The Volume 4 Issue 5 3rd March 2014 theheythroplion.co.uk
Lion
Fergus vs Dermot
very own news editor 4 Our interview HSU Pres.
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#Dairyrant
Erin Denny talks evil dairy (and veganism)
Dermot Kennedy
TRAAMS
Howard reviews a 10 Will band hailing from his home town
The Volume 4 Issue 5 3rd March 2014 theheythroplion.co.uk
Lion
Heythrop LGBT Hosts NUS ‘Sports Gay’
Fergus Cronin-Coltmann
News Editor
On the 1st of February Heythrop played host to the NUS LGBT Campaign for pre-demonstration placard making prior to Sports Gay, a demonstration described by NUS as a “tradition Sports Day with an LGBT twist”. The demonstration
took place outside the Russian Embassy, supporting LGBT rights and affirming that the LGBT community has a place in sports, in addition to protesting human rights abuses in Russia in light of the recent banning of “gay propaganda” and the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi. The NUS LGBT campaign called for, among other things, a pledge from
President Putin not to arrest anyone shown to be supporting LGBT rights during the Winter Olympics and for the International Olympic Committee to honour the sixth fundamental principle of Olympism, which states “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is in-
compatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement”, with regards to Sochi and future Olympic venues. The NUS LGBT officers, Sky Yarlett and Finn McGoldrick, said: “NUS LGBT believes that Putin’s Russia has become a place of intimidation and violence for LGBT people. The international community and corporate sponsors
can no longer stand idly by and ignore these human rights violations. It is grotesque to think that what is meant to be a celebration will be masking deep injustice for the LGBT community in Russia”. Heythrop’s own Heather Doon, President of Heythrop Pride, commented to the Lion: “It’s been an honour to host NUS LGBT on cam-
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NEWS The
Editorial Team
Editor-in-Chief Daniel Tripp submit@theheythroplion.co.uk Managing Editor Faye West editors@theheythroplion.co.uk Copy Editor Rory Phillips editors@theheythroplion.co.uk News Editor Fergus Cronin-Coltsmann news@theheythroplion.co.uk Comment Editor Ben Mercer comment@theheythroplion.co.uk Culture Editor Robert Leftwich culture@theheythroplion.co.uk Sport and Societies Editor Nazia Begum societies@theheythroplion.co.uk
The
Lion
The Lion is the independent student newspaper of Heythrop College, University of London. We distribute at least 1000 free copies during term time around campus and to popular student venues in and around Kensington. The Lion is printed by Mortons Print Ltd. No part of this publication is to be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system or submitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the publisher.
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Please send your submissions to: submit@theheythroplion.co.uk NEXT ISSUE RELEASE DATE
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The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Editors or of the Heythrop Students’ Union. Every effort has been made to contact the holders of copyright for any material used in this issue, and to ensure the accuracy of this fortnight’s stories.
Attendence at Lectures Highlighted at Student Staff Liaison Committee • Ideas proposed include making lectures compulsory for all students • A reported 78% of students apose compulsory lectures On Tuesday the 21st of January the Undergraduate Staff Student Liaison Committee (USSLC) met. One of the matters discussed was “Attendance and Absenteeism”, with ways of increasing attendance receiving focus in the discussion. The current regulation for attendance is laid out in Heythrop’s Academic Regulations in point 46.2, stating “A student’s registration may be terminated on academic grounds, other than failure in an examination. This includes…unsatisfactory attendance at prescribed lectures, seminars, tutorials, or other prescribed academic activities”, and one idea discussed was increasing the penalty for not attending lectures. The Student Representa-
tives present and Academic Affairs Officer Chloe Westly stated at the USSLC that this would not be beneficial or be in student’s best interests, and a survey subsequently sent out by Westly has shown that 78% of students are opposed to the idea of any penalties for failing to attend lectures. The discussion regarding methods of increasing lecture attendance is on-going with other ideas up for debate, such as not scheduling compulsory module lectures in the 9:30am slot to make them easier for commuting students to attend and increasing the pastoral care available to students who may be encountering personal problems that might be affecting
their attendance. Dr Sean Ryan, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, told the Lion that he would like to encourage students to engage with the discussion around what effects their attendance and what would be an effective way of increasing their attendance. If you would like to share your ideas and partake in the discussion around penalising students for not attending lectures, feel free to: write an article for the Lion! Or email your course rep, the Academic Affairs Officer or Dr Sean Ryan himself. All the email addresses for these individuals are available on Heythrop’s website, on Helios or on the HSU website.
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Heythrop Pride and ‘Sports Gay’ Heythrop Pride plays host to NUS LGBT as they protest outside of the Russian Embassy against anti-LGBT measures in place in Russia regarding ‘LGBT Propaganda’
NEWS
Amnesty International Chosen as HSU Rag Chairty
Amnesty International is the official Heythrop Raising and Giving (RAG) week charity. This comes after a student wide poll of charities that resulted tie between Amnesty International and Shelter, with the HSU Executive casting a vote to decide between the two. Shelter will still be receiving some money that the HSU makes from its events to acknowledge its support from the student body. RAG week eas planned to the second week after reading week, starting on the 24th of February, however plans have now come to light to alter this to several events spread over a few weeks.
Father Dave Leaves Heythrop College Father Dave Stewart SJ is leaving Heythrop College after reading week. He will be replaced by Father Paul Fletcher SJ. Fr. Dave gave this comment to the Lion: “I’m moving on, as Jesuits do; missioned by the Provincial to something new starting in the summer. I’ll still be in London. My thanks and best wishes to all the Heythrop students of the past few years, especially those who contributed to setting up and supporting several new Chaplaincy activities. It’s not always easy, in your 20s and 30s, to recall that your life can be part of an active historical process, giving you the chance to shape history, rejecting futile reactionary claims that it can’t be changed, that things can’t be better, especially for the poor & marginalised. You can take control. I hope and pray for all that, in this Jesuit College, there will always be a place in your lives for what is noble and true, focussed not on the trivial but on the greater universal good.”
New Washing Machines Cause Stir pus. In the past, Heythrop was seen as a somewhat hostile environment for its LGBT students, only having an active LGBT society for two years. Most students will know that, amongst the student body, this is not the case. But it is
important that we show how accepting and welcoming we are as a university in order to combat any view that we are an intolerant institution. The protest today is essentially about human rights, and is something most students
at Heythrop will care very deeply about, so it’s only fitting that we show our full support as a society and as a union to the event”. Heythrop has had a mixed history with LBGT issues, this year creating an LGBT Officer on the HSU
Executive but infamously making the headlines of the London Student in February 2005 with an article titled “HEY-STROP”, the London Student reporting that a sign-up sheet for an LGBT society had been ripped up.
New washing machines and dryers in Alban Halls of residence have generated criticism after it emerged that the service would change from being free of charge to approximatly £4.50 for a wash and dry. This also includes a £2 charge for a card. Although the jump in price has appeared to be somewhat of a shock, the price is not dissimilar to that charged at the majority of other higher institutions.
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The Lion Interviews Dermot Kennedy News Editor Fergus Cronin Coltsmann sat down with HSU President Dermot Kennedy to quiz him on his year so far in office - covering topics such as the Bar’s lack of arcade machines to Heythrop College Governence The following interview occured on the 30th January 2014. The information presented to us by Dermot Kennedy should be considered in this time scale and opinions and facts may have changed since the recording was made.
self as an Auxiliary Officer to investigate Governance and the Lion was originally told that his report on that would come out at the end of the Michaelmas term, and we’ve yet to see it, so could you tell us a bit about what he’s been doing and why there’s been delays?
Fergus Cronin Coltsmann: I think the first question is something a lot of people want to know, where are the arcade machines that are supposed to be in the bar?
DK: Yes, well we actually had a meeting with our NUS contact about this and as I say both Matt Thomson and Heather Doon were appointed non executive officers. Matt was chosen because he’s done a course in governance at master’s level. There’s not a huge amount that I can say right now because the nature of the project is, it’s of great scope. The intention is ensure that the highest level of decision making at Heythrop reflects the day to day runnings of Heythrop college and the student experience and I’m willing to say I think there’s a discrepancy between the two at the moment.
Dermot Kennedy: Right, of course, the arcade machines were all set to go. The thing that is delaying us is that Martin Grundy and I agreed that until we get the full license for the bar, we want to keep the bar as neutral as possible. Now this means that by the end of February we should know in the future if we’re going to have a bar, full license or not, but as I say Tom Humphrey from Retro Game Base were all set to go, just waiting on an okay from Martin Grundy when we have a full license. FCC: So what is the progress on the bar, definitely by the end of February we’ll know? DK: Hopefully, it’s all a little bit, the HSU not really being kept in the loop about, about that. But we’re aware that it’s a slow process, it’s been contested as well by the residents of Kensington Square, so that’s why we’ve decided we’ll keep the bar neutral as a student area. FCC: What do you mean by neutral? DK: The worry is if we are bring residence of Kensington Square around campus and bring them to the common room, Martin believes that arcade machines would detract from the image of a student bar were there’s not going to be any problems. FCC: Do you agree with that? DK: I understand where he is coming from and I think it’s a sensible and appropriate measure. We can wait a little bit longer for the arcade machines, it’s not a deal maker for students, in the long term students are going to prefer to have a full license in their bar and its just not worth the risk to have an arcade machine a couple of months before. FCC: Matt Thompson was appointed to the Union by your-
FCC: Well, what do you mean by discrepancy then? DK: I plan on doing a full answer to this question in the future, I plan on fully expressing why we’re doing this, what happens in Heythrop and what we hope to achieve from this, but right now I’m cautious as to saying more that is necessary because it could halt the process. We don’t want to scare the governors, because this is a positive project. We’re not proposing anything that’s going to be against the interests of the TRCP, against the interests of Heythrop College. What we’re proposing is just a little more student engagement in how the governance structure works at Heythrop, because at the moment it’s very murky, it’s not all clear exactly how it works, and that’s not because they’re trying to, there’s no conspiracy, its just that this is an old institution with old ways, and we’re sort of always catching up to how higher education is working. And governance is something which NUS are focusing this year on and we were actually approached by the NUS HE Officer if we could bring this as a case study, Heythrop, because the governance at Heythrop is a little bit out of date. FCC: But you’re unwilling to say how you’d like to see it go, in specific terms. DK: In specific terms, what I want to see from the Governors is a better reflection, I’ve already said this, a better reflection of how Heythrop
works, of how the day to day... FCC: But what does that actually mean when you say reflect the day to day, how would you see the governance structure change? DK: What I would see in the governance structure, if I’m going to be honest, if I want to change it, because they’re already reviewing how it works, is less governance. I want to see more elected governors, I want to see more engagement with governors when it comes to what Heythrop is. Now I have a lot of faith in Heythrop as a college, obviously. I want to see the governance of Heythrop college reflecting the academic environment, which we are, a 400 year old academic environment, I want to see the appointments made. We need the business people, we need them to come in, we need experts in law to come in, but I want it to be run less like a business and more like a higher education college and I think that part of the problem is that students are now seeing themselves as customers and if they, students, with the way higher education is right now, people are paying £9000 a year to study how can they not see themselves as a consumer? Now I’m not saying a radical commitment to free education by any means necessary, I’m saying if it’s now necessary to spend £9000 a year to study the last thing
you want to do is think about that when you’re studying, because you came here to learn, and also I think Heythrop is an amazing place to do that, a 400 year old Jesuit college apart of the University of London, especially with the Belimere institute now, we’re absolutely unique in the country, so what I want to see is that students at Heythrop see themselves as member of this community and I want to see, I’m going to be honest, I want to see a bigger invitation to secular students to become part of this, I want to see students from all religions, or no religion, all levels of study I want to allow them to have access to the same place that Jared Manny Hopkins came to study, I mean this place is 400 years old it has an amazing history, of persecution, of fleeing the country, and that’s not advertised to students, the crux of the problem is that the governance at Heythrop are great people, on a personal level, they’re great people, the job they are doing has changed so much in the last four years. If you’re appointed as a business person to be a governor of a college, it’s exceptionally difficult to keep up with the changes of the college. Now post-Peter Vardy, and the marketing of Heythrop being “the philosophy and theology college of the university of London”, with no religious element, a lot of the students we have in the student body now are secular students, that’s not a problem, but it becomes a prob-
lem when, for example, the apostolic mission statement of Heythrop College is then not being used for all students. I think there’s a discrepancy between how Heythrop students who came here for religious reasons, how they see the college and how they understand the college, and then students who find out once they come here “oh it’s a Jesuit college, ooh, I’m not really into that”, and obviously there’s a lot of anti-Catholic feeling in this country, understandably so given some things which have happened in the news or whatever, but also some of it completely unjustifiable because the catholic church and specifically the Jesuits have been responsible for the development of education, HE and FE, and I think we need to take ownership of that again, and as a union what I want to see, in this project, this is a two tier project, and the first one that we need to start with is changing who students see themselves at Heythrop to become part of this. FCC: How do you intend on doing that? Just as president, of we ignore Governance for a second; you’re talking about how students at Heythrop see themselves, as being a part of this college? DK: I would like to, there is a 400 year celebration at Heythrop, and it’s going on but the students aren’t aware of it. It’s only fair from a SU
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point of view, and as the president of the SU, to say the college have extended a warm invitation to the student body, to enjoy the 400th year to celebrate the 400th year of the college. Now I don’t think that that’s because they don’t want us there, I think its more because they feel that we don’t identify with that, I mean a lot of students here don’t see themselves as a part of this Heythrop College, this identity. So what do I want to do? I want to, as a SU, I want to work on the identity of Heythrop college, on the identity of us as students. With have Wellbeing week coming up, which is the 2nd to the 7th of March, and a part of that, the introductory talk is going to be three tier, we are going to have a NUS representative come in and talk about what it means to be a student at this moment in time with the legislation that is in place in HE at the moment. We’re going to have Nadeem talk about what it means to be apart of Heythrop college, and the reason why I chose Nadeem is because he’s been here for what? 12, 13 years? He’s seen Heythrop change, Nadeem very much identifies with Heythrop College, he understands whats going on, but if you look at Nadeem he’s not a catholic, not a Jesuit. FCC: He’s not an academic member of staff. DK: He’s not an academic member of staff, exactly. But he understands what Heythrop is there for. Now of course we’re going to balance that with a lot of academics coming in and talking as well, we’re going to have an academic talk about the Jesuit history as well, and then were going to have Lokahi talk about self-identification within these frameworks. But on a practical level we want to make a documentary, a film documentary about Heythrop. Now one of our students, our ex-students
now, he’s now a professional documentary maker and he’s expressed interest in coming in and doing this pro-rata, and he, who shall remain nameless, it’s going to be a documentary about 40 minutes long, interviewing some of the staff, some of the students, having a little bit of a talk about what is Heythrop and what it is to be a student in the 21st century because in the 400 years that Heythrop has been around being a student has changed drastically. It used to be almost a profession, whereas now it’s something which you consume, everyone does a degree, you buy a degree, we want to get away from that at Heythrop. I think the way to do that is have people, have talks coming in-having speakers coming in talking about the value of education, you know, we have a problem with retention at Heythrop, people don’t go to lectures people drop out, we have quite a high drop-out rate, and I think part of the reason is there’s a identity... it’s not even a crisis, just a little bit of unclarity. What is Heythrop and what does it mean for me to be a student here. So when I say I’ve got a governance project that I want to do and it’s all secret and whatever, that’s only because I don’t want this project to get out and for it to be seen as negative, because actually what we want to do is have far greater student involvement and as soon as the students grab onto Heythrop and participate in the community, you know and feel welcome, and have the confidence to feel welcome then that’ll permeate right up to the levels of governance, and they’re already reviewing how the governors work and….
told us when it’ll be out yet.
it to be.
DK: Yeah, to be honest that’s because Matt hasn’t written it up yet. He’s been busy, we’ve all been busy, and he’s got a draft but it is by no means ready to put out. And when we do put it out we’re going to really put it out. You know, this is why we’re waiting, we want to be just like the dam busters, just get it all out and for people to under this wave of Heythrop. And as a SU I think it’s very important, all of these problems of identification come right back to the SU as well, becauses we’re what only 4, 5 years old since we’ve had a sabbatical officer, and being a SU officer in Heythrop is very different, in the dealings that I’ve had with other Sabbs. The experience that Sam and I have had, and Ashley and Alex, and then when there was only one, we had Gala and Ben and James, it’s not a typical SU experience, and I think that we’re still defining ourselves, and I think it’s important to remember that you know at Heythrop we have no members of staff on our union, it’s just the two sabbatical officers and the volunteers that we have. We have support from Liz Thussu, the clerk to the governors but… hang on what was the question?
DK: I thinks that, it’s a fair point well made, but at the same time I think when we present this report its not going to be we want A, B, C; this report is actually going to be “well we want to start this movement”. I’m not going to do this in my time, I’ve written this in the strategic plan for the next union and probably the union after. Instead, this report its not really, you know, we’re not talking about pieces of A4 that are suddenly going to make this project happen, its about getting all the pieces together and understanding actually what we’re doing and what we want to do and as an SU to bring that forward, as a big project, with the end goal being a reform of the governors.
FCC: Well doesn’t it seem a little odd to you that you’re saying you want greater student involvement in the governance but you are not releasing any information on your governance report? You haven’t
DK: That’s true
FCC: Why are not releasing, well not not releasing, (but doing) any form of consultation at all, because you very much a “we want students to be involved with the governors” (attitude) but this is something that I don’t think most people even know is happening.
FCC: I mean have you actually, in terms of speaking to students and how they feel what Heythrop, I mean you’re saying very much what you view
FCC: You mentioned that we have a high student dropout rate and a lot of people not attending lectures, and it’s interesting because there have been lots of rumblings recently about lectures being made compulsory and there being very severe repercussions for not attending lectures - can you tell us anything about that? DK: Of course, well the HSU’s policy on academic affairs is we do not support academic sanctions for not going to lectures. We’re not going to support that and we’re going to campaign against that. I think it does go into a wider problem of retention, what can we make, how can we make the lectures more appealing for students to go to, we’ve done a survey recently that revels that 41% chose lectures as the most informative part of learning on a list that included tutorials and seminars, so there’s a lot of faith in lectures from the student body. I think you can’t force people to go to lectures and sanction them in that way, I know a lot of other
people do but at Heythrop that’s not for us. FCC: So where is this coming from? And I understand it’s still being discussed but when will we have an end result? DK: Well the colleges concern is that there has been a change in the legislation in HE which means that they’re not going to get their full funding until I think the third term, the 3rd academic term, so if you don’t maintain your students, if they drop out, you don’t get their tutorial -all their tuition - so they are looking in what ways they can improve retention and part of that is to make lectures feel more compulsory because if you go to these lectures and actually engage with the learning you’re going stay in Heythrop college and you’re going get to the end of your studies, that’s their rational. I’m not convinced by that rational because I don’t think a feeling of ‘I need to go to lectures’ is going to change that, if someone is not going to lectures there’s a wider problem and I think there’s more of a one to one potential. The policy that Chloe and I are working on is actually if you are getting low grades and low attendance to lectures then there’s some sort of pastoral role, if there is a person who can actually say “well why aren’t you going to lectures because something is going on here man, are you not enjoying your studies?” FCC: Well is that not what Kim Burke does already? To a certain degree? DK: Kim Burke has been doing that in the past. However, I think there is more scope to develop that. If you have any questions for Dermot or the HSU, feel free to contact them in their office or at their various points of contact.
The News Section is Written and edited by Fergus Cronin Coltsmann - Send your tip offs to: submit@theheythroplion.co.uk
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Comment.
Edited by Ben Mercer | comment@theheythroplion.co.uk
Tap Dripping in Hostel – Outrage? Martin Grundy Director of Finance Most people will agree that Heythrop is worthy place to study and work. It is a small, close knit community of scholars, students and staff who come together to create a supportive and caring environment designed to enable members of the community to thrive and achieve their potential. There are however some dangers with living in a small community; views can become insular, minor problems can get blown out of proportion, and day to day irritations can sour relationships. The recent reporting in the Lion suggests that it may have fallen
victim to some of these dangers. In recent issues major articles have covered a series of negative, inward looking, stories which in the overall scheme of things seem of little import. Worse still, they portray the College in a poor light to readers and undermine the morale of staff, some of whom seem to the subject of frequent criticism. In the most recent edition of the Lion significant space is given over to this type of reporting: Student asked to leave residence for serious misconduct – would you really expect anything different? Yes, there’s room to debate what is and isn’t “serious misconduct” but we have appeal procedures that can be followed to en-
sure that we deal with each case in a fair and equitable manner. Cleaners not here to clean up after students – no they’re not, we promote a culture which values and respects all members of our community, not a one where the privileged create mess and chaos and the less privileged clean up later. Guests turned away from College for not being booked in – again would you really expect anything else? Security staff rightly enforce the rules on overnight guests to help keep other residents safe and secure. By and large, Heythrop staff work hard to deliver a good service to students, staff and visitors within the limitations of the resources that are
available to them. We don’t always get things right but where things do go wrong we have complaint and appeal procedures available to ensure everyone gets a fair hearing. Part of the College mission is to offer its students an education marked by intelligence, scholarship and generosity of spirit. At the recent “Any Questions” hosted by the College, Sadiq Khan got the biggest cheer of the night when he remarked on the latter part of this mission statement. Rightly so, it is a fine principle but, it does require some work to make it a reality. It would be great to hear the Lion roar on some issues of substance, reported with the generosity of spirit that should mark Heythrop
A Reply to the Above
Daniel Tripp Editor-in-Chief To begin with, I would like that thank Martin for writing this response to the Heythrop Lion. It has always been one of my intentions that the Lion provide an avenue for debate amongst students and staff at Heythrop College. This response by myself is not intended to detract from Martin’s criticism, which is naturally valid when a reasonable amount of reporting recently has focused on the college, in particular the Alban Halls of Residence. However, it is important to remember that, firstly, the job of a newspaper is to report. When EGMs are held on the subjects of halls, then naturally we must cover halls in detail. EGMs are, naturally, often quite negative, with students
requesting change. Change rarely occurs when everyone is satisfied with the status quo. While I accept that we have reported criticism of halls, this is because there has been criticism of halls. While the paper, as mentioned, is there to promote conversation between staff and students, it is ultimately a paper to represent the views of the students. When the students union holds an ‘Emergency’ general meeting, specifically to do with halls, we cannot be blamed for covering it in the student interest. One should also remember that it is often due to covering situations such as these that change is made for the better at Heythrop. Our careers service has turned over a new leaf and, while not perfect, is starting to move towards being a better service. While naturally we do not take responsibility for this change, one cannot deny that
things began to turn around after we publicly reported on the shortfallings of the service in the paper. Martin brings up three major issues which I would like to address. Firstly our reporting of a student being asked to leave residence due to serious misconduct. Naturally we wouldn’t expect anything different, but the story was news worthy and many people around college had been talking about it and wanted more information, so we looked into the situation. Nowhere in the article did we claim that the student was unjustly removed, in fact from my point of view I felt the article was balanced and represented both sides. Our article regarding the cleaners, again, was a report on a situation that many students felt was confusingly put. Some satire of this story was written, which is to be expected in a student publication, but again the
news story was merely reporting a situation that some students were somewhat confused by. By no means is the Lion suggesting that we are against a culture that values and respect others of our community, and I strongly oppose any indication that we do not subscribe to such a culture. As for guests being turned away from college for not being booked in, I am somewhat confused as to what Martin is referring to. If it was our EGM coverage then most likely it was said by someone at EGM, and, again, merely reported as part of our coverage of the event. While I appreciate the attention that the Lion gets in reporting what happens around college, I’d like to remind everyone that we are doing just that – reporting. The event has already happened, we merely tell people about it. Communication, transparency and accountability
Disagree with something in the Lion? Then write and tell us why! Send Your Criticism to submit@theheythroplion.co.uk
students out from the crowd. Finding good copy may be more difficult than headlining bad news in an exaggerated manner but I think it’s worth the effort. The Lion should be a vehicle which motivates current students of the College to get involved, inspires prospective students to want to study at Heythrop and inspires a sense of pride in the College - I would encourage the editor and the reporters of the Lion to make this their goal. PS. If you do have a dripping tap in the hostel, just fill in a maintenance form, take it along to the Campus Services Office and it will be fixed very quickly (no need for an EGM).
are extremely important goals for any institution. We happily help achieve these goals for Heythrop College. As for the Lion as being a tool to motivate students to get involved, we can be considered one of the largest societies at Heythrop in terms of writers, and one of the few that engages undergraduates, post-graduates and members of staff. However, part of the Lion’s founding constitution is to “Investigate, question and review the work done by the College and the Union for the benefit of the student body.” It is often very difficult to read criticism (as I now well know having read Martin’s appraisal of the Lion!) but it is criticism and disagreement that drives us forward in creating a better situation for everyone. I will take on board any criticism of the Lion, but I hope that others will like wise take on board the Lion’s criticism.
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COMMENT
We
need to be the generation that cures politics of its lack of women- so what are we waiting for? Laura Dale day make fine MPs. But, in comSecond Year Undergraduate parison, I have met quadruple the I am a rare species. I am a woman in youth politics. How I wish I was exaggerating when I write these words; I wish I could report to you all that I am one of hundreds of young women who make up a good 50% of political activists, but then I would be guilty of lying to you. There is evidently a lack of female representation in Parliament (although it’s slowly getting better), but I had always assumed that it would be our generation who would finally put an end to the incredibly male-dominated world of politics for, love her or loathe her, Margaret Thatcher has ensured that no man will ever underestimate a female politician again. So what’s going wrong? Can it be that we’re still being repressed by the patriarchy? I’m not so sure it is. I’m by no means claiming that there are no female political activists, I am not unique; I have met dozens of competent young women from all parties who will one
Erin Denny First Year Undergraduate Over the course of the past week various people have been asking me what it actually means to be a vegan, and why I eat what I do. After spending two fabulous years free of animal consuming (because that’s what they are, animals are not meat, bacon is still pig whether or not it’s had a radical makeover into what we eat), and seeing more and more vegan posts on social networking sites and YouTube (because let’s face it when has anyone ever seen an advert for Tofu?), I thought it would be interesting to at least look at the arguments that vegans put forward, and I haven’t looked back since. A vegan (for those who might not know) is someone who uses literally no animal products: food, clothing, cosmetics etc., generally due to the belief that using animals for these products is treating them as a means to an end, and contributing to what I and many others would describe as slavery, the treatment of beings whereby they are viewed as possessions and profited from; although some people decide to become vegan for the health benefits because it is often a diet lower
amount of impressive young men. More often than not, I am the only woman sitting at the table during a meeting- and I’m not going to fib, it makes my life much easier. Women are more likely to challenge my opinion and persevere with their own, but this is exactly why more women are needed in politics. We’re sincere and brutally straightforward, but what is more we’re incredibly empathic and emotionally intelligent. We have the ability to suss out a situation (and a man) in twenty seconds, and as such I could argue that women are natural politicians. Our politicians have tried to combat the issue by introducing all women shortlists for parliament, but honestly, I resent this ‘solution’. Imagine how tainted your achievement must feel if you don’t win your parliamentary seat through merit so much as you did off the back of your gender; that isn’t equality! That’s recognising there’s a good amount of inequal-
ity in politics and trying to appease the whole female sex by offering us an easier route into the Commons. It’s almost like handing a student the sheet of answers in an exam because you’re convinced it’s the only way they’ll pass. This isn’t to suggest that party politics is an abyss of quiet sexism. In many ways it would be simpler if I could sit here and tell you that I’ve had to battle an array of highly patronising boys just to get so far as I have, because at least then we could pinpoint the problem. Instead I have only ever had the pleasure of working alongside men who would no sooner consider me an unequal as they would each other. So if the absence of ladies in youth politics isn’t down to sexism, then it must be due to widespread political apathy amongst females, right? That’s what we’re told anyway. But this is a flawed notion. Sure, people are disenchanted with party politics- sometimes I feel pretty disenchanted myself, and I’m about as party political as a person can get- but nobody lacks total inter-
in fats, sugars, calories and all the stuff in an animal consuming diet that can be harmful and correlates to things such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and certain cancers, particularly bowel and breast in women if too much red meat is consumed; and not to mention food poisoning which I have only heard comes from animal consuming diets. Being a vegan is actually a lot easier than most seem to think at first, I certainly never thought I would end up being vegan, after all it wasn’t that long ago that I was tucking into a Big Mac. It seems to be an extreme view to people who aren’t vegan and I was intimidated with the idea of it before I had read into it. It’s now much easier to have a totally plant based diet with the great number of substitutes out there especially made to suit a vegan diet, such as soy milk which has calcium fortified in it, and to be honest, though I’m no nutritionist, most of the good stuff that keeps us healthy is pretty much all in plants. I have never felt healthier, more active and alert than the few months I have been vegan, obviously I have a vested interest (that’s right I did critical thinking at A level) in saying so, but people try all sorts of diets in order to be healthier and
the vegan diet is often looked over despite being much healthier than, say, the Atkins diet. The transitioning to an animal based diet to vegetarian or vegan one is probably the hardest part, but it’s like kicking most habits such as smoking or nail biting, it can be a challenge, the actual diet itself isn’t the tricky bit. This is why to me becoming vegan on ethical terms seems to last longer because you are then aware that your diet impacts the livelihood of real innocent beings, and makes you less likely to give into those cravings. Many times I have wondered around the soft cheese section in Tesco’s only to then refrain, thinking about dairy cows living for around five years, when they should be living to about twenty, many getting mastitis (a bacterial infection of the udders that occur for many reasons directly to do with the dairy industry) and then their female calves enduring the same fate as their mothers, calves after calves being removed from them from birth, whilst the male calves are sent off to the veal industries. It’s a long reminiscence to say the least, but for sure makes me realise that no amount of brie could ever be worth that. #dairyrant
est in politics. Every human being, regardless of gender, has a fundamental concern about public policy whether they care to admit it or not; I can guarantee that every person reading this has an opinion on abortion, gay marriage, tuition fees, the war in Afghanistan and even the excruciating rising price of a freddo. You might call it ethics or just pure rage, but it all boils down to politics. It’s all very well to sit there and hiss and spit, but you’re not going to change a thing by bursting a blood vessel when you’ve got to squeeze onto a cramped bus because the tube workers are striking again. It’s no good shouting at the TV when the 6’o’clock news comes on… they can’t hear you from your sofa! I’m not going to patronise you by explaining that the only way you can get your voice heard is by getting involved. Of course, nobody’s going to stick you on a platform as soon as you’ve received your membership card- that takes time. Politics, contrary to popular belief, takes a
#Dairyrant: Veganism
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lot of hard work and perseverance like everything else does in life. I can promise you, however, that you will have a surprising amount of fun in the process; there’s so much more to being an activist than sticking leaflets through a letterbox and debating the current state of the economy. All I know is that the percentage of females in politics is at a dangerously low level and, mostly, it’s simply because women aren’t getting involved. Being the only female sitting at the table is beginning to both bore and concern me, so I’m imploring you to seriously consider joining me. If you think you can walk the corridors of power someday and make a real difference to this country, if you think that you’ve got what it takes to stand up for your beliefs and do what you think is right for Britain then seize the day! Carpe diem! Let’s be the generation of women that changes the face of politics, let’s consign a male dominated parliament to the history books. Our daughters will thank us for it.
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MONDAY 3RD MARCH | THE LION
Comment.
COMMENT
The New AQA Philosophy Syllabus is Killing Children. Ben Mercer
Comment Editor Michael Gove gets a lot of stick. He deserves it. But whilst he’s flying around, baiting the flak cannons of teachers’ unions and showering us with his own faecal countermeasures, the examinations and awarding bodies - OCR, AQA, Edexcel - go about their business. Government is responsible for deciding which subjects are compulsory. (We have recently seen the House of Lords block an amendment that would have seen sex and relationships education added to the list; a facile move by the contemptible supporters, in a ridiculous House, of a cretinous government.) Beyond that, the aforementioned bodies have a great deal of autonomy when it comes to deciding how those subjects, and those deemed too unimportant to warrant the status of mandatory, are taught and examined. So, to the issue at hand: AQA has released a new draft syllabus for its A level philosophy course. If it is passed by Ofqual (and there is currently no reason to suggest that the regulatory body will do
Anonymous The NHS describes anxiety as ‘a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe.’ This is true, but there is also much more to anxiety than just a sense of worry or fear. It is the constant sense of these feelings which affects you all day no matter what. You can be walking along the road having a completely normal conversation with a friend but have a million and one things racing through your mind. The feelings are completely irrational and there is practically no reason for them, but this does not stop them affecting you. It causes you to cut off your friends and cancel plans to spend most of your day sat in your room alone, because the idea of leaving the house is just too much to cope with. The anxiety also
the right thing and strike it down), significant alterations will be made to the structure and content of the module. Out go aesthetics, free will and political philosophy; in comes philosophy of religion, which will account for 50% of the AS grade. The author of the Guardian article which drew my attention to the change, a Mr Charlie Duncan Saffrey, has taught the old AQA syllabus for the past 9 years. For my part, I suffered through (suffered and breezed, if we grant that these are not contradictory reflections) a course which was not dissimilar to that now proposed by AQA. The difference: mine was called Religious Studies. Mr Saffrey and I share the same fear; that the decision, by such a prominent auditor, to abandon its commitment to a ‘pure’ philosophy course will further add to the degradation of one of the most important disciplines in education and in life. It will become another Religious Studies. I arrived at this college and immediately came to notice my disadvantage. Mine was a course which required its students to read handouts, and nothing more. I attained an A grade without reading a single book. Believe me when I say that this is not something which
should be vaunted or desired. That it is all but impossible to find a course which treats ethics as a subject in its own right is depressing enough, and let us not forget that religious ethics are responsible for immeasurable suffering, which makes the common conflation even more of an affront to good sense than it might otherwise have been. But the picture of a world in which philosophy is tacitly assumed - in schools, of all places, and for the sake of convenience - to be a religious exercise, or else part and parcel with the same, is positively sickening. Furthermore, Mr Saffrey tells us that: “The exam board will also reduce the marks given for students’ ability to critique and construct arguments, and more marks will be given for simply knowing the theories involved. Essentially, where young philosophers were previously rewarded for being able to think for themselves and question the role of government, the new course can only be passed by students who can regurgitate classic defences of the existence and perfection of God.” By this point, the reader should need no more ammunition. Surely this is a propositio-
An that is frightening enough to be worth fighting against. I have one more observation to make. It may indeed be true that the drive to combine philosophy and religious studies is born of an existential quandary. It seems that no part of the apparatus, from the DfE to the awarding bodies, quite understands either subject. Both are in decline; a merger might make sense, for practical reasons. Needless to say, it weakens both sides. The decline, at least in the case of philosophy, is not due to the paucity of the content, but due to a societal trend which our governments and our society have done nothing to address. Now, consider the proposed reform of A levels, and the impact this will have on university admissions. AS levels will cease their contribution toward an overall grade, and be relegated to a position inferior even to SATS. This will have the effect of condensing and focussing meaningful examination on a single set of tests, held months after the UCAS application deadline and, in many cases, after universities have responded to their applicants. This is a cause for concern, not least when we consider admissions to Oxford and Cambridge, for which
the process begins at an earlier date still. It places even more emphasis on grades achieved at GCSE, and on predicted A level grades. In other words, it makes an existing problem a great deal worse. This contrivance of circumstance has the potential to damage our college more than most. (I make the naive assumption that Heythrop values its duty as an institute of education more than it values solvency and existence for its own sake.) Not only are students graduating from the lower tiers of education without being taught true philosophy, and without the skills and academic rigour which should be key, but the college will also have to grant admission based on little more than guess work; a gamble over the best of a disadvantaged lot. We already suffer from a surrender on the part of the college to the perceived importance of names and dates; studying rather than ‘doing’ philosophy, and the insistence on retaining its Christian nature compromises its integrity as a home of true philosophical enquiry. But things could be worse, and a continuation of this trend - of marrying subjects of thought with the subject of religion - risks making them so.
makes university life increasingly difficult. You cannot concentrate in lectures because of all the possibilities and anxieties that come with it, and this is worsened by the fact you get very little sleep. Handing in just one essay late makes any progress of feeling better spiral back down because you feel like you have lost control over one of the few things you had control over. Although most of the time of the time it is easier for you to hide away, you also have the constant fear of being alone. You can cope being alone to a certain extent, but you completely avoid doing things or going to places because you cannot do it on your own. You cannot do one certain thing, and you can never imagine doing so. You cannot say why it would go wrong, or why you cannot do it, but it is simply something the anxiety will not let you do on your own. You find it hard to talk to people on your own, and this makes you feel like you come across as
rude and unsociable therefore you think that people do not like you. Although someone may act completely normal with you, you still feel like they do not like you and this is the case with most people. If someone ignores you, or acts in a certain way towards you, you go into a chain of thought that people do not like you. You also find it hard to talk to people in general life. In most situations you have to get a friend to talk to others for you, or get them to pay in a shop, or any situation where you would have to interact with people. You do not know whether the anxiety caused the depression, but you feel like this may be the most likely situation. The buildup of frustration over the years of not being able to do things on your own, avoiding situations and ultimately losing friends becomes too much. Although coming to university you have made supportive and understanding friends, it is hard not
to compare your life at home to theirs. You go back home and slip into the same routine of not leaving the house without your parents and spending most of your time alone. You often feel like there is no point, because if you have to live with these feelings and feel as restricted as you do now for the rest of your life then why bother. You cry and break down over the most ridiculous things, for what other people would think of as nothing and for is essentially is nothing but for you is a huge deal. If this carries on for much longer, it will stop you from doing what you want to do. You wish you could get a job, and be able to learn things in lectures, and feel like you can make friends, and walk down the street without any anxieties or upset tangled up in your mind. You want to be able to be alone at any point and not feel hopeless and angry and lost. You feel like you are losing control more and more as the anxiety and
depression carries on, and it also feels like there is nothing you can do about it. I can understand why people do not understand mental health issues, because I think if I was not experiencing them I wouldn’t understand either. I don’t expect people to understand what’s going on in my head, and to some respects I don’t want them too. My friends do not know all that goes on in my mind and they don’t know to what extent it affects me. If I explained everything that went through my mind in the most normal of situations, saying hi to someone in passing or sitting in a lecture, you would probably think I am a bit insane, because if someone said it to me I would certainly think so! I can sit in a room and I will act completely normal, but really my mind is reeling with constant fears and worries and sadness and frustration and hopelessness.
University and Anxiety
MONDAY 3RD MARCH | THE LION
Edited by Ben Mercer.
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comment@theheythroplion.co.uk
Steven Moffat and Sexism Katt Johnson First Year Undergraduate It’s hard to admit when the main staple of the media diet is… off. To call a show watched by 13 million UK residents ‘flawed’ should quirk your eyebrow, indeed, but, unfortunately, there is a problem at the heart of our very own, magical, sci-fi adventure extraordinaire, Doctor Who. And that problem, to be perhaps a little too viciously blunt, is Steven Moffat. Since the farewell of Russell T. Davies, many fans have alluded to their disappointment in the continuation of the new Doctor Who. Some put it down to Matt Smith’s portrayal as the quirky time-lord whilst others outright point the finger at Moffat. Perhaps they both have their downfalls - you could say one affected the other, or they’re both equally as bad but, considering the evidence of the excellence that is Neil Gaiman managing to release a brilliant, new dynamic from Matt Smith in ‘The Doctor’s Wife’, letting him play out a side of the Doctor that fit so agreeably, for now, we’re going to focus on the writing. Considering Moffat had to live up to RTD’s immaculate character development, he did quite well, says one fan. And some think that, maybe, we just haven’t given him enough time with the latest companion. Considering the likes of Martha and Donna were squashed into a year, their characters were rapidly put through their paces which didn’t make for a slow build up. In retrospect, Amy’s character does have some kind of meaning. However, it’s only then - when you look back after the series has been and gone that you can figure out any point to her. In spite of this, his singular episodes during RTD’s run were fantastic. The Weeping Angels from ‘Blink’ were ‘one of the best things ever’ (source: a flatmate but I think every ‘Whovian’ out there) and I’m sure ‘The Empty Child’ had you unable to sleep for a week just as much as me. So, it’s clear his storylines aren’t the problem; a lot of these complaints come from huge, continued fans of the show, thus it can’t all be terrible. He just works much better as an occasional scriptwriter. And, to be fair, Moffat did an amazing job with the 50th Anniversary special (aside the abhorrent Queen Elizabeth thing – oh, and the fact that it was little more than ‘something that celebrates [Moffat’s] own work rather than
something that celebrates the show as a whole’) and we must consider the weight of the entire series doesn’t rest solely on his shoulders. But, in reality, it’s not even any of this that lies at the forefront of atrocities in the writing. The main problem is, to directly quote a flatmate, ‘he’s a bit twattish towards female characters’. Overall, his character-creation and story arcs can come out varied, a little mediocre here, genuinely interesting there, when tasked with creating the majority of the series. Still, the serious problem lies with the females. Take the new companion, Clara, for example – she became an annoying cling-on (sorry, wrong universe) and, ultimately, little more than a glorified signpost for pointing out things the Doctor could go ‘oh’ at. Many fans are ‘very angry at him reducing the female to ‘agh, I need help’ and ‘I’m just here to help the Doctor’’. And this is sexist, pure and simple. Sure, the Doctor’s the main character; he’s got the 1200 years of knowledge and alien wisdom and technology to clear up all kinds of time-related problems but, that doesn’t mean his sidekicks have to be dopey robots. The entire creation of Doctor Who calls upon the amazing abilities of us Tellurians, so why would he pick some bumbling fool of a companion who always needs saving and helps only on occasion of little more than luck? Well, he wouldn’t but it’s moderately being written that way.
Some people don’t pick up on the sexism, it looks more like, dull, flat characters (in Doctor Who) but they do conclude that Clara was much less involved than previous companions - such as Rose - ‘she didn’t really input anything’, she was just a superficial character. But the continuation of this pathetic female characterisation seems to lead us the heart of where the sexism allegations come from. One place where it is blindly obvious that Moffat can prove himself a blight on the empowerment of women is in Sherlock – the other major media that is in a ripe position for teaching the public all sorts of nasty things. We’re talking about Irene Adler. One of the most devious, selfdriven, still amazingly effervescent ladies in all of literature history… needs to be saved by a man (you can hear the sighs of exasperation and eye rolls of the nation from here). “I really liked the idea of her being a dominatrix, aggressively owning her femininity, but it broke my heart when she needed to be rescued”, said my most brilliant of flat mates. And my brilliant flat mate is right. Irene Adler is an adversary; she glides in and defeats the great Sherlock Holmes with her genius, refusing to exist solely as a plot device in Conan Doyle’s great works. In Sherlock, nah, Moffat sees a lady and puts her in her place. Instead, he gives her spot to some bloke, Moriarty, who was only ever creat-
ed to goad Holmes to his grisly end. Okay, he’s not the only one to make this horrid switcharoo in screen adaptations – that doesn’t excuse him. Moriarty is anything but a ‘worthy foe’ but he’s put on a pedestal whilst Irene Adler’s stripped down and put in her tower as a damsel. Why?! The wonderful characterisation was there 122 years-ago and we’ve already established it’s not Moffat’s forte. There’s no benefit to it. The mano-a-mano crap’s been done before in about every TV show since the box first flickered to life; we don’t see your creative genius if you’re just going to do that again. It can hardly be about the discomfort in presenting such a shocking twist of custom. Blimey, Arthur Conan Doyle did it back when the Queen herself was telling women to stay ‘helpmates to man’. Alas, perhaps we’re straying a little into the equality thing and it’s not the time to pick out one man in a million making the same vital flaw in their villain characterisation but all I’m saying is it doesn’t really command respect in your writing if the complexity goes as far as ‘it’s Sherlock Holmes… but now’. There are some things we could give Moffat credit for but if he’s slowly dragging down two of our TV greats by suggesting a character like Irene Adler is trounced by her own femininity, I feel I have to say something about the message he’s continuously sending out. Come on! Sci-Fi is one of the few genres
where you can create an entire universe not subject to presentday norms and people can’t say anything about it because amazing concepts such as gender equality are found on the same planet as robot yetis or a woman who’s had so much surgery she’s a thin sheet of flesh hooked to a metal frame. In all, there’s something in Moffat that could be great (and, gosh, don’t I sound like his English teacher marking his latest misbegotten tales) but he needs to get over his interest in portraying archetypes and give us some really fantastic, deep and innovative characters and back-stories. Because, well, most of these opinions don’t come from world-renowned critics but a group of people much more important: the fans. And they all seem to hate the whole dreary inequality thing and these disenchanting additions to some of the greatest shows around. It’s not like he’s pleasing the target audience, just another dickhead who thinks they know what the public want (hint: it’s masculine hero come to save the day). In a final fit of borderline disgust, I point out he even changed the meaning of the fantastical, classic VWORP VWORP TARDIS noise that took sound engineers months to create - that delicate ripping of time and space - battered to just the Doctor ‘leaving the brakes on’. What?!
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MONDAY 3RD MARCH | THE LION
Culture Music: TRAAMS Will Howard Second Year Undergraduate
you’ll be repeating ‘that’ line for
ture of influence helps to create
somewhat laborious, recurrence
written with ‘small town’ angst.
the rest of the day. Scattered
a patchwork sound that distin-
of refrains in their songs ‘Grin’
Perhaps they are, fundamental-
in amongst these are the unex-
It is not all too often that one can
guishes them and is their great-
and ‘Klaus’ brings the show to
ly, a great band. Either way, if
pectedly long songs, protruding
be ‘proud’ of something affiliat-
est attribute. I am regularly
life. This ridiculously genius use
you’re so incline, make sure you
so far from the rest of the album
ed with ones home town. Espe-
lost for genres to describe their
of extended reverberation char-
catch them live, stream their
in such a fitting way that you
cially when it is as dull and in-
sound, anywhere from grunge
acterises a formidable band who
album, whatever you find nec-
will not notice their abnormal
significant as the middle-class,
to psychedelia. Their energetic
could surely bring any person to
essary to experience this stimu-
presence. Lyrically, the songs
cultural void, situated at the
live performances are topped
their knees, be it in a cramped
lating band. They are currently
show maturity within absolute
foot of the Sussex Downs, that
only by the rate of repetition
attic on a sound-system, a sold
on tour with Drenge, and their
teenage torment; ‘I won’t for-
I had the misfortune of grow-
they include; songs span seam-
out pub in East London or the
only London date is sold out.
get to try and forget you’ and ‘I
ing up in. Aside from the scenic
lessly into the mesh of sound
main stage at a festival. Traams
Not to worry, as you can expect
don’t even know your number,
countryside (one can become
and light lasting well over the
are unavoidably inspired. I am
to see more dates appearing as
and you don’t even know my
rather jaded by its ‘beauty’)
recommended length with an
unsure whether I am influenced
the year goes on, with a lot of
name’. Alongside this, they are
the only noteworthy accolade
ever so familiar riff fading in
by home town pride or if I feel
festival confirmations for the
armed with one of the most fe-
of Chichester is its particularly
and out like a recurring dream
I can connect with the reminis-
summer.
rocious live shows. Their mix-
at dawn. The hypnotic, yet
cent melancholy in their songs,
grand Cathedral. Thus, it is to my delighted surprise that I can now be honoured in announcing the first truly spectacular thing to have stemmed from the same roots as me. Traams: a three-piece post punk/krautrock band who have broken on to the national music scene. They released their debut album ‘Grin’ in September last year and it’s a vision cover to cover. The album begins with ‘Swimming Pool’, a track that epitomises the band’s sound; a repetitive rolling bass-line, accompanied by a screeching vocal that barely makes it past the three-minute mark and leaves you in anticipation of what’s to come. The album is littered with songs that demonstrate just how catchy Traams can be. ‘Flowers’ and ‘Fibbist’ imprint themselves onto your brain and
The culture SECTION IS EDITED BY Robert leftwich SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLES TO HIM AT Culture@THEHEYTHROPLION.CO.UK
11
MONDAY 3RD MARCH | THE LION
culture section ,
Film: 12 Years a Slave Robert Leftwich Culture Editor
I feel like I’m in a little bit of an
appear to be. It follows the story
ation, he does what he has to
psychopathy. He is portrayed
earlier, I’m not well placed to
of Solomon Northup (played by
do to survive, as he puts it. The
by Michael Fassbender as bor-
judge the historicity of this film,
Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black
other characters are also shown
derline insane, a biblical slaver,
I also haven’t read the mem-
man born in New York who is
to have dimension and depth,
a drinker and a rapist of his best
oirs on which it’s based, but
tricked by two charming young
it would have been very easy to
slave Patsey (played brilliantly
my instinct is that this is a well
white men (Scoot McNairy and
make a film about slavery which
by Lupita Nyong’o). He is a rep-
adapted film with at most a few embellishments
awkward position to review this
Taran Killam) and solved into
paints a very simple picture of
resentation in one man, espe-
film. My history on the trans-
slavery for a period of twelve
slave owners as being Satan in-
cially when Solomon is finally
to poetic license for a modern audience. It has subtlety which
and
appeals
atlantic slave trade is pretty de-
years. The main purpose of this
carnate, and whilst the relevant
freed (with a little help from a
cent, but the subsequent period
film is palpably to reveal the
elements of this are present, the
Canadian Carpenter played by
tempers the pain throughout the rest of the film and it has
of slavery in the American south
horror of the slave trade and
various owners of our protago-
Brad Pitt) of the angry south-
after the abolition by the British
much attention is drawn to the
nist, are all portrayed as having
ern slaver whose livelihood de-
thought provoking characters and conversations, as well as
Empire, but before the US civil
horrific treatment of our pro-
their own problems and strug-
pended upon an immoral and
war (which is when this film
tagonist and his fellow slaves,
gles and as being realistic char-
dying trade. You can see the
a wonderful scene with Solomon Northup as he is reunited
is set) is something I’m not all
with plenty of gory detail, but
acters. The first plantation own-
mental knots the character has
that familiar with beyond a very
it’s not done in the almost sa-
er and Slaver, Mr. Ford, (played
tied to justify his business in
with his (now grown up) family, and grandson, at the end.
basic overview of key events.
distic manner of Mel Gibson’s
by Benedict Cumberbatch) is
one particular exchange late in
I’ve also never really seen a film
The Passion of The Christ. It’s a
almost sympathetic, for whilst
the film. The acting in this film
My recommendation would be that you should see this film if
quite like this one before. The
rare instance of gore that would
he is a slaver, he seems to be
is excellent, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s
closest thing I’ve ever watched
be, in any other film, gratuitous,
so through debt, ignorance and
portrayal of Solomon Northup
you haven’t all ready, although the more intense gore and one
to this was the US TV series
fitting with the film’s message
circumstance, he treats Solo-
is filled with a subtle range of
Roots, starring LeVar Burton,
and purpose, and being done
mon well, gifts him a violin,
many kinds of sadness, anger,
particular scene where a slave is raped may be too much for
which considering it was made
in a way that draws attention to
listens to his advice, and saves
fear and happiness at different
with a relatively tiny budget, for
the suffering without being dis-
his life from the wrath his own
points in the feature, which re-
some. Although the film was made primarily for an Ameri-
television, is set in a different
tasteful to the subject matter,
overseers, and it was refreshing
ally drew me in. He was a su-
period of history and was made
and credit to Steve McQueen
to see an American film where
perb leading man and the sup-
can audience, it is still definitely a superb piece of cinema. I
with a much lighter tone and
for that, who has shown with
a British actor isn’t the straight
porting cast were also excellent,
subtly different purpose is not
this film to my satisfaction at
up villain for once. That “hon-
Michael Fassbender, Benedict
smell plenty more awards (it all ready has a Golden Globe), or
really directly comparable. So I
least that he is an excellent di-
our” goes to Solomon’s next
Cumberbatch, Lupita Nyong’o,
suppose I’ll have to review this
rector. The film is nuanced as
owner, Edwinn Epps, who is a
Sarah Paulson and Brad Pitt
at least more nominations, but I wouldn’t want to see it again,
film based purely off of instinct.
well. Northup is not portrayed
much harsher, and the relation-
were faultless in their respective
I would describe the film in one
as a constant defiant hero, or a
ship between him and his wife
roles, which is especially reas-
although perhaps, this was, at least in part, the film maker’s intention.
word as uncomfortable, but
constant scared victim, his role
(Sarah Paulson) shows two dis-
suring in such a character based
that’s not the criticism it may
varies realistically with situ-
tinct and interesting kinds of
film as this. As I mentioned
The culture SECTION IS EDITED BY Robert leftwich SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLES TO HIM AT Culture@THEHEYTHROPLION.CO.UK
12
MONDAY 3RD MARCH | THE LION
Culture Theatre: Henry V could have of him being in this Megan Skingsley First Year Undergraduate role, and having seen it I would
for the eternal salvation of his
after some highly motivational
ing decision I thought as it al-
men in one of his moving soli-
speeches delivered by the King
lows you to draw parallels with
Henry the V is the final produc-
agree with this assessment. His
tary speeches. He effortlessly
the most notable being the St.
this historical recount and our
tion in the Noel Coward Thea-
performance was what project-
shows the King to be ruthless,
Crispen’s day speech. The stag-
modern approach to war. The
tre’s season of five plays. Mi-
ed the play from being good to
witty and in the final act, when
ing was simple and the round
rest of the play is acted in period
chael Grandage’s productions
being an extraordinarily intri-
attempting to woo the French
“O” shape was set to resemble
costumes, which helps contex-
have included an all star cast
cate production. The play it-
King’s daughter, shows him to
the Globe theatre. Naturally
tualise the importance the King
in each play from Judi Dench
self is a recount of the battle of
be hilariously endearing. The
the majority of the play is set
places on religion. In all the play
to Sheridan Smith. This version
Agincourt between the French
supporting cast were terrific
on the battlefield, which was
was superb and this was mainly
of Shakespeare’s Henry V saw
and the English. It shows the
in their portrayals of national
vividly described by the chorus
due to the outstanding perfor-
Jude Law taking on the titular
troubles the King faced in lead-
stereotypes, the humour from
boy (Ashley Zhangazha) so the
mance from Jude Law. I would
role of the King. After read-
ing his men, only to be outnum-
which shows the true patriotic
lack of visual scenery was not
highly recommend the play and
ing some reviews of the play
bered at this historical battle,
essence which runs throughout
missed. The chorus boy himself
if you get the chance to see a
it was clear to me that Jude
five to one. Jude Law brilliantly
the play. Henry V ends in vic-
is dressed in modern clothes,
Michael Grandage play I would
Law’s performance was going
portrays the dilemma Henry V
tory for the English, despite the
sporting a union jack tee-shirt
advise not passing up the op-
to exceed every reservation you
is faced with as he pleads to God
lack of numbers on their behalf,
and jeans. This was an interest-
portunity.
The culture SECTION IS EDITED BY Robert leftwich SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLES TO HIM AT Culture@THEHEYTHROPLION.CO.UK
13
MONDAY 3RD MARCH | THE LION
The Creative Commons A Creatively Compiled Collection Broken Hope The obsolete watched and provoked
Pricked
a thousand times by replacement mirrors, Nothing more would fit But steel bars to blind the stars As broken hope, And bleeding promises prevailed.
The
transfixed troubles of pillars past devise many frames for today, They struggle with ours, The stubborn dreamers. Anonymous
From Heythrop College
Our sunsets are clear Although cracks will appear, As we rise in the midst of plastic dreams, And narcissistic nostalgia.
Poetry and creativity
every shattered window in their way. Their own, Their allies and enemies panes decayed Like apples on the front yards path Paved to common places, Not beyond.
Are you a poet and somewhat aware of that fact? If you have some poetry to share, send it to culture@theheythroplion.co.uk To have it published on this very page!
14
culture section ,
Theatre: Phantom of the Opera Faye West
Managing Editor
he takes her down to his beau-
behind the curtain in the Opera
the film.
plicated and faceted character. I
tiful lair. Yet in curiosity she
Populaire, which are occurring
The film, however, has sig-
was expecting this in the musi-
The Phantom of the Opera is removes the Phantom’s mask, Flickr.com/mattjerome_88 one of a number of musicals revealing a deformed face. In by Andrew Lloyd Webber and fear, she runs from him into the
in front of the curtain in the the-
nificance to me which I did not
cal, but it wasn’t conveyed. The
atre. Of course one of the most
find in the musical. I think the
Phantom in the musical was
exciting parts of any musical
Phantom is a beautiful char-
creepy and animalistic. I was
is based on a French novel by
arms of her suitor Raoul who
is how the stage changes. The
acter, so frightened and an-
disappointed. However, on re-
Gaston Leroux which was pub-
she then becomes engaged to.
scene where Christine descends
gered by the world around him.
flection, I saw a musical, not a
lished in 1910. The movie of the
Driven to despair and rage by
to the Phantom’s lair was hon-
When he found Christine, for
film. The man who played the
musical was released in 2005
her betrayal, the Phantom vows
estly breathtaking; a floating
the first time he found beauty
Phantom was a singer (a very
starring the talented Gerard
revenge on the man who took
boat was suspended over smoke
in the world which he had not
good singer) and a dancer, not
Butler and is, in my opinion,
Christine from him.
and candles, falling slowly to a
put there. Gothic literature is a
an actor and, (disappointingly)
a very well put together film. I
The musical is a very interesting
gorgeous set.
favourite of mine and in addi-
not Gerard Butler. Obviously,
recently watched it again after
one. It begins enthrallingly with
As a production, the cast were
tion to Frankenstein and The
on reflection, I realised that the
almost 10 years. When I first
an old and dusty chandelier ris-
immensely talented. The cast of
Hunchback of Notre Dame, the
subtly of character is lost some-
saw it, it frightened me. The
ing again to the famous Phan-
all musicals are very talented,
themes of monsters being only
what when it is necessary for the
story centres on the Phantom
tom of the Opera theme. It is set
yet the cast of The Phantom of
men is something which I think
people at the back of the theatre
of the Opera, a brilliant musical
in an opera house; elements of
The Opera included ballet danc-
is very powerful. In the movie,
to hear what you are saying.
genius who lived below the Op-
opera and ballet are used within
ers and opera singers too. The
the Phantom has timid and
Volume trumps subtlety.
era Populaire in Paris. Tortured
the production to striking ef-
Phantom and Raoul were both
child like aspects, really convey-
It was a very good musical. It
and alone, he hears the voice of
fect. In many instances, the
played by singers whose quality
ing that, although disfigured,
was very clever and the songs
the angelic Christine Daae, and,
stage is “reversed” where the
of singing was far higher than I
he is just a man. The Phantom
are impressive and memorable.
after teaching her to sing, falls
audience view the production
was anticipating. Both cast and
in the movie loves and adores
Ignore my soppy mumblings
in love with her. Initially being
from the back in order to see the
set were fantastic. It was a very
Christine but is frightened of
and go and see it.
drawn to the masked Phantom,
conversations happening from
well portrayed stage version of
her; the Phantom is a very com-
(But I really didn’t like the Phantom’s hat and no one can make me)
Societies.
Edited by Nazia Begum societies@theheythroplion.co.uk
HEADS Performance of ‘The Producers’ Fergus Cronin Coltsmann HEADS The Heythrop Amateur Dramatic Society (HeADS) would like to invite you to our production of The Producers which will be shown sometime near the end of term. There will be no door fee, though donations would be greatly appreciated for the sake of future productions and the sobriety of the cast at the after party. And we’ll be rounding off well-being week for the Union with the healing power of laughter.
Originally a film written and directed by Mel Brooks, we’ve adapted it for stage and slaved away at getting to an acceptable level for public presentation (well, the cast slaved and I somewhat incompetently drove). Our ‘heroes’ are Max Bialystock, a washed up swindler/ Broadway director, and Leo Bloom, a nervous wreck of an accountant, and we join them on a whirlwind adventure of Comedy! Sex! Nazis! and Musicals! as they attempt to put on the worst play in the world in order to con little old ladies out of investment money. Fun for all the family!
15
MONDAY 3RD MARCH | THE LION
Fun and Games
EASY
ROARFUL
NEXT DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS
11th March
Please send your submissions to: submit@theheythroplion.co.uk NEXT ISSUE RELEASE DATE
18th March MEDIUM
Contribute to the Heythrop Lion! Send any and all articles to: submit@theheythroplion.co.uk
Horoscopes Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer Jun 21 - Jul 22
Leo
Virgo
Mar 21 - Apr 19
Apr 20 - May 20
May 21 - Jun 20
Jul 23 - Aug 22
Aug 23 - Sep 22
You need to trust yourself, have faith. A big decision looming? Go with your gut, trust your instincts. They’ll guide you true more often than you’d expect. Wait, what am I saying? Don’t trust your instincts, they stink. Trust your horoscopes, trust me. Your own intuition isn’t up to the task, I mean, you read the shit I peddle so you’re hardly going to go right anywhere else in your life.
It’s the talk of the town…well, the stars. They’re keen to tell me that this month, for you, leaning back on your chair is alright. You might not bend the legs out of shape and you probably won’t fall off and end up in a wheelchair. I mean, you could fall down the stairs or get hit by a car on your way to the shops, I’m certainly not going to tell you to stop doing those things. Incidentally, the stars say you can’t turn left anymore, it’s bad kia-ora. It’ll mash up your chakras. Instead, redirect the flow by thrice turning right.
Strike a match. Put it out on your tongue. ROAR. Repeat.
To put this mildly, you’re crap. No, really. You can’t do a damn thing. I don’t mean to be rude but you are a pathetic waste of space. I really am sorry to say, and I truly mean no offence but you’ve got a big, fat, horrible nose and you smell and everyone hates you, and laughs at you and thinks you are ugly and have a smelly face. I’m just being honest.
Invest heavily in your fellow man. Together we are all one, or something. As such… um…a seeming loss to ourselves is…er…actually a gain to…er…weselves. That was ridiculous.
Sit silently in a coffee shop. Wait for someone to yawn. ROAR. Repeat.
Libra Sep 23 - Oct 22
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius
Oct 23 - Nov 21
Nov 22 - Dec 21
Dec 22 - 19 Jan
Jan 20 - Feb 18
Pisces
Feb 19 - 20 Mar
Perhaps because it was cloudy or perhaps the dodgy egg sandwich and half pound of mescaline I ate but either way whilst looking at your stars last night, they formed the face of James Gandolfini and began destroying worlds. So many lives ended, so many lights went out, a final burst of breath. The face swells, the sky crumbles around it as it forms the chaos and fury of the imprisoned soul. That was one dodgy egg sandwich.
Do you know how big the universe is? Can you imagine it? Can you? Really? Can you imagine 400,000 trillion football pitches laid end to end? Can you? Do you know all the stuff that’s in it? How it all came to be and how it all interacts with itself? Do you care if it’s happy? If it will get that promotion next week? No, you don’t. Yet you keep coming here expecting it to give a shit about you. Offering up nuggets of enlightenment, hints and tips for a happy life. You didn’t even know it was its birthday last month, did you? Not that a month means anything to the universe as a whole, or a birthday for that matter. All I’m saying is that a card would have been nice.
Calm. Suddenly falling. Wake up. ROAR. Repeat.
Don’t look back. Don’t think about looking back. Nobody saw you, you’ll be ok. You’ll need to burn those trousers, that shirt and that awful, awful shell-suit…you know, because. Forget about your family, your friends, your life. This is it now, you’re on your own. Alone with the memory of their faces. Their screams. Don’t think about that now. But it was horrible though. Properly horrifying. You remember how the last one, how you just kept hacking and hacking? But not now. Not anymore. Stop thinking of it. Of the stench it made, the rollercoaster in your mind swooping and spinning, guiding you, leading you on. But stop. None of that. It’s over now.
Three years I studied Horoscoping at the Tadley Academy of Startography. Every night I sat in the gardens on campus, looked up at the night sky and made stuff up. My friends would all go out, drinking and taking drugs. They’d always invite me along but I’d always decline. Making stuff up about what I thought I saw in the sky at night was a passion. That passion burns in me still and I’d like to think that I’m pretty good at what I do. I look at your stars and I see… I see…err…now wait a minute…um…a big, er-ah…it’s because you, because you’re watching…umm…I can usually do it quickly…off the bat…um…you will, er…my chai isn’t aligning, I didn’t recentralise before I came… umm…it, you will…um… <sigh> …look. I’ll just go.
Get a job at the zoo. Feed the lions. Feed it meat. RAW. Repeat.
Thanks for Reading!