The Founder - January 2021

The Founder

VOL. XII, ISSUE V | JANUARY 2021 |

@RHULFOUNDER

Capitol Riots and Inauguration Day: Who Owns America?

IZZI VAUGHAN | EDITOR IN CHIEF

O

n January 6th 2021, America saw its own reflection in the halls of the US Capitol building. It is no surprise such a mass of rioters were able to bypass security, terrorise citizens and take over the Capitol building. It is no surprise that there was so little resistance from police and security to stop them.

Because the people who walked through the halls of Congress of January 6th viewed that building as their own, and no one else’s. A building built by slaves, for White America.

Thus, the question must be posed, who owns America?

Joy Reid, author of Fracture: Barack Obama, the Clinton’s and the

Index

Racial Divide, speaking on MSNBC after the riots, said that ‘in their minds they own this country, they own that Capitol, they own the cops, the cops work for them… when you think you own the place you ain’t afraid of the police cos the police are you’. The rioters knew they were not in jeopardy when they entered the building, because ‘White Americans are not afraid of the cops’, the cops were ‘taking care of their bodies, not like they treated Freddie Gray’s body’. Gray, a 25-year-old Source: ABC News Black man, died enduring a National Guard on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during peaceful BLM demonstration. spinal cord injury while in stark difference between were met at the steps of building. But the truth was police custody on April 12th, the treatment of peaceful the Lincoln Memorial by far worse than the false 2015. protestors seeking racial the National Guard, armed accusation, because the justice, and white rioters to the teeth, seemingly National Guard were not Comparisons between attempting to maintain a prepared for war. The image protecting any people, they the events of January 6th centuries old system of went viral on social media were protecting a statue and the Black Lives Matter racial oppression. On June recently, falsely alleging to from peaceful protestors protests have displayed the 2nd 2020, peaceful Black show the National Guard fighting for racial justice.

Lives Matter protestors in front of the Capitol

News....................................................................................2 Opinion And Debate............................................................7 Features..............................................................................11 Lifestyle.............................................................................13 Arts: Arts and Culture........................................................15 Arts: Literary Reviews.......................................................16 Arts: Film...........................................................................21 Arts: Music.........................................................................23 Sports..................................................................................25

Facebook.com/HarbenLets Twitter.com/HarbenLets

Continued on p. 11

Vegan after Veganuary p.7

Getting Organised p.13 Albums of the Year p.21

2 NEWS

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Brazil’s Local Elections Bring Great Losses to Bolsonaro-Backed Candidates

The Founder Board 2020 - 2021 Editor in Chief Izzi Vaughan

What England’s National Lockdown Means for Term 2 at Royal Holloway

editor@thefounder.co.uk

Managing Editor Alex Whiteman managingeditor@thefounder.co.uk

Publishing & Creative Designer Laura Nietfeld designer@thefounder.co.uk

Source: Sergio Souza on Unsplash Sao Paulo, Brazil’s most populous city

AUGUSTUS BRAMBRIDGE-SUTTON razil’s local elections took place during November of 2020. They brought significant losses for its right-wing President, Jair Bolsonaro. Candidates backed by the President, who does not have an established party behind him, were roundly defeated across Brazil by candidates from the left and centreright. The election is vital nationally although it takes place locally. Securing their place now lets them control crucial political machinery for campaigning in the 2022 federal election.

B

In the first election round on Sunday 15th November, four of the six candidates in major capitals backed

by Bolsonaro did not make it to the second round. In Belo Horizonte, 23-yearold conservative activist

Bruno Engler lost to Alexandre Kalil. In the Amazon city of Manaus, a near-lifelong friend of Bolsonaro, Alfredo Menezes finished fifth. In Sao Paulo- Brazil’s economic centre- Celso Russomanno was side-lined by centre-right incumbent Bruno Covas and the left rising star Guilherme Boulos. The second round, held on 29th November, brought the defeat of evangelical pastor and Bolsonaro ally Marcelo Crivella, incumbent of Rio de Janeiro, by Eduardo Paes, a centrist former mayor.

Bolsonaro was not the only one who lost ground.

The PT (Worker’s Party) was dethroned from popularity after 13 years and eventually from power. Their corruption scandals caused significant losses. This led to a failure to win over the mayorships of any of Brazil’s major cities.

Guilherme Boulos was also

defeated by the centre-right Covos, despite a wellspring of support from Sao Paulo’s youth. Despite Bolsonaro’s losses, some analysts are sceptical of the idea this means anything for his Presidency: his popularity rides on his charisma instead of a political institution. In the polls, Bolsonaro has recently experienced great success, gaining an approval rating of almost 38% due to providing monthly coronavirus stipends of around $120 to the country’s poorest citizens.

The election is also notable for the record numbers of women, people of colour and military officials contesting seats.

With such diversity, this election highlights an ever-growing mobilisation from across the political spectrum.

News Editor Carlota Santos Movilla

Illustrator Rebecca Weigler

news@thefounder.co.uk

illustrator@thefounder.co.uk

Features Editor Sela Musa

Arts Editor Tessa Pinto

features@thefounder.co.uk

arts@thefounder.co.uk

Opinon and Debate Editor Abra Heritage

Literary Review Editor

Mercedes-George Mayes

opinion@thefounder.co.uk

literaryreview@thefounder.co.uk

Lifestyle Editor Katie Upton

Music Editor Amelia Morris

lifestyle@thefounder.co.uk

music@thefounder.co.uk

Sports Editor Eliot K. Raman Jones

Film Editor Lewis White

sportseditor@thefounder.co.uk

film@thefounder.co.uk

The Founder is the independent student newspaper of Royal Holloway, University of London. This means we are not affiliated to the student union or the college. We pride ourselves on our investigative journalism and aim to keep our readers up to date with news on and off campus. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Editor, particularly of opinion and debate pieces. Every effort has been made to contact the holders of copyright for any material used in this issue, and to ensure the accuracy of its stories.

To book ad space in The Founder, contact our managing editor at managingeditor@thefounder.co.uk.

THE FOUNDER is printed in Cambridge by Iliffe Print

NEWS 3

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Source: Getsurrery.co.uk

teaching across England is JESSICA JOHNSTON expected to be online, thus rime Minister Boris remote. The decision concerns Johnson announced a all courses until Monday the third national lockdown on 22nd of February.

Monday 4th of January. The The University sees Egham rising cases of Covid-19 and the rapid spread of the moved to tier 5 and requires new variant have meant that students returning to campus

P

to be tested twice upon arrival or self-isolate for ten days. The government advises to stay at home and warns students against travelling back and forth between home and termtime address. This is likely to reduce the transmission of the virus. Students who have already returned to their university accommodation should remain where they are. Royal Holloway has advised international students to postpone their travel plans to the UK and stay in their home nation if possible.

Earlier this month, the principal’s newsletter stated Royal Holloway will not be charging rent to students not returning to their accommodation during this national lockdown. The deadline to apply for the rent removal form is Wednesday the 20th of January. There was a deduction of £150; as promised by the principal for eligible students living oncampus accommodation.

Under the Tier 5 lockdown restrictions, there are some closed facilities on campus; Sports Centre, Tommy’s

Kitchen, The Packhorse and Medicine. The Students’ Union shop is open every day between 08:00-18:00 and their ‘Click and Collect’ service is also available.

Little Café on the Square in the Windsor building is open for takeaway snacks and drinks. The campus catering in Founders and Kingwood is open to catered and noncatered hall students. The principal assured that the Emily Wilding Davison building remains available for students to access study space and resources from 09:00 hrs until 21:00 hrs.

Christmas Day Explosion in Nashville PAULINA MOTYL

explosion took place at 6.30 arly in the morning of am. the 25 th of December, there was a loud blast Minimum three people largely heard across Second were injured. Anthony Avenue, Nashville. The Quinn Warner, a 63-yearresident reported it to old male, was responsible 911 when more sounds of for detonating the bomb ‘shots fired’ were heard. and died as a result. Several When officers arrived at buildings were damaged the location, they saw that including the AT&T a white camper van was network hub belonging parked with a repeatedly to a telecommunications broadcasted message, company; causing the stating that an explosion obstruction of internet and would take place in 15 mobile lines in several minutes. This broadcast counties in Tennessee. warned residents to Apart from marijuanaevacuate immediately.

The said message changed related charges, according to when police officers tried the director of the Tennessee evacuating the residents - Bureau of Investigation, the this warning changed to 3 suspect was not familiar minutes. Strangely enough, with the law agencies.

Petula Clark’s ‘Downtown’ Nevertheless, the song was playing. The

E

Metropolitan Nashville Police Department discovered that in August 2019, Warner’s girlfriend reported that Warner was building bombs in a trailer. Officers arrived at the home of Warner’s girlfriend, Pamela Perry, in August 2019 because Perry’s lawyer, Raymond Throckmonton was suspicious of the aspects that Perry brought about.

This is where Perry made the authorities aware that, the pistols she was holding belonged to Anthony Warner and that he was building bombs in his camper van. Although the authorities drove to Warner’s home, Warner did not respond. Their conclusion was there was no clear evidence of an

Source: Bloomberg intentional crime. The FBI ran a background check; there was nothing that would mean additional action would need to be taken.

Mayor John Cooper and the police chief called five Nashville police officers

‘heroes’ due to the scale to which they helped evacuate the residents. Police had called the explosion an ‘intentional act’ however, it is not claimed to be an act of mass killing or terrorism.

The exact motive for the explosion is not yet known.

4 NEWS

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Legal Case Against On-Campus Parking Company Ruled as ‘an Abuse of Process’ CARLOTA SANTOS MOVILLA | NEWS EDITOR n January to February of 2020, Dr Neil Scott, a Royal Holloway alumni who became an Economics teaching fellow of Econometrics at RHUL, struggled to see eye to eye with the on-campus parking company FirstParking. He was also a PhD candidate at the time. Dr Scott found it difficult to achieve a parking permit since he was no longer a student, so his parking permit status was undetermined. When Dr Scott would drive onto campus and park his car, he accumulated several tickets as he came into campus to teach.

I

Dr Scott was sent a letter to his home address, where he was not physically staying when it was delivered, notifying him of these parking tickets. If one doesn’t respond to it in two weeks, then a CCJ is automatically the next legal step. This situation would then increase financially, for example, 60 pounds on top of each sanction after the two weeks. For those who may not know, a CCJ (County Court Judgement) can become somewhat disruptive for those on the receiving end as it renders them unable to have a mortgage or pay car loans. It hinders your ability to gain credit for up to six years and rules out some financial transactions and activities.

The parking company in

question decided to increase their prices to their discretion; something Dr Scott considers abusive and unlawful. The judge called their behaviour an ‘abuse of process’. The company charges ‘additional costs’ on top of the existing fines without describing what these mean and why the cost keeps increasing exponentially for those affected. In an interview, Dr Scott says they added around 100 pounds to each fine. At this point, the judge challenged the barrister to explain the legitimacy of the growing cost.

Dr Scott spotted this behaviour. However, other less experienced, more naive students may not and probably have not in the past. Ideally, Dr Scott sees the situation developing to a point where there would be a record of every student who has engaged with this company. Then, this issue would be brought to their attention. If these extortion practices have affected a wide range of Royal Holloway members, this would have to be looked into more precisely; perhaps an apology would come forth.

We cannot help but wonder how the situation evolved up to this point without anyone noticing. Naturally, Dr Scott now seeks justice by warning other students about this behaviour which aims to benefit from people’s unawareness of the law. The situation caused significant uncertainty for three months, on top of coronavirus

evening of the 15th January, nearly 4 million people are vaccinated. Following the vaccination of these groups, the next in line are those in public services such as teachers, police officers and transport workers. More widespread vaccination of those under 50 is not likely to be seen until late spring or early summer, taking into account the current target of 2 million vaccinations per week set by the government.

With three different vaccines, there are many asking what the is difference between them. Concerning effectiveness, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines

Source: Haidan on Unsplash

limiting our daily lives. The toll this has taken on Dr Scott has been one of substantial stress.

The judiciary concluded the parking company was grossly inflating the sums to pay. The judges clarify they ‘knowingly inflate’ the price which proves to be worrying for students as not everyone

could spot this behaviour.

Royal Holloway handed the matter to their solicitor when notified of the situation at hand.

One should examine how many times this has happened in the past and if each time has been legitimate. Dr Scott says they are very likely to state

they comply; the judge ruled the opposite. Eventually, they ruled his case struck out as an abuse of process. Dr Scott received the amount of money determined to be the financial cost to be accepted.

Covid-19: Vaccination Roll Out and Hope for a COVID-Free 2021

distribution methods of these vaccines, prioritising the ELLIE MATTHEWS elderly and most vulnerable. he new year has brought Current guidance outlines hope to the fight against nine priority groups, covering COVID-19: vaccination. those above the age of 50 In the last month, three and at greater risk of a severe substantial vaccines were response to infection. Boris approved by the MHRA Johnson recently pledged to The JCVI (Joint Committee inoculate the top four priority (Medicine and Healthcare Vaccination and groups (13.9 million people) products Regulatory Agency). on The first was Pfizer/BioNTech Immunisation) have advised by the 15th February. As of the

T

on the 2nd December, followed by the Oxford University/AstraZeneca on the 30th December, and most recently by Moderna on the 8th January. All three protect those immunised against ‘severe COVID’.

NEWS 5

THE FOUNDER January 2021

reported efficacy of 95% and 94.1% respectively. The Oxford vaccines produced a 73.45% efficacy. In all cases, they protected against what officials call ‘severe COVID’. However, both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines need storage at a significantly low temperature before administration. There have been logistical challenges as a result, particularly in remote areas of the United Kingdom.

Europe has approved the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines.

Italy is the current European leader in the number of vaccinations at just over 1.1 million. Germany is just behind them, slightly over

1 million. The European Commission has been heavily criticised for their handling of the vaccines concerning their distribution and transport routes. There is also emerging evidence suggesting inoculation compliance is dropping significantly. A reason why could be due to the growing number of ‘antivax’ groups.

Only time will tell if the vaccines will have a genuine impact on our control of the virus. Until then, the best we Source: BBC can do is mitigate the risks by Margaret Keenan, 90, was the first patient in the United Kingdom staying safe and at home. to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at University Hospital, Coventry (PA)

6 NEWS

THE FOUNDER January 2021

What the Brexit Deal Means for the UK

GRACE ROLLISON ollowing nine months of negotiations, the UK and European Union agreed on a Brexit deal which came into effect on the 1st January 2021. On Christmas Eve, Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the deal as his Christmas present to the country, stating ‘We have taken back control of our laws and our destiny.’ The deal was overwhelmingly approved by MPs, who backed the agreement by 521 votes to 73. While Labour leader Keir Starmer criticised the deal, deeming it a flawed

F

‘thin deal’, he ordered his party to vote in favour, stating that the alternative would be for the UK to leave the Brexit transition period without a trade agreement in place.

a ‘high wage, high skill, high productivity economy.’

Workers must have a job offer from an approved sponsor, ‘at an appropriate skill level’ and speak English at the required level.

Under the new deal, freedom to work and live between the UK and the EU will expire. UK nationals will need a visa if they want to stay in the EU more than 90 days in 180 days. Meanwhile, a new immigration pointsbased system has been put into place, favouring skilled workers to create

Concerning trade, the deal states there will be no taxes on goods or limits on the amount can be traded between the UK and the EU, with some new checks and restrictions introduced at borders.

Businesses offering services will lose their automatic right of access to EU markets.

Changes to fishing- the most conflicting issue to resolve in negotiations- mean the UK will gradually gain a larger share of the fish from its waters. There will no longer be a role in the UK for the European Court of Justice, a key UK demand for Brexit supporters who said this would allow the UK to ‘take back control’ of its laws.

The UK will no longer have automatic access to crucial security databases and will not be obliged to comply with EU data standards. For the time being, the Erasmus

exchange programme will come to an end for the UK. The government now proposes the ‘Alan Turing’ scheme. It aims to be similar to Erasmus but including countries all over the world.

The PM has claimed that the situation is ‘far better than some people had perhaps expected’. He admitted to ‘teething problems’ concerning trade between the UK and Northern Ireland, as well as reports of lorries being delayed and refused entry at ports.

Trump Leaves the White House as Joe Biden's Presidency Begins ANTONIN LEFEBRVE

W

ithin a few months, Donald Trump went from being a potential litigant to a pariah. The outgoing President has recently been banned from Twitter, his main channel of expression, while the Democrats plan to launch a new impeachment process. Many Republicans have publicly expressed their growing disaffection towards Mr Trump. The Capitol debacle has highlighted the terrible divisions in the United States while humiliating the largest democracy globally.

Above all, it is the only country in the whole world has been a democracy during its entire History.

On the 3rd, Joe Biden won the elections and became the 46th President of the United States. Donald Trump challenged the election's

outcome. His claim failed to prove its point; it led to the rejection of sixty lawsuits and the refusal of Vice President Mike Pence to side with him. The confirmation of the results by the Congress was on the 5th to 6th of January.

Donald Trump's inability to appreciate the seriousness of the situation made his case worsen. His videotaped condemnation was publicised the following day when he finally admitted - without mentioning his name - that Joe Biden would be moving into the Oval Office on the 20th of January, contrary to what he had claimed previously.

Hoping for a revival of democracy and a peaceful handover of power, the perfect opposition to Donald Trump will take up residence in the White House from 20th January onwards. His

THE FOUNDER January 2021

5 Reasons to Stay Vegan after Veganuary ABRA HERITAGE | OPINION AND DEBATE EDITOR eganuary is a global campaign that aids people in moving to a plantbased diet for the start of the year. In the first week of January 2021, 500,000 people signed up to try a vegan January, breaking last year’s record of 400,000 sign-ups in the entirety of the month.

In their 2020 campaign, more than 600 brands, restaurants, and supermarkets promoted Veganuary’s mission, with 1200 new vegan products arriving to the UK market alone as a result. Their vision is simple: a plant-based future.

So, if you’ve already given veganism a go this month, or you’re considering it for the new year, here are 5 reasons to support Veganuary’s goal in eating green.

V

Animal Welfare:

Source: History in HD on Unsplash

experience is reflected in his team, made up mostly of former employees. Ron Klain, who will be his main right-hand man with the rank of chief of staff, held this position when he was vice-president. He will also be joined by two other

long-time advisors, Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon, in the White House. Tony Blinken, a State Department appointee, worked with Joe Biden when he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He followed him in 2009 as the

Vice President's National Security Advisor, before becoming Barack Obama's Deputy National Security Advisor, and in 2014 he will join the headquarters of American diplomacy as Assistant to then-Secretary of State John Kerry.

OPINION AND DEBATE 7

According to The Big Vegan Survey (2019), the biggest incentive to maintain a vegan lifestyle is concern over animal welfare, with 71% of vegans claiming this as their main reason for making the change to veganism. Every year in the UK, over 1,000,000,000 animals are killed for food.

If the UK population was killed at the rate farmed animals are killed around the world, we would all be gone in just 11 hours. Despite animal protection laws such as The Welfare of Animals Orders (2006/07), how can we ever deem slaughter as ‘humane’? By definition, humane slaughter is all but an oxymoron. On dairy farms,

Source: Rebecca Weigler, Illustrator mother cows are forcibly impregnated, with calves then separated from their mothers at birth so that humans can instead drink their milk. In chicken units, male chicks are killed at just a day old because of their inability to lay eggs.

When being fished, tuna are speared on long-line hooks, slowly dragged to death.

These animals are treated as commodities only, and no method of raising them for their produce or flesh can be classed as humane.

Carbon Footprint: The most comprehensive analysis to date of farming damage, undertaken by Oxford University (2018), claims that ‘avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on Earth’.

In the agriculture sector, farmed animals constitute nearly 80% of all emissions

alone. While some argue against the environmental positives of veganism, based on an increased soy demand in vegan diets, it must be noted that around 70% of the world’s soy is fed directly to livestock, with only 6% turned into human food.

While a UK vegan diet will typically emit 1,055kg of C02 annually, meat eaters’ nearly double this with a whopping 2,055kg. Even foods that are often associated with high environmental impacts, such as avocados, have lower water footprints than cow’s meat, pig, sheep, chicken, and eggs.

Land Space: Using land to solely grow feed for animals is incredibly inefficient, with 10 pounds of grain needed to produce just 1 pound of meat. On top of this, more than 90% of all Amazon rainforest cleared is used to

make space for livestock, with further rainforest clearing then needed to grow animal feed. What is particularly harrowing is the fact that 82% of starving children live in countries where land is used to grow food to feed to livestock, which is then eaten

by Western countries.

Ocean Protection: We forbid plastic straws from cafes, brought shame to anybody sipping their Starbucks Frappuccino out of one. Spoiler alert: they contributed to 0.025% of plastic waste in the ocean. The real issue? Half of all plastic in the sea comes from fishing.

On top of this ocean waste crisis, fishing kills between 1 and 2.8 trillion fish every year, with ¾ of the world’s fisheries now exploited or completely depleted. And for every pound of fish caught, up

to 5 pounds of accidental sea life is pulled up onto the boats and discarded.

Health: Vegan diets, by nature, contain less saturated fats, in turn reducing risk of cardovascular disease and obesity.

A study of more than 12,000 people (2019) supports this notion, with Harvard scientists discovering that eating a vegan diet can cut your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 23%. It’s worth noting that not only does a balanced vegan diet improve your physical health, it can also benefit mental wellbeing. Making conscious choices to better your environmental footprint and to put money into systems that are protecting people, the animals, and the planet, can also help individuals feel accomplished in personal activism.

8 OPINION AND DEBATE

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Against Tuition Refunds: Education is a Right not a Service

right to an education, not a service for us to pay for.

IZZI VAUGHAN | EDITOR IN CHIEF

O

ver the past year, there has been a growing call from students across the country for refunded and reduced tuition fees, given the circumstances of UCU strikes and a national lockdown which has significantly disturbed our learning environment. While I understand the frustration faced by students who feel they have not received what they have paid for, the campaign to refund tuition fees for the disturbed learning environment over lockdown, and the call for reduced tuition fees, presents the wrong idea: that we ought to have paid for our education in the first place.

When a student asks for a tuition fee refund, the idea of education as a marketable exchange is encouraged and strengthened. Students have paid staff and the university for a service which has been disturbed, and subsequently not provided. But university staff should not be providing a service for those who have paid for it, they ought to be able to teach those who want to be taught.

Source: Times Higher Education

Tuition fee refunds also have very little material benefit to students right now, when most are suffering financial losses due to the pandemic, especially those from low income households. During the UCU strikes in 2018 and 2019, students were refunded a total of £3 million in tuition refunds for lost lessons, of a maximum of £4,500 per student (Independent exclusive).

Those on maximum maintenance loan, such as myself, will be leaving their 3 years degree with upwards of £60,000 in debt to be paid back by 9%

of everything earned over £1,615 a month, with 1.1% interest. For students such as myself, a few thousand pounds removed from over £60,000 of debt makes little difference to my situation right now. Though postgraduate and international students whose tuition is not paid by Student Finance find themselves in a different situation, where tuition fees are paid out of pocket for the most part, a tuition fee refund could help them in the short term. But the overarching problem still lies: we should not have had to pay to be here at all.

Recently there has also been growing calls to reduce tuition fees back to £3,000.

However, this faces the same issue as campaigns calling for a tuition refund, it would only mean smaller debt for the majority of students whose tuition is paid by Student Finance, and will only see significant short term benefit for those who were lucky enough to be able to pay their tuition outright.

Though it would mean a significantly smaller debt would be accounted for at the end of our studies, our debt would still be unacceptably high to an institution which ought to be providing us our

An alternative would be to call for rent refunds and reductions, as has been seen in the recent rent strikes at universities across the country, and to support the UCU’s fight for education for all. Rent strike campaigns can amount to significant change and money deposited directly back into the student’s bank account, as well as money saved for students in the future.

Currently, there are efforts to set up an Acorn branch in the Egham area. Acorn is a renter’s union which protects the legal rights of tenants across the country. Whether you are living in halls or in private accomodation, they can provide real benefits to you if you have any trouble with your landlord (including the university). Setting up a branch in our local area will help protect tenants for years to come, including current and future students of Royal Holloway.

You can join Acorn at acorntheunion.org.uk/join, and if you would like to be more involved with our campaign, you can contact me on Twitter @Izzi_Vaughan.

The End of Democracy As We Know It election were being certified, D.C. and the 2019-2020 Trump supporters stormed the Hong Kong Pro-Democracy s the Trump presidency Capitol Building.

Protests. comes to an end, the effect of proclaiming that However, Trumps rhetoric The Chinese Ministry of only wide-spread election to undermine the United Foreign Affairs spokesperson fraud could have cost him his States democratic process has Hua Chun-Ying said: ‘Similar second term in office - despite had more of a global effect. As events happened but some there being no evidence the world watched the Capitol people in the US including the that this ever occurred – has building being stormed, The media have totally different finally come to fruition. On People’s Republic of China reactions.’ Whilst Qingqin the 6th January 2021, as the drew a comparison between Chen, a reporter for China’s results of the 46th presidential the events in Washington state-sponsored Global EMILY HOWE

A

Times, tweeted: ‘When Trump supporters storm Capitol, they are called as ‘mob’ but we’ve seen exactly the similar scenario happened in #HongKong #LegCo in 2019.’

However, a comparison between the two protest movements is unjust. Whilst both protests incurred significant damage to their

respective buildings, there remain important differences between the two. Protestors who stormed the Legislative Building did so when the chamber was empty, none were armed, and there was no intention to harm any members of the chamber; unlike those who stormed the Capitol. Most importantly, why protestors stormed their halls of government remains

THE FOUNDER January 2021

OPINION AND DEBATE 9

the key difference between impossible for the Prothe two events.

Democracy party to win a majority, thus ensuring a ProThe Hong Kong protest China government is always movement started in June in charge. Protestors in a bid 2019 against a proposed to save what little democracy Extradition Law. Which was left, stormed the allowed even those simply Legislative Council building. suspected of illegal This is a direct contrast behaviour to be extradited to the mainland, completely to why Trump supporters undermining the ‘one country, attempted to take the Capitol. two systems’ arrangement. Under the false belief that On the 1st July 2019, Hong their election had been ‘stolen’ Kong protestors stormed the from them, they attempted Legislative Council building, to violently overthrow demonstrating against the the legitimate democratic controversial Extradition process. There is a prominent Law. The Legislative Council difference between protesting is designed to make it nearly against a non-democratic

single-party government and attempting a coup against a legitimate democratic election result.

In being unable to accept defeat and resorting to lies in a dishonest attempt to maintain power, Trump undermines not only his own democracy but also democracies around the world. Trumpian rhetoric has not only allowed for such attempts at insurrection to happen but also provides reasoning for other nations to destabilise democracies and seize power for themselves.

Source: Flickr

Vaccine Refusal May Be the Greatest Obstacle to Ending the Pandemic

Source: Wikimedia Commons AUGUSTUS BAMBRIDGESUTTON

never arrive.

n the midst of the darkness imposed by the pandemic, the prospect of vaccination seems like a source of light. It is, for many, a success story for science, representing the ability of humanity to survive, and transcend, the assaults of nature.

While most countries have a population willing to take the vaccine, some, according to a YouGov poll, have a significantly large proportion who plan to refuse it. The UK has only a 9% refusal rate, but countries such as Germany, Taiwan and the USA have a predicted 27%.

France has a staggering 38% (according to YouGov).

I

And yet, a vocal minority has shown a deep distrust for the vaccine, and (a smaller number perhaps) for vaccines in general. Understanding why this is may be the key to saving lives, as if a significant enough majority refuses vaccination, the promised end of the pandemic may

Of course, there are numerous conspiracy theories out there connected to vaccination (for example, that Bill Gates plans to use the vaccine to reduce the global population to 1 billion

the idea of corruption between officials and pharmaceutical companies in France; that it was about business not health safety’ (Professor Joceylyn Raude, health behaviour expert).

In 2009, the government overordered 94m vaccine doses, at a cost of €869m.

While the order was later to solve overpopulation), but cancelled, the reputation for much of the refusal is rooted government ineptitude was not in irrational fantasies but already set (The Guardian). lived experience.

In France, a history of medical blunders, coupled with an engrained culture of anti-establishment sentiment, has brought vaccine distrust into the mainstream. For example, in 1991 it came to light that in the 1980s health authorities had knowingly distributed blood products contaminated with HIV to haemophiliacs (several ministers were subsequently charged with manslaughter).

Mediator, a diabetic drug, was later linked to between 500 and 1200 deaths, validating ‘in people’s minds

Black Americans are also disproportionately more likely to be vaccine sceptics.

Experiencing more limited access to healthcare than White Americans, especially during the pandemic, has contributed to distrust of the US medical system. Like the French, they are also influenced by memories of past medical disasters: the 1932 Tuskegee Syphilis Study, backed by US Public Health, enrolled 600 Black men, including 399 who had syphilis, and tricked them into believing they were

receiving medical care to cure their malady. In fact, they were just in for observation, and were not treated even when penicillin was found to cure syphilis years later (Time).

Structural racism, while not as prevalent as it was then, still dominates many Black lives, leading a disproportionate number of Black Americans to refuse the vaccine.

And yet, whether people’s reasons are based on conspiracy theories or anti-establishment distrust, refusal is something we can no longer afford. The pandemic has killed almost two million people, and the resulting lockdowns have sent many around the world, particularly in Africa and Asia, back below the global poverty line. Whether or not there is any validity to fears of sideeffects caused by the vaccine, the alternative is to let it run its course without one. This will, both directly and indirectly, extinguish many more lives that could otherwise have been saved.

10 OPINION AND DEBATE

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Social Media: Why Can Teenage Girls Like Anything?

I Wish I Could Give It Up, But Can’t ELLIE MATTHEWS CW: Body Image When I was 13 years old, I made a Facebook page. Nothing flashy at the time, my profile picture was a cartoon, I had a total of five friends, and my main use of the platform was to share my farming triumphs with everyone I knew. Now, eight years later, I find myself wondering at what point my use of social media went from social to sinister.

I struggle to think of the last time I scrolled through my home page and didn’t find myself wishing I was someone else. That Instagram model earning millions for just being pretty and thin, my friend who has just made the big move into their own house and is now being a functioning adult, or even just that one person who always seems to have something going on with one of their many hundreds of friends. It’s hard not to then analyse your own posts and wonder ‘Why is their life so much better?’

2020 summer Lockdown only helped to aggravate this situation. More and more people were finding beauty spots to have a nice walk or run in whilst I was stuck at home, trying my hardest to study remotely for exams and barely keeping my head above the water. Once exams were done, and the warm weather arrived, I decided to take a break from my socials and see how it went.

The first day brought typical withdrawal symptoms, constantly contemplating what was happening, wanting to check every ping that came through to my phone, but by the end of the week I realised that I didn’t miss it. My social hiatus soon ended, however, when a friend messaged me with a juicy story about a mutual friend of mine and I just had to see what was going on.

So, in the space of a month, I found myself hating social media and being relieved of being rid of it, whilst simultaneously using it for my own entertainment.

Now, faced with the third national lockdown of my short life, I am finally cutting myself a bit of slack.

Social media is not what it used to be, and I truly wish I could go back to the time where I was sending invites to people to play Geochallenge, but sadly I do not think that will happen anytime soon. What I have learnt is to take breaks and take everything with a pinch of salt. Just because things look great on social media does not always mean they are, checking in with people just for the sake of checking in is good, and we could all stand to do it more often. So, with the next year comes my greatest new year’s resolution - to take more time away from screens – ironic right?

Source: Wikimedia Commons

ABRA HERITAGE | OPINION AND DEBATE EDITOR hen I mention ‘Twilight’ or ‘One Direction’, what images come to mind?

For many, hysterical girls, screaming teenage fans, and overall ‘cringe’, might be the first connotations with these sensations.

Unfortunately, these associations are placed on just about anything that is aimed at young women.

Even women that take interest in less overtly femininetargeted franchises, hobbies, and interests are criticised. It seems that the problem lies not in what women consume, but in the simple fact that they are women. Blatant misogyny has crept its way into dictating the very things young women can partake in or enjoy, but this sexism hasn’t gone unnoticed.

W

TikTok has taken to the matter in the last month, following comments from acclaimed Twitch Streamer and Youtuber, Wilbur Soot, who asked for examples of ‘something teenage girls can be interested in without being made fun of’. His conclusion was that ‘teenage girls have nothing they be can

be interested in without being mocked’ and denounced this ‘modern media’ problem as ‘hella unfair and sexist and bad’. After a clip of the stream was shared on TikTok, comments flooded in with agreement. ‘This is why I don’t tell people what I like’, said one comment, and another claimed that she gets mocked for ‘watching these guys stream’, acting as ironic evidence to Wilbur’s claim.

The problem here lies in the fact that young girls become scared to embrace what they actually like in fear of the potential criticism they will face from men around them. As a young girl myself, I denounced the colour pink, I wanted nothing to do with femininity. Sure, it might have seemed funny at the time, and 8-year-old me probably saw it as a radical feminist position, but looking back, this apparent hatred of ‘girliness’ stemmed from its association with weakness.

Anything associated with women in the media, whether this be makeup, fashion, boybands, chick-lit, or romance TV and films, is denounced simply because it is largely consumed by women. It is

seen as soft, or unimportant, and women are shamed for being ‘obsessed’ with such things.

But women who take interest in media-claimed ‘masculine’ interests are just as constrained to criticism.

Young women who partake in ‘masculine’ interest, such as football, videogames, or even drinking beer, have been given a new internet title: ‘bruh girls’. The title itself has, of course, caused controversy, but many online claim that ‘bruh girls’ can be viewed interchangeably with ‘pick-me-girls’, who are women that supposedly take on masculine interest to impress men. Yes, you read that right. If a woman supports FC Bayer Munich, enjoys playing The Legend of Zelda, or orders Guinness at her local, it’s apparently to impress a man.

The binary approach our modern media has in dictating which gender can partake in which franchises and interests has left women with no escape from criticism. There seems no solution but constant challenging and vigilance of such sentiments.

FEATURES 11

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Continued from the front page: In comparison, footage circulating on social media shortly after the January 6th riots showed the police in front of the Capitol building opening the gates to the Trump supporters, willingly letting them past. Rioters has already made it inside the Capitol building before the National Guard were deployed, following some resistance. On June 2nd 2020, before Trump spoke at the Rose Garden, police near the White House fired rubber bullets and tear gas at Black Lives Matter protestors in an effort to

disperse the crown, all so President Trump could visit St. John’s Episcopal Church for a photo opportunity.

Earlier that same day, Trump has encouraged governors to more violently attack protesters.

Doctor Cornell West, speaking to Anderson Cooper on CNN on the 30th May 2020, said ‘the system cannot reform itself… we’ve tried Black faces in high places. Too often our Black politicians, professional class, middle class, become too accommodated to the capitalist economy’. He draws attention to the Black

Lives Matter movement, how it ‘emerged under a Black President, Black Attorney General, and Black Homeland Security and they couldn’t deliver’.

Working class minorities are those whose voices and struggles are left out of the liberal race debate.

Doctor West makes clear, we have a choice between revolutionary action, shared power, respect and resources, or more neofascist explosions, like we saw on January 6th.

January 20th marked the day President Trump left the White House for the last

time, and President Biden and Vice President Harris were sworn in. Electing the first woman of colour to serve as Vice President may come as a victory for some. But rather than the revolutionary, systemic change needed, the inauguration represented a continuation. Maybe not of Trumpism, or his unique brand of neofascism, but a continuation of the same old neo-liberal, conservative agenda which has been the enemy of social justice movements for decades. Biden is the representation of what Martin Luther King warned

Census 2021 – What You Need To Know ALEX WHITEMAN | MANAGING EDITOR

2

021 will prove to be a unique year because, on top of everything else, the national census will take place. On March 21st, the Office for National Statistics will distribute a set of questions which, for the first time in many of our lives, we will need to fill out. Given that things have changed rather drastically over the last year, let alone the last decade, this census will prove to be incredibly different from the last one, so it is important that we are aware of what this year’s census is all about.

So what information goes into the census? What is that information used for? How has the census changed due to the pandemic? I spoke with a spokesperson for the Office for National Statistics to find out.

over.’ This census will have more options to accommodate greater diversity, while also allowing participants to answer only what they feel comfortable revealing.

‘Everyone in England and Wales is asked the same questions, on the same day.

They are asked details about their job, education, ethnic background, but also who The key aspect was in their home overnight to get a clear snapshot of the the census is what information is used for. country.’

outputs inform where public funding is spent on services like transport, education and health – on cycle routes, schools and mental health care – and on improving the environment for all.’ of Our information is used to the help the country run more effectively.

‘Understanding the needs of the nation helps everyone from central government to organisations, such as councils and health authorities, plan and fund services across ‘Since 1801, there has public England and Wales’. been a Census to record the social make-up of the The information we country’. provide in the census is However, the census has not just used as a social undergone drastic changes snapshot of our country. over the years, and 2021 is ‘Gathering this information will ultimately help local no exception. communities by allowing ‘As well as the traditional charities, local and central questions, this time there are government to understand new voluntary questions on the services people from sexual orientation and gender different groups need, and identity for those aged 16 and monitor equality. Census The aim is not to be intrusive, but rather to get an idea of what the UK looks like overall, by focusing on a single night.

It is not just the government that benefits from this information. ‘Charities and voluntary organisations often use it as evidence to get funding. It helps businesses to understand their customers and, for example, decide where to open new shops.

Plus, those doing research, university students like yourselves and people looking into their family history, use census data. It also provides important information on population diversity, allowing organisations to know whether they are meeting their responsibilities and triggering action where necessary.’

of, ‘the White moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice’. And I fear that this day may represent victory for too many people, who will end their fight now Trump is no longer President. We don’t need more ‘black faces in high places’, we need racial justice. We don’t need more liberal reform, we need revolutionary change. We don’t need unity with racists and neo-fascists, we need their defeat. And no one who sits in the Oval Office, in a house built by slavery for a White America, can achieve that.

It is natural, of course, to be cautious about the information you share online.

However, the census is not a detailed deep dive into your personal information.

‘They are asked details about their job, education, ethnic background, but also who was in their home overnight to get a clear snapshot of the country.’ It is intended not to be intrusive, but informative.

Even then, that information is well-protected, and kept anonymous for a very long time. ‘Anonymised results – the data at a local level – will be available the following year, although personal records will be locked away for 100 years, kept safe for future generations.’

With everything that has happened over the last year, the UK is in an incredibly tough position, and it is more important now than ever before that it is run in an informed and efficient manner. One thing that we can all do to help make that happen is to participate in this year’s census.

12 FEATURES

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Race in the Classical World THOMAS BARRETT

J

udgement of the perceived ‘other’, of those different than ourselves, has unfortunately been prevalent in society since its formation.

Being suspicious of those to whom we do not relate, to those we do not understand, is so ingrained into our thinking that you are statistically more likely to yawn in response to someone yawning of your own race than another due to a greater subconscious empathy with those of your colour. Yet, the very concept of race as it is today is not what it used to be; the ancient Greeks and Romans saw race very differently.

Race in the ancient world was not about your skin colour, that was irrelevant. Besides cultural dress, there was no outward way of knowing someone’s race – hence why the Jewish Laws have a focus on the way to dress, because race was understood much the same in the Biblical period.

Race was all about where you lived and grew up and was best deciphered through accent and mannerisms.

Whether you were Caucasian or BAME was not relevant, if you had a Spartan accent, you were Spartan, and if you had an Athenian accent, you were Athenian. Examples of this can be seen all over

ancient texts – when Peter is accused of being one of Jesus’ followers, it is remarked by an accuser in Matthew 26:73 that ‘surely you are one of them, your accent gives you away,’ with the other Gospels commenting that everyone knew he was a Galilean.

It is telling that when the Bible comments on everyone being the same before God in Galatians 3:28, it uses the three examples of there being no difference between ‘Jew nor Gentile’ (race, but not based on biological ethnicity), ‘slave nor free’ (status) or ‘male and female’ (gender).

begin with, it shows that racism based on the colour of one’s skin is, compared to the long stretch of human history, actually a modern concept, most likely linked to the slave trade. Slavery in the Roman world was not like the slavery of the sixteenth century: in ancient Rome, anyone could be made a slave. Age, gender, status – and importantly, race – did not matter. Again, what defined a slave from a free person was not racial, it was merely financial or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was not until the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, when over thirty But what does this million people were taken mean for us today? Well to from West Africa and sold

Royal Holloway on Ecosia

SELA MUSA | FEATURES EDITOR cosia is a search engine dedicated to using its profits to plant trees and significantly contribute to the process of reforestation.

Founded in 2009, it rapidly grew all over Europe and today is planting trees all around the world, creating a healthier environment and providing food security in many underdeveloped countries. Since the birth of this sustainable social business, over 115 million trees have been planted worldwide, simply by using the revenue generated through search advertisements every time we search the web. Here

E

on campus, the student-led campaign, Royal Holloway on Ecosia, was created with the aim of making Ecosia the default search engine on Royal Holloway’s campus. As of the 18th November 2020, the campaign’s determination and commitment to sustainability made that switch happen.

The campaign here at Royal Holloway is part of a larger family known as Ecosia on Campus – a global, student-led campaign that are continuously campaigning to make Ecosia the default search engine across universities worldwide. Amazingly, Royal Holloway has become the 10th university in the world

(world!) and the 1st university in London to switch to Ecosia and demonstrate its commitment to sustainability.

Within the first five days of becoming the default search engine on campus, the daily average of searches rose from 100 to over 1500 from Royal Holloway students, meaning that over 100 trees have been planted simply from the funds generated just by students at this university. The simple act of searching the web is completely changing the landscape of reforestation, and the voice and actions of students will never let this die down.

This truly is a tremendous step for Royal Holloway and, more importantly, for the world. Deforestation may not be the loudest topic on days like these, but it would be an ignorant and embarrassing thing to disregard it and justify doing so simply because other things are going on. In

Source: Twitter

fourteen years, land nearly equivalent to the size of India (over 300 million hectares) was cleared of trees meaning the role of being carbon sink was perished, biodiversity had a huge chunk taken out of it, and the culture of local people was irreversibly disrupted and changed (Global Witness, 2020). Obviously, this is just one example of what is continuously happening right now, and these are just the tip of the resulting effects. Deforestation is not something to just learn about

into slavery, that this changed.

Believe it or not, this horrified many people even at the time, so slave traders and politicians had to find ways to justify the slave trade, beginning an onslaught of racist propaganda suggesting that those of colour were less intelligent, lazy, disease-carriers. These were commonly used as arguments as to why they should work on plantations and why they would dislike the work, despite being supposedly suited to it, and the effects of these lies are still being felt hundreds of years later. There was no space in the classical world for discrimination based on skin colour, and there should be no space for it now either.

in a geography book and then turn a blind eye to just because we are fortunate enough to be able to do so. It takes more than one person to tackle deforestation, but everyone – literally everyone – can switch to using a different search engine.

To download Ecosia onto your personal device, visit ecosia.co/RoyalHolloway.

Royal Holloway on Ecosia has done the work of making Ecosia the search engine of Royal Holloway. We just need to use it now.

LIFESTYLE 13

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Getting Organised The New ‘Dormal’: On Living for the New Term In Halls During A Pandemic KATIE UPTON | LIFESTYLE EDITOR

T

he start of a new term can be daunting, but it's also a new opportunity to get yourself organised and start achieving some of your goals. Here are my top tips for being organised at university, especially with the new online university rules.

Get yourself a diary This has to be one of my biggest tips, I've had a diary for years and it's honestly the one thing that helps to keep me on track. Some designs can be expensive, but you can easily purchase a plain one and customise it yourself. When it comes to using a diary, I make a daily schedule of classes that I have on, then underneath I made a daily to-do list. Paperchase have some wonderful diary's with matching stationery.

Realistic To-do Lists A to-do list can be a great method to manage your time, but you need to remember to always make them realistic.

Include relaxing things

Source: Pinterest

like watching an episode of RUBY EASTON espite residing at a Netflix series or simply home this term due to going for a walk. It makes the list appear more 'do-able' lockdown restrictions, many and gives you tasks to break of us spent at least the first term of university in halls. up your day.

This meant quickly becoming Make a suitable work accustomed to the idea of environment enforced self-isolation at a I am most productive moment’s notice, receiving when I have a set work scheduled meal deliveries, environment that is usually and often thinly veiled passive my desk. I also tend to work aggression in accommodation better when it's neat and group chats. As a first-year tidy. On my desk, I keep student, it is difficult to speak my pen pots, a large bottle for what the environment of water, a couple of books was like before the virus, and some plants. I often light but as for this term, the halls a candle to make a relaxing were quiet and full of empty environment. rooms. The common rooms in Founders remained open Scheduling in fun for the students to mingle and activities for security to close at 11pm Part of succeeding in each night. academia is finding suitable work and life balance, At least in the first few without this many students weeks there seemed to be a will burn out. Some of my dichotomy between those favourite activities are, strictly attempting to follow catching up on YouTube the Covid-19 guidelines subscriptions, reading a and those who seemed book, my adult colouring determined to still have the book and baking. There are university experience they so many simple activities had been waiting for. Every that you can do to break up now and then in the early your day. hours of the morning, shouts from Freshers could be heard through the windows of the Founders Building, groups of less-than-sober undergraduates would run past shouting over the music blaring from their handheld speakers.

D

For a while, the ‘new normal’ we heard mentioned time and time again in the news seemed to settle into place. We wore masks and social distanced at the inperson lectures we were able to attend, booked slots at the

Source: Royal Holloway

library, and went to the dining hall in our designated groups.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before somebody on our floor had the misfortune of catching the virus. The university had a plan ready for this exact eventuality, and our entire corridor was put into self-isolation.

A lot of the time, we jokingly referred to this time as a prison sentence.

We received our meals three times a day, each delivery was shipped up in the lift and announced via whistle.

Of course, it could have been much worse, every day we read horror stories about fellow students at other universities essentially being barricaded in and forgotten.

But while the period of time we were isolated was objectively short, each day truly felt like a lifetime.

Well-being meetings were, of course, offered to us, but speaking to a member of staff through a Microsoft Teams call was not a particular relief.

In fact, the few meetings

attended only felt stale and awkward.

Emerging from isolation was a relief, though the halls were even quieter. Many people had chosen to return home and the corridors became more and more vacant. Despite the ability to go outside relatively freely, every day still felt repetitive, especially as the weather got colder and the sun set sooner.

Moving into university during a pandemic was a gamble to say the least, and regret is not the right word to describe the lingering mixed emotions that came from returning home. Ultimately, it would be fair to say the experience did a lot of us more good and allowed us to be more social (even if marginally so).

The experience allowed for friendship, self-discovery, and even a new sense of freedom. However, upon finding out that my time away from my dorm room would be extended, I cannot claim to be overly distraught.

14 LIFESTYLE

THE FOUNDER January 2021

4) Know your rights: When venturing into the world of private renting it's so important to know your rights so that sneaky landlords and estate agents don't try and con you for money just because you're a student. As with my town, there's usually estate agents to avoid, this is something your university can help you with. This is also particularly important when contract signing, as this is a legally bound obligation. For more information on this please see the Citizens Advice website.

5) Be open to change:

Source: Pinterest

Private Rental Accommodation

KATIE UPTON | LIFESTYLE EDITOR

T

ypically, in the UK, university students are more likely to go into private rental accommodation after first year. Finding a house and a suitable group of people to live within the short space of time that you're given is difficult.

1) Understand that there will always be somewhere for you to live: Knowing this can sometimes take the pressure

away from deciding who you want to live with too soon.

You want to be able to form a good relationship with the people you'll be spending 24/7 with. For RHUL students, the Egham/Englefield Green area is more than able to cater to every student who wishes to go into renting privately.

realistically afford and what you can get for your money within that area. In many cases, be prepared for some people to be demanding in terms of double beds and ensuites. People tend to want luxury facilities for a lower price, this may cause some tension within the group if it's not discussed early on.

2) Determine your budget and what you expect in 3) Attend as many return for that: viewings as possible:

Before starting to book Without attending any viewings, it's crucial that viewings, it's impossible to you work out what you can know what's available within

your area and within your price range. When I was starting to look at houses with my friends, we decided to go to our university housing fair which gave us details of all the local estate agents and acted as a direct forum to booking viewings. As well as identifying features such as distance from the university, contract length, deposit amounts.

Although the housing fair can’t return as normal this year, the SU will be offering a host of advice and support in the upcoming weeks/months.

Moving into a new property can be a huge change, and in many cases, it will test friendships. So try to be as open to the change as possible, it will make the transition into private renting a lot easier.

6) Try and build a relationship with your landlord: Both parties want to have a positive experience, so building a mutually beneficial relationship is worth it in the long-run. The landlord wants you to take care of the property and ideally renew for another year, this makes their life easier and your year a lot more enjoyable. Plus you want to live in a house that's well maintained and if any problems do occur you know you can contact someone to get them resolved as soon as possible.

THE FOUNDER January 2021

ARTS & CULTURE 15

The Hill We Climb – Amanda Gorman Calls for Unity in Moving Inaugural Poem ‘When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

TESSA PINTO | ARTS EDITOR

T

he 22-year-old Amanda Gorman made history in January when she became the youngest poet to read at a Presidential swearing in ceremony. Gorman delivered a reading of her poem The Hill We Climb at Joe Biden’s inauguration to become President of the United States of America. In doing so, Gorman has joined the ranks of such names as Maya Angelou and Robert Frost.

The powerful words of her poem have been hailed as symbolic of a new era in American politics, and her delivery style has been likened to the oratory of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Like Biden, Gorman has also grown up with a speech impediment, and has spoken of her struggles to pronounce the letter R in particular, which makes her fluid and decisive delivery all the more remarkable.

Gorman had originally written the poem before the riots at the Capitol took place earlier in the month, but subsequently altered her work to emphasise the importance of democracy and the putting aside of difference, and uses the poem as a call for unity and healing. Whilst her poem speaks directly to American history and recent events, the broader message of her words have resonance for those of us who are conflicted about living with the legacy of empire and slavery, when she describes her understanding of national identity as ‘the

The loss we carry, a sea we must wade.

We’ve braved the belly of the beast.

We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace, and the norms and notions of what “just” is isn’t always justice.

And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it.

Somehow we do it.

Somehow we’ve weathered and witnessed a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished.

Source: Amanda Gorman’s Instagram.

Amanda Gorman delivers her poem The Hill We Climb at Joe Biden’s inauguration past we step into, and how Gorman decided at a young age to dedicate herself to we repair it’. using the power of words Gorman is a poet, writer to try and change the world and activist from Los for the better. She became Angeles. There, she grew the first US National Youth up in what she has described Laureate in 2015 at the as an intersection between age of 16, and opened the different classes and cultures, Library of Congress literary and this is something season, where Dr. Jill Biden which has shaped her art approached her about writing and activism. Particularly an original piece of work for inspired by the oratory of Joe Biden’s inauguration. the Pakistani activist Malala, The inauguration has been

We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president, only to find herself reciting for one.’

a significant moment in Gorman’s fledgling but already impressive literary career – but she might not always dedicate herself to poetry forever, and has joked about plans to run for President herself in fifteen years’ time. What career path she eventually takes remains to be seen, but her work will certainly have a long-lasting legacy both in America and abroad.

Full text and a video of the speech available widely online.

16 LITERARY REVIEW

THE FOUNDER January 2021

R

arely does a novel dare to encompass a history of almost one hundred years in its scope. Even less still does one do it with as much compassion and clarity as can be seen in Pachinko.

Following the same family across four generation, there is little that it fails to explore along its tangled narrative arcs. We are faced with tales of hardship, betrayal, and tragedy, but above all we are told a story of resilience and hope in the face of unrelenting adversity.

The main character Sunja, acts as the focal point of the narrative, and through her we gain insight into the lives of her parents before her, and her sons and grandchildren after her. In their separate

narratives they each face different obstacles; Sunja navigates marriage and pregnancy as a Korean in a foreign country; her sons confront their dual nationality or lack of such in a world which seeks to villainise their very existence; and her grandchildren fight against predominating stigmas which seek to uproot their lives. It is a world fraught with hardship at every turn but permeated with brief moments of beauty. For even through all their struggles, Sunja gains a loving husband and a supportive family, a legacy that she can be proud of, and a life that she can be assured she has lived to its fullest.

Though the host of characters is large and the range of personalities staggering, none are left ill-

conceived. These are real people. We don’t always agree with their opinions or decisions, and at times their actions seem drastic in comparison to what is going on in their life. Not for one moment, however, does anything they do feel artificial. Which is perhaps why it presents such an immersive but harrowing read. The tragedies that the family faces are real tragedies that have been faced by real people. Indeed, Min Jin Lee worked through several iterations of the novel, drawing upon her own experiences as a Korean American and the stories of third and fourth generation Koreans in Japan. Weaved together they create a rich tapestry of narratives which explore the aftermath of Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910, a situation wrought

ALI KRAUSOVA

L

Source: Unsplash, Emile Guillemot

with difficulty for both those who stayed and left Korea.

This fictional investigation of life over the last century offers an insight into hardships that go relatively unmentioned in the West.

It is humbling to see what life was and continues to be like for those torn from their homes and forced to adapt without any support. It must be taken with a pinch of salt;

it is not representative of every experience, but it is reflective of a relevant one.

In a time of great struggle, when many are isolated or struggling to adapt to the “new normal” it offers a ray of hope, and a point of comparison; humanity may have not been through worse or the same, but it has been through a lot.

Kae Tempest – On Connection Review AUGUSTUS BAMBRIDGE-SUTTON don’t normally listen to audiobooks, but On Connection, from playwright, novelist, rapper and performance poet Kae Tempest, would have lost something on the page.

Tempest, who reads their own work here, is a performer after all; their incanting, earnest style brought the work to life.

I

Source: Unsplash, Tim Mossholder

LITERARY REVIEW 17

Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass

Pachinko: Life is a Gamble MERCEDES-GEORGIA MAYES | LITERARY REVIEW EDITOR

THE FOUNDER January 2021

On Connection, Tempest’s first work of non-fiction, explores what they describe as ‘creative connection’ -

how art can draw us out of ‘a permanent state of mild or severe disassociation’ and drag us into the here and now, to feel the emotional resonance of the present and share it with the people around us. Despite being nonfiction, On Connection has all the trappings of Tempest’s poetry; it is beautiful in its earnestness and sensory eloquence, it can be both angry and soothing with equal grace, and there is a strong ideological bent running through its core. However, the book also carries Tempest’s

ast year’s Lana Del Rey’s debut poetry book sparked the interest of many as Del Rey has always been known to reference a variety of poets in her previous works.

Though her work is mostly influenced by American poet Walt Whitman, Violet isn’t necessarily American but rather ‘Californian’, which occasionally makes it harder to relate to for an ordinary reader.

Even though Del Rey is an incredible writer, and a self-proclaimed ‘writer first, singer second’, I was reluctant to purchase Violet sooner.

I had a fear of something I call the ‘Rupi Kaur quality’, which was supported by the fact the back cover of Del Rey’s poetry book is her, quite poor-looking, selfie. That and her previous promise of selling the book for as little as a dollar, because her ‘thoughts are priceless’, didn’t support the actual promotion of the book much.

As it turns out, the overall quality of the physical copy is beautiful. The book is half made of Del Rey’s own-taken pictures, which go well, not only with the Californian feel, but the intellectual one too.

And although the book does contain a few haikus after all, they are actual haikus and not random Tumblr quotes the likes of which would tantalise Kaur.

However scary or defeatist this may seem on the surface, her way of presenting it actually makes the reader feel freer about current events and everything that comes with it.

Instead of suggesting that we must all fight all the time, she says things like: ‘there’s never anything you can do about the important things’ and: ‘do things that are sweet, and a sweet man is sure to follow.’

Del Rey’s poetry book is just the kind I like: selfindulgent, unapologetic, and raw. Many other critics slashed Del Rey’s selfindulgence and her constant mentioning of being ‘a real poet’, but I personally believe poets firstly write for themselves, and in that sense Del Rey’s message seems genuine and strong, though not grasped by all.

The singer has also released a vinyl spoken-word version, which is on top of the charts still. Though her thoughts didn’t end up being priceless, the purchase was worth it and the book is currently on sale as well, as Del Rey managed to sell over 30 thousand copies, in the US alone, in the first months of the book being published. If this weren’t enough, half of the proceeds go towards the Navajo Water Project, which, while a poor apology for her previous cultural appropriation in her Source: Josh Rice Source: Unsplash, Zane Priedite 2013 ‘Ride’ music video, is still a very important cause to contribute to.

The poetry is charmed with Del Rey’s own experience and plenty of life advice, which ultimately comes across as reassuring, promoting an acceptance of life as it is.

from strong feeling, both solitary and communal. Yet despite adding the disclaimer early on that numbness is sometimes useful for those less fortunate, Tempest’s perspective still feels chained to a worldview built by a first-world stability, where Perhaps the book’s numbness can be seen as an biggest flaw is being guilty evil rather than a luxury. of what Tempest themself criticises: tunnel vision. They Yet this is perhaps spend much of the book forgivable given the deep condemning the numbness resonance of the book’s and disassociation of modern themes, its words, and life, how a goal-orientated yes, Tempest’s audiobook existence has distanced us performance. The book’s flaws; the politics are blunt and often oversimplistic, the earnestness occasionally bleeds into self-importance, and it feels, despite its mission statement of universality, like a product of its time in the strongest possible way.

call to embrace a Jungian ‘spirit of the depths,’ a soulful plunge into our inner self, are abstract and only foggily defined, but this only makes the concept more resolute; despite, or perhaps because of, this vagueness, the feelings Tempest discusses were vivid in my imagination. Tempest’s discussions of the importance of self-knowledge, and condemnation of those who become ‘vehicles for beliefs,’ provide the sort of constructive individualism far from both the capitalist kind which they condemn

and the anti-individualism present in their own earlier work, specifically Let Them Eat Chaos. Their discussions of their personal struggles also provide the book with added depth, turning Tempest from larger-thanlife figure to a person whose experiences we can relate to. But most importantly, the book is imbued with feeling, especially in performance.

Tempest doesn’t simply discuss the strong emotion associated with creativity; they embrace it through the work itself.

Overall, the book is a success. It is, rather than a departure for Tempest, simply a progression; it is every bit as profound, infuriating, sublime, irrational, and emotionally stimulating as their former work. This is no bad thing. Rather than discuss art at a distance, Tempest commits fully to their ideas of creative connection even as they explain them. This is where the work triumphs.

18 LITERARY REVIEW

The Road

CHLOE BOULTON ormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Road was published in 2006 and received enormous critical acclaim, and rightly so. The Road details the journey of a father and his son as they travel on foot through postapocalyptic North America in order to get south for the winter.

C

The Road is not necessarily an enjoyable book to read, but this is not to say that it is bad – McCarthy clearly did not have light-hearted entertainment in mind when writing. However, what The Road lacks in fun, it gives back in moving and thoughtprovoking tragedy. It is, at its core, a story about moving forward despite towering hopelessness. There is no

deeper meaning to it; this is not an allegory, or a cautionary tale, there is no room for politics or lessons of right and wrong.

McCarthy takes the traditional novel and warps it to fit his narrative; the characters are mostly unnamed, and his economical use of words parallels what little is left for the Man and the Boy. Audiences do not even get an explanation as to how the United States ended up a barren wasteland. The dialogue is short and sharp, without quotation marks, or names to indicate who is saying what. The father and the son do not need to talk in great depth for the reader to know the deep love they have for each other- the rest of the novel makes that clear enough.

Family-oriented would not be the right phrase to describe this novel, but the idea of family plays a huge part, nonetheless. It brings into question how far a person would go to protect their child. For the Man, it is quite literally to the end of the earth. From nearly the very beginning of the novel, there are warning signs that the Man is dying, and he knows it is happening too. He does not stop moving though, until his body cannot go any further, because he cannot leave his son to survive in this wasteland alone.

Almost all those who are left have become savages, having resorted to cannibalism, something which compels the Man and the Boy to keep moving. It is what McCarthy does not say that makes this even more horrifying; these were normal people, formerly respectable people who have lost their humanity in this tragic new

The Voyage Out Virginia Woolf LIAM ELVISH

V

irginia Woolf’s first novel, published in 1915, is something of a triumphant experiment – an unpolished work, though already exhibiting the author’s extraordinary ability to present stoicism and heartache in breathtaking contrast. It is a voyage of discovery for both the central character, Rachel Vinrace, and Woolf herself, who, according to the researcher John Bayley, was beginning ‘a voyage many

world. Despite all this, the Man still tries to instil moral values into his son; he tells him that they are the “good guys” as they do not kill or eat other people, even when it means they may not survive. In a world without laws or morality, this is the line between good and bad.

The Road is a book that will stay with you long after you put it down. It is shocking, tragic, horrific and beautiful all at the same time. I would recommend this criticism and celebration of humanity to anyone and everyone.

Source: Unsplash, Gemma Evans

THE FOUNDER January 2021

precursor to the film Terms of Endearment some sixty years early. Terence’s response to death perfectly captures the turbulent nature of grief all in one juncture. Who of us, in real life, has not been forced by circumstance to endure a similar devastation?

The quiet acceptance of witnessing a loved one pass away, that vacant, daydreamlike state of being which lasts for long minutes and hours, followed by the abject realisation of the fact that you will never see that person again; it is all here in

YUJI AOYAMA

W

Source: Unsplash, Folco Masiv

benchmark of Woolf’s later works, that there is little actual plot but an abundance of incident, can be seen here in this initial novel which meanders along at its own unhurried pace like drifting water.

times undertaken’. From the dreariness of the London docklands to the exoticism of South America, the brief appearances of incidental drifters to the protracted character portraits, there is a sense of an artist in development.

The reader never senses what is to come, for over the initial twenty-four chapters the narrative, quite aptly, cruises along in varying degrees of both whimsy and profundity, exploring the trivial and the specific. A

THE FOUNDER November 2020

I must confess that when I first read this, several years ago, it was the first novel to truly make me cry at the end, and it still warrants the same reaction upon repeat readings. Chapter twentyfive hits the reader with the finiteness of things, reaching a zenith of emotional intensity without any prior indication; and therein lies Woolf’s talent. It is this chapter alone which can, perhaps, be regarded as something of a

hy must we continue to treat the word ‘fanfiction’ like it is beneath us? I am not here to make excuses for ‘nerd culture’, but if you have interest in the literary worth of fanfiction, I don’t think that’s necessary. It is hard to believe we are still plagued by this misconception that by dunking on fanfiction and saying it is ‘bad’, you are serving some sort of ‘hot take’ that automatically makes you worth listening to. No matter what kind of radical terminology you couch your opinions in, you cannot possibly justify disparaging an entire field of writing and expect to look like a wellreasoned person.

This maelstrom of apoplectic rage was induced in me by a terrible tweet I saw (evidently) wherein the author purported that writing fanfiction directly worsens the quality of your writing. Not only is that an abundantly ridiculous statement to make, but it is so nonspecific I feel obligated to reply to it. I think, primarily, what the author misses about

LITERARY REVIEW 19

Woolf, spread over less than deeper. The reader sticks two pages. with it, so skilled is the author at maintaining our Woolf’s thoroughness in psychological absorption in crafting character excuses the central figures, as well as any rapidity of action in the singular but inter-related the narrative, through the happenings of the incidental sumptuous use of inner ones. monologue, and what is not said; the acts of tea upon Woolf does all this the lawn of the hotel, the without any majestic display quaint, though perceptive, of adventure, casting aside remarks from Miss Allan any aspiration to craft an or Mrs. Thornbury, the escapist world despite the scenic splendours of the exotic setting. She, unlike location, so visceral in their many of her immediate descriptions, all contribute to contemporaries, never a conveyance of something feigned regard for the

superlatives of storytelling.

In several of her early essays, Woolf famously rebuked H.G. Wells for his indulgent usage of the linear and picaresque, the conventional literary frameworks of the Victorian school, with a disproportionate focus on plot at the expense of actual dramatic power.

The converse can, of course, be levelled at Woolf, such was her championing of the unusual and avant-garde, yet it was precisely in her experimentation with new

forms which lay the seeds to her later success. Her stories are not what is memorable about her work – it is their effect upon the reader. For she, Woolf, has the power to entice us into questioning the meaning of all things, from the provincial to the universal. It is from within the smallness of things that the epic emerges.

InDefenseofFanfiction,orGetting Off Your Literary High Horse. certain genre - if you find yourself interested in a certain set of repeated conventions, generally specific to a few ideas you have about a character, but which are endlessly remixed, you will naturally seek them out.

Source: Unsplash, Denise Jans

fanfiction is that there is nothing boring about writing around one specific work. It does not engender formulaic writing, and its mass appeal might have more to do with

the fact that it is actually good than any loyalty to a brand. I refuse to think sticking with one work’s universe is any more an indictment of who you are than preferring a

Some might argue that specific tropes or shipping pairs encourage sticking with bad writing, but if anything, I think this is all indicative of a higher level of media literacy and critical thinking. Take for instance the prevalence of metafiction in fanfiction, which encourages the reader to think directly about the subversion of their favorite works - these stories are in direct conversation with the reader’s analysis of a story and foster a kind of thinking that builds on being able to criticize the different elements that make it up. Even if you are not into postmodernist exploration, a

mere scan of any fanfiction site’s basic tagging system will illustrate just how reliant (if unknowingly) the medium is to the creation of ever more interesting works. At its core, fanfiction is inherently about deconstruction, because you need to be aware of a certain level of discourse and literary tradition to understand why you might like to read about Master Chief’s forbidden multimedia love affairs.

Ultimately, I think it is simply a certain kind of smug superiority that drives this hatred against fanfiction, and one that is unmistakably rooted in elitism. I cannot speak to the haha-fanfictionis-weird drive most people have, because it is an absolutely bizarre literary tradition, but there is no reason to act like that has to be a bad thing. It is a literary tradition, no less.

20 LITERARY REVIEW

THE FOUNDER January 2021

On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous,

GEORGIA BISBAS n Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous, through its use of memoir, epistolary fiction and queer romance, manages to transcend genre, and to try and impose a neat label on it would be to do it a disservice. The book is cinematic and anyone like me who reads with an active imagination, constructing the rooms, fabric and weather in their mind as they are described, has to read this. I was moved by the fluid lyricism of the novel; its rich reflective passages were contrasted by an unsympathetic assessment of the opioid crisis in the USA.

O

There is an endorsement from Max Porter on the back

cover claiming the book is a ‘masterpiece.’ It is high praise from him but, very worthy praise. Any fans of Porter’s work and enjoy the interplay of emotions between the abstract and unconventional, will get lost in Voung’s world, getting a glimpse of his difficult upbringing and his evolution in trying to keep danger at arm’s length. He avoids the perilous descent into addiction because he is ‘chicken about needles.’

Remarkably, his curiosity to try it is quelled by an evolutionary fear mechanism that ultimately keeps him safe.

The narrator constantly has to modify his behaviour in order to survive, he is warned by his mother to not

with her and which detonates at random intervals around her son.

Source: Unsplash, Harris Vo ‘draw attention to himself, he is already Vietnamese.’

Ocean Voung has said that the narrator is ‘to an extent’, himself. Voung has spoken of how growing up he knew he was going out into the world with ‘one strike already against him’ as an immigrant.

So too, the narrator, Little Dog, is remarkably aware of being excluded from a young age but one friend of his seems to observe his intelligence. Later in the novel he attends college in

New York City, changing his surroundings to start a new chapter for himself, but he is forever tethered to a home that becomes a synonym for pain. This book is humbling in its depiction of a refugee and immigrant experience, of a life so warped by danger.

His childhood is marred by difficulty and violence at the hands of his Vietnamese mother, their relationship strained by fractured communication and the trauma of war that she carries

Anti-Heroines and the Death of the ‘I’m Not Like Other Girls’ Trope: interests are considered MALENA CAMPILLAY

G

en Z has come a long way from the 2010s ideal of the manic pixie dream girl and the seductive, yet insane, Effy Stonem. Born in the minds of misogynistic middleaged men, these female characters perpetuated toxic female competition which developed into the ‘I’m not like other girls’ fad: a trend of internalised misogyny and a need to be validated by male counterparts. The ‘I'm not like other girls’ trope, in its most basic terms, can be boiled down to the concept that women who are not attracted to typically feminine things, but are instead more attracted to typically masculine things, are superior. This is supposedly because female

frivolous and unappealing to men- so the best kind of girl is one who’s just like a man, but decidedly not one.

Perhaps the biggest breakthrough moment for teen girls, that created a domino effect for the deconstruction of this stereotype, was the ‘Cool girl’ speech in the 2012 novel Gone Girl. In this speech, Amy Dunne, a housewife who decides to frame her husband for murder after he becomes lazy and distant, calls into question the unattainable standards for women to appear attractive and ‘cool’. After all, ‘Cool girl is fun, cool girl never gets angry at her man. She only smiles in a chagrin, loving manner, and then presents

originally quite similar to my own, then I went back and stripped out all the selfdeprecation. She was more likable, and anxious, and self-effacing – then I made her nastier, and nastier, and nastier’.

her mouth for fucking.’

Amy Dunne was a dislikeable woman and a dangerous criminal. Yet she gave the audience a chance to question the dichotomy of female characters who are either likable, demure and agreeable or femme fatales who hold no sense of relatability. Now, jumping to 2020, Eliza Clark’s novel Boy Parts gives a similar message by having an attractive artist in New Castle, Irina, be an anti-heroine. Irina initially seems like typical ‘not like other girls’ type. She doesn’t chase men; she acts superior to other women, and she exudes casual confidence.

However, as one reads on, her attractiveness is revealed as a tool that makes the taboo topics Clark presents more

Little Dog says, ‘sometimes when I am careless, I think survival is easy, you just keep moving forward with what you have.’ Indeed, he is at times both a careless and cautious character, with his double nature honouring his grandmother’s perilous stories of confronting soldiers at a checkpoint during the Vietnam War. On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous, is beautifully reflective and prophetic. At ten years old, Little Dog runs away from home with a ‘bag of cheerios and two Goosebumps novels in his bag, although he could not read chapter books yet.’

With dazzling foresight, however, Voung knows ‘how far stories could take him.’ It is, indeed, a masterpiece.

Source: Unsplash, Joel Valve

digestible. Irina appears violent towards the men she photographs and gaslights her besotted best friend amongst other things, and Clark uses these events to bring nuance to problems of gender and sexuality. In an interview Clark stated that, ‘[Irina’s] voice was

This nastiness, this birth, or rejuvenation of the anti-heroine then offers a progression from the toxic, male centric ideal of the manic pixie dream girl trope. Saying it is the only out, however, creates a problematic dilemma akin to the virgin-whore dichotomy of old: are women only ever perfect reflections of male desire or psychotic murderesses? In either case, Gone Girl and Boy Parts bring hope that maybe this is soon to be over and that rise of nasty anti-heroines will come, creating a space for women to be actual humans in literature.

ARTS: FILM 21

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Doctor Who?

With Rumours Flying and Misogyny at the Forefront of Discussion, Just Who Should the New Doctor Who Be? LEWIS. J. WHITE | FILM EDITOR

O

n January 3rd 2021, the Daily Mirror published an exclusive: ‘Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker quits after three years as Time Lord’ (Nicola Methven).

With the rumours breaking and numerous tabloids issuing articles on the rumour Doctor Who fans everywhere were wondering: Should we believe this? And Who is the next Doctor?

Source: Metro Doctor Who is the longest running sciencefiction programme of all time, nearing its sixtieth anniversary, the BBC show has long since had the tradition of recasting its lead character. In 2017 Peter Capaldi, the actor of the 12th incarnation of the Doctor regenerated into Jodie Whittaker. Whittaker is the first woman to ever play the role of the Doctor, her casting caused a huge amount of praise but also a huge complaint amongst sexist Who fans. ‘Not my Doctor’ they cried, finding it abhorrent that their favourite face-changing alien would have such a concept of gender or sex that they change

form into a woman. Doctor Who fans and critics have struggled to come to grips with the idea and success of Whittaker’s incarnation of the character, still wondering if it is indeed a gimmick or perhaps the reality: a good actor in a famously male role.

Yes, the Doctor has been portrayed by a male actor since 1963 by William Hartnell, yet since the inception of the show there have been female roles, subservient but also sometimes powerful. Since the revival in 2005 there have been female Time Lords (the Doctor’s race) with the Doctor’s archenemy: the Master, having regenerated into a woman, now called Missy played by Michelle

Gomez. The fact is, it isn’t shocking that the Doctor is a woman, it is sexist to loathe Whittaker’s Doctor purely for the sex of the actor.

But alas, after three years as the lead and two complete seasons as the Doctor, the rumour broke that Jodie Whittaker would be leaving the show. As of 22/01/21 the BBC have neither confirmed nor denied the rumour of her exiting the show. Filming is now underway for her next series, after her successful new year special episode Revolution of the Daleks there seemed to be no suggestion that she would be leaving the show. In an interview with The Telegraph Whittaker claimed: ‘I haven't

should the Doctor be? Well, many have been asking for an actor of colour to play the Doctor. Since it’s inception, the show’s relationship with race has been rather negative and there has not been a single actor of colour play the Doctor. That was, until, in the 12th season of the 2005 revival last year, in the episode Fugitive of the Judoon Jo Martin played the character Ruth who was revealed to be a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor. Our first, black female Doctor, adored by fans for her striking performance many want Martin to return.

If you ask me, I think she should be the show’s best bet to a replacement for Jodie Whittaker.

even looked at another role since the Doctor…To even question an end point [of Doctor Who] would be too upsetting,’ (Francesca Babb, November 2020). So, these conflicting reports seem We will all have to wait and to indicate that the fate of Whittaker’s Doctor is still, see whether these rumours remain true or if it is, yet again, very much, unknown. misogynistic ramblings to Nonetheless, it is create dissatisfaction with an interesting topic of Jodie’s role as the doctor. discussion as to who the Doctor Who will be returning new doctor may be. Many to our screens on BBC One of the gambling bookers sometime this autumn. have had their money on the usual actors: Kris Marshall, David Tennant and Billie Piper (again), Phoebe Waller Bridge etc. All of these actors are always hypothesised and are (normally) wrong. But the question remains: who

22 ARTS: FILM

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Bridgerton – An Ode to Modernity in a Period Piece.

Source: Fandom.com TILLY BENNET

PSA: there are some minor spoilers ahead.

B

ridgerton which aired on Netflix on Christmas day provided respite for many viewers as we became transfixed in the drama surrounding London’s high society. Following suite of many other successful British period dramas, Bridgerton immediately provides viewers with idyllic architecture, lavish costume and dapper suitors for the strong female leads. Although Bridgerton is unashamedly cliché, the modern influence from the cast to the music is what gives this series its edge.

The story set in the Regency period in London follows a series of novels from Julia Quinn often described crudely as ‘Bodice Rippers’, whether you have read the books or watched the series that phrase does serve as an accurate description for much of Bridgerton. The story follows Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and her relationship with the Duke of Hastings (Regé-Jean Page), a young woman whose appearance and demure provide her with the upmost praise from Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) labelling her as ‘flawless’ and giving her a long line of suitors. It is comic at times to watch this aesthetically pleasing period drama and question whether you just

listened to Billie Eilish or Ariana Grande at the same time. The series includes a classical score of modern hits which not only helps remove Bridgerton from the tired and old-fashioned stereotypes that often accompany period dramas but also makes for a fun guessing game.

Bridgerton has been slandered by some for not being historically accurate however to that I would argue that it is refreshing. Although, Bridgerton is not without fault and inaccuracy, it provides great inclusivity and reflection as race does not determine one’s rank in society. RegéJean Page, who has managed to enchant everyone I know, plays the Duke of Hastings/

Simon Basset he is the most elusive and sought-after male in the series and consequently elevates Daphne’s rank after they marry. In addition, the Queen is a Black woman, who is given the credit for creating greater equality in their society due to her marriage to the king.

Unfortunately, this plotline is only mentioned in the third episode and is thereafter left in that episode. It is also hard to watch Bridgerton and not notice the admirable power and status of the women in the show as not only is Queen Charlotte a source of power, but the infamous Lady Whistledown dominates the inner workings of society.

Additionally, although it is starkly evident that Daphne is praised for her beauty and is consumed with the idea of marriage. She is a strong female lead, who understands her younger sister Eloise’s (Claudia Jessie) desire to

write her future without the suffocation of society. She has strength which is recognised by the excellent character of Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) a strong female Matriarch who has great influence over Simon.

Bridgerton leaves many questions unanswered and has reached success in such a short time that there is bound to be second series if not multiple. Bridgerton, is frivolous but thoroughly entertaining. It shares much of Gossip Girl’s far-fetched yet loveable formula with the mystery surrounding Lady Whistledown being a constant throughout the first season.

It is hard to perfect a period drama and Bridgerton is no stranger to this, however it has paved way for a more inclusive future and in turn opened up this genre to a larger demographic.

Who Wants to Live Forever? – It’s a Sin is a Modern Masterpiece of Fiction LEWIS. J. WHITE | FILM EDITOR

R

ussel T Davies, famous queer television writer is back again, this time he is telling the harrowing tales from his own experience from the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

1981, we meet our protagonists for this tale: Richie (Olly Alexander), Roscoe (Omari Douglas) and Colin (Callum Scott Howells).

Three young adults who travel to London, exploring their sexuality in a world they’re not welcome in. The three find company with Jill (Lydia West) and Ash (Nathaniel Curtis) along with a whole host of bright and loving queer friends. The main plot focuses

on Richie and his relationship with his conservative family and his dream of becoming an actor. All of which comes to a staggering halt when the queer scene in London is hit by ‘the gay disease from America’.

The 1980s and 1990s was a time of struggle and sadness for the queer community, with society still stuck in its ways, disregarding their right to love and governments that opposed the fight for equal rights – it was a scary time to be queer.

Made no less harrowing by the fluid transmitted disease that was rife amongst the queer community – particularly gay men. The AIDS epidemic was a slaughter of an entire queer generation, the virus was historically misreported and

unsupported for too long. It was labelled as a gay disease and was painted as a disease that was inevitable and of which the onus was on those practicing un-protected anal sex. All of this was made more horrific by the treatment of those with the disease, many of those suffering with AIDS were locked away, put in isolation, treated inhumanely and even come their death were shamed and refused proper funerals.

People lost friends and lovers but the world lost talent, a whole generation of talented, brilliant queer people. It’s a Sin captures this talent in its most rare form.

We see the lives of young, happy queer men and women

turn into fear and anger as the world turned against them.

Davies writes from his own experience in the gay scene in the 1980s, in conversation with The Guardian he writes: ‘There are things I can’t say here. Men I dare not name…

All of them dead, now. And they all died of Aids.’ (Davies 2021). As a gay man Davies experienced the loss of friends and lovers and saw first-hand the horrors of AIDS, of a tory government that stood by as people were dying, of the bigotry of common people refusing to show a shred of compassion.

It’s a Sin could be fuelled by anger and hatred…but it is the opposite. It’s a Sin is, at the forefront, a story about

living and loving. A fictious recreation of the lives and brilliance of the people we lost, a love-letter to the queer community. The show is about living life to the barebones because as Davies and the characters of the show know – it can all end so suddenly.

It’s a Sin is a heart-breaking masterpiece of queer writing and television drama. Every episode is so full of humour, drama and sorrow but the beating heart of the show is love – love for one another and love for a time that is wanting to be forgotten. But forget it we shall not!

It’s a Sin is available to watch on Channel 4 on demand now… ‘LA!’

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Album of the Year: Dreamland

Source: Wikipedia SAM PALMER

Animals. When compared reamland is the third to their previous two albums studio album by it leans less toward the psychedelic pop group Glass psychedelic and more toward

D

Album of the Year: Manic AMELIA MORRIS | MUSIC EDITOR he morning of January 17th was cold and dark. Covid-19 was barely a passing thought in the minds of new readers and I had an opening shift. I’d gone to sleep early instead of waiting until midnight to listen to the new Halsey album like I normally would have. As a result, the first time I heard this album from start to finish was getting dressed and leaving the house. The first time that I cried to the album’s closer, 929, was on my familiar walk up to campus through the back gate.

Before the album was released, I had heard all of the singles which had been released up until that point: You Should Be Sad, Clementine, Finally // Beautiful Stranger, Graveyard and, of course, Without Me. I’d enjoyed them all, the first three more than the last perhaps, but none of them had jumped out

T

at me quite like my favourites from her previous albums - Badlands and Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. I shouldn’t have worried, however: Manic is a masterpiece.

This is an album which begs to be listened to in the order of the tracklist. How could you appreciate the stunning transitions between Forever … (is a long time), Dominic’s Interlude and I HATE EVERYBODY if you pressed shuffle? These three tracks at the heart of the album epitomise the genius of Manic. Forever is a poem plucked straight from Halsey’s recent poetry collection set to stunning piano reminiscent of Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude with its undulations and darkness. ‘I spent a long time/ Watering a plant made out of plastic/And I curse the ground for growing green’ she writes of her relationship with G-Eazy which led to a very public breakup in 2018. The transition

ARTS: MUSIC 23 the pop, but that is not necessarily an unwelcome change. As an album it has a rather ethereal feel from start to end which is perfectly introduced by the opening title track. It introduces the mindset for the writing of the album and the context in which it was written as a nod to the listener, all the while creating the atmosphere for what will follow.

The narrative of Dreamland describes several episodes in the life of frontman Dave – or ‘Wavey Davey’ as he coins on the album. Several months after the release of the album, it was split into three smaller EPs, each of which describes a period of Dave’s life. This is excellently accented by the inclusion of audio from home movies of Dave’s childhood.

These moments are always included at no detriment to the flow of the album, being used into Dominic’s Interlude is seamless and in the track his playful vocals soar over upbeat piano, his words echoing the end of Forever, as if he were a friend throwing Halsey’s own words back at her to convince her that ‘there’s some good times coming’. In I HATE EVERYBODY, Halsey spills some reflective truths for anyone who tends towards obsession: ‘I know that it’s unfair of me/ To make a memory/Out of a feeling’. Her self-awareness has always been present in her song writing but there are very few Halsey lyrics which feel more like a punch to the stomach than ‘I can force a future like it's nothin', so I/Just hate everybody’.

The opening track, Ashley, reminds the listener that this is in fact an album ‘by Ashley for Halsey’ - Halsey is of course the stage name of Ashley Frangipane. Honesty seems to be the only theme in this sonically diverse album. Here, Halsey sings over a sparse beat that she ‘took my heart and sold it out/

as small breaths of air between tracks, and often indicating a new ‘section’ of the album beginning. Following this, the flow of the album and the intensity of the tracks feel very deliberate. The album starts and ends in a dreamlike, gentle manner, but the middle section (as defined by the home movie clips) carries the more intense tracks with the heavier beats. It’s an album that has very clearly been thought through not only from the writer’s perspective, but has been designed for the listener’s enjoyment.

There are several tracks that stand out on this album, each having their own popularity and merits. Heat Waves has arguably garnered the most attention on the album, and quite rightly so.

This popularity not only stems from its inclusion on the FIFA 21 soundtrack, but also due

Source: Wikipedia

To a vision that I wrote myself’, perhaps pointing towards the illusion of fame for a writer who is brutally open. In the closing track, 929, this candour is taken even further through a song which feels more like stream of consciousness poetry as Ashley muses on where she is in her life as she looks towards her twentyfifth birthday – ‘I've got a long way to go until self-preservation/ Think my moral compass is on a vacation/And I can’t believe I still feed my fucking temptation’.

to it being a widely appealing and enjoyable song. Tokyo Drifting also receives a lot of love, being arguably the most intense song on the album and including an excellent feature

by Denzel Curry.

It could be said that a lot of the underappreciated singles on the album are still appreciated in the wider context of the album itself.

While several tracks may not receive much attention, when listening to the album from start to end they all feel carefully considered, with the combination of them all making for a thoroughly atmospheric listening experience that many albums will try and fail to recreate.

To this end, Dreamland is an addicting album that will keep you coming back, telling a narrative effectively but not forcing it at the expense of the overall listening experience.

Despite its brevity or perhaps because of this, 929 is the album closer that I have always hoped for.

While Halsey’s lyrics have always been her strongest attribute, this album goes one step beyond anything she’s written before. Manic is a diamond in Halsey’s crown which shows her growth as a person, an artist and a musician and proves that in a year of great music, it is meditative honesty which prevails.

24 ARTS: MUSIC

Album of the Year: Song For Our Daughter

JENNIFER ROSE aura Marling burst on to the scene in 2008 as an 18-year-old with a passion for guitar and a voice needing to be heard. Twelve years later, she prematurely released her seventh studio album Song For Our Daughter and collected two more nominations: her second for the Grammy Awards, and her fourth for the Mercury prize.

L

‘I want you to have it’ Laura posted on social media the 10th April 2020, eighteen days into the first national lockdown in England. The release of the album felt as cathartic as the consumption. The album in its entirety presents a shift in Marling’s musical career.

Written as a guide to her fictional daughter, the album deals with the complicated issue of growing up, relationships, and womanhood. Its central theme focuses on coming to terms with one’s past and building the legacy you want to leave.

Whilst each song contributes a great deal to the Magnum Opus of Marling’s career thus far, those that struck me the most exist within the latter half of the work, after the shift provided by the title song. Song For Our Daughter discusses the trials of growing up and the exploration of alternative destinies to the one designed for you by your parents. Within this, Marling provides a gentle reminder of one’s strength, the difficulties and joys of love, the importance of consenting relationships. She reminds us that we are human and flawed and that, whilst there are those who ‘may take you for all you had left’, we learn from every experience, no matter how painful.

The breath and upward strum as an introduction to the closing song, For You, is a final comment. Originally intended as a demo, the

Menswear, Robbers, M.O.N.E.Y and Settle Down immediately caught my attention, whilst songs like The City, Talk! and Pressure took a bit of getting used to before I fell in love with them too. There was something mildly entertaining about listening to Chocolate and trying to work out what lead singer Matty Healy was singing, and then looking up the lyrics online and finding that I had been very wrong.

Hearing some of these songs

imperfect guitar matches the imperfection of life, bringing our self-explorative journey to a natural conclusion. The descending, deep hums and double tracked vocals add a dreamy quality, focusing on harmony reminiscent of a choral lullaby. It is in small moments like these that we see the brilliance of Marling’s album.

The intimacy of Laura Marling’s seventh studio album provides nurturing for the soul.

It’s unapologetically raw, and it is full of truths we never had the strength to discuss with our own parents. It is the conversation with our mothers that we never had, but that always lingered. The advice we never received, the words we could never speak. The truths we could never tell for fear of rejection, or of not being believed. It is like opening your heart up to love, after a lifetime of not believing in yourself:

Source: Wikipedia

‘you lost your faith’. She tells us the truth when we didn’t know what we needed to hear, or that we needed to hear it. It is not only to a future daughter she may one day cherish, but to her listeners, and to herself.

It is uncommon to be brought to tears simply by music, but the poetry of her lyrics allows for a cathartic expression of emotions that, at times, feel like they have been repressed for years. Like any good piece of art, you notice something new every time. Perhaps the most

Album of the Year: The 1975 (2013) RENÉE LEWIS t was so difficult to just choose one favourite album of 2020 because there were so many: Petals for Armour

by Hayley Williams, Zeros by Declan McKenna and No One Else Can Wear Your Crown by Oh Wonder. But after a lot of consideration, I can say that The 1975’s self-titled album was my favourite. Now, this

I

album may have come out almost eight years ago, but it was fairly new to me in 2020, which I am ashamed to say as a fan of The 1975 for the past four or so years. I really have no idea why I never got round to listening to it, though I remember that I had Sex on repeat for goodness knows how long back in 2014. It wasn’t until a few months

before I saw them live at the O2 Arena in February 2020 that I finally decided that I would sit and listened to the whole album from start to finish.

As soon as that first full listen was over, I was practically kicking myself over how stupid I had been in putting it off for so long.

Source: Wikipedia

poignant line of the album, sums this up: ‘Some love is ancient, and it lives on in your soul, a fortune that never grows old’.

So, maybe moving into 2021 it’s time to be a little easier on ourselves. With the possibility of life returning to what it once was, we must stay kind, be considerate, and remember that there are still battles to come. But, as Marling says, ‘You’ll cut your way through it somehow’.

ARTS: MUSIC 25

THE FOUNDER January 2021

THE FOUNDER January 2021

live at the O2 along with the many others from across their albums was such an incredible experience – the feeling of being in a crowd of 20,000 people singing along together with the performers on stage is indescribable. I had the whole album on repeat after the concert and listened to Menswear so many times that it was my most streamed song of the year. To be honest, I saw it coming.

This

album

2020 because I tie it so closely to that concert. It was just a few days before my twentieth birthday and one of the last times I was out living life normally before the pandemic hit and changed everything.

As most of us spent the majority of 2020 at home and not exploring the world as much, that concert and how much I initially loved the album stick out as such a clear memory. It reminds me of a time when I was so excited for epitomises the start of a new decade and

had tons of plans just waiting to be ticked off my list, and amidst all the uncertainty we are facing, that feeling brings me a lot of comfort.

Though I was anticipating the release of Notes of a Conditional Form for months and was so ecstatic when it was finally released in May 2020, I just found myself gravitating towards the first album. There is always something present in an artist’s very first release than in all their subsequent

albums, and even though I’m not sure what it even is, it seems to have to do with the fact that they have a much smaller following at the start of their career. The 1975 just wanted to get their music out there and didn’t seem to be worrying a whole lot about how it would be received by people, and for me, that is what gives this album its charm.

Album of the Year: The Slow Rush OLIVIA ANDERSON

I

have been having a love affair with Tame Impala for years now, so I deem it fitting that they released The Slow Rush on Valentine’s Day 2020.

My boyfriend is the other woman in my relationship with Kevin Parker.

The Slow Rush describes 2020 more perfectly than any other piece of art I can fathom.

What other year has gone so quickly and so gradually?

2020 rushed slowly, it sprinted at a glacial pace, it dawdled at the speed of light.

The Slow Rush seems to be an album that is preoccupied – obsessed – with the passage of time. Note the circularity of the tracklist, starting with One More Year and ending with One More Hour. The sense of past, present and future is articulated not only in the titles but in the songs themselves. One More Year

opens with the eerily apposite lyric: ‘do you remember we were standing here a year ago?/ Our minds were racing and time went slow/If there was trouble in the world, we didn’t know’. On Track is a like a kaleidoscopic reimagining of Billy Joel’s Vienna, a song that acquired fresh significance in light of 2020, the year of wasted youth and prohibitions – the acknowledgement that ‘it’s been a slow year, nothin’ much to show here’ couched in the optimistic suggestion that nothing stays the same forever.

2020 was a weird year – I hugged some friends closer to me and let others go, and It Might Be Time is the song that was rattling around in my head as I left the group chat of the girls I used to call friends in sixth form. A face threatening act; a virtual

middle finger; it really was time. It just wasn’t as fun as it used to be. The morning after the last party I went to before lockdown #1, Borderline was playing on the speaker as I reluctantly woke up with a pounding head and a rush of youth: I imagine it’s what Parker would have wanted.

Today’s air is tomorrow’s dust, after all.

A lot of us have been Lost in Yesterday – this has been the condition of Covid living.

Lost in a time where pubs were open past 10 and face masks were merely the province of amateur theatre productions and Lush cosmetics. When we were living in squalor, it really was heaven – our hands weren’t cracked by hand sanitiser as we proverbially walked barefoot through kitchens in the student houses of yesteryear.

Source: Pitchfork.com

There is a timelessness to the quintessential Tame Impala sound, which is carried through even more prominently in The Slow Rush. It is 70s disco, major 80s synths, mid-00s MGMT – it builds on and develops the characteristic sound they established in Currents. Is It True is one of the standout tracks in this regard. This album is an example of

Kevin Parker doing what Kevin Parker does best: hiding profound meaning in psychedelia. The Slow Rush belongs to 2020 – it’s like Parker was writing a retrospective of 2020 before the year even began. Call it confirmation bias. Call it coincidence. Call it Tame Impala’s finest offering yet.

26 SPORTS

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Do Not Stop Sport, Please BEN ROWE

I

was planning on writing an article suggesting who would win the NBA MVP award this season (I reckon Luka Doncic, by the way) but found myself struggling to focus on a sporting scene which, like other walks life at the moment, seems to be slowing down due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Ten months on from the initial suspension of the NBA, Covid is still dominating dialogue around the league.

Despite the successful Bubble experiment of last summer and autumn, the NBA is back where it doesn’t want to be. At the time of writing, the latest round of player testing returned 48 positive cases. So far, 117 players have contracted the virus this season. Note, these tests don’t include coaches, physios or anyone else associated with the NBA. Between January 10-13, five games were postponed in accordance with the league’s health and safety protocols.

A game on January 9 saw the Philadelphia 76ers forced to play a game with just seven players. On January 12, the NBA agreed to additional measures to supplement Health and Safety, including the requirement for all players to remain inside at home except when they are on basketball duty.

However, with recent calls for a 1–2-week circuit

What are Manchester United?

PETER GEDDES anchester United are a divisive team at the best of times but when they are competing on points with their rivals, the teams that have been streaks ahead of them for years, the discussion reaches fever pitch. Does Solskjaer deserve praise? Are they genuine contenders? Are they lucky?

M

breaker, it may be the case that by the time you are reading this, the league will have been suspended altogether. And there we are, right back in March.

Without the prospect of a vaccine, things would seem even more grim. The USA, plagued by recent political turmoil, recorded 274,627 new cases, the highest anywhere on a single day, on January 8th. Over a quarter of the world’s cases and nearly one-fifth of its deaths have occurred in America.

How can the NBA continue? Morally, how can we justify these people travelling thousands of miles across the country, coming into contact with hundreds of others, just to throw a basketball around? You can make the same case for the Premier League back at home. When thousands of people are dying daily, it all seems rather insignificant.

After all, these players are our examples; what message does it send if they are out living their lives as normal and spreading Covid while they do it?

SPORTS 27

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Source: The New York Times

displayed the huge differences in society’s perceptions of right and wrong.

And yet, when it feels all is lost, and there is no hope, at least we have basketball.

At least we have football, and rugby, and darts, and tennis.

As Nelson Mandela said, sport has the power to unite people.

From sport we get emotion, and that emotion tells us we should count our blessings, as we are alive and well.

The disappointment I felt at my Toronto Raptors losing by one-point and suffering their eight loss of the season reminded me of my luck as a sports fan. When it seems we have little else, we have sport. While we are frustrated with our team’s loss, or the fact that Man United went top of the Premier League table, we are lucky that we still have something to hold onto, something that causes us to Essentially, it all boils feel something. down to what we perceive as For that reason, the right and wrong. However, the differentiation of governing bodies of our opinion on these matters is favourite sports should be greater than it has ever has doing all they can to ensure its been. The raw emotion of safe continuance. While 2021 the perpetrators, victims has seemed to begin with more and onlookers during and loss and suffering, we can still subsequent to the storming turn to sport for that welcome of the Capitol this January break.

NFL Championship Sunday Preview: Playoffs Roundup

DANIEL HORNER

C

hampionship Sunday is already upon us to find out who will be competing in Super Bowl LV on 7th February.

Number one seed Green Bay Packers host the fifth seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lambeau Field in the NFC Championship before the second seed Buffalo Bills travel to number one seed and defending Super Bowl Champions Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Wild Card round on the weekend of the 9th10th was the first edition of the new expanded playoff format which saw the second seed host a wild card game against the newly introduced seventh seed.

In the AFC, the Buffalo Bills edged out the Indianapolis Colts at New Era Field, 27-24, in a highly

contested and closer than anticipated affair. It looked as if the Bills would comfortably prevail as they were leading 2410 early into the fourth quarter but the late comeback by the Colts fell short. In one of the harder matchups to decide, the Baltimore Ravens recovered from an early 10-0 deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans 20-13 in a surprisingly low scoring defensive battle. Lamar Jackson’s elite rushing ability stole the show; he ran for 136 yards, with the highlight of the game his 48-yard touchdown run. Tennessee had beaten Baltimore earlier in the regular season and had knocked them out of the Divisional Round last season, so it was certainly sweet revenge for Baltimore.

The most surprising result was the Cleveland Browns beating AFC North rivals Pittsburgh Steelers on the road 48-37, leading 35-10 at half time. Cleveland were ruthless, picking off Ben Roethlisberger four times and recovering a

I’m writing this just after United’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool, at this moment they are sat two points above Manchester City who have a game in hand. They are thirteen games unbeaten in the league 10 wins, 3 draws. Personally, I think talk of a title challenge are a bit pre-mature. The top of the table is so tight, two bad results and they could tumble

out of the Champions League places. United on 37 points are only 5 above Everton in 6th.

However, what this team has shown in the last three months has been an ability to grind out results that their peers, Chelsea and Tottenham in particular, have not matched. They also have a plethora of top-class match winners and a versatile squad. A summer transfer window which was rightly viewed as disappointing at the time, especially considering the manner of the club’s failure to acquire Jadon Sancho, now looks to have provided essential pieces to what was a thin pack at the back end of last season. Though Van De Beek hasn’t quite hit the ground running, Telles and Cavani have both provided competition in important areas and some key interventions on the pitch.

Cavani has all the makings of a cult hero at Old Trafford, he’s an alternative

fumbled snap in the end zone prevail as expected, although for a defensive touchdown on the Kansas City Chiefs were pushed all the way. In the the first play of the game.

AFC, Buffalo beat Baltimore In the NFC, the Los Angeles in an ugly affair, 17-3, that Rams and their number one saw Lamar Jackson unable defence shut down NFC West to finish the contest and champions Seattle Seahawks, Ravens kicker Justin Tucker 30-20 on the road, with uncharacteristically miss running back Cam Akers two field goals. The play of playing crucial role. In the the game was undoubtedly more uneven of matchups, the a 101-yard pick-six by seventh seed Chicago Bears cornerback Taron Johnson, were comfortably beaten intercepting Lamar Jackson’s 24-9 by the second seed New rushed endzone throw and Orleans Saints in Louisiana. returning the other way for The game on CBS was aired the touchdown. Defending in collaboration with sister champions Kansas City looked channel Nickelodeon in to be cruising to victory over an attempt to engage more Cleveland, leading 19-3 at the children into watching the break. But, limiting the Chiefs sport. It was certainly a to field goals and being aided fun spectacle as viewers on by Patrick Mahomes’ game Nickelodeon were treated ending concussion, Cleveland to Spongebob Squarepants’ pulled back to 22-17 but could face in between the field goal not stop backup quarterback and a slime filled endzone Chad Henne running out the erupting when a touchdown clock. The NFC saw Green was scored. The Tampa Bay assuredly ease past Los Bay Buccaneers held off a Angeles 32-18 at home, while valiant effort by the underdog in their third match-up of 7-9 NFC East Champions the season the Tampa Bay Washington Football Team Buccaneers surprised the New and backup Quarterback Tyler Orleans Saints 30-20 in what Heinicke in Maryland, 30-23. was likely to be Drew Brees’ last game before he retires.

The Divisional Round saw both number one seeds Source: Sky Sports

to their other options who still suiting their style of play. The fact that he wasn’t available earlier is an indictment of the clubs planning as much as his performances have vindicated the transfer.

Despite being top of the league, questions remain as to what this team can achieve this season, already out of the Carabao Cup and the Champions League they still have two cup competitions and the League. Despite a newfound ability to not drop points against lower league opposition United’s form against the big teams has so far been poor in stark contrast to last season where they sat second in the ‘Big Six’ minileague.

As of writing they’ve drawn against Manchester City, Liverpool, Leicester and Chelsea, lost to Arsenal, and got thumped by Spurs.

They lost to City in the Cup and got knocked out of the Champions League by Leipzig and PSG. Yet they are

still top. It is truly a bizarre year. When considering their squad and the new frailties in Liverpool and City it is more than possible that Manchester United could emerge unlikely champions, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

The right-wing berth has yet to be convincingly filled, attempts to accommodate Pogba as well as McFred have led to rather lopsided formations which I don’t believe represent long term solutions and they lack a complete striker. That being said, Fernandes is among the best players in the league, they have combinations working across the park and they have shown a character, an ability to create their own luck, which marks them out ahead of the other would-be title contenders. Ole is moving this team in the right direction, he’s made mistakes and he needs further backing but the primary job of a manager is to get performances from his players and at the moment he’s doing exactly that.

28 SPORTS

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Why We Will See a First-Time MVP in the NBA This Season (Part 1) you must be either a great player in a great team, or an otherworldly player in a poor team. Steph is great, but his team is not.

BEN ROWE

T

he NBA Most Valuable Player Award (or MVP) is given to the best performing player of the regular season. The nature of the 2020-21 NBA season – preceded by a brief offseason and a rushed free agency – suggests that we will see a new MVP crowned.

2017 winner Westbrook traded to the Wizards in Autumn, but looks a shadow of his former self.

He missed 4 of their first 11 games too. His stagnant season in Houston last year and his development into a less efficient, more selfish shooter has turned the glamour that was once attached to Westbrook’s name into dust.

Seven past winners are still active in the league: LeBron James, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Despite their obvious quality, it is hard to imagine any of them coming away as MVP owing to this season’s circumstances.

Derrick Rose hasn’t been named an All-Star since 2012 and is splitting minutes with Delon Wright, Detroit Pistons’ other point guard.

On top of this, he has started the season shooting just 40% from the field. Rose is still an asset to the league, but is far from MVP, let alone All-Star quality.

Kevin Durant has looked sharp for the Nets so far after injury last season, averaging 29.4PPG. However, he has only played 9 of Brooklyn’s first 13. With the Nets looking to go deep in the playoffs in the year, it is unlikely they will risk KD unnecessarily during the regular season.

For this reason, we can rule out the prospect of LeBron

Source: Wikipedia

adding a fifth MVP title.

Despite defying boundaries with his physique and technical brilliance, LeBron is 36, so the Lakers will be limiting his minutes to keep him fresh for a playoff run in which the Lakers will seek to win back-to-back titles.

While he will continue to post incredible numbers, James is too old and too important to be put at risk in

the regular season.

Curry and Harden have built their games on being serial scorers. Curry won MVP for the second time in 2016 off the back of a 30.1PPG regular season in an historic season for the Warriors. In 2017-18, Harden averaged 30.4PPG and was awarded MVP. In the two following seasons, he

averaged more. This season, he has averaged 24.8PPG and 10.4APG, but forced a trade to Brooklyn in bad faith, and arrived there looking unhappy and unfit. Regardless of how good you are, stories like this don’t sit well with MVP voters.

Despite a 62-point game on January 3, Curry’s prospects of MVP, unlike Harden’s, are damaged by those around him. To gain recognition,

Giannis Antetokounmpo has won the last two MVP awards and despite a slow start to the season has begun to look like the same beast as the previous two years.

This season however, he is shooting worse, and blocking, rebounding and assisting less. Of course, he is still a monster, but considering the rising talent in the league and a slowdown in 2020/21 (by his standards), it is easy to argue against Giannis winning a third straight MVP award.

Via some self-imposed (Harden) and some external (Curry) factors, we can conclude that the still-active MVPs of yesteryear will not be crowned again this year.

So, if not them, then who?

Next month I will detail some candidates who have what it takes to be the best.

SPORTS 29

THE FOUNDER January 2021

What would happen if Newcastle attacked?

OLI GENT

I

t’s been a season of dire results for Steve Bruce at Newcastle United. At time of writing, they languish in 15th in the Premier League table, and they are nine games without a win in all competitions.

True criticism has arisen, however, around his negative tactics; primarily the 5-41 shape deployed as the Magpies seek to park the bus and eek out points from bore draws or set plays.

with his attacking impetus on Running through the the overlap. side, one key area would be at number 10; in the hole Yet despite their clearly behind the central striker, gifted collection of players, to add creative potency as one would have to ask why well as goalscoring threat.

Bruce isn’t experimenting Bradley Dack of Blackburn with a more offensive setup, Rovers would be perfect for perhaps a 4-2-3-1, that has this role. Technically gifted, been seen in recent games for with a predatory eye for goal, the Magpies. However, when the former Gillingham man things don’t go Newcastle’s has been a star turn in the way, they become cautious Championship for some time again; the back five is clear now and deserves a crack at for all to see, and Wilson and the top flight.

There is also the need for better depth across the squad; and I would hone in on the engine room. Maximilian Eggestein, Werder Bremen’s workaholic German, would be a shrewd signing, and excellent competition for the more mobile role that Hayden plays in the midfield duo. He’s not afraid to get stuck in, he’s got an eye for a pass, and in possession, one could argue that he is a much better ball progressor than his English

and seek to upgrade their options in midfield after the disappointing performances of both Longstaff brothers.

Another exciting Championship prospect that could fill the void is QPR’s Ilias Chair. 23 years of age, the Moroccan has impressively taken over the reins of Ebere Eze at Loftus Road to become the R’s most influential player, and his work rate, pace, and visual awareness for a pass should see him get the Premier League move that he deserves very soon.

counterpart, either with a penetrative ball through the lines or a driving run beyond the attacking midfielder.

soon? We shall see, but it could cost him his job.

In conclusion, the opportunity is there for Steve Bruce and Newcastle to take more risks and play the fluid, expansive football their supporters, and more deeply, their own players, have been crying out for. Will we see any tactical change from the Magpies’ manager any time

But is that really the way forward for a club that has invested decently in recent transfer windows, and with such an expectant fanbase?

One could answer no; and there’s a big reason for that. Upon review of the Newcastle squad, you could argue that in Allain SaintMaximin, Miguel Almíron and Callum Wilson as a front three, and Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden as a solid midfield double pivot, the foundations are there for Bruce and his side to play more adventurously.

Elsewhere, Jamaal Lascelles and Fabian Schär, when fit, complement each other well as the centreback pairing, whilst Martin Dubravka is a reliable pair of hands in net. Emil Krafth, DeAndre Yedlin and Javi Manquillo offer decent depth at right-back, whilst Jamal Lewis has impressed in the left-back berth, although Jetro Willems, a loan signing from Eintracht Frankfurt last term, has been a huge miss

Joelinton are isolated up top, with no service around them, often crowded out by two, even three, opposition centrehalves.

So how could Newcastle set up, if they want to stop the rot and entertain their supporters, who have been bored to death of Rafa Benitez’s safety-first mentality, and now ‘Bruceball’?

My Newcastle United matchday XI: 4-2-3-1

Nathaniel Chalobah Dubravka seems like he’s been around forever, but he is an excellent, complete midfielder who Krafth Lascelles Schär Lewis has fallen victim to Premier Shelvey Eggestein League relegation. Plying his trade at Watford, the Magpies could try their luck Almíron Dack Saint-Maximin on the former Chelsea man, Wilson

30 SPORTS

THE FOUNDER January 2021

Before you re-book your room, look a little closer.

Royal Holloway Volleyball Sport-Light: President Jennifer Leijnse it took me a while to get into it, but volleyball was always interesting. I’d watched games before, but I’d not pictured myself doing it. I think the team spirit is really important, of course there’s the physical side but the game is also very mentally challenging and you realise that once you start playing. If you don’t think you can win, it brings the rest of the team down and they can sense that. The team bond over their shared belief, so ‘clicking’ with the team is very important.

What led you to apply to become President?

Source: Jennifer Leijnse

ELIOT K. RAMAN JONES | SPORTS EDITOR As we enter 2021, the coronavirus pandemic has now ravaged individual countries and personal lives across the globe. Although elite sports institutions such as the Premier League, the NBA and the NFL have all managed to adapt to playing during the time of the virus, lower-level sport, and in particular university sport, has been unable to continue.

Moreover, while well-funded and popular university sports such as Football and American Football appear to be able to steer through the pandemic, more niche sports teams have found the financial, social and

practical ramifications of a year-and-a-half without matches particularly tough. I was able to get the chance to speak to the President of one such team when I interviewed Royal Holloway Volleyball President Jennifer Leijnse this week.

How did you get into Volleyball?

Jennifer Leijnse: It all started in middle school. Most of my friends were playing it and I was doing swimming at the time, but I didn’t get along with my swimming coach, so I switched over to volleyball. I started late, so

JL: Passion I think is part of it, but it’s also not one of the most desirable parts of committee because it’s the main position and quite difficult. Because of the struggles I went through in high school to even be able to play volleyball in the first place, and now that I could play becoming President was such a step up for me in terms of where I’ve come from. I also want the sport to keep going at Royal Holloway.

There was a genuine risk of the club dissolving last year because a lot of the team were graduating third years, and we only have about 4 or 5 people left in the club overall.

We wanted to do tryouts but of course we didn’t get the chance this year. I think I’d still keep the club running next year, or hopefully take on a first or second year to train so when I left I’d manage to keep volleyball as a club intact.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has blindsided university sport across the country, and Volleyball is no exception.

How are the team coping at the moment?

JL: It’s…not amazing right now. We have to deal with volleyball and also our actual university courses we all take. We want to focus on volleyball but there’s a lot of people who aren’t on the committee who want to know what’s going on and because we don’t have an answer we have to say that we don’t know. We definitely keep in contact but the pandemic has shown that we’re the type of group who have to see each other, and interact. We haven’t seen each other in person since the start of the year, barring a few Zoom calls, but that isn’t the same. When we were playing last year we’d have a good time and a couple socials a week, but with coronavirus on the mind my job is harder this year trying to keep everything running.

We’ve also had to fill in a lot of forms to be able to even use the court. We have to fill in risk assessments which go back and forth, and we have to get any activities we would do approved two weeks in advance, so we have to have a really clear idea of what we want to do otherwise we can’t run anything. The SU has definitely helped but it’s difficult because they want answers to things we can’t provide and want everything to be perfect but it just isn’t at the moment. We ordered new kits, and some of them

are personalised so we had to pay for that ourselves, but we also all had to pay for a membership to get the kits. We can’t even play at the moment, so why do we have to pay £40 or £50 for a membership if we aren’t even going to be able to play?

As the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of disappearing totally any time soon, do you believe the future of the club is in jeopardy?

Safe & secure community & location

JL: I think it really depends on the committee right now. I was speaking to the former president recently and she told me how it is definitely clear that sports like Cheerleading and Soccer are much more supported than sports like us. We all want to continue volleyball but barring something really awful I think we can keep the club going. We had so many emails from freshers at the start of the year so we don’t think we’ll have a membership issue going forward if people do join.

How would you sum up Royal Holloway Volleyball in one sentence?

JL: We are a small but very strong community of people who all want the same thing: to play volleyball and meet like-minded students.

Beautiful quiet gardens with pergola & bbq

Expertly crafted kitchen cluster rooms

Thoughtfully designed luxury studio rooms

Bookings now open!

INTRODUCING AN EXCLUSIVE & ELEGANT STUDENT ACCOMMODATION SITUATED NO MORE THAN 3 MINUTES FROM CAMPUS THOUGHTFULLY DESIGNED & EXPERTLY CRAFTED / CHOICE OF APARTMENTS OR STUDIOS / PLUSH PRIVATE STUDY ROOMS / QUIET GARDENS WITH PERGOLA & PRIVATE BARBEQUE SOCIABLE MEETING SPACES / BEAUTIFULLY FURNISHED COMMON ROOM / FULLY EQUIPPED GYM & FITNESS ROOM / SUPERFAST 250Mb WI-FI / SAFE & TRANQUIL LOCATION BEFORE YOU RE-BOOK YOUR ROOM, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE GARAGE; THE MOST LUXURIOUS STUDENT ACCOMMODATION IN EGHAM. REGISTER YOUR INTEREST TODAY ON 0333 455 2092 OR SEARCH ‘THE GARAGE’ ON PRESTIGESTUDENTLIVING.COM

@THE_GARAGE_PSL

THE GARAGE 97-98 HARVEST ROAD / OPENING SEPTEMBER 2021

www.danehurst.com