challenges the constantly negative portrayal of stress in psychological research. Ann Macaskill, an author of the paper and researcher at Sheffield Hallam University, told Times Higher Education that their is a clear lack of acknowledgement of the positive effects of stress in the workplace.

“No one’s looked at strengths and stress in academics,” Macaskill told The Times , “we’ve never known much about what is different from the people who cope well [with stress], and most people do cope quite well.

“We forget that a life with no demands would be boring and boredom can be equally stressful,” Macaskill tells The Mancunion: “We need stressors from time to time to motivate us and keep us motivated.”

“Reductions in funding, relatively low pay, heavy workloads, long working hours, growth in the number of students, poor communications, role ambiguity, and striving for publication” were all cited in the study as causes of stress in academics.

The new study published in the Journal of Further and Higher Education, looked at exactly who copes better with these factors and why. The group of researchers found that certain character traits make academics more prone to being able to cope with the stress that inevitably comes with the job.

“People who cope well with stress tend to regard stressful events as challenges or opportunities and this makes them think differently about them.”

These findings are based on data compiled from 2,265 academic staff in the North West of the UK, and have important implications for the type of counselling and training that is given to those struggling to deal with stress.

The three authors of the paper, all staff at Sheffield Hallam University, are strong advocates of positive psychology.

“Traditional courses usually include time management, something on relaxation and perhaps coping skills, whereas I would like to see courses that include more about learning how to think positively,” Macaskill explains.

Counselling and training services offered to UK academics undoubtedly vary from university to university. Counselling services offered to academics at the University of Manchester do include a certain amount of positive psychology that the study calls for, as counselling services offered at the University place an emphasis on “find[ing] better ways of coping with the stress”.

Even with this attitude, “staff at all three Manchester universities reported higher levels of stress than the average for the general British working population” in a 2012 study by the University and College Union (UCU).

When the study was originally published, UCU called on universities “to consider these results carefully and take steps to protect the health and wellbeing of university staff in Manchester”, but as the new study emphasises, this is clearly still an issue.

The positive psychology approach suggested in the paper may be what is needed to finally defeat this issue.

The research group has also conducted similar studies with a focus on students. The results will be published in a few months time.

News

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Manchester Ph.D. student wins Science Communication Competition The competition aimed to change common perceptions about the subject area of chemistry as being inaccessible to the general public Molecular Biology Ph.D. student at The University of Manchester, Ben Stutchbury, has won an international science communication competition. The contest was hosted by the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Chemistry World. Its aim was to make the topic of chemistry more accessible to the public.

Those passionate about science, writing, and science communication were called upon to enter the competition, after a report from the RSC exploring public attitudes to chemistry revealed that subject is viewed as an isolated field, which was seen to be inaccessible, serious, and intimidating. This stood in stark contrast to the public’s general perception of science as being mostly fun, interesting, and engaging.

The RSC report highlighted how chemistry fails to relate to the wider population, prompting improvements in the way the field is communicated to the public.

Photo Faculty of Life Sciences, UoM In-line photo: Wikimedia Commons

Tori Blakeman Senior Reporter The competitors first had to submit an 800word article exploring a theme uncovered by the research. Stutchbury concluded that establishing why science was tangible and chem-

istry was not, would help to make chemistry more accessible.

Stutchbury argued that this may be due to the lack of a ‘public champion’ for Chemistry in the

mainstream media: Biology and David Attenborough, or Physics and Brian Cox. Stutchbury said: “The RSC Public Attitudes to Chemistry Research Report highlighted a number of issues in the way chemistry is perceived by the public. For example, when asked where a chemist was likely to work, most people said ‘in a pharmacy’!”

“One thing that struck me was how negatively the term ‘Chemistry’ is viewed by the public in comparison term ‘Science’. As chemistry is a huge part of science, I was surprised by how differently they are perceived. I think that the public opinion to the terms ‘Biology’ and ‘Physics’ would be more positive than that of ‘Chemistry’.”

After completion of the essay, finalists were shortlisted, and were required to produce a 10 minute talk explaining a chemistry concept in an engaging way. The five finalists competed for the grand prize in the prestigious Faraday lecture theatre at the Royal Institution.

After his talk explaining the chemistry behind mucus in our bodies, Stutchbury was awarded the Science Communicator award. The £500 cash award comes with publication of his essay in Chemistry World , and the opportunity of work experience with AkzoNobel—a world leader in the Chemistry field.

Stutchbury commented on his experiences of the competition: “It is really fantastic to have won the award, but the most exciting thing was just reaching the final. The opportunity to present in the historic Faraday Lecture Theatre is something I will never forget. The other finalists all gave brilliant presentations and it really showed that the communication of exciting chemistry has a bright future!”

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

Stories by: Charlie Spargo, Joe C. Evans, Tori Blakeman, Lexi Bicknell, Georgie Hines, Gemma Sowerby, & Marcus Johns

“Derek the baby Wombat needs a cuddle”

Tasmania A baby wombat from Flinders Island, North-East of Tasmania, is in need of some affection. The island is currently looking for someone to cuddle baby Derek for three days, to help bring him back to health. A car sadly hit Derek’s mother, killing her, and leaving him orphaned. Little Derek was found weighing only 700 grams when he was rescued.

Kate Mooney, who has raised over 100 wombats at her 100acre home over the years, is currently looking after Derek. However Kate is finding caring for Derek challenging, as she currently responsible for nursing fifteen other wombats back to health.

She is offering one lucky winner, and their friend, to help care for baby Derek by giving him all the cuddles and affection he so desires.

Enormous alligator finally caught US An enormous 15-foot alligator has been killed after terrorising and eating cows on a farm in Okeechobee, Florida. The 800-pound predator, which translates to a considerable 57.14 stone or a crushing 362.9 kilograms, was shot by farmer Lee Lightsey and hunting guide Blake Godwin after having found the gator mingling with cattle on the 2nd of April.

Believing the gator to be snacking on their cows, Godwin wrote on Facebook: ““Lee Lightsey and I had the pleasure of doing a guided gator hunt this morning and killed the largest gator we have ever killed in the wild!! He measured out at just under 15 foot!! Congratulations to Chris and Derek on their monster!”

It is unknown what plans or uses Godwin and Lightsey have for the gator’s corpse however some have suggested on Facebook that the meat should be used to feed local homeless people or at least to make a nice new pair of leather boots.

Record set for oldest man to go under the needle US A 104-year-old grandfather has set a new world record by becoming the world’s oldest person to be tattooed.

Jack Reynolds, who is believed to be the oldest person to undergo the ice bucket challenge, got a tattoo of his nickname ‘Jacko’ above his date of birth—6th April, 1912— on his upper right arm. The tattoo was done in his own handwriting, making it a custom design.

The tattoo came about as a fundraising idea and Reynolds’ daughter and grandson both got matching tattoos alongside him.

Vegetable stuck in man’s anus Costa Rico A Costa Rican man has been forced to undergo surgery after an 18-inch vegetable he had carved into the shape of a penis got stuck in his anus.

The vegetarian dildo had been carved out of cassava, a root vegetable native to South America.

Despite having covered it with two condoms before inserting it into his anus he was forced to get medical assistance after one of them broke inside him leaving the vegetable stuck fast.

In Science this week...

Science by: Joe C. Evans

Oxford scientists ask the public to get invovled in research A team of Oxford scientists are asking the public to assist them in their Antarctic research.

In the largest Antarctic citizen science venture in the world the public will be able to use “PenguinWatch 2.0” to monitor the successes of their efforts to monitor Antarctic penguin colonies. Dr Tom Hart, the lead researcher on the project has stated, “We’ve been really good at engaging people, but we’ve not been that good at feeding back.

“The new part is that people will be able to see what they are doing.”

The team now have over 75 cameras across Antarctica and Sub-Antarctic Islands. The cameras each take a photograph each hour however that means that there are now hundreds of thousands of pictures that the team are yet to analyse.

Every time that a member of the public clicks on a penguin it is monitored as a count on the website.

Dr Hart told the BBC, “that’s all information that tells us what’s happening at each nest, and what’s happening over time.”

This research will aid the understanding of declining penguin populations which is believed to be linked to global climate change.

Catch the camembert UK A man who began throwing cheese at staff of a London Waitrose after being asked to leave failed to show up to court to answer charges.

67-year-old Frenchman Bernard Conche was asked to leave the King’s Road Waitrose, Chelsea, in November—after already being banned from the branch— and began hurling Camembert wedges at 31-year-old Kimberly Taynor and security guard Shah Nawaz, before kicking a police officer in the chest.

The cheese throwing amounts to assault by beating, of which he was convicted of two counts, as well as one count of assaulting a police officer in the line of duty.

He was expected to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on the 4th of April, but decided not to appear.

Drunk woman in fast food frenzy UK A woman who was excessively drunk and thrown out of a McDonald’s in Leeds called the police to complain.

The unnamed woman had been to a club on Albion Street in Leeds when she went to get food from the takeaway chain. Her intoxicated state meant she was refused service.

“I went to McDonald’s and they said I was too drunk to go in I’d had two drinks, I’d like a police officer please,” she said to the dispatcher, who told her this was not a police matter, up to the discretion of McDonald’s, and that the emergency services would not be attending.

Jammie thieves can’t dodge jail

UK A gang of five thieves has been sentenced for a total of eleven years for stealing £20,000 worth of Jammie Dodger biscuits from the Cwmbran factory in South Wales. The men travelled down the country from Liverpool to carry out a raid in June last year that involved “significant planning”, including a guise to trick security guards and cloned number plates. After gaining entrance to the factory, the group drove away a £10,000 lorry filled with the cookies – the empty vehicle was later recovered in Warrington, with no clue as to where the contents had been taken.

Two of the group members, Anthony Edgerton and Paul Price, had previously been convicted for stealing a trailer full of Carling larger worth over £43,000. Price and Edgerton therefore received the longest sentences, of 40 and 44 months in prison respectively, whilst Aaron Walsh and Stephen Burrows were given 16 months each and Kieron Price was sentenced to a year.

German bomb team dispatched following sex toy scare

Germany A suspected bomb threat in the east German town of Halberstadt turned out to be a vibrating sex toy. Police received reports of a humming noise coming from a gambling hall rubbish bin.

They dispatched a bomb squad that included three explosives experts from the Office of Criminal Investigation in Saxony-Anhalt.

Whilst mistaking a penis ring for a serious bomb scare is embarrassing enough, the situation was made even more inconvenient by the evacuation of 90 people from the gambling hall.

The adjoining street was also closed off for investigation.

Living free but not so easy

UK Jamie Waddington has found a novel way to spend less money on rent than the average milennial; buy a van and live in that.

The 25-year-old from Leeds bought the LDV Convoy van for £750 and spent three months refurbishing it with his dad.

It has a working kitchen, skylight, fold-out bed, a woodpanelled interior, and plenty of shelving. Waddington clearly thought of safety first, kitting it out with a fire extinguisher and carbon monoxide detector.

The move follows an ‘early mid-life crisis’, and he now spends less than £10 a week on living costs if he doesn’t drive to a new location, working on farms in exchange for food.

He cites his ‘freedom’ as the main reason for enjoying van living; seemingly, the only small issue is the lack of a toilet—he relies on the kindness of strangers to use the facilities, or public toilets when he can find them.

‘I will do it until I run out of money or I get bored, but I spend very little so it is more likely to be the latter that would stop me.’

‘Dinosaur crater’ project gets underway A joint UK-US expedition has begun its plans to drill into the Chicxulub Crater just off the southern coast of Mexico.

The crater was made in the Earth’s surface over 66 million years ago by an asteroid, believed by scientists to have hastened the extinction of dinosaurs.

Key parts of the crater are buried below 600m of ocean sediment, however if researchers are able to access its rocks it may be possible to decipher more about the scale of the impact and the ensuing environmental changes.

Computer paints ‘new Rembrandt’ Working in collaboration with Microsoft, a team of technologists have produced and 3D-printed a painting in the style of Dutch artist Rembrandt.

Software was used to analyse existing works before the new work was designed to replicate Rembrandt as much as possible. It was then 3D-printed giving it the texture of an oil painting.

Emmanuel Flores, director of technology for the project, told the BBC “Our goal was to make a machine that works like Rembrandt.”

He went on to add, “I don’t think we can substitute Rembrandt - Rembrandt is unique.”

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Interview with an astronaut: Don Th mas

Former NASA astronaut Don Thomas has been to space four times. In an interview with Science & Technology Editor Andy van den Bent-Kelly, he talks about his experiences, the political scene away from Earth, and what the future holds for the space industry Photo: NASA via Wikimedia Commons

Stepping into the lift of the Crowne Plaza hotel, I breathe nervously as the doors of my launch vessel close behind me. T-minus 10 seconds. Buttons are pressed, commands are relayed back and forth.

Then, with a jolt, I begin to shoot upwards. We have lift off.

It is fair to say that the person I am interviewing has enjoyed significantly more exciting launches than the one I have just experienced. Don Thomas, a former NASA astronaut, is a veteran of four Space Shuttle missions. He has orbited our planet almost 700 times, clocking up over 1000 hours in space in the process.

Although his space-faring days are now behind him, Don still acts as an ambassador for the Kennedy Space Center. He is visiting the UK as part of a large outreach programme, which has seen him speak to primary school pupils in Manchester, visit the National Space Centre at Leicester and even make a half-time appearance at a Fulham game.

Trying not to let my awe get the better of me, I shake the hand of a man who has lived the dream of every young child who has stared out of the bedroom window at night. As an astrophysics student, I have spent the past four years trying to understand what is going on in space. Don, however, has gone one step further and has been up there to find out for himself.

As is the case for so many young children, Don was fascinated by space growing up, and he kicks off the interview by fondly recalling the inspiration moment that set the wheels of his ultimate career path in motion.

“May 5th 1961,” he states, “when we launched the first American into space.”

The American in question was Alan Shepard, who flew around the Earth for 15 minutes in his Freedom 7 spacecraft, just a few weeks after Yuri Gagarin first ventured into outer space.

“At my elementary school, somebody brought us all to the gym,” Don explains. “I sat on the floor and watched the launch of Alan Shepard. As soon as I saw the launch I just said to myself, ‘I want to do that’.”

That feeling never deserted Don. As soon as the opportunity to pursue his childhood dream arose, he jumped at the chance. “The first time I applied I was just out of university, I’d just got my PhD,” he tells me. “I stayed in school and got my masters and doctorate because I knew it would make me more competitive in the selection process.”

Having graduated, Don experienced something that is all too real for students today – rejection. Astronaut vacancies at NASA are exceedingly rare, with selection processes only occurring every two or three years. Fresh out of university, Don sent in his first application, and was turned down. The same thing happened two years later.

“I was getting frustrated but I looked into the backgrounds of who they were selecting and there were clues there for me,” he says. “I noticed that taking flying lessons seemed to help, skydiving seemed to help, teaching a university course, so I did all those things.”

Don conducting an experiment on board Space Shuttle Discovery. During this mission, he also helped deploy a satellite.

Photo: NASA via Wikimedia Commons

With a vast array of suitable skills and achievements under his belt, Don sent in his third application. “I made the group of 100 semi-finalists, got interviewed and went through all the medical tests,” he says. A short while later, Don received a phone call from NASA. Heartbreakingly, it was to inform him that again, he hadn’t made it.

Still undeterred, Don moved to Houston to be closer to the action. He started working as an engineer at the Johnson Space Center, NASA’s main

Don prior to his third launch, in 1997. Photo: NASA via Wikimedia Commons

training, research and mission control facility. After a few years, NASA again invited people to apply for astronaut training.

Don smiles as he tells me about his fourth application. Having gone through the same procedures, tests and interviews as before, Don again received a phone call. This one, however, was to inform him that he’d been selected.

“I finally made it in!” he exclaims. “I was 35 years old when I finally made it into the program, in 1990.”

The following four years were spent training extensively for an eventual trip to space. “You spend a lot of time in the simulator,” Don tells me. “You’ve got to know where every switch is, what every switch does inside the shuttle. You’ve got to go through all the procedures step-by-step, know how to do everything, from powering something on to changing fuel tanks.”

Although Don spent a vast amount of time studying, there was also a significant practical element to his training.

“You spend time underwater, training for spacewalks and spacesuits. You go in other simulators learning to use the robotic arm on the shuttle. Some days we would fly in jets practising high g turns, trying to get used to having more force on your body.

“Every single day training was something different, unique and really challenging and exciting. You almost couldn’t believe you were getting paid to do this job!”

All the training was finally vindicated when Don was selected for his first mission. In July 1994, Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center, with Don on board as a mission specialist. Fast forward to the summer of 1997 and Don had been up into space a further three times.

Much of his time in the Space Shuttle was spent conducting experiments. Three of his four voyages

were dedicated science flights, in which the team studied what impacts the effects of microgravity had on various processes. A two-week mission would often see as many as 200 experiments conducted within the confines of the shuttle. The results, Don says, were extraordinary.

“We did combustion experiments, looking at how fire burns in zero gravity, where you don’t have convective forces. Hot air doesn’t rise in space, cold air doesn’t settle down, so instead of a flame being drawn up to a point like we’re so used to seeing on a candle, a flame will burn perfectly round, in a perfect ball.

“It will consume all the oxygen around itself and then self-extinguish, because there’s no drafting effect getting fresh oxygen there.”

Don was joined on some of his flights by a nonhuman crew. “We did experiments on plants and animals, looking at how different plants grow, how small animals like goldfish and guppies and fruit flies, how they adapt and grow in zero gravity. As a scientist, it was an incredible environment to work in.”

As far away as it may appear, reaching space doesn’t actually take very long at all. Each time he departed Earth, only eight and a half minutes elapsed before Don was able to look back at the planet from the realms of outer space. I ask him about how his first glance back at the Earth affected him personally.

“Looking back at the Earth changes the perspective of every astronaut,” he says. “You see the Earth, you see how thin the atmosphere is—it’s paper-thin.

“On a sunny day here on Earth, that blue sky looks like it goes on forever and ever, but from space you literally see it as a paper-thin layer protecting us and you realise it isn’t infinite. We have to take better care of our planet here.”

Don then tells me that his outlook was changed in far more than just a natural sense. “I come back to Earth and I realise, we’re all Earthlings. From space, you can’t see any borders or boundaries. It doesn’t matter what country you’re from, or what religion, or culture—we’re all the same on planet Earth.

“I used to tell people I’m from Cleveland, Ohio, that’s where I grew up. Now I tell people I’m from Earth when they ask me where I’m from. We’re all from Earth, it doesn’t matter what city or country.

We’re more similar than different.”

The conversation takes a slightly sombre turn as I mention one of the most devastating tragedies to befall NASA. On February 1st 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia was returning from her 28th mission, with seven crew members on board. Damage sustained during the launch just over two weeks beforehand allowed atmospheric gases to penetrate the wing structure, resulting in the complete destruction of the shuttle as it flew over the United States.

For Don, the disaster was particularly distressing.

“I lost seven great friends that day,” he says. “Four of the seven worked with me in the astronaut office so I knew them very well. And you just think about their families, their kids.

“It’s part of the business, you’re always taking this risk, but it’s not easy to lose coworkers and good friends like that.”

The loss of life was of course the most devastating aspect of the disaster, but for Don, the loss of the shuttle itself was upsetting too.

“Space Shuttle Columbia was everyone’s sentimental favourite,” he says. “It was the first one ever launched, my first launch was on Columbia, three of my four missions were on board it. So I had a strong personal attachment to it.

“I thought Columbia would end up in the Air and Space Museum in Washington one day, I couldn’t wait to go down and see that. So when we lost the vehicle in 2003, it was sad and devastating on a number of levels.

“I went down to the Kennedy Space Center, where they were reconstructing Columbia from the debris, trying to find out what caused it all. I went into the hangar and saw thousands of pieces of it. I noticed an aluminium window frame from one of the big windows on the shuttle. The glass had been shattered and blown out and I just looked at that window and I thought of the hundreds of hours that I’d floated in front of that window, looking out at the Earth. It was sad to see that.”

Don’s fourth spaceflight was ultimately his last.

Originally chosen to travel to the International Space Station as part of Expedition 6, he sadly had to withdraw for medical reasons. Prior to that, he spent a year in Russia, overseeing NASA’s operations in Star City.

“Looking back at the Earth changes the perspective of every astronaut... We have to take better care of our planet here.”

“Life is a little harder in Russia than in the suburbs, where I lived in Houston,” he laughs, “but it was so rewarding culturally to live there.

“I lived in a cosmonaut dormitory housing area, right next door to where Yuri Gagarin had lived—his wife and daughters were still living there.”

Star City is located a few miles outside Moscow, and has been the home of Russia’s cosmonaut training facilities for decades. “I used to bump into cosmonauts all the time,” Don tells me. “I met [Andriyan] Nikolayev, one of the early Vostok astronauts, there.”

Although Star City was originally a secret facility, the Russian space program has become a lot more

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Don launching on Space Shuttle Columbia, his third space flight. This mission was cut short due to problems with one of the shuttle’s fuel cell power generation units. Photo: NASA Johnson @Flickr

accommodating and inclusive since the Soviet era and the compound now frequently houses foreign astronauts. Now that the Space Shuttle program has ended, this collaboration between the United States and Russia is more important than ever. I ask Don about how dependent the space program is on global co-operation.

“Just look up at the International Space Station,” he says. “It’s been inhabited for nearly 16 years, I think 15 different countries have contributed to it.

That co-operation is the only thing that keeps the space station going up there.

“We rely on one another, we rely on the Russians to send our astronauts up there, they rely on us to send up supplies. It is just a vital component. If we don’t co-operate, that space station falls down.

“Even though we have a lot of political friction between the United States and Russia right now, and with some other countries, the co-operation in space is truly impressive right now. It doesn’t matter that we don’t agree on war or whatever else, in space we put that all aside and we work together.”

The political scene up in space is a stark contrast to down on Earth. Despite conflicts, differing opinions and breakdowns in political relations, the International Space Station continues to endure, 250 miles above our heads.

It is my personal belief that the ISS is humanity’s greatest achievement—not just from a technical sense (assembling something in space is no mean feat, after all) but from a geopolitical one. Don agrees.

“We talk about the engineering achievement, the scientific achievement, but to get so many countries with such diverse cultures working together for one goal and sending up astronauts from all these countries together, that’s a pretty amazing accomplishment.”

From the outside, you could be forgiven for saying that NASA is not currently enjoying a heyday. During the nineties, when Don was flying, the agency had well over 100 astronauts on the books. These days, the figure is less than 40. Couple that with the fact that the days of the Space Shuttle are over and it’s easy to assume that NASA is on a downward trajectory. “Nothing could be further from the truth!”

Don assures me.

He excitedly outlines NASA’s ambitions for the coming years. It is clear that his passion for the space program hasn’t wavered as he enthuses about the forthcoming Space Launch System, America’s next generation of rockets. He’s even wearing a rocket-themed tie.

“These rockets will allow us to go to the Moon, onto asteroids, to land on Mars. The first test launch of one of these will be in 2018, unmanned. It’ll loop around the Moon and in 2021, we’ll send crews.”

“It’s happening today at the Kennedy Space Center, they’re already modifying the launch pads. At 39B where I launched from on my second mission, they’re configuring it for the Space Launch System.

At 39A, where the first Columbia mission launched from and where Apollo 11 launched from, SpaceX has reconfigured it for commercial trips up to the space station.”

His brief mention of SpaceX leads me to ask his opinion on the increasing role of the private sector in the space industry.

“When I first heard, I was a little suspicious,” he admits. “I didn’t want to have economics being the decision maker when it came to deciding whether to launch or not; safety should always be number one.”

Recent developments, however, have changed his opinion.

“In 2017 they’ll start launching our crews up to the International Space Station, so we won’t have to rely on the Russians and pay them $65 million a seat! Commercial space companies are doing a great job, they’ll open up space for tourism as well.”

Seemingly pre-empting all of my questions, I quiz Don on the impending arrival of space tourism.

“We’re right on the verge of it,” he states. “Virgin Galactic would have been launching already but they had an accident about a year and a half ago which set them back. Soon they’ll start launching tourists up into space, 85 miles up, for a two-hour trip. They’ll get five minutes of zero gravity time, see the curvature of the Earth, the black sky, thin atmosphere. The more people that can get up there and see the Earth, the better off the whole planet is.

“Elon Musk with SpaceX, they won’t be far behind.

A decade from now you’ll look back and space tourists will be going up frequently. Right now it’s about $65 million to go up with the Russians to the space station. Richard Branson is going to bring it down to $250,000 and I would guess within a decade or two, it will be down at around $10-20,000 per person.”

The conversation takes another dive into the realm of politics. With the Obama administration now coming to a close, I ask Don whether the President has had a positive effect on NASA’s operations and ambitions. His frustration is palpable.

“When Obama first got elected, there was a lot of hope in the country,” Don explains, “and everyone within the NASA community was anticipating another John Kennedy moment. We thought something profound would happen, maybe a deadline for going to Mars would be set.

“But that just didn’t happen. There seemed to be very little interest in the space program at all. Not to take anything away from him, our President has been dealing with a recession, we had a horrible economy when he took over. So we haven’t had the money to spend on the space program like we had in the past.”

The current economic situation has not been kind to NASA. Although their annual budget still dwarfs that of any other space agency, relative spending is small compared to previous eras.

“We spend a lot less money, maybe a tenth of the money today per year than we did during the peak of the Apollo program, so we can’t do as much,” Don says. “But within our national politics, space exploration in general seems to me to be on the backburner.

“The people love it, but it’s one of these things, it costs money to do, it takes political will, and it’s just kind of on the backburner right now, unfortunately.”

“We’re humans, we explore. That’s what sets us apart from everything else.”

Resisting the urge to name-drop Donald Trump, I ask Don what any of the current Presidential candidates will be able to bring to NASA, if anything. His response is equally as despairing as the last one.

Don landing back in Florida in Space Shuttle Columbia. The shuttle was lost just under six years after this photo was taken in a disaster that devastated Don and the NASA community. Photo: NASA Johnson @Flickr

“I’ve been so impressed with Elon Musk and SpaceX, what he’s been able to pull off. I was down at the Kennedy Space Center in December, when they landed the first rocket stage back there at Cape Canaveral after the launch.

“To see that thing come down and to hear the sonic boom a few minutes later when it landed, I said, “I’m watching history here.” They’re going to do a great job.

“You know, I hate to be cynical, but in my heart I don’t think it matters what candidate would be in there,” he explains. “Our Congress is so torn and cannot work together. It’s really hard to pass a budget for anything, let alone a vision of sending astronauts to Mars or to an asteroid.

“Our dysfunctional Congress right now makes it really difficult. So if a President came in and said, ‘I want to go to Mars,’ I can guarantee you that half of

Congress would say no! And if a President came in and said, ‘I don’t want to go to Mars,’ then the other half of Congress would say, ‘We want to go to Mars!’

Don’s passion for space travel is exemplified by his tie.

Photo: The Mancunion

“I hope that we can get a President in with some vision, someone who can see the good of the space program, to see how our country and indeed the whole world benefits from it. Someone who can see how our space program excites and inspires young students. We need to have that space program, and hopefully some of the politicians can see that it’s not just for the benefit of landing something on the Moon, but for the whole inspiration and prestige that comes along with the program as well. We’ve kind of lost that.”

Inspiration and prestige are two words that define NASA’s illustrious history gloriously and in Don’s eyes, it is his duty to ensure that he is able to pass on that inspiration to the next generation.

“Ever since I was a little boy, I knew I wanted to go into space. I know that power now, the power of inspiration. I know how powerful that is.”

Don officially retired from NASA in 2007. These days, he’s heavily involved in public outreach and frequently visits schools and universities across the globe. He no longer launches from the Kennedy Space Center, but instead maintains an extensive presence in their visitor complex.

“I go down there four or five times a year for a week or so at a time,” he tells me. “I love talking with the public, I love meeting young children, sharing that excitement, sharing the passion. The fact that I can go out there and help inspire and excite the young kids, it’s really valuable to me. I get a lot out of that.

“I know I can’t make it to Mars, but my feeling is that maybe I can help that next generation, to excite them. We need this next generation ready to go, to undertake these missions.”

There are several disciplines which fascinate almost all young children—space is one of them. Don emphasises the need to nurture and maintain this interest right from the onset.

“We need to keep them on the path, urge them to study maths and science,” he says. “I tell them, ‘Hey, this isn’t easy. What you’re doing right now is not easy. But it’ll pay off for you in the future. If your generation wants to go to Mars, we need you to be those scientists and engineers.

“Kids have that passion, you see the excitement.

Seeing the interest that young kids have, it makes you feel like our future’s in good hands. For us to keep that interest going to get that excitement building, that’s what it’s all about.”

I conclude the interview by referring back to the space community’s next major goal—landing on Mars. Colonisation of the Red Planet is looking increasingly more likely, with many agencies, both public and private, aiming to send human crews there.

“People ask, ‘Why do you want to land on Mars and send crews there, we already have rovers.’ Well, we had landers on the Moon before we sent Neil Armstrong there. But when we put those human astronauts on the surface, it changed everything.

They could describe their feelings—what they saw, what they felt—something that no robot could do.

“It changes it totally, it makes it a human experience. Having a picture of Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin standing on the Moon next to the lander, people see that and go ‘Wow!’ It just has that strong emotional impact.

“We’re humans, we explore. That’s what sets us apart from everything else.”

I leave the hotel with a wide smile across my face, partly due to the NASA goodie bag that I’ve been given. In it is a signed photo of Don, complete with the words: “Keep your eyes on the stars!” I have my eyes on the stars every day as part of my degree, but if Don can keep convincing youngsters to follow suit, then who knows where in the Universe humanity might be casting glances next.

Opinion

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Meetings Mondays, 5pm, First Floor of the Students’ Union

Register to vote or else you may find yourself on the wrong side of the EU As the referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union approaches, it is crucial that people are registered to vote.

There have been changes since the last election to the electoral register and the way people can vote. This means that if you have changed address since last votinyou will have to register again.

Even if you are not intending to vote it is still a good idea to register in case you change your mind.

If you will be away on June the 23rd, as many who are atteding Glastonbury will be, you should register for a postal or proxy vote so that you can still make your mark even if you aren’t around.

Whether you’re ‘Brexit’ or ‘Bremain’, the most important thing is that you get yourself to a polling station and vote, whichever way that vote may be.

You must contact your local electoral registration office to find out if you are currently registered to vote. Registering to vote is a simple and easy process that can be done online at gov.co.uk/registerto-vote.

Next week’s edition will be the last Mancunion of the year. If you have been reading this year and wanted to see your opinions in print, there is still time to get involved. Just turn up to the first floor of the Students’ Union on Monday at 5 to pitch an idea.

ISSUE 18 / 14th MARCH 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Should the UK leave the EU? The EU is not perfect, but to run would be cowardly

The continent faces economic and political strife, but we must stay to improve the situation Many arguments have been put forward for leaving the EU, from both the left and the right (and everything in between) and these include: It’s undemocratic, unaccountable, beholden only to itself. It’s an expansionist super-state, intent on robbing us of our national sovereignty.

It’s a glorified corporate racket, which exists only to serve the needs of enormous, multinational corporations. It’s an unwieldy behemoth, incapable of adapting to a rapidly changing and destabilising world. It’s a vast, expensive, bureaucratic nightmare, which wants to stifle business with red tape and regulate the curvature of our bananas.

There is of course some grain of truth to most of these arguments. In some cases, there is a whole bucket load of truth to them. The democratic deficit of some of the EU’s power structures, particularly the Commission, is clear to see. We all played witness to the will of the Greek people being shamelessly subverted by the cult of austerity that has gripped the EU at the highest levels. Its secretive negotiations to set up the anti-democratic TTIP are deeply disturbing. Its common policies in agriculture and fisheries have had some disastrous consequences. We could debate these all day.

But I say to everyone making these (perfectly reasonable) arguments: so what?

Are you saying we should run away from the whole European project with our tails between our legs? That we

Y

S E

Edward Bains Opinion Writer should give up? That we should surrender? That doesn’t sound very brave to me. That sounds like the coward’s way out. Are the British cowards? Do the British back away from a fight? Do the British surrender?

“A divided Europe is exactly what external foes such as IS and Putin would love to see” In 1940, after the evacuation of Dunkirk, Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany. We didn’t surrender then. We kept on fighting even when all the odds were stacked against us, and we carried on till the whole world was on our side and together we defeated perhaps the most evil power the world has ever known.

The EU (nor any country in it), of course, is not Nazi Germany. Far from it. Which makes walking away from it now seem all the more gutless. If we can triumph in the face of an adversity like Nazi Germany, can we not deal with the comparatively

miniscule problems of the EU? Churchill wouldn’t have voted to give up and leave and neither should we.

Many would argue that we’ve tried to fight the problems of the EU, and all we got was Cameron’s pathetic so-called ‘reforms’. In other words, we failed. But when you set the bar for reform as low as he did, and, importantly, set yourself a ludicrously short timescale in which to obtain them before you put them to a referendum, failure was the only plausible outcome.

A future government (certainly not this one) can and should aim for far more fundamental, wide-reaching reforms. They will take much longer, and won’t be easy, but we’ll never know if we don’t try (I mean properly try, Cameron). The appetite for them is certainly there among the population of Europe.

And just why is it so important that we stay and continue this struggle for change? Well, to Britain, the EU has never been seen as much more than a glorified trade deal. But to the rest of its member states, it has been by far one of the greatest forces for peace and stability and economic development since the Second World War. A great unifier of a continent that has frequently been at war with itself.

NO

But now it stands at a precipice. A lethal cocktail of economic woes, sovereign debt, terrorism and the refugee crisis have left the continent weak, divided and fragile, fuelling the rise of the far right. All across Europe, the enemy is at the gates.

In countries such as Hungary and Poland, the enemy has already broken down the gates and become the main party of government (and are now hastily re-erecting the gates to keep others from doing the same). Do we run away and let people such as these determine the direction of Europe?

Half the EU member-states know they could easily lose in-out referendums were they to be held today. Britain leaving could be the spark that starts the fire that burns the whole trembling structure to the ground. A divided Europe is exactly what external foes such as ISIS and Putin would love to see. Which is exactly why we mustn’t give it to them. Just as in 1940, the fate of the whole of Europe may be in the hands of the British.

Part of the problem with Britain’s relationship with the EU is that we have always been passengers to the project. But we should aspire to be leaders. We can remake it into something better: more democratic, more open, more fair—but not if we vote to leave.

Don’t surrender Britain. Don’t give up the fight.

Vote remain.

Leave behind the EU and embrace Rule Britannia

In his true final piece of the year, our esteemed columnist and Mancunion perennial sets out his case for backing the Brexit campaign.

The EU is quite the hot topic these days.

It seems to have a monopoly on our news outlets and will continue to do so until 23rd June when it will at last all be over. The sweet release after months of campaigning will have taken their toll will be evident and we will either have a vote to remain or a vote to leave.

I would very much prefer the later and I will explain briefly why. But firstly, for the more attentive amongst you it may come as a surprise to see me pen another article this year. Indeed, I did say that I was spent for the rest of the semester.

But when my editor put out a call for someone to write a piece on the merits of Brexit, the opportunity was too much to pass up. So back to this grim business.

The paramount reason for us to leave the EU, and hopefully trigger its collapse, is because of its basic threats to democracy. It has ridden roughshod over the parliaments of Greece and Portugal, is victimising Poland for electing a Eurosceptic government and has an all powerful executive comprised of appointed bureaucrats who are unaccountable to the likes of you or I. I doubt they answer even to God at this point. Britain is therefore in very great danger of being sucked further into the project. There is contentious argument over how much

Colm Lock Opinion Writer of our laws are made in Brussels. But whether it is 70 per cent or just 15 per cent, the figure is immaterial. Even a single percentage should be completely unacceptable. We have fought wars against two kings to establish the sovereignty and rights of the British people and the British parliament and yet we are willing to capitulate our legislative abilities to these continentals? The EU is not accountable to us. If we dislike a law imposed on us by the Commission, can we overturn it? Nope. This should be an affront to us all. For it was Britain who invented parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, the right to own property, habeas corpus; the list goes on. Much of this is threatened under the EU and so we must be away.

“But what about our influence in the world?” the remain campaigners screech as they hurl darts at a Nigel Farage cut out. They say we cannot go it alone. That we are too small a country to negotiate our own trade deals or that we will be at risk of attack should we leave. What do I say to that? Poppycock!

I’ve heard more truths from Fox News on the theory of evolution. Of course we

can go it alone.

We are the 5th largest economy on the planet and we have the strongest military in Europe. I like to think that we could cope outside the EU. Norway and Iceland seem to be doing okay and last time I checked they weren’t being annexed by Russia. Please note this could change by the time this is published. In terms of trade deals, we have links to possibly the biggest community on the planet, the commonwealth. Why not trade with countries who share our language, our values and our love of cricket? The Prime Minster of New Zealand recently said that we are forgetting who our friends are. Many are emerging markets and healthy growing economies as opposed to the pitiful state of Europe’s economies.

We have bugger all influence in the EU as it is anyway. In the last 20 years we have objected to 55 pieces of legislation in the council of ministers and 55 times we have been defeated. That is not influence, that is irrelevance.

Now you could vote to remain and look forward to a United States of Europe being shackled to the likes of the

French, with our flag to be replaced by that blue and yellow monstrosity and have Ode to Joy being our national anthem. We joined with the promise of free trade and instead have been sucked into participation of the early stages of a super state. We should strive for a Europe of independent nation states free to do as they please, and it is up to us to blaze the trail for them. So on June 23rd, vote to leave the EU so that we might again completely govern ourselves and trade with the world as we should like.

“We have fought wars against two kings to establish sovereignty”

Because, to quote Tony Blair, and I can’t believe I just said that, “The British are special. The world knows it. In our innermost thoughts we know it. This is the greatest nation on earth” and by jove we can go it alone.

gh he at

Opinion11

ISSUE 19 / 11th APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

No surprises from the Panama Papers Tristan Parsons gives his view on why the Panama Papers only reveal what many already suspected 11 million documents recording 40 years of the day-to-day doings of the Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, have been leaked. They show how the firm has helped the most powerful people on the planet—including 12 current or former heads of state—evade tax, launder money, and dodge financial sanctions.

But this kind of behaviour is inevitable, and perhaps ‘natural’, in our globalised world, right? There is a misguided assumption that tax havens are normal and they can’t be stopped. This could not be further from the truth. A dip into history can help us untangle this issue.

In 1903, the administration of Theodore Roosevelt—with the help of William Cromwell, a well-connected U.S. lawyer, and his connections to J.P. Morgan—tore the province of Panama away from Colombia by encouraging armed rebellion in the region. Following this, the U.S gained permanent rights to the Panama Canal region. The canal project was finished in 1914.

Initially, the state began registering foreign ships to help Standard Oil avoid U.S. tax and regulations.

Then, as early as 1927, pressure from Wall Street resulted in relaxed tax laws in Panama. In the early 1970s, the arrangement was formalised to the standard tax haven model based on Swiss-style secretive banks and, and tax-exempt companies.

However, political turmoil had been bubbling away in Panama for years and in 1979, the Canal Zone was abolished, and it was scheduled for the canal to be fully turned over to Panama in 2000, although the U.S. retained the right to use military force to defend the country’s ‘neutrality’ during these years.

Despite this apparent progress, the 1970s saw a surge of banking deposits in the country from almost nothing to US$50bn. This surge involved dictators such as Augusto Pinochet, the Americansponsored dictator of Chile whose military government used torture, murder, and deception to first overthrow the previous socialist government and then impose the neoliberal economic policies of the ‘Chicago Boys’, as led by the Chicago University

Jessica Chow-Lau Opinion Writer The far-right movement is coming to Britain as it came to mainland Europe and the United States.

People are looking for answers amidst economic stagnation, the Euro-crisis, and fear of cultural decline. Since the people in power cannot give reassurances, let alone providing hope, people look to fringe, comparatively extreme parties, which, by now, aren’t on the fringe and don’t seem so extreme.

British people have this pride of political exceptionalism that doesn’t exist with the French and the Germans. The British do not seem to think that the belligerently anti-immigration movement applies to them, or that they will have the sort of tanned-orange nightmare Americans have now. For prevention, I plead the British to recognize that they are not a political anomaly.

The far-right movement emerged in 1989 when the leader of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), Jörg Haider, became governor of Carinthia.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, debates about Islam and integration became more prevalent. As polling results show though, opinions were generally rejected as radical. However in 2011, the eurocrisis gave extremist parties another talking point on their agenda, right next to anti-immigration.

Votes for France’s National Front (FN) and the Netherlands’ Party for Freedom began to climb. Even the Germans (whose country was responsible for bail-outs) had Alternative for Deutschland, which wanted to break up the Euro.

Far-right parties adapted the welfare aspirations of the left with their nationalism, recasting themselves as anti-establishment—in a sense, undergoing moderation to fit with EU driven prosperity.

Now that the status of the EU is being questioned, confident proclamations of extremist dialogue are being heard once again. There are few European countries where a populist party has no political power. FPÖ came in second after the Social Democrats, their worst results since 1996. Prime Minister Victor Orbán of Hungary is already espousing far right ideas to make up for his own party’s losing popularity. The face of the far-right movement, Marine Le Pen, won more votes than the Republican and Socialist Party late last year, gaining popularity while enjoying her title as an outsider. In the United

world wide web of tax havens that stretches as far as Hong Kong. It is all linked, he claims. And the City of London, and the UK government that struggles to regulate the historically illusive Square Mile, is at the heart of the global web.

“There is a misguided assumption that tax havens can’t be stopped”

Photo: Images_of_Money @Flickr

academic, Milton Freidman.

When Noriega, the commander of Panama’s defense forces, came to power in 1983, he effectively nationalised the money-laundering business and gave control of the country to drug cartels. He supported U.S. foreign policy, and was on the CIA’s payroll until his opposition to the Americans’ efforts to overthrow of Nicuragua’s leftist government. This was a contributing reason for the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989, which helped returned control to the U.S. ahead of the scheduled handover of the Canal Region.

Panama has been built on dirty money and dirty deals. Even the IMF regards it has one of the most at-risk countries for money laundering, as it follows

just 1 of its 40 recommendations for combating money laundering and terror financing. This was from a report made in February 2014.

But this is not an organic leak. In September 2015, the New York Times reported that Vladimir Putin’s closest circle had been using the Panama structure.

Yes, these papers make confirmation, but it remains that the media and governments have known about this for years.

Despite the BBC’s efforts to focus public attention on the Russian link mentioned above, the Independent reported that half of the 300,000 firms listed as clients to the company were registered in UK-administered tax havens. Nicholas Shaxson describes the City of London as at the heart of a

Britain under the far right With worsening economic and political prospects, Britain may soon be faced with a wave of far-right activity

Despite the scale of the extent of US and UK involvement in Panama and tax havens more widely, there appears to be only a handful of western names in the documents (so far). For now, the papers have protected much of the western elite, claims prominent anti-corruption blogger, Craig Murray.

But, crucially, we must realise that this is not merely an investigation into the lives of the rich and famous. In the most moderate of senses, there are serious costs to the taxpayer: estimates of lost revenue vary, but often fall between £25bn to £45bn.

At a grander level, this issue is about the locking up of power within a small economic and political elite. It is widely recognised that, throughout history, this distribution of power is one of the major factors for societies making bad decisions. Put simply, we cannot solve the issues we face today without tackling this double standard of law observed in Panama and other locations across the world.

Tax havens are not natural. They are designed and created by those who are acting on behalf of corporate and criminal interests. They are not a necessary defining feature of our globalised world; they are not a necessary component of a capitalist system.

touched upon by many pundits, but those that do claim that British politics doesn’t have an outsider candidate like America does. May I remind you that the vulgar monstrosity came out of nowhere; his last interview regarding politics was in the 1990s.

All it takes is one charismatic leader that appeals to the anxieties of the people. Criticize the Conservatives for their elitist policies, shame Labour for being terrorist sympathizers; its amazing what carefully timed rhetoric can do.

The only European countries where extreme populism has failed to gain traction are in Spain and the western Balkan states. Their history of nationalist violence would be the perfect place for xenophobia if not for the people remembering that they too were in the refugees’ position of an involuntary vagabond. Spain has seen an inflow of immigrants from 2000 to 2010 but has dodged the bullet because of Spaniards’ fear of returning to any semblance of Francisco Franco’s fascist dictatorship.

“The British do not seem to think that the belligerently anti-immigration movement applies to them.”

Photo: Gavin Lynn @Flickr

States, anti-establishment rage has manifested itself in the Black Lives Matter movement, heightening fear among white nationalists of a changing America, who, in turn, feed the fire of a sound bite demagogue.

“Britain doesn’t need an evangelical base for the far-right wave to come crashing at her shores.”

The mythical Nordic region attempts to hold on to their culture amidst the refugee crisis, meaning that it has become more common for the most tolerant people in the world to despise Islam. It’s no coincidence that Sweden Democrats has won more votes after the country accepted an inundation of refugees. Neither the Moderates nor the Social Democrats were able to gain majority, and the Sweden Democrats became the second-biggest party.

Britain doesn’t need an evangelical base for the far-right wave to come crashing at her shores. The western world has shown that if insecure enough, the university educated will join the working class in support of a far-right party. The subject isn’t

As Britain does not share a similar history with Croatia or Spain, it must move to other options.

Learning from our European neighbors France and Hungary, the Labour party would be wise to find a leader that doesn’t alienate liberal voters. Keep people from straying to other options by heavily discouraging Labour members from getting too friendly with the BNP or Islamic militant groups. The key is for Conservatives and Labour to strengthen their core demographic and cooperate with each other against a common cause.

People are more concerned about national culture, identity, and quality of life than material goods.

With public services under strain, the British becoming increasingly concerned with immigration, and the search for a national identity still unanswered, the vulnerabilities of this country to such transpirations cannot be emphasised enough.

Music

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ISSUE 20 / 18th APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Album Live

Feature

Ladytronica: the forgotten females of electronic music

Parquet Courts: Human Performance Released 8th April via Rough Trade

After a brief stint indulging their weirder whims, Parquet Courts’ return to conventional songwriting, makes the craft sound easy

Electronic music can seem like a bit of a boy’s club, but there have always been women involved. The tide is surely turning

Patrick Grealey Music Critic

Jacob Bernard Banton Music Critic

Let me start by saying that if there’s one thing I really fucking hate (move over racism, sexism, world hunger, spiders, cider etc.), it’s when fans get all ornery about their anointed artists defying their past successes and indulging their weirder whims, as if they as consumers are actually owed some kind of deference or consideration. You know, brattishness of the “We’re bank-rolling these clowns ain’t we?! Where’s Light Up Gold: After The Gold Rush?! And when are we gonna get Sunbathing Animal II: The Sunbed Chronicles?!

We made you, you pricks!” ilk.

Supremely welcome as such repeats of those righteous albums would be, the thought that some people would presume the right to actually demand them, in the sincere belief that they should be heard and assented to, makes me a little bit ill. If you want the independent vanguard to keep doing cool new shit, then you’ve got to get used to hearing the odd thing you don’t like, or seeing the odd sainted band implode into a singularity of vacuousness, never to escape the gravity of their own latent banality (Weezer are a classic example of this). That’s the prerogative of the artist, and it’s to be lamented but ultimately respected. The supply-demand rule should not apply to art.

That said, Parquet Courts’ last album, the instrumental minimalist splinter that was Monastic Living , seemed to make a point of anticipating such baying indignance from their fan-base, perhaps thinking it would be funny to go out of their way to encourage it (which it would be). It does actually have its charms, though, in an extra-terrestrial kind of way, and besides, with Parquet Courts excreting albums at a positively dysentric rate, it’s unreasonable to expect them all to be heartbreaking masterworks anyway. None of their diversely lovable releases since the heartbreakingly masterful Light Up Gold quite have been, and

7/10 Human Performance is no exception.

It is good though. The best songs – ‘Outside’, ‘Paraphrase’, ‘One Man No City’ and ‘It’s Gonna Happen’ – are reassuringly consummate studies in flat-grooved catchiness, caterwauling punk, New Yawk noise-jamming and dislocated melancholy respectively: all the things Parquet Courts are known and loved for. The rest are perfectly admirable, and I liked them all. But, the aforementioned four standouts excluded, there’s not much on Human Performance quite as curious as what’s on Content Nausea, or as insistent as what’s on Sunbathing Animal. They just vibrantly and expertly re-tread well-trod ground so that the headless chickens who feared Monastic Living meant Parquet Courts either couldn’t or wouldn’t write songs anymore can sew their noggins back on. I just look forward to Parquet Courts gleefully picking at the still-fresh stitches when they drop the next album in eight months or so.

Photo: Album artwork

Delia Derbyshire. Photo: Ethan Hein@Flickr

Spare a thought for the straight white male.

He’s been getting it in the neck lately, though not entirely undeservingly. There’s accusations that he’s been a little overrepresented in the realms of electronic music. It’s hard to disagree. Though Tim Hecker’s marvellous new album Love Streams received the Guardian’s 800-word album of the week spread, Fatima Al Qadiri’s politically-charged Brute , released only a month earlier, didn’t receive the same kind of fanfare, Brute’ s lukewarm critical reception notwithstanding. The latter might seem a rather trivial and petty state-of-affairs to whinge about, but it is certainly important: 800 words is surely enough to pluck you from obscurity.

It would be stupid to dismiss all electronic music produced by men – for every Skrillex, there’s a Floating Points, a Bonobo or a James Blake – yet it’s still easy to think that electronica is exclusively staffed by them.

From the off, many of electronic music’s pioneers were women. Delia Derbyshire wasn’t only responsible for the original Doctor Who theme song, as everyone cites, but also ‘Zi-

the Interview New Street Records We get the down low on an exciting new project that gets students running a record label for students here in Manchester. Oscar Talbot chats with label directors Cameron Day and Rob Charlton about their prospects The premise behind New Street Records (NSR) is one that is so simply it is surprising that is has never been done before. A record label run by students, for students. NSR draws on the large pool of talented and committed people, who are enthusiastic about music. The label can give them valuable experience in a difficult industry and the chance to discover the next big thing, and now it is coming to Manchester. I met up with the directors Cameron Day and Rob Charlton to discuss the project.

Everyone involved is a student volunteer, and all the bands must have students in them. It is the brainchild of a group of Birmingham alumni students, and the Birmingham branch now numbers 70 strong, from A & R, all the way to a legal department.

“Because everyone is a student we understand they have other commitments, so having more people on the team means there are always people to do jobs,” explains Cameron. “With the power of students there’s so much we can do, there’s so many talented people, not only at Manchester Uni, but also at Man Met and RNCM.” “The more the merrier! The more people we can have working with us the better. Some people know exactly what they want to do, others just want to help out. There’s no one excluded”, says Rob. The goal is to set up a network of student run record labels around the country that can support the vibrant student community. It’s a tried and tested technique, with Birmingham’s own Sam Jackson having released an EP, Strangers Again, under their NSR label available through iTunes and Spotify, as well as headlining at the O2 Academy at Birmingham. Physical releases are also in the pipeline, as well as the possibility of vinyl.

“Jackson’s EP is out, and we’ve been able to use really great production, and awesome art work for it,” says Cameron enthusiastically. “The guys in Birmingham said they don’t know of anyone else in the country who has a label like this.”

Of course it is no mean feat to start a record label, not least one with such a mobile work force. “Any tips we’ve had have come from Birmingham, they’ve already gone through all the good things and the bad things to do” says Cameron, when I ask him about the struggles of setting up a record label. It is certainly not without risk, but NSR are confident that with the support of a dynamic group of students they can achieve great things, and pick up on artists who might not have been discovered by bigger labels.

Rob explains more about what is to come in the future: “We plan to release two EPs next year, and helping people produce their own EPs. We are doing a lot of scouting for artists at the moment. We are looking for a range of genres that we can get professionally recorded, with studio sessions.”

The initial challenge with any such project is promotion, and NSR are particularly keen to get as many people as possible involved in marketing and PR, as well as any aspiring graphical artists.

Keep your eyes peeled for an up coming launch party, which will be advertised around campus, with featured artists performing and possibly DJ sets. Rob is clearly enthusiastic: “It should be something that you don’t expect, and don’t get to see that often!”

If you want to get involved in any aspect of New Street Records contact manchester@newstreetrecords.com, especially if you are a music creator.

Photo: New Street Records

wzih Ziwzih OO-OO-OO’, a futuristic slice of British musique concrete that predates the hard-edged techno and – no, really – spartan hip-hop it recalls. Transgender ambient auteur Wendy Carlos famously scored Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, though her other accomplishments are suspiciously ignored. It isn’t simply that these women are forgotten; some of them are so obscure as to be easily overlooked.

San Franciscan street performer Susan Dietrich Schneider, aka The Space Lady, only came to cult status after being discovered on a compilation of outsider music. Like Derbyshire, her idiosyncratic music was strikingly ahead of its time; now everyone from Beach House to Blouse sounds marginally indebted to Schneider’s beguiling, warbling synthpop.

The mononymous Erika joins Schneider as another female artist criminally kept below everyone’s radar: her improvised track ‘Solar Rise’ is a must-see YouTube video away.

Hyperdub affiliates Cooly G (an ethereal, sensual amalgam of soulful dub and twilit 2-step) and Ikonika (delightful, angular takes on future garage and house) fly the flag for astonishing contemporary UK electronica.

The pair’s American “outsider house” labelmate Laurel Halo is so impressive, you wonder why it is that so many supernaturally talented women aren’t being spotlighted.

Fortunately, heads are beginning to turn.

One of last year’s success stories was Holly Herndon’s brutal, engaging and heady album Platform . Thanks to label 4AD’s positive backing and the utterly compelling music offered, there seemingly wasn’t a music webzine that didn’t feature her. Let’s hope the tide continues to turn.

Music

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Live

Album

Pharcyde

Pet Shop Boys: Super

2nd of April @ Mantra Warehouse

Released 1st of April via x2

Hip Hop royalty Pharcyde were met with a hoard of loyal subjects in Mantra’s new warehouse venue Will Whiting Contributor

7.5/10

Boasting a flashy new warehouse venue to Manchester’s old-school fan base, Mantra was the envy of the city when word got around that The Pharcyde’s Imani and Bootie Brown were in town. Fuelling a dynamic atmosphere almost custom-made for the legendary HipHop group, you really wouldn’t think that these guys have been in the game for 25 years now (a feat matched by an audience of devoted fans, young and old, who, like at any real Hip-Hop gig, reciprocated with energy and passion). Manchester last welcomed these guys back in 2013, but a crowd full of fans rhyming every tune pretty much word-for-word with them made it seem like they never left.

A bit of appreciation also needs to go out to local support act Children of Zeus, performing an intriguing mix of rap and a stunning range of vocals on top of reggae and electronic beats.

The double act looked relaxed in a chilled environment, but much of the crowd were clearly saving themselves for the main act.

Mantra warehouse’s mysterious UV wall effects, combined with a deep red carpet projected from above, welcomed Imani and Bootie Brown onto stage like true royalty. Quite fittingly opening on ‘Pharcyde’, a mesmerised crowd lovingly chanted the names ‘Imani, Bootie Brown, Fatlip and SlimKid3’, the rappers executing each and every line as if it were the Lord’s prayer. The mood and tones of the performance were ever-changing throughout renditions of ‘Devil Music’, ‘Hey You!’ and ‘Passin’

Me By’, but what remained constant was a visible twinkle in the eye of a passionate Imani. I’m sure the same could have been said for Brown if it wasn’t for a thick pair of jet black sunglasses resting inside his signature Afro haircut.

A personal favourite moment of the night came when the stage lighting transferred to a cool shade of blue, to which Bootie Brown thanked the audience and descended into his masterpiece and labcabincalifornia opener ‘Bullshit’. This, followed by a crowd favourite track, ‘Runnin’’ spurred on one of the loudest calls for an encore I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing. The rappers wiped the sweat from their foreheads and obliged, sending the audience home with all expectations exceeded.

Considering how some reunion gigs tend to disappoint, it’s clear that The Pharcyde are showing no signs of letting up just yet.

Photo: Jon May

30 years into their career, Pet Shop Boys remain one of the most influential pop groups of all time and Super holds up a mirror to today’s pop scene to show it Helena Ross Contributor

7/10

It’s a big year for the Pet Shop Boys! Thirty years and a handful of days ago, they released their debut, Please, with that iconic tiny photo on the album sleeve, looking so ahead of the curve now that the largest I generally see any album art is the 190x190 Spotify image. That’s the way I’m ingesting the cover of their thirteenth record, Super, and though the musical landscape has changed much over the Pet Shop Boys’ career, they remain as camp and clever and profound as ever.

In fact, we are at a cultural moment - finally!

- where the curve appears to have caught up with them. Where underground musical culture is more obviously indebted to the queer club sounds and bad-taste-rendered-sublime that they pioneered, than the guitar tradition they made themselves foils to. In this context it’s hard to imagine the Pet Shop Boys being able to pull off something new; no potential to do something as contrarian and as brilliant as releasing an album of campy Latin tunes as answer to Britpop.

Instead of standing out, they’ve wormed themselves into the existing pop landscape this time around, but in such as way that they’ve made it clear quite how indebted everyone is to them. Super is effectively a retrospective, a Pet Shop Boys tribute to the Pet Shop Boys, and it works because of course it does.

Super cribs relentlessly from a lot of contemporary dance trends - moody Berlin basslines, tropical house fills; even the godawful Avicii country sound makes an appearance on opener ‘Happiness’. It’s all blended with more retro sounds:

‘Burn’ has so many orchestra hits it could only be by them, and lead single ‘the Pop Kids’ and closer ‘Into Thin Air’ both run off the back of Neil’s dreamy, bittersweet vocals the way all their most transcendental singles did. It’s also a 2016 hi-NRG record, a criminally underappreciated genre they’ve been carrying the torch for this whole time. All of the cribbing - and of course the selfreference - is done with the utmost care though; the sound of them as lovers, producers, critics and curators of pop for thirty years and counting.

There is definitely filler - they have always been a band of Smash Hits! over concept albums.

There is nothing as perfect as ‘Being Boring’ here, but that’s a level of pop perfection I wouldn’t expect from anyone else. They’re still the biggest, cleverest, funniest; still the best at what they do.

Photo: Album Artwork

Festival

Cosmosis

Cosmosis Festival became stratospheric this year, with a big venue and even bigger lineup. The Mancunion launched itself into the heart of the Trafford based, psychedelic whirlwind

12th of March @ Victoria Warehouse Rory Calland Contributor

8/10

Cosmosis Festival has come a long way. Last year it was held in the pokey student Mecca of Antwerp Mansion, whereas this year saw it took grace the cavernous halls of Victoria Warehouse. As well as this, the line up this year was stratospheric, making it a must for any paisley fiend or hirsute shoegazer in the Manchester area and beyond. It is testament to the gravitational pull of headliners Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Jesus and Mary Chain and Sleaford Mods, that it was an excited Mary Chain fan all the way from Dublin who lent me his programme as we waited to collect our wristbands.

After sounding out the various stages and attempting to come to grips with the token system, youthful Manchester outfit, Freakout Honey, were my first foray into the woozy sound of Cosmosis. On the gratefully heated Fire Stage, they took their glitter-laced surfpsych to some heavenly highs and set a precedent for the festivals direction. The recent psychedelic revival has slowly seemed to mutate into a thicker, fuzzier, shoegazing existence and as a result, everywhere you went, a barrage of guitars and effects pedals enveloped you. Despite this vogue, Freakout Honey were, in their best moments, more 13th Floor Elevators than My Bloody Valentine.

Then, it was back into the warehouse (which was honestly colder than outside) and to the Earth stage, to see how one of the most vital post punk bands of the late seventies and early eighties held up live as the band members enter their own late seventies and early eighties. I arrived at Wire expecting a tight if eclectic show, I left thinking that Cosmosis 2016 might well have peaked too early. I was prepared for the angular spiky punk of debut album Pink Flag,

Tracks of the

Week The Music Editors

and they made my ignorance of their development show as they sent a cascade of unearthly atmospheric songs fizzing around the room. At the end ,everyone quietly filed out and, if they were anything like me, took a good 20 minutes outside digesting what had just happened.

I was quite hard to impress for a period after that; I thought Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats sounded like the Darkness, which is all that needs to be said about that. The Raveonettes, of whom I’d heard rave reviews, had some promising moments early on, but started to bore with a succession of what seemed to be quite straightforward, countryish pop songs. It took another trip to the cosy fire stage to see The Altered Hours to raise my spirits. As they came to the last couple of tunes, they should have taken no offence at their steadily thinning audience; The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s set loomed and they themselves may have wished they could have sloped off early to a good spot for one of the clear highlights of the night.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre thrilled with their quivering organs and retro psychedelic stylings, none more so than during ‘Anenome’, for which Anton Newcombe delegated vocal duties to a woman whom I couldn’t identify. It was then quickly from the retro, to the blindingly current. If you haven’t heard Sleaford Mods before, just imagine if Slaves ditched the guitar, bought a Macbook, and weren’t utter bollocks. The minimal electronic beats combined with 47 year old Jason William’s impassioned diatribes against almost everything and anything resulted in a febrile atmosphere.

Getting on to 1 o’clock, there was no let up, as next on the Main Stage were, the band most often compared to a washing machine, original 80s shoegazers The Jesus And Mary Chain. If I’m to be entirely candid, I was far too tired to make the most of this oppor-

tunity to see one of my all time favourite bands live. My head lolled about uncontrollably, and whilst we explored some of the Chain’s later work, my focus was on my aching heels. ‘Just Like Honey’ lifted me temporarily out of my slumber and I spent a really lovely two minutes with my head aimed upwards, singing along to one of the most beautifully simple songs ever written. My resurgence was short lived however, and although I’m sure the rest of their set was equally sublime, my day had come to an end and I was off home.

My paisley detox is on-going.

Photo: Cosmosis

M83: ‘Laser Gun’ From Junk, released 8th April via Mute

Leon Vynehall: ‘Blush’ From Rojus, released 1st April via Running Back

Charles Bradley: ‘You Think I Don’t Know (But I Don’t Know)’ From Changes, released 1st April via Daptone

A rudimentary piano line played on what sounds like one of those shitty keyboards they had at your school. Tacky brass. Squeaky synths lifted straight from an 80s cop show.

These are the ingredients that make Junk an irresistible, sickly joy ride to some and a nostalgia trip through the halls of the best forgotten to others. Here they unequivocally work however, thanks to M83’s typically thunderous, rhythmic drops and MAI LANs quirky vocal performance circa Tom Tom Club. A bright spot on a patchy and polarizing album.

- Rob

Leon Vynehall’s anthemic ‘Blush’ is the tropical rainforest, you’re the long haired exotic goddess. The drops hits at 2:06 and you have your Aloe Vera moment, screaming orgasmically beneath a glistening waterfall, birds singing all around. Then the song finishes and you realise you’re actually just a hairy bloke singing in the shower and instead of Aloe Vera you’ve got Adidas body wash in your hair.

- Henry

The closing track on Bradley’s third album in an absolute show stopper. For those not in the know, Charles Bradley is the everyman of modern music; he got his first record contract age 62 from Dapton Records, a revivalist Soul label putting out infectious soul records that are like a step back in time to the Seventies. He had no easy life, alongside moonlighting as a James Brown impersonator, Charles worked odd jobs and even spent a period on the street. It its impossible not to get caught up in the magic of this track. The pain in his voice is so apparent, yet the groovy trumpets and backing vocals will keep you coming back again and again.

- Matt

Music 13

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the

Interview

Comfortable in their discomfort, Frightened Rabbit speak to Joe Casson about their new album’s unsettled development and uncharacteristic subtlety Frightened Rabbit have walked an old-fashioned path to success, releasing a steady stream of albums and extensively touring them to a gradually expanding audience. Most songs follow a tried-and-tested formula: frontman Scott Hutchison spills out every ounce of his self-loathing and misery as the band’s intensity builds to a cathartic ending that is as triumphant as it is harrowing. It’s a formula that has served them well from the first bars of 2006 debut Sing The Greys on Brighton indie label Fatcat Records, through 2013 breakthrough Pedestrian Verse, their first album on Atlantic Records, which propelled them to the top ten.

“It felt like an ending of sorts”, drummer Grant explains.

“On Pedestrian Verse, we finally made the music we envisioned in our heads...it didn’t make sense to just make the same thing again. We were looking for something different”. They found it. The songs comprising new album Painting of a Panic Attack no longer gallop towards an explosive conclusion, but take their time building slow-burning tension: The album gracefully blooms with opener ‘Death Dream’ while ‘Lump Street’ throbs ominously. Meanwhile, electronic flourishes creep in on a sound previously characterised by acoustic guitars and pounding drums. “We still love a big chorus”, Grant explains, “but we looked for other ways to achieve that effect. Also, Aaron [Dessner, producer] didn’t let us”.

The new material’s tension and restraint is the product of a recording process that disrupted the band’s status quo. The catalyst for this change was provided by Scott, Grant’s brother, deciding to relocate to Los Angeles in 2014, a move Grant describes as having “initially frustrating” implications for the songwriting process. Yet

the

Feature

this seems to have provided the shake-up the band was looking for, and came to have a number of positive effects. The resultant process of members exchanging ideas via email ultimately smoothed over the emotional responses that had caused tensions when members met in the same room: “We all had time to cool off and provide criticism that was actually constructive”, Grant comments. Scott’s continuing relaxation of songwriting duties brought in more contributions from the rest of the band, making members both more invested in the process, yet less protective of their contributions. Grant highlights multi-instrumentalist Andy Monaghan’s significance in “finding beauty in things other people might find jarring,” which sounds like an apt description of the band in general.

A turning point in the album’s development was the label’s suggestion that the band collaborate with The National’s Aaron Dessner. Initially proposed as a songwriting partner for Scott, Dessner soon settled into the role of producer and architect of the band’s minor sonic reinvention. “Aaron’s a big believer in space and subtlety” says Grant; “he helped us let the songs breathe and be the way they are”. The pulsating guitar loops that cushion “Get Out” and the subtle orchestration backing “Die Like a Rich Boy” are testament to Dessner’s influence on a band more receptive to new ideas than ever.

The result of this is a band reinvigorated: Grant tells me the recording sessions completely changed his view of recording, which he used to overlook in favour of live performances (he also boasts of his acceptance of drum machines, seemingly a personal milestone). Even so, two and a half years is a long time to spend out of the public eye, especially for a band that has only recently reached the top of a hill it had been clawing at for years.

Grant, diligently referring to each album cycle as a “campaign”, doesn’t take this for granted: “We knew we would have to fight hard to stay at this level. But we didn’t want to go through the motions; even if we lose a bit [of popularity] but make a better album, that’s fine”. The experience of a gradual climb to the top tier, though frustrating at the time, helped to keep the band aware of how hard it is to hold onto fans.

It’s this knowledge of the precariousness of success that made the band’s comeback shows in March such a nervewracking experience. “It was probably the most nervous we’ve ever been in this band”, Grant sighs.

Top 5...

Soundtracks for studying Joe Casson guides you through the best soundtrack to your deadline misery (while procrastinating from his dissertation) Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Frightened rabbits, indeed. The band returned to the stage in semi-secrecy, playing at the Glasgow School of Art under the name The Footshooters. Rejecting my comparison with Arcade Fire’s mini-tour as The Reflektors, which, um, reflected a growing showmanship and confidence, Grant insists the show’s low profile aimed to escape expectations, not build them up: “We just wanted to ease ourselves, and our fans, back in”.

The shows were a success, of course; despite Grant’s hesitance to admit it, Frightened Rabbit’s diligence and earnestness has earned the band a dedicated fanbase that it’s hard to picture dissipating any time soon. If the angst and self-doubt underpinning Frightened Rabbit’s well-earned ascent is to remain the order of the day, then here’s to the next panic attack.

Frightened Rabbit’s new album, Painting of a Panic Attack, is released on the 8th April on Atlantic Records

Zines and the punk power of a DIY ethos

Self-produced zines were central to the growth of underground punk culture. Madeleine Jones, creator of her own zine, offers a guide to a sub-culture that’s helping keep punk alive

“So, er, what’s a zine?” The question I hear from friends when they’re informed that I make zines. They’re right to ask - what is this strange thing that I produce?

To get the tedious basics out of the way, the word ‘zine’ comes from the end of ‘magazine’, hence why it’s pronounced ‘zeen’ (NOT ‘zyne’!). So they are, in effect, mini magazines. Apart from they’re not as glossy or ‘professional’ as magazines. They are rough and ready hand-made, do-it-yourself simple paper zines. They are inherently anti-professional and pro-mistakes; unedited documentations of human experiences and opinions which, in my view, have the purpose of finding likeminded others to share relevant information in various formats.

Though self-published pamphlets can be traced as far back as the 18th century, the tangible concept of a zine didn’t exist until the science fiction cult of the midtwentieth century. It wasn’t long before the 1970s hit and zines saw an explosion in punk music and culture. Zines of course sat perfectly with punk’s anti-authority, do-ityourself, take-power-into-your-own-hands ethos, and remain an integral part of punk’s underground to this day, which is what led to my personal discovery of zines.

My first exposure to zines was finding them at Cardiff record shops, particularly the tiny, now-defunct Ghost Town Records. I honestly didn’t really get them at first.

I would peer at them next to the counter whilst paying for Black Flag or X-ray Spex records or whatever else and think “what’s the point in them when you can use the internet to read about music?” Though they were cheap, I was normally too confused and somewhat intimidated by them to buy one. But I could tell that they were important.

It wasn’t until my living in Manchester that I understood and appreciated zine culture as a whole. This is partly thanks to the university’s Other Sounds society once providing links to Salford Zine Library (in Nexus Art Café) and Manchester LGBT zine library (next to Sidney Street café) via one of their Facebook events. I checked out these places and experienced the world of

zines beyond punk.

There were zines on everything. It was like anything you can imagine being important to someone, there was a zine on it. From frivolous zines about cats to heavy intellectual zines on globalisation. Flicking through them, they seemed so unabashed, so unedited, so unconventional, so raw. A lot of zines were on topics you could never picture in mainstream and/or conventional media outlets, hence why a lot of them are from ‘marginalised’ voices. There are zine distros, zine fests and other entites involved in this massive hidden culture.

This coincided with a Ghost Town Records employee asking me to contribute to a zine he was making. I quickly wrote one piece but then realised I had enough to say to make a zine of my own. But one problem: I didn’t know how to make one. So we ended up making our zines together, him essentially showing me how to put one together. But, in reality, you don’t need anyone to show you, there are YouTube videos and blogs aplenty on how to make zines. In the stage of finalising the zines, I became paranoid about people reading my zine, to which he said “remember, it’s not going to be marked”.

This was a telling statement. As university students, we are painfully used to being assessed on most things we put to paper. The education system and academic life wires us to think all of our greatest thoughts and ideas should be marked, graded, and awarded, even on the creative side of things. When actually, you could just shove them in a zine. Why not? Sod establishment standards! The idea of ‘self-publishing’ can be a difficult concept to get your head around – it definitely took me a while. But actually, there’s probably a lot of things you’re already ‘doing yourself’ without realising. I might have learnt this through punk’s DIY ethos, but that ethos exists in most other subcultures, genres, ‘scenes’, and many other non-musical creative and political endeavours. The tools of self-empowerment can be gained in all sorts of places.

Moreover, the total freedom in zine-making is blissful.

When writing for conventional and/or mainstream out-

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

lets, it can be somewhat irksome to have your writing go through a screening process and edited. Not that editors are inherently bad (probably), they just do their job, which they’re normally great at, and can end up improving parts of one’s writing. But at the same time, one reason zine-making is so cherished and self-empowering is because nothing will be edited by anyone but its creator.

Not one sentence, word or syllable. No word limit or anything.

Likewise, once something’s published in a more mainstream outlet, the writer doesn’t have much control over who sees it. Though that’s often the point, wanting to reach as many people as possible. But with zines, it can be more powerful to be selective about who’s looking at what you’ve created. This is why zines tend to have highly personal stories and experiences from their authors.

The nature of zine distribution means it allows zinesters to be protective over their zines and more likely to directly reach the intended type of reader.

This isn’t an over-romanticization of zines—like any creative endeavour, it comes with its costs. Spending money on things like marker pens, an extended stapler, a scalpel, a cutting board, too many pritt sticks to count, and of course, printing costs (pro tip: U-Print, the print shop, does 1p printing on Wednesdays) become necessary. But most of these are found in cheap stationary and art shops (again, the ‘quality’ of the zine is irrelevant).

Yes, it involves money, but the results are so rewarding.

There’s nothing like selling a zine at a local gig, say, and someone reading it whilst standing in front of you, wanting to discuss what you’ve written. Or when someone compliments the layout of an interview you did with a band.

The aim, though perhaps slightly ironic, in writing this feature for a conventional media outlet like The Mancunion is to say: you can take power into your own hands.

Find Madeleine’s zine on Facebook as Chisel Tip

Placid and unobtrusive, Eno’s first foray into ambient music offers no distractions while providing plenty to stay calm and focused with its gentle piano phrases and synthesized choirs. Significantly less stressful than the album’s namesake.

45:33, by LCD Soundsystem Physical discomfort, existential panic...there are many similarities between a lastminute essay and jogging.

That’s why this album-length track, intended as a running accompaniment, feels made for studying, ebbing and flowing to help your mind keep pace with your pen.

Middle Eastern & Maghreb Disco Funk from the Golden Era (19751985), compiled by DJ Fitz I can’t be the only one to find song lyrics creeping into their typed output: this playlist, accessible on David Byrne’s mixcloud, couples a compelling beat with words I can’t understand. I’ve never felt so grateful to be monolingual trash.

Amélie (soundtrack), by Yann Tiersen The whimsical soundtrack to Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 film will surely provide enough joie-de-vivre to get you over an academic hump. The accordion and bicycle bells might start to grate by the wee hours, however.

Music for 18 Musicians,

by Steve Reich Based on an eleven-chord cycle, this piece subtly evolves from one chord to another, showing surprising energy and playfulness for a minimalist composition. The same thing over and over, but slightly different - a bit like all those test results in lab.

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Music

ISSUE 19 / 11th APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Notorious B.I.G.’s “Ready to Die” – A Modern Feminist Masterpiece?

19 years since Biggie Smalls’ death, Will Baldwin Pask asks the unlikely question of whether we can we interpret one of rap’s classics as an unlikely take on feminism?

There’s been much written about the role of hip-hop as a cultural obstacle to feminism; a globally favoured genre that advocates misogyny verse after verse, rapper after rapper. Amongst the genre’s icons that are held up as examples of this is Biggie Smalls. I recently heard the album ‘Ready to Die’ for the first time, expecting exactly the kind of subject matter that is so often condemned as sexist. What I heard was something quite different and far more original—a partial new-wave feminist piece. This might sound as far-fetched as Kanye doing an album about rectal sensuality, but there are multiple moments throughout ‘Ready to Die’ that stand out for the fact they don’t fall into the typical misogynist discourse in hip-hop.

There are certain moments difficult to justify. Regardless of how pissed off they make him, the women in ‘Friend of Mine’ probably don’t deserve the hate Biggie’s offering. The initially censored line on ‘Gimme the Loot’ about robbing a woman even if she’s pregnant alongside the murder of another woman in a car sound pretty cold after 20 years. Violence towards women is indisputable, yet Biggie exerts just as much brutality on the male victims of his verbal spray—you certainly can’t accuse him of double standards. Rather than the discomfort felt when listening to say Eminem’s ‘Kim’, there’s a sense of indifference for anyone and everyone that gets in his way. Under Biggie’s rules, men and women are just as disposable as each other—equality, yay.

Violence is second to sex in this album and presented much more ambiguously. In ‘One More Chance’, Smalls promises that “Whether it’s stiff tongue or stiff dick/Biggie squeeze it to make shit fit”, proving himself to be a rather accommodating lover. Another line goes “I gotcha wishin’ for an intermission/Fuck the kissin, lickin down to your belly button, I ain’t frontin/they don’t call me B.I.G. for nuttin”, depicting a man who takes pride in his work, doing all that is necessary to leave no customer dissatisfied.

The ‘Fuck Me’ interlude—the predecessor to those video clips your friends send to you that unexpectedly turn into loud porn half way through—is literally the sound of Biggie’s female counterpart thoroughly enjoying herself for 90 seconds. She is clearly getting the most out

of it as the 380-pound rapper tries to keep up. Since Donna Summer’s iconic orgasm, African-American women singers have long utilised sexuality for the sake of expressing independence and enjoyment.

Rather than resisting the powerful force of feminine pleasure as a source of liberation, Biggie seems to condone it. The whole scene feels in no way derogatory; tongue-in-cheek it might be, but this break in the album suits the new-wave feminist value of sexual autonomy and reveals an unexpected side to Brooklyn’s finest.

‘Me and My Bitch’ is similarly surprising when you listen beneath the surface. The title and the line about “beating her right” doesn’t bode well, yet this is probably the most romantic track on the album despite the distressing outcome. We’ve got parity (“A real bitch is all I want…

With a glock just as strong as me/Totin’ guns just as long as me”) as well as poignancy (“I swear to God I hope we fucking die together” … “They killed my best friend…”). We have an original depiction of a woman in a rap song; admired and adored by Biggie, a tragic heroine. The mourning nature of this song ultimately shows that even the Notorious B.I.G. can be moved by female companionship and undermines any orthodox misogyny he might be associated with.

A new-wave feminist perspective on the album could also make note of the masculinity in it. As men are increasingly engaged in equality and gender debates, issues like depression and fatherhood appear in discussion more. This album goes beyond the hyper-masculinity of typical hip-hop records. ‘Suicidal Thoughts’ is intense yet moving, as Biggie discusses the disappointment he’s caused the women in his life and gives in to his feelings. On the record’s anthem, ‘Juicy’, he explains that it is dedicated “to all the people that lived above the/buildings that I was hustlin’ in front of, when they called the police on/me when I was just tryin’ to make some money to feed my daughter/and all the niggaz in the struggle”. The extreme issues faced by black men in the 90s may radically contrast to those of new-wave male feminists—predominantly white—of today, but we can still recognise a degree of sensitivity towards men and their social challenges here. If he were alive today, Smalls would likely appreciate Kendrick’s ‘For Free?’ for its similar sentiments. The single father battling depression represents an honest re-

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

sponse to the rapper stereotype Biggie is associated with, posing questions about the day to day problems of young men.

If you asked Biggie if he was a feminist, he’d probably shoot you. But on the evidence of this album, maybe he’s not the misogynist everyone always thought. His approaches to sex, love and masculinity all share similarities with modern new-wave feminist discourses and add another intriguing aspect to an already incredible piece. 19 years since his death, maybe we misunderstood the big man massively. Maybe…

Club

SIDEXSIDE

You on Point Phife?

2nd of April @ Tabacco Docks, London

Styles upon styles upon styles is what he had. Will A rave that finished early enough to still get a good night’s sleep. Long may the newest Whiting pays tribute to Malik ‘Phife Dawg’ Taylor entrant to London’s festival scene continue Matthew Staite Music Editor Some warehouse raves can go on until the following afternoon. We were initially attracted to SIDEXSIDE by its rather unique premise; a day rave from 12.30 until 10.30 pm focused around 3 artists: Carl cox, Seth Troxler, and Joris Voorn. Each was set to be playing for 7 hours on their respective stages, b2b (or side to side) with a host of exciting DJs. First things first, the Tobacco Docks, a recently converted events space in Wapping, was an amazing venue. Despite being a bit maze-like at times, its combination of surprisingly beautiful architecture and excellent sound made it perfectly suited for the event.Opting to enjoy the glorious spring sunshine before heading in at 3.30, we caught the last hour and a half of Andhim’s set. With heavy blackout curtains mostly covering the venue’s large skylights, the main room was just light enough to remember that it was still the afternoon. From the stomping beats of the Chymera remix of Daso&Pawas’s ‘No Lead’ as we entered, Andhim proved an excellent set to start the day. His quite accessible melodic techno eased us into the debauchery that was to follow. A real highlight of the set was the Coyu edit of Stab Virus’s ‘The Unknown Song’, who’s wonky siren and build up was hair raising.

Before the lineup really heated up later on, we decided to catch a bit of Seth Troxler’s marathon stint in the venue’s car park-cum-stage. While it was slightly difficult to find, once there this stage proved absolutely mental. Thumping acid-soaked beats combined with low ceilings and seriously heavy lighting gave it the feeling of an illegal rave, and you could be forgiven for forgetting this was still only five o’clock. KiNK’s adaptation of Semibreves saw the place kick off, but the brief respite from the acid beats for the slightly funky ‘The Underground’ (Peter Rauhofer’s Original Underground Mix), aptly named for the underground car park, proved that even an abrasive techno set really can be fun.

Far better than the music itself was our chat with Seth Troxler’s lighting man, on tour with him for the whole summer season; dancing behind the controls off his nut and recounting to us his love of acid house. It was great to visit for an hour before escaping back upstairs, for those

8.5/10 low ceilings and strobes were epileptic fit inducing.

Around 6.30 we popped in to see a bit of Carl Cox. The hour we saw was nothing special, but the room was packed throughout and it was good to see the big man having fun. Park & Sons’ ‘Uncle Carl’ was huge, but the density of the crowd compared to the other stages wasn’t my cup of tea. We had a final pause for some food and beers before the last stint, and the most anticipated set of the day, the mighty Joris Voorn b2b Kölsch. Here at The Mancunion we are big fans of this duo, with their Warehouse Project set being the highlight of the season. Without a doubt Voorn and Kölsch played the best set of the day.

The lighthearted new Eats Everything and Green Velvet track ‘The Duster’ got the party started, and had only been released just a day before the event. The set was a joy to watch partly because both DJs themselves were having so much fun behind the decks. Their chemistry was apparent; the whole time one was choosing a song the other was pumping the air in appreciation. They looked just as excited to be bouncing songs off each other as the crowd was to be hearing them. A luscious loop from the closing half of Len Faki’s remix of Ian Pooley’s ‘Celtic Cross’ proved absolutely gorgeous, and demonstrated what this duo do so well, finding melodic loops and building textural sounds upward from them. The howling ‘Circus Bells’ by Robert Armani saw the duo dance manically behind the decks, and served as a collective reminder to the crowd about why they got into dance music; the combination of melodies and rhythm was simply a lot of fun. The whole set had the feel of a couple of mates playing around at an absolutely banging house party, and the crowd received each change with clear appreciation.

While it was one of the first day raves I have been to, SIDEXSIDE was an amazing setup. It proved an excellent chance to see some of the most exciting artists play some extended sets and delve deep into their record collections, but the focus on back to back sets made sure it remained exciting. With hindsight, it would be fairer to label it a festival with the amount of stuff on offer! Would I do the exact same thing tomorrow? Yes. It was just that much fun.

The five foot assassin. The funky diabetic. The original rudeboy. It seems that no matter how many names Malik Taylor, or as we affectionately knew him ‘Phife Dawg’ gave himself, none of them could sum up just how legendary this man was in the hip hop game. Phife’s signature hard-hitting flow throughout a group and solo career put him amongst the legends of old school hip hop, with almost every true rap fan having a copy of ‘The Low End Theory’ or ‘Midnight Marauders’ in their record collection.

Straight outta Jamaica, Queens, A Tribe Called Quest was formed by childhood friends Phife, Q-Tip (Jonathan Davis), Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White. Originally writing as solo performers, the group was united by classmates and fellow hip hop pioneers The Jungle Brothers, and went on to seal a multi-album recording deal with Jive Records. Their first release, ‘People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm’ featured Phife on Tribe’s best known track, ‘Can I Kick It?’, words which will reverberate around the heads of not only hip hop fans but all music enthusiasts for as long as people continue to rap.

While Phife’s rhyming counterpart Q-Tip dominated most of Tribe’s early work lyrically, the Diggy Dawg came to prominence on ‘The Low End Theory’, surprising first time listeners on ‘Buggin Out’ with his aggressive, confident flow and spitting the famous words: ‘Yo, Microphone check one-two what is this? The five foot assassin with the roughneck business, I float like gravity, never had a cavity, got more rhymes than Winan’s got family’. To ATCQ lovers, those lyrics were the start of a very special dual-rapping relationship between Tip and Phife, each rapping back and forth at each other, most memorably:

“You on point phife?” to which the loveable MC cockily replied “All the time Tip”.

The year 1993 saw Tribe’s album ‘Midnight Marauders’ reach #1 in the HipHop/ R’n’B charts, with Phife shouting out his neighbourhood in the first words of the opening track ‘Steve Biko (Stir It Up)’. No longer was Phife supporting Q-Tip and Shaheed, and he certainly did not lack stage presence. Tracks ‘Award Tour’, ‘Electric Relaxation’ and ‘Oh My God’ all succeeded as singles, recognising Phife’s new swagger and alternative, yet unforgettable lyrics. This album made unrivalled ground in making jazz rap a genuine genre—a fact which in itself pays real tribute to Phife Dawg.

After a number of releases that the group themselves were not satisfied with, and altercations between Phife and Q-Tip, ATCQ separated in 1998.

Phife’s solo career was a much more reserved one to that of Q-Tip, however it saw him travel globally and continue to work with other legendary producers such as J-Dilla, who had been so influential for Tribe back in the day. ‘Dear Dilla’, released a mere 2 years ago, saw Phife pay tribute to their relationship during times of illness, which in itself is a credit to Phife’s determination to keep doing what he loved, even as his health deteriorated.

An undisputed hero for most up and coming hip hop artists today, it is hard to even believe that we have lost such a legend at the age of just 45. Malik Taylor leaves behind a legacy of changing the hip hop game, whilst remaining a loving father and sports enthusiast. I challenge anyone who has ever loved ATCQ to listen to ‘God Lives Through’ without getting a bit emotional, because I failed miserably.

Games 15

ISSUE 19 / 11th APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Review

Bravely Second – End Layer Stephen Lewis Contibutor The sequel to 2013’s Bravely Default, Bravely Second: End Layer certainly has a legacy to live up to. Bravely Default is seen as one of the best games released for the 3DS and a great return to the classic style of JRPG gameplay found in the older Final Fantasy games, with some saying that today Bravely is able to outdo the newer games in the FF series (if that is what you’re looking for as FF has moved away from that type of gameplay, especially with the upcoming Final Fantasy XV).

Bravely Second, being a direct sequel, is set in the same world as the original, with some members of the original cast returning, two of them becoming part of your party. Before the game begins there is a brief recap video of the events from the first game, so if you intend to play that at some stage without spoilers it might be better to play Bravely Default first, but you can say that of pretty much any game series with a clear narrative.

The story opens two and a half years later with Agnes, one of the lead characters of Default, being kidnapped

by Kaiser Oblivion and the overarching narrative of the game is to save her from the Kaiser’s floating castle in the sky. This feels more than slightly reminiscent of a series featuring a certain Italian plumber… Narrative is certainly not a strong suit of this game, I would go so far as to say it is the worst feature of Bravely Second as after the five-hour prologue (which was much much longer than I was expecting) you set out for this flying fortress but soon seem to lose your sense of urgency, getting caught up in side stories, and things that don’t seem to relate all that much to saving Agnes.

You don’t even think about finding a way to actually fly until very late in the game when the story seems to pick up pace again. The character dialogue, which is almost entirely voice acted, started off being alright but the more I played the more it became cheesy and cringe-worthy with recurring jokes that were not funny and made no sense at all. There was also one very forced Star Wars reference used to introduce the game feature that allows you to control the random-encounter rate.

Moving away from the story, the gameplay is one of, if not the main reason why gamers wanted more

Bravely games. Thankfully this aspect is pretty much unchanged from the original Bravely Default with the main differences being more character jobs and more overall choice. If you are not familiar with the system, it is similar to most turn based JRPG battle systems in that you select actions/attacks and targets for those items/moves.

What differentiates the Bravely series however is the Brave-Default system.

Each time one of your party makes a move they use up one battle point (BP); if you choose Default on a character’s turn they will go into a defensive stance and save up one extra BP, up to a total of three. By then using Brave on another turn your character can use your extra BP perform one extra action/attack per point, dealing more damage in one go if they are a swordsman or cast extra healing spells if they are a mage for example. You can only perform a maximum of four moves in one turn however so you cannot save up for ten minutes then launch an attack that goes on and on, possibly breaking the game balance. What you should also be aware of is that whilst you can be saving up moves, so can your enemies; mainly in boss fights but I did see it used elsewhere.

Photo: Square Enix Holdings Co. Ltd., Silicon Studio

In terms of pure content there are more dungeons than in the original and still a large world to explore which you get access to (partially) from the beginning of the first chapter, until you upgrade your boat to go into deeper waters.

Visually the game is very appealing and the cities look great when you stand still for a few moments and the camera zooms out to take in the whole vista. The music is good, but if you’re very familiar with the scores from the Final Fantasy games you will notice many similarities, possibly making the score a bit forgettable as they make you remember other pieces of music from that series which are arguably better.

Overall Bravely Second: End Layer is a good game, but it really depends on what you are looking for and willing to spend time on. If you want a game with a strong battle system, which is visually appealing and lasts about 50-60 hours on the main path alone, hundreds if you want it all, then this is for you. If you are instead looking for an enjoyable narrative experience that will last the for a long time then you won’t really find it here as the story is not as good as the previous entry and the characters can be deeply annoying at times, unless you find this style of humour to be part of the novel experience found only in certain JRPGs.

Review

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD Joshua Goldie Games Editor Ever since the Wii U tech demo for Zelda back in 2012 a large number of people have been hoping for a HD remastering of the GCN/Wii Twilight Princess. This hope became much more real after The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker HD was announced and then in November of 2015 Nintendo revealed that Twilight Princess HD was in the work. And the impact was not that great. Nintendo and Grezzo had been making ports of the older Zelda games since the Four Swords Anniversary edition and with every remake (counting four currently) we have been getting a graphically improved game that still feels like the original but much more streamlined and with improvements across the board (along with the occasional new features).

Twilight Princess HD did not look like this however and that was because the game had been handed over to a new developer called Tantalus. Tantalus has not just made a straight up-port though and there are improvements across the board. However, is it worth

Photo: Nintendo Co., Ltd

repurchasing? That’s what is important here.

Let us start with how it plays. It plays like a Zelda game. It plays like Twilight Princess for the Gamecube.

So the game plays like the Gamecube version of Twilight Princess with some of the Gamepad features found in the Wind Waker HD. On the Gamepad players have quick access to their items and a mini-map. Players can also instantly swap from Wolf and Human form at the press of a button rather than having to waste time going through Midna. That is really it though and apart from the transformation button it really doesn’t make a difference. I found swapping items to be more annoying than it was in Wind Waker HD, especially when it comes to creating bomb arrows.

In addition, the mini-map is pointless as it also appears on the TV. Now players can zoom into the map on the Gamepad which gives it some use but that’s about it. There is also a collection screen but this is not mapped to a button. Players will need this screen in order to save and use the Wolf Link amiibo so players may find themselves pausing a lot anyway.

As we are talking about the Gamepad

Photo: Nintendo Co., Ltd

it is possible to play the game exclusively on the Gamepad, but the framerate drops and I just never found it worth it. Especially as the low-polygon models look even worse there.

Graphically I find that Twilight Princess HD has the same problem as the Xenoblade games. From a distance everything looks really good (except the desert) thanks to the updated textures on everything. However when players zoom in they may begin to notice how dated the models are as they have been ported straight from the original.

This is unlike the other HD ports where the models have been worked on and improved. This is a shame as had the models looked like the original tech demo or even that CG model of Link discovered last year then this could have looked gorgeous, but that does not happen.

There are only four brand new features in Twilight Princess HD: two that are minor, one that is a bit bigger and the last one that is pretty huge. The smallest feature is a new item called the Poe’s Lantern which allows human Link to find the secret Poes scattered across the world. This makes searching for them easier but you still need to be Wolf Link in order to get the Poe’s Soul so you have to transform anyway making the Poe’s Lantern somewhat redundant.

The other minor feature is the Miiverse stamps which are a new collectible found all around the world. This is better but ultimately, it’s just a collectible.

The next new feature is the amiibo.

Each of the difference Zelda amiibo figures do something, with the two Link’s filling up your arrows, Zelda and Sheik filling up player’s hearts and Ganondorf doubling-the damage player’s take. The last one is particularly fun as it makes what was a somewhat easy game a little bit more challenging. A new amiibo was introduced for this game with the Wolf

Link and Midna amiibo. This amiibo unlocks the Cave of Shadows which is nothing but a gauntlet of fights that players can attempt throughout the game. The further players progress in the game the more floors they can cover.

It is OK but nothing amazing and the end prize is pretty mediocre.

The final new feature is the biggest and that is Hero Mode. Hero Mode in Twilight Princess HD takes some elements from Ocarina of Time 3D and Wind Waker HD. In Hero Mode the world of Twilight Princess is flipped to mimic the Wii version of the game. It also doubles up the damage players take and halves the damage they do while removing any heart pick-ups along the way. This along with the Ganondorf amiibo essentially gives the game an ultra hard mode. This is the mode I personally played and I got a lot of game overs with one minor boss taking out 8 hearts in one shot and killing me instantly.

So to the opening question of whether Twilight Princess HD is worth buying…

I would say it depends. This version of Twilight Princess is 100% the definitive edition. There is no doubt in my mind and if you have ever wanted to play Twilight Princess then buy this. Despite not fixing any of the issues of the original game, like the pacing problem and the music in a certain section, it is still a Zelda game and a good one at that. However, if you own the original, especially the Gamecube version, then there is very little here that may appeal to players.

I outlined everything new above and if you weren’t personally interested in those changes, then it might be best to stick with the original. Otherwise, I’d suggest buying this remake and let it tide you over until the eventual release of Zelda Wii U at the end of this year.

Want to meet fellow gamers in Manchester?

We hope you all had a wonderful Easter and had the chance to play plenty of video games. There are only five weeks left until the exam season hits and you know we will be there every week to provide fun events for people to come down and relax with.

On Wednesday 13th April we will be holding or first event back at Whitworth Park’s Grove bar and it will be all about Pokémon! To celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary we at the Gaming Society are launching our very own Pokemon League that will take up the remaing five weeks of term. There will be a prize at the end, of course, but it is mostly for fun. We will be aiming to hold a Pokken Tournement at this first event back which will contain a cash prize. and we will have other Pokémon based games for people to play like Pokémon Stadium. We will even have Pokémon themed cocktails for those interested in a unique drink so please come and check the event out.

Also happening this weekend, Saturday 16th to Sunday 17th of April, is the Gaming Society’s 24-hour charity event. The event wil be held at SpacePort in the Northern Quarter just like last year with ticket prices being available on our Facebook page. More details can be found there and I urge you to come down and help support Child’s Play with us.

/GamingSociety

Fashion & Beauty

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Fashion & Beauty 17

ISSUE 19 / 11th APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

2016: How to: To heel or not to heel? Graduation The Fashion Guide Interview Makeup

Got your interview and office attire down to a tee but struggling to make that all important shoe decision? Sophie Soar offers her foot-friendly advice To heel or not to heel? That certainly is a significant question, especially when considering the correct or, rather, the comfortable and most appropriate footwear attire in the office. When preparing for a daunting interview or updating your office wear from that ill-fitting Marks & Spencer suit when 17-year-old you undertook a week’s ‘work experience’, most hit a wall from ankles down. Will one be taken seriously in a stiletto? Is a smart trainer a critical contradiction? Can the loafer achieve suitable versatility?

To somewhat ease a few knotted brows gracing many interviewees alike, some trends entirely flaw shoe etiquette: Karl Lagerfeld had Cara Delevingne saunter down the Chanel haute couture Spring/ Summer 2014 catwalk in a wedding dress paired with bejewelled trainers; Carrie Bradshaw was,

alternatively, one of the first few to wear Manolo’s with sweat pants; even Fallowfield’s finest wear Nikes through thick and thin, come rain or shine. You might therefore be forgiven for any confusion: the dress code needs decrypting before anything else.

At 5’11”, with the daily habit of wearing 5-inch heels, my inclination is nearly always sky high: stand up and out. However, this resolution will waver when confronted with demanding and unpredictable internship tasks. My power complex is compromised and instead, I must face a professional life fitting comfortably under doorways.

Therefore sacrifices must be made, for which I shall provide a few helpful guidelines to see you through the challenging transition (of student to employee or towering and tottering to sturdy and stable).

Unless you have legs like a Victoria’s Secret Angel, no one avoids looking frumpy in an over-the-knee skirt and pumps. So when confronted with the suit skirt/comfortable shoe approach, a subtle kitten heel enhances the figure while avoiding the crippling pain of six-inch stilettoed feet throbbing under your desk. (Please note, if this is a summer intern-

ship or office job, comfort is key because the removal of one’s shoes during sweltering heat is not okay.

Think of your colleagues and whether you want to consider making this role permanent.)

Alternatively, should one wish to avoid any heel at all, the greatest other option is a larger-soled shoe, such as the brogue. Whilst the trusty pump provides comfort in short-term stints, the brogue offers structure, solidarity, and support. Racing up office stairs or, more realistically, running through the streets while still brushing your teeth when the alarm failed to wake you for the sixteenth time, is preferably tackled without feeling every cobblestone under one’s sole. The brogue will also greater emphasise a slender ankle, from which the pump detracts.

Should you shy away from skirts and alternatively opt for the trouser suit, one’s job becomes a little less tricky. When purchasing such trousers, aim for high-waisted and a slightly flared cut. These invariably flatter any figure by lengthening the leg and hanging softly, thus the shoe’s responsibility can take a back seat. Again, the priority revolves around comfort over anything else but when only half the shoe is showing, let that half be fabulous.

One should also accommodate for after-work

recreation: never forgot the spontaneous Friday evening drinks with colleagues. Make your footwear fabulous, flirty, and flawlessly comfortable in case drinks turn into dancing.

The most important aspect of the office day is indefinitely travel. If you’ve found those heels that somehow compare to a foot massage every step of the way, spread the word and continue life as a shoe guru. For the rest of the unlucky masses, practicality sometimes overrides all else and a second pair of shoes in which your arches might sit wonderfully unstrained is a must. They’re a comforting companion and can be essential to retain sanity after a long workday. However, when five o’clock hits and you’ve flung the office doors wide open, leaving your desk behind you, some rules remain intact; as care-free as one might feel, the trainer should forever be an outsider to the professional climate. Avoid the temptation to pair trainer with suit; the odd frown of fellow commuters silently screams: ‘I sympathise but no’.

So as I too trawl the Internet for the perfect summer shoes and office attire, I have chosen to start feet first. Don’t compromise comfort: internships and employment can be stressful but your two feet shouldn’t carry the burden at all.

With Graduation, less than three months away, surely our priorities lie in deciding what we’re all going to wear for our graduation? For those celebrating graduation in the summer, the world is our oyster and the weather will permit us to wear pretty much whatever we want (just make sure an umbrella is on hand).

Graduation is a milestone in any student’s life and you want to look great when reaping the reward for years of hard work.

Here are my top picks for potential graduation outfits which are bound to make you feel great on your big day.

Flaring is caring For those of you who want to embrace the summer and take on an individual look, MANGO’s Flared Skirt Dress is the perfect pick. Available in three colours, the simplicity that this dress offers is a great way to achieve class.

Tip: Team this dress with white peep toe heels and accessories to get the full on summer graduation look.

Jumping for Joy The Jumpsuit is a fabulous all in one option to take your look to many different levels. Try with this great halter jumpsuit that brings a smart look to the table.

TRY: Team this up with some coloured heels and chunky bracelets to really bring out your personality or keep it classy with gold accessories and black heels.

Slim is never grim When it comes to graduation there is a variety of looks you could go for when choosing a suit. From different fitting to different colours. This three piece slim fit suit is a brilliant summer pick for graduation.

TRY: Pair this blue suit with some tan shoes and don’t be scared of experimenting with tie colours.

The Cream of the Crop Don’t think that suits are restricted to men, women can also rock a suit look. This outstanding cropped trouser suit will just ooze sophistication on your graduation day.

TRY: With a pastel suit, keep your look in the same palette by wearing accessories that are a darker shade to enhance the summer colours.

Photos (L-R): Topshop, ASOS, ASOS, Ted Baker

Dress to impress Got those ‘almost there’ graduate blues?

Or simply hunting for an extra bit of pocket money? Fear not, as Rebecca Thomas gives you a rundown of what to wear for every type of interview

rule of thumb is that black is best. Heeled shoes are a good move but is always based on the wearer’s ability; the most essential point is to make sure that they are polished. Black shoes for grey to black suits, and dark brown for blue. The consensus is that plain white or very neutral shirts are best, and that it is all in the small details, i.e pay attention to your choice of socks.

Smart Casual This curve ball is best approached with the mindset that blankness is best: always err on the side of caution and wear dark formal trousers or a skirt with a shirt, blouse, or smart jumper, overlaid with a blazer.

Pattern, again, is best avoided unless it is very subtle or if the company seems more edgy. Jobs which require a test of your fashion sense such as creative jobs or work in the fashion industry are probably most easily attended in something simple and balanced with one bold piece; think of the outfit as three components, top, bottom, and shoes, and allow a proportion of one item out of the three to be bolder. The main point for smart casual is that it in some way reflects your personality.

What you choose to wear to any interview will be a statement of how well you match the prospective employers ‘vibe’, and so it is a tricky field to navigate. Paul Roberts, a Senior Procurement Professional, has lent his insight into interview wear and pointed out that it is changing: “Lots of companies now see their dress code as an extension of their desired work culture and ethos. Marketing and tech companies in particular tend to favour dress-down as part of the more ‘social’ work experience.”

The easiest way of avoiding sour regrets is to do research on the place you are interviewing for. It’s an idea to hunt for the director or CEO of the company with a google or LinkedIn profile and see what they typically wear as this will tend to give an idea of the company.

Postgraduate Study Depending on the course and place of study, this could be either as formal as a graduate scheme or it may lean more towards smart casual.

Often you will want to provide an example of work such as a portfolio, so it’s worth thinking through how to carry this with a smart looking bag. I once failed to consider this, and had no choice but to take my large Adidas rucksack to an interview as it was my only method of carrying large things. It did not draw any comment, but I consciously regretted my bag not matching my smart casual clothes.

Graduate Scheme Face to face interviews for graduate schemes may vary depending on the sector, but will tend to require the top level of formal attire as, often, this is the last stage before getting the job. Aim high—a well fitted suit is preferable for both men and women, in a dark hue. Avoid odd patterns or material, cotton creases less and is a better option than linen; aim for Wall Street rather than Anchorman. If choosing a skirt suit, it’s always good to use the ‘biro rule’—the skirt length shouldn’t be any shorter than one biro length above the knee. A great place to look for inspiration is the wardrobe of Rachel from Suits, with her usual look of a shirt and pencil skirt. Lighter coloured suits are easier to pull off in the summer, but a Photos : ASOS

Part Time Jobs The rules for a part time job interview wear are more flexible than the formal expectations of graduate roles; it pays even more to research the role and place of work. By matching this, you are subliminally telling your interviewer that you fit in well within the team. For jobs that require uniform, such as food outlets or retailers, it might best to go for a smart casual look. For jobs in bars in the Northern Quarter or independent retailers, a showcase of individuality is more appropriate, and scoping out the people beforehand is a good shout; if in any doubt, black clothing is a reliable friend.

Have a big interview coming up and need help on how to polish off your look? Meg Roberts has you covered

Perisha Kudhail helps you look great when graduating

Photo: The Mancunion

Photos (Clockwise from left): Topshop, Moss Bros, Mango, ASOS

Better safe than sorry You can make any outfit your own, but here are a few must haves for your graduation in Manchester to stay safe from the rain. Riri would be proud.

Hopefully these picks have given you some inspiration about what to wear to graduation. Remember it is a day to celebrate your achievements, so you should own it and feel good while you’re walking up there. Congrats on making it so far! See you on the other side!

Top 5: Neutral Nail Shades Talia Lee-Skudder reveals the top five neutral nail shades that will get you interview ready With the prospect of summer internship interviews looming, it is important that you are ready to floor the interviewer not only with your intelligence but also your professional appearance. Leave your trainers and other affiliated student garms at home and embrace your professional side. The impression that you create from your shoes to your hair plays an essential role and could be what sets you apart from the other candidates. Once you have ensured that your appearance oozes professionalism, don’t slip at the final hurdle, and make sure that your nails are on point. Avoid garish colours, such as hot pinks and reds, whilst perfect for the summer they don’t exactly scream hire me. Instead opt for more neutral toned nail varnishes that will give you a smart and polished look that shows you are ready for business. Finally make sure you avoid chipping your nails before the big day as it can take you from slick to scruffy.

Here are the top five nude nail varnishes on the market: 1) Cheat the salon effect with Barry M’s Pink Lemonade from the Gelly hi shine range. A gorgeous pale pink polish, with an extra glossy finish. (£3.99) 2) If pink isn’t for you, then a pale beige colour works just as well with a lighter skin tone. Try Essie’s Sand Tropez, a soft sandy neutral pastel. A classic colour that can take you from day to night. (£7.99)

Photos (L-R): Barry M, Essie, Orly, Rimmel, Barry M

3) Darker neutrals can still look classic and chic, although perhaps work better for those ladies with a darker skin tone. If browns and greys are more your thing then Country Club Khaki by Orly is the perfect shade for you. Extremely shiny and long lasting, this shade is a winner. This brand is a favourite with nail salons and so is slightly pricier than the other polishes at £10.50.

4) Let’s get nude by Rimmel is the ultimate neutral nail varnish.

It looks fresh, clean and contemporary without breaking the bank. Priced at £2.99, Rimmel is still a firm favourite with girls and women alike. Cheap and trusty, you cannot go wrong with Rimmel.

5) If super glossy nails are too much for you, then Vanilla from Barry M’s matte range is the ideal shade. A neutral colour with a hint of grey, the matte finish makes a statement and gives you the edge. Although it is perhaps a slightly more daring choice, it nevertheless is perfectly in keeping with interview attire. It also has a friendly price tag of £3.99.

Armed with your knowledge, a fierce outfit, and classic nails, you are ready to handle whatever the interviewer throws at you.

Go get ’em, girls!

If you’re in final year then graduate schemes, job applications and the inevitable assessment centre and interview is an overwhelming reality of everyday life. Personally, the ‘oh my god I can’t wait to finish Uni and be done with homework forever’ has evolved into a definite ‘I want to stay here forever and hide from the real world’ existential crisis.

Equally, if you’re just looking for a part time job, perhaps in a bar or (like me) in fashion retail alongside your studies, then you too will ultimately face the dreaded job interview, and whether we like it or not, first impressions count.

Here’s my guide to an interview-ready make up look that’s minimalist, professional, and oh so easy to achieve.

1. Base The base is so important! The whole theory behind this look is that it’s not cakey and it stays on. Whether you’re travelling to London for an assessment centre or getting the 142 into town, it needs to look as fresh and flawless as it did in the morning.

To start, do your morning skincare as normal. I am a devout follower of the Clinique 3-step system but it doesn’t matter as long as you cleanse with a facial soap, follow with a toner and moisturise. After you’ve moisturised, use a primer that’s right for your skin type and apply all over preferably with a flat foundation brush. I use Illamasqua’s Hydra veil which is part-primer and part-skincare and just made for my dry skin. This creates a barrier between the skin and foundation and ensures it lasts way longer. I then go in with my MAC Pro Longwear foundation and buff with a Zoeva 104 buffer brush which gives an even, diffused finish that’s medium coverage, flawless and anything but cakey.

I then use half a pump of my MAC Pro-longwear concealer, I place product with a Morphe concealer brush and blend with a fluffy MAC eye brush. I then powder using NYX HD loose, translucent powder and a Zoeva luxe highlight brush to finish.

2. Eyes I’d go really simple and understated with the eyes, either Make up Geek’s Latte or Motives Frappe; think coffee coloured nudey-browns, blended out with a fluffy brush paired with a not-too-dramatic black winged liner, using a MAC 266 or any angled eyeliner brush for the flick with any gel-based liner. Then pair with natural hair lashes in a wispy style, Morphe DW lashes are really underrated and a steal at £2.75 a pair and look gorgeously fluffy with the winged liner. For the brows, a natural but groomed look can be achieved with a gel-based product to fill in any missing hairs or to create shape, I use Illamasqua’s Precision Gel in strike or MAC’s Fluidline in Dip down for a dark brown brow, I prefer a natural, faded look towards the front so I use a brown powder from Morphe’s brow pallete and I apply all of this with a 266 angled eyeliner brush.

3. Lips Lipstick can be high maintenance so I’d definitely go for a fuss-free but beautiful nude colour. I’d recommend MAC’s Stripdown, Spice, Oak or Whirl if you have any of those in your collection. Wear on its own or pair with a complementary lipstick shade. For this look, I’m really enjoying Stripdown liner with Taupe lipstick; for an even more subtle look, Oak or Spice looks fab with Honey love.

4. Highlight Go in with a subtle, medium-toned bronzer. Hoola by Benefit and MAC Mineralise Skinfinish in Medium are both a good place to start, use with a generic powder brush and apply sparingly to temples and cheekbones. I then spray my Zoeva luxe highlight brush with MAC fix plus spray to intensify the colour and apply my highlight. At the mo I’ve been loving The Balm’s Mary-Lou Manizer and MAC’s Soft and Gentle for a gorgeously honey-toned shimmer. Ta-dah, beautifully highlighted understated, flawless perfection!

Film

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ISSUE 19 / 11th APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

TV Binge

Review

The Walking Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Batman v Superman suffers from poor characterisation of its iconic heroes, and Dead feels like a rushed attempt to set up the DC cinematic universe Imran Bukhari Film Critic

Photo:AMC

Barney Weston Film Critic The Walking Dead, perhaps more than any other series currently in its sixth season, has truly had its ups and downs. So much so, that one website, theverge.com, reviews each episode according to their likeliness to quit the series. It is fair enough. Audiences who have stuck with the show have had to go through half-seasons of watching characters try to build something, before coming up against a formidable opponent in the season finale, failing, travelling, and then repeating. In recent years, The Walking Dead has struggled in the wake of shows, such as Game of Thrones, which do something that The Walking Dead has only done a few times within its last few seasons. Take risks.

As part of its repetitive format, The Walking Dead is now expected to kill off a major character every season finale.

The season six finale does this, but doesn’t show you who, making it seem like the show runners merely couldn’t decide who to kill off thanks to contract disputes. Within the show’s first few seasons, this could have been got away with, but now, six seasons in, even me, someone who has gritted his teeth through each and every one of the show’s 83 episodes, is not happy.

But can you really not expect a tired format from a show that relies on the survival of its main characters? Neither Rick nor Carl Grimes (played respectively by Andrew Lincoln and Chandler Riggs) are ever going to be killed off, and several other characters, for example Michonne (played by Danai Gurira), are being added to that safe list.

Something that the show’s competitors, again for example Game of Thrones, thrive off not having.

As well as this, there are moments in the second half of season six of The Walking Dead where we see our main characters living, instead of surviving. We see them having a lie-in or listening to music. Although the show runners have inserted these moments into the season in order to try to trick the audience into thinking that perhaps this is ‘happily ever after’ for our characters, these moments instead reminded me of the tired format that The Walking Dead is suffering from. The inclusion of Negan and his group of Saviors into this, although true to the comic, is testament to such.

So what can save me, and seemingly several other audiences, from giving up on The Walking Dead? What the show really needed in its finale was the grand unveiling of Negan as this truly evil, ominous, yet also hilarious character who was going to brutally kill a main character with Lucille. But instead, what we got was a character with his cards close to his chest, and a mere thud of an unnamed bat with barbed wire coiled around it to end the season.

I don’t know if I’ll be back for season seven, but I’m praying that The Walking Dead’s younger spin-off sibling, Fear The Walking Dead, can quench my thirst for apocalyptic survival in the face of zombies, and other humans.

Photo:AMC

Batman v Superman has been met with overwhelming disdain by critics, but just how bad is it? As a fan of Man of Steel and a comic book enthusiast, I am very much part of the intended audience for Batman v Superman. So it comes with a heavy heart to proclaim that the film is indeed a crippling failure. The movie will no doubt be a financial success, but it falls considerably short of living up to the promise of the greatest gladiator match in the history of the world.

The promotional material for the film has not helped its cause. Any slightly astute viewer of the endless glut of trailers released by Warner Bros. would be able to piece together the entire plot of the film. As a result, more giddiness and excitement was elicited from viewing teasers on a laptop months before release, than in the cinema watching the feature itself.

The main criticism of Man of Steel involved the climactic battle between Superman and General Zod, where the buildings and residents of Metropolis were left decimated by a smorgasbord of CGI. It is only right then that the director, Zack Snyder, has purposely attempted to correct said errors, by showing Superman dealing with the consequences of his negligence. Unfortunately, Henry Cavill has little material to work with. In-

stead of focusing on the inner conflict residing within Kal-El, we see the arrival of Ben Affleck’s Batman. He is a world-weary Bruce Wayne, one that has seen too many villains during his long tenure and won’t allow an alien with the power to wipe out the human race roam free. The announcement of Affleck’s casting was met with unanimous negativity, so the fact that he is the one positive feature of the film is ironic to say the least. His motivations and methods as Batman are different enough from the incarnations of the past, distinguishing himself in this new universe.

The action scenes are no doubt a visual treat, but lack the intrigue and engagement. Jesse Eisenberg is horribly miscast as Lex Luthor, coming across as nothing more than an annoyance, and bearing little resemblance to the character’s true intimidating and menacing roots. The everreliable Hans Zimmer also misfires horrendously with his musical contribution. His Man of Steel score is still present and resonates well with the character, but Wonder Woman’s harpy shrill and Luthor’s classical accompaniments are both uninspired. Batman himself is sorely missing a compelling leitmotif. Zimmer was responsible for the seminal theme of The Dark Knight, so asking him to repeat the same magic again was a big ask.

Ultimately, the rushed nature of the project in order to compete with the dizzy heights of The Avengers is a wild mistake. The spectre of Marvel resides heavily over the whole film. Viewers were

able to learn about the heroes first, with Iron Man, Captain America and Thor in their own solo adventures. When they finally united, the moment felt earned. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Women suffered most from this issue as she was given sparse development. A solo Wonder Woman film released beforehand would have been of great benefit.

Where the film really deteriorates is the inherently poor storytelling. There are four films within one—a Man of Steel sequel, a Batman introduction film, Batman v Superman (the fight itself lasting only a short period of the running time) and finally, a Justice League setup. Scene after scene goes by with no substantial connective thread to tie together these various plotlines.

Simply put, there are too many elements being juggled, and with the addition of dream sequences and flashbacks, the narrative is unnecessarily complicated. With the introduction of so many new characters and the plugging of future films, the end product is overlong and soulless.

A brave and challenging failure would have been acknowledged with more respect than the safe, checklist-ticking approach employed. The film’s biggest offence however, is that it is solely reliant on the iconography of the characters to sell the story and at no point does Batman v Superman ever add to its own glorious mythology.

Photo: DC Entertainment

Classic Review

Barbarella Nadia Cheung Subeditor Jane Fonda stars as Barbarella, the highly sexual heroine of a distant future. Adapting Jean Claude Forest’s erotic sci-fi comics from the early 1960s, Barbarella is sent to outer space by the President of Planet Earth to find and stop Doctor Durand Durand (Milo O’Shea) from unleashing his secret weapon, the Positronic Ray, and potentially starting a war. On her journey, Barbarella encounters a number of strange and wacky characters that either want to kill her, or have sex with her—and eventually, nearly dies of pleasure.

Not surprisingly, a lot of actresses, before the film went into production, had turned down the role. Amongst them were Raquel Welch, Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren, all asked to play Barbarella. Even Jane Fonda didn’t want to take the part, but married to the director at the time, Roger Vadim, she was somehow convinced. Fonda’s Barbarella is aloof, cheerful, and determined, and for a central female role, she even managed to get a Laurel Award nomination for Top Female Comedy Performance.

The script is pretty simple and at times, absurd at best, managing to bag a few laughs. Not a great deal happens in this film but it is an easy watch— enjoyable too, especially if you’re a nostalgic. Vadim seemed to be more concerned with how the

Bizarre and gratuitously indulgent, Barbarella’s cult following still stands

film would look, putting a psychedelic spin on the tropes of erotica and sci-fi similar to those of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. And it goes with these two genres quite literally with its constant reminders of whacked-out space weapons and sex methods—did I mention the Positronic Ray is actually a sexual torture machine?

The film didn’t do very well when it was first released in 1968, but a couple of years down the line it had quite the cult following, and still resonates in pop culture today. The iconic space-age costumes, designed by Paco Rabanne, were particularly influential in ‘60s fashion, and even inspired Jean Paul Gaultier’s costumes 30 years later in The Fifth Element. Duran Duran also got their band name from this film, too.

Though the special effects aren’t really impressive (looking cheap, tacky, and almost laughable), I don’t think there’s any film out there that’s like it.

And if there is, it was probably influenced in some sort of way by Barbarella. Coming from a time where attitudes towards sex and relationships started to change for both genders and different sexualities, paralleling with the sexual revolution that took place for the next few decades up to where we are now in the 21st century, I think Barbarella does best as a cult classic without being read into too much. But it certainly does well look-wise.

Photo: Marianne Productions

Film 19

ISSUE 19 / 11th APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Top 5

Review

High Rise Jane Simmons Film Critic Watching High-Rise is like taking a bad psychedelic trip and watching your worst fears for humanity play out in a claustrophobic tower block. The film follows Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston), a reserved doctor who moves into a Bermondsey-esque tower building which operates a hierarchical system of lower class residents in the lower parts of the building, and the middle and upper classes dominating the top half of the building. But as ill-feeling is stirred by the lower residents in the building, a frantic madness begins to overcome the HighRise.

High-Rise is a lot like reading your favourite graphic novel—each second of film is so detailed and perfectly positioned that each frame could be a Roy Lichtenstein picture, catching each and every thought and interaction of the characters.

Every drop of blood, every curl of smoke is so clear and colourful that it creates a sense of a nightmarish lucid dream. The costumes, hair and makeup augment this cartoony stylishness to the point of caricature, exaggerating the 1970s look of comedic sideburns, handlebar moustaches and floral dresses.

Possibly his best feature film yet, Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise is like a nightmarish acid trip that stylishly enthrals and repulses in equal measure

What’s more, the direction is so stylised it does feel like a graphic novel flickbook rather than a film. A menacing Germanic synth cover of Abba’s ‘SOS’ is an apt nod to the era.

Tonally, Wheatley manages to create an amazingly tense watch. The film starts with such a slow build-up that it creates this momentum of dread which culminates into this frenzied and disorientating climax. Black humour is laced throughout, which seems to become less and less dark as the audience becomes desensitised to this. Having said that, for a film so sinister, elements of humanity and warmth are also present. Bonds are forged between characters as their world crumbles, and there is quite a tender moment in one scene between one resident and her son.

The cast were fantastic, and worked seamlessly well together as an ensemble.

Hiddleston delights as the urbane Laing, and Sienna Miller is equally as good as the resident party girl Charlotte. The more unknown members of the cast are also brilliant, as Luke Evans portrays sinister working class actor Richard Wilder, and Elisabeth Moss shines as his restless wife, Helen.

One of the reasons why High-Rise makes for such fantastic watch is that, like all good films, there are myriad interpretations to its story. Ballard is perhaps the

This film depicts the long-term aftereffects of a nuclear attack in the UK, focusing specifically onto Sheffield city.

This is a very good movie showing the unthinkable. Alas it does, in my opinion, suffer from over-dramatisation, which is understandable considering the context of its production and its ulterior motive.

4) When the Wind Blows Photo: Studio Canal

one who should be praised for this, but this is only highlighted through this interpretation of his work which has been so flawlessly executed. As you leave the cinema you can hear the stunned audience debating its true meaning —capitalism, humanity, class. It is completely up to the viewer to make sense of.

It is clear to see that Wheatley’s previous independent works such as Sightseers and A Field in England have been building up to a successful commercial film like High-Rise, where he can demonstrate all of his knowledge into one perfect feature. High Rise is definitely this.

It’s so exciting to see him building and flourishing as a director, revealing another dark tale in a more inventive way each time.

It is hard to find fault with High-Rise as a film—every aspect of it flows perfectly together, and it is hard to take your eyes away from the screen. High-Rise is essential viewing if you want to see an original director in his element. Perhaps best avoided if you’re a dog lover though.

Although the plot often stretches plausibility, Victoria remains an entertaining and technically impressive drama

James Moules Head Film Edior

Photo: Senator Film

The plot of Victoria sees the titular character (Laia Costa)—a young Spanish woman who does not speak German— setting home from a night out in Berlin.

But when she meets a group of young men who persuade her to join them, she finds her night dragging out in unexpected ways that will eventually lead her into deep trouble, as encounters with gangsters, robbery and the police prevent her from getting home.

The film’s single take stunt works remarkably well for the narrative of the film, making us feel Victoria’s night being wearily prolonged as we spend every single moment of real time in her presence.

What could easily have been a simple attention-grabbing gimmick serves as a fantastic means of connecting the audi-

Nuclear war is nowadays a rarity in cinema, as it was a more prevalent threat during the Cold War. It does, however, offer great possibilities in drama and sci-fi

5) Threads

HOME Pick of the Week

Victoria

Nuclear War Movies

ence with the protagonist. Praise must be given to all of the cast and crew of Victoria for delivering on such a daring and (likely) exhausting shoot.

But despite the technical achievement of the film, it is hard to overlook some glaring flaws in the narrative. Victoria does, at times, test our sympathy with the titular character. Her lack of knowledge of German does give us cause to empathise with her plight as she is driven further into the murky crime in which her new found friends are involved. But as she continues to accompany them even after she can see that she is in danger for apparently no more reason than advancing the film’s plot, it becomes increasingly difficult to root for her. Great drama can be established by sympathetic characters making poor decisions, but Victoria’s

The UK strikes back with a treasure of animation, based on Raymond Briggs’ novel of the same name. It depicts an adorable elderly couple, and their suffering due to the nuclear war. Sadness grips you as you watch. Absolutely powerless, this optimistic and naive couple slowly whither from radiation poisoning.

3) O-Bi O-Ba: The End of Civilisation This Polish sci-fi is one of the best I’ve seen in this genre. It’s about the shielded survivors of the apocalypse, who blindly believe in the lie of aliens coming to save them—a lie made up by the soldiers to save them from the fallout. A treasure of absurdity, this film can also be interpreted as a satire about communism.

2) The Divide

One of the rare movies that have realistically depicted the human dark side, by one of the few French directors who hasn’t yet indulged into the boring State motivations are often too unclear. sponsored social dramas, this movie is That being said, Victoria still remains hard to watch. It’s about stranded survia perfectly solid drama that will keep vors descending into madness after the audiences and cinephiles engaged with destructing devastation in New York. its technical prowess and intriguing premise. The biggest crime it commits 1) The Day is the poorly considered juxtaposition of the realistic element of the single take Set in the United States, and quite simiagainst the (at times) downright absurd lar to Threads, this film offers a realistic plot. But as an unconventional piece of depiction of the end. With great casting entertainment—and a remarkable work that rendered the event’s drama, the film of cinematography and film craft—Victoshows several survivors, representing ria achieves what it sets out to do.

American society. This movie deserves the top spot of this list, and I hope it will be the gateway to your discovery of nuclear war in cinema.

Dylan Kerlann Film Critic

Full Reviews on line at mancunion.com/film

Anomalisa Michael Stone, a celebrity in the world of customer service (David Thewlis), feels alienated and bored with life. Having travelled to Cincinnati to deliver a speech at a seminar, he has a stilted phone conversation with his wife, child, and a failed reunion with an old girlfriend—whom he walked out on years ago—at his hotel.

It is here that he is suddenly enchanted by the passing voice of the giggly, self-deprecating superfan, Lisa (Jennifer Jason Leigh), in which he sees something extraordinarily beautiful. She is the only one able to reach Michael in a world of monotonous, colourless mundanity; an anomaly...

Anomalisa.

Anomalisa is a perfect exploration of internalised, depressive isolation as Michael’s view of society is a mass of faceless faces where everyone—besides one other solely ‘special’ person—looks and sounds so tediously similar, as Tom Noonan’s perfectly bland tone voices every other character besides Michael and Lisa.

The Witch The Witch presents the highly supernatural elements of its narrative as real. In the avoidance of the suspicious supernatural, it sets itself away from the crowd in following a linear progression of ‘spooky’ events that predetermine jump scares that are exemplar in Paranormal Activity. Yet with the audience full well knowing of the witch in the woods, the decisions and actions taken by all affected are only more abhorrently immoral.

The five years of research and exploration into English folktales that Eggers took has paid dividends in the creation of a film that questions the mind of the audience and its characters.

The blurring between fantasy and reality is at its most central core, and Eggers presents a takeit-or-leave-it approach towards one’s enjoyment.

Ultimately, The Witch delivers on its anticipation as Sundance’s most frightening film. Yet the lacking of generic horror tropes benefits. Its demonic and bloody ending will keep anyone from switching off their light just before bed.

10 Cloverfield Lane

Photo: Paramount Pictures

Charlotte Gough, Alasdair Bayman, James Moules Film Critics & Head Film Editor

The plot is simple, yet effective. Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) awakens in a gloomy bunker after being caught up in a car crash. Howard Stambler (John Goodman) keeps her alive and fed, telling her that the world above has descended into chaos in the wake of an unexplained ‘attack’, and that they are among the few survivors. Michelle, unsure as to whether or not she can trust Stambler, aspires to escape the bunker.

Despite the majority of the movie being set in one location, it manages to keep us hooked through its precision plotting—vital pieces of information are withheld at perfect moments, building suspense in a manner that would make Hitchcock proud.

The final act merely serves as an attempt to set up further sequels, and partially ruins the preceding hour and a quarter of fear and dread. But while these final moments prevent the film from achieving greatness, it is still a solid thriller that manages to successfully subvert many tired tropes in franchise filmmaking.

Books

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Review

Enjoying It: Candy Crush and Capitalism Mixing the seemingly trivial with the critical makes Enjoying It a fun and interesting read Jack Blenkinsopp Books Contributor ‘Enjoying It: Candy Crush and Capitalism’ is the first full-length book by Alfie Bown, who is the editor of the excellent Everyday Analysis website and its books of compiled articles. ‘Candy Crush and Capitalism’ is typical of the site’s tone, mixing the seemingly trivial with critical theory and thinking deeply about the things that we do without thinking. ‘Enjoying It’ explores the implications of a variety of types of enjoyment, and argues that no type of enjoyment, however trivial it may seem, is truly ‘mindless’. Bown argues that all enjoyment is in some way political, and goes on to look at Game of Thrones, Gangnam Style and Football Manager through the lens of critical theory. The book is a consistently interesting look at the politics of enjoyment, and it is testament to the strength of its arguments that I have to think about what I mean by ‘enjoy’ before saying that I enjoyed it.

In ‘Enjoying It’, all enjoyment is meaningful to the enjoyer, even that which seems to be Photo: Alfie Bown

nothing more than a pointless distraction. Apps such as Candy Crush, for example, are enjoyed because they seem so trivial, which then makes the work that we are eschewing in favour of messing around on our phones seem worthwhile and important by comparison. Candy Crush, then, is a way of coping with the lack of fulfilment we receive from our work, but ‘Enjoying It’ is more complex, and more enjoyable, than a finger-wagging criticism of Candy Crush and Football Manager as tools of capitalism designed to help us put up with jobs that we dislike.

One of the book’s strengths is that Bown seems to be a fan of several of the less highbrow pursuits that he subjects to his analysis. He discusses Football Manager as if he wants to understand the nature of his own obsession, rather than use it to keep the reader on board during his discussions of the likes of Freud and Lyotard. One chapter is about the problems with ideas of highbrow and lowbrow enjoyment, and Bown practices what he preaches here by seeming to enjoy both in equal measure.

Review

All of ‘Enjoying It’ is entertaining and interesting, and it more than matches the depth and quality of analysis on the Everyday Analysis website.

I am only slightly troubled by the book’s structure. The first chapter features possibly the most in-depth critical theory in the book, which feels a little too much too soon. The studies of Deleuze and Lyotard would have been better placed if they were incorporated into other chapters, or placed later, allowing the analysis of Candy Crush and Game of Thrones to gradually reach critical theory rather than working in the other direction.

This is only a small problem, though, as the case studies are almost as entertaining as the rest of the book, which continues the Everyday Analysis project but adds even more depth and ideas. Everyday Analysis focuses on that which we do without thinking, but ‘Enjoying It’ focuses on that which we intend to do without thinking. It suggests that Candy Crush and Football Manager are not enjoyed quite as mindlessly as we realise, or even as mindlessly as we want.

Pauline & Fran: A Novel

Louise McNabb Books Contributor

‘Paulina was dissatisfied with her lover.’

The opening line of Rachel B. Glaser’s debut novel gives an indication of the atmosphere of sex and discontentment that pervades the story as a whole.

The book explores the tumultuous relationship between two students at an American art college, who befriend each other on a field trip to Norway. Their friendship quickly escalates to a kind of mutual obsession: Paulina believes that ‘only Fran deserved to be her friend’; Fran sees Paulina as ‘someone who only existed once’ in comparison to the ‘kind of girlfriend she would be offered again and again by the adult world’. All this, however, is shattered when Fran starts dating Paulina’s exboyfriend, Julian.

The love triangle at the centre of the novel does not quite work, as Julian is too pathetic to convincingly drive a wedge between Paulina and Fran. He spies on the two women in the library, and anticipates ‘with pleasure the certainty that they would discuss him’ after he walks away. He also naively believes Paulina’s assertion that she and Fran had sex with a Viking named ‘Blood Axe’ on their trip to Norway: a story that is actually based on a painting of a warrior in an art gallery.

It is therefore frustrating that Glaser relies on Julian as a source of tension

in the story, in spite of the complex chemistry between the novel’s two female protagonists.

Fran is a somewhat tragic character: ignored by the boy she is infatuated with, and lazy in her approach to her art, which prevents her from fulfilling her potential. She enjoys the protection that Paulina’s friendship offers her, and therefore believes that she has ‘lost some kind of shield’ when Paulina eventually rejects her. Fran’s preoccupation with Paulina is wholly understandable, as Paulina’s aggressive charisma and obnoxious self-assurance is a force that dominates the novel.

Glaser is not afraid to make Paulina utterly unlikeable: she regularly displays a tendency for cruelty, at times even psychopathically so.

She tells people that her parents died in horrific accidents, after she ‘overheard the disturbing life story of a deranged man downtown and adopted it as her own’. Following the death of one of her classmates, she feels ‘jealous of the love and affection’ that the deceased girl receives, and asserts that her funeral would ‘outdo this one in elegance and expense’.

Moreover, her attitude towards Fran is alarmingly predatory, and she expresses a desire to ‘be her, or be with her, or destroy her’. However, it is here that Paulina is humbled, as she becomes ‘a ruin of a woman’ after losing Fran to Julian. In fact, both Paulina and Fran are haunted by the loss of the other, which is a fixation that

extends beyond their graduation, and into the adulthood illustrated by the second half of the novel.

The overwhelming tone is therefore one of bleakness, despite the bursts of humour that Paulina’s sardonic internal monologue provides. After university, Paulina and Fran are cast adrift in the real world, and find themselves dissatisfied with their professions, friendships and sexual relationships. Fran asserts that ‘everything is hopeless’, and this appears to be an apt interpretation of their adult experiences. Therefore, in an environment such as this, the prospect of a repaired relationship between Paulina and Fran is the only source of hope, and the most likely method of redemption for both characters.

While the cause of their feud is unimaginative (and would undoubtedly cause the novel to fail the Bechdel test), Paulina & Fran is most compelling when it explores the animosity between its two eponymous characters. Their relationship is a volatile cocktail of hatred, desire, and jealousy, which is driven by Paulina’s own blend of manipulative charm. Her ability to enthrall Fran (as well as the reader) bears a distinct resemblance to the charisma of Hannibal Lecter, albeit with a less murderous undertone.

Like Lecter, Paulina is not convincing as either a hero or a villain, and as a result, she lends the novel depth and ambiguity that makes for a more interesting reading experience.

Photo: Cover art

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Food & Drink

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Recipe

Butternut Squash and Sage Tagliatelle A super quick, healthy and satisfying dish, butternut squash is full of vitamin C and is creamy when mashed and mixed with low fat crème fraîche

Evie Horsell This dish is an easy lunch for one or a wonderful starter to a dinner party. If feeling adventurous use less oil and omit the crème fraiche for a sumptuous ravioli filling. I make this just for myself when I’m working at home as one butternut squash goes a long way! Use wholemeal pasta to make it a dish packed full of fibre.

Serves 2 Ingredients ¼ Butternut squash, peeled and diced 2 garlic cloves, skin on ½ onion, roughly chopped Cherry tomatoes, a handful or more! Kept whole Dried sage 1 tbsp of Olive Oil 2 tbsp light crème fraiche Wholemeal tagliatelle or spaghetti Parmesan and fresh sage, to finish Method Begin by roasting your squash, glove, onion and cherry tomatoes with your olive oil and sage in a roasting dish. Once that has got going (about 10 minutes) put some salted boiling water on for your pasta.

Place the pasta in the water, note that tagliatelle takes a lot quicker to cook than spaghetti! Once done, take your roasted squash out of the oven, it should be lovely and caramelised on the edges by now, and using a potato masher mash the squash. Season to taste and stir in the crème fraiche. Drain the pasta and reserving some of the cooking liquid stir the creamy sauce through it. Finish with a scattering of parmesan and some chopped fresh sage leaves!

Photo: The Mancunion

Recipe

Lemon and Almond Tart with Blackberry and Mint Sorbet and Mini Meringues

Evie Horsell

This lovely dessert is a perfect end to a lavish dinner party or a sweet treat when you’re feeling fancy! I made this dish for a dinner party at a customer’s house and it went down amazingly well. The combination of textures and flavours is perfect, while it is a dessert that isn’t too sweet on the palate. A lovely light end to any meal.

Serves 8

Few drops of vanilla extract 1 egg 200g plain flour 1 x 23cm tart dish (loose bottomed preferably) Beat the butter in a food processor (you can do this all be hand if you’re feeling strong!) then add ingredients one by one ensuring each addition is incorporated after the next, starting with icing sugar, then ground almonds, salt, vanilla (if using), 1 egg and flour.

Beat until it all comes together (can be done by hand).

Roll in clingfilm and chill overnight.

Next day, butter and line your tart dish. Roll out the dough to about 2mm thick and place into the dish. Cut off excess. Bake blind for about 15-20 minutes at 180c, at halfway when the edges have started to colour remove the beans allowing the base to cook.

Meringues: 1 x egg white 60g caster sugar Yellow gel food colouring Preheat oven to 110C

Photo: The Mancunion

Sorbet (made a day ahead to be safe!): 200g caster sugar 200ml water 25g pack of mint leaves 600g blackcurrants 4 tbs liquid glucose Juice of 2 lemons Bring the water up to a boil in a pan, then add the sugar boiling until dissolved stirring gently. Once all dissolved take off the heat and add the mint sprigs. Leave until cool (about 15 minutes).

Discard the mint leaves and add the blackcurrants and glucose to the pan, cook until soft. Then add to a food processor and blitz. Then sieve the mixture into a bowl rubbing with the back of the spoon, add lemon juice here to aid the separation of the pips. Leave to cool.

Place in an ice cream machine until it becomes a thick slush then freeze. Or freeze in a shallow container, stirring intermittently 3 or 4 times.

Tart base, sweet almond pastry (made a day ahead): 120g very cold butter 70g icing sugar 25g ground almonds Pinch of salt

Beat the egg white with a whisk until stiff peaks are formed, or until you can lift the bowl over your head and the mixture doesn’t spill! Then slowly while whisking add the sugar a teaspoon at a time, gradually adding more as the mixture becomes thicker and glossy. DO NOT OVERBEAT. Once all the sugar is added, set the mixture to one side and line two baking sheets with parchment. Get a piping bag (or a small metal spoon and spoon out the mix) and draw on the inside with a toothpick dipped in yellow food colouring.

Fill the piping bag and pipe little meringues an even distant apart until the mix is all used up.

Place in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes to an hour, keeping an eye on them. You will know when they are done when they can be easily lifted off the parchment Once done allow to cool completely. These cute little meringues can be kept in airtight container for up to 4 weeks.

Lemon Tart: 1 x blind baked pastry base (kept in the tin) Zest and juice of 5 lemons 280g caster sugar 5 whole eggs 7 egg yolks 240g unsalted butter, softened You are in essence here making a lemon curd, an already set mixture that you can fill your cooked tart base with.

Begin by placing the zest and juice of the lemons, the sugar and all the eggs in a saucepan. Cook over a low heat until the eggs have broken up and the sugar has dissolved.

Add half the butter and start whisking, gently turning the heat up slightly. The eggs will start to cook and the mixture will thicken.

Add the remaining butter and continue to whisk, allowing the mixture to thicken more. It is important to keep whisking the prevent scrambled eggs forming at the bottom of the pan and to prevent the mixture from curdling.

Once thickened until it thickly coats the back of a spoon, remove from the heat and whisk until cool.

Once cool pour the mix into the prepared tart base and leave in a cool place to set.

Finishing your dish!

Take the sorbet out of the freezer and allow it to soften slightly. Cut a slice of tart, dust with icing sugar. Scatter your mini meringues over and finish with a quenelle of blackcurrant and mint sorbet. A perfect balance of sour and sweet, tuck in!

Food & Drink 23

ISSUE 19 / 11h APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Vamos!

Review

LikeKatz a new book, El Gato Negro, so recently opened, has retained that crisp, fresh smell that Eva wakens your senses with expectation. Nestled amongst the highbrow boutiques of King’s Street, the restaurant’s three floors exude a come hither candle light glow. Passers-by peer in with the curiosity of a cat, enviously pulling their coats tighter in response to the lingering winter chill.

Our waitress was warm and inviting, said warmth rivaling that created by the dim lighting and the murmured ebbs and flow of chatter. Exposed brick and red leather upholstery was reminiscent of those vibrant scenes found in the Catalonia and the Basque country.

Our waitress’s knowledge of dishes and drinks was vast, and as such, her recommendations made for exceptional partnerships between fine wines and (even) finer foods.

Photos: The Mancunion

Photos: The Mancunion

Unlike so many restaurants, El Gato Negro does not conceal its chefs behind closed doors but rather gives them their own ‘table’ within the dining area. We were sitting right in the thick of it, facing the very men who were to feed us.

There is no distinguishing between front or back of house staff here, instead they merge into one entity in spectacular fashion. From the moment the finishing touches were applied to each of our plates, they were handed to us, not by our waitress, but the very hands that had so carefully created them.

The contents of these plates, however, is where El Gato Negro really excels. Bursts of flavour, these mini masterpieces are a delight to devour. Whether big or small, each dish is carefully designed so that each element complements one another beautifully. The star of the show is most definitely their squid with black ink rice, lemon and parsley salad.

Never have I ever experienced such an exquisitely holistic sensation from a morsel of food.

Chargrilled over smouldering charcoal and presented on a bed of ebony rice, I resented that I had to share. Their Morcilla scotch eggs with mushroom duxelle, apple purée, and aioli are also not to be missed. A constant sell-out, these aren’t your typical Northern snacks but a beautiful marriage between British and Spanish culture. Similar delights of this marriage are strewn throughout the menu.

With such fantastic predecessors, dessert is not to be forgotten. To really sample El Gato Negro’s sweet tooth, their selection of desserts is a must. An ode to Britain, their Poached Yorkshire rhubarb with vanilla cream and crumble topping artfully treads the line between sweet and sour.

What really sets El Gato Negro above the rest, however, is their skilled understanding of colourful, fresh ingredients, which when fused with perfect seasoning, successfully seduce your tastebuds into blissful submission. Moreover, credit should be given to the practically seamless service from chefs and waiters alike.

Although, prices here might slightly exceed the general student budget, the restaurant is the perfect choice for any special occasion, or simply as an excuse to treat yourself to a release from the monotony of average student dining.

52 King St, Manchester, M2 4LY

Feature

The raw food reality

12.30 - Is there anything other than gazpacho on this regime that counts as a legitimate lunch?

This soup seems to be the only thing even close to resembling a real human meal. If cold spiced tomato liquid is the beating heart of my life at midday, I’m already questioning whether I want to live.

Elena Gibbs What happened when we logged the play-by-play of America’s most extreme diet...

15.00 - After excessive Googling, I’m pretty sure this diet is just veg and nuts. Unless I eat a raw steak, perhaps. Uncooked meat, broccoli and walnuts. I’m going to be popular in the office. Good bye friends, social life.

8.30 - Hurdle one. Something’s telling me this diet requires preparation despite its deceiving title. What is breakfast with no carbs? Is bread raw? Consider an egg, remember that it can’t be heated. Settle for a tomato and a banana.

17.00 - Choose an aged rioja from the cellar to complement my 7oz rump and settle down with a nice book. This isn’t so bad.

9.00 - Think about toast whilst showering.

10.00 - Having difficulty concentrating, eat handful of raw almonds and Google search ‘raw food diet’. Leads me to a 4od documentary on Health Food Junkies, but I get distracted by recommended link to ‘Dogging Tales’.

11.00 - Feeling moderately disturbed, and momentarily relieved from the thoughts of my new raw life, I decide it’s meal time again. Or a caffeine hit. Wait, is coffee allowed? No hot drinks? I settle for a shot of tequila.

12.15 - I glance at the light and begin to see dancing spots of illuminations flash before my eyes. I remember something from childhood about carrots and night vision, so munch on two like a sick, sadistic reindeer with no Santa.

18.30 - Still drinking.

19.30 - My husband arrives home with a takeaway bag of Chinese sweet and sour dumplings and sticky ribs with seaweed. My favourite! I smile, embrace him and mutter something about a brilliant new way of life I’ve found. He pats me on my grape-stained mouth and we tuck in. Perhaps I’ll just eat raw when I’m alone, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience anyone with my dietary requirements.

Sum up: Might work with a little planning ahead. You’ll hit a wall mid-afternoon, but the trick here is to allow in some of those fermented foods to wake your gut up (think: wine, saki, grappa, or even a mouldy piece of fruit). Good luck trying it. And it’s also super great because no calorie counting!! And oh yeah, I now feel AMAZING.

Arts

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ISSUE 19 / 11th APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Review

Pat Flynn: Half-life of a Miracle Follow Pat Flynn’s yellow brick road of pop culture, fiction and digital illusion at Manchester Art Gallery Neil Greenhalgh Art Critic Manchester Art Gallery’s ground floor, The Manchester Gallery, has been transformed into a white cube space for this, the largest solo show of Manchester-based artist Pat Flynn, to date. Unless you’re familiar with his work, which I wasn’t, they look on first glance like they could be photographs or hyper-realistic paintings. They are, in fact, created entirely using 3D computer graphics software. The represented scenarios do not exist in the physical world; in other words, they’re all made up.

At least, most of them are. Some of the works on display contain representations of pre-existing images, such as Wise Man/Shining city upon a Hill, which is a recreation of the side of the Wizard’s throne in The Wizard of Oz. The Wizard of Oz is, of course, also made up; a movie adaptation of a fictional novel. So how real is this throne? Is a representation of a pre-existing fabrication still a fabrication, or does the movie provide some concrete standing in the physical world? There is an

interesting paradox of fact and fiction at play here: we see the familiar shapes of everyday objects in some of these works and we recognise them, but they are simply digital pixels, ordered and manipulated to create illusions of these familiar objects, questioning the reliability of our system of perception. The analogy of smoke and mirrors was used

by Flynn in his Untitled (Smoke) series and sums up his concept nicely.

We can remove ourselves from the smoke and mirrors and enjoy these works on a purely aesthetic level. There is a sort of cleanliness to their aesthetic, a clean cut, straight-lined utopic purity that resonates through them. The colours are bold, the palettes small and the works are easy to look at. There’s a certain beauty in simplicity that draws comparisons with minimalism; some showing the influence of Donald Judd; others the forms of Dan Flavin. There is also an awareness of, and nod to, certain other areas of art history with the chiaroscuro of Caravaggio and the symbolism of Bruegel both subtly but clearly referenced.

Half-life of a Miracle will be at Manchester Art Gallery until the 17th of April.

Pat Flynn’s ‘Healer’ (detail). Photo: Manchester Art Gallery

Review

Inside Out Ashley McGovern Arts Editor

A psychiatric timetable lists one patient’s mordantly comic sessions for later that day: Sigmund Freud, R. D. Laing, Dr Prinzhorn and, lastly, Dr Death. The promise of a gruelling programme of personal scruntity and overbearing psychological probing is not only felt by this poor patient, created by artist Nick Blinko, but also by the breed of artists dubbed ‘outsiders’.

Their work is so often written off as the hermetic, aesthetically illegible by-product of therapy, as opposed to the more controlled, criticallysponsored world of Fine Art. Academic, artist and writer David Maclagan, a proud outsider himself, has teamed up with Castlefield gallery to create a show based around these eccentrics. Full of weird and wonderful visions, all of the works are obsessive, meticulous and more than worthy of serious attention.

The highlight of the show is the work of David Brian Adcock. He works on hand-framed boards that intertwine electronic buttons, hidden underdrawings only revealed by a probing UV light and brilliantly detailed ink drawings. They need activation to work fully as the light reveals dour asides and intricate backgrounds—the proverbial ‘outsider’ now thrives

on inspection.

There is a nice selection from South African artist Marlene Steyn, including a totem-like sculpture of clambering figures and three paintings on linen. In these images, women sprout from the kneecaps and elbow joints of other reclining women; some legs are covered in thorny hairs and the spontaneous pregnancies appear sexy, pleasurable. Steyn describes her work as a metamorphosis of bodies into history, myth and psychology. Her sharply drawn anatomies pop open like the layers of shrinking females in Russian dolls; the contortion in the drawing is perfect.

The appointment card mentioned previously belongs to a series of tormented works by the anarcho-punk singer Nick Blinko. His oeuvre quite literally comes out the confines of the sanatorium as his band’s album Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric (1995) was reportedly composed during his residency in a psychiatric ward. The album’s punning title is illustrative of Blinko’s dark religious visions, which are placed either side of a grey institute façade—a window of which holds back small leaping lunatics in the tallest tower of the hospital. Blinko’s analysis schedule may be a witty tally of white-coated shrinks but it serves as a reminder of the imprisonment of outsider art, generically and critically. Joel Lorand’s work re-

What’s On flects the reclusive-hermetic streak in outsider circles. His dense works are in line with ancient Roman grotesques, another neglected form that wasn’t discovered until the accidental 15th century discovery of Nero’s Domus Aurea.

Unfortunately, it is the more acclaimed artists who disappoint. Real visionary skill cannot be affected. Mit Senoj has enough art fair credits and accolades for a successful-looking leaflet biography (whereas the brief lives of full-blood outsiders tend to read like psychiatric recovery notes, stereotypically speaking), however, his fruit-laden, vine-wrapped women are weakly drawn and unimaginative—tinned fruit versions of Arcimboldo’s bountiful portraits. Pat Darach, another serious award-winner (1995 John Moores Prize and the 1997 Jerwood Drawing Prize), has only one painting on show and it is a dull abstract expressionist plughole-spin called Well (2012). Mehrdad Rashidi’s doodles are just repetitive mind-melds of heads leaking into one another.

For those who want to uncover the secrets of these works and find out more about the fascinating curating process then Castlefield have some tours and talks coming up. On 16th April there is a in-conversation followed by a curator tour given by David Maclagan and Bryony Bond. Also, on the 20th Lauren Velnick will be talking about her uncle, the prolific outsider Christopher John Holme (1952-2010), and her recent work of cataloguing and promoting his unknown output.

Inside Out runs at the Castlefield Gallery (M15 4GB) unti the 24th of April.

Joel Lorand’s Mutation. Photo: Castlefield Gallery

Don’t miss Verity Howard: Behind Closed Doors @ Manchester Craft and Design Centre – until May 29th.

Verity Howard, a recent graduate and winner of MMU Graduate Solo Exhibition Award in 2016, showcases work from her final year and new ceramics made during a residency at Guldagergaard: The International Ceramic Research Centre in Denmark. Monoprinted onto pebble-shaped ceramics are images of chance views through people’s homes, a cold surface permeated with slightly faded interior light. Howard’s interest in homeliness and it’s opposites, dereliction and rubble, are apparent in the formal meeting of dusky imprints and the eroded forms of her ceramics; she says how aim in this series was to try and “capture the warmth and stillness and really strong sense of absence of presence that a room without a person has.” Free entry.

Karenina Fabrizzi @ Artzu Gallery.

With titles like ‘Dream forest’ and ‘Decadent Circus’ its no surprise to see mythical imagery like three women in pink dresses with foxes’ heads marching forwards, or another female with a rabbit head and plunging red blouse reclining insouciantly on a chair. Fabrizzi’s stylish use of scumbled backgrounds and vivid floral patterns—vines are constantly writhing around her women with the comfort of couture clothes rather than a botanic snare—means her subjects resemble a cross between freakshow exhibitionists, modern-day dryads in heels and the female sitters of Renaissance portraiture. Influences that come to mind are Balthus’ languid girls, Leonora Carrington’s magical figures and Pisanello’s mid-fifteenth-century Portrait of a Princess. When asked why nature plays such a big role in her work she said “nothing is fixed for eternity, everything moves and transform into something else, and nature is the best example of this. It is both fragile and extremely powerful at the same time.” Free entry.

Nico Vascellari @ The Whitworth – until 18 September.

Whitworth’s Landscape Gallery has been overtaken by the bosky installation of Italian artist Nico Vascellari.

His inspiration was the Cansiglio forest in the Alpine foothills of North Italy, once the home to a Germanic nomad tribe of craftsmen known as the cimbri scatoleri (“box-builders”), in particular its secretive karstic underground caves. Vascellari’s art is permeated with the sights and sounds of forest glades and as a collection adds up to an adventurer’s transcription of woodland living. In Forest Untitled (2010) he gathered together all his albums whose covers showed images of forests, assembled the tracks into a mixtape and then installed it the forest of Vassivière, where the machine flicked alternately between play and record. Due to unpredictable switching, the pop and rock hits were eventually erased by swaying leaves, bird calls and trampling feet.

This installation, flickering as does in mossy green over his dark magazine-strip collages, reminds me of a magic slide lantern presentation, given by an explorer fresh back from folkloric research in Italy’s mysterious Prealps. Free entry.

UNION Awards

10&12 May 2016

18:30, Manchester ACADEMY TUESDAY 10 MAY

STUDENT VOICE AND COMMUNITIES AWARDS

THURSDAY 12 MAY

SOCIETIES AND STUDENT MEDIA AWARDS

MANCHESTERSTUDENTSUNION.COM/CELEBRATEWEEK

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Lifestyle

ISSUE 20 / 18th APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Tinder tales Certainly not your typical bedtime stories...

Most people probably enjoy a bit of rough and tumble in the bedroom, the odd bite here, and a scratch or two there. But have you ever been bitten so hard you literally bled onto your pillow? That’s what happened to me on my last Tinder date. Conversation had been ordinary, foreplay unremarkable; I would never have guessed that she was a vampire. Then suddenly, out of nowhere she sinks her teeth into my neck and tries to take a chunk out.

I yell out “AAAHHHHHOOOOWWWWW!!!!”, waking all of my housemates with screams of pain. I’m still trying to decide whether or not the pleasure was worth the pain.”

desperate response to the situation.

As that strategy failed, I pulled the “Emergency phonecall card” and stared passionately at the table whilst attempting to keep a straight face. When I went to make my exit, she didn’t make it easy. At first, she doubted me, then proceeded to follow me down the road at five feet’s distance. When I finally neared my place, I turned and asked her if she needed help getting home. In response she offered to wait until my “emergency” was over and we could continue with her date. The farce was up and I eventually came clean that I didn’t want to continue the date (mainly because my mate was standing 50 metres away, pissing himself laughing). Her completely understandable response was “Wanker” and she consequently stormed off.”

“So I take this girl out on a date, one thing leads to another and she ends up staying at mine. Pretty harmless, right? Wrong. But I wasn’t to know that until I embarked on my daily pampering ritual the following morning. Like many men, I’m a fan of that Mint and Tea Tree shower gel for reasons I’m sure you can guess for yourself. Unfortunately, this product doesn’t mix well with open wounds. Much to my horror and agony, I discovered this very fact for myself whilst in the shower.

At closer inspection of the area of searing pain, I realised that it resembled what I imagine it would look like after a passionate night with the likes of Edward Scissorhands.

Then again, maybe he’d have been a more gentle lover?”

“Met this girl on Tinder, got the mates’ approval, even verified on Snapchat. So I arranged to meet her at Revs in Fallowfield, a classic Tinder date spot. Waiting outside, she calls me telling me she’s nearly there. Just to get things straight, I wasn’t looking for a marriage but difficult not to be disappointed.

I’m facing the former BaaBar and a girl comes round the corner on the phone. Not bad, pretty chuffed actually. All of a sudden, I’m tapped on the shoulder from behind and my actual Tinder date greets me. Much to my astonishment, the girl in front of me looks as if she’d eaten her Tinder self and is wearing every foundation available in Selfridges. Clearly, my shock was not well concealed as she asks me: “Are you okay? You look really confused.” The

“When I met this girl she seemed jovial and pretty.

But I quickly realised she was on a phenomenal comedown from the night before and could barely string a sentence together. Her jaw ached and despite my best efforts to lift her spirits she sat there dejected for the better part of three hours, at points with tears in her eyes. She turned her nose up at the bottle of wine I’d bought, so out of desperation, I drank the bottle, went to the bar to buy another and bolted.”

“Our first Tinder date went spectacularly. We wandered around a London park for the afternoon arguing about everything under the sun: art, literature, who was more posh, and the best type of coffee. “This is the one!” I thought. We had a real rapport intellectually and physically. But suddenly, after 10 weeks, she stopped answering my messages and blocked me on social media. I was left heart broken. “How had she slipped away? What had I done wrong?!” I asked around a bit and apparently she’d had a long-term boyfriend the whole time. I was just there filling the gap while he was on his gap year.”

Photo: zoup7667@Fickr

gentleman that I am, I brushed it off with a smile and proceeded to guide her into Revs whilst plotting my exit plan.

The barmaid at Revs definitely knew from the expression on her face. Drinks bought, we sat down and she necked her double vodka and lemonade as I cautiously sipped my beer. First strategy, make her dislike me: Her: “I have three cats”, Me: “I fucking hate cats”; I don’t though, I actually quite like them. Upon discovering that she studied Politics, I informed her that I was probably going to vote BNP in the following election. Disclaimer: this was my

End of Days: How to throw a great woes? Here’s our graduation Drowning your dissertation guide on doing it in style...

Alice Williams Lifestyle Editor

covered in the contents of their recycling box.

With everyone currently knee-deep in the mire of dissertations, essays and the inevitable exam preparation, the idea of any kind of end-of-year celebration can seem like a mere caffeine-induced hallucination. But if you’re serious about throwing a massive party to celebrate the end of your time at university, it might be worth considering a bit of planning in advance – if only to avoid the potential of sitting in Platt Fields Park with a multipack of cider, facing the yawning risk of unemployabilty ahead of you. Here are a few things that you might like to consider

Where to have it This seems like an obvious one, since whenever anyone holds a party it’s generally at their own house. However, with everyone’s rent period coming to an end, most people will be subject to house inspections from their landlords and most likely will lose their deposit if there’s damage. Either you can be willing to risk the clean up, and could perhaps move some of your things out early so there’s more space, or you could ask some of your friends who are sticking around for another year if you could have it in their house.

Whether or not to have a theme As tempting as it may be to theme it an End of Days party, it might not seem so funny when everyone’s 6 pints down, have realised the gravity of the situation and are sobbing about never seeing everyone again. Themed parties where you make everyone dress up can often go one of two ways – either everyone gets really into it or really can’t be bothered. Make your own mind up on what the mood is likely to be amongst your friends, but after a long period of work, don’t be surprised if your insistence for fancy dress results in some very grumpy looking ‘cereal killers’

Massive piss up vs ‘special occasion’ Since this is likely the last time that you’ll be able to fill a massive house with loads of shouting, hammered people who you vaguely know, you might want to make the best of it and spend the evening as you would any other house party. Someone will go home

with their course mate, someone will vom in a bush out the back and things will inevitably get broken. However, if you want to herald in a new era of sophisticated gatherings, then consider having some food on the side and maybe decorating a bit. Perhaps stick up some photos from your time at uni around the house.

To eat or not to eat Leading on from the possibility of potentially having food, consider carefully what kind of food you would serve. A safe bet is to trek to the desolate wasteland of a retail park where Iceland is and end up with hundreds of cocktail sausages and scotch eggs, half-defrosted on the side and probably accidentally covered in someone’s disgarded rum by the end of the night. Perhaps even more dangerous though is to get overly-invested in the notion of ‘being a grown-up’ in your culinary offerings and ending up with hummus, avocado and prawn cocktail smeared all over your walls.

It doesn’t really matter what you decide to do in the end, ultimately it’s just an excuse to get together with all the friends that you’ve made in your time at uni and celebrate the fact that you’ve somehow managed to make it through to the end of this wondrous academic experience. See you at the Curry Mile Job Centre on Monday?

Photo: shuttershock

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ISSUE 19 / 11th APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Overheard University of Manchester “You know that thing you get when you drink a lot of coffee, and then suddenly you’re covered in sweat and singing every musical soundtrack you’ve ever heard… No? Just me?”

– Overheard in the Students’ Union “I know lots of people say that they like having the house to themselves because they can walk around naked and have people over when they shouldn’t and stuff, but I just really appreciate being able to air-dry my sheets on the landing.

That’s how boring I am.”

– Overheard outside the library “It was around about the time he started quoting Doctor Who to me in relation to my dissertation that I knew he had to go.”

– Overheard in the Samuel Alexander building “I woke up the other day and he was mouthing something silently up at the ceiling. When I asked him, he said it was a Tame Impala song. As if that made it any less weird.”

– Overheard in Didsbury “She just said that she’d rather have a bath than sex. That’s not a good sign is it?”

– Overheard in Withington “They could be selling me disease-ridden pears, and if they had that special yellow sticker on them and were in my special discount freezer, I’d totally consider them.”

– Overheard in West Didsbury “He gave them up for Lent but still likes the ritual of buying them. I swear to god, our house is overflowing with uneaten bags of crisps.”

– Overheard in Fallowfield

Lone wolf or pack animal?

Head Editor Evangeline Katz weighs up the pros and cons of travelling alone Effectively a rite of passage for students everywhere, travelling poses both a hoard of opportunities and challenges to prospective roamers. But one dilemma facing nearly every one of them is whether or not to travel alone. The ideal travel companion is no doubt an elusive concept—finding a close friend with the urge to explore the same destinations and a sufficient bank balance is a feat in itself.

But of course, a ticket for one is an option that cuts out the middle man completely. If you’re exploring the likes of South East Asia, many would even recommend it as you’ll undoubtedly meet fellow travellers along the way. What’s more, it can also bring the most introverted amongst us out, of our shell, thus returning a changed man or woman.

Riding solo also allows sufficient freedom to go your own way, exploring every country as you wish to explore it.

But travelling alone isn’t for everybody—and unfortunately, the prospect can even deter some from travelling altogether. For the females of the species in particular, it can be a rather daunting prospect. Although Manchester may have hardened you in comparison to the likes of Oxbridge students, the big bad world gets far meaner than Moss Side. If

nothing else, travelling with a partner will hopefully give your parents the peace of mind to permit them a wink or two of sleep during your absence.

If you’ve been fortunate enough to find a companion, don’t celebrate just yet. Travelling can make or break even the strongest of bonds.

A little planning before you make concrete plans can help save conflict down the line. Compromise is invaluable when on the road. More often than not, that activity you just weren’t so keen on could be the highlight of your trip, so be flexible.

“When in Rome” should always apply and a companion can often be the key to pushing you outside of your comfort zone and embracing new experiences.

Aside from all of the incredible stories and lifelong memories, travelling can equally be pretty damn scary. It’s important to evaluate how well you cope without the support system you have at home in the UK before you go off gallivanting.

Ultimately, it’s a question of sink or swim. If you’re taking the plunge on your own, just make sure you’re not going to cave in and book an early flight home to see Mummy a week later.

Photo: from_drawing@Flickr

Sticking around for the summer?

AJ Mal tells us how Manchester can cater for everyone’s summer desires... it even has a beach!

As the second semester comes to an end, the majority of students will have dispersed, leaving the campus eerily deserted. But you’d be foolish to believe that Manchester grinds to a dismal halt in the upcoming months of summer.

The warm weather brings a summer full of outdoor gigs and festivals. Urban music festival season kicks off in June with Parklife; this year’s fantastic lineup includes the Chemical Brothers, Major Lazer, Diplo and Wolf Alice. A series of concerts on warm summer nights in Castlefield, with acts such as James Bay, and Guy Garvey amongst others, for the annual Summer in the City Concert series. The biennial Manchester International Festival is an internationally renowned fortnight of premieres and never before seen events, shows and gigs, which has brought exclusive gigs by Bjork and The xx—as well as Wonderland, a spectacular theatre production

from Blur frontman Damon Albarn.

Manchester International Festival is taking a break this year, but still, barely a week goes by without an event taking residence in the festival tent at Albert Square.

Summertime also brings Al Fresco food and drink to the city—with squares and pavements suddenly alive, and the beer gardens full to the brim. Places like Spinningfields and Castlefield really become their own when using their fantastic outdoor spaces in the usually rainy city.

The Oast House is a particular favourite when the clouds eventually part. With its large outdoor space and relaxed atmosphere, the August Manchester Picnic brings the same outdoor eating vibe to Piccadilly Gardens.

This year’s sporting events include the Olympics, Wimbledon and the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament. Seek out the big screens and you’ll soon discover that a party

Ask Us

atmosphere with a bit of a crowd can be even more fun in Manchester than actually being at the event itself. Unique spaces have regularly included an urban beach complete with deck chairs and a cocktail bar—in contradiction, Stone Roses’ frontman Ian Brown has claimed that Manchester has everything but a beach! On that matter, the legendary Stone Roses have announced a new album and a series of concerts this summer; what will be massive sellout events.

For classical music lovers, the crescendo reaches it peak as the summer draws to a close. Take a picnic and a bottle or two of bubbly to enjoy whilst you marvel at the spectacular fireworks accompanying the Halle Orchestra as they perform live at Tatton Park. This glorious venue also hosts an annual yearly flower show.

Every year, at the end of August, Manchester Pride brings a huge in-

?! ?!

flux of visitors into the city. Headliners this summer include Katy B, Judge Jules and Will Young.

For a more refined genre of entertainment, the 24:7 Theatre Festival brings the best of the year’s plays back for mini productions in unusual locations. There are also regular plays held in many of the city’s parks—with Heaton Park, and Fletcher Moss Botanical Garden being wonderfully atmospheric places to watch Shakespeare or Oscar Wilde as the sun sets. Actors have bravely carried on even when the sudden downpours have interrupted the rare sunshine.

So grab the suncream and get ready for a great time, as with so many things happening, Manchester is the perfect place to spend the summer. Let’s face it, beaches are overrated anyway!

Photo: DesignPeopleMe@Flickr

I’m getting towards the end of my degree and I am thinking that I’ll probably stay in Manchester and get a job. A few of my friends are staying—some of them are doing an MA and some of them are doing the same thing as me and getting a job. The problem is, they have this big plan that we’ll all live together again next year, and I don’t know how to tell them that I actually want to live on my own?

Second Housemate The best thing to do here is to spread rumours to the friends you don’t live with, and hope that word eventually comes back. A few well-timed brunches with allow you to start sowing the seeds, and making those pinky promise to keep it a secret will have it coming back to your current housemates in no time. Maybe by this point you could have already moved your things out?

First Housemate It’s probably best to leave it right until the last minute. Letting agents must have quite boring jobs, and what better way to liven up their day than a student meltdown complete with screaming and crying, right before signing a contract. View a few houses with them, making non-committal noises and then when it comes to crunch time, tell them that you were just along for the ride and you were always planning to live alone.

Third Housemate Use every social media platform to post ‘if you love something, let it free’ memes on your accounts. Also start printing them off and sticking them around the house. By the time you sit down and have a word with your friends, they’ll either be subconsciously conditioned to be totally cool with it, or would have already referred you to the uni councillor on the basis that your dissertation has finally pushed you over the edge.

20 16

Have you received inspirational teaching or outstanding support from University staff this year?

Why not nominate your lecturer, graduate teaching assistant or support staff for a Manchester Teaching Award?

Guidance and nomination forms available at www.manchesterstudentsunion.com/teachingawards

Alton Towers

23rd April 2016

A discounted day out, including return coach journey, to one of the nation’s most loved theme parks.

Expect fun, thrills and excitement!

Get tickets on the Students’ Union Website or at the helpdesk.

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SPORTLIGHT

This weekly feature looks at sport available at the university. This week we look at Hockey and Chinese kickboxing

UoM Women’s Hockey Club Season Review Lucy Roberts Sport Reporter The University of Manchester Women’s Hockey Club (UMWHC) is the largest women’s only sports club, with five squads competing in Wednesday BUCS leagues against other universities, and a further four teams competing in a weekend league against local Manchester teams. The teams span a wide range of abilities and have all experienced success in their leagues this year. UMWHC is run by a committee of 15 second and third year students from all teams, with the aim of organising and developing the club for current and future members.

UMWHC is a competitive club, always striving to put the best team performance possible out on the pitch; the results this season have proved this.

The most notable performance came from the fifth team, winning eight out of the nine BUCS matches played, finishing with a great goal difference of 32 to secure promotion. In contrast, the first team had a difficult season, facing opposition such as Loughborough and Birmingham University second teams. They fought well but faced relegation by the end of the season. The other three teams displayed some strong performances, which allowed them to finish mid-table and retain their positions in their respective leagues for next season.

In addition to the BUCS matches, all the girls spend some of their time on the weekends playing local Manchester teams in weekend leagues. Following a big restructure this year of the teams UMWHC put out, the second, third, and fourth teams ended up competing against teams that were one, or even two, leagues above their previous positions. The girls took this as a challenge, and instead of being

Photo: Lyndsay Connor

demoralised when the usual winning streak was not replicated, they used the improved competition from the opposition to hone their skills and improve team chemistry. This translated to stronger performances against other universities to help secure the many successes and rack up the BUCS points.

After the hard work put in by all of the girls at Wednesday BUCS matches, there is always a greatly attended weekly social on a Wednesday night. All the teams come together to share celebrations, or on occasion, commiserations, for the earlier results with other members of the club.

This ensures great friendships are made across all

five of the teams, contributing to the great sense of community and togetherness. Being a large club, there are many traditions that have been established over the years, such as the games played at the socials and enjoying a cider black or two at Squirrels Bar. Throughout the year there have been a wide variety of social events put on in addition to weekly AU nights. Particularly unforgettable nights include the Christmas ball and the pub quiz.

As a club, 54 of the girls are running in the Great Manchester 10K run, the largest single society turn out of all AU clubs. We are fundraising for the EY foundation to raise money to help young people, par-

The University of Manchester Chinese Kickboxing Society

Photo: Mei Morrish

Mei Morrish Sport Reporter Tired of slogging it out at the gym? Searching for something new? Want to be trained by world class professionals?

You should join Chinese Kickboxing. Created and overseen by the inimitable Chris Boughey (7th degree black belt, England coach, chief instructor of North West Chinese Kickboxing), Chinese kickboxing is a combination of Western Chinese Kickboxing with elements of Kung Fu. A discipline unique in its power, elegance, and practicality, Chi-

nese Kickboxing is the ultimate cure for dull, mindnumbing hours at the gym.

Training for beginners focuses first on basic stances and coordination before moving on, to more complex forms and drills, while also rapidly developing fitness levels. Think you can’t do 100 sit ups? Well, maybe you can’t now, but you’ll be surprised by how much you can do when you start training with us. UoM Chinese Kickboxing has a team of qualified black belt instructors dedicated to both the discipline and to its students, ready to provide the best workout available. Whatever your fitness level, you can train at your own pace but be prepared to push hard and give it your all!

While training is designed to prepare you for a two minute round in the ring, there’s never any obligation to take part in competitions and absolutely no mindless violence allowed in the sessions. You don’t need to worry about getting hurt (or hurting someone) in the sessions at all, because not only do we have a team of instructors on hand to make sure you are always training correctly, we also have a large supply of protective gear ready to cushion any blows. Kickboxing isn’t scary at all: it’s just good, honest fun, with punching.

Training isn’t just physically and mentally rewarding; as you progress, you qualify for belts. Markers of your hard work, they not only look good, but carry

ticularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, find alternative routes to employment, education or even to help them set up their own businesses.

It is a fantastic charity and the first time UMWHC has been fundraising for them. So many girls taking part shows the importance of the club to its members; they are willing to put in extra work and commitment out of season to help the club in its fundraising efforts. Overall, it has been a fantastic year for UMWHC, and I have enjoyed being a part of it.

If you are interested in playing hockey for university contact us via Facebook. Trials for next season will take place at the beginning of the new academic year. a real sense of achievement, and you can whack it on your CV to prove to prospective employers that you are dedicated, disciplined, and willing to go the extra mile. You can gain belts by taking part in gradings, which are basically elevated training sessions to test your skills. It’s totally optional to grade, but it does feel amazing receiving actual qualifications for the work you put in, and you can proudly show off that shiny new belt around your waist.

The system of belts is as follows: white, blue, orange, green, yellow, purple, brown, and of course black. We train anyone from absolutely zero knowledge of martial arts upwards, so don’t worry if you have no experience of martial arts (or if you’re a 7th degree black belt!): everyone’s welcome at UoM Chinese Kickboxing!

North West Chinese Kickboxing has been coaching the university club for twenty-six years this year, but the society is just two years old. Despite being in our infancy, we have a large and dedicated group of attendees from all walks of life training at a whole range of levels. The society is full of friendly people who can regularly be found at the pub after sessions, or at one of our many socials, including our (almost) legendary curry nights.

If you did want to take your training to the next level, NWCKB runs classes across Manchester and beyond, all of which are open to university students at the discount university rate. These offer the opportunity to step up your training with some sparring and more advanced self-defence, as well as the chance to train with, and be trained by, world medallists.

NWCKB also run Combat Leagues throughout the year for anyone who wants to test their skills at a competitive level. The last meet in March saw UoM Chinese Kickboxing senior Tom Quinn placed second in his category, receiving a trophy, and our congratulations (good job, Tom!).

We train Tuesdays 6-7pm at the Sugden Sports Centre and Thursdays 7-8pm at Trinity College Sports Centre. There’s no joining fee, and no subscription; just pay as you train, £3.90 a session for top qualified instructors and access to the best training in the world.

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ISSUE 19 / 11th APRIL 2016 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Where there’s a Will, there’s a way

Sports Editor Will Kelly turns footballer this weekend, as he puts on his shin pads and football boots to play for History FC. Harry Newton asked him a few questions about his time at History FC.

Run us through the season, Will…

Well, first game of the season we played Econ, who we are challenging for the Division two title now. We lost 1-0, which is annoying and it’s the only game we have lost this season. We went on a winning run and Captain Dan Bunter’s philosophy of playing three at the back has done wonders for this season. We drew 1-1 to Business School in atrocious conditions, which meant we really had to beat Econ to stay in with a chance of the title. We won 3-1 and have won all our games ever since. We are just two points behind Econ and so hopefully they will slip up.

We had a good run in the Roy Little Cup (FA Cup) and we were one game away from the Quarter Final. We played Chemical Engineering who are top of the league above so we knew it would be a tough game. We lost 2-1 and I was pretty gutted because we were missing quite a few players and it was a very even match. Had we had everyone available, we could have won.

Nevertheless, The Road to Armitage dream is very much on as History FC are into the Semi-Final of the Alan Mainwaring shield after convincingly beating NHSF (Hindu Society) 6-0. Our long suffering supporter ‘the Prof’ (Dr Robert Davies, retired history professor) has stuck with us through thick and thin. He has seen us get relegated in my first year at university, and has watched us in the past to some miserable battles of mid-table mediocrity. No other team has such a devoted supporter as ours (or even a supporter). He has kindly brought us oranges at half time and even offered a lift for our players after the match. We are doing this for him.

Who’s brought their A-game this season and performed especially well?

Everyone deserves a mention really because they are all a terrific bunch of lads who love playing football and I think the biggest strength of this team is that they play for each other. Henry Scanlan and Joel Standerwick have that Andy Cole/Dwight Yorke partnership and have been lethal this season scoring 32 goals between them. Joel is on 17 whilst Henry is on 15 so there is a bit of rivalry between them, which is great. Tom Russell has worked so well in behind them. He just put’s his head down and takes the ball forward and he has scored some important goals this season, especially in the recent 1-0 win against Business school.

Credit to Dan Bunter, who suffered a nasty dislocated ankle at the end of last season. He worked hard to get his fitness back and he has simply been tremendous in midfield and has been an excellent leader. Same goes to Pat Harvey, who also suffered a nasty injury last season, and has been excellent at centre back. Tom Glover is like the Ander Herrera in the team, he is just here, there and everywhere.

He puts in some big tackles and controls the tempo of the game superbly. Scott Doherty, who plays at left back, floats over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind and is always a danger in attack. Ollie Brown is a work horse at right wing back, I hope university doesn’t destroy his fitness because he really can bomb up and down that wing.

What’s been your favourite match?

I think the Quarter Final against NHSF (Hindu Society) was our best performance of the season.

From kick off we pressed them high and they just couldn’t cope. We won 6-0 and I managed to score 2, not bad for a centre back! But of course at the end of the day, it’s all about the team and getting us into the semi-finals.

Also the 3-1 win against Econ, as that was a must win for us. From the warm up, everyone knew what was at stake and we were fired up for it. The magnitude of the event can be summed up by the fact Captain Dan Bunter led us in the warm up with some shuttle runs, very professional indeed. It was

a dramatic game for myself; I scored a penalty to make it 2-0 on the stroke of half time and then gave away a penalty in the second half. I say give away, it was a complete dive but thankfully he missed. Then there striker was getting lippy at one of our players so I started giving some right back at him. We were waiting for a free kick and he swung around and assaulted me with an elbow. I was a rugby player at school and I don’t always think in the lens of football so I threw him to the floor. I picked up a yellow card. I know I shouldn’t have done it but I wasn’t just going to roll around the floor like a dying Swan in order to grab the referee’s attention.

We’ve heard that you are the fiercest man in Division 2 football! Is it true that you started on your own goalkeeper?

(Laughs) I wouldn’t say I’m fierce, I am passionate about playing but I am not starting fights here, there and everywhere. I like to tackle but I like a fair game too. No nonsense you might say! I did push our goalkeeper (Josh) once yeah. I had the ball 25 yards out from goal and was put under pressure.

I went to pass but my foot just got stuck in a divet and the opposition broke. Josh made a great save and I headed it off the line for the corner. It wasn’t the right time for Josh to swear in my face. Had it been three seconds after it’s fair enough but I had lost the ball some way from goal and had sprinted like a madman to get back and stop my error from being costly. I knew what I had done and I was already pretty pumped so it was just the wrong time and I over-reacted. But anyway, he’s my housemate so we are all good there and he’s passionate about his football too, which is great. As a defensive unit I think we have been solid, keeping several clean sheets this season.

Do the History Department actively support the team and sporting endeavours?

Absolutely not, and it’s nothing short of a disgrace.

I remember in my first year I had to pay a contribution to get our team kits, as we were simply just playing in high vis bibs. They provide us with no funding or help at all, and the same applies to the history netball team. Registration is all paid by the captains

and last year, the Netball captain had to pay £300 to set up two teams of her own money, there wasn’t even an option of borrowing funds and paying the money back once everyone had registered. I understand that societies are budgeted but no priority is given to Sport when it’s a great community within history. They can’t say that the sport teams are not popular because so many turned up to the football trials that we had to leave loads of people disappointed that they couldn’t play. We could easily have a second history team, and the netball team introduced one due to it’s popularity but this is always going to be difficult when the department won’t set out funds to help with registration.

Having spoken to other societies such as computer science, I have learnt that they pay for kits and help with funding for the team. The sport teams shouldn’t be about whatever is left in the budget, it’s clearly already a great thing and they should be actively helping it go from strength to strength.

Otherwise, these teams could easily disappear as it costs a lot of money to register and match fees build over time.

How has campus sport been useful for you in your time at university?

It creates a great community playing for a team and it’s one of the happiest memories I’ll have of being at this university. You make great friends and the socials have always been a lot of fun. Moreover, it’s something you always look to in the week and I suppose it’s a great relief from working.

Whilst we are here, how have you enjoyed your time as Sports editor at The Mancunion, and what has been your highlight?

Again it’s another memory I will cherish. It might get stressful on a Friday (deadlines) and I might always miss lunch on that day but I have really enjoyed it. We have had the most wonderful contributors who are passionate about their sport and talking to the university sport teams, I have learnt so much of sports that I did not know about. Anyone who has a passion for sport should try writing and The Mancunion gave me that opportunity to express myself.

Positives for England despite World T20 despair James Haughton Sport Reporter Even though England were denied the 2016 Men’s World T20 title by an inspired West Indies, their development over the past year is highly encouraging Six, six, six, six. The West Indies required 19 runs off the final six deliveries of their innings to snatch the Men’s World T20 title from England. Thanks to Carlos Brathwaite’s majestic hitting, however, only four balls of Ben Stokes’s final over were needed. It was an aptly thrilling conclusion to a topsy-turvy final and a pulsating tournament, but that was little comfort to the distraught Stokes and his teammates.

With his first, third and fourth deliveries of the 20th over, Stokes missed the fine margins required of death-bowlers nowadays, turning what he had hoped would be snarling, toe-crushing yorkers into leg-stump half-volleys that, such is the nature of T20, are routinely dispatched for six.

Brathwaite’s second six, however, was astonishing: a leading edge that sailed over the off-side boundary for six, a true testament to the power and bat speed that Brathwaite possesses.

England batted first and started poorly. Jason Roy went for a duck, and Alex Hales and the England skipper, Eoin Morgan, went cheaply too, leaving England on 23-3. The England batsmen struggled with the mystery spin, or lack of spin, of Samuel Badree, who bowled from the start and took 2-16 in his four overs.

Then a partnership of 61 between Joe Root and Jos Buttler brought England back into the game; Root and Buttler sensibly built a partnership yet complemented that by scoring heavily off bad balls in order to create momentum and increase the run rate; in particular, Buttler whacked full deliveries from Sulieman Been, the West Indies’ second spinner, for six.

Even with the dismissal of Buttler for a brisk 36 (off 22 balls), England had recovered from their slow start to reach 110-4 midway through the 14th over. Root had, by this time, reached 50 off 33 balls, the joint fastest half-century in a World T20 final, along with Kumar Sangakkara. Then the wickets

of Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali fell within three balls, and Root soon followed after an unsuccessful ramp shot meant he was caught at short fine-leg.

Good hitting from David Willey, however, ensured England reached 155-9 from their 20 overs. This was a total that, after the game, Morgan felt was up to as much as forty runs below par for the wicket.

The start of the West Indies’ innings could not have possibly gone for better for England. Morgan’s decision to have Root bowl the second over, while the Powerplay’s fielding restrictions applied, proved a master stroke. Root took the wicket of Johnson Charles with his first ball and then, two deliveries after that, that of Chris Gayle, the man who had put England’s bowlers to the sword with a 47-ball hundred in both sides’ first match of the tournament, which the West Indies won. When Willey dismissed Lendl Simmons in the next over, the West Indies were reeling at 11-3.

Marlon Samuels’ superb 85 not out from 66 balls, which saw him named Man of the Match, with some support from Dwayne Bravo (25 from 27 balls), enabled the West Indies to have a chance come the final over, a chance that Brathwaite took with aplomb.

Despite the two defeats to the West Indies in the 2016 World T20, England’s performances in the tournament, and across all formats of the game in the past year, have been invigorating, and imply that success is a matter of when, not if, for this side.

In this year’s World T20, the game against South Africa, in particular, will live long in the memory.

Chasing a score of 229-4, England plundered 89 runs in the first six overs, mainly thanks to Jason Roy’s 43 off 16 balls, and they reached their target with a couple of balls to spare, with Joe Root topscoring again, with 83 from 48 deliveries.

Even in the match against Afghanistan, where the top order failed to perform—England were 85-7 at one point—Ali and Willey guided England to 1427; in the past, the side might have collapsed to a score below 100, but this side are a resolute outfit now, and the depth of England’s batting line-up is a particular strength—in the final, Adil Rashid, an all-rounder by trade, came in to bat at 11. England’s bowlers restricted Afghanistan to 127-9 from their 20 overs, thereby preventing an embarrassing

defeat that would have severely damaged England’s progress in the tournament, an unfortunate hallmark of England’s previous tournament campaigns.

What made England’s performances in this tournament even more refreshing and exciting was that they were in stark contrast to those of 2015’s Cricket World Cup. In that tournament England were frankly atrocious, and how they played the game was antediluvian compared to that of the likes of New Zealand and Australia. Whereas Brendon McCullum and David Warner, to name just a couple, made the most of the fielding restrictions by attacking the opposition bowlers from the start, England attempted to steadily build an innings and then only accelerate in the final ten overs. It didn’t work: Australia beat England by 111 runs and England were skittled out for 123 by New Zealand.

For England the nadir was still to come, however. A defeat to Bangladesh confirmed England’s exit from the competition at the group stage. Only seven teams were in the group, and the top four qualified for the next stage, but England weren’t one of them. Victories against Scotland and Afghanistan were scant consolation.

The one positive that sprang from England’s miserable campaign was that the nature of the defeats made the selectors and coaching staff realise that England needed a drastic change in philosophy if they were going to challenge for trophies and beat the best in all formats of the game.

That change in philosophy was vindicated by England’s World T20 semi-final defeat of New Zealand, a complete performance with both bat and ball.

Stokes and Jordan’s deathbowling stifled the Kiwis.

From 89-1 after ten overs, the New Zealand batsmen stumbled to a total of 153-8. In reply, England hammered the New Zealand attack, one that had bowled India out for 79 and restricted Australia to 134-9 earlier in the tournament.

Photo: NAPARAZZI@Flickr

Jason Roy was the linchpin; he scored 78 off 44 balls, his barrage of fours and sixes leaving the Kiwi bowlers dumbfounded. From the tenth over, England were in cruise control and they reached their target with 17 balls remaining.

England’s achievements since the spring of 2015 demonstrate the rapid progression from their dismal 50-over World Cup campaign. Jos Buttler has scored 46-ball and 66-ball centuries against Pakistan and New Zealand, respectively, since then. In the past year England have made scores of 399-9, 355-5, 408-9, 350-3 (in 44 overs), 365-9 (46 overs) in One-day Internationals (ODIs). And in test cricket, England secured impressive series victories away to South Africa and at home to Australia.

Therefore, despite the heroics of Brathwaite and the pain of seeing a world title once again slip away from its grasp, English cricket has rarely been in a better position on the international scene. Thanks to a young, fearless, resolute, and most importantly, extremely talented squad of players, that promise has translated into very good results, and international trophies and worldnumber-one rankings are surely close at hand.

11th APRIL 2016/ ISSUE 19 FREE S

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Manchester City Women in Flying Form

Photo:Wikimedia Commons

Harry Newton Sport Editor It was recently announced that away tickets in the Premier League have been capped at £30 for next season, and the whole country rejoiced! Some teams have been known to sell their away tickets for

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double that—and then some—so this was a fantastic step in the right direction for the men’s game. So, that’s £30 for a football match. Well, then you’ve got to buy the £4 programme, too. Oh, and the £5 chicken and Balti pie. Just don’t get thirsty, you may have to re-mortgage to buy a pint. There’s also currently no cap on home games in the Premier League, so it will depend on if you support Bournemouth or Arsenal as to how much a match would set you back.

Photo:theglobalpanorama @Flickr

Toby Webb Sport Reporter

UoM’s Women’s Rugby Season Photo: Adelaide Harris

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‘We started with a win at Varsity and have never looked back.’ These are the words of Adelaide Harris, club captain of the University of Manchester Women’s Rugby Football Club (UMWRFC). It’s been a fantastic year for the club, with 1XV finishing top of their BUCS division.

The year began brightly, with a strong recruitment drive at Freshers’ fair. The club recorded 200 sign-ups, with 50 freshers attending the taster session.

This ultimately resulted in 35 new clubs members, with a significant number of social members to add to that. The creation of a competitive club environment benefited the teams hugely, and was soon translated into quality performances on the rugby pitch.

Having attended the Varsity, I was very impressed by the 1XV in their comprehensive 55-5 victory. They exhibited a range of skills and played with a deadly blend of pace and power. It was good to hear from Adelaide that they continue this level of performance throughout the season.

Despite losing more games than the second place Sheffield (P9 W7 L2), the 1XV maintained their position at the top of the table from just before Christmas onwards.

They finished on 37 points, 3 ahead of Sheffield. Their success in the league came down to their acquisition of bonus

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But we all love football, so what does it matter eh? It’s an investment into fun! But, what if I told you that a ticket to watch Manchester City Women (MCWFC) against Arsenal Ladies a couple of weeks ago cost £5? They even threw in a free match-day programme and poster too. You can’t buy a Freddo for that much in some places! However, buying a ticket to MCWFC isn’t like buying a DVD from the fella in the pub for a cheaper price – you still get top-notch quality. The pace and strength of any Women’s Super League (WSL) game is just as impressive as any Premier League one, and City have been scoring some exquisite goals this season.

City have been raking in the fans this season, with four-figure attendances regularly being noted, creating a great atmosphere in their brand-spanking-new Academy Stadium just opposite The Etihad Stadium. City are yet to concede a goal in the five games they’ve played this season, and are looking comfortable in front of goal also with five wins on the bounce! All but one game has finished 2-0 so far, with one being a very impressive win over big rivals Arsenal Ladies.

The one game that didn’t finish 2-0 was a 1-0 win over Notts County that brought about the most exciting moment of the season so far, as a last minute free-kick from captain Steph Houghton flew into the net! Clean-sheets, and especially digging out 1-0 wins, are exactly what makes a championship-winning side, so City are kicking off this campaign perfectly!

Manager Nick Cushing has assembled a very well-balanced side.

Big performances are being pulled-out by players from all positions.

Steph Houghton’s goal against Notts County might have been the highlight of the season so far, but her defensive display has been equally as impressive alongside the rest of the back four and goalkeeper Karen Bardsley. Notabley, Demi Stokes has been just as important to City’s attack as their defence, as she bombs on from the left-back position.

Midfielder Jill Scott has also kicked off the season in great form, involved in all the midfield action, giving no opponent a moment’s time on the ball, as she covers so much ground. Rumour has it that Jill Scott could take a corner, head it in, and have the ball back on the centre-circle before a defender has jumped to clear the corner.

Even Doctor Who would struggle to find time on the ball with Scott around. (Is it okay I just made that very uncool reference? It’s not okay, I take it back).

The British trio that are Toni Duggan, Nikkita Parris and Jane Ross are doing their job at the top end of the field also, with all of the attackers amongst the goals already. Fellow attacker and new signing Kosovare Assllani looks like she has lots to bring to the table too this season, giving Nick Cushing a variety of attacking options before him for the season ahead.

BT Sport will be showing games from the (WSL) this season, but don’t let that stop you getting down to watch a game at The Academy Stadium this season! The season runs from March to October, meaning that Premier League fans can fill their summer void by getting down to the Academy Stadium to watch the Women’s Team.

points throughout the season. A team is rewarded with a bonus point for the scoring of 4 or more tries, or a loss within 7 points of the opposition. Adelaide acknowledged the importance of the bonus points: ‘We had one game that we lost where we did both, so we were awarded 2 bonus points’. The 1XV demonstrated their free-scoring ability in the Varsity: it doesn’t surprise me that they finished with 9 bonus points for the season.

Topping the division means the 1XV participate in the Premiership play-offs against Newcastle 1st, who finished bottom of the Premier North division, an exciting reward for a successful season.

Adelaide’s season highlight was the 29-0 victory over Sheffield 1XV, the team’s nearest challengers for the division title.

Not only was it a significant game as a league decider, but Sheffield stood as a bogey team for 1XV. Having lost to them in three successive seasons, their subsequent victory was made so much sweeter. Adelaide commented that ‘it was a really big deal for some of the third years in our team who have never beaten them.’

A contributing factor to the club’s success this season has been the quality of the new recruits, some who had never played the sport before. Similarly, an improved focus on fitness and sports psychology aided good match performances.

As a result, the 2XV recorded more wins than ever before through the season. Ad-

ditionally, both the 1XV and 2XV made it through the first round of the BUCS cup. Special mention must go to the 2XV, who recorded a handsome 27-15 victory against a team in the league above them.

For Adelaide, the most improved player at the club this season is Hannah Gyamfuaa Addae-Dapaah. Playing football for a number of years, Hannah picked up the rules of rugby with ease, demonstrating a strong tackling ability and lightning pace.

Hannah’s talent has not gone unnoticed, with her making a couple of appearances with Championship team Firwood Waterloo Ladies. The club captain said that she has improved with every game, and is ‘definitely one to watch.’ Similarly, several other players from the club participated in the preliminary stages of Lancashire county trials; the suggestion is that a number of girls will get into the squad.

This type of recognition is a testament to the quality within the club as a whole.

Looking forward to next season, Adelaide is positive. While acknowledging the loss of many third year students, she believes the club will continue on its upward trajectory, with the election of a new committee continuing the good work from this season.

The Premiership play-offs take place on Wednesday 13th April at home. Kick off is 2pm at The Armitage, with the away leg taking place the following week, Wednesday 20th April in Newcastle.