29th SEP 2014/ ISSUE 03 FREE “Viva the Republic of Mancunia!”
MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
The Science Interview: Professor Phil Manning
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WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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Does social media actually connect us?
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Terminally ill student plays DJ set at Pangaea Aidan Gregory Editor-in-chief
say.
dation. And in the months ahead
“I was with him for two hours, he
James has big plans.
was asking me about my life, and
He said, “There’s a drug which
it was a good job I’d met all the
some NHS trusts pay for and
A terminally ill student played a
other united players first because
some don’t, and I’m going to
set at Pangaea, as part of his buck-
I don’t think I would have been
launch a nationwide campaign
et list, and to raise awareness for
able to speak to him.
saying that everyone should be
his charity foundation.
“I was in that much awe of him
able to get it, because it can ex-
James ‘Mac’ McCarthy, an MA
that I couldn’t speak for 45 min-
tend life expectancy by up to two
student, played his deep house
utes, because I was so like ‘Oh
years.
set in Academy One after drum
my God I’m sat next to Alex Fer-
“And you know the proton thera-
and bass legend Shy FX.
guson’”.
py that that little boy Asha could
In an interview with The Mancu-
His other wishes include visiting
have had. Well basically it’s been
nion, James described his experi-
Vietnam, to meet Christiano Ron-
available since 1990 in America,
ences of DJing at Pangaea.
aldo, drive an Aston Martin, and
and if I’d had that five years ago, it
“It was amazing! Had a little bit of
raise awareness of the symptoms
[the cancer] wouldn’t have come
a sound problem first because a
of brain tumours.
back so quick. So I’m going to
lot of the DJs were using comput-
James was first diagnosed with a
campaign for proton therapy as
ers.
brain tumour in March 2009. He
well”.
“I did it with a USB stick, so I was
underwent surgery and radio-
A practicing Christian, James has
mixing it with my ear. However
therapy, and had to learn to read,
also planned a trip to Lourdes in
I had a little five minute sound
write, and talk again. After finish-
France, and will visit Tenerife
problem but the tech staff sorted
ing radiotherapy, he went up to
with his mother.
it out”.
the University of Salford to study
You can donate to James’s cause
He added further, “I played at
a Bsc in Business Management,
at,
Café Mambo in Ibiza and I would
and graduated with a 2:1.
co.uk/James-McCarthy-Founda-
probably put it on a par with that”.
Last year, James started a MA
tion/
Playing Pangaea and Ibiza were
at the University of Manchester,
His DJ mix cloud can be found
both items on the bucket list,
when he received the devastat-
at,
along with meeting the “class
ing news that the cancer had re-
james-mac/
of 92” and meeting and having
turned.
dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson.
Since his diagnosis, James and
James is a diehard Manchester
his family have managed to gath-
United fan. Reflecting on the ex-
er over £20,440 for cancer chari-
perience, he said, “It was one of
ties, and they are currently in the
the best moments of my life I’d
process of starting a charity foun-
http://www.crowdfunder.
http://www.mixcloud.com/
James McCarthy (pictured) played a deep house set Photos: The Mancunion to a packed out academy one. Photo Jessica Davey
02 : NEWS
ISSUE 03/ 29th September 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Highlights
P12 Music interview: Apollonia
Approximately 26000 students attended the Welcome Fair last week. The Union’s new giant inflatable letters were used for Pangaea too. They will be used for Why Not Wednesdays this year. Photo: Manchester SU
The UoM Indian Dance Society flash mob outside of University Place. Photo: Lauren Gorton.
Picture of the week
P17 Fashion – How
Black History Month at the Students’ Union Helen Chapman News Editor
Manchester will change you
P18 Film - Twenty Years of Pulp Fiction
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Black History Month will hit the Students’ Union from October 1st with a range of events aiming to “empower, celebrate and enlighten.” Tessy Maritim, Diversity Offier at the University of Manchester Students’ Union, said, “our theme this year is Enlightening, Celebrating and Empowering and each activity fits into one of these categories. “My hope is that as many students as possible engage with Black History Month and I look forward to witnessing a successful celebration of Black History Month.” The event will kick off with Open Mic, giving a platform for students to showcase talents and performances cele- Education Officer Harriet Pugh poses next to the new plaque dedicated to Arthur Lewis - the first black professor in the UK. Photo: Harriet Pugh brating black history and culture. In order to enlighten the student gap. Guest speakers include Malia hosting plays for Black History Month masses there will be a chance to dis- Bouattia (NUS Black Students’ Officer) at the end of October, celebrating black cuss issues such as police brutality, and Patrick Johnson (Head of Equality history and culture. skin bleaching and the perpetuation of and Diversity at the University of Man- Tessy Maritim, said “It’s really imporblack stereotypes on Wednesday 8th chester). tant for students to know that Black October with a roundtable discussion. A short documentary focusing on History Month isn’t targeted to a cerAn academic panel discussion on black women will be screened fol- tain audience, rather, it’s for everyone Wednesday 15th October aims to em- lowed by a question and answer ses- to enjoy and learn”. power when talking about the issue of sion. The Contact Theatre will also be black and ethnic minority attainment
P27 Lifestyle – Manchester graduates working in Berlin
Visit Our Website www.mancunion.com Facebook: The Mancunion Twitter: @THEMANCUNION Editor-in-chief : Aidan Gregory editor@mancunion.com Deputy Editor-in-chief : Charlie Spargo Postal address: Univerity of Manchester Students’ Union, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PR Phone (0161) 275 2933
Sub-Editors: Morgan Hollet,James Jackman & Charlotte Pangraz.
Beauty Editor: Nikki Patel beauty@mancunion.com
News Editors: Anna Phillips, Lauren Gorton, Helen Chapman & Jenny Sterne news@mancunion.com
Food & Drink Editors: Elena Gibbs & Adam Fearn
Science & Technology Editor: Andy van den Bent-Kelly
Film Editors: James Moules, Thomas Bruce, Martin Solibakke, & Andriana Hambi
Features Editors: Haider Saleem & Roberta Rofman
film@mancunion.com
Arts Editor - Holly Smith
Books Editors: Leonie Dunn & Ali Pearson
arts@mancunion.com
features@mancunion.com
books@mancunion.com
Societies editor - Evie Hull
Opinion Editors: Morris Seifert & Marcus Johns
Games Editors: James Thursfield & Matt Cole
societies.mancunion@gmail.com
games@mancunion.com
Interested in photo journalism, with an eye for colour and detail? The Mancunion are taking on photographers . If you would like to get involved, contact Aidan Gregory on , editor@ mancunion.com
opinion@mancunion.com Fashion Editors: Aimée Grant Cumberbatch & Gráinne Morrison fashion@mancunion.com
foodanddrink@mancunion.com
Lifestyle Editors: Robert Firth. lifestyle@mancunion.com Music Editors: Patrick Hinton, Sam Ward, Lowell Clarke, and Daniel Whiteley
music@mancunion.com Sport Editors: Andrew Georgeson & Will Kelly Sports Reporters: Liam Kelly sport@mancunion.com Theatre Editor: Nicole Tamer theatre@mancunion.com
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
NEWS : 03
“Viva the Republic of Mancunia!” Jenny Sterne News Editor
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) have responded to the Prime Minister’s call for greater devolution to England’s larger cities in the wake of the Scottish referendum results. The Prime Minister said “It is important that we have wider civic engagement about how to improve governance in our United Kingdom, including how to empower our great cities. And we will say more about this in the coming days.” Lord Peter Smith, Chair of Greater Manchester Combined Authority, said “We welcome the Prime Minister’s words about the need to empower our great cities. Greater Manchester has the experience and capability to move quickly”. “Greater Manchester has a bigger economy than Wales or Northern Ireland, and a population of almost three million, yet we have considerably less freedom over our funding and spending priorities”. ResPublica, an independent public policy think tank published a report prior to the Scottish referendum outlining a blue print for full devolution for English cities, using Greater Manchester as the case in point.
The report ‘Devo Max – Devo Manc’ outlines the case that the GMCA with an elected major and assembly, as is the model in London, could have control over such things as property and income taxes. “We put forward Greater Manchester for full placebased integration of public sector spend because with its well evidenced growth potential and mature governance structures, it is one of the few places in the UK that could pilot devolution on this scale” According to Scott Fletcher, MBE of ANS group the report by ResPublica makes perfect sense. In a recent statement he said “Manchester is in a commanding position at the moment. High tech companies and aspiring entrepreneurs aren’t confined solely to London and, indeed, often find more fertile ground elsewhere, such as Manchester and the North West.” He added “Manchester is a vibrant and growing city and if we get the devolution of power that appears to now be politically possible then our great city and the wider North West can only benefit, giving us powers over a wide range of issues such as health, education and business support. I say bring it on, Viva the Republic of Mancunia.” Lord Smith added that
Leaders call for devolution of Manchester in the wake of the Scottish Referendum results. Photo: Pablo Fernández@Flickr he believes Manchester is ‘uniquely well-placed to demonstrate the benefits of greater freedom to make decisions and funding allocations which will help the region realise its full potential”. We need the freedom to make decisions on funding and priorities based on the area’s needs, not the ‘one size fits all’ approaches handed down from Westminster and Whitehall”.
First Rule of Night Club Lauren Gorton News Editor
A large-scale disturbance involving some 40 drunken brawlers occurred at Deansgate Lock in the early hours of Tuesday 23rd September. The fighting is believed to have begun in the nightclub Sakura, before spilling out into the streets. Greater Manchester Police received a report of fighting outside the club at around 2:50am, however when police arrived the 30-40 brawlers dispersed and fled the scene. It is believed that a minor fight broke out inside Sakura, however after bouncers in the nightclub broke up the conflict and kicked out those involved the fighting then continued and escalated in the streets. Speaking to The Mancunion, a staff member at Sakura Manchester recalled the brawl begin-
ning inside the nightclub. He said, “I was downstairs when it kicked off but I don’t know a great deal I’m afraid! “[I] watched it kick off like I said, but don’t know what started it. It got pretty hostile because it [the bar] was packed and we just didn’t stop serving all night, maybe whose bottle of goose is the biggest. That’s my only presumption. He added further, “I don’t know if it was actually over whose wallet was the biggest, but it wouldn’t surprise me. It all kicked off in Sakura, nine bouncers calmed it and filtered it outside – [the] streets were laden with heads”. Officers at the scene found a 20-year-old man suffering from puncture wounds to the torso who was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary to receive treatment for minor injuries. The wounds were supposedly stitched and the man discharged from hospital although it is still
currently unknown how the injuries were caused. Furthermore, a 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drunk and disorderly behaviour and a 20-year-old man was arrested for a breach of public order. At the time of writing, both men remain in custody. Detective Sergeant Phil Marsh said, “We don’t know what sparked the incident this morning but it would have been scary for anyone caught up in it. “We have no reports of any major injuries and we are trying to establish if any weapons were used. This was a serious disorder that we are determined to investigate fully. “So, if you were there and saw what happened – or got caught up in the violence inadvertently then please call the police.” Anyone with information is asked to call police on 0161 856 3221 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Ed Miliband proposes, as he outlined in his speech at last week’s Labour conference in Manchester, “devolving power to local government, bringing power closer to people right across England” adding “It’s got to be led by the people. It can’t be a Westminster stitch-up”. At the Labour party conference last week, ten city leaders signed a letter to the government asking for speedy
devolution to cities across the UK. The eight English Core Cities – Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield – have recently been joined by Cardiff and Glasgow, forming ‘Core Cities UK’. The leaders welcome the Prime Minister’s recent promises of more ‘empowered’ UK cities. But they say ‘our
communities, our voters, will not accept delay based on constitutional wrangles, or half measure delivered through Political compromise”. In the letter issued tothe government the leaders outline that the “ten core Cities deliver 28% of the English Welsh and Scottish economy.” These vital improvements according to the Core Cities Leaders “cannot be met by our heavily centralised and overly bureaucratic systems of investment”. The Leaders added that the “timing should not restrict the promises to Scotland being delivered” but that the “the people of Scotland have decided that devolution and Union are not incompatible, and neither is local freedom and national growth.” Manchester Evening News reported Manchester’s own Lucy Powell MP thinks “we are ready” for devolution but that we must first tackle the problem of poor election turnouts. The report highlighted that Ms Powell was elected after a turnout of just 18 per cent in 2012. However she believes that the referendum with an 84.6% turnout demonstrated people will engage in politics if they feel they have control over the places they live.
Manchester City Council to set up Dogs Home task force Kathryn Murray News Reporter Since the Harpurhy dog centre fire on 11th September 2014, which left 60 animals dead and large sections of the premises destroyed, Manchester City Council has set up a joint task force to ensure that the Manchester Dogs’ Home is back up and running as soon as possible. The joint task force, including technical officers from the city council and charity trustees, has been organised to plan the redevelopment of the kennels which have been a cherished part of the Manchester Community for over 115 years. Manchester City Council has played a key role in aiding the Dogs’ Home including organising a clean-up operation. Not only has the Council provided
immense support since the blaze, members of the public have also shown interest, donating tonnes of supplies currently being held in city council storage facilities. Further, generous celebrity donators including Simon Cowell, Ricky Gervais, and Piers Morgan have also pledged to the cause, with so far over £1.4 million having been raised. One week after the blaze, the Dogs’ Home released a statement, thanking the public and saying that they hope “that the re-build of the site will enable us to incorporate the very latest developments in canine welfare to make Manchester Dogs’ Home even better than before.” City council members also added to the statement. Councillor Pat Karney, leading the City Council’s support for the dogs’ home, said: “We’re here for the duration, and we’ll be
working closely alongside the charity while the new centre is being rebuilt.” Councillor Bernard Priest, deputy leader of Manchester City Council, said: “In this emergency situation we’re offering support and assistance to help in any way we can, and this includes setting up a task force to make sure the home is back up and running as quickly as possible.” Meanwhile the dog home heroes, Jason Dyer and Dean Rostock, who entered the building whilst it was still ablaze to save trapped dogs have been nominated for a prestigious Animal Hero Award which recognises the most inspiring examples of bravery, dedication and resilience in the animal world. The aid effort for the dogs home can be found at, https:// www.justgiving.com/dogshome
04 : News
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Stonewall Reveals Top Gay- Students Raise Friendly UK Universities £230, 000 for - University provisions for lesbian, gay and bisexual
students continue to improve, says Stonewall. Anna Phillips News Editor A recent report by gay rights charity Stonewall has revealed how gay-friendly British universities are. The survey ranked 158 British universities on how well they successfully help and welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. Named Gay By Degree 2015, the report awarded full marks to six universities for their positive support to LGBT students; Cardiff University, Liverpool John Moores, Sheffield Hallam, University of Essex, University of Glasgow and York St. John taking the top spots with full marks. The universities have been scored on ten criteria, including whether there are societies and events for LGBT students, whether there are policies in place to tackle homophobic bullying and the steps they take to support gay staff members. In the original launch guide of 2010, no university scored ten out of ten whilst this year, six universities were awarded the top position. The report revealed that 85 per cent of universities have a student society for LGB students, and 72 per cent hold and publicise regular events for lesbian, gay and bisexual students. However, just 22 per cent of universities successfully monitor students’ sexual orientation and only 20 per cent engage with the wider community on LGB issues. Stonewall admitted that many universities still fail to sufficiently support LGBT students, with 11 institutions failing to meet any of
the criteria. This report comes in light of a recent NUS report which revealed that homophobia on campus is still rife, with one in five LGBT students admitting having been bullied on campus. One in three LGBT young people have also reported that they worry about going to university because they think that the bullying they experienced in school will continue. Stonewall Head of Education, Wes Streeting, said: “With universities charging £9,000 fees, it’s right to expect them to provide a high quality experience for all students, including those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual. “This year, we’ve unapologetically introduced stricter criteria to encourage universities to improve provision for students.” The University of Manchester scored positively on eight out of the ten criteria on the checklist, excluding ‘explicit welfare support and info for LGBT students’ and ‘student sexual orientation monitoring’. Chief executive Ruth Hunt said, “It’s particularly concerning that only 35 universities are monitoring students’ sexual orientation, leaving them no way of telling if they’re providing a positive experience for gay students. “Although many lesbian, gay and bisexual students have a positive university experience, far too many still report experiencing homophobia or biphobia or a lack of support when they get there. We hope that this year’s guide prompts universities to do more to make campuses a welcoming place for all students.”
British Universities are becoming more gay friendly. Photo: UoM LGBTQ Society @ Facebook
Labour’s Future Plans: Ed Miliband’s vision at the 2014 conference Helen Chapman News Editor Ed Miliband talks improving conditions for working people, saving the NHS and more opportunities for young people at the Labour Party Conference last week. Miliband said to ITV1’s Good Morning Britain “the speech was all about how we change our economy so it works for working people again” highlighting ‘Labour’s plan for Britain’s future’ at the conference. Miliband proposed that British people feel disconnected with politics, so it is Labour’s job in the upcoming election to prove that governments work for, not against, the people of the
country. Miliband held that the Conservative government has left the people of Britain “on your own” whereas Labour will keep the country “together.” With a “ten year plan” Miliband said he hoped to introduce a mansion tax- a charge on £2million plus properties. Alongside this, Miliband says the mansion tax, an effort against tax dodgers and a tariff on tobacco firms could raise £2.5billion extra NHS funding which could “save the NHS.” Further Labour policy includes giving more power up to the northern parts of Britain. This means plans to devolve power from Westminster to Manchester would help improve local councils, putting
“power back to the people.” Miliband spoke of hopes to improve conditions for young people in Britain when accounting for the little prospects young people face after school. To tackle this, Miliband says Labour will fund apprenticeships for young people in order to decrease the amount of youth unemployment in the country. Speaking further on issues for young people, Miliband hopes to reduce the voting age so that sixteen and seventeen year olds will also be included in the vote. With the anticipation to engage more young people in politics and extend more power to the people, Labour plans to get people connected with politics in Britain’s future.
British Heart Foundation Jenny Sterne News Editor
Students across Manchester rose over £230,000 for British Heart Foundation (BHF) by giving away unwanted items as they left for the summer. Manchester City Council joined forces with universities and the British Heart Foundation to run this campaign. Charity collection bags were distributed to students and they were encouraged to donate any unwanted items normally left for the rubbish. Almost 17,000 bags were collected this summer – almost double that collected last year in the same campaign. The items ranged from books, shoes and clothing to hairdryers and rice cookers. All the funds raised from the sale of these have gone to The British Heart Foundation which fights one of the UK’s biggest killers. The scheme began in 2009 and it aims to both encourage students to take responsibility for their belongings and be charitable students. The Council, University representatives and the BHF have all been very vocal in their gratitude towards the charitable heart shown by the students across Manchester. Councillor Bernard Priest, Manchester City Council’s deputy leader, said: “The amount that was collected this summer was truly staggering, and it’s a tribute to the efforts of Manchester students that so many items will all now go to help fight one of the UK’s biggest killers.” Sophie Leigh, Manchester Metropolitan University’s Sustainability Engagement Manager, said: “We are thrilled that this initiative has raised such a fantastic amount of money for a very worthy cause and helped to make the city greener at the same time. Our students really embraced the idea of recycling their unwanted possessions for charity, and we hope this campaign will go from strength to strength.” Alexander Clark, Environmental Coordinator at The University of Manchester, said: “Each year more and more of our students actively engage with this campaign, which is great to see how many students understand the importance of supporting charities. “It is a very busy time during the end of year, but the fact that students take their responsibilities to donate unwanted items instead of landfilling them is a great step forward for the city.” Catherine Argyle, BHF Regional Stock Generator, said: “We’ve been delighted with the response from students and residents in Manchester and their overwhelming support. “Each BHF shop needs to receive 400 bags of unwanted items a week and thanks to generous donations from the residents, students and university staff in Manchester, we have been able to help our shops in the city.”
88 Year Old Manchester Man Jailed for Life for Historic Child Abuse Lauren Gorton News Editor - An 88 year old South Manchester man, John Jarvis, has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment as a 13-year long historic child sexual abuse case is uncovered. After an eight day trial 88 year old John Jarvis from the South Manchester area was sentenced to a total of 20 years imprisonment for historic child sexual abuse. The trial concerned three cases of indecent assault, two rapes and three offences of buggery which had spanned over a period of 13 years. Shockingly the child abuse came to light as a consequence of Jarvis’ own arrogance after he reported an assault to the police by one of his previous
victims in December 2012. As police interviewed the man, he explained he was simply trying to push Jarvis away after he had tried to grab his genitals, to which Jarvis told the man that “he didn’t seem to mind when he was a child.” The man further revealed in the interview that he had been systematically abused by Jarvis as a child and that he knew of one other child who was also an abuse victim of Jarvis between 1988 and 2001. Commenting on the case, Detective Constable Susan Hazell said, “Jarvis’ sex abuse went unreported for years and as he neared the end of his life he must have thought he’d gotten away with it.” However she added that without the bravery of the victims who had the courage to speak to the police and relive the dreadful abuse
they suffered at Jarvis’ hands then he may have done so. The man who was interviewed by the police was further commended by the trial judge for his “extraordinary dignity” while giving evidence. The news of Jarvis, however, does not stand in isolation as another man from the Greater Manchester area has been summoned to court in relation to a separate historic child sexual abuse case. The summons relates to 29 offences of sexual assault against seven boys during their time at St Martin’s primary school in Fitton Hill spanning between 1979 and 1982. The summons will occur in October this year, whereas for Jarvis GMP have stated that “what little time he has left will now be spent in prison contemplating his crimes.”
ISSUE 03 / 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
NEWS : 05
Welcome to the Jungle! Slithering her way into the top ten. Vote her for number one or you’ll hiss her off! Ind-E-ana Jones and the Temple of Booze
Will you vote Ooga Booga ,
or will he Crash Bandic-out?
Lauren Gorton, Anna Phillips, and Marcus Johns News Editors
At the first Pangaea of the year, The Mancunion took to the jungle to run Pangaea’s first fancy dress competition in collaboration with the Students’ Union. We took hundreds of photos of your fancy dress triumphs and disasters which the Students’ Union and The Mancunion have narrowed down to the top ten solo costumes on this page. There aren’t even any hoofing Zebras in the ruddy Jungle, but we’re still game.
Will the Shaman be your A-Man?
Voting will open online on The Mancunion website to select the best solo acostumes of the night to be crowned our King or Queen of the Jungle. The winner of the best costume competiton from our top ten will win two guest list tickets to the next Pangaea in January. All photos from the night, including those that fell short of reaching our top ten, are posted on The Mancunion Facebook page.
Is victory unobtanium for our local Na’vi?
Gr-r-reat costume,
Tony.
I’m Laven-der costume.
Smashing, Nigel!
Dance like a butterfly, sting like a bee; Rumble in the Jungle.
06 : News
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Government reforms will lead to University of Manchester signs new agreement with National Grid even more unpaid student loans The University of Manchester renews contract with the National Grid.
By Autumn 2015, restrictions on the number of student entries into universities will be removed
Aileen Rose Duffy News Reporter
Anna Phillips News Editor
The National Grid has confirmed its commitment to supporting energy system innovation with the University of Manchester by singing a new agreement as of 17th September. The National Grid Power Systems Research Centre is based at the University of Manchester and is the largest and best equipped high voltage laboratory at any university throughout the UK. Established in 2002, the relationship between the University of Manchester and National Grid has remained strong, with over a decade of
collaborative work that has helped to grow the research facilities at the University of Manchester. More than 45 academics and 150 researchers work at the centre which holds six experimental laboratories; three associated with high voltage engineering, one for dielectric materials, one for protection and control and one measurement and instrumentation. In the past year alone £3 million has been invested into the facilities at the University, enabling researchers to further develop technology to adapt, control and distribute the future of
SRE14.OCT.STAND.MANC.HALF.pdf
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energy, focusing on reliability and sustainability. The Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Professor Colin Bailey, said: “We have had a valued relationship with National Grid over the past 10 years and have jointly delivered projects that are supporting the development of a secure and efficient energy system”. He addressed three key areas that the new agreement hopes to improve: Research, Facilities, and Education. Professor Bailey stated: “Technology alone will not transform our energy system,
12/09/2014
and expertise from across the University will support National Grid in delivering the energy system of the future”. David Wright, Director of Electricity Transmission Asset Management at National Grid, said: “The role and value of research and innovation has never been more central to the future success of our company. “National Grid and The University of Manchester have had a strong relationship for over a decade and we look forward to seeing our partnership develop further into the future.”
The Government plans to remove student entry restrictions to UK universities could lead to economic strain on universities. From Autumn 2015, English universities will be given complete freedom to recruit students. It has been estimated that these government proposals will lead to a 20% rise in UK students The Higher Education Policy Institute suggests that despite concerns over unpaid loans, the plans could also lead to a large
influx of EU students to UK universities. It is estimated that the existing 60,000 EU undergraduates attending UK universities owe £690 million in debts, which is likely to soar after the reforms have been put in place. This system will remove Labour’s system of restricted entry into universities which has been in place in order to limit the cost to the UK taxpayer. Mr Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said: “When number controls are removed, there will be clearer in-
centives for institutions to recruit EU students, as a way of maintaining entry standards: increasing income: and mitigating the effect of demographic change.” The report also said: “The loans are subsidised by British taxpayers but have proved notoriously difficult to collect since the first full cohort of eligible EU students became liable for repayment in 2010, the report goes on.” After three years without student number controls, it is estimated that there will be £720m in extra grants and
teaching costs and £700m in loan write-off costs. The report concludes that these reforms could also lead to a ‘substantial decline’ in the resources available for each student, or in fact ‘changes to student loans to recoup more of the costs’. Sally Hunt, leader of the UCU lecturers’ union said: “While the policy is admirable in its intention to widen access, the government needs to clearly spell out where the extra funding will be found and introduce robust quality controls.”
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08 September to 09 October Have you got what it takes to help lead the Students’ Union?
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
NEWS : 07
Manchester scientists create “Star of David” molecule A complex new molecule created by a postgraduate student at the University of Manchester closely resembles the famous symbol of Judaism Edward Bains Science and Technology contributor
In the culmination of over a quarter of a century’s work, a PhD student at the University of Manchester’s School of Chemistry has successfully created a molecule whose atomic structure perfectly matches the shape of the ‘Star of David’ symbol. This unique particle, the most complex of its kind ever produced, is built from two interweaving triangular molecules, each containing just 114 atoms. The triangles are entwined
about each other three times, forming a hexagram. The process by which the triangles were weaved around each other at the same time as their formation, called self-assembly, is not too dissimilar to how the double helix is formed in DNA molecules. The molecule was created by PhD student Alex Stephens and details of the synthesis were published in the journal Nature Chemistry. Professor David Leigh of the School of Chemistry said: “It was a great
day when Alex finally got it in the lab. “In nature, biology already uses molecular chainmail to make the tough, light shells of certain viruses and now we are on the path towards being able to reproduce its remarkable properties.” The research team are not stopping here though, and hope to go on to synthesise even larger and more elaborate molecules in the future. Professor Leigh expressed his belief that this is just further progress towards creating materials with exciting
new properties that could have some very interesting applications. “It’s the next step on the road to man-made molecular chainmail, which could lead to the development of new materials which are light, flexible and The molecule bears a striking resemblance to the iconic religious symbol. Photo: University of Manchester very strong. Just as chainmail was a breakthrough over heavy suits of armour in medieval times, this could be a big step towards materials created using nanotechnology. I hope this will lead to many exciting developments in the future.” Boobelle@Flickr
HOMESICK?
OVERWHELMED? LIKE YOU’VE NOT SETTLED IN?
You’re not alone! The Students’ Union advice service have got loads of hints and tips to help you feel more at home in Manchester. They can also offer a friendly and sympathetic ear. For practical advice on settling in at uni visit manchesterstudentsunion.com/adviceservice
08 : Feature
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
The Science Interview: Professor Phil Manning Andy van den Bent-Kelly interviews paleontologist Professor Phil Manning on science, digging for dinosaurs and growing up It’s 11 o’clock on a Friday morning and I’m due to meet Professor Phil Manning any minute. He’s one of the most eminent palaeontologists in the country, so what could be a more appropriate place to meet than the foyer of the Manchester Museum, where the skeleton of a 7.5m long Gorgosaurus has just moved in? As I stare in awe at this magnificent beast, Prof Manning walks round the corner and instantly begins to tell me all about it. “It’s one of the most complete tyrannosaurs known to science because it’s pretty much 90 per cent complete, which is remarkable,” he explains. “It’s the ancestor of the T-Rex—everyone always wants to know about the Coca Cola of the dinosaurs, which is the T-Rex, but really, to unpick its family tree is as exciting a story.” It is indeed an astonishingly complete skeleton. I learn that it was the centrepiece of this year’s Summer Exhibition at the Royal Society, an event that Prof Manning is very familiar with, having exhibited at it twice in the last three years.
GROWING UP We move upstairs to the quieter surroundings of the top floor. I start by asking him a rather obvious question, about what sparked his interested in palaeontology as a kid. “Every single child goes through a phase of being fascinated by either archaeology or dinosaurs,” he replies. “Most kids grow out of it—I didn’t! I’ve been fortunate enough just to pursue that for the rest of my life. One of my friends puts it very eloquently. He says “It’s the Peter Pan subject.’ We don’t actually ever grow up.” I was the same. I’m sure that my countless dinosaur sticker books are still lurking around the house somewhere. A huge chunk of my childhood dinosaur knowledge has vanished, so I joke that this interview ideally should have taken place 15 years ago. Prof Manning knows all too well how about the inquisitive nature of children. “People ask me what the most frightening thing about doing public lectures is,” he says. “I tell them that it’s the three-foot high experts who come to your talks!” Professor Manning digs in various excavation sites across the world, particularly in the Hell Creek formation in the United States. He often brings undergraduates with him to assist. Whilst on this topic, I ask him if he can recall his first dig. He smiles fondly as he reminisces. “My first dig was rendering my father’s garden to rubble!” He tells me that whilst exploring the garden of his Somerset home, he saw a bone sticking out of the wall of a shed. “I remember seeing a funny shape and thinking, ‘That’s a fossil.’ I’d already been reading books on them.” Grabbing a nearby hammer, he tore down the shed and picked up the fossil, which turned out to be a vertebra from a Plesiosaur. “I got absolutely fried by my father for basically dismantling a shed at the bottom of the garden without telling him!” he laughs. “But I got my first fossil, my first vertebra of a sea dragon from the Jurassic era. At that point, I was lost. This was where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do.”
FAVOURITE DINOSAUR I’m sitting face-to-face with a world-renowned palaeontologist and regardless of how important and interesting his research may be, there’s one question which I’m desperate to ask him. “What’s your favourite dinosaur?” Not the most intellectually-stimulating question I’ll ever ask. Unsurprisingly, he’s initially reluctant to pick just one. “It’s like having a big family and being asked to
choose your favourite child!” he jokes. However, he proceeds to tell me about a particularly memorable image from one of the illustrated dinosaur books he owned as a child. “There was a picture of a single fossil, and it was of an Archaeopteryx, which some people often call the missing link between dinosaurs and birds,” he reminisces. “Some would argue that it’s the first bird and I’m prone to agree. But of course it has many dinosaurian characteristics and was around at the time of the dinosaurs. “Its ancestors were predatory dinosaurs, so technically all birds are dinosaurs. So by de facto I argue that Archaeopteryx is both my favourite bird and dinosaur. I’ve recently had the pleasure and honour of working on one of these incredibly rare fossils.” Caught up in the moment, I begin to talk about my favourite prehistoric beasts. I tell Professor Manning of my admiration for the Triceratops and he is quick to agree. “It’s a remarkable creature, it’s akin to a reptilian rhinoceros,” he says. “Of all the ceratopsian dinosaurs, it’s the only one with a solid frill, that shield that goes at the back of its head and it’s the only one that’s made of solid bone. “I do have a soft spot for Triceratops. I dug up the brain case of one this summer!” I recall the countless dinosaur sticker books I had as a child. Listed below each image were multiple facts about the relevant dinosaur, including which part of the modern world they would have originated from. An abiding memory of mine is that only one would have come from modern-day England—Megalosaurus. “Dinosaurs are a British invention, we must never forget that,” Prof Manning emphasises. “It was Sir Richard Owen who, back in 1841, came up with the idea of a distinct saurian tribe, which united these bones that people had been discovering
I do have a soft spot for Triceratops. I dug up the brain case of one this summer! throughout the previous 10–20 years. He didn’t come up with the name until the following year, so in 1842, dinosaurs were effectively born into the scientific language.” I learn that Megalosaurus was first described properly in 1824. “For me, it’s the first dinosaur which was still technically not a dinosaur because dinosaurs had not yet been invented,” he explains. “But it has a much more interesting history.” He tells me that the lower part of a Megalosaurus femur was found in the 17th Century. Of
Professor Manning Photo: Prof. Phil Manning
Dinosaurs are a British invention, we must never forget that
course, no one had the slightest clue what it was. Robert Plot, a renowned English naturalist, chose to name it after the object that it most closely resembled, leading to the rather unfortunate name of ‘Scrotum Humanum.’ “I’m quite grateful that particular name has fallen into disuse!” laughs Prof Manning. “Can you imagine kids going into a museum and saying ‘Mum, Dad, look at the size of that—‘ well, let’s not go there!”
CURRENT PROJECTS Professor Manning chuckles when I ask him what projects he is currently working on. The list is so long it could probably fill this whole page. “A phrase that my splendid colleague Roy Wogelius uses is that we are ‘constipated with data.’ And we are! We have a vast data set because we are working on so many different research fronts. “If you ask me what I’m researching at the moment, it’s everything from Egyptian mummies to the earliest life on Earth some 3.8 billion years ago, and just filling in the gaps in between.
Manchester Museum Photo: Prof. Phil ManningManning
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
We have an international research programme which involves working on samples from literally every continent on Earth. It’s breathtakingly fun to be involved with such a diverse research programme.” What happens next is undoubtedly the most heart-warming part of the
I think I’ve had two vacations in ten years. I don’t need to take a break - if I do take a break, I’m actually missing my work! whole interview. “I think I’ve had two vacations in ten years, because my research, my work, my life is my vacation—I love what I do. As a result, you don’t really need holidays if what you’re doing is what you want to be doing. I don’t need to take a break—if I do take a break I’m actually missing my work, which is a bizarre way of thinking of it!” I also learn that he is currently in the process of naming two dinosaurs, although he’s not overjoyed at the prospect. “I’ve got a couple on the backburner, although I’d much rather be working out how the animals function. Give me a toy—yes, it’s easy to name a toy. But pull that toy apart and see how it works – now you’re talking!”
Feature : 09
If you’re reading this Phil, and you’re still struggling for motivation, I reckon Andysaurus would be perfect.
DINOSAURS IN THE MEDIA I move onto a new topic, the portrayal of dinosaurs within the world of television, film and radio. As a physicist, I have a tendency to point out obvious scientific flaws in films— the huge boom that accompanies the explosion of the Death Star still makes me shudder. Since we have no real understanding of how dinosaurs actually behaved—only what they looked like—there is a lot of speculation involved when it comes to portraying them in films. I ask Prof. Manning if he occasionally despairs at these wild guesses and often ludicrous errors. My question is met with a firm shake of the head. “Never. I never despair, because dinosaurs are a gateway into science for kids. “Dinosaurs have been part of popular literature and in the media ever since their invention.” He goes on to quote the opening paragraph of Bleak House, in which Charles Dickens makes reference to none other than a Megalosaurus. He tells me about the famous Great Exhibition of 1851, in which the grounds surrounding the Crystal Palace were filled with sculptures of all kinds of dinosaurs. Moving on into the 20th Century, he talks about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World and the iconic animation Gertie the Dinosaur. The key point Prof. Manning makes throughout is that no matter how ridiculously dinosaurs may be portrayed, it doesn’t matter, as long as they’re still inspiring the next generation. “People have always been fascinated by them and I think that when people see them in the media, it doesn’t matter if it’s Walking with Dinosaurs, even Talking with bloody Dinosaurs, so be it! “If kids get excited by them and take that next step to picking up a book, or even nowadays googling dinosaurs and finding information about them online, little do they know that they’re taking the first few steps towards becoming a scientist.”
Possibly the best jigsaw puzzle in the world Photo: Phil Manning
GENERAL THOUGHTS ON SCIENCE Palaeontology, just like my chosen discipline of astrophysics, is an immensely popular area of science for people of all ages. I ask Prof Manning why he thinks this is. Obviously, he is delighted that his field interests so many people, but he is quick to voice his concern about the “Science is so beautifully linked together, but it’s compartmentalised by people who don’t understand it,” he says. “Areas of more applied science, such as nuclear physics and medicine, are often sold to us by the media as being ‘core science.’ That worries me hugely, because there is no such thing as core science—all science is core.” Prof Manning goes on to explain about his work with other departments. He was fundamental in helping to establish the Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life (ICAL), which fosters collaboration between staff members from multiple schools within the university. He acts as the director of the new centre. Professor Manning is perhaps the truest definition of a scientist, someone whose passion and enthusiasm for his field is unmatched by anyone I’ve ever spoken to. He is incredibly appreciative of the work taking place in other departments and his desire to collaborate with researchers from every branch of science shows how forward-thinking he really is. He has impeccable knowledge of so many different disciplines—at one point in the interview we spoke for a good ten minutes about astrophysics, in particular the Rosetta mission.
ADVICE
Professor Manning at the Royal Society, with the Gorgosaurus behind him. Photo: Prof. Phil Manning
I conclude the interview by asking Prof Manning if he has any advice for people hoping to follow him into palaeontology, or indeed any area of science. His message is clear: “If you really love doing one particular
Areas of more applied science are often sold to us as being ‘core science.’ That worries me hugely. There is no such thing as core science - all science is core thing at school, and you can get a qualification in it, do it. Pursue it. Often schools will give you advice to do things which you really don’t want to do, but it’s the best thing for you to do, but it’s thinking with your head. Sometimes, with science, the best place to start the thought process is with your heart. “If you are truly passionate about something and you truly love working in a particular area, that’s the area in which you will probably make the most impact. Enthusiasm and passion are things that cannot be taught and they are things that we always seek in our best students. Because they’re the ones who tend to excel.” Prof Manning again stresses the importance of attracting the younger generation. “You can keep fame and all these things that are meant to bring you happiness,” he says. “For me,
happiness is not a cigar called Hamlet. For me, happiness is a really splendid experiment going well, when you’re seeing results that no human being has ever seen before. We need to get that message over to kids, that science can be ball-breakingly exciting.” Prof Manning isn’t particularly complimentary about the current state of the educational system here in the UK. He references the famous educationalist Sir Ken Robinson, who likened it to an industrial factory system churning out the same student over and over again. “I think that the education system at the moment is not helpful,” he says. “It’s only when you get to university that you really get to blossom. “I did. I was miserable at school. Both O-Levels and A-Levels were miserable for me. But at university, suddenly when you collaborate with a colleague, it’s not called cheating anymore. It’s called science!” After completing my GCSEs, I was unsure about what direction I wanted my life to go in. I considered all sorts of careers, although at that time I had dollar signs flashing in my eyes and only really cared about which job would make me the most money. It was only when it came to applying to university that I realised that the world of astrophysics was where I belonged. I express my relief at realising this before it was too late to Professor Manning. “You have one chance at life,” he replies. “To do something for your whole life that you don’t truly enjoy, I would find it soul-destroying. I think it’s very good if you can pursue something you thoroughly enjoy in life. That’s so important.” To learn more about ICAL, visit www.ical.manchester.ac.uk/ You can follow Professor Manning on Twitter: @DrPhilManning
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Opinion
Editors’ Foreword
Marcus Johns and Morris Seifert
This week we’ve had excellent contributions about consumerism Disagree with something that’s been said? Tweet us @MancunionOp. If you would like to contribute tweet us or like our page on Facebook at facebook.com/ MancunionOp and drop us a post. Next week we will be featuring articles about political conflict in today’s world.
Stop Buying Crap Morris Seifert Civilization is consumerism, civilization dictates our lives. I challenge you to look around and find something that doesn’t have a monetary value. But don’t limit yourself to objects. Look at that couple walking hand in hand out of Vivienne Westwood and ask yourself why, laden down with bags, she gazes into his eyes at that moment with pure longing–they will have great sex that night. Buying things makes us happy and we are happy to buy things; we are all inexorably bound by a de facto desire to spend and consume. It is not my place in this small column to sway you in favour or against this, for that look to the right, but I will use it to suggest that you interact in a society that cheapens everything to a number with some dignity. We all go to great lengths to look purposeful and content, we strive to be perceived as that which we aspire to be, but we are often so caught up in this that we cannot see the dark and brutal shadow of those who stand out of the light. Those who will only ever experience apple as a fruit, those who call the backstreets their home, those who lie awake clutching their beads and praying that Ebola will not afflict them or their family. For all its debated ills, consumerism gives us the power to help these people. Consumerism attaches a monetary value to everything up to and including life itself. It gives those with ample the direct means to help those with less. We are consciously misled in our definition of the term ‘consumerism’, we are taught by advertising that our money should be spent on things we can touch and feel – but our pounds can go so much further than an identical jumper with a different symbol on the chest. Will Self coined the term ‘Prozac Economy’, a place where even happiness can be bought and sold. We have been bestowed this great blessing and the curse to, with our wallets, mediate our lives and, a fact less touted, the lives of those around us. I challenge you to ponder this, accept graciously the enormous power that consumerism has given you and treat someone else to the greatest gift you can give them, generosity.
ISSUE 04/ 6th OCTOBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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Is consumerism consuming our souls?
As Lauren Wills contends that we must walk away from consumerism, Marina Iskander argues that it’s the very thing that facilitates our humanity.
Yes
Lauren Wills
I want the iPhone 6+. The screen is 100 times more likely to crack than the Nokia 3210, the anodised aluminium build of the smartphone means it might bend in my pocket, and the phone’s changes are relatively slim in comparison to its previous model (not to mention it may cost me a kidney if I want to survive past reading week.) But it’s
“Consumerism gives us a non-attainable perfectionist view of what our lives should look like.”
worth it. I’m worth it. We are slaves to consumerism. At the outset, I am not suggesting that it’s practical to live minimalist lifestyles and refrain from buying anything. We are all consumers to an extent; we have to be in order to survive. However, there’s a point when we abandon the realm of what we need and venture into the excess. This has astounding negative individual, collective, cultural and commercial implications that we simply choose to ignore on a daily basis. Advertising is everywhere we go. We can’t escape the lure of luxuries, whether it is gadgets, holidays, consumables, clothes or other products. The danger-
ous thing about consumerism today is that it goes beyond wanting a particular product for its merits; it’s about the status it gives us as individuals. It doesn’t matter if the food we’re eating is from Asda or Waitrose, the only difference is the packaging. Nobody can tell if someone is wearing Primark rather than River Island. But if we had the choice on which products we’d rather choose, 90 per cent of us would choose the more prestigious brands. We’re obsessed with image, and despite this being a cultural issue in itself, its commercial implications are even more worrying. When the key market players get hold of us, it’s a struggle to break free. Because we all buy into advertising, corporations can increase their prices and make poor quality products. Despite it inconveniencing us because of our ever-tightening budgets we still make sure we have the money to purchase the said product. We tell ourselves it’s a priority. It will enrich our lives. It is worth the money. It will improve our home. It will make our children happier. We never question the profit margins of huge companies, or whether it’s necessary to be spending such extortionate amounts of money on products that will be forgotten in six months’ time. Companies also take advantage of our lack of knowledge in specific fields. For example, certain skincare products cost hundreds of pounds because of their special formulas that possess anti-aging qualities. The average consumer possesses barely any knowledge of the specific minerals used in the product and whether they are guaranteed to
Photo: mewroh@Flickr
be effective. Yet seeing Julia Roberts with flawless skin on an advertisement is enough evidence for us to buy in. Through lack of questioning and the consistent buying of products we haven’t researched, we allow corporations to gain monopoly power which could eventually eliminate any trace of ethical, honest business practice. If these commercial problems weren’t bad enough, consumerism poses the question of where our individual priorities truly lie. Many people in modern-day society believe that recycling and environmental protection is a good cause. However, despite uttering how important it is to save the planet, as Max An comments
in his article The Rise of Consumerism, “We all say we want to go green and yet we waste so many resources on luxurious mild advancements in the technology we own.” Even when we stand up for the most worthy causes, we are not prepared to prioritise them over the need for the most popular gadgets or clothes or consumables. The very personal problem with consumerism is that the ideal it encourages is an idealistic lifestyle that we can never attain. When will we be truly satisfied with what we have? There will be an iPhone 7 and 8 and 9. Consumerism gives us a nonattainable perfectionist view of what our lives should look like. Ironically, the closer we get, the
No
to criticize is the belief that it has increased exponentially in recent times, particularly with new technological advancements and the ability to address hundreds of thousands of people that did not exist a few decades ago. However, an American bankruptcy law expert and Harvard Law School Professor named Elizabeth Warren explains in her paper, The Over-Consumption Myth, that people are actually spending less than they used to. She has shown that Americans are spending 21 per cent less on clothes, 22 per cent less on food and 44 per cent less on appliances now than they were in the 1970s.
Marina Iskander
We feast. We feast on ideas, material products, people, praise; we feast to survive. Survival is for the fittest, and the fittest are those who fit in. Whether you believe in evolution or not, our main goal in life is demonstrably to survive. It is encrypted in our genes to live and for as long as possible. But in order to survive, one must adapt to this ever-changing world. This adaptation has manifested itself as spending our time and money on consuming what we desire. We celebrate by spending–Christmas gifts, New Year’s-themed parties, and Easter bunnies galore. We consume ideas presented in the media: what type of music to listen to, what to criticize, what to support. It seems that it’s ‘in’ to complain about flashy advertisements and catchy commercials, but the common hipster has failed to recognize that by criticizing consumerism they’re just like the rest of us; trying to fit in. In reality we are all on the same bandwagon, one headed towards social acceptance.
“There is no shame in our need to spend” As humans, we have the need to categorize everything. We like to neatly divide people into little boxes in order to simplify the complexity that is man. More
further away our ideal becomes, as the key market players are a step ahead of us and are already developing the next product we need to purchase in order to look good. If the solution isn’t in consumption, it must require us to utilise our self-control and question our priorities. Do I really need this luxury? And more importantly in reality, is it a luxury? We’ve been incessantly sprinting to find the pot of gold, only to realise that the end of the rainbow doesn’t exist. The only thing left to do is to walk away while we still have the chance.
“Over-priced pants and overrated laptops are essential to our survival as social ...animals”
Photo: rhk313 @Flickr
importantly, we have a need to fit in and be socially accepted. Our consumerism makes it possible for this classification to exist. Over-priced pants and overrated laptops are essential to our survival as social animals in a meritocratic society that rewards success and encourages progress. There are those who spend their money on technology but are moderate on the fashion
side. There are some who would spend hundreds of pounds on cosmetics but do not care about what car they drive. What you choose to pour your money into shows what kind of person you are. It puts you in a group with like-minded people, snug in the security of fitting in. Being human, one will subconsciously judge and be judged by people based on what they own and what they choose to consume.
This is no new phenomenon; we are not becoming shallower or more ignorant. Instead, we are practicing what makes us human, we are adapting. There is no shame in our need to spend and there is nothing wrong with corporations and advertising companies simply using human nature in a way that benefits us all. One of the main aspects of consumerism that people tend
We ensure a healthy survival by trying to fit in and looking for like-minded people to associate with. As cold and heartless as it may sound, we simply need this reassurance that we are ‘normal’. Normal in the sense that whatever you choose to believe in, whatever you choose to buy, and whatever your sexual orientation is, that there are other people there who feel the same way. We’re desperate; we are hungry, needy creatures who must blend in and constantly change colour, no matter how dry that may run our wallets.
Can’t stop ranting to your housemates?
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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Opinion
11
Facebook may soon promote extremism Facebook is already a platform for extremism, and Lauren Wills argues it’s going to get worse Despite the recent controversy over Facebook’s manipulation of the information displayed on our newsfeeds, the site’s engineers are giving us justification for another tweaking of the system. Concern has been raised over Facebook engaging in the creation of fake statuses and manipulation of posts to see how users’ moods could be affected, yet the site continues with its intention to organise our data in new ways to improve our social media experience.
“A shift in Facebook’s algorithm to addbreakingnewstotheequation could have a detrimental effect of creating a very loud generation with uninformed opinions.” Erich Owens and David Vickery blogged their reasons for these new changes, explaining that the feedback they have received from users suggests some posts are only relevant at certain times. For instance if it’s Monday evening and you’re posting your opinion about the latest on Coronation Street, then it would be helpful if similar posts were displayed on the same evening as opposed to three days later when you have moved onto posting about something more current. In a nutshell, Facebook intend to show you more recent and time-popular data than what you see presently, which is predominantly determined by its popularity in terms of likes. One of the side effects of this manipulation is that breaking news stories will apparently appear more frequently on our news feeds. The engineers commented that Facebook will give “priority to
breaking news so you can immediately know what your friends or favourite pages are saying about the stories of the day”. At first glance, this appears like a good idea. Considering the vast amounts of time people spend on Facebook, surely it would be constructive for individuals to be reading up on current affairs and issues at the forefront of the media. This, however, is dangerous. Facebook is already a site where individuals feel as if they have to write statuses in order to please and to impress others. We are obsessed with likes and shares, so much so that we often refrain from posting our opinions on certain topics. We act as if the world would come to a standstill, should we end up with zero likes, or worse a wall full of criticism and debate. Seeing political opinions on current issues by friends may have the negative effect of making users more inclined to take particular standpoints. By no means is it wrong to be influenced by other people, and by no means am I suggesting that typical mediums for receiving the news are unbiased and equivocal. However, a journalist is bound not only by journalistic integrity, but also by law to not make false claims or lie outright. Whilst it can be argued that certain types of journalism miss the mark of integrity by a long shot, they are all open to public scrutiny; your Facebook status, however, is not. It isn’t just an issue that our statuses don’t have to be truthful—legally speaking they do in fact have to avoid libel. Yet, people make questionable claims about homosexuality, race, religion, immigration, and other topics all the time. Not only will their statuses be seen more often, but their statuses will have a wider range;
they will even be promoted by Facebook’s algorithm. In an age where individuals are already pressured over what to post and what not to post on Facebook, a shift in Facebook’s algorithm to add breaking news to the equation could have a detrimental effect of creating a very loud generation with uninformed opinions.
Photo: 2wenty @
Surely it’s better to read an article by a well-informed journalist who has experience and knowledge on a certain topic after doing extensive research, as opposed to a hormonal teenager seeking acceptance
amongst their peers. Moreover, it is merely human nature to surround ourselves by like-minded people. This presents an issue whereby we only see the same opinion repeated in subtly different ways. Opposing opinions would become a rarity, and when seen a cause for confrontation. On the other hand, such confrontation could encourage debate and argument about contentious views. In actuality, however, it may only result in the self-validation of people with a particular viewpoint. The popular viewpoints will beget more likes as the unpopular opinions, regardless of their validity, will be skimmed over as the eye naturally gravitates to the liked posts. Our social networks hugely contribute to our opinions and views. To permit unchecked and unscrutinised opinions to take precedence merely because of their actuality is problematic for wellbalanced opinions. Facebook is a social media giant and dominates its competitors, though its number of users has recently fallen. Facebook’s recent engagement in unauthorised emotional manipulation makes me wary that they want further control over what we see on our newsfeeds—all opinions, even the most abhorrently hateful, will be denoted as important merely because they discuss a current point of contention. I just hope people are able to consider different points of view on current issues from a variety of different sources before posting their opinions on Facebook and influencing their network of friends.
Keep your word Google: “Don’t be evil.”
Google is on track for world domination and nobody, not even Joe Evans, can stop them We live like an open wound for the world’s viewing pleasure because the reality is we already live within a pervasive and frightening ‘surveillance’ world.
video-sharing site YouTube, which was promptly extensively monetized. Through use of their products they are able to create pictures of their users’ lives and desires. The company has amassed a method of surveillance brilliant in its simplicity; whenever we sign up, we hand over personal information without forethought. We are totally passive towards our involvement in a way that we would never be towards a security camera or police officer. The success of Google’s data collection is evidenced by their involvement with the National Security Agency (NSA) in the PRISM security programme. Documents leaked to The Guardian in 2013 showed Google had worked with the NSA on the programme allowing the US government to secretly access the data, given in trust that it will not be shared, of non-US citizens who use products of American companies such as Google. This was done in spite of the illegality of their actions in the European Union. Julian Assange presents the expansion of Google’s power as ‘technocratic imperialism’. Much like good old-fashioned imperialism, corporations like Google are able to dictate our actions, impose on our lives, and access our information.
“Much like good oldfashioned imperialism, corporations like Google are able to dictate our actions, impose on our lives, and access our information.”
In September, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief, Julian Assange, will release his take on these issues in his book entitled When Google Met Wikileaks. The book features a worrying transcript of a meeting between Assange and Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt but more importantly Assange’s predictions for the future of Internet freedom. Love or loath Assange’s public persona, and I loathe him, the urgency and value of these predictions cannot be understated. Assange’s vision of the Internet as a place of freedom and statelessness is appealing. Sweeping nefarious actions and blunders into dark corners is a common tactic of big business, making it hard to find objective information amongst the torrent of high profile media scandals, which have recently hit large corporations. The most frightening and greatest perpetrator of this complete lack of transparency can be found in the case of Google. If ever a corporation could embody the disproportionate power of the Internet, it is Google. A slick public image seems to have suppressed any fall in turnover or expansion since its founding, its corporate motto: “Don’t be Evil” seemingly darkly ironic given their morally questionable status. Rather than a statement of moral intent, it takes on more similarity to an Orwellian thought-crime warning to us. In response to Assange’s depiction of the Internet’s statelessness, his publishing company released the statement that, in the case of Google, “emancipation [of the internet] is at one with US foreign policy.” If this claim is true then we should be concerned that a seemingly faceless and, importantly for Google’s image, harmless corporation thinks like this. As a search engine it would be assumed that Mondays 5pm first floor of the Students’ Union.
Google would present a balanced view of all things searched. However you only need to look back to 2007 for the first example of accusations of rank manipulation being thrown at Google. Daniel Brandt, founder of Google Watch, found Google to have a biased page ranking algorithm favouring established websites. Google is aware that web traffic is huge through their first two pages, so through such manipulated ranking they have power over what is known. Google’s power to teach and to indirectly influence what information is accessible gives rise to this sinister power. A corporation that possesses power far exceeding that which is expected from a neutral source rings all kinds of warning bells. In response to calls of bias towards Internet sources approved for top billing, Schmidt stated in 2007: “I actually think most people don’t want Google to answer their question, they want Google to tell them what they should be
Photo: PatrickBarry @Flickr
doing next.” If Schmidt speaks on behalf of Google, then this is simply a terrifying admission that they work towards the manipulation and the dictation of our actions. Such a statement by Schmidt may appear a slip of the tongue; an error in judgement made under the duress of an accusation, however, thinking logically there exists a truth in the admission. Investigations by the European Commission in both 2012 and 2013 into Google’s position as an information gatekeeper found them to be abusing their dominant position. Google’s rebuttal to such claims was refuted by the Commission as “not enough to overcome our concerns.” Schmidt’s misjudged confession that Google seeks to guide our future behaviour is clear in the increased use of cookies, and in the personalisation of advertising, the inception of Google+ the social network site, and the purchase of gargantuan
“If ever a corporation could embody the disproportionate power of the Internet, it is Google. ” Unlike the imperialism of old, its genius lies not in force but in subtlety. Unlike most big businesses, Google doesn’t release its political spending, so its total influence remains unknown. The gatekeeper of our world’s knowledge is unknown and distant to us. Combatting such a force seems impossible but it can be done. Fight the trend; don’t bare your soul online through your edited photos and personal thoughts. The only way to fight the oppression of transnational corporations is to deny them entry into your lives in the first place. Without us wantonly providing the information, they are powerless.
Music
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ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Patrick Hinton, Lowell Clarke Samuel Ward, Dan Whiteley Interview
Feature
theInsider Shonky’s Top 5 DJing Tips Shonky Superstar DJ During the Apollonia interview, we got Shonky to share his Top 5 DJing tips for Manchester’s horde of aspiring selectors. Don’t push your way onto the decks in a Fallowfield basement this weekend without reading these first. • Play the music that you love If you play music you don’t love you won’t enjoy it. You have to enjoy it cause if you don’t everyone will know. • Buy records! You need to buy records to stay true to your music, you can’t beat the feel of a good record and discovering something amazing that you have never heard before. Also, you should build up a relationship with the people in the record shop, then they’ll know what you like and can look out for records for you. Don’t just go into record
shops, you have to go to all sorts of places like Discogs, Beatport, Juno. I love rinsing my wishlist on Discogs. You have to be open minded about where you’re getting music from, get as much as you can! • Be as open minded as possible Listen to everything! Even if you think you don’t like it you should listen to it anyway, you might discover that you do like it. But even if you don’t then you’ll learn more about music – about the bass line of the track or percussion or something else.
Photo: Press shot
• Believe in what you’re doing If you don’t believe in what you’re doing then no one will. • Keep faith Stay strong and true to your music. Keep your passion.
the MUSIC INTERVIEW
Apollonia
Kim Kahan speaks to super trio Apollonia about their formation, pre-set rituals and appearance at Sankeys Tribal Sessions 14th Birthday this Saturday Kim Kahan Tribal Sessions are celebrating their 14th birthday this weekend with two stellar nights at Sankeys. Resident Darius Syrossian will be joined on Friday October 3 by Greg Vickers, Just Be and DJ Sneak. Saturday October 4 sees Apollonia, Guti and Chappell performing. We caught up with Dan Ghenacia and Shonky ahead of their Saturday appearance with Apollonia. Speaking to Dan Ghenacia first, he detailed the formation of the super trio: “We met when Shonky and Dyed [Soundroom] supported me at Le Batofar, 25 years ago! We’ve been good friends ever since. When my label Freak n’Chic disbanded I knew I wanted to start something completely different so I got in touch and we started Apollonia.” “The whole concept of Apollonia is new. We play one record each on rotation throughout our sets, one-one-one, Dan-Shonky-Dyed. It feels like a band. We don’t play as separate DJs trying to show our own personality or music taste, we play as one. Sometimes I forget where I am, what record I’ve put on and what records the others have put on. It’s so easy to lose track of time and we often end up playing for hours.” “When we’re working together we influence each other and we’re always learning. We all listen to different music so someone will bring in something old that we’ve forgotten about and someone will play something new that the others haven’t heard yet. We all have our own record collections and we
Sometimes I forget where I am, what record I’ve put on and what records the others have put on normally stick to using our own during sets. We do have similar music tastes though so Shonky or Dyed play tunes that I’d planned to play. This can happen about two or three times during a set, then I have to improvise! That’s what makes working as Apollonia so exciting, it’s always changing.” “We never play the same set twice or we’d get bored and the crowd would get bored. Our music style is always changing, evolving.” “As we’ve been working together for so long now, we’ve worked out how to chill out. Normally we’ll go to Shonky’s studio in Berlin and maybe record some tracks.” Talk turns to Saturday night at Sankeys. “I’m looking forward to being back in Manchester again. I was going to Sankeys when it was Sankeys Soap, it’s close to my heart as it’s one of the first places I started out at, years ago. I’ve seen its evolution, the DJ booth has changed sides but the crowd has not lost
their music taste. That’s the best thing about Manchester – the people! They have such a good taste in music, the best request I heard was one of my own tracks [laughs].” “We’re all genuinely good friends, these guys are my best mates. We don’t fall out over anything except in the studio when sometimes it’ll be two people versus one to agree on a track or on the right percussion or something, but ultimately we have to agree. We’ve only dropped three tracks out of 15 on the new album because of that.” Taking over the conversation, Shonky shares the trio’s pre-set rituals. “Before a performance we do everything together. For pre-gig routine we travel together, we eat together, we work together, we play together; we stay together! Sometimes I go off by myself to record shops and discover new vinyl and records that I haven’t heard of before. That’s what I love about buying records. I love all types of music, I couldn’t just pick one genre.” “My favourite format is vinyl of course. I can never go into a record shop and buy one album, I always walk out with loads, the last record I bought was by Mark Ambrose but I’m buying records all the time!”
Apollonia’s debut album Tour à Tour is set to be released on October 20th, you can pre order it on iTunes now. Visit sankeys.info for details and tickets for the Tribal Sessions Birthday Weekender
Top 5
TOP 5
Songs
to hear at WHP this season Patrick Hinton Music Editor
1. Ricardo Villalobos Bosch The Chilean master’s appearance on November 1st is surely one of the highlighs of the whole season. This 11 minute epic encapsulates what he’s all about.
2. KiNK - Dama If KiNK plays cuts like this one from his new album then I have no doubt his set will be mindblowing. An eerie, creepy stomper that builds into a pummelling climax.
3. Jon Hopkins - Open Eye Signal
4. The Knife - We Share Our Mother’s Health
5. A$AP Rocky - Fashion Killa
Spiky synths and crashing percussion underpin this intense and hypnotic track, sure to send all Store Street revellers into a frenzy.
As The Knife prepare to call it a day, Warehouse Project are putting on one of their final ever shows at the Manchester Academy. Don’t miss out on seeing the experimentalist duo.
New York hip hop collective A$AP Mob hit Store Street on 28th October. Rocky killed it at Parklife in the Summer, expect the same underneath Picadilly.
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
@MancunionMusic / TheMancunionMusicSection
the
MUSIC INTERVIEW
Music
13
Silverclub
Samuel Ward caught Manchester’s own “fucked up disco band” ahead of their EP launch at the Deaf Institute last Friday. Samuel Ward Music Editor The official press release for Silverclub’s upcoming EP describes how “thick analogue percussive vibrancy has a scrap with a sophisticated discoid lyricism resulting in shaky legs, adrenaline overdosed heightened senses and a fuck yeah fist in the air for every track on this EP.” Luckily though, frontman Duncan Jones agrees that PR shouldn’t be the serious selling point of any band. “Yeah I love working with Woody at Red Laser; I think he’s probably the only label owner we know who gives less of a fuck than we do. They’re set up nicely and they shift their records, they do stuff entirely their own way and their PR is not even remotely proper, but he’s honest and enthusiastic plus he’s funny as fuck.” However the amusing thing is
that it’s all pretty accurate. I sit with Jones at the Fallow Café and sense a quiet feeling of achievement, experimentation and maybe even a “fuck yeah fist” that curls around his words; it’s a thing which is also reflected in the band’s groovy yet giddy back catalogue. “I’ve been doing that [programming synths] since year dot, I mean I’ve been fucking around with ‘em for ages. I nicked an SH101 from high school when I was like 15. They did eventually figure out where it had gone and I had to eventually give it back. I had that and some other bits and pieces like a DX7 kicking around and some shitty drum machines and a cassette four track, which was just a massive pain in the arse when making electronic music since you have to do an entire synth line in one take and the editing on those things weren’t easy, bouncing down constantly.
I am better on the synth side of it though; I’m not a great guitarist I’m just alright, but I love to just throw everything at it.” Considering Silverclub’s extremely DIY approach, the quality of writing and production on the tracks is an outstanding reward. The music definitely seems too smooth and well-groomed for it to be the result of “throwing everything at it.” “Well I’ve produced since I was like 15 so I just do all of [the production] now. That first record, a lot of it seems quite naive. I’ve made some pretty weird house and techno and electronic music since I was really young and started putting stuff out when I was 18, my first vinyls and stuff. Before that I was in jam bands and they were always pretty spaced and synthy. Pretty much all the guys I liked jamming with went off to university and I just
decided not to go last minute because I didn’t want to spend 3 years on something I wasn’t sure on. At that point there were other musicians where I lived but whenever I’d try and play with them and get some sort of groove going they’d stop it and say ‘OK now we need a chorus to go with that verse’ and I was like ‘what the fuck are you talking about?’ This shit can be like 2 chords for 10 minutes.” It’s an experience us university musicians have had too many times. For someone who’s grown around music for a long time, it’s surprising then that the band’s second unsigned record, Back to the Start, is already sounding like a huge step towards musical maturity. “Yeah, well most of that first record I just can’t listen to. We always get someone calling in after a gig and asking why we didn’t play ‘No Application’ and it’s ‘cos it’s fucking horrible.” laughs Jones.
Photo courtesy of Silverclub The development doesn’t just stop with writing though, as Silverclub’s live sets have also began to fill that unsteady and highly un-populated gap between DJs and live bands. “When we’re playing live, there’s nothing stopping us jamming out a song for 8 minutes. Live we were always alright but we found none of us go see bands that much and prefer to go to club nights, to experience the seamlessness of DJ’s, so we thought why don’t we try it. Now
it’s the only way we play now. Instead of stopping we’ll just extend the rhythm and bring it into the next one. It’s high risk but high reward. If something stops working at that point you gotta just fucking deal with it cos we’re not stopping, the train is coming. Cos people just lose it and dance. We don’t give em a chance.” Personally I’m excited for the show and maybe even more excited to hear some tunes which will make Back to the Start sound “fucking horrible.”
Want to Write for us? Free Tickets Thursday 2nd Oct, 5:30pm Interviews & Albums Student Activities Office, 1st Floor Students Union Live
Live
Alt-J
Selective Hearing presents Tessela b2b Pariah b2b Kowton
Manchester Apollo - 19th September 2014
5/10
Lowell Clarke Music Editor
Check 1: Their Name is a triangle on mac computers
Check 2: They use samples of contemporary pop musicians (Miley Cyrus is their “female rebel” on ‘Hunger of the pine’)
Check 3: Their music works best when made, shared and streamed over the internet - not played live. Photo: didy b @ Flickr unexpected, aside from one false start on ‘Left Hand Free’. This isn’t to say they sound bad - opening track ‘Hunger of the Pine’ is undeniably enticing. The sound fills the open space of Manchester Apollo with a tingling eeriness that harmonises with the intimacy of the songs. As a single off the new album it’s received well and catapults the band into older, familiar material. But this seems to set off a precedent where the band plays cat and mouse
with the audience. Warm them up with old stuff before boring them brainless with the new. There is a knack to touring a second album, but having played for barely an hour, Alt-J haven’t got it - yet. Given that it’s the second night of their tour, 3 days before the album comes out, there’s no reason why next time won’t be special.
Even with the best DJs, playing b2b can often be a hindrance rather than an improvement. The singular brilliance of the selector can be lost when sharing the decks in a mismatched set that doesn’t quite flow as well as one they would play alone. Selective Hearing certainly know what they’re doing bookings wise however, and tonight there are no such issues. All three DJs are well versed in playing collaborative sets: Pariah in Karenn; Kowton with Livity Sound; and Tessela alongside his brother Truss in TR\\ER. This undoubtedly had an impact upon the effortlessness with which they rotated to produce an adeptly crafted set. Their cohesion is exemplified by Kowton introducing an African theme with the dropping of Delroy Edwards’s xylophone laden ‘Bells’, followed by Tessela and Pariah unleashing Midland’s Autonomous Africa Vol. 3 offering ‘Safi’ and Daphni’s afrobeat underpinned ‘Pairs’.
8.5/10
Photo: Sam Reevey
Patrick Hinton Music Editor
Alt-J are the epitome of a modern day band.
The first two points mean someone you loves shite music might call you a hipster for liking Alt-J. Nothing wrong there. Unfortunately for Alt-J fans / hipsters everywhere, the third point is a bit more pertinent. There is a clinical simplicity to the way Alt-J perform that doesn’t do the albums justice. It could be their use of samples, which leaves no room for flare when recreating the songs in real time. Other artists get past this with ease; a few session musicians, dancing, even just moving about a little bit on stage. There’s nothing extra and
Joshua Brooks - 20th September 2014
At around 2am there’s a noticeable shift to more intense sounds as the three DJs collectively up the ante. This bridge is expertly gapped with the dropping of Truss’s ‘Redbrook’, which builds and builds with atmospheric synths accented with acidic stabs. Tessela then sends the room into a frenzy mixing his relentlessly percussive ‘Gateway’ into Gesloten Cirkel’s ‘Twisted Balloon’. Respite from the fierce heat generated in the Joshua Brooks basement is provided only by the dripping of condensed cold sweat from the ceiling. The night continues with no holds barred from this point;
the airing of disorientatingly brilliant Night Slugs/Fade To Mind anthem ‘Icy Lake’ sounds especially intoxicating on the clubs’ newly installed Void sound system. Despite the trio continuing well past their 4am curfew, the crowd are still desperate for more with chants of “One more tune!” ringing out after Kowton spins his Linear Mix of Peverelist’s ‘Roll With The Punches’ to close the night. Tonight proves the Void sound system in Joshua Brooks was worth the hype, and that the club is a fine new home for all things Selective Hearing.
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Music
ISSUE 03/29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Mancunion Recommends
Flying Lotus - You’re Dead! Warp; 6th October 2014
9/10
Lowell Clarke Music Editor Lights flash red and blue from the cars in the street. If the sight of the paramedic over your own dead body wasn’t weird enough... then wait till you wake up during the funeral and throw open your coffin to find Flying Lotus leading the ceremony. This is the sound of the procession behind the hearse – a carnival celebrating life just as much as death. If death the one great and uniting theme of hip-hop, Flying Lotus has tackled it head on. You’re Dead! Is experimental to its very core; conceptually, lyrically and sonically. Ideas come and go rapidly. The first five minutes showcases Thundercat’s virtuoso bass guitar playing alongside jazz legend Herbie Hancock. It gets better. Kendrick Lamar appears on ‘Never Catch Me’, philosophizing on the afterlife with some of the year’s hardest and fastest verses. Setting the diamond in the ring, Snoop Dogg makes an appearance on ‘Dead Man’s Tetris’ on a hair-rising production. And by the way, this is only a quarter of the way through a 40-minute album. It’s not all deathly intense – moments of respite come quickly after a heavy loaded start. ‘Siren Song’ sets you afloat down a river Styx of wah guitars. Even eerier is ‘Descent into Madness’, again featuring Thundercat, whose writing influence can be heard in the chants admitting darkness and insanity. Even at its weakest moments, Flying Lotus is just guilty of being really, really weird. Appearing as his alter-ego Captain Murphy, Flying Lotus raps over ‘The Boys Who Died in their Sleep’. Despite all the screeching
and whining as he prescribes the listener Vicodin and other pills, it’s so wacky yet well produced that it works. For all the different styles present, it’s these qualities that tie it together: brilliant but bizarre production. Be it jazz, prog rock, hip-hop or electro, Flying Lotus brings it under his wing and sends it out with his own twist. No doubt there will be differing opinions on this album in weeks to come. It will be too odd for some people. But if you dive in with an open mind and commit to the ride you will not be disappointed – this is one of the most simultaneously weird yet beautiful albums out there today .
Classic Album:
The Replacements - Tim Sire Records; October 1985
DO YOU GET IT? 8/10
Dan Whiteley Music Editor The centrepiece of The Replacements’ highly influential (if critically overlooked) career, Tim followed the breakthrough success of 1984’s Let It Be, and cemented their status as college rock pioneers. Whilst continuing its predecessor’s mix of eclectic styles and tempos, Paul Westerberg’s writing became more serious and angst-ridden, perhaps spurred by frustration at the band’s lack of commercial recognition; the youthful whimsy that surrounded earlier tracks like ‘Gary Got a Boner’ was almost nowhere to be seen this time around, and the shift in tone resulted in their most personal and most celebrated set of songs. Though not a concept album in the strictest sense, the record’s whole lyrical undercurrent is that of an early midlife crisis; from the rousing opening cry for help ‘Hold My Life’ (“hold my life, because I just might lose it”) to the wistful acoustic closer ‘Here Comes a Regular’ (“I used to live at home, now I stay at the house”), the songs paint a familiar picture of someone who views everyone, most of all himself, with disdain. ‘Bastards of Young’ is perhaps the record’s most enduring track and has gained notoriety for its music video, consisting of a single black and white unbroken shot of a speaker playing the song. Having been covered by everyone from The Cribs to Against Me, the song has since become an indie rock staple and exemplifies both the band’s rebellious attitude ethos and unpolished, punk influenced musicianship. Elsewhere, ‘Left of the Dial’ is another
The University of Manchester and the Students’ Union don’t tolerate sexual harassment, and you shouldn’t have to either. Staff and students have the right to live and study in a safe and supportive environment.
highlight, with ringing, jangly guitars and a haunting, almost yearning vocal performance from Westerberg. The track details the mundane realities of being young, unknown and in a touring band; its name is taken from the radio frequencies of American college rock stations – one of the few places the band felt their music was welcome. Tim was the sound of a band trying to break the mainstream whilst refusing to stray from their roots, and though they never achieved it – the band would only gain recognition in the years after their breakup – it helped lay the blueprint for the alternative rock scene that would explode into the public consciousness a few years later.
www.manchesterstudents union.com/wegetit www.facebook.com/WeGetItUoM #WeGetItUoM
I’m Campaigning to raise awarene ss of sexual harrassment!!
Games
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
15
Editors: James Thursfield, Matthew Cole
Feature Destiny: The Great Since its launch on 9th September, Destiny has received “mixed” reviews from the gaming press. James Thursfield assesses whether Destiny’s commercial success emphasises a shift in the balance of power within the gaming industry. Destiny, a game backed by a $500 million development budget, is the most expensive game ever made. It was released on 9th September to an avalanche of “mixed reviews”. On GameRankings.com Destiny averaged a 76.29% review score. Other prominent gaming websites such as Gamespot and Polygon also gave Destiny a meagre 6/10. Such scores equate to “fair” and “satisfactory” and are a far cry from the scores anticipated during its “hyped-up” launch and given its level of financial backing. Destiny harbours a prestigious pedigree of developers, including the publishers of Call of Duty and the makers of the Halo franchise. It was consequently regarded by many to be the most anticipated game of 2014. A game with the potential to revolutionize the stagnating first person shooter genre with its “sharedworld shooter” concept. Feature Whilst Destiny has certainly not fulfilled its expectations in a critical sense, in commercial terms the opposite is true. The game generated $325 million in sales within the first five days of its release. Gaming analyst Michael Pachter stated, “Destiny was one of the fastest selling games of all time”. As well as being successful commercially, there also seems to be a general consensus amongst gamers that the game is still rewarding and fun
Photo: NewGameNetwork @Flickr toplay.YouTubepresentersAdamKovic and Bruce Greene on popular YouTube channel Machinima Inside Daily stated, “while the traditional gaming press is happy to play Destiny for 10 hours, score the thing, and continue with their lives - most of us here in the office are still happily grinding away with our characters… and most importantly, having fun.” Such views raise the issue that the gaming media has become increasingly alienated from game sales and the ordinary gamer. In the same Inside Daily episode, Bruce Greene said, “There was a time when reviews were everything… however, as gaming has got older, we are seeing more and more of a divergence between what is rated well by critics and what actually sells well.” Much of the supposed divergence lies
in what the average gamer perceives to be the motivations of game journalists. Game journalists, unlike ordinary gamers, have deadlines to meet and must complete games within a set period of time. Furthermore, journalists play to an extent which is more than casual, and consequently may expect a greater degree of meaning in their experience. There is also the essential fact that they get paid to play games and express their opinion, whilst the average gamer does not. One of Destiny’s biggest criticisms has been its repetitiveness and grinding. One reviewer, Kevin VanOrd, reviewed the game on behalf of Gamespot and claims to have played 40 hours of the game. Given that: the game was released on 9th September; that there was no prior game time allowed due to its online-only functionality;
and that his article was uploaded on 12th September, it is implied that he must have played at least 13 hours per day. Bungie (developer of Destiny) has recently come out saying that the average gamer typically plays Destiny on the weekend for 3-4 hour long sessions. There is thus little surprise to such discrepancy in opinion. If the reviewers are forced to play games up to 4 times longer than the targeted demographic, issues that may not be as prevalent for the average gamer, such as repetitiveness, will appear more obvious for the reviewer. This disconnect between the ordinary gamer and the gaming press also lies in a fundamental distrust within the gaming industry. In recent weeks this was sparked by a scandal involving a prominent independent game developer, Zoe Quinn. The scandal involved her ex-boyfriend who decided to post about her sexual misdeeds online, including her liaisons with other players in the industry. The integrity of the gaming press came into question when almost all large gaming outlets remained silent about the matter. Whether they remained silent out of respect to the personal nature of the matters concerned or were afraid of being targeted in the uproar is still unknown. Now an unsavoury online trend exists which alleges corruption and condescension in the gaming media
through #GamerGate. #GamerGate has now been used online more than 189,000 times. Taking into account the changes within the gaming industry, it is worth considering the outcome if Destiny had launched 4 or 5 years earlier. Had Destiny launched in 2009, when gaming press and review scores had greater commercial influence, it is likely its sales figures would have mirrored its critical acclaim. Games such as GTA 5 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 achieved similar heights in sales, but they had Metacritic (online review average) scores of 97/100 (PS3) and 94/100 (PS3) respectively, whilst Destiny only boasts 77/10(PS4). The success of Destiny demonstrates how a well-funded game, produced by respected developers, can be commercially successful without the backing of the media. In doing so, it also reflects a shift in the balance of power within the gaming industry. Destiny mirrors how journalism has become little more than a buyer’s guide rather than being an influencial market mover. The success of a game now is dictated by online social movements and variables outside of a game’s critical reception. With such a divergence between the journalistic opinions and the consumer, it is likely that Destiny was destined to be a success well before it was even launched.
Matthew Cole leaps and morph-balls The eleven-year-old me knew nothing about Metroid when he plucked a second-hand copy of the series’ first 3D outing, Metroid Prime, from the Gamecube shelf. All he saw on the cover of the box was a robot staring resolutely into the mid-distance of a space-ship, with its broad metal shoulders puffed out and its hefty arm cannon held defiantly by its side, as if to say, ‘I could make you look like Anne Robinson.’ Unsurprisingly, eleven-year-old me slapped his pocket money down on the counter and urged his Dad to drive him home so he could become the robot, explore the planets, and shoot the aliens in the face. Without wanting to lay it on thick, and without wanting to keep up this third-person nonsense for too much longer, that boy had no idea what he was in for. He had stumbled upon a masterpiece. I’ll now return to the first person mode which, incidentally, is the same perspective that Metroid Prime employs (smooth transition, eh?). Through the visor of Samus Aran, a female intergalactic bounty hunter, you traverse the planet Tallon IV after pursuing a mechanised pterodactyllike creature from a detonating
space-station. Intentionally, the game does little to keep you in the loop with regards to story or purpose; mission details are always sparse and uncontextualised. Compounding this absence of context is that fact that Samus remains a silent protagonist throughout the game (discounting her oddly sexualised pained gasps when taking damage) and crucially
Photo: PictureTrivia @ she receives no human contact, so unlike the traditionally mute RPG hero who is given encouragement
and who has their identity affirmed by other characters, our bounty-hunter journeys alone and is forced to think independently. This is exploration at its purest, and it’s exploration on a planet bursting with secrets. Facilitating the excavation of the planet is Samus’ scan visor which, when focused over certain objects, allows the player to interact with the world or uncover key geological information about it. Scan a nondescript wall, for instance, and the visor will reveal the age of the wall, how it was made, what it likes to eat for breakfast, and the name of the person who last used it as a glory hole. The detail gleaned is largely surplus to requirements, and that’s exactly what makes it such an ingenious mechanic. Be it the architecture, a species of grass, or a piece of laboratory equipment, everything is given a history and a sense of place in the world. There are reams upon reams of these environmental descriptions to be found in the game and the thoroughness of your investigation is entirely up to you; impertinent backstory can be ignored altogether if you wish. Compare this method of narrative delivery with that of the modern military shooter, in which
supplementary details comprise of bland intelligence documents that have been inexplicably strewn among plant pots and biscuit tins, and it’s easy to see why Prime’s inventive approach to storytelling holds up well today. Tallon IV itself is broken up into several distinct regions covering a comprehensive range of extreme climates, from the icy mountains of the Phendrana Drifts to the bubbling lava core of the Magmoor Caverns. Evident in every location is a haunting but beautiful clash between nature and technology, two forces that in some areas coexist in harmony and yet seem to wrestle for domination in others. The score triumphantly undergirds this battle in the Chozo Ruins, where crumbling alien artefacts and thick, twisting vines converge and tangle in sinister arrangements. When roaming these parts it is hard to distinguish birdsong from the croaking and humming of machinery, or from what could be foreign predators. It’s as if there’s a hidden energy sustaining the ancient civilisation, one that surges off-stage in response to your presence. The irregular percussion produced by falling debris is ever present to remind you of the fragility of the surrounding structures that loom at every turn,
and these noises become subtly more foreboding as you progress into the depths. A couple of snags mar the game for returning players. The lock-on system used for targeting hostile creatures, a staple of Nintendo games since its revolutionary introduction in Ocarina of Time, now feels archaic and results in comical confrontations that resemble a game of Ring a Ring o’ Roses, only with a climactic incident of extreme animal cruelty. Throw in a dodgy spawning system that revives enemies as soon as you leave and re-enter a room, and it becomes clear the masterpiece is mechanically flawed. These offences should be downplayed however, because what really matters here is the extraordinary way in which the game plunges you into the unknown time and time again, the way it makes you feel like a transient bystander, an insignificant assemblage of tissue and bone on the cusp of a discovery that is much greater than anything you could ever stand for. You are a being remote in time and place, propelled by an infinite reserve of curiosity. It is for these reasons that Metroid Prime stands alone as the defining example of its genre.
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ISSUE 03/29TH SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
@MancunionFash
Feature
Beauty Forecast
Trend
Mirror, mirror on the wall, what’s big in Northern beauty this fall?
Manchester metamorphosis
Autumn is finally here and it’s time to say farewell to sweaty Summer nights which render it impossible to wear makeup and HELLO to oxblood lips, molten hues and Bardot-esque beauté. Nikki Patel shares the top looks set to sizzle as the chill sets in and the troops head back to Manchester.
Manchester means image is one major area
those brand new Jack Wills polo shirts will
skills are developed: how to cook, how
University is where all essential life
of said evolution. The style of the city is so
soon be replaced by vintage football shirts
to do your own laundry, how to make
infectious; it doesn’t take long for a new you
to compliment your image as an up and
life extremely awkward by drunkenly
to take shape. You find yourself shaking off
coming DJ.
romancing your neighbour (oops). Slowly
that well groomed style so beloved back
This isn’t the first time, and it certainly
but surely we’ve all grasped that the real
home and looking more unkempt by the
won’t be the last, that your style changes. It’s
lessons are taught outside of the lecture
day.
important to hold on to your own personal
hall. By the end of Freshers’ week, one
The unique uniform of spice girl meets hipster meets magic bus lady has a
disappear- don’t lose the ability to think
first arrived; away from the safety of home,
power over us all. As a fresh faced fresher,
for yourself. While my style has changed
This semester channel your inner silver screen siren with graphic liner, a classic smokey eye and a bouffant to match. Just make sure too not to create too bold a contrast between your smokey and that oh-so-60’s pale lip as it can tend to look more frosted cupcake than star potential.
we find ourselves constantly evolving.
I coveted all things glam – Lipsy dresses,
drastically since moving to Manchester,
Being a student in such a fashionable city as
stilettos, fake eyelashes, GHDs and anything
you won’t find me in the Oakhouse uniform
else OTT. Three years later I’m glad to say
of vintage Adidas sweater, leggings and
I have embraced the Fallowfield way of
Air Max trainers. I know what works for
life and no longer take a week to get ready
me, and that just doesn’t. Nonetheless, one
for a night out. For me the change was
should always be open to new fashions;
gradual over my first year but a girl in my
change can be for the better.
halls took only a week before she was so
Photo: flickr.com/marcus_jb1973
Of course, not everyone is quite as
unrecognisable we thought a tramp had
evolved just yet; the more serious among
broken into our block. I can already see
us would say that the grace period is over
it happening to this year’s freshers: the
and anything that makes you look like you
piercings, the smudged make-up and the
put effort in is sacrilege. Consider this a
beginnings of dreadlocks. As for the guys,
warning, don’t get left behind.
Trend
For those of you who like to turn heads; high shine, light-reflecting pigments always pack a punch on a night out in the city and create an edgy yet simple beauty look. I recommend experimenting with berry and emerald pigments to strike a chord without the faff of lipstick. Spidey Lash If you’ve noticed that your peepers fail to pop in those club-night Facebook snaps Spidey Lash is here to save the day. simply apply a volumising, waterproof mascara to focussing on a couple of lashes at a time, and separate with the the pointed end of the wand. Weird or wonderful? It’s up to you.
Trend
Fashion Revolution: The 90s Aimée Grant Cumberbatch takes a look at the decade trend that just won’t die We all know how it works, trends come, trends go and the big fashion ferris wheel keeps turning. Whether it’s the ‘60s, ‘70s or the less attractive ‘80s, the industry loves nothing more than looking back to move forward. A phenomenon I’m less familiar with however is experiencing a vogue for an era I was actually alive in.
If you’re yet to join the fashion revolution, grab your smelly gel pen and take notes from our simple high street style guide.
But back in late 2011 Manchester’s students began canoodling with crop tops, in 2012 they were spotted behind the bike sheds with scrunchies and by 2013, they had embarked on a full blown love affair with all things ‘90s. Though kimonos and chokers have long since disappeared off the catwalks, the city is still clinging on to its kicks and staying firmly zipped into its ‘Mom’ jeans. Surely sustained by Manchester’s grungy sensibilities, the revival of this particular decade’s influence has outlasted all expectations. Amongst the redbrick and under the constant wet weather, there’s something about ‘90s style that just seems to suit Manchester. So nose rings at the ready and sneaker-covered foot firmly forward, this particular decade trend isn’t going anywhere.
Photo: flickr.com/kuuipo1207
Fashion editors Aimée Grant Cumberbatch, Nikki Patel and Gráinne Morrison on the progression of a triumvirate of trends.
trademarks, style should develop not
never feels the same as they did when they
Molten Metallics
Trend threevolution
Gráinne Morrison on the sartorial influence of student life in Manchester.
Swinging 60s
Photo: flickr.com/stephenrichards
Fashion
/mancunionfashionandbeauty
Aimée Grant Cumberbatch, Gráinne Morrison, Nikki Patel (Beauty)
Top to bottom: Multicoloured crop top, Boohoo. Photo: Boohoo.com
com, £12; Mom jeans, Topshop, £42; Nike Air Max Thea, Asos.com, £80; Flatfrom sandals, £11, New Look.
“the city is still clinging to its 90s kicks”
Walk The Line Photo: Asos.com
Graphic Liner can either be fabulous or tragic , there isn’t really an interim. To make sure that you’re playing on the right team, use a matte, waterproof jet black liquid pen liner and follow the shape of your eyes to create a beautiful, mysterious effect.
Photo: rebloggy.com
Photo: asos.com
Shoes
Eyebrows
Coats
So it’s no big secret that Manchester resides in an eternal, unpoppable 90s bubble; but upon returing from my year abroad I was a little surprised to find that the bubble has grown, and Manchester’s residents are now dressed from head to toe in 90s glam. Speaking of toes, foot candy has evolved since the stiletto-clad days of my Fresher’s Week to be replaced with bold retro sneakers, chunky flatforms, and generally ballbreaking 90s trends, all of which have become sartorial stalwarts in our Northern wardrobe. Goodbye preppy Mary Janes, sayonara to the ballerina pump and adios (sniffle) to the good ol’ Winter boot. It seems that everyoone has quite literally become a little more grounded and a lot more badass. Now although such trends are seen as ‘man-repellent’, described by my mother as something out of the Ab Fab cast wardrobe and make me look rather chunky, this shoe-volution has a special place in my heart. After all, when it comes to the decision between chunky boots, fit for a mountain hike, and skyscrapers which render you immobile, there really is no competition. I’m about to get a little deep here but could it be that with the ‘antifem’ shoe, women everywhere are reevaluating and subverting social definitions of femininity? Or are we all just sheep being herded by the style siren that dictates that what goes around in fashion must once again, come around?
It’s strange to think that we devote so much time and money to such a seemingly minor area of our face. Over the years, grooming methods have come in and out of fashion when it comes to eyebrows. You can tweeze them, wax them, thread them, tint them or shape them – just don’t shave them. When I think of brows, I think of Audrey Hepburn: perfectly arched and thick enough to frame her striking features. In the Nineties and early Noughties, thick Hepburn-esque eyebrows were seen as embarrassing. For a decade or so, thin eyebrows were a sign of well-groomed sophistication. As with most things in life, what goes around comes around and Audrey’s classic look has worked its way back into our hearts. Cara Delevingne’s career gained momentum simply because of her distinctively full eyebrows, to the extent that they have their own Twitter account. How sad for the Fashion followers who successfully achieved the pencil thin brow look to now struggle to grow them back – a stark example of the cruel and shallow nature of trends. In 2014 it is no longer enough to merely maintain one’s brows; if you want to be ahead of the game you’ll be all over HD Brows. Eyebrows can make or break your beauty look, so stay as close to your natural shape as possible and you’ll never go wrong.
Coats have always been and will always be one of the more significant style pieces. Think about it, they top your outfit for at least a third of the year (or all of it if you live in Manchester), they’re the first thing people see and give your outfit its lasting impression. But though we’re already aware coats are much much more than a warm wrapper for the ole bod, in Manchester there’s something extra going on. I recently came back from my year abroad, and though I was expecting to see the city’s quirky approach to outerwear being showcased as usual, I was utterly unprepared for what I’m calling the supersize situation. It seems that as crop tops are climbing, hair is getting greasier and trousers are getting well, rolled uppier, Manchester is looking through the magnifying glass when it comes to coats.Out of perspective parkas, capacious capes, jumbo puffer jackets, extra big bombers, anoraks that look like they’re eating you. Everyone’s at it. And though some might argue added swathes of fabric may provide warmth. My extensive people watching expeditions up and down Oxford Rd tell me cosiness can’t be the primary concern. These outer layers are usually worn open with or without one shoulder rakishly (if that’s your cup of tea) slipping off. So I’m forced to conclude that the big coat clad individuals can only be after one thing: that oh so elusive ‘edge’. And though I’m not really sure that looking like a little kid who has raided their parents’ wardrobe qualifies as cool, it seems in Manchester, as far as coats are concerned, bigger really is better.
Nikki Patel
Gráinne Morrison
Aimée Grant Cumberbatch
We Ask You Answer
“ We
ASK
”
You ANSWER Last week we asked you how
“ The Manchester ladies love nothing more than a pristine white tee. Learn it, know it, live it. ”
Just because we live in the city of eternal downpours doesn’t mean that beach babe mode has to be confined to the depths of your Instagram archives. Invest in a gradual, shimmery tanning cream and bronzing pressed powder to keep that ever-elusive post-holiday glow. A few drops of illuminating fluid in your regular foundation also adds light and depth to your face, making you look like the perfect sun-kissed Mediterranean Mancunian.
moving to Manchester, here
“ I now own a scrunchie.”
Photo: flickr.com/kookysuyuki
are your best responses.
-Rajan Sidhu
“ Summertime Goth is fabulous” - Elizabeth Harper
- Kitty Treverton Jones
“ Tramp is an option.”
Photo: Newlook.com Photo: Topshop.com
“ I stopped fake tanning.”
- Ben Murphy
your style has evolved since
Get The Glow
Photo: asos.com
- Jake Pummintr
“ Manchester has taught me to dare to be different, make people stare. Haters gon’ hate.” - James Barringer
17
18
Film
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Tom Bruce, Andriana Hambi, James Moules, Martin Solibakke Top Five
Feature
Twenty Years of Pulp Fiction
Top Five: Party Movies Welcome Week is in the rear-view mirror, but alcohol will always be a student’s best friend. Pratik Panthee gives us his picks for the best films about the wild times. 5) Superbad (2007) This movie will keep you laughing in your seat for a grand total of 113 minutes. A perfect balance of vulgarity and honesty, this movie gives an exceptional sight into the awkward lives of highschoolers everywhere. 4) Dazed and Confused (1993) A classic movie that gained a cult following years after it was released, this is a movie with an excellent cast and a killer soundtrack (as its title suggests). A highly entertaining film, it portrays the highschool life of the mid-70s accurately, and its playful spirit compensates its lack of a decent plot.
Photo: Gramercy Pictures
3) Animal House (1978) Who doesn’t enjoy outrageous parties? This movie, set in the early 60s, is full of manic energy, anarchy and total chaos. A film highly recommended to all the party animals out there. 2) The Hangover (2009) A hilarious movie set in Las Vegas (where else?) that follows four men who have no recollection of the previous night. This drug encrusted adventure is very funny and will keep you entertained throughout its duration.
Photo: Warner Bros
1) Project X (2012) A funny movie about “a party you’ve only dreamed about,” this movie is recommended to everyone. It follows three main characters who throw a party of epic proportions, and how it becomes a nightmare as the night progresses. It has plenty of fun, disaster, and—you guessed it—booze.
But what is all the fuss about? Editor James Moules evaluates the impact Tarantino has had on cinema in recent years. It’s more than adequate to describe Quentin Tarantino’s entry to the world of cinema as an explosion of cosmic proportions. Few directors in the history of motion pictures have managed to achieve such notoriety, influence so many filmmakers or generate such controversy as Mr. Tarantino did back in the early nineties. When he had a mere two films under his belt, he was already being hailed as one of the greats, as well as attracting an ardent fan following who honour his work like a sacred text. The question of the day is this—what exactly has all this meant for cinema as an art form? At the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, Tarantino’s then new movie Pulp Fiction debuted. The wildly unconventional and delightfully postmodern picture won rave reviews and took home the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or. The presentation of this accolade left many wondering what was to become of cinema in the wake of this film. Many were quick to dismiss the film as nihilistic fluff, others claimed it lacked a moral compass, others that it was too violent and too profane to be considered artful, and others found the film just plain obnoxious. Although it’s easy to shrug off these criticisms with the power of hindsight, it is still worth noting how much of a blaring wake-up call Pulp Fiction was to film. Crises of originality were rife in Hollywood in the years leading up to the rise of Tarantino— there were generic plots and cardboard cut-out characters at the forefront of almost every major release, resulting in a dire state of affairs where lovers of great cinema were only finding satisfaction in the obscure realms of the independent film world. What Tarantino succeeded in doing, first with Reservoir Dogs, then with Pulp Fiction,
was to bring mainstream attention to indie productions. As soon as people realised there were entertaining and original movies out there that weren’t necessarily studio funded,
Unchained if you want proof of that—but has he lost his touch as an innovator? This does remain to be seen. He certainly hasn’t shaken the boat to the extent he did when Pulp Fiction hit screens in 1994 in all its violent glory, but I’m personally not inclined to dismiss Tarantino as a historical figure still walking—few directors ever achieve what he did with Pulp Fiction. I have doubts as to whether he will ever better his Palme d’Or winning masterpiece, but this really isn’t the Photo: Miramax Films point—Tarantino is still going strong, and he still fights for what he stood cinema suddenly became a much more for when he debuted. He’s an unflinchingly interesting place. Thank you, Quentin! original voice that has opened the eyes of Pulp Fiction’s eccentricities also allowed many a cinephile as to what cinema as an art ambitious directors to toy with what movies form actually is. were actually capable of doing. The famous Twenty years later, Pulp Fiction is still every non-linear narrative structure, for one, bit as exciting and vibrant as it was at the served to prove that audiences were far more time of its release. Many cinemas and film perceptive than many Hollywood directors organisations (including the University of were assuming. When we see Vincent Vega Manchester’s own Motion Picture Society) killed in one scene and then alive again in the have been commemorating its release this next, we might wonder what the hell it was year. And who can blame them for wanting we were watching on a first viewing—when to do so? Pulp Fiction is one of the all time the film is revisited, Tarantino’s utter genius great movies, and it thoroughly deserves its becomes all too apparent. Would films like illustrious reputation. It’s a once in a lifetime Christopher Nolan’s Memento have been masterpiece that would be an abominable possible without Tarantino? It’s a tough one, crime to want to avoid. If you haven’t yet seen I know. it do so—it might just change how you see Many film fans today wonder if Tarantino is movies. still the man he was twenty years ago. He still produces quality cinema, no doubt—just take a look at Inglourious Basterds and Django
Classic Review
Irréversible Martin Solibakke French cinema rarely produces blockbusters with explosions and superheroes. Instead, French films are known for being unique, innovative and sometimes extremely controversial. They are not trying to entertain you, but to tell you something important. And Irréversible is in no way an exception. The drama-thriller from 2002 starts with the credits, before showing Marcus (Vincent Cassel) and Pierre (Albert Dupontel) entering Rectum, a bondage nightclub for homosexuals, as they are desperately seeking revenge for a terrible crime committed by someone they believe is in there. That is all the viewers know as we are drawn into this underground world of debauchery. Marcus is angry and determined, as he is working his way through the labyrinth of dark rooms and naked, tied up men. You might have figured this out already, but let me make it clear regardless: Irréversible is a nonlinear film, as it shows
Director: Gaspar Noé • Starring: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel Released: 2002
the scenes in reverse chronological order. It starts with the ending and ends with the beginning, a brave choice pulled off perfectly by the director Gaspar Noé. Gradually from the very start of the film, we start to realise what Marcus and his socially awkward friend Pierre are avenging, and around the 40-minute mark we are presented one of the most controversial, heartbreaking and brutal scenes in the history of cinema. Marcus’ girlfriend, Alex (Monica Belucci) is going home early from a party and, as she is walking through one of the many underpasses in Paris, she is violently attacked by a man called “The Tapeworm”. The eleven minutes that follow will make you feel ill, disgusted and angry. Maybe you will even scream with her, or turn the entire film off and never go back. You would not be alone, as many walked out on the film when it was first released over a decade ago. Please don’t though, if you can stomach it. At its most brutal, Irréversible is raw, controversial
and hard to watch, but at times it is also uniquely innocent, beautiful and even funny. Dupontel portrays the passionate and miserable sidekick Pierre brilliantly, and provides some much-needed humour in what is a rather dark film overall. In one scene in the middle of a crowded train, it is revealed he once dated Alex and still blames Marcus for stealing her from him, before it all turns into an intriguing discussion on sex and its importance in a relationship. “There are no women who can’t come, only men who can’t fuck,” Alex argues with a confident smile and her new boyfriend next to her. The perfectly executed scene is so breathtakingly simple, interesting and hilarious it makes you forget what is about to happen to her. Irréversible shows the contrasts in life like few other films are capable of doing. Irréversible is simply about sex. Not only at its most beautiful, but more importantly also at its most cruel.
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Film 19
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
@mancunionfilm
Review
TV Guide
The Riot Club Tom Bruce thinks this new socio-political ‘comedy’ is a load of ballyhoo claptrap. “Oh. My. Wow.” It’s not a toilet, it’s a loo’”—According to Laura Wade (who adapted the script from her own play, Posh) and director Lone Scherfig, the only way to determine whether or not someone is indeed ‘posh’ is to get them to shout phrases that normal, non-filthy rich people would never say, then lay on a lick or two of Latin for good measure. “Let’s have some Carpe fucking diem!”—that’s another thing they say. And it doesn’t even make sense. Stulti! The Riot Club had one of the most enticing premises for a British independent film in years, promising an exciting ensemble cast in a hilarious, unflinching satire of the infamous Oxfordian Bullingdon Club, the exclusive alumni of which include David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Said club still exists, though not in any formal sense and not supported or recognised by Oxford university itself, and its main purpose seems to be to allow people of future import to let their hair down before embarking on a fifty year career of slogging it in parliament. One issue, which Wade raises time and again in her script, is that the Bullingdon, aka Riot Club, is an all-male (and therefore sexually deviant and Illuminati-affiliated) organisation designed to breed misogynist elitists who will mould the entire populace to their own end. Bullingdon’s traditions are not as extreme as all this—most politicians just read a lot at university— although they have been rightly excoriated by the media for their presumptuous and often loutish behaviour; a purportedly common ritual is the trashing of a pub/restaurant with the knowledge that they can
Photo: Universal Pictures
pay for the damages. So anyway, as was said already, it’s a good set-up for a film. The end result, for which it took the director an entire year of post-production (for an independent drama?!) to spew, is an unbelievable bore. This is the worst film of the year. The Riot Club is a staggeringly harsh, crude indictment of a miniscule sub-set of people that no longer— if they ever did—exist. People of wealth and lineage may well feel entitled to power, and they certainly
get a better lot in life in terms of education—and thereby career, thanks to the powerful connections they make—but they are still human; money alone does not make them bad people, but this film suggests that it is almost a certainty. The lack of subtlety Scherfig and Wade’s film possesses with respects to classism and racism is truly abhorrent. Exaggerating the caricatures a notch or two is one thing, but if ‘posh twats’ behaved as depicted in the film (e.g declaring, “I am sick to death of f’ing poor people!,” or ordering a student to dole out oral favours to pay off their tuition fees) then they wouldn’t get very far. They’d all as dead as the French bourgeosie. It’s a good thing the Indy Ref was a ‘No’, though, because The Riot Club’s third act is basically ten English schoolboys beating a Scotsman to death. That’s still terrible, obviously, but not quite as raw as it could have been. None of the cast of The Riot Club emerge unsullied— several careers have met their end here. Sam Claflin, Max Irons, and Olly Alexander are awful, while Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey) and Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones) are wasted in the most disgraceful manner imaginable. All that said, big shout out to Oliver ‘Olly’ Deasy—who accompanied me to the film—for his first ever film credit.
Magic in the Moonlight
The Moral Responsibility of Film
Andriana Hambi has had enough of 20s jazz.
Nik McNally says we don’t need movies to teach us ethics.
between the soundtracks of all Woody Allen films. The only difference here is that it was actually set in the 20s, so I guess that makes it OK? One of the few redeeming factors was the setting and architecture. There was nowhere near a Wes Anderson level of attention to detail here, but it gets pretty close. The last 10 years of Woody Allen has felt more like a series of shorts, a love letter to Europe. I guess it could be seen as an evolution from the Annie Hall era of love letters to New York. But there’s nothing wrong with this, and perhaps due to the recent Woody Allen scandal inflammation I went into this with a very critical eye. This is not to say that my criticism of this movie isn’t unfounded. There were moments that felt painfully like A Level drama. What’s lacking in this movie, and what I feel is the problem with him lately, is that his writing is wholly impersonal. I’m not saying I need everything to be an Annie Hall, but I feel like there is so little of Woody Allen in all his movies that they are just romantic comedies expecting critical acclaim 2/5
How’s your lecture attendance going? Good? Good. Now mess it up by watching all the good films showing on freeview this week, listed at the bottom. Before that, you need to know about Cops. Cops is the best show. This snappily named documentary style series is one a kind, a perfectly formed piece of informative, thrilling televisual entertainment. In the words of the creator, John Langley, Cops is the only ‘real reality show’ in existence. In each episode of Cops, footage captured by camera crews shadowing on-duty police officers around the USA is edited together to bring you a half hour programme that contains an average
Photo: Fox
You Can’t Handle the Truth!
Woody Allen’s had a lot of criticism for the repetitive, fickle choices he’s made for the last 10 years, and undoubtedly Blue Jasmine was a breath of fresh air, but Magic in the Moonlight seems to me to be a return to the creative retirement he’s taken in Europe. Set in 20s South of France, Colin Firth continues his typecasting crusade as a stern and stubborn stiff upper lip type, who is transformed by a love-hate relationship with a woman. You can hear the distant ring of Jane Austen’s lawyer. Emma Stone plays a mystic whom Colin Firth is out to expose, and brings that distinct charm and sassiness that only she can. What I will say for Woody Allen is that he doesn’t waste any time with pre-amble. He also has the incredible ability to allow characters to speak to their own very nature and neurosis, and leaves nothing to the imagination. We are reminded by Colin Firth maybe three hundred times in this movie what a ‘rational man’ he is. Don’t get me wrong, I love 20s jazz as much as the next person. It’s been, what, nearly 40 years since Annie Hall, and it’s pretty difficult to differentiate
GUIDE
1/5
Cornerhouse Pick of the Week
Photo: Sony Pictures
TV
Last year’s Academy screenings saw the ‘Ludes and lewdness of Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street maligned by those perched on the high horse, with one screenwriter/ moral crusader (who presumably wasn’t nominated) reportedly hounding Scorsese and Leo with a righteous “Shame on you. Disgusting!” It’s perfectly understandable why Wolf’s three hours of dwarf parading, coke sniffing and gleeful embezzling didn’t prove a PTA favourite, but the film’s problems lie in its bloat rather than belligerence. Assuming for a second that art may have moral responsibility, viewers outraged by Wolf’s unabashed debauchery miss the point that portrayal of amorality is not the same as endorsement. Human beings are riddled with flaws far beyond our life lessons, and the most compelling works explore this without compromise. I refuse to accept there’s a soul alive dense enough to believe that Jonah Hill’s invitation to “smoke crack with me bro,” extends to the audience. I know several people who were disappointed that “nothing bad happened” to Belfort in the end. But why should it? We’re conditioned to expect justice when absolute bastards massacre a wedding party or push Mufasa to his death, but comeuppance as an audience crutch quashes the possibilities of daring storytelling.
Wolf’s refusal to pander to overly moralistic viewers by having Belfort ill-fittingly discover the power of charity or imprisoned for life is refreshing authentic. Photo: Paramount and After all, the real Jordan Belfort is making $30,000 per motivational speech, and not sat at home retweeting ‘inspirational’ quotes about how money is the root of all evil. Wolf’s lack of moral message might be disconcerting to some, but it stands as preferable to the offensive inoffensiveness of Hollywood sentimentality. Case in point: Forrest Gump, a glorification of stupidity where flirting with counterculture will give you AIDS, but all-American unquestioning patriotism will shower you with rewards, and even the willpower to break out of physical disability! All of this is wrapped up in the empty ‘Life is like a box of chocolates’ analogy, in case you don’t already have anaemia. The argument that film should uphold moral responsibility constrains the depth of stories able to be told. It fails to account for the fact that it’s near impossible to challenge morally questionable issues without actually showing them, nor that the vast majority have no desire to sell their Trainspotting posters for skag and can distinguish between interesting fiction and acceptable real-world behaviour.
of three genuine criminal incidents. In contrast to its British counterparts, Cops shows you everything—the fighting, the swearing, the drugs, the car chases… even the bodies. What American law enforcement personnel have to deal with often defies belief; between meth-heads, alligators and cheese thieves, many Cops encounters are stranger than fiction. Making Cops is dangerous, and they say that no art is worth human suffering, but Cops isn’t just art—it is, for many people, their daily lives. When the screen fades to black, fading to the chatter of police radios and the
Photo: Netflix
steel drums of the ‘Bad Boys’ outro, the lives of both cops and cons go on as normal. You can find Cops showing on CBS Reality and Movie Mix, practically non-stop. Watch it. It’s the best show. Films: Forrest Gump, Monday, Film 4, 9pm; The Terminator, Monday, Five, 10.55pm; The Blues Brothers, Tuesday, ITV4, 10pm; Taken, Wednesday, Film 4, 9pm; The Social Network, Thursday, Film 4, 11.30pm; if…, Friday, Film 4, 1.50am; Panic Room, Friday, Film 4, 11pm; Wall Street, Saturday, Channel 4, 12.35am; Dances With Wolves, Sunday, BBC Two, 2pm; Space Jam, Sunday, ITV2, 3.15pm. If you’ve got Sky or Netflix, then watch whatever you want, so long as that thing is either Boardwalk Empire’s final season— Saturdays on Sky Atlantic at 9pm—or BoJack Horseman, which can be found in Netflix’s stable, always and forever. Tom Bruce
20
Books
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
/TheMancunion: Books @MancunionBooks
Editors: Leonie Dunn and Ali Pearson
Feature
Sigmund Freud’s Life and Influence Books editor Leonie Dunn examines the life and work of Sigmund Freud The 23rd of September marked the 85th anniversary of the death of the famous Austrian neurologist, author and equally the founding father of psychoanalysis—Sigmund Freud. Freud is often regarded as one of the few seminal thinkers who have had most influence on life and literature of the 20th century. There is hardly an area which Freudian theories haven’t touched or been touched upon. Freud created a completely new approach to the understanding of the human personality, but along with his great influence came great controversy and debate. Sigismund (later changed to Sigmund) Schlomo Freud was the first of eight children born into a struggling family. But he was soon found to be an outstanding student who thrived on literature, most notably Shakespeare, and it is often remarked that the work of Shakespeare both shaped and influenced Freud’s
understanding of the human psychology. By the age of 17 Freud entered the University of Vienna and graduated as a Doctor in 1881. However, after World War One, Freud spent less time on clinical observation and turned his hand to applying his theories to literature, history and art. In addition to his grand theories of human psychology and psychoanalysis, he was also a prolific writer, publishing more than 320 different books, articles, and essays. As W.H. Auden wrote in his 1973 poem ‘In Memory of Sigmund Freud’, “If often he was wrong and, at times, absurd, to us he is no more a person now but a whole climate of opinion.” Freud remains psychology’s most famous figure and in 2001, TIME Magazine referred to Freud as one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century. Many of us today think of Freud as an outrageously absurd psychologist—much
like Esther Vilar jested to on his theory of penis envy, there is something ironically laughable and nonsensical about his theories. But this isolates Freud from his Freudian views, Freudian views which have now become, much like Auden said, “a whole climate of opinion” in themselves. While many aspects of Freudian theory are out of date, as is expected of scientific work from nearly a century ago, it is in fact his critics who have been even slower to hit the bar, attacking Freudian views from the early 1920s as if they still have relevancy in their original form. The point is, that along with his title as a revolutionary he has also been an inspiration, whether it be because people agree or disagree with his methods—Freudian theories have changed the way we look at life and literature today. Freud’s influence on psychology and the sciences is matched in the way it has shaped literature, art and the
social movements. One of his most influential works, ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’, and, equally, Freud’s work on free association, dream analysis, and the unconscious, have been of extensive importance to the Surrealist movement of the 20th Century. It enabled artists and authors alike to liberate the imagination, as people were now encouraged to embrace idiosyncrasy. Later, as Salvador Dali explained it: “There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.” However, while surrealists like Dali himself used Freudian theories to liberate, some of Freud’s integral thoughts and theses stressed for other members of society to be incarcerated—namely women. Freud’s work is greatly contested over for this reason alone. Feminists can find many faults with Freud’s theory, but again we are back to the theory of ‘penis envy’. The suggestion that female adolescents
Photo: hauntedpalace @Flickr experience anxiety after realising they don’t have a penis denies women a mature sexual identity. Hence, his work on psychosexual development has caused a catalogue of debate. Although it is commonly thought that Freud died from cancer, it was in fact two administered doses of lethal morphine by Freud’s friend and fellow refugee Max Schur that eventually ended Freud’s life at the age of 83. Freud’s
ashes can now be found resting on a plinth designed by his son in the Ernest George Columbarium. They are stored in an Ancient Greek urn that Freud had received as a gift from Princess Bonaparte many years before his death. Up to the present day Freud is still a household name, his work is both capacious and contested, and it comes without any doubt that Freud and his work have inspired every facet of the modern world.
Event
Used Books Fair
25% off glasses for students £69 range or above
FREE EYE TEST
Valid for one test booked on or before 27 December 2014. Cannot be exchanged for cash, used with other vouchers or redeemed by customers already entitled to a free NHS eye test. One per person, at named Specsavers stores only.
Manchester Halle Mall, The Arndale Ctr. Tel 0161 834 6665
Digital retinal photography: For over 40s, or when your optician recommends it. ©2014 Specsavers. All rights reserved.
Photo: Book Fair
Do not miss out on the first annual EAC Book Fair. What are you going to be spending the money you save on? So here it is, a little reminder for all of the Mancunion readers out there that the BA Econ Peer Mentoring Scheme of 2014/2015 will be holding their 1st Annual Peer Mentoring Book Fair. If you have handed in any of your books for this upcoming fair then fingers crossed you’ll have a lucky buyer. You will either be given your money and/or your unsold books back so there is no need to worry. With 8 Mentoring Schemes from across the most diverse University Schools they will be selling 2nd and 3rd year books so you can hold onto that loan for a little while longer. And
those reading lists can slowly dwindle in price. Whether you are wanting to buy or sell, we have everything you will need! From Computer Science books down to Classics and History. The Participating Schemes are: - BA Economics and Social Sciences (all pathways) - Computer Science - Manchester Business School - English and American Studies - BA Social Sciences - Politics and International Relations
- Psychology - Classics and History If you are having any issues or have some queries, then email maria.patricio@student. manchester.ac.uk or gabriela. lecaro@student.manchester. ac.uk. Now if you are wanting to buy any books, just head to the Alan Turing Building Ground Floor Foyer (behind University Place) for the 1st October between 104pm. Save the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves! Leonie Dunn
Societies
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editor: Evie Hull Spotlight on
CATS
CATS, the Cancer Awareness in Teenagers and Young People Society, is a brand new society which aims to promote awareness of the common signs and symptoms of cancer around campus and in the local area. We want to highlight the importance of being aware of the symptoms of the most common cancers in young people. We are hoping for a strong start to the cause and will be running multiple awareness campaigns and events throughout the year. We begin with stall challenges in the Stopford building, followed by big Movember celebrations, all concluding with a huge night out in 256 on the 30th— so get working on your moustache (yes, everyone!) and come join us for a fan’tache’tic night! Throughout the year we’ve got lots to offer students such as lectures from some of the country’s leading oncologists. There’ll also be nights out, acoustic nights, challenges and much more, so keep an eye out for us around cam-
Spotlight on
pus—we’ve got a few surprises coming your way too! James Adams, CATS President, says: “We’re really excited about CATS and the support we’ve received so far has been amazing, but we want to do more, so if you’d like to get involved in what we already do or you’d like to suggest some new ideas we’d love to hear from you!” It’s really easy to join up and if you would like to learn a bit more about us and get involved, just email us at cats.manPhoto: CATS che ste r@ g m a i l .com , leaving your name, course, year of study, preKey Dates: ferred email address and mobile number. 11th October – Stand Up To We’ll get in touch with some Cancer March volunteering opportunities (you might even get a nice 20th October – Oncology shiny certificate for your portlecture by Dr Martin McCabe folio). Get involved! 1st – 30th November – MoYou can also find us on favember Awareness Month cebook: www.facebook.com/ CATSmanchester
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Sexpression Manchester
Sexpression runs campaigns for better sexual education for all, throughout Manchester and the UK.
tache-themed night out at 256, Fallowfield Article provided by CATS Manchester.
Mous-
Nigerian Students’ Society Manchester Nigerian Students’ Society aims to unite students of Nigeria and keep contact with culture and identity in a friendly and positive atmosphere. reported by Evie Hull
We all know what it’s like being away from home at university. Sometimes the atmosphere and work heavy scheduling is enough to distract us from it, but sometimes it’s a little harder. Now imagine you’re from a little further afield, continents away and, suddenly, everything gets that much harder. This is something the Nigerian Students’ Society knows all about. The society aims to bring all of the Nigerian students of Manchester University together, helping them to feel just that little bit closer to home.
Photo: 234Next @Flickr
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Photo: The University of Manchester Nigerian Students’ Society
Sexpression Manchester was formed in 2009 and is one of 27 branches of Sexpression:UK, a nationwide network of student projects committed to empowering young people to make informed choices relating to sexual and reproductive health and relationships. This is achieved through teaching informal sessions to young people in the community on subjects such as consent, sexually transmitted diseases, sex and the law, abuse and other areas. Each session is tailored towards the individual group and situation, which can range from youth groups to in-school teaching of a wide variety of ages. Training days are offered throughout the year for anyone interested in getting involved and there is no minimum or maximum number of sessions required, meaning that there are no obligations or huge time commitments. In addition to teaching in local schools, Sexpression also offers STI testing and provides free contraception on campus. This is available through the year, both in halls and in central locations such as the Students’ Union (free contraception is also available year-round from the SU). It is also possible to be trained in the the provision of sexual health testing and get involved through that; again, there is no set time commitment. As a national organisation, Sexpression:UK is also campaigning for the introduction of compulsory Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) in Scotland, which currently is not a legal requirement for schools. Scotland has comparatively high rates of young pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections; 24 per cent of schools have no staffed trained in SRE provision and over 70 per cent of denominational schools have expressed views that contraception should not be discussed (even if raised by pupils) and were largely unwilling to discuss sexually transmitted infections. Sexpression is also a member of STOPAIDS, an advocacy and awareness group of HIV/AIDS that campaigns for access to lifesaving medicines and compulsory inclusion of HIV in school education. Photo: Sexpression Manchester
By uniting Nigerian students, the society hopes to help them keep in touch with their culture and identity, which can be so easily lost in the surrounding environment of Manchester. Every member of the society is viewed as an ambassador of Nigeria and tasked with promoting a positive image of Nigeria to England and Manchester. But even if you’re
not Nigerian, the society has a place for you, welcoming anyone identifying as a ‘Friend of Nigeria’. Perhaps you’re interested in Nigerian food, culture or music? If so, they’d love to hear from you. Friday October 10th marks the Nigerian Students’ Society’s first event of this academic year; ‘Give it a Go’. They’re meeting at the Student Union Council Chambers on Oxford Road from 4pm – 7pm. It’s a free event, so any interested parties are encouraged to bring their friends for an evening of food, music,
quizzes and other fun things they’re sure you won’t want to miss out on! So, as the society itself has pointed out, why not give it a go? For any more information about the Nigerian Students’ Society or their events, please contact Bola Akinyemiju at this email address: bola.akinyemiju@manchester.ac.uk
For more information, or to register as a member, join their Facebook group or on the societies page of the union site.
Sexpression Manchester provides free contraceptives on Campus. Photo: wotm @Flickr
Write for us or promote your society by emailing societies@
ISSUE 03/29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Editors: Adam Fearn Ellie Gibbs
OF THE recipes WEEK
All three of these recipes contain similar ingredients which means that you can eat sweet potato all week, not get bored and not waste any food.
Spicy & Sweet Wedges Difficulty: Easy Ingredients: Sweet potatoes (obviously). Allow one large per person. Sprinkling of salt Lashings of oil Rosemary Paprika Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 200C, drizzle around 1 tablespoon of oil per potato into a roasting tin and let heat up while you slice the potatoes into wedges. 2. Toss the wedges into the pan and sprinkle with herbs, spices and seasoning. 3. Roast the potatoes for around 25 mins until lightly browned and soft when pressed with a fork. 4. Experiment with spice combinations and enjoy with mayo or as a healthy side dish.
Creamy Thai Satay Soup Difficulty: Easy, but you’ll need a few more slightly fancy ingredients and a blender. Ingredients: Sweet potatoes again. 2 large ones should make about 6 servings. knob of butter/glug of oil 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste 1 1/2 tbsp peanut butter Can of coconut milk (very cheap in Curry Mile shops, avoid expensive brand name supermarket stuff)/cream of coconut & hot water also works well 1 onion tsp minced garlic Nutmeg & paprika - use according to taste 1 vegetable stock cube dissolved in 500ml hot water handful of chopped coriander (worth buying a plant if you have space on a windowsill, they’re normally a pound or less)
Directions: 1. Oven 200C, chop and roast the sweet potatoes in oil/butter, sprinkled with the spices. 2. Whilst waiting, finely chop the onion and fry in a saucepan on low, adding in the garlic and curry paste when the onions have softened. 3. Add the roasted sweet potatoes to the pan and cover with the stock and can of coconut milk, bring to the boil then simmer as you plug in the liquidiser/blender, or chop the coriander. 4. Add all ingredients (don’t forget the peanut butter) except fresh coriander to the blender until smooth. If you don’t have a blender this soup is still delicious, and if you want a smooth consistency you could roast the potato whole, mash the insides and then add it to the onion mix. 5. Top with a spoonful of natural yoghurt and sprinkle with coriander.
Sweet Potato and Tangy Coriander Chickpea Salad. Difficulty: Easy. Ingredients: Sweet potatoes, 1 large per person. (Notice a theme here?) 4 spring onions per person 1/2 tin of chickpeas, drained sprig of celery, finely chopped juice and zest of 1/2 lemon (fresh is better) 2 tbsps balsamic vinegar 1stp oil 1/4 grated nutmeg (or 1/2 tsp ground) 1/2 tsp chilli powder salt & black pepper handful of chopped coriander Directions: 1. You know the drill, roast those orange veggies (200C, 25 mins, toss in spices & oil). 2. In the meantime, mix chickpeas with all of the other ingredients apart from spring onions char them with the potatoes 5 mins before they’re done. 3. The end. That’s it. Really, so easy! This would be delicious served with a piece of white fish bulked out with lettuce leaves and roasted peppers, experiment!
Get involved: Email us food.mancunion@gmail.com
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/TheMancunion: Food & Drink @MancunionFood
Food & Drink 23
Review - North Tea Power Review
Photo - North Tea Power
Hester Lonergan Contributor Having spent Saturday morning wandering aimlessly around town, accomplishing only a haircut, we traipsed into North Tea Power feeling very sorry for ourselves: hungry, thirsty and undeservedly fatigued. The café, conveniently nestled between ‘Wood wine bar & deli’ and ‘Simple’, offers something a little more casual and speedy than its neighbours. It isn’t the most obvious of places; a monochrome hanging sign ushers you up a few stairs onto a kind of raised deck where you see the shop front along with covered outdoor seating. I’m sure this is an excellent option in Manchester’s warm season, but as we had missed that miniscule window we opted for an indoor experience. The interior of North Tea Power is unobtrusive and inviting. Upon entering, you are met by a vast glass cabinet containing sandwiches, cakes and other fresh produce. Behind this, the extensive tea and coffee menus plaster the wall, confirmed by shelves crammed with jars of loose teas, coffee compressors and books. Pared down furniture features all round. We spotted an empty table in a lamp-lit corner and made a beeline for it. After nursing our feet for a few minutes, we headed up to the counter to check out the menu. I was impressed by the array of teas on offer, although logically it shouldn’t have come as a surprise considering the name of the place. I figured that they must be doing something right tea-wise to declare their prowess in this way, so out of curiosity I opted for a ‘Popcorn’ tea – a green tea mixed with toasted brown rice – which I was assured lived up to its name (again). My companion was a little less adventurous and went for an Americano, although upon further research I gather that North Tea Power is highly esteemed for its coffee as well. Both were up to scratch; mine was warm and energising with a nutty punch which reminded me of the cinema and the coffee was rich and velvety. While at the counter we had ordered our food. I chose the frittata; RAG.KILLClimb.half.pdf
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freshly made daily and piled up high in thickly sliced wedges, it came warmed and served with generous helpings of both potato and bean salads. The frittata itself was well seasoned, with tender chunks of courgette, pepper and onion throughout. The beans were well dressed. But the real winner was the potato salad. Mayonnaise was unconventionally absent, instead replaced by a sweet and sharp citrusy vinaigrette which was nothing short of delightful. My companion ordered French toast; jammed with ham and Emmental cheese, and steeped in honey with a sprinkling of walnuts, it looked indulgent and potentially challenging. The first few bites were enjoyed, but the stodgy texture and overriding sweetness made the meal difficult to finish. No hard feelings to you guys at North Tea Power though; the customer in question is a bit of an
idiot, ordering something covered in sugar whilst not having much of a sweet tooth. Amongst the thriving network of bars, restaurants and tearooms which make up the Northern Quarter, North Tea Power makes a nice addition for those with a hankering for a good hot drink and something nice to nibble. Thirsts quenched and stomachs silenced, we watched the world go by before finally mustering the courage to get up and toddle home. North Tea Power, 36 Tib St, Manchester M4 1LA. Visit http://northteapower.co.uk/ for more information or follow at https://twitter. com/northteapower.
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Arts & Culture
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM /TheMancunionArtsCulture @ArtsMancunion
Editor: Holly Smith Feature
Where Are The Women In Art? Art’s editor Holly Smith asks: Why are all the artists who are so prolific in art history male? Why has society only decided to do something about it now?
Emma Watson’s deeply moving speech about gender equality at the UN conference last week in New York sparked many controversial debates throughout social media. Her message was clear. Gender equality is at the forefront of our modern world and it is the men who need to play a greater role in ending the inequality that we still see today. While her speech was generally supported, she still saw a backlash and has also been targeted with threats. The era of the ‘hierarchal household’ has recently become a thing of the past, today we regularly see women working full time and men cooking and cleaning, but challenges still arise all across the world. Emma’s speech is highly important, but why has society only decided to do something about it now? Why was this not voiced hundreds of years ago? Before the outbreak of the World Wars, one of a woman’s only way of communicating her opinion was through WNW3.MANC.QUART.pdf
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art. It was expected of a woman to be able to draw, however all the major fine art galleries in the world, be it the Louvre in France or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York hold collections upon collections of various prolific male artists. Women, however, seem to be scarce. T here is no lack of art to have been created by females; if anything, more women drew than men in the years preceding the wars. But there were huge economic and social barriers that women just could not negotiate while their male counterparts could. In 1882 a law called the Married Property Act was passed and this meant that a man effectively owned all of his wife’s property. This vast differentiation in power between the sexes meant that women who wanted to pursue her art career were completely dependent upon their husbands giving them permission. However, in a male dominated industry, women
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were not considered to be serious contributors to the field of art and had great difficulty in obtaining a public showing, even once they had their permission. Women had the burden of wifely work, such as the raising of children, running the house and maintaining the family’s respectability socially which meant that they couldn’t easily break this mould. The idea of women painting, and showing their work, was also highly looked down on by society at the time. During the periods of baroque and neoclassicism in the 17th and 18th centuries, many artists depicted religious scenes containing nude figures. For a woman to draw and paint these kind of pictures was seen as extremely improper. However, there were a few female artists who managed to make their mark in the industry in the 19th centuries. Rosa Bonheur is known to be one of the most famous of these women with two of her most well known paintings on display in the
Metropolitan Museum in New York and another in Musee d’Orsay in Paris. However, she didn’t have a husband, any children, or anyone to help in the house. This just shows that breaking the pattern and not adhering to social structures caused just as many problems for women. Women have undoubtedly been seen as unequal in the art world. Because of this, the thousands of works painted by females have gone unknown, while the works of men have been preserved for eternity. What we now have is a male’s view of life and society hundreds of years ago. The female’s is lost and any opinions expressing the feminist view that Emma Watson so clearly articulated have been unable to get into the public eye. Maybe now that we are seeing society tying to change this in-balance, female artists will appear and maybe even produce a new era of masterpieces.
Charles Dana Gibson @ Flikr
Feature
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Vincent When I ask people about Vincent van Gogh, I generally get the reaction “you mean the one who did those sunflowers?” In fact, ask anyone about an artist and they could tell you which paintings they are famous for, but how much do you actually
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1. In just 10 years, Van Gogh painted approximately 900 paintings. That’s more than two each week. 2. He sold only one of his paintings during his life and only became famous after his death in 1890. The Red Vineyard near Arles (La Vigne Rouge) was bought by Belgian artist and art collector Anna Boch after being displayed in Brussels just before Van Gogh’s death. It was sold then for 400 francs (about £50 in today’s money). The picture is now on display at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Art in Moscow. 3. Van Gogh painted one of his most famous works, Starry Night, while in a psychiatric asylum. He entered the asylum in S a i nt-Ré my- de -P rove nce on May 8th, 1889 after he chopped off part of his ear and was diagnosed with a form of epilepsy. As long as he remained stabled, the doctors allowed him to paint.
4. He was friends and lived with Paul Gauguin, another famous artist. 5. Vincent’s brother’s wife collected Vincent’s paintings and letters after his death and dedicated herself to getting his work the recognition it deserved. 6. Vincent shot himself in a wheat field in Auvers, France but did not die until two days later at the age of 37. He was sitting in a field which he has previously painted when he pulled out a revolver and shot himself in the torso, somewhere between the stomach and the heart. This was, however, not fatal and had to endure a gruelling two days of pain before he went into a coma and died on July 29th 1890. 7. Vincent’s brother Theo died six months after Vincent and is buried next to him in Auvers, France. 8. He was never married. He did however have a mistress, Sien Hoornik, a
pregnant prostitute whom he painted many times. 9. He wrote over 800 letters in his life, mainly to his brother Theo, who financially supported van Gogh for most of his life. 10. He did not cut his whole ear off, only a small section of his ear lobe was cut off during an epileptic seizure with a razor. By Holly Smith
Theatre
ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Preview
What’s On 1956 Theatre
No Place like
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HOME is going to replace Cornerhouse in Spring 2015
Nicole Tamer
The Manchester/Salford based theatre is holding a Rep season in the Salford Arts Theatre. One cast will perform four plays over four weeks in October. Something that big is happening for the first time in the Manchester Fringe Theatre scene and 1956 Theatre offers something for everyone. All four shows: £20 Individual Play: £8
Concession: £6.50 Early Bird: £5
Little Women 9 - 11 October A re-telling of Louisa May Alcott’s classic tale in which the March sisters try to survive in England’s war time. While the father is fighting on the front, the girls discover the world with the help of the ir strong mother.
Juke Box Baby
Photo: HOME Photo: Flickr@rightee Photo: Flickr@Ben Sutherland
The story follows Jimmie Rose’s life which seems to be heading nowhere until his little brother Bobby is about to lose all hope of a baseball scholarship that could be the start of a life in Brooklyn. By helping him, he changes both of their lives forever.
The Lodger 23 - 25 October A funny adaption of Hichcock’s classic silent thriller. Detective Joe Chandler is on the case of a lodger occupying Mr and Mrs Bunting’s spare room, who fits the description of a local serial killer who is called ‘The Avenger’ and only kills brunettes.
Wolf 30 October - 1 November In the summer of 1998 in Salford and the rain never stops. The play takes a closer look at relationships taut with insecurity, families ripped up and torn apart. It unravels that which is at the core of every problem: A lack of truth and reflection.
“Cornerhouse will be replaced with a new Tesco”, “Nothing will ever be the same on Oxford Road”, “Where am I going to observe people on the streets now that Cornerhouse will close?” The response to the anticipated closure of Cornerhouse is mostly negative and rumours are heard from all sides. “People are afraid of change” argues Mike Barnett, the Media and Communications Manager of HOME, and he is certainly right with the assumption. Cornerhouse might be a nice spot to observe the busy Oxford Road and get the weekly dose of culture, but HOME will be one of the biggest multi-artform venue in Great Britain. But does bigger necessarily mean better? Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre Company have merged to create a new home in order to create a bigger and more flexible venue. It promises to be a hotspot for art and culture lovers alike and HOME will try their best to recreate the intimacy and ambience that was
Although Barnett says that nobody will have a dry eye when Cornerhouse closes, HOME is only three walking minutes away and he hopes that the quarter of First Street will have a similar buzzing atmosphere to the Northern Quarter in a few years. Similar claims can be found on the First Street Website, hoping to become Manchester’s most vibrant neighbourhood with the slogan“A place for culture, a place for business, a place for you”. The question is, if the project is too ambitious and Manchester is too rigid to change. Barnett doesn’t think so, he says that he can’t remember any other city which has changed so much in the last decades and because of the proximity to the universities and planned public transport development, HOME will win sympathies quickly. With a twinkle in his eyes he adds “What Manchester does today, London will do tomorrow”. The location already proves to be a magnet for students; the Vita Student Accommodation located at First Street is
Amy Barker
The play’s the thing: Modern day productions of Shakespeare In light of the recent productions of Hamlet at the Royal Exchange theatre and HOME’s Romeo and Juliet, and the upcoming production of Othello at the Lowry, it seems that it simply isn’t fashionable for a theatre company to put on a Shakespeare play in anything other than an ultra- modern style. Modernisation can be a fantastic thing: it allows plays to be taken in new directions with new perspectives, and it can help an oftenrepeated play come to life again. However, modernising Shakespeare is tricky. Ever since Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, the obligatory (spoiler alert!) death by gunshot has plagued the final scenes of each revival – and HOME’s Victoria Baths production has not escaped this. Whatever happened to Juliet’s wonderful “happy dagger” speech? However, Maxine Peake as Hamlet feels rather fresh; using a strong female to play a man’s part, because Hamlet is still very much male, gives him a more boyish feel, making his obsessions over his uncle and his seeming descent into madness feel utterly convincing. The real issue of the moment seems that no matter how good or bad a professional Shakespeare production is, it must take place in the modern day. It’s more evident in films, as they are fewer and easier to chart. Gregory Doran’s 2009 BBC adaptation of Hamlet, Ralph Fiennes’ 2011 directorial debut of Coriolanus, Joss Whedon’s long-awaited 2012 Much Ado About Nothing – all of them are a “modern retelling” or put a “modern spin” on the original. Just because most Shakespeare plays in recent years have been updated doesn’t make them uniform and dull.
Take Othello for example. The 2013 National Theatre Live production starring Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear depicted Othello and Iago as modern soldiers, whereas the production coming to the Lowry in November 2014 is being purported as a pub brawl waiting to happen, with “tension around the pool table” and “beatings in the car park”. They may both be excellent, as the NTL Othello certainly was. But can all these ‘new’ Shakespeare productions really declare themselves to be different and innovative when it seems that really they’re just all doing the same thing?
Photo: Royal Exchange Theatre
Photo: HOME
Now, this doesn’t mean that the world needs to be built on Kenneth Branagh’s faithful 1990s adaptations – far from it! But wouldn’t it be more interesting, and honestly far more unusual if we saw a Regency adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or Macbeth produced in the style of the Victorian Gothic? Even a pomp-and-circumstance World War II era production of Much Ado About Nothing could have more artistic innovation than yet another modernday performance. Twenty years ago “traditional” performances were all the rage, and there’s no doubt that people were aching for something new and different, but maybe to stop this trend of the ‘modern’ becoming cliché we should instead redefine what an updated Shakespeare should entail. Perhaps the best change in the Royal Exchange’s Hamlet was not its modernisation in time period, but its gender-swapping of a role like Polonius to become Polonia. The actress playing the role was truly excellent, and many of the jokes relating to the over-bearing parent or to the bumbling businessman became more relevant when Polonia was a woman in a man’s world. Fashions come and go, and I’m sure that in twenty years, another popular style of Shakespeare will be sweeping our stages and screens. Meanwhile, the most important thing should remain: no matter what style of Shakespeare you choose to perform, do it well! There’s a reason both Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet have been getting five stars across the board, and it’s not going to be the time.
Plan: Mecanoo already very popular. The reception of HOME after its opening is not entirely certain, but Manchester will hopefully adapt and realise that more space and possibilities will lead to a higher quality experience of art, film and theatre. Let’s just hope nobody turns up at your place when you tell them to meet at “HOME”.
HOME
- located at First Street, M1 5NH - opening in Spring 2015 - 500-seat theatre - 150-seat flexible studio space - 500m2, 4m high gallery space - 5 cinema screens - digital production and broadcast facilities - café bar and restaurants
Interview
Chanje Kunda The Renaissance Woman
Nicole Tamer
Chanje on..
Photo: Chanje Kunda
16 - 18 October
I met Chanje Kunda on a chilly morning and we talked about dreams, society pressure and her upcoming solo-show Amsterdam. It will be featured at Contact Theatre on the 3rd and 4th of October, fitting into the theme of Black History Month and she will then go on a national tour. She lived in Amsterdam for one year after gaining a year long artist residency in the Netherlands and created the piece containing poetry, live art, drama, choreography and music depicting her adventure of falling in love and pursuing her dreams. She was born in Zambia, but lived in Manchester most of her life and studied in Quebec. Students know too well how hard it is to look for jobs and how much pressure parents, friends and the society put on us. Chanje has been working as a full time selfemployed artist for more than ten years and has never had a conventional job. “It annoys me when somebody tells me ‘you can’t do it’ or that being a poet is not a job”. Apart from perfoming on stage and writing poetry, she provides workshops and educates primary childen at schools using multi-sensory African storytelling under the organisation Global Link.
The city Amsterdam “I lived on a houseboat for a while and the proximity to the water and the canals is incredibly beautiful. The bridges, light reflections on the water and sometimes a duck gliding by made the experience amazing. It was a great opportunity and I wrote a collections of poems there which was published by Crocus Books.” The play Amsterdam “It’s about the adventure of falling in love, pursuing your dreams and leaving all of your responsibiliies behind. It’s a very abstract performance combining many art foms to create a visual world on stage. I had a chroreographer who helped me with the physical part of the performance and I got training in ballet and contemporary dance.” Feminism “I don’t include gender related topics when educating children, but seeing an inspiring and thought-provoking woman performing, opposed to what is normally shown in the media could be an encouragement for girls. Also that they can see that women are subjects and not objectified.” Why students should see the play “It is something that has rarely been done before, the style of the performance is very progressive and in order to succeed you have to be innovative in today’s society and the piece is a good example for that. You will go through an emotional journey with amazing sound design and experience something entirely unique.”
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Lifestyle
ISSUE 03/ 29th September 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Feature
Struggling with English and Money as an International Student at uni - With over ten thousand international students studying at The University of Manchester, Robert Firth investigates how difficult it is to adapt to living and studying in a different country. Starting at university is hardly the simplest or easiest thing you’ll ever do in your life. Now imagine being one of the over ten thousand international students who have left their home country to study at the University of Manchester. Swap your difficulty in understanding accents for a difficulty in understanding accents in a language which likely isn’t your first, and your qualms about leaving home with being a plane flight away from your closest relative. I spoke to two international students: Fride, a second year Business student from Norway, and Asha, a second year Geography student from Bermuda, to see how they managed. For Fride the information they’d received before they arrived was excellent: “I got so much… saying all sorts of things like what types of banks we can choose like anything about the city”. However, Asha said that the University didn’t provide enough information about practical aspects of everyday life: “there was nothing… like how much groceries would actually be… and how some shops are way more expensive than others places you can goto.” Howeversheaddsthatshejoined a focus group last year in which she
Photo: Queen’s University @Flickr
voiced her concerns about the lack of information provided to international students in terms of prices and money and that this has been put in for the 2014 international Freshers. A problem which it seems nearly all international students struggle with is understanding English in an academic setting. Although all international students have to prove they have a high level of English before coming to university, Fride admits that she spends “more time doing essays than those with English as a first language.” Asha also tells me she knows students who have had to translate their lecture notes into their native language, because they struggled with them. I ask her if there is support available: “there’s an international office but all they do is say things like ‘keep trying’, ‘don’t give up yet’, you know useless stuff.” Fride tells me there are many places you can seek help but doesn’t specify where. If there is support available to help students with their English then it seems these sources need publicising better to international students. Aside from the university, support is available from the International Society which has an office opposite the S.U.
(next to Kro Bar on Oxford Road). They run English Language classes at a range of levels, day trips to places in the UK and a lot more. Like for home students, being in good halls also seemed to be the most important factor in helping the international students I spoke to settle in. Fride says she felt at home because she could “always ask for help” in halls whilst Asha says that university life would have “been very different… If I had not had my foundation of halls friends I’d probably be alone which would have sucked.” Asha and Fride’s experiences studying in a foreign country seem to have been successful because of a combination of their attitude, their flat mates and their good knowledge of English before arrival. Obviously not everyone’s experience so positive. One aspect which was concerning was the lack of information that Fride and Asha felt they received once they arrived. Although Fride acknowledges that she “didn’t really need that much” after arriving, this might not be the same for foreign students who struggle in adapting to study in the UK. Photo: Pixelchecker (Flickr)
Feature
Teetotallers have it harder at university - With drunken Fresher's week antics now over, Robert Firth takes a look at what university life is like for students who don't drink. In 2013 the Oak House Freshers’ week was advertised with the slogan “One Chance, Unlimited Memories.” For the majority of students their memory of freshers’ week is that they don’t have many memories of it. Not surprising when the entire week revolves around attending late night venues with effective strangers whilst consuming so much alcohol that you start to confuse feeling sober with being only tipsy. Yet for some people who you probably can’t remember, Freshers’ was a lot more memorable because these people don’t drink. Not drinking is still something that many students seem to find strange. One female student I talked to said that “Most people were a little surprised… although a couple of people have given me funny looks but not said anything.” More worryingly she commented that “There are a few times where I have felt a little bit pressured into drinking or excluded because I don’t drink.” Although compared to other peoples’ experiences this seems to have been pretty mild, in an article for The Epinal, Loughborough University’s student newspaper, a contributor talks about “the constant
pressure and questioning around you, with the majority of young people finding not drinking a difficult concept to grasp.” These responses to nondrinkers by students are echoed in research done by The University of Sussex which found that students considered teetotallers as “something strange, requiring explanation.” However, not all is bad for non-drinkers: in social situations they were found to be perceived as more socially competent by their peers than those who drank. Likewise the student I spoke to said she didn’t feel socially disadvantaged by not drinking: “I don’t feel like my socializing was affected as I only tend to go out with my friends who don’t care about me not drinking which stops any awkwardness or pressure.” Whilst most non-drinkers seem to navigate the lager-scented course of university well enough, it is surprising that Student Unions don’t do more. They may point to the many societies available to join at universities across the country but in the words of another contributor to The Epinal, “many of the societies’ socials are just an
excuse to get drunk.” One university which has looked at ways of accommodating non-drinkers is London Metropolitan University which in 2012 considered banning the sale of alcohol in certain areas of the campus. However, it is difficult to justify banning the sale of alcohol around campus on the grounds of fairness when you can still already simply order a soft drink in a bar. Whilst alcohol remains the foundation of much of our social lives, little is probably going to change for non-drinkers. Alcohol Aware Manchester is a group set up by second year biology students who aim to provide events to show students that alcohol is not needed for students to socialise. For the Salford student I spoke to, more needs to be done by individual universities, perhaps through working with student groups such as Alcohol Aware, to challenge and change attitudes about alcohol: “I think that the university could put less emphasis on the pre-conceived idea that all university students want to do is drink all the time and put more focus on the activities that don’t have to involve alcohol.”
Photo: TMAB2003 @Flickr
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Lifestyle
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Careers
Career Corner: Manchester Graduates at idealo Berlin
The place where former Manchester students report back from the real world. This week we chat to four graduates working in Berlin.
University of Manchester students are frequently told that they are desirable to companies all over the world. Four Manchester graduates making waves in the Berlin tech scene share their experiences of working at idealo – Germany’s largest price comparison portal.
of doors for finding work and living abroad. In addition the analytical method learnt in Manchester and during my master’s degree has helped in problem-solving on the job. Why did you take the decision to leave the U.K. after graduation?
SR: After almost 4 years in Berlin, I still enjoy everything it has to offer. Things such as the ease of getting around and living costs are more advantageous in Germany than the UK. That said, I still haven’t ruled out moving back to the UK at some point in the future, but in the short term, I have no motivation to leave Germany.
Manchester alumni at idealo: Steven Geddis – Computer Science Katy Phillips – French and German Stuart Russell - French and German Oliver Wynn – German Studies How did you find out about idealo and your current job? KP: I was already living in Berlin and had just finished an internship in online marketing for another e-commerce portal. A friend whom I knew from my year abroad in Vienna was working for idealo already and told me I should apply because they give you free breakfast and flexi-time – that was enough to tempt me. SR: After moving to Berlin, a friend who also happens to be exManchester University started working at idealo and after she mentioned that they were looking for new recruits, I applied via the job advert on meinestadt.de Tell us a bit about your present role and responsibilities. SG: My present role is a software development role within the idealo Reise [travel] department, working solely on the Hotel price comparison engine product in a small and close-knit team. So far, in my first three months I’ve already contributed to a responsive design rebuild project, geospatial data/mapping and product search systems.
SG: I continued to work in Manchester for 6 years after graduating before taking the plunge to leave. Primarily, a better quality of life. Occasionally nostalgic flashbacks remind me of the good times ‘oop norf’ (and the road cycling in the Peak district).
What advice would you give students who are in their final year and unsure about what they’re going to do next?
KP: Having studied languages, I knew that I was keen to get some more experience working abroad, and initially thought that I would spend a year here for my internship. After that year, I realised that Berlin’s tech scene still had a lot more to offer me, so I decided to stay.
KP: Don’t restrict yourself to jobs and further study in the UK. There are lots of training schemes, internships and entry-level roles as well as post-graduate study options further afield in Europe and beyond. I’m glad I chose to move somewhere new straight after graduation, because its a time when you have fewer ties and you’re completely free to try something new.
How did you manage adapting to life in a different country and city? SG: Ask that question in one year’s time! I’ve only been in Berlin for 3 months so I’m still adapting. Without a decent level of spoken German one will forever feel like an outsider in German society. For me, this is the first experience living permanently in another country. Undoubtedly the first 6-9 months are the most difficult (if you cannot speak German) so persistence and a good sense of humour really help. SR: I soon began to feel at home. It helped that I already had friends in Berlin (again many of whom were ex-Manchester University students – at one point there were 8 students from my degree course all living in Berlin), although the main reasons for experiencing such an easy transition were the ease of finding a job, my previous experiences during my year abroad and my ability to speak German.
SG: Don’t believe that you must migrate/return to London for a career.
SR: If you have the flexibility, moving abroad, even if only temporarily for the experience, can be very rewarding. In most major cities there are plenty of expats too, which makes it easier to make friends, especially if you don’t speak the language, although of course, making the effort to learn at least the basics will be of huge benefit. OW: Very few people have a clear plan about exactly how they want their career to pan out when leaving university. Look for the kind of work that you think will interest you for years to come. This way you will enjoy your work every day and come out with a skill set that allows you to progress in the industry. For information about working at idealo check out: http://jobs.idealo. co.uk/
What was your level of spoken German like before you moved to Berlin? For careers advice, visit careers.manchester.ac.uk. KP : My Advice
role is within both the Marketing & Editorial departments and focuses on researching and writing market analysis studies for our e-commerce blog. I am also the PR/social media contact for the UK site and liaise with journalists and other sites. SR: My main role over the 3 years I have been at idealo has involved processing and correcting the data that appears on the website. I am also responsible for replying to customer issues via email and translating new, soon-to-be-incorporated developments from German to English How has your Manchester degree helped you in getting where you are today? SR: My degree in German and French at Manchester University developed the language skills that I had already acquired at secondary school, thus giving me a huge advantage in job markets within German and French speaking countries. In particular my year abroad which saw me living in both Bavaria and Quebec prepared me for a career outside of the UK, meaning moving abroad was not as much as a big deal to me as it would be to your average UK citizen. OW: The language skills from my degree have certainly opened a lot
SG: Rudimentary. I took a 3 month, one class per week introductory German course (A1.1) at the Goethe Institute at Manchester University last year, where I learned the fundamentals of the German language. When I arrived in Berlin I could only introduce myself, say my age and tell people where I came from, and comprehend some written and spoken words. Which, in truth, is fairly useless. Now I can speak and write German at a basic level. You learn quickly. SR: The time I had spent in the UK learning French and German meant that I was able to communicate and get by without any major problems. If you have the solid foundations that a language degree provides you though, you quickly improve when immersed in a German-speaking environment. Would you ever consider moving back to the UK? SG: Not unless there is major political and cultural shift to affect the quality of life. Or, at least, not for a few years. I need a break from England. KP: I definitely wouldn’t rule it out, as there are many things the UK has to offer that Germany doesn’t but at the moment working here is much more interesting for me.
From Manchester to Berlin: Graduates now working at Idealo
Pangea fancy dress competition Photos: by News Editiors Lauren Gorton and Anna Phillips
Following the success of this year’s first Pangaea, Rumble in the Jungle, The Mancunion took to the jungle to run Pangaea’s first fancy dress competition in collaboration with the Students’ Union. Voting will open online on The Mancunion website on Monday 29th September to select the best costumes of the night to be crowned our King or Queen of the Jungle. The winner of the best solo costume from within our top ten will win two guest list tickets to the next Pangaea in January and all the photos of those who didn’t quite make the cut have been posted on our Facebook page. Get tagging and remember to vote on our website!
15th Sept - 12th Oct 2014 manchesterstudentsunion.com/giveitago
ISSUE 03/ 29th September 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
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Sports Editors: Andrew Georgeson, Will Kelly
@Mancunion_Sport
Contact: sport@mancunion.com
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Debate: Should Qatar keep the World Cup
Foreward: This week, FIFA has stated that the findings of American lawyer Michael Garcia into the alleged World Cup corruption will not be published. Qatar’s bid for the World Cup has become the centre of attention as the Sunday Times believed they have enough evidence to suggest that former FIFA Vice President Mohammed Bin Hamman had paid up to £3 million to football officials around the world in return for support for the bid. This includes running a network of 10 slush funds to make payments to 30 African football officials and up to £981,000 had been paid to former FIFA Vice President Jack Warner. Qatar
YES
however deny any wrong doing, claiming that Bin Hamman had acted independent from the bid and was not part of the bidding process. Garcia in his findings has interviewed more than 75 witnesses and has recommended further action against individuals and made proposals for future bidding processes. The very fact that FIFA has refused to release the report gives the impression that there is essentially something to hide and more allegations may suffice. Garcia himself has called for the report to be made public in calls for greater transparency and it is widely understood that UEFA president Michel Platini
will not oppose calls for the disclosure of the report. The FIFA president Sepp Blatter, however, has reaffirmed that the reports will not be published for “no one on the committee has asked for the reports to be published”. This goes against the recent claims from the vice presidents of FIFA as Jeffery Webb, Jim Boyce and Prince Ali bin Al- Hussein, that the reports should be reported. Prince Ali bin Al- Hussein, who was not part of the 2018 and 2022 bids that have come under scrutiny said that the “entire football family” has the right to know the contents of the report. Moreover, a leading candidate for the presidency of
Will Kelly Sport Editor
Andrew Georgeson Sport Editor
If you take a wander into FIFAs military base, perched on top of a hill in Zurich, like the motte & bailey castles of Crusader kings of Old, you will be surprised at what you see. Football statues, shirts of the greats, trophies, perhaps are what you would expect. But you’ll be left wanting. Instead, you’ll find gifts. Apparently Sepp Blatter’s office is covered in exotic presents, that all the sages from all corners of the world have bought him, to mark his anointment as the Pope of Football, as a journalist called him at a recent press conference. All these gifts are various football associations’ ways of telling the Chief how much they respect him, gold watches a-plenty and other fine things, I suppose it helps old Sepp to tell the time in all the different time zones. Professional Sport is rife with corruption. Cycling is on its knees after it turns out its inspiration, the world’s inspiration Lance Armstrong was a serial drug offender. He duly got his 7 Tour de France titles stripped away as he actively chose to take the drugs. Bin Hammam at the time of bid was FIFA vicepresident, and fluttered a penny in the direction of members of the board. For this he was banned from all football activity for life, although it is believed the bribes were to make him president, rather than secure the world cup for Qatar. Yet the solution isn’t always as simple as this. There is, as far as I can see, no reasons on stripping the world cup from Qatar. The problem is that they shouldn’t have received it in the first place. Of course without the details of Garcia’s report being published, we will never know the true extent of the corruption, but it is largely believed that there were some serious problems with the bid. Yet, every committee that launched the bid will have tried to butter up FIFA, therefore it is extremely difficult to accuse Qatar of breaking the mould. The bid should have been lost due to the fact that they are playing in a Conservative nation, with no football infrastructure and allegations of migrant and slave workers building the stadia to host the games. FIFA should have seen this, but instead they saw the pound signs. As the old saying goes, ‘you can take the horse to water, but you can’t force it to take your $1.5 million bride. Or drink.’ So Qatar have basically tried their hand and got away with it, and for this they can’t be blamed. If we’re honest, the major bodies that govern the sports we love are all culpable at the moment. The IOC survived Sochi but the Olympics are going to Brazil next, despite protests during the world cup and oddly enough FIFA are returning to Russia for
FIFA, Jerome Champagne, has tweeted that the publishing of the reports are “essential to protect the sanctity of the game”. Qatar’s German Judge Hans- Joachim Eckert leads the adjudicatory chamber and will have the final say if any wrongdoing has been committed. What is interesting though is that whilst he has the power to impose sanctions, he cannot take the World Cup away, much to Will Kelly’s disgust. Andrew Georgeson however believes that although those found guilty should be punished, Qatar should keep the World Cup. This forms the structure of the debate.
Sepp Blatter is under increasing pressure to reveal the findings of Garcia’s report. Photo: Wikipedia Commons.
the 2018 World Cup despite international backlash following their treatment of the LGBT community and ongoing problems in Ukraine. Qatar will put on a hell of a show, there’s no question about that. Whether it’s their anatomy shaped stadia or the football island, a personal dream of mine, it will be immaculate. Qatar’s bid is also not that different to Brazil’s. The stadiums will cost blood to build, but that doesn’t seem to bother anyone anymore, you get desensitised to these things after so long I suppose. The ethical question remains whether one should put football tournaments ahead of its own people, although the economy in Qatar is doing slightly better than that of Brazil. One of the key similarities for me is the amount of destitute stadiums that will be left throughout the nation. Arena da Amazonia in Manus, the stadium England were defeated by Italy in this year’s World Cup is 41,000 seat stadium on the fringes of the amazon, with only a lower league local team is the embodiment of a white elephant. Although all the stadiums in Qatar look like Bond villain layers, I fear they will be the same. So Qatar isn’t that different really, and I don’t think it deserves, nor do I believe it will, have the tournament stripped. Instead I hope the tournament goes ahead and exposes FIFA and their Machiavellian politics once and for all, and finally we can see some proper change that doesn’t involve white spray.
For such an argument, it is too simplistic to bring up Qatar’s poor humanitarian record as one of the overarching reasons to why Qatar should have the World Cup stripped from them. Sporting events cannot become political, and this can be seen through out history. For instance, the Berlin 1936 Olympic games still went ahead in spite of Hitler’s Nazi regime. We live in a world dominated by realism, where states only seek to preserve their own interests. Qatar is a country dominated by the oil market, and I can guarantee you that there will be very little political pressure from the Western powers because of this. Therefore, no team is going to pull out the World Cup on moral grounds. However, these allegations have made the matter, political. It’s slogan: ‘For the game, for the world’, does not ring true. It is a democratic delusion, when in fact; individuals within FIFA have acted within their own interests to obtain huge amounts of money which has neither been for the benefit of the game or the world. The matter becomes even more political when it is the former Vice President for FIFA, Mohammed Bin Hamman, who is at the forefront of this investigation. He also happens to be from Qatar. Whereas Bin Hamman’s position has become untenable, so has Qatar’s. Bin Hamman may have not been working in the bidding process but he was still acting on Qatar’s behalf. But the focus should be less on Qatar and rather, the administration itself as it represents what I see to be, the embodiment of evil. Many may not know this but when countries hold the World Cup, the money produced goes to FIFA, and not the country. Shockingly, FIFA ordered South Africa in
NO
preparations for the 2010 World Cup to build 2 completely new stadiums when South Africa wanted to renovate some of their own stadiums and use the money to help deal with poverty. Many of the protests that were staged during the recent 2014 World Cup in Brazil was the fact Brazil were being ordered to spend money they didn’t have on stadiums, rather than the public sector. One notable example was in Manaus, right in the heart of the amazon rainforest. A fortune was spent on this stadium which will unlikely be used again in the near future. For such a global game, we are seeing it being run tyrannical fashion and it is now in light of the allegations, change must happen to preserve the little credibility FIFA has today. This starts with Qatar. As noted, they will gain little economic advantage in staging the World Cup and with the current appalling working conditions, more than one worker a day is dying. FIFA therefore, will be ultimately responsible for the deaths of a number of people should it continue to go to Qatar. In stripping the World Cup, FIFA will be able to help end the impunity of not punishing those who bring the game into dispute. Without publishing the report and letting Qatar stage the World Cup, the lack of action will only encourage such financial scams to be hidden again. Without sounding too radical, it appears that the FIFA networks operates in a similar vain as a terrorist one. Al Qaeda has many sub organizations who all act on their own interests, rather than the combined interests of the organization. If the allegations are found to be true, how on earth can £3 million worth of cash payments, go un-noticed? Impunity will only encourage people to work through the network to cover their tracks. Echoing the sentiments of the comedian John Oliver, I suppose FIFA really is like an organized religion. FIFA is the church where its leader Sepp Blatter is infallible. He is able to compel South American countries to spend money they don’t have building opulent cathedrals (stadiums) which will ultimately be responsible for the deaths of a number of people in the Middle East. Yet, we all love the game. However, as I hope my argument has shown, this is not a moral argument on what’s fair and what is not fair. That would be too easy to fall into the hands of Sepp Blatter, who is often quoted labeling the British media to be bitter that we did not get the World cup. This really has become a political matter and needs to be sorted.
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ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2014 WWW.MANCUNION.COM
Comment: We ought to tighten the regulations, not the laces Mancunion Sport editor Thomas Turner argues that while Stonewall’s ‘rainbow laces’ campaign may raise awareness, only the authorities and individual clubs can truly rid the game of homophobia Thomas Turner Sport Editor In last week’s Mancunion, Jonny Roberts highlighted the latest significant move in the battle to remove homophobia from football, with players being urged to don a pair of rainbow coloured laces to show their support. I was a rainbow lace sceptic from the off. We’ve seen it all before, haven’t we? Remember Nike’s ‘Stand Up Speak Up’ wristbands, launched in 2005 to stop racism in football?
Inappropriate: Many have criticised the campaign’s choice of language. Photo: @StonewallUK
we have a serious issue trivialised in the form of a fashion item devoid of its original intent and meaning
Your 60 second sporting round-up
wall and those players who wore the rainbow laces. They contributed to bringing the much ignored issue of homophobia back to the fore of discussion and raising awareness at a time when homophobia has somewhat slipped off the sporting agenda. Indeed, the dire need to raise awareness of the issue may have led to the decision to adopt such a controversial marketing campaign. But the question is, for how long will the issue remain prominent? And in practical terms, what concrete change can it achieve? As I see it, we need to engage with homophobia in much the same way as was done with racism so effectively. We firstly need to banish it from the terraces. From experience, much of the racist chanting previously heard in football stadiums has now ceased, as clubs have stamped down on such incidents with the use of banning orders. Sadly, the same cannot be said for homophobia. If the clubs and authorities really wanted to tackle homophoFOOTBALL: Manchester United have been drawn against the Premier League’s Norwich City in the Fourth Round of the Capital One Cup, following their Third Round victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford. The game will be played at Old Trafford on either Tuesday 29th or Wednesday 30th October. Look out for cheap tickets at the union in the next couple of weeks!
Photo: @NUFCOfficial
Every playground in the country was awash with a sea of intertwined twotone rubber wristbands. They were popular alright, but why? Because people were staunchly concerned about the rise of racism in football? Possibly. Or, was it because Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney and others wore them, and by default, made them ‘cool’? Probably. Eight years later, and here we are again. This time Paddy Power provided the commercial clout. And once again, we have a serious issue trivialised in the form of a fashion item devoid of its original intent and meaning. In 2013, are we still naive enough to believe that a risqué marketing campaign and a handful of celebrity endorsements can resolve a problem as deeply-seated as homophobia in football? In fact, risqué is an understatement. The campaign slogan ‘Right Behind Gay Footballers’ is so jaw-droppingly inappropriate that even Ron Atkinson would probably not chuckle, and even the notion that it might be acceptable or ‘tongue-in-cheek’ is indicative of how insignificant many still perceive the problem of homophobia to be compared to that of racism, for example. Now I of course do respect Stone-
Support: Newcastle managerAlan Pardew in his rainbow laces. bia, they’d encourage clubs to take the same zero-tolerance approach. They’d eject and ban fans taunting Brighton supporters with chants of ‘you’re just a town full of queers’. They’d eject that loudmouth who refers to players wearing headbands only as ‘ponce’, or ‘bender’. The problem is, that clubs aren’t. FOOTBALL: Manchester City, on the other hand, earned an away tie at Newcastle United following their 5-0 demolition of FA Cup holders Wigan Athletic at the Etihad Stadium. RUGBY UNION: There are still tickets remaining for the Manchester Rugby Union varsity, taking place this Wednesday at Sale Rugby club. The women’s fixture kicks-off at 5pm, with the men’s game kicking off at
And that normalises the phenomenon which needs to be stopped. It tells the young kid on the next row that calling his classmate ‘gay’ for ducking out of a tackle is a perfectly acceptable insult, in the same way which insults based on race no longer are. And what we are left with is a sport wrapped in an uber-masculine bubble where gay footballers feel unable to come out because they feel out of place. Because ‘gay’ is a term of ridicule. Because having the WAG or the hotel room threesome is the norm, in much the same way that the American ‘jock’ isexpected to have the cheerleader in tow. Only if we start to take these sort of measures will we see the effect which Stonewall desires - that more footballers feel comfortable ‘coming out’. But for it to happen, it needs to be driven by direct action by the FA and individual clubs, not by Stonewall and its controversial pairs of laces.
They’d eject that loudmouth who refers to players wearing headbands only as ‘ponce’, or ‘bender’.
What do you think? Join the debate @Mancunion_Sport 7:30. Coachres will be leaving from the Armitage Centre at 4pm. Tickets can be bought from outside both the Students’ Union and Owens Park for £5, or £8 with a social ticket included. ICE HOCKEY: Talking of Varsity games, here’s another date for your diary. The Ice Hockey varsity takes place on Tuesday 29th October at Altrincham Ice Dome. Doors open at 6:45, with the
ominous sounding ‘face-off’ at 7:30. Keep your eye out for more details and build up in Mancunion Sport in the coming weeks. AND FINALLY: Macclesfield born Ben Ainslie presided over a thrilling USA fightback as they snatched the Americas cup away from New Zealand with a 9-8 victory. Ainslie was drafted in as a tactician with the USA 8-1 down!
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ISSUE 03/ 29th SEPTEMBER 2013 WWW.MANCUNION.COM/
Women aim for Varsity Victory Women’s Rugby hopes to build on its recent success with victory over Liverpool Will Kelly Sport Editor It’s Manchester vs Liverpool in the women’s rugby and it is eyeing up to be a cracker. The two teams clashed in the Christie Cup last season and although Manchester won on the day, it proved to be a stern test according to 1st XV Captain Lauren Muddiman: “We came up against Liverpool at the Christie Cup and despite the win going in our favor it really could have gone either way. The Liverpool girls were great and really made us dig deep to secure the win. I don’t know a great deal about the Liverpool girls but I do know that they have some extremely talented players and for us to win this year will require a great deal of determination on our part.” Although there is the historic clash between the cities to think about, there is personal pride at stake: “Varsity is different to other games as, for us, it’s the biggest game of the season. It’s a chance for last year’s graduates to come back to the team for one final game. It’s also the only game of the season, at which, people pay to come and support us as a women’s team”, Lauren said. Traditionally, the University of Manchester have always played Manchester Metropolitan. However, the Metropolitan’s Athletic Union has merged with MMU Cheshire and Lauren
Tweet you views, pictures and experiences of the Varisty of @mancunion_
Women’s Rugby will be looking to build on recent success in the innaugral North-West Varsity! Photo: @mancunion_Sport
is grateful to the Liverpool girls to step up and allow the game to go ahead, “It is unfortunate that MMU can’t play but a massive thank you must go out to Liverpool. The atmosphere is always great and I don’t think this will changealthough we are hoping to have more Manchester supporters this year!” Ticket sales have been going very well for this
and there is still some left if people are interested in going. This match could be seen as the perfect way to kick start a season where Lauren has stressed that the team have high expectations of themselves: “This season we hope to gel well as a team and perform to the best of our abilitieswith the major goal to try to secure a
top 3 finish for both our first and second teams. We are hoping that we can progress through the cup rounds to secure a place in the final and, ideally, to bring home the cup!”
Sport using the #mancvarsity!
FIFA 15: 10 COMMANDMENTS If you’re going to say goodbye to your social life and your 2:1, you may as well do it properly
www.thouronaward.org
Andrew Georgeson and Will Kelly Sport Editors
1. Thou shall not pause the game to text a partner. 2. If Marouane Chamakh scores a hat-trick against you, thou shall have thy hair gelled to what ever crazy style your mate desires and this must remain on for the remainder of the night. 3. If John 0’shea scores a goal against you, one must immediantly go to bed. He is not allowed to start up front. 4.Thou shall not watch replays of goals unless it is a true ‘worldie’. 5. If one beats a 5 star team with 1 star team, the loser must be there slave for a week. 6. If one scores with Rory Delap (currently at Barnsley), the opponent must proceed to dry everything with a towel for 24 hours 7. Score a goal with Joey Barton and thy opponent must speak in a rubbish French accent for the rest of the night 8. Score a hattrick with Andy Carrol and the opponent must go to the nearest shop and purchase an item for exactly
Fully Funded Study in the USA Up to TEN awards, each with a total value of approx US$90,000 per year, covering tuition fees and living expenses, including travel in the USA, will be available (for one or two years) from 1st September 2015 for candidates who wish to pursue a postgraduate programme at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
10 times the displayeprice. 9. If one receives thou ball straight from a kick off, he must allow a first warning and pass back to the opposition. 10. If Bendter scores a hattrick, you are to be called ‘Lord’ for the rest of the night and may demand a drink to be bought for you at any given occassion.
Applications are invited by 5pm on 3rd November 2014 from UK university graduates, including forthcoming summer 2015 graduates, who are British citizens normally resident in the UK. Thouron Awards were created by Sir John and Lady Thouron for the promotion of academic exchange and experience in international friendship between the UK & USA.
For further details visit www.thouronaward.org or contact Jennie Eldridge, Award Administrator on +44 (0)20 7848 3376 quoting ref TA14.
in association with
SPORT
29th September/ ISSUE 03 FREE
MANCHESTER’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Debate: Qatar World Cup
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FIFA 15 Commandments
‘‘Winning isn’t everything, it is the only thing.’’
It’s been a long summer. As the memories of #maga14 fade into the distance, we remember that one place that’s always there for us. Sure we’ve had our problems, but who doesn’t. We thought we missed the Magic Busses, then the sink hole came, we thought we missed Antwerp mansion, then we remember having to hold the toilet door on. And then there’s the hipsters. But like a partner you can’t live with or without, we always come back to you Manchester, and we’re glad to be back. Yes, it’s that time of year when Crusader like zeal fills our bodies, and we are truly proud to be purple. For some of us it’s nostalgia perhaps as it is,
: /TheMancunion
WWW.MANCUNION.COM
P.31 Get in touch! Going to Varsity? Share your views, experience and opinions with the Mancunion using the hashtag #MancVarsity or handle @mancunion_sport.
Not going? Fear not, the Mancunion will have a live blog of both matches from 5pm on Mancunion. com, tweeting major events and both matches will be covered with expert analysis in issue 4!
Can Manchester make it 15 in a row? Photo: www.wilkinson-photo.com
Andrew Georgeson Sport Editor
: @Mancunion_Sport
all things staying above 40%, our last year at the institution, whilst others are just starting their journey. Either way, it’s a great time to pin ourselves against our local rivals, and sleep well in bed counting our UCAS points instead of sheep. But, hang on. What do you mean MMU aren’t playing? ‘I can’t really blame them’ says Jamie Ward, ‘after being beat for the last 14 years, whatever their excuses may be, no one likes loosing.’ It’s a fair statement, despite trailing for the past two years at some point in the match, Mancehster have always found a way to get back into the game. But Liverpool is a different kettle of fish altogether for several reasons. The first is the fact it’s no longer a rivalry
separated by 100 metres on Oxford road, but rather a 45 minute drive down the M62. Ward acknowledged this saying, ‘Whilst it is not a direct rivalry with Liverpool, they are bringing with them a bigger crowd then Man Met so the atmosphere promises to be just as electric, and as Liverpool are in a higher league than Man Met, it should prove for more of a spectacle.’ Indeed, last year’s Varsity, which ended 36-11 to UoM, although starting exiting very much fizzled out towards the end, with Manchester strolling out the closing stages of the game after scoring in quick succession. Throughout the sporting world, we hear captains underplaying big matches
and it’s no different here. ‘For the boys it’s just another day at the office, throughout the 4 weeks of training we’ve looked sharp, and in our 2 pre-season matches we’ve shown promise racking up a hefty 40-0 win over Sheffield University who are in the same BUCS league as Liverpool.’ Yet he conceded, ‘Although every game you put on the purple jersey is important, when you do it in front of 3000 students it’s going to be more special.’ Victory over Sheffield is the best preperation Manchester could have had as they are in the same league as Wednesdays opponents, Looking to the season ahead Ward had this to say,; ‘there are a lots of promising new freshers in the new crop and a few have really staked a claim towards
playing first team..’ Our aspirations for the season are to get promoted to prem A the top division in the North along with winning varsity and a strong cup run.’ However, for the next few days all minds will be on wednesday night as, ‘Winning isn’t everything it is the only thing. ‘
Tickets for the Varsity cost £5 and are available from Owen’s Park and the canopy outside the students union. Following the Varsity there is an offical afterparty at the Students’ Union. Busses are also leaving from the Armitage centre from 4pm.