Issue 15

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11th February 2019 / Issue 15

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Woe-161

Withington named Manchester’s most burgled area, with more than one burglary reported every day Sam Honey and Emily Broncz Head and Deputy News Editors One of the most popular areas for student homes is facing a burglary epidemic of more than one break-in reported every day, with a record 448 burglaries in 2018 alone.

Analysis by the Manchester Evening News (M.E.N.) found that there were a reported 32 burglaries per 1,000 people in the borough, compared to 23 in West Didsbury and 16 in Fallowfield.

A Freedom of Information request by the M.E.N. found that, shockingly, 423 of the 448 cases ended with no identified suspect, while just two appeared in court to be charged.

According to Home Office figures, Withington’s 448 burglaries annually represents a 4% increase overall.

Incredibly, the concerning figures do not even fully cover the Withington area. The west of the borough falls under Old Moat, where a further 231 cases were recorded.

The issue appears to be long-term, with 439 burglaries having occurred in Withingon during 2017, meaning close to 1000 break-ins

Headlines this week

took place across a 24-month period.

The Withington area has become popular with a range of different groups, often misinterpreted as a quieter, and more upmarket Fallowfield.

A number of professionals working in the city, and families have chosen to live in the suburb as a result. Students also choose second and third year houses in borough due to cheaper rent prices.

Yet, it may appear that the most vulnerable demographics are being targeted by some of the most vicious and regular attacks across the city.

A letter penned to the Mayor from residents on one street in West Withington detailed the levels of horrific crime in the area. ‘’The incidents of thefts are on the increase, with burglaries, car thefts, attempted entry to cars and videoed trespass in the early hours. ‘’There is an atmosphere of insecurity and fear in the entire avenue, as far as I am aware all concerns have been reported to the police including one by myself however, there is no noticeable increased police presence.

Merger between Schools of Law and Social Sciences proposed Page 3

‘’Only tonight, a resident been mugged on the street whilst walking his dog. This was at 18:45. ‘’We the residents, have requested an increased police presence and have now had to resort to approaching unknown vehicles at 4.00am and chasing individuals away.’’

Such fear-instilling reports are evidence of the rising crime epidemic spreading across the streets that citizens of Greater Manchester call home.

No longer are these incidents restricted to the targeting of students in Fallowfield, or particularly violent suburbs, as criminals seek to take advantage of opportunities wherever possible.

Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) south district commander Superintendent Dave Pester commented on this trend: ‘’But it’s clearly not all students. The students have been a target for burglars. What that then does is create a vulnerability for the settled residents.’’

The question of exactly how these incidents can be combated is at the forefront of Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) current

efforts.

It has been recently announced that increases in the council tax precept will be used to place 320 new officers on the streets throughout 2019 to 2020.

170 of these will become neighbourhood police officers, working to help the vulnerable in communities such as Withington. The other 150 will be split equally between three teams, that will work independently to tackle local problems, supervise the city’s transport systems, and undertake detective work.

Despite this new recruitment drive, GMP is still being left significantly disadvantaged in its battle against crime in Greater Manchester.

The force would have completed measures to reduce their budget by £215 million come March, and even with new personnel will be operating with 1,469 fewer officers than in 2010.

By 2021, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins expects to have fewer officers than back in 1975.

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ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

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Inside Issue 15

Woe-161: Withington worst area for burglaries in Manchester 448 burglaries were reported in Withington throughout 2018, more than in Fallowfield, Moss Side, or Salford, as GMP warn against vigilnate justice Sam Honey and Emily Broncz Head and Deputy News Editors Wi t h i n g t o n MP Je f f Smith s y m p at h i s e d with the difficulty o f i nve s t m e n t i n p o l i c i n g fa l l i n g a l o n g s i d e a s p i ke i n b re a k- i n s a n d thefts. Smith said: ‘’I think the p o l i ce h ave t h e r i g ht a p p ro a c h , b u t b e c a u s e o f t h e n u m b e r s t h e y a re s t r u g g l i n g t o ke e p u p. I t ’s a p ro b l e m we n e e d t o a d d re s s fo rce w i d e a n d n at i o nw i d e . Ve r y o f t e n i t ’s a n i s s u e o f p o l i ce n u m b e r s . ’ ’ A s a re s u l t o f G M P s t r u g g l i n g t o re a c h a n d i nve s t i g at e e ve r y i n c i d e n t o f c r i m i n a l a c t iv it y a c ro s s G re at e r M a n c h e s t e r, c i t i z e n s a re i n c re a s i n g ly l o o k i n g t o o t h e r co u r s e s o f a c t i o n t o a s s u re t h e i r p ro t e c t i o n .

A n u n n a m e d s e co n d ye a r s t u d e nt co m m e n t e d : ‘ ’ I t h i n k wh e n t h e p o l i ce t a ke h o u r s , e ve n d ays t o s h ow u p t o t a ke f i n ge r p r i n t s t h e b re a k i n b e co m e s a b it o f a b u rd e n t o s t u d e nt s , e s p e c i a l ly wh e n t h e y ’ re a l m o s t s u re n o t h i n g w i l l co m e o u t o f t h e i nve s t i g at i o n . “ W h e n s t u d e n t s e x p e r i e n ce b re a kins or muggings they tend to use FSG t o wa r n o t h e r s a n d t o a l s o ge t t h e wo rd

Fallowfield First response Is it vigilante justice?

Investigations, page 7

Racism, actually Neeson’s apology in focus Opinion, page 11

The RMT union has called off strike action on Northern Rail, after being guaranteed a conductor on all trains, including Northern’s new fleet

Sexpress yourself

Find out about sex week Lifestyle, page 29

Follow us on Editor-in-Chief: Ethan Davies editor@mancunion.com Deputy Editor: Amy Wei deputyeditor@mancunion.com Online Editor: Jeremy Bijl online@mancunion.com Print Editor: Kizzy Bray design@mancunion.com

I t wa s t h e re fo re a rg u e d t h at Fa l l ow f i e l d re s i d e nt s s h o u l d “ re f ra i n f ro m e n g a g i n g i n a ny co m m u n it y a c t i o n g ro u p s , ” wh i l s t t h e p o l i ce wo rke d o n a co m p re h e n s ive p ro p o s a l .

G M P e x p l a i n e d t h at t h e re we re p l a n s t o u s e ‘ ’s t u d e nt vo l u nt e e rs a l o n g s i d e o u r ow n o f f i ce rs ’ ’ i n o rd e r t o ‘ ’ wo rk c l o s e r w it h t h e co m m u n it y. ’ ’ Z a m a n c l a r i f i e d t h a t t h e p o l i ce we re h a p py to wo rk alongside m e m b e rs o f t h e p u b l i c a n d t h at it wa s i n n o way ‘ ’a n i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e p o l i ce c a n n o t co p e . ’ ’ T h e i nt e g ra t i o n o f ‘ ’ i nt e l l i ge n ce l e d co m m u n it y p o l i c i n g ’ ’ wa s a n i d e a o f i nt e re s t t o t h e p o l i ce , a s l o n g a s it wa s s u b j e c t e d t o t h e ‘ ’a p p ro p r i a t e s a fe g u a rd i n g co nt ro l s . ’ ’ The s t a t e m e nt also included d e t a i l s o f G M P ’s c u r re nt “ S t u d e nt S a fe ” o p e rat i o n s i n t h e a re a , d e t a i l i n g t h a t f re q u e nt p at ro l s i n c r i m e h o t s p o t s we re a l re a dy i n p l a ce . S u s p i c i o u s b e h av i o u r o r a c t iv it y c a n b e re p o r t e d t o a n e i g h b o u rh o o d o f f i ce r, w it h t h e p o l i ce a l s o co nt a c t a b l e t h ro u g h t h e L ive C h a t f u n c t i o n o n t h e i r we b s it e o r by d i a l l i n g 1 0 1 . E m e rge n c y c a s e s c a n b e re p o r t e d by c a l l i n g 9 9 9.

RMT finally suspends Northern Rail strike action Josh Sandiford Breaking News Reporter

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o u t t o p e o p l e t o ke e p a n eye o u t fo r their missing possessions, something G M P d o n o t h ave t h e p owe r t o d o. T h e lack of security in south Manchester i s p re t t y b a d a n d I d o t h i n k it i s t h e job of GMP to sort this out sooner t h a n l at e r a s it co u l d p o s s i b ly d e t o u r s t u d e nt s f ro m co m i n g b a c k . ’ ’ Po p u l a r S t u d e nt co m m u n it y p l at fo r m Fa l l ow f i e l d S t u d e nt s G ro u p re ce nt ly s aw h i g h l eve l s o f e n g a ge m e nt w i t h a p o s t t h at s u g ge s t e d fo r m i n g a ‘ f i rs t re s p o n s e g ro u p’ o f vo l u nt e e rs t o h e l p p ro t e c t s t u d e nt s a c ro s s t h e b o ro u g h .

D e s p it e t h i s , G M P wa r n e d a g a i n s t t h e i d e a , a n d s i m i l a r i n it i a t ive s .

S p e a k i n g o n b e h a l f o f G M P, C h i e f I n s p e c t o r Fa h a r Z a m a n s t re s s e d t h a t wh i l s t t h e p o l i ce ‘ ’ re co g n i s e t h a t p e o p l e a re ke e n t o a s s i s t i n ke e p i n g t h e i r co m m u n it i e s s a fe ’ ’ , m e m b e rs o f t h e p u b l i c a l s o h a d t o re s p e c t t h at t h e p o l i ce ‘ ’c a n n o t a dvo c at e p e o p l e t a k i n g t h e l aw i n t o t h e i r ow n h a n d s . ’ ’ Zaman further stated that their m a i n p r i o r i t y i s “ ke e p i n g t h e p u b l i c s a fe a n d we wo u l d u rge p e o p l e n o t t o p u t t h e m s e lve s i n u n n e ce s s a r y d a n ge r. ”

The RMT union has called off strike action on Northern Rail, after being guaranteed a conductor on all trains, including Northern’s new f leet, for the duration of the current franchise There have been 47 separate days of industrial action over the issue of guards on trains, causing delays for passengers.

A fierce row between RMT, the union which represents rail workers, and Northern, the train operating company, has gone on for around two years surrounding driver-only operated trains. Rail unions argue that automatic doors alone are not safe and a conductor is also needed on board.

RMT announced a ‘ breakthrough’ in the talks after ‘substantial’ progress was made during talks which also involved conciliation service ACAS. Despite the calling off of industrial action, Northern tweeted that it is “unfortunately too late” to reintroduce

Head News Editor: Sam Honey Deputy Editors: Emily Broncz and Shivani Kaura news@mancunion.com

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a full timetable in time for the 9th of February when more strike action is due to commence.

RMT G eneral Secretary Mick Cash said: “Firstly I want to pay tribute to RMT’s members on Northern Rail whose resilience and determination though two years and 47 days of action has been the foundation on which today’s major breakthrough has been based.

They are an absolute credit to both this union and the wider movement.

“I also want to thank the travelling public for their extraordinary support and both Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram for their efforts that have been important in allowing us to break the deadlock today.

“Today’s offer of a guarantee of a conductor on all services throughout the duration of the franchise, including the new f leet, is the substantial progress we have been pushing for and has allowed RMT’s executive to take the decision to suspend the current action and allow for further talks to now take place with all stakeholders around the operational details.”

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Reacting to the news that the RMT have suspended their strike action on Northern, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said: “ Taking guards off the trains was always going to undermine confidence in our railways. That is why I have backed the RMT ’s call to keep the guard on our trains and I am pleased that this principle has now been accepted by the Department for Transport and Northern. “ Today’s announcement is good news for the public. It will help to keep trains safer and more accessible for everybody. In particular, I want to thank Brendan Barber who mediated between the operator and the RMT, as well as the Minister Andrew Jones, who has taken a constructive approach to this issue since he took office.

“While this is a welcome step forward it is not yet a final agreement. I hope Brendan Barber can bring the two sides together to reach that soon. In addition, we now need to see a full service being restored on Sundays so passengers have a full weekend rail service once again.”

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Concern as UoM schools of Social Sciences and Law set to merge Josh Sandiford and Amy Wei Breaking News Reporter and Deputy Editor-in-Chief The Head of the School of Social Sciences has informed students that the Schools of Law and Social Sciences will be merged to a form a single School, pending approval by the Board of Governors and the Students’ Union Senate.

A position paper was published last September, looking at the benefits and risks of a merger between the Schools of Law and Social Sciences. There have also been a number of workshops and events in which students were able to go and give their views on the proposed merger. Key themes arising from feedback sessions arranged by the Students’ Union will be included in the proposal that is soon to be submitted to Senate and the Board of Governors.

An email received by Social Sciences students said: “Firstly, we want to thank those who submitted comments during the feedback period, which ended on 14 December. Having considered the feedback on the position paper, the Working Group’s view was that a merger would be beneficial to both Schools, with no academic disadvantages. In reaching this decision, the Working Group looked at both the advantages and

the disadvantages arising from the merger of the two Schools.”

The email is also signed by the University of Manchester Students’ Union’s (SU) General Secretary Fatima Abid, and Olivia Meisl, the SU’s education officer. If approval for the merger is given, the single school will be called the ‘School of Social Sciences’ and this would take effect from the 1st August 2019.

The School of Social Sciences currently includes subjects such as Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Social Anthropology, Social Statistics, and Sociology. In recent years there has been a move across the University to larger, more evenly-sized Schools, with the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) and the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) both reducing the number of Schools in their Faculties to three and two respectively.

However, there have been widespread concerns about the merger among students in the School of Law. Anuli Changa, Head Student Rep of the School of Law, said: “My understanding from students I’ve spoken to is that they feel that the identity and reputation of the School of Law will be lost with the merger. This could affect employability opportunities.

“There was also a general feeling that the

consultation, survey and feedback would have little impact and that the decision had already been made.

“There are fears that the merger will put

“

The identity and reputation of the School of Law will be lost with the merger. administrative strain on the School of Law and a lack of individualised support for a School which has four courses with different needs.”

Becca Windsor De Taboada, Law and Politics student rep, said: “I made an effort to communicate to them, as a rep, that students were unhappy with the idea. The explanations as to WHY this merger was happening weren’t good no matter who I turned to, and the ‘asking us for our opinion’

aspect of it just seemed to be a bit of a farce.

“I’m disappointed at the outcome and worried about what it will mean for the reputation of and resources at the law school.”

The Email notes that it will be important to keep a “Law School” identity going forward and states that a “brand-testing” exercise is underway.

If the merger is approved, a further working group will be set up to direct the work needed to “realise” the transition to a single School. The email states that more details will then be provided to students, including how they can get involved further.

The email ends: “If the merger is approved, we will ensure that you continue to receive the high-quality education which we know you value greatly. On a day-to-day basis, a typical student is unlikely to experience a significant change, and certainly no adverse change.”

A University spokesperson said: “These proposals, which are subject to final endorsement

by Senate and the Board of Governors, would see both Schools benefit from significantly increased opportunities to collaborate in areas such as research, access to external funding and support for students. We have been fully engaged with staff and students throughout this process, and will continue to listen to their views and ideas.”

Extinction Rebellion supported

by SU with 2% majority Emily Broncz Deputy News Editor A motion requesting official support of Extinction Rebellion was passed at the University of Manchester Students Union Senate on 7thFebruary. Achieving a majority backing of 68%, barely above the 66% threshold required to pass a Senate motion.

The direct action climate change pressure group gathered widespread attention last November after protestors managed to halt traffic outside of the SU, with eight arrested after another protest on Oxford Street, Manchester.

One of those arrested was Students’ Union Activities Officer, Lizzy Haughton, on the charge

of “wilfully obstructing the highway”, which she denies and is due to stand trial in April.

Arguments for passing support for the motion included a view that Extinction Rebellion’s interventions are a necessity after government failings to correctly address environmental concerns.

Concerns about Haughton’s motion were raised by Sara Khan, the Liberation and Access Officer. Khan explained that, due to the movement’s alleged encouragement of members to get arrested, the movement could not be viewed as being fully inclusive.

While this mission might work for those hailing from a “white, middle-class background”, Khan expressed doubt it would resonate as well

with people from minority groups, such as the trans and BAME communities, who “don’t have such a cosy time in jail cells” and historically “encounter police violence”.

Further justifications for opposing the motion included viewing the movement as lacking “political substance”, with a grounding in legislative aims beyond demands to get arrested.

The SU also passed a motion to support a ‘yes’ vote in the UCU ballot for strike action, scraping by with 67% in favour. The issue has been discussed previously at many Senates and continues to be a widely debated area.

International Students Officer, Riddi Viswanathan, pledged support by stating: “I believe it is extremely important we support this

motion.” It is a motion widely supported by the NUS and, to a lesser extent, by the SU. Other motions included the university taking on the plastic pledge, thereby aiming to become ‘greener’, which was supported by an overwhelming 98% of the vote.

95% voted in favour of the SU supporting EU and EEA students in relation to Brexit, although Viswanathan highlighted that there was a lack of legal and immigration expertise and resources in the SU to offer any level of support.

A motion of no confidence in the NUS president Shakira Martin was defeated, despite 50% voting in favour.

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ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Greater Manchester MPs oppose nodeal Brexit and back people’s vote

Parliament rejects a number of amendments backed by Greater Manchester MPs, that include renegotiation with the EU, and legislating for a second referendum Sam Honey Head News Editor A substantial majority of MPs across Greater Manchester have expressed their opposition to Britain crashing out of the European Union without an agreement on March 29th.

27 MPs from across the region cast their votes on a range of amendments to Theresa May’s statement on her, so-called ‘Brexit Bill’ on the 29th January in parliament.

The vote had no binding qualities, and functioned merely to gauge the House’s opinion of appropriate next steps following the Prime Minister’s proposed deal suffering defeat by 432 to 202 votes in the Commons on January 15th.

A written statement delivered by May announced the scrapping of the £65 fee for EU nationals seeking settled status in the UK, the strongest possible protection on workers’ rights, and a commitment to reaching a deal on the border in Northern Ireland that was supported

by the Parliament and the EU alike.

The Conservative leader also stressed her endorsement of a cross-party discourse on Brexit policy and the negotiation of a UK-EU trade deal.

Following these announcements, seven amendments to the statement were proposed and voted on by MPs. Out of the seven just two of these amendments received the backing of Parliament: the Spelman amendment to commit to ruling out a no-deal exit, and 1922 committee chief Graham Brady’s proposal to remove the ‘backstop’ mechanism, with an unconfirmed alternative that would seek the synonymous avoidance of a hard border, and departure from the Customs Union.

Across Greater Manchester, MPs wholeheartedly backed Spelman’s proposition, with 22 voting in favour of it.

Meanwhile, Brady’s renewed attempt at addressing controversies over the backstop was supported by just 6 members from across the

region, four of whom were Conservatives, with the governing party pressured into supporting their backbencher’s suggestion.

Two Labour figures, Shadow Justice Minister Yasmin Qureshi, and Eurosceptic Graham Stringer backed the amendment.

With 22 Labour MPs out of the 27 across the area, the party’s frontbench, so-called ‘Labour’ amendment, called for re-negotiation with the European Union, and a public vote on the exit process, which entertained the support of 20 of the region’s MPs. They also gave their backing to interventions from Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper, both at an 18-9 margin, that called for an extension of Article 50, and handing power to the backbenches, respectively.

Corbyn’s assault on the Conservative Government’s Brexit plans were frustrated by a narrow, albeit decisive defeat, by a 327296 margin, with the Reeves and Cooper amendments also failing to pass.

The Mancunion recently broke a story detailing the potentially-detrimental effects of a No Deal Brexit on the University.

The tension between the will of the parliament and MPs in the Manchester area was clear-cut, as substantial majorities in the region voted in favour of handing power back to the public in deciding the final terms for a March departure, a consultation that is now surely off the cards after the defeat of the Labour amendment.

Legislating to extend Article 50 now appears to be impossible, with the will of Mancunians, as voiced by their representatives, again seemingly frustrated.

The city region voted to Remain by over 60% back in 2016, although there were similarly-commanding majorities for Leave in local authority areas including Tameside, Bolton, and Rochdale.

Manchester transport faces a north-south divide, say councillors Stagecoach Greater Manchester’s pre-tax profits have gone up, at the same time as director pay, and many fares for customers

Josh Sandiford Breaking News Reporter New financial statements released by Stagecoach Greater Manchester show a significant increase in pre-tax profits for the financial year 2017-18.

The new figures, which account for all Stagecoach services in the south of Manchester, show that pre-tax profits have increased by 14% to £17.6m. Stagecoach’s revenues also increased by almost 3% to £119.6m.

Director pay appears to be steadily rising: according to the statements, the highest paid director earned £211,000 in the period ending April 2018. In 2017, this figure was £199,000, a 6% increase.

Stagecoach is one of the largest bus operators in Manchester and their blue and yellow ‘Magic Buses’ are instantly recognisable to most students in the city. According to its website, Stagecoach Manchester invested £4.5 million in new buses and carried 106 million passengers in 2017/2018.

The increase in profits comes after passengers faced a fare increase in the new year, in which the ‘dayrider’ ticket went up from £4.50 to £4.80 and the seven-day ‘megarider’ ticket increased from £15 to £16.

Meanwhile, a ‘Fight the Fat Cats’ rally is due to be held by campaign group ‘Better Buses for Greater Manchester’ next week. The event description on Facebook invites people to attend the public meeting and “find out more about how we can win, and join the campaign to take action for better buses.”

When asked by The Mancunion if Greater Manchester students were getting value for money when using Stagecoach services, a spokesperson for the company said: “Students attending the universities on Oxford Road have access to one of the most frequent bus services in the country; operating every few minutes throughout the day and with services running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Manchester students also have the option to purchase heavily discounted tickets that are up to half the price of our usual adult fares.

“Our ticket, that runs throughout an academic year, offers unlimited travel on any Stagecoach bus throughout Greater Manchester from just 83p per day, which is great value for money.

“The most popular £1.50 Magic Bus single has been frozen for several years. In January,

our night fares were also held or reduced and our evening fares have been capped at £2, a price which also hasn’t changed for a couple of years.

There have been changes to the price of some of our longer duration tickets but overall our average fares are in line with general inflation.”

Stagecoach also highlighted the fact that their own costs are rising faster than inflation and pointed to declining traffic speeds increasing wage-related costs.

Angela Chen, a first-year Economics student said: “As a student, I find it unfair that profits are increasing, yet little of the extra profits are being invested into a better service or cheaper tickets for customers. This is just another example of corporate greed overriding the well-being of customers.”

Photo: The Mancunion

A balancing act: Manchester City Council’s 2019/2020 budget released Manchester City Council’s draft budget for 2019/2020 set to balance austerity and spending on social services as it meets a three year plan Sacha Perera Contributor On the 31 January Manchester City Council released the draft budget for 2019/2020 and is set to complete a three year commitment.

The budget will scrutinised by a number of committees, before being considered by the Council’s executive on 13 February.

According to the Council’s press release, it will meet the three year plan, even with pressures on funding, something which Sir Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester City Council, claims “is

hitting cities like Manchester hardest”.

A large amount of the budget (51%) will continue to be provided in the caring for vulnerable adults and children, reflecting the demands of residents. These priorities will continue to shape the budget’s balance, with there being a growing need for both adult and children’s social care.

An additional sum of £12m has been made available through government funding to tackle the demands of residents. The issues raised relate mainly to Social Care Services, which have been deprived of funding by Manchester City Council since 2010.

In the eight years since the Council’s spending power has been reduced by £179m (29%) . A unacceptable 13% greater loss than the national average (16%), leaving spending power per head the 10th worst in England (£355). The City Council does have the option to increase the Council’s element of the bill by 1%, but will stick to the 3.49% level as agreed at the start of the three year budget.

Further investment will be made into areas valued most according to the Council’s assessment. Child services care will receive £13.6m, £10.8m more than the £2.8m agreed.

Investment for Adult Social care will increase

by £7.6m, taking total spending to £11.4m. A necessary £4.3m will go toward homelessness services, whose support is vital during more extreme winters. While the £100m highway improvement programme will go ahead. Major schemes are expected to appear online this year, including £1.7m to be spent on repairing potholes.

Attempting to cope with austerity and greater demand on social services the Council has aimed to “ensure our budget continues to balance, while maintaining and investing in the vital services – from homelessness services to waste collections - that matter most to Manchester people.”

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Continued Manchester austerity leads to £12 million raid on contingency fund Shivani Kaura Deputy News Editor Manchester Town Hall officials have made the decision to cash out £12 million in reserves for an incidental expense, as the number of children being taken into care and the increase in poverty continues to rise in Greater Manchester.

Although the council have warned that this money will not last forever, their latest budget proposes to take around £12 million kept for contingency to carry on funding services for vulnerable people, as well as using one-off government grants to keep services running.

The Report for Resolution, published in 2017 and updated recently by council staff, states that there have been “significant pressures on its budgets for social care”, however as their three-

year plan comes to an end, council bosses have come to the conclusion that this is not “sustainable in the long-term”.

Recent figures show that an extra £4.5 million will be injected into helping homeless people with housing, and £500,000 will be used in services for children in care or at risk.

Last year more youngsters were referred into the system due to neglect or abuse, creating £20 million budget gap which was not accounted for, triggering added pressure to their deficit.

In the last four years, Greater Manchester has seen a ten-fold increase in the demand of temporary housing, with Town Hall officials banking around £9 million on dividends from Manchester Airport. Local authorities have around two-thirds of shares in the Manchester Airport Group, producing roughly a £39.3 million

profit in 2018 alone.

Research has shown by specialist think-tank, Centre for Cities, that northern areas, such as Manchester had to pay around £651 per person due to local government cuts over the last decade, whereas people in the south paid around £287 on average.

This follows recent promises made by Chris Grayling, Transport Secretary, to invest around £1 billion into Mancunian transport links. Residents are now wondering whether transport is the main issue that needs to be dealt with to eradicate the north-south divide, or if money should be put into emergency payments for homeless people.

An unnamed second-year History and Politics student when questioned whether they think funding should go towards the homelessness or transport, said: “Deliberating over whether the

council should invest primarily in homelessness or transport improvement is fundamentally flawed.

“The city has been shackled by a shortsighted transport policy on behalf of Westminster that had neglected the need for clear regional focus and control of future planning. An urban area the size of Greater Manchester can be equipped to deal with both of these crises, is and this is merely a financing issue.”

Despite saving around £3.4 million from the “council’s back office ‘cooperate core’ department”, by slashing the amount spent on external communication agencies, council leader Sir Richard Leese has stated that this has been “an incredibly difficult financial year to ensure out budget continues to balance, while maintaining and investing in the vital services.”

Government plans aim to crack down on ethnic disparity in universities Josh Sandiford Breaking News Reporter Universities could lose their positions on league tables if they refuse to do more to tackle ethnic disparity.

New plans announced by the government seek to ‘drive change in tackling inequalities’ between ethnic groups in higher education and put pressure on universities to do more.

According to the plans, universities will now be held to account on the extent to which they help to improve outcomes for underrepresented students. The measures are part of a crossgovernment effort to encourage universities to “explain or change” their ethnic disparities.

Universities will now have to publish data broken down by ethnicity, gender and socio-

economic background. The government hopes this will “shine a spotlight” on those making good progress and those lagging behind.

The effort to reduce ethnic disparities also includes that in research and innovation funding.

The UK reportedly only has one black, female, history professor. Universities will be encouraged to address racial disparities in their workforce, figures show only 2% of academic staff in higher education are black.

According to the University of Manchester’s Equality Information Report from 2018, 16% of the university’s staff are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and women make up 48% of its workforce.

The higher education regulator, The Office for Students, will scrutinise the ‘Access and Participation’ plans of UK universities and will

use their powers to challenge the institutions falling behind. The Office for Students also plans to develop a new website to replace Unistats, which will take the needs of disadvantaged students into account.

Figures from the Race Disparity Unit show that despite a record number of ethnic minorities attending universities, only 56% of black students achieved a First or 2:1 in the 2016/17 academic year compared to 80% of their white peers. White British low-income males remain the least likely to attend higher education.

Universities Minister Chris Skidmore said: “universities need to reflect modern Britain and ensure that everyone who has the potential, no matter their background or where they are from can thrive at university. I fully expect access and participation plans, which universities will be

drawing up this year for implementation in 202021, to contain ambitious and significant actions to make sure we are seeing material progress in this space in the next few years.

“It is one of my key priorities as the Universities Minister to ensure that I work with universities to highlight examples of best practice in widening not only access but also we redouble our efforts to tackle student dropout rates. It cannot be right that ethnic minority students are disproportionately dropping out of university and I want to do more to focus on student experience to help ethnic minority students succeed at university.”

The Mancunion has approached Manchester SU’s Liberation & Access officer Sara Khan for a comment.

Fresh guidelines on free speech at Universities published Amid fears over self-censorship by students, guidelines have been published about how free speech should be encouraged by universities Lucy Menage News Reporter A new 53-page guideline has been published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in collaboration with leading organisations across several sectors regarding how free speech should be promoted by universities.

The topic has come in to focus due to a number of incidences where certain individuals were banned from attending and speaking at universities.

In 2017, the online political magazine Spiked ranked universities in order of how far they restrict free speech. The University of Manchester

was awarded an amber rating whilst the Students’ Union was assigned red due to a higher rate of banning speakers, such as the radical feminist Julie Bindel in 2015.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights held an inquiry in to restrictions on free speech in higher education and found that although it wasn’t a wide-spread issue, there are definite concerns over self-censorship by students.

The guidelines are based on a series of core principles that everyone has the right for free speech in order to encourage debate.

The document states that this is particularly important at universities, in order for students to learn to think critically and challenge negative

viewpoints to get rid of intolerant views. Decisions about events and speakers on campus should promote free speech and protests shouldn’t be used to shutdown emotive discussions.

David Isaac, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission defended values of free speech on campuses: “the free expression and exchange of different views without persecution or interference goes straight to the heart of our democracy and is a vital part of higher education.

Holding open, challenging debates rather than silencing the views of those we don’t agree with helps to build tolerance and address prejudice and discrimination.’’

Universities must obey laws to uphold free

Photo: Vita Student @Flickr

speech by working with student unions which are not under the same legal obligations. This is particularly important regarding “safe spaces” and “no-platforming” which have the potential to restrict unpopular, but legal viewpoints.

The document also emphasises that free speech does not apply to views which promote discrimination, hatred or harassment as they are considered to be criminal.

This is the first time that the legal rights surrounding free speech have been defined in the hope of empowering universities, unions and students to stand up for free speech, which the document states is an essential component of a democratic society.

6 News

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Authorities seize 100 shisha pipes from Curry Mile shisha cafés

Photo: Manchester City Council

Claudia Hedger News Reporter Two establishments on M a n c h e s t e r ’s ‘Curry Mile’, D u b a i C a f é a n d Wa n a s a h C a f é , breached planning regulations resulting in more than 100 pipes and 30 kilograms of shisha tobacco being seized.

L andlords of three other premises, L ayali Lounge, Marmara and Cavalli L ounge, also in the Wilmslow Road area, have evicted tenants in order to avert similar illegal venture s.

Failure to prevent this could result in unlimited fines.

Shisha, or hookah, originates from India and has been found to have a multitude of negative health effects, including increased risks of heart disease and c a n c e r.

Shisha cafés themselves are not illegal, but the correct planning permission

must be obtained.

This has been the case since the 2007 ban preventing smoking for enclosed public s p a c e s . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e l a w, i f the premis e s have a ceiling then at least half of the wall space must be open if people wish to smoke amongst those premises.

The outbreak of illegal shisha cafés has been attributed to the cafés replacing premises that were previously restaurants without acquiring the relevant permission.

P r e v i o u s l y, owners were able to avoid liability through not knowing the law but due to advancements in planning enforcement powers this is no longer a valid excuse.

Executive Member for the Neighbourhoods, Councillor Rabnawaz A k b a r, said that “for too long landlords have been able to hide from their

re s p o n s i b i l i t i e s ” a n d t h a t h e ’s “pleased the loophole has now been closed”.

Councillor Angeliki Stogia, Executive Member for E nvironment, Planning and Transport, emphasized the r e a s o n i n g b e h i n d t h e l a w, s h e said: “their continued operation is a serious public health issue and this should underline our commitment to promoting happy and healthy communitie s.”

A 2005 Wo r l d Health O rga n i s at ion study revealed that one hour of shisha smoking results in inhalation of the same amount of smoke equivalent from 100+ cigarettes.

C l e a r l y, t h e e n f o r c e m e n t t e a m are taking this problem seriously and the added onus on landlords will ensure illegal shisha cafés attain the correct permission or are otherwise shut down.

Manchester Pride Bosses uphold pricing decision Substantial hikes on last year’s prices are being justified by big-name headliners, as the celebration becomes increasingly commercial

Georgia Wiltshire News Reporter Manchester Pride bosses are upholding their decision to increase ticket prices despite the s e price s having doubled since 2018, with weekend passes costing £ 70.9 5 (£64.50 plus booking fee.)

The cost of attending the weekend festival at the new Mayfield venue is a considerable escalation from the £22-28 price tag of 2018 tickets.

This decision to increase ticket prices has led to a backlash on the Manchester P ride Facebook and Twitter p age s, w it h c r it ics a rg u i ng t h at the event is ‘pricing people out of pride’ before knowing which acts are even playing the event.

Ye t , t h e b o s s e s h a v e m a d e a point of reassuring festival goe r s t h e y w i l l ge t t h e i r m o n e y ’s worth. They have claimed that 2 0 1 9 ’s M a n c h e s t e r P r i d e w i l l n o t be comparable to previous years, with the hope of producing a

sell-out show of a bigger scale than ever before, hence the venue change to Mayfield.

In a statement, Manchester Pride CEO Mark Fletcher stated, ‘ ’ We ’ v e s e e n r e c o r d f i g u r e s f o r our pre-registered ticket buyers already and tickets only went on s a l e t h i s m o r n i n g . . .w e a n t i c i p a t e the event will sell out.’’

Either side of the live shows on the 24thand 2 5thAugust there will also be events hosted within the Gay Village including street food and live music in Sackville Gardens. An alternative ticket is offered for those who wish to just attend these activities within the Gay Village at a price of £16. 50 for the weekend or £11 f o r t h e d a y.

Despite these reassurances by the bosses, fans are not conv i nce d , a rg u i ng t he cost of the tickets is taking the attention away from the celebration of pride.

Brett Herriot tweeted: ‘’So sad that @ManchesterPride are ch a rg i ng £ 70 + for top t ie r t icke t s,

the commercialisation for profit of an event that should celebrate diversity is now only for those that can afford it, shameful indeed.’’

Fu r t he r more, fa n s a rg ue d t he acts playing would have to be extremely good to justify the ticket price, Bob Hope stated that ‘’for that price if Madonna ain’t there, I ain’t there.’’

Nevertheless, Pride CEO Fletcher has contested this point, stating: ‘’as before, a number of hardship tickets will be made available for thos e facing financial hardship.’’

In fact, some fans quickly came to the defence of Pride boss e s, with Col by Jame s Davie s s t a t i n g : ‘ ’ I k n ow i t ’s a n i n c re a s e in price but don’t think people took in the words (festival) obviously more better acts etc I’ll be there.’’

Alongside the live events, Manchester Pride will include the famous parade as well as a candlelit vigil and yoga.

What do you think should be done about the Withington crime crisis?

Following the news that Withington sees more than one burglary every day, we ask the student body whatmeasures can be taken to combat the crisis “If there is the funding which allows for it, a greater police presence would help. However, I think the fact is that in a student area there’s a lot of rich students with a lot of gadgets and it’s always going to be a target for crime. It’s an unfortunate thing that happens but people just need to keep their doors locked, windows shut and have insurance on their gadgets.”

Emily Diver, German and Spanish.

“I think the university need to do more by putting more money towards their services for students.” Alex Gan, French and English Language. “[We need to] increase the number of police on the streets, or even just the university’s security team. [There needs to be] more streetlights, as I feel like it’s only the main road, Wilmslow Road/ Oxford Road, that’s well lit.

Also, making people more conscious of it [crime], especially if you come from rural areas and you’re not used to a city centre where there is more crime. There needs to be a more frequent bus service late at night as well!”

Paul Taylor, French and Spanish student.

“[Compared to Poland] You have to take big safety measures, which is inconvenient. The police can’t be everywhere, but the streets could be better lit.”

Ida Starek, Japanese and Business Management.

“I heard a statistic which said when you put a “bobby on the beat”, the chance that they’re actually going to witness a crime happening is once every 12 years, so police presence,

at the end of the day, isn’t really going to help. I think the only thing that can be done in the short term is people taking care of their things.”

Anonymous.

“The police should patrol more at night!”

Lisa Chen, Japanese Studies and English Language

Investigations 7

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

The students ready to fight back: does Fallowfield need a ‘first response’ group?

University of Manchester student suggests taking a ‘first response team’ in helping to address burglaries in Fallowfield.

Emily Broncz and Josh Sandiford Deputy News Editor and Breaking News Reporter A post on Fallowfield Students Group quickly gathered over 600 reacts after calling for a ‘first response’ group to help victims of crime in the area. Daniel Richards, a thirdyear undergraduate student at The University of Manchester, created the post on 25thJanuary, voicing concerns over the increasing number of posts featuring on the Facebook group detailing experiences of burglaries or attempted break-ins.

Daniel described how FSG acts as an important public forum for students to speak out about different aspects of criminal activity, likening the group to a “rolling news feed” of reports from students themselves. The stories represented through these posts illustrate a rich variety of outcomes, as further explained by Daniel: “I have heard some great stories of responsive, fast, kind, and caring police officers and I’ve heard stories in which the police fail to turn up.”

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The police did not arrive at her house until 18 hours later, despite calling them immediately after the incident. She said that even though her landlord did all they could to ensure the safety of her ground room floor, she “definitely doesn’t feel safe” living in Fallowfield.

Speaking about his motivation to publish the post, Daniel shared his interactions with personal accounts from his peers, both those who were friends as well as strangers: “Part of the reason I decided to question whether there was something we could do about it was that a friend told me recently that they’d been broken into for the second time in 6 weeks; they feel watched in their own home and often hear people throwing rocks at their windows to see if they’re in.”

The Mancunion contacted Katrina Monk, a Drama student at the University of Manchester, who had recently used the platform to inform others about her frightening experience with a burglar.

She said: “It was 4 am and four or five residents were in the house. Someone kicked the front door down and attempted to get [into] my housemates’ room by seeing if it was unlocked.

When he realised that it was locked, he did a run up to my room — down the hall — which was also locked and kicked the frame in. I woke up to the noise of this and he threw my [close-by] bin at me after I screamed alerting the rest of my housemates.”

She added: “He also appeared really manic like he was on drugs and screamed at me in another language. I had my laptop next to me on my bed, so I handed it [to] him and he ran out slamming the front door behind him.”

Katrina says the police did not arrive at her house until 18 hours later, despite calling them immediately after the incident. She said that even though her landlord did all they could to ensure the safety of her ground room floor, she “definitely doesn’t feel safe” living in Fallowfield.

With cases like Katrina’s, where the first steps towards a solution have been received nearly a day later, a demand has been allowed to develop for a more instant response. This is one of the most compelling factors which motivated Daniel to call for the creation of a ‘first response’ group. Examples like these show that there is little to no support currently in place for distressed students experiencing very real and shocking crime.

Opportunist thieves often look for houses which show clear signs of poor levels of security. Daniel stated that one of the most common factors seemed to be the “bare minimum security” which some landlords offered their tenants. Recounting just a few anecdotes he had read on FSG, he recalled some of the most frequent methods used by criminals: “old doors being kicked in or flimsy, glass-panelled doors being smashed, gates kicked down, and even people climbing through really poorly placed windows.” The police offer advice on their website as to how to improve security around doors and windows. Bars offer a greater level of strength when combined with locks on doors, laminated glass can aid in making glass panes on doors less vulnerable, and key operated locks can be fitted to most windows.

A concern shared by many students is what can they do in the window between the crime taking place and the matter being taken into the hands of the police, council, and their landlord. According to GMP, burglaries in the Fallowfield area made up 15.5% of all reported crimes committed in the area in 2018, with 1405 cases altogether being recorded. Worryingly, out of a total of the 6636 reported cases, which also includes robbery and theft as well as sexual violence, 86.04% received no further action. Only 123 offenders were dealt with at court, which amounted to 1.59% of reported criminal acts ending in this outcome.

Daniel shared his view that it was important to offer help to students for who had not been afforded the luxury of having a support network around them: “…most people who are victims of crime would call friends, talk to housemates…

some people don’t have this…especially at the beginning and end of terms when there might only be one or two people in a large house.” In outlining his main objectives for the project, he was keen to stress that the central idea behind the group was not “to take over the role of policing,” but instead “be there to give support and advice to victims.”

“

Worryingly, out of a total of the 6636 reported cases, which also includes robbery and theft as well as sexual violence, 86.04% received no further action. Only 123 offenders were dealt with at court, which amounted to 1.59% of reported criminal acts ending in this outcome.

In a statement released to The Mancunion by GMP, Chief Inspector Fahar Zaman stressed that as such a project like this had not fully been “organised in conjunction with the police,” they were not in a position to “advocate people taking the law into their own hands.” Speaking further on the matter, Zaman explained that whilst “intelligence-led community policing” is useful to the police and that they “appreciate” the fact that many students in the area wish to help, these projects would first have to clear any “appropriate safeguarding protocols.”

This was an issue which Daniel also fully acknowledged: “sufficient checks and balances [are needed] to ensure that we do not put potentially dangerous or badly intentioned volunteers in positions where they have access to vulnerable people or victims of crime.”

The police also claimed that having student volunteers working alongside the police would be a possible method of allowing them to “work closer with the community.” Daniel suggested that there may be opportunities to blend the work of previously established projects, such as the University’s Nightline, a student-operated nighttime telephone service, and local renter’s union ACORN. He also commented that a “public meeting” could be hosted in the coming weeks to see which facilities are used and what could be implemented to further help students.

8 Science & Tech

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

UoM researchers develop cheap graphene inks A Manchester-based research team have developed a potentially groundbreaking method for producing graphene Anand Knox Contributor A Manchester-based research group has developed a new, potentially ground-breaking method for producing graphene ink by utilising the environmentally safe and sustainable solvent: Cyrene.

Windows that act as solar panels; plasters that monitor wounds in real time and apply dressing to aid healing when necessary; military uniforms capable of detecting threats, monitoring health, and adapting camouflage…

These inventions may seem like sci-fi, but they are in fact rapidly becoming a reality thanks to new developments in the field of printed electronics.

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These inventions may seem like sci-fi, but they are in fact rapidly becoming a reality

Printed electronics are just what they sound like – electrical devices created by printing in conductive ink. They can be printed onto almost any surface: glass, plastic, or even skin. These circuits make it possible to connect everyday objects to each other, allowing them to be remotely monitored and controlled via the internet.

This idea of connecting inanimate objects is broadly referred to as the ‘Internet of Things’. It is already seeing much application in industry, with experts predicting over 50% of new businesses being

run on the Internet of Things by 2020. But traditionally connecting these objects has required the use of expensive microchips.

Printed electronics potentially provide a much cheaper and quicker alternative. The rapidly growing sector of printed electronics is expected to be worth around $43 billion (£33 billion) by 2020.

Printed electronics work by printing with ink that can conduct electricity. Most conductive inks currently in use rely on metal nano-particles for their high electrical conductivity. These inks can be expensive to manufacture, and are often prone to decomposition.

Graphene-based inks offer greater electrical conductivity and are less prone to the defects of typical conductive inks. Graphene, first isolated by the research group of Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov in 2006, has a unique structure. It exists as a giant 2D sheet of carbon atoms, one atom thick. This structure results in remarkable properties such as high tensile strength and high conductivity. These properties mean graphene is the focus of much research aimed at creating so-called ‘next generation’ materials.

Unfortunately, graphene only has these properties when in sheet form. In bulk, it tends to clump together and lose these desired properties. The development of conductive inks and other graphene-based technologies has been subdued because it is currently impossible to produce sheet graphene on a mass scale. Most production methods require the use of industrial solvents, many of which are highly toxic, and are potentially very harmful to the environment. These solvents allow graphene sheets to be separated out in solution.

The Manchester-based study utilises a much more environmentally friendly solvent: Cyrene. Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study found that using this recently developed solvent, ink containing a high concentration of pure sheet graphene can be produced.

Cyrene can be easily and cheaply produced from biomass, and it exhibits none of the hazardous drawbacks that its industrial equivalents display. The study shows that Cyrene performs the same (if not better) than traditional chemical solvents in the production of graphene. This means by using Cyrene, graphene inks can be produced in larger quantities, requiring less waste management. Researcher Professor Zhiurn Hu stated that, “this work demonstrates

that printed graphene technology can be low cost, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.”

Graphene technology development has also been held back by a general lack of market uptake. Simply put, a product has not yet been invented that is exciting enough to bring graphene-based technologies into the mainstream. The paper’s lead author, Kewen Pan, suggests that their method could be “a significant step towards commercialisation of printed graphene technology”. While the technology still has a way to go before becoming commercially viable, this study is a big step in the right direction.

Photo: National Graphene Institute

The big problem of micro-plastics in Manchester Photo: Trosmisiek @ Wikimedia Commons

The University has recently been funded to solve the issue of plastic consumption and the prevalence of micro-plastics in urban environments Ella Gerry Contributor In mid-December 2018, the University of Manchester announced it would be leading a new government-backed programme against plastic pollution, named ‘Rethinking Resources and Recycling’. It is one of eight, million pound projects funded by PRIT (Plastics Research Innovation Fund), which aim to rethink how we produce, use, and recycle our plastics.

The project is set to start in early 2019 and aims to reduce demand for plastic and decrease its consumption within the city. It will also work on the development of cleaner polymers, as well as methods of soft plastic recycling and micro-plastic removal.

This news comes off the back of a study revealing water samples from a river in Greater Manchester had the highest level of micro-plastic pollution ever recorded anywhere in the world.

This research, conducted by the University of Manchester, also shed light on how the high levels of pollution in urban rivers are washed out to the sea. After flooding in the area, micro-plastic levels dropped dramatically, with most of the plastic believed to be transferred to marine environments.

Micro-plastics are classed as small fragments of plastic less than five millimetres in length. They can come from the degradation of products such as plastic bags or straws, or even be manufactured

in the form of micro-beads, found in many toothpastes and face scrubs.

Once entered into the environment, micro-plastics can take up to 450 years to decompose, and are often ingested by organisms such as zooplankton. These micro-plastics can build up in the food chain and have been found at high levels in fish brains and other marine animals. This is worrying given our huge reliance on seafood for many of our diets.

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Once entered into he environment, micro-plastics can take up to 450 years to decompose

However, contamination doesn’t stop at food. A study looking at contamination of water sources has found that 83% of tap water samples taken from around the world contained plastic fibres. With micro-plastics even being found in the air we breathe, its obtrusion seems unavoidable.

So should we be worried? At the moment nobody really knows.

Many studies are looking into the extent of the damage caused by consumption of micro-plastics, however, it remains a topic of debate.

There also appears to be limited scope for avoiding such plastics entering our bodies.

We do, however, have the power to reduce its presence in the products we buy. Avoiding synthetic clothing, glitter, and wet wipes are just some of the ways we can lower our micro-plastic footprint.

The extent of the spread of micro-beads in everyday products may make this difficult, but avoiding products with ingredients such as polyethylene and nylon can help you make more eco-friendly choices. This is made easier by ‘Beat the microbead’, a movement that offers a list of products which do or do not contain microplastics.

But in order for drastic differences to be made, these problems must be solved on a larger scale, such is the goal of projects proposed

by PRIT and the University of Manchester. Research and funding into plastic consumption and the development of viable solutions or alternatives could help Manchester achieve a cleaner and more plastic-free future.

Features 9

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Don’t Cramp My Style:

breaking the silence of period poverty Period poverty is starting to gain national notoriety, and Freya Slack is part of the conversation associated with it Anuli Changa Theatre editor Freya Slack, is the creator of Don’t Cramp My Style, a Manchester-based arts platform tackling the taboo of periods and the issues those who have periods face. Don’t Cramp My Style’s first event on the 22nd January was raising money The Red Box Charity, Manchester.

When asked about the beginnings of Don’t Cramp My Style, Freya told me about spotting a magazine a few years ago whilst on a train, the front cover featuring articles on period poverty.

Freya explained that she had “never thought” of period poverty before and did not know it existed. Freya still has that magazine and has read it “again and again”.

Freya explained that she ruminated over the issues she’d learnt about around period poverty. As an artist, she felt a need to respond to the issue and go beyond words. At the time, as an Interactive Arts student at MMU, Freya just began embroidery and created art inspired by period poverty and breaking the taboo. This along with events such as the Bodyform advert ‘Blood Normal’ – which was the first to show ‘blood’ in the sanitary product advert (as opposed to the ‘traditional’ blue liquid) – accumulated in Freya’s interest in raising awareness for period poverty.

However, it wasn’t until recently, in her third year of her degree, that Freya confirmed that she wants to “go into inclusive education” and period poverty was the place to start.

“If we’re not teaching mental health then let’s start in public bathrooms” – and Freya is true to her word, putting booklets with

information on periods in pockets on the back of toilet doors, opening the conversation up to discuss and support those who experience periods.

Freya explained that she didn’t intend her work to be political but her anger about the invisibility of period poverty ad efforts to change this meant it “did become political” and she has since embraced this.

Don’t Cramp My Style the event went from a single Facebook post, to 30 replies in a matter of minutes. Freya explained her practical incredulity at the reach of that single post, with it being shared to the point that performers/artists from beyond Manchester were in contact seeking to get involved.

Freya explained that the multitude of responses “made [her] realise…there are no platforms” to tackle period poverty. Instagram comments and posts with #periodpoverty only goes so far, “a face to face platform is needed” for people to have conversations and express themselves.

Freya explained that the name, Don’t Cramp My Style, came from need for a fun name to sit alongside so many other great names for organisations in this area alone – like Bloody Good Period. I asked Freya why she felt art of all different kinds was the best medium to express these issues and break the stigmas around conversations about periods. Freya replied “when I think of art, I think of art therapy… art is its own language”, creating art of all forms is a kind of therapy to accept there are problems and begin to solve them.

Don’t Cramp My Style’s first event has already taken place and to great success.

Photo: Sammy O’Brien

The event, held at The Peer Hat, includes beautiful artwork, “grotesque burlesque”, spoken word and more, raising £300 for Red Box to buy all manner of sanitary products, underwear and toiletries. I wanted to know what Freya envisioned for the event. She explained that she wanted a variety of different people and different perspectives because this is how we educate people. The goal of the show was the different pieces would speak to and connect with different people in different ways.

Freya was determined to be representative and diverse in the event. This included trans artists and a male performance about period sex, all helping to normalising how periods stand in society, such as in relationships. Freya’s simple comment: “If you date me, then you date my period”.

Freya has acknowledged that there is further to go with the next event; she par-

ticularly wants the next venue to be more accessible, opening up the conversation around periods and disability, as well as issues and infections caused by unmanaged periods in cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Speaking matter-of-factly, Freya recognised that “baby steps” are needed in this area. She identified the start being all those who qualify for free school meals, should receive free sanitary product, ultimately leading to free sanitary products as accessible as condoms are today.

This is clearly just the beginning of Don’t Cramp My Style and the work being done to bring period conversations out of the shadows.

Behind the scenes at Fuse TV We take a look behind the scenes at Fuse TV, which now features a wide-ranging portfolio of news programming, drunken debate, and comedy decoration Isabel Oldman Design Editor Tucked away on the first floor of the Students’ Union building, you can find the University of Manchester’s very own Hollywood.

If the question is ‘where can I get hard hitting news, entertainment updates, and a biting satire of the student experience all in one place?’, Fuse

Photo: Hannah Wardle Image: ITAK_studio / 14 images @Pixabay

TV is the answer. The TV station is part of the Manchester Media Group family along with The Mancunion and Fuse FM. From its humble beginnings in the Students’ Union basement in which it had “one computer”, Fuse TV has risen through the ranks to become the place where high quality video-based content and inclusive access to production meet.

In their toasty new office, Station Manager Annie Costello and Deputy Station Manager Jenna Brannock recount the history of the station.

“Last year not a lot of people knew about Fuse TV, who we were, and what we could do so it was a very small membership base.

“This year we’ve moved upstairs, we haven’t got any windows, [but] the SU invested some money in us and we’ve got some new equipment. We definitely pushed harder in a good way and believed that we could achieve more, we spend a lot of time trying to help and develop people and their ideas and their abilities.”

In their new home, the two explain how a TV series can come to

life. “We start with some kind of light bulb moment,” Jenna explains. “You’ve got to create the vision from beginning to end, the visuals, the character of the programmes, titles, also locations and boring stuff”.

“Jenna is good at the light bulb moment,” adds Annie. “At two o’clock in the morning she’ll shoot up with new ideas and come in the next morning and expect us to do it. So it starts with the idea and we take it through, see how feasible it is and try and recruit a team who’s interested in it as well.”

One of Fuse TV’s principal productions is the weekly Fuse News, “a campus-based, student-based” news programme that this year’s team have continued and expanded. “We’ve created a little news brand at Fuse TV,” says General Secretary and Head of News, Hannah Wardle.

“Now we have our entertainment news, which is The Hot Take and we also have a news show which has gone through a bit of a refurb. It’s now turned into a politics panel show called The State of It.” But the seemingly serendipitous creation of video-based content does not come without hard work, and Fuse TV stress the importance of collaboration and the freedom to dabble in any and all aspects of video production. “[We cater for] anyone who wants to do anything. If they want to do a bit of camera work, a bit of editing, a bit of presenting, a bit of background running they can do whatever they want, they

can swap, they can change, just give it a go,” Annie explains.

“You can come to Fuse TV with anything, you can just come to have a bit of fun, or make a funny video, or you can come and build a portfolio and set your CV up with all these skills.

“We are dedicated, we stick around.”

The group explain that team spirit is at heart of Fuse TV, particularly because it necessitates a lighthearted attitude. “Everything has to be a team [effort],” says Jenna. “It’s really hard to make a TV show by yourself. Fuse TV is all a team so you have to make sure it’s somewhat enjoyable.”

This includes Fuse TV’s drunken debate show, Slurred Lines, in which its participants get drunk and discuss the moment’s most pressing topics. “I just thought we should do a programme with ordinary people in it to get more views,” says Jenna. “Everyone is entertaining when [they’re] drunk so we added that in and we went with the very basic principle of arguing about frivolous things. And that was Slurred Lines. The title came and then I was convinced.”

In the next semester, Fuse TV will have more to come, including an “unscripted comedy decoration show” which sees Hannah and Jenna parody the home improvement genre, going into students’ homes and setting themselves the challenge of doing it up with whatever meagre budget their victims give them. “It’s a whole new genre,” Jenna explains. “There’s some bold new characters coming to Fuse.”

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

10 Opinion Photo: marneejill @ Flickr

The cold, hard, plastic truth

Cara Conte argues that the damage caused to our oceans by plastic waste is not just going to be solved by re-usable straws and shopping bags Cara Conte Contributor The topic of plastic waste is unavoidable, and shedding light on the current situation is a good thing, right? Well, the truth is, we humans appear to have a ravenous appetite for destruction, and despite what any company or government might drill into us, avid recycling and skipping on plastic straws every so often isn’t going to rectify the damage we have done.

Alongside mass plastic waste, our situation at present is one of over-fishing; we are depleting the stock of fish in the oceans by fishing at a rate quicker than the natural population can replace. It’s a profitable practice, and has increased considerably to keep up with the rate at which we as a society eat fish. Today we consume roughly twice as much fish

as we did 50 years ago, but not without severe consequences.

Scientists warn that by 2048, a serious decline in all types of fish (a prospect for which the term ‘fishless oceans’ has been coined) may happen if no changes are made.

In this era of mass consumption and constant drive for profit, corporations and avaricious politicians appease us with the do-good feeling of buying a reusable water bottle or ditching plastic for paper. Why wouldn’t they?

It’s certainly easier than addressing the wider, imminent problem.

What they won’t tell you is that approximately 46% of the plastic waste posing a threat to our oceans and marine life, around 640,000 tonnes, comes from fishing nets, and miscellaneous items of discarded fishing equipment make up much of the rest.

Bycatch is another serious threat to marine life. This is a product of over-fishing whereby, as reported by WWF, 38.5 million tonnes of animals, including turtles, sharks and dolphins are caught unintentionally each year. They’re tossed back into the sea, usually dead or dying.

Clearly, the problem is not just caused by our straws, plastic bags, and make-up, but by the fishing industry as a whole. The alarming rate of loss of marine life is the result of an industry built upon the exploitation of delicate natural ecosystems, which are now in peril.

Biodiversity is a finite phenomenon, and we’ve already tapped too far into the ocean’s vital resources. Fisheries have been pushed beyond their biological limits at the hands of the demand for fish, and are predicted to collapse by 2050 unless dramatic changes are

made.

Human greed is almost insatiable, but not unstoppable. In my opinion, it is the only thing standing in the way of us as a society and a move to a more sustainable planet. In our modern, Westernised culture there is no need to rely on meat and fish for protein or taste. We have available, more than ever before, a broad range of more nutritional, maintainable food alternatives that require we look no further than the local supermarket. Everyone, even students can live an affordable and rewarding meat and fish-free life.

Helping to decrease the global demand for fish and meat products is the most proactive change you as an individual could make to help reverse the damage we have done. Don’t wait around for the big money-making corporations to wake up, it may be too late.

University’s worth it Mia Edwards argues that University offers much more than just education, and the many opportunities to socialise and develop available to students are the most valuable aspect of a degree Mia Edwards Contributor In recent years, growing resentment over increased university tuition fees has led many to challenge the idea that obtaining a degree is a necessary career step. Thousands of prospective undergraduates are opting instead to pursue apprenticeships, or to develop their careers within a company.

This is entirely understandable; university is not affordable for many, and for others there are sufficient professional opportunities elsewhere that demand no fees in return for boosted career prospects.

The commodification of education is outrageous, but academic development is not the sole service that universities boast. Unlike school, our campus provides opportunities to develop independence, interpersonal

skills, and your CV. My high school in West Sussex had no school paper, no societies, and no employment networks. Our socials were run by those popular pupils whose notoriety meant that they had easy access to positions of power, so events were tailored to their social groups’ preferences. If we wanted help with our CVs, we were sent to a nearby school where the advice was better.

Here, I can run for leadership positions whenever I choose. I have influence. I can invest time in my interests and feel heard. I can actively help to organise social events where I can meet people who have similar preferences to me. I can write for a paper, record a radio show, try a new sport, start any society that I please. If I want help with getting work experience, there is an entire team dedicated to helping me do so. I can access training ma-

terials, workshops and speeches. I can watch debates and meet experts in their respective fields.

Those who were privately educated might be less excited by these opportunities. When I told a friend about my interests in feminism and my disappointment in my school’s lack of focus on it, she replied: ‘Why didn’t you just start a society?’

To me, this was laughable. My school had no societies. Private schools are constructed to encourage the same independence and opportunities as university. I do not mean to undermine state schools, but rather to emphasise that lectures are not the only component of university that I pay for.

Independence is also encouraged through self-catering halls, an academic structure which requires self-organisation,

and constant situations where you can meet new people. University aids the development of employable character traits. Whilst I do not condone the excessive costs of my degree, it is important to note that there are many ways to take advantage of the facilities here that have no relevance to coursework or exams.

Of course, we should strive for equal educational opportunities which involves protesting the elitism that university fees encourage. But whilst we campaign, we should focus on the chances presented to us to take part in new activities and acquire skills that would be a lot harder to develop elsewhere.

Remember the privileged position that we are in. Do not ignore the options surrounding you that will never be so readily available again. Perhaps we are not getting our money’s worth; get your opportunity’s worth instead.

Opinion 11

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

What is ‘political correctness’ for, apart from enraging Piers Morgan?

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Oliver Storey argues that political correctness is a force for good, but has been taken over by the likes of Piers Morgan Photos: Piers Morgan: Cow PR @ Flickr, Locker Room: lee @ Flickr, Gillette Razor: Crisco 1492 @ Wikimedia Commons

Oliver Storey Contributor The recent Gillette advert can be hailed as a testament to a society prepared to challenge outdated norms that damage the health and well-being of society. For some, it was an example of positive ‘political correctness’.

Others, such as Piers Morgan, however, chose to internalise the advert’s message. He, and many others across social media, perceived the advert as a direct attack on their own attitudes and behaviours. He chose to self-obsess and react in outrage dominating the discourse on a subject that was never about Piers Morgan.

The advert highlights the negative culture of misogynistic and toxic masculinity. Culture, however, is a shared sense of society’s individual beliefs and cannot be designated to individuals.

Therefore, people unwittingly appease a culture of toxic masculinity, perpetuating the damaging consequences for society.

By not targeting individual behaviour, but collective attitudes, the advert’s primary message is directed to the victims of this culture. The bullied lad, the sexually harassed girl, and even the toxic ‘male’ character; they all grow up to become victims of this damaging culture.

Would Donald Trump be the same man he is if his “locker room” antics had not been placated by his peers? Would Harvey Weinstein have been allowed to sexually assault so many women if they didn’t believe it was required to further their career, in an industry partly defined by toxic masculinity? We need a frank discussion and confrontation of these unacceptable principles so our culture can grow beyond its current state.

Unfortunately, ‘political correctness’ has become a dirty phrase. Subjective alternatives

should not replace dogmatic irrationality so arrogantly, however virtuous they may seem. For example, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council banned the use of the word brainstorm, as it offends epileptics. A survey carried out by the Epilepsy Society in 2005 found that the term is “not offensive to the vast majority of people with epilepsy”.

We forget that the purpose of political correctness is to engage those with different views in conversation, not to shout down contrary perspectives. How can liberals hope to supersede outdated views if they apply their own in an arbitrary manner? Both sides of this argument should try to understand the others’ thought process, while maintaining composure and integrity.

The legitimacy of ‘political correctness’ suffers due to some obnoxious uses of it. The Spice Girl’s recent promotion of a women’s empowerment campaign paid female workers 35p an hour to make the campaign’s t-shirts. This ‘virtue

signalling’ is an act of expressing solidarity with ‘woke’ youth for popularity while doing nothing or little to support their cause.

Ironically, Piers Morgan himself was virtue signalling on Good Morning Britain when he chose to express solidarity with “masculine men” that he says the advert portrays as “evil”. It is easier and entirely more popular to be outraged and strong-minded on a subject that actually requires a measured and more respectful intellectual response.

Piers sadly misses the point that ‘political correctness’ is not about an individual’s virtue or offence, it is not for forcing new rules and ideas on people, and it does not grant moral superiority. It is a way of approaching conversations that help change individual attitudes, which in turn transform our collective culture; increasing the protection and expressionism of the most vulnerable in society.

Cachella Smith suggests that Liam Neeson’s excuse for his racist comments and actions is insufficient and actually racist in itself Cachella Smith Deputy Opinion Editor

Racism, actually Photo: Georges Biard @ Wikimedia Commons

Actor Liam Neeson has denied accusations of racism following a confession of intent to kill any black man who provoked him in an interview published in The Independent last Monday. His New York premiere of Cold Pursuit has since been cancelled.

Lemn Sissay, Chancellor of The University of Manchester, has been engaging with the matter on Twitter, tweeting: “flick Liam-dust from each shoulder and walk away”, amongst other comments.

Neeson’s claim was made as part of an anecdote from around 40 years ago when he walked around in the hope of harming a black person. His intention was formed with a motive of vengeance for the rape of a close friend by a black man. He actively ventured more than once into what he termed ‘black areas in the city’, equipped with a weapon.

The explanation, or excuse, given to ABC’s Good Morning America was that had the perpetrator been of any nationality, citing a Brit and a Lithuanian amongst others, his reaction would have been the same. This is an explanation which, however, fails hideously in my eyes to redeem him from an accusation of racism.

Branching into the Oxford Dictionary, we can define racism as belief that all members of each race possess characteristics specific to that race.

Projecting, in the way that Neeson does, the crime of one man onto another, due to the common colour of their skin is fundamentally racist whether the race in question is British, Lithuanian, Nigerian, or any other.

Neeson digs his hole further with ABC suggest-

ing that political correctness is a thin layer covering latent bigotry. He even suggested his claim was designed to encourage a discourse on racism.

There is no argument as to whether Neeson’s initial actions and statement were racist. There is little room for manoeuvre when a wealthy white man admits to wandering the streets with the intention of harming any unknown black person for the sheer sake of it.

My claim however is that even in his attempts to refute this idea he continues to uphold a racist discourse that is damaging to our society today. To shrug off his own claim with the suggestion that people only pretend to be politically correct, refuting the danger that he posed to innocent people with the response “they could have killed me too, at the time”, and blaming his “primal hatred”, all abhorrently continue to construct the average black person as the enemy.

Significantly his choice of ‘primal’ takes us back to our first stages of evolution. An adjective that, yes, alludes to an archaic human nature, but at the same time conjures up the need of a fight for survival.

John Barnes took an interesting stance, suggesting that the power of Neeson’s story was not in his actions or thoughts, but his ability to recognise his actions were wrong and denounce the society which gave them to him. Barnes however only allows Neeson to once more use racism to excuse racism.

It becomes no longer a question of whether Neeson’s justification is enough to absolve him of his racist comments last week, let alone his racist actions forty years ago, but now a question of how exactly Neeson can justify his justification.

What exactly does it say about society when the apology for racism is racism itself?

12 Societies

Five reasons to pick up your old instrument and join a music society

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

This semester, why not pick up your old instrument and give the Choir and Orchestra society a go?

Ellie Martin Contributor

Usually, whenever we are asked “do you play a musical instrument?” on a date or during an icebreaker, the answer is “oh I used to play the such and such, but I never practised”.

Thousands of disregarded instruments are collecting dust in our old rooms at home, looking forlorn, and causing pangs of guilt every time we glance at them. Memories of reluctant hours spent sat at the keyboard or repeating scales over and over again relentlessly, usually under the watchful eye of a parent or at least the shouts of “I can’t hear you playing!” from downstairs.

There’s all this, and then there’s the searing regret of how cool it would have been have truly mastered the instrument and be able to play the piano at Oxford Road Station to impress friends or form a band with flatmates mostly for a bit of craic, but actually to show off your amazing skills a little as well.

Well, I’m here to tell you it’s not too late!

Before I tell you my five reasons to unleash your instrument from its dusty shackles, I just want to recognise how hard it can be to stay motivated with an instrument.

Luckily, the Choir and Orchestra Society can help with their new repertoire as Semester Two kicks in. New members are wel-

come to rehearsals, so if you play an instrument that you could find in an orchestra, head on down! And if you don’t, contact their committee, you never know what score they might be able to pull from the depths of their library that could accommodate you.

The first reason why you should pick your old instrument up is that it teaches you discipline and patience which you may have never mastered as a child, and could really benefit your results. You might find that going over a passage or scale one day you might see no improvement at all, but the next day you go over the same thing again and suddenly you’re near perfect at it. Our brains are really good at problem solving in the background, so while you may see no improvement for a while, your brain is sorting it out. These skills are completely transferable to uni life. Having practised getting through the frustration of not getting something right for a while, but knowing your brain’s on the task can really help come revision time.

It will also make you a master of time management. Organising yourself to get time to practice, even 10 minutes a day, or half an hour every other day, takes a bit of planning to get done. Another reason why I personally didn’t reach my musical goals was because every week, while I’d always had the intention to prac-

Event Preview: Disco WIMferno Put on your dancing shoes as Women in Media hold their latest fundraiser Chloe Hatton Societies Editor Looking for something to beat those Monday blues?

You’re in luck, because the Women in Media team are hosting their second fundraiser, Disco WIMferno on Monday, 18th February, at Indigo in Withington.

It’ll be raising funds for the Women in

Media Conference in March, showcasing some top women in the media industry who’ll be hosting a whole range of panels, talks, and workshops. If you’re interested in a career in the media, it’s definitely an event you do not want to miss.

But, before we jump ahead to March, let’s focus on the 18th of February. The night promises some of the very best of disco, funk, and house which, let’s face it, is guaranteed to be a winner.

tice, my lesson would come around and I’d not picked up my cello once.

It’s also good for your brain, seriously!

Speaking from personal experience, I found that picking my instrument back up at uni made me feel way more receptive to my classes.

While practising scales for 20 minutes or so and working on a piece for another 10 every other evening, I was so much more capable of taking on new ideas in my lectures. I was far more able to grasp the more technical elements of French grammar classes, something I had really struggled with before. It wasn’t a magical fix and didn’t make me an overnight genius, but I was able to absorb new information more quickly and comfortably. Just like exercising makes, walking up Uni Place stairs easier, practising will improve your results.

It’s a winner for your mental health. I’ve never been someone who can meditate; I hate being left in the company of my own thoughts, and the idea of ‘clearing my mind’ is completely alien to me. However, giving my brain the task of focusing on something else, not passively watching Netflix, but actively working on playing and memorising a scale or mastering a particular passage in a piece, takes me out of my head and allows my mind to be ‘clear’. I’m listening to the sounds I’m making, I’m zoned in on what my fingers are doing, and in the meantime my On the decks will be Fortysept – the founder of big bro events, the home of Discopia.

Joining Fortysept will Manchester-based DJ duo Sood x Kiana. Kiana has played at Partisan Collective twice for All Hands On Deck – an all female DJ collective – and was featured at the MisogynyisHate night last semester. Masood Saloo, alias Sood, also produces and dropped his debut track earlier this year.

Tickets for the night are an absolute steal at only £4, so there’s absolutely no excuse not to get on your dancing shoes. Doors open at 10pm and you can dance the night away to your heart’s content until 2am, which is perfect for getting to your Tuesday morning classes.

Bella Jewell, Co-Chair, said: “Our disco themed fundraiser’s proceeds will go towards putting together a truly fantastic conference. The conference itself promises to be an opportunity to learn from some of the best women in their industry.

“The diverse nature of our timetable, packed with panels, workshops, speeches and more will

Photo: Tom Harrison

head has space to process other things. It gives your mind some room to think and go through whatever it needs to. Yes, the practice itself you might not find ‘relaxing’, more likely frustrating, but you are giving your mind a break. This means less stress overall, which can be very helpful come exam time.

Finally, it’s fun! As I’ve just said, once you’re passed the frustrating bit and at the part where you can play a couple of your favourite songs on your guitar, or you’ve actually mastered the piece you’ve been working on for ages, you get that sweet sweet satisfaction of being able to play something with no faults. It’s also just really cool to be able to play an instrument to a decent level, and you can let that smugness fuel you onto the next harder goal. Not only that, but joining a music society will also let you meet great friends that you can practise with and who can help you when you do reach those frustrating parts.

Whether you’re joining to practise in a group, you just love the idea of playing in a concert, or you just really want to to along to the socials, it’s definitely worth it.

If you fancy playing with other people, why not head down to the Choir and Orchestra Society, or CAOS as it’s affectionately known. There’s no audition but, as a member, I’d say you’d need to be of around Grade Five or above standard to play, especially for tune instruments. Check out their Facebook page for more details. cover a vast variety of areas, from investigative journalism to PR and communications. There is something for everybody, so make sure to buy a ticket for the fundraiser and conference if you can!”

All the funds raised will go towards the Women in Media conference and, in turn, any profits from the conference are being donated to MASH (Manchester Action on Street Health), a charity offering advice and support to sex workers in Manchester. They run a drop-in Centre in the ‘beat’ area, visit women in massage parlours and take the MASH mobile drop-in van out, late at night, around the streets of Manchester and Cheetham Hill to reach women sex working on the streets.

So, not only will you get a weekend of inspiring talks from women in media, you’ll also be helping to raise vital funds to protect some of Manchester’s most in need.

For more information and tickets for Disco WIMferno, visit the event page on Facebook.

Rainbow of Culture

Head down to Manchester Academy for a cultural extravaganza

Malay Language and Culture Society Guest Submission Get ready to join in a fun-filled and exciting fiesta, Rainbow of Culture, at Manchester Academy on Wednesday, 20th February 2019.

Rainbow of Culture (RoC): Embrace the Diversity is an idea introduced by Malay Language and Culture Society (MALECS), aiming to promote Malaysia as an example of a harmonious multicultural country to an international audience. The three majority races in Malaysia create an exciting combination of Chinese, Malay, and Indian cultures.

One of Malaysia’s unique features is its cultural diversity, a major attraction factor for tourism. In the current global state, tension and conflicts can often exist between different groups, either in racial, religious, or political aspects. In light of this, the Rainbow of Culture event aims to unite people and encourage them to learn more

about other races through a holistic appreciation.

If you are somebody who loves a fusion of cultures, this event will definitely be a hit with you! This event, held in Manchester Academy, will showcase Malaysian cultures through live performances, arts and crafts exhibitions, food, and traditional games, all representing different aspects of the Malaysian community. Our famous traditional outfits will also be showcased on a runaway, accompanied by music and dance, as one of the event highlights!

If you’re not yet sold, we’ll also have astonishing batik-canting (an art activity), a traditional fashion show, and dances. What’s not to love?

The spectacle will start at 4:30 pm, with a surprise element, and end at 8:00 pm.

Remember, you still have two weeks left to plan your evening and make sure you head down to the Academy! Mark your calendar and pop

in because we have so much amazing art, and entertainment ranging from fashion to fun games and everything in between. This will definitely leave you with the most amazing memories and – just what every student loves – freebies. Check our Facebook page out to find out more on RoC. In case you haven’t heard about us before, MALECS is an organisation registered under Education Malaysia UK (EM), United Kingdom & Eire Council of Malaysian Students (UKEC), and University of Manchester. MALECS is the first society in the United Kingdom, founded on 23rd April 2013, to uphold and elevate Malay language and culture. Rainbow of Culture is one of MALECS’ flagship events. It has also become our most awaited event as it was successfully held last year, and was incredibly popular. It’s obtained a lot of support and positive feedback from both the volunteers and the visitors, which is why MALECS has chosen to run RoC both this

year and in the future.

Alongside this opportunity we would like to say a huge thank you to our sponsors GPS Lands, Azie Kitchen, and UKEC, who are helping make this event possible.

Don’t come alone, bring your friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances to this exciting and inspiring event. Entrance is free for all.

We are looking forward to seeing you soon!

If you want to know more about event, please feel free to visit our Facebook and Instagram event pages.

Photo: @malecsmanchester

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ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Music

Your guide to some of Manchester’s Hottest Upcoming events Contributor Andrew Fowler highlights some of Manchester’s most exciting upcoming events now that we’re settled back into second semester

Whether we like it or not; the Christmas break is over. You’ve been down the pub for weeks, making promises of revision that never happened, you’ve feasted on more Terry’s chocolate oranges than anyone ever should, but now we’re back. Hopefully, you’ve settled back in, sat (and perhaps failed) some exams and probably repeated “fine thanks, how was yours?” to every course-mate, housemate, and just-mate in Manchester. Week one has commenced, you’re already steamrolled by the workload, but let’s make the sensible decision to neglect all that and party like a refresher again!

“

Exams are over.

The chances are you partied deep into Monday morning, coming to regret that when the alarm went off for your first 9am

“

Exams are over. The chances are you partied deep into Monday morning, coming to regret that when the alarm went off for your first 9am. Last week kicked off the new semester in style, with Manchester seeing a whole host of musicians perform from Edinburgh’s unique rap trio ‘Young Fathers’ to the ominous and progressive London guitar band ‘Black Midi’ and ethereal electronic mastermind ‘Richard Spaven’; but let’s all be honest most of us were probably either in bed recovering from the night before or unwittingly on our way to 42s.

Club nights worthy of note would include Baxter Dury’s sterling performance on the decks at YES giving us the best that French disco and electronic has to offer, or the slightly heavier ‘Serial Killaz’ and ‘Ed Solo’ which was sweatier than Johnny Vegas in a Catholic confessional. However, the most important global musical development of last week has to be Ariana Grande’s latest tattoo, the Japanese text of which was meant to read ‘7 Rings’, a homage to a single of hers, instead reads ‘Barbeque Grill’ – which in my eyes, signifies 2019s going to be a good one.

Now, semester two has begun, in week one your boring mates are already using work as an excuse to not go out and we’ve all started looking to summer for our next sight of fun. Don’t be beaten so quickly – Manchester still has plenty of amazing gigs and club nights coming up which deserve some attention. In the way of gigs, we have lairy, psych-rock band ‘Psychedelic Porn Crumpets’ doing a headline show in YES which will be one to see, ‘Her’s’ hitting up Band On The Wall, ‘The Lemon Twigs’ performing at O2 Ritz, and ‘Willie J Healy’ all in the next month. For something a bit more unusual I’d recommend checking out legendary ‘DJ Foods’ multi-sensory exploration into the back catalogue of perhaps one of electronic music’s most pioneering and influential groups ‘Kraftwerk’. If you’re really into planning ahead may I recommend ‘Nubya Garcia’ and ‘Vels Trio’s’ gig at Band On The Wall, and ‘Joel Culpepper’ as absolute must-sees in March?

If all that’s not enough to tickle your pickle, or you want to enjoy fantastic music from the comfort of your cold, dark uni room, don’t worry, there’s still loads for you! 2019s bringing us some fantastic new albums from the likes of ‘Methyl Ethel’, ‘Czarface’, ‘Cass McCombs’, and the long-awaited ‘Thank u, next!’ from Ariana Grande, which is enough to motivate us all blissfully through the next semester.

Photo: Barny Fletcher - Bella Howard

Barny Fletcher Popular hip-hop is being shaken up, and Barny Fletcher is at the forefront of it

The once definite borders between hip-hop, pop, and R’n’B have never been so blurred, and Barny Fletcher looks to be the next artist to warmly embrace free movement between genres.

Originally hailing from Milverton, Fletcher has quickly found his feet in London, and last year signed to TaP Music alongside the likes of Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey. Since then, he’s been working hard to put together a premier mixtape, enlisting help from renowned producers, DJ Shadow and Cadenza amongst others.

Following the success of ‘DOUGH’, a track released on Soundcloud and Youtube in late 2018, Barny landed himself on playlists for Radio 1 and 6 Music Playlists. That track bounced between hip-hop, pop, and neo-soul, but his latest offering hones in on his ability to rap.

‘Christ Flow’ isn’t a track yearning for deeper meaning. The hook itself, “it ain’t about much but it sounds tight though”, acts as something of a glue to connect the weird and wonderful thoughts which emerge from Fletcher’s brain and materialise over an 80s game show synth and a furious bassline. The video for the track is worth a watch as well – think Pulp’s ‘Common People’ supermarket scene… on acid. As the lead single off an unreleased debut mixtape likely to be influenced heavily by hip-hop and pop, Barny is also keen to emphasise the breadth of his taste and talent.

At just 20 years old, Barny Fletcher is looking to shake up the ever-homogenous market of popular hip-hop and, in turn, is quickly asserting himself as one to watch in the near future.

Hot Right Now

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Record Reappraisal

Music

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Photo: Jean-Luc @ Wikimedia Commons

The Velvet Underground Photo: Mick Rock Arista Records @ Wikimedia Commons

Photos: Billy @ Wikimedia Commons

The Velvet Underground turns 50 this year, an album often overlooked in favour of its more avant-garde and experimental predecessors. Nevertheless, the legendary band’s second self-titled album remains an important and fascinating piece of 60’s rock, writes Patrick Evans To many there are two Velvet Undergrounds, the more infamous incarnation began with the Andy Warhol-sponsored The Velvet Underground and Nico, a masterclass in experimental rock music. The band that recorded the latter two albums in their discography (No, Squeeze does not and never did count) debuted with The Velvet Underground, an album which will enjoy its 50th Birthday this March.

It is with this release Lou Reed wanted to redefine his band and purge the spirit of his long-time collaborator John Cale following the near collapse of the band under the weight of Cale’s incessant urge to push boundaries – to the detriment of the band’s likelihood to find a wider audience. Cale is reported to have wanted their third album to feature recordings of putting amps underwater. Ideas such as this would lead to Reed and the band shuffling away from the Welshman. Abrasive experimentation which had entirely defined their previous records left with Cale, the sound of a viola being scraped within an inch of its life was out, as was the

eagerness to stay out of the musical mainstream.

The album starts with ‘Candy Says’, a sombre hymn to self-loathing and insecurity set to the mellow whisper of new incumbent Doug Yule. The witty snarl of Reed is shelved in favour of Yule’s soft, intimate and naïve whisper suspended above uncharacteristically tranquil instrumentation. The enduringly popular ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ follows a similar mold; quiet, intimate and subdued although now vocalised by Reed whose voice quivers both with uncharacteristic sincerity and desperation to stay in tune. It remains today a mainstay of 60’s soft rock.

The second song, ‘What Goes On’, brings back rock and roll, albeit with the distortion set to a more marketable level in relation to the eardrum kamikaze of White Light/White Heat. The other straight rock song on the album comes to us with ‘I’m Beginning To See The Light’ An explosive proclamation of release and optimism. I dare anyone not to grin when Reed proclaims, “There are problems in this time, but WOOO none of them are mine!”. Similarly, ‘I’m

Set Free’ describes themes of catharsis and freedom. Likely alluding to the departure of Cale during the gestation period of the Album.

‘The Murder Mystery’ is the album’s strangest offering, an 8-minute mishmash of narratives propped up by eccentric keys and guitars. This culminates in an intriguing but ultimately challenging listen. The song reminds us that this is still the Lou Reed who idolised New York street poetry and the avant-garde. Songs such as this would show that his flair for conceptual experimentation was not wholly lost with the departure of Cale. Later Lou Reed albums like Berlin and Metal Machine Music would attest to this with extremely mixed results.

It was of course not as influential as its predecessors and will never get as much mention as its Banana capped heteronym. But peel back The Velvet Underground and you’ll see a fully-fledged collection of intimate, soulful and charming introspections into one of the most enduringly influential acts in modern music.

Album Review: nina Nesbitt The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change Photo: Justin Higuchi @ Flickr

Nina Nesbitt Josh Sandy

8/10

There is something inherently risky about an artist releasing a sophomore album with a drastically different sound to their debut, and taking this risk has often led to the dreaded ‘sophomore slump’. However, Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt has managed to deftly navigate these potentially choppy waters. By doing so she has delivered an incredibly solid and listenable second album. Her first album, 2014’s Peroxide, was a heavily acoustic guitar-driven poptastic ode to youthful exuberance.

However, her recent release has dialled back on the guitar and embraced lyrical depth alongside a significantly more varied sonic profile.

Conceptually, the album is a masterpiece.

Nesbitt guides the listener on a journey throughout reflecting on what can only be described as her quarter-life crisis. She starts with capturing her struggles with growing up and her new-found fame in ‘Sacred’ and ‘The Moments I’m Missing’. It then moves onto a

clearly affecting break-up in ‘Best You Had’.

The album’s first half is heart-rending but avoids being simply an exercise in self-pity.

The album then changes tack with the most pop-influenced song ‘Somebody Special’ acting as a palette cleanser for the album’s decidedly more positive second half. This half focuses on the rebuilding of life following a failed relationship with ‘Empire’ and then on to finding someone new and moving on in ‘Last December’ and the eponymous ‘The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change’ being the album’s final flourish.

There are also some less heavily romance-inspired tracks, including perhaps the most genuinely affecting song on the album, ‘Chloe’. This track is an introspective look at one of the harshest realities of growing up, friends beginning to start families and the fear of drifting apart as a result of being at different stages in life.

This emphasises one of Nesbitt’s greatest strengths as a songwriter – her ability to expertly zero in on the universal worries of her contemporaries. This is also demonstrated in ‘Loyal to Me’ in which she laments the current online dating scene

with the relevant and rather brutally truthful line, “Hope you never let those pictures send, He’ll only go show them to his friends.”

In addition to the changes in lyrical style, there are also some extremely interesting and unexpected musical influences. The R&B influence on tracks such as ‘Loyal to Me’ and ‘Somebody Special’ is a radical departure from her previous work, but a very welcome one nonetheless. There is also a newfound use of stripped back piano peppered with an 808 beat on both ‘Sacred’ and ‘The Best You Had’ which provides the perfect backdrop for her emotive lyrics.

Although the eclectic blend of genres makes for an interesting listening experience, there is a slightly jarring feeling between some of the more radically different tracks on the album. Of course, this doesn’t detract from the individual merits of the songs, but with such a strong lyrical concept running throughout the album the tonal differences are perhaps more noticeable.

Overall, The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change is an inspiring work that has clearly honed Nesbitt’s musical dexterity, paving a way for significant hype for her future career.

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ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Music

Dilly Dally daniella veneziale

LIVE

REVIEW Contributor Daniella Veneziale reviews unique quartet Dilly Dally as they returned to Manchester’s Night People, the new flag bearers of femininity in music

REVIEW

Photo: Authorised Press Shot

Photo: Isla Den - Press Release

Jake Oliver explores the tranquil atmosphere created by Canadian electronic duo Isla Den across both of their releases to date

Isla Den Jake Oliver

8/10

Canadian alt-rock four-piece Dilly Dally returned to Manchester for the first time in three years with a spine-tingling show at Night People on Saturday night. Formed in 2009, the band’s discography boasts a plethora of singles plus two studio albums, both of which were met with critical acclaim.

It’s not difficult to see where critics’ infatuation for the band comes from. An endearing bunch, singer Katie Monks leads the way with husky vocals and heartfelt lyrics. Adorning a white shredded dress, Monks is the image of corrupted innocence, a theme much encapsulated by her verses.

Don’t be fooled by her sweet and humble demeanour.

Monks’ stage presence is striking as she dominates the room, and you couldn’t move for the sea of heads bobbing along to her every move and melody.

The crowd’s gender make-up was somewhat interesting, and what was unanticipated was the higher ratio of men to women, somewhat refreshing given the band’s unmistakable feminist agenda. This reflects a wider shift within rock music still taking place, where female musicians of all genres are unashamedly expressing their sexuality as well as their own definition of femininity – whatever that may be.

This isn’t a new phenomenon, with bands such as Hole and Bikini Kill in the early 1990s paving the way for the riot grrrl sound and aesthetic, a theme which is ever present in the band’s tracks as well as stage presence.

The audience were however tamer than initially expected, with just a few shaggy-haired teens attempting to get a pit going. This, however, can be attributed to the venue. Night People

10/10

There are few acts around that are able to deliver such exquisitely immersive soundscapes from such an early stage of their career, but the Toronto-based electronica duo Isla Den manage to do so in a way that places them lightyears ahead of their contemporaries. Comprised of Ellie Manning (vocals) and Michael Reale (percussion), the few releases they have to date have been nothing short of genius.

Water Signs, their first EP which dropped in April of last year, was a phenomenal debut – one that was immediately innovative whilst simultaneously brimming with potential. Opener, ‘We’re All Leaving’ ushers listeners in to the world of Isla Den, aided

by Manning’s dreamy narration — “When the world broke apart, in to a million different pieces, this is where we came” – before plummeting in to an intricately layered crescendo of synths and pan pipes; a combination you wouldn’t expect to work, but it does. Themes of nostalgia, even melancholy, are consistently presented, which complement the tranquillity and stillness of production, particularly on ‘Indigo League’ The highlight of Water Signs (although choosing one is near impossible), is the

itself is arguably inhibiting, its layout restricting any real movement or audience participation. It has a higher capacity than The Castle, which the band played when they were last in Manchester, however, this doesn’t always make for a better gig. Dilly Dally’s ability to mesmerise and captivate was therefore somewhat restrained, and ultimately, this let them down.

This didn’t affect morale however, as the band tore into fan-favourite ‘Desire’. At this point, the atmosphere was electric as it had been pretty much throughout the whole gig, and you definitely got the sense that there were some long-time fans in the room. This created a sort of familial feel to the gig, which, as well as ensuring a sense of safety and inclusivity within the audience, was particularly unique and rare for bands of this genre. Even those like myself who were less familiar with the band were enamoured by the end of the gig, wanting to know more about them and going home to scour Spotify for every song they’ve ever made.

The end of the gig was unusual, with a rather abrupt closing sign off as well as finishing with ten minutes to spare. This was a mildly disappointing end to such a lively and spirited gig, as well as slightly anti-climactic, as the audience were left confused as to whether to remain where they were in the hopes of an encore or head for the merch stand to meet the band.

Ultimately, the band themselves did not disappoint, and for the limited amount of time they did play, the audience were thoroughly captivated. However, the venue let them down, with both its excessive size and inhibiting layout proving counterproductive to Dilly Dally’s unique brand of ‘90s feminist riot grrrl grunge adapted for the 21st century.

EPREVIEW track ‘Sunless’. Somewhat of a slow burner, the track graciously moves along with a series of delicate pads and hi-hat snares, creating an all-encompassing hypnotic atmosphere before reaching a dramatic climax.

The glitchy ambient track ‘xixi’ at the end of the EP is as soothing as it is jarring and manages to round off the journey and the atmosphere perfectly, returning once again to those wistful samplings of waves and birdsong that greets listeners on ‘We’re All Leaving’.

For a debut project, it is staggering how genuinely impressive Water Signs is. The level and quality of production from Manning and Reale is executed so perfectly that they’ve successfully managed to create an enveloping atmosphere and immersive aesthetic in a way that few young artists can. The narrative is never lost to the music, and conversely, their soundscape is never overshadowed by the lyrical and vocal ability of Manning – it’s a perfect, symbiotic relationship.

After a few months of silence, Isla Den have returned, with their latest release ‘Navi.6’.

It stands as both an elegant continuation and preservation of what made their Water Signs EP so beautiful, whilst also showcasing their ability to develop and explore newer avenues both lyrically and musically.

The familiar use of birdsong sampling is an excellent call-back to their previ-

ous work and it’s pleasing to see a definitive extension of the aesthetic. Manning’s vocals on ‘Navi.6’ come across as crisper, cleaner, and more elevated above the instrumentation, made more prominent through echoing and pitch manipulations.

In turn, production and mixing here is a huge advancement, allowing the track to be brimmed with energy and pop power. It’s a pleasure to see the duo develop their lyrical prowess, too. Whilst the lyrics on Water Signs were gorgeous and well suited to that tranquil atmosphere, on ‘Navi.6’ they are perfectly matched to the more expansive melodies and seem to carry a deeper weight to them. It’s a track that certainly would not seem out of place in the charts.

A clear ethos runs through everything Isla Den do – there exists a sincere desire to detach from the chaotic contexts of our modern lives, to retreat to nature and most importantly, reconnect with those around us. And in our current political and social climate, this is needed now more than ever. If you listen to anything new this week, I urge you to check these guys out.

With each release, the duo are only getting stronger and one can only imagine what stratospheric heights they’ll be at by the time their sophomore EP drops in the summer.

Listen to our Spotify Playlist Scan the code and follow ‘The Mancunion’ for more!

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Games

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Why Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is the best competitive shooter in 2019

Photo: BagoGames @ Flickr

David Uncle outlines why Rainbox Six Seige has stayed fresh in an often stagnant genre marketplace

“

Amidst a world dominated by shooters, Siege shines the best thing uniquely in a crowded marabout Siege; its ket. I got Siege into operators, their about two abilities and the years ago and having persesynergy between vered through its admitthem tedly steep l e a r n i n g curve, and I have been amazed by Ubisoft’s continuing support for the game and how I still find new tips and tricks to improve my ability.

Siege is a shooter unlike any other, though it combines some similar elements from existing games. The unique operators are akin to characters in Overwatch or Dota 2, while the twitch shooting and accuracy required is like CS:GO. Siege stands out because of its dynamic map design and how its operators interact with them. Destructible surfaces are not new in shooters, but Siege handles them well by using them sparingly, allowing defending players to reinforce a few walls to make them mostly indestructible, hindering the attacking team’s progress to the objectives.

However, if the attackers are smart enough to bring along hard breachers (characters with abilities to get through reinforced walls), they can bypass defender reinforcements. But, if the de-

fenders are smart, they can use characters to nullify hard breachers, and so on. This is what creates the best thing about Siege; its operators, their abilities and the synergy between them.

For instance, the attacker Thermite can breach reinforced walls with his thermite charge; however, the defenders Mute, Bandit and Kaid can block his charges using their gadgets, effectively locking down the objective. But, with the SAS attacker Thatcher, his EMP grenades will disable any defender gadgets blocking the wall, allowing Thermite to blow a hole into the site, so teamwork is paramount.

There is a huge variety of operators from special forces teams all over the world from the British SAS and French GIGN to the Chinese SDU, and each character has their own unique loadout and abilities suitable for any playstyle whether that’s a “fragger”, someone whose main goal is to secure kills, a site-breacher or a general support character.

My favourite is the Spanish attacker Jackal. His role is simple: be the ultimate pain in any roamer’s (players who seek to sneak up on and flank the attacking team) backside. His awesome gadget, the Eyenox visor, allows him to identify and track footprints left by defenders in the last 90 seconds.

Once tracked, the target’s position is pinged once every 5 seconds for 20 seconds, so any sneaky players planning to flank the attackers have their plans foiled.

Experienced players can even estimate how recently the footprints were left. The catch is Jackal can only do this three times per round, after which point his vi-

sion is distorted when using his visor, and he cannot aim or shoot while scanning.

This leads to a key aspect of Siege: For the most part, the operators are fantastically well balanced. Operators with the strongest guns such as Ash are often kept in check with relatively simplistic gadgets, such as her breaching launcher, while those with the best gadgets, such as Echo’s player-stunning Yokai drones, receive weaker weapons. When operators are released in an over or underpowered state, Ubisoft is reasonably quick to respond to complaints, resulting in nerfs to the previously overpowered Ela and Lion and buffs to underpowered characters like Mute and Finka. Indeed, Lion, with his motion-scanning drone, is under ongoing scrutiny and Ubisoft are looking at a further nerf to his ability. As such, you can pick pretty much any character and their loadout and not be at a disadvantage. While in some games there are weapons or characters that are significantly worse than others, in Siege the playing field is much more even.

Furthermore, the four free seasonal updates allow the game to constantly evolve. Each season, 2 new operators and a map/map rework are added to the game, often completely changing the meta. For instance, one of the more recent operators Maverick has a blowtorch that can melt small “murderholes” into reinforced walls and attack defenders from an angle they were not expecting. As such, defenders now must now constantly pay more attention to reinforced walls, a drastic change from before his implementation. This is what keeps

Siege fresh nearly 4 years after release.

I also revel in the fact that simply getting kills and having the best aim is not what makes someone “good” at the game. Sure, being able to accurately headshot your opponents will naturally make you win more games, but the true skill is in map knowledge, spatial awareness and clever communication with your team. For instance, a FPS-shooter legend may be able to single-handedly shoot their way to victory, but a closely coordinated team may tactically attack the site from multiple angles at once, using their gadgets together to confuse and disrupt the opposing team’s efforts, leading to a more satisfying and cooperative victory.

So, while Ubisoft have released some lacklustre titles recently, such as Watch Dogs 2 and Far Cry 5, Siege continues to be the multiplayer shooter I enjoy the most.

The amount of free content added to the game since launch, the constant balancing of operators and evolving dynamic of the game keeps Siege worth playing even after thousands of hours of gameplay. Indeed, Siege’s continued popularity according to the Steam player charts is testament to its ability to draw gamers in. Perhaps other shooters that go for the classic “annual reskin of last year’s game” tactic should reconsider their business models, given the success of games that receive long-term support, such as Siege and especially Fortnite.

The Steam Lunar New Year sale has just started and you can pick up Siege for as little as £8.36 until February 11th.

“

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ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Film

How To Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World

Photo: Juliette Urquiza @ Flickr

How To Train Your Dragon 3 will leave you crying, in a good way, With any iconic franchise – yes, iconic – there is the lingering worry whether new releases will live up to their predecessors. With DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World, this was a looming fear. For their latest comeback, however, the child within me had eyes closed tight and fingers crossed that they would claw it back, recapturing the charm once again. And, after all this pain-staking tension, it’s safe to say it did.

Dean DeBlois’ How to Train Your Dragon 3 is the final part to the trilogy following Hiccup, the awkward teenager that develops into a leader alongside his pet dragon, Toothless.

This feature continues the narrative, with Hiccup protecting the newly unified people of Berk and their many dragons, whilst facing evil forces and challenges within his personal relationships, especially with his dragon Night Fury.

The film follows not one, but two heterosexual narratives, continuing that of Hiccup and love interest Astrid, and that of Toothless and his first ‘crush’ – a blue-eyed

writes Katy Taylor

female dragon, dubbed as a Light Fury. It could be criticised that this, alongside the representation of a typical masculine antagonist, Grimmel, results in a narrative that is familiar and too predictable.

Although the film does tackle serious societal topics, such as social expectation and fear of abandonment, this is for children and I am an adult – in denial – shamelessly grasping onto childhood and the predictability of the story is justified when considering the general target audience.

Regardless, diversity is still heavily present across the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, with Hiccup’s disability of a lost leg and the acknowledgement of Gobber the Belch as a homosexual. Even if the heterosexual narratives are overworked and a bit of an eye-roller, it is a children’s film with the cutest fantasy pet in existence which becomes even more adorable as he finds puppy love.

Beyond this, the film’s score is similar to the previous films and demands attention.

Consistently the music is magnetising,

Katy Taylor Contributor

4.5/5

intensifying, and always seamlessly laced with the narrative. However, the film’s biggest surprise was the visual capacity it reached, and is at the peak of the franchise. From the opening sequence to the subtle changes in character detailing across time, the attention to detail is undeniably impeccable.

Above all else though – regardless of the embarrassing extent of my emotional-investment – How to Train Your Dragon 3 had me a wreck, even when fighting to conceal my tears from the surrounding seven-year-olds. I do believe that this reaction is something only an emotionally-conscious film can do, and for this to come from a children’s animation displays its heart-warming power.

How to Train Your Once again, the Dragon franchise has perfected the balance of depictions of friendship, loyalty, comic relief and stellar audio-visual merit, making it a film that definitely did not disappoint. And hopefully it will smash the box-office – so long as the other far-too-invested adults watch it. And kids too, I suppose.

True Crime Story: The People vs.

Film Makers

Photo: Donn Dughi / State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory @ Wikimedia

the true crime obsession of right now has brought with it significant controversy surrounding the balance between respect for a crime’s victims and their families and film-makers’ rights to tell these stories, says Josh Sandy It is hard to think of a genre that defines this decade more than true crime. Over the past nine years numerous TV series, books, and podcasts have brought the darkest sides of the human condition to the forefront of our minds.

However, this true crime obsession has brought with it significant controversy surrounding the balance between respect for a crime’s victims and their families and film-makers’ rights to tell these stories.

This controversy has received renewed media attention recently following the release of the trailer for Joe Berlinger’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. Berlinger’s film tells the story of US serial killer Ted Bundy, who committed at least 30 murders throughout the 1970s, through the eyes of his on-off-girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer.

The trailer courted controversy for its upbeat tone, stylised ‘70s aesthetic and Zac Efron’s charming performance as Bundy which critics claim portray him as an unlikely heart-throb. However, those who attended the film’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival have rebutted these accusations and claim the

finished film far from glorifies Bundy’s actions.

Even one of Bundy’s surviving victims, Kathy Kleiner-Rubin, has weighed in on the controversy. Whilst acknowledging that the film does glorify him more than it should, Kleiner-Rubin explained that Bundy’s charm and good-looks were the main factors that allowed him to escape justice for so long.

A similar controversy has also arisen following the nomination of Vincent Lambe’s Detainment for Best Live Action Short Film at the 2019 Academy Awards. The film, based on the 1993 murder of 3-year-old James Bulger, drew widespread criticism for Lambe’s failure to inform Bulger’s parents of his intentions to dramatise the police interviews with both 10-year-old perpetrators John Venables and Robert Thompson.

Following the backlash, and a petition to disqualify the film reaching over 200,000 signatures, Lambe conceded that he should have consulted the victim’s parents, but still maintained his right to independence in telling the story.

In both cases, particularly in the latter,

it is easy to understand people’s concerns regarding a perceived lack of respect towards those that have suffered greatly. However, this also brings up an important question surrounding the length of time between tragedy and film.

Films such as The Boy in Striped Pyjamas and Schindler’s List have been credited as historically important in keeping the horrors of the Holocaust, one of the most shameful events in human history, within our minds. This shows that these kinds of films can often be teaching moments and aid us in avoiding making the same mistakes in the future. Of course, respect and consent should be paramount for film-makers and it is hard to find Lambe’s actions anything less than negligent, if not downright thoughtless.

Ultimately, there is an unwritten social contract between film-makers and audiences that acts as a clear check and balance. Film-makers are free to express themselves through their films, and we as an audience always have the opportunity to vote with our feet and choose to not support those who we feel have overstepped the mark.

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Driven by two stupendous Oscar-nominated performances, Can Alfie Clark You Ever Forgive Me? is a thoroughly entertaining picture Contributor with heaps of memorable dialogue.

4/5

Driven by two stupendous Oscar-nominated performances, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a thoroughly entertaining picture with heaps of memorable dialogue.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? is the second film to be directed by Marielle Heller, and is a biographical film focused on Lee Israel, played by Melissa McCarthy in her best on screen performance yet. The plot revolves around a failing writer who attempted to resurrect her career by forging and selling letters from deceased writers, with the help of her friend, the flamboyant Jack Hock, played in a hilariously comedic and charismatic fashion by Richard E. Grant.

The premise may not sound like the most exciting of crime thrillers, but due to the likeability of its leads, you will be invested in this story from the start. Though Richard E. Grant is fantastic, this is without question Melissa McCarthy’s movie.

She perfectly utilises her skills in comedy, whilst also nailing the dramatic side of the role, creating a highly sympathetic and fascinating portrayal of an extreme introvert.

The film is set in New York, and Marielle Heller expertly creates an appropriate atmosphere for such a setting, using a soundtrack primarily consisting of jazz, and including gorgeous shots of the cityscape at night. In yet another year in which no female directors have been nominated for best director at the Academy Awards, it really

One of the most heartwarming and understated examinations of loneliness I have seen

“

“

is a shame that Heller was snubbed. I was skeptical of how much I was going to enjoy this film before going in, and its premise did not excite me much. However, Heller’s attention to detail in investing audiences in the world of the film’s characters has made this one of the most surprisingly enjoyable films I have seen in a long time.

Perhaps the key element to my enjoyment was the witty dialogue.

Screenwriters Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty must be applauded for writing a film filled with so many memorable lines. Though they have tough competition with other well-written films such as BlackKkKlansman, they are currently the screenwriters I am rooting for in the ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ category at the Academy Awards.

As much as I enjoyed this film, I do feel the runtime could have been cut slightly.

Whilst it only runs at a fairly short 107 minutes, in the third act there were numerous moments in which it felt like the narrative was beginning to wind down, only to keep going, which became slightly frustrating. Though some of the most powerful scenes occurred in this section of the film, I do feel that some of them could have been cut or shortened. Despite this, I would highly recommend this film. It is one of the most heartwarming and understated examinations of loneliness I have seen, presenting the life of its protagonist as one that is in some ways tragic, whilst also presenting the liberating side of such a life.

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Review.

Film

Escape Room is a confused, poorly written mess of a horror film that’s also glorious to watch for its ridiculousness and bizarre imagination.

Carl Fitzgerald Contributor

2.5/5

“

As absolutely dumb as a sack of bricks

“

Review.

Escape Room Escape Room is a modern day post-Saw thriller driven entirely by coincidence, contrivance, and convenience. The acting is average and the script is confused. It is absolutely dumb as a sack of bricks — and I love it.

The story follows a group of six people who’ve been brought together, seemingly at random, to partake in an apparently impossible escape room challenge. But things take a dark turn when they find themselves going through room after room loaded with complicated puzzles and traps which they must work together to solve.

We see three of the group (the most important characters) set up before they arrive: Zoe, an introverted physics student coping with plane crash trauma; Ben, a recovering alcoholic; and Jason, a monopolistic businessman who also has a dark secret. In fact, all of the characters seem to have some kind of tragic backstory that is the reason for their selection, except for one character who is the first of the group to die, and you do start to think maybe this is building up to something with him — but no, he’s basically only there to fill out the body count.

Generally, the writing remains that clunky throughout.

Details of character backstory largely have little relevance to the plot overall and are only revealed when the information is convenient to solve a deadly puzzle. The characters also speak unnatural, forced movie dialogue which the actors try their best to make sound natural

but it doesn’t always work.

However, Escape Room benefits purely from its morbid sense of humour and imagination. The disorientating and interesting set design of each individual room makes for something that glues you to your seat through any, and all rough, lines of dialogue.

Particular standout moments are an upside-down bar which gives new meaning to the phrase ‘the floor is lava’ and a gloriously trippy ‘you have been poisoned, find the antidote’ scenario which, in an ideal world, will launch a thousand memes.

The film is not as tightly characterised as something like Cube — which it desperately wants to be. By all means, it has problems that will make people hate it but, beneath the generally poor writing and narrow efforts on the actors’ part to salvage their characters, there is some creativity to it that will hold you to the end. This is the third outing from director Adam Robitel, whose previous efforts include The Taking of Deborah Logan and Insidious 4. Once again he proves he can do a decent job directing a movie. He knows where to put the camera, when to cut, and how to pace a scary scene to keep you invested. He just needs to find a perfect script to really sink his teeth into.

But on the whole, Escape Room is no masterpiece, you could even argue it’s not even good. However, while I wouldn’t watch it again, it’s short and sweet enough to make for guilty pleasure material at most and dumb date night horror at least.

RUN FOR ELECTION

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ISSUE 6 / 11th Feburary 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Books

Review:We Must Be Brave

by Frances Liardet

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Robert Boddy reviews Frances Liardet’s We Must Be Brave, a decade-spanning story of an orphaned evacuee and the woman who takes her into her family We Must Be Brave opens on an evacuation bus after an air raid on Southampton. “She was fast asleep on the back seat of the bus.

Curled up, thumb in mouth. Four, maybe five years old.” This is how the 400 page, decade-spanning story begins.

The narrator is Ellen, just eighteen in 1940, and the girl is Pamela – a sleeping toddler unaccompanied on an evacuation bus to the safety of Upton, a small village in the south of England. In a sense the novel never leaves these two characters as they greatly influence every thought and action the other takes. The novel, so the description says, is about the fierce love we feel for our children, and the ability of that love to endure, and this description is partially accurate. Pamela is not Ellen’s child and this is the centerpiece of the story – the conflict faced by Ellen and her husband in taking in a child that is not their own, their growing affection, and their, particularly Ellen’s, fears of the disruption of their new family life. With Ellen’s narration we hear the developments of her thoughts and feelings towards Pamela, her caution at first and then her dread of being separated from her new daughter. The story begins in 1940 but moves through time, first turning back to paint a picture of Depression-era Britain in the 1930s, then forward to the 1970s and the present day, showing the affect of time on people as well as place.

I don’t wish to give a full synopsis of the story of We Must Be Brave, but I feel that its starting point might give you the idea that this is the kind of story you might have heard before. In some senses that would be correct; We Must Be Brave falls into becoming a fairly standard Home Front Second World War story with the typical cast of characters – the well meaning and loving husband, the eccentric country house owners, the gossipy women of the village, the humble and honest farmhands – and many of the story

beats are going to be familiar to many readers. The story is not unoriginal but strays a little too close to familiar on too many occasions meaning that some plot points, that are supposed to have great emotional intensity, are spotted from chapters away, which rather diffuses their impact.

However this is not true for the entirety of the book and the fact that some aspects of the novel seem like a typical World War Two story only helps to sharpen the places in which We Must Be Brave cuts into fresh territory. Through some familiarity it enhances the novel’s differences. For example, the sections set in the 1930s show Ellen’s difficult childhood coping with abject poverty of Britain during The Great Depression, giving the novel a real historical and emotional vitality. With Ellen’s narration we’re able to experience, in real terms, what life is like to be barely making ends meet in a pre-welfare state Britain.

There is a slow start to the novel, with some of the dialogue seeming a bit clunky at the beginning, but once the story gets going and the book gets some steam behind it these problems are ironed out producing some very effective prose. This prose produces some great moments where the nuances of emotions, which are often difficult to convey accurately and convincingly, wash forth from the pages and the reader is granted a real connection with the text. However there are some moments which miss the mark. Later in the novel there is a reveal which could have been a lot more significant than it actually amounts to. This is a problem with much of the novel in that beyond a maximum of three characters, two of which are missing from large amounts of the novel, the sub-characters suffer from a lack of development. They are largely one note pieces in a larger scene and they tend to

Photo: Public domain.

enter the stage, say their limited lines, and then go off leaving no real lasting impact.

This is not to say that they are not interesting characters, just that their interesting features are left only as surface level items that are not delved into enough detail or depth to be satisfying for me. While they are in the story they are fantastic decorations on a stunning tableau that the novel creates at times. Following their appearances, the after-effect of their presence is fleeting.

We Must Be Brave is an interesting book. It has both the elements of something readers will have seen a dozen times before and new and fresh ideas, branching into areas that have previously been left unexplored. In this the novel can be intensely rich and rewarding to read, despite some of its shortcomings. Readers will find something to like in this novel, held up by a functional story, if a little familiar one.

We Must Be Brave is out in hardback in February 2019, with a paperback version available later in the year.

Opinion: Identity-based poetry is nothing new

Bailey Cornfield reflects on the muriel sparks celebration at the manchester literature festival

Photo:Joe Carlson @ Wikimedia Commons

A recent report by Nielson BookScan showed that poetry sales are at an all time high, with £12.3 million worth of poetry books sold in 2018. This financial growth is reflected in a growing range of writing becoming available — the poetry world is a broadening church.

However, there are those in denial about this growth. Booker-shortlisted poet Robin Robertson said “the poetry world is small and currently polarised: it’s often either simplistic or incomprehensible.” Others echo this sentiment, creating a myth that there are two opposing camps in the poetry world. The Instagram poets with mass followings on one hand, and the older elite with critical prestige on the other.

The rise in book sales shows a shift of power to younger poets (Rupi Kaur was by far the bestselling poet). And to

debunk this myth of two polarised sides, many younger poets are publishing critically acclaimed work. Last year Danez Smith won the Forward Prize for their book Don’t Call Us Dead . Despite this, it seems every other week some elder statesmen weighs in on the shifting landscape of poetry, finding some problem or other with the more diverse range of writing now available.

When writers like Robertson or Rose Tremain continue to criticise the state of things, there’s a sense of an older generation refusing to pass on the baton, adamant to stay exactly where they are, convinced that where they’ve stopped is the finish line.

I’m cautious to criticise older writers, as the vast majority of them embrace changes to the form and content of newer poetry — many of them are instrumental in these changes. However, a few outliers’ negative views have furthered the idea that there are two polarised sides. Their criticisms are too problematic to ignore — when they talk about the changing face of poetry, it’s seems that they are talking about its changing skin colour.

One term that springs from all this is ‘identity-based poetry’. This is one of the

more thinly veiled euphemisms used to describe the work of writers of colour.

It’s ridiculous to see serious critics use the term — surely all poetry is ‘identity-based’? Was Wordsworth not writing as a white man? Was Keats not writing as a white man? What about T. S. Eliot? Phillip Larkin?

What these critics are reacting against is the ‘radical’ notion that whiteness is not the default. It seems only white writers are offered the privilege of writing universally. When a white writer uses an ‘I’ they can speak for everyone, when a writer of colour writes an ‘I’ they can only ever be talking about themselves.

Whatever a poet of colour is writing, it is defined by their identity. People are free to criticise writing that they don’t like, but if they’re going to do so, they need to stop using code words like ‘identity-based’ to justify themselves.

There’s a rhythm to these things. Styles and tastes change causing a conservative backlash, but things move forward. The people that were once the avant-garde become the old guard. Let’s hope they fade further into irrelevance and let’s hope we don’t turn into them in a few decades time.

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Theatre

Review:Jersey Boys J Grace Johnstone reviews Jersey Boys, which feels like painting by numbers given the formulaic plot and style of using snippets of songs

Photo: Brinkhoff & M Genburg

Jersey Boys is a 2005 jukebox musical following the successes and shortcomings of Frankie Valli and his band, The Four Seasons. Having seen the West End production roughly six years ago, most of the show was a distant memory to me. But when the lights went down on The Palace Theatre, some parts came flooding back.

The show has a fairly formulaic structure, with each member of The Four Seasons taking their turn to narrate the band’s story. The nature of this, along with the emphasis on the band’s rise to fame rather than their individual lives, means that the musical seems to barely scratch the surface of the characters and their stories. To start with, I did not feel much affinity to the band, but when the songwriter and pianist Bob Gaudio came in, just like The Four Seasons, everything fell into place.

Declan Egan as Gaudio was full of the energy

and warmth that I thought the other characters sometimes lacked. He injected much-needed life into his narration which otherwise had a danger of feeling over-rehearsed.

I was unsure what to make of Michael Watson as Frankie Valli. He didn’t strike me as having the charisma I’d usually associate with the leader of a band who left a trail of smash hits behind them. But, as the show went on, he made sense. It was ultimately his voice that prevailed, with his iconic falsetto soaring over the rest of The Four Seasons.

It was a visually pleasing production with scaffold stairs and platforms filling the stage.

They were used creatively, and the pop art images that were projected onto the back wall were fitting with the comic strip style of storytelling. It was – just like The Four Seasons’ perfectly synchronised dance moves and harmonies – squeaky clean.

Costume and set changes were slick and faultless and often things appeared without me realising. Normally, this is what I look for in a piece of theatre but in this case, it felt at times clinical. Things almost ran too smoothly, making me very conscious that this show is a well-oiled machine that has been performed

night after night for the past 14 years.

The Jersey Boys is somewhat of a whistle-stop tour of The Four Seasons and, because of this, we rarely hear songs in their full length. Instead it is snippets of hits which, for the most part, serves as enough. But I wanted nothing more than to hear Frankie sing the whole of ‘My Eyes Adored You’ when his wife left him. In most musicals, songs are the way into forming emotional attachment to the characters but this structure didn’t allow for that.

Despite all this, it is hard not to have the urge to sing along and smile when the iconic ‘I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ is finally sung in the second half. And you can see how the show inspired a generation of jukebox musicals such as Beautiful and Tina The Musical because it is, in itself, a good, polished production. Importantly, it doesn’t matter whether or not you are Frankie Valli’s biggest fan because, either way, it is a safe bet at a crowd-pleaser. But perhaps time is not on this show’s side – the musical is now a form which is constantly being reinvented and reimagined so, at a running time of a very predictable two and a half hours, it’s hard to not feel like Jersey Boys is just painting by numbers.

Review:Ladybones

Camila Florencia Rusailh reviews Ladybones at The King’s Arms, Salford Ladybones was a refreshing take on mental health and the process of recovery that invited the audience to understand the reality of life with OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) and depression without it ever seeming an afterthought to conceal any cracks in the script’s authenticity. The play followed Nuala’s life as an archaeologist following her discovery of a young girl’s skeleton, her own search for identity and recovery slowly entwining with the remains.

Sorcha McCaffrey’s performance as Nuala directed by Lucia Cox was endearing throughou There was a constant sense that we were watching her character organically filter through memories, daily events and thoughts rather than a scripted performance.

The small venue of the King’s Arms in Salford lent itself to the play’s intimate appeal and worked exceptionally well with McCaffrey’s solo performance, having no elaborate stage or props to distract from her character’s endearing nature. As the audience began to take their seats, McCaffrey bounced over in her red dungarees, introducing herself in character and asking our names one by one. We were offered a yellow sticker to opt-in during moments of audience participation. She reassured us that this was optional and that we could otherwise “chill out”; this calm invitation rather than uncomfortable obligation being the start of the play’s informal yet captivating experience.

As McCaffrey continued to search the crowd with bulging and flickering eyes and a beaming smile

on her face, it became increasingly apparent that we were not about to experience an hour’s worth of passive theatre lecturing us about the obvious problems of mental health disorders, but more so invited to participate and reflect upon a person’s story.

Ladybones’ depiction of mental health disorders refreshingly had no intent to distress or shock us, but to give us brief insights into the numbing reality of depression, the all-consuming anxiety of OCD. This is not to say that there weren’t uncomfortable flickers of insight into Nuala’s mind, but the play’s fundamental intent seemed to be trying to expose the bare bones, trying to make sense of the world around her.

There was not a single moment in the play in which I felt that her character had been reduced to her mental health disorder. This cannot be said for many other plays that have attempted to deal with the same subject matter that I have seen prior to this.

I was apprehensive before seeing this play due to its partnership with the national charity OCD-UK that the production could have fallen into the classic pitfall of feeling obliged to make mental health the focus of the piece.

Refreshingly, Ladybones successfully balanced a realistic depiction of the daily impacts of Nuala’s disorders without overpowering the focus on her human experience. In doing so, the play ardently avoided being yet another bleak, exploitative, and distressing depiction of suffering, but an acknowledgement of its difficul

Photo: @Chris Payne

ties with hope for recovery.

McCaffrey’s performance was peppered with comic anecdotes and witty observations of mundane, her multi-roleplaying as her therapist leaving the audience in ruptures of laughter.

McCaffrey’s authentic delivery of Nuala’s wit in illuminating proverbial mundanity with a beady eye for detail and fragments of poetic observance, mean the play was surprisingly hilarious, considering its not-so-hilarious subject matter.

Overall, Ladybones was an uplifting search for identity that acknowledged the grinding salt of daily tribulations from awkward sexual encounters to the blinding ache of loneliness without ever losing hope. It was nice to see an exploration of mental health that did not try to give its audience answers or solutions, but a reminder that life cannot be read as easily as the maps of a medieval skull’s cracks and dents.

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

A R T E

F A C T

Photo: Public domain

of

the week

Photo: Dennis Jarvis@flickr

Photo: Bella Jewell @ The Mancunion

In this instalment of Artefact of the Week, Bella Jewell investigates the meaning behind the mysterious Mancunian graffiti campaign: gauranga.

I first spotted this strange piece of graffiti when walking past Gemini Café. The word ‘gauranga’ is scrawled in a cursive font, in what appears to be pink chalk.

What I did not realise, however, was the frequency with which I would start to notice this piece of graffiti. In Fallowfield, on Oxford Road, by Manchester Metropolitan, and most recently in Piccadilly Gardens, my eyes are drawn to the soft, pastel pink mural.

Could ‘gauranga’ be a gang?

This thought came to mind while I was dozing off in a 4pm lecture…

But what kind of organised crime group would use this floral hue of pink to mark their territory? There is a certain gentleness that exudes from this word, the soft consonants and open vowels certainly seem to lend it a sense of optimism.

The mystery surrounding this unassuming piece of street art was starting to vex me – so, like any diligent detective, I took to google to find the answer.

Needless to say, the results weren’t all too fulfilling. They did, however, provide an interesting and unexpected insight into the Hare Krishna religion.

According to the internet, Gaurā�ga is the name of the incarnation of Krishna in Gaudiya literature.

In fact, there are also theories that the word translates to “peace my brother” or “be happy”.

Editor’s note: We are aware of allegations of a ‘scam’ charity operating in the area, allegedly under the name Gauranga, however we are not aware of any evidence that the graffiti around Manchester is associated with this supposed organisation.

Read the full article on mancunion.com

25 Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing Arts

Bella Jewell reviews the latest show at the Manchester Art Gallery – Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing – one of 12 exhibitions taking place across the UK to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death I ventured in to a dimly lit room on the first floor of the Manchester Art Gallery. After adjusting to the low lighting, having arrived from the rare Manchester sun, my eyes were drawn to the walls. Warm spotlights brought a collection of rectangular frames of paper drawings to my attention.

I was at the press preview of the gallery’s latest exhibition – Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing – a homage to one of the world’s most treasured artists in the build-up to the 500th anniversary of his death.

This exhibition is one of 12 that are taking place across the UK, and is made up of works from the Royal Collection. Each gallery has been loaned 12 of the Renaissance master’s drawings, in a celebration of the sheer diversity and innovation of his art.

What makes this project particularly special is the sense of geographical inclusion; by running 12 shows concurrently, it is estimated that over half the population of the UK is no more than an hour’s drive away from witnessing these intricate masterpieces. Given the usually London-centric approach to displaying works of The Masters, these attempts to improve accessibility of this exhibit marks a refreshing moment of unity in a time of profound discord.

Curator of the Manchester Art Gallery, Natasha Howes, describes how the mancunian embodiment of this project is slightly different to that of the 11 other exhibitions.

Ten years ago, the gallery displayed an exhibition of da Vinci’s drawings from the Royal Collection, so this time round was looking to do something a bit different. Whilst the other shows are made up of drawings spanning a range of da Vinci’s themes, this exhibition is thematically curated; the 12 drawings are all based around the human body.

Be it meticulous anatomical sketches, or portrayals of idealised beauty and ugliness, Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing is an exciting insight into the mind of a genius. The works on show provide a snapshot of his artistic career, with the earliest of the drawings dating to 1480, whilst the latest is thought to have been produced just before his death.

Looking at this collection of drawings, one notes his artistic progression, as his style develops in his pursuit of anatomical perfection.

Howes excitedly leads us to two of the drawings near the centre of the room, which are displayed in double-sided frames and portray da Vinci’s passion for anatomy. The drawings depict intensely scientific sketches of the foetus and female organs and are enveloped with scrawling notes in black ink.

“What’s so brilliant [about the works] is they’re double sided, so we’ve ended up with 14 for the price of 12”, says Howes. What is striking about these works is how the entire surface of the paper has been covered with annotation and sketches. Da Vinci has written in a slanted mirror script, which despite seeming intensely cryptic, was rather to avoid smudging his work as he was left handed.

Howes informs us that these drawings were never made to be displayed on a wall, but are in fact working sketches to establish a greater understanding of the human body. In fact, in comparison to an earlier drawing on show, which was completed before da Vinci undertook any scientific exploration of the human body, these later sketches reflect the impact of dissections da Vinci attended in the winter of 1510-11 at the University of Pavia had on his work. His sense of proportion and understanding of the inner workings of the human body is clear.

However, this exhibition reaches beyond the purely anatomical. There are works which explore the movement of the human body, a drapery study for his famous ‘Last Supper’ fresco, and a curious image of an almost supernatural woman.

When I asked Howes about this latter drawing, she beckoned us over to the piece. Howes recounts the mysterious nature of the drawing in question, describing how Martin Clayton (Head of Prints and Drawings at the Royal Collection Trust) deemed it “a real puzzle”.

The theory is that this drawing is an imagined scene from Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’, specifically of the character Matelda. Howes describes how the figure appears to have

been “conjured out of the air, she’s not solid, she’s totally ethereal”. The curious sketch, which was one of his last pieces of work, serves as an example of the diversity of da Vinci’s craft; he was a scientist, an inventor, a dreamer.

I then discover why the room is so dark, Howes tells us that these drawings are incredibly sensitive to light and can therefore only be displayed every few years to preserve them. However, their remarkable fragility is also evident in their journey into the hands of the Royal Collection. Despite there only being 20 da Vinci paintings still in existence, 5,000 of his sketches survive. After his death, da Vinci passed these sketches onto his favourite pupil who numbered and bound them all in one book – a decision which treads a thin line between intelligent pragmatism and an act of total irresponsibility. Whilst this decision inevitably is the reason these works are still in existence, they could have so easily been lost in a single fire.

Howes described the long journey that the collection took before becoming a part of the Royal Collection, travelling from Italy, to Spain, and eventually to England. This journey, however, raises several questions over the true claim of the Royal Collection to these works. I presented this question to the curator, who replied that this was is an interesting problem. She explained to me that there currently exists a dispute taking place between The Louvre and the Italian Government over its refusal to lend works of da Vinci to an exhibition in France, citing national ownership of the Italian artist.

Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing is an exhibition which shines a light on the enigmatic artist, capturing his artistic development and exploration of the human form. Howes restates the importance of these sketches, describing how “you get much closer to the man… because there are only 20 paintings that exist of his in the world, this is how we know Leonardo.”

The exhibition runs from Friday 1st February 2019 to Monday 6th May 2019 at the Manchester Art Gallery.

Feature your art in The Mancunion Scan the QR Code to find out more

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Fashion & Beauty

Fashion player of the week: Iris Van Herpen

Incorporating the innovative technology of 3D printing, teamed with a sensitive and visionary imagination, Iris Van Herpen is our Fashion Player of the Week, writes Rosie Thackeray

“

the human form through mythical pasts into uncertain environmental futures

“

Photo: Juilletdeux @Flickr

Iris Van Herpen is, without a doubt, one of the most important fashion designers of our time. Her work is often described as ‘fantasy couture’ - a rather interesting subcategory to suggest for a medium like haute couture, which seeks to exclusively create customfitted clothing at the very highest level of tailoring. Nevertheless, it does quite aptly capture Van Herpen’s otherwise indefinable eccentricity: a unique ability to realise improbable, futuristic feats when designing clothes which (by their very nature, as haute couture) demand a traditional sense of craftsmanship, quality, and technique.

Van Herpen is most widely recognised as the first designer to use 3-D printing as part of her method of creating clothing, sending her first printed pieces down the runway in 2009.

Yet this is just one example of the designer’s interdisciplinary approach: she experimented with algorithmic sculpture for her Fall-2011 couture skeleton dress, inspired by the work of architect Michael Hansmeyer. Her Fall2013 couture show ‘Embossed Sounds’ was a foray into sound engineering, as she imprinted fabrics with sound waves that were activated by touch and movement.

Such unconventional manufacturing techniques, coupled with her frequent interdisciplinary collaborations, allow Van Herpen’s work to resist the comfortable categorisations of art, sculpture or indeed even fashion.

Transcendence may be at the core of haute couture’s ideals of pricelessness and timelessness, yet Van Herpen’s work with technology has really pushed the boundaries of what the medium can be.

The designer’s paradoxical desire for

‘ultimate control and more freedom’ can be seen to translate into her forwardthinking sartorial vision, and actually reflects much wider realities of living in a technological age.

Her most recent Spring-2019 couture show was Van Herpen at her most inventive, as she sent out a string of captivating dresses inspired by the concept of animal-human hybrids.

Specifically, Van Herpen focused on images of female-animal hybrids from ancient mythology and culture. In the very first look we were delivered an imagining of the Ancient Egyptian Goddess Isis, with Issa Lish wearing a breath-taking navy dress made out of a lightweight sheeny material, the pleats of which simultaneously complemented the curves of the female body, whilst creating a romantic effect of cascading wings. A 3-D printed birdcage dress incorporated Van Herpen’s previous sculptural programming abilities whilst imbuing an aspect of metamorphosis, with magnificent shifts of the dress between sheer material and opaque electric red according to the movements of the body and perspective of the viewer.

We were left searching for faces of the Korean Inmyeonjo in a variety of layered linework, as the collection can be seen to draw inspiration from cubist ideas of perspective, all while questioning the trajectory of the human form through mythical pasts into uncertain environmental futures. It is Van Herpen’s unique and fearless confrontation of such prospects (traversing past, future, form and technology) that places her designs at the very height of haute couture.

5 Beauty products under £20 to self-gift this Valentine’s Day Make this Valentine’s day all about you with our top 5 beauty products (on a student budget), writes Fashion and Beauty editor Ella Searle With an estimated £1.6 billion being spent in the UK alone this Valentine’s Day, why not spend a little on treating your number one - yourself! Who isn’t bored of the typical clichés of a bunch of roses or an over-priced meal out, OR the sadness we are supposedly supposed to feel if we may be single on this holiday! Rather than waiting around for the right gift to come, why not write a love letter to yourself with these amazing beauty products that will have your skin glistening. We round up our top 5 beauty products under £20, to go and impulsively gift yourself with this Thursday 14th!

1. Lime Crime - Diamond Lip Crusher Topper (£16) Vegan and cruelty-free, tell yourself that this is a guilt-free purchase. Although an iridescent glitter lip product may seem slightly ‘extra’, this gloss is basically the student equivalent of a diamond ring this Valentine’s Day. Although the ultra-sparkly product may appear excessive for many, the non-sticky formula means it is a perfect product to add on top of your tried and tested lipstick looks to create a glimmering, foil-like effect on your pout. Pair with a soft and dewy bronzed skin and bushy brows to create a bold and mesmerising finish. Furthermore, this lip topper can be easily doubled up as a liquid highlighter, a lip gloss on its own, or even shimmering eyeshadow. One thing is for sure, your own sparkle will be catching people’s eyes.

2. Burt’s Bees - Intense Hydration Treatment Mask (£12.99) Cruelty-free brand Burt’s Bees has become

a cult favourite for both young and old for both their saviour formula and their iconic yellow chapsticks, known to solve the worst cases of chapped lips. Although many wouldn’t associate the brand with skincare, their allnatural mantra extends into their products and produces quality, yet affordable remedies. This face mask is scent free and infused with sage, and leaves the skin feeling fresh and toned, with results associated with a much larger tag than £12. This product should become for sure a staple in your routine throughout these harsh winter months to restore winter’s harsh grip. If we were to choose a bargain buy, this certainly would bee ours!

3. Pixi Beauty - Glow Tonic (£18) Another cruelty-free brand takes our gifting lineup in the form of Pixi Beauty. Reaching worldwide attention, the brand accelerated after the release of their renowned Glow Tonic; a light and nourishing toner to create a glowing and bright base. The secret behind the sparkle is Ginseng, an ingredient which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.

The Glow Tonic is an award-winning product, and the supposed magic is down to Pixi’s founder that has been in the cosmetic industry for over 20 years. Boasting an ethos of natural beauty, the Glow Tonic is certainly a product to help you fall in love with your skin this Valentine’s Day. 4. Doll Beauty - Pretty Little Glow Highlighter (£15) Claiming the bold motto of ‘Make Them Stare’, next up on our gifting roundup is a product for

those not seeking a subtle make-up look. Doll Beauty, the Manchester-based makeup giant has made over £3.2 million in 2 years the best friend duo behind the brand certainly know their target market. In collaboration with fellow Manchester powerhouse Pretty Little Thing, Doll Beauty have created a gorgeous rose gold tone highlighter with exceptional pigmentation, to ensure that after application, all eyes are certainly going to be on you.

5. Mario Badescu - Rosewater Facial Spray (£7) Last but certainly no means least, Mario Badescu is a name well known but equally well deserving of its cult status, with over 1,000 5 star reviews on Beauty Bay. For those who aren’t as familiar with the booming brand, Mario Badescu’s facial sprays are a staple item in every makeup artist’s (MUA) and enthusiasts kit alike, mainly due to both their versatility and affordability. The rosewater spray provides a long overdue hydration boost to revive a tired complexion, to prep skin or for a daily moisturiser. Furthermore, many have used Badescu’s sprays to replace their artificial makeup setting products to instead seek a fresh, natural and dewy finish rather than using more expensive products which clog pores and de-hydrate the face. Badescu’s rose water spray is easily transportable and can become your skin’s equivalent to a quick coffee boost. To both lift your spirits and keep your skin refreshed, we feel this rosewater facial spray beats a boring old bunch of flowers any day!

Food & Drink 27

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

A brief history of: the Curry Mile

Helena Young provides a brief history of Manchester’s famous Curry Mile, and looks forward to its ever expanding, versatile future Photo: Elionas @ Pixabay

Over the years, the Curry Mile has acquired an iconic status in Mancunian culture. To students, its name likely conjures up a multiplex of nostalgic memory, whether a late-night takeaway, a colourful food shop at Worldwide, or a hellishly slow bus ride to your 9am.

Its humble origins stretch back to the 1950s, when Manchester’s textile industry was in full flow. Rusholme and its surrounding neighbourhoods began to see an influx in migrants. Thousands of largely South Asian workers were recruited to fill British labour shortages. This new workforce took to Wilmslow Road’s cafés as areas to meet and socialise.

By the mid-80s, the name ‘Curry Mile’ had become commonplace. ‘Curry Mile’ is an umbrella title that refers to the many South Asian eateries which dominate the corridor, and is still considered a nickname. Nonetheless, in 2008, two flags bearing the title were erected to mark the start and end of the Mile. It’s clear that the moniker won’t be easily changed.

Yet the landscape itself does appear to be changing. A growing number of Shisha bars have emerged. The majority of its restaurants no longer boast the classic curried

dishes of the Indian subcontinent. The mile is moving instead towards Middle Eastern territory — nearly a third of its takeaways are now kebab joints.

I asked one of the owners of Mughli Charcoal Pit, recently rated one of the best restaurants in Manchester, what they thought

of these new developments. Mughli claim to be one of the first restaurants to move away from the traditional curry house. They recalled the initial struggles of their new dining

Packed lunches: quick, simple, healthy Burnt through your student loan in just a couple of weeks? Save money and treat your taste buds with a packed lunch, not a meal deal, writes Catrin Stewart

Inspiration: my best combinations Chickpeas and cauliflower roasted in spices, mixed with brown rice, rocket and the yoghurt and lemon dip.

Black beans, roasted sweet potato, and lettuce with salsa and/or guacamole.

Tofu (baked) with roasted broccoli, quinoa, and the spicy peanut dressing.

A sandwich made from mashed chickpeas, the yoghurt dressing, grated carrot, and lettuce.

Halloumi, roasted tomato, and courgette wrap with hummus.

I know they’re all vegetarian (mainly because I am) so feel free to add in meat if that’s your thing. But bear in mind that vegetarian tends to be cheaper and easier to cook.

concept, which was a hard sell back then to a crowd that “didn’t really understand ‘street food’ or ‘Indian tapas’.”

“The road has most definitely changed”, he told me, “but certainly not for the worse.

You can, in one evening, taste the very best that Manchester has to offer [like] freshly prepared baklava and Arabic pastries, Indian desserts, street food, Middle Eastern grills, Qabli Pulao, pink tea — all whilst shopping for a saree, some fresh exotic veg, or enjoying a late-night dessert.”

It certainly seems to have worked. A wide variety of food attracts a wide variety of audiences. Mughli boasts of a unique array of former customers, from the Prime Minister to Sarah Harding. And with more of us becoming vegan than ever before, visitors will be happy to note their superb gluten-free and vegan menus.

Some may weep for the future of the Curry Mile, or ‘Shisha Mile’, as people often mockingly dub it. But the day when visitors may struggle to find a Rogan Josh looks, thankfully, far away. For now, its inhabitants are ready to welcome their next new neighbour, from whichever corner of the world, into Curry Mile’s rich, neon-lit, cultural tapestry.

It’s only week two of the semester, but we’re already realising we might have spent a little too much of our student loans already…

One of the prime suspects for our decreasing bank balances are those dreaded £3.50 meal deals. They seem cheap, but one every day of the week sure does add up.

So we’ve put together our best tips for making packed lunches to send you into the final semester healthy, satisfied and with a few extra coins in your pocket. I know – the words ‘packed lunch’ make me die a little inside.

I’m remembering soggy sandwiches with crushed packets of crisps and leaking water bottles. But trust me: these lunches are far from those primary school nightmares.

The basic premise is a combination of protein, carbs, leaves, and a dressing.

Prepping one or two dressings or dips at the beginning of the week takes away the most work and is the part of the lunch that makes it extra tasty. My favourite dips are the classics: hummus, salsa, and guacamole. With dressings, I like to make one from tahini or yoghurt mixed with lemon juice and salt, or a spicy peanut dressing from blending peanut butter, water, soy sauce, and chilli powder.

You can experiment with these as you go to find your favourites.

On the protein side of things, go for cheap pulses like chickpeas, lentils, or beans that you can cook up and season ready to throw into your Tupperware. Meats and cheeses are obvious choices but a bit more expensive, and if you’re a veggie but want something substantial, frying up some Quorn strips or cooking a meat replacement at the beginning of the week can also save you time and effort.

I tend to roast a mixture of vegetables that I can then throw in with

any combination of ingredients. Also – stick to carbs that don’t take much cooking time, such as bread or rice.

Brown rice is better cold than white, just FYI. If you have the time, why not make a bigger portion of roast vegetables, then buy a packet of microwave rice to share with a friend.

The Students’ Union has free to use microwaves, and a ‘packed picnic’ can really help your well-being by slowing down and taking a break midway through your day.

Once you have all your ingredients – remembering that preparation is key – you’re sorted for the week. Mix and match what you already have prepped for simple lunches that don’t lack variation.

Happy lunching!

Photo: Keegan Evans @ Pexels Image of sandwich: Karogers@pixabay

WOMEN IN

MEDIA ®

CONFERENCE 2019 #WIM19

Dates: 2-3 March Venue: People’s History Museum Info: Q&A sessions, workshops and speeches showcasing successful women in media and empowering confidence in those wishing to follow in their footsteps.

Location: People’s history museum Tickets on sale now!

Website: www.womeninmediacon.co.uk

Supported by Amnesty International UK

Lifestyle 29

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Sexpress yourself

Photo: Joanna Melville @ Sexpression Uk

Georgia Hickey talks to Laina Cores about the upcoming Sex Week, aimed at educating and empowering people about their sexuality Georgia Hickey Sub-editor Laina Cores is a co-chair of Sexpression Manchester, which is a branch of the national student-led charity and society at the University of Manchester. It aims to promote and empower young people to make informed decisions about their relationships, bodies, and sex lives. The organisation is volunteer-led consisting of 10 committee members, with 27 people coming to the training day this year.

Laina joined Sexpression because she realised that “sex ed was failing [me] and the people around me.” She says it was due to systematic failures, in which “there [is] a complete lack of guidelines.” Furthermore, “teachers find it hard to know what to say.” She also puts it down to a “lack of specialist training” and the disconnect between teachers and parents. While parents rely on schools to educate their children, schools also rely on parents to talk about issues surrounding sex. Laina believes there should be “a connection between external services, parents and the schools” in order to fully address the topic.

This realisation is what pushed Laina to join the committee and since then she has lobbied for better sex education. Her activism includes going to Parliament to discuss the issue with MPs. She also wrote her EPQ on sex education when she was at school and has now carried this passion into her university career.

Each year Sexpression runs Sex Week, featuring a range of events including talks, workshops, and a pub quiz which tackle topics like consent and sexual well-being. The events this year will run from the 11th-17th February at the Students’ Union. All the events are free for students with only one event — a talk with blogger Oloni — requiring a free ticket. Laina highlights three events she is most excited for. The first is an FGM awareness talk on the 11th. It will look at new research focused on Asia and the impacts of FGM on family members and the partners of victims.

The second is a talk with Oloni, an award-winning sex blogger, on the 16th. It will focus on sex and relationships, and the ticket link can be found on Sexpression’s Facebook page.

The final event is a yoga workshop called ‘Taste of Tantra’. This explores the relationship between the mind and body and how it impacts sex lives and relationships. The University of Man-

chester yoga society is working in conjunction with Sexpression on this event.

There are also talks by BHA about HIV PrEP and testing for members of the BAME community, a group often under-targeted when it comes to HIV awareness. There will also be STI testing stalls around campus. Laina says that the advice centre in the SU is a great resource. It has testing services and also offers free condoms and tampons. Laina hopes Sexpression’s openness “makes other people feel open about it as well”. Laina said that some of the volunteers were even taught by Sexpression in school. This shows that the charity “have an impact on young people’s lives” that has continued into university.

At the moment, sexual health services focus on cure rather than prevention. Laina argues that we need “comprehensive and unbiased sex education” to prevent problems before they happen. Access to help, support, and education is the most effective way to make a difference. This is what Sexpression is about.

For more information on the campaign go to sexpression. org.uk. For information specifically about Sex Week, their facebook page.

Three Peaks Challenge

Victoria Evans discusses the upcoming Three Peaks Challenge and the charitable foundations behind climbing the UK’s highest mountains Photo: Terry Abraham @ BBC

Victoria Evans Contributor In June 2019, Manchester Raise and Give (RAG) is collaborating with Choose a Challenge and The Children’s Society to take on the Three Peaks Challenge. Manchester RAG will connect with other universities and together the students will conquer one of Britain’s toughest challenges. It is a whirlwind adventure of climbing the three highest mountains in the UK. The excursion involves trekking 25 miles, climbing over 1,500 metres, and running on as little energy as four hours sleep. Conquering the three mountains back-to-back; the group begins with Ben Nevis in Scotland. It is the highest mountain in the British Isles, standing at 1,345 metres above sea level. The second mountain is Scafell Pike in the picturesque Lake District. Finally, the group finishes with Snowdon in Wales.

Scafell Pike is the smallest of the Three Peaks but it is still a great challenge, having the steepest and toughest terrain. The group will hike Scafell during the early hours of the morning. Trekking in the dark with a head torch will elevate the difficulty of navigating the

paths and boulders. However, efforts will be rewarded with the magical sight of sunrise over the Lake District as the group begins the descent.

It is certain that feelings of exhaustion will be evident by this stage. You will complete two out of the three peaks at the halfway time mark. And then a pint at the summit pub of Snowdon will be deserved on completing the final hike!

The Three Peaks is not for the faint-hearted and training is essential beforehand. It is unrealistic to expect to complete the challenge without some adequate training. Therefore, I recommend you try a test weekend of walking around eight hours per day for two days. Anyone can get involved in the challenge, but must be prepared to undertake a trip that is undoubtedly mentally and physically exhausting but is also extremely fulfilling.

The University’s partner charity for the challenge is The Children’s Society. The organisation does vital work in improving the lives of vulnerable children and young people across the UK. This year, the fundraising target of £600 will go a long way towards the charity’s attempts in helping children across Britain. Their work involves supporting victims of sexual and criminal exploitation, trafficking; supporting young carers, refugees and migrants; provid-

A 21st century ghost story Kate Fawcett explores the modern dating phenomenon of ghosting, and its harmful impact on self-esteem Photo: K. Whiteford @ Public Domain Pictures

ing children with access to mental health care; ending child poverty.

Although the fundraising target seems daunting, The Children’s Society offers step-by-step support and guidance to their student fundraisers as they embark on their first challenge of raising the money. The fundraising will make a positive impact on the lives of young people. But the hike itself will push personal boundaries and create unforgettable memories in the UK’s most beautiful scenery.

Third-year History Student, Piers Hinton, is Manchester RAG’s challenge leader for the Three Peaks. His role involves several key responsibilities from supporting the team with fundraising targets.

In addition, he liaises with the challenge provider and charity representative, as well as overseeing the smooth-running of the process.

Climbing, connecting, fundraising. Is 2019 your year to take on The Three Peaks Challenge?

There’s still time to get involved in the challenge. You can find out more information on the Manchester RAG Facebook page.

So, send a message and the team will be more than happy to help.

There will be an information drop-in session on Friday 15th February from 1-3pm in the Hive in the Students’ Union, come along to find out more!

Kate Fawcett Contributor We are surrounded by ghosts. We walk past them on a daily basis; some of our friends are ghosts, some of us are dating them, some of us are even ghosts ourselves. The ghosts that I am talking about are not ghoulish spectres or poltergeists.

Instead, they are a barista in his mid-twenties who paints his nails and ‘forgets’ to text you back.

I’m going to tell you a ghost story. You meet your perfect man. You exchange numbers, you go on a few dates. You’re full of hope for the future!

You find yourself dreaming about him on the bus and you have definitely been on his Facebook profile more times than you’d like to admit. You excitedly send him a message asking if he would like to get another drink sometime. And then… nothing.

At first you lie to yourself. He could be busy, you say. Maybe he hasn’t seen it. But then you see it: Active 1 Minute Ago. Yet still there is no response.

Days pass, then weeks, until you finally accept that they are never going to text you back. They disappear from your life as though they have died,

or never even existed in the first place. Because of this swift exit from your life, this phenomenon has been dubbed ‘ghosting’.

The reason that ghosting hurts us so much is the sense of absolute indifference from the other person. To feel as though someone you once dated cares so little about you, refuses to allow you even a little bit of closure, is incredibly painful. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. You can also be ‘haunted’ by someone. This is essentially just ghosting, except the person occasionally likes the posts you share on Facebook, or religiously watches your story on Instagram. It is a constant reminder that, while they don’t quite like you enough to message you, they are not entirely ready to let you go either.

I understand why people ghost. Being open and honest about your feelings is frightening, and telling someone you are not interested in them is an uncomfortable thing to do. However, I can promise you that anyone would choose someone being honest with them over them simply disappearing from their life with no explanation. And so I propose a radical notion: if you don’t like someone, please just tell them.

30 Sport

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Sergio Garcia was feeling the heat at the Saudi International Sergio Garcia is disqualified from Saudi International due to misconduct, as the Spaniard lost his temper others set off their 2019 in style Photo: leslie0saunders06@wikidot.com

Harry Deacon Deputy Sport Editor The 2017 Masters champion has been disqualified from the Saudi International due to his short-tempered display seen in the second round.

The world number 27 was frustrated with the lie of his ball after he’d landed in the bunker on the fourth. After failing to clear the bunker with his next shot Garcia clearly felt the sand was not

properly raked and took his frustration out on the course.

“I respect the decision,” the Spaniard stated, before adding, “I have informed my fellow players it will never happen again.”

As Garcia’s round stuttered and seemed to lose his conviction and concentration, Dustin Johnson’s went from strength to strength.

It was the American’s second round of 9 under that propelled him to his first tour win of 2019. The 2016 U.S. Open champion will be hoping

Photo: leslie0saunders06@wikidot.com

The 31-year old Serb wraps up a third Australian Open victory in five years, at the expense of Rafael Nadal What students decide to do on their Wednesday afternoons off at university completely varies. With lectures finishing at 1pm, students can do as they please for the remainder of the day. Whether it is catching up on work, social lives, or most likely sleep, it is certain that the free time is valued by many.

However, for some, Wednesday afternoons are saved for sport, as they were designed for in the first place. Manchester offers tonnes of opportunities for talented students to showcase their skills at the top level and to represent the Uni while doing so.

Both men’s and women’s teams from a number of sports are performing extremely well, notably the women’s badminton 1st team.

Unbeaten in their first 5 league games, they look certain to mount a title challenge in their division 2A. Next up in the league they face Lancaster.

Also in a rich vein of form are the women’s basketball 1st team. seven wins out of seven means they sit six points clear at the top of the Northern 2B table. However, with a tricky away trip to Hull showing just how tough their division is, this season is far from a done deal.

Basketball and badminton are not the only successes for the University’s female teams. With the men’s basketball 1st team sitting comfortably in 3rd with games in hand on those above, the Northern 1A title is up for grabs.

Also in division 1A are the men’s badminton 1st side. In a tight table they sit just below the two sides from Sheffield and one from Leeds. A crunch match on the 13th of February against

spirit of the game by acting with integrity, showing consideration to others and taking good care of the course,” as stated in the rulebook.

Garcia will be looking to make amends in the next stop of the European Tour. Mexico City will host some of the world’s top golfers between February 21st and 24th.

The key dates to look out for in 2019 are as follows; April 11th—Masters, May 16th—PGA Championship, June 13th—U.S. Open, July 18th— British Open.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons @Conor Lawless

Manchester’s university sport: a round-up

Harry Deacon Deputy Sport Editor

to add to his one major victory in the coming year.

It was a tour to remember for Welwyn Garden City’s own Tom Lewis. After a rather disappointing first round of 71, Lewis managed to finish the tournament 16 under par, placing him 3rd in the opening European Tour of 2019.

The evergreen Ian Poulter left Abu Dhabi tied 6th, he must be wondering when his first major championship win will arrive, if ever.

It is not uncommon knowledge that while playing golf “players are expected to play in the

Leeds could be pivotal in both side’s seasons.

Perhaps the best part of sport at university is that the options are endless and the opportunities to play any sport, well-known or not, are vast. The fact that there are four men’s squash teams, six volleyball teams in total, and six women’s netball sides proves the extent to which university sport has grown.

A perfect example of the strength and depth of the University’s sport is the women’s netball set-up. With the University being represented in the Northern Premier all the way to the Northern 7A division, clearly the interest and skill in women’s netball is abundant.

Both the squash and table tennis clubs are also performing brilliantly so far this season, contributing heavily to Manchester’s overall BUCS points position. However, the lacrosse, volleyball, and water polo clubs are leading the way in gaining points for the University of Manchester.

Both hockey and football are the most popular sports for many students. Boasting seven football teams and ten hockey sides it is evident that these traditional favourites are holding strong in Manchester.

Overall, the university has entered a staggering 78 teams into the BUCS league programme for 2018/19. Securing a total of 282 wins throughout the season, at a win ratio of 47%, the volume and quality of university sport in Manchester is truly impressive.

The results of this season leave us in 16th place in the overall BUCS league table, while Manchester Metropolitan University sit down in 34th. Unsurprisingly, the table is topped by the University of Nottingham, followed closely by Loughborough University.

Six Nations roundup: England triumph over Ireland The 31-year old Serb wraps up a third Australian Open victory in five years, at the expense of Rafael Nadal

Chris Perrin Contributor England secured an impressive win on the first weekend of the Six Nations, beating Ireland by 32 points to 20. Eddie Jones’ men had come into the fixture as underdogs against a strong Ireland side, victorious against world champions New Zealand in November and in search of a second consecutive Six Nations title.

It was England, however, that was quickest out of the blocks, with winger Jonny May scoring after a minute and thirty seconds. The try came about through a combination of strong ball-carrying, decisive passing, and a harrying rapidity down the flanks. This was also present in England’s second try, which came soon after Ireland went ahead in the 25th minute.

Passing the ball with purpose from a ruck, Elliot Daly’s well-executed grubber kick spelled trouble for Ireland’s Jacob Stockdale who failed to bring the bouncing ball under control within his own in-goal area. He was pounced on by Jack Nowell, and the ball fell to Daly who scored to give England a half-time lead.

Ireland reasserted themselves and started to display dominance at the start of the second half.

England’s lead was reduced to just four points through an Irish penalty. With the game in the balance, there was a strong sense that whichever team scored next would take the momentum and go on to win the match.

On the 65th minute this pivotal moment came.

England once again attacked with blistering pace after a scrum. May’s kick over the Irish defensive line was met by Henry Slade, who charged onto

the ball and scored. Owen Farrell then converted a long-range penalty soon afterwards, giving England a twelve-point cushion with ten minutes remaining.

Matters were made worse for Ireland when in the 75th minute Johnny Sexton’s wayward pass was intercepted by Slade who scored his second try, putting the match beyond any reasonable doubt and securing a four-try bonus point for his country. Ireland’s John Cooney scored in the 79th minute, but it was too little too late. On the day, England were deserved winners. Not only was this an important result, it was also an impressive performance that displayed great character and discipline.

In their next Six Nations fixture, England will face France, who will no doubt be looking to bounce back after a disappointing defeat to Wales in their opening game. Les Bleus squandered a sixteen-point half-time lead, going on to lose 2419. Ireland will travel to Scotland, who for seventy minutes ran riot against Italy, building up a thirtypoint lead. Fatigue clearly set in however, as Italy scored three tries in the final ten minutes. The match ended 33-20.

In the Women’s Six Nations, England kicked off their campaign in style, cruising to a 51-7 win against Ireland. France also won convincingly in their opener, beating Wales 52-3. England and France are joined at the top of the table with Italy, who beat Scotland by 28 points to 7.

The Six Nations is a competition steeped in history. Its high-stake matches and passionate national rivalries make it one of the most exciting sporting competitions. Even if you are not an avid rugby fan, it is certainly worth watching.

ISSUE 15 / 11th February 2019 WWW.MANCUNION.COM

Sport 31

England suffer embarrassing defeat in West Indies Test Series Joe Root’s side looks set to suffer their first whitewash against the West Indies since 1986 following two embarrassing performances in the opening Tests James Gill Head Sport Editor The West Indies have achieved their first Test series win against England since 2009 by securing a second Test victory in Antigua to put the score at an insurmountable 2-0 with only one Test remaining. England captain Joe Root will be hoping that they can avoid further embarrassment and not suffer a whitewash by winning the final Test in St Lucia.

The opening test took place at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, a ground where Hanif Mohammad became the first Pakistani batsman to score a triple hundred, hitting 337 runs back in 1958, the eighth-highest score in a single Test innings ever.

England failed to achieve that figure of 337 runs in total over both innings, reaching a dismal 323 all told. Captain Joe Root’s side fell to a 381 run defeat, the seventh-heaviest Test defeat England have ever suffered, with West Indies off-spinner Roston Chase taking an impressive eight wickets for 60 runs.

It could be said that the Test was lost after England’s first innings. 77 was all Root’s side could muster, not due to world-class bowling, but due to horrendous batting. Burns, Root, Stokes, Ali, Buttler, and Foakes all fell for four or less.

After the West Indies declared in their second innings 627 runs ahead, England would need to smash the current fourth innings chase record of 418 set by the West Indies in 2003.

When Root fell, the score was 167-4 and all was not lost yet, there was still a glimmer of hope for a comeback Sadly, the final six wickets were lost for 34 runs in another shambles of a batting performance. After the loss Root said: “we have played way below our potential. We have to remember that there are still two games left

Photo: NAPARAZZI@Flickr

in this series and we have to come back very strong very quickly and learn a few lessons.”

“At no point will we underestimate these guys, we haven’t so far. It just shows how difficult it is to win away from home. There are some guys that are hurting. It doesn’t make us a bad side overnight. It’s about picking ourselves up very quickly. We’ve got to learn very quickly.”

Root’s sentiment was echoed by coach Trevor Bayliss and the England side was hoping to bounce back in the second Test taking place at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

The stadium holds the unsavoury nickname of ‘Antigua’s 366th beach’ due to a Test match against England in 2009 being abandoned after

just ten balls, following groundsmen applying an extra layer of sand after heavy rain in Antigua.

The extra sand meant that the West Indies bowlers at the time, Jerome Taylor and Fidel Edwards, were unable to gain a foothold when running in, making bowling near impossible.

The incident was an embarrassment for West Indies cricket as the ground was suspended from international cricket for 12 months. England were surely hoping for something similar to happen during their Test, however, the only embarrassment here was the batting performance put forward by Root’s side.

They failed to even reach the run total of the first Test, achieving just 319 over both innings.

Going into the West Indies’ second innings they only had to chase 14 runs to win the Test and the series.

As if the run total enough wasn’t enough to put England cricket fans into hiding, the fact that Darren Bravo batted for longer than the whole of England’s second innings should do it.

Bravo batted for 342 minutes and hit 50 off 216, the third slowest fifty in Test history. England, on the other hand, batted for 211 minutes, clearly failing to learn from the mistakes of the first test.

Joe Root seemed a bit more resigned with his remarks after the Test: “We’ve been outperformed once again and that’s quite hard to take. Scoring under 200 isn’t going to win you many games of cricket.”

“West Indies know these conditions well and they’ve exploited them to their advantage.

They’ve played some really good stuff at times and made it very difficult. They’re fully deserving of winning the series.”

The final Test takes place at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Saint Lucia, named after the fast-medium bowler who captained West Indies to back-to-back ICC World Twenty20 titles in 2012 and 2016.

If the West Indies manage to beat the English, which is not a stretch of the imagination by any means, it will be their first whitewashing against England on home soil since 1986.

The sides in ’86 featured such great names as Graham Gooch, Allan Lamb, and Ian Botham for England – and the same Viv Richards for the West Indies whose name-sake stadium was the site of Root’s side’s loss just days ago.

With just one Test left before the Ashes, England really need to put on a show if they want any hope of regaining the trophy they lost so comprehensively last time around. The final test starts on the 9th February and will finish, barring another England collapse, on the 13th February.

British Runner Susannah Gill wins World Marathon Challenge Joe Root’s side looks set to suffer their first whitewash against the West Indies since 1986 following two embarrassing performances in the opening Tests James Gill Head Sport Editor Susannah Gill has won the World Marathon Challenge after running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. The daunting competition involved 183 miles of running which she completed in a world record time of 24 hours, 19 minutes, and 9 seconds.

The 34-year-old finished the last race in Miami in 3 hours, 26 minutes, and 24 seconds. This may be well off the pace of Olympic runners, but the average time for a man in the US to run a marathon was 4 hours 22 minutes, according to Running USA. These men also haven’t just completed six other marathons.

After the final race she said: “It was a crazy ambition that I wanted to do. The challenge seemed absolutely irresistible to me. Ten years ago, I just wanted to get fit and run the London Marathon. Now, marathon Photo: Wikimedia Commons @HBaraka

running has literally taken me around the world.” In the men’s equivalent, American Mike Warden won with a time of 2 hours 53 minutes and 3 seconds in the Miami race and 20 hours, 49 minutes, and 30 seconds overall.

Less than 200 people have achieved the same feat as Gill since Sir Ranulph Fiennes was the first in 2003. By comparison, 533 people have gone into space.

“It’s been an extraordinary week. I’ve loved it but it’s been tough. Although none of us have slept in a bed for a week, and we’ve probably never had more than three hours’ sleep at a time in a plane seat, strangely none of us want to go to bed because that means it’s all over”, Gill added.

“It’s actually more fun to be here and support other runners and make sure everyone gets home and gets their medal, which is what it’s all about. All ages and abilities have been united. It’s the most extraordinary experience, it’s unique and I loved it.”

Photo: Wikimedia Commons @Spc. Brandon C. Dyer

Defensive masterclass or offensive shambles: Super Bowl LIII The Patriots victory was a record sixth ring in the Brady-Belichick dynasty in the lowest scoring Superbowl since Miami’s 1973 14-7 win James Gill Head Sport Editor Cast your mind back to January 1973. Aerosmith had just released their debut album, CBS sells the New York Yankees for $10 million, and the pilot for Last of the Summer Wine airs in the UK. The Miami Dolphins are looking to beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII to achieve the first-ever perfect undefeated season.

90,182 people cram into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to see what is sure to be an epic stand-off between two great teams.

“

The Patriots were discarded as contenders at the start of the season yet here they were, fighting for the Super Bowl The temperature is 29 degrees Celsius, the hottest ever Super Bowl, and the fans can’t wait for the game to begin.

However, they were faced with the lowest scoring game of Super Bowl history, a 14-7 win for the Dolphins, who got their perfect season. 45 years and 45 Super Bowls later, no game has scored lower than the 21 points seen in 1973, and fans have been treated to some magical games. That is, of course, until 2019.

Sadly for American Football fans everywhere, Super Bowl LIII broke the record for the fewest points scored, just 16 in 60 minutes of play as the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3.

The match was a repeat of Super Bowl XXXVI, in which head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady defeated the Rams 20-17 to win their first Super Bowl rings. 17 years later, the

Inside Sport

Belichick-Brady partnership is still going strong and this victory is their sixth.

In the early stages of the first quarter, Brady was struggling.

His first throw of the game was intercepted and the Patriots were forced to use two timeouts as they tried to adapt and adjust to the Rams’ game plan. Thankfully Brady had wide receiver Julian Edelman to get the offensive game flowing.

He picked Edelman out with a 25-yard pass to put the Patriots within field goal range which Stephen Gostkowski successfully converted from 42 yards to set the score at 3-0. For the rest of the first half, there was little in the way of offensive action.

The Patriots shut out their opponents completely, with the Rams only gaining two first downs the entire half. Besides the field goal though, the Rams were defensively solid too. The missing piece of the puzzle was their offence.

Third-year quarterback Jared Goff looked overwhelmed by the Patriot’s defensive strategy, getting sacked four times. Goff had possession for just 10 minutes compared with 20 for Brady, highlighting his lack of ability to convert plays into first downs.

It wasn’t until the third quarter that Goff managed to make a breakthrough. Todd Gurley made a couple of first down runs to finally start building some momentum for the Rams. The drive culminated in a Super Bowl record 53-yard Greg Zuerlein field goal to tie the game up at 3-3 with minutes to go in the third quarter.

40 minutes of football played and all there was to show for it was two field goals. This would not be the first Super Bowl without a touchdown however, as rookie running back Sony Michel scored his sixth touchdown of the playoffs, and the most important one of his career so far.

Goff and the Rams had no reply. The Rams offence that scored an average of 32.9 points per game in the regular season could not score even one touchdown. With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, there was a glimmer of hope however for an upset.

The Rams needed to kick a field goal, recover an onside kick, then drive for a touchdown. Those hopes were quickly squashed though as Goff through the same pass two downs in a row and cornerback Stephon Gilmore intercepted the second to seal the game for the Patriots.

The result seemed like destiny. Tom Brady and the Patriots were discarded as contenders at the start of the season yet here they were, fighting for the Super Bowl for the third season in the row.

The Belichick-Brady era has broken almost every record you could imagine. Oldest player to win a Super Bowl, oldest manager, most career NFL wins, most Super Bowl wins by a team, a player.

The list goes on and on.

The most important number though is 199. Without this one,

University Sport Round up

the football landscape would undoubtedly look completely different. 199 is the pick of the NFL draft in 2000 that the New England Patriots used to sign Tom Brady.

After his name was called out, Brady reportedly went to Robert Kraft, the Patriots owner, looked him in the eye, and said “I’m the best decision this organisation has ever made”. Nine Super Bowl appearances and six Super Bowl wins later, it seems he was right.

“

Over 1.2 million people signed a petition to get the song Sweet Victory, from the TV show Spongebob Squarepants, performed during the show.

Super Bowl LIII had a massive amount of non-football fans tuning in too. Not for the football game though, but for the halftime show. Over 1.2 million people signed a petition to get the song Sweet Victory, from the TV show Spongebob Squarepants, performed during the show.

The creator of the show, Stephen Hillenburg, passed away in November 2018, and in a tribute to his legacy, and to the impact he’s had on millions of people across the world, the fans wanted to give something back.

Maroon 5 confirmed in the build-up to the Super Bowl that Spongebob would be involved and the stage was set for an incredibly touching moment. Think then of the disappointment when the introduction to the song was played for mere seconds, only to introduce Travis Scott’s Sicko Mode.

The disappointment didn’t end there either, as Maroon 5’s set descended into a Magic Mike-esque strip/singing combo with neither done remotely well. The only sweet victory to be seen on Super Bowl night was by those who chose to go to sleep instead.

Garcia Feels the Heat

Six Nations