A Majestic Lion Faye West on the Importance of The Paper
6&7
Discover London Culture Editor Jordan Mant Shows You What’s On Offer
9
10&11
What to See and How to See it Cheaply from Mark Hardy
In London
roaring on isues of substance est. 2010
Good Shows, Better Prices
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Volume 4 Issue 7 30th April 2014 theheythroplion.co.uk
Lion
Students Forced To Leave Halls Month Before Exams • College: “We Apologise for the Inconvenience” • Reimbursments for Rent, Canteen and Additional Costs • At Least One Student Diagnosed Fergus Cronin Coltsmann Editor-in-Chief Residences of Alban Halls who were not reaccomadated during its closure following the legionella contamination will be receiving reimbursment of their rent for Alban Halls for the period that it was unavailble, as well as a refund for the catering service missed. The total sum of the reimbursment will be £188.75 and is available through a non employee expense form or will be returned alongside the deposit for Alban Halls at the end of this year’s tennancy. It has been reported to The Lion that this is not available to students who were reacommadated during the closure. The College will compensate all residents for any additonal expendi-
ture they incured due to the closure of Halls, reaccomadated students having already had an allowance of £15 a day for food made available to them during the period. Extensions and defferals are still being dealt with on a case by case basis, but The Lion can report of at least two third year students receiving extensions. It has also been reported to The Lion that at least one resident of Alban Halls has been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, and The Lion has received unconfirmed reports of more displaying symptons. The evacuation of Alban Halls happened on the 16th of April after a hot water system servicing the building tested positive for legionella bacteria, more commonly reffered to as Legionnaires’ disease, during(Continued on Page Four)
College Considers Running Freshers’ Week Alongside First Week of Lectures Fergus Cronin Coltsmann Editor-in-Chief The College is currently considering a plan that would see 2014/15’s Freshers’ Week expanded but run alongside the first week of lectures. At time of writing (27/04/14) the decision has yet to be made but it
is being discussed at a meeting between the Head of Student Services, other staff and HSU representatives on Monday 28th of April, but it has been reported to the Lion that it looks likely to happen, the HSU representatives being the only group to actively voice concerns and objections in the preceding email thread thus far.
The plan in its current form would see Freshers’ Week extended to cover a further half a week, with lectures taking place during the day and late afternoons and evenings being given over to the HSU Executive for the usual running of events. The move comes after feedback from students and staff concerning Freshers’ Week this year, which
saw the departure of Peter O’Neil from the office of President on the first day after a vote of no confidence was taken against him by the Executive and left Vice President Sam English the sole Sabatical Officer managing the week. If the College were to decide upon this course of action, it would make Heythrop one of very few Univer-
sities in the country have a Freshers’ Week with lectures happening alongside and the only college in the University of London to do so. It is not currently known by The Lion if this move would mean that lectures will start in the final week of September, traditonally when Freshers’ Week takes place and(Continued on Page Four)
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
NEWS The
Editorial Team
Editor-in-Chief Fergus Cronin Coltsmann submit@theheythroplion.co.uk
News Editor Vacant news@theheythroplion.co.uk Comment Editor Terence Sibley comment@theheythroplion.co.uk Culture Editor Jordan Mant culture@theheythroplion.co.uk
bring the campaigns launch by NUS LGBT committee back to the “grassroots”, working with local activists and trying to change the movement from the bottom up, hoping to “change lives in a relevant way”. This would be done alongside encouraging Students’ Unions to work in regions, sharing resources and focusing on issues that are relevant to those reasons, Doon pointing out that the issues that LGBTQ+ persons face in London, such as a higher HIV positivity rate and being more likely to face sexual harressment, are different from those faced by individuals in Chichester, where homelessness is a big issue in the LGBT community. The NUS LGBT conference, where the election shall take place, is from the 9th to the 11th of May.
Head Writer Robert Leftwich submit@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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N/A 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.
Controversy at National Conference as NUS London Full Time Officer Motion Falls NUS London will not have a full time Officer next year. Motion 601 at the NUS National Conference, which would have seen the wages for such an Officer drawn from the surplus of NUS’ budget, was rejected after a series of passionate speeches for and against were made by delegates from the Conference Floor. However, many have criticised how the NUS National Executive Council (NEC) and the chair of Conference at the time handled the motion. Shelly Asquith, President of the University of Arts’ SU and Chair of the NUS London Working Group, immediately took to twitter after the motion fell, saying: “...we have been stitched up...NEC created NUS London before consulting us; and then when the candidates they wanted weren’t elected to [the] NUS London working group, they completely withdrew support... and left us to scramble something together while we all study/work FT. Then they oppose us”. Michael Chessum, President of ULU, also weighed in, saying the “behaviour of NUS leadership has been appall-
ing”. The Lion has also receievd reports that calls for further rounds of speechs during the debate were ignored. The NUS London Working Group has said it will move on past Motion 601 and start the discussion on what NUS London will look like without a full time Officer. Vice President Sam English gave this comment to The Lion: “I am bitterly disappointed both by the fact 601 fell and the manner in which it fell. To be encouraged to table this motion by the National Executive Council (NEC) of NUS only to then have a room turned against through the use of spurious figures and hyperbole provided by that same NEC was a real blow. This isn’t the end though and PanLondon representation will occur very soon. It is an issue all our students should take to heart as the Heythrop experience relies on Pan-London representation. I for one will be attending a meeting in June to discuss where we go now, with the hope that next years Sabs continue the fight to provide facilities for our students.”
What’s going on, In Bloomsbury and Beyond?
Copy Editor Katt Johnson editors@theheythroplion.co.uk
Heather Doon, President of Heythrop Pride and failed presidential candidate, hopes to become the first student from Heythrop to be elected to a full time NUS Officer position. Doon is running for the NUS LGBT Officer (open place), against Labour Student backed Robbie Young and David Pleavin. Doon has drawn upon her experience at Heythrop in promising a Faith and Sexuality tool kit to be avalible to student leaders. Highlighting tensions between faith societies and LGBTQ+ societies, she hopes that a tool kit which included methods of starting dialogue between societies could ease tensions and make both faith societies and LGBTQ+ societies more inclusive of LGBTQ+ persons who are faithful. Doon also pledges to
Beyond W8
Managing Editor Megan Skingsley editors@theheythroplion.co.uk
Heythrop Student Running For NUS Full Time Officer Role
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
NEWS
Alex Jozsa Beats Prez Rival by Two Votes in Race Down to the Wire
22.54%
9.43% RON
Heather Doon
70%
Chloe Westley
33.61%
34.43% Alex Jozsa
8.41%
50%
27.12%
as many votes as him, 135 votes to 43. Current Female Welfare Officer Nori MacIntyre beat Magdalena McGilvray for the position of Publicity Officer, with 59.82% of the votes cast to McGilvray’s 24.66%, or 131 votes to 54. MacIntyre returns to the Executive alongside Chris Page-Tickell, the current Male Welfare Officer, who has been voted in as Students’ Activities Officer with 141 votes. Declan Barry and Jacob Tong will make up next year’s Events Team, Barry receiving two votes more than Tong. Erin Denny has been elected Campaigns Officer with 177 votes and Catherine Squibb has been elected as Web Development Officer with 183 votes, 83.18% of the vote, making her the Officer with the most votes.
64.41%
number of votes ever, with the exception of Ashley Doolan who ran against three other candiates, and the only member of next year’s Executive with less than 100 votes. Matt Holland won the race for HSU Vice President, beating Daniel Tripp 152 votes, 64.41%, to 64 votes, 27.12%. Hannah Simpson soundly beat the other candidates for Female Welfare Officer, with 107 votes, 49.31% of the vote, with the closest runner up only achieving 42 votes. She, other than Jozsa, is the only member on next year’s Executive with less than 50% of the votes cast. Sam Sutton achieved 115 votes, over 50% of votes cast, making him the next Male Welfare Officer, beating James Leighton, the current Campaigns Officer. Hayley Clark will be Heythrop’s first LGBT+ Officer after she defeated Keith Kalyan in the race for the position, achieving three times
Percentage of the 244 Valid Votes Cast
The Heythrop Students’ Union Elections have seen the highest percentile turnout ever this year. Of the 717 students eligible to vote, 252 votes were cast and verified, 35.1% of the electorate. This is up by ten votes, 5.5%, from last year. This is particularly noteworthy as up until the last three days of voting the turnout was at the lowest it had ever been. The race for President of the HSU was incredibly close. Alex Jozsa beat rivial Heather Doon by just two votes, less than a single percent of votes cast, securing 84 votes to Doon’s 82, or 34.43% of votes to 33.61%, after the leadership in votes between the two swapped repeatably in the week of voting. Candidate Chloe Westley came a distant third with 55 votes, 22.54%, after trailing from the start. This makes Alex Jozsa the HSU President with the lowest
50%
Percentage of the 236 Valid Votes Cast
•Voter Turn Out Increase by 5.5% to Total 252 Votes Cast to the Highest Level of All Time •Less than a Single Percent in it for President •President has Lowest Number of Votes of Entire Exec
Hannah Simpson Female Welfare Sam Sutton Male Welfare
Matt Holland
84 107 115
Nori MacIntyre Publicity
RON
Alex Jozsa President
Dan Tripp
The Exec 2014/15
131
Hayley Clark LGBT+
135
Chris Page-Tickell Student Activites
141
Matt Holland Vice President Jacob Tong Events Team Declan Barry Events Team Erin Denny Campaigns
152 157 159 177
Catherine Squibb Web Development
183 50
100
Total Votes Cast in Favour
150
200
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
NEWS Halls in Hot Water Hullabaloo •“It Feels Like We Can’t Really Feel Safe Here Now” Says One Resident • “The College water supply is tested in accordance with the Water Hygiene Policy” Says Grundy (Continued from Front Page) -a routine check of the water systems which took place at 14:00 on the day. Residents received an email at 15:07, informing them that Alban Halls would be shutting that evening until the beginning of the Summer term and encouraging students to contact Campus Services if they were planning on staying in Halls during that time. There then followed a meeting at 16:05 between residents and Martin Grundy, Director of Finance and Estates, and Pam Charlton, where the discovery of the contamination emerged. Residents who were unable to find alternate accommodation were placed in spare on site accommodation or in the nearby Kensington Close Hotel. It also emerged that one hot water system in the main building tested positive for legionnella bacteria, the system servicing the west side of the main building, with the affected areas including the Fordham area and the kitchen adjacent to the Walker Room. Disinfection of the systems began on the 19th of April, and following initial test results indicated that Alban Halls was free from contamination. Following this, Alban Halls residents were informed on the 24th of April that they could return to their home from midday on the 25th of April. However, the hot water systems were kept off between the 25th and the 28th of April until the final test results were received by the College. Temporary showers (pictured) were installed
outside of the Campus Services office, Judith Crimmins and Martin Grundy saying they “consider[ed] this to be the most appropriate solution [in the circumstances]”. The College has maintained throughout the affair that they acted under the advice of an independent Health and Safety consultant and that they are in compliance with he Health and Safety Executive, the government’s independent watch dog for workrelated health, safety and illness guidelines. In a statement released to The Lion, Martin Grundy said: “The College water supply is tested in accordance with the Water Hygiene Policy. Tests are undertaken on water temperature on a monthly basis with full chemical analysis undertaken on an annual basis. These testing frequencies are in accordance with the guidance issued by the Health and Safety Executive. Previous tests have not revealed any Legionnella contamination and following the positive test result we have commissioned a full risk assessment from an external agency and have asked them to recommend a future testing regime.” He went on to say: “Following the positive test result a decision was taken to move residents out of the Alban Hall to protect students’ health. Our contingency plans for this occurrence is to make use of local hotels. This plan was put into effect and alternative accommodation was found for all students who were not able
Good Bye to a Care Free Hello? •”Benefit To Students” says President Elect on Freshers’ Plan •Heythrop Would be the Only College in UoL to run Week in the Manner (Continued from Front Page) -Alban Halls residents move in, or if Freshers’ Week and the being of tennancies in Alban Halls would be pushed back to the first week of October. The HSU Representatives involved in the discussion so far have stressed, among other concerns, that Student Welfare in settling into London and University life would not be threatened, and President Elect Alex Jozsa has said that he feels these concerns were taken on board by the College, and that he felt it was clear that “the staff
genuinely do want to enhance the Student experience”. Jozsa went on to say: “It will be of benefit to Freshers and increase intergration of Freshers who live on and off Campus...Staff as well as the Union are looking very much forward to seeing this implemented, to enhance not only the academic lives of students but their first encounters with the College”. He also stressed that, should the plan be acted upon, the first year be viewed as a trial before a permanent change be made.
to travel home. As with all incidents of this type, our contingency plans will be reviewed in light of the experience and strengthened if necessary. The College regrets that it was necessary to take the decision to move students out of the residence and we apologise for the inconvenience caused to students, staff and other users of the College.” Many students have expressed upset and disatisfaction over how the College handled the situation. One commented to the Lion: “as someone who has a weak heart and compromised lungs, the risk of illness from what is supposed to feel like my home is both frightening and saddening. A lot of people in halls feel they are not being treated with respect, and now it feels like we can’t even really feel safe here”, another saying “I am dumbfounded that there was no clear and facilitated contingency plan” . However one student defended the College, saying: “I think the situation was dealt with very well given everything. Until negligence is found I believe Heythrop handled the whole situation brilliantly given the fact they knew about [it] with such little time. They had a disgruntled and angry student body to deal with and still delivered the best possible options available for most of students”.
Temporary Showers installed outside Campus Services until return of hot water
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
“COMMENT.”
Edited by Terence Sibley | comment@theheythroplion.co.uk
Comment on the Handling of the of Legionella Contamination Anonymous Resident I received an email at seven minutes past three on the 16th of April. I was happily typing away at my dissertation when I read: “Due to some urgent health and safety works we unfortunately have to close the Alban Hall from tonight until the start of term. If you are planning to be resident in the hall over this period please see Pam Charlton as soon as possible. We are very sorry for any disruption this may cause but we are acting on the advice of external consultants that this is in residents’
best interests.” I live at Heythrop, this is where all of my stuff is and where the books I need are. I like it there. After reading the email, I joined the other remaining residents in a throng of panic and waited for someone to tell us what was happening and why we had to leave. Martin Grundy arrived at the campus services office and we filed in after him, where we were told that the hot water supply had been shown positive for the bacteria Legionella and we had to go. Just go home. So here I am. I’m sitting at my kitchen table with the distinct impression
that this is some enormous joke and I’ll get another email saying “April fool! Come on back to where you live”. I wouldn’t laugh, but I’d feel better. Right now I am so incredulous and dazed, and really quite miserable. I don’t want to feel sad and apathetic, but how am I supposed to feel about a ‘holiday’ I didn’t want to go on? Three years of work and thousands of pounds are now jeopardised by not being able to access the resources and the work environment I need. The disruption to my schedule required me to write two thousand words the next day, not to mention the
difficulty of having to move location with six hours notice. These are issues of substance and they not only matter to me but translate to all students. I do not blame the Estates management for the bacterial virus that is Legionella nor condemn the decision to keep students from risk, but, my personal sadness aside, it is unbelievably irresponsible not to have a contingency plan. Once again, Heythrop’s conception of anticipatory planning seems to be to wait for something awful to happen and then see how it goes from there. We were given six hours to
come up with something to do with ourselves. There was an offer to reimburse any arrangements, as well there should be, but no assistance on what these arrangements may be. Rooms where offered to international students, which is fair, claiming they’d know if they had a room by 6pm. I was sitting with two of them at half 6 and they still hadn’t heard. Institutions like ours need to have contingency plans for these events, because these events will always happen.
Plain Packing Piffle
Robert Leftwich Head Writer
Since 2011, the Australian Government has mandated that tobacco products be sold in standardised plain packaging to deter people from wanting to buy them. Now that the British Government looks more and more likely to follow suit, I feel this raises some important issues about liberty. This is not a concept people seem to write about so much, in favour of wanting to “protect people” from everything from the mean words of others to themselves now apparently, but it seems obvious to me that if someone chooses to smoke, they should be allowed to do so, as long as the information about the effects of smoking are easily available (which they are). There is absolutely no evidence that plain packaging has reduced the number of smokers in Austral-
ia, and I find it patronising in the extreme to suggest that people who smoke only do so because of pretty packaging. Government should be consistent in their approach with smoking. Either go full nanny state and ban it, or leave the industry alone and treat smokers as the freewilled grown ups that they are for the most part. Of course it is tragic that many children still manage to smoke but I would contend that this is a failure of parenting combined with oblivious or apathetic vendors, it is all ready (rightly) illegal to sell tobacco to minors and to advertise tobacco products on children’s television. On top of this, the dangers of smoking are a part of the national curriculum, it would seem to me that all reasonable measures to prevent children smoking are in place. There is no evidence that making the packages dull will deter anyone from smoking, it will simply make it even harder for the tobacco industry to
brand their product and for consumers to make the right choice regarding what they want to buy with their own money. I remember in my school days, the people buying a playground cigarette did not care about the branding. People buy cigarettes initially because they enjoy them and later because they are an addictive narcotic. It flummoxes me how those in government can seriously defend the idea that people keep or start smoking merely because they like the packets. I feel this issue is reducible to the following ideas. Restricting the liberties of private adult citizens to make a choice of how they want to live their lives and spend their wages is fundamentally wrong. It is also wrong to restrict the liberties of private businesses to differentiate their products from their competition. The idea is just all round bad. Bad for businesses, bad for the economy and bad for consumers.
Complaints about college? We listen at the Heythrop Lion!
Send your Not Necessarily Constructive criticism to comment@theheythroplion.co.uk
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
COMMENT
A Majestic Lion Faye West Life Member
It’s quite surprising that I’m not a Lion editor anymore and have done nothing more than contribute writing to this edition. I have been a Lion editor since my second week of first year, which as some of you will know, I’m very fond of saying. Of course I’m fond of saying it because I’m very very proud of the paper and what I have been a part of. I wouldn’t be seeing it off under a new team without writing somewhat of a eulogy for my time on it and why it is so important that we have our Lion. So, if you will humour me, let me tell you a bit about it. I joined in September 2011, the second year of publication. Now it is in it’s fifth year, a relatively long time for such a thing to exist. The year before I joined there was a newspaper called “The Paper With No Name”. Brilliant stuff Heythrop, well done for your initial attempts at a media dynasty. We have a copy of it in our archive and it’s a glorified newsletter. However, it was a newspaper of sorts: things happened, someone wrote them in a publication that was then distributed and because of it people knew what was going on. This has always been the reason why there is a paper, and we shall expand on this later. “The Paper With No Name” was seized as an idea by our three founding editors, Gala Jackson-Coombs, Katie Plumb and Alex Hackett (who is still around). The Lion as we know it was created. It is a real newspaper, we create it on design software and we send it off to be printed. That’s a pretty obvious thing to say, but I’ve always thought that was pretty impressive for such a small university. Fun fact- The Lion green was originally purple, but for ecological reasons it was changed to green. We are a green paper. There’s a lot of talent in Heythrop, an evening at one of the open mic’ nights demonstrates this. A lot of that talent can be found in our student’s abilitity to write. Obviously, we rely entirely on the content we get, and I have always been pleased with the quality of some of the articles I have been sent. I’d just like to throw in a quick thank you here to everyone who has written for The Lion, we wouldn’t have a paper without you. Do you know what else there is a lot of at Heythrop? Opinions. I don’t need to refer to any **controversial** pieces, I’m sure you can all think of at least one. But that’s something brilliant about having a forum for student writing, we get to spark debate and conversation. The Lion creates something we all talk about, and that is one of the best reasons to have it and why it’s so
fabulous that this is its 5th year. It hasn’t been easy. We have had our fair share of catastrophies. To make something sustainable, it is entirely necessary to bring in new people to pass it on. This is something we have just done; The Lion team 2014-15 features brand new editors. Stay Tuned. The third hand over, however, almost killed us. The Editor-in-Chief, the two Senior Editors and two of the section editors (of which I was one) all encountered some kind of misfortune. We missed some editions, which was awful when we had the budget and duty to do them. Yet, one of the editors pulled it back, becoming the next Editor-inChief and continuing the paper. We come to the last function of The Lion, beyond a showcase of student writing, a talking point and of course the opportunity for Heythrop students to work on a newspaper. We are something which holds the college and the union to account. There’s always news at Heythrop, only occasionally have we struggled for a front page story, and I’m sorry to say that we usually wait for something to happen, because it always does. I’d like to say now, very publically, something which has been frustrating me since I joined: we do not seek out bad news nor exaggerate bad news nor only report bad news. Something happens and we report on it because people want to know what happened. It is a real shame that bad things keep happening in the Students’ Union Executive and the Heythrop management. Personally, I got quite sick of having to write or edit endless stories of things which shouldn’t go wrong going wrong, and then sharing in the lash back of some people misinterpreting our reporting on an incident to us instigating the incident. The Lion editors have to be brave; it is a fact that all the editors are editors because they love Heythrop and so it follows that it is their duty to report both the good and the bad. Long story short, if The Lion didn’t report on these incidents, no one would know they happened or the famous Heythrop rumour mill would concoct something equal parts dramatic and inaccurate. I shall end this section by quoting our current president, “#rantover”. Fine words. If it hasn’t come across, I really love The Lion. I have made some of my best friends, no doubt my friends for life, on our newspaper. It’s really important to me and I just want it to succeed. As you can see from my title under my name (which no longer says Managing Editor) I have the honour of being a member for life, which I entirely feel I am. To everyone who isn’t involved in The Lion, I’m sure it is something that just appears, or notice-
ably doesn’t appear, every now and then. But to the people who put the work in to it, it is a big part of our lives and takes up a lot of our time, time which we gladly give to be a part of it. It’s really worth getting involved in. And it’s really worth appreciating because one too many times we’ve almost lost it. Heythrop wouldn’t be the same without it. And as my last Lion act, I shall blow
a secret wide open: THE SUDOKUS WERE THE SAME EVERY ISSUE AND SOMETIMES WE TOOK THE NUMBERS OUT SO THEY COULDN’T BE DONE. Now, as I make my way to hide in the basement of Ecuadorian Embassy, I wish the new Lion team all the luck in the world and hope that they’ll find another way to deviously and passive-aggressively tease you all.
(Editor-in-Chief: I would like it to be noted that I find the idea of sabotaging the sudokus shameful and never will such a heinous act be commited under my editorship. I assure our readers that the sudokus in this issue are both new and completable.)
help us celebrate our fifth birthday - submit@theheythroplion.co.uk
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
New Game Journalism: Imaginary Travel Writing Daniel Tripp Life Member When it comes to the electronic media that we fill our lives with, video games are often near the bottom of the lot with regards to artistic and critical importance. Flicking through any major newspaper, we are greeted with copious full page reviews of music albums and feature films. But articles for video games are few and far between, and often devoid of the seriousness that permeates film and music reviews. This ‘videogames-aren’t-serious-business’ attitude is even present in many dedicated gaming magazines; games are treated as objects of fun and enjoyment above objects of sincere criticism or art. On searching for gaming journalism on Google the third most popular option is ‘Gaming journalism is a joke’. The fourth is ‘Gaming jour-
nalism corruption’. Hardly a glowing assessment of the industry. This is not necessarily a bad thing. One might argue that being able to see video games as objects of pure fun or recreation is in fact the more accurate view, and our views of film and music as going beyond pure enjoyment and recreation is pretentiousness gone mad. However, I doubt many critics of this medium would be loathe to agree with me. The gaming industry, whether seen that way or not, certainly is a serious business. It’s taken its time to level the playing field, the European Commission only granted video game makers the ability to claim a tax break, available to film and theatre productions, worth 25% of qualifying production costs, after a seven year battle. It’s clear that, although it’s taking time, the making of video games, rather than developing into a major industry, is making others re-
alise that it already is. Journalists have no excuse but to recognise the medium as up there with the serious practises of film, music, theatre, literature and all manner of other creative productions. This year marks the ten year anniversary of Kieron Gillen, once gaming journalist now comic writer at Marvel, writing what has been dubbed his New Games Journalism manifesto. Once you delve into the basis of the manifesto, and the articles it was inspired by, it is quick to see how much this style has affected what we see when we see video game journalism. For it it is not music journalism, film journalism or theatre journalism that video game journalism is even remotely like. It is travel journalism. It is account of a journey, so to speak, through an individual’s eyes. What does this understanding of video game journalism mean for the medium? For a creative prod-
uct that perhaps contains more pseudo-objective properties of analysis than any other creative product, such as graphical fidelity, quality of music, availability of different settings, quality of voice acting, re-playability and length of the experience, it is odd that video game journalism continues to focus on the subjective experience present in the game. We are taken on a journey in video game journalism, but much like the travel writing that graces our blogs and newspaper, we are given a biased experience of that journalism. For an experience to be news worthy it must be either be an example of something excellent or something terrible. By choosing to write about subjective experiences video game journalists who follow this manifesto of new video game journalism are only capable of talking about the part of their journey that was the most exciting,
COMMENT
naturally giving an unnecessary and biased slant to their writing. Or is that just it? Perhaps we are simply kidding ourselves trying to speak of creative mediums in other ways? When we see film reviews that try to move away from the simple subjective experience of an individual viewer, when critics try to make generalisations of particulars, are they just deceiving themselves of their critical omniscience? Or perhaps it’s that journalists have no choice but to write what sells, and what sells appears to be the imaginary travel writing that video game journalism holds as its style manifesto. Journalism itself joins the creative mediums in trying to hold a dollar in both hands while scrambling to keep juggling its ideals. Sooner or later one is going to fall and I doubt it’ll be the dollar.
In Defence of The Police Service Robert Leftwich Head Writer We read a lot of articles and reports about how the Police are corrupt, authoritarian and unrepresentative but I feel this is unfair, untrue and misses the point. Total crime in this country is at a four year low, and many of the “corruption” stories run recently surrounding the Police service are from ten years ago or longer. The police service as it stands is making a huge effort to improve its relationship with the public, to recruit more women and ethnic minorities and to do things ‘by-the-book’. It is unrecognisable from how it was in the seventies and eighties, and has definitely changed for the better. I also feel that people forget that we have such a fair justice system in this country. Our Police do not generally carry firearms, or use water cannons, or imprison people without charge, or use torture
as a method of interrogation. Yeah, spend a while with the Police in South Africa or America, or China and say that British police are corrupt with a straight face. Of course the main issues with students and the Police are drugs and campus protests such as last year’s ULU “Cop’s off Campus” protest which resulted in 36 students being arrested. What people don’t seem to understand is that when the Police arrest people for possession or at a protest they are not doing so through some malicious desire to silence students. They were called to a disturbance, they made arrests, forcefully when it became necessary. That’s what the Police do. If you haven’t committed a crime, you will be released without charge. But disturbing the peace is a crime. Resisting arrest and assaulting a Police Officer are crimes. So are unauthorised or violent protests. It is inconceivable to me how people can blame the Police for doing what is by all accounts,
their job, in accordance with the law of the land, and doing it damn well at that. And that is why I, as a student, distance myself from hatred of the Police Service. I’m sure some people do join the police for the power and then abuse it, but thankfully, we have an Independent Police Complaints Commission to ascertain when this is the case and deal with it appropriately. We also have people who work in the Police Service because they want to help us, just as we do in all public sector careers. Ultimately the Police are a force for good in the community. They put themselves in harms way to try and make the lives of citizens safer and I think that is a noble enough cause. Demonising the service for the abuses of a few, is not only unfair but it’s dangerous. The Police rely on the public’s co-operation to help bring criminals to justice and to attempt to distance yourself from them is to make this more difficult.
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
COMMENT
Fifty Shades of Red Fergus Cronin Coltsmann Editor-in-Chief
Between the eighth and the tenth of April, Heythrop attended the National Union of Students annual National Conference. I was there in my capacity as Editor-inChief of this paper to keep an eye on the HSU representatives (I can happily report they did more than get drunk) and help produce The Delegate (a subsidiary production of The Lion, a twice daily independent news leaflet that reports on Conference at Conference), alongside the incumbent Sabbaticals and the incoming Sabbaticals. It was my first time attending an NUS Conference, and the experience was something of an eyeopener. For a start, the political manoeuvrings that went on were rather impressive; it’s hard not admire them, regardless of your personal politics. From the Labour Student campaign machine leafleting for their candidates at the train station as delegates arrived to the National Executive Council (the would-be ‘leadership’ in NUS) filibustering motions they didn’t like left, right and centre; it would all be rather entertaining if the cost did not run high into the tens of thousands of pounds. So what do we at Heythrop get out of NUS? Well, access to a big bag full of lawyers, which is rather invaluable. So perhaps ‘what is the point of Heythrop going to the Na-
tional Conference’ is a better question, the answer to which I’m still not really sure. Elections were held for the position of NUS President, for the five Vice President positions, for the Block of 15, for the Democratic Procedures Committee, and for the Trustees’ Board. Yeah, there are a lot of elections and mostly for positions that I suspect the average student doesn’t really pay much attention to. But they’re important because the fulltime officers get paid out of your pocket and the part-timers get to claim expenses. Sure, you could probably figure out a different way of running the elections, one that didn’t involve paying for hundreds of Union Officers from all over the country to lug it to Liverpool for a week, but whatever. Elections happened, democracy’s important. What else? Well motions were voted on by Conference. Significantly,
there will not be a national first term demo, as a motion proposing one was voted down. As reported in this paper’s ‘Beyond W8’ section, NUS London will not be getting a full time officer. NUS will also launch a nation wide “Cops Off Campus” campaign, which given the feelings of some of residents in Alban Halls I can see being of relevance to Heythrop. Other than that, not much springs to mind. A lot of delegates were very happy when Amendment 215c and Motion 215 ‘A New Deal for Education Funding’ passed, running around claiming that Conference had passed ‘Free Education’ and that this was the best thing since sliced bread, which struck me as a little odd because I don’t think that loudly announcing that the National Union of Students wants free education is particularly ground breaking. On a similar note, as
a part of NUS’ General Election strategy, Conference announced that it didn’t like MPs who had broken their pledge to vote against any rise in tuition fees. Again, hardly shocking. Motions 701 and 702, which were about female quotas on NUS officer positions and in Union delegations to Conference respectively, both passed and caused a big celebration, but at the end of the day, regardless of how you feel about positive discrimination, both motions were just NUS discussing NUS and how NUS should work. I fail to see the wider implications (though to be fair it was wrapped up with the campaign for Women in Leadership, and that could have an effect at Heythrop). At the end of the day, I think that there is a debate to be had about the overall value of NUS’ National Conference to Heythrop, and I encourage any and all students to
Vandalism or Not, is it Art? Megan Skingsley Managing Editor Banksy, the infamous graffiti artist, has been back in the media recently with two new pieces being unveiled. The first piece was fittingly showcased in Cheltenham, home of the Government Communications Headquarters, and depicts three agents eavesdropping on a public telephone box. However, this controversial piece has been overshadowed by the second work, nicknamed ‘Mobile Lovers’, which has caused quite a stir; over and above what can be usually attributed to Banksy’s notoriety owing to the nature in which it has been publicised. Unlike other Banksy works this piece was uploaded onto the artist’s website with no specific location given. The online world responded en masse by instigating a hunt for the elusive work of art. This came to an end when the leader of a local youth centre in Bristol discovered the piece and removed it, (the piece having been painted on a boarded door) re-homing the work in the youth club with the intention of using the potential revenue generated to keep the place
open. What is more interesting is that his actions have opened up a debate about ownership and value. He has been met with outrage by Banksy enthusiasts for removing the work, but has he really done any harm? I am inclined to think not, in fact, more good has come from it. The piece itself shows two lovers in an embrace, whilst each of them look over the other’s shoulder at their mobile phones. It caught my attention as the street artist is commenting on the importance we place on technology today. The couple are clearly distracted by their smartphones, an occurrence which I am sure we are all far too familiar with. Banksy is famous for his political and social commentary and these two new pieces do not fail to deliver on this. I do find it amusing that the ‘Mobile Lovers’ was only posted online and within hours thousands responded in a hunt for the piece, further demonstrating the power of technology today. What I always find the most interesting about Banksy is the response he receives from the public. Obviously each time a new piece is
created, the debate about whether it is vandalism or not is initiated yet again. But what is more interesting is seeing how Banksy has been dubbed one of the greatest modern ‘artists’. His following has been tested with the ‘Mobile Lovers’. A nationwide search was instigated and for what? After all, Banksy’s works are appreciated not for their artistic value but for the controversy that stems from them. His is an internet phenomenon not an artist. His legacy is made through the aftermath of piece not through the piece itself. The speculation and debate that arises from each work is what he is famous for. His work is one dimensional, the message he is trying to convey is easily understood, is this true art? He is missing the layers of meaning which can be gained from a piece of art. His most recent comment about the importance modern society place on technology, although very true, is understood with one look at the painting. His work is good but he has been branded incorrectly. Banksy is nothing more than a glorified controversialist of the modern era.
submit an article telling me all the reasons I’m wrong (I’m sure there are many). What I personally took away from that week in Liverpool was: a) a new found appreciation of just how many hard-core left wing student groups there are and how much they all seem to hate each other; and b) an amazing experience working on The Delegate along with Vice-President Sam English, I learnt a lot and genuinely believe that The Delegate is a valuable thing to produce, given how much, for lack of a better word, propaganda was flying from Labour Students, The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, as well as the various other shades of red present. (Credit to Vice President Sam English, from whom I stole the title of this piece) The Old NUS Logo, illustrating three shades of red
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
Culture Discover London! Jordan Mant Culture Editor Student loans may have just arrived in many of our bank accounts but that does not mean that we necessarily want to spend it all at once. Here are some of the best and most inexpensive things that are happening on our doorstep in the next few weeks and over the summer. The Comedy Café Theatre, Shoreditch London is spoilt for choice when it comes to comedy shows but an average ticket can set you back around £15. However, you should always keep your eyes peeled for the variety of free gigs which take place across the city. The Comedy Café Theatre in Shoreditch offers FREE entry every Wednesday night as 8 fresh-faced acts try out their new material to a hopefully supportive audience. The nights, as with many free gigs, do get packed out so the venue advises that you book your free places in advance via their website. You can even make a dinner booking to eat beforehand, if your bank account has £10 to spare. Angel Comedy, Camden Head, Islington
I have attended this club before and it offers a great night of FREE comedy. In fact this club, situated in a relatively small room upstairs in the Camden Head, offers FREE comedy nights every day of the week! We attended their Sunday new material night and the one rule that they give the audience is that you have to be positive and encouraging. Many of the acts were getting up onstage for the very first time so they try and make the experience as less daunting as possible. The night is filled with variety so there is usually something to satisfy everyone’s comedy appetite. You do not need to book in advance but do arrive early because it does get extremely busy; last time we were stood propping the doors open for the entire first act. Want to see a film but busy on a Wednesday?
We all love Orange Wednesdays but sometimes your desire to stay in and watch Netflix (I mean, study…) is all too tempting. However, do not fear, because the Barbican’s cinema offers tickets to the latest films for £6 on ‘Monday Madness’ and £5 on Student Tuesdays; still a massive chunk off the price of most London cinemas. Also, if you haven’t already, check out E4’s ‘Slackers Club’ which gives students free cinema tickets each month. First Thursdays If art is a passion of yours then, if you do not know already, you may be interested in visiting some of East London’s best galleries for free as part of First Thursdays. A group of galleries have pulled together to offer the people of London free entry and late night opening to a variety of art venues, including Whitechapel Gallery, on the first Thursday
of every month. Search ‘First Thursdays’ to find a full list of the events on offer. Mammoths for not such a hefty price On 23rd May, Mammoths are descending on South Kensington as an exhibition opens at the Natural History Museum. The exhibition costs £6 for students (full price tickets usually cost £10) and, if you do not fancy the exhibition, the rest of the museum can be explored for free. Exhibition tickets can be booked online in advance. Puppets- fun or frightening? What do you make of puppets? I personally think that The Muppets are fine but some of the others do scare me slightly. However, if you are a fan then head to the Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival on 11th May at St.
Paul’s Church. A brass band leads a procession at 11am, a Church service takes place at 12pm and from 12:30pm till 5pm, the afternoon is set to be filled with puppets, workshops, folk music and clowns. If it sounds like your cup of tea, then head down to this FREE event for some light entertainment before exams begin. Notting Hill comes to life with its annual carnival This one is slightly further away but is one to plan for over summer. The annual Notting Hill Carnival (NHC) takes place over the August bank holiday (24th & 25th August) and features a parade, live music, steel bands and a wide variety of food stalls. I have only ever heard great reports of a spectacular atmosphere created by this festival. If you are in London in August, I would certainly recommend it.
SHARE THE UPCOMING EVENTS THAT YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO AND SUBMIT YOUR REVIEWS TO CULTURE@
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
Culture
London Threatre Tips f BY Mark hardy
Third Year Undergraduate
During my three years at Heythrop, it’s fair to say that my favourite thing about London has been going to the theatre. I have now seen almost 40 shows! I’ve managed to see these at massively discounted prices, so I thought I’d share some advice, along with recommending the shows I’ve enjoyed the most.
The Book of Mormon
The Prince of Wales Threatre
Matilda the musical Cambridge Threatre
This outrageous satirical comedy is a sure winner for anyone who wants to spend two and a half hours laughing constantly. I’m serious when I say my face hurt from laughing. Top Tip: The £20 ticket lottery, available for every performance, gives you the chance to get a ticket on the front row of the stalls for £20. Turn up two and a half hours before curtain, fill out a ballot entry and wait for the draw 30 minutes later. Your best bet is to go during the week, as Fridays and Saturdays are extremely busy. It’s very satisfying knowing that you’ve paid £20 and the person behind you has paid £130!
Easily one of the best musicals I’ve seen – you will be wowed by what the children in this can do and the adaptation is fantastic. Top Tip: The theatre offers 18 tickets daily for each performance at £5 for under 25s when the box office opens at 10:30am – one ticket per person on a first come first served basis. Get there early to avoid disappointment. I arrived at 7am and got the last ticket –well worth the early start!
Got any threatre tips of your own? Think all of these shows suck?
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
edited by Jordan mant
from a savvy student The curious incident of the dog in the night-time Gielgud Threatre
National threatre entry pass The National Threatre
Currently Showing: King Lear, A Taste of Honey, Home, A Small Family Buisness and The Silver Tassie I saw it at the National before it transferred to the West End and I was amazed at how well they had kept to the original story and how it came alive on the stage. Top Tip: When it reopens at the Gielgud Theatre after the Apollo ceiling collapse, Delfont Makintosh will release a “limited number” of £15 day tickets, every morning at 10am. The general policy at DM theatres for day tickets, from my experience, is 2 per person but I can’t guarantee that this will be the same.
One piece of advice I have for anyone who likes a night at the theatre is to join the NT Entry Pass scheme for 16-25 year olds. It’s free to join and gives you the chance to buy a £5 ticket for the majority of their shows. You get an email when a new booking season opens and you can book well in advance –seats are often in the front few rows, and you can take a mate for £7.50. Keep your eyes peeled for the release of tickets for War Horse through the Entry Pass scheme too, they are usually £15 and in the front 2 rows!
sumbit your opinion to the lion!
Additional Tips: Being a London student means that you need to be careful with the cash and cheap theatre visits are a great way to have a memorable night out without hitting the wallet too hard! Here’s some general advice: Watch out for different Theatre’s offers at different times – some run special day ticket seasons where limited amounts of tickets go on sale every day for £10! Look out for general day sale and student day tickets –lots of theatres offer tickets for sale on the day at massively reduced prices. For shows such as the Lion King, Mama Mia and The Woman In Black, you can get a ticket up to half price if you’re a student and if they’ve got availability! Try your luck – lots of theatres do student discounts for shows that aren’t very busy. Show up about 30 minutes before, wave your student card and see what you can blag (they’d rather make some money than have an empty seat)! Make the most of the theatre that’s on your doorstep – people flock to London for the shows and we’re only a stone’s throw away!
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
Culture
D
Music: Record Review Round Up Will Howard Second Year Undergraduate Tokyo Police Club Forcefield Rating: 7/10 It has been four years since Tokyo Police Club last released an album, and during that time the music scene has been ever-changing. Their plan was to avoid being part of one of the many musical fads; however, this forced Skaters Manhatten Rating: 8/10 NYC rockers Skaters express the pure anguish of growing up in the Big Apple. They manage to conform to the New York ‘cool’ of gritty guitar bands, whilst producing some moments that make them one of the more exciting contemporary rock bands. From start to Real Estate Atlas Rating: 9.5/10 Atlas is the much anticipated third studio album from New Jersey’s Real Estate, and it is the only one that has been cleanly recorded. At first listen this seems a shame, a departure from a style that has treated them well, but after a few listens you
the sound of their new record to be a bit sterile. In attempting to stay true to themselves, and avoid the ‘come-and-go’ styles, they have absconded from their trademark sound, witnessed in their first three albums. They are missing their quirky jerking sound, making for a bland listen. The album begins with an eight minute track, ‘Argentina parts 1, 2 and 3’, which was the first song to be
released from the album; it has a certain quality that enables it to be listened to, on repeat, every single day. The catchy ‘Summer’ feel to it flows from the guitar driven progression of the first part, to the sleepy afternoon haze of part two, then exploding restlessly into the night with a raucously elegant third part. Track two hosts a 3 minute pop song that any band could struc-
ture a decent pop record round. ‘Hot Tonight’ embodies the pure teenage sexuality of the band, who have a lustrous temperament with a poetic flare; lead singer, David Monks, reminisces of ‘drinking in the park’ whilst, ‘staring at the stars like a satellite dish’. The rest of the album depicts this childlike dreaming of girls and parties, whilst tackling slightly more serious matters, in a poetic man-
ner: ‘Toy Guns’ speaks of gang life in the suburbs, ‘Tunnel Vision’ is an ode to parties gone-by, and ‘Feel The Effect’ is a mature confession of all that has gone wrong. Tokyo Police Club and producer, Doug Boehm (previously worked on Miley Cyrus and Fall Out Boy records), have created a steady pop record worthy of an afternoon listen.
finish, you feel as if you could have heard this before on some rare B-side from 2003, yet highlights, such as ‘Schemers’, break from this illusion; a chirpy chorus is met with foot-tapping verses, held together by tension building, fuzzy guitar ridden intervals. The guitar effects and driving drums sets ‘Miss Teen Massachusetts’ up to be the
best track on the record. Revealing the bands despair in courting, ‘Well I guess I’ll never change your mind, but at least you know how hard I tried.’ An explosive track nine appears, as if from nowhere, to give the album a real rock anthem, and a riff that you cannot help but dance to. Whilst frontman, Michael Ian Cummings, screams the
title of the song, ‘I wanna dance but I don’t know how’. Manhattan ends on a wonderful track, ‘This Much I Care’; the manifestation of their carefree attitude that makes them pretty cool. A guitar lick any band would be jealous of and lyrics portraying just how arrogant they really are. They list all the qualities they are not looking for
in a partner, ‘I don’t want you for your smile or your delicate soul... I don’t care about your body, or your massive heart’, and repeat what they are interested in, ‘I just wanna go out for your money’. Skaters have delivered what is nothing short of a traditional New York rock album that would not be out of place in The Strokes discography.
start to wonder whether the first two records would have benefited from this new understanding of the recording industry. Alas, mere speculation is not useful, and we can just be glad that this record appeared how it did. They get straight to it with an abundance of hazy riffs over calming rhythm, everything
one would expect from this established band. The style rarely changes throughout the record, the product of a polished band who knows what they do and do it well. This is evident in their video release of a tutorial on how to play a track from the album, ‘Crime’. The simple melody is accompanied
by a simple chord progression, thus exemplifying all that is Real Estate, elegance and simplicity. Single ‘Talking Backwards’ brings to mind a domestic disagreement set to a backdrop of leafy suburbia. This record, with its glossy production, bears typically Real Estate marks and the timeless relaxing nature
of their sound makes this one of the finest albums of 2014.
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
Video Games: Spelunky Nicolas Harris Second Year Undergraduate Spelunky is hard - deceptively so. Don’t let the cute graphics and simple controls fool you. From the first spider you meet to the ghost that comes to you if you take too long in a level, everything in the world is out to kill you. Even the environment is trying to kill you; spike pits, arrow traps, and falling platforms block and impede your progress. Every movement can mean the difference between life and death, but when you die, and you will, it will have been your fault. And that keeps
you going back: ‘maybe this time it will be different’, ‘maybe this time I won’t mess up’ you tell yourself. The procedural generation, which means that each time you set out on your journey the levels are different, give each life a fresh feeling. It prevents the game from becoming tedious and adds a further challenge because you never know what will be coming for you. Offering some level of consistency between lives, you always start with the same resources; 4 bombs, 4 ropes and 4 health points. As you descend through Spelunky’s
levels you can expand upon these resources by buying them or finding them through exploration. You also encounter new worlds, each with different critters and traps, and each with its own fantastic soundtrack. These new worlds offer a level of variety along with new kinds of dangers. The mines, the jungle, the ice caves and the temple all have their own hidden secrets in a variety of special levels which add further spice. Due to the myriad of things trying to kill you and the random levels, you often die in hilarious and unexpected ways.
You fire a shotgun which triggers an arrow trap off screen, hitting you and sending you flying into an explosive crate ending your tragically short life. Alternatively, your jetpack runs out of fuel over a yeti who quickly throws you into the abyss. Each time you die you know that if you had paid a little more attention or been a little more careful you could have survived. The game is exceptionally fair whilst being brutally punishing. The PC and PSN versions of the game offer the Daily Challenge feature which adds a whole new level of game play
and community to the game. In the Daily Challenge everyone gets one chance to play a seed of the game, which means that everyone is playing the same layouts of the levels, and when your chance ends your score gets put into a leaderboard along with everyone else’s. This has led to a large community springing up on YouTube and Twitch.tv in which people compete with others to get the best scores in the Challenge. And if you are playing it on a PC, use a controller as it is much more intuitive than the somewhat clunky keyboard control.
Televison: I Was Wrong About Game of Thrones Robert Leftwich Head Writer *SPOLIER ALERT FOR SEASON THREE* I was exceptionally late to the phenomenon that is Game of Thrones. I have been quoted as calling it dreadful and boring. I beg your forgiveness, for I knew not what I was doing. Having resisted thus far, I watched the first three seasons over the course of the last three weeks and I seemed to have timed it perfectly as I finished season three almost simultaneously with the release of season four. The show is difficult to describe, but
I suppose if pressed I would call it a fantasy soap opera. It centres around political struggles amongst seven kingdoms in the fantastical land of Westeros (which is totally not Great Britain) and the surrounding lands (which totally are not the Middle East and continental Europe). In fact it seems to a large degree as though the author (and screenwriters to a lesser extent) just took some old world history and said, “cool story, needs more dragons”. However, this isn’t the bitchy criticism it appears to be. European and Ancient history with added
magic is a great premise, and the fact that the show centres more on the human struggles than on the magic that’s just kind of there is what gives the show a more universal appeal over fantasies such as The Lord of The Rings. The main conflict in previous seasons has been between the Stark family, who were lords of the Northern Kingdom of Winterfell, and the Lanisters, the Lords of the Kingdom of Casterly Rock, and the show is in the midst of a tonal shift now that this conflict is more or less over. There’s murder, sex, swearing and dra-
matic pauses galore, and though the first episode is kind of slow, the rest of the series is well worth the bad start that initially turned me off. The show’s major strength is in its characters, nearly all are memorable, well-acted, and three dimensional with flaws and struggles. The fact that many of them die without warning gives the show a realistic hook for audiences of all stripes. Season four looks set to be very exciting with the promise of an imminent invasion of Westeros by both White Walkers (which are like zombies but much much cooler
looking) from north of totally not Hadrian’s wall, and Daenerys Targaryen with her dragons from the East after having travelled through totally not the Holy Land freeing slaves for her army in the last season. Having watched the first two episodes I can say that Season four looks set to deliver on the hype, and is planning to diverge from the books’ story, so what happens from here on out is anyone’s guess. Will they change one or two details? Or will they go in a whole new direction with the setting. I for one am hugely excited to find out.
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The Creative Commons A Creatively Compiled Collection For My Best Friend In the stars there are thousands of wishes you made on the condition that you would fail a million times
And so you did You lived to the point of the tears in so many ways
Persistence
And when you die having failed a million times they’ll bury you with a million scars
The stars you made wishes upon will shine on them until they are nothing more than dust
aRE YOU A pOET? WANT TO SEE YOUR WORK IN PRINT? SUMBIT@THEHEYTHROPLION.CO.UK
From Heythrop College
Chloe Westley
Poetry and creativity
made you a protagonist in a world of never-tried-to-best
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WEDNESDAY 30TH APRIL | THE LION
Societies Sports and
societies@theheythroplion.co.uk
Introducing: The Heythrop Catholic Society
Bethany Sharp President of CathSoc The Heythrop Catholic Society was formalised at the end of last term and is now preparing to bring a diverse collection of events to Heythrop over the coming months. Here’s a quick introduction to the society. CathSoc is a group focused towards enhancing a spiritual understanding of Catholicism, guided by the Heythrop Chaplaincy, whilst also creating a welcoming community of people who can regularly meet and have some fun! Regular society meals together, cultural trips… and some less cul-
tural and simply fun-focused trips (!) will all be part of our offering to the Heythrop social calendar. Aside from this, we are currently planning a programme of intellectually challenging and relevant speakers who we hope will be of great interest to a wide range of Heythrop students. Opportunities for spiritual reflection and prayer will be offered regularly by CathSoc, and all - without exception are very welcome to attend, whether to engage fully with the session, or simply to come and listen. CathSoc also seeks to offer and promote opportunities
to give practical service to the wider community around Heythrop through a variety of charitable schemes. Details of CathSoc’s future events will be finalised over the coming term, so watch this space! If you have any questions or suggestions, please do get in touch with either myself, Bethany Sharp (Cathsoc President) or any member of the committee: Dermot Kennedy (Cathsoc Vice President); James Leighton (Treasurer); Daniella Mascarenhas (Secretary); Joel Thompson (Public Relations).
Introducing: The Logic Society Oliver Holdsworth President of the Logic Socety The middle of Lent term saw the advent of Heythrop’s Logic Society. Whilst Heythrop offers a wide range of subjects for its students, the lack of taught formal logic in the curriculum was felt keenly by several first year philosophy students. First year BA Philosophy students have two lectures on the topic, this is more than any other group – and because of this the society quickly expanded to include
members from differing years and degree programs. Drawing from the rich supply of material provided by Steven Law, along side the numerous textbooks to be found, the society has been built with a strong sense of direction whilst equally remaining malleable enough to adapt to new members’ needs. Perhaps the most important asset, however, is the contributions of Joanne Lovesey. By not only providing exercises in formal logic, but also actively taking one of our
sessions, members of the society have made significant progress. Next year we look forward to further contributions, new members, and even more logic as the society matures. This will depend on individuals committing themselves to the extent that they are able to help other members of the society learn: if this sounds like you please connact me at: oliver. holdsworth@heythropcollege.ac.uk.
societies@ theheythroplion .co.uk
Horoscopes Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Mar 21 - Apr 19
Apr 20 - May 20
May 21 - Jun 20
Jun 21 - Jul 22
Jul 23 - Aug 22
Aug 23 - Sep 22
Your star sign is a goat. I suppose that means you’ll eat anything that sits still long enough and you enjoy ramming things. Sounds fun - if a bit basic. Good for you. The world will try and repress your goat instincts this week. Don’t let it! Let the goat go free!
Yeah! Taurus. That’s a manly Star Sign. Do manly things. Drink beer. Grunt. Have arm wrestles. Wear fabulous trousers and smoke a pipe. It’s your week to become more manly and Bull-like. Just don’t kill anyone. That’s too much.
You are incredibly awesome. But you should watch more animated films. And stop hating Ryan Gosling. And eat more curries. It’ll bring you good luck or something.
Well either I misunderstand the process of writing these or you will win the lottery if you buy 100 lucky dip tickets. Tomorrow. Paid for entirely in ten pence pieces. Do it. You’ll regret it otherwise.
Yeah! You’re a Lion. That means we like you. Here’s looking at you, kid. Don’t forget to be awesome.
You have recently forgotten a friend’s birthday. I hope you’re proud of yourself. Nah I love you really. Go have a cider. You’ve earned it.
Libra
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius
Pisces
Sep 23 - Oct 22
Oct 23 - Nov 21
Nov 22 - Dec 21
Dec 22 - 19 Jan
Jan 20 - Feb 18
Feb 19 - 20 Mar
Libra... Liiiiiibra. Is it pronounced Libra as in Liberal or as in Zebra. I dunno. In any case. Watch out for aliens. They’ll try and eat your face and take your place in the world. Don’t let them!
You are literally the best human being in the world. Go for it. It’ll definitely work. You are absolutely amazing in every possible respect. No-one can say no to you this week. If they do, slap them.
There is a good chance that you will realise that complaining that something you believe in is being ceaselessly mocked by people who don’t care is futile. Make them care. Do a protest. Facebook George Takei about it. Get people’s attention. Also, if you are nicer to people, they might respect you more. Try and be nice. Win the world over. You can do it if you really try.
Wouldn’t it be cooler if this star sign were a unicorn? Damn you, Ancient Greece! Oh yeah. Eat more fruit. It’ll stop Mars getting mad at you. Or something.
If you have enough showers this month you will become Aqua-Man or othergendered-equivalent. If it doesn’t work, you didn’t shower enough.
You should drink more Whiskey. Have faith in what I tell you. Listen to no-one else. They will try and deceive you. You should write for the Lion. Yes. You. Now. Do it.
EASY
MEDIUM
ROARFUL
Thanks for reading and see you next year!