Issue 1509 by Redbrick

Redbrick Issue 1509, Vol. 84

Friday 25th October 2019

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200 UoB Sugar Babies ‘Seeking Arrangement’

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The Official University of Birmingham Student Newspaper, est. 1936

UK Students Avoiding University Counselling Services Steph Peters News Reporter

A Bath-based support charity has said that students across the UK are avoiding university counselling services, fearing it will impact their academic record. Their findings have been supported by the Higer Education Policy Institute’s survey of 14,000 students from across the UK. The Bath and North-East Somerset branch of Off the Record, a youth counselling charity, told BBC News they had ‘hundreds of students, year on year’ using their services from the city’s two universities as many are worried about the stigma associated with receiving university counselling. Director Phil Waters from Off The Record explained that some students feel as if ‘there’s perhaps some sort of agenda from the university support staff.’ This means that those students are more likely to seek external counselling because they believe it to be more confidential and objective. The University of Bath’s vice-president for student experience, Dr Cassie Wilson, responded by saying: ‘Our objective always is to provide advice, support and guidance to any of our students who need it, to help them navigate periods of change and life transitions, and to help them succeed in

What’s going on with the Wi-Fi on campus?

News 3

their studies.’ A first-year Policy, Politics and Economics student, Tiny Simbani, told Redbrick: ‘[independent providers] would be less centred around concerns of academic life, so it’s a way for you to completely detach from that.’ Another student, Kaelen Kotecha, told Redbrick: ‘if I needed support I would go to someone independent, as I would worry about who has access to the record.’ Kaelen continues that there is a certain ‘embarrassment’ associated with asking for help at university due to the worry that ‘lots of people will know about it.’ Redbrick contacted Joanne Adams, Head of Mental Health and Wellbeing Service at UoB, who said: ‘there is a level of concern from students about who has access to their information and whether we share their contact details with their department, but we would assure students this is not the case. ‘The Mental Health and Wellbeing Service is a confidential service and we ensure that the contact students have with our services is not disclosed to anyone, inside or outside the University, without consent from the student. Any therapeutic intervention undertaken by a student as part of the University Mental Health and Wellbeing Service is not recorded on the

Has Bake Off been a show stopper or a soggy bottom?

students’ academic record.’ Academic departments at UoB ‘do not have access to any information about contact students have with us, including the fact that contact has been made.’ Only if a student requests it and it is ‘agreed [to be] beneficial to a student’s ability to engage with their course,’ could information regarding mental health and wellbeing be supplied for purposes of granting extenuating circumstances. The Higher Education Policy Institute’s 2019 Student Academic Experience Survey shows continuing concerns of anxiety and stress among the over 14,000 full-time undergraduate students surveyed.According to the report, only 16% of students claim to have low anxiety levels, which is a considerably low percentage when compared to the rest of their age group. During UoB support week, the Guild’s Welfare and Community Support Officer, Millie Gibbins said: ‘We want to get [students] talking about [their] wellbeing and give [them] the confidence to speak up if ever [they] need some support.’ The support at university includes the confidential and non-judgemental [society run] Nightline for students and the Student Mentor Scheme [funded by UoB and run by the Guild] who emphasise ‘no problem too big, no problem too small.’

The environmental impact of tights

Food&Drink Life&Style 28 33

INSIDE: Food&Drink Dig Into the Foods that Frighten and the Dinners that Disgust

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Extinction Rebellion: can their goals be achieved?

Sci&Tech 34

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Letter From the Committee: Round two of making a full edition as a committee has already arrived. After the elation of our first issue coming out two weeks ago, the anticipation for that 12 pm (fingers crossed) delivery to arrive at the Guild on Friday, is ever-growing. Despite the last fortnight being the busiest and most stressful two weeks of my university career, the sense of community and reward after our first publication has reminded me why we do what we do; why the committee stays so late that we order chips to the office, and why we read through every page multiple times. It is because what we achieve as a society is an incredibly professional publication. At the end of the day, everyone at Redbrick is a volunteer, and the amount of effort and energy writers and editors put in is so reassuring to the campaign of student journalism. Our features this edition illustrate the wonderful visions our members have for what they wish to do with the paper, with Culture shedding light on Disability Employment Awareness Month and the incredibly fun feature by Food&Drink of culinary nightmare stories, showcasing the creativity and enjoyment our editors have running their sections. Our first Pub & Papers was testament to the life within Redbrick, with writers and editors turning up to Joe’s Bar for some drinks and celebrations over our first full

edition, or as we like to call it, our baby! I encourage everyone who is involved in Redbrick to join us for these fortnightly socials, as nothing captures the community of Redbrick more than these nights and our Awards Night and Media Ball, throughout the year. I have to shower my heroes of Redbrick with praise again this edition, who are our beloved EAs. Every week I have had messages from new people who want to help out with the editorial process of print and I am continually warmed by the desire for more people to come and volunteer for us, in order to ensure Redbrick is of the standard that it is. Additionally, seeing editors fully take the reins on what they would like to see in the feature pages and how they would like to design their section pages, is so wonderful to witness in the office, as each section grows in their confidence. We have also been working hard at pushing our readership beyond campus and are happy to say that we will be reaching the local community and businesses in Selly Oak this week, so hello Selly Oak! Additionally, we have revived the Redbrick fortnightly Newsletter, which you can sign up for on our Facebook and Twitter pages, to ensure you get your fix of all things Redbrick online, in print and socially! I have to thank my glorious committee for committing too

much time to Redbrick every week. Thank you to the lovely print team, Natalia and Emily, for making the issue look artistic and polished and being so patient with me always. Thank you to the EAs for listening to the same playlist every week, for Emily for always being the one to bring snacks, and for all our lovely readers who make what we do worthwhile! From the dungeons, etc...

Lydia Waller Deputy Editor

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Online this week at redbrick.me... COMMENT

GAMING

Review: Mario Kart Tour

How Sleep Cleans the Brain

Redbrick Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief Tom Leaman editor@redbrickonline.co.uk

Deputy Editors Emily Calder Lydia Waller deputy@redbrickonline.co.uk

Print & Features Editor Natalia Carter print@redbrickonline.co.uk

Digital Editors Lucy McCann Holly Pittaway digital@redbrickonline.co.uk

Lead Developer Joseph Chotard

News Editors Aneesa Ahmed Alex Boscott Christina Manns John Wimperis Rhiannon Wood news@redbrickonline.co.uk

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Comment Editors Emily Chapman Hannah Lay Alice Macfarlane Abby Spreadborough

Television Editors Amrita Mande Catrin Osborne

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Social Secretary Becky Hall social@redbrickonline.co.uk

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Culture Editors Grace Baxendine Luca Demetriou culture@redbrickonline.co.uk

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Marketing Secretary Theodore Wrigley

Film Editors Amy O’Neill Matt Taylor Todd Waugh Ambridge Sam Zucca

Gaming Editors Alex Green Tom Martin Sam Nason gaming@redbrickonline.co.uk

Music Editors Freddie Clark Gemma Elgar Daisy Kirkaldy Dylan Lucas

Food&Drink Editors Harriet Laban Beth Sadler Gabrielle TaylorDowson

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NiklasPntk Meat in the Middle: The Unspoken Hypocrisy of Environmental Activism

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Travel Editors Josie Hart Katie Norris Fern O’Shaughnessy travel@redbrickonline.co.uk

Life&Style Editors Estelle Dragan Frankie Rhodes Ellie Silcock Elizabeth Winter lifestyle@redbrickonline.co.uk

Sci&Tech Editors Peter Amor Francesca Benson Ellen Heimpel tech@redbrickonline.co.uk

Sport Editors Luke Bosher John Rogers Kit Shepard sport@redbrickonline.co.uk

Julia Hawkins Extinction Rebellion Set Up Branch at UoB

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Editorial Assistants Kira Baker Lauren Watson Beth Grayson editor@redbrickonline.co.uk Daniel Bray Emilie Shillito Rebecca Sibley Jamie Fowler Bethany-Jo O'Neill Molly Elliott Redbrick is printed through Emily Olds www.mortonsprint.com Peri Limen 01507 523 456 Rubaya Zaman Eleanor Jeffery To advertise in Redbrick, get in touch with Amy Whitaker marketing@redbrickonline.co.uk or visit Lucy Dodd www.redbrick.me/advertise-with-redbrick for more details, and to see our rate card. Designed and typeset by Redbrick Copyright (C) Redbrick 2019 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.

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‘Slow’ UoB Campus Wi-Fi Leaves Students Feeling ‘Fed Up’ Aneesa Ahmed News Editor

Since the start of semester one of the 2019-20 academic year at the University of Birmingham, the Wi-Fi on campus has been described as ‘slow’ and many students are struggling to connect to Wi-Fi networks across campus. The Wi-Fi on campus is provided by the University and eduroam. Students have been having trouble accessing both networks. Students have said that, although the University has sent emails outlining that they are working to solve the problem, the current state of the Wi-Fi is creating problems for their studies. People communicated to Redbrick through the Fab N' Fresh Facebook page with their disaster stories caused by the Wi-Fi. One student outlined how she had to

‘do a timed maths exam on Canvas’ in her first week and said that ‘half way through the test my Wi-Fi cut out’ meaning she had to retake the test. Her low score in the test, caused by the Wi-Fi, means that she is now ‘stuck in a regular twohour maths workshop’ that could have otherwise been avoided. Farhan Chin, a Chemical Engineering student, complained about the Wi-Fi saying that having Wi-Fi is essential as he relies on ‘mobile devices: laptops, smartphones, etc.’ in his tutorials. He also says the troublesome Wi-Fi is leaving him and his coursemates ‘stuck with using WiFi Guest’ which has ‘been a nightmare.’ Other students agree that the Wi-Fi is causing problems for their education. Anita, a second-year Law student, told Redbrick that her Wi-Fi ‘takes forever to connect’ and that ‘the problem amplifies at certain buildings - like the

engineering building. I can barely load Canvas let alone open my lecture slides.’ Many students claim that it is inconveniencing their time at study spaces on campus and is decreasing their overall productivity. Kezia, a student at the University, said that it took her ‘15 whole minutes to join the Wi-Fi only for it to be unsuccessful and for me to have to go home after just getting to the library.’ Some students say that it has been affecting their hobbies and how their societies are run. Svenja, who is on the committee of the Ballroom and Latin Dance Society, stated that the Wi-Fi delaying and not connecting means that ‘some meetings were much longer than anticipated’ and that one day her society ‘were in the Guild until 11 pm!’ The unreliability of the Wi-Fi has been causing concern for new

students at the University, including first-year undergraduates and new students studying masters degree courses. Claire, a new masters student studying physiotherapy, said that ‘I’ve only been studying at the University for four weeks and am already fed up with the Wi-Fi.’

“I can barely load Canvas let alone open my lecture slides” A UoB spokesperson told Redbrick: ‘our Network Team has worked rapidly to investigate, identify and resolve the issues with the Wi-Fi network and, together with our external suppliers, took a number of steps to improve the performance of the affected equipment. We have addressed the prob-

lems affecting Wi-Fi performance and connectivity across campus and the service is now running normally again following urgent replacement of some underperforming critical network equipment. ‘We will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure that we respond quickly should these problems reoccur. We fully understand how frustrating this has been and we apologise to staff, students and visitors for the disruption. We are committed to ensuring this doesn’t happen again, and we are putting a plan in place to permanently upgrade critical equipment in our WiFi network as soon as we can. ‘Meanwhile, this week we have launched our new IT Service Portal, which is a major and positive step-change making it easier for staff and students to find information about our IT services.’

Stickers Linked to Far-Right Group Found on Campus Nathan Clarke News Reporter

Several stickers belonging to the far-right ‘Identitarian Movement’ have been spotted around the University of Birmingham campus and in Selly Oak. The stickers display the group’s logo: an inverted ‘V’ behind a blue-tongued lion. The Guild of Students issued a statement last Thursday condemning the placement of these stickers as a hate crime and a form of discrimination. The statement went on to say: ‘as an inclusive, representative organisation we unreservedly con-

demn the promotion of this organisation and we are disturbed to find this material on campus. 'All students have the right to live and study in a safe and supportive environment.’ Guild President Joshua Williams stated that he was ‘angered and disappointed’ to see such material within the University's community and urged people to ‘speak up’ to combat hate crime. One second-year Chemical Engineering PHD student told Redbrick that he found the ‘presence of such stickers deeply troubling’ with the movement representing a ‘new wave’ of alt-right

politics which has been emboldened by the rhetoric of some politicians in this country.

“As

an inclusive, representative organisation we unreservedly condemn the promotion of this organisation” He told Redbrick that the presence of these stickers ‘sends the

wrong message to our international friends.’ The Identitarian Movement is a pan-European movement, originating in France, which defines itself as an extra-parliamentary opposition movement advocating an extreme form of ethno-nationalism. The movement stokes fear of a so called ‘Great Replacement,’ in which indigenous Europeans are replaced by non-European migrants. They argue this threat validates tighter control over immigration. The movement itself came under scrutiny after the Christchurch attacks in March

2019, with the suspect having donated €1,500 to the Austrian branch of the movement in early 2018. Birmingham is notably one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the UK. The 2011 census revealed that 42% of the city’s 1.2 million population is made up of ethnic minorities while Black, Asian and Minority Ethnicity (BAME) staff make up 21% of the University’s workforce. The incident comes a year after a similar offence at Aston University. Two men were jailed in June 2018 for plastering racist stickers belonging to the Fascist group National Action around campus.

Campaigner Lady Phyll Gives UoB Talk To Celebrate Black History Month Cerys Gardner News Reporter

On 15th October as part of Black History Month, the grassroots organiser Lady Phyll spoke to students at the University of Birmingham. The event was a collaboration between the LGBT Association and the Women and Nonbinary Association. Lady Phyll is the campaigner and organiser who co-founded UK Black Pride in 2005. UK Black Pride celebrates black LGBT people, including at the annual UK Black Pride Festival held in London every July. Lady Phyll is also the executive director of the Kaleidoscope Trust, which works to uphold the rights of LGBT people around the

world. The talk focused on intersectionality in activism. This means acknowledging the way oppression overlaps for different marginalised groups, for example, black women who experience both racism and sexism.

“Lady Phyll is the campaigner and organiser who co-founded Black Pride in 2005” To demonstrate the way intersectionality is important to activism, Lady Phyll talked about how

UK Black Pride consults different black LGBT communities to make the festival as inclusive and accessible as possible. In particular, she mentioned an incident a few years ago when UK Black Pride was approached by a group of black transgender people saying they were going to stop attending. UK Black Pride then worked with this group to make UK Black Pride safer for trans people. Lady Phyll also talked about her life and why she set up UK Black Pride. She founded UK Black Pride after a meeting with the organisers of London Pride in 2005, where she was told to ‘go back where you came from’ after suggesting her idea for event dedicated to black LGBT people. The festival and organisation has grown year on year with around

210 people attending the first UK Black Pride Festival in 2006 and 10,000 attending this year’s celebration. She also talked about her decision to reject an MBE after it was offered to her a few years ago. She rejected the MBE because it stands for ‘Member of the British Empire’ and she did not want to be the recipient of an award that still represents Britain’s colonial past. Molly, a first-year studying Computer Science, said that ‘the Lady Phyll talk was incredible. 'It was very informative about intersectionality and how there are a lot of issues LGBTQ+ PoC face that I haven’t witnessed as being prevalent or as talked about in less diverse spaces.’ Camille, a first-year studying Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences,

commented ‘I love her work and everything she has done for our community, as a young queer person of colour, it is inspiring and empowering to have people like Lady Phyll as a role model.’

“The Lady Phyll talk was incredible” There are lots of other Black History Month events taking place on campus during October. One event is called Soul Food and Music on the 25th of October underground in the Guild of Students, featuring black music artists and free food from local businesses.

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200 UoB Sugar Babies Are 'Seeking Arrangement' Rebecca Sibley News Reporter

An annual report, conducted by ‘sugaring’ website Seeking Arrangement, showed that the University of Birmingham ranked 20th in the UK for new signups. The number of UK university students looking for ‘sugar daddies’ and ‘sugar mommies’ to fund their education rose by 36% last year, reaching a total of 475,320 nationwide. According to the report by Seeking Arrangement, a dating website that matches young people with wealthy benefactors, there were 214 UoB students registered on the website as of 2018. 78 of these students had registered for the first time that year, allowing the university its spot as 20th in the UK for new signups. The term ‘sugar baby’ means a young person of any gender entering into a relationship with an older individual in exchange for financial and material benefits. Seeking Arrangement claims that student sugar babies enjoy an average monthly allowance of £2910, as well as benefits such as shopping sprees, expensive dinners, and exotic travel vacations. The website also lists ‘long-term stability,’ networking opportunities, and the promise of dating ‘real gentlemen who don’t play games’ as further advantages of becoming a sugar baby. Seeking Arrangement encourages students to sign up with their university email by offering a free premium plan for those with ‘.ac. uk’ addresses. 214 University of Birmingham students signed up using their academic email address, but it is possible that there are more who used a personal email address for anonymity. It is therefore unsurprising that, in international surveys conducted by the website, the most common occupation of its sugar babies was ‘student’ and sugar babies spent 30% of their money on tuition and school related expenses, as well as 25% on living expenses. With the cost of tuition fees for home and international students at an all time high in England, it is plausible that so many students at English universities are turning to this unconventional way of making money. ‘Young people understand the importance of a degree and want to achieve their educational goals, but they can no longer depend on traditional means to get through school,’ commented Seeking Arrangement CEO Brandon Wade in a press release. An annual report made by the website found that University of Arts London saw the greatest number of new signups in 2018, bringing their total to 845 student sugar babies. University of Kent boasted the highest total number of sugar babies at 1056, followed by University of Cambridge with 1019 students registered. As the University of Kent reported having 20,220 students in 2017, approximately 5.2% of its students have sought relationships through the website.

Sexual Assault Victims Need Support, Says Guild Officer Ella Kipling News Reporter

Millie Gibbins, the Student Welfare Officer for the Univerisity of Birmingham, released a statement promising to push for a change in UoB’s legislation on sexual assault. This follows the publication of an article written by The Tab, which details the alleged rape of a former student by another student whilst both were studying at the university. The victim, who decided to remain anonymous, told The Tab that, after she was assaulted following a night out in Selly Oak, her life changed as she became ‘anxious and distracted’ and her grades ‘suffered significantly.’ Two years after the attack, she reported it to the university in hopes she

would find ‘some sense of safety on the campus again.’ The victim received support from the Guild Women and NonBinary Officers 2018-2019 who helped to set up a meeting with the university's Student Conduct department. Despite sexual assault and harrassment being clearly outlined as prohibited on campus in the Code of Conduct, the university refused to investigate this case as the alleged rape happened in Selly Oak, in a student house, and not on campus. The complaint against the attacker was sent to the university on the 8th April 2019, and the victim received a response on the 7th May, nearly a month later, which stated that due to the limitations in the Code of Conduct, the university would not investigate but

could instead send a letter to the attacker’s student house in Selly Oak.

“The victim received support from the Guild Women and Non-Binary Officers” The university told the victim that this letter would ‘outline that a report has been received from another student alleging that, following a night out in December 2016, he behaved in a way which could amount to a serious disciplinary offence as outlined in the University’s regulations.’ However, if the alleged attacker questioned who had filed the complaint, the victim’s anonymity could not be guaranteed.

Millie Gibbins’ statement followed this article and was released Monday 14th October. She stated that ‘on Friday, I met with the university to let them know I am appalled by the fact that this student felt let down by the system put in place to support them. I want every UoB student who reports incidents of sexual assault and violence to be treated fairly and personally, with access to a service which supports them no matter where the incident took place.’ Millie also declared that she will be ‘putting pressure on the university to change legislation that says there is no requirement for the university to pursue disciplinary matters for incidents that take place off campus’ and will be reviewing the ‘You Report, We Support’ tool.

UoB: NHS Should Act On Mental Health Feedback Christina Manns News Editor

Health research academics from the University of Birmingham have made 18 key practice recommendations to the NHS for improving how their mental health trusts collect and use patient feedback, aiming to improve the quality of care for mental health patients. The briefing into the findings, released on the 10th October ahead of the full report, found that service improvements in NHS trusts should be made by listening to what works for the patients rather than being led by complaints. The collaborative study, which includes teams from UoB, the University of Warwick, the University of Sheffield, Queen Mary University of London and the Mental Health Foundation, found that few NHS mental health trusts in England were collecting patient feedback to actively improve services. Professor of Mental Health at the University of Sheffield and chief investigator of the study, Scott Weich, said: ‘Our policy briefing published today highlights the key findings and our guidance for NHS mental health trusts in how they can make best use of their valuable patient experience data. ‘We have engaged NHS stakeholders at every step of the study to ensure our findings were practicable, so today we are calling on organisations like NHS England, the Department of Health and Care Quality Commission to support the NHS providers to implement the upcoming recommendations and drive service improvements centred around patient needs.’ ‘There will be resource impli-

cations of adopting effective models to drive service improvements, but when used alongside patient outcomes and safety data to drive change, this leads to fewer patient safety incidents, better outcomes for patients and staff feeling more empowered to improve services.’ One key finding of the study was that patients staying on mental health wards prefer to give feedback to clinicians they trust near the end of their hospital stay. It’s also important that relatives and carers of the patients feel able to give feedback without fearing negative consequences for the patient. These findings can help improve the way that NHS mental health trusts collect patient feed-

back and use this feedback to improve patient experience.

“These findings can help improve the way that NHS mental health trusts collect patient feedback” Dr Sarah-Jane Fenton, a researcher at UoB’s School of Social Policy, said: ‘All NHS Mental Health Trusts are required

to collect patient feedback, but prior to this study, we did not have an understanding of how they were using this information. This is the first study to look at how patient experience feedback is used in inpatient mental health settings to drive change and improve the quality of services.’ Dr Fenton went on to say: ‘For clinicians, this report is useful as it highlights the need to learn from positive feedback as well as negative. It emphasises the importance of staff being supported to have the time, support, and skills in order to build trusting relationships with patients that enables them to listen and respond to feedback.’

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Nicky Morgan MP: ‘You’re a Savvy Generation’ Annesa Ahmed & Alex Boscott News Editors

On October 10th, the University of Birmingham Conservatives hosted a talk with special guest Rt Hon Nicky Morgan, who is the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The event started with Mrs Morgan giving a brief introductory speech where she highlighted aspects of her current role as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and how it contrasts to her previous cabinet roles such as Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities. She also spoke about what it means to be an MP in a time when it is ‘fascinating’ to be involved with politics.

Following her introductory speech, Mrs Morgan took questions from attendees on a wide range of topics including Brexit, private schools and young people’s participation in politics. One of the questions she received from a student was regarding Brexit and the possibility of a no deal scenario. Mrs Morgan stated that while a no deal Brexit is ‘not [her] ideal’, she has accepted that a ‘no deal Brexit may happen.’ Regarding Brexit, she also outlined how the last three years have been ‘the most testing [she] has ever been through’ and that she has found it ‘difficult’ watching friends leave the party. Another question that was asked of Mrs Morgan was concerning the debate around whether private schools should be abolished and whether there should be

a cap on the percentage of students accepted into universities who come from privately educated backgrounds. Mrs Morgan stated that she wanted to ensure that ‘everyone has opportunities’ and that she is keen for the party to ‘lift everyone’s standards’ regarding education. Mrs Morgan was also asked about how to engage young people in politics and with the Conservative Party. When asked why she thinks not many young people engage with the Conservative Party, she stated that it’s because what and how they present ‘doesn’t resonate with a lot of [young] people.’ Mrs Morgan also highlights how young people in the contemporary age are a ‘savvy generation’ and thus some things that the party says will ‘not resonate’. Michael Curzon, President of

the University of Birmingham Conservative society, who organised the event said: ‘We were delighted to host Nicky Morgan MP and were pleased so many turned up to listen. Nicky has had a wide and interesting political career, and came across as both genuine and honest (a rarity in our current climate). We hosted the event to give students at the university a chance to question the current government’s plans - Brexit and beyond - and were pleased to see members from various parties turn up to discuss events.’

Policy Exchange

UoB Lib Dems Host Phil Bennion MEP Dylan Morgen News Reporter

Leila Paul

On Friday 11th October, during an event held by the University of Birmingham Liberal Democrats (UBLD) , Phil Bennion MEP, the West Midlands Liberal Democrats Member of the European Parliament (EP), asserted there was little time left for Liberal Democrats, and others, to achieve their goal of a second Brexit referendum - the spine of their electoral strategy. Mr Bennion declared the Lib Dems would not accept any kind of an Irish border, and therefore another referendum was necessary. He explained that from 1st April 2020, a new 6 year EU budget would be set, and the UK either needed to be in or out of this immutable budget process.

The EU would therefore not agree to any further extensions beyond the 31st January 2020, he said. He added that a General Election, for instance in December 2019, would not enable another referendum to be held before the absolute EU deadline of the 1st April 2020. A key 30-40 Labour MPs who are inclined to vote for a Brexit Deal will need to be persuaded to vote for a second referendum, so that a Parliamentary vote can be won, Mr Bennion emphasised. He urged all sympathisers of the European cause to approach these Labour MPs and convince them of the merits of a second referendum, as he would be doing. Whenever a General Election does come, Mr Bennion explained, there are around half a dozen target seats in the West Midlands, and the Warwick and Leamington constituency will be the number

one target for the LD. In response to Billy Thompson, third year Political Science and Government, Mr Bennion said that the Rugby Constituency was the kind of seat to build up a good second place for the Lib-Dems in anticipation of a future win. Bennion opined that key factors in the election will be the ability of the opposition parties to cooperate and the extent of tactical voting. There are two West Midlands constituencies which were held by the Lib Dems until 2015: Birmingham Yardley and Solihull. These are now held by Labour’s Jess Phillips and Conservative’s Julian Knight, seats which the Lib Dems will seek to regain. The Chair of the UBLD Hermione Peace, third year Anthropology and African Studies, was optimistic that the Lib-Dems

would continue their surge in the opinion polls and achieve excellent electoral success. Bennion is a member of the EP Foreign Affairs Committee and described areas where the EU had been a force for good. The EU has launched a process to end tariff free trading with Cambodia, due to human rights abuses and the virtual abolition of the opposition party, he stated. Similarly, Bennion said that the EU put pressure on Bangladesh to improve safety standards and textile workers rights, using tariff leverage. Bennion and the Liberal Democrats EP group has nominated Professor Ilham Tohti, an Uyghur rights defender in western China for the Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament. Bennion asserted that Tohti has been denied all visitors for the last two years.

Brazil Ambassador Visits UoB Fatima Ibrahim Omar News Reporter

The Brazilian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Fred Arruda, visited the University of Birmingham last week to launch the Birmingham Brazil Forum, the University’s new Brazil engagement initiative. This will aim to encourage academic collaboration, promote funding opportunities, and showcase cultural events throughout the year. During his visit, Arruda met with International Pro-ViceChancellor Professor Robin Mason with whom he co-launched the new Forum at a networking reception. Mason said: ‘the University of Birmingham has extensive partnerships with top universities in Brazil and seeks to answer some of the most challenging questions of the 21st-century. As a strategic

region of importance, we are investing in Brazil to develop purposeful partnerships that lead to enhanced collaborative research with leading universities, institutions and private organisations.

“The University of Birmingham plays a central role as an academic hub in the UK” ‘We are honoured that the ambassador joined us to launch the Birmingham Brazil Forum, which forms the central hub of our engagement with Brazil, promoting academic co-operation, partnership and funding opportunities, and cultural initiatives.’ In Brazil, the University has

established joint research investment funds with the São Paulo Research Foundation and the Research Support Foundation for the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The University of Birmingham’s Brazil Visiting Fellows Programme now has 70 Brazilian fellows who have developed research partnerships with Birmingham collaborators. The University also has particularly strong links with institutions in the São Paulo region, such Sao Paulo State University, University of Campinas, University of Sao Paulo, and the Federal University of ABC. The purpose of Arruda’s visit was also to learn more about the University’s extensive research work with Brazil. Important areas of collaborative research include sustainable cities, oil and gas, earth sciences, energy storage, energy policy, bio-materials, and

infectious diseases. Arruda stated, ‘science, technology and innovation are key to Brazil-UK relations and the University of Birmingham plays a central role as an academic hub in the UK. ‘We are very happy to launch the Birmingham Brazil Forum which will certainly enhance this robust cooperation we have in m a n y areas of knowledge.’

University of Birmingham

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Birmingham AntiLGBT Curriculum Row Continues Cerys Gardner News Reporter

An application by Birmingham City Council to create a permanent exclusion zone around a primary school in the Sparkhill area of Birmingham commenced in the high court on Monday. This exclusion zone around Anderton Park primary school has the aim of stopping the protests against LGBT equality lessons. The protests have been taking place outside the school gates since March.

“A 300-strong

protest gathered outside the school” A temporary injunction was granted in May and extended in June, after a 300-strong protest gathered outside the school gates. Now, however, the protests have begun again with the start of the new school year in September. The temporary injunction stops chief protesters Shakeel Afsar, Rosina Afsar (who has withdrawn her two children from the school) and Amir Ahmed from taking part in or co-ordinating protests in the exclusion zone. They are also prevented from distributing leaflets and being abu-

sive about school staff and their teaching. These protests have been disruptive to the school environment. On Tuesday 15th October, the court was shown a video, taken by deputy headteacher Claire Evans, from inside the school nursery and playground. Shouts of ‘headteacher step down’ were audible on the recording. The hearing ended on Friday 18th October, but the judge, Justice Warby, has postponed his decision until a later date. There has been a 333% increase in homophobic hate crimes in the area, according to figures released by West Midlands Police under a freedom of information request. The figures show that in March 2018 there were six reported incidents in Birmingham East, the area covering the school. In March 2019, the month the protests began, there were 26 incidents. One first-year English and Creative Writing student at the University of Birmingham commented on the protests, saying that ‘outside of a children’s primary school is not a safe, practical or effective place to hold extended, continuing protests. ‘The exclusion zone to prevent kids, parents and families from being exposed to this sort of...rhetoric day after day is a good thing.’

Jimmy Guano

Learning Disabilities Linked to Higher Mortality in Brum Rubaya Zaman News Reporter

According to research conducted by NHS Digital, people who have learning disabilities in Birmingham and Solihull are at a greater risk of death in comparison to the general population. The research found that in Birmingham between 2015-2018 there was a recorded number of 89 deaths for individuals who were identified with a learning disability below the age of 75. This was significantly higher than the average of 23 deaths than would be expected in people with learning disabilities of the same

age and gender in the general population. The NHS identifies a learning disability as something which ‘affects the way a person understands information and how they communicate’ and ranges from mild to severe and also highlights that ‘around 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability. It's thought up to 350,000 people have a severe learning disability.’ Whilst there is not a known cause of learning disabilities, it is thought that some individuals are born with a disability while others may develop one due to an illness or accident. NHS Digital goes on to state

that people who have a learning disability are thought to have a ‘shorter life expectancy than that of the general population’ but that this is preventable. Findings published in the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) found that policies relating to the care and support that people who had learning disabilities received was inadequate and needed improving. Professor Pauline Heslop who lead the LeDeR programme articulated that ‘the findings suggest we still have a long way to go for people with learning disabilities.’

Perry Barr Flyover to Be Demolished Katie Porteous News Reporter

The demolition of the Perry Barr flyover is set to go ahead despite thousands of objections from the local community. The Perry Barr flyover on the A34 will be removed to make way for a new dual carriageway at ground level. Birmingham City Council plan to open up the section of the road to allow for a cycle lane and footways to encourage the use of public transport and bicycles.

“To spend potentially £30 million on this seems frankly bizarre” The proposal has received over 15,000 oppositions through several online petitions, with protestors gathering at the side of the road to voice their disapproval. The majority of the opposition

is to the disruption the work to demolish the flyover will cause, as the project is not due to be completed until 2021. Protestors believe that the construction will lead to constant traffic jams, with the new dual carriageway doing little to ease congestion problems in the area. Taking to Twitter to express his disapproval, Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street said that ‘to spend potentially £30 million on this seems frankly bizarre and not something I can support.’ The plans come as part of the

£500 million regeneration programme across Birmingham, to prepare the city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The athlete’s village will be built on the former Birmingham City University campus in Perry Barr close to the flyover, and will later provide 1,400 new homes. Furthermore, the village will provide 400 jobs and new sporting facilities through the redevelopment of the Alexander Stadium which will host athletics during the Games. The cabinet of Birmingham City Council met on 15th October

to vote and pass the proposal. Following a call in by Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors, the Overview and Scrutiny committees will consider whether to ask the cabinet to review their decision. Speaking to Birmingham Live, Cllr Waseem Zaffer said that despite opposition, no alternative proposals had been put forward and therefore the work will go ahead. Work will commence shortly to ensure the busy highway is open ready for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

UCU Study Reveals Scale of BME Discrimination in Academia Amy Lakin News Reporter

Black and minority ethnic staff (BME) within UK universities have shown to be discriminated against for their ethnicity. Statistically, academic staff from BME backgrounds are paid less than their white equivalents. BME staff are also severely under represented in the highest academic positions, such as professorships.

A study by the University and College Union found that BME staff are paid 9% less than their white colleagues and black academic staff are paid 14% less. BME staff also face barriers in their job prospects within academic hierarchies due to their ethnic origin. The study conducted by UCU shows that within the UK higher education sector only 93% of university professors are white, with only 7% from BME backgrounds. Professor Kalwant Bhopal, the

deputy director of the Centre ‘In my opinion, there is a for Research in Race and vicious cycle within instiEducation at the tutions whereby there Black University of seems to be a culture academic staff Birmingham told in which departare paid The Guardian that ments recruit on the ‘These findings are premise of mirrorvery depressing. ing their image. They are not new The issue with this but should be a lack of diversity is less than their white wake-up call for that it can stagnate universities.’ perspectives and colleagues Robbie Lee, a understandings of Political Science student realities external to their at UoB, told Redbrick that own upbringing or privi-

14%

leged background. This affects decisions on how we learn, such as the literature we are exposed to, but also the student environment and how it inclusive it may or may not be.’ The issue of ethnic inequality is also prevalent in the experiences of BME students in universities. A recent report into racism at Goldsmith’s University found that 26% of BME students at the university had experienced racism, including in the form of derogatory slurs.

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Friday 25th October 2019

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WM Police to Recruit 590 Officers Amy Lakin News Reporter

West Midlands Police (WMP) is due to recruit a further 590 police officers by the year 2020. The boost in officers is part of the government’s £750,000,000 scheme to better equip forces across the country. The West Midlands region covers Birmingham, Solihull,

Coventry, and the Black Country. The government’s scheme plans to implement a total of 20,000 police officers nationwide by 2022, meaning the investment will span over a three year period. However, the increase may only work to replenish the force and suffice the decrease of police numbers in the past. According to Birmingham Live, the country has seen a 14% drop in the number of

police officers since 2010, bringing the overall figure of officers down to 20,564. There are currently 6,496 full time officers operating within the region to combat crime. Despite this, WMP reported that knife crime has risen by 85% and gun crime by a third since 2012. On the other hand, crimes such as vehicle crime and burglary are slowly declining. The new officers will be situ-

ated in areas of high crime, such as Birmingham city centre. Home Secretary Priti Patel said ‘This means the people of the West Midlands will benefit from having nearly 600 more officers to help stop criminals in their tracks.’ Speaking to Redbrick, one current student, Joshua LathamPhillips, stated that ‘the increase of officers is welcome’ but also claimed that ‘the damage is set in

the community’s head and will not be forgotten lightly’ - regarding the cuts in police numbers in recent years. Mr Latham-Phillips also pointed to the ‘increase in friends and family buying security cameras to feel safe where the police had previously failed.’ The incentive hopes to reduce crime and make Birmingham and the West Midlands a safer place for people to live and work in.

Universities Must Do More Against Harrassment, Says UUK Report Christina Manns News Editor

‘Changing the Culture,’ a report released on the 9th October by Universities UK, has found that universities need to do more to tackle hate crimes related to race and faith. The UUK report states that evidence of hate incidents ‘being addressed is emerging, although this remains relatively underdeveloped.’ It has also recommended that universities should enhance their methods of communication, particularly by developing a common approach to language and terminology. This would help to dispel misconceptions about what constitutes everyday harassment, microaggressions and hate incidents. An investigation into racism in universities, conducted by The Independent, found that racist incidents rose by over 60% between 2015 and 2017. Universities Minister Chris Skidmore has urged universities to ‘prioritise a zero-tolerance culture to all harassment and hate crime,’ saying: ‘Any form of harassment, violence or hate crime is

Protests Sweep Chile Aneesa Ahmed There has been unrest in many major cities across Chile over the past several days as riots break out to protest rising living costs and inequality. The unrest was originally sparked in Santiago by a metro fare hike, which is now suspended. Protests then spread nationwide to highlight other inequalities that are faced around the nation. The protests use a mixture of peaceful and violent methods, with some protestors turning to arson. A state of emergency was first implemented in Santiago on Saturday, and then extended to some other cities. Some cities also had curfews implemented. As of October 22, the death toll reached 13 and the authorities say more than 1,400 people have been arrested.

Deal or No Deal? Alex Boscott Whilst the Commons rejected yet another Brexit deal, Boris Johnson

abhorrent and unacceptable anywhere in society, and this includes our world-leading universities, which should be safe and inclusive environments.’ ‘The impact of these offences can be devastating to victims, and while this report shows the progress which has been made, it also highlights the sad truth that there is much further to go to combat the culture of harassment, support those affected and take serious action where needed.’ UUK president, Professor Julia Buckingham, said: ‘The higher education sector recognises its shared responsibility to eliminating hate crime, which is unacceptable in our society, and in our universities. ‘We are committed to ensuring we create a welcoming and inclusive environment for students of all genders, backgrounds and ethnicities to flourish and this research shows significant progress towards that.’ The UUK report acknowledges that greater progress has been made in the reduction of sexual harassment and gender-based violence in universities since a task force was set up in 2016, and urges universities to make the

same progress in tackling racial harassment and discrimination. Since 2016, 81% of the 92 UK universities that responded to the UUK survey have updated their disciplinary procedures. 78% of universities have provided clear information to students about how to report incidents such as genderbased or racial harassment, whilst 72% have improved their recording of data related to these incidents.

ments. 1,436 allegations of sexual harassment or assault were recorded by universities in 2018-2019, in comparison to 476 in 20162017. It is also believed that this significant increase may be due to universities making it easier for students to report incidents in the past few years. Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of the Office for Students, said: ‘The findings from UUK show progress is being made by universities to develop systems and policies to address these issues but more must be done.’ ‘These improvements need to be taking place across all universities. The OFS will continue to work with universities and colleges, and other organisations to ensure that all students from all backgrounds can be - and feel safe on campus.’ A statement on equality and diversity on the University of Birmingham’s Intranet website says: ‘We value our diversity and provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of the University community, from developing support for students who are carers to our interfaith events, we also offer dedicated disability services, a wide

range of support groups and a multi-faith chaplaincy. We are working to promote race equality in our Schools through a studentled project and to support a more inclusive curricula. The University holds a Bronze Athena SWAN Charter award and is actively seeking to improve the number of women in STEM subjects and at senior levels throughout our institution. We are proud to be members of Stonewall’s Workplace Equality Index and Global Champions.’ UoB’s equality objectives can be found under the Equality Scheme 2016-20 on the University of Birmingham's website. UoB also provides a statement on sexual harassment on its Intranet website, saying: ‘The University and the Guild of Students believe that sexual harassment is unacceptable. Together, we are committed to tackling sexual harassment and providing a safe and supportive environment in which to live and study.’ Students can learn more about ‘Not On’, the university’s campaign against sexual harassment under the Student Experience Projects section of the university's website.

is currently working out his next is still not on track to reach its move in this parliamentary game goal of net-zero greenhouse gas of chess. After conceding emissions by 2050. defeat on what was supposed to be ‘Super Saturday,’ the Prime Minister is now politiDUP Fail to Block cally cornered. Abortion and Gay Stalemate. Big quesMarriage tions still remain, however. Will we John Wimperis have a general election soon? Possibly. A second referenAbortion and gay dum? Who knows. marriage are to be Will we ever ‘get legalised in Northern Brexit done’? Ireland in early 2020 Probably not. by the House of The Redbrick News Team give a quick Commons. On Tuesday, round-up of what’s been happening the Democratic Unionist Energy in the UK Party took their seats again outside of the university bubble at Stormont, the Northern Christina Manns Irish Assembly which has not this week. sat for nearly three years, in an For the first time since the UK attempt to prevent the legalisaopened its first public electricity tion. Sinn Féin and Alliance generating station in 1882, the bles overtook fossil fuels in elec- Members of the Legislative electricity produced by renewable tricity production, with renewable Assembly refused to take their sources has overtaken the elec- energy generation quadrupling seats and the Social Democratic tricity produced by fossil fuels in since the start of this decade. In Labour Party refused to support the UK, according to an analysis 2010, fossil fuels generated over the DUP, leaving the Assembly by Carbon Brief. In the third quar- 10 times more electricity than without the power to elect a new ter of 2019, which includes July, renewable sources. However, in speaker and block the legislation. August and September, renewa- spite of this positive news, the UK Free abortion services will be

legal and available from 31 March, while same-sex couples should be free to marry from Valentine’s Day.

“Any form of

harassment, violence or hate crime is abhorrent” Furthermore, 65% of UK universities are now providing ‘consent training’ for their students, with some universities making these consent workshops compulsory during freshers’ week to educate students about consensual sex. However, a recent BBC investigation revealed that reports of sexual assault and harassment at UK universities have trebled in three years despite these improve-

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Round-Up

John Lewis is Crackers for the Environment Rhiannon Wood In the race to cut down on singleuse plastic, superstores Waitrose and John Lewis will no longer be selling Christmas crackers that contain plastic prizes. Their Christmas aisle will now stock crackers containing no plastic or glitter and they will instead be filled with toys made out of recyclable materials. Louise Edge, head of Greenpeace UK's ocean plastics campaign, commented on the action of the company saying that ‘Single-use plastic should never be a Christmas tradition, so we welcome John Lewis and Waitrose getting rid of throwaway plastic toys from crackers.’ The sale of ‘fill your own’ Christmas crackers in John Lewis is now also an option, with these now accounting for one in three packs sold.

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The Limits of Free Speech

With free speech on the frontline at UK universities, Jadzia Samuel asks how far students can go when it comes to 'cancelling' speakers Jadzia Samuel Comment Writer

Thanks to the likes of Piers Morgan, Jeremy Clarkson, Katie Hopkins, and other controversial figures in the public eye, the debate surrounding free speech has never been more prevalent. In universities this debate is particularly potent; in the past year hundreds of students across the country have held protests disputing various controversial figures, invited by universities to participate in debates or give speeches. In light of this outcry, the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, has reportedly made steps which could require undergraduate students to sign contracts affirming free speech at universities. This policy would require all students to refrain from sexist, racist, and discriminatory behaviour, and also require that universities uphold these principles. He wrote, ‘I want every student to be confident that their institution stands up for free speech and that they will not experience harassment, racial abuse, anti-Semitism [at university].’ The contract would also require universities to have a set procedure in place for any complaints regarding controversial statements made by professors or speakers. As can only be expected, the usual keyboard warriors have taken to dubbing student protesters as 'snowflakes,' claiming they are attempting to impede freedom of speech. But the question we should really be asking is: how far does free

speech extend? The University of Bristol’s student union recently backed proposals to block TERFS (trans-exclusionary radical feminists) from speaking on campus, and similarly, after protests in Cambridge regarding the invitation made to Jordan Peterson, a Canadian professor photographed posing with a man wearing a t-shirt declaring ‘proud Islamaphobe.’

“The question we should really be asking is: how far does free speech extend” The University back tracked on their offer. Only last week Royal Holloway University of London cancelled an event with Katie Hopkins after severe backlash. Hopkins is known for her inflammatory statements, and students argued that to allow such a woman to speak in an educational institution, is to give a platform to hate-fuelling propaganda.

In all of these above cases there is a clear argument in favour of the move to ‘de-platform’ these speakers; it is bad enough that Twitter provides an online stage upon which such people can spread their divisive messages of hate, so to extend that platform to a university is almost criminal. Universities are meant to be research institutions, educational spaces in which all students and staff can feel welcome and safe. Hate speech, including advocates of such speech, should never be tolerated, far less actively welcomed onto campuses. However, as with most contentious issues, the situation is never black and white; this ‘cancel-culture’ is constantly being pushed to the extreme. In Balliol College, Oxford University, students pushed

these boundaries by starting a petition to ban Boris Johnson from the grounds, even attempting to erase any trace that the Prime Minister had attended the college, due to his advocation for a no-deal Brexit. I am all for removing platforms from anyone who entices hateful or discriminatory behaviour (and am neither too keen on the current Prime Minister) but can anyone plausibly justify obstructing our country’s leader due to differing political opinion? No debate has ever been won by shutting it down and pretending it doesn’t exist.

“The situation is never black and white ” On a similar strain, feminist speaker Germaine Greer cancelled her appearance at an event at Cardiff University in 2015. This was due to a change.org protest against her visit made due to a historical comment she had made regarding trans women. Although the attempt was unsuccessful, it begs

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the question, do we have the right to silence anyone who has ever made a controversial comment in the past? If we immediately silence anyone who has ever made a misinformed remark in the past, we will never reach any sort of resolution and only deepen the divides. ‘Cancelling’ someone off the bat, especially for remarks made a significant number of years beforehand, only increases tensions and removes any space for growth. I am not saying that we should engage with actual hatespeakers, or ever debate anyone’s right to existence, but everyone deserves a chance to explain themselves and be educated before immediately being disregarded. Some like to claim that the line is fine between free speech and hate speech, but this neatly evades the issue; the former is the right to speak without government prosecution, the latter is a violation of this right which entices discrimination and division. The former should be protected and upheld, the latter treated with ruthlessness. While it is clear that public figures who openly insight hate should never be given the validation that a platform on a university campus provides, neither should students feel themselves entitled to silence any speaker who comes from an alternative point of view. Universities have an obligation to protect the safety of students from marginalised communities, and students have a responsibility to engage with alternative opinions and protect the rights of free speech.

Lost In Translation

Adam Toms details how Britain fundamentally misunderstands the purpose of the EU, leading to Brexit negotiations deadlock Adam Toms Comment Writer

We all know what the British people think about Brexit. It has been rammed down our throats on a daily basis since before 2016’s watershed referendum. However, we forget that the lands beyond the English channel are inhabited by other people besides President Macron and Chancellor Merkel. Postreferendum British governments have also seemed to have misplaced this fact. Theresa May and Boris Johnson have been at the mercy of MPs in the commons and the British public on the streets. This is also the case for the leaders of the remaining EU members. Despite announcing her imminent departure, Merkel has had to consider the effect of her statements regarding

Britain’s exit on the sentiment of the German electorate. Since officially joining in 1975, Britain has treated the European club principally as a financial market. The then Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, saw membership as a way out of the country’s current economic crisis. This stance has persisted throughout the referendum campaign and ensuing withdrawal negotiations. Boris Johnson, for instance, is one of those who insisted that the hefty amount of UK trade which the German car industry enjoys would be enough for them to pressure Chancellor Merkel to be very adaptable to British red lines. He also said the same of Italian prosecco producers. In September 2016, our current PM said that a deal is ‘Overwhelmingly in [the EU’s] interest; we buy more German cars than anyone else, we drink more Italian wine than any other

country in Europe. They’re not going to put that at risk.’ Anglo-European talks have stagnated many times, and the Irish border question is the source of the majority of problems. The differing interpretations of both sides regarding the EU’s purpose have acted as catalysts for this. Johnson’s team advocated a strategy of hard ball, with a view that the EU would eventually make some concessions due to the European wide risks of a loss of free British trade. The EU’s apparent stubbornness is due to a determination to preserve the integrity of peace in Ireland and the integrity of the single market. This means preserving the EU itself. For, if nations could frequently negotiate their own custom trade arrangements without the need for membership or abiding by any of the four freedoms, people will ask:

is there any need for the EU? As far as most western Europeans are concerned, there is a clear need, hailing from a turbulent 20th century filled with horrific war and conflict. A major illustration of this outlook is a preJohnson deal survey of the German public by the Körber Foundation. Over 58% of German citizens believed Merkel should not compromise with the UK when negotiating withdrawal. The same survey also asked what Germans thought of the UK overall. Only 5% saw the UK as Germany’s most, or second most, important ally, citing France or the US instead. It appears the repeated mantra of Brexiteers - ‘they need us more than we need them’ - have proven to be somewhat faulty. Moreover, 79% of respondents reiterated their belief that the EU is a project for peace, and 75% believed that the

organisation aided individual freedom. These figures present a stark comparison to how the EU is currently viewed by many in the UK. This differing interpretation contributed to the outcome of the referendum itself in 2016, as well as difficulties within negotiations, toxic tribal discourse, and ensuing political crisis, as British leavers view the EU with increasing disdain as a saboteur empire blocking their country’s destiny. Anne Widecombe’s inaugural speech to the European Parliament was an extremely vivid display of this. She compared the EU to the slave masters of old, and stated that people oppressed by empires have always rose against their oppressors. I’d bet that the likelihood of finding many non-British EU citizens whom concur with this view would be about the same as finding a hairbrush in the private apartments of No. 10.

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Fully Booked

Rebecca Sibley argues that controversy is nothing new for the Booker prize as two authors win the top prize Rebecca Sibley Comment Writer

The judges’ decision to award this year’s Booker prize to two winners, Margaret Atwood and Bernadine Evaristo, has been controversial. The Telegraph’s Claire Allfree called the joint win ‘a spineless fudge’ while Charlotte Higgins wrote in The Guardian that it ‘pushes back the Wizard of Oz’s curtain, suggesting the imperfect, flawed humanity lurking behind the award’s supposedly authoritative façade.’ These are rather melodramatic responses to what is basically a competitive book club, but the controversy and criticism are an essential part of the literary prize. Since its inception in 1969, the Booker (formerly Man Booker) Prize’s reputation has been fuelled by controversies. It has been criticised for being elitist, then for being populist. Its winners are by turns too readable, then not readable enough. Before it opened up the competition to American

writers, it was too exclusive and insular, then other writers campaigned to exclude the US because two Americans immediately won. It’s detrimental to creativity, it favours politics over literary value, it hates the Scottish. The list goes on. The Booker Prize has been attacked from every angle by journalists and authors alike. Disagreements with the prize have led to the creation of many alternatives. The Women’s Prize for Fiction was born in reaction to the Booker’s allmale shortlist in 1991, but has also been criticised as sexist. Meanwhile, The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize positions itself as a more democratic alternative to the Booker, although, ironically, its most recent win involved the judges deciding the book that won the public vote ‘didn’t speak to them enough’ and awarding the prize to a different book instead. Despite being advertised as alternatives to the Booker, these prizes simply add to the collective controversy. Clearly, the

Booker is not unusual – this is just how literary prizes operate. The paradoxical nature of literary prizes can be seen in the way authors react to winning the Booker. There is an unspoken code of conduct: authors shouldn’t want to win too badly. The victor can be modest and self-deprecating like Atwood who joked that she was too elderly to win the award.

“This is how literary prizes operate” They can make a statement like Evaristo who used the platform to draw attention to the lack of black female authors in the history of the prize. Or, they can be even more critical – Julian Barnes famously called the prize ‘posh bingo’ before he won in 2011 and John Berger publicly denounced the corporation Booker for its history of exploitative practises in the Caribbean during his acceptance speech in 1972. Later, he

donated half of his winnings to the British Black Panther movement. The ambivalence of the winners appeals to the public because we cling to the idea of our favourite writers as starving artists, misunderstood geniuses and outsider figures. We want to believe that they write for the sake of art itself, not to win awards worth £50,000 in prize money. For the sake of their brand, writers have to act as though they don’t need the money or the validation from the literary establishment. And, bizarrely, the authors’ snubs increase the prize’s prestige rather than damaging it. This is because there is a symbiotic relationship between the prize and its critics: the prize provides the scandal that provides journalists and authors with the opportunity to publicly critique the literary establishment, and the writers provide the publicity that gives the prize its value. It’s no secret that in 1992 many attendees felt the prize giving ceremony was under-

whelming because of its lack of controversy. When, before the closing speech, shortlisted author Ian McEwan walked out of the ceremony, journalist Geraldine Brooks wrote, ‘what a relief. The Booker Prize for 1992 will have its scandal after all.’ As cultural critic James F. English argued, ‘anti-prize rhetoric is part of the discursive apparatus of the prizes themselves’. In simpler words, hating the prize is just part of how the prize works. It’s true: we love it when the judges get it wrong. We want them to be elite, out of touch, populist or corrupt, because it’s more fun to disparage the judges than it is to admit that they might have better taste than us. The Booker will always cause controversy because it is an essential, yet paradoxical, part of how it functions. It may lack the glamour of the Oscars or the prestige of the Nobel, but it’s the perennial scandals that keep the Booker relevant as the UK’s top literary prize.

An Extinct Rebellion

Caitlin Cahill takes a look at Extinction Rebellion's recent protests as they become increasingly out of touch with those who matter most Caitlin Cahill Comment Writer

To me, the climate emergency is the most important issue we face as a global society and all possible action must be taken to tackle this. I don’t eat meat; I try to avoid fast-fashion and buy second hand when possible and I seem to be constantly frustrated with policymakers' seemingly pathetic legal response to the climate emergency. I unreservedly believe in the intention of the protest group: 'Extinction Rebellion' (XR), one of the UK’s highestprofile environmental pressure group with the aim of compelling governments to act on climate change through non-violent protests and civil disobedience. However, I am also concerned that in lieu of recent protests in London which displayed their extreme tactics and their relatively middle class and homogenous demographic, that the group is heading in a dangerous direction towards alienation of the mainstream in which their essential message will be lost. ‘Environmental classism’ is not new. The general rhetoric surrounding environmentalism and issues such as ethically produced goods and the demise of fast fashion has reinforced the idea that sustainable living and conservationism is expensive and not accessible to the

‘working class.’ Equally, mainstream environmental activists, policymakers and scholars are often failing to support working-class people and address the environmental issues which affect them directly. This leads to alienation from mainstream environmentalism. XR protests are no different. Observably middle class, educated and predominately white; without strong roots in working-class organizations or communities; XR does not appear to speak for the vast majority of our society. Whilst intentions are noble, and any suggestion that protests are in any way a selfish agenda to me is absurd, I do believe there is an air of naivety within the revolution and its contribution to environmental classism. A study, published under the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, demonstrated which factors have been shown to stop groups coming together for social justice - specifically how divisions between social classes can destabilize the common purpose of environmentalism. The research shows that many mainstream environmental movements fail to involve Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people and low-income groups for many reasons. Notable factors including costs, such as time and

money, and tactics which are off-putting, such as illegal activity, or lengthy and frequent meetings. With current XR demonstrations in London requiring participants to be financially secure enough to take time away from work to pro-

Extinction Rebellion/Lommes

test and to practice controversial tactics of civil disobedience, it is unsurprising they are failing to engage. A YouGov poll released last week found over half of the public oppose Extinction Rebellion’s aim to “shut down London”, whereas only around one third were in support. One of the most controver-

sial features of the current XR protests is the deliberate use of illegal and disruptive activism by protestors, making them subject to arrest. It has been reported that 1,100 arrests were made during the first four days of demonstrations. Some critics have strongly criticised this, suggesting that the way XR protests have conceptualized the police and the state, and specifically being arrested, shows a carelessness and ignorance to issues of discrimination and mistreatment of some minority groups within the judicial system. Although innovative in achieving media coverage, the narrow focus on tactics of civil disobedience inevitably elevates the voices of the white, middle class, privileged individuals to whom arrest isn’t potentially life-ruining. This is exclusionary of both people of colour, trans communities and all other groups who have, in the past, experienced serious institutionalised discrimination and mistreatment at the hands of the police and judicial system, and of anyone who is not financially secure enough to risk the career damage that can come with a criminal record. XR does acknowledge that arrest is 'not a good idea for everyone.' However, I believe that using a tactic, such as mass arrest, that is only viable to a small minority of the popula-

tion conveys a subtle message of exclusivity. I agree that privilege must be used to make practical progress, but I believe that current methods are ultimately alienating individuals in a time when we should be coming together. I fear for the movement's longevity. I argue that now an adjustment of tactics is needed. XR must become more accessible to the average population who cannot take two weeks off work to protest, or for whom arrest and a criminal record is potentially life-ruining. The protests have made vital progress. By shutting down significant areas on central London XR have achieved a feat that environmental activists of the past could have only dreamed of and the significance of this must not be understated. However, now protests have successfully brought the spotlight to climate change and stimulated positive debate, we must work on developing a broad-based, inclusive support system for the cause that is accessible to everyone and will continue the positive momentum of climate activism that has been ignited. There must be a shift towards constructive electoral strategy - a far broader political struggle to elect representatives who will develop the economic policies and political frameworks required to force action. Crowding police cells and blocking bridges can only get us so far.

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Friday 25th October 2019

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Plugging Populism: The 2020 Democratic Leadership Race Luke Wheeler discusses how populism is playing out in the US elections Luke Wheeler Comment Writer

There is still a year to go until the 2020 US Presidential Election, but the race to become the Presidential nominee for the Democratic Party has already begun. This summer has seen over 20 candidates take to the stage for the Democratic debates, initially battling it out ten at a time in order to put forward their policy platforms and sell their credentials. However, this selection process is about more than who will take on President Trump, it is the start of a long and painful conversation about what those opposed to the populist right must do in order to tackle its growing strength. Whether it is President Trump in America, Prime Minister Victor Orbán in Hungary or the Brexit Party closer to home, the rise of rightwing populism is threatening to engulf political conversations across Western Europe. The question of how to stem the tide is one that will threaten to engulf those who seek to oppose it. There is a certain universality in the big political issues of today, perhaps due to the global nature of the threats nations face or the similarity in the conditions that the political consensus of the last half-century has created world wide. Hence, those who seek to solve these issues should take heed of what is successful across the globe and pay attention to how those

seeking to oppose the populist right position themselves. The selection of the Democratic Presidential Nominee embodies this endeavour, with over 20 candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds all vying to cast the mould of the counter-ideology to right-wing populism, the intricacies of the solutions they propose and what Democratic members deem viable is of great importance. How then will those in opposition take on the populists? With European parliamentary elections proving to be less of a coup than was hoped for by the populist right, those seeking to counter the movement must now take stock and seek to find a strategy that will address the grievances that made them attractive. This recipe for an alternative argument is one that is currently being pieced together through the Democratic primaries. The Democratic Party candidates, like all politicians, are attempting to reconcile multiple challenges simultaneously, all of which are part of the web of problems that threaten democratic discourse globally - how does one appeal broadly in an era of political polarisation? How does one win back blue collar and working class voters who feel betrayed, tackle the climate crisis and satisfy growing demand for change? The populist right has its roots in reactionary protest against the forces of globalism and the populist left has its roots in reactionary protest against inequality in the post-

financial crisis world. Subsequently, the Democrats are seeking to gauge how far along the scale of change they must present themselves in order to capture the electorates' anger and desire for overhauling social, political and economic systems. With regards to policy, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren embody the more radical end of that scale, calling for universal health-care and a break-up of financial and tech companies. Former Vice-President Joe Biden embodies the moderate end of the scale, harking back to his policy work in the Obama administration. There are also those who embody change, rather than proposing it through policy it is expressed through their identity. Senator Kamala Harris is a woman of colour and a former Attorney General for California; Mayor Pete Buttigieg is an openly gay military veteran, and former Secretary of State Julián Castro is a LatinoAmerican from a single parent family. The change through diversity argument is not one carried out on debate stages, but one that those voting in the democratic primaries will have to wrestle with - what do they find appealing in this crowded field; is it radical overhaul in policy, is it the identity and lived experience of the candidates or is it something else? The Democrats are also facing a crisis of identity, considering whether they should attempt to win back their traditional blue collar support, appeal to

growing segments of America’s minority populations or attempt to do both. Of course the majority of the candidates will seek to present themselves as doing both, but the coalitions that the candidates seek to establish, and the one that the Presidential candidate actually does, will be telling of where the future of the Democratic Party lies, and it is one that others should take heed of. Voter bases are shifting, and whether or not parties decide to stick with the old or take a chance on the new may well be informed by what happens in America come November 2020. A point of interest in this regard is how effectively candidates communicate the transformative potential of such a deal for the economy, work and the environment will be revealing, seeing as the plan seeks to combine more socially liberal concerns about the environment with more workingclass worries about the future of American industry. The issues I’ve discussed are a snapshot. Topics such as Health Care, Gun Legislation and F o r e i g n P o l i c y haven’t featured here, though they are some of the cornerstones of American

politics, and equivalent national issues will have to be addressed wherever elections take place across the world. The key thing is this: The Democrats and their core voting base are desperate to see President Trump out of the White House. The choices that both the candidates and Democrat members take will all be individual pieces in a much wider jigsaw puzzle that is the recipe for posing a credible alternative to the populist right. Those who fail to learn from this primary process and the presidential election regardless of its outcome are almost certainly doomed to failure. Populism can be plugged, butthe question everyone is seeking to answer is ‘how?’

Flickr/ Gage Skidmore

Banking on Fossil Fuels

Rosie Mabb urges big banks to divest in fossil fuel companies Rosie Mabb Comment Writer

Climate change is a hot topic. Literally, it’s the ‘defining issue of our time,’ says the UN. Yet, some of our most well-known and trusted banks are excessively investing in the root cause of Earth’s increasing temperature - fossil fuels. No matter how you choose to spend your money, many banks are choosing to invest what you don’t spend in the unsustainable production, and even mass expansion of, the key contributor to the biggest epidemic threat to life as we know it. Climate change means more than just warmer summers. It means more extreme weather, rising sea levels, catastrophic flooding leading to higher levels of waterborne diseases, mass displacement, fresh water contamination and destruction of infrastructure and local economies. Often, the biggest impact

is felt by those most vulnerable. It means an extra estimated 250,000 deaths annually from 2030, due to causes such as malaria, diarrhoea, malnutrition, and heat stress. It means one million species threatened by extinction, as they cannot adapt fast enough to our changing climate. Increasing temperatures are ‘directly linked’ to the concentrations of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, of which carbon dioxide accounts for two thirds. 89% of these emissions are produced by the fossil fuel industry. In 2015, world leaders signed an agreement to take action, and limit global warming to a 2C increase by 2100, recognising the catastrophic consequences of our current trajectory. An aspirational goal would see a limit at 1.5C. The reality is this: neither will ‘save’ us from experiencing the effects of climate change, although ‘the additional 0.5C increase in glo-

bal mean temperature marks the difference between events at the upper limit of present-day natural variability and a new climate regime, particularly in tropical regions.’ To achieve a 1.5C cap on warming requires ‘rapid, far reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society’, cutting human-related emissions of carbon dioxide by 45% by 2030, and achieving net zero carbon emission status by 2050. There is no room for fossil fuel expansion, and we must divest in fossil fuels to align with required reduction of carbon emissions. Instead, we need to invest in development of clean energy sources to fuel our future. Despite this, a 2019 global financial report shows banks to have financed the fossil fuel industry by $1.9 trillion (USD) since 2016, with $600 billion channelled into the 100 biggest companies expanding fossil fuels. Over the period 20162018, investment rose each

year. Globally, JP Morgan Chase comes in as the worst offender, with a jaw dropping $196 billion of funding into fossil fuels since 2016, $67 billion gearing expansion of the industry. In Europe, Barclays tops the charts with a shocking $85 billion, $24 billion in expansion. HSBC follows closely behind, with $59 billion- $19 billion directed to expansion. Ever increasing numbers of climate change activists, movements, scientists, and even our children are campaigning to ensure drastic action before it is too late, yet some of our biggest financial powers are clearly not listening. In the UK, organisations such as People and Planet, Christian Aid, and Greenpeace have been actively campaigning for fossil fuel divestment from Barclays and HSBC, banks that between them have a customer base of 62 million people. However, despite their efforts

there still seems to be little awareness from the public about the irresponsible actions of some of the biggest financial corporations of our time. On an individual level, responding to climate change can feel hugely overwhelming, involving demanding life changes and feelings of powerlessness. Changing your bank, however, is an easy change to make, with a big impact. When researching a bank, their transparency and accessibility of information is a good indicator. Banks such as The Cooperative, Triodos, and Monzo are all clear about their commitment to financing a better future. Other actions you can take include writing to your bank about your concerns with their investment choices, or even joining campaigns like those mentioned above. The choice, of course, is yours. You can have an impact. Or, are you prepared to bank on climate change?

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Cross-Breeding: Blessing or Curse? Eleanor Howson explores our obsession with creating hybrid dog breeds and asks how this is affecting animal wellbeing on a larger scale Eleanor Howson Comment Writer

The Labradoodle is a national treasure to all dog lovers. Yet, to its creator it is ‘Frankenstein’s monster.’ Wally Conron, perhaps, ingeniously bred a male Poodle with a female Labrador to assist a Hawaiian blind woman by providing a dog that would both function as a guide while also being low allergenic to alleviate her husband’s reactions to dogs. However, Conron has recently confessed that he feels accountable for the augmented rate of unethical dog breeding The half Poodle, half Labrador became so popular that subsequently public opinion shifted away from perceiving cross-bred dogs as merely mutts. However, this desire for crossbred dogs has come at a cost. Lisa Walden, writing for Country Living, contended that there is 'hidden suffering in crossbreeds.' She highlighted that dogs are commonly just bred for their cuteness and breeders ignore the fact that cross-breeds are more susceptible to acquiring infections and illnesses. Unfortunately, public demand is

high for these breeds and therefore, the issues surrounding this type of breeding are perpetuating.

“Dogs are commonly just bred for their cuteness” ‘Teacup’ dogs are yet another breed that have caused quite a contentious ethical debate around the treatment of our furry friends. Jo Tweedy, writing on the behalf of the Mail Online, discussed how the priority of cuteness is sacrificing the welfare of dogs. She reported that Chihuahuas are being farmed dangerously small by discredited businesses (such as ‘Puppy Mills’) using the runts of litters to breed. Disappointingly, it is evident that the ethics of breeding are often overlooked when making a profit is the greater priority. Although the Labradoodle may not be as small as a ‘Teacup’ dog, its market is comparable. Forfrom example, Photograph Pixabaythe Labradoodle’s popularity also stems quite significantly from its

appearance. Conron avows that he ‘opened a Pandora’s box.’ Yet, although both a diamond necklace and the Labradoodle are appealing to the eye, unlike jewellery, the expense of a Labradoodle is not the only price you pay. Have you ever thought to question whether you are unconsciously funding the abuse of animals bred by unethical businesses when you buy a cross-bred dog?

“It is evident that the ethics of breeding are often overlooked when making a profit ” However, regrettably the complications with animal wellbeing do not culminate here. Both pugs and bulldogs have extensive health issues but are still bred as pedigrees and are crossed with other breeds as well. For instance, the ‘Puggle’ is a cross-breed between a pug and a beagle. The fundamental problem with breeding these dogs originates from them being

brachycephalic (flat faced) dogs. Most worryingly, these dogs have substantial breathing difficulties. Pete Wedderburn, writing for The Telegraph, argued that their health issues stem from their ‘narrowed, constricted airways, pinched nostrils, and shortened, squat necks.’ Astonishingly, Wedderburn presented the fact that only 7 - 15% of pugs, bulldogs and French bulldogs can breathe normally. So why are we continuing to breed these dogs? It is undebatable that unethical breeding is a manmade issue. Only the breeders and buyers of these dogs can put an end to their suffering. A shift away from the superficial perfect world is required to stop unhealthy crossbreeding occurring just to create something beautiful to the eye. P e r h a p s Conron was not exaggerating by

believing he had released a monster into the world. Personally, the attractiveness of the Labradoodle would have fooled me and made me oblivious to the implications of cross-breeding. Now I see the importance of not basing your purchase of a dog on its looks but rather by the way it has been reared. Would you be less susceptible to buying a dog purely based on its cuteness?

Pixabay/ Josh Borup

Poll of the Week: Next Year's House Amid the constant pressure to secure student housing in Selly Oak sooner rather than later, Comment asked students whether they have already taken action this early in the academic year 8% Yes

Have you sorted your student house for

“I’m not living with the people I’m living with this year, getting out of there” “Waiting on someone to decide on whether or not they are doing a year abroad” “Only been here a couple of weeks”

next academic year? Poll conducted on

Robbie Lee

15th October 2019

Comment Writer

Take part in our polls: @RedbrickComment Redbrick Comment Contributors

It’s only week four but the notoriously stressful question of next year’s housing may have crossed your mind. Or has it? Housing is an issue often at the forefront of students’ minds. Recently, Redbrick discovered from interviews with two Guild officers (Millie Gibbins and Joanne Park) of the mixed expe-

riences with renting in Selly Oak. Being ‘rushed’ into the process contributed toward a stressful experience. According to a Save the Student national survey, 41% search for their next accommodation before the end of the Autumn Semester. So, does the pressure to hastily house hunt from the University or letting agencies require calling into question? We asked our readers to discover whether this pressure has materialised into agreed housing arrangements. Overwhelmingly, the results indicate that the question over next year is ‘so early.’ Still, for those waiting on current housemates to decide on their future path – from studying abroad to deciding who they want to live with – it’s clear the subject is in consideration. For those in application of study abroad or industry placement, results can be as late as February. For a student, events are unpredictable and opportunities contingent on flexibility. Planning almost a year in advance for many will seem nonsensical. If I were to collate the reasons into one theme it would be uncertainty. Multiple responses informed they were undecided

on who to live with. But is this truly a surprise as the beginning of the year is often a time of meeting new people or feeling nostalgic for experiences of previous years. One respondent was certainly not intent on living with the same people as this year – possibly suggesting that the time pressure denies some the chance to find suitable matches for cohabiting. For another, the whole affair is simply ‘too stressful.’

“Housing is an issue often at the forefront of student's minds”

The race for student housing may not be fully underway. Nonetheless, this poll reveals a problem at the heart of student living. Whether it’s uncertainty over people or personal future, the pressures from University and letting agents to act urgently is removing a breathing space that could help to iron out the concerns raised from our responses.

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Redbrick on Disability in Culture: Who We Should Know About

Redbrick's Culture Critics celebrate artists with disabilities, old and new, in light of Disability Employment Awareness Month this October

Review: Fierce Festival Amrita Mande Television Editor

Every two years, Fierce Festival comes to Birmingham to put on a series of events focused on bringing people together, to celebrate and amplify voices of marginalized people. I have been to a couple of their events before, so when I decided to see Every Body Electric, I felt like I knew what to expect; something new, interesting, and maybe a little funny. But the performance was so much more than that. It was bold, explosive and dynamic. From my very first steps into the Midlands Art Center theatre, I knew this event would be unlike anything I’d seen before. As I entered the theatre, a nude woman was lying on the floor, her body trembling as she continuously tried to stand up, only to lose her balance and crash back down to the floor. The crowd whispered among themselves, but I was captivated by her consistent efforts to control her body. The music swelled as other performers entered the stage. They rolled onto the stage in wheelchairs before beginning their own pieces of choreography. Their movements were mostly simple and repetitive, unique to each person, but energetic, amplified by the beat of the music. Their energy, the music and the lights made the small, intimate

theatre seem huge, completely engaging the audience. I was spellbound. I felt the name of the performance suggested almost an electrical current to pass from the performers to the audience, which was achieved; we couldn’t help but move to the beat. It was a performance in its truest sense, with the performers transporting the audience to a world where nothing else exists, captivating a few hundred people with nothing other than their bodies and wheelchairs. There were no frills to pad the show, it was real, raw and unedited.

“It allowed them to stand out as humans, as individuals, their identities no longer linked to their wheelchairs” The beauty of Doris Uhlich’s choreography was showcased in how she turned complex choreography, into something that looked easy and effortless. Behind the repetitive movements, there were undoubtedly hours of practice to get the timings exactly right. It certainly paid off. The audience giggled when two of the performers mirrored each other in perfect synchroniza-

without it. In another moment, two performers completely dismantled their wheelchairs, spinning their bodies on the wheel and wearing the seat like a hat. It was clear that their aid were props, not a part of them.

“Pieces included them suspending a wheelchair high in the air and continuing the performance without it” Theresa Rauter

tion, executing a piece where one was chasing the other. Other movements also stood out in their unqiueness, such as when the performers would get into pairs and just shake the other’s legs. The way they moved rhythmically to the music, rolling at high speeds from the edge of the stage, stopping inches from the audience’s feet, and interacting with each other, was untamed, unfiltered and felt instinctively human. It is easy to reduce someone to their labels, especially when you can physically see them, but there was something about the choreography that symbolised everyone’s

shared humanity. A lot of the performers had different disabilities, but their humanity was a common thread underlying the whole performance. This was made particuarly apparent when some of the performers began to shed their clothes. It was not sexual, but rather made the distinction between the person and the machine clearer. It allowed them to stand out as humans, as individuals, their identities no longer linked to their wheelchairs. Pieces included them suspending a wheelchair high in the air and continuing the performance

At the end of it all, the applause was thunderous, breaking me out of my trance. I have been to concerts with tens of thousands of people, but there was something about the applause that night that was so powerful, conveying the sense of awe at what we had all experienced. There is no better way to celebrate Disability Awareness Month than by having your every expectation shattered, every assumption questioned and every stereotype broken- something which Fierce Festival undoudtedly did. Fierce Festival will be on-going until the 25th of October.

This Month's Key Cultural Figures Vincent Van Gogh

Henry Matisse

1853 - 1880

1869 - 1954

After a variety of careers, such as teaching and bookselling, Vincent Van Gogh decided to pursue art full time at the age of 27. In just over a decade, he created over 2,000 artworks from expressive self-portraits, to post-impressionist landscapes. However, Van Gogh experienced psychotic episodes and delusions, often neglecting his physical health and drinking heavily. He is therefore often thought of as ‘the artist where madness and creativity converge,’ and became famous posthumously.

Matisse was a French artist, primarily known for his paintings but also as a skilled draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. He was a master of expressing the aesthetic language of colour, displayed in his works that span over half a century. After helping to define revolutionary developments in visual arts, along with Picasso, Matisse became a leading figure in modern art. Matisse felt his career was re-energised after having cancer surgery, that forced him to use a wheelchair and called the last 14 years of his life his ‘une seconde vie' (second life).

rawpixel

Chuck Close

1940 - Present

Martin Beek

Chuck Close is an American painter and photographer, creating large photorealist portraits of himself and others. Living with prosopagnosia (face blindess), Close has suggested that this is what inspired him to do portraits. By painting portraits, he is better able to recognise and remember faces, which is something he otherwise struggles to do. Mastering a range of styles, from inkwork to colour, Close's work is immuatble and memorable. His breakthrough works were a series of photorealistic painted portraits of fellow artists and friends.

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Spotlight on: Judith Scott Grace Baxendine Culture Editor

Born with Down's syndrome and becoming blind and deaf within her first few years of life, Judith Scott is a true enigmatic wonder of the world of art; a world conventionally very visually driven. Judith was one of twins, but her sister Joyce escaped the extra chromosome which changed the fate of Judith forever. Despite the disadvantages onset from a very early age, Judith displayed a keen and creative way of viewing the world based on sensory feeling and experience as opposed to visual aesthetics. Her true artistic journey began in April 1987. Scott was granted studio space at the Creative Growth Arts Centre in Oakland, California, one of the very first institutions to offer such opportunities to those with disabilities. At the beginning of her time at the centre, Judith had little to no promise, simply sketching scribbles. This didn’t have much of an impression on the centre’s owners and they were seriously considering ending her funding. Then a miracle happened, something that every artist has experienced; Judith found her original style, and it has shaped her legacy. This happened during a workshop from a visiting artist, Sylvia Seventy, along with her fiber art class. Using the threads and objects at hand, Scott had her creative breakthrough. Thus the textile-based sculpting of Judith Scott was born. Within the centre's safe environment, Scott flourished. She began to compile an extensive portfolio and to exhibit across all the states, even attracting the artistic field of Europe and beyond. Her sculptures were quite extraordinary, incorporating elements of shape and form never before seen in the American artistic sphere. Working mainly with textiles, Judith’s distinctive style would usually consist of grabbing interesting and versatile everyday objects which she’d cover in thread, yarn, and other fibers, sometimes spending months on individual pieces. T h e s e tightly wound textile creations have had mixed reviews from contemporary art critics and galleries, who can find it hard to derive sense from them. But you only

have to see these untitled sculptures in a gallery space to experience their imposing and purposeful nature. Her sculpture entitled ‘Twins,' by her sister Joyce, shows that these are meaningful creations and made with every bit of thought and passion as a painter at their easel. Little is known of Scott’s drive to create what she created, the impulse to sculpt in the way she did, and so I can understand the apprehension towards analysing and appreciating Judith’s work. But surely the very fact that she has been able to create these artworks is representative of her intent. It says so much about her drive and vision as what she did was incredibly patient and skilled work. Scott was unable to communicate through speech or text, and yet through the unlikely medium of art she was able to say everything and nothing at all. Living with her disability did not hold her back, but instead drove her forward to achieve global recognition for her contributions to sculpture, art and disability awareness, proving that no challenge is too great. Judith Scott died at the age of 61 in 2005 at her home in California, having outlived her life expectancy by over 50 years. Judith Scott is an inspiration who transcended the boundaries of what it means to live. She has left behind a legacy which continues to help the visually impaired, the deaf and people with Down's syndrome. This legacy lives on through her art and the thriving and inspired global community of disabled artists today. The Creative Growth Arts Centre is still welcoming and supporting disabled lovers of art, and will continue to do so with Judith Scott as an example of the greatness that can be achieved.

Fabio Omero

Culture gives you a timeline of cultural stereotypes surrounding people with disabilities...

1400s:

In medieval art and medical texts ‘lunatics,’ as well as other disabled people, are portrayed as unkempt, frenzied and dishevelled.

Alexi Pelekanos

These misconceptions are precisely why artists with disabilties should be represented.

1843: The stereotype of disabled people as ‘pitiaWikipedia

ble’ is given prominence in the character of Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

2012: The Paralympic Games are held in the United Kingdom. Extensive media coverage portrays disabled people winning medals as elite athletes.

Australian Paralympic Committee

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Thinking of Joining Redbrick? Go to the Guild’s website where you can buy your annual membership for £10, which will allow you to contribute to our 12 sections. Head to www.redbrick.me and click ‘Login’ and then ‘Register.’ You can then create your own account, which will become your online portfolio. Once your account is made, feel free to join the Redbrick Hub on Facebook to find out more. You can then join different sections’ Facebook groups to find out about meeting times and article opportunities. Then you are set as a member of Redbrick 2019-20!

Tim Abington Deputy Head of News @Burn_FM

The next couple of months will be interesting for student media. Elections, political treachery and turmoil are occupying both the Redbrick and the Burn teams. It makes this week a fitting time to mention the radio news coverage and how listeners can catch-up on campus issues and political excitement. The twists and turns in We s t m i n s t e r a n d t h e W h i t e House are dealt with by David Atkins and his guests each week, one of the more recent s h o w s o n t h e s c h e d u l e . Tu r n political on Politics with David Atkins and tune into discussion on rebellions, parliaments and congress every Thursday evening. For students, campus and

city issues, the Burn news team has every development c o v e r e d . Tu n e i n t o t h e s h o w, online every We d n e s d a y e v e n i n g . N e w s p a p e r r e a d e rship, politics student numbers, and broadcasting figures have risen with the chaos in the UK and the US. Burn too has benefited, with the expanding news team reaching double figures. I t ’s o n e i m p r e s s i v e f e a t f o r student radio hunkered down in the basement of the student union. Still, the team is cons t a n t l y i n n e e d o f m o r e j o u rnalists. Interested in everything from the environment, education, and entertainment: check social media for joining details. T h o u g h i t ’s t e m p t i n g t o ignore the student media, d o n ’t o v e r l o o k i t c o m p l e t e l y. Tr u e , t h e n e w s - t e a m s h o w c a n ’t t o u c h t h e n a t i o n a l b r o a d casters on listenership numbers, though it certainly matches them on each and every other level. Local politicians prefer to dodge our interview requests, and the university leadership takes its c o v e r a g e s e r i o u s l y. One wide-ranging and r e f r e s h i n g l y f o r t h r i g h t i n t e rview with the Selly Oak Member of Parliament completed: together with the Redbrick team, Burn will continue to interrogate those with r e s p o n s i b i l i t y. M e n t a l h e a l t h and antisemitism are both on the agenda. Listen out on social media for election coverage, of both the student u n i o n a n d t h e m a y o r s h i p . To e n d o n t h e c l i c h e t o n e , i t ’s not just national newspapers t h a t c a n s p e a k t r u t h t o p o w e r.

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Mind+Solve Sudoku (Easy)

6 7 7 9

6 7

1 3

8 9

6 4 7

6 4

9 1 8

Across 1. A device for the mechanical recording and reproduction of sound (10) 3. Some truths and flames are said to be this (8) 5. An affectionate band (4) 7. A dark shape seen against a light surface (10) 9. Lived in, busy or taken control of (8) 10. To support an injury (5) 11. Within the humdrum mermaid (7) 12. A super power you will never see (12)

8 7 5 6

1 2

Issue 1509 Puzzles compiled by Natalia Carter

8 7

3 2

Sudoku (Hard)

6 4 2

3 6

7 4

7 9 8 2

The Redbrick Crossword 13. A monochromatic mammal (5) 14. Glittering spangle (6) Down 2. A genre of film appropriate to the season (6) 4. I am a film and a holiday. What am I? (9) 6. Young porker (6) 8. A ______ of love (6) 15. Hormone which increases your heart rate (10)

2 1

15 6 5

4 3

First Lines The premise of First Lines is simple: each issue, we supply a selection of opening sentences from various novels,

songs and films. All you have to do is tell us which novels, songs or films the lines come from.

‘Inside a snowflake, like the one on your sleeve, there happened a story you must see to believe’

14 9

‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen’ ‘Well the night's begun and you want some fun / Do you think you're gonna find it (find it) / You got to treat yourself like number one’ ‘It was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting along in his office, reading a long memo that was slipping through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind’

Anagrams Halloween is upon us and we decided to look into some of the most popular costumes. Can you unscramble them?

1. GUSSETS THROB 2. WELSH LAWYER 3. ARMED NOW WOW 4. LOADED OP

5. A NIT HATCHET 6. BRO SOBS 7. FARCE MINT 8. A DEMANDS SWAYED 9. GEAR RHUMB 10. DEAREST RANGY YEARN

13 10 11

LAST ISSUE’S ANSWERS | Crossword: 1. Lactose; 2. Spectrum; 3. Surveillance; 4a. Jacket; 4b. Jaguar; 5. Autumn; 6. Humble; 7. Telephone; 8a. Target; 8b. Trophy; 9. Memoir; 10. Perfume; 11. Pupil; 12. Watchful; 13. Revolutionary | First Lines: 'Piece of My Heart' (Janis Joplin); In Cold Blood (Truman Capote); Shark Tale | Anagrams: 1. The Lion King; 2. Forrest Gump; 3. The Crow; 4. The Little Rascals; 5. Natural Born Killers; 6. The Flintstones; 7. True Lies; 8. Little Giants; 9. Little Women; 10. Thumbelina Get in touch with Redbrick Mind&Solve by sending all answers, applications and queries to print@redbrick.me

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Dinners That Disgust and Suppers That Scare

Food&Drink Writers serve up a helping of the worst foods they have had the misfortune of eating over the years, with a side of meals which left much to be desired Harriet Laban & Gabrielle TaylorDowson

Food&Drink Editors

Halloween is creeping up on us so people are beginning to think about all things spooky. Often our

Green Monsters Shania Devi Food&Drink Writer

Nothing quite sends a flood of shivers down my spine than being presented with a bowl of olives disguising themselves as an appetiser. Now, strange olive lovers, I must clarify that the upcoming rant only applies to raw olives, not to the delicious oil I credit them with producing. My rocky relationship with olives traces back to 2005, when six-year-old me was offered some mysterious ‘green sweets’ from my older cousin. In childish naivety, I hastily placed one in my mouth. Equally as fast, the pungent saltiness of the little trickster killed my excitement. Just like that, a wave of sickness washed over me. What ensued was a horrible state of being, the details of which I shall spare you. Informed by my aunt that what I had (half) consumed was in fact an olive, I mentally vowed never to touch the foul things again (and not to trust my cousin). Little did I know, the evil twin of the grape would return to haunt me 10 years down the line. My second encounter with these deceitful balls of horror occurred when 16-year-old me arrived in London for a birthday treat. Stepping off the train after a

thoughts turn to ghosts and ghouls, witches and monsters... but how many of us think about food? Sweets and treats play a huge role in the festival, not to mention the classic gap-toothed pumpkin, so it’s easy to remember all the goodies on offer to trick-or-treaters. For such a scary night, ironi-

cally, the dread doesn’t seem to spread to what we eat. Unfortunately, many of the meals and foods we have eaten over the years aren’t as pleasant as the paradoxically sweet foods of Halloween. Everyone has that one meal that puts you in your own personal hell, so what better time to revisit past foody frights!

Our Food&Drink writers and editors are sharing a grim selection of the worst meals they have had the misfortune of eating, the food items that sent chills down their spines and past memories of school canteen horrors which will forever haunt them. Food is not always delicious; which of the following tales do

lengthy journey the June summer sun was shining brightly. Stopping at the nearest eatery to satisfy my rumbling stomach, I remained blissfully unaware that I had entered yet another olive deathtrap.

Dry 'dog Disaster

Bone-filled Banquet

“I was unable to conceal my disgust as my nose scrunched up and I began to cough” I knew as soon as I took the first bite of my ‘Mediterranean Medley’ sandwich that I had foolishly subscribed myself to doom. That familiar but no less horrifying taste of overpowering bitterness struck the back of my throat. So pungent, I was unable to conceal my disgust as my nose scrunched up and I began to cough. Those little green tricksters had got me again! No amount of chewing gum or sweets would rid the lingering, rancid taste. What was supposed to be a fun and food-filled day had been ruined by a single olive. So, to end my exposé of those deceitful green things, I unapologetically conclude that olives deserve to be cast into the depths of food hell - not before being extracted of their lush oil, of course!

Emily Calder Deputy Editor

On a visit to Hunstanton over the summer, my family and I headed to a café on our campsite for a spot of lunch. When I initially turned up and looked over the menu, my instinct was to order chips – a classic vegetarian meal when there are few options available. I was delighted, however, to see that the menu offered a vegan hot dog – how progressive! Excitedly anticipating what I was sure would be a decent replica of a meat frankfurter, I handed over my £5 and awaited the delivery of the dog. Ten minutes later, as my family tucked into pizzas and nachos, my meal materialised. Absolute tragedy. The best bit about the hot dog was the bun, which is never a good sign. I was rather disappointed to see two tiny, very dry looking vegetarian sausages – the café clearly didn’t splurge for Linda McCartney on this occasion – wedged into the bread. Never one to waste food, or money, I tucked in and hoped for the best, only to find that the ‘dog’ was still partially frozen in the middle. Unsurprisingly, I gave up and ordered chips. The moral of the story? Never get too optimistic about vegan options in a questionable setting.

Lucy Allen Food&Drink Writer

Minestrone soup, I have a bone to pick with you. The classic vegetable soup, the humble minestrone, turned into my scary supper one night as I indulged on my new found favourite variety of soup. Before the incident, minestrone soup was becoming a frequent purchase as part of my weekly shop. It was a hearty and warming meal that was quick to heat and satisfying to consume, until one night when that all changed.

“I felt an unfamiliar crunch, something that no one wants to feel in their slurp of soup” There I was sitting down to my daily dose of Take Me Out, my head in a bowl of Italian goodness, when I felt an unfamiliar crunch, something that no one wants to feel in their slurp of soup. Upon investigation of the crunch which I had assumed to be an unwanted part of a vegetable, I was horrified to see a bone of suspicious origin lying before me amongst the veg. What I thought was a vegetarian supper turned out to include more than I had bargained for - and not in a good way. Unsurprisingly, the experience was not as ‘humerus’ as it should have been, and from then on the soup lost the appeal it once had.

Tartare Terror Grace Baxendine Culture Editor

Michael Mep

you think sounds the most dreadful?

I am not a vegetarian (although my uni budget sometimes decides otherwise), but there’s one thing I cannot stand and that’s raw meat. Tartare: there is something very disturbing about this French deli-

Marco Verch

cacy which can’t help but bleed Halloween vibes. The origin of this so-called delicacy comes from Germany and has spread like wildfire over Europe, especially in the south of France where tartare aller-retour is the proud leader of culinary classics; a classic I insulted terribly during my Year 10 French exchange.

“I had not anticipated a raw lump of beef to appear” I was sitting with my very friendly host family, hardly any embarrassment had occurred - all had been going so well - until the tartare was served. They had taken me to a typical French restaurant and everyone had ordered a dish called ‘tartare aller-retour.’ Unknowingly, I ordered this same plate hoping to experience the wonders of French cuisine, but oh how wrong I was. I had not anticipated a raw lump of beef to appear in front of me, with only a sprinkle of salt and pepper, a dash of oil and a random raw egg cracked on top of it all. My poor host family were just as shocked as I when I asked the waiter, in the most British way possible, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble to cook the meat so that it was well done; blasphemy had been spoken. This gory dish is not my cup of tea and this is why it makes it to the top of my list for a disgusting dinner.

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Friday 25th October 2019

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Escar-let's Go! Harriet Laban Food&Drink Editor

As a general rule, I am an enormous fan of food, no matter what form it comes in. There are, of course, exceptions. I detest most types of cheese, have never touched baked beans (I'm such a bad student) and can’t bear creamy sauces (they remind me of cheese too much!). However, the worst thing I have ever eaten has to be the classic French delicacy, escargot. Snails just aren’t for me, mainly because texture contributes massively to my eating experiences. As you might imagine, snails don’t have the most appealing texture. Whilst on holiday one year, I naïvely agreed to give them a try; it’s important to sample local cuisine, right? Sat on the quaint back terrace of a restaurant in the Loire Valley countryside, I bravely ordered escargot as a starter to share with my family. We sampled one each, building up the courage to eat them. The moment came. My family nodded in approval of what they had eaten. However, I ended up swallowing it whole, unable to bear chewing it, as I discovered that even when cooked and slathered in a mouthwatering garlic sauce, the bumpy, rubbery texture of a snail does not disappear.

“It is stomach churning to think of, but I just couldn't get past the feel of it” As silly as it seems in retrospect, the feel of a snail really wasn’t what I was expecting! It is stomach churning to think of, but I just couldn’t get past the feel of it in my mouth. It really did the opposite of its job as an appetiser.

Cursed Custard

ents, so artificial foods are an enemy of mine. Second to custard has to be canned mushy peas, closely followed by instant mashed potato. The idea that you can mix powder with water and somehow call it mashed potato is beyond me - even more confusing is the appeal in eating it. Most foods have me salivating at the sight of them, but if presented with any of these (I struggle to call them ‘foods’), queasiness and repulsion will get the better of me, and I’m afraid I’ll have to pass...

A Grape Disappointment Gabrielle TaylorDowson Food&Drink Editor

My Dad is a really good cook. That’s why this meal hurt me so much – it was a betrayal. I trusted my Dad with my taste buds and he has now scarred them for eternity with the memory of the worst fish pie I have ever tasted. He brought it to the dining room table and at that point, it looked just like any other fish pie. A golden, crumbly puff pastry lid, the smell of the sea wafting from the dish. Nothing out of the ordinary. I started to get suspicious as soon as he lifted the lid off of the pie. It was very, very liquidy, and the chunks of fish were bobbing up and down, looking like they were still swimming in the pie juices. And there were these little round green balls – what they were I didn’t know. Dad served us all a plate full and, not wanting to voice my concerns before I’d even tried it, I took a forkful. Those little round green balls? They popped in my mouth, hot and weirdly sweet-and-sour liquid filling my mouth. It felt like an eyeball, but an eyeball that been infused with the fishy taste of the seafood from the rest of the pie filling. This fishy, squishy, juice ball was a grape. Little cooked grapes that were floating around in the pie.

“Those little round green I’m a massive foodie, so I’m balls? They always keen to try flavour combinations that might send shivers popped in my down anybody else’s spine. There isn’t much I actually dislike, and mouth, hot and even less that I adamantly will not eat. But the one gut wrenching weirdly sweetfood that fills with me nausea and fear is icky, sticky, school dinner and-sour liquid custard. filling my mouth. It felt like an “I have nightmares eyeball” about walking into the canteen” I spat it straight out and,

A Pasta Disaster Eleanor Howson Food&Drink Writer

We’ve all experienced a horror food story at least once in our life; mine was back in secondary school. Yes, I’m talking about canteen meals! Let me set the picture for you. It was just a typical lunchtime, where the go-to option was Pasta King. It was a class favourite; something you would presume couldn’t go too far wrong. It was simply a cardboard pot filled with durumwheat pasta smothered in a sauce. The optional sauce toppings included spicy meatballs, plain tomato, pepperoni or, if you were feeling extra, you could add some grated cheese! It was just a standard option at the canteen.

“It was a class favourite; something you would presume couldn't go too far wrong”

E-damn! Natalia Carter Print&Features Editor

I’m generally rather easy going when it comes to food. In fact, it took me ages to think of a food that I disliked enough to write about. Give me a plate of sprouts, or any other commonly detested food, and I’m happy as larry. However, if you try to feed me an array of mould ridden, smelly and foul textured cheese, you will lose me as a friend. I’m not against all cheese, although I don’t eat cheese regularly by any means. Edam, cheddar and red leicester are probably my limits. They have a solid, appropriate texture for a cheese, they don’t smell too strongly and they’re generally the perfect accompaniment or topping to a wide range of dishes. Mild cheese is okay. Why anyone would want to eat something which smells like infected feet, and often looks like infection (I’m looking at you, cottage cheese) is beyond me. The smell created by these cheeses as they slowly contaminate your fridge is nothing short of foul. No one wants to open their fridge to the smell of a strong cheese. I will conclude my cheese rant

Orzo...Or No Lydia Waller Deputy Editor

I have no complaints when it comes to most fruit and nut flavoured goods. A good bar of Cadbury’s Fruit & Nut, fruit and nut cookies, fruit and nut rockyroads, I am there. In the savoury ballpark however, I am not. I do not know what possessed me to make this monstrosity of a meal, but I did. And I forever regret that decision.

“I can conclusively declare it was the most horrible sensory experience I have ever endured” One day, when I was lacking in cupboard resources, I resorted to making a bowl of orzo (a pastatype grain) with pesto, cashews, sultanas, mushrooms and cheese. I can conclusively declare that

Beth Sadler

Food&Drink Editor

I have nightmares about walking into the canteen to be greeted by the smell of eggy dessert, gagging as the dinner lady slops the viscous substance into my bowl. Anything that is lumpy, luminous yellow and develops a ‘skin’ should not be fit for consumption. I love cooking with fresh ingredi-

because I was eight and very sensitive, also started crying. Yes, my Dad was very offended, but so was my mouth, and to this day I hate fish pie and also cooked grapes. Saying that, I’ve also never again encountered a recipe with cooked grapes, so that just goes to show how wrong it was.

StockSnap

My friends and I were all quite content with our humble Pasta King so headed to a table once we had paid. On a general note, I must emphasise that these pasta pots were not gourmet. You could bargain a pot filled with just as much water as pasta! However, as canteen meals went, these pasta pots stood high on the podium in comparison to some of the other options on offer. Yet, this Pasta King experience was not like any before. Lo and behold, what looked like a pubic hair emerged with the pasta on the plastic fork, just as I was about to tuck in! That was one way to put me off eating that day. We all stared at it, completely grossed out! Now Pasta King doesn’t have such a fond memory for us. There is no doubt, it was a dinner that disgusted.

with a short explanation on why the texture of cheese is so offensive. I have one word for the texture of a certain thick and soft cheese known as brie. That word is ‘slugs.' It’s simultaneously creamy, soft and thick. Nothing should feel that thick and slimy in your mouth - it’s not natural. Do not even get me started on the ‘skin’ that comes along with these soft cheeses. The rind is edible. That’s just not okay. To have such a thick and slug like cheese encased in a weird rubbery skin is enough to fuel anyone’s nightmares.

this was the most horrible sensory experience I have ever endured. The juicy, squishy nature of the sultanas, with the sludge of the fried mushrooms and then the softened crunch of the cashews, was so oddly wet and juxtaposing, I hated every bite. Not only was the taste of this dish horrendous, the green-y, grayscale aesthetics of the dish were as equally unappetising. A great sense of reasoning and decision-making was lacking that day. A lesson well learnt that beans on toast is the safest bet when the cupboards are dry.

PublicDomainVectors

CULTURE

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbrickculture

Interview: Alice Procter Culture Critic Orla Taylor-Davies is lucky enough to sit down with advocate for Art Repatriation, Alice Procter, to discuss her popular ‘Uncomfortable Art Tours’ Orla Taylor-Davies Culture Critic

Uncomfortable Art Tours are the brainchild of Alice Procter, a historian of Material Culture based in UCL and writer and podcaster of The Exhibitionist. Many of us, although not enough of us, acknowledge the violent legacy of colonisation. However, how many of us can say that they have entered a learning space in order to understand and discuss exactly what colonisation has to do with society today? Alice’s tours address how bigname institutions such as the British Museum or Tate Britain exert considerable power as upholders of the colonial rhetoric. From the display of stolen sacred objects, positioning the object as now ours, to the celebration of colonial tropes such as the intrepid explorer of the undiscovered or civiliser of the primitive, Alice highlights the importance of criticality in institutions that are anything but neutral. She invites us to consider the providence of museum and gallery objects- how did it enter this space and should it be here? What agenda informed its creation and how is this reconciled with its display? Art galleries and museums are not the sleepy places of passive appreciation they can often be portrayed as. Instead, on closer inspection, they sizzle with injustice, conflict and urgent conversation. I was lucky enough to interview Alice in anticipation of her tour at the Barber Institute.

“Art galleries and Museums are not the sleepy places of passive appreciation they can often be portrayed as” So, I know that The Exhibitionist started through your podcast, how did it evolve into these tours? Was it frustrating that galleries and museums weren’t telling these stories and you just wanted to make people aware? Alice:Yeah! The podcast and the tours just both came out of a situation where I was in museums all the time, looking at the stories they were telling, looking at the narratives they were putting forward and feeling really frustrated with what I saw. I started the podcasts before I graduated because I really wanted a way to keep on talking about art while I was looking for a job and doing other work. I wanted to keep having those conversations about art spaces and museum display. I already had tour guiding experience and I was talking with friends about trying to find a way

to share this, and it was originally going to be an audio guide. So halfway between the podcasts and what the tours are now- talking about art collections, talking about these things. I started them in June 2017. It was only really from the beginning of last year that I was doing one a week minimum, but it all kicked off pretty quickly. Have you ever encountered any resistance to your tours by the public or any institution? Alice: Yes, it does happen. I don’t tend to get resistance from somebody that has bought a ticket and come on the tour. I’ve had people ask. ‘Oh, is it an echo chamber then?’ and it really depends on whether that’s a bad thing or not. What matters is it is a sympathetic conversation between people who want to engage with the same subject, and you can call that an echo chamber or a classroom, depending on how you want to view it. I have had negative responses f r o m people who happen t o be in

to what you have said and changed anything? Have there been instances where any have improved upon what you have critiqued? Alice: It’s tricky- the British Museum have announced their own tours that focus on collection history, the headline being: ‘not everything was looted’ which is such an unfortunate choice. That was explicitly a response to me, but their tours don’t engage with the same objects as my tours. There is a little bit of overlap, for example talking about Charles Stuart, but we do it in different ways. Those tours are led by curators and academics outside of the institution and it’s a really important project, I just wish that they hadn’t been so defensive and had been more open to actually George Procter

the galleri e s , generally older white men with very c r i t i c a l responses. Sometimes people will say I’m being too critical. Somebody said that I shouldn’t give my opinion about the artwork but of course I’m going to have something to say about the depiction of Queen Victoria as the ultimate white saviour. I have a no devil’s advocate rule, I’ve never had to ask for someone to leave, I’ve never had someone on tour to start trouble. I start tours with a warning that this is an empathetic space where we respect the fundamental humanity of everyone here and to be as kind and intersectional as possible, while still being critically engaged, we will do this without attacking everyone. Have any institutions listened

responding to what I’m saying, rather than reacting as if I’m coming in and screaming at them for stealing everything. Its disappointing but not surprising to hear that big-name Museums are offering certain experiences only once they see themselves as under attack. Alice: It’s so frustrating. Lots of places have started doing black history month and Afro-Caribbean heritage tours. Some of them are starting to do South Asian tours, but that’s much less represented than black history tours and I

think that’s a reflection of museums who are realising that their audience is going to have to change. The main demographic is older, whiter, more educated, wealthier, London based and tourists. Institutions are all beginning to realise that that doesn’t fly anymore. I think because Birmingham is such a diverse city, the whole minority majority context means that institutions have been aware of this conversation for longer because their audience isn’t the same as the big nationals in London. London institutions are beginning to realise that they can’t keep churning out the same stuff year after year because one day that audience won’t exist anymore and unless they’re courting a new demographic, they’re going to be completely obsolete. I was going to ask, has there been increased popularity as the tours have gone on? Have they just escalated and escalated in popularity? Alice: Pretty much! The tours book up way faster than I ever thought they would. They started as part of this f r e e educat i o n festiv a l . Before t h e pro-

gramme w e n t live, I t h i n k something like seventy percent of the tour was booked up, which was wild. Then people kept asking for more events and asking if there was more going on. I’ve hit a zeitgeisty moment for thinking about colonial history, to be honest. I’ve coincided with a period of time where this is a much more mainstream conversation than ever before. From April last year, I got some press attention. So, in April there was a piece in The Times followed by The Daily Mail and The Guardian, and that’s when most people found out about me. I have absolutely no idea how that first journalist heard of me! The tours began to go viral, so yes, from this press attention I can’t even describe the experience. I think there’s this excitement about learning about history that has such an enduring legacy, one

that needs to be challenged right now. This is something that riles up the acknowledgement that history isn’t just for classrooms, its living, relevant, involves all of us and is shaped by our current actions. Alice: This is the thing, I’m a bad historian, I can’t memorise names or dates. I try to avoid doing that on a tour because I think it’s really boring. That’s never been the type of history I have wanted to do, and that’s why I’ve gravitated towards art history because its thinking about history in such a wide context and in a creative space. Fundamentally, so many museums are really dull. They might have some incredible things in there, but they are doing the worst job making it seem interesting. And that’s the work I’m trying to do- museums and art galleries can make history boring and that’s not the objects or events themselves but the way they are presented!

“Fundamentally, so many museums are really dull. They might have some incredible things in there, but they are doing the worst job making it seem interesting” Well, you’re definitely making museum experiences a lot more engaging. Are there any resources you would recommend to students who just want to learn more about these conversations? Alice: The Museum is not mutual. It does have a reading list that is fantastic and has everything. It’s hard because some of the resources are very specialised. Exhibition catalogues are always a good place to start especially if you can get them from a library, seeing what objects are included and how they are described so you can try to read critically, because it can be overwhelming to do that in an exhibition. I think one of the best resources is Twitter, you get so many recommendations there. The Instagram account for Decolonise This Place (@decolonizethisplace) which is an activist collection based in America working on colonial history often with a contemporary stance. They are fantastic people doing important and difficult work. Alice is returning to Birmingham to give a tour of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts on Tuesday 12th November 2019. More information about Alice’s work can be found on The Exhibitionist podcast.

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Friday 25th October 2019

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Review: ‘And what it became is not what it is now’ at The Grand Union Culture Editor Grace Baxendine reviews the new digitised exhibition in Digbeth which comments on aspects of South American memory and political past Grace Baxendine Culture Editor

Latin American culture is often embodied by the vibrant Artwork of Frida Khalo, an undisputed global icon, or the vivacious colours in Diego Rivera’s Mexican murals. However, the recent exhibition at the Grand Union, And what it became is not what it is now, designed by three very unconventional Latin American artists who have all been long established talents in their relevant fields of artistry, inspires a completely new vision of South American art and its controversial, and often unaddressed past. Cinco Retratos Digitales by María Agustina Fernández Raggio forms the first section of this collaboration. A Uruguayan artist known globally for her use of digitalising figures and producing provocative filmography, Fernandez Raggio has contributed a detailed exploration of the individuals in power after the deterioration of the Uruguayan military dictatorship in 1985. This fivechannel video offers an interesting take on their characters and mannerisms. Each dignitary has been digitised, a first for any

president or dictator in Uruguay, and the dialogue attached addresses themes regarding Uruguay as a whole and the individual. The previous four presidents, and the current one, are joined in each clip by Fernández Raggio. Interestingly very present in all of these five film clips, the artist draws on the personal relationship, or indeed lack of it, between the individual and these deistical, out of touch figures of power. The subtle detail found in each video is remarkable and I found myself sitting for ages, trying to understand its meaning, resulting in my having to go home and research an awful lot of the artistic and political references of the artwork.

“Very present in all of these five film clips, the aritst draws on the personal relationship, or indeed lack of it”

Exploring both the political and personal experiences of all five of these men, Ferandez Raggio is able to interpret the intricate relationship Uruguay has with its turbulent political past and the continued tensions and personal issues it raises. Another key part of the exhibition displayed the work of Paola Monzillo. Monzillo is a long established talent in the world of conceptual art and artist film. Her insightful reflections on 16th and 17th century European views regarding South Americans and their culture, through the etchings and engravings of the time, was a real highlight for me. Entitled El Cuerpo alegorico de America, I found this to be my favourite part of the exhibition and indeed, the most poignant for the visitor. The original engraving images used by Monzillo were extraordinary and the way in which she adapted certain parts of each to emphasis different thoughts and perceptions from centuries ago was quite innovative. Visually very beautiful, Monzillo’s artwork evoked the dark truth behind the often overlooked memory of colonialism for both Europeans and South Americans. It is certainly not an

easy task, but Monzillo has attacked the issue strongly while still applying the depth of sensitivity that such a topic deserves.

“This section of the exhibition was able to comment on a very important, yet often overlooked, memory of colonialisation for both Europeans and South Americans” Likewise, Joaquin Aras explored the difficulty of cultural memory in Argentina through Argentinian cinema as the medium for his expression. Entre recuerdos & remakes is quite an apt title seeing as Aras’ contribution seems to be centred on the unearthing of

old films and soundtracks which have been forgotten to many, and his body of work questions why this is the case. In an almost interview style, Aras poses aged Argentinian actresses to watch various old videos and soundtracks, allowing them very naturally to discuss the forgotten, and thus, uncredited actors and musicians in the footage. There was so much to appreciate in this exhibition, which was not only visually stunning but mentally stimulating and thought-provoking. Full of forgotten and unaddressed history, this exhibition is a must for anyone interested in South America or furthering their cultural understanding of this complex land. And what it became is not what it is now is on until November 9th at the Grand Union, Fazeley Studios in Digbeth.

Review: Dada Masilo’s Giselle Frankie Rhodes Culture Critic

There are certain expectations that go along with the prospect of watching ballet: fluffy white tutus, elaborate scenery and pink satin point shoes all spring to mind. However, we never stop to question that ballet perhaps does not have to be this way, and just as our modern world is constantly reinventing itself, ballet can do the same. Dance Consortium’s production of the 1841 classic Giselle was one that stayed close to the authentic South African roots of the company, yet in every other respect, was able to create something completely new.

“Our modern world is constantly reinventing itself” The original ballet tells the tale of a young peasant girl Giselle, who dies of a broken heart after being jilted by her

lover, Albrecht. What follows is an epic confrontation between Albrecht and the Wilis- supernatural female spirits- who seek revenge by forcing Albrecht to dance until he dies. Dance Consortium’s production, choreographed and fronted by Dada Masilo, took this concept and breathed new life into it, exploring the vivid social network of a South African village. The curtains opened to a village rural scene, with villagers lounging by a watering hole, exchanging remarks as they snatched a quick break beneath parasols. Subtle modern references throughout the performance, such as a magazine or a bottle of cider reminded the audience that this is not a village trapped in the past, and can be thought of as resembling our current times. Before the first dance had even begun vocalized exclamations between the villagers invited the audience into the community, to share both their suffering and joy. And when the dance did begin, it was beautifully in sync, yet with room allowed for each dancer to bring their own individual flair. With all dancers barefoot, this allowed freedom for the fusion of dances that were explored throughout the performance,

spanning contemporary, classical and a range of African dance traditions, particularly the Tswana of South Africa’s North West Province. It was notable also that characters adapted the dance forms to their particular role in the play- the regal masters of the village following more classical motifs, while the villagers adopted a freer, more authentic style.

“[Masilo] simply wanted her production to reflect real human experiences” Amongst all this was the enigmatic Giselle, who moved at times like a frightened child, and at other times like a newly liberated lover. Taking a shockingly raw path, Masilo performed a couple of the scenes stripped down to her waist, as she struggled to avoid the clutches of desirous male dancers. However, Masilo denies that any themes of the play were inspired by the likes of the

#MeToo movement, and argues company of the rest of the peasant that she simply wanted her pro- workers, whose whispered reacduction to reflect real human tions added to the shame felt by experiences, and inspire a full the jilted lover. spectrum of emotions from the Using an intricate, exciting audience. track composed by Philip Miller, This focus on the real was the production was able to fuse certainly evident through her South African beats, snatches of depiction of the Wilis, who are dialogue and classical scores. typically presented in classical That being said, if there was one ballet as fragile, ghost-like femithing that I missed about the nine creatures. The Wilis of this experience of a classical production were bold, genballet, it was the sense of a der-neutral and furious, clad live orchestra. Having the in flaming red dresses. music blasted from speakers Masilo also brought in the gave it somewhat of an artifiuse of a flour whisk, a tool cial quality, despite the origiassociated with South nality of the soundtrack. African healers, which Dance Consortium’s was wielded by the Queen Giselle is undoubtedly a ballet of the Wilis, and was for today, if, that is, we need expertly incorporated to even call it a ballet at all. It into the dance. went beyond the confines of The victim of classical costume, dance the Wilis’ wrath is style and plot, to create of course Albrecht, something that lives and who Kyle Rossouw breathes emotion. Now conportrayed with a tinuing its tour across the perfect regality, country, this show is an melting into unmissable opportunity moments of lust for anybody who wants for Giselle. His to experience dance Birmingham on-stage rejecand drama in a way Hippodrome tion of her was that they never have heartbreaking, before. particularly as it occurred in the

MUSIC

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbrickmusic

The Smiths: There is a Band That Will Never Die Out Catrin Osborne

Television Editor Content Warning: This article contains themes of mental health which some readers may find distressing.

Over 35 years after the release of their eponymous debut album, the music of The Smiths still resonates with the average university student. The appeal of The Smiths lies in their relatability. In the 1980s, with the birth of MTV and rise of consumerism, the music scene was glossy, polished and plastic but The Smiths challenged the manufactured pop scene. This is encapsulated in The Smiths’ ‘Panic’ in which Morrissey bemoans that the music blasted on the radio ‘says nothing to me about my life.’ Despite the rise of indie music, the same can be said for the charts today. Two of the biggest genres, hip hop and dance music, tend to focus on a lifestyle of money, partying and love. Although plenty of artists are still making political statements, these aren’t typically the songs that reach number one. Within the ephemeral online culture of Gen Z (those of us born after 1996) has risen the phenomenon of posting explicitly depressive statements which draws parallels with many of Morrisey’s lyrics. No song by The Smiths exemplifies this better than ‘How Soon is Now?’ A song that pairs Johnny Marr’s jangly guitar with Morrisey’s lamentations on the experience of a failed night out where he concludes ‘And you go home and you cry / And you want to die.’ This juxtaposition between joyous instrumental and sorrowful lyrics seems as popular now as

it was when it was released. Dubbed ‘sadfishing,’ young people are oversharing their emotions online in the modern age and this is reflected in a lot of popular music. However, there is nothing new about Billie Eilish singing ‘I wanna end me’ over a fast-paced, dance beat. The Smiths did that over a decade before today’s students were even born.

Light that Never Goes Out.’ In this song, being hit by a bus becomes a ‘heavenly way to die’ as long as the speaker’s lover is by their side. With a third of university students feeling lonely on a weekly basis, this specific kind of unhappy longing is emblematic of the current generation.

“There is nothing new about Billie Eilish singing ‘I wanna end me’” Amidst the current ‘mental health crisis’ at British universities, Morrissey’s melancholy lyricism strikes a prolific chord. The number of children and young people suffering with mental health issues has increased six times since 1995. In a time when 96% of university students asked for ‘emotional education,’ songs such as ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’ are more poignant than ever.

Rough Trade

The alluringly sombre mindset of The Smiths is even seen in their take on love in ‘there is a

risy of David Cameron’s claimed love of the ‘archetypal student band’ in relation to his not-sostudent-friendly policies. This showcased the legacy of The Smiths as a voice for Britain’s younger generations. Unfortunately, one can’t discuss The Smiths in 2019 without acknowledging the decline of their legacy. Not a week goes by without Morrisey’s big mouth striking again.

“Not a week goes by without Morrisey’s big mouth striking again” Rough Trade

The Smiths ideology also encompasses the band’s passionate vegetarianism, captured in their iconic album Meat is Murder. The album’s title track has haunting lyrics such as relabelling the ‘kitchen aroma’ as the ‘sizzling blood and the unholy stench // Of murder.’ Whether for moral, health, or environmental reasons, vegetarianism and veganism are more popular than ever. Finder UK’s survey found that Gen Z are leading the trend with only 63% eating meat. Alongside their emo reputation and vegetarianism, The Smiths have always been associated with challenging the establishment. This can be seen from their statement against the monarchy on The Queen is Dead to criticising the education system in ‘The Headmaster Ritual.’ In 2010, the band were even discussed in the House of Commons. Labour MP Kerry McCarthy pointed out the hypoc-

For instance, he has called the Chinese a ‘subspecies,’ worn a For Britain badge, claimed Hitler was ‘left-wing,’ and stated that Sadiq Khan ‘cannot talk properly.’ This month alone Morrissey made the news for removing an anti-farright protestor from his concert in Portland. He then went on to claim that the protestor was planted by the British press. None of these positions align particularly well with many student bodies. The Smiths originally spoke for the marginalised, progressive members of society, though Morrisey now reflects the attitudes the band used to criticise. For many students, the university experience surrounds disillusionment with the establishment, melancholy, vegetarianism, and an anxious longing for love. If you’re looking for a sound that captures these sentiments, then the music of The Smiths still encapsulates them perfectly.

Upcoming Events: Editors’ Picks: Of Monsters & Men, O2 Academy, 28th October

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Of Monsters & Men are poised to bring their Icelandic indie folk to the O2 Academy this weekend. They achieved international success with ‘Little Talks’ back in 2012 and have been relatively consistent since then. Most recently, their album ‘Fever Dream’ has seen the band embracing a brighter and more poppy sound - and this can be expected during the Birmingham show. Best of the Rest: Refused, O2 Academy, 26th October Thrice, O2 Academy, 26th October Melt Banana, Hare & Hounds, 28th October FEET, Castle & Falcon, 2nd November Tallest Man on Earth, Town Hall, 2nd November Larkins, Sunflower Lounge, 6th November

Album Review: Swim Deep - Emerald Classics Daniel Badger Music Critic

Birmingham five piece Swim Deep have returned with their third studio LP after four years since their previous release, ‘Mothers.’ Released on their new label ‘Pop Committee,’ it is as light and trippy as you might imagine. Entitled ‘Emerald Classics’ after the The Emerald, a small pub in Small Heath where many pivotal moments of bassist Cavan Mccarthy’s life occurred, as he mentioned in an interview with Tim Senna. The album is one that, if looking directly at it, you can see through the glitter and echoing cloud dazzle of 80s synth’ to find the familiar roots at its core. ‘Sail Away, Say Goodbye’ finds Austin Williams (frontman) reflecting on his grandmother’s dementia. Lyrics on ‘To Feel Good’ explore his experiences of signing on,

while his relationship with his parents is mentioned on ‘Father I Pray’ and ‘Top of the Pops.’ However, it is hard to make contact with the album’s emotional and personal topics through the veil of soaring light hearted musical overtones.

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The album does not lack heart, it is just not always easy to connect with it (ironically) on a deeper level. Anyone in search of depth rather than jumping up and down to light British indie pop is in the wrong place to begin with.

The simple and ‘feel good’ lyrical and melodic qualities of Swim Deep’s songs have been a pervasive feature of their discography since the release of their debut ‘Where the Heaven Are We?’. Swim Deep are a band that enjoy frolicking in the field of this decade’s particular strain of indie but have not yet developed the evolutionary capabilities to sniff out greener pastures. In this sense Swim Deep, and the plethora of bands like them, have often felt like the vestigial limb of the indie organism. Decades of developing indie bands have spawned this light, poppy, and easily replicable sound that feels like the desertification of fertile land. It has been done to an exhausting degree, and any further pillaging might leave this sound arid and lifeless. There is nothing singularly bad about the landscape they are inhabiting, in fact on this album you may find Swim Deep in a more favourable

light than ever before. It is only that the tiring formula is unable to take us anywhere new. This leaves me feeling a little dejected rather than the comfort or elation that seems the intent. That being said, Swim Deep are still very much on form. The stagnancy of the Indie landscape does not lie at their doorstep as much as it does many other bands.

“Light, poppy easily replicable sound that feels like the desertification of fertile land” There really are some beautiful melodies on this album in classic Swim Deep style. ‘Top of the Pops’ is a highlight as one of the more melancholic songs where Austin sings ‘stop leaning on

Heavens door.’ Perhaps this alludes to the fact they are no longer leaning on their first album (Where the Heaven Are We) and instead moving on to a more mature artistic vision. The overall impression of this album is one of mixed feelings. Much of it is reminiscent of Ariel Pink’s song ‘Feels like Heaven’, but doing half the job. I struggle pushing past the fact that Swim Deep are about as wet as their moniker suggests, despite their struggle to break out of the mould of the play-thing of 14 year olds. This album is a fortress of fairylights seen through a thick haze of cigarette smoke; it makes little impact but its inviting dazzle makes you want to go explore nonetheless. If you need a little nugget of shimmering indie in your life, ‘Emerald Classics’ is an album you should sink your teeth into. Just leave behind any hopes of finding ‘one great song that could change the world.’

MUSIC

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbrickmusic

Album Review: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Ghosteen Seb Rolley is hugely impressed by Nick Cave’s new release Seb Rolley Music Critic

Ghosteen is the first album from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds since 2016’s emotionally devastating masterpiece Skeleton Tree, the bleak, minimalist record overshadowed by the death of Nick’s son prior to its release. In the years since, Nick and the Bad Seeds toured the record extensively and Nick embarked on a solo Q & A tour, all of which has felt like a kind of communal healing experience; a deep catharsis of grief shared by millions. Recently Nick began to tease the imminent arrival of a new record, then suddenly it arrived with no more than a week’s notice in the form of Ghosteen, leaving the question: how does a band follow an album as singular as Skeleton

Tree? This was done firstly, with a double album. Ghosteen is a record of two parts, with side one comprising of seven standard length songs, and the other of two longer tracks separated by a spoken word piece. The second way Cave achieve this was by creating arguably their most minimalist, beautiful work to date, described by Cave as a ‘migrating spirit.’ Much like Skeleton Tree, Ghosteen relies highly on synthesisers, stripping down the arrangements even further and using a very lim-

ited selection of instruments on each track. The album opens with ‘Spinning Song,’ a song which blurs the line between spoken word and singing. The song’s meaning does not give itself up readily, as the lyrics spin and weave themselves into a cryptic pattern of rock n’ roll, royalty and birds. However, as the song moves from spoken word into more traditional singing, the ending refrains of ‘I love you’ and ‘peace will come in time’ give little room to ignore the obvious emotional weight of the song and its relationship to the trauma of Nick’s past.

“The lyrics spin and weave themselves into a cryptic pattern of rock n’ roll”

Bad Seed Ltd.

Major ‘Waiting for You’ is maybe the Transmission least unusual of the songs on here, a piano driven ballad reminiscent of The Boatman’s Call. It’s impossible to ignore the raw songwrit-

ing talent of Cave here, with little more than piano and strings to support his voice and lyrics, the song holds the same emotional weight as any of the more experimental tracks on the record. The second half of the album opens with the album’s title track, ‘Ghosteen’: a 12-minute epic which brings together so many of the musical elements of the album’s first half into a song which feels both minimalist and grand in its scope. Nick’s stunning vocal delivery in this track paired with the Bad Seeds’ ability to shift tone effortlessly across the track’s lengthy runtime, this is easily one of the greatest statements in their discography. Shifting through the spoken word track, ‘Fireflies,’ we transition into ‘Hollywood,’ the longest track on the album at 15 minutes. It is clear that Ghosteen is losing none of its momentum. ‘Hollywood’ brings in many of Nick’s familiar lyrical themes, approaching the idea of America with strange metaphors of wombs and cougars. As Nick Cave croons ‘I’m just waiting now for peace to come’ in the final seconds of the

track, he closes the album with a perfect encapsulation of grief. Four years after the tragedy Nick still hasn’t found peace, but hopefully he will soon.

“Approaching the idea of America with strange metaphors of wombs and cougars” This album is yet another masterpiece to add to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ ever-growing collection of masterpieces. The idea that the Nick Cave, who wrote ‘Nick the Stripper’ with The Birthday Party, would 38 years later be writing such subtle and emotionally delicate tracks would have seemed laughable to many, yet Ghosteen stands as a testament to his maturity and development into one of the greatest artistsPomona alive. Prepare for this one to have you crying in your kitchen at 1 am.

Redbrick’s Halloween Playlist As Halloween creeps closer and closer, our writers discuss some of their freaky favourites in preparation for the big day Rebecca Sibley Music Editor

Richard O’Brien The Time Warp No song can invigorate a Halloween costume party more than the opening notes of ‘Time Warp’, the iconic tune from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Amazon UK

Beside being a bona fide bop, the distinctive dance routine is certain to get everyone jumping to the left, stepping to the right, and pelvic thrusting across the room.

‘Time Warp’ was written by Richard O’Brien who plays Riff Raff, Dr Frank-N-Furter’s hunchback butler. Although it was a late addition to the Rocky Horror soundtrack and was originally only conceived to lengthen the 40-minute-long musical, it has become one of the soundtrack’s most recognisable and popular numbers. While it’s not the spookiest of Halloween tunes, ‘Time Warp’ is fun, cheesy and weird, and that makes it a necessity on any Halloween party playlist.

Catrin Osborne Music Critic

Blue Öyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) The Reaper Blue Öyster Cult may have never obtained utmost fame but their hauntingly hypnotic hit ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ (1976) is apt for Halloween. From the opening minor guitar riff, the song alludes to the listener that it will be anything but sugary sweet. Donald ‘Buck Dharma’ Roeser sings of the ever-present inevitability of death, personified through The Grim Reaper, amidst his relationship. Harkening back to literature’s iconic star-crossed lovers, Dharma also aligns his doomed love with that of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The alluring lyrics are complimented by a call-and-response form which creates a sense of supernatural echoing. Although they released a shorter single version, the five-minute-long album version boasts twenty-times-more streams on Spotify. Perhaps one

can’t help but indulge in its melodramatic, prog-rock breakdown that was originally cut to make the song more palatable. Daunting and dreary, this rock classic earns its place on any Halloween playlist.

Jade Matlock Music Critic

Rolling Stones Sympathy for the Devil It wouldn’t be Halloween without the devil. Inspired by Charles Baudelaire and Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel ‘The Master and Margarita,’ the song highlights historical atrocities and poses some truly terrifying questions about how complicit people are in the causing of these atrocities. Despite its heavy themes, the song was labelled number 32 out of the 500 greatest songs of all time by The Rolling Stones, and for good reason. The samba rhythm creates a hypnotising

Rolling Stones Records

sound strong enough to make anyone sell their soul and solidifies itself as a go-to Halloween Party classic.

Lyrically, the song references some of humanity’s darkest hours: the Romanov shootings, World War II and even the assassination of John F. Kennedy are credited to the teamwork of us and the Devil. Spooky stuff, right? Arguably what makes this song most harrowing is the backing vocals. Originally an iconic symbol for the song, one can’t help but wonder if nearly two minutes of continuous ‘whoo-whoo’s is more haunting than the Devil himself.

Hannah Massey Music Critic

Wolf Alice Formidable Cool Wolf Alice’s Formidable Cool may not initially spring to mind as a song you’d associate with Halloween, however its combination of panicked screams and foreboding whispers whilst exploring the horror of teen romance makes it an unsettling listen. It tells the story of a young girl’s obsession with a boy who is clearly only out to break hearts, and goes on to recount her own heartbreak as a consequence of pursuing him. The lyrics mock her, screaming with intensity ‘if you knew it was all an act / then what are you crying for?’ There is an obsession with death that pervades the song, and these parts are often whispered, making them all the more troubling, for example ‘when he tells you death is pure it reverberates right into your bones.’ This, combined with the intensity of the drums, guitars, screams and whispers and the positively frightful subject matter lands the song firmly in the realm of the scary.

Dylan Lucas Music Editor

Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi’s Dead ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ is a famously spooky track. One which helped certify the goth genre way back in 1982. Taking its name from the 1931 ‘Dracula’ film, starring the titular Lugosi; the track wears its influences on its sleeve, giving it a sillier vibe which perfectly represents what bands of Bauhaus’ ilk were all about. Spooky aura aside, the track is also excellent. Slowly building through a now iconic set of drums and bass and steadily increasing with guitars over the space of

4AD

nearly 10 minutes. The track really makes you wait in anticipation for the big moment, just as any good horror show should. Finally, Peter Murphy adds a fantastically gloomy vocal performance which really elevates the track into something you can sing along to, despite its staggering length. Essentially, ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ is Halloween royalty and should never be left skipped at parties or while trick or treating.

FILM

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbrickfilm

Rewind: Terminator Franchise

Paramount Pictures

Charlotte Tomlinson Film Critic

The Terminator Imagine a penniless James Cameron in 1983, living out of his car, writing the screenplay for a film that would launch his entire career and change action movies forever. Under his brilliant direction, 1984’s The Terminator is still the perfect summer sci-fi thriller. It is impossible to come out of this film feeling bored, for in every scene it cannot help but be entertaining. Its beauty is in its succinctness, as Cameron’s and Gale Anne Hurd’s script ensures that there are no boring expositional moments throughout.

“In pursuit of them is an iconic Arnold Schwarzenegger, with the emotional expressiveness of one of his biceps” At its core, it is a classic tale of good vs evil, with time travel and explosions thrown in for good measure. Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn star as Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese, the two main likeable protagonists trying to save humanity. In pursuit of them is an iconic Arnold Schwarzenegger, with the emotional expressiveness of one of his biceps, as the antagonist. It is impossible to imagine anyone else playing the almost indestructible Terminator, equipped with 14 lines of dialogue, a semiautomatic and sunglasses. Only on a technical level has this film has not aged well. The special effects are almost adorable in how stop motion and puppetry are used to animate the T-800 before CGI. The action set pieces however are just as, if not more, impressive considering how limited special effects were at that time. Every man set on fire, car totalled over, or loud, violent shootout, was real and not computer generated. This film will always be timeless despite the film being over 30 years old, creating a lasting franchise that will always be a summer blockbuster staple.

Samuel Zucca Film Editor

Terminator 2: Judgment Day After making the best sequel possible to Ridley Scott’s Alien, five years earlier, James Cameron returned to his own franchise, with a bigger budget and a more expansive world to explore. Terminator 2: Judgment Day opens similarly to the first, with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 beaming in from the future in a naked pose, only this time he is here to save Sarah and John Connor, and he is followed by Robert Patrick’s updated model, the T-1000. This is a very simple change in dynamic, but it does a lot in preventing the film from feeling like a stale rehash. For Schwarzenegger as well, giving him a role of a more fleshed out character suits his rise to stardom in the seven years since his debut. In this film he is less menacingly transhuman, and more of a cheesy and awkward android – a lovable killing machine – which perfectly suits his talents. Cameron also utilises his technical skills incredibly well in this film. After experimenting in 1989’s The Abyss with CGI, Cameron uses the technology sparingly to create the uncanny powers of the T-1000. The computer-generated effects blend seamlessly with the practical effects, sound effects, and soundtrack, creating an oppressive and metallic atmosphere. The climax at the steelworks, visually contrasting molten metal and liquid nitrogen, is a terrific sequence, despite being symbolically onthe-nose. T2 does seem to set up larger battle set-pieces, but it frequently returns to smaller enclosed environments that made the first film so effective and claustrophobic. There are also some genuinely terrifying moments in this film, including Sarah Connor’s nightmarish daydream of an atom bomb being dropped on a city, feeding off nuclear paranoia, which brings the 1980s audience ever closer to her troubled character. Another scene sees Sarah become a sort of terminator herself, as she attempts to kill Skynet developer Miles Dyson to prevent the Terminator apocalypse that he will unknowingly cause. It’s a harrowing but enthralling place to take her character – and further shows how T2 develops on the original so well.

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Ellie Burridge Film Critic

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines The thirs instalment of the franchise is a cobbled-together rehash of concepts and story beats from the previous two films – perhaps the studio thought that in the 12 years between the release of T2 and T3, audiences would have forgotten enough that this would feel new. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the action sequences, some of which are inspired, but there’s nothing but emptiness underneath. The film most resembles the Terminators themselves, with a body of cold metal concealed by a thin layer of human skin. With James Cameron at the helm, these films had heart. His absence leaves a film occupied by flat characters and a contrived plot, kept afloat by unremitting violence and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s commitment to playing the role he was born to play. However, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor is sorely missed, and the audacity of T3 killing her off-screen is almost too much to bear. Rubbing salt in the wound is Claire Danes’ character, Kate Brewster, a bad copy of Sarah Connor from T1. John Connor even alludes to it, though the line, 'You remind me of my mother,' is a horrible addition given that Kate is meant to be his love interest. The relationship between John and Kate is perhaps the film’s weakest element. Their relationship is devoid of any chemistry, whereas in T1, Kyle and Sarah were characters you could root for as they had a real spark between them. T1 and T2 were, at their cores, character-driven stories with action sequences that hit even harder because you actually gave a damn about whether the people you were watching were going to survive. In T3, I might have celebrated if the sexy-ladyTerminator had succeeded in killing monumental bores John Connor and Kate Brewster. Which is why, even though Terminator: Dark Fate is sure to be awful, I’m at least glad that they had the decency to bring back the franchise’s shining light: Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor. The next step is to drag James Cameron, kicking and screaming, away from the Avatar series so that he can direct another good Terminator film.

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Amy O'Neill Film Editor

Terminator: Salvation Salvation is definitely not the best film of the franchise. It is simply bland, with a plot and screenplay that even the most talented actors in the cast such as Christian Bale (who only took the role out of spite), Helena Bonham Carter and Anton Yelchin struggled to bring to life. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic Terminator is sadly absent, creating a strange disjointedness to the film compared to the rest of the franchise; it just doesn’t feel as authentic without him. As the fourth instalment of the franchise, Terminator: Salvation takes a new direction, with another new director and cast to boot. Salvation follows a war between humans and Skynet in a postapocalyptic 2018, as John Connor (Bale) fights to keep his father Kyle Reese (Yelchin) and hundreds of human prisoners alive. It had a notoriously rocky start, with lawsuits over rights and Christian Bale allegedly being a diva on set (yelling at the DP for just stepping onto the set); and the problems clearly didn’t stop behind the scenes. There are some strong points – the action on the whole is good, if relentless, and there were attempts made at some depth. For example, in addressing the difficult choices leaders in war have to make and in navigating the tricky alliance between Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a cyborg, and the Resistance. However, the movie is just completely average. Possibly the fatal flaw of Salvation is that little of the threat seems genuine, and for an action movie this is about the worst thing that could happen. The action, whilst occasionally cinematically impressive, is too constant for any real tension to be built. Also, there is so little time spent on the characters – their stories, development and emotions – that they become one-dimensional, almost props in the wider war rather than people who have real stakes in it, detached from their appearances in the previous films. This is something that the earlier Terminator movies did well; the characters were believable and sympathetic, but this all seems to have disappeared here. I don’t think this movie was trying to be more than it is – a self-indulgent action film that’s a bit of fun for audiences to watch – but it’s a disappointment compared to its iconic predecessors.

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Matt Taylor Film Editor

Terminator: Genisys I will admit that this fifth instalment, Terminator: Genisys, is not as Ellen bad as Macleod many people would have believe. Not that it is Filmyou Writer good – far from it – but aspects of it are rather entertaining. The opening half-hour, for example, is quite enjoyable. Set after the apocalypse it is admittedly nothing we haven’t seen or heard about before, but it paves the way for some fun opening set-pieces, as well as an extremely intriguing development just as Kyle Reese is sent back to 1984. Here, however, is where things start to go off the rails. Emilia Clarke appears as a T2-style Sarah Connor, having had a T-800 as her protector since she was nine. Their dynamic is interesting. The decision to make Arnie a paternal figure for Sarah falls right in line with his dynamic with John in T2, but something doesn’t quite gel here. Perhaps it’s the stinted dialogue, which is never any good throughout the entire film.

“This fifth instalment ... is not as bad as many people would have you believe. Not that it is good – far from it” There’s also the fact that so little of it actually makes any sort of sense, no matter how much you think about it. What Genisys does is effectively wipe out the events of all the other Terminator films, to mixed results. So many plot beats are left dangling for the (now scrapped) sequels to pick up, and it is frustrating. The number of times the movie goes against its own rules of time travel is also infuriating – how hard can it be to stick to the rules you make in your own film? Everything that involves John Connor and Genisys/Skynet basically spits in the face of the original films: perhaps it’s better that this one is no longer canon.

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Terminator: Dark Fate is in cinemas now.

FILM

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbrickfilm

Review: Zombieland: Double Tap

Film Editor Matt Taylor finds out why it's always a good idea to go back for seconds Matt Taylor Film Editor

It isn’t often that belated movie sequels actually work. A handful might (Blade Runner 2049, Mad Max: Fury Road and the third and fourth Toy Story films spring to mind here), but many are either downright awful or mediocre enough to fade into obscurity. Thankfully for all involved, Zombieland: Double Tap, which comes to audiences a whole decade after the first film, is not one of those sequels. While it hardly improves upon the original (and it was admittedly never going to), Double Tap is almost exactly what fans have wanted from a sequel, doubling down on the humour and the gore, and playing to the strengths of the first film.

“Double Tap is almost exactly what fans have wanted from a sequel” We pick things up 10 years after the events of the first film, as the dysfunctional family of Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita and Little Rock (with Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, respectively, all reprising their roles from the first film) decide to live in style, and make a break for the White House. All is well until Little Rock makes off with an unknown boy (series newcomer Avan Jogia) and the rest of the gang must go after her before she gets in over her head. At Double Tap’s heart, as was the case with the first film, is family. How we interpret that

Sony Pictures

idea, and where we choose to find it, is up to us – that is the idea at the very centre of the film, and it carries it along fantastically. Columbus and Wichita have their own relationship issues to deal with, while Tallahassee has to grapple with the reality that, although he sees Little Rock as his daughter, she does not feel the same way about him. Throw in a love interest for Tallahassee (the ever-fantastic Rosario Dawson) and a spanner in the works for Columbus and Wichita in the shape of Zoey Deutch’s ‘dumb blonde’ Madison, and you end up with a movie that is, in essence, a family drama – just one that happens to take place in a zombie apocalypse. As with the first, Double Tap’s strength is in its humanity. Thanks to some great dialogue by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (returning to screenwriting duties from the first film) and solid performances from all involved, the slower scenes are just as, if not more, captivating than the film’s high-speed action scenes. A good deal of that is due to the film’s perfect cast. Since the first film was released in 2009, all four leads have gone on to become huge stars in their own right – something that made getting everyone together for a sequel extremely challenging. Nevertheless, fans can be glad they came back; each is perfectly suited to their character, yet again, and each character is given an obstacle to traverse. Eisenberg gives his best turn in a good few years as Columbus, whose relationship with Wichita turns messy around 15 minutes in. Columbus is just as practical as he was first time around, but has also learned to let his hair down a little – to consequences both good and bad. Tallahassee really takes to being a father figure to Little Rock (something made all the more poetic when

we remember the loss of his young son in the first film), and brings some big laughs while doing so. Harrelson is clearly having a great time, and his enthusiasm is utterly infectious. Wichita’s arc is somewhat a retread of what happened to her in the first film, but is still entertaining enough. Stone doubles down on the sarcasm and dry humour she brings to the character in a way that makes her even more endearing. Breslin is sadly left a little on the sidelines; an unfortunate side effect of Little Rock running away is that we don’t spend anywhere near as much time with her as we do with the other three, but her various scenes with them (in particular those with Wichita and Tallahassee) go some way to making up for this.

“The slower scenes are just as, if not more, captivating than the film's high-speed action scenes” Any good sequel should expand in some way, and Double Tap does this in two ways. The first of these is to add in some new characters, to mixed results, and the second is to evolve the zombies, resulting in so-called ‘T-800s’ that prove to be much harder to kill. The standout of the new characters is easily Rosario Dawson’s Nevada. Confident and flirtatious, she is more than a match for Tallahassee, and Dawson herself is clearly having a ball. While she admittedly doesn’t have a lot to do, she still manages to make her character memorable – a testament to just how good of an actress Dawson is. Luke

Wilson and Thomas Middleditch make fun little appearances as a duo who mirror Columbus and Tallahassee in every possible way, leading to the film’s highlight action sequence. Sadly, not all the new additions are great: Avan Jogia gets remarkably little to do as Berkeley, to such an extent that it’s unclear how Little Rock is attracted to him. His only characteristics seem to be that he is a mediocre musician and he carries a lot of weed. The most mixed of this mixed bag, however, is Zoey Deutch’s Madison. I’m still struggling to believe that in 2019, people are still buying into the ‘dumb blonde’ stereotype – didn’t this stop being funny a good few years ago? Deutch gives the character what she can, and at first she’s an amusing new presence, but that novelty quickly wears off once we realise Madison has nothing else to bring to the table. It says a lot about her character that the most interesting thing she does is pave the way for relationship drama between Columbus and Wichita. Other than that, she offers very little. In fairness, Madison is written to be deliberately annoying, as Tallahassee and Wichita both keep pointing out, but it feels as though Reese and Wernick have missed the sweet spot where the comedy lies in this. Luckily, Double Tap has plenty to distract you from the hit-and-miss characters – namely, a lot of blood and guts. Ruben Fleischer returns to direct and makes a solid impact, injecting the film with the same energy he brought to the first. Though at times he feels a tad self-indulgent (the film’s opening credits spring to mind here), he nonetheless directs with a steady hand, always knowing when to speed things up and slow things down – particularly in the film’s action sequences. As with the

first film, Fleischer smartly spreads them out here, but always delivers. When the action arrives, it is brutal, energetic and fun above all, and always full of great character moments – something that comes to the fore in the film’s climax (though the highlight is undoubtedly a stunning and hyper-stylised long take around the halfway mark). Oddly enough, we don’t quite realise how much we love these characters until we’re in very real danger of losing them. Scenes such as this are more moving than they have any right to be, and serve to further ground the film in the idea of family that drives it.

“When the action arrives, it is brutal, energetic and fun” That’s something that could be applied to Double Tap as a whole; despite its various shortcomings, including some lessthan-stellar new characters and a handful of running gags that don’t land all that well, we don’t really mind. Everything always comes back to family, and in an extremely enjoyable manner. In this sense, after such a long gap between the two films, Double Tap is better than it has any right to be, and it can absolutely join the Belated Sequel Hall of Fame. VERDICT: In spite of a few script issues and some undeniably annoying characters, Zombieland: Double Tap does more than enough to justify its existence. Funny, entertaining as hell, and genuinely moving, fans of the original can be glad that Rule #2 has been adhered to: always go back for seconds.

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TELEVISION

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbricktv

Drag Race UK: Shantay, You Stay TV Critic Sian Allen celebrates the British iteration of the popular American TV show Sian Allen

Television Critic

Start your engines - the RuPaul’s Drag Race phenomenon has finally arrived in the UK, with Ru promising in the series premiere to explore the ‘rich past and bright future of drag in the United Kingdom.’ Does the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK fulfil this promise so far?

“The core format of the show remains comfortingly familiar [...] filthy, funny and genuinely heartwarming”

Heartfelt, honest conversations about drag and identity are as integral to Drag Race as a death drop, and it’s reassuring to see all branches of the show continue to give the spotlight to LGBTQ+ experiences, especially as its audience becomes more and more mainstream. Many of Drag Race UK’s differences, however, actually serve to make it stronger - the inclusion of Untucked in the show itself rather than as a separate production is a refreshing and welcome change, that allows more viewers to see the queens at their most vulnerable and human while enjoying plenty of (fundamental) reading along the way. Starting with ten contestants rather than the American equivalent of fifteen

The core format of the show remains comfortingly familiar – an Emmy Award-winning combination of the filthy, funny and genuinely heartwarming. The hour-long episodes give the queens plenty of time to win your heart, be it through seriously stunning runway looks, hilarious acting performances, or emotional moments in the Werkroom, such as Scaredy Cat openly talking about her bisexuality or Sum Ting Wong not telling her parents she is a drag queen.

contestants in its eleventh season gives everyone a fighting chance to be memorable. Moreover, Alan Carr and Graham Norton are the perfect British counterparts to Ross Mathews and Carson Kressley as regulars on the judging panel, offering a healthy abundance of shade, terrible puns and dirty jokes. Somewhat predictably, Drag Race UK is almost every single British stereotype thrown into one show, whether the category is ‘Bond Girl Glamorama’ or the queens are acting in ‘Downton Draggy,’ you can guarantee there will be at least five references to the Queen before the episode is over. While this makes the show more accessible to global viewers, for UK audiences it does border on

RuPauls Drag Race UK

excessive or tiresome at some points, feeling less of a celebration of British culture and more of a parody. The same stereotypes are thankfully not reflected in the ten contestants, who have a wonderfully diverse range of accents and dialects that American audiences are going to struggle to understand even with subtitles. A large proportion of the queens are Southerners and it is easy to feel the absence of Scotland and Wales – the show can feel more like 'Drag Race London' especially with all the references to royalty. On the other hand, it’s a relief to see queens representing more obscure places like Wiltshire and Leicester in the 'Queen of Your Hometown' category, and Redbrick readers may particularly feel represented by Sum Ting Wong’s celebration of Birmingham with her Bullring-inspired look. While the queens themselves certainly represent the ‘bright future’ of UK drag, it would be interesting to see more references to drag history within the challenges. For example, a homage to drag really beginning in the UK with men playing the female roles in Shakespeare’s plays, (although we’d forgive Ru for not wanting a repeat of the infamous Shakesqueer acting challenge of Season seven) or a tribute to John Cooper (better known as Princess Seraphina), who is often considered the UK’s first drag queen. For now, I’m just excited to be able to recognise

more than two of the celebrity impersonations in Snatch Game, which is sure to pay tribute to past and present British icons. Ultimately, Drag Race UK is a refreshing break from the seemingly endless cycle of both regular Drag Race seasons and All Stars in the US. A lower budget and strict BBC regulations over sponsorship may mean that these queens won’t win huge cash prizes, or all-expense-paid holidays, but in essence, this successfully takes Drag Race back to its roots – unpolished, subversive and revolutionary. Even little things like adverts for the show playing right before Strictly Come Dancing (confusing nans across the nation in the process), feel like triumphs for LGBTQ+ representation.

“It remains unclear whether the show will represent the UK's rich drag history to the fullest extent” While it remains unclear whether the show will represent the UK’s rich drag history to the fullest extent quite yet, it certainly has a bright future.

Web Series: The Future of TV?

Will we soon be able to consider web series creators on par with big networks? Should we already? Amrita Mande considers what makes a series a series Amrita Mande Television Editor

It’s almost overwhelming to think of how much content is readily available at our fingertips. I remember when I was younger, you had to figure out when a series was playing and on what channel. I religiously sat down in front of my TV every afternoon to watch my favorite shows one episode at a time. If I missed an episode, all I could do was hope I caught the re-runs. It’s crazy how much television has changed since then. From being able to record programmes to the emergence of streaming platforms, TV today is almost unrecognisable from what it used to be. Streaming, in particular, revolutionized the medium, giving the consumer complete access to vast libraries of content, letting us stream what we want when we want it. To many of us, the idea of waiting a whole week for a single episode seems insane; we’re all about binging all the episodes in a single sitting.

Mention a new show to someone and their first question will probably be, ‘Is it on Netflix?’. These days it’s easy to forget that there are TV channels at all. With the release of so many new streaming services, the market is getting over-saturated and audiences are ready for the next big thing. This is where web series come in. Posted to online platforms like YouTube under channel names, web series have always been an alternative to TV though previously you might not have considered that due to the difference in quality. But YouTube is a fickle friend to content creators. The current

Pixabay

consensus among creators today is that YouTube’s algorithm has changed to reward longer videos with higher retention times to allow for more ads. This is what has pushed many creators to find a niche in long-form content. A creator that comes to mind is Shane Dawson who, after feeling discouraged with decreasing views, switched his content to longer, documentary-style videos where he explores a single topic with his signature humour. His most successful series to date is undoubtedly the five-episode series exploring Jeffree Star, a fellow YouTuber and the owner of Jeffree Star Cosmetics. The least -viewed episode got a whopping 21 million views, while the most viewed episode got a jaw-dropping 45 million views. These are numbers any TV network would kill for. But Dawson is just a part of the greater movement on YouTube. The beauty of web series is that they can be whatever the creator wants it to be, thus making a lot of the content completely unlike what we’ve seen before on television. Countless channels have

“The beauty of web-series is that they can be whatever the creator wants it to be” been able to successfully hit upon a successful series. The channel Ask A Mortician, run by Caitlin Doughty, has an amazing series called Iconic Corpses where she discusses the history behind the preserved remains of famous people, such as Vladimir Lenin and Eva Perón. Safiya Nygaard has an incredibly popular series called Bad Makeup Science Experiments where she mixes a bit of every makeup item she owns to see what happens. Even big companies have picked up on this rise in popularity, with Buzzfeed’s most popular series Worth It having 91 episodes. In each episode, the hosts go to three different restaurants or

stores all serving the same prodcts but at vastly different price points. Ordinarily, they try three different versions of the same food, though spin-offs have emerged, including a presenter getting three different tattoos at three different prices. Unlike TV networks which have to abide by restrictions, a web series is only limited by its creator’s imagination. It allows people to make series that audiences are incredibly engaged and interested in that have never been made before. There are series of all sorts, to appeal to those with even to most niche passions. You’ll be able to find comedy, horror, reality, educational and every genre in between. The experience of watching content on YouTube is unlike anything on traditional networks, or even Netflix. Episodes feel casual, with a generous dose of the host’s personality need to keep the energy levels high. There’s a personal connection between each member of the audience and content creator, making binge watching these videos a guilty pleasure.

TELEVISION

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbricktv

Dev-jà Vu?: Race on Strictly Ella Chadwick discusses the hurdles the contestants of colour face on Strictly Come Dancing Ella Chadwick Television Critic

In many ways, Strictly Come Dancing champions diversity: hiring professional dancers from across the globe, recruiting celebrities from all walks of life and giving its viewers a rich tapestry of culture through different dances. However, in some years the show’s black stars seem to have struggled in comparison to their white counterparts. In 2017, Alexandra Burke was frequently placed in the bottom two despite being the arguably the best dancer. In the same year, former JLS star Aston Merrygold was unexpectedly eliminated from the competition after being tipped as one of the bookies’ favourites to win.

“Dev seemed as if he'd have a promising run” On Sunday 13th October, it was revealed that Radio 1 DJ Dev Griffin and his dance partner Dianne Buswell would be the third couple to leave the competi-

tion after being in the dance-off against Emma Weymouth. This came as a shock to the Strictly fanbase; Dev seemed as if he’d have a promising run in the show’s seventeenth season. He had a natural knack for rhythm, a friendly demeanour and an ideal dance partner in Dianne Buswell, who had reached the Strictly final in 2018 with YouTuber Joe Sugg. His showstopping street commercial to Aladdin was already being termed a ‘Strictly classic’ by the official Strictly Come Dancing podcast host Kim Winston. There are other factors that contributed to Dev’s departure. Unfortunately, Dev’s dance this week, a Cha Cha to Sam Smith’s ‘Dancing With a Stranger’ failed to engage the judges, scoring him a meagre 27 points and placing him eighth on the leaderboard, despite achieving second the week before. In addition to this, Dev Griffin’s typical audience demographic of Radio 1 listeners hardly matches Strictly’s target audience. According to YouGov, BBC Radio One is most popular with millennials, meanwhile Strictly Come Dancing appeals more to the baby boomer demographic. Despite this, it cannot be ignored that both Dev and his

opponent in the dance off, Emma Weymouth, were black. Meanwhile, two celebrities who got lower scores from the judges, Chris Hollins and Will Bayley, were safe from the bottom two.

“In 2016, The BBC announced a diversity quota” It can be argued that the BBC has attempted to tackle the alleged race issue it faces. The show has had plenty of black celebrities who have danced themselves to victory, including Louis Smith in 2012, Ore Oduba in 2016 and Alesha Dixon in 2007 who even became a permanent fixture on the show as a judge from 2009 to 2011. Furthermore, 2019 marks the debut of new judge Motsi Mabuse, sister to Strictly professional Oti Mabuse. In 2016, the BBC announced a diversity quota stating its intention to have 15% of people on their channels be nonwhite by 2020 and, as 2019 draws to a close, it feels as if they are meeting that target. Despite this, it still feels like reality TV can have its

injustices, such as Dev Griffin’s premature departure from Strictly Come Dancing. The blame cannot wholly be placed on the BBC as they are taking strides towards portraying a more diverse range of people on our screens. A potential reason why black contestants do not fare as well on Strictly could be its core demographic, who perhaps aren’t as perceptive to celebrity figures from new generations. So for now, it looks as if Strictly’s contestants will have to ‘Keep dancing!’ until a new, more open-hearted generation of viewers become more engaged with the show.

Top TV Picks for February

BoJack Horseman

BoJack Horseman Netflix 25th October

Queer Eye

BBC/ GUY LEVY

Queer Eye: We're in Japan! Netflix 1st November

Review: Big Mouth This Netflix Original comes back for season three better than ever Anoushka Nair Television Critic

Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg and Mark Levin are back with the third season of their hit show Big Mouth. After giving us a sneak peek in February with a surprise Valentine’s episode, the writers have kept their audience on the edge of their seats, in anticipation to see what crazy teenage antics besties, Nick Birch and Andrew Glouberman, along with the rest of the gang, are getting up to. Released on Netflix on 4th October 2019, season three consists of ten episodes set in the spring term of Bridgeton Middle School. In case you haven’t been introduced to the world of Big Mouth, the animated show follows the early to pre-pubescent lives of Andrew Glouberman (John Mulaney) and Nick Birch (Nick Kroll), as they navigate through middle school and their new-found endeavour into all things hormone-related. The tweens are accompanied in each episode by their

respective hormone monsters, voiced by Nick Kroll and Maya Rudolph, who join a stellar cast of Saturday Night Live alum such as Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig and Jenny Slate, as well as a handful of other great comedic voices such as Jason Mantzoukas and Jessi Klein. With each episode lasting around thirty minutes, a quick binge of all three seasons should only take a weekend. - perhaps even a short 24 hours for any professional bingers out there. The first episode, ‘My Furry Valentine’ addresses the struggle of being single on Valentine’s Day. The season continues this theme of focusing on social phenomena as the next three episodes shine a light on dress-codes, sexual harassment, the dangers of social media, the toxicity of mobile phones, pansexuality, ADHD and Adderall addiction. Season three succesfully references popular culture such as ‘Florida’ which takes inspiration from Game of Thrones as Andrew’s storyline dipps into incestuous scenarios, and episode ten even features a special appearance from Queer Eye’s Fab Five. The episode ‘Duke’ pays homage to the show’s most random character, played by Jordan Peele, and takes us to 1913 with a

Big Mouth

history lesson on the great Duke Ellington. Finally, piggybacking on the recent success of superhero flicks, the season’s final episode gives each character a superpower, and fits the trope of superhero movies by leaving the season on a cliffhanger. This allows for the anticipation of the sequel, or in this case the following season. The show also proves it can be appreciated by a more mature audience by introducing the subject of menopause that will likely be further explored in the following season. Along with compelling topical themes, the third season returns with a collection of recognisable names. Notably, Gina Rodriguez in the role of Gina, the early-developed new girl and David Thewlis in his role as the Shame Wizard. Both actors return in this third season along with Thandie Newton as Missy’s new hormone monster, Mona, Ali Wong as Ali the pansexual tween, Martin Short, Carol Kane and Chelsea Peretti. If that’s not enough to make you watch the third season then perhaps the witty, uncencensored writing will. One could liken the show’s humour to other animated greats such as Archer, Paradise PD and South Park, yet it is incomparable in terms of the show’s intelligent balance of inappropriate humour and engagement

towards contemporary issues. The show is woke without being overly pretentious and makes light of topics that perhaps require a softer interpretation. Overall, season three does not disappoint and manages to match, or rather, elevate the quality of previous seasons, leaving the audience pining for the fourth season. I would give the season five stars for consistent humour and writing throughout all eleven episodes, good development of characters as well as further development of secondary characters such as Missy, Matthew and Duke Ellington who have rightfully earned more screentime, and for touching on topics with a refreshing and comical tone. Be sure to check out season three of Big Mouth on Netflix now and keep an eye out for Kristen Wiig’s iconic return as a talking Vagina. All three seasons of Big Mouth are now available for streaming on Netflix

«««««

His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials BBC1 3rd November

Channel 4

The End of The F***ing World Channel 4 4th November

GAMING

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbrickgaming

AlphaDream: From Bowser to Bust Writer Kieren Platts charts the history of RPG developers AlphaDream, who sadly filed for bankruptcy this month Gaming Writer @KPFakeAccount

“It was Mario and Luigi as you’d never seen them before” As for narrative, the breath of fresh air provided in this 20-hour long romp is staggering. Love is sprinkled everywhere, from the first proper appearance of the Koopalings since Super Mario World in 1990 to allusions to the RPG genre as a whole (Geno, anyone?). AlphaDream’s success is owed entirely to the team behind it. Superstar Saga was directed by RPG director Yoshihiko Maekawa (Final Fantasy III, V, Anthology, Super Mario RPG), and overseen by Mizuno as well as Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto himself. Superstar Saga was also the big break for writer and designer Hiroyuki Kubota, who would go on to direct the rest of the Mario & Luigi games. Designer Chihiro Fukioka (Earthbound, Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, Super Mario RPG) followed Mizuno’s wake in leaving Square, and has worked on level design in every M&L game. Composer Yoko Shimomura wrote the score for the series, with an already impressive credits list: (Street Fighter II, Final Fight, Kingdom Hearts, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Final Fantasy XV, to name just a few). And finally, Toshizo Morikawa, single-handedly defining the art style for the series, combining the 2D concept art of 90s Mario with 3D 2000s Mario.

The result is a vibrant, inked aesthetic that suits both cartoonish and menacing scenes. With an allstar team and a fresh take on the most iconic character in video game history, how could AlphaDream fail? Once sales had hit the million mark, it was absolutely time for a sequel. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is bigger, brighter and better in almost every single way, releasing in 2005 for the DS. Partnering up the brothers with their baby counterparts, flitting between past and present, with even more battle mechanics and even more characters. More worlds, more bosses, more screens, more jokes, more story, more everything. AlphaDream doubles down on the comedy-adventure in a game that feels twice as big as its predecessor, shifting 1.4 million copies by mid-2007. The visuals, one of the many high points of the series, sees itself refined here, and deep below Peach’s Castle, there’s a big hint that we haven’t seen the last of the series yet. By July 2007, PiT had sold nearly 1.4 million copies worldwide. Having returned to AlphaDream’s own Hamtaro series in 2008, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story was next for the DS in 2009, frequently polling as one of the best games on the entire system. Adding Bowser to your team? Let’s do it. Multilayered plot? Can’t wait. Exploring the insides of Bowser’s anatomy and taking back his castle from an old enemy? Collecting block-shaped kittens? Awakening a dark and mystical power that has slumbered since the founding of the Mushroom Kingdom, with the best

final battle theme song ever written? Everyone was in. There’s a reason Bowser’s Inside Story is so well received; AlphaDream now had history. With Mizuno and Miyamoto gone, the series was now in the hands of those whose careers M&L had shaped in the first place. Now studio director, Kubota had seen his creations grow up alongside himself. Mario & Luigi was now seven years old, and each entry showed increased maturity. Bowser’s Inside Story balanced a sense of humour with the dark, the tragic, and the impactful. Critical acclaim was met, the games had their own lore, AlphaDream had grown up, and Kubota’s vision paid off 4.1 million times. 4.1 million units sold, worldwide, in just two years. 4.1 million people eagerly anticipating what story he’d tell next, his new characters, what worlds he’d take them to. AlphaDream had made it, and Mario & Luigi showed no signs of slowing down.

“...each entry showed increased maturity” Enter the 3DS’s new hardware capabilities, and in 2013 Mario & Luigi: Dream Team brought fresh takes on the battle system in particular. 3D, both the visual effect and virtual space, was utilised, some still holding the game as the best use of 3 D o n

Jackbox Games

Tissues at the ready. On Wednesday, 2nd October 2019, the world woke up to the news that AlphaDream had filed for bankruptcy. Personally speaking, AlphaDream games were some of the seminal games that I grew up with. My taste in, well, everything, would not be the same as it is today if not for their games. But, more broadly speaking, AlphaDream’s games always tended to straddle the line between badly-kept-secrets and mainstream success - it’s difficult to place exactly where their role even within Nintendo was. So, like a dead celebrity whose music you never really paid much attention to, it’s time to put AlphaDream in the spotlight for what could just be the last time. AlphaDream (originally Alpha Star) entered game development in 2000, founded by Tetsuo Mizuno, President of Square during the ‘golden era’ of RPGs in the 90s. Mizuno oversaw production of Final Fantasy V through VII, as well as Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and the original Super Mario RPG for SNES. An impressive background, to say the least, and even upon leaving Square, Mizuno was not yet finished with RPGs. AlphaDream quickly became a second party developer for Nintendo, following a couple of Japan-only titles which served as proofs of concept for the explosively successful Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Gameboy Advance in 2003. It was Mario and Luigi as they’d never been seen before. A diplomatic ceremony between the Mushroom Kingdom and the Bean-Bean Kingdom, when suddenly the Beanish witch Cackletta and her minion, Fawful, steal Princess Peach’s voice. The two moustachioed plumbers must traverse the Bean-bean Kingdom, encounter characters both familiar and new, on a turn-basedbattle quest to restore Peach to her former self and stop Cackletta’s ultimate plan. I’m sorry, did you say something? Yeah, that is a weird plot for a Mario game, isn’t it? Let’s back up for a second. The Mario & Luigi series is not the same as the Mario series, where running, jumping and power-ups are expected. AlphaDream’s genius in Superstar Saga is in repurposing these familiar characters and mechanics so that they all fit into a turn-based RPG, all the while telling an utterly compelling, completely unique – and yet so Mario – story. The battles are half-rhythm based, half-party based, an evolution of

Super Mario RPG, yet infinitely more fluid and satisfying to play. Mario and Luigi may attack independently, use items, or use teamup moves, similar to Chrono Trigger, and it just clicks.

Team17

Kieren Platts

Nintendo

the console’s entire library. But where there was celebration, there was also concern. Instead of going bigger, Dream Team took a much simpler direction. The new fuzzy art-style, while beautiful, was less suited to character-comedy. Reusing locations led to tedium. Fetch quests and a formulaic secondary dream-world with no focus on exploration, combined with the tropical island setting; it’s what Super Mario Sunshine was to Super Mario 64. Regardless, the game sold especially well for a two-year-old console, with 2.8 million units within a year of its release, but there’s no doubt that the M&L ball had been fumbled, yet not quite dropped. And hey, Sunshine was followed up by Galaxy, so a return back to form was inevitable. Another game was already in development: 2015’s Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. With every game since 2007, the Paper Mario series has famously disappointed fans with its oversimplification of the turn-based action and RPG mechanics, as well as a barebones story. It was a scenario that was worryingly familiar, and a crossover between the two series could mean one of two things: pulling Paper Mario up, or dragging M&L down. Paper Jam still reviewed relatively favourably, but with the same phrases cropping up in reviews - ‘tedium,’ ‘hand-holding,’ ‘repetitive.’ It wasn’t enough, and many fans skipped the game altogether. Four years later, Paper Jam is still the only M&L game to not pass one million sales. It’s unsurprising then that AlphaDream, with its increasing staff, elected to remake Superstar Saga (2017) and Bowser’s Inside Story (2019) for 3DS as its next two releases. But, with the Switch’s dominance and the 3DS’s lifespan waning, the remakes sold embarrassingly modestly. AlphaDream were now outsourcing 3D sequences and additional gameplay elements to other developers, and though the budgets were increasing, income was not. On 1st October 2019, it was revealed that AlphaDream were in debt of ¥465m (£3.5m) and had filed for bankruptcy. Perhaps Nintendo would bail them out? It wasn’t unheard of. But as it stood, AlphaDream were making no money and critically unremarkable games. After nineteen years, it seems like they’re done. What next for the team members? And what of Mario & Luigi? AlphaDream’s journey from reinventing the most famous video game franchise in the world to dooming themselves into mediocrity is a sombre story indeed. So, here’s to that original team, and their wonderful world of serious and silly. Proving to the world that the Mario Bros. may just be at their best when telling stories no-one expected to be told.

GAMING

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbrickgaming

Impressions: Cyberpunk 2077 EGX Demo Editor Alex Green previews the behind-closed-doors Cyberpunk 2077 demo at this year’s EGX

Redbrick's Top 5

Plants vs Zombies Games

5 Plants vs. Zombies Heroes

With EGX rolling around once again, it’s clear how massive CD Projekt Red have become in the game landscape. The theatre for a 45-minute behind closed doors demo dominates the ExCeL centre, bright yellow walls with tattered futuristic posters towering over as one of this year’s biggest attractions. With good reason; Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most highly anticipated games of the next year after numerous trailers, promises and breath-taking Keanu Reeves appearances at E3. So, what does this demo tell us about the studio’s next big thing? Well, this demo (of which we have no images due to it being behind closed doors), featured a mission in which protagonist V, accompanied by John Wick looka-like Johnny Silverhand, has to meet with a gang called the Voodoo Boys to contact their leader, Brigitte. Of course, things are not that simple. Thus begins exploration of their home Pacifica, a district in the game’s location of Night City and a dangerous mission to an abandoned mall to remove a rival gang, the Animals, and get a meeting to find the information about why you are being haunted by Keanu Reeves. If this sounds familiar, it highlights a certain sense of familiarity with Cyberpunk’s gameplay. This makes sense, after all; CD Projekt Red made The Witcher series, so are all about cramming their games with tonnes of missions, diversions and content. Where Cyberpunk 2077 is looking to differentiate itself is in the setting of Night City and story. What is given here is extremely intriguing. Pacifica as a region is fascinating, full of lore right off the bat as a planned paradise for the rich and famous before the project was

know how this works. These range from skills like reflexes and intelligence for stealthier players, to tactical for the more gun-toting players roaming the city. Regardless, these points can actually prevent you from accessing certain routes through a level, which was shown in this demo. A version of V which was built for stealth couldn’t access a different hallway to bypass a camera as they didn’t have the necessary athletics score. Armor and weapons each have rarity with clearly visible stats on the specific damage per second they do. In a continuation of modern gaming trends, damage numbers appear above enemies’ heads when doing said damage. For all the promises of freedom to tackle the game how you wish, some levels funnel down a certain pathway because of your skills and the constraints of number values. Now whilst you can choose these skills, this could become frustrating in the late game if certain missions lean into one skill or the other that your character isn’t optimised for. This is a common RPG problem and the developers have the pedigree to navigate these issues (probably by allowing players to redo their points) but unless the gameplay is truly gripping in every way, players may tire of the happenings in Night City by hour 40 if every mission is just a sandbox within a sandbox. Within all this is the opportunity for potential fulfilled. Cyberpunk 2077 is guaranteed to have a world that will astound in the visual and thematic sense. Night City could be a great place to spend some time with that famous celebrity friend, a place full of danger and intrigue. Hopefully, the night will be long as opposed to a night that ends early because you get through everything the night has to offer before it’s over.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 EA

Gaming Editor @AlexGreen9898

abandoned and left to rot. Since, a the wealthier organisations in large Haitian community, and the Night City. These lead to unique gangs seen, have moved into the dialogue options with NPCs in the area. These design decisions give branching conversations you’ll Pacifica a feeling of integrated have. Adding these touches just oddities. Driving through on a gives an additional immersion to motorcycle in the demo, we ride the world and the way your presthrough various homeless slums ence is treated will hopefully give against abandoned fancy hotels. It Cyberpunk further detail. makes staring into the open landWhilst the icing and flavourscapes especially great, with ing on this cake is truly mouthexcellent attention to detail given watering, what about the centre? to some superb lighting with the In terms of gameplay, one has to game’s day and night cycle aiding wonder if CD Projekt Red’s develin this effort. However, whilst the opment of the world has got in the outsides are truly great, it some- way of innovation on the gametimes pays to look inward. In this play front. This isn’t to say the case, Cyberpunk 2077 has some demo didn’t show off cool comexpertly crafted interiors. A butch- bat. Clearing out the Animals er’s shop remade into a futuristic from the Grand Imperial Mall garage is full of grime and isn’t a simple shootout. You disuse, tools littering the can enter in different place. An old hotel routes, using stealth to transformed into a evade enemies and market area has CD Projekt Red shades of pinks claim the game can and purples illube beaten without minating its walls. a single drop of years since The abandoned blood spilled. The mall has many in-game networks Cyberpunk 2077 slickly designed allow you to hack was first walkways and large all sorts of objects announced spacious halls with to cause distractions, ornate statues. Add to even being able to this multiple districts, hack weights to trap radio stations and vendors unwary enemies when they with unique items, and Night City go to ‘bench’. This certainly gives could be one of the most varied me a second thought on going to and thematically unique locations gyms. You can contrast this by in modern video games. going in all guns blazing, using Beyond this, character cus- your hacking skills to hack turrets tomization looks like a promising and other environmental items. thing. The character creator we Add to this other abilities such as were shown in the demo was nano-wires and hacking individufairly solid and in-depth and one al minds and the combat has plenwould think that more options ty of versatility. However, there is will be added closer to launch. a central problem with the However, Cyberpunk 2077 will Cyberpunk 2077 demo: it is a add to recent RPG trends with the numbers game through and option of a background. The three through. shown in the demo were: Street At the start of the demo, we Kid, a character having to get see our version of V get attribute back with very little and just sur- points to spend on six different vive; Nomad, a character shifting areas. For those who are fans of with the game’s gangs and the Cyberpunk board game of Corporate, coming from one of which this is based on, they will

3 Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 EA

Alex Green

2 Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighbourville

CD Projekt Red

Plants vs. Zombies

FOOD&DRINK

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbrickfood

Making New Term Resolutions Food&Drink Writer Georgina Bissett shares her food-related goals for the new uni year Georgina Bissett Food&Drink Writer

Tracy Benjamin

Starting university involves a host of new things; new people, new places and, for many, the start of having to do your own cleaning, washing, and cooking. In first year I lived in meal plan accommodation, so I didn’t have to worry about the last part. The ability to go and get food, ready in front of me, every day was certainly something I took for granted. Faced with the new challenge of cooking for myself, and before doing my first food shop of the year, I began to think to myself about setting some ‘food resolutions’ or personal ground rules about how I intend to shop, cook, and eat. These resolutions for the new academic year will hopefully not be as notoriously difficult to stick to as many people’s often unrealistic New Year’s resolutions. I am starting as I mean to go on, and whatever the outcome, here’s what I am aiming to do: 1. Eat vegetarian Fortunately, for many reasons, vegetarianism and veganism are becoming more and more widespread. It is not something I have previously been able to rigidly stick to, but now, with the agency of doing my own weekly shop, I am embarking on a new vegetarian journey. For a student it is far more budget-friendly. Filling up on vegetables is also much healthier and, as widely publicised, significantly better for our planet, which is my primary reason for this resolution. 2. Buy less This one is less of a resolution and more something I have discovered whilst peering into my fridge and discovering that I had several ingredients hidden behind other things needing to be used up. Less is certainly more as it prevents waste and saves money, with everything purchased being used up. It is very easy in a large supermarket to overestimate the

amount of food you need in a week. Food seems to go out of date incredibly quickly, so keeping tabs on the expiry date is important. This can often lead to interesting and exciting new flavour combinations from the mishmash of ingredients thrown into a dish at the last minute. 3. Prepare food in advance Following the above point, it is easy for produce to go out of date before you have had a chance to cook with those specific ingredients. Personally, I have found that if I am making a meal I often end up overestimating portion sizes, so deliberately cooking more than intended means you can eat the leftovers for dinner the next day, or for lunch on campus. Meal-prepping also creates so much time during the week if your meal has already been made; it is a very welcome thing when returning from a long day of lectures. 4. Don’t buy drunk food At the end of a night out, there is nothing better than some nice cheesy chips or some nuggets. The abundance of chicken shops also makes the first resolution of eating vegetarian more tempting to break. However, coming home with your friends and putting some frozen chips in the oven is so much kinder to your bank account than overpriced, low quality, low hygiene-rated drunk food. 5. Bring a packed lunch If you compare the price of a weekly food shop with a burrito on campus, or a burger from Joe’s Bar, you will notice that one meal can end up being around half as much as two bags of shopping. Bringing leftovers from the night before or making a quick sandwich in the morning is far cheaper for your bank account, and you can avoid the huge queues all over campus when Old Joe strikes 12pm.

Review: The Great British Bake Off

Deputy Editor Emily Calder questions whether the tenth series of the show has been a showstopper or a soggy bottom Emily Calder Deputy Editor

In spite of a promising start with angel cake slices and dream-like birthday cakes, I cannot deny that as this year’s series of The Great British Bake Off has progressed, it has undoubtedly lost its way. The bakers themselves have been generally likeable, a rather key component that has always sold the series; I think any Bake Off fan has fond memories of previous contestants like Selasi and Tamal, whose comments as their bakes progress (or fail to do so) have been the icing on the cake of the series. This year we’ve had Henry’s smart quips and habit of wearing ties every week, and the gorgeous Michael displaying his emotional rollercoasters throughout the challenges.

“Yet as the series nears its end, the bakers we are left with don’t seem particularly incredible” Yet as the series nears its end, the bakers that we are left with don’t seem particularly incredible. Whilst Steph managed to bag herself star baker for three weeks in a row, none of her creations have been particularly jaw-dropping if you compare them to some of the show-stopping bakes we have seen in previous series. Yet this issue may not lie with the bakers, who are competently taking on some tough challenges, but is perhaps innate in the challenges themselves. One key issue is that this year’s technical challenges have been rather shocking. They have spiralled from the familiar fig roll to the incredibly indistinct Maids

Rita E

of Honour and Beignet Souffles, resulting in generally poor results. The challenges being issued are often so obscure that the tent is filled with bakers making something that they haven’t even seen or heard of before, only to be savaged by Paul Hollywood when their efforts fall flat. The savage judging as Hollywood has jokingly threatened to leave the tent and deemed bakes ‘horrible,’ when none of the results are usually colossally bad, takes away from Bake Off’s signature wholesome touch and has left me with a bad aftertaste.

“The consequent shock of the double elimination in week five left many viewers glazed over” The structure of this series additionally seems half-baked. The prospect of an extra baker being added to the tent in honour of it being the tenth series is an

“Will these resolutions immediately be broken?” Will these resolutions immediately be broken? Hopefully not, however we all have moments when we cave, or crave something a bit different. I intend to use these resolutions as a basis for exploring new recipes, mastering what exactly I need to buy each week, and finding my groove with cooking for myself.

exciting and well-natured idea that promised further competition and excitement. Yet the consequent shock of the double elimination in week five left many viewers glazed over as they said goodbye to both Helena and Michelle with little warning. This year’s themes have also on the whole failed to rise to the challenge. This is evident in the fact that the classic themes – dairy, bread, biscuits – have all been fairly solid in their tasks and results. Yet what is perhaps an attempt to jazz the show up with themes like the Roaring Twenties and festivals is a far cry from past themes like patisserie and vegan, which actually induced exciting creations rather than feelings of confusion and dread. Attempts at obscurities such as the festivalthemed technical of Sicillian Cassatelles (a pastry in which the main ingredient is, daringly, ricotta) have, rather than exciting or inspiring me, left me longing for the days of Mary Berry judging a simple Victoria Sponge.

“All in all, Bake Off has cooked up a mostly disappointing serving of episodes in its most recent series” All in all, Bake Off has cooked up a mostly disappointing serving of episodes in its most recent series. It still has its winning recipe (the structure that we know and love and the inherent homely, jokey feel are certainly still there), yet the components are not quite right. Whilst I will keep tuning in for the familiarity, I will be surprised if the series manages to resurrect itself by the end.

HolmesPJ

FOOD&DRINK

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbrickfood

Are Food Debates a Trick or Treat? Food&Drink Writer Lucy Allen turns over the reasons why the public love a debate about food so much, and what role they play in our lives Lucy Allen Food&Drink Writer

As Halloween nears you may hear the calls of trick or treaters asking us to choose between something sweet and satisfying, or a far more unpleasant alternative. Much like the meal decision over whether to have a starter or dessert (or both), questions over food frequently play a role in our daily lives, and not just around Halloween.

“When was it that we all started to get so heated about what is on the plates in front of us?” From the more obscure questions such as ‘is pizza simply glorified toast?’ to the trivialities of whether you keep ketchup in

the fridge or in the cupboard, food debates have become the bread and butter of dinner table discussions. When was it that we all started to get so heated about what is on the plates that are in front of us? If you were to Google food debates you would find that 127,000,000 results come up, so evidently there are many opinions on this subject matter. Clearly it is not just around Halloween that we place binary questions around our food habits. Commonly debated questions explore the matters of pineapple on pizza, whether a hot dog is a sandwich, whether you put milk or cereal in the bowl first, and whether you take your coffee black or white. With all of these questions, it’s no wonder so many people struggle with what we should and shouldn’t be doing with our food and nutrition. Perhaps all of this debate is playing a factor in contributing to the 28.7% obesity rate of adults in England (according to the parliament.uk website)? Are some of us indulging in more treats and missing a trick or two? However, is there another

side to the disputes? As a result of this being a topic of such passion to the public, big brands such as Marmite have jumped on the nation’s love of debating food. They have instigated their own table-time chaos (or should we call it Marm-ageddon?) and frequented the shelves of our supermarkets with decisions over

Bill Bradford

whether to love or hate the strong spread. Even scientists are getting involved in the debate, with the Marmite Gene Project being a study of whether one’s preference for brown yeast extract is in fact down to your genetics. Maybe there is more to these trivialities than we once thought? Genes aside, you can’t deny that the passion evoked by debating foods is an excellent PR tool. Over £500,000 worth of Marmite is being sold weekly, largely due to the huge campaign that has become as synonymous with the brand as the name itself. So why do we care so much about what another person may or may not keep in the fridge? Why do we question how others choose to fuel themselves, or in what combination they do? Could it be that food is so ingrained into our daily lives that it becomes a part of us, as much as we associate with being known for a personality trait or having a unique hobby. Maybe our food is more of a fibre of our being than we think, and forms that connection needed

to belong amongst our peers, or to stand out from the crowd.

“Could it be that food is so ingrained into our daily lives thatit becomes a part of us,as much as we associate with being known for a personality trait” So next time you are sitting down to debate the plates we are eating perhaps think to yourself, what is it about the side we fall on that makes us unique, and does this provide us with an insight into further aspects of our personality that we may not even realise? Clearly it is what is on the inside that truly counts. So, trick... or treat?

Food of the Foodnight: Canelé de Bordeaux and Spiced Rum

Food&Drink Writer Toby Fenton cooked up a French patisserie storm and paired these treats with a spiced rum perfect for an autumnal tipple Toby Fenton

– see recipe below)

Food&Drink Writer

Canelé de Bordeaux Recipe These French pastries come from Bordeaux in the south-west of the country and are flavoured with rum and vanilla. They have a very caramelised and crunchy outside, contrasted with a soft, custardy centre. It is this contrast, along with their delicious flavour, that makes them such a delightful treat. However, I must warn you, once you have had one homemade canelé they are rather addictive!

“They are rather addictive” One thing to note is that you will require specific canelé moulds to get the authentic shape and caramelisation. Traditionally they are made in copper moulds, but I used a silicon mould which seemed to work just as well. Ingredients: 500ml whole milk 50g butter 1 vanilla pod, split in half and

seeds scraped out 100g plain flour 250g caster sugar 1tsp salt 2 whole eggs 2 egg yolks 60ml dark rum (or spiced rum

Method: 1. Heat the milk, butter, and the vanilla pod & seeds in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and allow to cool a little. 2. Place the flour, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl, and in a separate bowl lightly beat together Toby Fenton the whole eggs and egg yolks. 3. Pour both the eggs and warm milk mixture into the dry ingredients, then whisk everything gently until combined into a smooth batter. 4. Strain this batter through a

sieve into another bowl, then stir through the rum and return the used vanilla pod. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least a day (two days is best). 4. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 240oC. Then remove the batter from the fridge and gently stir together. Pour the batter into the moulds, leaving about 0.5cm from the top empty to allow for a rise. 5. Bake for 10-15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 190oC and bake for 55 minutes to an hour, until they are a deep golden colour. 6. When baked, immediately remove the canelés from their moulds and allow to cool on a wire rack. Homemade Spiced Rum Recipe Ingredients: 1 bottle dark rum (750ml) I vanilla pod 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced 1 stick of cinnamon 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg 3 cloves 2 pieces of orange peel 5 allspice berries 5 black peppercorns

Method: 1. Slice the vanilla pod in half and add the remaining ingredients into the bottle of dark rum, then leave to sit for at least a week. I left mine for at least a year before I made these canelés!

Toby Fenton

TRAVEL

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbricktravel

Travelling with Invisible Disabilities Memoonah Hussain shares the difficulties of travelling with an invisible disability Memoonah Hussain

Travel Writer

Cairns Airport, 4.20 am: ‘Don’t you know there’s a queue?’ Jokingly, I replied: ‘I don’t follow the rules.’ My roommate of two nights scoffed, looking disgusted while the airline staff member returned to take me to the check-in desk.

to think clearly; I can’t stand for long, I sometimes can’t walk, severe chest pain, I can’t keep my back straight, I can’t carry weight, I have problems with my hands, I’m always in constant widespread chronic pain, and I suffer from extreme chronic exhaustion. But you wouldn’t be able to tell this just by looking at me. Travelling with invisible disabilities is difficult, especially because they’re invisible. And the difficulty is the same whether I’m travelling alone or with friends. Bambi Corro

If you look at me, all you will see is a short brown girl wrapped in many layers of clothing who looks 16 (although I’m actually 21). I don’t look much different to another normal person. And that’s the problem. I look normal.

“I don't look much different to another normal person. And that's the problem. I look normal” At most airports I’ll be asked whether the special assistance is actually for me. I’m not annoyed by this question. I don’t have a walking stick or a wheelchair and I’m young, so one doesn’t expect someone like me to request special assistance. I do, however, become disappointed when I’m asked for what reason I need it because it’s normally one of those airline staff members who doesn’t allow a single gram above the luggage allowance. But normally I’ll volunteer that information anyway because I’m quite open about my health issues. I have a lot of health issues and recently I’ve started joking I should play bingo because I’m having to write about 20 or so things down in the pre-existing problems form. I guess I could sum it up with the following: benign joint hypermobility syndrome, costochondritis, migraines, central sensitivity syndrome and fibromyalgia. As a result of these conditions some of the side effects include: brain fog and an inability

There are difficulties from once you’ve booked your ticket to flying, accommodation and sightseeing. These are just some of the complications of travelling with invisible disabilities that I’ve faced: After booking my flights, I have to ring the airline to request special assistance. Frustratingly, every airport in every country has different procedures for special assistance. As an English speaker, it’s easier to navigate this in English speaking countries or if the staff at the check-in counter have a professional working proficiency in English. I experienced issues when I was flying back to the UK from Bucharest, Romania. Despite having had called the airline to ensure assistance, at the check-in counter I wasn’t told to go to the special assistance desk meaning there was no assistance in place. My friends had to help me with my hand luggage when boarding and a very kind stranger carried my bag up the stairs at Luton Airport after on-site staff refused to assist further. I consider myself to be incredibly fortunate that the lady who assisted me a week earlier on my flight to Romania was working at border control and recognised me. She helped fast-track me through border control. If she had not been there, I strongly doubt I would have been assisted. It’s also really exhausting for me to travel. Having to reweigh my luggage countless times because I keep going over the allowance takes a huge toll on my body before I’ve even set foot on the plane. Then there’s the issue of getting the luggage from the taxi (if I’m travelling alone) to the check-in counter. When I returned home from Melbourne, I had two large suitcases weighing just over

32kg, 4 - 5kg in my purse, a 10kg hand luggage duffle bag, and a 2kg laptop. I don’t know how I managed to drag this to the checkin counter apart from constantly stopping to take a break and clutching my chest. I was also over my luggage allowance, so that took a good twenty minutes of lifting and dragging heavy bags multiple times. By the time I had finally booked my luggage in I was absolutely drained and had a lot of chest pain.

“I should play bingo because I'm having to write about 20 or so things down in the pre-existing problems form” But it’s not just getting to the airport and dealing with baggage that’s an issue. The flight itself is problematic. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an hour flight or an eighteen hour flight, both are physically and mentally gruelling for me. Of course, a longer journey time impacts me more. It can take me over a week to get over the jetlag but when you’re meant to be sightseeing and have limited time and a tiny budget, you can’t really spend a week in bed. Buses such as Greyhound also pose similar issues to flying, especially when you’re stuck in a small space for fifteen hours. The seats on planes and buses are not very disability friendly. Space is tight, and I end up having to contort my body in weird and uncomfortable ways to deal with any pain that’s been caused by sitting in these seats. The dream is always two seats or an entire row to yourself so you can lie down across the seats. But, unfortunately, on most international flights this is a scarcity and you won’t be lucky enough. I’ve been told to pay for business class seats by a large international airline if my disability impacts my ability to sit on economy seats, but this is something I, like most, simply cannot afford. This also calls into question whether this is discriminatory towards people with disabilities.

“Throughout the entire journey I'm having to struggle with the pain and once I've returned home the pain can last for weeks” Once you arrive to your destination, there’s the issue of getting to your accommodation and the accommodation itself. I have had hostels attempt to charge me extra to move to a smaller dorm size so

I can obtain a bottom bunk because I physically can’t get up and off a top bunk. One hostel told me I should pay for a private room and that they would tell someone in a wheelchair to pay for a private room so they don’t end up being in a top bunk. After one hostel manager (in a different hostel) called me 'unreasonable' for refusing to pay AU$5 extra for the room change, I called Australian Human Rights who advised me on the 2010 Equal Opportunities Act. They recommended that, if I were told to pay extra, I should tell the hostel to call Australian Human Rights. They would then inform the hostel that it would be discriminatory for me to be charged extra in this situation. Sometimes you get very inconsiderate roommates. The girl who scoffed at my ‘I don’t follow the rules’ joke and her friend were adamant that the air conditioning was not on despite the nights being horrifically cold. My bunk was right under the air conditioning, meaning I was getting a significant amount of the cold air hitting me and this was causing severe chest pain. I informed them of this so they switched it off, only to switch it back on shortly after as one of the girls was in the bunk above me and could easily reach the switch. It was by pure luck we had the same flight to Melbourne booked, meaning we could split the fare to the airport so that we saved a lot of money. And then you have the difficulties with actually exploring the beautiful city you’ve arrived in. As I can’t stand in one place for too long, there are times where I have sat on the ground or road because there are no seats at the bus or tram stops. When it comes to seeing the breathtaking viewpoints in national parks, I have to take frequent rest breaks especially if the terrain is steep uphill because I feel like I’m having a heart attack. When I’ve been with friends travelling I feel like a burden and nuisance asking them to stop because I need to rest, despite their reassurances they’re more than happy to take their time and are understanding of my health issues. There are times when I’ve had to convince a friend to continue on without me because she didn’t want me to be alone while the rest carried on. I didn’t want to be the reason she missed out on spending time on a world famous gorgeous beach and watching dolphins even though I was heartbroken that my body inhibited me from experiencing it. In the Louvre, I spent a good half hour, if not longer, just sitting on the floor almost in tears near the inverted pyramid because of the pain I was in; I just couldn’t walk

anymore. Throughout the entire journey I’m struggling with the pain and once I’ve returned home, the pain can last weeks. It’s as if I’m being stabbed with a thousand knives all over my body. I can’t move, let alone walk. But it also impacts my mental health.

“I've been told to pay for business class seats by a large international airline” My mother said if it wasn’t for my invisible disabilities, I wouldn’t be doing the things I do and pushing myself. But for me, I feel like if I didn’t have my health issues, I could do more and push myself even further. It just feels like I’m constantly facing battles and the pain really doesn’t help. However, having said that, I am proud of the things I have accomplished while travelling with my invisible disabilities. I’m proud of the fact I’ve been able

Charles Deluvio

to stand up for my rights and push the limits of my body. I’m proud that I managed to travel solo for the first time ever and had the opportunity to witness such magnificent sights. I’m proud that I’ve managed to deal with the barriers that people such as myself face when travelling. But that’s not something I should be proud of. Travelling with invisible disabilities, or even disabilities in general, shouldn’t be this difficult.

TRAVEL

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbricktravel

Thomas Cook Goes Bust Rachel Anderson Travel Writer

For many of Thomas Cook’s staff and holidaymakers, the company's liquidation on September 23rd represented more than just the failure of an airline. It came to symbolise the loss of a welldeserved holiday for travellers, but cost many workers their livelihoods. According to airline boss Christopher Debus, more could have been done by the government to save Thomas Cook as ‘there was not much help needed’ to keep the company going as most of the £200 million necessary could have been ascertained from partners in the firm. But what does this blame game really achieve? Will this help the 9,000 left jobless? Former worker Ms Anderson is one of those affected. On top of her sudden unemployment, Anderson now has to tackle the issue of paying her bills without her wages from September and with no certain future income. She has yet to receive her pay from September due to the companies collapse. Fortunately, she didn’t pay off her credit card bill last month, so she had the cash in the bank, but for the future she may be forced to look to relatives and friends to help support her. The

Fabrizio Gandolfo

'bank of Mum’ could very well be her saviour at such a difficult time. Yet what of those who don’t have any available additional aid? Who will they be able to turn to in order to survive such a time of turmoil in their lives? An ex-cabin manager for Thomas Cook, Al White, has directed his fury at the hierarchy. He questions the 8.3 million paid to boss, Peter Fankhauser,

over the last five years. White's questioning of executive wages in the wake of Thomas Cook's collapse points towards a desire amongst employees to uncover the source of the company's problems. Clearly the Thomas Cook crew are unwilling to let this lie without answers . For the clients of Thomas Cook, issues have also risen due to its liquidation. One newlywed

couple stood the chance of losing out on their wedding but for the intervention of Cesar’s Palace. Not only did they arrange for Delta to fly the couple and 14 close friends and family, Sir Rod Stewart was brought in to sing at the ceremony. However, not everyone was so lucky in escaping the backlash. The CAA (The Civil Aviation Authority) have come forward

with the news that 'all holidays and flights provided by Thomas Cook companies have been cancelled and are no longer operating,’ which has had a devastating effect on many children’s charities, including Nottingham’s When You Wish Upon a Star. The firm's inability to confirm if new flight arrangements will be made has threatened to crush the dreams of children hoping to visit Lapland. Though uncertainty and resentment remain, steps have been made to compensate Thomas Cook's clients. Wages can be claimed through the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payment Service and can be received in under 14 days. However, staff will still have to look for other employment and will lose money in the process. In terms of those who have already booked flights and are in danger of losing out, refunds are available under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, but this is only on flights purchased on credit cards that total over £100. If purchased on debit cards or the bill was under £100, customers may be able to use the Chargeback Scheme, though success may be limited. Both workers and consumers of Thomas Cook are still in danger of losing out.

Sustainable Series: Should We Abandon Aviation for the Planet?

Alice Wibberley explores whether we should follow in Greta Thunberg's footsteps Alice Wibberley Travel Writer

Greta Thunberg’s two-week trip across the Atlantic Ocean on a zero-carbon yacht was a clear protest against the aviation industry. With aviation making up two per cent of global carbon emissions, polluting the air and funding the fossil fuels industry, it’s clear why the youth climate activist chose not to fly - but shouldn’t we be doing the same? With many of us beginning to cut down our meat and dairy consumption, avoiding plastic and switching to public transport in a bid to save the planet, statistics show that there has been no reduction in support for the aviation industry. Over 100,000 flights take off every day around the world and 8.3 million people fly daily. A flight is the single biggest impact that an individual can make on the environment. A recent article in The Guardian revealed that a return flight from London to New York, emitting 986kg per passenger, released more carbon emissions than the average citizen in 56 different countries would in a year. If aviation is so awful for the planet, why aren’t more of us avoiding it? The truth is that there is no attractive, practical alternative for those of us who wish to travel.

The majority of the UK’s working population are allotted only 33.5 days of holiday per year, so with time so precious, it’s clear why flying is the most popular choice. Most students are also constrained by budget and in a lot of cases, flying provides the cheapest option for a summer getaway or far-away destinations.

“Over 100,000 flights take off every day across the world, and 8.3 million people fly daily” Seemingly attractive alternatives, such as picturesque train journeys through Europe or cruises, have their faults. Train travel is slower and often more expensive. For example, a flight to Rome in October costs £265, whilst going by train for the same weekend trip would cost £328. The fastest flight time could get you there in 2 hours and 45 minutes, whilst the quickest train takes over 18 hours. Cruises are also awful for the environment as waste is often ditched in the ocean, and huge liners require massive engines that run on diesel.

Cruise ships generate 15 gallons of hazardous chemical waste per day, along with 210,000 gallons of sewage in a week. Every passenger’s carbon footprint is triple what it would be on land. There have been some ideas thrown around to discourage people from flying, such as a frequent flyer tax, or a pointsbased quota to reduce air miles. This follows from a 2014 study which showed that 70% of flights were taken by just 14% of the

UK’s population. The availability of budget flights, combined with their speed, reliability, relative comfort, and ease means that until measures such as these are put in place, flying will only increase. The impacts of making flying more inaccessible will not only be on the environment. Globalisation, a term coined to explain the growing interconnectedness of the world due to breakthroughs in transport and communications in the late 20th century, could

be reversed, with the planet seemingly becoming a bigger place for those who cannot afford (or are prevented from) flying. If prices rise, which is likely due to increasing scarcity of fossil fuels, flying and global travel may become a privilege for the rich to enjoy. ‘Staycations,’ which have increased in popularity by a third since last year, will be the primary form of holidaymaking for the masses.

“Greta Thunberg remains the ideal, but for most, the unachievable”

Anders Hellberg

In the meantime, pressure should be put on aviation companies to improve their efficiency. Ensuring flights are fully booked, using engines that are less thirsty for fuel, shedding weight where possible, and investing in biofuel research will all help to reduce carbon emissions. People will still continue to fly whilst there are no attractive alternatives or government policies preventing them from doing so. Greta Thunberg remains the ideal, but for most, the unachievable example.

LIFE&STYLE

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbricklife

Black History Month: Five Female Role Models We Should Celebrate

Life&Style's Imi Turner celebrates some feminist turning points in Black history and the wonderful women behind them Imi Turner

Life&Style Writer

Every October, Black History Month marks an important time when we can appreciate and admire the greatest members of the Black community and their achievements. The month is dedicated to significant historical figures who have made strides in

Dame Kelly Holmes DBE

their fields. Given the tendency throughout history to focus on male achievement, it is important to highlight the role played by Black women in contributing to British society. It’s time to put the following five women in the spotlight and celebrate their extraordinary successes. Have an opinion? Let us know @redbricklife

Malorie Blackman OBE

Wikipedia

Gugu Mbatha-Raw MBE

Mary Prince

Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE

Ross Belot

“What was it about the difference in others thatscared some people so much?”

“The great grief that filled my heart, and the woeful thoughts that passed to and fro through my mind”

-Malorie Blackman, Noughts & Crosses

Russell Garner

Dame Kelly Holmes is a retired middle-distance athlete, who won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in both 800 and 1,500 metres and has set several British records. She also won BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2004. As well as being a successful athlete, Holmes has been an important figure in the efforts to raise awareness surrounding mental health and opening up about issues, particularly with regards to depression and self-harm. She has made it clear that whilst others believed her to be successful, shestruggled immensely to remain positive during the painful time of her injury, and now wishes she had ‘shouted about [it] more’ and sought help.

“My biggest message to people is that...there is always a light at the end of the tunnel”

Malorie Blackman is a children’s author with over 60 titles to her name and was Children’s Laureate from 2013-15. In most of her works Blackman has made it clear that she wanted to show Black children going about their everyday lives, without race being a factor in their narratives, stating, 'I wanted a Black person on the cover, but plots that had nothing to do with that fact.' However, prompted by her inability to find plasters in a shade to match her complexion, she decided that the issue of race was intrinsically linked to her work. Arguably her most famous work is the Noughts and Crosses series in which she uses a dystopian setting to foreground important moral and ethical issues, particularly racism. Through this series of books, Blackman forces her readers to confront prejudices and inequality that still plaque our society, and hopes to instil the importance of compassion into her young readership.

-Mary Prince, The History of Mary Prince

Gugu Mbatha-Raw is a British actress who has had roles in Black Mirror, Belle, Beyond the Lights, Beauty and the Beast and Doctor Who. She is also a lauded theatre actress, playing the title role of Nell Gwynn, the mistress of King Charles II, on the West End in 2015, for which she was nominated an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress, as well as parts in Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. Within these roles, she has often undermined ideas of race in characters typically portrayed as white and stresses the importance of defining yourself on the basis of abilities and talents, rather than exclusively by your appearance.

Corgi

Mary Prince is an important figure in abolitionist history. She was born and raised a slave in Bermuda and was sold to numerous brutal slave masters as a child. When she was taken to England, she wrote her slave narrative, The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian Slave (1831), in which she documents her personal experiences. This was the first account of the life of a Black woman to be published in the United Kingdom. It had important repercussions as it was published in a time when slavery was still legal in British colonies. Her blunt account of the brutality of slavery was therefore pivotal in bringing attention to the abolitionist cause. Her work and name became politically significant when she became the first woman to present an anti-slavery petition to Parliament.

Doc Searls

As one of the youngest ever to pass GCSEs aged just 11, whilst still in primary school, Imafidon was considered a child prodigy, particularly in the fields of Computing, Maths and Languages. She was also the youngest-ever graduate with a Masters degree at just 20. She also speaks six languages. In 2013, she founded the company STEMettes which promotes the advancement of women into STEM careers. Thousands of women and girls have received the guidance and assistance that her social enterprise provides, in attempts to boost the diversity and equality of these fields.

“Being able to give those girls that leg up, that inspiration, that confidence, that support network and everything that we are able to provide to them for being a STEMette, is just so rewarding”

“ As a biracial girl growing up in England, I'd never really seen any hitorical characters who looked like me depicted on film before that weren't being brutalized or playing slaves”

-Dame Kelly Holmes

-Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon -Gugu Mbatha-Raw National Library of Wales

LIFE&STYLE

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbricklife

Fishing Nets to Fishnets Life&Style Writer Kitty Jackson discusses the environmental impact of tights and reflects on what the fashion industry is doing to reduce the use of non-recyclable materials Kitty Jackson Life&Style Writer

In a world that is becoming increasingly conscious of its environmental impact, wearing tights may not strike us as being a particularly serious issue. However, tights play a significant role in the fashion industry’s battle with single use plastics. After somewhat falling out of favour in recent years, tights are firmly back on trend, as seen at the recent SS20 shows in statement block colours at Gucci and coordinating floral prints at Fendi. It is important to consider however, that they are incredibly damaging to the environment, perhaps more so than other nylon products due to the short life span and frequent need for replacement that results from their delicate composition. Derived from petroleum, nylon was first introduced in the form of women’s hosiery at the New York World’s Fair of 1939 but its negative environmental impact was not obvious at the time. Nylon requires three times more energy to manufacture than cotton in a process that releases nitrous oxide, compounding the issue of greenhouse gases. However, the issues don’t end

with its production; the fabric isn’t biodegradable, hence once it exists it will never naturally break down. Each time nylon is washed, micro plastics are released into the water, contributing to ocean pollution and the degradation of marine life.

alleviate the overall damage caused. These tights were styled alongside other designer pieces at the most recent Neonyt sustainable fashion show, allowing sustainability to take centre stage and emphasising the importance of the conversation.

“It is just the tip of the iceberg of an issue that is one of the fashion industry’s greatest downfalls”

“Each time nylon is washed, micro plastics are released into the water” The fashion industry has been making conscious efforts to cut down its reliance on single use plastic; increasingly packaging is becoming compostable and companies are making commitments to develop more sustainable fibres. Renowned hosiery brand Wolford has created a collection of tights made from ECONYL, a nylon substitute that is made from recycled fishing nets, minimising the amount of new fabric being manufactured. The nylon in fishing nets has a dangerous effect on the ocean’s ecosystem and so giving it a further purpose is key to

Allegory Malaprop

Not only is the process of manufacturing nylon tights being dealt with, but work is being made to ensure they are less of a disposable item that breaks down after a couple of uses. Innovative brand Swedish Stockings, who also recycle fishing nets, as well as waste bottles and fabric scraps to make their products, are working on reinforcing their pieces to improve the longevity and strength of each pair of tights. Furthermore, they offer a recycling programme to ensure the life span of their

materials is as long as possible. Their collaborations with brands such as Ganni, who consistently work to minimise their environmental impact, to design a range of animal print tights demonstrates the flexibility and lack of creative limitations involved in making the move to sustainable production and consumption. Perhaps most importantly, it is increasingly clear that this is not a movement limited to luxury brands. ASOS now sell tights that are made of recycled nylon as part of their climate commitment, a key aspect of which involves minimising their use of virgin materials, making it an option for buyers in all budgets. This is a progressive development that is not exclusive to the catwalk. So, although considering the origins of the next pair of tights you buy may seem insignificant, it is just the tip of the iceberg of an issue that is one of the fashion industry’s greatest downfalls, due to its increasing ties to over consumption and disposability. Adapting our habits and making mindful choices about the processes and companies we support, however trivial these may seem, is more important than ever in encouraging progress in the right direction.

How To Make Your Black Friday Green This Year Life&Style Writer Alice Gawthrop encourages us all to think twice before splashing the cash this Black Friday Alice Gawthrop

are typically plastic toys, games and electronic goods. This has huge consequences for the environment and our own It’s that time of year again: Black health as it causes a surge in waste Friday is fast approaching, and and air pollution. 81% of with it comes the desire to Black Friday purchassplurge money you don’t es include a home actually have on delivery, and it things you don’t is estimated need. 'Hey, isn’t that a diesel “In 2018, Black that what your truck will overdraft is for leave an Friday sales were anyway?' But Amazon before you start 26.4% higher than in f u l f i l placing orders, it m e n t 2017” might be worth centre thinking about the every 93 fact that your purseconds at chases will cost more peak times. than your mere savings. The carbon Kaufdex Black Friday tends to bring footprint that in huge amounts of sales for comes with this is brands, and it keeps on growing. huge, particularly In 2018, Black Friday sales were when people choose faster 26.4% higher than in 2017, and as shipping options. sales grow, so does waste. Additionally, with plastic In 2017, The Guardian report- products being among the highest ed that the most sought-after in demand, we are continuously goods on Black Friday in the UK contributing to growing amounts Life&Style Writer

of plastic waste. Roland Geyer, author of the first global analysis of mass produced plastics in 2017, predicts that even if we continue to recycle and incinerate waste, we will still have dou-

bled the amount of plastic waste since 1950 in the next twenty years. Black Friday, with its promotion of consumption for consumption’s sake at its peak,

only makes matters worse. That’s not to say Black Friday is all bad. For many people, it provides a well-needed opportunity to buy necessities that they couldn’t otherwise afford. But if your shopping list consists of yet another pair of mom jeans or a top you might wear once in the next year, it might be worth giving Black Friday a miss this time around. If it’s savings and vintage fashion you’re after, there are alternatives like going to charity shops where you can find a version of that top you liked in Urban Outfitters for a fraction of the price. If there’s nothing particular you need and you just want to change up your wardrobe a bit, swap clothes with your friends rather

than buying new ones that you'll quickly get bored of. And if you really are just buying stuff because the deals seem too good to miss out on, just remember that the best deal of all is spending nothing.

“81% of Black

Friday purchases include a home delivery”

So, why not save your money and the environment by skipping Black Friday this year? Black Friday will occur on the 29th of November this year. Sports Illustrated

SCI&TECH

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbricktech

Extinction Rebellion: Can Their Goals Be Achieved? Daniel Bray Sci&Tech Writer

From a Paralympian sitting on the top of a plane to the spraying of the Treasury with fake blood, we have recently witnessed 14 days of social disruption caused by climate change activism group Extinction Rebellion. With Prime Minister Boris Johnson labelling the group as a bunch of 'uncooperative crusties' and many people feeling that the protests are nothing more than a waste of police resources, you would be forgiven for wondering what Extinction Rebellion have actually achieved. Extinction Rebellion UK have three goals: get governments to declare a 'climate and ecological emergency'; reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025; and make decisions based on a 'Citizen’s Assembly on climate and ecological justice.' Their first goal, of getting governing bodies to acknowledge a climate emergency, has been a great success so far, with 245 out of 408 councils in the UK declaring one, as well as the government declaring a nationwide climate emergency in May. Has the declaration of a climate emergency set any change into motion? Not really. While many councils have said that they

aim to be carbon-neutral by 2030, and Scotland aims to be net-zero by 2045, the government’s goal is only to reduce emissions by 80%, compared to 1990 levels, by 2050.

“These small victories for climate activists do not detract from the severity of the bigger picture” Extinction Rebellion are right to be concerned - the current promises to cut emissions in the Paris climate change agreement are projected to cause the planet to rise in temperature by 2.9°C by 2100. A limit of a 1.5°C rise was agreed in Paris – this is the maximum temperature rise that scientists believe will prevent the most severe impacts of climate change. At a 2.9°C rise, we are clearly nowhere near the agreed target. Extinction Rebellion have approached many government

departments, including the Home Office and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, about how they plan to tackle the climate emergency that the government has declared, but they are yet to receive any response. Achieving Extinction Rebellion’s second target of hitting zero emissions by 2025 is a gargantuan task by any stretch of the imagination. Sir David Attenborough said in a select committee meeting that 'we cannot be radical enough' when it comes to climate action. It’s no secret that the number of flights we take would have to plummet to almost zero, energy production would need to be rapidly moved towards greener options, and food production and consumption would have to change, all in the space of six years. On top of that, everybody in the country would have to dramatically alter their lifestyle, which is bound to cause some resistance. In regard to Extinction Rebellion’s third goal in the UK, we can look across the channel to France, where President Emmanuel Macron has set up a citizens assembly on climate change – this is bound to be interesting, following the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protests over the

now-abandoned carbon tax proposed at the end of 2018. There are many reasons to be hopeful about the climate crisis British Airways have decided to offset all domestic flight emissions from next year, and their owners IAG have become the first airline group to set their sights on net-zero emission flights; the National Theatre has decided to end their sponsorship deal with Shell from next year; and a group of 20 UK universities recently entered a £50 million deal to buy green energy directly from wind farms. These small victories for climate activists don’t detract from the severity of the bigger picture. According to market research company Ipsos MORI, 78% of people agree that if we don’t change our habits quickly, we are heading towards an environmental disaster. It is this metric that surely is one of Extinction Rebellion’s greatest successes so far, and while it can not solely be attributed to their activism, they’ve certainly played a big role in increasing the general population’s awareness about the impact of climate change – and in a time full of despair, surely that’s a little something that they can smile about.

Julia Hawkins

Malaria Reaches New Areas By Air

Sci&Tech Writer Luca Love explains how mosquitos use air currents to travel long distances and spread disease Luca Love Sci&Tech Writer

A new study from the Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research in Rockville, United States, has shown that mosquitos can migrate long distances using air currents to rapidly repopulate new areas. Mosquitos are responsible for carrying malaria and the most costeffective way to stop malaria is to stop the mosquitos transmitting it. The disease killed 430,000 people worldwide in 2017, of which 93% were in sub-Saharan Africa. Mosquitos lay their eggs in stagnant water, so they cannot survive dry summers. However, scientists have struggled to understand how they are able to rapidly repopulate areas when rainfall starts. The research team tested if mosquitos could migrate long dis-

tances using air currents, against the consensus that they rarely migrate more than 5km. Sampling small flying insects cannot be done by radar as they are too small to be detected. Instead the team used sticky nets attached to helium balloons to sample insects from 40 - 300m above sea level. They found mosquitos from all six of the species that carry malaria and sampled 461,100 flies in a two-year sample period. This was proof that mosquitos travel long distances using air currents that are far higher up than they would normally fly during wet conditions. The route they take is from the semi-desert region in central Africa called the Sahel to wetter more southern countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone during the dry season. This research has given a better understanding of how malaria

can spread to previously cured areas. When cases of malaria reach a new area, the mosquitos can be tracked down by looking at the

Pixabay

wind direction. This also lets public health organisations more accurately use disease control methods to stop the spread of malaria.

Wikimedia / Alvegaspar

Creature Feature: The Binturong John Wimperis News Editor

Radovan Zierik

The binturong, also called a bearcat by people who think its body resembles a bear and who have clearly never seen a cat, lives in the trees in the jungles of Southeast Asia. The creature has a huge black brush of a prehensile tail, almost as long as its head and body. Binturongs use this tail to communicate feelings such as aggression and will also often pee on their tail and use it to paint their territory with their scent. This would perhaps be less than endearing were it not for the fact that the binturong’s scent glands, which are located by their genitals, create a smell that happens to be exactly the same as that of freshly made popcorn. L a rg e l y s o l i t a r y c r e a tures, binturongs generally only meet up to mate. While part of the Carnivora order, they are unfussy eaters and mainly eat fruit. They are traditionally pets of the Orang Asli people of Malaysia, but there are also people who kill them for fur, food, or for use in traditional medicine. They are mainly threatened, however, by deforestation. They are listed as vulnerable in some areas and endangered in others. There are some small steps we could all take to support the conservation of this animal, such as sponsoring the binturong at Birmingham Wi l d l i f e Conservation Park in Canon Hill Park. If we want to protect all binturongs and their right to life in their natural habitat, however, we must challenge the economic consensus that sees the land belonging to these animals as resources for human exploitation. You can sponsor an animal at Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park at www. birmingham.gov.uk

SCI&TECH

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbricktech

Making Trains Accessible to All Sci&Tech Editor Peter Amor delves into how disabled people can and should be accommodated during rail travel and how much progress has been made over time Peter Amor

Sci&Tech Editor

Trains, at first glance, would appear to offer quite some issues for disabled users. A train is going to struggle to 'kneel' in the same way many modern buses can, and there is only so much space inside, particularly for smaller areas such as toilets. However, engineers have come up with numerous solutions to the problems faced when making a train accessible. One less than obvious issue is spotting where to get on the train in the first place. While a person of average eyesight can spot things like panel lines and opening buttons for doors, this can be a challenge for those hard of sight. The simple solution to this problem is to make the doors a contrasting colour to the rest of the train, which has been a legal requirement in the UK for over a decade. Indeed, Virgin Trains took

the contrast idea to an entirely new level and used striped darkgrey and white doors on their trains for a time. Of course, once the train door has been located, the next thing to do is to actually board the train, and here the issues are more obvious. Very few platforms in the UK line up with the floor of the train, so there is a step up - not ideal with a wheelchair. Evidently then, the solution is to make the platform level with the train floor, and as close to it as possible. This is done on many metro systems, including large parts of London Underground, but it can’t be done on most of the National Network because the vast majority of Great Britain’s railway is mixed use; that is, it is used by both passenger and freight trains. If the platforms were made the same height as most train floors, this would not allow freight trains to pass safely, which would make the problem even worse. It would

seem, therefore, that for the foreseeable future, disabled passengers will have to rely on a ramp to board trains on most of the network. That is not quite the end of the story, however. Many of Greater Anglia’s new trains have got around this problem by not only having lower floors, but also a sliding step to bridge the gap and allow wheelchairs to board without assistance, where platform heights permit. Merseyrail are going one step further with their plans; not only will their new trains have sliding ramps, but more than 100 platforms are being modified so that wheelchair users will be able to travel unassisted across their entire network. Another issue arises once on board; even with a wheelchair space, one cannot escape nature’s call. It is for this reason that if a toilet is fitted to a train, it will soon be a legal requirement that it is wheelchair accessible. Not a

problem, one might think, and indeed most trains built this century are already fitted with compliant toilets. Unfortunately, many older trains were not built with such facilities, and so upgrade work is now underway, including on the Class 323 trains used on Birmingham’s own Cross City Line. To go along with the ramps, toilets and contrasting doors, there are a whole host of other details that will pass by most people. The Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (2010) list requirements for catering, door controls, interior doors, floors, handrails, handholds, passenger information (both visual and auditory), seats, steps, lights and wheelchair spaces. Such details as rounded handholds and displays visible from at least a very specific 51% of seats may not be noticed by most passengers, but they really do make a difference to those who are hard of hearing or unsteady on their

feet. All in all, while many trains are still to be modified to fit the regulations, much progress has been made, and continues to be made, in making the railway a more accessible place. Certainly, the situation today is far better than that 30 years ago, when the best a disabled passenger could hope for was to sit in a corridor, or perhaps in the guard’s van.

Romazur

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Alzheimer's Risk Madison HardingWhite Sci&Tech Writer

Responsible for 60-80% of the 50 million cases of dementia worldwide, Alzheimer’s Disease can be extremely difficult to manage- with patients often becoming confused, amnesiac and even psychotic. It is thought that Alzheimer’s Disease develops due to abnormal deposition of amyloid beta proteins in the brain, which form extracellular plaques. These plaques are then thought to promote the formation of insoluble, twisted fibres (neurofibrillary tangles) inside brain neurones, together resulting in cell dysfunction and cell death. Slowing the deposition of these plaques may therefore hold the key to slowing the onset of the disease, preserving patient quality of life for

longer and reducing the burden of care. In promising recent research, diet has been suggested as a potentially adaptive means to do this. In a longitudinal study from Valentina Berti and colleagues, 70 cognitively normal participants aged 30-60 years were measured for their adherence to a Mediterranean diet - one containing high levels of fruit, vegetables and cereals with limited animal products. When comparing two PET scans of participant brains taken at least two years apart, participants with a higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet had lower progress rates of amyloid beta deposition - indicating they would have a slowed progression of the disease. These results have been further supported by research in animal subjects, where adherence to a diet

high in meat and dairy products was shown to promote cerebral oxidative stress in amyloid beta precursor proteins, a major risk factor for amyloid beta protein deposition. These results suggest diets high in fruit, vegetables and cereals could have the potential to slow down this plaque deposition. This could be due to the higher consumption of vitamins C, A and E in plant-rich diets, as these have been reported as potentially neuroprotective - preventing the formation of amyloid beta fibrils. Furthermore, high levels of saturated fat and cholesterol, commonly found in meat and dairy products, have also been negatively implicated in regards to Alzheimer’s disease - with rodent subjects showing impaired memory and learning after consuming such a diet. However, debate still remains

regarding the inclusion of meat and fish within the diet. This is of particular prominence as adherence to veganism (a diet void of any animal products) has greatly increased in the UK. Whilst the vegan diet frequently champions a high fruit and vegetable consumption alongside a low intake of saturated fats, further nutrient intake issues relevant to Alzheimer’s Disease can be produced. The polyunsaturated omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has been widely implied to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, with lower levels being found in the brain of those with the disease. Concerningly for vegans, DHA is predominantly found in fish and eggs, with the only vegan option the relatively inaccessible algae. Whilst flaxseeds and other plant sources can be rich in omega 3, this takes

the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), of which only 0-4% is reportedly converted to DHA in the body. This could lead to deficiency issues, potentially influencing the speed of Alzheimer’s progression in such individuals. Additionally, further research has linked high soya intake, a common ingredient in vegan faux-meats and milks, to Alzheimer’s disease. Previous studies also demonstrated cerebral degeneration and shrinkage in relation to intake of tofu. This suggests that further research is required to clarify the impact of a vegan diet on later Alzheimer’s acquisition to ensure consumers can make informed choices about their diet. Do you have any thoughts on this article? Let us know: @redbricktech

62 Years Since Sputnik James West Sci&Tech Writer

U.S. Air Force

Just over sixty-two years ago, on Friday, 4th October 1957, the world watched in wonder. The USSR had just launched the very first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit. This heralded a new dawn in the history of humanity; the ability to send unmanned, and later manned objects into space. What Sputnik had started was over a decade long competition between the US and the USSR which culminated with the Moon landings in 1969. Following the end of World War II, both the US and USSR had gained a proportion of the German

rocket scientists who had developed the V2 rocket. The race had been on since the early 1950s to put a man-made satellite into space, as space was seen as an increasingly important frontier in the Cold War. The aim was to launch a satellite in the International Geophysical Year (July 1957 to December 1958) as scientists knew solar activity would be highest. By 1955, the US had publicly stated that they would launch a satellite in that year. This meant that the Americans were even more surprised when, in October 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik, a satellite that was heavier than the proposed US model, earlier than they expected it to be. This satellite was about

the size of a beach ball, and orbited the world every ninety minutes. Not only that, but its distinctive 'beep beep' sound could be heard by amateur radio listeners all across the world. While in orbit around the Earth, Sputnik was able to take some atmospheric data about density in the upper atmosphere and the propagation of radio signals, which was the first time scientific data had been taken by an orbiting satellite. Sputnik was able to transit for three weeks following its launch, before its chemical batteries wore out; and then it stayed in orbit until the 4th of January 1958. The reaction to Sputnik was disbelief and shock all around the world. The US had been

beaten into space, and scrambled to catch up. Many Americans, both civilians and military alike, feared the use of the Soviet space program as a way of launching Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) at the US. This was because the Soviet launch rockets were based off ICBM technology. This also lead to a wrongly perceived fear in the US that they were technologically lacking compared to the Soviets, especially after the failure of Vanguard 1 a few months later. As a result of this, the National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed in 1958, creating NASA, arguably the greatest body in space exploration research ever made, which kick started the Space Race as we know it today.

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Friday 25th October 2019

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NFL: Is it Time for a London Franchise?

With the NFL in London once again, Monja Stahlberger discusses the sport's growing popularity in Europe and whether a UK team is possible in the future Monja Stahlberger Sport Writer

With the latest International NFL Series in London coming to an end soon, Brits have now had the chance to see 31 teams playing on London grounds over the last 13 years. The ever-growing community of NFL supporters in Europe has reached new heights in this year’s International Series: for the first time in its 16-year hisory, four games will be hosted by the London-based Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur Stadiums. Both matches in the Spurs Stadium were almost sold out, with more than 60,000 people making their way to watch the spectacle. While the Wembley games are yet to take place, it is expected that the attendance will be similar to the figures in previous years in which over 80,000 NFL supporters watched the two teams compete. Generally, the NFL board has come into conflict with the feasibility of a marketing move that has a growing demand within the

European fanbase. The consensus of people sharing their pictures of their visit to one of the London stadiums shows that going to an NFL game is not just about the match, but the whole experience. While there is a positive response from European fans, the London games are not uniformly well received back in the US. Fans are arguing the loss of a true home game is a problem, especially apparent in the clash Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Carolina Panthers two weeks ago, as the Panthers have a bigger support group in Europe.

“If the NFL wants a global expansion, why not have a franchise in London?” The success of the International Series leads to one question: if the

NFL wants a global expansion, why not have a full franchise located in London? This is a question that has, in fact, been asked for years. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hinted that establishing a franchise in London is difficult, but not impossible. In a 2015 article published by NBC, the NFL's Executive Vice President International Mark Waller is quoted as saying that having a London based team would entail complicated logistics such as travel or the sourcing of players. However, he had no concerns about stadium capacity, sponsorship or success amongst NFL fans living in Europe. Even so, four years after the interview it seems like London is no step closer to getting its own NFL franchise, with the estimated dates being pushed back from 2021 to 2025. Issues such as advantages to the London-based team when playing home matches and concerns about its ability to compete in the Super Bowl have been raised and are yet to be resolved.

TEOS89/ Wikimedia

Figures show that the European market is ready for an NFL franchise to be located in London. Sadly, the NFL seems far from ready to put it in practice. There are many important issues such as environmental and economic impacts which have not yet been fully considered.

However, with 2019 being the first year to have four NFL games played in London, hope remains. With the expanding European NFL-community, there is a reason to believe if the number of games increases each year that establishing a London NFL franchise by 2025 could happen.

MLB: Your Guide to the World Series Sport Writer Jake Davies analyses the deciding matches between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals in the culmination of the baseball season Jake Davies Sport Writer

On 22nd October, baseball’s premier competition, the World Series, began. In this showpiece series of seven games, the Houston Astros take on the Washington Nationals to decide who takes home the Commissioner’s Trophy, but how did these teams get here? How have they fared so far postseason? And which team is more likely to come out on top? Major League Baseball sees 30 teams take part in a regular sporting season divided into two leagues – the National League and the American League. Within these leagues, teams play each other multiple times a season, along with some select interleague games, with each team participating in 162 games across the seven month season. These two leagues are split between 3 divisions – West, East and Central. At the end of the regular season, the three teams at the top of each division in both leagues progress to postseason. Postseason began at the start of October with two Wild Card games. Two teams from each league are designated as the Wild Card sides in postseason, which are the teams that possess the most impressive records in the regular season, but didn’t win their respective division. Washington Nationals, this season’s National League representative in the World Series, pro-

gressed to postseason 2019 in this manner. The tournament begins with each Wild Card team taking on the other Wild Card side from their league in a single game. The winners of these games advance to the League Division Series, stylised as ALDS and NLDS for American League and National League games respectively. This stage acts as the semi-finals and it is here that the three division winners from each league enter the competition. After a series of five games, the winners continue on to the League Championship Series (ALCS and NLCS), which are effectively semi-finals, in which the final four sides battle it out in a seven game series to determine the World Series competitors. Winning this game also earns the instagram/josealtuve27

victors the trophy, or pennant, that labels them as winners of their respective leagues that season. Houston Astros picked up the American League pennant after edging a tight series against New York Yankees four games to two.

“The Astros were unbelievable in the regular season” The Texan team are strong favourites to emerge ultimate victors, as they have dominated MLB for the past three years, winning the World Series in 2017 and coming close in 2018, before being knocked out in the ALCS against Boston Red Sox. The Astros were unbelievable in the

regular season this year, becoming the first team since the 20022004 Yankees to have three consecutive 100-win seasons as they clinched their third straight AL West title. Injury worries arose after their star pitcher Ryan Pressly exited game six of the ALCS due to discomfort in his knee, however he claims to be fit enough to pitch in the World Series. The Astros also boast offensive prowess in the form of Carlos Correa, who became the youngest batsman ever in MLB history to reach ten postseason home runs in game four of the ALCS. Taking on this rampant side are the Washington Nationals, who have fought through three series in postseason to reach the World Series. The Nats may be underdogs going in to the competition, however they have proven their strength in recent weeks, particularly in their 4-0 crushing of St Louis Cardinals in the NLCS.

“[The Nationals] have proven their strength in recent weeks” The clean sweep was aided by the excellent pitching of Patrick Corbin and Stephen Strasburg, who limited the Cardinals to just two runs in the first three games of the series. Their dominance was cemented by a seven run

thrashing in the first inning of the fourth and final game of the series, in which Juan Soto reminded the fans of his importance to the side with an excellent batting performance. As a result, the Nationals progressed to their first ever World Series with hopes of continuing their success and toppling another giant in the form of the Houston Astros. The Astros may be firm favourites, but they are 27-36 all-time against the Nationals (since 2005) and last played them in the regular season in 2017, losing two of the three games. Houston last played in Washington in ‘14, getting destroyed in two games. The Astros have lost 14 of their last 16 games against the Nats since Sept. 11, 2011, so anything could happen in the seven game series. The 115th Fall Classic began on October 22nd, with the Nationals taking a surprise 1-0 series lead courtest of a 5-4 victory.

Last Five World Series Winners: 2018: Boston Red Sox 2017: Houston Astros 2016: Chicago Cubs 2015: Kansas City Royals 2014: San Francisco Giants

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Friday 25th October 2019

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Rugby World Cup Quarter Final Review: England and Wales Through to Semis Owain Pryce recaps a memorable weekend of thrills and spills in Japan Owain Pryce Sport Writer

England have secured a place in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals after an emphatic 40-16 victory against Australia, and will now face reigning champions New Zealand. In the other semi-final Wales will face South Africa, with all four teams desperate to book their spot in the final in Yokohama. Here is how they reached the last four.

England vs Australia Familiar foes England and Australia met in the first quarter final after a week where Eddie Jones’ decision to demote in form fly half George Ford to the bench had provoked much discussion amongst fans and experts. Ultimately, it was a decision that paid off as England ran in four tries, with two in three minutes for rapid winger Jonny May. Even more impressive was England’s dominant performance in defence, shutting down an ambitious, if somewhat aimless,

Australian attack. With the score 17-16 early in the second half, the game was in the balance. However, England’s power in the forwards proved too much for their opposition and they secured a resounding 40-16 victory, their biggest winning margin in a world cup knockout game.

New Zealand vs Ireland Ireland faced New Zealand in Tokyo, where despite superb support from the crowd, the Irish were unable to put up a fight, not scoring until the 69th minute, eventually succumbing to a 46-14 defeat.

“The All Blacks were at their scintillating best” The All Blacks were at their scintillating best, playing clinical rugby at an exceptional tempo, characterised by the skills and fitness of their forward pack, who will prove a stern test for England. Ireland made far too many mistakes and were unable to cope with a New Zealand side that

were playing in a different sphere to the team Ireland beat last November in Dublin. It was a sad way to bid farewell to Ireland coach Joe Schmidt and captain Rory Best. New Zealand, however, seem to be marching towards their third consecutive World Cup triumph although England, while underdogs, are certainly capable of causing an upset this Saturday.

Wales vs France

weeks and, more importantly, giving themselves an opportunity to reach their first World Cup final.

Japan vs South Africa Competing with Wales for that spot in the final will be South Africa, who beat hosts Japan 3-26. Despite an early try by Springboks wing Makazole Mapimpi, the Japanese fought hard in the first

Another coach retiring at the end of this World Cup is Wales’ Warren Gatland, whose team defeated France 20-19 in a nervewracking encounter. The French were full of attacking flair in the first half, and led 10-19 at half time, but everything changed early in the second half when a sickening elbow to the head of Welsh flanker Aaron Wainwright saw Frenchman Sebastien Vahaamahina red carded. Down to 14 men, Les Bleus battled hard, but with six minutes to go Ross Moriarty crashed over (right) to push Wales 20-19 ahead. They held on, extending their coach’s reign for another two

half to keep the score at 3-5. However, they were eventually overcome by the collection of behemoths that make up the South African side, who were superbly marshalled by scrum half Faf de Klerk. Japan were deprived of the possession that had seen them light up this World Cup by beating Ireland and Scotland. Tries from de Klerk and another for Mapimpi saw the South Africans run out comfortable winners, taking confidence and good form into their semifinal on Sunday.

instagram/welshrugbyunion

The Next Generation and Murray's Road to Recovery: A Look Back on Tennis in 2019 Sport Writer Max Kelly looks to the future after an eventful year on the courts Max Kelly

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Sport Writer

As the tennis season comes to an end at the tour finals in October and November, we are left to ponder whether the future of tennis has finally shown itself on court. The sport has seen a deluge of young prodigies for decades, with an almost constant conveyor belt producing teenage sensations like Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis and the Williams sisters over the late 90s and early 00s. The latest in this line, which has somewhat slowed in the past decade, has exploded onto the scene this year. Cori 'Coco' Gauff is an American 15 year-old who reached the fourth round at this year’s Wimbledon, simultaneously capturing the hearts of the tennis, if not sporting, world. Despite Gauff’s tender years, she has shown a steely determination that has culminated in her first singles tournament win at the Linz Open in October. It is encouraging to see Gauff finding success in smaller WTA tournaments,

young and hungry stars is the 'next-gen' in 2020? suddenly bubbling The passing down through. Daniil of the torch is being Medvedev, a 23 yearsomewhat mirrored old member of the within British tennis. 'next-gen' of tennis Unlike many that Number of ranking stars, controversially came before him, places Andy Murchallenged the hostile current British ray climbed last crowd on several occanumber one Dan weekend sions at this year’s US Evans is hardly a Open. household name. Ranked However, this is not a 43rd, Evans has beaten a media exercise aimed at getting number of top-30 players this five minutes of fame. The tower- year, including John Isner and ing Russian has won four ATP Lucas Pouille, but media attention titles this year, the joint most on has been largely focused on Andy tour, and plays with a swagger Murray, ranked 127 at the time of and confidence which perfectly writing. complements his extraordinary There has been a general feelon-court athleticism. ing that Murray is on the road back to stardom, but this is unsubstantiated by results on court. The Scot has won only a little over half of his matches since the start of his hip troubles in mid-2017. Admittedly, this is a respectable win ratio for a player returning from a procedure as serious as Murray’s hip resurfacing operaBetween Medvedev and fel- tion, and success at the European low youngsters Alex Zverev and Open last week gave him his first Stefanos Tsitsipas, will we finally ATP title since before his surgery. see a grand slam breakthrough by and saw him rise 116 places in the

instagram/cocogauff where she can inevitably build the confidence required to perform at the highest level over a sustained period of time. In the men’s game, a surfacelevel view shows that dominance on the tour is dutifully staying with the same names that have ruled the courts for the past decade and beyond. Two grand-slam wins apiece for Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal signal business as usual, but an insurgence of

men's rankings Nevertheless, in contrast to Evans’ resurgence on tour, Murray’s comeback has seemed laboured and fuelled only by past glories rather than a genuine confidence in returning to the top.

“An insurgence of young and hungry stars is suddenly bubbling through”

instagram/ATPtour

SPORT

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbricksport

Should Politics and Sport Mix? Sport Reporter Massimo Spinelli asks whether sport and politics should mix in the wake of provocative Turkish celebrations Massimo Spinelli Sport Reporter

From the 1980 boycotting of the Moscow Olympics to Colin Kaepernick taking a knee in 2016, sport and politics have forever been intertwined. The question, however, remains: should they be? A recent entry crossover into football has been the TurkishKurdish conflict. Turkish football players celebrated after scoring goals in EURO 2020 qualification games against Albania and France

by displaying the military salute in front of the cameras as a symbol of their support to their countries’ troops who are currently fighting against Kurdish terrorist groups in Northern Syria. The national football team was not the only representative to make the news; the same gesture was made also by medal-winning athletes in gymnastics and boxing. UEFA’s rules are clear: no political statement is accepted during a football match and politics cannot invade the pitch. Seen as provocation, the international

body will consider the possibility of opening an investigation on the matter. For those who are familiar with Turkish president Recip Tayyip Erdogan and his autocratic policies, the chance that the athletes could have been forced to perform the salute could be a logical assumption. But looking closely at the footage, it appears that those footballers deeply believe in what they are doing, and nobody is faking a single move.

“It appears that those footballers deeply believe in what they are doing” 'For the Turkish, football is a religion, and a gesture to show support to our soldiers is not a political statement,' claims a Turkish UoB student. 'I am not an Erdogan fan, as well as lots of others, and unfortunately his almost unlimited power within the state allows him to play a crucial role in the Turkish sports sphere, and the Istanbul-

instagram/milittakimlar

Basaksehir case is emblematic in that sense. On the other hand, it must be said that almost nobody in Turkey criticises our footballers, because when it comes to fighting against the terrorist threat, the national interest is at stake and we’re all on the same page.' History is littered with beautiful and meaningful examples in which sport brought social and political issues to the light, often bringing a relief troubling times. The Christmas truce, where football matches were played on Christmas day during the First World War, is a prime example of sport fostering peace and goodwill in a time of crisis. Or indeed taking a stand about sensitive topics; think Mohammad Ali and his outspoken position about Vietnam War. Would it be correct to say that politics shouldn’t be part of sport in any occasion, or it is possible to distinguish case by case? In conclusion, sport should in general hold a neutral position when it comes to politics. Nevertheless, it may be unrealistic that an economic powerhouse with so much international influence should sit on the sidelines of political debate. For those people who would like to see politics-free sport, the wait goes on.

WSL Round-up: Man City at the top while Birmingham Struggle Lauren Coffman Reviews the Opening Rounds of Matches Lauren Coffman Sport Reporter

As we look towards the fifth round of Women's Super League (WSL) fixtures, it seems a good time to stop and have a look back at the 2019/20 season so far. We are just four weeks in but already the league table is beginning to take shape, and we have been treated to plenty of thrilling clashes, shock results and some wonderful football along the way. With all teams, excluding Birmingham and Reading, having played an equal number of matches it is last years’ runners up Manchester City who sit on top of the table on maximum points. They will face the tough task of a trip to champions Arsenal next, but for now they are leading the pack and doing so without many key players, including prolific striker Ellen White, who is still yet to make her league debut for City. Whilst they have had to dig deep and defend compactly at times they have proved they possess the depth required to come out on top. However, with another one of their major summer signings, defender Aoife Mannion, now confirmed to have suffered a long-term knee injury, it will be interesting to see how the league

leaders adjust and reshuffle as they attempt to continue their fine form. Champions Arsenal saw their perfect start to the season come to an end with defeat to Chelsea in their last league game. With vital players still returning from injury they will look to re-discover their balance and bounce back as soon as possible, in order to see a return to the free-flowing, attacking football that has so often defined this team during manager Joe Montemurro’s tenure. It was that important win that moved Chelsea up to second in the table, just two points behind City. A shock draw with one of last season’s strugglers Brighton is what separates them, but the WSL veterans will be looking to use missing out on a Champions instagram/mancity

League place to their advantage by capitalising on a lighter schedule than their rivals, as they fight to improve on last season’s disappointing third place finish. At the other end of the table, somewhat surprisingly, sit WSL mainstays Birmingham City. Birmingham have seen success in the top flight for many years, finishing 4th last season, but after a mid-season change of manager followed by a large player turnover this summer, it seems that those days are all but over. They are struggling all over the pitch and sit bottom with zero points. Similarly, Bristol City and Liverpool have been unexpected strugglers. The latter, sitting on just one point, were a team many expected to thrive this season, yet are lacking considerably, especially in the final third, despite some seemingly strong summer recruitment. Elsewhere Everton, Reading, and West Ham have all started strongly, and top flight newcomers Manchester United and Tottenham are not to be underestimated. They have put up resilient fights against some of the league’s toughest teams, and under strong leadership they have proved tactically astute and well-organised, the step up not seeming to trouble either side. With strong attendances and

increased exposure, this already looks to be a ground-breaking season for women’s football and so far, there has certainly been the excitement to match it on the pitch. Women's Super League Table: Played

Points

1. Man City

2. Chelsea

3. Arsenal

4. Man United

5. Everton

6. West Ham

7. Reading

8. Tottenham

9. Brighton

10. Bristol City

11. Liverpool

12. Birmingham

Column: Sport that Stuck With Me Luke Bosher Sport Editor

Every fortnight, Sport reminisce about a sporting moment from the past which has stayed with them forever. First up is editor Luke Bosher, who recalls his memories of Chelsea's incredible run to the Champions League title in 2012. My ‘moment’ in sport came on 19th May 2012. Four years prior to this, I had experienced heartbreak like no other when my beloved Chelsea lost the Champions League Final to rivals Manchester United. The journey to another European Final was arduous, and fraught with merciless banter from my friends at my expense about the 2008 penalty shootout defeat.

“It was elation like no other and brings me joy just thinking about it” Somehow, the Blues persevered through the knockout stages of the 2011/12 campaign, culminating with a delightful Ramires chip and last-minute Fernando Torres equaliser at the Camp Nou, both of which were off-the-sofa moments. The final itself appeared over before it began to most pundits. Chelsea were facing Bayern Munich at their home stadium, and would be without a number of first-team players in John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic and Ramires. The odds were stacked against us, and it showed throughout the game as Bayern undoubtedly had the better of the chances. However, Petr Cech was monumental in goal, with David Luiz and Gary Cahill putting in fantastic performances in defence considering their lack of experience. When it came down to another shootout, my Dad and I, 700 miles away in London, were pessimistic to say the least. Juan Mata’s missed kick seemingly all-but confirmed another trauma, but thanks to club legends Petr Cech and Didier Drogba, the title was secured. It was elation like no other, and brings me joy to this day just thinking about it.

Yoda1893/Wikimedia

SPORT

Friday 25th October 2019

@redbricksport

BUCS Spotlight: Women's Rugby John Rogers Sport Editor

As the Rugby World Cup in Japan enters its’ final fortnight, a little closer to home the UOB Women’s Rugby Club BUCS (‘British Universities and Colleges Sport’) season is just beginning. This academic year represents an exciting new chapter in the history of the club, as they will enter two teams into BUCS leagues for the first time. While the firsts are already three games into their season, the seconds will have to wait until 2pm on the penultimate day of October to inaugurate their BUCS participation, hosting Leicester’s second team on the Metchley pitches. Elinor Knox, a second-year sociology student, only picked up a rugby ball for the first time when she joined the club last year.

This year, however, she is club captain. Talking to Redbrick, she is keen to emphasise that her story is actually not an unusual one for the average club member. 'It’s one of the really good sports at the university that you can join even if you’ve never played before,' she says, 'we don’t have trials, we just want you to come along and enjoy it.'

“We don't have trials, we just want you to come along and enjoy it” Her goals for the club this year include a top-two league finish for her first team and a few wins for seconds as they look to get the ball rolling. Cup competitions at

the end of the year also represent a good chance for success, and the team have a successful history in the BUCS Vase, having reached the semi-final in each of the last four years. The goals are achievable with the requisite hard work; Knox’s training schedule includes two on-pitch sessions a week alongside several hours of strengthand-conditioning. 'It’s enough to make you tired,' she says with a laugh. Despite the 7am starts she clearly enjoys the team environment immensely. Asked what her favourite thing about the club is, the social side is at the fore. “It is just such a great team. We have a really great, supportive culture, and they’re all really down-to-earth girls”. Off pitch activities are a big part of the team life; last Saturday the team attended the Wolverhampton racecourse

instagram/UoBWRFC

dressed as Peaky Blinders (above), whilst regular sports night attendance (in costume, of course) is guaranteed.

Sports Club of the Fortnight: Cool Runnings and Athletics Kit Shepard Sport Editor

Cool Runnings, the biggest sports club at UoB, gives students the opportunity to keep fit and compete in a friendly, inclusive environment. Members have plenty of opportunities to put their endurance to the test, and the club took 15 runners to the Great Birmingham Run on 13th October. As always after an external run, members were rewarded for their efforts by being taken for some well-deserved food and drink afterwards! There are plenty more chances to compete this academic year, with notable events including the Warwick Relays and Winter Warmer at Sutton Coldfield. These outings build up to the highlight of the year, the Great Birmingham 10k on 31st May. Working with UB Sport, Cool Runnings were able to take over 700 UoB students to the event last year and are

It seems for UoB's Women's Rugby club, the mantra 'work hard, play hard,' could not be more appropriate.

A Note From the Sports Officer: Josh Dooler Sports Officer

hopeful of expanding even further this time around. However, the club is by no means exclusively for those seeking to run competitively. This is demonstrated by their ‘Couch to 5k’ programme, which helps even those who blanche at the mere thought putting on a pair of train-

ers discover the simplistic joys that running brings. The campaign debuted last year, culminating in 32 members completing their ‘Parkrun graduation,’ receiving a medal for their dedication and the inspiration to progress to 10k. Unusually for a UoB sports club, Cool Runnings do not

UBSport

employ external coaches to lead their sessions. These are instead filled by students, with the club having dedicated coach and assistant coach committee positions. All coaches are LiRF (Leadership in Running and Fitness) trained, meaning they are licenced to lead top-quality running sessions nationwide. Occasionally, a qualified athletics coach may make a guest appearance, providing introductory sessions on events such as steeplechase and long jump. There is still time to get involved with the reigning UoB Sports Club of the Year. The £36 membership offers four weekly training sessions, which range from group runs to circuit sessions. New for this season, students can also try the trail session. Above all, members will experience the elation that comes with challenging yourself alongside others, and the benefits that running has on one’s physical and mental health.

Both on and off the track, the Athletics Club have had a crazily busy couple of weeks. In association with British Athletics, BUAC worked immensely hard to host a 'Street2Stadium' event at our track, engaging with future Olympic and Paralympic stars from the region. They also had 40 volunteers helping out at the Birmingham Half Marathon last Sunday as well as lots of runners, and the Cool Runnings committee attended their Leadership in Running Fitness (LIRF) qualification highlighting their commitment to providing their members with the possible experience. To top it all off, two of their Alumni, Sarah McDonald and Chris McAllister, competed in the World Championships in Doha earlier this month. This is certainly a club that goes above and beyond - keep up the good work!

BUCS: In Conversation with UoB Footballer Jason Ashenden Henry Arkill Sport Writer

Competition breeds success, and rarely are the parameters for both as elevated as in the case of highlevel football. In a country increasingly invested in sporting happenings across the pond, football remains our single greatest sporting export and a highly competitive arena for this reason. Jason Ashenden, a member of the UoB Men’s first XI, spoke to Redbrick on the varied footballing landscape at university level.

Starts are often the currency of success to competitive team sportspeople, but Jason’s expectations going in to the 2019/2020 BUCS Northern Premier league season are geared towards 'integrating newcomers' into a team in which he is now a senior player, having been involved with the first XI since his first year at UoB. He appreciates the merits of a selection system which rewards commitment, and has encouraged greater squad unity by ensuring the younger contingent feature more regularly over the coming seasons. For the team as a whole, suc-

cess will inevitably be judged on performances against the strongest two teams in the division, Nottingham Trent and Northumbria University, who set an impressive pace year on year. The challenge now appears to be breaking into the top two with the squad having finished third for the previous two seasons. Ashenden concedes that this process will take time while maintaining his total confidence in realising this particular goal. The introduction of VAR has alienated many football devotees who perceive an ever-growing divorce between the broadcasted

game and its grassroots counterpart.

“The challenge now appears to be breaking into the top two” At the University, however, it remains a sport in which both 'competitive and casual' opportunities for participation abound. Engagement reflects this; there are eight official men’s and women’s squads at the University

alongside various Campus Leagues available to anyone. Ashenden’s passion for football means he is involved at both ends of this spectrum. This same passion was on display during this year’s men’s trials, hosted in the first week of term and attended by more than 300 students. In a sport in which passion and enjoyment are fundamental, the news of first-team member and close friend of Jason's, Jake Miller, being hospitalised following a training incident is particularly affecting. We all wish him a speedy recovery.

Jack Wooldridge

25.10.2019

Racism in Football: A Problem That UEFA Has Yet to Even Nearly Solve Jack Wooldridge gives a scathing review on UEFA's approach to racism

INSIDE SPORT THIS WEEK:

Jack Wooldridge Sport Writer

England’s 6-0 thrashing of Bulgaria in their Euro 2020 Qualifier was overshadowed by abhorrent racism from the home supporters. This incident is not an isolated one – it is symbolic of the grave issue of racism in the sport, which continues to take place at all levels. There is a pattern of racially-motivated incidents emerging in UEFA competitions and the organisation has not dealt with them effectively. UEFA have repeatedly pledged to eliminate intolerance, cooperating with anti-racism organisations and launching several initiatives. Recently, it embarked on its #EqualGame campaign to further promote its vision that everyone should be able to enjoy football regardless of who they are and where they are from. Whilst initiatives have increased public awareness, their messages go unnoticed by some supporters. UEFA has to do more than this if it wants to combat racism in football.

“UEFA have been inept at dealing with racist incidents” In 2009, UEFA introduced ‘The Three Step Procedure’ to assist referees in the handling of in-game racist incidents. It provides the referee with the ability to halt the play on two occasions due to racist behaviour. If it continues, the referee can abandon the match. The England-Bulgaria game was the first time UEFA enacted the protocol, helping to control the concerning situation. However, the fact that it gives supporters three chances is pitiful and needs to be revisited. Kick it Out have also questioned why the players were not sent

to the dressing room during step two and why step three was not enforced as abuse continued in the second half. If this procedure is to be used, it must be approached with consistency and leadership by the officials. The sanctions for racism have also been light in the past. Whilst players receive a 10-match ban for racism, the punishments do not go far enough for clubs and their supporters. First offences result in a partial stadium closure and a fine. How can a partial ground closure be effective? Bulgaria’s Vasil Levski Stadium was partially closed due to a previous incident, yet this did not prevent the fans from racially abusing England players. Moreover, fines cannot be taken seriously when Lazio were fined £17,300 for racism by their fans in the Europa League last month, but Nicklas Bendtner was fined £80,000 for a goal celebration back in 2012. These sanctions are not a big enough deterrent to eliminate discriminatory behaviour in the stands. Following the recent incidents, ‘Kick it Out’ launched a fierce attack on UEFA’s handling of racism, arguing that its sanctions were ‘not fit

for purpose,’ and calling for point deductions and tournament expulsion. It is important to acknowledge that national football federations have failed to eradicate racism. It is still a concern much closer to home – reported incidents in England rose by 43% between the 2017/18 and 2018/19 season. It is encouraging, however, that the Premier League continues its ‘No Room for Racism’ campaign in addition to reviewing the investigation processes, increasing education, training stewards and putting pressure on social media companies.

“Punishments do not go far enough for clubs and their supporters” Nevertheless, UEFA must set a clear example by adopting a stronger no tolerance policy towards racism. Calls for harsher sanctions need to be answered whilst UEFA must work alongside nations to find a solution to change racist cultures across Europe. In this way, racism can be kicked out of football for good.

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