WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN?!
GENDER-NEUTRAL FOR THE BRITS: MISTAKE OR SUCCESS?
GRACIE GOBATThe ‘Brit Awards’ are an annual popular music award held in London, of which many would have heard, and several of us will most likely be watching. Recently, the Brit awards have introduced gender neutral award categories in order to celebrate artists ‘solely for their music’, rather than for their chosen or perceived gender identity.
Jeremy
John Stuart Mill, Henry Sidgwick, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Kant. What do they have in common? Besides appearing in my Philosophy textbook, all of them are men. As a student at an all-girls school, I relished the opportunity to study in an environment where gender was never a barrier to success. But when I opened my Philosophy textbook and found not a single female philosopher mentioned, I couldn’t help but question whether my experience was merely a mirage; the academic world outside of my school was still plagued by gender inequality.
Women being underrepresented in academia is not something new; female philosophers throughout history remain repeatedly uncelebrated. In ‘The Great Philosophers: From Socrates to Turing’ (edited by Frederic Raphael and Ray Monk) not a single woman’s name survived elimination. Where’s the credit for Phillipa Foot, Simone de Beauvoir, and Ayn Rand?
Historically, women have been perceived as intellectually inferior to men, and only in recent centuries have the majority of women obtained access to education which helped them to realise their potential.
Despite the progress made in recent times, women in academia continue to experience discrimination and mistreatment and the intellectual pursuit for knowledge is weighted by the consistent presence of patriarchal barriers. Anita Allen, the first African American woman president of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association, mentioned in her interview with The New York Times that only about seventeen percent of full-time philosophy professors are women.
If you open a philosophy history book and count how many times the author used ‘he’ or ‘his’, you will not be eating and sleeping for a few days.
Finding the missing female figures is an urgent need; Female philosophers introduce unique and diverse perspectives on the subject, ones often absent in traditional philosophical discourse. Angela Davis’ work on social justice, and Martha Nussbaum’s on ethics both made enormous contributions to philosophy while introducing a non macho-centric view to the “boys’ playground” of academia. Achieved with significant effort and struggle, their contributions deserve more credit and recognition.
An ideal solution would be to research more on neglected female philosophers and restructure the history of western philosophy; history as a discipline is subject to those who engage with it, and while valuable contributors may once have been buried for their femininity, modern philosophers with hopes for a future disentangled from the patriarchy can work to uncover them and to celebrate their work in the process. Meanwhile, as students, we can contribute by creating an environment that encourages and protects female academics: actions can be as simple as posting about these intelligent women during the upcoming Women’s History Month.
The past made our present, and the present determines our future. Including women in our history will reshape contemporary academia. More importantly, it will influence our future—women’s future. Equal representation is the only way to ensure the structural mistreatment of women and their work will not continue any further.
However, the shortlist for this year’s ceremony (taking place on February 11th) is exclusively made up of men: Central Cee, George Ezra, Harry Styles, Stormzy, and Fred Again. Excluding mixed-sex groups, 15 female artists or acts were nominated; compared to 28 male acts, the gender-based disparity is clear and frustrating. Yet it is understood that the awards’ organisers would be reluctant to return to separate male and female categories, despite the seemingly consequent selection of only men within a gender-neutral frame. A return to categories defined by gender would create a barrier for non-binary artists worthy of nomination, among them the famed Sam Smith. The gender-neutral system works well in the USA as seen through the Grammy Awards - the largest music awards ceremony in the US, which has not had a separate male and female categories for a decade and instead awards prizes such as album and song of the year.
A series of questions arises: Why does this gender-neutral system work so effectively in the USA but not in the UK? Should the Brits stick with genderneutral awards to ensure that non-binary artists are given a space to be celebrated, as well as to give artists recognition solely for their music rather than identity? Or does this simply amplify the power of the men in the music industry and drown the voices of female artists?
I think the real problem, highlighted by the disappointing lack of female representation in this year’s shortlist, is the British music industry’s inability to pay a proportional tribute to successful women within a gender-neutral system. The necessity of categorized awards to ensure female musicians receive the deserved recognition for their work arises as a consequence and not as a factor of genderbased discrimination in the UK, and reminds us that before we are able to move past gender identity as a differentiating force, we have to implement policies and behaviors which address the sexism naturally present in our society.
ISSUE TWO FEBRUARY 2023
PHOEBE HUANG
Bentham,
ANITA ALLEN
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR
ANGELA DAVIS
ASTROLOGY VS. ASTRONOMY
LILA KARMANIAstronomy is the scientific study of the universe, including the stars, planets, and other celestial objects. It is a field of study that dates back thousands of years, with early civilizations using astronomy for practical purposes such as determining time of year, aiding navigation, and predicting eclipses. Today, astronomy remains a vital field of study, providing valuable insights into the origins and evolution of the universe.
Astrology, on the other hand, is a belief system that posits a relationship between celestial bodies and events that occur on Earth. Astrology has been used for thousands of years in various cultures, with the earliest recorded astrological practices dating back to ancient Babylon and Egypt. According to astrology, the positions of the stars, planets, and other celestial objects at the time of a person’s birth have a significant impact on their personality, behaviour, and life events. Astrology continues to be popular today, with many people using it as a tool for self-discovery and guidance in their lives.
Throughout history, astronomy and astrology have often been intertwined. In ancient civilizations, astronomers were also astrologers,
THE ROMCOM FORMULA
ISSY JEYES // TILDA WILLIAMS
Releasing her 10th studio album, ‘Midnights’, Taylor Swift surprised her listeners once again. If her previous two studio albums, ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’, were quests to explore indie folk and alternative, ‘Midnights’ is a promising declaration of her return to pop music. If listening to the previous two albums is like reading novels - filled with mundane yet captivating tales of another life - then listening to ‘Midnights’ is like reading the letters Swift scribbled on crumpled beige papers in her diary at 3AM.
Swift’s vulnerabilities come to the light in the oxymoronic leading single ‘Anti-Hero’. Her perception of herself and her insecurities are the central motifs of the song: “I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror”, she sings out with a catchy melody. Being a person who “always tried to be [...] a good girl” (Swift’s Netflix Documentary ‘Miss Americana’ ), Swift confesses her inevitable fallibility that we all share as humans.
and many early astronomical observations were made for astrological purposes. For example, the Babylonians used astronomical observations to create a lunar calendar that was used for astrological predictions. Similarly, in ancient China, astronomy and astrology were considered inseparable, with astronomical observations being used for both scientific and astrological purposes. However, as the scientific method developed, astronomy began to separate from astrology and become a distinct field of study. The Greek philosopher Pythagoras is credited with being one of the first to differentiate between astronomy and astrology, and by the Middle Ages astronomers in Europe had begun to reject astrology and focus solely on astronomical observation and analysis.
Despite this separation, astrology continued to be popular and was often used in conjunction with astronomy, especially during the Renaissance. During this time, many astronomers were also astrologers, and astrological practices were often integrated into astronomical observation and analysis. For example, Tycho Brahe, a Danish astronomer
who lived in the 16th century, used astronomical observations to make astrological predictions, and Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer who lived in the 17th century, believed that astrology was a legitimate field of study, using astronomical observations to make astrological predictions.
As the scientific method continued to develop, and astronomical observations became more accurate, the distinction between astronomy and astrology became clearer. By the 19th century, astronomy had become a purely scientific discipline, and astrology had been discredited by scientists and other experts. Today astrology exists on a cultural and social plane rather than a scientific one, although it still holds value for many people in the modern world.
In conclusion, astronomy and astrology have a long and intertwined history, with early civilizations often combining astronomical observations with astrological practices. Yet through the development of scientific method, astronomy became a distinct field of study, and astrology lost credit among scientists and experts, becoming a cultural phenomenon. Despite this separation, astrology continues to be popular and is often used by people as a tool for selfdiscovery and guidance in their lives.
Born in 2006, I grew up singing Taylor Swift’s songs. ‘Love Story’ was played on the then newly released iPad 1 when I was three.
‘Shake it Off’ was what me and my friend performed in our middle school dance show. find it surprising and inspiring how much Swift and her lyrics have developed over the years as she enters her thirties, evident by, for example, her reaction towards drama. Unlike songs such as ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ in ‘Reputation’ (her sixth studio album released in 2017) aiming to denounce her enemies, the song ‘Karma’ in ‘Midnights’ manifests Swift’s gratitude to the life she has now; the 2022 Taylor thinks that “karma’s a relaxing thought”.
Any decent Taylor Swift fan would know that track five in her album is special: it is often the most melancholic and devastating song of each album. The fifth track of ‘Midnights’‘You’re On Your Own, Kid’ - is however a
Through years of intensely researching (binge-watching) romantic comedy films, we now consider ourselves somewhat experts on the genre. Although each film has its individual merits, there is a certain formula that pops up again and again making the romcoms we know and love what they are.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Our soon-to-be lovers meet for the first time... often through unlikely circumstances, a blind date at a blacked- out restaurant perhaps (About ime), or a family boxing day party (Bridget Jones’ diary). Whilst a palpable chemistry affirms the future of the pair, a social factor intially stops them from fully embracing each other. Without a meet- cute there is no romcom.
BIG MISTAKE. BIG. HUGE.
The love interest messes up in what should be an unforgivable way... from Kevin publishing an article about Jane that he promised he wouldn’t (27 dresses), to Edward revealing Vivianne’s career to his lawyer (Pretty Woman), there are a seemingly infinite number of creative ways our lovers let each other down.
THE REDEMPTION MOMENT
Although the audience knows the couple are going to come together again through whatever means necessary, we watch this scene with baited breath. The redemption moment might come in the form of a gift; the guitar from Patrick to Kat (10 things I hate about you), or a speech; the iconic “I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” (Notting Hill). Cue everyone swooning. If our lovers can make it through the trouble they have just faced they can get through anything... Right? There is finally certainty that this relationship, above all others, will last.
MIDNIGHTS: A REVIEW
sincere anecdote of her experience with love, fame, and friendships. The chorus “I hosted parties and starved my body” mirrors her struggle with unrealistic beauty standards in previous years; “Just to know that my dreams aren’t rare” is a universal experience of confronting the crude reality. The song ends optimistically as she concludes that “everything you lose is a step you take” and “you’ve got no reason to be afraid”, encouraging her listeners to embrace all uncertainties in life.
Indeed, if I were to summarise this album in a word, I would choose: “life”. Exposing her insecurities, celebrating her vibrant romance, and reflecting on her gains and losses, Swift tears down the crumpled beige papers in her diary and gives them life. ‘Midnights’ is exquisite but earthly, fragile but explosive, and bitter - but leaves you with an immeasurable amount of strength.
TRUE LOVE!
A wedding, a moving-in scene, a baby! All indicators that our hearts have been pursuaded in the right direction. There are two romcoms that we have deemed exempt from this final step; the first 500 days of summer (the film is essentially an anti-romcom with all the attributes of a romcom), and Clueless (Cher’s love interest is her exstepbrother... just a bit TOO close to incest for our liking.)
THE NON-NEGOTIABLE INGREDIENTS:
SOUNDTRACK CHEMISTRY SIDEKICK
The songs immediatelythattransport you to your fav romcom are iconic by definition. Whether Zooey deschanel telling Joseph Gordon-Levitt ‘I love the smiths!” (500 days of summer), or Heath serenadingLedger Julia stiles with ‘I can’t take my eyes off of you’ (10 things I hate about you), a song often says what words alone can’t. Scan this spotify code to see a few of our fav soundtrack tunes!
+ 5 ROMCOMS TO MAKE NEXT VALENTINE’S DAY TOLERABLE
GABBY PINCHENABOUT TIME (2013)
Charm? Check. Time travel which makes very little sense? Check. Life lessons with Bill Nighy? Triple check. This film takes you on the story of Tim who, after his 21st birthday, inherits the power to travel back in time, to change and relive his past actions. Director Richard Curtis once again creates an endearing and heartfelt story while simultaneously interweaving it with British awkwardness, and you’ll likely end the film feeling slightly more optimistic about the world then you did at the start.
Nobody wants to watch a film where the leading couple look like they would rather be pulling teeth than leaning in for the first kiss. Without chemistry, Romcoms are simply coms (and lets be real, they’re rarely funny enough just to be coms).
Romcoms are often defined by their leading actors and actresses, but sometimes the unsung heroes of the films are their sidekick characters. Whether comic relief (Spike, Notting Hill), or the trusted confidante who helps the protagonist navigate through love’s twists and turns (Michelle, How to lose a guy in 10 days), they bring out the best (and worst) in our main characters, which makes for some memorable moments.
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (1989)
No place does a rom com like New York. This film is about two friends and their ‘will they/ won’t they?’ relationship (spoiler alert - they will) and is filled with many quotable lines. It’s a classic of the genre and rightfully so (although a slight warning is needed: this film will give you unrealistically high expectations for New Year’s Eve when it finally comes back around).
CRAZY RICH ASIANS (2018)
This film made me want a £40 million wedding (I’m still weighing up the pros and cons, bankruptcy is the main one). But seriously, not only is it beautiful to look at with some incredible staging and superbly-designed scenes; it’s also funny, tender, and uplifting.
‘CRA’ follows the protagonist Rachel, meeting the family of her boyfriend Nick (whose mother is the iconic Michelle Yeoh, hero to all and, fingers crossed, soon-to-be Oscar winner).
27 DRESSES (2008)
This film has 41% on Rotten Tomatoes - but frankly their opinions are all wrong. The film centres around Jane who is stuck as a ‘perennial bridesmaid’ and struggles to balance her sense of responsibility with fulfilling her own needs. It’s sweet and energetic, and Katherine Heigl and James Marsden sing karaoke and dance on a bar to Bennie and the Jets, so I really don’t see what people are complaining about.
HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS (2003)
2 3 4 5
What’s that? ‘A guy makes a bet saying he’ll make a woman fall in love with him and she makes another bet saying she’ll get the guy to leave her within 10 calendar days?’ You had me at hello.
(PS. Jerry Maguire is not on this list, sorry. If that’s your thing, go for it).
1
PHOEBE HUANG
+ + =
JAPAN’S ECONOMY: LEGACIES, CHALLENGES, INFLUENCES.
JOYCE YUFrom the regional cuisine and a vast array of shopping opportunities, to its beautiful mountainous landscape and rich cultural heritage, Japan - an island country in East Asia - appeals deeply to tourists of all ages and interests. However, alongside these attractive elements of the country are a series of ongoing issues in Japanese society; of particular concern is Japan’s stagnant economy caused by a combination of social and cultural factors, which adversely affects Japan itself as well as the rest of the world.
In the years following WWII, Japan experienced an ‘economic miracle’ and emerged as the world’s second largest economy after the US by the early 1970s. Today Japan remains a global leader in the automotive, robotics, and electronics industries, with products from car brands such as Toyota, Honda, and Lexus, and with multinational corporations like Canon, Panasonic, and Sony, their reach extending from office to household use. Yet since the 1990s, there has been an economic stagnation in Japan. From 1991 to 2003, the Japanese economy grew only 1.14% annually, far behind other industrialised nations. This was initially due to overheated economic activity, ending the economic miracle. More recently, the Great Recession (2008), Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami (2011), Fukushima Nuclear Disaster (2011), and the recession brought by the COVID-19 pandemic successively took a toll on the Japanese economy. To make matters worse, rising interest rates elsewhere in the world have led to the yen
(currency of Japan) lessening in value for international investors, since the low interest rates in Japan mean buying yen yields investors lower returns than investing in another country’s financial market. Japan is the largest creditor country in the world. It also has more public debt than any other developed country. Should the Bank of Japan decide to continually raise its interest rates as other countries continue to raise theirs, investors will start to worry that Japan will not be able to repay its debts. This could potentially lead to not only Japan’s, but also the global economy to become drastically destabilized.
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
Japan, home to 125 million people, is currently the 11th most populated country in the world. This is expected to change over the decades to come; Japan’s population is aging and shrinking. In 2014, the sales of adult diapers surpassed diapers for babies. Having a high life expectancy of 84.91 years and the highest proportion of elderly citizens in the world (29.1% as of 2022), Japan is predicted by the United Nations to experience a fall in the Japanese population below 100 million, by the year 2050. Coupled with a plummeting fertility rate, the population decline may be further hastened, with fewer people of working age in one generation after another.
A 2022 survey conducted by the Japanese government showed less than half of the population in their 30s wished to marry, with reasons for people’s decreasing desire to marry or have children including small living spaces, financial burden, and loss of
freedom. The decline of the working-age population stirs grave concerns about the future of Japan’s aging workforce, its economic growth, national pension, and healthcare services.
The decline in the Japanese workforce inevitably poses a threat to the country’s global competitiveness. Japan has long been known for the high quality and innovative designs of its manufactured goods. Yet close competition has arisen from countries like South Korea and China. At the end of 2010, China overtook Japan as the world’s second biggest economy; it has since become a major source of mass market goods which challenges Japan’s position. Besides, less than 3% of the country’s population are immigrants, compared to 15% in the UK. As its population continues to shrink and age, Japan will possibly accept more immigrants and foreign workers in order to introduce new blood to the economy and stimulate economic growth.
Japan’s economy is closely intertwined with the rest of the world, and it is currently facing big challenges posed by domestic issues and by countries with rising economic powers. Personally, Japan brings many fond memories of the times when my family and I went to visit in the past. To me, it is a vibrant place where it is impossible for one to get bored; I therefore remain hopeful that the innovative spirit and resilience of Japanese people can someday pave the country’s way out of its current economic state.
W S Y C
UCAS SCRAP
PERSONAL STATEMENTS
ALMA SAMOCHAAn announcement from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) regarding amendments made to the process of university applications marks a significant change for students entering the 2024 admissions cycle - ie. prospective students of Year 12, yet to enter their final two years of secondary education. Claiming that the format of a personal statement offers middleclass students an unfair advantage, the admissions service reveals their intentions to replace the 4,000 character essay with a questionnaire featuring a series of questions about the student’s intended course. The ideal consequence is a levelling of the playing field for students from lower-class or disadvantaged backgrounds who have less access to support when submitting an application. Typically, private schools offer one-on-one support in comparison to the more independent approach favoured in many state schools, as well as the targeted tutoring for the writing of a personal statement provided for a hefty sum by private companies. Considering this disparity, it is immediately clear that this concern deserves apt consideration and that the service is right to look for ways in which to improve accessibility.
The decision, evidently long-considered (as pointed to by the UCAS-conducted report of over 1,200 students, 170 teachers and 100 schools), is met with general positivity. With 83% of respondents to UCAS consultations describing the process of writing a personal statement as one of excessive stress, this change may also serve to reduce some of the pressure felt by A-level students, for whom the presence of an additional and essential essay deadline during the course of their exams can seem a difficult and unnecessary demand.
Yet students are likely to feel somewhat blindsided by the rapid change, and many may be frustrated by the removal of an
opportunity to explore topics of interest independently and represent oneself to a university of choice with total creative freedom (albeit with a maddening word limit). Although 79% of those surveyed agreed that writing a personal statement is difficult - particularly without support - a near 72% expressed positive sentiments about the process. Russell Group Universities, among them the University of Cambridge and University of Liverpool, welcome the reform as a step towards accessibility, but make little mention of the devaluing of academic research (a skill undoubtedly encouraged and strengthened through the writing of a personal statement) which takes place as a result.
If university admissions officers come to focus solely on the grades of students and their tangible achievements rather than on the passion for learning which drives academic research in the long term, UCAS’s efforts to broaden the doors of higher education may result in a narrowing of opportunity instead - particularly since it is likely that private schools and tutoring programs will continue to look for ways to afford their students a higher chance of success. Perhaps the change needed is not a simplification of the application itself, but a reevaluation of the way that students in disadvantaged areas are given tools to pursue academic success, whether this be through government funding, localised scholarships, or other avenues of support.
The consequences of the reforms remain yet to be seen, and their significance for both accessibility and creativity are ambiguous as of yet; as a student in my final year of school, bearing both a fondness and a bitter hatred for the personal statement long-gone, I can only wish the following years good luck in hope that the uni application process will progress in a constructive direction.
Y C
W S
THE SALLY ROONEY-VERSE
Sally Rooney is a celebrated Irish author, known for her best-selling novels “Normal People” and “Conversations with Friends”. Her work has been praised for its astute observations of modern relationships and its intimate portrayal of the inner lives of her characters. Following BBC 3’s television adaptations of Rooney’s novels, a celebrity culture has emerged around the stars of the adaptations. Whether it be a 6-year relationship, or a feature on a song, all of the main players in the lovingly- dubbed ‘sally rooney-verse’ are inextricably linked. This is Gen-Z’s answer to ‘six degrees from Kevin Bacon’ (look it up…).
Bridgers’ and Mescal’s first interaction on twitter in 2020 quickly turned into an engagement confirmed at the end of 2022. Amidst rumoursbreak-up over the past couple of months, both have remained silent.
The collaboration between Swift and Bridgers is a ‘[from the vault]’ track on Red (taylor’s version)- the second album Swift re-recorded in 2021 following disputes with her label about the rights to her music catalogue.
TILDA
NOTHING NEW
Swift and Alwyn have been dating for 6 years after first meeting in 2016.
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
KILLING EVE
Swift performed on Series 45, episode 2 of SNL in 2019, an episode hosted by Waller-bridge. Swift and Gyllenhaal dated for 3 months between 2010-11.
Swift kept fans guessing by releasing this exclusive edition of ‘Look what you made me do’ under pseudonym ‘Jack Leopards and the dolphin club’.
Swift and datedStyles for 4 months between 2012-13.
SCAN THIS CODE ON SPOTIFY FOR AN IMMERSIVE SALLY ROONEY-VERSE EXPERIENCE...
WROTE/ SINGS
FLEABAG
Alwyn and appearedMescal on the Variety youtube series ‘Actors on Actors’. Mescal promoting 2022 film ‘Aftersun’, and Alwyn 2022 film ‘Stars at Noon’. Mescal briefly becomes self-aware andbothacknowledges himself and Alwyn as members of the Sally Rooney-verse... Jumpscare.
RELATIONSHIP APPEARS IN SIBLINGS SOUNDTRACK
DIRECTED/ PRODUCED
BOOK TO TV ADPTATION
ACTORS ON ACTORS
FRIENDS
PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE ANDREW SCOTT DAISY EDGAR-JONES PHOEBE BRIDGERS PAUL MESCAL TAYLOR SWIFT BBC 3 adapted Sally Rooney’s novels ‘Normal People’ and ‘Conversations with friends’ into drama series. LWYMMD SIDELINES CAROLINA TREAT PEOPLE WITH KINDNESS (MUSIC VIDEO) SAVIOUR COMPLEX (MUSIC VIDEO) WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING NORMAL PEOPLE (BBC ADAPTATION) CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS (BBC ADAPTATION) Scott plays fan-favourite ‘Hot priest’ in multiple-award-the winning series. WILLIAMS // AMELIA MORRISON SALLY ROONEY JOE ALWYN HARRY STYLES MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL JAKE GYLLENHAAL OLIVIA COLMANTHE LOST DAUGHTER
THE FAVOURITE
Mescal and Edgar- Jones rocked a ‘Fleabag’-themed halloween costume together in 2022
Alwyn, Mescal, and Scott are in a groupchat they namedhave ‘the tortured man club’. contents yet unknown...
Similarly to the shows based on Rooney’s novels, film ‘Where the crawdads sing’ is a book adaptation and has risen to success in the same ‘BookTok’ circles as ‘Normal people’ and ‘Conversations with friends’
THE SUSTAINABLE EDIT
SUSTAINABILITY AT ROEDEAN
Last term the sustainability prefects and year 12 Eco CAP group asked 204 Roedean students their opinions on sustainability at Roedean. The responses were extremely eye-opening so we thought we would share some of them with you to give you an insight into whether Roedean School is truly a sustainable environment or not.
A CELEBRATION OF QUEERNESS IN CLASSICAL MUSIC ALMA SAMOCHA
ISSY JEYES // MARTA KALPACHKI // RUBY PERRY // VANESSA REN47% 47% OF STUDENTS DO NOT RECYCLE WHILST AT SCHOOL
QUICK FIX: INCORPORATE INTO PSHE LESSONS WHAT CAN BE RECYCLED AND WHERE TO RECYLE IN THE SCHOOL
To begin the survey, we asked students about their use of single-use water bottles, as plastic waste is a significant contributor to pollution. 21% of surveyed students said that they buy bottled water rather than filling reusable bottles with tap water at school. The general consensus is that there are too few water fountains around the school and therefore queues at break are long, making them inaccessible.
Many people also stated that they did not like the taste of the water (thanks to our chalky cliffs!) and worry that the tap water may contain impurities and therefore be unhealthy.
And whilst we can reassure you that all the drinking water at Roedean is entirely safe to consume, 81% of surveyed students responded positively to the suggestion of using a filtered water bottle which will filter out any impurities you may still be worried about!
WATER RECYCLING
We then asked students how often they recycle and what it is that prevents them from doing so more often. 47% of surveyed students said that they do not use recycling bins at school, whilst 64% felt that there are not enough accessible recycling bins around the school to allow them to do so.
One student said, “I don’t know where the recycling bins are, and therefore only use general waste bins”, but explained that they would be happy to recycle their waste at school if the recycling bins were more accessible.
Another student stated more simply, “I have never seen a recycling bin... ever.”
64% 21%
64% OF STUDENTS FELT THE RECYCLING AT SCHOOL IS NOT CURRENTLY ACCESSIBLE ENOUGH
QUICK FIX: MORE RECYCLING BINS. IN THE MEANTIME, LOOK OUT FOR ORANGE-LID PAPER RECYCLING BINS
ONES.
QUICK FIX: MORE WATER FOUNTAINS, LOOK TO INVEST IN A REUSABLE BOTTLE
Much of the waste that we produce as a school comes from food waste and school stationery. Two big changes that we would like to make in the near future, for which students have shown support, are the categorisation/separation of food waste and the recycling of folders. 78% of surveyed students were enthusiastic towards the idea of separating food waste, recycling, and general waste at meal times meaning our overall waste at meal times would decrease as more would be recycled or composted. 77% of surveyed students said they would be happy to re-use either their own or someone else’s folder for their schoolwork.
SO... WHAT NEXT?
Large organisations such as schools have significant impacts on the environment and therefore have the largest responsibility of all to control impacts on both the local and wider environment. It is clear that we as a community still have a long way to go before we can confidently call ourselves a “sustainable school” but many of these concerns can be rectified in the near-future with help from you!
80 surveyed students said that they would be enthusiastic to join an eco-council to share ideas and concerns about sustainability at Roedean and make productive changes throughout the upcoming years. If you are interested in being a part of this positive change at Roedean, please email Issy (IJ37) and Marta (MK48) with your name, year group, why you would make a great team member, and any ideas or concerns you may already have. We look forward to hearing all of your brilliant ideas on making Roedean a more sustainable environment!
WHAT A BOTTLE!
We have compiledput a few of our favourite refillable bottles for a certain 21% of the student body....
CHILLYS SERIES 2 .5L (£30)
Chillys’ newest collection won the red dot innovation award (and we understand why...).
The collection is available in selection of gorg colours and features flasks of the same selection... matching drinkware? I think yes.
LARQ FILTERED .7L (£58)
LARQ’s filtration system is unrivalled...currently a dual layered charcoal and ‘Nano Zero’ filter removes impurities from water whilst keeping water cold for 24 hours. It also looks super sleek.
From Britten and Tchaikovsky to Schubert and Chopin, our knowledge of queer writers in the sphere of Western Classical music ranges from assurance to mere speculation; nevertheless it is easy to observe that sexuality within the world of composition appears on as broad a spectrum as in any other community.
academic speculation as to whether his death in 1893 is attributable to cholera or to suicide. It is worth considering, in light of such a multifaceted experience, a potential connection between the talented composer’s sexuality, his nationality and the unique voice for which his music is celebrated internationally to this day.
intrinsicality of music to their relationship may be best admired in Pears’ communications to Britten, saying “You know love is blind ... I am here as your mouthpiece and I live in your music”.
HYDROFLASK .5L (£20)
Ok so... hydroflasks had their moment in 2020, but their new collection is defo worthy of resurrection from the graveyard where trends go to die. Totally leakproof, and vacuum- insulated? Sign us up! (we’ll leave the stickers at the door this time).
Born in Votkinsk at a time when homosexuality was illegal in Russia, Tchaikovsky - known widely for ballets such as The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, or for his cannonfeaturing 1812 Overtureatappears the epicentre of many discussions about homosexuality in the world of Classical music. Tchaikovsky’s complicated relationship with his sexuality is well recorded among biographers and historians, yet stands at odds with the national ideology of his homeland and thus acquires an element of complexity when considered by the modern Western listener; his significant contributions to Russian musical tradition and the distinct elements of nationalist influence within his writing serve to underscore (pun mildly intended) the composer’s divided circumstance as a musician of great reputation living in a state of queer oppression. Indeed of his nationalism, Joshua Taylor identifies (Taylor J., “Musically Russian: Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century,” 2016) a sense of restraint. The music of Tchaikovsky is characterised not by deferral to the words of Russian poetry or the melodies of national folk songs, but instead through a persistent recollection of the national mood, and in occasional reference to the characteristics typical of Russian folk and popular music at the time.
Although immensely successful as a musician, Tchaikovsky experienced numerous struggles as a gay man in the 19th century, undergoing a disastrous marriage to former student Antonina Miliukovan, facing an emotional crisis in its wake and leaving
Meanwhile British musical treasure, and renowned composer of operas such as The Turn of the Screw and War Requiem, Benjamin Britten, held a private relationship of 39 years with tenor singer Peter Pears, to whom he remained partnered until his death in 1976. Britten’s homosexuality, though kept discreet throughout his life, is remarkable in the extent to which it is freely expressed and celebrated between himself and his lover - particularly within the letters exchanged between the two, the extracts of which were posthumously displayed at the composer’s home in RangingSuffolk.
desperatelyfrom
romantic - “My darling heart ... I do love you so terribly, not only glorious you, but your singing. ... What have I done to deserve such an artist and man to write for? ... I love you, I love you, I love you.” - to rather humorous in nature - “My most beautiful of all little blue grey, mouse catching, pearly creamy-thighed,bottomed,soft-waisted mewing rat-pursuers! How are you? My beauty!” - the exchanges between Britten and Pears narrate a passionate and joyful partnership.
The lovers worked in collaboration as musicians, with Pears serving as a muse for Britten’s worksamong them Britten’s Canticle I: “My Beloved is mine and I am his”, and his Leibestodian opera, Death in Venice. While the tenor played roles in several of his partner’s operas, providing a demonstration of the bridge between professional and personal in the lives of the two artists, the
More ambiguously, academic speculations on the sexual orientation of Romantic composer Chopin explore alternate translations of his letters on the subject of love. Though not aiming to demonstrate that the composer was categorically gay, contributors to the discussion raise the point that Chopin’s assumed heterosexuality is more than worthy of a more thorough review, and that the role of femininity in relation to his music is a complex deservingone of attention.
Of writingSchubert, only a few decades before Chopin, critics traverse a range theoriesof regarding the particular devotion to his music among men’s choruses in Vienna, and again on the varying translations of the composer’s personal writings. Reviewing a series of theses set forth on the subject, Edward Rothstein concludes, “Does it matter?”. He reminds us that the consideration of Schubertand by extension, of any similar individual in musical tradition - as a contemporary figure of queer representation can only pale in comparison to the revelations of his nature as heard and experienced through his writing, ‘knowing, caressing and tragic’.
It is true that the most powerful voice we can offer to musicians is their music. Yet in recognizing and celebrating not only a diversity of identity - here unexplored to its full depth, and extending far beyond the sphere of cisgender male composers - but a connection between queer love and creative expression within the field of composition, we pave a path for the future pursuit of music to occur in tandem with a pursuit of freedom, equality and self-expression.
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN BENJAMIN BRITTEN PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY“I HAVE NEVER SEEN A RECYCLING BIN... EVER.”21% OF STUDENTS USE SINGLE-USE WATER BOTTLES INSTEAD OF REFILLABLE
A GAMING REVIEW
AMELIA MITCHELL
MEDICS’ CORNER
DOWN IN BERMUDA
You play as an elderly man who crash landed in Bermuda years ago, and have to solve a variety of puzzles to get home to your family. While this game is certainly enjoyable, don’t expect anything more from it than ‘fun and simple’. It’s short - only about six or so levels - and it is clear through these few levels that this would have served a lot better as a mobile game. Particularly on console, the controls are clunky and difficult to the point of obstructing gameplay, as the majority of the game is manoeuvring the screen to see different parts of the island on which you are playing. It’s got fairly basic yet endearing animation and serves well enough as a chill game. I would recommend DIB, but only if it is on sale and you are willing to put up with some bad gameplay...
HYRULE WARRIORS DLC
In Age of Calamity, a bought expansion pack of the original Hyrule Warriors, you gain eight main story battles, many new mechanics and quests and various characters as which to play. Onto the original story of the war against calamity it adds Ganon, a raging evil in the kingdom of Hyrule. Thus we receive the new plot of a time-travelling guardian to be defeated - this is great for any fans of the series, despite the fact it ultimately feels inconclusive. The main additional content is limited, and even the side quests of the DLC run out quicker than you’d think. You are soon left with a lot of grinding... which can be fun if that’s your thing, but tedious if not. The content was good but, in addition to a couple issues previously mentioned, this is knocked down to three and a half stars instead of four purely for the atrocious boss battle you do twice in the new story - genuinely one of the most horrible battles I have done, and more of a chore that took me hours than a game. If you are a big fan of the original game then the DLC is probably an enjoyable buy, but if you are on the fence I wouldn’t automatically recommend.
RETURN TO MONKEY ISLAND
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The long-awaited return to the beloved franchise - first beginning in 1990. We play again as Guybrush Threepwood (o, mighty pirate), who regales his son with tales of his return to Monkey Island, a mysterious place in the Caribbean of which he spent his whole pirating career trying to find the secret. Sneak onto your rival LeChuck’s ship, steal a zombie’s poetry book, fill out overly complicated paperwork and more with the brilliantly funny and clever writing of RTMI. Paired with the creative puzzles and a pleasant unique art style, the game features an easy-to-use hint system and staggered difficulty modes for new players to the genre or for those who are too busy to dedicate too much of their time. This game is extra enjoyable if you are familiar with the other titles - here I admit some prejudice, since I was raised on these games! Return to Monkey Island is a fun, silly game that keeps you engaged and pushes you to make creative links throughout.
LEGO INCREDIBLES
In this game, you experience the world of Incredibles and the Incredibles 2 through a collection of fighting or puzzle-based levels, and an open-plan Metroville in which to play - with many collectables through the medium of Lego. To anyone familiar with other games in the Lego franchise, there’s one clear word to sum up this game: disappointing. It is a clear standard drop from the regular games, and easily one of the weakest games in the franchise, riddled with bugged gameplay and unenjoyable levels. I will say actually quite enjoyed exploring the overworld, and the addition of ‘crime waves’ which are special activities outside of levels - but still, there was nothing particularly special about the game. I did the first half of the available levels, completed everything in the overworld, and couldn’t bring myself to continue with the rest as I simply wasn’t having fun. Do not spend the £50 demanded for this game. It can be fun... but this is too much money for the quality you receive in return!
THOMAS WAS
ALONE
‘Thomas was Alone’ is a platformer game set inside a computer mainframe and narrated by a warm comedic voice. You play as AIs that have gained sentience in a simple yet compelling story. Paired with its clean controls and graphics are fun levels which gradually increase in difficulty in a way which challenges and pushes the player, inviting you to engage your brain rather than throwing you off. Throughout the game, new mechanics are introduced at a comfortable pace that keeps things fresh without feeling forced. I must admit that am a large fan of this game, and while I have nothing particularly bad to say about it, it is rather short. I would say there just isn’t enough detail to earn five stars, but what is there is great. Whether you’re interested in the graphics and story or not, the gameplay is undeniably brilliant for anyone who is a fan of platformers.
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NIGHT IN THE WOODS
After a mental breakdown at college, Mae must return to her ageing mining hometown, where she finds herself caught up in the lives of the people she grew up with, amid a tense mystery. Play as Mae and explore not only her character but the struggling town at the heart of her story and identity. Night In The Woods is one of the most compelling and emotional games I have played; without trying too hard, it invests you in every character you meet, whom you get to choose to befriend and learn more about. Day by day, the thrilling mystery unravels, and I found myself becoming closer to the characters I played and met. With a unique art style and poignant story, creating insightful commentary on capitalism and the fate of many mining towns, NITW takes you on a journey in which you come to care deeply for Possum Springs! Beautiful music, beautiful graphics, beautiful game; I cannot recommend enough.
A CURE FOR ALZHEIMERS?
SYLVA CRAWLEYAll of us have been or will be affected by dementia in our lifetimes - whether it be ourselves personally, through a family member or through a friend. A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, a neurodegenerative disease affecting cognition, and the most common cause of progressive dementia in older adults, can be understandably terrifying and uncertain. It is a disease that modern medicine has, for a long time, been confined to being able only to treat and alleviate the symptoms of, as opposed to cure or prevent. Yet, for the first time, we see the breakthrough and emergence of new therapies and drugs that actively slow and in some cases may be able to actually reverse the early onset of Alzheimer’s. Thus a possibility begins to open up of positive and promising active treatments which may be able to finally “cure” Alzheimer’s.
DENTAL BONE GRAFTING
Bone density starts decreasing at the age of 30, and a lack of bone could prevent patients from accessing dental implants when needed. The most common causes of jaw bone loss are tooth extraction and gum disease. If left untreated, one may experience facial atrophy, and lose even more teeth. There are 4 types of dental bone grafts:
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In the last month, Lecanemab has been approved for use by the FDA in the US, after highly successful clinical trials. Lecanemab is a monoclonal antibody drug, one that acts to engineer proteins in the body to help work alongside the immune system, binding to antigens to fight disease. The trials reported a reduction in the progression of early Alzheimer’s by 27%. Estimates suggest that over a period of 18 months, the drug will be able to minimise the rate of cognitive decline by 7 months, with the drug appearing to slow the rate of decline in quality of life by up to 56%.
Lecanemab works by binding to and reducing the levels of amyloid - proteins that accumulate in the brain, blood and spinal fluid, which are linked to the death of neurones and ensuing memory loss associated with dementia - in order to “reverse” the progression of the disease and reduce the severity of symptoms. What was most exciting about the results of the trial is that the drug proved effective in a sample group that was highly representative of many of the people suffering from dementia, yielding successful results in patients aged 50-90 years, some with
multiple underlying illnesses.
Thus we see an overcoming of concerns that the drug may be less effective when faced with comorbidity (when a patient has multiple illnesses at one time). Further research is now beginning to look into pre-emptive treatment of dementia in asymptomatic patients who either have a family history of dementia or where an elevated level of amyloid has been detected in their brains, to test how early intervention can be effective in improving prognosis and quality of life.
Whilst Lecanemab is by no means the perfect ‘fix’, and still has a long way to go until it can be used in UK healthcare settings, it gives dementia and Alzheimer’s patients the invaluable gift of more time. Even just 6 months longer of independent living time, time with very limited symptoms and time with friends and family is so incredibly important. As our understanding of Alzheimer’s and the abilities of modern medicine to fight dementia only improve, the prognoses for patients will too. Even on the most simple of levels, Lecanemab is an exciting step in a very promising direction.
ADVANCEMENTS IN DENTISTRY
CAD/CAM DENTISTRY IN PROSTHODONTICS AND ORTHODONTICS
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ZOE TSANG
AUTOGRAFTS FROM THE JAW OR HIP 4
ALLOGRAFTS FROM EITHER A DONOR OR CADAVER XENOGRAFTS FROM ANOTHER SPECIES SUCH AS BOVINE.
ALLOPLASTS WITH SYNTHETIC MATERIAL SUCH AS CALCIUM PHOSPHATE OR CALCIUM SODIUM PHOSPHOSILICATE
Dentists graft these into place and fuse with the existing bone to gain more height and more substance.
Recently, a new bone grafting technique is in the process of development. This is based on CT/CBCT - Cone Beam Computed Tomography dental scans of a patient, with the bone block virtually designed by 3D CAD/ CAM technology (computeraided design/ manufacturing). Integrated with the maxgraft bone builder, manual adjustment of the bone block is seldom required as the bone builder provides greater precision between the allogenic bone block and the local bone, enabling rapid revascularization, to restore blood flow in blocked arteries or veins and fast graft incorporation.
Computer-aided design (CAD) and computeraided manufacturing (CAM), including 3D-printing, are already revolutionising dentistry; they are turning them into lowcost, more effective digital labs. Traditionally, when a patient needs a veneer, crown, or bridge, a dentist must take an impression of the teeth and fashion a temporary one, then wait for the dental laboratory to make a permanent onea process which takes 2-3 weeks.
With CAD/CAM dental technology, pictures are taken with a 3D scanner (instead of using the traditional impression-taking method) and a zirconia (a type of ceramic) tooth is milled. This image is then relayed to a machine with rapid manufacturing speed
that makes the veneer/ crown/ bridge while the patient is still in the dental chair (also known as chairside production). With a 3D printer, the bottleneck of manual modelling in dental labs is eliminated. Dental technicians are also able to produce orthodontic
models, surgical guides, aligners, retainers with increased accuracy and precision. This helps improve workflows, reducing errors and the amount of labour needed, which ultimately endows the technology with time and cost-efficiency.
A NOTE FROM THE EDITORS:
Hello! Oh my, we are thrilled with this issue! We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together (sans the frantic last-minute edits and formatting), and that you, like us, can appreciate the brilliant range of ideas which our writers chose to explore. Who doesn’t want to read an in-depth analysis of Sally Rooney’s personal and professional connections, or a detailed description of dental bone grafts? Congratulations and many thanks to all the talented journalists who worked alongside us; it’s been a joy to edit the Seaside Standard for another issue and we are so excited to publish our next and final one… stay tuned. If you would like to be involved in the next issue email: Tilda (MW39) or Alma (AS43).
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ADVENTURE / PUZZLE PLATFORMER ACTION / ADVENTURE
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