Entitled by Bath Spa University

en t itl ed.

e nt itl ed. - contents -

Prithika Pathmanan

Georgia-Mae & Eliana

Florence Sebastianelli

Danny Pandolfi

Nik Jovcic-Sas

Lucy Craig

Sam Bard

Henry Monksfield

Changing music

Art with cause

LGBTQ+ and Christian

Activism with a kic8

Snippets of brilliance

Poetry & Politics

Mother & Student

Young Boxer

- editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s note -

elcome to entitled., the magazine dedicated to finding millennials and young people who break the mould and shatter expectation. entitled. is a project of passion, love and connection. We have strived to curate a mixture of diverse and unique stories, in the hopes of highlighting the power of a generation often wrongly accused of being egoistic and selfish. So please, enjoy the stories enclosed and learn about the people changing the world. You never know who will become the voice to stand a generation.

Prithika ‘Pritt’ Pathmanathan - Musician -

virtuoso and trailblazer in her own right; Prithika is the embodiment of individuality. Her principal is ‘to simply speak to people through her music and allow them to come join her journey’. With her Sri Lankan and Danish heritage and present roots in South London, Pritt is an ever-changing R&B artist that acknowledges the cultural influences that have shaped her eclectic music style. Hailing to similar influences such as SZA and Kehlani, Pritt endeavours to impact the current landscape of R&B; challenging the perception of the female stance by subverting the stereotype and sharing messages of empowerment. This, combined with her juxtaposing ‘Eastern meets Western’ interpretation and laid on heavy 808 trap beats produces contrasting sounds that the whole genre would be wise to heed. ‘Currently, the music we are churning out is what people want to hear. We are conforming to the expectations of people that don’t understand what music is or people that need a good beat to keep them interested in the track. For me, I’m doing something that is honest and has no expectation[s]; I’m standing out in the aspect that I know what kind of sound I am looking for.’ Pritt’s clear vision and aspirational goals have seen her triumph greatly in the two years

since she began focusing solely on her music. Most notably, after the making her EP from the ground up with few to aid her, the latest creation; ‘Ecstasy’ was released in Spring 2018, along with a reveal event the singer spearheaded to great success. However, these achievements are naturally not without setbacks. Pritt comments on the ‘close-mindedness’ some people portray; especially those who are of Asian descent. Showing boundless resolve, she dismisses the stigma that life as a musician is foolhardy. ‘I don’t believe a single word people say. It is a reaction and then its onwards and upwards. I have learnt that the best way to push past setbacks is to let them get to you for a split second and turn it around by proving them wrong… I have seen so many happy endings, so it’s clearly possible – It’s just getting out of that mind-set, really.’ Moving forward, Pritt intends to keep herself engrossed in her musical pursuits. Whether she’s tweaking a recorded sample or simply working on an aspect of her craft, she’s evolving and being ‘better than the last’. ‘Being a selfprofessed perfectionist means there is always something that can be improved.’ – a key motivator for our future superstar. Derron Gayle

Florence Sebastianelli - Film Maker -

y combining her love of art and film, Florence aims to highlight ‘the change in human behaviour and culture’ that the internet has created. Her surrealist interpretations of our addiction to the internet go against the glamorous grain of Instagram and other platforms that promote ‘selfcurated’ personas. Her latest work focuses on the presence of screens and technology in every facet of our day to day, and the clever message of the film is brilliant in its execution – albeit unsettling. ‘The amount of change I see in the virtual reality is amazing,’ Florence laughed. ‘I find a lot of artists online, ironically, who look into the same themes. ‘It’s great to see, and be part of, a movement. It’s validating.’ At nineteen, she has already discovered her place within artistic and counter-cultural communities, with a consistent style and message. With a focus on such contentious issues of media, addiction and the dependence on the virtual, Florence Sebastianelli highlights the new tropes forming in the rapid evolution of our cyberculture, and makes you question; just why?

Matthew Coles

Nik Jovčić-Sas

- Orthodox Provocateur -

ik Jovčić-Sas grew up in Midsomer Norton, Somerset. The son of a Serbian and Polish immigrant, he was quickly exposed to the harsh realities of cultural divisions and separatism. Brought up as a devout Christian, he began to question the implications of faith and difference when he realised he was gay, risking further ostracism from the people and world he knew. ‘I truly, honestly believed that I was sick; that there was something wrong with me. I thought I was going to Hell.’ However, Nik found solace in the work of John Boswell; a Harvard academic who was among the first theologians to have pro-LGBTQ+ writing published in his field. This passion for theological interpretation led Nik to study Theology at King’s College in London, where he was involved in the removal of the representation of a known homophobe in the university. He had found his passion. When he had to put a halt on his studies, Nik moved back to Midsomer Norton, nervous to lose the sense of momentum and change he was making. This was when inspiration appeared for Midsomer Norton Pride; the first event of its kind in the small Somerset town. The BBC were involved in the coverage of the Pride’s Bake-off, which Nik himself described as ‘a first for a Pride’. Already at the forefront of changing opinion of the people around him, it seems Nik was developing a natural affinity with activism. When he met Ion Andronache on the streets of Bath, whilst both worked as buskers, he had a sort of revelation. Both were from Catholic backgrounds; Ion himself had been training as a priest until he was excommunicated. The reason? He was pro LGBTQ+ rights. The pair formed an instant friendship. Determined to keep his fight for the joining of faith and pro LGBTQ+ attitudes going, Nik

travelled to Ion’s home country, Moldova; a heavily Orthodox country still under heavy Christian leadership. With his background in theology, Nik found it easy to fight his corner in LGBTQ+ rights, entirely from his knowledge of God and the Bible. Series one of Nik’s web documentary Orthodox Provocateur was born. In the last year, Nik has travelled around Orthodox communities in Eastern Europe in a bid to challenge and provoke the thoughts of conservative Christian leaders, who spread the ideas that homosexuality and virtuousness are mutually exclusive qualities. His first series, focused in Moldova, has amassed just under 5,000 views on YouTube, however on Facebook received a whopping 45,000 views. The project has some serious traction within LGBTQ+ activist communities. At a recent talk, global LGBT rights activist Stuart Milk (nephew of the famed civil rights leader Harvey Milk) praised Nik for the Orthodox Provocateur project, saying ‘Nik! I’ve heard a lot about you!’ His latest work, a video on an attempted Gay exorcism, is notably harrowing, with a moment Nik feared he would be ‘beaten up’. This serves as testament to the necessity of Nik’s work. At just twenty-six, Nik Jovčić-Sas has begun on a fantastic movement to reshape both community minds and theological thought. He was recently published in New Approaches in History and Theology to Same-Sex Love and Desire, writing about the homophobic traditions of Serbian orthodoxy, and is in the process of creating series two of Orthodox Provocateur. He is a force to be reckoned with, and truly lives as a modern good Samaritan.

Matthew Coles 7

Sam Bard - Activist -

am Bard is a triple threat. A leader within the activist group Reform Synagogue Youth he has a responsibility to inform and encourage open minded discussions. ‘Activism has pushed me to make a lot of choices about what I believe in and how I make decisions. How can I educate people on certain topics if I’m not cemented in them myself? I’ve found it’s a lot to do with stewardship and being the best person you can be – for me that is environmentalism. It’s very well to tackle the problems with animals and people but I think that if the habitat that we are residing in is being destroyed, then that should be priority number one. That is what motivates me’. Sam has recently entered the spoken word scene and it is something he’s become very passionate about in a short time. ‘It’s inspiring. The part of the reason that I’m so drawn to it is because it’s so accessible. I love words and I love being able to create a whole different meaning through performance. I try to be open. I try to invite

conversation. I’m not that person on the train that sits with their headphones in; I’ve made many friends on trains. I’m very aware as a tall, white male I’m very privileged and I have to be aware of that, and go out of my way to be as friendly and accessible as possible.’ After he graduates, Sam is going to be working for the RSY charity in London, which is based in education and facilitating an environment where people can feel comfortable and included. ‘We have a responsibility to come at the world with a new lens and see it the way that it should be, not the way that it is. Everything has changed so much since when our parents grew up and we have an opportunity to look out, to see all the negativity, and we can change that in every way that we can. Youth is so powerful. We have such a strong presence that we should utilise more.’

Jessica Monksfield

Georgia-Mae Linfield - Space Engineer -

ome might find it odd for a girl to choose engineering as a career, however GeorgiaMae Linfield proves that this is an outdated and wrong idea. When I asked her whether engineering is advertised to young girls as a career option, she told me: ‘I think it is advertised but then there’s still this misconception around what an engineer actually is. I feel most people don’t actually really understand that it’s not like a man in a lab coat drilling a hole in something.’ Georgia-Mae hopes to inspire young girls starting out in traditionally male jobs and she offers these girls some advice: ‘Be confident in your own voice and your own capabilities.’ Georgia-Mae believes ‘every generation’s struggles are different, but that doesn’t make them any less than anyone else’s.’ It’s time for these negative stereotypes to die, along with the misrepresentation of women in engineering.

Eliana Shymansky - Humanitarian -

rom a glance, Eliana Shymansky is very much the average, millennial sweetheart synonymous with our age. Beneath the exterior, you’re struck by an incredibly cultured and travelled person, who reveres the world around her and strives to do anything to aide in the battle to save our planet. Also studying Business Management, she is on course to create an open conversation about our planet and make actionable change in the places where it matters most – the boardrooms. Eliana understands that real, sustained global shifts are not made by localised governments and national institution, but instead through the multinational conglomerates that we buy into on a day-to-day basis. She aspires to become a true spokesperson for Corporate Social Responsibility; encouraging all companies to exercise moral justice for our planet and for the sake of future generations.

Danny ‘Craft-D’ Pandolfi - Poet & Musician -

t seems, at twenty-years-old, Danny Pandolfi doesn’t fit into the negative stereotypes surrounding millennials. Under the stage name ‘Craft-D’ he has performed on the main stage of The Roundhouse, Ministry of Sound and O2 Academy Bristol, but hasn’t forgotten his love for performing at smaller events, such as Sofa Sounds. It wasn’t until Danny went to university to study English and Philosophy that his career as a spoken word poet, rapper, and battle MC kicked off. So, do these negative connotations of Britain’s young minds have something to do with the schooling system? Growing up in London, Danny found that an all-boys school didn’t serve well as a creative platform. His ‘school environment wasn’t somewhere where expression was, I guess, a comfortable thing.’ Could it be that the lack of a platform for self-expression is what’s creating an entitled generation? Many argue that, perhaps, it is technology that is creating a generation of lazy, avocadoeating twenty-somethings. Millennials are the first generation to be subjected to heavy technology and social media in their teens, which Danny thinks ‘has had an interesting impact on how we communicate – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the

worse.’ Danny also has strong opinions on the negative connotations of the millennial generation, as he states: ‘I think we’re a very politically awakened generation in ways because that unfiltered social media has brought a lot of discussion to the forefront - even us as artists and poets, we spread messages now on that online platform.’ Is it possible that millennials are more switched on to society’s issues than any other generation before? Danny is currently studying his Master’s Degree at Bath Spa University, researching spoken word in transnational writing and creating his own show, bringing poetry to the stage. He’s constantly working on new poetry and music, planning to create tangible projects he can put out to his audience next year. To round our interview off, Danny offered some advice to up-and-coming poets: ‘Keep working on your craft, don’t be too satisfied with what you’re doing, even when it’s really good and you are getting great feedback because you’re at the early stages and you’re going to get better. Be your biggest fan and biggest critic.’ Jessie Parker

Lucy Craig

- Student & Mother -

or the typical teenager, sixth form is about making the most of the time you have left with your childhood friends, with some stressful revision and exams thrown in at the end of the year. For Lucy Craig however, life was turned upside down with the news that she was expecting her first daughter, Lydia Grace. Though Lucy was seventeen-years-old and in her last year of full time education during her pregnancy, she ensured that it didn’t interfere with her revision. ‘The exams started when Lydia was just five weeks old’, Lucy recalled. ‘[My sister] Laura would test me with flashcards whilst I fed or changed Lydia, and there were constantly textbooks around us.’ While many teenagers leave the revision to the last minute, Lucy was determined to disprove the negative opinions she’d gotten from peers, as well as giving her daughter something to be proud of. Throughout school she had consistently high grades, an achievement which she wasn’t going to let slip. Despite months of morning sickness and cravings, Lucy still managed to achieve an impressive ‘A in Health and Social Care, an A in Psychology and a B in English Language’,

gaining herself a place at the University of Portsmouth where she’s currently studying Sociology and Criminology. Lucy had been with her boyfriend, Callum Doe, for three years before finding out their coming surprise. Callum, who was nineteen at the time, worked as a catering apprentice to support their little family through Lucy’s studies. They moved into a quaint flat together after Lydia was born, to gain independence from their families and secure their family unit. Many people were not afraid to share their opinions with Lucy, but one particularly stuck with her: ‘There was an older woman who asked me if I thought I was being selfish to not give her [Lydia] up for adoption, because she’d have a better life with more stable parents!’ When Lucy was asked if she thought being a young mother would affect Lydia in the future, she said: ‘it’s becoming more socially acceptable to have children out of marriage and my daughter will be no different than a child with older parents.’ Now twenty-years-old, Lucy’s proved that she can be a hard-working student as well as a devoted mother, and she’s learnt to ignore the rude opinions and odd looks. ‘I’m constantly working to show everyone that they were wrong about me, that I’m not too young to be a mother, and to be honest I think I’m doing a pretty good job.’ Gemma Nicholls

Henry Monksfield - Young Boxer -

‘

oxing, for me, is a lifestyle. It’s a mind-set and an attitude. Growing up, a lot of my friends ended up turning to gang culture and drugs. I don’t want to waste my life like that. Boxing has kept me focused, and has been a consistent outlet in my life for me to channel my negative energy or frustration, that otherwise could have influenced my involvement in crime. You see a lot of this in East London, where I’m from.’ Henry started boxing when he was six-years-old and has competed across the UK, bouting for both personal experience and championship titles. In the weeks leading up to fights, Henry will train eight times a week, with regular 5am starts before college and will restrict his diet to the bare minimum to ensure he makes weight categories. He’s been doing this since he was thirteen-years-old. He says: ‘The problem with millennials is that our lives are dominated by social media. Everything is so quick and disposable. That’s why I love boxing. We don’t do anything for show. It’s just raw output and graft. When I’m in the ring, nothing else matters: How many followers you have and how much money you make is irrelevant. Nobody else is going to get you out of trouble when it’s just you and your opponent. I’m not entitled to anything as a millennial. I get out what I put in. That’s what I love about Boxing.’ Jessica Monksfield

Acknowledgements Thank you to everyone we could interview, to the people who helped us move from location to capture each and every story. Thank you to the people who helped our project come to life, through answering our invasive questions and letting us stick cameras in their faces. Thank you to the reader, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drive to learn about other people meant that we can produce entitled. Thank you.

ordinary lives, exceptional stories.