Volume 6, Issue 4

The

EDITORIALLY INDEPENDENT. EST. 2010 Volume 6 Issue 2 23rd Febuary 2016

theheythroplion.co.uk

thelion@heythrop.ac.uk

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Open Letter To The HSU An anonymous letter to the HSU, detailing many reasons why ‘N. O’Connell’ is outraged by the current Union’s performance over many areas. Poetry skills were questioned, and many shots were fired.

Spotlight Review p. 5

Read our News Editor’s review of this critically acclaimed film. The film is based on a true story about journalists uncovering catholic scandals.

Discover London is Back! p. 6

Yes Discover London is BACK! This issue we’re giving you a round up of the best events this March in London. There are many brilliant one off events to try out, many of which are free, added bonus! This month really is jam packed with events to keep you occupied before the dreaded exam season begins.

Second of The Three Part Poetry p. 8

Barcol’s three part poem A Drop in the Shower returns with the second part printed in this issue of The Lion.

Absolute Godawful Mess

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p.3

Lion

FEMALE WELFARE OFFICER MALE WELFARE OFFICER WEB DEVELOPMENT OFFICER ACADEMIC AFFAIRS OFFICER STUDENT ACTIVITIES OFFICER Jenny Moran News Editor

The HSU Annual General Meetings (AGM) took place on 17/02/16 at 3.50pm, after being scheduled to start at 3.30pm, but having time spent trying to find more people to join to make the quoracy of 24, which ultimately fell down to the Games Soc, making up the numbers to 26. President of the HSU Oliver Holdsworth decided to start the AGM with the 6th motion on the Agenda ‘Motion to reduce the Quorum for a General Meeting to 4%’ which would

reduce the quoracy 24 to 19, with allowing the Games Soc to leave in mind. This motion passed with 24 people voting for, no people voting against and 2 people abstaining. It was then pointed out that this would not come into action until the next General Meeting, therefore meaning quoracy would stay at 24 so forcing the Games Soc to stay. The original agenda was then resumed with ‘Minutes of previous meeting’; no vote was held to accept the minutes but when asked if anyone didn’t accept the minutes no one objected. The

EVENTS OFFICER PUBLICITY OFFICER CAMPAIGNS OFFICER LGBTQ+ OFFICER

Financial Year Report and Financial Report were next on the agenda, with a clarificatory question on the printing and photocopying being asked, nothing else was discussed.

The ‘Motion to create a Vice President Academic (VPA) role’ was next proposed which resolved that roles of Vice President and Academic Affairs Officer would be combined, making a more politically engaged role with an extra 0.25 hours to the original Vice President position. The motion presented stated that the HSU believed this change was nec-

essary due to the extra stress put on the current Vice President through taking on extra responsibilities such as events and publicity issues (which are likely to increase next year due to possible staffing problems) meaning extra stress regarding political issues was consequentially put on the president. However, this seemed not to be understood by the room due to the lack of clarity given. Many oppositions were given to the motion, most of them regarding the amount of time added for the role. continued p. 2

Two Down, Eight To Go...

Meg Skingsley Editor-In-Chief

Heythrop Students Union (HSU) has received two resignations from Executive members this year. Both the LGBTQ+ Officer and the Web Development Officer have both resigned their positions. The Union now have three unfilled executive roles, including the two mentioned above they were unsuccessful in filling the Campaigns Officer position. These resignations have contributed to the dwindling number of people on the Union, at a time when the future structure of the Union is under scrutiny.

Paul Casey as the LGBTQ+ Officer,

Two Officers Resign From The HSU

amongst other things, was able to pass a motion this year to change the name of the role from LGBT+ Officer to LGBTQ+. The Union commented ‘we are sorry to report the resignation of out LGBTQ+ officer, Paul Casey. I am very grateful for all that Paul did for the Union, including his meetings with the Principal over issues concerning equality, and his valuable contributions towards the equality forum’.

Sarah Morris, the Web Development Officer has also resigned her position. She was voted into the role after not appearing at Hustings and not providing a manifesto. The Un-

ion commented that ‘unfortunately, Sarah Morris our Web Dev. officer has resigned from the Union. This is a blow to the human resources of the Union, but we are working with the College to ensure we have an up to date and working website’.

The publicity of the Union has always been criticised and this resignation will limit there online publicising ability further.

This leaves the Union with six executive members, excluding the President and Vice President. Both of theses resignations have placed pressure on the Union and many members have had to incorporate

these roles into their own. The future structure of the Union is being reviewed to change the distinct nature of the roles. This push is being made in attempt to increase the number of people running to be on the Union, as evidence by this year the current system is not flexible when it comes to unfilled positions, placing pressure on the Union.

The change will be to general Officers on the union as opposed to specific job roles. Perhaps this would be beneficial considering the diminished numbers on the Union this year which are projected to deplete further over the next academic year. In line with the depleting number of students.

Editor-In-Chief Katherine Johnson katherine.johnson@heythropcollege.ac.uk

Managing Editor Katie Milne katie.milne@heythropcollege.ac.uk

News Editor Jenny Moran jenny.moran@heythropcollege.ac.uk

Web Editor Terrence SIbley terrence.sibley@heythropcollege.ac.uk

Editors-at-Large Ben Mercer Catherine Squibb Oscar Yuill thelion@heythrop.ac.uk

AM IAL TE

Megan Skingsley megan.skingsley@yahoo.com

EDITOR

2 Editor-in-Chief

continued from front page: The general consensus seemed to be that 0.25 days would not be enough for the role due to the fact it merged two very time consuming positions.

A concern was also raised that the VPA would simply be taking on even more responsibilities due to the fact the union already predicted that they would have significantly less numbers next year, and therefore would end up taking on many roles that would not be fulfilled in addition to Academic Affairs. Many students expressed after the AGM, that they found the responses to these concerns unsatisfactory and were insubstantial. However, the motion passed with 17 voting for, 2 voting against and 7 abstaining.

Next motion discussed was ‘Motion to Restructure the Union’. This included removing the officer job roles and creating a ‘Standardised Executive Officer Position’ which was discussed prior to the meeting with the executive, students in a drop in session and also discussed with NUS development consultants. The position would mean students running for a general officer position and then specifying once the union has been elected. At first, the notion within itself caused concern, as students thought it would be difficult

to judge how well a person would do a job without knowing specifically what their job would entail. Problems then arose from this as it could be possible that all of the students want to do the same kind of role on the union then there could be vital responsibilities unfulfilled. Great debate was also given to whether a specific number of officers should be decided on before the election process begins, as members saw problems with the fact that there was no number of officers need for the union to be able to function, which also lead to issues being raised if no one ran for any positions, and what the union plans to do if the filled no positions on the executive. Students also raised concern with the possibility of having no welfare provision on the union. The responses to these concerns were described as ‘convoluted, lacking clarity and thought of on the spot’ by one student and ‘unclear, unnecessarily complicated and patronising’ by another. The students which attended the drop in session also commented that the issues raised in the AGM were issues that they had already brought up weeks before in the session yet there was still no resolution or real answer to them.

A verbal update on the 2016 HSU Election was next on the agenda, which consisted of being directed to our emails. The email stated the election schedules for President and VPA, and Executive Officers which are separate to allow candidates who run for President or VPA to run for an Executive role if they are not elected as to not lose potential dedicated executive members. (Please see the last page of this wonderful publication to find out the schedule!).

The AGM concluded with the possibility of Any Other Business, to which the VP tried to direct everybody to the leftover sandwiches by running and screaming from the front of the room.

Heythrop To Accept Masters Students

Jenny Moran News Editor

It has now been confirmed that Heythrop College will be recruiting students for one year full time masters programmes for 2016, along with programmes and modules which are able to be completed within one year. This was first confirmed on 2nd February at the ‘Have Your Say’ event. The college spent time deliberating the issues due to worries that part time students or students unable to complete their studies within one year would fail to obtain a full masters. As stated on the Heythrop College website, they will be recruiting for ‘Full-time MA and MRes programmes commencing in September 2016, Postgraduate Certificate programmes commencing in September 2016, Individual modules at undergraduate or postgraduate level as a visiting or auditing student’. Such postgraduate programmes will be awarded with a University of London degree.

Students who have already obtained a BA or BD from Heythrop will still be el-

igible for an Alumni Scholarship, entitling them for a 50% reduction in fees (available for one programme of study) for an MA or Mres. The first postgraduate open day is to be held on Monday 29th February.• It has now been confirmed that Heythrop College will be recruiting students for one year full time masters programmes for 2016, along with programmes and modules which are able to be completed within one year. This was first confirmed on 2nd February at the ‘Have Your Say’ event. The college spent time deliberating the issues due to worries that part time students or students unable to complete their studies within one year would fail to obtain a full masters. As stated on the Heythrop College website, they will be recruiting for ‘Full-time MA and MRes programmes commencing in September 2016, Postgraduate Certificate programmes commencing in September 2016, Individual modules at undergraduate or postgraduate level as a visiting or

WANT TO WRITE FOR THE LION? SEND YOUR ARTICLES TO: megan.skingsley@yahoo.com

auditing student’. Such postgraduate programmes will be awarded with a University of London degree. Students who have already obtained a BA or BD from Heythrop will still be eligible for an Alumni Scholarship, entitling them for a 50% reduction in fees (available for one programme of study) for an MA or Mres. The first postgraduate open day is to be held on Monday 29th February.

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TUESDAY 23RD FEBUARY | THE LION

COMMENT? An Open Letter to the HSU,

Considering the level of professionalism displayed at the AGM, or rather the lack thereof, the motions opened and ‘discussed’ that were passed seem to be rather inconsequential. If this impotency continues next year, I fail to see how the Union will continue in any worthwhile way.

Of the two Exec members chairing the meeting (an aspiring Poet Laureate that quite clearly hasn’t learned how to write anything resembling a poem and an otiose waste of space) neither displayed the important skills of student leaders of a union, regardless of its size. The incompetent presentation, their veritable failure to even basically discuss the content of the motions proposed and their inability to do even the most basic things (answer questions non-patronisingly, comparatively of course). In the relatively short time left, we need, nay DESERVE a Union that works.

Hope for the future is, at present, severely lacking. The dwindling student population and the Union’s open and blatant incompetence (e.g. the ‘Singles and Mixer’, an utter disaster apart from lovely Pete, looking sadder and more dismal than Heythrop’s future) serve as evidence that the next academic year direly needs an injection of energetic enthusiasm or simply an injection to euthanise this waste of time, space and money. What is required is either (a) a restructure of the restructure that people actually want and understand, or (b) a full scale revolution from FemSoc and we become the Reborn Republics of Heythrop. If the current plan continues, then the Union will collapse like cardboard in the rain, folding rapidly under its own weight. Not to mention, the Union is essentially a sinkhole sucking up the TOPSE treasury dedicated to preserving our ‘student experience’. The Union has now become one ginormous hospice, giving palliative care to what’s left of our dignity.

Amidst this chaos, the College as a whole is sailing on in blissful ignorance, unaware of the failure nascent in the basement. Never before has the Union been so disassociated from the students which it deems to represent. It is a matter of time before the Union implodes, taking all of our hopes with it.

Seriously, is everybody blind to the situation? The catastrophic AGM, coupled with the evident blatant tenacity with which the Union has disregarded the students wishes, questions and requests shows the evident neglect of the Union’s duties over the past year. Going forward, if this does not change then the few members of the college who actually care for the legacy of our institution and are willing to enact actual change will face perhaps the biggest challenge possible to enthusiasm, energy and will – apathy not of the student body, but of the Union.

Both chairs of the AGM had campaigns full of vigour, promises and (what appeared to be) genuine, actual enthusiasm. That seems to have long since faded. Now, they are content with the kind of reception and performance such as that at the AGM. Are the students of Heythrop College prepared to really accept the caliber of officers who failed miserably to deliver on their campaign promises? Glorified accountants and secretaries that claim to represent our interests while having not the faintest clue what those interests are? It is time for a change; hopefully the upcoming elections will field candidates willing to enact the change the students want and need and are prepared to save our last year.

Yours sincerely, N. O’Connell

IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT THAT SOMEONE SHOULD FIND FAULT WITH EXQUISITE LETTER, PLEASE SEND ALL RESPONSES TO OURGOOD FRIEND SANTA CLAUSE

Now we are approaching election season, it’s time to discuss the proposed changes of HSU exec that will operate next year.

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TUESDAY 23RD FEBUARY | THE LION

COMMENT? Oscar’s Comment

A Take on This Year’s Oscars Conterversy Oscar Yuill Editor-at-Large

When Jada Pinkett Smith called for a boycott on this year’s Academy Awards, I have to admit that my first reaction was, and?

I initially agreed with Michael Caine, who told black actors and actresses to ‘be patient’ because it took him years to get an Oscar himself. (Says the rich white man whose most prominent role to date is an imperialist mowing down Zulus with a rifle.) He isn’t alone in his sentiments.

Charlotte Rampling, whom you may recognise as Dexter the psychopath’s perverse godmother, claims the boycott is a demonstration of ‘anti-white racism’: ‘perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list’.

Yes, perhaps. Perhaps black actors have only really deserved 4.3 percent of the lead roles for Best Picture Winners since 1927, let alone the 1.4 percent of Southeast Asian leads (source: International Business Times).

Of course there is nothing inherently wrong with comparing two equally meritorious films, one with a black lead and one with a white lead, and preferring the latter simply because it was better shot or better performed. To suppose that such a scenario is racist is, well, racist. Not only is it positive racism, but it makes the now common assumption that minority races need some sort of constant protection against perilous freethinking, that any attack on a person of colour is an attack on that person because of their colour, which is an assumption which will have to die out if we are ever to have an intelligent conversation about race—indeed, to finally understand that race is an outdated notion and that the only race is the human race.

But anyone who thinks the recent Oscars controversy is as simple as a small collection of jealous coloured actors and actresses is both wrong and ignorant. Even more depressingly ignorant is the person who puts it down to, ‘Well, there are just more white people in the Western world.’

In the 1920s Kodak started to develop film reel that chemically enhanced skin tone colours. Unsurprisingly, this meant Caucasian tones, and anyone of colour who wanted to appear on film would have to make do with a blurry, dark and smudged assortment of vaguely human features alongside the shining whites and olives of sparkle-toothed European holiday-makers. Actually, this isn’t entirely accurate, as practically the only features of a black man or woman to appear on film were the whites of their eyes and teeth. This was the status quo until at least the 1970s, following the Civil Rights Movement. Then Kodak began to develop film more emboldening of darker tones, but only because the furniture and chocolate industries were unable to show off the nuances of dark chocolate and walnut dining tables!

If you think this is a minor detail—a discrepancy used to haul up examples of racism where none exist—then you’ve got to explain why Jean-Luc Godard, one of the fathers of French New Wave cinema, refused to use Kodak film on a filmmaking trip to Mozambique in 1977 because he thought it was inherently racist. Or why Polaroid pulled out of apartheid Africa because it was discovered they had designed a camera with a flash that enhances light by forty-two percent: black skin absorbs forty-two

percent of light, and so it was the perfect camera model to document the movements of black people with the press of a button, while otherwise erasing them from history. Polaroid had essentially designed a racist camera.

This is not in direct relation to the Oscars controversy (though even recently a webcam with facial recognition software was unable to track the movements of black faces). However, it demonstrates just how implicitly and subtly institutional racism can be, especially in the film industry. Hollywood have a template to uphold: white American patriot. Think of all the movies produced in the last few decades which could have featured coloured lead roles. You’d be more than hard-pressed. And now, in 2016, when Star Wars opts to cast a black leading role––now there are accusations of positive racism. Frankly I can understand the cynicism. I don’t believe the new Star Wars film is racist, but we’ve gotten to a point at which you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t, a somewhat comical situation, but it’s not hard to see why it’s come to this.

This is the second year running the Academy Awards have been criticised for its all-white nominations. Last year they said they’d address the problem; this year they’re now saying the same thing. Nothing has changed. And to the people who think the issue is as simple as black people not having been in as many good movies: even if that were true (and it isn’t), they’ve featured in leading roles in enough movies to at least warrant a nomination in the last two years. Creed, Straight Outta Compton, Beasts

of No Nation––all critically acclaimed movies, the last two of which tackle some very sensitive issues. There are no nominations for Beats of No Nation despite a huge number of awards from other critics and festivals.

Straight Outta Compton has been nominated as a screenplay, whose writers are both white.

Creed has been nominated for Stallone’s supporting role.

Just to emphasis, these nominations (or lack thereof) are not racist in themselves, but they are most certainly racist where Academy Awards history is concerned. I’m even willing to grant that the Oscars aren’t so much racist as criminally negligent and incompetent. But even if this were so, it would still be coming from a demographic who can afford to be negligent, and it would still, to my mind, be tantamount to institutional racism. To put it bluntly, forty actors and actresses have been nominated in two years and all of them are white. The proposed boycott isn’t just understandable, it might also be necessary, and this year’s host Chris Rock will hopefully use his position to make it perfectly clear—to Michael Caine and Charlotte Rampling and many others—why certain faces won’t be seen. With any luck DiCaprio will get an Oscar and we can rest assured someone might have deserved it.

IF YOU WISH TO BOYCOT THE OSCAR’S IT IS BEING HELD ON FEBUARY 28TH

A ROUND UP OF THIS YEAR’S NOMINATIONS

BEST ACTOR:

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo Matt Damon, The Martian Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

BEST ACTRESS:

Cate Blanchett, Carol Brie Larson, Room Jennifer Lawrence, Joy Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

BEST PICTURE:

The Big Short Bridge of Spies Brooklyn Mad Max: Fury Road The Martian The Revenant Room Spotlight

DIRECTOR:

The Big Short Mad Max: Fury Road The Revenant Room Spotlight

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TUESDAY 23RD FEBUARY| THE LION

COMMENT? Jenny Moran News Editor

As much as Spotlight was an incredible film, going to see it in Gold Class genuinely helped my concentration; having a huge leather recliner to lie on eliminated the usual numb bum issues of cinema seats meaning I could fully concentrate on the film without having to change position every 2 minutes. I was slightly apprehensive to see it, as I wasn’t too sure how they would tackle what could be seen as a sensitive issue. However, after the half an hour it was evident that the issue was handled in an incredible way; allowing the viewer to understand the severity and enormity of the affair but still focussing on the methods of the newspaper and how investigative journalism uncovered the child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.

Spotlight is a team of four journalists in The Boston Globe, editor Walter Robinson, also known as Robby, Michael Rezendes, Matt Carroll and Sasha Pfeiffer, who intensively researched and wrote investigative articles. After it came to light that the Cardinal in Boston knew about certain abuse scandals, the new Editor in Chief put Spotlight on the case. The film focusses on the methods and paths the team used to reveal the scandal, including suing the Catholic Church to unseal vital court documents, which was a long process taking most of the film. Michael Renedes was put on the case of getting information out of Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer who dealt with many relevant cases in the past, and ended up being an incredibly import source towards the end

Oliver Holdsworth HSU President

of the film, leaking major information. After talking to a group of survivors of the scandal, they found almost twenty priests in the Boston area who had abused children; however, after talking to someone who had been researching the issue for years, he predicted 6% of priests had also committed the same crime, meaning the number should be closer to 90.

This spurred the team to drive the investigation even further, cross referencing records of priests who they knew were involved, with the rests of the priests in Boston. This, along with talking to survivors, unsealing the court papers and even using their own old articles which had missed the bigger picture, the team uncovered 87 priests who had abused children.

They were many memorable and moving parts of the film. Sacha Pfeiffer knocking on the door of a priest they suspected of abusing children to question him had to be one of the most shocking and scary parts of the film; having the priest happily admit to the abusing children but thinking it is fine because he didn’t get any pleasure out of it just showed the horrendous circumstances of the scandal. The emotional attachment of Rezendes and Pfeiffer to the church brought many emotional moments to the film; Rezendes passion for uncovering the priests

Film: Spotlight at the first possible chance against the decision of Robby showed the attachments and the dedication the team had for their work, with him breaking down and storming out the office. One of the most heart breaking parts of the film was Pfeiffer’s relationship with her Nan. At the beginning of the film, she would accompany her devout Catholic Nan to church each week, but as the film plays out she stops attending mass and fears for the reaction of her grandmother when she readers the article. This was made harder by the promise of the team to keep everything they uncover a secret until the article is published; meaning Pfeiffer’s Nan had no idea what was going on. At the end of the film we see a very short scene of Pfeiffer sat with her Nan whilst she read the article, her Nan asking for a glass of water looking in pure shock, and then that is it.

Not only the acting in Spotlight cannot be faulted but the writing and directing is truly superb; with such a delicate topic at hand I cannot imagine it being handled in a better way. It was obviously incredibly important for the scandal not to be played down, and it most certainly

Run time: 2hr 9min

wasn’t; we were fully aware of the Certificate: 15 severity of the abuse throughout Director: Tom McCathe whole rthy film, and you didn’t feel as if you were Starring: Mark Ruftrying to be falo, Rachel McAdp r o t e c t e d , ams, Michael Keaton but it was still handled in an Release date: January honest and 29th 2016 appropriate way. All four of the spotlight characters played their characters with such passion and so convincingly; with Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams needing special mentions for award winning performances.

Conference Funding: A HSU Update

This year, there has been a very great focus on the ever elusive ‘student experience’, and the committment of the college to ensure that this is as good as it possibly can be. Much of the focus has been on events, ensuring that there is a vibrant and inclusive social

life to the College. This is important, no doubt.

However, the College and the Union must also work in hand and hand to ensure that the Academic life of the college is not neglected. One initiative that has been employed is the extending conference grant funding to undergraduate and taught

postgraduate students, when it has previously only been available to research students.

However, thus far this model has been introduced only by way of reimbursement.

This is great, for those who can spare up to £300, money which only returns to one’s account after the receipts have passed through the relevant

bureaucracy, no small task.

This is why the Union is proud to announce a fund for students, with the purpose of offering financial assistance to students in need. In the above, this would take the form of a loan, to carry the student through until they are refunded.

DISAGREE WITH AN ARTICLE? SEND US YOUR RESPONSE!

If you think this fund could help you, please do not hesitate to get in contact: hsupresident@heythrop.ac.uk

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TUESDAY 23RD FEBUARY | THE LION

DISCOVER LONDON A ROUND UP OF THE BEST EVENTS HAPPENING IN LONDON THIS MARCH, DON’T MISS OUT!

Meg Skingsley Editor-In-Chief

Beer and Cider Festival

Bouncingham Castle

Women’s History Month

WHEN: 2nd - 4th March WHERE: Barbican

WHEN: 3rd - 5th March WHERE: City Hall

WHEN: Shockingly all of March WHERE: Various Locations

Strange and Familiar

Where’s Wally Fun Run

Land of the Lions

This festival is jam packed with beer and cider for you to taste. With over 150 different types to choose from there really is something for everyone. The festival is run annually by North London’s Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and will have a stand dedicated to London’s local breweries. What better way to pass a weekday…

Tickets are £4 and can only be purchased on the door.

WHEN: 16th March - June WHERE: Barbican

This is an exhibition of International photographers who have captured the social and cultural identity of Britain. The photos range from 1930s to modern day. Whilst the photographer’s have all spent time travelling through Britain, none of them have made it their permanent home, making the exhibition a unique look at an outsider’s view of the country. It is to be held at the Barbican and ticket prices are to be confirmed.

BOUNCY CASTLE!!! A mega 7ft Bouncy Castle is coming to London outside City Hall.

This is no ordinary bouncy castle though, it has been constructed to wobbly like jelly and will also smell like a raspberry dessert. It marks the launch of Candy Crush Jelly Saga. Apparently there are prizes to be won and also certain sections make noises when jumped on. AND if you weren’t sold on the 7ft jelly castle, it’s also FREE!

WHEN: 20th March WHERE: Clapham Common

Yep you read that right. There is a Where’s Wally Fun Run!! You can run, walk, jog or any other inventive way to get through either the 5k or 10k. The £22 it costs to register includes the costume and a medal for completing the race. All proceeds will go the National Literacy Trust, who help disadvantaged children learn to read and write. Visit the National Literacy Trust website to register.

This month celebrates Women’s History month with a variety of events being hosted in London. From comedy to museums there’s so many events on offer for you immerse yourself in. Top events to watch include: Rosalie Schweiker’s Bra talk; Dartfood Cinema showing Landscapes of Girlhood; Million Women Rise (the largest international women’s march against male violence). Prices vary across the events.

WHEN: 25th March - onwards WHERE: London Zoo

LIONS!!! WE LOVE LIONS. Lions are returning to the London Zoo this month after the closure has been under construction for two years. The enclosure is designed to look like a the ruins of an amphitheatre. You can see these majestic creatures through the new ‘windowless-views’ which were created using fine wires. The area surrounding the enclosure is filled with ranger’s huts and trucks which were inspired from a trip to Gujarat, India where these lions originate from. The are is now full of interactive activities, so go along for a visit to see the LIONS!!!

St Patrick’s Day

WHEN: 13th March WHERE: Trafalger Square

Trafalgar square is the hot spot for St Patrick’s day celebrations in London. There will be ample amounts of entertainment including film, comedy, food, and of course plenty of Irish music and dancing. The day will also include the St Patrick’s Day Parade which will be adorned with floats and a marching band. Details of the exact route for the parade is yet to be confirmed. So dust of your green attire and head over for a day of celebrations.

The Boat Race

WHEN: 27th March WHERE: Putney Bridge

The annual boat race is back! The four and a quarter race will start from Putney Bridge and ends in Mortlake. The competition between the two Universities now attracts thousands of spectators so be sure to arrive early! The men’s race begins at 4.10 pm with the women’s race starting an hour earlier at 3.10pm.

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TUESDAY 23RD FEBUARY| THE LION

CULTURE FIVE TIMES LEONARDO DICAPRIO SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR

5) Titanic -

Even this epic film brought to us by the awesome James Cameron couldn’t secure Leo the Oscar. Perhaps if Rose had moved over he would have won.

Lost out to Jack Nickleson in As Good As it Gets

4) Romeo and Juliet -

Shakespeare’s tragic tale of star-crossed lovers was made even more tragic at the Oscar’s. Yep you guessed it, playing Romeo wasn’t enough. What do you people want?

Lost out to Geoffrey Rush in Shine

3) The Departed -

Shockingly only Mark Wahlberg was nominated for an Oscar in this all star cast. Leo was nominated for his role in Blood Diamond so it wasn’t all bad I guess.

Lost to Forrest Whitaker in the last king of Scotland (can’t really argue with that one)

2) Catch Me If You Can -

Dicaprio brilliant plays the role of a con artist. Disappointingly he couldn’t even con his way to an Oscar.

Lost out to Adrien Brody in the pianist

1) Wolf of Wall Street -

Playing Jordan Belfort in this critically acclaimed film, earned him the nomination but yet again it just wasn’t enough for them.

Lost to Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club.

Movie: The Revenent

PLEASE JUST GIVE HIM THE OSCAR! Meg Skingsley Editor-In-Chief

Leonardo DiCaprio’s newest venture is epic! The film is a tale of revenge, based on a true story, set in the 1820s which sees Leo pitted against Tom Hardy. I watched the film with the mind-set that I honestly hated DiCaprio and I only went to watch it because Tom Hardy was in it. But I can now say that I have been fully converted and am now a Leo fan.

It’s an AMAZING film, like seriously stop reading this and go watch it.

feel every emotion he goes through.

He deserves the Oscar for this scene alone. I cannot express enough how genuinely moving and impressive this scene is to watch. It’s worth sitting through the film just for that five minute scene alone. His performance doesn’t end there though.

Throughout the entire film he absolutely nails the performance, I really cannot underestimate how brilliant his acting is. Without a shadow of doubt he deserves the Oscar and every other award he was nominated for.

TOM HARDY IS IN THIS F I L M ENOUGH SAID

Alejandro González Iñárritu really did an incredible job directing this film. It was mostly filmed in Canada and the portrayal of the beautiful landscape really is a highlight of this film. If, like me, you get envious of epic landscapes and struck with a disastrous case of wanderlust, then this film will ignite all of those emotions in you, so be warned. The entire film is also set in the snow which really emphasises the very real and harsh nature of the environment.

The story follows Dicaprio’s character as he endures the backlash of nature through his personal quest for revenge. The directing and cinematography is fantastic at reflecting the personal emotions of Class (played

by DiCaprio). This is particularly impressive in this film as there is actually little very little diaglouge for large portions of the film. DiCaprio is incredible at portraying the harrowing emotions his character experiences.

Let’s just discuss DiCaprio’s acting a bit further. As I mentioned before I was not a huge fan of his work, but I am the first to admit that he is incredible in this film. There is one particular scene (warning: spoilers coming up) where his character gets into a fight with a bear.

Well maybe that makes it sound like he chose to fight a bear, which as you can imagine he didn’t really want to do. Anyway he fights with a bear, and it’s incredibly harrowing to watch. DiCaprio is incredibly talented to be able to portray this scene in a way that makes the audience

I do apologise for my fan-girl approach to this article, but The Revenant is just amazing. Everything about the film, in my opinion, was epic. The story line was brilliant and engaging, the directing was just astonishing at times, the sound track was expertly executed (at times all you could hear was the sound of DiCaprio’s breathing which just fitted so well with the scenes).

I feel like I should say something bad about the film but there were only a few minor points that I could come up with. Firstly, I am really not a fan of Will Poulter (Maze runner), and unlike Leo, my opinion of him didn’t really change after watching this film. There’s nothing inherently wrong with him as an actor I just dislike his mannerisms and I think he is still quite early on in his acting career to really stand out in a film like this. Another point would be very trivial but I will share it nonetheless; the film made me feel very cold. Yep the constant view of snow

literally made me shiver throughout the film, which as you can imagine was rather annoying.

I cannot write this without mentioning the marvellous Tom Hardy.

Run time: 2hr 36min As always he is amazing and Certificate: 15 brilliant and wonderfully talented. He also Director: Alejandro shares a great González Iñárritu fight scene with DiCaprio at the end. I have Starring: Leonheard a few ardo DiCaprio, Tom people comHardy, Will Poulter ment that this film is very gory, which it is. But I think it is done Release date: January 15th 2016 in such as way that because you become completely immersed in the film you don’t really notice it that much.

The relationship and sheer hatred between Hardy and DiCaprio’s characters is very believable and well executed.

This is honestly one of the best films that I have seen in a very long time.

I would be utterly shocked if DiCaprio didn’t win the Oscar for what was a flawless performance in a brutal film. I mean the guy literally climbs into a dead horse whilst naked.

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TUESDAY 23RD FEBUARY | THE LION

CREATIVE COMMONS A Drop in The Shower: part 2 Yet life and colours and light laid calmly in the silent noises waiting for the drop to purify, waiting for the world to better waiting patiently for their moment and happily existing

disjunctive feeling of belonging and perdition filled the reign of the room as slowly the water was filtered by laying immobile, as often the best doeth go alongside the stillness of life with each moment passing the drop edged closer to the lowest of its rejuvenation’s pool in eager anxious awaiting for its time to come and for itself to become as it sunk closer, it dared an expression of joy, be thus when thou art alive, little drop, and thou shall live and love thee after

down through the container’s channel it travelled to another chamber, and another, and another, ‘til its patience was rewarded and its soul was cleansed

the feeling of lust for knowledge overwhelmed its being, yet merrily wanting, like a boat needs a river but glides shining on the water, and so, like its desires, it shot up into the world again this time perhaps it could live, live its purpose, once it had found it, that is, then it could be the living light of existence, creating and being what it was meant to be, a youngster star in life’s constellations

Barcol

its cathartic experience culmed in the discovery of love, like something that had always been half in shadow had been alighted suddenly, inside it, by the beauty of the world and the beauty of the moment It happened so fast, yet so imprinted in its memory, like a petal in a book with its splendour saved and pressed for times and generations to come like the warmth’s surprise in winter

gratia the pipes of experience, lead which led the drop, it reached a small house somewhere, for the world with its imperfections holds the illustrious key to miraculous perfection

the dark tubes steered to candlelight, a dim star in the sky’s sky, yet as intense as the passion it witnessed as the drop flew out of the showerhead onto the shower screen, where it laid momentarily, yet forever in the shower of two lovers it understood, finally, life like the purest sunshine in one’s eyes which yet can only be felt if one knows to close their senses and look carefully for love

the entwining bodies, like vines, gave existence to a blossoming moment, the unexplainable explanation of how one can only be one in one place, yet be more, the timeless moment, be a body, yet be twin spirit

Water, more water, mixing to the air, like a beautiful dance of powerof sensual vapours, like seeing the clouds from above them and diving towards that softness, with the souls’ spices blending to one

The drop could swear it saw a tear running from one of the eyes, defeated by the all-defeating, man’s start, mean and aim, colour to the blind world, force to the immovable The skins, dancing figures, as if, for a brief moment the bodies became shadows and the essence shadows reflected on their bodies became the spirit of the union

No aura was stronger ,no feeling more felt than the glimmering embrace in their beautiful eyes reflected by the dancers of fire, candles, little tears of joy

Like morning dew on a dark red rose, the water woke to the deepest emotion, the beauty, the passion, like those movements of galaxy happen without mind’s control And they could feel the cold, on the sensitive skin, almost as if a scarf of silk comfort, was covering their faces and all senses stood tall in the needed perception of pleasure