Issue 1494

Redbrick Issue 1494, Vol. 82

Friday 8th June 2018

FREE

Sven Richardson

Selly Soaked

Redbrick

The Official University of Birmingham Student Newspaper, est. 1936

Severe rainfall in Birmingham causes major disruption page 4

Fab & Fake Guild President combats Facebook fraud scheme as fake accounts sell students non-existent event tickets Tom Leaman News Reporter @tomleaman_

Plans unveiled for new School of Engineering building, due to open in 2020: Page 4

Following a spate of hoax ticket-buyers operating primarily on the ‘Fab N Fresh New’ Facebook page, which has around 24,000 members, Guild President Ellie Keiller shared a post on the page to warn university students from buying tickets for events from people they do not know using bank transfers.

In the statement, Keiller said that ‘a fake profile that we have removed from the Fab N Fresh Facebook group for scamming people out of money is still active and continuing to target people’. One account, using a suspected pseudonym of Niamh Bryne, would message students looking to buy event tickets, saying ‘I saw your post I have tickets please send me payment using direct bank transfer’. However, Keiller added that ‘as soon as the money clears, the profile vanishes’. The advice issued by the Guild through Keiller is to ‘NOT transfer funds to people you do not know’ and to be aware of the Niamh Bryne profile, though Keiller noted that this account was not likely to be used any more. Anybody affected by similar accounts asking for bank transfers is advised to report the accounts to the admins.

Keiller spoke directly to Redbrick, stating: ‘Guild staff monitor the Fab N Fresh Facebook group for anyone selling tickets at a higher price and delete people from the group as this activity gets flagged up. As we can't 100% guarantee security when exchanging tickets we would advise that students

only buy tickets from people they know and trust. If anyone notices any suspicious activity please flag it to the page admins immediately’.

One UoB student, Sophie, has described her experience to Redbrick, saying ‘my flatmate, her boyfriend and I wanted three tickets for Tektu. We posted on Fab N Fresh asking if anyone was selling tickets and someone with the profile name ‘Cathy Bower’ messaged to say that she would sell three for £40. We transferred her the money and she proceeded to block all three of us on Facebook so that we couldn’t contact her’.

Like other accounts used in such cases, Cathy Bower can no longer be found on the Fab N Fresh Facebook page and has most likely been deleted by the admins.

Aside from these examples of fake sellers, the ‘Fab N Fresh - New’ page has also reportedly seen the sale of invalid tickets, some of which had already been used. This is particularly the case for one-off event nights in the city.

Unfortunately, this is not the first instance of fraudulent activity taking place at the university in this academic year: at the end of 2017, there were reports of a woman pretending to be deaf to gain donations in Selly Oak and near University Station. However, the continued raising of awareness within the student community through Facebook pages like ‘Fab N Fresh - New’ has helped to warn students against such activity. This example gives hope that the actions of the wider student body will be effective in preventing the repeated scams regarding fake ticket sales from continuing into October with the annual influx of new students.

Comment: Has The Sun gone too far on Raheem Sterling's tattoo?

Music: Holly Carter reports on this year's ValeFest

Television: The Handmaid's Tale premieres Season 2

Sci&Tech: Joseph McGrory asks 'is Facebook dead?'

Comment page 10

Music page 23

TV page 25

S&T page 35

02

REDBRICK

Friday 8th June 2018

redbrick.me

Letter from the Editor...

So it has come round to the final edition of the year, making this the last time I will ever sit facing the terrible fear of a blank newspaper page. Writing this editorial feels like I have truly reached the end of my stint as Editor-in-Chief of this wonderful paper, meaning it is now time to hand over to the very capable Erin Santillo, who will inherit the password to the inbox after this weekend. Much like last year’s Editor Anna Griffiths (not to be confused with our marine friend Anna Griffish) I have been putting off writing this editorial until the very last minute.

This has left me in the unenviable position of having a finished paper bar my contribution, meaning I have the collective wrath of the Dep Eds and Joe Ryan to face if I do not get this done quickly.

It’s only been a year, but looking back to September feels like another decade. The twelve months since have been full of highlights, but some in particular stand out. Freshers’ week was the usual mad rush it always is, though this year felt even busier, coordinating welcome meetings, running the stall at the fair and a drinks night on The Vale to welcome first-years. After that we were back into our fortnightly print cycles, with alternate weeks being spent entirely in the office extinguishing fires and correcting poor grammar. Thankfully this year problems have been far more of the latter variety and less of the former (though there is of course still time).

Just before Christmas came the first-ever (and hopefully to be repeated for many years to come) Media Ball. The event went fantastically and was a great opportunity for the members of Redbrick, BURN FM, Guild TV, The Linguist, SATNAV and PhotoSoc to get to know each other and form some inter-society bonds. Most significantly for me was that the event cemented the bond between me and BURN Head of Station Dan Wootton. Our shared love of a quiet drink or nine, terrible puns and a committed enthusiasm for intense student union bureaucracy meant the friendship was always

going to succeed, but I can safely say that having Dan across the corridor has helped to make this year a joy.

Coming after Media Ball was the annual SPANC Awards. Sadly, Redbrick were unable to attend this year due to some slightly wobbly finances (more on that later) but we were fantastically rewarded with nods in four categories. Congratulations to all of the writers recognised, though particular praise to Grace Duncan, Phoebe Radford and Ben Johns for their fantastic Sports Investigation which took home Best News Story of the Year.

On the note of finances, it’s fair to say this year has been just a touch more stressful than last year. Having Googled the value of a few of my internal organs (and found mine pretty undesirable), we’ve just about managed to limp by. Our Macs may be on their last legs (I know that we as a committee certainly are) but, by hook or by crook, we have just about managed to get by this year. Erin, I wish you all the luck in the world at dealing with their quirks over the next 12 months.

This year Redbrick and the Guild in general have truly felt like my life. It’s a horribly clichéd thing to say but I have spent far more time this year with my surrogate media and Guild family than anyone else this year. I’ve come to appreciate the outstanding dedication of so many fantastic Redbrick members and it has been a joy seeing some individuals I have worked with for three years go on to great Masters, jobs and futures thanks to their work here. Externally I owe a great debt to Shannon Farmer, who as ADO has been my boss for the past year.

Shannon has been truly fantastic and having her in any meeting has been a guarantee that at least somebody is on my side. Thank you too to all of the other officers who I’ve got to know closely over the last year. Congratulations to outgoing President Ellie Kieller for all of her excellent work over the last two years.

Whilst Redbrick could not exist without all of its amazing writ-

ers, it is the rest of the committee who truly keep the wheels turning.

A massive thank you to the whole team. Serving as Editor-in-Chief has been stressful at times but I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of student hacks to work alongside. Celebrating with you all at Redbrick Awards was a cherry on top of a perfectly whipped sundae of a year. Thank you all for the hard work and the presents – the cufflinks in particular could not be more perfect.

With that I think it’s time for me to stop rabbiting on. Doing this job has been both the hardest and undoubtedly the best thing I have ever done, though I wouldn’t change one second of the past year.

I wish all of the new committee good luck and I cannot wait to follow your progress next year.

So, for the final time, From the Dungeons we salute you, William Baxter

Editor-in-Chief

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Redbrick Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief William Baxter editor@redbrickonline.co.uk

Deputy Editors Holly Carter Kirstie Sutherland Harry Wilkinson deputy@redbrickonline.co.uk

Print & Features Editor Joe Ryan print@redbrickonline.co.uk

Digital Editor Alex McDonald digital@redbrickonline.co.uk

Lead Developer Tom Galvin developer@redbrickonline.co.uk

Marketing Secretary Kamila Geremek marketing@redbrickonline.co.uk

Social Secretary Laura Burgess social@redbrickonline.co.uk

News Editors Grace Duncan Phoebe Radford Emily Roberts Erin Santillo John Wimperis

Music Editors Emily Barker Issy Campbell Luke Charnley Thom Dent music@redbrickonline.co.uk

news@redbrickonline.co.uk

Comment Editors Alex Cirant-Taljaard Alex Goodwin Amelia Hiller Kat Smith

Television Editors Amelia Bacon Matt Dawson Abbie Pease tv@redbrickonline.co.uk

comment@redbrickonline.co.uk

Culture Editors Olivia Boyce Hannah Brierley Rebecca Moore Natalie Welch culture@redbrickonline.co.uk

Film Editors Patrick Box Emillie Gallagher John James film@redbrickonline.co.uk

Gaming Editors Nick Burton Jack Cooper Emma Kent Roshni Patel

Travel Editors Iesha Thomas Phoebe WarnefordThomson Olivia Woodington travel@redbrickonline.co.uk

Life&Style Editors Tara Kergon Sophie Kesterton Imogen Lancaster Nia Roberts lifestyle@redbrickonline.co.uk

Sport Editors Alex Alton Olli Meek Leanne Prescott sport@redbrickonline.co.uk

gaming@redbrickonline.co.uk

Food&Drink Editors Caitlin Dickinson Adele Franghiadi Dean Mobbs food@redbrickonline.co.uk

Sci&Tech Editors Ellen Heimpel Katie Jones Emilia Rose tech@redbrickonline.co.uk

Editorial Assistants William Baxter Olivia Boyce Issy Campbell Rebecca Cutler Thom Dent Ellie Duncan Tara Kergon Alisa Lewis Joe Ryan Kat Smith

Redbrick Guild of Students Edgbaston Park Road Birmingham B15 2TT 0121 251 2462

editor@redbrickonline.co.uk

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The views expressed in Redbrick do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, the Guild or the publishers. If you find an error of fact in our pages, please write to the editor.

Our policy is to correct mistakes promptly in print and to apologise where appropriate. We reserve the right to edit any article, letter or email submitted for publication.

NEWS

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricknews

03

Cheerleading on Probation

Racial insensitivity and cultural appropriation have left members of the team feeling ‘ostracised’ Grace Duncan News Editor @gracieellen_

The Birmingham Pussycats have been put on probation for a year after racial incidents were reported.

The incidents are reported to include planning a Mexican themed tour and the use of the n-word which lead to minority members feeling ‘ostracised’ from the team.

The issue that was first brought to the attention of the university was the proposed Mexican theme for tour which members of the club argued was cultural appropriation. Requests for the theme to be changed due to its racial insensitivity and inappropriateness were ignored from committee members until the university became involved and placed them on probation.

The control of cultural appropriation is well established in the university. Sombreros, among other cultural costumes, may fall foul of the Guild's Zero Tolerance policy which cites 'attempts to satirically imitate' an ethnicity and the 'use of offensive stereotypes'

as examples of potentially offensive behaviour.

The Birmingham Pussycats have also received allegations of racial insensitivity within the club due to incidents of singing the n-word at pre-drinks. One cheerleader told The Tab that when Gold Digger was played, she ‘thought the word would be missed out, but I was the only one that did. Coincidentally, I was the only black girl in that scenario.’

"You instantly feel ostracised from something you previously belonged to" Cheerleaders are encouraged to tan in the run up to big events such as Birmingham’s varsity, xpLosION. One member of the club said comments like ‘even she tans’ were made about non-white cheerleaders.

The cheerleader added that she found it ‘so upsetting. You instantly feel ostracised from

something you previously belonged to.’

One member told The Tab, ‘I can't fight a whole team of people saying something so racially weighted in a seemingly casual setting... It's a systemic issue that has insidious implications. It’s not a one off case that happens in cheerleading. It’s people's everyday life’.

The team were approached for comment but Redbrick is still awaiting response.

In response to this behaviour, the team has been placed on a year long probation, as well as making a statement to the wider club and organising for a Diversity Officer to be elected onto the committee in the next academic year.

These changes were supposed to be communicated to the wider club within seven days of 26th April, but this has not happened. Violation of these terms could lead to the cancellation of training facilities, exclusion from Sports Night and Sports Ball or, in most extreme circumstances, the

removal of the UB Sport grant.

The University of Birmingham told Redbrick that, ‘The University is aware of reports of some unacceptable and inappropriate behaviour among a small group of students. We take equality, diversity and inclusion very seriously, and we have already put in place a number of measures to address any inappropriate behaviour and further educate those involved through dedicated training and awareness-raising activities and will continue to do so.’

Sports Officer, Helena Bailey, was also approached for comment. She told Redbrick, ‘I am disappointed to hear of racial incidents reportedly taking place within the University of Birmingham cheerleading squad.’

She added, ‘The Guild of Students stands strongly against all racist discriminatory behaviour. Both the Guild and the University have a strict no-tolerance policy against any form of discrimination and we are committed to creating an inclusive

and welcoming community for all.

"I am disappointed to hear of racial incidents reportedly taking place" ‘We understand the cheerleading squad has been placed on a year-long probation by UB Sport and we welcome further steps, including a club-wide racial awareness course and the election of a Diversity Officer to the club's committee.’

Bailey also pointed students in the direction of the Guild’s zero tolerance policy which contains details of how to report incidents of discrimination and harassment.

It can be found here: https://www. guildofstudents.com/pageassets/ footer/resourcespublications/5.ZERO-TOLERANCE-POLICY. pdf

Guild Rules Out Living Wage for Staff Phoebe Radford News Editor

The Guild of Students at the University of Birmingham will not be implementing a Living Wage for staff, it was announced.

The Guild said in a statement that the possibility of a Living Wage for staff had been rejected after a review had found that it would require an additional £95,000 for the 2017/18 year alone.

Guild President Ellie Keiller, who had promised a Living Wage for Guild staff in her campaign, said that she shared the news ‘with a heavy heart’ but had ‘learnt that part of my role as President is making and supporting decisions that are sometimes unpalatable, and this is certainly one of those times’.

Living Wage is calculated by estimating average living costs and is voluntary for employers. It is currently £8.75 per hour outside of London and £10.20 per hour within London.

This differs from legal minimum wages. For those over 25 years old, the minimum is £7.83 per hour. This was formerly known as the National Minimum Wage but is now called the National Living Wage after a government rebranding in 2016.

However, it is still a legal minimum requirement rather than the recommended Living Wage.

Rates for those aged 24 and under are still called the National Minimum Wage. Those aged 21-24 are entitled to a minimum

of £7.38 per hour, declining to £5.90 per hour for 18-20 yearolds.

Due to Guild rules, Redbrick was unable to speak to and quote Guild staff to discuss current rates of pay.

"A review had found that it would require an additional £95,000 for the 2017/18 year alone" However, we spoke to students who have found work directly with the University through the service Worklink, and found they were being paid around £10 per hour, more than the Living Wage. One student with a job through Worklink was being paid £10.55 per hour for a social media role in a university department.

Another student was earning £9.56 per hour as a steward in the Bramall concert hall.

As the Guild is unable to introduce a Living Wage of £8.75, this suggests that Guild staff rates are less than the generous hourly wages of those employed directly by the University through Worklink.

The Guild is partially funded through university subsidies in addition to funds raised through its own commercial operations, like Joe’s Bar. Guild President

Keiller confirmed to Redbrick that the money received from the university ‘must be spent on certain things that they want us [the Guild] to do’ like the student mentor scheme and the Vale fireworks display. However, Keiller added that ‘some of it is not ring-fenced and may go towards out core and student staff pay’.

Keiller also told us that the Guild ‘asked the University for the money to pay the living wage last year and they agreed to give us the cost of the increase on our non-commercial areas’, like the student mentor scheme, but stated that this would be ‘for this year alone’.

‘They didn’t agree to give us the commercial side (such as our bar, security and catering staff) which is our larger portion of student staff spending’.

Furthermore, once the Guild decided that the Living Wage could not be given the green light, Keiller says the university ‘asked for their money back!’

The Guild already receives less funding from the University in comparison to other Russell Group Student Unions. The University of Birmingham’s contribution to the Guild for the year 2016/17 worked out at an average of £63.49 per student, over £20 less than the Russell Group average of £85.84 per student.

Without the additional funding from the University, the Guild highlighted in their statement that a Living Wage would ‘pose a significant financial risk to the Guild’ and would cause an increase in the cost of food, drink and tickets to Guild events like Fab n’ Fresh

and Grad Ball.

This would have a ‘detrimental impact...on the student experience at Birmingham - which is ultimately what the Guild is here for’.

A student commenting on Keiller’s Facebook statement echoed this argument, saying he did not think a rise in costs ‘would sit well with many students, who [would be] paying more for a beer to fund another student’s wages’.

"The Guild already receives less funding from the University in comparison to other Russell Group Student Unions" Elliot, a final year Sports and Materials Science student, similarly said ‘the student experience at the Guild is already expensive.

Most other universities I have heard of charge up to £3 for entry to union nights and then drinks will be cheaper than they are at Fab too. I understand the call for a Living Wage, but I don’t think it would be fair to fund that through raising prices in the Guild.’

However, many other students felt that the University should help the Guild fund a Living Wage.

Grace, a third-year History student, said ‘I think the Guild should pay a living wage but I understand why it might be difficult considering the lack of funds that the Guild receives from the University.’

‘While valiant of Ellie Keiller to try, I am not surprised she failed.’

Several students contrasted the inability to support a Living Wage with the ongoing controversy surrounding the Vice Chancellor’s pay.

One student commented, ‘David Eastwood gets paid over £400,000 a year. The average UK salary is around the £27,000 mark. £400,000 wage - £95,000 to pay students a living wage = still a hell of a lot above the average national UK salary. Not much else needs to be said.’

Similarly, another student suggested that the size of the Vice Chancellor’s salary in comparison to the lack of funds for a Living Wage ‘says a lot about the university’s priorities’.

A former Joe’s Bar assistant, when told about the discrepancy in pay between those employed through Worklink and those at the Guild, along with the University’s refusal to fund a Living Wage, said ‘it doesn’t really surprise me!’

‘Juggling work and uni is hard enough, let alone when the pay is quite low.’

"It doesn't really surprise me!"

04

NEWS

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricknews

UCAS Drops Convictions Tickbox Liam Taft

News Reporter

University applicants are no longer required to declare their criminal records as part of their applications, UCAS revealed on Tuesday.

The new system came into effect in May 2018. Before this date, applicants were asked to declare whether they have any relevant unspent criminal convictions. They were required to tick a box that alerted universities of their past convictions, but this process has now been removed.

Applicants with prior convictions were frequently denied places on academic courses, regardless of whether they meet the entry criteria. This change will mean that one of the barriers facing students with prior convictions looking to acquire a degree

has been removed.

UCAS has spent the past two years working with charities – such as the Prisoner’s Education Trust (PET), the Longford Trust, and Unlock – in order to better understand the problems that exprisoners face when looking to progress into higher education.

"We hope that this reaffirms that higher education is open to everyone" According to PET, university offers have been withdrawn at the last minute upon discovering students’ past criminal records. They hope that these changes will

improve the chances of students with prior convictions being successful when applying to university.

Questions have been raised concerning the nature of these changes. UCAS have clearly stated that in applications for certain courses, such as nursing, students will still have to answer a mandatory question regarding past offences. However, for those applying to other degree courses, this is no longer required.

Ben Jordan, Senior Policy and Qualifications Manager, said: ‘UCAS is committed to ensuring that anyone who wants to study at university or college has the opportunity to apply, and isn’t put off by questions on the application’.

He continued, saying: ‘We hope that this reaffirms that higher education is open to everyone’.

Floods Hit UoB Campus Kirstie Sutherland

‘swimming’ along Dawlish Road to violently overflowing drains Outgoing Deputy Editor outside Yakinori and Sainsbury’s on Bristol Road. Tiverton Road was one of the worst affected, On Sunday 27th May, the UK with the dip outside Tiverton Pool experienced adverse weather causing several cars to become conditions, with the West stuck and submerged in several Midlands being one of the inches of rain water and unaworst affected regions by ble to be moved. heavy storms. In parEventually, flood ticular, the areas surwaters rose to such a rounding UoB were level that the severely hit by Bournbrook Road heavy rain and turning onto flash flooding; the Bristol Road Environment opposite the uniEdgbaston Agency reported versity’s South rainfall recorded that Edgbaston had Gate entrance was in one hour recorded 60mm of closed, resulting in rain in an hour, usulong traffic queues. ally more than a month's With the majority worth. of the student body living The ‘Fab N Fresh’ Facebook in and around Selly Oak, sevpage was quickly awash with eral houses were affected by risposts documenting the heavy ing water. Several ground floor rainfall, ranging from students rooms were completely flooded,

60mm

leaving carpets waterlogged and furniture damaged and rotting from the sheer amount of water.

Many students were subsequently forced to seek alternative sleeping arrangements once the weather had subsided.

Several parts of UoB campus were closed due to the storms.

The ground floors of both the Physics West and Mechanical and Civil Engineering buildings were completely flooded, as well as the Sports Centre shutting by early evening due to ceiling leaks.

The top floor of the Main Library was also closed due to leaks, before eventually being evacuated and closed until the following day. The Guild basement, home to several spaces housing important technical equipment such as the Redbrick office and BURN FM studios, was flooded, which resulted in a further closure of the entire build-

ing by 8pm.

The devastation occurring ahead of the last week of the university exam season, and on the eve of a bank holiday, caused major concerns for much of the student body.

"Many students were subsequently forced to seek alternative sleeping arrangements" However, the university issued a statement that exams planned for Tuesday 29th May would go ahead as planned, although the estates team were assessing affected buildings and

study spaces to determine changes in location for some.

Across the rest of the West Midlands, flooding was also rife, with hundreds of homes devastated by the weather and stretches of the M5 completely submerged.

The fire service received more than 1,000 calls within hours of the torrential rain, with police called to Rushall in Walsall to attend to a minibus that had been completely submerged - an elderly man stuck inside the vehicle was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Within 24 hours of the storms, the floods had virtually disappeared, and most of campus including the New Library and Sports Centre was reopened as normal by 10am. However, it remains unknown the extent to which the houses of Selly Oak and its surrounding areas were truly affected.

New Engineering Building Planned John Wimperis News Editor

Plans for the new School of Engineering building have been given the green light by Birmingham City Council.

The new School of Engineering building, which is intended to open in 2020, will provide state-of-the-art facilities focussed on digital systems in partnership with the rail industry.

Specific areas it is planned to centre on include ‘railway control and simulation, data integration and cybersecurity, condition monitoring and sensing, and improved methods for technology introduction’.

Funding for the building has been provided by the UK Railway Research and Innovation Network

(UKRRIN), a newly created body ‘designed to create powerful collaboration between academia and industry’. UKRRIN is developing

three new ‘Centres of Excellence’ of which one, Digital Systems, is being led entirely by the University of Birmingham.

University of Birmingham

The green light from the city council came on May 24th.

Professor Mark Sterling, Head of the School of Engineering was ‘delighted’ at the news and called it ‘a really exciting project that will bring many of our engineering disciplines into one purposedesigned building’.

Third year Civil Engineering student Alex Hawkins told Redbrick, ‘it's definitely needed as the current building is not fit for modern day practical sessions.

It's a shame I won't get to see it as an undergraduate’. He added that he would look forward to visiting it in the future and said the ‘general mood is that it's a great thing, just too late for my year group’.

Building on the project is due to commence in August 2018 on the site of the newly-demolished Chemistry West.

Professor Clive Roberts, who

"The UKRRIN Digital Systems Innovation Centre will bring industry into the heart of the University campus" is the leading figure in the University’s work on digital rail, said that ‘the UKRRIN Digital Systems Innovation Centre will bring industry into the heart of the University campus and ensure that the University plays a part in taking the next step in Britain’s transport infrastructure’.

NEWS

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricknews

05

Cambridge Grants for Refugees Nicola Stavrinou

confirmed the programme, the formal procedure in which this is News Reporter to take place is is yet to be announced.

This comes into play as the Cambridge University have con- Syrian crisis enters its seventh firmed their pledge to fund higher year of conflict. With the UNHCR education scholarships for stating 47.5% refugees are refugees and individuals under the age of 18, unifrom war-torn states. versities concerned with The prestigious the impact of war and institution has conflict on education teamed up with the are attempting to Cambridge introduce schemes Charity Trust to to help these young establish a system people. Individuals Of refugees are where 10 refugees absent from univerunder the age of can be afforded the sities as a result of 18 funding needed to conflict have since cover tuition fees been labelled the ‘lost and maintenance generation’ by academcosts. ics.

While the University has The scholarship entered dis-

cussion after Abdullah Kattineh, a Syrian student whose education was affected by the Syrian conflict, was able to raise enough money to cover his fees and costs and was offered a place at Corpus Christi.

The Cambridge Refugee Scholarship Campaign have endorsed such moves since 2017.

With Cambridge University responding to their calls for action by spending over £500,000 on addressing the shortage of refu-

47.5%

gees in higher education, the Campaign group have agreed to work alongside the institution to make the initiative a successful one.

Such moves have been attempted previously by other institutions such as Oxford University who, in 2016, had a unit of students fundraising for the same individuals to be supported financially in the pursuit of their education. Both campaigns can be said to have a rippling effect within the sector, increasing the presence of charitable initiatives.

In a statement posted on the University of Birmingham website, Dr Dina Kiwan of the School of Education said that aiding refugees into higher education at a PhD level is the first project to be confirmed by the University.

Oxbridge Elitism Continues Grace Duncan Spirit of Redbrick

It has been recently revealed that Oxbridge universities own property worth £3.5 billion with assets of £21 billion nationwide.

According to an investigation carried ou by the Gaurdian, the colleges of both universities collectively own more land than the Church of England, according to an investigation carried out by the Guardian. The Church of England holds a meagre 42,000 hectares in comparison to the 51,000 owned by the educational establishments.

There is a persistent urban legend that one can walk from Oxford to Cambridge purely on college and university owned land.

The properties range from a castle conquered by Robert the Bruce, the Millennium Dome, and a betting shop in Brent.

Additionally, both universities’ collegiate systems mean that vast amounts of their respective cities are university property. Cambridge University owns 31 colleges,

while Oxford University has 38, as well as 6 permanent private halls.

In Cambridge, Trinity College is the wealthiest of the individual colleges with published assets worth £1.3 billion, while in Oxford, St John’s College tops the table with close to £600 million.

The total size does not include some land held by several colleges ‘under ancient possession’, or the holdings of the universities, but this could account for over 1,800 hectares, according to information available online.

Other properties include the Top Gear test track, the Millwall football club’s training ground, and commercial land ownership in Brent, the Isle of Wight and other areas of England.

Waterside Farm in Berkshire owned by St John’s College sits on a wealth of £582 million and has received taxpayer-funded grants, intended to conserve the environment through protecting wildlife and maintaining rural landscapes. The college then planned to remove 200,000 tonnes of gravel from the farm, which

was met by outcry from locals for damaging ‘the environment, the ecosystem, the neighbourhood, the town, and not least, the residents’.

"Oxbridge universities own property worth £3.5 billion with assets of £21 billion nationwide" In response to these claims, an Oxford spokesperson told the Guardian: ‘The central university’s strong balance sheet allows us to fund new initiatives for our students, staff and outstanding teaching and research’.

It is no secret that universities are sitting on a lot of money, with the rent-free home of the

University of Birmingham’s vicechancellor on campus grounds undergoing a £282,000 renovation in 2011. His annual salary of £439,000 makes Professor Sir David Eastwood the highest paid vice-chancellor in the country.

The report from the Guardian exposing the amount of money that these establishments possessed was released at a similar time to the Oxford Annual Admissions reports which exposed further potential elitism within the university. The report revealed that since 2013 there has been an increase in less than 4% for admissions of students from working class backgrounds. This year, working class students accounted for only 10.6% of total admissions. This follows on from a report from the Guardian earlier this year which revealed that 82% of offers from Oxford in 2015 went to British students from the top two socio-economic groups.

The University of Birmingham recruited comparatively 22.8% of students from working class backgrounds in 2016. Although this is still low, it is double that of the

more elite university.

Louise Richardson, the vice chancellor of the University of Oxford, defended the university’s efforts, highlighting that they spend £17 million a year on outreach activities and financial support. However, this accounts for only 2% of the cumulative net income that Oxford and its colleges enjoyed in 2017. It is an even smaller fraction of the central assets of £3.2 billion.

This was met with anger on social media, with people declaring the universities elitist and old fashioned. David Lammy MP was arguably the most vocal, tweeting, ‘Oxford is a bastion of entrenched, wealthy, upper class, white, southern privilege. We need systematic change. That means foundation years, centralised admissions and contextual admissions’.

His perspective was echoed by other groups, who also decried the university and called for radical change. This is something that should perhaps be echoed across the entire university system in order to make improvements.

UoB Drops in New League Table Madeline McInnis News Reporter

The University of Birmingham has fallen in the Guardian’s 2019 ranking of top universities. The newspaper has placed Birmingham as the 19th ranked higher education institution in the United Kingdom, down four spots from the 2018 rankings.

The Guardian’s rankings review how satisfied students are with their course, teaching, and feedback, as well as factors such as staff to student ratio, employment, and a continuation score.

Overall, there are nine factors that make up the Guardian’s score, which are averaged out and com-

pared to other universities.

The Guardian also breaks down the rankings within specific programs.

Highlights for Birmingham include being ranked fourth in Sports Sciences and fifth in English and Creative Writing.

Most of the top universities remained unchanged, with Cambridge, Oxford, and St. Andrews all retaining their ranks as first, second, and third respectively. The universities all attained near-perfect scores, with Cambridge coming out on top with a 100% score.

Many Russell Group universities appeared lower down on the list than Birmingham. Cardiff and King’s College London tied for the 58th ranking, and Liverpool landed at 57th. The lowest rank-

ing Russell Group university on the Guardian’s polls was Queen Mary at 83rd, down from 44th the previous year.

The Guardian explains that their rankings are derived from statistics sourced from the National Student Survey and the tracking of postgraduate employment.

Though the Guardian list is a popular option in the United Kingdom, it is not exhaustive in its efforts to pin down a university’s rank within the country or the world. The latest rankings from The Complete University Guide placed Birmingham at 15th in the United Kingdom, up one place from the previous year. In addition, this year, Birmingham placed 141st in the world on The World

University rankings, run through Times Higher Education, but 84th in the QS World University rankings.

"The polls each assess varied criteria, which may account for the varied results" The polls each assess varied criteria, which may account for the varied results. It is not clear whether university ranking schemes help to ensure a job for graduates when they leave their

institutions, but an article published by the BBC highlights how graduates from the very top programmes at the top universities can benefit from higher incomes in later life.

This does not seem to have an effect on universities beyond the Russell Group or the top handful of consistently high-ranking, prestigious institutions, where the middling sort seem to be on a level playing field.

One criticism of the rankings is that many do not feature emerging academic fields, such as the academic discourse of film studies, in their scores, leaving little use for students applying to these sorts of programmes.

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NEWS

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricknews

Chelsea Gold for Windrush Garden

A garden designed by Birmingham City Council celebrating the Windrush Generation wins the top award at the Chelsea Flower Show Erin Santillo News Editor @ErinSantillo

A garden designed by Birmingham City Council (BCC) celebrating the legacy of the Windrush Generation has won gold at the Chelsea Flower Show. It is the seventh gold for the BCC in as many years.

Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush to the UK, the floral arrangement was created with the assistance of Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE, an ambassador for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and patron of the Windrush Foundation, which funded the project.

The garden depicted the ship, which transported almost 500 Caribbean workers from Jamaica to Essex in 1948, among a bed of hand-picked flowers. Pictures drawn by children explaining what life has been like for the pas-

sengers were used to decorate the base of the exhibit.

"The floral arrangement was created with the assistance of Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE" Recent attention has been drawn to the legacy of the Windrush Generation – a term that describes everyone who arrived in the UK from the Caribbean between 1948 and 1971 – as they were recently controversially asked to prove their citizenship in order to continue working in the country, despite the government offering them indefinite leave to remain in 1971.

Many of the thousands of British

citizens who descend from this generation have been struggling to prove this after the Home Office destroyed their landing cards in 2010.

Responding to the scandal, Theresa May and the Home Office have since apologised for the government’s treatment of the Windrush Generation. The BCC’s commemorative garden was not designed in direct response to this story, but rather to ‘capture the pioneering spirit’ of the people affected.

Speaking about the garden, Darren Share MBE, who led the BCC’s creative team, stated: ‘I am delighted that we have achieved our seventh Chelsea Gold for Birmingham, but ultimately this prestigious award would not have been possible without the vision of Baroness Floella Benjamin'.

‘Working with Floella and the Windrush Foundation gave us a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the spirit and contributions of the Windrush Generation in a

colourful and imaginative way, while also providing opportunities for people to learn about this hugely important chapter in British history.

‘I would also like to thank my team who have worked so hard to bring Floella’s vision to life with

the power of plants and, of course, our sponsors who have paid for the display and all the plants and moving within it’.

The garden will now be displayed in Birmingham’s Victoria Square for public viewing.

Birmingham City Council

2017 Tourism Boom for Birmingham Emily Roberts News Editor

New research findings show that Birmingham’s tourism industry enjoyed its most successful year on record in 2017 with visitor spending reaching £7.1 billion.

The figures, released by the West Midlands Growth Company and research company Global Tourism Solutions, indicate that the wealth generated through visitor spending has risen by over nine percent in just one year. The report also illustrates how hotel revenue is at a record high, with

hotel occupancy levels at 75% at Edgbaston Stadium. The figand revenue per available ures also reflect an increase in room (RevPAR) reaching employment levels in £51 in value. The Birmingham, with the research also amount of full-time revealed how the equivalent job city welcomed opportunities ris41.8 million visiing by 7.2 percent tors last year. over the past two September marked years.

Total Birmingham the busiest year Responding to Visitor Spending for tourism, with the findings, In 2017 many travelling to Councillor Ian Birmingham to Ward, leader of the attend popular events Birmingham City such as outdoor festival Council, stated: Birmingham Weekender ‘Tourism is a major part of and the Natwest T20 Finals Day the Birmingham economy, sup-

£7.1bn

porting thousands of jobs, and these outstanding figures underline the fact this city is now a major tourist destination, with a growing profile on the global stage’.

Speaking to Redbrick, third year Classics student Amy suggested some reasons why the city’s visitor economy might be flourishing: ‘Birmingham’s undergone a lot of construction over the past few years. Shopping and food retailers have boomed, and the city now brings together a good mix of chain and independent businesses, which adds even more appeal to tourists’.

"It shows that Birmingham has a lot more to offer than some people might think!"

Praising the figures, third year Political Science student Oli said ‘it shows that Birmingham has a lot more to offer than some people might think!’

Brum Shortlisted for New C4 HQ Erin Santillo News Editor @ErinSantillo

The new national headquarters of Channel 4 could be built in Birmingham, its latest shortlist has revealed.

The city’s bid will compete with Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool to be the next home of the broadcaster. Over 30 cities originally submitted bids but only seven made the shortlist, with the winner being announced on 1st October.

Channel 4 is looking to move 300 of its 800 staff out of its current London offices into the regions, establishing a new national headquarters, two ‘creative hubs’ and three news bureaux.

The move will result in millions of pounds of television pro-

Tony Hisgett

gramming leaving the capital, with the channel’s new base featuring a state-of-the-art studio and executive board meeting facilities.

The broadcaster has stated that the new home of Channel 4 must have a working population of at least 200,000, travel time to London within three hours and high-quality infrastructure.

Highlighting how Birmingham has all three desired properties, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street commented, ‘Now the hard work really starts as we begin negotiations in earnest to develop the most compelling case possible to the broadcaster’.

If Birmingham is not selected from the shortlist, it will be entered into the competition to host one of the two ‘creative hubs’. Six additional cities – Belfast, Brighton, NewcastleGateshead, Nottingham, Sheffield

and Stoke-on-Trent – are also being considered for these smaller offices.

"Now the hard work really starts as we begin negotiations in earnest to develop the most compelling case possible to the broadcaster" The channel’s current headquarters at 124 Horseferry Road in Victoria will remain the broadcaster’s London headquarters.

The building opened in 1994 as a purpose-built facility for Channel 4. Based on designs by Richard Rogers and Partners, the construction took four years to the sum of £38.5m. The striking design features a large sculpture of the broadcaster's logo outside the main entrance, which the creative team at the channel regularly decorate to publicise upcoming programmes.

Designs for Channel 4's new headquarters will be drawn up once a city and a site is chosen, although Richard Rogers and Partners have not confirmed that they will be directly involved in the project.

It is estimated that the broadcaster's expenditure on programming outside of the capital will rise from £169m per annum to approximately £350m by 2023 as result of the move.

NEWS

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricknews

07

Student Reps Call for Brexit Vote John Wimperis News Editor

A letter to Parliament calling for a referendum on the terms of the Brexit deal has been signed by elected representatives from 60 students’, graduates’, and university unions.

In the letter, representatives claim to represent ‘just under one million students across the United Kingdom’. They state that they believe that ‘the European Union has been a force for good for UK society’.

The freedom to travel, work and study abroad, as well as environmental protections, and Womens and LGBTQ+ rights, were identified as being particularly valued by students.

Though claiming they accepted the result of the referendum, they state in the letter that ‘the world is a different place to 2016’.

The letter goes on to say that they ‘firmly believe that it is in our members’ interests to retain the benefits of European Union membership’ and adds that many of those members could not vote in 2016.

‘Because of this, we call on our elected leaders to deliver on a

people’s vote on the Brexit deal so that young people can once and for all have a say on their futures'.

"Regardless of which side you’re on, we know that during the referendum, lies were told and voters mislead" The organisation behind the letter, For Future’s Sake (FFS), describes itself on its website as ‘a young people and student-led anti Brexit campaign, fighting for a People’s Vote on the terms of the Brexit deal’.

Guild of Students President Ellie Keiller signed the letter and is a spokesperson for FFS. She told Redbrick ‘the campaign isn’t about opposing Brexit, it’s simply calling for a vote on the Brexit deal’.

Keiller said she got involved in FFS because, though she

accepts many people voted to leave, she does not believe voters were informed on ‘the reality of Brexit which has come to light since.

‘Regardless of which side you’re on, we know that during the referendum, lies were told and voters misled. Now, it’s clear to me that Theresa May is struggling to get a good deal; I believe the British people deserve a say on if we accept it or not’.

Keiller told Redbrick that if the letter’s request was granted ‘it

means that students, and all people in the UK, will be given an informed decision on whether to accept the Brexit deal (which will be the best Theresa May can get so there’s no ‘re-negotiation’ option) or to not accept and therefore to remain.

‘Unlike in the 2016 referendum, in the question proposed, there will be terms to vote on which means an understanding of the true implications of Brexit, both good and bad, can be presented to those voting’.

Simon Rae

Tom Harwood, who led the student wing of Vote Leave, was quoted in the Independent dismissing the campaign as ‘100 people from the NUS who are very upset the referendum result didn’t go the way they wanted it to go and so they want to have another go’.

Responding to this in Redbrick, Keiller said ‘Tom Harwood says a lot of things so that’s not surprising. He deliberately attempts to antagonise and divide students on these things’. She added that ‘it’s clear that many young people and students are supporting this campaign’ and reiterated the goal was a vote on the deal.

Second year Classical Literature and Civilisation student Harriet Ellis, who voted leave in the referendum, told Redbrick, ‘I think that it's wrong to assume that all students voted remain and are unhappy with the results.

However, if I could vote again I'd vote to stay in so for me, another referendum wouldn't be so bad.’

73% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 who voted in the referendum in 2016 had voted to remain, according to polling data from Lord Ashcroft. This makes them the most pro-remain age group.

News in a Nutshell...

News Editor Phoebe Radford looks at the major stories that developed over exam season

Royal News Spring has been a busy time for the Royal Family. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcomed their third child on 23rd April and after much speculation, announced they had named him Prince Louis Arthur Charles. Coincidentally, Louis was born on St. George’s Day, England’s patron saint day, but the couple were unable to name him in honour of the saint as their eldest son is named George.

Following the excitement of the new addition, the Royal Family gathered in Windsor on 19th May to celebrate the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The former Suits star has given up her acting career to join the Royal Family, and will now be known as the Duchess of Sussex, a title gifted to her by the Queen on their wedding day. Many celebrated the diverse nature of the nuptials; the sermon was delivered by Bishop Michael Curry, the first African American head of the Episcopal Church (the US branch of the Anglican Church) who quoted Martin Luther King Jr. The ceremony also saw performances from Kingdom Choir, a gospel choir and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, the 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year.

Skripals' Survival On 4 March, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found

unconscious on a bench in Salisbury town centre. It was later discovered that they had been poisoned by the highly toxic nerve agent Novichock, a substance developed by the Soviet Union.

Skripal is a former Russian military intelligence officer who acted as a double agent for the UK. He had been jailed in Russia in 2004, but had been living in the UK since being traded in a spy-swap in 2010.

It is thought that the nerve agent attack was a murder attempt, possibly directed by the Russian state itself against the former spy.

Prime Minister Theresa May said: ‘Either this was a direct action by the Russian state against our country, or the Russian government lost control of its potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others’. Russia has denied the accusation, claiming the attack was a ‘grotesque provocation rudely staged by the British and U.S. intelligence agencies’, and after missing a deadline to give an explanation for the use of the nerve agent, the UK expelled 23 Russian diplomats on 14 March.

Despite a poor prognosis, all those affected by the nerve agent have since been discharged from hospital. Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was the first to be released but said ‘normal life for me will probably never be the same’. Yulia Skripal was discharged on 9 April and declined consular assistance from the Russian Embassy, her

father was later discharged on 18 May. The case remains mysterious, but the investigations have all pointed to Russia as the source of the nerve agent.

Heathrow Third Runway The long-contested third runway for Heathrow airport has been approved by the government.

The plans were supported by the government’s economic subcommittee and then approved by the entire Cabinet. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced a budget of £2.6bn for compensation for residents and said the project would be funded privately and could be complete by 2026. Justine Greening, the MP for Putney, predicted the runway would cost £18bn while a further £15bn would be needed to update surrounding infrastructure.

However, the plans have been criticised by some. Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green Party, tweeted her disappointment that ‘Chris Grayling’s statement on #Heathrow didn’t mention climate change once’.

Other campaigners have claimed a new runway will breach the UK’s legal air and noise pollution limits and disrupt local villages. Hundreds of homes are likely to be demolished.

The approval of the plans ends years of debate over whether an extra runway was necessary and where it should be built.

Volcano Eruptions The Kilauea volcano on the island of Hawaii has been erupting since 3 May. A large earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 on 4 May, the strongest to strike Hawaii since 1975, accompanied the opening of over 20 lava fissures. On 17 May, a more explosive eruption sent plumes of ash 30,000ft high.

Evacuations have taken place and, as of 4 June, 117 houses had been destroyed and 8.2 square miles of land has been covered by lava flows. The flows have continued to move, reaching the Pacific Ocean on 21 May. This has created a cloud of laze, a toxic gas cloud containing hydrochloric acid.

The Hawaiian eruption has been followed by Guatemala’s most violent volcanic eruption in a century. The Fuego volcano erupted on 3 June, killing at least 69 people.

The 16-hour eruption sent ash 10km in the sky and caused Pyroclastic flows, fatal fast-moving clouds of hot gas, rocks, mud and other volcanic material, to move quickly down the mountainside, destroying villages.

Soldiers are now assisting firefighters to search for those missing.

Trump/Kim Relations On 5 June the US said that preparations for a proposed meeting in Singapore between President Trump and North Korean leader

Kim Jong-Un on 12th June were going well.

There had been uncertainty if the meeting would go ahead after Trump called it off in late May, with the Americans accusing the North Koreans of failing to respond to summit preparations.

Trump’s letter had accused the North Koreans ‘tremendous anger and open hostility’.

However, the meeting is now back on but few details have been made public. For example, it is still unknown where the two leaders are to meet within Singapore, or exactly what will be on the agenda.

It is likely they will discuss denuclearisation, but possibly also a formal end to the Korean War. Whilst Trump prepares to meet North Korea’s Kim, he had a meeting with a rather different Kim on 31 May. Kim Kardashian-West, best known for her appearances on her family’s reality TV show ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’, met with Trump in the Oval Office of the White House to lobby him to pardon Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old woman who has served more than two decades of a life imprisonment sentence for a first-time drug offense.

The case caught Kardashian’s eye on social media and she has since involved her own legal team in Johnson’s case.

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COMMENT

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbrickcomment

A New Path for Catholicism?

The Irish Abortion Referendum could indicate a change in course for Catholicism in Ireland, argues Tom Shacklock Tom Shacklock Comment Writer

With 66.4% of voters saying Yes to abortion in Ireland’s referendum, the Catholic Church has felt its significant political influence over the Irish population diminish. This referendum repeals a ban dating back to 1861, reinforced by the 1983 referendum instituting the constitution’s Eighth Amendment.

The changes for Catholicism can be seen further in recent comments from Pope Francis. He assured a gay Chilean and sexual abuse victim Juan Carlos Cruz that God ‘made you like this and loves you like this.’ Thus, May 2018 appears to be another turning point in the Catholic Church’s global influence.

The repeal of the Eighth Amendment marks a progressive step forward in the recognition of women’s rights and respect for the LGBTQ community. In Ireland’s referendum, those who

voted Yes to repeal the Eighth Amendment included those of all ages and genders, many of whom would have once opposed abortion. For example, two elderly ladies stated, ‘the Church always told us what to do and now it’s time for us.’ They rejected a law that has caused numerous Irish women in need of abortion to travel to the UK, where the surgery is legal, or face serious medical situations, such as in the tragic case of Savita Halappanavar, who passed away in 2012 after complications with a septic miscarriage. The healthbased pro-choice arguments have thus outdone and delegitimised the pro-life arguments driven by religion.

This marks a victory – or rather a relief – for women and families previously neglected by Ireland’s conservative legislation, but it should not be something to lament for the Church itself. The Irish population has not abandoned Catholicism as a religion, with 78.3% of Irish

people still identifying themselves as Catholic in 2016.

Catholicism, as a religion and a culture, still runs in the Irish people’s blood. The nation’s Catholic institution should not feel bound to retreat into the shadows of modern secularism.

Rather, it needs to accept a change in its role, priorities and identity. The May referendum simply shook the Catholic Church as an institution of power. Catholicism in Ireland can now serve less as a tool to control people’s lives, and more as a system of faith and worship.

A leading figure advocating this modern outlook on the Church’s role in Ireland is Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin. He has recently expressed progressive views on a number of social issues, including the need to accept same-sex marriage back in 2015. Regarding the abortion referendum, he acknowledged that the church had been seen as ‘weak in com-

passion’ by the Irish public.

However, he has added to his criticism the suggestion of a new path for the Church in Irish society. This entails a different interpretation of the Christian concept of ‘pro-life.’ He appropriately argues that ‘pro-life’ means supporting marginalised, impoverished and suffering people. His approach could positively revive the role of the Church in Ireland, if other priests and bishops are willing to follow his steps.

When the Church expresses its dismay over the legalisation of abortion and same-sex marriage, it forgets its main purposes in society. As Archbishop Martin indicated, this purpose should be to actively provide support and charity when people want and need it, and to guide those who have invested strong beliefs in God on a deep, personal level. If the majority of the Irish public have stated with their conscience that abortion is no longer a sin worth worrying about, the Catholic Church needs to accept

this reality. The majority of the Irish public is as Catholic as the priests and bishops running the Church. There is no reason therefore that, when this same public demands that abortion be legalised, the abortion issue should undermine the many other more meaningful values of Catholicism.

The Pope increasingly recognises this necessity to change the C h u r c h ’s m e n t a l i t y.

Unfortunately, his acceptance of homosexuality may not be all that progressive, as the Catholic Church still does not accordingly endorse homosexual activity.

However, his comments signal the Catholic Church taking a step back from criticising people for matters that not even the most conservative religious figures should consider as grave as real global concerns. Following last month’s developments, the more religious institutions accept progressive ideas, the more they can restore theirimage as bringers of hope and good.

Are We Being Referendumb?

TV Editor Matt Dawson outlines the essential flaws of recent referendum votes in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland Matt Dawson TV Editor

Following a recent public referendum, Ireland collectively voted to repeal the 8th Amendment of their constitution regarding legal abortion. The preexisting legislation dictates that the life of the unborn foetus is placed as equal to that of the women, and abortion is only considered when the life of the mother is at risk.

"Almost two years on and with little progress made, the UK is still regarded as an international laughing stock" It does not consider cases of rape, incest or if the child’s life could be in danger. Now, thanks to the voice of the Irish public, 66.4% of people decided to make a change to this outdated rule.

However, of all the people that voted, they only represented 64.5% of the Irish population, with even this making it the referendum with third-highest turnout in the country’s history. This raises the question: how effective really is public voting?

The UK itself is not shy of referendums. In the past seven years we have seen four of them to address issues of Welsh selfgovernance, the introduction of an alternative voting system, Scottish independence and, of course, our departure from the European Union. But essentially all of these, Brexit in particular, have consisted of boiling down complex issues to a simple Yes or No answer in the name of democracy, without actually solving the problem at hand.

In the aftermath of the vote in June 2016, several Leave voters have claimed to regret their decision, as a response to the economic and political uncertainty that has succeeded this result.

Much like the decision for independence in Scotland, many politicians seemed like they believed that Remain would win out, changing little of the status quo.

Instead, Brexit triggered a snowball of events including the Prime Minister’s resignation, Nigel Farage back-tracking on his claims that the NHS would directly benefit from leaving the EU, and a follow-up General Election to consolidate Theresa May’s power during these not-so-strongand-stable times.

Yet now, almost two years on and with little progress made, the UK is still regarded as an international laughing stock. Opinion towards our country has plummeted due to Brexit, with one of the few countries still favouring the vote to leave being the USA,

the same country that elected TV personality Donald Trump as their president under similar knee-jerk circumstances. But even now, that promised trade deal looks all the more elusive as the machinery of politics proves yet again to be more complex than a simple cross in a box.

The referendum in Ireland could suffer a similar fate. While it may seem currently like a victory for progress and the liberal movement against archaic values, it is fundamental that this spirit does not get lost or diminished in the motions of democracy. This is without considering the factor of the Catholic Church, which still maintains a significant presence in Irish society – although this result cements the fact that this influence is waning. Pope Francis has remained silent on the matter, although the Archbishop of Armagh has called the results

saddening but having ‘not come out of the blue.’ Hopefully, this signals the shift away from such controlling religious views in matters of politics, but as we live in a democratic society, religious institutions will always have some say in the matter.

"This can result in complicated political and ethical dilemmas being oversimplified" Referendums have also had an impact away from the UK and Ireland, most notably in Catalonia.

However, this call for independence caused controversy not only

because of it raising matters of national identity but also of its legitimacy.

Despite a landslide majority of those in favour of the Spanish autonomous region splitting away from the mainland, the central government in Madrid insisted that, as it was not sanctioned by them, the results held no weight.

It even reached levels of alleged police brutality at polling stations, with apparent attempts to intimidate people into not voting. As the turnout was only 42.3%, perhaps this was the voice of a vocal minority and not representative of what the Catalans really want.

But that, again, comes down to the essential flaw in making decisions based on referendums: the general public are forced to pigeon-hole themselves into a frequently binary choice, instead of examining the matter at hand from a varied spectrum of perspectives. This can result in complicated political and ethical dilemmas being oversimplified, leading to situations where the public are led to believe that these issues will be resolved simply by favouring one thing over another.

Turnout is not mandatory, meaning that referendums will never be representative of the general consensus anyway, and can favour some opinionated individuals to skew the perception of the vox populi. But this is democracy, which, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, is the worst form of decision-making – except from all the others.

COMMENT

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbrickcomment

09

Theresa May Must Answer to The Windrush Generation Action needs to be taken to punish those responsible for creating a ‘hostile environment’ for the Windrush Generation, argues Comment Writer Kieren Williams Kieren Williams Comment Writer

My grandfather came to Britain in 1955; my father came a year later, along with his mother and sister – my grandmother and auntie. They answered the call of a nation in need of help from its former colonies – countries it had not exactly ever treated well.

Nevertheless, they and so many others answered the call of Britain, of Queen and Country.

The first to do this were the passengers of the HMS Windrush: so many followed in their path, moving to a completely foreign country, one where bigotry and racism at people like us was hardly uncommon. They uprooted their lives in the attempt to make a better future for themselves and their families. My father doesn’t often speak of his first years in Britain, but I know he was nervous, very nervous coming into this entirely new country... but there was an excitement too. Excitement because of this new and amazing country he was moving to. When we did speak about it he recalled his amazement at seeing the white cliffs of Dover as his ship came into harbour.

I can only imagine the Windrush generation felt the same, which makes this knife in their backs sixty-seven years later all the worse and it makes me all the angrier, and all the more worried.

It began in 2010 with the then-Home Secretary Theresa May. She introduced strict new rules about immigrants proving their right to be in the UK and

created a ‘hostile environment’ for immigrants in the UK, something May had stated she wanted to do for illegal immigrants but also succeeded in doing for those who had legally lived here for decades. This set the precedent that would lead to the last Home Secretary Amber Rudd (who resigned over the course of my writing this article) denying British citizens healthcare, pensions and benefits. They made British citizens destitute and homeless and threatened them with deportation as well as refus-

"One of the worst things about it for me is the hypocrisy of it all" ing to let some back into the country.

This was down largely to targets of deportations set by the Home Office, who wanted a 10% rise in deportation. I have so many issues with such a destructive policy – I can understand wanting to remove illegal immigrants from your country, but setting targets in such delicate areas never works. Just look at what happened when policemen were set targets in inner-city areas in America. Those who are innocent are prosecuted, attacked and worse as the government seeks to meet numbers on a board instead of taking each case individually within its own context, as they should.

It was revealed in a memo leaked to The Guardian that Home Secretary Rudd had lied

about her involvement with the scandal. She had first claimed no targets existed, then she claimed she had never known of said targets, then resigned after each claim was proven in succession to be a brazen lie.

Which is good, I think, after Rudd’s role in all of this: how her actions have ruined lives and ripped worlds apart and how she then repeatedly lied about having no role in it, she should resign and should face some form of punishment.

I also think an investigation is needed and one should be demanded into the Home Office, in order to understand how this could happen. How the government can target people who have lived here for over half a century after being invited here; how they can treat us in such a horrific manner and how can such an environment be created that this is not just accepted, but actively sought after.

What started in 2010 stretched through to today, the environment Theresa May created terrorising some of the Windrush generation and beyond, and who knows who else. Michael Braithwaite, a special needs assistant teacher was sacked after 56 years in the country as a result of the Home Office’s laws; he paid taxes and clearly contributed to our society but suffered from the Home Office’s purge. How easily could that have been one of my aunties or uncles? Or my own father? In the world of Brexit Britain, the lives of migrants are more precarious than ever and this just proves that danger stretches a lot further than any of us dared imagine.

And what about Theresa May? The current Prime Minister was the Home Secretary and architect of the original rules and impetus that caused this. She started all of this but has walked away almost unscathed, needed only to issue a few apologies.

Her role in this needs to be investigated: Amber Rudd has rightfully resigned for her role but what about our Prime Minister?

She should not be allowed to get away with ruining so many lives.

This has been a serious breach of trust, an attack on the very freedoms of so many and an attack on a very specific group of people who came to Britain to help better themselves and better this country.

"The Windrush scandal is a disaster that has ruined lives" One of the worst things about the Windrush scandal for me is the hypocrisy of it all: we were celebrating Windrush Generation in the opening ceremony at the 2012 London Olympics, and barely five years later the Windrush Generation were facing uncertainty about their future, they were fearing for the lives they had created over decades in our country, as citizens of our nation. I am the son of a migrant and I wear that badge with honour, I always have and always will take pride from the fact that I am as Jamaican as I am English.

But right now, I am fearful,

fearful because it could have so easily been members of my family in that situation, fearing for their future, spending a week in a detention centre and being a hair’s breadth away from being sent back to Jamaica, like Paulette Wilson was, or being refused reentry to our country. Their lives could have been ripped apart because of the Home Office, because of Amber Rudd and because of Theresa May. It angers me that this can happen. The handling of it reminds me of the way the Stephen Lawrence case was handled in some aspects, those in power only admitting their wrongs when forced, and not doing so freely and willingly.

Had Amber Rudd had her way she would have covered up her role and the entire affair and the suffering of so many would have continued.

It is the latest in a long line of attacks and affronts to the black population of Britain, – no, let me rephrase that, to the population of Britain. Because being black and being British are not mutually exclusive, the Windrush Generation are as British as anyone: the spirit they showed, the ingenuity and determination, are more British than Kitchener and Churchill.

The Windrush scandal is a disaster that has ruined lives, and action needs to be taken, swift and definite, to help those affected recover and to ensure something like this never happens again, and those responsible are duly punished.

Until then, I – a son of a migrant– will always be afraid for the safety and security of my family in my own country.

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@redbrickcomment

The Sun Pounds Sterling Tom Leaman calls for more extensive media regulation to protect the integrity of celebrities such as Raheem Sterling Tom Leaman Comment Writer

If you were presented with a description of an individual calling him a ‘footie idiot’ and a ‘love rat’ with a ‘long-suffering’ fiancée, you’d be excused for picturing an abrasive, unintelligent, bad influence sports personality. However, the above descriptions are all unfavourable quotations from The Sun about Manchester City footballer Raheem Sterling, who recently graced the tabloid’s front page again for an unfinished tattoo on his leg. The tattoo depicts a gun to represent the anti-gun values he gained as a child from the death of his father in Kingston, Jamaica when Raheem was only two years old. Sterling defended the (admittedly controversial) inking by suggesting it has a deeper meaning; the gun on his calf shows how he will ‘never touch a gun in my lifetime’ and shows how ‘I shoot with my right foot, so it has a deeper meaning’. The following day, the paper had the audacity to publish an article headlined ‘Ster it up’, telling readers more about the nature of his father’s death and digging further into his personal life. Anyone who has interviewed the player will testify that the real Sterling could not be more different than the image of him created by the tab-

loid media. One Twitter user (@ HushKerai) spoke to him as a student, yet Sterling called him ‘Sir’ despite being a wealthy Premier League footballer, showing the true mark of the man.

"The real Sterling could not be more different than the image of him created by the tabloid media" Sterling’s defence of himself and social media complaints have done little to prevent the blatant and seemingly neverending character assassination of him by The Sun, currently edited by Tony Gallagher.

According to them, Sterling is both a cheapskate and too exuberant, was wrongfully tired after a 3am party, and has been lambasted for driving a ‘filthy’ Mercedes. The Daily Mail even accused him of looking ‘relaxed’ while eating breakfast after losing out on the PFA Young Player of the Year Award to Leroy Sané.

Bizarrely, the Manchester City forward seems to be the only English footballer targeted by The Sun going into the World Cup in Russia. In fact, the

description of Sterling and international teammate Harry Kane’s engagements were worlds apart.

Sterling was described as a ‘love rat’ for no apparent reason, who was getting engaged to his ‘longsuffering girlfriend’, while Kane was instead to marry his ‘childhood sweetheart’.

Sadly, it has been suggested that The Sun’s descriptions of Raheem are racially-motivated, and it’s clear to see why; he is from an unprivileged background and was born to a Jamaican father. Kane, on the other hand, was born and raised in East and North London. The Guardian’s Maurice McLeod suggests that successful young black men have a history of being targeted by tabloid press, particularly in sports, pointing at the examples of fellow footballer Mario Balotelli and grime artist Stormzy. The Sun also compared ex-Everton player Ross Barkley to a gorilla, despite his Nigerian heritage. While uncertain, the accusations against the paper for racial discrimination show that not enough is being done to protect individuals or groups from provocative stories published against them to huge audiences. Really, the attitude of The Sun towards the football community has not changed since the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy, when they gave Liverpool supporters full responsibility for the 96 deaths.

After the Leveson Enquiry, a Royal Charter placed the Press Recognition Panel (PRP) in charge of overseeing regulation and preventing unlawful activity from the media, but it’s clear that such regulators are uneffective in preventing the press from targeting and attacking individuals for reasons that are poorlyresearched and potentially racially motivated. The PRP’s role is to allow independent press regulators to perform through funding and providing a platform for them to raise concerns.

Despite public outcry on social media, little seems to be done by such regulators to protect the reputation of individuals such as Raheem Sterling. £170,000 a week gives a person a lot, but it cannot protect them from the consequences, both

personal and on a wider impressionable audience, of repeatedly personal attacks on him. More thorough editorial work would surely be a solution of sorts, although even at the other end of the media spectrum the system is fundamentally flawed. It’s been suggested that George Osborne is too compromised by business and political interests to objectively edit the Evening Standard, which is unfair on the consumer who expects to be presented with an accurate portrayal of the news from reliable sources. The fundamental question posed by research into the underappreciated issue of the lack of effective regulation of articles published in print or online is: Why isn’t more is being done?

While imperfect, governmentapproved television regulators Ofcom have some influence on what can and cannot be shown in the UK, but there seems to be no real equivalent in print and online media. It seems to be something that ought to be considered to protect individuals and groups from being targeted by certain news outlets, and to prevent other factors from continuing to influence the news. If such precautions were put in place at a governmental level, the defamation suffered by the likes of Raheem Sterling would not be such an issue in the future.

Six Months of #MeToo

Emily Chapman reflects on half a year of #MeToo and highlights where else progress can be made Emily Chapman Comment Writer

At the end of the piece I wrote last October on sexual assault in Hollywood, I noted my positivity from the ability of women to come together in the face of sexual assault. The last six or so months' proceedings have not disappointed me. The #MeToo movement caused shockwaves that continue to take effect today, with the indictment of Harvey Weinstein taking place in the last week.

After being formally charged with multiple counts of first and third-degree rape, Weinstein posted a $1m bail and now awaits trial. Despite the seeming victory of the legal measures taken against Weinstein, this is not the end of misogyny in Hollywood and across the globe.

Weinstein and others like him continue to use their wealth for comfort, even under abhorrent circumstances. This becomes an increasingly sickening concept considering Weinstein’s wealth

was implicit in his ability to commit these crimes and get away with them for so long in the first place, manipulating young actresses with the promise of fulfilling their wildest dreams. Whilst the fundamental issues remain relatively untouched, the survival of the #MeToo movement means that things are changing: people are listening and giving support to women.

"Weinstein's actions were the impetus for this feminist movement" But have we succeeded in making men accountable for their actions? This is a much more complicated question than can be answered here and now, but as new stories and accusations hit our screens every day, it is worth thinking about how

this has affected how men are viewing their own crimes, and whether they are being deterred from committing further ones.

Only very recently has actor Morgan Freeman been accused of sexual misconduct on movie sets and in interviews, as well as the #MuteRKelly Twitter movement after investigations began into the treatment of women (particularly black women) by R. Kelly and his team.

But, as much as I despise writing his name, Weinstein’s actions were the impetus for this feminist movement, and have arguably set up a kind of precedent against which further crimes are being compared. Take Freeman’s sexual misconduct accusations, for example. In more than one article I have read about him, it has been found necessary to identify his actions as ‘nowhere near as bad as Weinstein’s’, as if this mattered.

Unfortunately, on some people, the point of the whole #MeToo movement seems to have been lost. Weinstein has been placed at one end of a horrible spec-

trum of sexual assaults, with anything to the left of him being considered less of a concern.

The reality, however, is that every instance of sexual assault is a revolting and violent crime against an individual, all of which are as completely detestable as each other. It seems absurd that I’m having to clarify this, but this is an active example of the work that is still yet to be done.

"#MeToo has become an international feminist movement" With just a quick Google search it can be seen how #MeToo continues to be relevant and is changing in nature. New search hits are coming up every couple of hours, and spots on the top lists are now not only reserved for the celebrity cases,

but stories about women becoming advocates for #MeToo in their everyday lives. The most significant of these are stories that have come from women in Iran, who have broken the incredibly taboo of sexual assault to join their feminist sisters across the globe in speaking out. Through this it can be seen how the movement has evolved over the last few months: now not only something reserved for victims in the celebrity spotlight, #MeToo has become an international feminist movement that, with any luck, will shape the future of 21st century feminism.

As bleak as the emergence of accusations against people we may have previously respected and admire are, I still have hope that one day they will come to an end, and we can all bask in the confidence we have that men will not use their power to abuse others.

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Trial by Social Media

Natalia Carter considers the allegatons against actor Morgan Freeman, his inadequate apology, and the unforgiving nature of social media Natalia Carter Comment Writer

Morgan Freeman has become the latest household name to be sullied amongst recent accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour.

16 women have come forward accusing the Hollywood icon, 8 victims and 8 witnesses, sparking an investigation. This has established an alleged pattern of behaviour from Freeman who is accused by one woman of persistently ‘trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear’. Other women have claimed that when Freeman was on set, they would avoid wearing form-fitting clothing to avoid inappropriate comments regarding their bodies.

"16 women have come forward accusing the Hollywood icon, 8 victims and 8 witnesses, sparking an investigation" The media has been quick to accuse and label Morgan, prompting a less than satisfactory apology from the actor.

Freeman’s apology stated, ‘Anyone who knows me or has worked with me knows I am not someone who would intentionally offend or knowingly make anyone feel uneasy. I apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable or disrespected – that was never my intent’. On the surface, this appears like yet another harmless apology from a panicked actor.

However, it doesn’t sit right with me. With 16 different individuals coming forward, the case seems grounded in a rather concrete assumption that these incidents were not just jokes gone wrong. Freeman seems to turn the accusation away from himself and towards the victims.

It reads as though the individuals coming forward are clearly being dramatic spoilsports that couldn’t handle a bit of fun. Any apology that says, ‘I’m sorry you felt uncomfortable’, rather than apologising for the actions themselves, is not a valid apology.

Freeman has since issued a second apology claiming that his actions should not be seen as sexual assault or harassment in the workplace, instead they should be seen as just a bit of fun. He states, ‘All victims of assault and harassment deserve to be heard. And we need to listen to them. But it is not right to equate horrific incidents of sexual assault with misplaced com-

pliments or humour’. Whilst I appreciate that addressing accusations must be difficult to word without incriminating yourself, Freeman seems to be digging a deeper hole with each sentence he utters. Once again, he seems to bend the knife and point it at the victim. Instead of being too sensitive, the victim is seemingly now ‘unable to take a joke’ and ‘unappreciative’ of his compliments. If your jokes and compliments are making people feel uncomfortable then there is something wrong with your jokes, not the audience.

"The media has been quick to accuse and label Morgan, prompting a less than satisfactory apology from the actor" However, could this all be a witch hunt? Freeman seems like a respectable man, and it is entirely possible that the incidents had innocent intentions.

Yet once you are accused, can you really be innocent until proven guilty? Social media

platforms were quick to label and accuse Freeman. It appears nobody is willing to entertain the idea of innocence and even the media are parading the label of guilty. So much so that Freeman has accused CNN of ‘journalistic malpractice’ and demanded that they retract their harassment report. Are we treating accusations of sexual harassment in the best way possible?

If Freeman were to be proven innocent, his image will have been tarnished and his stellar reputation damaged. Morgan Freeman has a very high standing in Hollywood, and with the #MeToo campaign storming across Twitter and the red carpets, should we be making an example of such an influential figure? Is it becoming a case of sacrificing one influential figure for the good of the many? By setting a standard using the treatment of Morgan Freeman, a code of conduct would be established and a set expectation of treatment towards sexual assault and harassment would be founded.

The strong treatment of Freeman would establish a zero tolerance policy that has been missing from Hollywood for years.

Though, if the investigations resulted in his innocence, this would be entirely unjust. For such a pivotal Hollywood figure to be accused of sexual harassment in the ‘witch-hunt’ era is not unheard of, yet it still leaves

the public sad to see their favourite household names become terrible people in the blink of an eye. There is no way of knowing whether someone is innocent or guilty, yet the Twitter jury is always out and in full force.

I am always perplexed as to how the news spreads to social media so quickly when there is no established verdict. It seems unfair to pin a label to an innocent man before the investigation is done. Would these accusations have come to light with such force if it wasn’t for the #MeToo campaign? Evidence and accusations can be misinterpreted.

"There is no way for sure of knowing whether someone is innocent or guilty, yet the Twitter jury is always out and in full force" Perhaps it is best to treat accusations as rumours, harmful gossip that can seriously affect somebody’s life. After all, accusations are not convictions.

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Redbrick's annual celebration paid tribute to the very best of the 2017-18 academic year

THE AWARDS BEST NEW IDEA

BEST PAGE OR SPREAD

Commended: Culture - Culture Corner

Commended: Music, issue 1485

Highly Commended: News - News in a Nutshell

Highly Commended: Gaming, issue 1488 (Best Games of 2017)

Winner: Comment - Poll of the Week

Winner: Bryony Parsons & Joe Ryan, issue 1485 (Retro-brick)

BEST DISTRIBUTOR Matt Dawson

BEST ONLINE FEATURE Commended: Imogen Mellor, Demolition of Muirhead Tower (April Fool)

BEST EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Highly Commended: News, Vice Chancellor's Question Time Live Blog

Tara Kergon Winner: Nick Retrospective

Burton,

Gaming

BEST BEHIND THE SCENES Tom Galvin

BEST CRITIC Commended: Phoebe Christofi

BEST REVIEW

Highly Commended: Kieran Read

Commended: Kat Smith - Black Mirror Season 4: A Dark Reflection

Winner: Matt Taylor

Highly Commended: Olivia Boyce Sunset Boulevard at the Hippodrome

BEST REPORTER

Winner: Harry Hetherington - Live Review: Morrissey

Commended: Sophie Woodley Highly Commended: Tom Leaman

BEST ARTICLE

Winner: Josh Hamilton

Commended: Alex Goodwin - My White Skin and Feminism: A Balancing Act

BEST WRITER

Highly Commended: Issy Campbell & Olli Meek - The Life of an Official

Commended: Joseph McGrory

Winner: Gregory Robinson - Essential Albums: Madonna - Erotica

Highly Commended: Lydia Waller Winner: Jadzia Samuel

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THE AWARDS PARTY ANIMAL

BEST NEWCOMER

Highly Commended: Luke Charnley

Commended: Tim Abington

Winner(s): William Baxter & Sorcha Hornett

Highly Commended: Amelia Hiller Winner: Madeline McInnis

BETS MITSAKE Commended: Kamila Geremek - Wrong Domino's advert on issue 1490 cover

BEST EDITOR Commended: Alex Alton (Sport)

Highly Commended: William Baxter Missing out Music in 'Into the Fold'

Highly Commended: Caitlin Dickinson (Food&Drink)

Winner(s): Holly Carter - Hat-trick of mistakes in a pull quote & Joe Ryan 'Birimingham' on the issue 1490 cover

Winner: Alex Cirant-Taljaard (Comment)

Commended: Film (Patrick Box)

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO A SECTION

Highly Commended: News

Commended: Tara Kergon (Life&Style)

Winner: Gaming (Nick Burton & Jack Cooper)

Highly Commended: (Gaming)

BEST ONLINE TEAM

Roshni

Patel

Winner: Olivia Boyce (Culture)

BEST PRINT TEAM Commended: Travel (Iesha Thomas & Phoebe Warneford-Thompson) Highly Commended: TV (Abbie Pease) Winner: Music (Issy Campbell & Thom Dent)

MOST IMPROVED SECTION Commended: Life&Style Highly Commended: Travel Winner: Sci&Tech

BEST PRINT FEATURE

SPIRIT OF REDBRICK

Commended: Peter Vessey - Old Joe: Student Life 100 Years Ago

Winner: Grace Duncan

Highly Commended: Aamina Siddiqi The Importance of #MeToo

BEST SECTION

Winner: The Women of Redbrick International Women's Day

Commended: News Highly Commended: Music Winner: Comment

All photos featured by

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So, it's Time to Graduate? Don't Panic News Editor Grace Duncan and the Careers Network give you all the tips and tricks for coping with your upcoming graduation. Keep calm.

Staying Motivated If you know what you want to do and how to go about it, the hardest thing may be staying motivated to keep job hunting and keep applying, as you may do hundreds of applications and get hundreds of rejections - but you will get there eventually.

Make sure that you take your time, devise an action plan, and reflect upon any unsuccessful applications and why they might have been so. Focus on your strengths and learn from your mistakes. In doing this make sure that you use your time to research and prepare thoroughly for your interviews and your applications. It is clear when you don’t know what you are applying for so don’t just send the same thing to everyone; try and keep every application fresh and see it as a new opportunity to express yourself.

"Always ask for feedback from the employer and review your jobsearching methods" In dealing with rejection it is important to try and see the positive - easier said than done, I know - but there are positives to be found, so don’t ignore them. You still gained experience by going through part of the recruitment process which will be valuable for the next time. Always ask for feedback from the employer and review your job-searching methods. And seek support: the Careers Network at the University of Birmingham is one of the best in the country, so use it.

It is also important to have a reality check. Do you actually have the right experience for the roles that you are applying for, or are you just applying because you want to do that job? If you don’t have experience be realistic with yourself and make appropriate changes.

Try and build your CV and confidence by doing some volunteering or internships; not only will you be able to gain valuable skills, but it will also give you a break from staring at your screen trying to find a job. Similarly, make sure that you schedule breaks and fun activities as a distraction, and to keep you busy.

Deciding What to Do

In the Short Term

Remember what you enjoyed If you decide you need a break about university and don’t panic if from university, studying, and job you hate the job you thought you’d hunting and are not ready to get on love. This is important, as while the career ladder, take a gap year you may think everyone around and make the most of it. you is getting jobs and knowing Travelling is often the most exactly what they want to do, they attractive option and by using are not and you can take your time websites like STA travel you can to get to a better place. gain an abundance of gap year Changing your career path destinations, advice and informaisn’t the same as quitting. If you tion about travelling, working, livget your first job straight out of ing and volunteering in different university and then realise it is not parts of the world. Wherever you for you it is not the end of the go, every experience can be used world. Take the experience that when you come back to interview you have gained and turn your so try and make the most of it. hand to something Temporary work is often essennew. tial as a year is a long You may time to go without think that income. A lot of graduwork expeates find it useful to find rience and temporary work through internrecruitment agencies. ships are The skills that you can of recruiters just for gain from doing this use LinkedIn underoften allow graduates graduates to access more opporto screen and stutunities and have more candidates dents but success with jobs later many gradon. uates find Volunteering that internfulfils the ships are the same shortperfect way to get term goals into a career and but can be you can find out if useful in you actually like it. getting This can be in a something variety of fields, more relefrom marketing to vant to property to research. your chosen Ellie Cohen, a direccareer path, tor at Let’s Live than tempoResidential Lettings, told rary work. Using Careers Network that ‘it was websites like do-it. a great opportunity for a graduate org and Charity Choice to gain vast amount of administra- can be a good place to start in findtive experience within the property ing the perfect position of you. industry. Because [the intern] was If you are not ready yet to go so proficient, she took on more into a full postgraduate course, a responsibility very quickly allow- short study course might be the ing me to network and promote answer and shows future employthe business much more than I had ers that you are using your time anticipated. This was a positive for efficiently. Whether you take up me and the business.’ There are another language, a technical skill, more anecdotes available on the or an art, you can stretch yourself Careers Network website. and potentially find a new outlet By taking on extra responsi- or calling. bilities and proving yourself as a Short term options are useful valuable member of the team, you in that they allow you to keep busy can learn about whether this is while trying to search for your what you want to do and gain dream job. Temping can allow you valuable connections in a career to access a whole new world of that you want to follow. opportunities, and to build conConsider the option of taking nections with those in an approprion another degree: will you need ate field to you, which can come in it? Before you take out another handy in the future. loan check that whatever you Networking is essential, attend might want to do requires it, and if conferences that are relevant, talk you are not sure don’t rush into to people face to face about what something that you might never you can offer them, and use the need or use. connections that you have.

34%

The Power of Use the Tools Social Media Available LinkedIn is a powerful tool with 34% of graduate recruiters using the social media to screen candidates for further information but only 5% of graduates using it to engage with employers according to TargetJobs in 2011. Through LinkedIn you can find groups of like-minded people, make connections, find jobs, use it as a virtual CV and talk to those who are in the field that you want to go into.

LinkedIn is not the only useful resource, Twitter is also useful for finding events, people and opportunities. When using Twitter make sure that you follow people that work in the sector that you are interested in, use hashtags when you go to events so people can find you and use it to find relevant news to the job that you want to go into. Most importantly you should try and have separate personal and professional Twitter feeds. Lots of companies use Twitter to advertise any job opportunities that they have available. With feeds such as @mediargh and @pubintern grouping opportunities from various companies all in one place, you will definitely find something that might interest you.

"You should try and have separate personal and professional Twitter feeds" Many might think that Facebook is not the place for job hunting due to its privacy restrictions and its primary use to interact with friends and family, but this is not the case necessarily. You can use the social media and by extension your contacts to find opportunities. As long as your privacy settings are restricted on sensitive pictures, posts or information that could be potentially damaging to your ability to get a job there is no reason to stop it being a perfect way to network. One easy way to make the most out of your connections is to post a status with what opportunities you are looking for - a friend may have a connection that is worth exploiting.

You can also use professional networks such as BeKnown that are integrated apps on Facebook which enable you to upload a CV, connect with people, search for jobs and emphasise your skillset.

For up to two years after graduation, you can still access the support at Careers Network.

Careers Connect still works when you are graduated so make sure you log on to your account and sign up for a Careers Connect graduate account to keep in the know with jobs that are available, some of which can only be accessed by UoB students and alumni. Just head to: https://bham. targetconnect.net/graduate/login. html and sign up now to get full access to a world of opportunities.

"For up to two years after graduation, you can still access the support at Careers Network" The Careers Network is still available to you and you can still use all of their resources for years after you graduate, so don’t be afraid to send your CV to be checked virtually by our career consultants. Interview preparation is also provided and can be more than useful in finding out what employers are looking for. The advisors will research the job first to make sure that you have the most likely experience.

If you are interested in international opportunities, you can also use Passport Career a service which allows you access information from countries all over the world. Using this you can gain information about culture, salaries, the best way to go about finding a job and the visas that you would require to go there. Just type ‘Passport Career University of Birmingham’ into your search bar.

Use recruitment agencies to your best advantage, but remember that they are working for a company and not for you - yes they are trying to help you, but they are being paid by a company to find the best fit for them. They are useful and can help you find jobs that are perfect, but be brave enough to say no and turn them down if you don’t think they are right for you. Also spend time making sure that the agency has the same priorities as you and will fit best with what you want.

Visit the Careers Network website at: https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/employability/ careers/index.aspx @careersbham Careers Network (University of Birmingham) @careersbham

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Redbrick Recommends: Games To Play This Summer GAMING It’s time to put down the pens and pick up the playstation Assassin's Creed IV: controllers. Summer is here, and with it the opportunity to play Black Flag games new and old. For this year’s final paper, we asked our writers to pick the game which they expect to play the most this This summer I'm playing Black summer. The variety of answers we received is testament to Flag, and not just because it substithe depth and breadth of games available. Or, at least, the tutes as a Caribbean cruise simulator. power of nostalgia. In any case, we hope this eclectic list Diabolically roguish and suave, pirate will inspire you to try out one of these games over the captain Edward Kenway exemplifies the summer.

Brotherhood Creed's 'everything is permitted' Emma Kent motto. It's refreshing to play as a character that cares so little for the fanfare of clandestine syndicates, and his mission to locate an ancient artefact brazenly exploits Assassin and Templar contacts. Although, as you can imagine, managing these orders and vengeful Dungeons and Dragons colonial powers is hardly smooth sailing. A compelling Monsters Inc: Scare 18th century storyline provides the reason to explore Island every corner of the map. Yet, what will really I'm going to be far from my beloved This PS1 classic offers everything to have you returning to the high seas is the PS4 this summer, so instead - with the be loved about old games: awful graphchallenging naval combat. Once a small zeal of a recent convert - I must turn to ics, repetitive gameplay, awfully unstafish in a great ocean, you'll be taking Dungeons and Dragons. Once the preserve ble controls and completely blinding down British brigs with the gleeful of a particularly 'nerdy' community, D&D is nostalgia - it really is the whole package. vigour of a true buccaneer in no currently experiencing a well-deserved revival, The training consists of repeatedly going time. and it truly is a game for anyone and everyone. back and forth between small ‘courses’ to colImogen Claire Want something truly social to play with friends? lect ‘ooze’ and scare robot children called ‘nerves’.

Want something you can play anywhere, with nothing The game is saved only by interspersed levels where more than some dice and a pencil? Want a game where you the player races Randal in something that vaguely resemcan create entire worlds and explore them in equal measbles super monkey ball. I decided to dedicate my sumure? I never thought I'd say this, but you mer to 100% complete this nightmare off the back of should play D&D. It's easier to get into Thumper recently playing through other games from my than ever, with a wealth of free online childhood - Spyro and Sonic - as a Unsatisfied by the stress of exam resources, and a community of comfort from a quasi-stressful first season, this summer I plan to get my players who are always willing year. Also, as a stereotypical milcortisol fix by throwing myself down to answer questions and help lennial who hates children, I a track into the depths of metallic new players in. What are actually find it incredibly space hell. Thumper is a 'rhythm vioyou waiting for? Grab some relaxing to spend hours scarlence' game that uniquely fuses the survival friends, some beer and some ing robot children. horror and rhythm game genres. As a small dice, and start adventuring!

Tom Martin silver beetle, the player must corner, slide and James Honke 'thump' their way down an outer-space death luge.

The levels only become more intense as the player progresses, culminating in some truly ferocious boss battles. Thumper treads new ground in the rhythm game Sims 4: Cats and Dogs Unforseen Incidents genre. Instead of constructing an atmosphere of lighthearted fun, Thumper deliberately makes As a Master’s student, my “summer the player feel uncomfortable by This summer, I’ll be playing holiday” is actually “dissertation seacombining heavy percussive music Unforeseen Incidents. A beautifully son”. This means I won’t get much of a and psychedelic visuals. If hand-painted point-and-click adventure I holiday, but it does mean I’ll need a you're struggling to visualise first saw at EGX Rezzed this year, I’ve been mindless game to play for relaxation. this, think Bladerunner on waiting to get some time to sink into this one.

Since the age of 13, Sims has provided a bad acid trip. Here's to All sorts of intrigue and mystery are afoot, this respite. The Sims 4: Cats and Dogs an interesting summer. involving death, disease, and conspiracy, and I’m expansion pack means my summer will be Emma Kent looking forward to what this exciting entry into my filled with: training digital dogs to do tricks; favourite genre has in store. I love unfolding mysteries in opening my own veterinary clinic to treat illnesses adventure games, and I hope Unforeseen Incidents can such as “Blazing Tootsies” and “Pristmatic Poop quench my undying thirst for investigatory exploration and Plague”; and spray painting unique patterns onto my uncovering a world’s secrets - and I am excited to find Mass Effect Series animals, so I know which ones are mine (totally ethiout. Combined with wonderful voice acting which cal, of course). Sims 4 in general is great if, like me, somehow makes the absurdyou’re not actually much of a gamer, and need Whenever I finish a playthrough of looking characters tangibly something that isn’t goal- or achievementthe Mass Effect trilogy I have an human, the game is ceroriented, where you’re free to just have fun almost uncontrollable urge to start the tainly one I hope to lose and use your imagination during your whole thing all over again, which I've done hours to playing. downtime. a few times in the years since Mass Effect Adele 3's release, changing up some of the major James Law Franghiadi story choices. Whilst the way developer Bioware handled some aspects of the grand story-arc were unique, I don't think it stops the Mass Effect trilogy from being the greatest game series of all time, and one that contains some of the most memorable moments and lovable characters in gaming history. It's a magnificent spaceopera, an emotional rollercoaster and a journey like no other - one that I now try to limit to just once a year to keep it fresh; and for me, summer is the perfect time to jump once more into the sci-fi epic. 'I'm not crying, it's hay fever.'

Zack Hughes

Image credits (top to bottom): Ubisoft, Wizards of the Coast, Ubisoft, Disney Interactive Studios, Drool, Maxis, Alasdair Beckett-King, Marcus Bäumer, Bioware.

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The Memes to an End

Adele Frianghiadi explores the growing problems with music marketing in the digital age and mainstream-corporate uses of meme-culture Adele Franghiadi Food&Drink Editor

In the past few years, corporations and celebrities have increasingly made use of memes – user-generated images or bitesize videos that can be easily shared online – for marketing and profit-making purposes.

However, due to meme-culture’s anti-mainstream ethos, these outputs often seem to fail, as seen on Reddit’s r/FellowKids, where high-power figures are mocked for their embarrassing meme-culture attempts. As a Global Popular Musics student, I was struck by how these reactions and the lack of corporate success can be better understood through examining the relationship between musical subcultures and mainstreams. The use of meme-culture references and aesthetics, especially in commercial musical outputs such as Katy Perry’s ‘Swish Swish’ and John Mayer’s ‘New Light (Premium Content!)’ videos, raises complex issues of creative ownership within musical consumerism.

Meme-culture itself is quite hard to pin-down, but key themes and ideologies can be identified.

Operating on social media platforms, meme-culture is a product of Web 2.0’s participatory culture that emphasises usergenerated content, to be shared far and wide. Meme-culture relies on organic content production and sharing for memeformats to evolve into contextually-specific outputs. Therefore, in meme-culture, internet users occupy a unique position of being both producers and consumers, or ‘prosumers’ according to Wiggins and Bowers. This

‘prosumer’ culture has in turn represented a growing challenge to traditional media dissemination, which flows from hegemonic media producers (such as major record labels or TV stations) down to consumers, who have little chance to influence outputs in significant ways without being part of the producing party.

Another challenge that meme-culture presents to hegemonic processes is its unique ability to facilitate user-generated globalisation. Typical globalisation processes involve economics and imbalances of social-mobility, but in memeculture, as long as you have access to the internet and a social media account, you can share and modify memes as an equal participant in the global flows of meme formats, as part of the “prosumer” structuring.

Additionally, meme-culture specifically relies on internet-users taking globally-circulated meme-formats and “localising” them through modifying the joke to suit a unique context that only certain individuals will understand, and therefore share within their sphere of digital influence.

Take, for example, the University of Birmemeham, where, as UoB students, we can enjoy the campus-specific, localised jokes applied to widely understood, global meme-formats.

Meme-culture, however, can be further understood in the context of musical subcultures. In subcultural scenes, much like meme-culture, there tends to be a common ideology, and often there is an anti-mainstream, anti-hegemonic ethos among participants. However, the processes through which subcultural value is attributed to cultural outputs is strikingly similar to

John Mayer's lo-fi video for 'New Light (Premium Content!)'

Record labels' market power in the music industry, lying at the beneficial ends of both buyer's and seller's markets

meme-culture. A primary tenet of a musical underground, according to Sarah Thornton’s 1996 study of British club culture, is that participants must possess insider knowledge that reflects their innate understanding of the subcultural scene. In music, this may be knowing certain slang, artists, behaviours, or even people, such as event organisers or producers. In meme-culture, this insider knowledge is also important if you want to be accepted within the ‘scene’. As meme-culture’s trends change so quickly, being able to keep up-to-date with cultural references, like the most recent format, is integral to being seen as ‘in the know’ and ‘hip.’ Conversely, using a ‘stale’ meme reflects your lack of insider knowledge, much like using out-of-date slang in nondigital scenes.

However, Thornton also notes that this insider knowledge is ‘threatened by the general distribution and easy access of mass media.’ At a glance, this specification sets memes apart from musical subcultural value and implies they should exist in the ‘mainstream’, as they specifically exist in forms of mass media, such as social media net-

works. Additionally, their massappeal and ubiquity online has also led some users to associate memes with mainstreams, as was claimed by participants of a survey I conducted during my research. However, as argued by Thornton, Toynbee and Huq, mainstreams and subcultures are not so clearly separated, which further complicates the status of memes. According to Zittrain, despite its mass-appeal, memeculture is generated by and for ‘people without a megaphone against institutions that often dominate mainstream culture.’

This anti-hegemonic, ‘prosumer’ ethos is therefore diametrically opposed to cultural mainstreams, regardless of the size of memeculture’s following, and shows that mainstreams aren’t so much about size, but about cultural production processes and user judgements.

In musicology, this issue has been explored in great depth, and can easily be re-applied to meme-culture. Toynbee’s 2002 study of musical mainstreaming processes describes how mainstreams rely on the promotion of commercial products and services, which are ‘foisted on undiscriminating consumers by an industry concerned only with making profit’. Already, it is clear that non-economic memeculture struggles to fit the mainstream mould.

However, Toynbee’s definition of musical mainstreaming processes helps to further understand why memeculture has failed to be successfully co-opted by corporations.

In the American music industry, mainstreams are formed by the hegemonic record labels recognising the potential for profit in underground scenes, and through ‘negotiation and alliance with subordinate groups’, rather than outright domination, the mainstream label begins to push the underground scene into the profit-making, hegemonic mainstream. This alliance, however, takes a long time of planning and negotiating, and relies on the longevity of musical styles, as it guarantees the music will still be on trend after it is eventually promoted up through the ranks. In meme-culture, where trends change on sometimes as quick as a weekly basis, this process is evidently not applicable. Yet in Katy Perry’s ‘Swish Swish’ video, such an attempt at mainstreaming memes was made. Survey participants were

quick to pick up on how this video used ‘stale’ memes and failed to demonstrate an understanding of how meme-culture’s trends work, making it a ‘cringeworthy’ experience.

“This video used 'stale' memes and failed to demonstrate an understanding of how memeculture's trends work” Another way that memes have evaded the mainstream, despite the culture’s wide-reach, is through the cultural production structure. Mainstreams, particularly in the music industry, are maintained through an ‘oligonomy’, which merges an ‘oligopsony’ on the buying side and an ‘oligopoly’ on the selling side, according to Bishop in 2005. In an oligopsony, there are many sellers (singers, songwriters, producers etc.) pitching to a limited number of buyers (major record labels), who then push down the sellers’ prices, as they have the increased power in such a saturated buyer’s market.

After then producing songs, videos, and marketing materials, the mainstream products are ready to sell in the oligopoly side. Here, the limited number of sellers (major record labels) are selling to a massive market of buyers (the average consumer), so the labels therefore have the power to drive prices up in this seller’s market. Furthermore, the labels can maintain control of profits and defend against piracy through strict copyright and ownership laws, which prohibit their products being used in any way which jeopardises their ability to make a profit.

Therefore, mainstreams are structured around the hegemonic label being able to make the most money possible, and on their own terms, through the merging of two separate economic structures.

This oligonomy, however, is near-impossible to apply to meme-culture. As meme-culture

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“Aquilina “It begs the demonstrated no question: mercy for Nassar, how did he allowing 156 ever expect women to tell their to gain stories in court” Aquilina's sympathy in a letter that

Katy Perry's 'Swish Swish' video, a 'cringeworthy' experience?

is so centred around freely sharing content as far and wide as possible, and relies on unprohibited creativity to modify memeformats into localised jokes, there is (at least in theory) no way that memes can be subject to a linear sharing structure.

However, attempts at forcing meme-culture into this oligonomic mould have been made.

In both ‘Swish Swish’ and John Mayer’s ‘New Light (Premium Content!)’, the meme-based humour is literally trapped in the context of the wider video, preventing specific sharing. In ‘Swish Swish’, Perry specifically references memes, which can only be shared (legally at least)

through sending a link to the entire music video. In ‘New Light (Premium Content!)’, whilst there are few specific meme-formats, the video appears to capitalise upon the general aesthetic of home-madeness and awkward, ‘ironic’ behaviour of internet humour. However, Mayer’s attempt at ‘memey’ humour can again only be shared (legally) through directing viewers to his entire music video.

Since the music industry clocked on to YouTube ad revenue and the power of participatory culture, online music videos have become huge earners, according to McIntosh in 2016.

When music videos were only

shown on TV, profits were hugely limited, as television programming limited the number of times the video could be played, and narrowed the audience as viewers could only watch when the video was being screened.

Online the audience is greatly increased, and each person can watch a video any number of times, whenever they please, thus making online music videos an incredibly profitable resource.

In making videos that appear ‘memey’, it seems that the labels wish to make content that people would be compelled to share, not because the singers wish to be part of meme-culture, but because there is a huge potential

Redbrick Revisits Bryony Parsons Redbrick Archivist @parsons_bryony

Those of you that read the very first article from ‘Rebrick Revisits’ will remember that in the 1950s and 1960s, June played host to the annual city-wide ‘Carnival’. Some years the festivities lasted for over a month, and included balls, concerts, fancy dress, and the allimportant parade of carnival floats through Birmingham City Centre. All the events were in aid of local charities, which included Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Dodford’s Children’s Farm, a holiday camp for inner-city Birmingham children.

Every year there was a ‘stunt’ to raise money, which provided perhaps the most memorable articles in Redbrick history.

In 1962, students converted a tandem bicycle, affectionately named it ‘Toto’ and successfully rode it across the Channel. In 1963, a ‘Bedmobile’ was made and ridden around Birmingham to raise Carnival’s profile. It was even driven to London, right up to Number 10 Downing Street, to sell a copy of Carnival magazine to the Prime Minister. I like to think that Harold Macmillan has treasured his copy ever since.

However, while these stunts were originally harmless activities in aid of local causes, they also contributed to the decline of Carnival in the late 1960s as they became increasingly out of control, drawing the focus away from Carnival’s

real purpose. In 1966 there was local uproar after students circulated a fake article claiming that an H-Bomb was going to be dropped on Birmingham, terrifying local residents. Failing to learn from this experience, in 1967 a fake bomb was planted in Birmingham City Centre, causing a mass evacuation and the calling of a bomb disposal unit. There was a considerable effort by University staff, Birmingham residents, and the City Council to get Carnival shut down.

“In 1963 a 'Bedmobile' was made and ridden around Birmingham” Carnival was however saved from extinction by a full restructuring with parades and stunts abandoned in favour of planning and executing local community projects. For example, in 1978, students laid out a mile of pennies across campus, to support Carnival’s ‘Buy a Bus’ campaign. The bus was used to transport disabled inner-city children into the countryside. While Carnival may have got a little out of hand, it always had the best of intentions.

Redbrick Revisits sadly comes to an end this week. The Committee would like to thank Bryony for her continued dedication with this series, and for making page 17 a consistently more interesting place.

for profit the more the video is shared. Furthermore, these videos, as copyrighted material, prohibit modifications or further creativity. This all represents a clear affront to meme-culture’s values of freely sharing bitesize videos that encourage creative modification by many ‘prosumers’, so that content can be localised and shared further. Through monetisation and legal limitations by corporations, videos and outputs such as these represent an attempt to force memeculture into the linear flow of hegemonic oligonomies where producers dictate how cultural outputs are consumed and how they will make money off their products, despite meme-culture’s cyclical structure which is non-economic, and largely nonprohibitive between ordinary people.

“the labels wish to make content that people would be compelled to share... because there is a huge potential for profit” In ‘Swish Swish’, many survey participants commented on

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their distaste for such mainstreaming attempts on memeculture. From the use of ‘stale’ memes which only get ‘staler’ as time goes on, through to the transparency of the economic factors in the appropriation of memes, viewers commented that the video was ‘embarrassing to watch’, and evidently ‘against the spirit of memes’. It was noted and seen as offensive that corporations would ‘target meme-culture and monetise it’, and that celebrities would attempt to ‘garner popularity’ by ‘shoehorning’ meme-culture into their profit-making products.

The disgust that young people online have expressed towards corporate involvement in meme-culture, whilst appearing trivial on the surface, may therefore not be misplaced.

Corporations who use memes continually appear as either ‘not in the know’ about the nature of the references they are making, or seem to not care that they are using memes incorrectly at both theoretical and aesthetic levels, just so long as they are making a profit. The growing academic interest in meme-culture will hopefully trickle down into popular discourse, much like subcultural/mainstream discourses in music have, which may one day lead to corporations realising some things are just off limits. Until then, however, we will have to just grin and bear it when embarrassing attempts at being ‘hip’ and ‘memey’ are made – looking at you, ‘Swish Swish’.

Emily Youlton

Incoming BurnFM Head of Station @EmilyJYoulton

So this is it, another year over. I was always told that university flies by quickly, and to make the most of every minute - and it really is true. This year has been a great one and I can’t wait for the final year of my degree, alongside taking on the role of Head of Station at Burn FM. I’m excited! It’s a challenge, but leading a team of passionate and enthusiastic people makes it all worthwhile. This year has been great for both Burn FM and Redbrick, with the barriers having been broken down we now are working in our partnership, and have seen the success of collaboration. With Redbrick Radio, our column, and the magnificent Media Ball at Christmas, it has definitely been a triumph.

This is a success I hope continues as we know that working as a team can benefit us all as, after all, it’s just a corridor between our studio and the Redbrick office.

This year, Burn FM has been fortunate enough to have a brand new studio installed, with tech that brings us up to standard with other great student stations. It’s going to change how we broadcast because we now have freedom to create better radio, although as always tech is never plain sailing. Fingers crossed that we’ll be on air by September!

There’s so much to look forward to; with new kit and a fresh level of drive, I’m confident that the new Burn FM committee will help me in making our station the best it can possibly be. We can’t wait to engage new members and welcome them to our studio. We’ve already started work as a new committee, we’ve started moving some of our articles towards podcasting,

and we had a ball covering ValeFest.

When taking over this role, I was advised about the importance of ValeFest in our calendar as a chance to make great content and get to know each other as a committee a bit better. And what a day we had, from sharing the acoustic stage with New Street Records to getting a jingle from headliners, Fickle Friends - it was an amazing day all around. We upgraded Burn Corner and encouraged acts and crowd members to join in our Pictionary challenge. It was great to be a part of the day and snoop around backstage pretending we were Radio 1 at Glastonbury.

So a thank you is probably in order to the committee of 2017/18 who were not only great friends, but who helped Burn to achieve so much in this year. A radio play, a live DJ night, two fabulous balls, two terms of fantastic diverse and current radio, multiple socials, coverage of major campus events from the Guild Elections to Xplosion, we really did it all. I’m proud to now lead a new team who I’m sure will show their strengths and put on a great show once again. So cheers to the people who helped us get here, and now to the ones who’ll keep it going. 2018-19 here we come.

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CULTURE

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbrickculture

Culture Recommends: Comics Roshni Patel and Olivia Boyce share their picks of comics and graphic novels to read this summer Roshni Patel and Olivia Boyce Gaming Editor and Culture Editor @roshofalltrades & @Liv_boyce

The Wicked + The Divine

Saga (Vaughan/Staples) A multi-award winning series, Saga has certainly become the indie famous of the comics industry, stocked by nearly every bookstore with a comic section, and with world building to rival that of Marvel’s, it is no surprise that volumes are flying off shelves.

Best described as a space-opera, Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ series is heavily influenced by Star Wars and Star Trek, and features a myriad of space travelling, planets and alien lifeforms. The series primarily follows the journey of fugitive interracial couple Alana and Marko, whose love is essentially a crime

due to the fact that their races are at war with one another. Giving birth to a child whilst on the run, the stakes for the intergalactic fugitives only get higher, as the series also follows the stories of other characters whose paths are destined to cross theirs.

Saga publishes monthly with volumes and omnibuses also available. (Personally I prefer to purchase the omnibuses which are better value for money, with good deals available on the first 2 on Amazon.)

Monstress (Liu/Takeda) Monstress tells the story of Maika Halfwolf, one of modern comics’ most compelling lead characters, who is caught up in a world plagued by divisions and war between half-ancient Arcanics and humans. Written excellently

by Marjorie Liu and illustrated by the genius of Sana Takeda, major themes include racism and segregation, conflict and morality, and friendship and loss. Maika enlists the help of Kippa and Ren, an arcanic fox-girl and a wisecracking talking cat, as she journeys to discover more about her family past and the power awakening within her.

Hidden political intrigue is

provided by the striking characters of the Dawn and Dusk Courts, who both aid and hinder Maika, contributing to her emotive and empowering narrative. However, perhaps the most striking thing about Monstress is the craft involved in each and every panel, with the series featuring stunning images page after page, bringing to life Liu’s engaging and rich world brilliantly. Monstress is a stunning artistic achievement with every issue, and one that will surely continue for a long time to come.

Monstress is available in two volumes, with new issues releasing every few months. Volume three is due in August.

(Gillen/McKelvie) Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s The Wicked + The Divine was winner of the Best Comic Book Series award at the British Comics Awards in 2014, and it is easy to see why. Gillen previously worked on the excellent Phonogram, and he continues this winning streak with a contemporary fantasy series that features a pantheon of Gods who blur the lines between right and wrong.

As the blurb of the first volume declares, ‘Every ninety years, twelve gods incarnate as humans.

They are loved. They are hated. In two years, they are dead.’

From Laura, the central character who fangirls over the pan-

theon before finding herself far more involved with them than she believed possible, to the androgynous nonchalance of Luci (-fer) and the sinister Ananke, each cast member is compelling and brilliantly designed and written, with the illustrations and covers by McKelvie and others bringing them to life on the page. The series has also garnered praise for its diversity of character, bringing in gods from various historical cultures as well as depicting LGBTQ+ characters and relationships. Collected volumes 1-6 are out now, with new issues released every few months.

MoonGirl and Devil Dinosaur (Reeder/Montclare/Bustos) As an engineer, I am always attracted to clever stories of crazy inventors, especially when they are female. Enter Lunella Lafayette, an African-American girl who loves science and engineering, and is generally a genius.

Misunderstood by her parents and underestimated by her teachers and classmates, who don’t understand that she is at a level of learning much higher than the class she is in. It is a feeling I’m all too familiar with growing up as the geek who loved to learn, and her story while heartwarming, also portrays the same struggles.

Accompanied by a huge red

dinosaur, and fully aware that she is about to undergo terrigenesis, Lunella uses all her intellect to try and stay the same, to avoid the ‘mist’ which seeks to change her DNA. Featuring the odd cameo from other heroes in the Marvel universe, Amy Reeder, Brandon Montclare and Natacha Bustos give us a unique perspective on the characters we know so well, through the eyes of Lunella, a smart girl overlooked. So strap in, and enjoy the ride, as Lunella builds unique inventions and tries to save the world, while still trying to make it home for dinner and bedtime.

Paper Girls (Vaughan/Chiang)

Nailbiter (Williamson/Henderson) When I first stumbled upon this comic, I must admit I was not too sure what to expect, and from the look of the cover, it looked like it could be scary. But, with an interesting premise, I was intrigued to find out more, as I hungered to find out who the ‘Nailbiter’ was and why America’s worst serial killers had all come from the same small town in Oregon. I eagerly flicked through the first pages and I was hooked, purchasing Nailbiter without a second thought.

Written and illustrated by Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson, Nailbiter is both gritty and gory, the story progresses like

any other mystery, but with a level of horror and gore factor like no episode of Sherlock Holmes you’ve ever seen, as you witness arms be sliced off and corpses burnt. While it might be easy to say Nailbiter is not for the faint of heart, it is not entirely a horror comic, with only a few well designed panels per volume designed to really set you on edge and give you the creeps. Truely a series for the brave and the bold, looking to try something new and out of the ordinary, you will not be dissapointed.

I once described Paper Girls to a friend as a cross between Stranger Things, The X-Files (which has its own excellent comic presence courtesy of IDW), and Welcome to Night Vale, and yet even this doesn’t do the series its full due.

Erin, KJ, MacKenzie and Tiffany are the titular Paper Girls, on a round in the town of Stony Stream, when suddenly almost everyone they knew disappears, and strange occurrences begin to happen around town. They discover an otherworldly machine, and thus begins a glorious, nostalgia-inducing, sci-fi mystery romp Saga - Image Comics (artist Fiona Staples) Monstress - Image Comics (artist Sana Takeda) Nailbiter - Image Comics (artist Mike Henderson) The Wicked + The Divine - Image

across time, space and parallel dimensions, led by some truly kickass characters. The series is the worthy winner of multiple Eisner awards, and it features the distinctive and visually striking illustrations of Cliff Chiang, who breathes life into the various settings that play host to the series’ intricate plot. For fans of sci-fi, or those looking for something a little different, Paper Girls is well worth a read. Paper Girls is available in four volumes, with new issues releasing monthly.

Comics (artist Jamie McKelvie/ Matt Wilson) MoonGirl and Devil Dinosaur Marvel Comics (artist Amy Reeder) Paper Girls - Image Comics (artist Cliff Chiang)

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Friday 8th June 2018

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19

Review: Romeo and Juliet (RSC) Holly Reaney Culture Critic @holly_reaney

Romeo and Juliet is synonymous with three things: Shakespeare, Baz Luhrmann, and Leonardo DiCaprio. For many, Luhrmann has created the definitive adaptation of the play, and that is hard to top. However, it is this which makes Whyman’s latest production for the RSC all the more powerful. Whyman has created a Romeo and Juliet for the youth of the 21st century. A world of knife crime, murder, and teenage agency stands a mirror to our own. In light of the recent spike of London knife crime, Whyman’s production feels hauntingly realistic. As strange as it seems, this story could be in the paper.

The diverse casting, reflecting Britain’s wide range of accents and ethnicities, enabled Whyman to create a play where every member of the audience could recognise themselves upon the stage.

Readdressing the gender balance, the Prince Escalus retains the title but is performed by Beth Cordingly, and the balance between Lord and Lady Montague turns her into the violent force countered by his more peaceful resistance. The most significant gender shift, however, is Mercutio.

Played by Charlotte Josephine, Mercutio becomes a character who defies gender. Josephine does not play a female Mercutio, but nor does she play a male Mercutio.

Instead, she plays Mercutio as a shape-shifter who transcends the gender boundaries, serving to hold a mirror to the masculine violence which characterises the play.

Josephine’s voice perfectly matched the quick, raw, witty lyricism of Shakespeare. Her Cockney accent paired with her

style and rhythm felt a lot like the spoken word poetry of Kate Tempest. This was particularly prominent throughout the infamous Queen Mab speech, which was impassioned and energetically captivating. Together with Benvolio and Romeo, the three characters create a solid unit, a group who could easily be seen on a university campus. Completely believable, this production prioritises friendship, and the theme runs throughout the piece as strongly as the romantic plot-line.

The additional exploration of Benvolio’s character as being infatuated with Romeo is also a well-executed complexity to the piece, particularly since this dimension is added through a subtle series of glances, expressions, and one misplaced kiss.

"The subtlety and intricacies of acting in this performance are superb across the board" The subtlety and intricacies of acting in this performance are superb across the board. Bally Gill and Karen Fishwick take on the eponymous leads with a fervour and life which illuminated the performance. Fishwick’s Juliet is a believable teenager. She is the agent of her own destiny, not a victim as some productions attempt to portray her, and with this she is a solid and likeable character. She is a young girl, who thinks she knows best and acts on her own impulses with impatience, making the events which lead to her death all the more tragic. She is slowly backed into a

corner, with little choice in the way the events unfold, particularly emphasised by the violence of her father and the strained distance of her mother. Fishwick plays Juliet as she deserves to be played.

Ishia Bennison takes the role of the Nurse and excels. Witty and lighthearted, she provides a refreshing contrast to the heavier themes of the play. However, again, Bennison explores the nuance of her characters with a small reference to her own, deceased, daughter and her husband. This theme of lost motherhood is also foregrounded in this production through Lady Capulet.

An overlooked character in many productions, Mariam Haque’s Lady Capulet has a complexity beyond the role of Juliet’s mother.

Haque’s conscientious acting, a series of subtle expressions and pained glances tells the tale of a struggling mother.

The subtle tension between Nurse and Lady Capulet explores the complexities of motherhood; the warm, loving connection between Juliet and the Nurse who raised her stands in stark contrast to the cold, formal, detached relationship of her own mother.

Though this dynamic is not unusual for a production of the play, the yearning of Lady Capulet to have that close and intimate relationship with her daughter, and slowly realising how impossible it is to achieve, stands out. Presented through pained expressions, an awkward loitering presence, Lady Capulet does not command the room but instead cowers in the shadow of Juliet and her nurse.

This is most painfully presented as each woman attends the body of Juliet, the quiet grief of Lady Capulet who almost cannot comprehend the news and the tending, rushing, nurturing of Juliet’s body by the Nurse. It is a beautifully

sensitive addition to the play and it is such nuances which make this production stand out.

sions of us. The History Boys is a brilliant play for everyone, but especially so for VI Formers who think they know everything better than anyone else. At the time, it served as a mirror confirming our own self-believed ability – now, watching the egos strut around the classroom is both humorously revealing about how ridiculous we are as teenagers and a rather sad reminder that we’ll never feel as clever as you can at 17.

the time the novel begins, drip fed throughout via flashbacks and reflective narrative from Stevens.

It is a novel all about what is both said and left unsaid within the context of a great old English house – think Downton Abbey with a better script and less plot.

"A modern, vivacious Romeo and Juliet... for a new generation" Tom Piper’s stripped back stage brought the strength of the actor's performances to the foreground. Rejecting the traditional ornate architecture and elevated balcony, every moment on the stage was orientated around an oppressive cuboid. This cuboid was the Friar Lawrence’s cell, the balcony, and the crypt. Stripping the stage back to focus on the characters emphasises the organicity and universality perhaps

not of the story but of the people.

There was also a strong resonance to the ease at which characters drew blades, with normalised violence part of a world which does not feel too far from our own.

Despite the prologue feeling less assured, with many characters’ voices all building upon each other in order to create a wall of ‘two houses both alike in dignity’, the overall performance was invigorating. Whyman’s production breathed new life into the well-known story to create a modern, vivacious Romeo and Juliet which revelled in its contemporary familiarity. From overt sexual humor which blurred the boundaries of lust and love, to the heavy beats of the soundtrack which made the masquerade ball feel like a night at Snobs, this was a Romeo and Juliet for the new generation.

Topher McGrillis, RSC

Culture Corner William Baxter

Outgoing Editor-in-Chief @williambaxter2

Outgoing Editor-in-Chief William Baxter discusses three of his culture favourites in the Culture Corner.

Alan Bennett - The History Boys With a script full of razor-sharp humour, classical English poetry and a fair smattering of schoolboy wit, it is little surprise that Alan Bennett’s The History Boys makes it onto my list of cultural favourites. Following the lives of a group of bright VI Formers trying desperately to pass the entrance exams for Oxford and Cambridge, the play premiered in London at the National in 2004. I however first experienced it through the excellent 2006 film adaptation, starring the same cast as the original London premiere.

Rather appropriately, I first saw the show on stage as a student production at the University of Oxford. It was every bit as good as the film and injected life into

characters I already felt I knew. I think partly that’s why The History Boys really resonated with me; as a vocal member of a VI Form Politics set (all of us thought we were oh-so-clever) it seemed that the lads on stage could have easily been slightly more articulate ver-

Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of The Day Possibly the single most perfectly English novel in existence, The Remains of The Day is a wonderful example of how tone and style massively outrank plot in my favourite books. It is the story of Stevens, a traditional English Butler having to adjust to a changing world after the Second World War. Not a single sentence goes to waste as Ishiguro skilfully reveals a rather dark off-the-page narrative that provides the vital context for the almost-romance at the novel’s core. Like every good Greek tragedy, almost all of the action has already taken place by

"Possibly the single most perfectly English novel in existence...

Ishiguro skilfully reveals a rather dark off-the-page narrative" Edvard Grieg - In The Hall of The Mountain King As a recent convert to classical music, my taste is about as developed as a 16-year old at a wine

tasting; however, this piece by Grieg has stuck out since I first heard it a few years ago. It is an incredibly familiar piece of music – hearing the slow, gathering intensity of the song’s start raises the hair on the back of my neck in preparation for the powerful crescendo awaiting at the end. It is both frightening and reassuring, like being inside during a thunderstorm. The song’s inclusion in the soundtracks of some of my favourite films and TV shows is always a highlight, but its brief play in Mad Men Season 2 (giving its name to the episode) is particularly poignant. Played as Don Draper returns to California and closest friend Anna, his two word assessment of the tune sums it up perfectly: “It’s scary.”

In The Hall of The Mountain King is a powerful piece of classical music by one of my favourite composers, and as such it is more than worth its place in my list of cultural highlights.

Photo: National Theatre, Faber and Faber.

20

FILM

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbrickfilm

Review: Avengers: Infinity War

Film Critic Todd Waugh Ambridge discusses the latest Marvel event movie Todd Waugh Ambridge Film Critic

Avengers: Infinity War is the most anticipated film of the year. It has promised, since its announcement in 2014, to be the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time. The Russo brothers replace Joss Whedon as director – coming off the success of their two Captain America hits – and have the unenviable task of bringing the nineteen films, tens of characters and countless plot threads to some form of climax. Against all doubters (myself included), they succeed to a very strong degree, with only minor issues keeping this back from being among the MCU’s best.

In Infinity War, the disassembled Avengers team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to combat the threat of Thanos, a hulking titan hell-bent on bringing balance to the universe by harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones (i.e. those things that were in the other MCU movies). The twenty-something starring characters are split into wonderfully diverse groups that allows for some very fun combinations (Thor, Rocket and Groot) and some less fun ones (Vision and Scarlet Witch). The film bounces around between these disparate groups in a dizzying fashion, with Thanos actually serving as the central character who binds the individual stories together towards a questionably epic conclusion.

The result is a mostly successful, if exhausting, two-and-ahalf hour culmination of the MCU that holds together far better than many would have expected.

Right off the bat, the biggest win for this film is its cast of colourful characters that have already been developed and so the audience is already hugely invested in. Seeing many of these previously-disparate characters interact for the first time is the best part of Infinity War, and delivering many of the film’s biggest

laughs and cheers. The Avengers, Guardians and the rest all interact with each other in funny, believable and interesting ways, and it’s a testament to the MCU’s craftsmanship that it can simply put these characters in a room (or spaceship) together and they instantly bounce off each other in such a manner. Given how much the audience loves these characters, though, it’s a shame that many get lost in the crowd of almost-too-many starring characters. While ‘Captain America: Civil War’ was also a big team-up movie, the Russo brothers made the smart decision of fleshing out three or four key characters with coherent, interesting arcs, and allowing the others to serve as extended cameos. With Infinity War, however, there are far too many characters sharing the spotlight, and the result is a very mixed bag: Iron Man is as interesting as ever, while Captain America has about three lines of dialogue. The ambition of a teamup movie with every character on equal-footing is clearly there, but there is an unfortunate lack of focus in the execution.

"The twentysomething starring characters are split into wonderfully diverse groups" That being said, however, it is not the heroes of this movie who are (necessarily) the most important characters. The villain Thanos – the name we’ve heard for years with hardly an appearance – is one of the best the MCU has to offer, continuing the upward trend of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Black Panther.

Josh Brolin crushes his mo-cap performance, bringing equal parts menace, confidence, and sympathy to the mad titan. He succeeds in humanising the giant, purple space-man, and convincing the ten-years-inwaiting audience that he is truly

a worthy threat. In many ways, it is Thanos who goes on the traditional heroes’ journey is this movie, attempting to gather the Infinity Stones for a righteous cause, while the Avengers stand in his way. It is a unique perspective which allows the audience to empathise with Thanos while still understanding that the characters we’ve grown to love are the true heroes. Robert Downey Jnr., Tom Holland and Benedict Cumberbatch also give their best performances to date in their own three-man group, and you’ll be smiling every time the film goes back to Iron Man, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange’s sub-plot.

It almost goes without saying that the artistic craftsmanship of Infinity War is spot-on. The musical score swells just when it needs to, and the Avengers theme is already going down as a lauded motif. The camera-work and fight-scene choreography is incredibly dynamic, and meshes all the different tones and superpowers of the individual heroes together in some of the most visually interesting moments in MCU history. And despite the film’s huge proportion of computer-generated effects, they don’t feel at all distracting until the final act of the film.

Without spoiling anything, there is a huge army-vs-army battle which isn’t at all necessary for the plot, beyond allowing the large number of characters to do something. As the faceless, un-named, CG army crashes towards our CG heroes, it’s easy to sink into your seat and become completely detached from what’s going on. There’s nothing wrong with a climactic third act, of course, it’s just a shame that Infinity War’s substance was traded in for spectacle so late in the day.

"Does Avengers: Infinity War pay off the Marvel Cinematic Universe's 10 year history?"

This will go down as one of the most discussed blockbusters in recent times, and people will debate everything from the cold opening to the divisive ending.

But, ultimately, the question to ask is: does Avengers: Infinity War pay off the MCU’s ten-year

history?

And the answer is yes. It’s the film Marvel fans have been waiting for for ten years.

Watching these characters who we have grown to love, interact,and fight side-by-side is intoxicatingly entertaining.

While this film is rendered a little weightless and, in areas, disappointing, Avengers: Infinity War is the definitive big-screen version of a huge comic-book event series. It has all the showmanship, fan-service, impossibly-high stakes and spectacleover-substance attitude (Chris Hemsworth) in a fight.

VERDICT: The promise that Avengers: Infinity War would bring ten-years of world-building to a dazzling, exhilarating blockbuster of a climax has been cashed in. The movie has all the charm, wit and stylisation that the MCU always has, and, a little disappointment notwithstanding, is able to rise above its impossibly-high expectations and deliver an incredibly fun movie..

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FILM

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbrickfilm

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Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Patrick Box launches into hyper-space with the black sheep of the Star Wars saga

Patrick Box Film Editor

It’s been the bumpiest of all possible roads that Solo: A Star Wars Story has taken during its troubled and highly publicised production, which means it finally limps into cinemas in the face of some pretty low expectations. Fans weren’t too keen on the idea of a Han Solo origin flick to begin with, and expectations further plummeted after beloved directorial double act Phil Lord and Chris Miller were removed from the project by Lucasfilm (reportedly for straying too far from the established script) five weeks into production. Journeyman filmmaker Ron Howard was brought on to complete the production (or start from scratch depending on who you listen to) but negativity continued to surround the project, especially after the divisive reception of last Decembers’ The Last Jedi.

Now that it’s here, though, I’m happy to say that Solo is nowhere near the beleaguered trainwreck it should be; in fact, it’s a damn entertaining romp that papers over its faults with breezy character work and a breakneck pace.

"Solo limps into cinemas with some pretty low expectations" Set some ten years before 1977’s original Star Wars, we’re introduced to street-hoodlum Han (Alden Ehrenreich), desperate to escape from his hellish home world of Corellia with his best-girl Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke).

After managing to escape himself he promises to come back for Qi’ra once he has his own ship, but instead finds himself drummed into the Imperial Infantry. Searching for a way to return to Corellia, he falls in with a crew of outlaws, led by arch-rogue Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson), and embarks

on a frantic galaxy-wide heist that brings him into first contact with smooth-operator Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), his beloved cargo-hauler the Millennium Falcon, and a certain walking carpet. It’s as simple a story as you can find, but it’s bolstered by the on-screen talent.

"Solo is nowhere near the beleaguered trainwreck it should be" Luckily Alden Ehrenreich proves he’s more than up to the challenge of stepping into the shoe’s of cinema’s most beloved swashbuckler. Thankfully, rather than attempt a straight impersonation of Harrison Ford, he portrays Han as a young man desperate to play the part of an outlaw but unable to disguise his idealistic core. Ehrenreich’s Han is not the cynical smuggler we first met in the Mos Eisley Cantina. Not yet, at least (*cough - sequel bait - cough*).

Meanwhile, Becket is a role that Woody Harrelson could play in his sleep, and makes a pleasurable pairing with last minute replacement Paul Bettany as crime boss Dryden Vos. Both manage to elevate what could have easily been run-of-the-mil archetypes.

Hot-stuff Donald Glover initially seems to be something of a weak link as Lando, seemingly delivering a half-hearted parody of Billy Dee Williams, but this is only at first-glance. As the action intensifies the real Lando slips through the character’s smooth facade and is a much more welcome presence. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is fun as sassy droid L3-37 and has great chemistry with Glover’s Lando, but Thandie Newton’s straightshooter Val and Jon Favreau’s gregarious Rio sadly don’t get the screen-time they deserve.

Finally, Emilia Clarke does her most capable acting to date

(outside of television) as Qi’ra, but the level of emphasis the film places on her and Han’s doomed relationship is a little irritating considering it tends to pull focus from the Han-Chewie dynamic which really should have served as the heart of the film. You can never have enough Chewie; when will these filmmakers learn?

Howard’s directing is perfectly serviceable, with flashes of momentary brilliance scattered throughout, and is paired with a frantic script from Star Wars veteran Lawrence Kasdan.

Unlike Johnson’s reflective Last Jedi, the film barrels along at a breakneck pace, flitting from one set-piece to another. The result is a film that plays more like an Indiana Jones epic, jettisoning depth for grin-inducing fun. Sadly this means that some of the aforementioned characters get lost in the mix (Val, Rio, Chewie), which is a shame considering how well they’ve all been drawn. Also, perhaps as a repercussion of the reshoots, the film front-loads its spectacle.

The American Graffiti esq. speeder chase that opens the film leads into a spectacular war-time sequence (depressingly brief, but still more compelling than the entirety of Rogue One), which in turn leads to a mudpool-brawl and a spectacular mountain-side train heist. After this, however, the film lapses into sequences of running around in underground tunnels, which seems a massive step back, and just escapes tanking the film thanks to the starship chase that quickly follows.

"Alden Ehrenreich proves he is more than up to the challenge" However, both Howard and Kasdan excel at crafting compelling sequences which effectively consist of two people having a conversation (or playing cards). The upshot of this is a more intimate finale which

works wonders after the rollercoaster that proceeds it.

The only major fault that can be found with the film is how unnecessary it is. Those who have no interest in finding out where Han got his co-pilot, blaster, and ship will find plenty to roll their eyes at. Very few surprises feature (although those that do are effective enough) and the film can easily be considered disposable. But that’s okay: Star Wars only becomes toxic when it’s instalments are treated like the next great piece of western folklore rather than a multi-billion dollar franchise.

It’s alright for Star Wars not to consistently be 'event cinema', and it seems like we’ll be getting these movies forever, so there’s no point in trying to treat them that way.

Solo benefits from this lack

of pressure - you can take it or leave it. With the exception of some brilliant expanded universe references and an end-offilm cameo (that will only confuse the uninitiated and fail to excite super-fans), the film stands apart as a spinoff should do. Basically, it’s just fun, but if you hate it that’s cool, too.

VERDICT: Solo is a well-acted, highly entertaining romp with a few genuinely brilliant sequences thrown in that help to conceal it’s pacing issues. It may be blasphemous to say, but I’m looking forward to any sequels that will almost definitely materialise. Just, next time, more Chewie, please!

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MUSIC

22

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbrickmusic

The Editors They Are A-Changin’

As our outgoing print team reflect upon the last twelve months, incoming editors Harry Hetherington and Letty Gardner talk through the new music they are most anticipating Thom Dent

Music Editor 17/18

Moon King Hamtramck ‘16

I first saw Moon King at a live show in 2014, supporting Alvvays at Leeds’ Brudenell Social Club.

They weren’t that great. Deep in the throes of a highpass-drenched dream pop phase, the band only really boasted a couple of decent, but more-or-less unremarkable, tracks in their repertoire. So when, by chance, a new single called ‘In & Out’ landed in my Spotify Discover Weekly, I was taken aback to find a bona fide dancefloor tune, complete with woozy synth basslines and a pounding ‘Billie Jean’ drum groove.

The entirety of Hamtramck ‘16 follows a similar pattern - its 25-minute runtime an oblique four-to-the-floor disco romp from the Donna Summer-aping bass of ‘Come Around’ to the last bar of skittish closer ‘Ordinary Lover’.

It is far from a perfect release, and most of the record’s ideas seem to have been lifted verbatim from Georgio Moroder’s back catalogue. To this day though, I keep

coming back to this record, more than any other of the last 12 months. Try as I might, I cannot quite figure out why this curious dancefloor experiment is so alluring and perhaps that elusiveness is in itself the very reason.

Issy Campbell Music Editor 17/18

Tom Misch Geography

The last 12 months of being an Editor for Redbrick have been amazing. I felt it was only right to pick an album that matches my experience, and Tom Misch’s debut album Geography does exactly that: showcasing excellent collaborations as well as Tom’s own creativity and most importantly, making me very happy.

The intricate composition of each song on Geography talks to his excellent production, even more impressive because Misch produced the bulk in his own bedroom. Be it the comforting vocals on ‘Movie’, or the groovy jazz beat of ‘South of the River’, Tom provides a song for all moods.

However, Tom really comes into his own at his gigs.

Instrumental tracks like ‘Tick Tock’, as well as his guitar solos, really capture the joy of live music in its most simplistic way: an artist and their instrument, doing what they do best. Although many artists feature on his debut, ‘Water Baby’ with Loyle Carner is a standout. The track itself is a masterpiece, but seeing the pair perform it together at Parklife last summer was something else. Their friendship and passion for music has routed this performance as one of my all-time favourites, and it therefore seems only fitting to associate this guitar-wizard with my tenure as Music Editor.

Harry Hetherington Music Editor 18/19

Spiritualised - TBA

In recent days, space rock group Spiritualized’s social media presence has been mostly erased, replaced by a single, bright orange video in morse code. Twitter’s willing codebreakers have deciphered the message, which spells ‘A Perfect Miracle’ - the name of a song played live, but until now, unreleased by the band. The immi-

nent new music implied by this, which was scheduled for release last year, will be the first since 2012’s Sweet Heart Sweet Light.

On that record, frontman Jason Pierce pursued a more melodydriven sound than previous releases, merging 60s psychedelic rock influences with gospel lyrics in his typically hushed, minute singing voice. Spiritualized have consistently delivered life-affirming music, at once devastating and uplifting. Last year marked two decades since Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, a masterpiece of layered instrumentation and heightening tension (give their live version of this album a listen to hear this in all its glory). Their past efforts all point towards new work that is as promising as it is a step into the unknown, with no current release date or working title.

Letty Gardner Music Editor 18/19

Vampire Weekend Mitsubishi Macchiato Vampire Weekend are (maybe) back (hopefully). Although no release date has been supplied,

Ezra Koenig’s hinting at a fourth studio album suggests a 2018 release from the band after a fiveyear silence.

The suggestions of a new LP are promising, with Koenig writing ‘it’s a little more springtime than the last one’ and ‘Guitar’s not dead.’ The album, given the working title of Mitsubishi Macchiato, will be the band’s first release since 2013’s Modern Vampires of the City. Alongside this record, Contra, and their eponymous debut, a fourth album has a lot to live up to, but from ‘A-Punk’ to ‘Hannah Hunt’ the band’s preppy indie rock has always worked, mixing joyful sounds with wit and humour.

Developing over their three records, and bringing influences from their solo work, it will be interesting to see how the new work differs.

With Koenig creating the animated show Neo Yokio, and Chris Baio and Chris Tomson writing and producing music for various artists, the band have been busy with different creative projects (alongside Rostam Batmanglij, lead guitarist on the group’s first three records, who has since left the band to work on his own solo material), but with a headline set at End of the Road festival - their first UK festival date in over four years - the band are back and touring, and with that, will hopefully be releasing new music soon.

Album Review: Kanye West - ye Kieren Williams Music Critic

Kanye is back, with soul samples and rawer lyrics than ever before. ye is a continuation of West’s dynamic and restless evolution which has taken us from peerless work to peerless work.

In ye you can hear styles reminiscent of all of his previous bodies of work. There is the grating maximalism that made My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy so breathtaking, the erraticism in the beats as a million things happen at once and somehow sound so very good. You can even hear the arrogance from The Life Of Pablo, but with a new honesty that goes further than before.

Kanye lays his demons on the table for the world to see.

The buzz that surrounded this body of work exploded as Kanye made his return to Twitter with certain antagonising comments about slavery and Donald Trump.

Whilst his last record let itself down in terms of the standards, that Kanye has consistently hit throughout his career, ye feels like a return to form. Kanye admits to suicidal thoughts, which, in his position with his family as the unwilling/willing darlings of the media, for better or worse, is an amazingly brave thing to do. On ‘Yikes’ he declares that his bipolarism is his super power.

The soul samples on ‘Wouldn’t Leave’ mix well with 808s & Heartbreak-style beats, but this sound really comes into its own on the fifth song ‘No Mistakes’ as Charlie Wilson croons over the beat, and Kanye’s lyrics feel like a triumphant celebration of his friends who have gone through the lows with him and now ridden his success up into the sun. In this song he also responds to Drake’s recent disses; he admits to still liking the artist but being above responding and ‘Too rich to fight you.’

"Kanye is looking his mental health right in the eyes, openly confronting and dealing with it in a way only Kanye can."

Kanye admits to his addiction to fentanyl in ‘Ghost Town’ with the lyrics seemingly summing him up in a few bars: he is an idiot and a genius, he is Kanye West.

070 Shake’s outro over futuristic production tops the optimism which the latter half of this album produces.

The record’s tone starts quite dark - Kanye admits in the first

song that he should say something brighter to balance the dark thoughts of suicide. ye gets deceptively more optimistic and upbeat, even though it might not feel like it at first. ‘All Mine’ feels like a lighter mix off Yeezus as he references his President’s affair with a pornstar. ‘Wouldn’t Leave’ sounds like a thank you letter to his wife, who stuck with him through it all, through thick and thin and thick again.

The last song, ‘Violent Crimes’, has DeJ Loaf singing the auto-tuned hook which is a warning not to grow up too quickly and a surprisingly triumphant sounding thank you to the ‘heroes of the night.’ Through the song he speaks of fatherhood and how his daughter has changed his view of women. His lyrics have often been misogynistic, but now he seems to be reconsidering his position, despite taking jabs at the #MeToo movement. It’s a start, far from good enough, but better than nothing. The album ends with Nicki Minaj, the lines she sent through to West and the recorded phone call of them, his wish for his daughter to be strong, to be her own woman through it all, to be a monster.

Kanye confronts his own issues of mental health; he battles with his reality and his place in it, grappling to come to terms with it all with brutal honesty. But, over just 7 songs and 24 minutes,

Kanye West makes a tear-jerking return after a tumultuous two years in his life where he claims to have nearly lost it all. It’s legitimately brilliant, sonically fantastic and all in all, an incredibly good album encapsulating the current spot Kanye West stands in, in his world and in our world.

Kanye is looking his mental health right in the eyes, openly confronting and dealing with it in a way only Kanye can.

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MUSIC

Friday 8th June 2018

Ellie Koepke

@redbrickmusic

The Uptone Girls provided sassy covers and sweet harmonies, perfectly contrasted by the later indie bops of Portobello, Deafpony and Qualms, while Fes and Coffee Breath played heavier sounds later into the evening.

"Odd Soul’s set on the main stage was something special"

Live Review:

Holly Carter Deputy Editor

2nd June saw ValeFest pull off another incredible event for the 14th year running, selling out in record time, becoming one of the busiest festivals to date. Kicking things off with a bang at the Lakeside Stage were UoB’s Big

Band, the 40-piece handing out cover after cracking cover to the early birds gathered on the grass.

With a new location and smaller tent size, the revamped Alternative Stage of previous years, now the Lakeside Stage, allowed for a healthy mixture of space to dance and room to chill, and the stage’s varied lineup was perfect for both.

Birmingham a cappella legends

The Acoustic Stage, this year run collaboratively by New Street Records and Burn FM, provided a relaxed space, away from other stages to hear some of the festivals best bands in a more intimate setting. After the many horns of Big Band, it was time for an acoustic set from Selly music scene staple, DAME. With a main stage slot later in the day, it was refreshing to see Shannon Farmer and pals in a more low-key setting, still playing tunes like ‘Runaway’ and ‘Habit’ for which they are known and loved. Half of Odd Soul came next, also warming up for their later main stage set. Surrounded by market stalls, the soft sounds of Rylands Heath, Silas Burke and Rainy Day Woman later in the day provided the perfect backdrop for exploring all the non-musical delights that ValeFest always has to offer.

One such delight that comes back to ValeFest year after year is UoB’s Battle Reenactment Society, BatSoc. Taking their usual space on the Vale’s Hill, those who preferred relaxing near the dance tent with a few drinks

watched the society battle it out in full costume (despite the high temperatures), gaining claps and cheers after every battle.

Back down on the Lakeside Stage, fourth year indie poppers Summer Daze played bops appropriate to their name to the fanbase they have collected over the past four years. However, just before their final (and best) song, ‘Downtown’, both Lakeside and the Dance stages lost power much to the dismay of attendees. The silence didn’t last long, however, with technical difficulties sorted in time for both Portobello and DJ Pete’s sets.

Odd Soul’s set on the main stage was something special, the funky six-piece leading the biggest dance party of the day so far.

Having released their first EP earlier in the year with a sold out Sunflower Lounge show, the crowd had a lot of familiar songs to sing along to, include massive tunes like ‘BDBBD’ and ‘Shire’.

Gabriella Iñutu Liandu’s voice stole the show, and all six members seemed chuffed to have moved to main stage after their performance on the alternative stage last year.

As always, ValeFest provided plenty of delicious food to sustain punters throughout the day, and the Comedy and Performance tent was the perfect place to enjoy some alternative entertainment while eating. As always, Footnotes Comedy Society performed stellar stand-up, while societies 3BUGS Fringe and Watch This provided a variety of dramatic arts throughout the day.

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After a day of wandering and drinking, it was finally time to take our places at the main stage for the biggest names of the day.

With more chilled-out indie vibes, it was nice to relax on the grass listening to Little Comets, while we built our energy back up for chart-toppers Fickle Friends.

When the time came, we were definitely glad we had made that choice, as the Brighton five-piece performed summer tune after tune. The crowd they pulled was impressive, and the band seemed delighted to be at Europe’s largest student-run charity festival, lead singer Natti saying that she wished she had attended UoB just to come to ValeFest. Tunes like ‘Say No More’ and ‘Wake Me Up’ had plenty of people dancing on shoulders, and it really was the perfect end to a perfect festival.

"The band seemed delighted to be at Europe’s largest student-run charity festival" ValeFest, once again, have absolutely smashed it. Probably their most ambitious line-up so far, it is unsurprising that attendees from the university and public alike have been calling it their best year to date. It certainly sets a high standard to follow next year, but there is no doubt that they will do an amazing job, and I for one cannot wait.

Greatest Hits: William Baxter In his last few days as Editor-in-Chief, William Baxter talks Redbrick Music through the only five songs he actually knows A Song I Smile At

Song From My Childhood:

Hall & Oates - ‘You Make My Dreams’

Dean Martin - ‘Ain't That A Kick In The Head’

Try and be miserable to this song. Go on, really try. It’s impossible, even if it were to be used in the darkest comedic setting. The discography of Hall & Oates has been a Redbrick office staple this year (for that, I blame Dep Ed Kirstie Sutherland) and it has undeniably made it a sunnier place. Even when everything is going wrong (the Macs have crashed, it’s 11.58 on a Thursday, and the office fish is lying upside down), I can really believe that my dreams will be made true by this little slice of eighties optimism. It is on my most played morning shower playlist, my office disaster playlist, and pretty much every playlist I have ever made - surely you can never have too much of a good thing?

From the era where everyone was just that little bit cooler than they are today comes this, my personal favourite Dean Martin song. Naturally it belongs to the pile of songs picked at random by Hollywood to soundtrack any film about the Mafia, but for me this song will always remind me of my childhood.

Back in the fifties, as a young shoeshine boy on the streets of Harlem, Dino and Ol’ Blue Eyes would always tip better than the rest. Really though, long car journeys in the back of my dad’s company beemers would always feature a constant rotation of Martin’s The Capitol Years albums, frustrated attempts at Radio 2’s PopMaster, or a fascinating hour long speakerphone conversation about sales targets. ‘Aint That A Kick In The Head?’ is supercatchy, fun, and incredibly memorable - if it came on the radio tomorrow, I am still pretty sure I would remember all the words.

A Song I Have Recently Come To Love:

A Song That Makes Me Want to Twist and Shout

Pulp - ‘Common People’

The Beatles - ‘Twist and Shout’

Pulp. The only right answer to the age old question: ‘Oasis or Blur?’ Despite the unfashionable sin of picking their most famous song, ‘Common People’ has quickly become a personal favourite since properly listening to Different Class last summer.

The lyrics are cynical and aggressive, with just the right amount of sleaze injected from the opening slow whispers before the chorus drags the speed up. It is cliche to say, but it really does take you on a journey. Most importantly, the song speaks to everyone who has ever sneered at a poser or pretender - not big, not clever, but oh so incredibly satisfying.

First Songpretty I Remember Life moves fast. If you hearing: don’t stop to look around once The Policeyou - Roxanne in a while, could miss Ferris Bueller lip syncing this timeless Beatles cover to the whole of Chicago. Like most of my Greatest Hits, I truly believe this is a song that has a powerful effect on everyone who hears it.

There is a popular belief that this was recorded in just 15 minutes as the last song on Please Please Me (an album which in itself was produced over one 24-hour session), which if anything gives me even more reason to love it. As another committed last-minute Larry, knowing even the great Paul McCartney produced his best work in short timescales gives me a great deal of hope for the future.

Simple lyrics, a ready made dance move and an unstoppable rhythm make this song is an alltime classic. Whether it is your uncle’s wedding or 3AM at Snobs, playing ‘Twist And Shout’ will get the whole room up on their feet.

A Throwback Song Amy Winehouse - ‘Tears Dry On Their Own’ As a teenager trapped in the provincial purgatory that is Gloucestershire, any trip to London seemed impossibly exciting. A memory that sticks out is a trip to the smoke with my sister to visit Camden and an exhibition of Winehouse’s dresses.

Whilst that does not sound like every teenage boy’s dream day out, my sister was one of Amy’s biggest fans, so inevitably I ended up also loving her music.

Not only is this song a personal favourite, but hearing it brings back memories of the sense of freedom granted by a 7am National Express into Victoria.

Like so much of Amy’s music it perfectly strikes the balance between being intense enough to mean something without sacrificing a powerful pop tune.

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TELEVISION

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricktv

13 Reasons Why Kat Smith evaluates the confused yet courageous second season of 13 Reasons Why Kat Smith Comment Editor

About a year ago, I wrote a review praising the authenticity of 13 Reasons Why. A year later, my opinion of the show has been transformed.

There are two definitive camps when it comes to this Netflix original, one that states it tackles real-world issues in a bold and unapologetic way, and the other slams it for indulging and invalidating mental health and trauma.

While the second season aims to remedy some of the issues identified after the first, it still bounces between being helpful and harmful.

The idea of there even having to be thirteen reasons why a girl committed suicide does not sit very well with me. Mental illness itself was never explicitly discussed in the first season.

Contrastly, there is an attempt to focus on it in this season; with one of the standout quotes of season 2 coming from Skye’s mother, saying to Clay ‘She’s not upset, she’s

ill.’ The acknowledgement that mental health is not always tied to events or circumstance is a relief.

Skye is a reminder that chemical make-up of our brains or the darkness and control of our own thoughts can have a momentous impact on our health, we don’t need to endure the hardships that Hannah did.

But it’s a brief sense of relief, with the focus on reasons why Hannah killed herself and the case against the school being the most prominent themes in the show. All this means the focus of the show is a little confused: am I watching a show about how bullying/trauma affects people, or how mental health does? This show seems to perceive these two things as inextricably linked and while they can be in many cases, it’s not always the case. Having a plethora of reasons somewhat invalidates the feelings of those who have mental illness while living what perceives to be a happy, fruitful life.

The story itself fails to be as captivating as the first season, with the story relying on shock rather than relatability to keep

viewers hooked. It covers too many bases, with drugs and homelessness coming into the spotlight also – while the reality of teenage life is vast and complicated, 13 Reasons becomes a slight caricature of it. And Hannah as a ghost/ figment of Clay’s imagination is all a bit much. It left me feeling unable to invest in the case, or Skye and Clay’s relationship, or whether Alex would remember things. Yet the first season had me hooked.

"We see that everyone is dealing with their own problems" While it misses the mark in some respects, it is spot on in other cases. When a second series was confirmed it seemed kind of pointless. The reasons had been explained, there wasn’t much else to say surely? We had learned our

lesson to be kind to others and spot the signs. But a second series exposes the web of problems and humanises the previously romanticised Hannah Baker. We see that everyone is dealing with their own problems. Clay becomes a bit of an arsehole. Skye’s confusion over her own mind and actions are a breath of fresh air for a show that largely looks for reasons why, providing some validation for those who don’t have 13 reasons why they are depressed.

Mr Porter is an emotive representation of how we all feel like we can do more for those who need us. Bryce is an accurate portrayal of the untouchable sports star, so often seen in the news.

My biggest praise goes to Jessica’s story. Jessica’s experience of rape and the subsequent victim-blaming and recovery she experiences is all too realistic, with her abuser being the one most people want to believe. At a time where #MeToo is prevalent, it’s a heart-breaking reminder how easy it can be for something so terrible to remain overlooked. In all fairness, there is quite a lot that

is right in this show and it mainly lies in the characters.

Nonetheless, in its choice to be bold in its depiction of rape and suicide, it prevents itself from being appropriate for survivors of sexual assault, or suicidal individuals. How can those behind the show claim to combat issues that can’t even be watched by those who experience them? While neither of these matters are particularly glamorised, this didn’t need to be combatted by graphic depiction. This prevents it from tackling these issues but rather sensationalising them for the shock factor – yes, it may show all possible realities of American high schools, but I do not know how this helps any more than to entertain.

Overall, 13 Reasons Why is a frustrating mix of problematic and accurate. It’s baffling how many things it gets right about teenage life while still portraying mental health in an invalidating way and indulging it. With the door being ajar for a third season, I hope that the screenwriters get more right next time.

Review: Riverdale Finale Madeline McInnis Television Writer

This season of Riverdale has finally come to a finish and the ending left a lot to be desired at the end of an otherwise wild ride.

After the excitement and drama of the last few episodes, especially the second last episode in the season titled “Judgment Night”, the finale was, well, bland.

A near-death experience of one of the most beloved characters sent shockwaves through the fandom, and it was followed by a whimper from some connections we all knew were shady to begin with. I kept waiting for a shocking moment that never came. I kept waiting for someone to die or someone to threaten Veronica.

I waited for Betty to snap and I waited for Chic to be standing over Jughead’s body.

What we got instead was politics — literally and figuratively.

The elections came to a close for both Andrews men, the Serpents have a new leader, and prominent Riverdale villains are working together. All subplots that, frankly, are not that interesting.

The cliffhanger was one of those cheap gimmicks that no one really worries about. Maybe if the audience actually liked Archie it would be a bit more moving, but we all know that he’ll just be out of jail by episode two or three of the next season with a vengeance anyway. With how easy it was to break Cheryl out of the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, Archie will be fine.

What I’m more interested in is who the Black Hood really is.

In my review of the mid-season finale, I wrote that I was frustrated with the “death” of the Black Hood and how long it was until he came back. No one was

surprised when that happened, despite the delay, but the big reveal was much too simple for the show’s tactics.

Fans had been speculating that Hal Cooper was the Black Hood from the beginning of the season. Despite some terrible CGI to make his eyes bright green, of which I’m sure the Harry Potter effects artists were cursing, it just doesn’t fit to me.

I’ve said from the beginning — half jokingly — that Clifford Blossom is the real Black Hood because that’s just how Riverdale likes to write their stories. They’re predictable for trying to pull the rug from beneath our feet without many clues leading up to the big reveal. Hal is

too obvious of a choice, and I think he’s a front.

With all of the evil parents working together against the socalled “hot Riverdale Dads”, with Alice Cooper as an honorary member, I don’t think it’s too farfetched to say that Hal is a front for someone else in his dark bloodline. I wish that this had been explored more in the finale, as I doubt this is the end of the story for the original Black Hood and it would have been a dark turn in an otherwise unremarkable conclusion to the season.

The only real redeeming quality of this episode and the end of this chapter, as usual, was Cheryl Blossom. Now that she seems to

be an official member of the Serpents, I think it’s only a matter of time until Betty gets her jacket as well. It also shows some much needed positive LGBTQ+ representation on the show which I hope continues to be healthy and positive for the season to come.

Overall, the creators would have been better leaving the twists of “Judgment Day” to the finale, as there was no real way to outdo themselves after that episode. Though it was not the focus of the final episode, there is still much to be discovered and more mystery to be unravelled in the hallowed halls of Riverdale High. Though no release date for season three has been confirmed, I’m sure we’ll be seeing plenty more of this addictive teen soap in the autumn.

Let us know what you think @redbricktv

TELEVISION

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricktv

25

Review: Safe Niamh Brennan argues that the new Netflix series Safe is fun, familiar and reliable Niamh Brennan Television Writer

Whilst Netflix’s latest original series Safe featuring Michael C. Hall and Amanda Abbington was released to the world at the beginning of May to primarily good reviews, there was something not quite right about it that I couldn’t quite place my finger on until I had finished binge watching the series.

Safe tells the story of Tom Delaney (played by Hall) and his 16-year-old daughter Jenny who goes missing one year after the death of his wife. In this time, Delaney has begun an affair with detective Sophie Mason (Abbington), who ultimately becomes the lead detective on Jenny’s missing person’s case.

I was surprised by Safe from the offset. Initially, this was due to Hall’s bizarre English accent.

Knowing him primarily from American crime drama Dexter, it is jarring to hear such a recognisable voice be presented so differently to what was expected. His accent is undeniably English, and it is one of the better attempts I have hear from an American, but in a series set in a gated community just outside of Manchester its geographically un-locatable.

It doesn’t quite match the environment. It was by no means bad, but it was not right either.

Whilst watching I enjoyed it

thoroughly from start to ending.

Typically, I pride myself on my ability to guess the outcome of detective and mystery dramas, putting together the pieces quicker than the characters can and getting unbelievable frustrated when I come to the correct conclusion. But this was never the case for Safe, each time you feel certain about the course of events there is another plot twist and more surprising reveals. This made the show intense and exciting.

"At times it seems over theatrical" As a particularly binge-worthy show, you don’t realise what the series was missing until you get to the end and wonder where certain plot threads ever went, or why certain aspects of the show were ever really relevant. Whilst at the time sub-plots about a potential teacher- student affair, and the suspicious new detective were intense at the time, it was hard to see how they fit into the grander scheme of things at the end of the eight-episode run.

Often it seems to be that the writers were trying so hard to put viewers off the final reveal that they introduce bizarrely suspicious situations to simply disregard them further along the line.

Additionally, at times it seems

© Ben Blackall 2017

over theatrical. Characters reactions do not quite match up to the action. Often this is in hyperbolic reactions to ordinary events, such as an entire death cover up for an apparent drug overdose, or the plot leads up to a dramatic reveal only for it to be a simple domestic misunderstanding.

But certainly, it is the above aspect that makes Safe what it is; it is set in a gated community, and has the feel of a gated community, separated from the reali-

ties of the rest of the world.

It is not just a crime drama, it has aspects of domestic dramas that so often include theatricality and subplots that does not fit the initially sinister expectations that Safe presents itself with. Whilst it is odd if you have begun watching with certain expectations of a genre, this certainly does not make it a bad show, it just involves slight reorientation.

I would recommend Safe to anyone to watch; it is fun, famil-

iar, reliable entertainment. In retrospect however, it does appear to present itself as something more than it is. Whilst I went into it expecting some impossibly complicated mystery, it was essentially a domestic drama. My advice to anyone preparing to watch it in the future would be to enjoy each episode as they are given to you, but to keep your expectations for the series to a minimum.

Has Channel 4 Done The Handmaid’s Tale Justice?

Emma Curzon believes that Channel 4’s The Handmaid's Tale is mostly excellent

Emma Curzon Television Writer

It’s back, it’s terrifying and it’s not going anywhere. The Handmaid’s Tale, adapted from the novel by Margaret Atwood, premiered last year and shot to icon status within weeks, with critics remarking on the sheer brilliance of its visuals, audio and cast- and everyone remarking on the frightening relevance of the issues it explored.

Now, after a brief hiatus, Gilead returns to UK screenssadly on Channel 4, meaning ad break after ad break, but never mind. With Series 1 ending where

Atwood’s novel did, the writers are free to go to town- and in Episode 1, they did it in spectacular fashion. No punches were pulled in what is sure to become an iconic opening scene with a chilling sham execution: people cried, hellfire-and-damnation Bible verses were misquoted, and Kate Bush’s ‘A Woman’s Work’ played hauntingly in the background- perhaps the best example yet of the show’s habit of playing spooky versions of pop hits over the top of the action, creating a bizarre, twisted beauty out of the sheer horror of the situation.

This is promptly followed by yet more torture, both physical

and psychological, that in the wrong hands might have felt gratuitously over-the-top, but here felt brutally real (the Aunts really don’t want a repeat of the rebellion that climaxed Season 1’s finale). The stark visuals were excellently shot as always, and the acting did not disappoint: Elizabeth Moss gave yet another solid performance with her character’s usual quiet fury and caustic wit, but the star of this episode was Sarah Huckerbee-Sanders, I mean Ann Dowd, as the sadistic Aunt Lydia.

Dowd had to go at the performance from every anglecajoling, sobbing with joy, sickeningly triumphant - and proved

that she more than deserved the Best Supporting Actress Emmy she took home last year.

Episode 2, broadcast on Sunday 27th , was a laudable mix of utter bleakness with just a bit of hope, probably because the bleakness then makes you suffer more by comparison. For the first time, we experience the Colonies, concentration camps with a sideorder of radioactive waste, where Alexis Bledel’s Ofglen/Emily has been left to slowly die.

Flashbacks of her pre-Gilead life culminate in a heart- rending scene as her wife and son leave the country without her, their marriage declared invalid. Bledel gave an excellent and genuine performance, counterbalancing cold anger and what’s left of Emily’s humanity- with a chilling twist that I was perhaps too naïve to see coming.

"...has hit the ground running and seems unlikely to stop" Less convincing, however, were the scenes with June, hiding out in the abandoned Boston Globe offices. Moss did a wonderful job of showing the euphoria and terror of being no longer a prisoner, but until she can leave

America, not really free either.

The writers, however, apparently decide to drop any common sense June had for the sake of dramatic tension. Tip for escaping totalitarian regimes: if a resistance fighter takes you to a decent hiding place and tells you to stay put, three words: You. Stay. Put. This was followed by a sex scene that was memorable for all the wrong reasons, seeming to me both gratuitous and frankly disturbing (if your copulation can be mistaken for attempted murder, I feel like you’re doing it wrong).

These flaws shouldn’t put fans off of watching it, however; it ends beautifully and was a solid episode throughout in spite of them, with the usual combination of humanity, inhumanity and frightening relevance. The words of Emily’s middle- aged gay colleague, in particular, echoed what many must have been thinking since 2016: “I thought mine was the last generation that would have to deal with this bullshit.

Welcome to the fight. It sucks.”

In conclusion: a solid beginning that bodes well for future episodes, providing Episode 2’s glaring flaws aren’t repeated.

Whether, come the finale, we’ll be saying it was as good as Season 1 remains to be seen- but The Handmaid’s Tale has hit the ground running and seems unlikely to stop anytime soon.

GAMING

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbrickgames

PS4 On Its Last Legs

Redbrick's Top 5

It is coming to the point where we must prepare to say farewell to the beloved PlayStation 4 (PS4), as it is revealed that it is coming to the senior years of its life cycle. Originally released in 2013, the console beat every

“The next generation is at least 3 years away” other competitor it had, destroying the Xbox One sales reportedly 2:1 and unsurprisingly hurting the already low sales of the Nintendo Wii U. PlayStation’s CEO John Kodera has confirmed

that the next generation is at least 3 years away, but that they are winding down development of the hardware, and focusing on the software and online community.

It is unsurprising that this conversation about the next generation of PlayStation has come so early on, with a replacement still 3 years away, when you look at the PS3 to 4 transition. Less than two years after the PS3 was released, Sony were working on their next product, as the Xbox 360 had beat them to the punch in that generation of sales. They strived to make sure that that didn’t happen again and looking at the way the PS4 has succeeded

against the Xbox One, it means that Microsoft must be secretly gearing up for their next generation product too.

The PS4 has had a long and steady life with various iterations of the main console, from the original PS4 to the newer PS4 Pro, which expands the product to have better graphics for the games that want to wow players, such as God of War. From now on however, Sony will be focusing

on the maintenance of PSN, PlayStation exclusive games, online community and PlayStation Plus, which will surely be transitioning to the next platform as always.

Many questions will arise in the coming years about the PlayStation’s next form. What will the product be called?

Why should we spend our money on it? Will it achieve the same success as the PS4? What we do know is that there are PS4 players around the world who have enjoyed countless hours of entertainment, and I think I speak for gamers everywhere when I say we cannot wait to see what Sony brings to the table next.

It appears all the theories were wrong. After nearly 24 hours of cryptic gifs, dabbing puppets, and flickering test cards, Fallout fans have finally been rewarded for their patience with the announcement of a brand-new game: Fallout 76.

Just as the audience for Bethesda’s ‘come watch this bobblehead do things’ stream dwindled, our lord and saviour Todd Howard appeared to give the good news, acknowledging that the stream had attracted upwards of 2 million individual viewers despite being essentially 'nothing' (his words, screw you Todd). The stream then switched to reveal a brand-new teaser trailer for the long awaited next Fallout title. The trailer predominantly showed the interior of a Vault, a bedroom, an atrium, a living area, a bathroom,

and a dining area before finishing with a cryptic shot of the new protagonist (who albeit looks the same as any other protagonist but with a 76 on his back).

“‘76’ is far from what was expected -73 numbers off in fact” By piecing together clues from the trailer you can make speculative guesses of what the game’s story will entail: first, the long panning shots of an empty, untidy – but not destroyed – vault reveals that the occupants have left and on the shot of main atrium there is a banner which reads ‘RECLAMATION DAY!’.

These clues together suggest to me that the occupants of the vault have left to go back and ‘reclaim’ their homes. This also partners well with the song which plays

over the whole trailer, ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads', one which has a strong focus on returning back home. Another key piece of evidence for this theory are the words said by an announcer on a TV: 'When the fighting has stopped, and the fallout has settled, you must rebuild'. For me, all signs point to the story of a Vault 76 inhabitant returning to their home (or perhaps struggling to return to their home).

The biggest shock, however, sits in the abnormal titling, the ‘76’ far from what was expected -73 numbers off in fact, and might suggest that the home vault of the player will play a more important role than has been the case in previous Fallout games. Taking this theory to its extreme, coupled with all the ‘home’ imagery, could suggest that the game might not have you leaving the vault much at all and rather will have you playing what could essentially boil down to 'Fallout Shelter 3D'.

The game might have you play as

Life Is Strange

the Overseer of Vault 76 managing the day to day lives of those living within your vault. One possible story ark for this might include you attempting to overcome whatever experiment Vault-Tec have outfitted your Vault to undertake. If pulled off this would be a game unlike any before and would curb the building pressure on Bethesda to switch up the usual formula for their Fallout/Elder Scrolls titles.

Either way the title has already subverted many expectations and, in true Bethesda fashion, despite being ridiculously weirdly marketed has caused great excitement all across the internet.

There was no official word of a release date or a clue as to what platforms the game will be on.

Despite this, Fallout fans are already clamouring to make their home in Vault 76. For now, we’re standing by to see what will be revealed in Bethesda’s upcoming E3 conference on the 10th.

3 Dishonoured 2

2 Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Bethesda

Gaming Critic @tomallanmartin

Celeste

4

Bethesda Troll Fallout Fans Tom Martin

5

Arkane Studios

Gaming Critic @imomellor

Ninja Theory

Imogen Mellor

Dontnod Entertainment

Imogen Mellor investigates news that the Playstation 4's days are numbered

Matt Makes Games

Female Led Games

1

Guerrilla Games

26

Horizon: Zero Dawn

GAMING

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbrickgames

27

Esports News In 90 Seconds Roshni Patel

Nintendo

Gaming Editor @roshofalltrades

Pokémon Migrates to Switch Sam Nason covers the announcement of several new games Sam Nason Gaming Critic @samjnason

Following a special 90-minute presentation on 30th May, Game Freak unveiled the latest instalments in the Pokemon series; Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee editions are both coming exclusively to Nintendo Switch.

The announcement trailer shown gives us an in-depth look at the new titles and the things we can expect from them; inspired by Pokémon Yellow, the RPG sees players returning to the Kanto region in a new 3D reimagining of the region. Pikachu – or Eevee depending on your version – follows you around the region and can be dressed up and customised to the player’s content.

Most surprising in the trailer was that the catching mechanics of the game are lifted heavily from Pokémon GO, as opposed to maintaining the traditional method seen in the series since the originals.

Wild battles have been completely removed and trainers now obtain Pokémon through the more simplistic ‘flick a Pokéball’ system seen in the mobile game.

In a similar vein, the game features trading connectivity with GO, allowing players to transfer their Pokémon from mobile to the Switch. The trailer refers to this as sending them to the GO Park, implying this feature perhaps won’t be available until a certain fixed point in the game. As a neat little

touch, Pokémon physically appear in the overworld now as opposed to simply being random encounters, making the world feel more alive.

Similarly your own Pokemon will once again follow behind you, a la Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Also featured in a first for the series is a Co-Op feature, allowing two trainers to play in the same world at once; the trailer shows the players exploring together, battling together and catching Pokémon together, with the latter appearing to be made easier by the presence of a s e c o n d person.

The trailer also introduced us to the Pokéball Plus, a Joy-Con-like device that is compatible with the titles. Apart from being an aesthetically different controller for the game, trainers can also transfer Pokémon over to the accessory and take them out and about with them. While it’s unclear what exactly the benefits of the mechanic are, it could be inferred the Pokéball Plus is similar to HeartGold and SoulSilver’s Pokéwalker, improving experience and friendship of any transferred Pokémon through physical exercise. Given the focus on GO-esque features, such a concept doesn’t seem too outlandish.

Another thing left unclear is whether all Pokémon are compatible with the device, or whether it is simply the mascots Pikachu and Eevee. Regardless of its function, the accessory is estimated to cost about $50, a stark contrast to the packaged-in Pokéwalker.

Yet things don’t appear to be completely different; battling mechanics were shown to be the same as ever, with the fourm o v e system and PP returning.

The art style, to me at least, suggests a degree of simplicity to the game, which may be part of an attempt to appeal to a more casual crowd. That, and Pokémon GO integration, implies to me Game Freak are looking to combine both audiences, as the core and mobile fanbases have proven to be rather distinct.

While wild battles are absent, trainer encounters will still occur throughout the region. The trailer also showed the player battling Team Rocket, implying the overall narrative and story will probably remain faithful to the original. It’s certainly a different kind of Pokémon game but doesn’t stray too far from its roots.

The changes introduced in the games have seen mixed responses from fans, some applauding the

close integration of Pokémon GO mechanics in a core-like game while other fans feel alienated by the direction the series seems to be taking. Crucial to keep in mind is that it was stressed that the Let’s Go games are a different series to the ‘core’ games, with the confirmation that a game ‘in the style of X and Y and Sun and Moon’ is coming in the second half of 2019.

Personally I’m a bit apprehensive – this certainly wasn’t the title I was expecting Game Freak to come out with next, especially its first for the Switch.

The GO integration intrigues me yet I fear it takes away a bit of the substance behind training your Pokémon – no longer will you be able to fight wild Pokémon to gain experience, and no longer, I imagine, will levelling occur in the traditional way.

On the other hand the game seems to appeal to both the core and GO fanbases and provides quite an expansive way to use the mobile app more practically. The art style is vibrant and seeing Kanto in full 3D is both mesmerising and nostalgic. Time will tell how the game is received, but it’s nevertheless exciting to see the first Pokémon releases on the Nintendo Switch, as well as reconfirmation of a core title in the works.

Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! launch on the Nintendo Switch November 16th, 2018.

Hitman Devs Tease New Game Samuel Willetts Gaming Critic @SamwiseWilletts

Hitman developer, IO Interactive, has announced that the 'next Hitman game' is officially in development.

In a blog post on the developer’s website, celebrating the release of HITMAN: Game of the Year Edition, IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak writes: 'One last thing about our next Hitman game; I want to let you know that we’re making great progress and we

have exciting new features and some franchise firsts, which we can’t wait to tell you all about.

You’ll have to wait a little longer as we don’t plan to start talking about that until some point in 2018.'

Whether 'next Hitman game' means a wholly new entry for the series or a new season for HITMAN (2016) is unclear.

However, it is likely that IO Interactive’s plans to release three seasons for HITMAN

(2016) have been abandoned following their sudden and unexpected split from former parent company Square Enix.

Regardless, HITMAN (2016) has laid a strong foundation for the developers to build on, with the game accruing '7 million players' and growing.

Hopefully, IO Interactive will address some of the issues that stemmed from HITMAN (2016)’s online requirements, such as save game incompatibility

issues that resulted in a loss of player progress.

Another potential improvement could see some of the series’ classic missions, such as Hitman: Blood Money’s ‘A New Life’, be remade and included as playable options in the new title. In conjunction with the contracts feature in HITMAN (2016), these missions could receive a new breath of life.

HITMAN: Game of the Year Edition is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Image Credit: IO Interactive

A new university esports league has been formed with the support of BUCS, the National Student Esports (NSE), which has also recently announced a British University Esports Championship, featuring League of Legends, Dota 2 and CS:GO. In other university league news, the National University Esport League (NUEL), has announced a summer season for its top 3 games, League of Legends, Overwatch and CS:GO, which will kick off in mid-July.

Across the pond, the Overwatch League enters its 4th and final regular season, amping up the pressure for many teams as they must quickly adapt to the new patch changes and dominate to secure their place in the season play-offs in New York this July.

In the Overwatch Contenders League, Fusion University won the North American league, while British Hurricane won the European league, and went on to beat Fusion University in the NA vs EU showdown match, proving the British are better than the Americans at esports, at least this time.

Closer to home saw the first UK Dota 2 Major held by ESL UK at the National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, which played host to almost 9000 spectators over 3 days of quarter, semi and grand finals, which saw Virtus.Pro annihilate OpTic Gaming in the finals, as the crowd adopted South American team paiN Gaming for the 3rd place play-offs.

The Major also brought an esports conference to Birmingham, courtesy of Esports Insider, which saw panels of industry experts open up about how community has shaped their path through the esports industry, with many panelists advocating for more live esports events to be held in the second city, Birmingham, specifically.

May also saw Fortnite Epic Games, developers of Fortnite, announce an unprecedented 1st season prize pool of $100 million, which is more than all the current major esports combined. This money will be distributed among all Epic Games affiliated tournaments over their inaugural 2018-2019 season.

Read more esports news online at: redbrick.me/gaming/esports Image Credit: ESL

28

FOOD&DRINK

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbrickfood

Marco Pierre White: One Star Food Hygiene Food&Drink Editor Adele Franghiadi sheds light on the recent food controversy at the prestigious Marco Pierre White in the Cube Adele Franghiadi Food&Drink Editor

Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill has been given a 1-star hygiene rating following an environmental health inspection conducted on March 12 th 2018, to assess the venue’s kitchen, bin store, food store, and bar area.

During the audit, the Environmental Health Officer from Birmingham City Council found a litany of health and safety violations, some of which are particularly surprising.

Relating to food storage, the EHO found that the restaurant had been storing some chilled foods inappropriately. Trays of raw bacon had been stored above ready-to- eat breakfast items in the fridge, a tub of chopped onion was stored on top of a lettuce, liquid egg had been stored in a fridge with a broken seal, and large containers of sauce and jus had been stored without lids in the walk-in chiller.

The audit further revealed that the use-by date on a container of pasteurised egg yolks, originally marked by their manufacturer as 13th March, had been extended in-house to the 14th March. Also, a broken air-conditioning unit had been dripping onto food stored underneath it, while the crushed

ice used for drink preparation had also been used to store chilled bottles and cans, which poses the risk of cross- contamination.

Food preparation and handling practices also raised concern.

There were several issues with chopping boards, which were found to have a build-up of dirt in the knife scores on the surface.

The boards for ready-to-eat products had also been stored with the raw-product boards, again creating a risk of cross-contamination.

It also appeared that the food safety management system regarding the handling of allergy notifications had not been completed.

"A further concern was that the hot water did not come through the hand wash tap, and that the basins were slow to drain" Among complaints of dirt and mould in the raw-food preparation area, the EHO also noted an extraction unit that had a build-up of grease which had been dripping onto the equipment and uten-

sils below it, as well as a pipe that had been leaking brown liquid onto the supposedly clean glasses that had been put away.

Additionally, the can-opener blade was listed as another potential risk for contamination, as it appeared to have not been cleaned between uses.

In the potwash area, the EHO noted that the general area required a deep-clean, especially in the dishwashing machine, which had dirt and mould in the trays used for cleaning utensils and cutlery, and the floor-to-wall junctions.

The handle on the extendable tap was also found to be covered in food debris, while the sponges were noted as dirty.

The EHO noticed wall damage from staff dragging bins through doorways, and duct-tape on a damaged floor as a temporary fix. Relating to bins, waste in both the larder and bin storage areas was found to be overflowing. Furthermore, due to bins blocking access to hand-wash basins, the EHO noted that staff hand-washing procedures were more than likely not being met.

A further concern was that the hot water did not come through the hand-wash tap, and that the basins were slow to drain. There were also concerns regarding how close the staff toilets are to food preparation areas, as the staff toi-

let door opens directly into kitchen areas when the door to the adjoining corridor is left open, as it was during the inspection.

Despite this damning 1-star report, however, Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill is appealing the verdict. This is on the basis of a 4-star report conducted on the same day, by an unannounced, independent external auditor from Shield Safety Group. This company have since re-examined the restaurant, on the 11th April, delivering another 4-star verdict. Shield Safety Group have claimed that the small number of issues in their original audit ‘were immediately rectified by the business and from [their] more recent audits [they] can confirm that good hygiene practices have remained in place.’

As reported by Birmingham Live, a spokesperson for Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill has also pointed out that ‘over the past year we have invested more than £150,000 in the modernisation and upgrading of our kitchen,’ and continue to their commitment to meeting health and safety standards. Therefore, the discrepancy between the independent auditor and the council’s EHO does seem incongruous, especially given the restaurant’s past 5-star ratings.

Unless the appeal is successful, Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill will remain among the 21 other Birmingham eateries to receive ‘major improvement necessary’ ratings from the Food Standards Agency in March 2018.

Big & Beautiful: Za Za Bazaar, a Review Food&Drink Editor Adele Franghiadi ventures out to Bristol to sample the biggest buffet restaurant in the UK and see if it is worth the hype Adele Franghiadi

like enough time for a meal, time flies by as you spend little time at the table, with almost all of it spent at the buffet collection Za Za Bazaar in Bristol is a itself, so keep an eye on your unique buffet experience, to say watch. the least. As the largest restaurant Za Za Bazaar has a huge range in the UK, with the capacity to of foods, for all tastes. There are seat 1000 diners at once, it is 6 food stands and a bar listed on worth preparing yourself both the restaurant plan - yes, it’s so mentally and physically before massive that you literally get you visit due to the sheer size of given a map - and each stand is the venue and range of food on broken down into categories offer. within that given cuisine, which Before reviewing the sometimes feature a "live food at Za Za cooking demonBazaar, it is worth stration". warning that The decor is preparation is also very modern, essential prior to and seems to your visit. be going for Booking is street-food required, and market vibe, booking fee is there is a £5 but in a warerequired, and a fee per party house.

If £5.00 fee per member who you're lucky, doesn’t turn you might party member up, or cancels also get a table who does not with less than 24 that overlooks turn up hours notice, so the harbourside, ensure everyone which is a loveis certain they can ly view espemake it - this is cially at sunset. not the place for wishyMy sister - a Za Za vetwashy commitment. eran - recommended we start at The restaurant also has strict the Indian stand, and work our in-house timings, allowing 1h45m way back through the cuisines on per table. Whilst this may seem each refill trip. However, I love Food&Drink Editor

£5.00

Indian food, so I really went to town on my first plate and peaked way too early in the buffet process - I do not recommend doing this, it is a waste. In the excitement, I don’t actually remember what dishes I chose at this stage, but it was all delicious and surprisingly fresh-tasting, something which I’ve found is quite rare at multi-cuisine buffets.

Having a quick wine-break at the table (2-for-1 bottles at happy hour, thank you very much), I braved the European stand. For me this was far-less exciting and not as veggie-friendly, but I was interested to see a fresh pasta outlet.

From the range of fresh ingredients the chef can prepare a number of sauces on request, so I opted for a pesto dish. While a little too salty for my liking, it was a great flavour, and again, I was impressed by how fresh the food tasted compared to my previous experience of buffets.

By this point, I was seriously struggling, so at the Tex Mex stand, I opted for nachos and salsa. Plain, I know, but great for picking at whilst you wait for the rest of your party - who paced themselves much better - to finish their current plate.

However, Tex Mex was a little tricky as a vegetarian, as it

was largely based around grills and burgers, so in many ways, it’s a good job I got my fill early on.

Plate Four was from the Far East stand. Again, not so much for vegetarians, but this stand also has the unfortunate position of being an end-of-buffet plate, so most people are full up by time they reach it. The food, however, looked and smelled delicious, and judging by the quality of other stands, would have been just as good.

"Za Za Bazaar has a huge range of food for all tastes. There are 6 food stands and a bar listed on the restaurant plan - yes, it's so massive!"

There is also a Salad stand which isn’t so much for fullplates, but useful for adding some side veggies at each stage.

Finally, as if all that food wasn’t enough, we ventured into the Desserts stand. Surprisingly, most of the desserts were not vegetarian, but I have to give

credit to Za Za Bazaar for being very transparent.

Many places do not bother with labelling desserts as vegetarian, which makes them all appear as veggie-friendly, but this is actually quite misleading. Whist Za Za did not have many desserts listed as vegetarian, at least it was clear which ones were. Also, by this point, I was so full that I doubt I could have eaten much more.

One thing we had not realised was that Za Za Bazaar's pricing structure varies based on both time and day. Lunch prices (before 5pm) are £9.99 MondayThursday, and £10.99 FridaySaturday. However, we went for dinner on a Saturday, not realising that the price would be much higher - dinner prices jump to £15.99 Monday- Thursday, and £17.99 Friday-Saturday, by which we were caught off-guard, with.

Sundays cost £13.99 across the board according tothe website.

Overall, Za Za Bazaar is a novel experience, with surprisingly good food. It is definitely not one for a chilled and leisurely meal, and you can certainly get better food elsewhere, but for the overall experience it is definitely worth a visit with friends or family if you find yourself in Bristol.

FOOD&DRINK

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbrickfood

29

Food On Tour: West Midlands Hot Spots

Food&Drink Editor Dean Mobbs looks at the best places to tour with food in the West Midlands this summer Dean Mobbs Food&Drink Editor

Okay guys, a lot of the time we’re stuck talking about Birmingham and what this place and Selly Oak has to offer!

Well, as encompassing as it is here, I’m sure we’ve talked about everything we possibly can this year, and so I thought we’d end our final edition by traveling outside of our beloved Brummy home, onto pastures new! Now, don’t worry. The places we’re going to talk about are just as delicious to eat in, and I might even throw in a cocktail place or two (oh yeah, now I’ve got your attention!).

As a student, I often tend to stay in one place, but with friends and family living elsewhere, it really gave me a chance to explore what was out there, and my foodie brain was living for it!

There really is such a lot waiting to be experienced, and so hopefully reading this will convince you just how much you need to get on that train and open your taste buds up; we’re not talk-

ing miles and miles away either!

There are lots of great places for just a short train journey away!

So, let’s get to them!

Nottingham: Bunk Now, this place could possibly be the love of everyone’s lives, if we’re to be quite honest! If you like chicken wings and cocktails, then Bunk is the place for you!

"Get on that train and open your taste buds up" As you enter the below-ground atmospheric lights of the bar, the evocation of all things American smacks you in the face like a wet, (amazingly cooked) fish – or chicken wing! And for all you vegetarians out there, I haven’t forgotten about you, and Bunk certainly hasn’t either. There is an option solely for us!

There are a range of different sized orders of wings (up to 24 pieces!), more sauces to choose from than there are cells in your

brain, and don’t even get me started on the sides – really, if I started this article would be far longer than expected!

Seriously, if you guys like stuffing your face with every flavour you can possibly dream of, then this really is the place for you. Set in the heart of Nottingham city centre, it’s a cheap and accessible place to eat, even for us Birmingham dwellers.

If that wasn’t enough to tempt you, then we should move on to the ever-expanding list of cocktails that truly rocked my world!

Only two words are needed to convince you: cherry bakewell.

You can thank me on Facebook when you tag yourself into Bunk.

Oh, and one final PSA Everything is half price before 10pm. This is not a cruel joke, this is deadly serious. I can’t actually think of anything better, so get yourself down to Nottingham!

Leicester: Grillstock Personally, I believe that this particular restaurant is the best place in the world. Now, as a veg-

etarian, I’m sure the term ‘Grill’ probably strikes fear into your heart. But fear not! I’ll get this out the way first, because once the vegetarians are hooked, this will be a piece of cake! Are you ready?

There is a halloumi burger, topped with roasted peppers, house mayonnaise (I’ve never known what that is, but I like it!), lettuce, and served in a perfected brioche bun. Get yourself a side of onion rings or mac and cheese, and honestly you’re set for the night.

"I believe that this particular restaurant is the best place in the world...as a vegetarian especially!"

Now, moving onto our more carnivorous friends, if there is a type of meat that you really love then I’m sure Grillstock will accommodate.

Honestly, this place is literally the most encompassing place I

think I’ve every eaten at. Fish, beef, chicken, and a huge array of cooking methods make up for a particularly inclusive meal.

As is always the case, there are always far more options containing meat than not, which bodes well for you guys because the sides have just doubled in size for you. Is anyone here a fan of burnt beef ends? Because I know at least ALL of you have just started crying and booking your ticket to Leicester (I’m good, aren’t I?).

Look guys, if I haven’t managed to convince you to travel outside of Birmingham by now, then I’m really not sure what would. Now, these two places are just the beginning, but did you really think I’d put more than that in?

I mean, if I’m sat telling you all exactly where to go, then how will you explore and discover for yourself? Trust me, it’s so fun to just walk around and pick places out for yourselves! So, use mine as a starting point until you find your foodie legs, and then fly free my babies. Because we want these reviews in!

Soupalicious: A Guide to Making Soup Food&Drink Writer and soup-making expert Millie Gibbins explains in detail about how she creates ‘soupa doupa’ recipes with her Morphy Richards Millie Gibbins Food&Drink Writer

Spicy Chorizo, Lentil and Potato Soup With such stormy weather hitting us in Birmingham recently, yet sthe heat remaining over 20 degrees, I decided I needed a winter warmer with the ingredients of a Spanish summer which led me to create this tasty soup!

It's actually a really cheap soup to make, with the majority of the ingredients already probably stashed in your cupboard. You will need: - 70g spicy chorizo - 400g tin of lentils - 3 small potatoes (1 large) - Salt and Pepper - 1 carrot - Mixed Herbs - 1 chicken stock cube - Fresh coriander (to garnish) Chop the chorizo into small chunks, drain the lentils, peel and chop the potatoes into small chunks, chop the carrot. Add all the ingredients to the soup maker, then stir the stock cube in to approximately 750ml of water.

Add this to the soup maker, making sure to not overfill the max. line. I placed mine on a chunky setting, but, unsatisfied with the consistency, then blended it to produce a smooth texture. When finished season to taste and serve with fresh coriander!

Leek and Potato Soup A healthy, cheap and easy classic I just cannot get enough of!

You will need: - 2 leeks - 3 potatoes - A splash of balsamic vinegar - 1 onion (optional) - 1/2 clove of garlic (optional) - Salt and pepper - Chives (to serve with) - 750ml of vegetable stock (1 cube) Chop the leeks, onions and potatoes, adding them to the soup maker. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar, the garlic, salt and pepper.

Then add the vegetable stock and place the soup maker on a smooth setting - making sure to not overfill the maker and exceed the max line. Season to taste and serve with freshly chopped chives.

Finally, enjoy!

For all these recipes a Morphy Richards soup maker is necessary in order to get the best results.

They are available at all good retailers and are around £30-£50, dependent upon the size and model. Without the soup maker the consistency and efficiency of making a soup is not possible, especially since university can get so busy!

30

TRAVEL

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricktravel

Insight Into: Homelessness Abroad Evangeline Hunt Travel Writer

The conclusion of my year abroad in Canada has led me to the glorious West Coast of North America, where I have spent the past month traveling from Vancouver to Los Angeles with my fellow University of Birmingham friends. As students of American and Canadian Studies, perhaps we are more curious than the average traveller about observing North American culture, and how it changes as we move down the West Coast.

There is one perhaps unexpected occurrence that we have found in every city on our trip, and that is the huge homeless population throughout the West Coast. The stark contrast of walking through Vancouver’s beautiful and rich Gastown before turning the corner into the Downtown Eastside, the poorest neighbourhood in Canada, is enough to make most people question how this could occur.

This neighbourhood is known for its high homeless population, poverty, drugs, crime, and mental illness. The fact that it sits in such close proximity to the cobbled streets and fairy lights of Gastown is a little confusing and can perhaps be explained by the gentrification of the area in the 1980s.

Long-stay psychiatric hospitals in the area were closed down, with little alternative offered for those in need. Individuals with mental illness were forced onto the streets due to a lack of proper care, and it is not surprising that people who feel vulnerable in some way chose to stick together.

I am not fully informed of the laws regarding homelessness in North America compared to the UK, but I do know that police officers who find homeless people on the streets in the UK are encouraged to “move them on”.

In North America, those who are homeless are not forced to relocate every time a police officer walks by. In fact, it appears like the police specifically avoid areas where homelessness is widespread in order to avoid the problem altogether. But this does little to explain the real root of the problem; why is there such a large homeless population on the West Coast I am no expert, but I am aware of multiple factors that combine to explain why, such as a lack of affordable housing, or no substantial income. Often the absence of mental health support can make it difficult to hold a job, meaning people are unable to afford the sky-high rent prices of the West Coast.

"...no substantial income often means people are unable to afford the sky-high rent prices of the West Coast..."

Many states across the US have offered their homeless population a one-way bus ticket to the West Coast as a “solution” to their homeless crisis. The West Coast does not face the harsh winters of the East Coast, and it appears to

be a relatively liberal area – meaning homeless people can perhaps live more “comfortably” here.

As a student traveling down the West Coast, I would be foolish to believe that I could change the situation, or even have an impact in any way. I don’t have a solution to this crisis, nor am I qualified to provide one.

I have spent four weeks surrounded by homeless people, and my mindset has definitivelychanged from the start of my trip.

My initial response when I was first walked through Vancouver and was confronted with a huge homeless population was to be scared. I was nervous of being mugged for my valuables, or being attacked by a mentally unstable person.

While I still believe it is important to be street-smart, I no longer have these fears four weeks later, and I was ignorant to feel this way in the first place. I am aware that homeless individuals should not be dehumanized, and they are often homeless because of factors out of their control.

I think there is sometimes a misconception that homeless people are homeless because of their actions – such as drug and alcohol addiction or a lack of employment. Often, homeless people turn to substances while on the streets as a way to make their everyday life more bearable. Usually, it is the absence of care and affordable facilities that force people onto the streets.

As I previously mentioned, as an individual we have little ability to change the homeless crisis.

What we can do is a few personal touches that might make the difference to an individual’s day – and that is better than no difference at all.

A simple conversation might go a long way. Most homeless people are without a companion, so a few words with a stranger could mean a lot to someone who has few people to talk to. I am not suggesting that people should give money to the homeless or not – that is a personal choice. If you are wanting to help a homeless individual with monetary needs, perhaps you could ask them if you could get them anything; toothpaste, a coffee or a sandwich.

The above is completely optional, and we all have the right to do what we want with our own money and possessions. What we can all do, however, is alter our thinking slightly. The next time you see a homeless person, I challenge you to recognise them as a human being, to think about their situation, to smile, and perhaps say hello. You might make somebody’s day.

How To: Take A Last Minute Trip Madeline McInnis Travel Writer

One of the most underrated things about travel is the fact that you can pick up and move at any time.

Though we can get caught up in the planning, checklists, and todos, there’s a certain beauty that comes from just winging it all.

Of course, it’s always advisable to book your accommodations and transportation in advance, but you can still get advanced fares a few days ahead of your departure. If you’re going super last minute with your travel, websites like Hotwire will give you some decent savings for unfilled seats and beds the dayof.

In a last minute trip, it’s fun to google the place you’re going on the way. Write down a couple of must-sees, but leave your schedule open other than that. If you’re craving gelato when you get to your destination, google where the best gelato in town is and head over. In the mood for some

art? Find out where the closest museum is and just go. When you have no commitments to your travel plans, you’re totally free to live in the moment and explore what you really wanted to see at the time. Instead of staying in the usual tourist bubble like you may if you had everything planned, you leave room for adventure.

My biggest tip for this style of travel is to have data on your phone — and a lot of it — because

all of those spur of the moment encounters will need a lot of Google Maps. If you are prone to getting lost in a new place or if you like to go exploring off the main streets to get that real culture, you will often get turned around and Google Maps is a safety blanket to find your way.

Travel Editor, Iesha Thomas did just this when she booked a last minute solo trip to Los Angeles for the week after com-

pleting her degree. Having no definite plans forced her out of her comfort zone; she stayed at the Samesun Venice Hostel, where she befriended two English guys. They hiked up Runyon Canyon, explored Hollywood and grabbed their first In N Out Burger.

Los Angeles' public transport gets a bad rep, and not wanting to leave anything to chance, she took Uber Express Pools. Not only did it mean a two hour drive from Venice Beach to Downtown Los Angeles costed only $4, but the conversations with random passengers and friendly Uber drivers meant you can get recommendations for places you didn't even know existed.

So for your next trip, whether you just have a few days between exams and results or you just want to try something new, consider leaving the planning to the day-of. Spontaneity will always create memories and you can be sure you’re experiencing exactly what you want to.

TRAVEL

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricktravel

31

Best of Britain: Literary Inspirations Helen Locke

Travel Writer

As a student, funds for travelling the world are limited. But a staycation in Britain doesn’t have to be dull. Here are some stunning British locations that sparked the imagination of British writers: each location influenced the creation of an entire novel, so you are guaranteed not to be underwhelmed by the natural power and drama of these landscapes. Grab a book and a map and immerse yourself in these five literary landscapes.

The Cobb ‘The Cobb itself, its old wonders and new improvements, with the very beautiful line of cliffs stretching out to the east of the town, are what the strangers eye will seek; and a very strange stranger it must be, who does not see charms in the immediate environs of Lyme, to make him wish to know it better'.

Persuasion, by Jane Austen (1817).

Lyme Regis itself is nicknamed ‘the Pearl of Dorset’ and is situated next to a great range of beaches which are perfect for swimming. The Cobb is a windswept stone pier extending into the sea at the quiant coastal town of Lyme Regis, which makes for a dramatic walkway.

In the novel the Cobb is an important feature of the plot, representing passion and strength.

The protagonist Anne is in love with an old flame, Wentworth, who she rejected years ago due to pressure from her family. When he returns from sea as an eligible sea-captain, Anne pines over the fact that he seems more interested in Henrietta.

During a windswept walk along the Cobb, the attentionseeking Henrietta demands that Wentworth catches her as she jumps down onto the lower path. She falls and faints, and the moment is a turning point in the novel. The scenes on the Cobb highlight Anne’s sensible character as she helps a despairing Wentworth tend to the girlish Henrietta, who is ultimately rejected in favour of the quiet but passionate heroine Anne.

Dartmoor Tors

‘Lestrade, we will take the London fog out of your throat by giving you a breath of the pure night air of Dartmoor. Never been there? Ah, well, I don’t suppose you will forget your first

visit ... The moon was low upon the right, and the jagged pinnacle of a granite tor stood up against the lower curve of its silver disc.

There, outlined as black as an ebony statue on that shining background I saw the figure of a man upon the tor.’

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (19011902)

of bloodhounds. The windswept moor itself is a beautiful but bleak landscape to explore, and for confident walkers, the 11 Tors challenge (run by Dartmoor Search and Rescue Tavistock) is a perfect introduction to the landscape, and allows you to enjoy sublime views of the surrounding hills and towns, whilst supporting a great cause.

The Dartmoor tors are large areas of exposed granite which seem to spring out of the earth, dotted across the moor. From the top of these you can often get an impressive panorama of the landscape, which would be very bleak if it were not for the lovely Dartmoor ponies, which the owners allow to graze freely on the commons.

For Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, they provided the perfect backdrop to resurrect his popular character for an earthy tale of mystery and murder. Surprisingly, The Hound of the Baskervilles was published after The Final Problem (1893), in which Sherlock seems to have been killed by Moriarty. It was Conan Doyle’s fans who eventually caused him to bring Sherlock back for more adventures.

The book was inspired by a legend of a ghostly squire who sold his soul to the Devil and haunted the moor with his pack

Exmoor ‘I followed the track on the side of the hill, from the farm-yard, where the sledd-marks are--for we have no wheels upon Exmoor yet, nor ever shall, I suppose.

The fog hung close all around me then, when I turned the crest of the highland, and the gorse both before and behind me looked like a man crouching down in ambush.’

Lorna Doone by R.D.Blackmore (1869).

This is the second Devon moor on my list. Something about them seems to capture the imagination of novelists. This swashbuckling classic tells the story of the lively yeoman farmer John Ridd, who falls in love with the heir to local outlaws who live in the fictional Doone valley.

The novel is suitably full of adventure to match the stunning and varied setting, and just like the rivers and waterfalls of Exmoor,

the plot has a great unexpected twist, about the identity of the eponymous heroine.

Maumbury Rings ‘Melancholy, impressive, lonely, yet accessible from every part of the town, the historic circle was the frequent spot for appointments of a furtive kind. Intrigues were arranged there; tentative meetings were there experimented after divisions and feuds. But one kind of appointment- in itself the most common of any- seldom had place in the Amphitheatre: that of happy lovers.’

The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (1886) The Maumbury Rings in Dorchester is a Neolithic structure which the Romans repurposed to use in gladiatorial combat. This is thought to be the basis for a Roman Amphitheatre Hardy describes in the novel. The setting is a powerful backdrop for the reunion of the main character, the mayor of Casterbridge, with his estranged wife, who he sold to sailor on a drunken night years ago. ‘The ring at Casterbridge’, represents cruelty and death, and the tragic setting foreshadows the deaths of both characters in the novel and the strangeness of their

relationship.

Strangford Lough ‘The geese have, it seems, a perfect memory. They keep returning to the same rocks on the same tidal reefs, year after year. They teach their youngesters the art of the lough. Tomas used to row out in his grandfather’s blue boat and catch the tidal drift.’ TransAtlantic

by Colum McCann (2013) Strangford Lough is a Special Area of Conservation and is home to common seals, basking sharks, and brent geese. Fictional events at the beautiful lough bookend the narrative in the most recent novel on my list.

Touching on topics ranging from American slavery, to the Good Friday Agreement, a large cast of both historical and fictional characters cross the Atlantic Ocean. The lough becomes a tragic but also a hopeful setting.

It is characterised as a place of memories where one character’s grandson, Tomas, is tragically killed in the Troubles as he sits in his boat on the lough. But it is also a place of hope, as the grandmother, Hannah is befriended by a family who visit and bring life back to her secluded home her by the Lough.

32

LIFE&STYLE

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricklife

Imagine Catholic Appropriation...

Lydia Waller discusses fashion and religion's cross-over at this year's Met Gala Catholic appropriation seems like a novelty doesn’t it? Or does it?

How long have Hype beast Last Supper shirts and crucifix jewellery been a part of socially acceptable fashion? It seems to go unquestioned. However, the decadent ordeal of the 2018 Met Gala theme, ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’, has allowed such questions to surface, about whether appropriating religious symbols is appropriate in universal and high fashion. For a millennial generation allegedly concerned with political correctness and tip-toeing around cultural appropriation, the Met Ball’s theme asks if we truly are generally concerned; or do we fear misappropriation of certain cultures and religions more than others?

The event would suggest a slightly more selective concern for the offence which fashion and celebrity media statements may cause in society, as Andrew Bolton decided to exhibit his studies of religion and fashion’s relationship through adorning celebrities, such as Rihanna, in appropriated papal dress. Although the craftwork of Dolce was exemplary, the subject matter proved unsettling, as some of the most symbolic images in Christianity were exhibited as part of a high society extravaganza.

Curator Andrew Bolton claimed that he intended to use Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and Buddhism alongside Catholicism as muses for his Met Ball mani-

festation of cultural studies, yet he himself feared too much of an ‘imbalance’. The Telegraph even stated he dodged ‘misappropriation’ of sensitive garments, and causing offence on the red carpet, by not using these religions in his theme. Bolton feared the upset of tarnishing other religious symbols with the brand of high fashion and ornamental value, yet continued to use Catholicism as his muse, citing as his reason ‘the body of the material being stronger.’

“Do celebrities have the right to comment on the iconography of religion as part of a high society fashion show?”

This feels marginally- if not totally- hypocritical, with the sanctification of some religions appearing to be valued as more important than others.

Lena Waithe appeared in a brilliant rainbow cape to supposedly celebrate the progression of the Church, and Zendaya sported Joan of Arc-themed attire which journalists Pandora Sykes and Dolly Alderton interpreted as a positive image of sainthood by a black woman, due to saint image-

ry being commonly depicted as white. Although these statements were celebratory, and positive to the visualisation of religion and art, the question still remains: do popular culture and celebrities have the right to comment on the progress and iconography of religion as part of a high society fashion show?

Whether the decadent nature of the Vatican caters more to the desires of Vogue and celebrity culture, to surpass themselves with something more outrageously embellished every year, it can’t be said. The Vatican had shown support for this decision to endorse ‘celebration’ of Catholicism as the central focus of this annual hype of fashion and charity, yet this support may just show the ease with which approval for appropriation of Christianity may be gained in society. Would there be such acceptance of appropriated Burkas, gemmed Dali Llamas, and mimics of the prophet Mohammed by Jared Leto? This can’t be answered unless tested, however I can’t help but feel as though that ground would never dare be touched.

The theme of religion and fashion is a wonderfully interesting topic, because of the meaning behind such dress and symbols.

The interest should not however, validate disposable trends and the appropriation of sanctified images, since such religious dress is influential mainly for the religious. The exploration of cultural

cross-overs is insightful but in the case of this year’s Met Gala, not appropriate to platform at such a high-profile event, where celebrities frequently act as figurines of expensive, and sometimes sexualised, fashion.

Some have argued the Catholic-themed fashion gala is a brilliant celebration of religion and art, the Catholic imagery being appropriate stimuli due to controversies and scandals in the church’s history. Yet this argument seems in itself offensive, to appropriate subjective faith on the basis of issues outside of others’ control. The problematic past of religion is applicable to most faiths and institutions, and gives popular culture no right to use religious symbols of such importance, like the crucifix, in a sacrilegious fancy dress party.

The degrees of sanctification and cultural value in religious dress is too subjective and sensitive too be profiled so outrageously. Taking the decadent nature of any religion’s worship and symbolic faith for a global fashion event is inappropriate, and every symbol and religion should be regarded with equal value and respect.

Share your opinions on this year's controversial Met Ball theme by tweeting @redbrick-

paper.

Images: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock (right); missguided.co.uk/campaign/ make-your-makr/ (below)

All Your Perfect Imperfections

Tara Kergon Life&Style Editor

Summer is in the air, and along with the tempting wafts of sunshine-laden breeze disturbing my attempts at focused revision, a perennial anxiety is disturbing my joyous anticipation of dusting off the bikini and denim cutoffs: is my body summer ready?

For as long as I can remember being aware of having a body the impending arrival of summer has brought with it a slew of get-fit beach-body fixes, on-trend diets and ways to tone up before daring to step out in a swimsuit.

And it’s not just the pressure to diet which makes summer somewhat stressful; anyone who has what could be considered 'flaws' – from scars to stretch marks to skin conditions – inevi-

tably finds it easier to hide away in winter layers and dreads shedding them. Surrounded by photoshopped images of perfection in magazines, highly edited and staged instagram posts, and some strange societal belief that there is a certain way to look before we may feel confident, it’s easy to get suckered in to the vogue diets, becoming a gym bunny to tone up, or simply hiding away the less acceptable parts.

But maybe 2018 is the year to try and challenge some of that old anxiety without altering our bodies. And perhaps I’m not the only one who thinks it’s time to start celebrating the wide variety of human bodies as all equally beautiful - clothing brand Missguided’s #makeyourmark, campaign not only features models who don’t conform accepted perfection, but pledges not to use

retouching software on them – in the campaign’s own words: “f*ck perfection, it doesn’t exist” (missguided.co.uk.)

This campaign, part of their continued #keeponbeingyou movement, features and celebrates women of colour, women who would otherwise be labelled ‘plus-size’, and perceived imperfections such as cellulite and stretch marks, including a collaboration with artist @sarashakeel to create ‘glittermark’ images proving they do not remove a woman’s beauty.

One bone I have to pick with the campaign, however, is that labelling divergent body types as flawed implies still that there is something incorrect about them.

Celebrating the diverse beauty of women (and humans in general) is still so important, but I feel they’ve missed a trick or two.

Whilst stretch marks and cellulite were shown, the recent passing of mental health awareness week opened my eyes to the lack of representation of selfharm scars, despite the fact that it is an issue affecting around 13% of young people (selfharm.org. uk) - even in campaigns celebrating all kinds of "flaws". Extending this kind of positive representation could make so much difference to mental health stigma.

And finally it could be even more valuable to extend the campaign from proving that so-called 'flaws' are beautiful to asking why exactly we must be beautiful in the first place. Not everything has to translate to being pretty in order to be valid.

In short, as summer approaches and we start showing off a little more skin it’s time to set aside the idea that it is necessary

to get ‘in shape’ – the body comes in myriad forms and all of them are beautiful. To get a beach body there are really only two steps: one, have a body; two, step onto the sand and have some fun! And, however hard it may be, we will do ourselves much more good if we accept our bodies for what they are, instead of criticising them for what they are not.

Finally, if anyone else decides to comment on your size, your shape, your scars, or anything else, remember that you weren’t put here to please other people, and the kind who make those comments aren’t worth the time of day. Because the truth is that there really is no wrong way to have a body - in winter, summer, or any other day of the year.

LIFE&STYLE

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricklife

Everything in Moderation Caitlin Steele & Jess Howlett explore how students can better manage their time online There’s no denying it. Social media websites are some of the greatest influencing powers for our generation. Many of us spend countless accumulative hours every day scrolling through the constant stream of new content and imagery that is just sitting ready to grab our attention away from the real world. Like most things in life, there are good parts and bad parts to social media, and it is important for us to make sure we are taking control of this great tool and using it to our advantage.

We are often thought of as the ‘social-media generation’ in a negative way, but the way I see it, we have one of the greatest advantages over any other generation before us.

With so many different platforms at our fingertips, social media allows us to create and connect like never before. I know so many young people who have rocketed their business dreams into real enterprises with the great help of social platforms such as Instagram or Snapchat. We are so lucky to have this tool to make our ideas come to life, and it can greatly increase your self-esteem when you feel proud of the content that you have shared or created. What is important to remember is that, just like any other tool, you should be in control of using it only as you need.

Whilst social media has many benefits, including allowing our generation to develop much more autonomy, it is very easy to get swept up

by the wave and lose sight between the real and the virtual. I personally love scrolling through Instagram for inspiration for all sorts of things, and a lot of the time it gives me motivation and ideas for how to turn my own goals into reality. Nevertheless, I am a huge culprit of finding myself aimlessly scrolling, and instead of using it to motivate me and curate my ideas, I am simply evading the responsibilities of reality and wasting time that could be spent working on my own life. This can lead to feelings of lethargy and, ironically, demotivation.

The old saying goes ‘everything in moderation’ and it rings true for social media use.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying catching up on friends' lives or looking for inspiration, but it is vital that we do not let it encroach on our own personal development and detract from the real world.

It is also always worth remembering the typical, and true, social media argument – a lot of what you see online is definitely not the truth, or at least not the whole truth, and you should remember to take some of these representations with a pinch of salt.

So why is social media so important to us? These apps aim to show your ‘best’ life – but in reality, your best life is not as filtered, posed or edited as they make it out to be.

We’re all guilty of it, which is what makes it so much more than an individual problem.

Dr. Pamela Rutledge (director

at the Media Psychology Research Centre) explains “we have an instinctive need to be accepted into a group (social validation), and at a primal level, to the biological need for survival”. It is no wonder then that we are hypersensitive to the instant gratification these apps provide us, in the forms of likes and comments.

Sociologist Anna Akbari reiterates this, explaining these kinds of validation make our brain light up the same way a drug does, hence why we keep returning for more.

“The internet itself does not make us happy or sad, it is the way we use it” She also raises the interesting point that because this validation is public, it becomes even more rewarding. This, in a nutshell, is why social media will always have a negative impact to me – because we can utilize its positive benefits privately (contacting friends, or potential employers), and there is no need for this publicity.

Anna Akbari echoes this, as her suggestions of how to be happy online include turning off notifications for likes, and only leaving them on for direct (private) messages.

Donna Frietas (author of The Happiness Effect: How Social Media is Driving a

Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost) summarises our relationship with social media as “love-hate, emotionally dependent, and obsessive”. I also asked about the impact of being exposed to social media earlier, to which she replied, “what we know from the young adult generation that has spent most of their young adulthood on social media – often nearly constantly – is that social media has a tremendous influence of happiness and self-esteem – typically a negative one.” She also notes anxiety with this generation has risen vastly – an observation echoed in the RSPH report, which states levels of anxiety have risen by 70% in the last 25 years.

Though this is due to many factors, it seems likely that the constancy of being online has contributed.

In order to remain happy online, Dr. Rutledge explains we need to recognise that the internet itself does not make us happy or sad, it is the way we use it. Therefore, we need to take steps to remain comfortable online, just as we would offline. For instance, if an account on Instagram makes you feel not good enough, unfollow it.

Contrasting, she states “if watching silly cat videos on Youtube makes you laugh, schedule in a video for your coffee break”. The internet is not intrinsically good or bad, and it is up to us to use it responsibly, safely, and positively.

Your Summer Skin: Sorted Life&Style Writer Bethan Lewis' top tips to save your skin Exams are slowly coming to an end and the summer weather is finally upon us, so it’s about time we think about how to look after our skin throughout the summer months. While we’re relaxing in Selly Park or sunbathing by the Vale lake (even though we should probably still be revising) the last thing we want to deal with is dry or sunburnt skin. So, we’ve rounded up the best ways for you to give your skin the love it needs to stay healthy through

the sweat and heat of the summer, and the rain since we’re in England after all.

I once fell into the trap of thinking that since I had oily skin, I didn’t need to moisturise because I thought it would only make it worse. But moisturising is essential for all skin types, no matter the time of year! Opting for lightweight, water-based lotion or gel moisturisers for the summer will keep your skin hydrated without the thick feeling which a

lot of winter moisturisers have.

Especially on holiday, where air conditioning dries it out, moisturisers will give you the perfect barrier to maintain smooth skin all summer.

Summer skin is all about being bright and healthy, so exfoliating once or twice a week can be the best way to achieve this. It removes all the dead cells, allowing your skin to be much more radiant and naturally glowing, without having to rely on makeup.

I know everyone has probably heard it before, but while SPF should be used all year round, summer is especially the time to think about adding sun cream to your skincare routine. Many brands sell sun creams especially for your face, to wear underneath makeup and give a matte finish rather than the sticky, shiny feeling we often associate with sun cream. Even switching up your moisturiser and foundation to ones containing SPF is a great way to easily protect your skin.

At the end of a long day I

admit I have a habit of simply grabbing a makeup wipe because it seems like the easiest decision at the time, though my skin will make me regret it later. Taking a couple more minutes to replace your makeup wipes with cleansers or micellar water is a life-saver - instead of pulling and rubbing your skin, these products will easily lift off makeup and built-up of oils from the day to give you clearer and fresher skin than any makeup wipe could.

Water, though not technically skincare, does wonders for your skin as it flushes out all the toxins from your body to properly cleanse and replenish it. Water revitalises your skin’s moisture and nutrients to give you glowing, soft skin.

And as well as drinking plenty of it, washing your face with cold water also eliminates redness and seals your pores to allow better makeup application and clearer, spot-free skin!

33

Manthropology From casual jokes about Aunt Flow visiting if a girl seems grumpy, to the strange pressure to hide period-related products from sight, and even the recent highlighting of the stigmatisation of menstruating women being allowed to eat during Ramadan, it seems the topic of periods can be quite a controversial, and even taboo, one. So L&S asked some of the boys of our generation whether they personally feel comfortable talking about them - or not!

Name: Jack Oldroyd Course: Chemistry (third year) “No, not in the slightest. I think the reason the topic has become taboo is due to firstly the sexual aspect making many men uncomfortable, and then obviously it's not a particularly pleasant bodily function and those who are squeamish will find the topic difficult. And finally it is just a lack of education and understanding - I was educated in school, and have had experience with past girlfriends, so while it's not a topic I would bring up at the dinner table, it is one I personally would have no issue talking about ”.

Name: Finn O'Neill Course: Political economy (third year) “No, the topic of periods does not make me particularly uncomfortable. Periods are a natural bodily process experienced by half of the world's population, so I can't see why they should be taboo for so many people. I can see why other men would find the subject uncomfortable though, mainly due to it being an unknown concept of which they have little understanding. However, I believe that more thorough education in schools on this subject would probably help to change attitudes.”

Name Withheld Course: History “I personally do not feel uncomfortable talking about periods. After all, they are simply a natural bodily function and therefore hardly a cause for discomfort.

Whilst I have never experienced one, I can empathise and appreciate that it is not an enjoyable thing to go through, and if someone wants to talk about it then I feel it would be important to listen. Also, on a more general note, I feel like anyone who is uncomfortable about periods probably does not properly understand them, and therefore it is important that they are spoken about more openly.”

So there we have it - it seems that Birmingham's boys are pretty relaxed and open when it comes to periods. although perhaps a little cautious! While most men won't have first hand experience, it's heartening to see that a natural issue which affects over half of the population is becoming less taboo.

What do you think? Does the topic make you uncomfortable? Tweet us your opinions: @redbrickpaper

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SCI&TECH

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricktech

Yew Make Me Happy Increase in forest cover is related to increase in human wellbeing Ellen Heimpel Sci&Tech Editor

Global forest cover has decreased by 1% since 1990. However, in some areas of the world there has been an increase in forest cover that a recent study has linked to rising incomes and an increase in general well-being.

Before this study there was a general consensus that the net gain of forest cover in many areas was caused by the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration. Several climate change models attributed increased cover to the CO2 fertilisation effect whereby higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere increase the rate of photosynthesis of plants and trees, improving their growth rate.

However, a recent study by Professor Pekka Kauppi and other scientists at the University of Helsinki highlighted that the increase in forest cover across the world does not correlate with current trends in global warming, with the areas showing increase not having the highest CO2 or temperature increase.Additionally, the greening process has been happening since the 1800s where CO2 concentration in the atmosphere had not yet started to sig-

nificantly increase.

This study highlights that as countries become richer, farmers focus on good soils abandoning marginal lands. This leaves them available for trees to rapidly start growing and reforming forests.

This is especially seen as countries become wealthier and there is a shift away from subsistence farming, where farmers produce just sufficient food to feed themselves and others with limited marketed outputs, to forms of work that require less land.

Better technology and higher yields also reduces the need to clear new agricultural land, resulting in less deforestation.

Additionally, as income rises, fuel sources other than wood start to become more available e.g. coal.

Wealthier countries also tend to import more products based on natural resources then they manufacture.

When countries are stable, and people have a decent life they also start to worry more about things such as the health of our planet and protecting forests so are more likely to implement management and regrowth strategies for conserving forests. Professor Pekka Kauppi stated that ‘when people are feeling good, it benefits forests.’

Between 1990 and 2015 forest growing stock increased annually

by 1.31% in high income countries compared to an increase of only 0.5% in higher middle-income countries and a decrease of 0.29% in lower middle-income countries and 0.72% in low income countries

1.31% Increase in Forest Growing Stock Since 1990 in High Income Countries

Europe, US, Japan, and New Zealand have seen increased forest cover over the past century, with a shift from net forest loss to net forest gain also being observed in China and Chile over the past 50 years as development increases. More recently the transition from net forest loss to net gain has also been seen in in some subtropical and tropical countries of Latin America, the far east and Africa. These have coincided with a switch in nations from subsistence farming to market-oriented agriculture. Brunei is the only

wealthy nation experiencing a net loss in forest cover.

India is a major example, having increased its forest cover between 1970 and 2010 whilst simultaneously doubling their population from 555 to 1231 million. The green revolution and other improving technologies have lead to higher yields from smaller areas of land, making it easier to feed the population.

The greatest losses are being experienced in the low-income countries of Nigeria, Brazil and Indonesia. Africa is the continent with the greatest future potential loss of forests, with 55 countries not reporting transition from net loss to net gain.

Overall, this study shows that increasing human well-being puts us on the right track to conserving forests across the globe. However, a major factor that allows high income countries to increase forest cover is the increase in imports from other, lower income countries. This means that goods don’t have to be grown in the country themselves, leaving more room for forests. However, this can only continue to a certain extent and potentially indicates that lowerincome countries will never be able to switch to forest gain due to the pressure to produce goods for wealthier countries.

Light at the End of the Tunnel Seeing the first stars of the universe...

Sonal Tandon Sci&Tech Writer

Astronomers led by Takuya Hashimoto at Osaka Sangyo University recently worked on research that spotted stars 13.2 billion light years away. Whilst even the best telescopes are unable to see objects so far away, in this instance, the galaxy in question benefitted from a natural magnifying glass. Closer to the Earth, the gravitational effect of a galaxy cluster is bending the light emitted from the galaxy, so that the world’s most powerful telescopes can see it in different light frequencies.

Due to the large distance and the amount of time it takes for the light to reach Earth, telescopes see the galaxy as it looked 550 million years after the Big Bang (to provide some perspective, the Universe is 13.8 billion years old).

Hashimoto and his colleagues were able to determine the age of the stars by looking at the light

frequency emitted, as older stars emit a lower frequency. As a result, they found that the oldest stars in the galaxy system were formed a mere 250 million years after the Big Bang.

"These stars were once again too far away and too faint to see" This is exciting research for astronomers, many of whom have been trying to study the Universe’s first stars for decades. In February, further developments were made when astronomers at Arizona State University were able to see signals from the first stars formed, around 180 million years after the Big Bang. In this case, as these stars were once again too far away and too faint to see, the hydrogen particles that exist between these stars are analysed. As any proximity to stars allows the hydrogen

Captions go in the corner of pictures shouldn't be hyphenated gas toand absorb some of the after-

glow of the Big Bang, astronomers looked for dips in the intensity of this left-over radiation.

The dip, which astronomer Judd Bowman’s team detected, was twice as large as predicted, which cosmologist Rennan Barkana believes may be due to gas in the early Universe being colder than expected. Barkana hypothesises that this is due to dark matter, which may have cooled the gas. If true, this would be the first time dark matter has

been detected by something other than gravitational effects.

Continuing experiments around the early Universe, which allows this method of dark matter detection (unlike the current Universe, where fully formed stars and black holes drown out the small signals that need to be spotted) will help to confirm these results. Astronomers are now designing new experiments to try to learn more about the Universe’s first stars.

Creature Feature Prasinohaima lizards Ellen Heimpel Sci&Tech Editor

Image credit: livescience.com

Prasinohaema lizards have blood that is toxic enough to kill a human forty times over! Their blood is also lime-green, making their muscles, bones, tongues and mouths bright green.

The red pigment haemoglobin from old red blood cells is broken down to form biliverdin, a toxin which causes their coloration. In humans and most other animals, this is then converted to yellow bilirubin which is cleared from the body by the liver. These pigments are found in low concentrations in humans and are responsible for the yellow and green colouration of bruises. Increase in biliverdin levels in humans causes jaundice, a yellowish or greenish pigmentation to the skin that is associated with itchiness, whilst high levels are toxic.

However, in Prasinohaema lizards, the breakdown of biliverdin is blocked, resulting in the build up of concentrations 40 times that of what is lethal to humans. They therefore must have some mechanisms of protecting themselves from the high levels of toxin.

This lime-green blood has not only evolved in Prasinohaema lizards, but has evolved independently on four separate occasions.

This indicates that this trait is favoured by natural selection, so provides some benefit to the lizard.

Scientists are not sure yet why this trait is beneficial however it is thought to be linked with protection against disease. A leading hypothesis is that it provides some protection against malaria, as higher than normal levels in humans provide some level of resistance to malaria parasites.

However, Prasinohaema lizards are still affected by malaria, suggesting there is an arms race taking place with malaria parasites becoming more resistant to biliverdin.

Nethertheless this trait could prove useful in medical research.

Finding out what protects lizards against the harmful effects of biliverdin could provide an insight into how it could be used to protect humans from malaria, without causing toxic effects.

SCI&TECH

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricktech

Hawking's Parting Gift Will Nunn

Sci&Tech Writer

In the moments after the Big Bang, matter expanded out into the universe at a rate faster than the speed of light in a process called “cosmic inflation”. This leaves regions of our universe which are yet to have light reach them, making them totally unobservable. Some versions of the Big Bang theory predict that beyond the boundaries of space there are further universes; this concept is known as the Multiverse.

The key idea of multiverse theory suggests that there are infinite universes beyond our own.

Each of these is slightly different,

so there may be a universe where you were never born or where cats never evolved or everyone has purple hair. Beyond that there could exist indescribable universes where our laws of physics do not apply.

Ten days before his passing at the age of 76 on the 14th of March, Professor Stephen Hawking submitted his final paper to the journal High-Energy Physics. The iconic physicist’s final work argued for a correction to the multiverse theory, contradicting some of his own early work which helped to predict it. It is the idea of differing laws of physics which led to Hawking’s discomfort.

Suggesting alternative laws deconstructs science itself: by stating

that the laws of physics are not fixed; they are reduced to philosophy. How can we be sure of anything, if the rules by which we make observations are not certain?

And what factors determine the variations of the laws themselves?

Hawking’s paper, co-written with Belgian physicist Thomas Hertog, used holography (a concept from string theory) to reshuffle the mathematics of the Big Bang. The conclusions of their calculations alter the model to suggest that there may still be alternate universes out there, but that the wild variation speculated before may be inaccurate; they are fewer and more similar to our own. This new model is still complex and vast, but more managea-

35

This Week in Sci&Tech

ble and simplistic than previous thinking. Hertog notes that this paper is far from proof, but that we A new blood test for cancer, called should consider it “an outline of a new paradigm”. The evidence it liquid biopsy, was presented to the requires for proof is, at present, beyond our capabilities for detec- American Society of Clinical tion.

Oncologists. The new technique detects small pieces of DNA released from cancer cells into the bloodstream, which could allow the detection of 10 different cancers before patients show symptoms. It has so far proved most successful for pancreatic

Facing the Facts on Cosmetic Injections

and ovarian cancers.

More than 3000 computer scientists

Francesca Benson Sci&Tech Writer

Surgical procedures to alter physical appearance have always been a talking point in popular culture, with celebrities and regular folk alike turning to surgical approaches to tweak their looks closer to a perceived ideal. The ubiquity of the selfie has resulted in an intense focus on the face. This has lead to many people opting to undergo various treatments involving injections of certain compounds into the face, altering facial features in a minimally invasive manner without going under the knife. So what is the science behind them?

One type of procedure that has been recently gaining a lot of attention due to online influencers is dermal fillers- injections into features, such as the lips, to make

them appear fuller. One popular filler is hyaluronic acid.

Hyaluronic acid is already an essential structural component of tissues, found most notably in cartilage and joints. It is a polysaccharide, composed of repeating sugar subunits. Before injection, the hyaluronic acid is treated with crosslinkers to form a gel, allowing it to last longer in the site of injection, then passed through a screen to produce particles of a

Image credit: atlaserlights.com

constant average size. This type of filler causes tissues to swell due to accumulation of large amounts of water. Hyaluronic acid has a high affinity for water due to many polar groups in its structure, with one gram of the acid binding up to 3 litres of water.

Botox injections are one of the most popular cosmetic procedures in the world, with 7.23 million procedures taking place in the US in 2017. A toxin produced by bacteria called botulinum toxin type A is injected at the site of wrinkles, smoothing them for a more youthful appearance. Interestingly, botulinum toxin is the most lethal substance known in the world to humans, leading to an illness known as botulism. Luckily, the dosage given to patients is smaller than the already tiny lethal dose.

It either smooths wrinkles or leads to botulism by inducing the paralysis of muscles via inhibiting receptors that respond to a neuro-

transmitter called acetylcholine.

Botox is taken up into neurons, where it is activated by acidic conditions within the cells. After activation, the botox cuts proteins essential for the release of acetylcholine into the synapse and renders them unable to function. At the point where the nerve meets the muscle, this prevents the muscle from contracting. The paralysing effect of botox is why many people, who undergo botox, injections find it hard to move the part of the face that was treated for a certain amount of time afterwards.

Although surgical procedures like face fillers are becoming increasingly common- the associated dangers should also not be normalised. Awareness of these, before changing facial or body features permanently, is something that must be at the forefront of every decision made by prospective patients.

Cambridge Analytica has recently hit the headlines with stories of their massive data breach which seems to cause more controversy day by day. The breach has had implications in the UK’s EU referendum and the US presidential election as Cambridge Analytica was a political consulting firm.

What is the story?

Aleksandr Kogan, a researcher at Cambridge Analytica (CA), created a Facebook quiz app called ‘thisismylife’ which collected data from the users of the quiz.

Although only 270,000 people took the quiz, the app exploited a loophole which allowed Kogan to collect data from all the friends of those people too. An estimated 87 million people had unethically had their data harvested by Cambridge Analytica. The suggestion is that this data has been used to tailor content to voters in the UK Brexit referendum and the US presidential election in attempts to sway public opinion.

the announcement of its new specialist Nature Machine Intelligence journal. They are protesting the expensive fees for both publishing in and accessing their journals, which they view as creating barriers to progress in the field.

Analysis of images from NASA’s New Horizons probe, taken during its 2015 flyby of Pluto, have shown the

dunes of methane. This comes as a surprise, since it was doubtful that the

In light of Cambridge Analytica's data harvesting scandal, what does the future hold for social media?

Sci&Tech Writer

submit, review or edit for Nature after

dwarf planet’s surface has windswept

Is Facebook Dead?

Joseph McGrory

have signed an open letter refusing to

thin nitrogen atmosphere of Pluto could produce wind strong enough for their formation.

What does Facebook?

this

mean

for

"Users are beginning to realise how little we know about how our data is actually being used" Facebook has survived many other scandals over the years, but there are some key differences that make this case significant.

These leaks have affected a very large proportion of Facebook’s user base meaning that there are far more worried and indignant people than Facebook have had before. People today are more aware of their online security and privacy, so this leak seems to have hit upon those concerns. Users are beginning to realise how little we know about how our data is actu-

ally being used.

The leaks have had a negative impact on Facebook in the public eye. The hashtag #DeleteFacebook has been making the rounds and many high profile people are calling on their followers to delete the platform. Elon Musk, for example, has deleted the Facebook pages of his companies. Public opinion of Facebook has dropped with many people thinking that Facebook is a problem in modern democracy. This has corresponded to a plummet in Facebook share prices of about 20%.

Companies that use Facebook as a marketing tool have paused their campaigns and adopted an onlytime-will-tell attitude.

Does this spell the end for Facebook?

The answer is something that really only time and your own opinion will tell. Many users have left the platform and deleted their accounts but it still has a massive active user base. Even those who have deleted their account don’t seem to have taken a complete stand against the company as they continue to use affiliated plat-

Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, has announced a review into the country’s natural landscape. 70 years on from the creation of the UK’s National Parks, Gove’s review will ‘look afresh at these landscapes’ and consider expanding England’s

forms (e.g. WhatsApp and Instagram). It should be made clear that this issue is not necessarily unique to Facebook and could occur with any company.

Given this, the options for users are either boycotting social media entirely or, more realistically, fighting for better regulations to give individuals more control over their own data. Social media is so entwined in everyday life that, for most, separating from it may be impossible. Perhaps Facebook isn’t dead, it just needs a new face.

parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. He states: ‘We want to make sure they are not only conserved, but enhanced for the next generation.’

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SPORT

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricksport

Pumped Up Kicks

Sport Editor Olli Meek looks at the media storm generated by Raheem Sterling's new gun tattoo Olli Meek Sport Editor

One of the biggest items of news to come out of the England camp prior to jetting off to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, has, surprisingly enough, been nothing to do with football.

The furore surrounding the team has been triggered by Raheem Sterling and the photographing of a new tattoo: an assault rifle on his right calf.

Sterling wrote on his Instagram story that ‘when I was 2 my father died from being gunned down to death I made a promise to myself I would never touch a gun in my life time, I shoot with my right foot so it has a deeper meaning.’

As mentioned in his Instagram story, Sterling's newly acquired ink references the murder of his father early in his childhood, however he has been criticised by multiple corners of the media.

This is in light of a recent spate of gun attacks in North London, as well as mass shootings in the USA. Gun crime has been resurgent in the media recently with attacks such as Las Vegas and Orlando - the two most deadly in US history - being brought back into the public eye with shootings at high schools in Santa Fe and Parkland and a church in Sutherland Springs.

Back in England, before the start of May there had already been 8 fatalities due to gun crime, contributing to the total of 66 murder victims.

In this context, Sterling’s tattoo has sparked controversy and debate on social media and in the press, with various outlets and individuals coming out to criticise

and defend the forward in equal measure.

Piers Morgan has been one of the most high profile opponents to Sterling and his tattoo, saying that ‘I genuinely find his gun tattoo offensive & misguided,’ and, prior to Sterling defending himself on social media, Lucy Cope, founder of Mothers Against Guns, called for his removal of the tattoo, or removal from the team.

"Sterling's newly acquired ink references the murder of his father" Many though were also quick to point out that Sterling has been the subject of vitriolic attacks before that are either misinformed about the subject matter, or appear to have no reasonable grounding at all. Front page news has been made of stories such as his flying on an EasyJet flight despite earning hundreds of thousands of pounds each week, arriving at training in a dirty car, and... eating breakfast.

Some of the controversy surrounding the coverage has seen some corners of the internet assert that race is an influential factor in how the issue has been approached.

He is of Jamaican descent, and his treatment over said tattoo has been compared to other footballers who have had similar body artwork.

For example, Liverpool defender Alberto Moreno has an image of a monkey wielding a

pistol on his leg, and there was minimal coverage of it at the time.

This is, of course, all conjecture, and may be that Moreno is of less interest to the media as he is not an England player making this addition just weeks prior to a World Cup, but for many, the point still remains.

The FA have come out in support of the player, with a statement reading: ‘We all support Raheem Sterling and acknowledge the honest and heartfelt account he gave via Instagram last night... He and the rest of the squad are focussed solely on preparing for the forthcoming World Cup.’ This tone from English football's governing body puts in perspective the row that has been caused, and how much context matters.

Sterling is still only 23, and to be making national news of his tribute to the death of his father on the eve of one of the most important tournaments of his career is arguably to put the spotlight on the wrong side of the coin. The pressure of expectation on Sterling is not the main issue however. He has directly been affected by gun crime, losing one of the closest possible family members to him.

Why would the concept of glamorising gun violence even come ino the picture?

As a result of Sterling's tattoo, could statements surrounding the issue not be advocating charities stances that oppose gun crime?

Would it not be more pertinent for us to be talking more about how to tackle the problem of young people being brutally murdered in the capital in which Sterling was raised rather than looking to bring down another one of the nations footballers?

At worst, the anti-tat camp come across as petulent, condescending and completely ignorant, and at best missguided. Of course Sterling is being paid vast sums of money for what is a not-too-testing a career, and as such can predict the amount of limelight that will accompany any decision that he makes such as this, but that does not make him any less human.

Performing on the biggest stage in world football is still going to put a huge amount of pressure on him; those pouring scorn on his personal life would do well to consider their remarks in the light of what he is: a young person barely older than many of his contemporaries who will be graduating from university this summer whilst he is jetting off to Russia.

Some of the more humourous takes on the more aggressive

Hero d'Italia?

respinses to Sterling have called into question the badge and name of Arsenal Football Club, who are named after the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich as a result of the munitions workers who founded the club. It is in these that we can surely see the real message- that commentators in ivory towers would do well to consider the context of what they are discussing, and redirect the discourse to a place where the real victims can be beneficiaries.

One unavoidably needs to know the reasoning behind the tattoo to understand it, and maybe yes, such a statement could have been executed in a more rounded way. However, Raheem Sterling is at liberty to have whatever he finds to be meaningful drawn on his body, so, within reason, is that not where the discussion should end?

Editor-in-Chief William Baxter asks whether Chris Froome's latest Grand Tour win is all that it is made out to be William Baxter

Outgoing Editor-in-Chief

Red and Yellow and Pink. Every other rider in the peloton should be green with envy right now following Chris Froome’s victory in the 2018 Giro d’Italia, making him the first Brit to win the three week Italian Grand Tour.

Instead, Froome’s victory is one of the most controversial of recent years, coming whilst he is still facing investigations for having double the amount of permitted salbutamol in his system during the Vuelta last Autumn – another race won under suspicious circumstances.

As Team Sky itself faces more and more scrutiny, fans and other competitors alike are quite justifiably starting to openly criticise a team that is starting to appear as organised and systematic as US Postal Service, the outfit that delivered Lance Armstrong to his

first Tour de France victories.

After years of defending the sport from the armchair criticisms that ‘they’re all dopers anyway,’ Froome’s victory is incredibly disheartening. If the race winner and supposedly a British sporting hero cannot win convincingly clean, what hope do other riders have?

After an insignificant first two weeks of the race, the manner of Froome’s assault of the Pink Jersey was an incredible comeback. Young Brit Simon Yates had been leading the race until Froome’s almost unbelievable solo attack on stage 19, holding off his key rival Dumoulin and a chasing peloton for over 80km.

Yates meanwhile lost more than 35 minutes. As soon as the stage was finished commentators and even other riders were questioning the legitimacy of Froome’s victory, with LottoNL-Jumbo rider George Bennett labelling the ride as ‘a Landis’, referring to the

American rider’s victory in the 2006 Tour de France, of which he would be stripped due to doping.

Ultimately, whether his performance on stage 19 is to be believed or not, Froome should not have been at the start of the Giro. Whilst the UCI will always have to maintain an ‘innocent until proven guilty’ approach, Team Sky should have realised the PR win keeping Froome away could’ve been.

"Team Sky should have realised the PR win keeping Froome away could've been" As is, Froome has joined one of the most elite clubs in cycling – he is one of only three riders to

hold concurrent victories in all three Grand Tours, along with Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault, who has also come out in criticism of Froome.

The fact that Froome remains unwelcomed by the sport’s living greats speaks volumes about his place in cycling’s history. It is almost as if everyone is expecting the sadly inevitable: Froome’s eventual confirmed positive result.

In any case, Froome will be starting the Tour de France in July aiming to be the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro-Tour double.

The most notable thing about that rider? His eventual drugs bust. Cycling may have evolved from the dark ages of drugs abuse of the late nineties and early noughties, but it remains to be seen if the current era’s top rider’s results will hold up.

SPORT

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricksport

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A Question Of Esports As competitive gaming rises and revenues grow, Gaming Editor Roshni Patel and Critic James Honke battle it out to prove whether esports are sports Recognised in 22 countries as a sport, esports clearly deserve to be named a sport and be entitled to all the benefits the classification can offer. As short electronic sports, esports consist of highly skilled players playing multiplayer or popular strategy games competitively for viewers and often large cash prizes. Like their traditional sport counterparts, they often have to undergo many of the same training regimes, such as fitness, diet and training, in order to keep them in peak physical fitness and maintain the sharpness of their minds and reflexes. But how do the two measure up?

“Players are often required to make 300 decisions per minute” The council of europe defines sports as a form of physical activity that aims to express or improve physical fitness and mental wellbeing, through the formation of social relationships or competitive achievements and awards. And while that sounds very much like traditional sports, it also describes esports too. Though the competitive play of esports does not require much more than the minimal physical activity, it certainly engages the brain and improves mental wellness, as players are often forced to make 300 decisions per minute, much like professional athletes, who may need to make adjustments within seconds in order to react to their opponents. Combined with near constant communication in team based games, there is a lot of pressure on these players to react accordingly to every situation, which is sure to make many players sweat. Esports is also just as social as traditional sports, fostering the same camaraderie between players, and a community between fans.

Compared with other sports

under fire, like darts and snooker, esports certainly rank among them, as each of them can played with little effort casually, but often require far more physical and mental exertion and discipline when played at a competitive level, which is especially true as you hear of players bowing out of matches due to strain injuries and requiring physiotherapists to keep playing at their best.

And it is their best that fills stadiums and peaks online viewership, that encourages traditional broadcasters, such as ESPN and BBC3 to broadcast esports tournaments live to their viewers: a viewer base which is rapidly increasing and comfortably competing with traditional sports. Ironic, given that this is where esports learnt all of its tricks. Indeed, this is where it continues to learn, as growing leagues like the Overwatch League host weekly meeting with traditional sports analysts to improve their management and viewership. Coupled with their increasing similarities to traditional sports, from their league style tournaments to offering higher educational scholarships for young professional players, esports certainly look and act like sports from a distance.

Already making its Olympic debut at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics this year, esports is beginning to turn heads, as Starcraft 2 pro player

Sasha ‘Scarlett’ Hostyn won Intel's pre-Winter Olympic event. The 2022 Asian Games also announced that esports will be a medal event, and even the Paris Olympic organisers are considering esports events for their bid for their 2024 bid.

Whether you consider esports players as athletic as traditional sports players, it is clear that they should at least be given the option of being considered as such, as they too, are masters of their sport.

Roshni Patel Gaming Editor @roshofalltrades

James Honke Gaming Critic @JamesHonke

Before I start, I want to preface this with the following: I am a big fan of competitive gaming. I love Rocket League (Flipsid3 Tactics usually prove that Europe are the kings, just saying), personally, but I hold no desire to upset the fans of other competitive games like Overwatch, DOTA or LoL, nor do I wish to diminish the effort put in by players to become as skilled as they are. I’ve never had nor never will have as much skill in my entire body as some of these players have in their

little fingers.

That said, I have to admit the open secret of our favoured pastime: ‘esports’ are not sports. And it’s really time that we started to celebrate that fact.

A sport requires that one elevates their heartrate through some kind of ‘physical exertion... in which an individual or team competes against... others for entertainment’ – this immediately fails ‘esports’ at the first hurdle, since whilst they get our pulses racing due to the quality, skill and excitement, they involve little to no physical exertion whatsoever. That’s not to say that these players don’t train for many hours to become the best in the world, including a proper fitness regime to keep them healthy. Yet this does not make one an athlete – being an athlete requires physical athletic prowess, not merely a respectable skill. To my mind, this also excludes darts and snooker, which are pastimes, certainly, but not sports.

Yet the crux of this argument is not to argue over technicalities, but instead to ask why? Why chase the ‘sport’ label and try to fit a square peg into a round hole?

Competitive gaming is an alternative leisure activity with its own alternative platforms like Twitch, Youtube Gaming and Microsoft Mixer that had a viewership between them of 600m different viewers; indeed, online gaming has more viewers than Netflix, Hulu, ESPN and

HBO combined. Competitive gaming’s biggest events, like the League of Legends World Championships, draw in over 100m viewers which is similar in numbers to the US viewers of the Superbowl and numbers are rising year on year, whilst viewership of the NFL is falling rapidly. It appears that ‘sports’ are of the old world, and that gaming is part of a brave new one.

“Why chase the ‘sport’ label and try to fit a square peg into a round hole?”

This is even more obvious when we see how the old world is desperate for a chunk of the new; ESPN has started hosting gaming on its sports channels to counter falling viewing figures and ride the streaming wave, whilst the NFL recently announced that it was going to start broadcasting its games on Twitch as part of their deal with Amazon. The old world isn’t quite willing to give up just yet, which is why, as gamers, we should be revelling in the fact that gaming is a different beast and focus on making it open and inclusive to all, rather than trying to appeal to a shrinking demographic on failing platforms with outdated business models.

To my mind, this attempt to rebrand gaming as a sport appeals to little more than a desire to ‘legitimate’ that which is already there. Let’s stop viewing gaming’s ‘open secret’ as a secret at all, and instead revel in the fact that we have the opportunity to be more open and inclusive than sport can ever be. We are different to sports and the certainly doesn’t mean that we’re worse.

So rather than trying to be athletes, let’s continue to be gamers.

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SPORT

Friday 8th June 2018

@redbricksport

UoB Kickboxers Kick-Ass in Leeds

Sport Writer Kieren Williams reports on the University National Kickboxing Championships in Leeds - which brought lots of positives for Team UoB Kieren Williams Sport Writer

5:30am on Saturday 10th March is where it began., The University National Kickboxing Championships, held once a year in Leeds, Once there, UoB’s first lot of competitors were up at 11am, this was our light and middleweight beginner males – Ian Redington and Jas Burton respectively and our middleweight intermediate president, Bradley Amos.

Ian was up, the first fight in his division. Ian’s opponent introduced some questionable tactics of locking his head in and slamming in body shots and kicking at the legs – both illegal. But Ian remained sharp, darting in and out with his attacks. After two rounds, it was judged a draw. Ian returned to his corner and his coach. The one minute thirty passed and the judges were forced to make a decision. One vote for Ian and two for his opponent. Ian had lost, Dave – the coach– complained the decision but the refs had made their choice and weren’t going back. Despite fighting hard and fighting well, Redington lost.

"Keogh's supremacy shone through resulting in a unanimous victory decsion" Jas was up next, absorbing the volley of blows his opponent threw at him, returning them in kind, just a tad harder. UoB watched on as the two fighters of similar build went back and forth, through the two rounds. Then judges made their decision, Jas had won. This fight was tougher and the strain showed on both fighters in the blood and sweat, after the two rounds it was judged to go to a third. Later Jas would be awarded a special trophy by his coach for pushing through, push-

ing through exhaustion and pain and every single wall in his way.

In that final round, he really was a warrior.

More cheering and elation saw him through to his next fight, the semi-final of his category. His turn around was immediate, blood wiped away and head guard sorted he was back out there. He fought fantastically and his opponent didn’t leave unscathed but at the end of two rounds was granted the victory, ending the brilliant run of Burton in this year’s nationals.

Our president Bradley Amos went next in the male middleweight intermediate category and he sent out a friendly reminder why he is the best kickboxer UoB has to offer. He won by unanimous decision, shellshocking his opponent in the process.

Slowly but surely his category worked through their first round.

His next opponent had a spring in his step as he stepped out onto the mat. The step up to intermediate showed, the two experienced fighters traded blows back and forth but Amos had the edge, the sharp agility he’s used to punch me in the face so many times was finally directed at someone else and gods was it nice to see. Two rounds done, the judges cast their decision and Amos was victorious.

The fight was close, it swung back and forth from fighter to fighter with some expecting a third gruelling round and others in the crowd edging towards Amos, but the victory was granted to the Lancaster fighter, despite his surprise he took it – I would have too to be fair – Amos’ opponent went on to win their category.

Next up were our heavyweight beginners, Andrew Cooke and Kieren Williams. Both fighters were at the back end of the first round, Williams was up first in the fifth fight of their division, stepping out onto the mat against a larger opponent the fight started fast and took its toll on the two.

Both fought well but after the two rounds the decision went against Williams, out at his first fight but he fought impressively against an opponent who would progress to

the final of their division.

The very next fight was Cooke.

He fought hard, and he fought smart, pushing his opponent right through to the end of the second round. The decision came from the judges as a draw, meaning a third round for the tired fighters.

Cooke came out his corner aggressively, forcing his opponent back hard and relentlessly for the one minute and thirty seconds of the round.

"UoB left their second kickboxing championship having established themselves" The decision came again and this time it went in Cooke’s decision. His semi-final came around quickly as the category was trimmed of fighters. Cooke’s semi-final fight was a tense affair, punctuated by heavy kicks from both fighters. After an additional round three, it was all up to the judges. All three voted Cooke’s way and put him into the final, UoB’s first finalist!

Our middleweight women were next, Natalie Mussington, Sophie Gray and Maxane Keogh, all starting at 2pm, and my god were they fantastic. Mussington smashed her first fight and sailed through impressively, leading the vanguard of what would be a category UoB would come to dominate entirely. In her second fight her attacks had a knack of finding her opponents face, she effectively maintained pressure on her opponent with her attacks. The judges made their decision and sent her through to the semi-final.

Maxane Keogh was the second of our wondrous trio, her first fight against a fellow American from Bath was a tense affair at first which Keogh quickly grabbed by the scruff of the neck. She showed no sign of tiring as the two clashed and clashed again over the two rounds, but Keogh’s

supremacy shone resulting in a unanimous victory decision for the UoB fighter.

Clearly Muay-Thai trained, her second opponent put on an impressive fight as they went back and forth trading strong kicks and fast punches. The judges made their decision and it was another hard-earned victory for Keogh.

She was through to the semi-finals, against her fellow UoB fighter Mussington, with Keogh favouring kicks and Mussington punches.

It was a close affair and after the three minutes of fighting the judges made their decision, raised their different coloured flags and Keogh won. UoB had their second finalist of the day.

Sophie Gray stepped out for her first fight in her first competition, and did not disappoint. Her opponent put up a valiant effort but couldn’t withstand Gray’s barrage of attacks. Gray delivered an impressive demonstration in how to kickbox the right way. At the fight's conclusion, all three judges rightfully voted for Gray.

After a strong victory, Gray looked to her second round; due to another drop out, Gray had a bye to her semi-final. The first two rounds had taken their toll but both fighters walked out for their final one, one minute and thirty seconds later the ref drew them into the centre of the mat for their decision, it went to Gray and it was an all-UoB final. Before the finals could roll around, UoB had one more fighter. Nusaiba Khan at 3pm in the beginners’ lightweight females category. Khan moved in a form reminiscent of a boxer, bobbing and weaving as she threw out shots. The two fighters slammed in kicks and Khan’s punches connected for the two rounds. Khan didn’t back down once until the final bell - or that weird glove they threw out instead because they didn’t actually have a bell. The judges made their call and through split decision they granted the victory to Khan’s opponent. The final few fights of the preliminaries were tied up, a few more faces kicked and punched and everyone looked

towards fight night, the finals.

The first final for UoB was the women’s middleweight beginner, the category we had made our own. We were guaranteed a victory, it was just a question of whether it was Gray or Keogh.

Ultimately, it resulted in a win for Keogh.

Before UoB could even recover the very next fight was Birmingham Uni’s own Andrew Cooke. Cooke looked sharp as the two touched gloves and the fight began in earnest. The two giants’ punches and kicks could be felt from the ringside seats and the crowd cheered on their chosen champions. Three times Cooke put his opponent on his butt, but three times his opponent rose to meet him again. Cooke focused on his hands, piling on the pressure as he repeatedly punched his opponent in the face, but his opponent - a boxer originally by training - withstood the barrage and returned the favour in kind, with tiredness beginning to show.

"Three times Cooke put his opponent on his butt, but three times his opponent rose" The judges then decided that Cooke had lost, his opponent was given the victory but in his first competition Cooke had made it all the way to the final and fought harder than he ever had before.

UoB left their second kickboxing championship impressively having established themselves. UoB kickboxing is a relatively new society, last year we only won one fight. This year, we only won one category. We also had two runner ups, dominated one entire category, one semi-finalist and a fourthrounder. Only three of our fighters didn’t win one fight.

SPORT

Friday 8th June 2018

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@redbricksport

Singing The Blues Sport Editor Olli Meek looks at the rise and rise of Chelsea FC Women in their double-winning season Olli Meek Sport Editor

Watching the match on television was hardly appropriate for manager Emma Hayes, but as she gave birth to a baby boy within days of Chelsea winning their second trophy of the season, it was probably the best move.

With the season over, Chelsea FC Women- as a recent namechange has dubbed them (Formerly Chelsea Ladies)- have run out as double league and FA Cup winners with a 2-0 win against Bristol City Women when all they needed was a draw.

The season has been a big one for the Blues, with new club-wide sponsorship, a raft of new signings, and a new stadium in Kingsmeadow, leaving behind their previous venue of Wheatsheaf Park in Staines.

Summer business saw the arrival of players like Erin Cuthbert, Maria Thorisdottir, and Magdalena Eriksson, and loan assignments for Beth England and Fran Kitching; with multiple young stars simply not able to get into the side for the wealth of talent on show, this was a statement to the rest of the league that Chelsea intended to continue bringing in the silverware after their triumph in the 2017 Spring Series.

They began the new-format 2017/18 season in style against Bristol City, walking out 6-0 win-

@frankirby

ners at home, and little were they to know that their opponents that afternoon were also to be those who would be the opposition to clinch the title, giving a romantically cyclical edge to the campaign.

They matched that score-line in the next match at Sunderland, and pulled out impressive results against the likes of Liverpool Ladies and Arsenal to contribute to an 11-match unbeaten run extending into the new year, only stumped by a narrow 0-1 loss to title-rivals Manchester City in the Continental Tyres Cup semi-final.

"This was to be the only domestic loss of the season for the Chelsea juggernaut" This was to be the only domestic loss of the season for the Chelsea juggernaut as they continued grinding out results in a testament to their character and resolve. Chelsea held their resolve where closest competitors Manchester City could not to finish the season with five wins onthe-spin to finish the WSL1 season unbeaten.

This was the conclusion of a strong season for all of Chelsea’s players, but none moreso than Fran Kirby who picked up both

the PFA Player’s Player of the Year award as well as the Football Writers’ Women’s Footballer of the Year for 2017/18.

Not to be outdone on the European stage, they also pulled off some history-making results against the top continental sides as well. They were thrown in at the deep end with a draw against Bayern Munich which they won on away goals after a superb strike from pocket rocket Fran Kirby in Germany.

Next up were Rosengard, who were positively brushed aside, a 3-0 buffer giving the Blues a far easier job for the away leg which they compounded with a 0-1 win.

In the next round against Montpellier, Ji and Cuthbert were on hand to score in the away leg, before returning to Kingsmeadow where they wrapped up a semi-final place for the first time in the clubs history in front of a bumper crowd. After a promising start in the semi-final with another Ji goal three minutes into the first leg, it seemingly ran away from Chelsea.

Despite their valiant efforts a couple of set pieces went awry, Wolfsburg dug in, and their squad of world class talent really showed.

The scoreline was 1-3 in the German’s favour before the away leg, and Chelsea had hope of a miraculous comeback until the 69th minute when Wolfsburg’s talismanic Dane Pernille Harder netted to effectively end the tie, and Ewa Pajor put the icing on the cake nine minutes later.

@chelseafcw Nonetheless Chelsea made unprecedented progress in the competition and the young squad certainly made their mark going forward.

Their other cup run saw them enter the FA Cup at the Fourth Round stage with a thumping 10-0 away win over the London Bees to get the campaign off to a flying start. This set the tone for the rest of the campaign, with Chelsea taking the scalps of Doncaster Rovers Belles and Liverpool before meeting Manchester City in the semi-final.

Again a packed Kingsmeadow saw them run out comfortable 2-0 winners, and with the other semi having already taken place earlier in the day they knew they had set up a date at Wembley with Arsenal.

When the 5th May arrived the sun shone down on Wembley and the game did not disappoint. It took until the second half for Chelsea to open the scoring with Ramona Bachmann, who fired home from close range to give them the lead before netting another on the hour mark with a brilliant looping effort. Arsenal gave them a scare when Vivianne Miedema got one back for the Gunners minutes later, but Super Fran Kirby was on hand to seal the victory when she scored with a fine solo effort to win it at 3-1.

The match was played in front of the largest crowd ever attending a Women’s FA Cup Final as 45,423 fans descended on Wembley, an increase of over 10,000 from the previous year.

The profile of womens’ football is growing rapidly as the crowds at Kingsmeadow for Chelsea and Wembley for the cup final have proved; Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA Head of Women’s Football said it is a “wonderful indication of how the game is growing in every respect”, adding “there’s a momentum and this Final attendance was a fantastic culmination of that”.

With much of the squad making waves in their international set-ups, the summer will be one where Chelsea FC Women will be firmly placed in the spotlight, not least with qualifiers for the 2019 World Cup in France taking place.

The end of the season was a bittersweet one for the club however, with multiple players who

have served as the backbone of the team for many years saying their farewells. Especially noticeable for the squad will be the departure of Katy Chapman, their Captain, Leader, Legend, who has been skipper of the side since 2014 since her move from London rivals Arsenal. She was an everpresent on the pitch and as the focal point of defensive midfield, her steely grit was integral to the defensive performance of the team. She will, however, remain a core part of the club as she takes on an ambassadorial role, and it will be a massive benefit for players and staff old and new for her presence to remain.

"The match was played in front of the largest crowd ever attending a Women's FA Cup Final" Also moving on is Claire Rafferty, who leaves with 10 years of service to the club under her belt, this season having celebrated the milestone with her testimonial match against Tottenham. Eniola Aluko will also be leaving the Blues to take on new challenges, another player whose contribution to the club has been invaluable up-front over the years.

Chelsea also boast world-class talent from further afield in players like Hedvig Lindahl, Ramona Bachmann and Jonna Andersson to name a few. This constitutes a positive turnaround from the position that the club was in 10 years ago when the squad was looking considerably different.

Due to financial constraints, the club faced collapse prior to the intervention of Men’s 1st XI Captain John Terry and other first team players. As a result of his support for the team, Terry became the President of the club and has remained so since.

One must hope that the improved fortunes for a side such as Chelsea can bring more recognition to the womens game by encouraging English talent into a successful national set-up, attracting world-class international talent.

World Cup 2018: Redbrick Predicts 08.06.2018 William Baxter looks at Chris Froome's latest Grand Tour win Sport Editor Alex Alton and Writer Jake Bradshaw give us their predictions for the 2018 World Cup in Russia

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Alex Alton Sport Editor

Roshni Patel and James Honke debate whether esports are indeed sports Page 37 Kieren Williams reports on Team UoB's National Kickboxing Championships in Leeds Page 38 Olli Meek summarises Chelsea Women's domestic double Page 39 For more, follow us on Twitter @redbricksport

Last time it was Germany, but who will it be this time? While former bonafide contenders such as Italy and the Netherlands are not in Russia this summer, most of the big boys are still there.

The bookmakers’ favourites are Spain, Germany, France, Argentina and Brazil.

For me, I do not see Argentina doing too well in Russia.

Despite their star studded attacking line up, their midfield, defence and goalkeeper options are not quite up to scratch. Their South American counterparts Brazil stand a much better chance.

After crashing out in their home tournament in 2014, Brazil’s talent pool has only increased. The prodigal gifts of Gabriel Jesus and Casemiro add much needed flair to the line up. However, I find it hard to look past Germany once again. Even though they have left out Leroy Sanè from their squad, Joachim Loew’s side have world class talent running through the spine of their side in Neuer, Hummels, Kroos and Özil.

Therefore, they are my pick for winner again. No surprise that England are not mentioned in the conversation for winner!

For dark horse, I have opted for Croatia. This team almost appears to be a golden generation. The likes of Luka Modric, Andrej Kramaric, Ivan Perisic and Danijel Subasic are extremely established players in their domestic sides. If you look at the Croatian team, there is quality all over the pitch. They may find it slightly tricky to qualify from their group, with Argentina, Iceland and Nigeria likely to prove stern tests for the Balkan nation.

However, I can see Croatia going far this time out.

"Joachim Loew's side have world-class talent running through the spine of their side" For me the underachievers in 2018 will be Les Bleus, France. While this may seem a rather strange opinion to hold when considering the sheer strength in depth in their team.

Regardless, they will probably qualify through their group, consisting of Australia, Peru and Denmark. France will underachieve because of the massive expectation upon the nation. In 2016, they faltered in the final to a

defective Portugal side. Since then, the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele have become prominent players in the French line up. Yet, I think that French fans will put too much faith in these players, guys who have never played in a World Cup before.

My surprise talent for this World Cup is the Mexican winger Hirving Lozano. The wide-man plays his domestic football for PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands. After one season of European domestic football, Lozano has impressed, scoring 17 goals in 29 league games. Nicknamed “Chucky”, Lozano has been linked with moves to Everton already. At the young age of 22, he is one of Mexico’s main men, and I see him creating a few headlines this summer.

Jake Bradshaw Sport Writer

With the World Cup just around the corner now is the time to start hedging our bets and, perhaps unwisely, make predictions on how the tournament will unfold. Undoubtedly the 2014 World Cup winners Germany, their beaten opponents Argentina, and five times World Cup winners Brazil will all be favourites before the start of the tournament, but for me no squad going to Russia has as much depth and promise as the beaten 2016 Euros Finalists France.

Despite many criticising manager Didier Deschamps, you can't deny the quality of the squad at his disposal, and I feel their loss to Portugal in what they could have been a dream cup win on home soil, will provide the players with motivation to go one better this time. Along with the recent Champions League winner Rafael Varane and Barcelona's Samuel Umtiti in defence, the midfield stalwart that is N'Golo Kante will provide a solid base for the flashier attacking talents of Paul Pogba, Ousmane Dembele and, of course, Antoine Griezmann, to push forward. Their flair in attack will, for me, prove the difference in what would be perfect reconciliation for their Euros defeat two years ago.

As with most tournaments, the World Cup will hopefully bear witness to some surprising results, and teams progressing further than expected. For me, Colombia are the team to watch out for. During the 2014 World Cup, Colombia managed to reach the quarter finals, with the prodigy James Rodriguez performing well enough to

earn him a move to Real Madrid.

Though that move did not work out for him, the talented midfielder has found himself in the Bundesliga, and has regained his confidence and form.

Along side Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao has experienced a resurgence of late, with the Monaco forward, now 32, scoring 18 times in 26 league appearances in France in 2017-18. They are not too shabby at the back either, with the often overlooked Arsenal keeper David Ospina, and Spurs' central defender Davinson Sanchez providing solidity in defence. Also taking into account their opposition, their group contains Japan, Senegal and Poland, I tip Colombia to defy expectations and do well.

"Taking into account their opposition... I tip Colombia to defy expectations" As likely as we are to have teams doing better than expected, there will surely be some who underachieve. I can see this applying to Argentina.

Although this will likely be the final World Cup for the incredible Lionel Messi, and despite their riches in attack, the Argentine squad is severely lacking in the midfield or defence.

When Nicolas Otamendi is one of the standout players in a team, you have to worry slightly, even if his performances over the last season have been a dramatic improvement. Argentina will likely progress from their group, but when they come up against sides with perhaps more danger in attack than Nigeria, Croatia and Iceland, their defence will struggle.

My pick for surprise player is Emil Forsberg of Sweden. The midfielder has risen quickly through the footballing ranks over the past few years, and he has been at the heart of RB Leipzig's surprising, and by some despised, rise to the Bundesliga and Champions League.

Though fellow Leipzig player Timo Werner may well steal the headlines leading the attack for Germany, who are also in Sweden's group, Forsberg has proven himself a hard working player, and I would expect Sweden to do well with him controlling their midfield. Mexico and South Korea, their other group stage opponents, are there for the taking, and Forsberg could do serious damage against those sides.