Issue 97 - Winter 2022

the magdalen

for students, by students

Focused on philosophical ideas and the contempation of life and humanity's journey through life.

The rise, fall, and rise again in the popularity of Crocs.

Friends but Foes | Pg. 68

Making mistakes in friendships and learning to forgive yourself.

The Magdalen Magazine

@themagdalenmag

The Magdalen Magazine

@themagdalenmag www.themagdalen.co.uk

Join our team!

If you're a UoD or Abertay student and have a passion for design or writing, we’d love to hear from you!

Messages from

November already?! Seriously, where is the time going?!

I hope you’ve all had a great first semester so far, and that you’ve enjoyed reading our lovely Mag! Issue 97 rounds off the issues we’ll be releasing before the winter break. Can you believe this means we’re halfway through the Mag year? No, seriously, where is the time going?!?!

Our theme for this issue is thought: realise, remember, reflect. Remember, remember, the Mag in November, take a second away from the impending deadlines to kick back, relax, and enjoy what our talented team has made.

Finally, I want to give massive thanks to Livvie and Phoebe, who are signing off as Creative Directors as of this issue. It’s been an absolute joy to work alongside both of you and watch you bring the Mag to life every month. Thank you also for your hard work redesigning (girlbossifying) the Mag for this year! I’ll really miss you both!!! ♡

- Dani ✨

the Senior Team

This is our final issue and we really can't believe how it has flown by! We have to say, we are very proud of what we have achieved in our time as Creative Directors. From a snazzy redesign to eagle-eye proofreads, we have put heart and soul into this magazine. We're very excited to see what happens next for The Magdalen. Over and out!

- Phoebe & Livvie ❤

Table of Contents

Feature

Life: A Journey 06

Arts & Entertainment

Review: Don't Worry Darling

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Books with a History How TikTok Has Influenced the Music Industry Jane Austen's Little ZigZags

Creative Writing

A Scattering

The Ghost on the Train Green I Can't Wait Til I'm Older caligo memnon Life Lived in Retrospect Letting Go

10 12 14 16 18

20 22 23 24

Current Affairs

Liz Truss & the Shelf-Life of PMs

The Resurgence of the Italian Right

Gove's Permanent Revolution

The Cost of Living Crisis: Tips By Students, For Students

Think Tanks: Our Shadow Government

Replacing the Human Rights Act: Justified or Unjust?

DUSAsk 38

The Magdalen's advice column. Got a Question? Ask us!

Exec Check 40 Creative

Society Self Defence Society

Get Prepped: Preppy Fashion's New Look

We All Have Different Tastes

Clash of the Ages Uncomfortable Clothing: A Dive Into Fast Fashion

If You Ain't Crocin', You Ain't Rockin' Recipe: Big Jas' Red Cabbage

Recipe: Phoebe's Phestive Apple Galette (P.S. it's vegan!)

On/Off Campus

DUSA Community Action Forum

DUSA Student Representative Council Inveighing Against the Ignorant

Opinions

What We Build With Crying in a Mongolian Coffee House

Friends but Foes

Science & Technology

Our Golden Record

A Tale of Lineage Musk's Twitter Takeover

49

58 60 62

64 66 68

70

72 74

Life: A Journey

“Life seems to dwindle down to a random event that exploded out of oblivion in an elaborate possibility – born out of void for questioning its rarity!

It stands bare, unblemished, favouring differential survival while nurturing the weaker links to change the rules of the game egregiously.

Life is the constant attempt of the intangible to ascertain societal homeostasis – at the cost of some for the sake of others. After all, life needs a framework deep-rooted into the nature of human consciousness.”

- AditeeA

‘Life is a journey’ is a phrase we often stumble upon. It suggests to us that life is a journey upon which the experiences and hardships are more enriching and rewarding than the final destination. I find it incredibly interesting that, despite the diversity of all the world’s cultures, most can agree on this one idea. Considering this momentary agreement against the backdrop of pluralism, I aim to abide by it with as much authenticity as possible throughout this article, and it is my hope that with this attempt to explore various cultures and ideas in the context of life, I can enrich my own experience, and in turn can inch closer to the real me.

Some cultures have been fortunate enough to lay the stepping-stones of civilisation – as is the case with the Indus Valley civilisation and the ancient Egyptian civilisation – while others, such as the Greek and Olmec (which occupied present-day Mexico), have emerged and developed after being heavily tested by voyages across oceans and landmasses. Nevertheless, like a well-aged wine, a slab of mature cheese, or even a well-fermented pickle, the passage of time in changing circumstances is the most important factor that unites these diverse delicacies. The aging process for each of these metaphorical

representatives of cultures varies and the more they are left undisturbed, the better they age.

Unfortunately, in the modern lens, these diverse cultures can sometimes look standardised and diluted. Mainstream pop culture only represents a subset of these cultures and often in a glamourised manner. Often intended to be seen as part of artistic representations, this glamourisation, whilst initially harmless, can overtime cause these representations to become stereotypes. Over years or even months, these representations lose their artistic context and hence lose their respective cultural value. Society fails to acknowledge the spectral manifestation of the universal human consciousness. The diversity of civilisation is qualified under the doctrine of humanity; the only difference is in the aging process. The years of journey that lead to that one cultural aspect are gradually diluted to a point where your journey of life might not acknowledge its existence, even in its presence.

Along with the idea of a journey, another vital aspect of life that enriches the journey, is that of ‘co-existence’, which stands out significantly in the Earth’s pluralistic, multicultural past. One of the many names for

this idea of coexistence, which unites the human consciousness, is Ubuntu –a Zulu word that translates to “I am because we are”. To better understand this, let’s try a thought experiment:

Imagine yourself in a dark room. Suddenly, a tiny lamp gets lit in the corner of the room. Even this small amount of light immediately makes you feel much safer within the darkness and therefore you feel grateful for the lamp’s light. Now, imagine yourself in that lamp-lit room again, but this time with a bat. A sudden gush of wind blows the lamp out and the complete darkness returns. Considering the biology of bats, they tend to feel safer, even comfortable in that darkness, whereas humans tend to return to their fear. This constant switch between the way different organisms react because of a change in circumstances is representative of the dynamic society we inhabit; where parts of it need one thing while other parts need another – this other often being the antagonist of the former. Only with mutual understanding and respect can such a dynamic and diverse population survive. All one needs is the will to support the others’ survival; that is where a civilised journey for an enriched life begins!

So now we understand that life’s journey is enhanced by diverse experiences stemming from a sense of mutual respect, if not agreement. But does this definition not limit us to momentary experience alone?

What can a transient experience offer to the legacy of human existence? After all, we cannot limit our understanding of the world and of life to our generation alone.

For centuries, civilisations have blossomed around compelling stories that personify the qualities of extraordinary experiences. However, these stories have remained unchanged only in the minds of those that introspect and quarantine them from the passage of time in which the story first emerged. Inevitably protecting them from the ethical disorder that attacks these stories’ order. On the other hand, for many others, the passage of time and the overall societal degradation has nullified their significance.

Hence, stories are perhaps a robust tool to not only preserve the value painted in the colour

of triumph, but to also transcend the human experience – in that each modification to the story offers a data point upon which to study the overall change in the ethical priority of the society. Stories enable us to connect with others around us; allowing the exchange of cultures and perhaps even to imagine a future so wide in its horizon that it has space for the new cultures that can bloom through these exchanges.

But do we really know the stories that momentarily tie the threads of our present to these experiences that were personified in our cultures? Are we not the beacons of these very same stories for the years to follow, just like our grandparents were perhaps for us? Indeed, what could, for example, be more mesmerizing than an interesting family conversation about a layered mythological character on a rainy day with a hot coffee?

With each layer that peels away, you come closer to yourself. Only this time, your journey does not require a physical transition alone, as is the case when exploring different

cultures. This time, you transcend into the metaphysical. That is when mere words allow you to tap into the ubiquitous diversity of human perspective, meaning that when stories and cultures stand tall and reflect your strengths and weaknesses like mirrors, you begin to introspect and the outward journey translates to an internal voyage – forming a much-needed hiatus in this mechanical life.

Unfortunately, given the fast-paced world we live in, this very act of introspection becomes relatively limited, and therefore we tend to invest in things of material benefit alone. We fail to understand that by ignoring our own inner growth, we are eclipsing society into a void. Indeed, irrespective of what we name it, Ubuntu or Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – which is a Sanskrit phrase which means “The world is one family” – we inevitably affect the society we make.

But all of this seems to only explain the things that might constitute ‘a good life’ and falls short of explaining many other questions we may have; what about the whole idea

of having a purpose? Why are we alive? What does it mean to be born or to die? Do we feel the pain of being born or the dismay of dying? Or is it merely a moment of oblivion that accompanies the transition? But who knows it all? Who can know it all?

All I can do is explore diverse cultures through stories during my own journey and concentrate it down to a very personalised sample, or snippet, of my poetry; only to be swallowed every morning like an Espresso. Just like this coffee which originated in Italy but found its biggest market in Finland, I too am on a long journey, one that started with my own culture and will end in another. But, in between lies the hunger to understand it all in the hope that one day I – along with the rest of humanity who are on their journey too –might see the truth that has been valorised by those who have experienced it before us.

Words: Caitlin Mathieson

A Don’t Worry Darling Review

Steeped in doll-like perfection, Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling takes the viewer on a 1950’s dream-turned-nightmare fuelled car chase around an inviting albeit unsettling suburban paradise. Fitted with a flawless wardrobe of crisp suits, cocktail dresses and an ever-filled drink in hand, the film is objectively a stylistic treat. However, marketed as a steamy psychological thriller, immediately there is a sense of things being too good to be true.

Following Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) in their utopic life in the isolated desert town of Victory, their lifestyle appears as undeniable perfection, with everything, from Alice’s flawlessly done hair to the identical houses they throw dinner parties in, seeming immaculate. The plot of the film, however, centres around the cracks in this

lifestyle, Alice’s realisation and a Stepfordesque unravelling of the truth behind the ever-so-perfectly crafted community. A starstudded cast of secondary characters include Chris Pine as the mysterious Frank, the man in charge of the town who is constantly teetering on the edge of charming and downright villainous, and his wife played by Gemma Chan who represents the perfect housewife right down to the unsettling tea.

It must be noted that Pugh does all the heavy lifting in the film, carrying the story with ease and bringing everything she has to the role. The viewer feels it all: as confused as Alice when the façade begins to shatter and equally frustrated when met with the other characters’ gaslighting in response. Pugh is once again proving to audiences that she is a force to be reckoned with, constantly one-upping her

Design: Tania Sutton

own previous roles. Her performance distracts from the various inconsistencies in Wilde’s sometimes predictable plot, stealing every scene she’s in with effortless grace. Due to this, Styles occasionally struggles to keep up with his on-screen wife but overall brings what is needed for his character to work within the plot. Paired together as a couple, they add to the film’s allure as something sexy that audiences want to see, another smart choice on Wilde’s part, with the casting providing another layer to the gorgeously styled world. However, overshadowing the film’s release was the rumoured backstage drama and the now viral events of the Venice Film Festival. This caused the film to get swallowed up in the world of online clickbait and fan theories, from rumoured feuds between Wilde and Pugh to outrageous stories of Styles ‘spitting’ on co-star Pine. In all honesty, this distracts from the fact that the film is a solid, entertaining watch with strong feminist undertones, which is ironic as now its release has been swept up in a media storm centred around two women supposedly hating each other.

The feminist subtext is occasionally heavy handed but adds depth to the thriller beyond being just another all-American suburbia with hidden secret. The inclusion of R-Rated scenes with unapologetic female pleasure at the centre is refreshing to see in cinema and all the female characters are undoubtedly stronger than their male counterparts. However, that’s not saying this is all that’s required to make a ‘feminist’ movie with Don’t Worry Darling occasionally falling short of making any real impactful commentary beyond emphasising the importance of female autonomy and the fact misogyny exists. These ideas drive the narrative but often leave more questions in their wake than answers regarding the female protagonist and her characterisation. Nonetheless, when considered in the simplest terms of entertainment, Don’t Worry Darling is a stylistically lush dynamic film with a cast oozing with star quality.

Words: Angus Coleman

Review – The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season 1)

Prequels are a funny thing. Where a sequel film, television series, novel, etc. has a jumpingoff point, and is generally free to go where it wants, prequels can be more restrictive and predictable. By their very nature as existing before the original story, the requirements of continuity have the potential to railroad the narrative in a certain direction. Consequently, the writers have to work extra hard to make the journey interesting, despite the fact that the audience already knows where it eventually leads.

On top of this, when a prequel to an already well-established and widely loved intellectual property is being developed, there is an expectation amongst fans for the prequel to make the case for its own existence, in order for it not to feel like a soulless and creatively bankrupt cash-grab. In the case of Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings prequel: The Rings of Power, the show boldly attempts to forge a new story within the established world of the source material, but rather fails to justify the titanic endeavour of its development.

The budget of The Rings of Power is estimated at somewhere between $450 and $500 million. This places it comfortably above the budgets of the majority of blockbuster films released these days. This, frankly, ridiculous expenditure communicates how much Amazon had riding on this release, especially since acquiring the rights from the Tolkien Estate alone cost $250 million. If the launch of this show wasn’t the biggest thing in Prime Video’s history, it would have been a failure. In that respect at least, it succeeded, with the twoepisode series premier reportedly garnering more viewers than any previous series premier in the history of the platform.

It is therefore unsurprising that Amazon throws the money on screen. The cinematography, special effects, lighting and production design are mostly top notch

Design: Kirsty Lawn

and are considerably better than what you normally see on television shows. The landscapes especially are shot to look suitably awe-inspiring - the decision to return to New Zealand for shooting was certainly a good one. The island kingdom of Númenor is a favourite location of mine, with its Mediterranean architecture and warmer colour palette successfully lending it a feeling of exoticism and setting it apart from places in Middle Earth that we’ve seen previously.

However, this first season has been riddled with pacing issues. This is mainly because there is simply far too much going on within the narrative of the show, with the action rapidly jumping between five different simultaneous plots. As a result of this, each story thread progresses rather slowly due to the need to hastily jump to another one at the end of each scene. This also affects character development, with most of the relationships between the characters explored through hastily delivered exposition dumps that often don’t feel particularly organic. Furthermore, the writers struggle to keep this many plates spinning at once, with certain characters not appearing at all in some episodes. The narrative feels like it is being pulled in too many different directions at once, and simultaneously moves too slowly and too quickly.

The juxtaposition between the flimsy characterisation and pacing, and the visual and auditory splendour on display, makes the show feel incredibly hollow. Little more than an extremely expensive vanity product made by Amazon to justify their acquisition of the rights to the property. It’s a shame because all the actors in the show seem like they are genuinely trying and bringing their A-game, but they aren’t able to save the show from its pacing and character writing written into the script.

It feels like the creators of the show have put the cart before the horse. One of the best things about the original Lord of the Rings story is that it starts out incredibly focused, and takes its time developing characters and their relationships, building and expanding the world, and establishing the stakes of the story. This means that when the narrative splits into multiple paths and becomes more complex, it feels more natural and earned, and all the events across the different threads feel like they are in service of the same ideas and themes at the core of the story.

The most important thing that the first season of a television series needs to do is get the audience invested, and while the lofty ambition of the show is admirable, and the audio-visual craft on display is undeniably impressive, The Rings of Power has sadly not succeeded in that regard.

Books with a History

Forms of entertainment (be they literature, films, music, paintings, virtual or board games, etc.) have always been tools to either reflect reality in its truest form or to distract from it. In the uncertain times we are living in, I find it interesting to see when people turn their heads from the truth towards a less harsh distraction and when they choose to see reality in its cruelty or in its beauty. However, most of the time we attempt to distract ourselves when we experience cruelty and pain. As an avid reader, this made me think of the books I have read in my 21 years of life in order to escape reality. Those were the books that helped me get through the hardest times which is why I’d like to invite you to a journey remembering one of them, based on the influence it has exerted on me.

The novel which first came to my mind was Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love. Most of the times when I tell my friends or acquaintances about this book, they have pre-existent prejudices about it. Either they think it’s just another rom-com about a woman having an existential crisis and looking for love, or they assume it’s some kind of spiritual self-help story. They might not be that far off with these assumptions, yet Elizabeth Gilbert’s work cannot just be reduced to that. I first read this novel in June 2020 when lockdown regulations had just started to loosen up and I was in the midst of taking my final exams to finish off high school. I wasn’t even 19 years old which is why I think the storyline about a 30-year-old woman in an unhappy marriage, and later a cruel divorce, didn’t speak to me emotionally. I read it more as a stepping stone to travelling the world and getting to know other cultures, like Liz does in her travels to Italy, Indonesia and Bali. At that time, I also wasn’t aware of the fact that Eat, Pray, Love was based on true events the author had experienced and wanted to relate as autobiographically as possible to her readers. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book.

Fast forward to September. I had just arrived at my university accommodation room in Dundee. I was all alone, in isolation for two weeks, no one else had arrived yet. My first time ever being away from home. You can probably imagine how lonely and sad I felt most days. One evening, I decided to watch the film adaptation of Eat, Pray, Love. I was unable to carry on watching it after the first half hour which repeatedly shows Liz in a terrible and depressed state, crying while sitting on the floor, praying to God out of despair. Due to my own sadness, I just couldn’t stand seeing her cry because it made me think about how lonely I felt, and I began spiralling down into a hole of crying. I was not in a good place that September contrary to how protected and secure I felt all these months back in June, reading the book with my parents, my dogs and my cat around me to make me feel good.

This year, coincidentally in June, I decided to pick up the book again. I was on a girls’ trip with one of my best friends in Copenhagen. We had the best time exploring the beautiful Scandinavian neighbourhoods and having daily deep talks in our hostel room. I felt safe and understood. Now when I think of Eat, Pray, Love, I harbour good memories towards it because it reminds me of our trip, the hottest summer we’ve ever had, and the independence of being able to travel alone or with a friend, living life like someone in their twenties would.

The thoughts I had two years ago in isolation had disappeared after I read the book for the second time because I have become more mature, I have grown into accepting the feeling of sometimes feeling lonely, even when that’s not the case. This experience prompted me to write about Gilbert’s novel which holds much more than just the story of Liz. It also holds the story of Elizabeth Gilbert, of me, two years ago, and the personality I have developed into now.

Over the last few years TikTok has taken the Internet by storm, becoming one of the biggest social media platforms to date, gaining over one billion users in under ten years. The app’s influence has been clear since its beginning to create trends and lockdown entertainment. From whipped coffee to ghost photoshoots, TikTok trends were all over the Internet and nearly impossible to escape. The app’s influence has even affected fashion, creating fresh style trends and inspiring people to try new fashions they never could have heard of without the app. So, what about music? How has TikTok affected the music industry? From promoting new artists to resurfacing old classics, the app’s impact has been massive.

The influence of TikTok can be divided into two subcategories: the impact on the listeners and the one on artists. Fortunately, for both, the effect has been beneficial. One of the clearest changes in the industry is the exposure new artists can get. TikTok is responsible for the sudden wave of new artists appearing on the radio and playing at festivals. Most famously, Crawlers, Piri and WetLeg are just a few of the artists to blow up on the app. They each had trending songs leading to their current success in the industry. This is due to the app’s algorithm and how much easier it is for videos to blow up. Videos get boosted based on interaction which means that a few comments saying how good the song is can send artists from a few views to a viral video. This is great for the industry as most streaming platforms now, such as Spotify and Apple Music, have algorithms which make blowing up almost impossible for small artists.

“

From

app’s impact has been massive.

Likewise, this means older songs now can blow up and thus introduce young music lovers to some older classics. The best example of this is Running up that Hill by Kate Bush. Yes, the newest season of Stranger Things contributed to the song again being played all over the radio, however, this really came from its popularity on TikTok. Whether the video was complaining about the song’s resurgence or was happy about it, there were a good few weeks where you could not go on the app without hearing the track’s famous intro. A few other notable examples are the

songs Love Grows by Edison Lighthouse, which became part of a self-love trend and more recently Everlong by the Foo Fighters. The app has done an excellent job of bringing to light good music, old and new.

Relating to the app’s algorithm, this idea of blowing up can also work in favour of the listeners by introducing them to new music. Like most apps, TikTok is designed to recognise what you as a user like, and if that is music, your For You Page, as it’s called, will have more music-based videos, thus introducing music lovers to the latest music every time they open the app. This again is perfect for artists and listeners as each gain something by simply opening their phone and clicking on TikTok.

This is just a brief overview which, nonetheless, provides an example vis-à-vis a few of the positive effects TikTok has on music and the music industry. TikTok’s influence over the music industry is certainly something that makes the app stand out, especially considering the fact that it is not solely music-based. Furthermore, it allows for more opportunities to continue changing the music industry as we know it, and that is an incredibly interesting and exciting trend.

promoting new artists to resurfacing old classics, the

Jane Austen’s Little Zigzags: Why Do We Read Jane Austen

Perhaps the popular perception of Jane Austen’s novels comes from an idea of swooning romances backdropped by elegant country houses and their sweeping estates, that can be most explicitly seen in the popular and widely seen TV and Film adaptations or the covers of the endless editions. To enjoy Austen is to escape into this romantic idea of the English with its formal balls and handsome, paternalistic landowning gentlemen. While this is certainly one aspect of Austen’s appeal, I would suggest that it is the formal construction of Austen’s narrative that make Austen enduring far more than the visual iconography of an idealised sense of the English country. There is something in the foundations of her novels that allows us to understand the feelings, thoughts and dilemmas of her characters. I call these Austen’s zigzags.

In Emma, Emma is proposed to by the arrogant and conceited Mr Elton while they are stuck alone together in a moving carriage. His drunken and embarrassingly informal

proposal is rejected by Emma and they are both left to sit with a painful awkwardness – such an appalling moment for Emma stops what Austen terms the little zigzags of embarrassment. This single image reflects what I think is Austen’s central narrative focus, the push and pull of domestic social interaction. All through Austen’s novels, particularly in Emma and Pride and Prejudice, the axis of the narrative turns on the climax of the restrained social conventions of a domestic world where everyone is to know their place and play their part. Austen flexes this narrative tension but never spills over into sentimentality or dullness. Austen is dealing with the lines of social interaction that run between her characters and when those lines are shot in the wrong direction or collapse in misunderstanding the dramatic moments of her narratives are revealed; Mr Elton’s proposal, Emma and Knightley’s confrontation at Box Hill, Elizabeth reading Darcy’s letter and their subsequent meeting. This, rather than any romantic sense of individuality,

cosmic truth, or genteel escapism, is the closest Austen comes to a potentially universal expression of the human condition. We, like Austen’s characters, have our own social zigzags that we must move between and occasionally those zigzags become fractured or change in sudden and unpredictable ways and the axis of our narratives thus shifts.

I would suggest that we read, and should read, Austen because she shows us not simply a way to escape to a far away and alien world of 18th century England but an example of the delicate social zigzags that we all must navigate.

Words: Hannah Hamilton

A S c attering

It was Autumn and leaves were embers That lit the sleeping lake My breath a cloud before me And the cold a nibbling ache For all the glare of sunbeams And halcyon shower fall My eyes befell her bathing there Calm amongst the squall, The lake’s glistering daughter My heart gave a leap And closer I came to the water That I might hear her speak.

She sounded like a trickling stream Upon ragged stone And like the simmering rise of steam As moisture leaves the bone I felt my mouth did water there Her sound so pleasantly heard It filled the still, chill air, Though she said not a word It was as if the wind whispered me What she was wan to say The breath of song rung wearily Like the sun’s dusty ray, it bade:

Let not you turn your head away And eyes to lust elsewhere The lake has asked you kindly stay And let it take your care Your hand be caught in soft embrace A reed round finger bound All the pleasures you seek to chase In watery depths be found Take a breath, take a breath, Welcome her to your lung Take a step, take a step, And rest here as one.

She was cast in amber And scattered across the pond To take but a fleeting gander Was to live in absence too long So, I stayed, Nothing else seemed of sense to do When one sees clear after years of haze You cannot simply pass through. I was stolen by that beauty As Summer bud is taken by earth I wished to let it consume me Dwindle to the point of rebirth.

The sight of her cheek, soft as the nettles’ touch, Raised mountains from my skin Little before had moved me so much As what she stirred within My lady sunbeam cast askance And stranded on the lip of the lake Letting her reflection dance Shift, ripple, swell, and break, She watched me approach And, lo, my heart did flinch A cautious twinge- slight reproachAs my lady’s jaw unhinged

She spoke, a stream unlike I’ve ever heard Come now, set foot in the water, There is nothing here to fear, Come now, step into my water, I wish to feel you near, It’s blue inside but you burn like Autumn, I would that your warmth were not just a reflection That your heat would come, And burn in my direction. If you touch me now, you would know, That I have nothing but this endless gorm And before I suffer the ice and snow I would have one last sip of warm.

My heart was wrenched from body And desire moved my limbs

The waves I had begotten Made my watery image swim Closer now I was nearly blinded To look at her was pain From her luminous skin, the shine did Make the sun seem plain. I did so crave to hold her then The thought urgent and true Farther did I swim ahead As she beckoned me to do

My lady followed my breaching strokes And we circled for some while Nearer her my heart did soak The radiance of her smile When I tired, I could not bring To pull myself away All the world was sparkling And I so yearned to stay She dipped her head and sank low Looked to me with sunlit lips Then into my lungs the water stole As I stole that first kiss

And I spoke to fill what I had lost: Ah my lady, anguish and love, I will sink here Sun and warmth and delights thereof Could not come near Your gaze of aurum Emblaze my desire And now I must come You give to you my fire Above us Summer is scattering On the surface of your skin My pulse in chest is battering I breathe and let you in.

My lady descended with me

Golden light had gone Her skin had been of filigree And now with silver shone. In the dark her form grew gaunt Limbs like sunken swords And she did appear to haunt The grey, watery wards. Something sinister gleamed From an expression I did not recognise What once was pleasant now seemed To shrink and subside and I

Quickly looked aside The body of my aqueous maid Was horror liquefied. If I could, I would have howled and prayed As we sank ever more into the deep With the silt and the stone There was little I could do to keep The chill from invading the bone. We lay there, side by side Looking at the haze of a world above My heart is slowly lost to ice As leaves fall like ashes of love.

Words: Rebecca Raddatz, Design & Photography: Maria Touloupa

The Ghost On The Train

low tide. like ghosts out of a grave these islands raise their heads. half sucked in between muddy lips lie ships, rotting. like a palimpsest i am scrawled across the landscape in faded print half there and half on the other side of fogged up glass melting into passing trees, and as it goes heaps of snow and rows and rows and rows of metal chairs.

i’m half aware; i haunt these windows like the ghost of something real.

what i need is an exorcism of myself. some days the words balance on the tip of my tongue. i come armed with holy water in my eyes and on my lips.

but i know it’s easy summoning a ghost and harder to let go.

Words: Renee Dumenil, Design: Phoebe Wilman, Photography: Ada Ung

An aphid on a crystalline knife edge, thin plastic curling a near invisible track. Its plump body wriggles, green amongst the shine. Further down, the plastic becomes buckled by string; imprisoning a bouquet with transparent walls. On the glassy surface lie scuffs of label and fading finger smears; remnants of the invisible figure, who tangled fibrous chains and locked life to a park bench.

Wind rises and the trapped plants can only shiver. Their cheap life now shrinks with the cold and damp, which rots their petals but never feeds their stalks. Sacrificial beauties, confined in their glassy tomb: slowly fading for the comfort of another. In the wake of browning petals, “an ordinary public space becomes a memorial.”

The quote comes from Loose Space, which elevates a single ritual into evaluation of a wider cultural practice: “what had been an anonymous and undifferentiated field becomes particularized and intimate.”

To strangers, this quiet death is worse than an eyesore: inaccessibly private, yet simultaneously impeding, eroding happiness by recalling mortality. There is a sense of exclusivity, even in grand public take-overs, where toys, candles and flowers sprawl across pavements. In the placement of a single bouquet, the ill-feeling of intrusion is reflected upon the individual, who forced mourning onto the unsuspecting.

Green peeks through withers, the aphid has abandoned barren plastic to pick across different wretched terrain. White to pink to cream to brown. Husks. Yet, there is a loveliness

to each, even in death, crackled shapes like frozen flames. The viewer becomes aware that: “spontaneous memorials engage senses beyond just the visual and invite movements, gestures and changes of position that are uncommon in everyday public life.” A park bench bouquet disrupts the dry expanse of grass and the worn seating, whose inscribed dedications are ignored. The knowledge of purpose gilds each plant, poetic and profound. Each mark of mortality is an echo: fear and sorrow, burning memories, philosophical yearning – all are examined in the calm reflection of gentle demise. Thus, the mourning becomes public space, inviting a collective contemplation from strangers. Bountiful petals droop to mop-heads, stacked in silence. Chrysanthemums. Remembrance. The ritual is repeated, fresh flowers set to wane every few weeks. Destruction and Love intertwine through a simple bouquet. The aphid serenely drifts to places unknown.

Words: Fay Rizo, Design: Ailey McCormick

I just can’t wait tillI’molder!

Thinking back to the time I was a child, I must have said that exact phrase about a million times because what a dream it seemed to be grown up! What a grand adventure! Who would want anything else? Now a whole decade has passed as I sit here writing this and I know the answer to my question – I do. I don’t want to be a grown up anymore. I long to feel the sweet naivety of childhood in the warm, long summer nights; where my biggest concern was my curfew, and figuring out how to stay out just a little bit longer. I miss the blissful fog of innocence. Why did I ever want to be an adult?

caligo memnon

i’m caught in a circus an everlasting performance to entertain the masses. an exaggeration of something i’m not sure i am lights scrutinise, their perpetual spotlight piercing my skin like a scalpel in search of a truth while the circus march mocks my affliction i think they call it mimicry, the art of concealing oneself in plain sight. in order to be safe, to survive, the butterfly must become the owl devoted eyes an illusion painted on wings; the costume that imprisons me in an unshakable act, following like a shadow

Words: Kate Heggie, Design: Aimi Matikka

Words: Sam Chesters, Design: Phoebe Wilman

Living Life in Retrospect

When I moved from Canada to Scotland, I thought I would be travelling back and forth all the time. Dropping by for a surprise visit to see my family every now and then, arranging social events and video calls to repair our strained familial relationships… but that never happened.

My family’s resentment towards me has made it impossible.

If I am lucky, my sister and I exchange the occasional frosty message;

“Hello, how are things? Do you want to catch up at some point this week?”

“Can’t sorry. Maybe next week.”

When I moved abroad, I never thought it would be held against me like this.

I needed a fresh start, away from the overbearing toxicity of my family, and away from the painfully familiar Torontonian streets which had come to symbolise so much unhappiness to me. My parents said it was just wanderlust and would pass.

My sister was a little more understanding of my situation, though she advised me to see a therapist rather than “break the family apart”.

I wanted to heed the advice but eventually, it all got too much. I made the move, and since then they have rejected me.

I am much happier with my life. For the first time I feel a sense of community, and have met friends whom I really connect with. I love my job and I am glad to be able to raise a child here.

I wish this happiness didn’t have to come at the consequence of losing my family.

I can’t help but wonder how things could’ve been if I had stayed. Perhaps I could’ve learned to live with the painful memories. I could have grown old with my sister. I would have been able to make my parents proud, and allow them the chance to nurture their only grandson.

Was I selfish in doing what I did?

I do not regret leaving Canada. It felt like everything I had done before was for the benefit of other people.

Maybe I was selfish, but it was the first time I had been in my life.

I regret turning my back on my sister, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

The bridge between myself, my parents, and my ex-partner turned to ashes long ago. That doesn’t mean the flames have to take my sister from me too.

A world of struggle nothing we cannot handle. Smiles pasted, ready

I am a burden. No one cares to carry me but I’m still okay

Exact estimates are what you would want from me never good enough.

Never good enough. I move mountains and meadows. Never good enough.

You will never know the secrets of my mild moon it won’t shine for you

My light isn’t bright enough to warm your cold heart burning to ashes

I shatter the blue bowl, sweeping silky water on what needs to heal

The taste of rain, an inevitable downpour, sweeps away my skin

I’m no longer me screams the shell of my own mind yet it still opens

All I need is time sunlight bursting the skin of earth, making me whole

You fade like a ghost but I know you were just there and always will be

Now gone. But leaving everything you stood for, falling in ashes

Words: Orla Davey, Design: Alex Parton

Words: Arrowyn Williams

Liz Truss and the Shelf Life of PM’s

At the time of writing, it has been less than an hour since Liz Truss announced her resignation the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, just 44 days since she took office on September 5th. She has smashed the record for shortest serving PM, previously set by George Canning who died of tuberculosis in 1827, after just 118 days in the job. More amusingly, Liz Truss has failed to outlive a lettuce which has been broadcast live since October 14th by the Daily Star. Currently the lettuce livestream is in full celebration mode, with party lights, champagne and music.

To state that Liz Truss was in office for 44 days is in many ways a generous way to put it; two weeks of her premiership were consumed by the political conference season, and a further two weeks were the national period of mourning for the Queen. She, in effect, only had two and a half weeks where parliamentary business was happening, and she was supposedly leading it. This included the vote against Ed Miliband’s anti-fracking motion, which allegedly saw government whips physically wrestling people into voting lobbies. Even King Charles was no fan of her, upon seeing her he was caught saying, “Back again? Dear, oh dear.”

Her short stint in power saw Sterling drop to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985, a total collapse in her personal approval rating - she has an unfavourable rating of 70% (for comparison Vladimir Putin has a rating of 74%), and the Labour Party up to 30% ahead in opinion polls, with some models predicting that the Conservatives would become the 4th largest party, behind Labour, the SNP and the Lib Dems. Her only real piece of governing, a mini-budget announced on September 23rd, saw the dismissal of her Chancellor, a run on government gilts and emergency intervention by the Bank of England to stop pension funds from becoming insolvent. While Truss initially stated that she was not for turning, this commitment seemed not to have collared her, as her new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt quickly walked back on many of the policies that she had announced in the mini-budget.

It might seem odd to say, but throughout the 20th century Britain was marked for its political stability, especially in comparison to other European nations. But the years since the Great Recession of 2008 have been marked by an unstable political settlement, and a rotating cast of characters occupying the top job. Many commentators in the media today identify the source of this political instability as the Brexit referendum. But although the

most obvious signs of political instability came after the referendum, it was only ever a symptom. In reality, the political crisis in the UK is a consequence of the wider crisis in the UK, a crisis of inequality.

For decades in the UK and around the world, governments have pursued a policy of immiseration of the poorest in society and the enrichment of the wealthy. In the beginning and for periods throughout there were points at which there was a more equitable distribution, but it was always in favor of the upper section of society. This economic inequality has led to political and social dislocation. Still, because of the current state of political discourse and economic policy, serious discussions of the economic foundations of our society are outside the realm of acceptable discourse. Our political economy abrogates so much power away from democratic institutions, that this fundamentally cannot be addressed, anyone who does attempt to even acknowledge the problem such as Jeremy Corbyn is attacked by all the institutions of the state and governing consensus.

I have little doubt that Labour will win the next election, they may even win a triple digit majority, but the crisis of inequality will chew them up and spit them out just as it has done to every Prime Minister since Gordon Brown. Because while the UK maintains democratic input but removes fundamental economics from the realm of democratic politics, there will only ever be permanent crisis.

The final days of the Soviet Union saw a succession of men occupying the post of General Secretary of the Communist party, in a space of less than 3 years from 1982 to 1985 4 different people held the position. Less than a decade later the Soviet Union dissolved. While the circumstances of this were different, Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko all died in office, the soviet gerontocracy was a symptom of a wider crisis, a political settlement that led the Soviet Union unable to reform to meet the challenges of the world. While it is amusing to see someone reach the height of power, only for it to be snatched away from them because of their own hubris in less time than House of the Dragon has been airing, it is a symptom of something far from amusing. Liz Truss may be gone, but the problems at the heart of British politics remain. Like a molding head of lettuce in the crisper drawer, spoiling everything else in the fridge.

The Resurgence of the Italian Right

Over the last decade, right-wing parties have been ascendant in Europe. The European migration crisis of the mid 2010s resulted in an uptake in support for nationalist parties, who exploited paranoia surrounding terrorism and immigration in order to consolidate support. Pervasive suspicion towards multiculturalism and globalism manifested themselves in events such as Brexit, as well as the increasingly noticeable presence of right-wing and nationalist voices in European political discourse. Marine Le Pen secured a higher result for right-wing National Rally than they had ever known, with 34% of the votes in the runoff of the 2017 French presidential elections. Later that year, the Alternative for Germany party – a far-right organisation – won its first seats in the Bundestag – the country’s federal parliament.

In more recent years, the main issues dominating political circles have shifted considerably, as a result of events such as the pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, this paradigm shift has not necessarily seen the return of such voices to the fringes, as evidenced by the recent performance of the right-wing populist party Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) in the 2022 Italian general election.

The vote was called as a snap election following the collapse of the Draghi administration. Former prime minister Mario Draghi ascended to the premiership back in February of 2021 when he was called upon by President Sergio Mattarella to form an emergency coalition government to combat

the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis, also known as a government of national unity. He succeeded in forming a coalition, successfully negotiating with other parties from across the political spectrum. However, he resigned on the 21st of July of this year following the collapse of his coalition government when three key parties within the coalition, Forza Italia, Lega and the Five-Star Movement, chose to abstain from a confidence vote, rendering his position untenable.

Turnout hit an all-time low of 63.9% at the election. The Brothers of Italy won a plurality of 26% of the votes, finishing ahead of the centre-left Democratic Party on 19%. When combined with the other parties in the “Centre-Right Coalition” – Forza Italia, Lega and Us Moderates – they managed to win an absolute majority in the Italian Parliament, and thus the right to form the country’s next government. Consequently, as of the writing of this article, it seems almost certain that the party’s leader Giorgia Meloni will take office as the next Italian Prime Minister.

As a party, The Brothers of Italy grew out of a movement of right-wing politics that has long existed in the country but has manifested in different forms over the years. While this latest iteration was formed in 2012, its roots can be traced back to the Partito Nazionale Fascista; The fascist party created by Benito Mussolini in 1921. After the fall of the fascist Regime in Italy after World War II, many of Mussolini’s allies became part of the National Alliance –a more mainstream right-wing movement.

The NA publicly renounced fascism and was itself absorbed into another party – the centre-right People of Freedom Party. The founders of The Brothers of Italy, including Meloni, broke away from this group in 2012 to create the new party. Many of the politicians in this group were members who had originally been in the NA before the merger, and thus represented a more hard-line right-wing element within the People of Freedom.

Meloni and her allies are no doubt aware of their party’s problematic heritage, and thus have been quick to denounce fascism in interviews. Meloni has insisted that fascism has been consigned to history by the party, likening them instead to the British Conservatives or American Republicans. Despite this, much of the symbolism associated with the party’s fascist roots remain in the general iconography which surrounds them. The Italian tricolour flame, an image long associated with fascism in the country, remains the logo of the party. Furthermore, an undercover report from the Italian investigative reporting website Fanpage

showed links between high-ranking party members and the ‘Black Lobby’ – a fascist lobby group which assembles votes for rightwing parties and secures funding from illicit sources. Brothers of Italy MEP Carlo Fidanza can be seen making Roman Salutes in footage collected during the investigation.

Regardless, the party’s public policies are unabashedly right-wing. Meloni campaigned on a platform which includes the creation of a naval blockade to deter migrant crossings into Italy, the scrapping of the €780 per month welfare benefit, opposition to gay marriage and other LGBTQ+ issues in order to ‘protect the traditional family unit’, as well as opposition to abortion. Additionally, while the party has U-turned on plans to withdraw from the eurozone, their history of Euroscepticism is sure to create concern within the European Union, as Italy is one of the largest economies within the group. With the next Italian government poised to be the most right-wing one since World War II, seismic shifts in the European political landscape may be on the horizon.

Revolution Permanent Gove’s

Labour are now 30pts ahead in the polls, and by all appearance, no one has told Liz Truss. One of the benefits of the collapse of the British government is that it brings some of our old favourites out of the woodwork. This time the Tory rebellion is led by one Michael Andrew Gove, whom you may remember from his betrayal of David Cameron, his betrayal of Theresa May, or his betrayal of Boris Johnson.

No one gets better press than Michael Gove, when he speaks, he’s a maverick; establishing “a new precedent for” such and such, “ushering in a new revolution” in this week’s thing. Gove has been a rising star for over a decade.

He served as David Cameron’s education secretary from Cameron’s election in 2010 until 2014. Immediately restructuring his department; streamlining and cost-cutting, before deciding to apply the same strategy to British schools to more mixed results. The most notable achievement of his early term as education secretary is renaming his department and allowing OFSTED schools rated “Outstanding” to become academies.

His attempts to restructure the education system in England and Wales bothered 200 prominent public figures – including poet Carol Ann Duffy and children’s authors Melvyn

Burgess and Michael Rosen - enough for them to sign an open letter condemning the changes. He received a vote of no confidence from the National Association of Head Teachers, there was an exam results scandal and a massive data breach, but all of that is table stakes for a Conservative government. What’s most notable about Michael Gove’s time at the Department of Education is a scandal that defined the second half of his term, known euphemistically as “The Trojan Horse Scandal”.

In late 2013, an anonymous letter was sent to Birmingham City Council alleging an ominous “Islamist” plot to take over local public schools in Birmingham. It is written from the point of view of the plotters, describing the methods - which we won’t go into - for “Islamising” schools. This document was taken seriously by Humanists UK, Birmingham City Council, and the department of Education, in 2014 becoming an Islamophobic scare story in the press.

An investigation by the New York Times this year alleged that no one properly investigated the claims in the letter. Not a journalist, a representative of the council or government, an activist, no one. They stated that the letter was likely a hoax, and while there were failings at the school, none of the practises described in the Trojan Horse letter took place. The New York

Times concluded that the letter was the product of an internal disagreement over governing styles of two people involved in one of the schools named, seized on or gullibly believed by people - bigoted enough or gullible enough - to believe it. The investigation charged Michael Gove with, at best, running a racist department and, at worse, being personally Islamophobic.

This is the origin of his long-running feud with Theresa May, David Cameron’s Home Secretary. Gove accused the Home Office of “not doing enough to curb extremism” in the papers over Trojan Horse, ending with him having to apologise. He soaked up the free publicity he knew his involvement in the farce would generate. When he joined the Leave campaign in 2016, he hopped immediately onto his hobby horse about the EU “encouraging extremism”.

In the period after the Leave vote, when Boris Johnson was seen as the future Prime Minister Gove was a keen ally. He endorsed Mr Johnson, before rescinding his endorsement and choosing to stand. He finished third place, having split the Leave vote, with first place going to his old enemy Theresa May. Gove would spend 2017-19 in the cabinet, always about to revolutionise something and never quite getting to it. Until 2019, when he would come

third in another leadership contest. Always the bridesmaid. Mr Gove made a spectacle of not standing in the 2022 Tory leadership election after the resignation of old frenemy Boris Johnson, instead taking to the airways to attack Truss’ candidacy and government.

During the leadership campaign, he described Truss as “taking a holiday from reality”, the, now reversed, tax cuts put forward by the Prime Minister he described as “not Conservative”. He has been rumoured in the papers as the leader of the Tory rebellion and has sent a series of suspiciously well-timed tweets, one praising “strong leadership” and another warning of “trip hazards” during the government’s meltdown over tax cuts. This was described in Indy100 as “trolling”.

He didn’t stand in this year’s leadership election, so has he taken the hint? I’d argue no. Michael Gove, lover of the printed word –and loved by the printed word - has seen the writing on the wall: the polling. And reckons it might be over. They wouldn’t let him in Downing Street, but maybe in opposition? Under Prime Minister Starmer, imagine him pondering, yes maybe under Labour, they’ll love me as the newspapers do. Michael Gove, Leader of His Majesty’s Opposition. Bring on the revolution.

The Cost of Living Crisis: Tips By

Students, For Students

• Learn how to meal prep. This means you’re not wasting ingredients by cooking small portions (and throwing out leftovers). There are many great meal prep recipes on food websites and blogs.

• Shift the central focus of your meal from meat to cheaper, plant-based ingredients like beans, lentils, and grains. Make sure you’re picking ingredients that will keep you feeling full.

• Buying tinned vegetables ensures that you aren’t buying fresh, only for them to turn bad in your fridge because you’re so fried with uni that you forget to cook them.

• Stop buying takeout or delivery food as a ‘treat’. Uni can be stressful and you should reward yourself, but move away from expensive food. You could have a chocolate bar or shop-bought ice cream. You could even make rewards non-food items.

• Stock some food at home to snack on when you come home from a night out. Instead of ordering McDonalds, keep something in the cupboard for you to have when you get home after a night on the sauce.

• I know it sounds like a bore but sitting down and making notes of all your monthly

outgoings can help you see where your money disappears to, and from there you can work to set spending limits.

• Pre at home… this is a wellknown student practice. Drinking at home means you’re not splashing the cash on expensive drinks at the club.

• To keep the cold at bay, buy some draft excluders to help stop draughts coming in and heat going out.

• If you’re really struggling with heating your place, go to the library or union where you can sit and stay warm for free.

• This is a dad classic - turn the lights off! If you’re not using a room, turn the light off.

• If you think you’re not going to be able to pay your bills, talk to your energy supplier before you run out of funds. You can find a solution before you go into debt.

• Access the University of Dundee’s hardship fund, or at least speak to someone at the Enquiry Centre if you are struggling with money.

• Make sure your bank account has a decent overdraft. Student current accounts are usually good for this. Don’t be afraid to pop into the bank and ask.

• Whatever you do, don’t struggle by yourself. Talk to friends and family for nonfinancial support, and they can help you take further steps in seeking help.

Replacing the Human Rights Act: Justified or Unjust?

Since Liz Truss took office, Downing Street has declined to guarantee that a new Bill of Rights will be introduced and the Human Rights Act during the current Parliament, but this previously promised plan gives rise to some pertinent questions. Rights like the right to life, freedom from torture, and the right to a fair trial are incorporated into UK law from the European Convention of Human Rights on which the Human Rights Act (HRA) stands. By virtue of this act, individuals can bring human rights cases to domestic courts instead of approaching the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. The proposal of the legislation replacing the HRA also means that domestic courts will no longer be bound by the rulings of the ECHR.

Several questions come with this proposal. In the past, the UK has amended many of its laws to be in line with the convention to protect and strengthen human rights. What has made the government consider the Human Rights Act inadequate? Consequently, a counter-question also arises. Is the State’s power compromised by the HRA in certain cases like deporting a criminal to avert terrorism in its own state or is the court of Strasbourg unduly dictating to UK courts? The answer carries an emotive resonance and is highly controversial. The basic concept of applying human rights is to arrest limitless state power. Leaving the ECHR could be seen by some as a way of tackling the Channel refugee crisis or limiting individuals’ ability to claim their right to a family or private life when facing imprisonment or deportation.

But should the government not explore other alternatives to put a check on the illegal migrants or the foreign criminals, than the current proposal? It is the HRA that places public authorities in the UK - including hospitals and social services - under an obligation to treat everyone with fairness, equality, and dignity. It seems perhaps the government wants a clear demarcation between the Courts and the Parliament for its free and independent functioning.

Recently, Nicola Sturgeon has spoken in favour of the HRA. She commented, “The Scottish Government remains committed to protecting the Human Rights Act in its current form.” which clearly indicates that the introduction of a Bill of Rights replacing the HRA by the Government will face stiff challenges from within the UK.

DUSAsk

Hi everyone! My name is Amarachi, I am the Vice President of Student Wellbeing. You can find me at The Hive, DUSA Level 4 if you want to pop in for a chat, or send an email to vpsw@dusa.co.uk. This month I’m going to be giving you my best self-care advice!

What is self care?

Self-care is intentionally paying attention to yourself and taking care of yourself regularly. Paying attention to yourself, your needs, what makes you happy, and having time to focus on yourself and those needs to help you feel better. Some of the activities you can do for self-care include resting and having sufficient sleep for each day, taking control of your thoughts and deciding to think positive, seeking help when you need it, like therapy, counselling or talking to someone, and destressing.

feel like speaking to someone?

If you need to talk to someone about anything, struggles or what is making you stressed, send an email to advice@dusa. co.uk or you can reply to the Wellbeing Wednesday email and the VPSW will signpost you to the Advice Team and they will reach out to you for support.

There is also a free counselling service at the university for all students. Reach them by sending an email to counselling@dundee.ac.uk.

How can I prevent stress during my university days?

Stress is not completely avoidable, but you can try to reduce how stressed you get. Attend your classes and ask questions when you do not understand. Submit your assignments on time and request for more time if you need. Keep a positive attitude around your studies and take a break when you begin to feel stressed, relax and ease yourself then continue afterwards.

You need to understand the importance of self-care and prioritise yourself and your needs and you will be able to spend a few hours in your week to look after yourself. Self-care helps to keep you in a good state of mind, supports your overall wellbeing and helps you perform at your best, and that is why you need to maintain a good and regular self-care routine.

Who can I talk to if I am struggling or just

What if I don’t have time to practice self-care?

What can I do when I feel stressed?

There are so many things that you can do when you feel stressed and the first thing you can do is to take a break from everything you are doing at the time and acknowledge that you are stressed and need time to refresh and recharge.

Other things you can do to destress include physical activities like exercises, going to the gym or taking a walk. You can practice breathing exercises and meditation. Do some gratitude exercises and write down things in your life you are grateful for. Colouring and painting, sketching and meditative drawing. Go out with friends. Eat something you enjoy. Sing and dance. Watch a movie. Have some self-care sessions like face care, care for your hair, nails. Rest and sleep. Read some positive and self-care quotes to help you relax and think positive. You can find some of these quotes in your student email inbox. The Vice President of Student Wellbeing (VPSW) sends positive messages to all students every Wednesday.

Also at DUSA, we have a session two Wednesdays a month called Wellbeing Wednesday and dog therapy from 12pm to 2pm. What we do in this session is to practically help students destress and have some time to do something fun to ease and refresh. There are crafts, paintings, colourings, fun games, dog walks and many other social activities during Wellbeing Wednesdays. Free coffee, tea, juice, and some cakes are also on offer.

How can I find time for self-care?

Add self-care in your daily or weekly schedule. If you do not plan time for your self-care, you will likely skip it because you think you don’t have time for it. Therefore, keep time for this in your calendar.

Keep your routine simple, clear, and fun. Ensure that the activities you want to do for your self-care are already planned, so that you don’t take all the time you have thinking about what to do. Make it fun and lively or quiet and meditative as you like it. And go for activities that will not take so much time so that you are not discouraged from doing them at all. Cut down on how much time you spend on social media so that you can truly have time giving attention to yourself.

If you need help with planning your self-care routine or finding time for your self-care, send an email to the Advice Team at advice@dusa.co.uk or the VPSW on vpsw@dusa.co.uk.

Design: Livvie Baird & Phoebe Wilman

The Exec Check

Welcome to our latest addition to the Mag, the Exec Check! In this new monthly section, we’ll be seeing what the DUSA Exec have been up to each month. This month, we’ll be introducing the Exec and looking over their 100 Day Review, published last month in October with what progress has been made so far. But first of all, what the heck’s an Exec?

The DUSA Executive, or as they’re more commonly known on campus, the Exec, are a group of students and recent graduates that we elect every year. They are key to the leadership, governance and representation of DUSA as a union and a charity.

There are seven roles in the Exec: six Vice Presidents - Academia, Representation, Student Wellbeing, Student Activities, Community, and Fundraising, and one President who leads them all. Four of these roles are full-time, paid roles (also known

as “Sabbatical” roles), and these are the roles of President and VPs of Academia, Representation, and Student Wellbeing. The other roles are voluntary, “non-Sabbatical” roles, and are usually taken on by current students alongside their studies. Between these seven roles, for any question you might have, there’s definitely someone on the Exec who can help you.

The most important thing to know about the Exec is that they’re here to make our student experience the best it possibly can be. If you think something can be improved about your experience, let them know – that's what they’re here for!

We hope that with this section, we let you see some of what’s going on behind the scenes with the Exec, but also help you hold your elected representatives accountable.

Meet your Execs!

Nyasha Mutembwa (she/her) President

Ash is your lead representative covering everything on campus. She sits on various University committees to ensure that you have the best possible student experience.

Zechariah Laari (he/him)

Obiozor Okoro (she/her)

Vice

Vice

President of Academia

Zechariah is responsible for improving your academic experience and ensures your student voice is heard in all learning and teaching matters.

President of Representation

Obiozor oversees all student representation on campus and organises student elections in September and March. She also convenes the Student Representative Counci (SRC).

Amarachi Ejim (she/her) Vice President of Student Wellbeing

Amarachi manages all matters regarding student wellbeing. From providing information and support about mental health, to supplying sexual health advice and products. Wellbeing is all about YOU!

Zining Li (he/him)

Vice

President of Student Activities

Zining leads on all matters relating to societies and other supported student activities.

Bennett (they/them) Vice President of Community

Jazmine helps you get involved in politics and supports student campaigns. They are all about engagement. Come say “hello” and help make a difference on campus.

of Fundraising

Hasan is here to help get you involved in fundraising initiatives as well as integrate you into the student body. Come forward with any ideas for funding or charity ideas but also come be a part of the initiatives that not only raise money but bring us all together.

Design: Livvie Baird & Phoebe Wilman

Hasan Mahmood (he/him) Vice President

Jazmine

Exec 100 Day Review

September

RAG Quiz: Delivered a feminist-themed quiz in collaboration with and in aid of our nominated charity, WRASAC (Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre).

Established the Community Action Forum: The Community Action Forum is a new DUSA body which supports and facilitates student-led campaigners and collaboration between student campaigners and thirdsection professionals. Currently, the Forum is championing a Drug Crisis Community Action Project, Girls just wanna be safe!, organising for power in purpose-built student accommodation, and a student-led Pride initiative. The Forum is open to any student who wishes to sit on it.

Re-launch of Wellbeing Wednesday emails: This is an email sent by the VPSW to all students to check in on their wellbeing and provide them with a quick and easy platform to share their concerns of challenges with someone by just replying to the email. The email also serves as a means of inviting students to the Wellbeing Wednesday free coffee and cake and dog therapy drop-in session with the VPSW and the Advice and Support Team.

Freshers Fair: 91 societies had stalls at Freshers Fair, and more than 5,000 people attended over the course of the day. This was the biggest event in DUSA history.

Proposal of action for students with hidden disabilities: A campaign planned to provide solace to students with hidden disabilities and provide them with available contacts to reach out to when they need support.

Widen access to Yammer for race and equality conversations: Advocating for wider participation on the Yammer platform to promote race and equality conversations. Providing a safe space in our tuniversity environment.

Cost of Living Recommendations Paper: A paper dedicated to address the crisis that some, but not all, students are aware of. This paper aims to be a catalyst to action in both the university and your students’ association. It is only one aspect of our wider effort in tackling the worsening cost of living crisis impacting our members.

Produced an NSS Action Plan: The NSS (National Student Survey) results were first shared at the end of July and so analysis was done on each theme, specifically on DUSA as a students’ association and the student voice as our main interests. Through our analysis, we have produced an action plan.

OctoberBlack History Month: We delivered a programme of events to champion black communities on campus and beyond in collaboration with the African Caribbean Society, the Ghanian Society, and the Nigerian Society. To kick off the month, there was the African Caribbean and Diaspora Celebration, then we worked with events to deliver the Juicy club night, and there was also a month-long art exhibition in the Games Room.

MS365 Champions: Promoting digital fluency in Microsoft Office packages through training in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and LinkedIn. This will be weekly, community-based learning for students to develop some transferable skills in basic IT proficiency.

Reform SRC: Engagement and Participation: In 22/23, there were 446 individual voters with 2022 votes cast, in comparison to last year, 21,22, where 299 individual voters made up the 1406 votes cast overall. This shows a 49% increase in the number of students voting from the year before, highlighting success in the gradual steps up we need to take to reform the SRC by having all positions of representation filled to create a solid foundation for the student voice, in line with our goals for the Student Partnership Agreement.

Design: Livvie Baird & Phoebe Wilman

CREATIVE SOCIETY

An exciting new start for the University of Dundee as the Creative Society is here! We are comprised of a group of students from across all disciplines within UoD all with a shared interest in all things creative. Whether you’re a DJCAD student or a student out-with the art school who enjoys making things in their spare time, everyone is welcome. We are a collective of people who all enjoy the art of making, whether that be painting, photography, illustration, creative writing, poetry, crochet, etc. Anything Goes! The aim of the society is to be a safe space for all who want to come and meet other creative people, trying new outlets to make and express yourselves while being surrounded by like-minded people. The Creative Society has long been something that the committee has felt has been missing from Dundee and has been in the works for a while now. As such we are overwhelmed at how warmly welcomed its presence has been by those who have been able to attend our

previous social events. We have big plans for Creative Soc and we hope that you will join us along for the journey! Every Wednesday we have a relaxed meetings 6pm – 7pm within the create space in the UoD library, where you can bring whatever you want to work on! Some weeks we will have specific activities or workshops planned which you can also take part in! Every Second Friday we have socials at Hunter S Thompson as an opportunity to get to know our members, as well as take part in themed nights and challenges! These are just some of the things we offer and hope that you will come along and give it a try! If this interests you and you want to get involved, follow us on Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date with information on social events and meetups!

Follow us here:

Instagram: uod_CS

Facebook: University of Dundee Creative Society

Words: CreativeSOC, Design: Belle Roach

Have you ever thought about learning a martial art that would actually work in a real-life situation? Well, we are the Self Defence Society (SDS) and we train to do exactly that!

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 6-7.30pm, our society aims to teach and train self-defence skills which are suitable for a real-life scenario. We have an incredible team of instructors whose real world knowledge and instruction enables you to develop essential self defence techniques that, even if never used, will help you feel safer when walking home at night.

The self-defence skills we learn are based around several martial arts, but in particular, Pencak Silat, an Indonesian martial art. By becoming part of our society, you would not only learn ways to defend yourself if such

a situation occurred, but you would also be learning a new physical skill which can help you stay both physically and mentally healthy. What better way to vent and destress after a long day of studying and classes than by practicing on your friends and flatmates?

We also host several socials throughout the year, such as monthly post-training catch-ups, movie nights, quizzes, game nights, and a Christmas dinner. We are a small society which means we quickly become a little community, and we are always happy to welcome new members. If you would be interested in joining the society then check us out on social media, drop us an email or simply come along to a session (the first week is FREE!) – I promise we are very welcoming and kind, despite the nature of the society!

www.linktr.ee/selfdefencesociety

Words: Self Defence Society, Design: Lewis Elks

(Big) Girls on Film

I was sat in the waiting room of my first modelling shoot when I was sixteen. I remember being ecstatic that I was wearing a full face of expertly done makeup in a stunning pinstriped Ralph Lauren dress instead of sitting in my school tie and listening to my Higher Psychology teacher drone on about Freud. Some agent told me later that day that I would never work high fashion, especially on the catwalk. The day I felt most beautiful quickly became a bad memory. Even with baby smooth skin, blinding white teeth and coming out of a lettuce only diet, I was more suited to M&S than YSL.

As the years went on, I moved away from the short-lived modelling career. Free from sample sizes, I found other ways to indulge in the world of fashion (and the world of great food). Although they have moved slower, the fashion gods are beginning to embrace more diversity in the model sizing in their shows.

Brazilian designer Karoline Vitto’s debut show at London

Fashion Week this September is a prime example of this. She showcased all of her pieces on a cast of exclusively curvy, BIPOC women, inspired by the female form and the “squishy bits” that most of us try to hide. With a simplistic colour palette of red, black and green, the designs were able to speak for themselves and show Vitto’s ability to create designs for all body shapes. Vitto tapped into her childhood feelings of inadequacy due to societal beauty standards, so her pieces were designed to show off these women’s bodies with skin-tight clothing featuring unique steel inserts. After years of watching shows with no models above a sample size and no high fashion clothing existing above a UK size twelve or fourteen, this new take on size by a new designer provided the week with a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Fashion East, the talent incubator that nurtured Vitto and her visions, is easily one of the most influential places in the industry. If you want to know what’s hot, Fashion East

is where you want to look. The forward-thinking panel makes it possible for designers to get the support they need to get their ideas off the ground and into showcases. Vitto is just one example of this, and we can hope that the trend will continue and the fresh designer’s ideology will catch on.

Progress of plus-sized models, whilst very slow with female models, is essentially nonexistent in men’s fashion. That’s why James Corbin’s appearance in S.S. Daley’s spring 2023 London Fashion Week show was so wonderful to see. Speaking to Vogue, Corbin said he “thought [he] had no business thinking about anything in front of the camera”. Working with Vogue Italia in a shoot about happiness caused people who had had issues with their own bodies to reach out to him talking about the impact the photos had on them. Corbin realised that clothes were not made for bigger people, but seeing someone challenging the Eurocentric beauty norms on an internationally

recognised runway is a wonderful way to open the world’s eyes to who and what we should be showcasing.

Steven Stokey Daley, the designer who put the model in the spotlight this LFW recently won the 2022 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designer, and, looking at the SS23 collection, it’s easy to see why. The twenty-five-year old’s designs brought storytelling to the forefront, with loose fitting, fun designs and bunny ears and whiskers donned in addition to the blue floral and rabbit embroidered garments.

Like Vitto, his show included multiple plus size models, and we can hope that the freshest designers of the fashion world will keep making clothes for people of all shapes and sizes.

In a time of thin body worship, it’s hard to be plus-size, and the small steps forward are absolutely not enough to make the representation of real people in fashion equal or representative of what is out there in the world.

Messages of “every body is a beautiful body” rarely extend past social media graphics, which are usually targeted

towards women. The struggle that we face isn’t one for a single gender, it’s one for everyone who feels pressure to look like the stereotypical runway models and movie stars, and no group of plus sized people are getting adequate representation. With designers targeting their clothes towards Barbie-like models and influential women losing sixteen pounds to fit into tiny vintage dresses, we have to think of the examples that are being set for the younger generation. Our little siblings, children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. I dread to think of the lack of representation in fashion causing people to hate their bodies, and I hate to think that the steps that could be made to change this are not being implemented fast enough.

Design: Lucas Ferguson

Design: Lucas Ferguson

GET PREPPED: Preppy Fashion’s New Look

Preppy fashion has been a trend that consistently makes a comeback. Reappearing every year, it’s hard to go wrong with a crisp collar or knitted jumper. When combined they give off the impression of being not only polished and put-together, but as trendy and fashion conscious. Seen as a staple autumnal fashion trend, from on the runway to in films and TV, the idea of preppy is now being reworked for 2022.

Preppy fashion arose from a conservative background, representing high status and predominantly white ‘old money’, an aesthetic which dominated from the late nineties right through until the early 2010s. Coming from American Ivy League colleges, the style represented exclusivity and prestige, it was fashion that was made to set the upper class apart. However, preppy trends are being thankfully updated, and rightfully so. Moving away from the privileged schoolgirl vibes we once looked upon enviously, preppy is now something that can belong to everyone, no longer bound by conservative tradition.

On high fashion AW22 runways, we’ve seen domination of this new preppy style, mixing the once traditional aesthetic with an edgier DIY element. One of the standout viral pieces from this is the infamous Miu Miu micro-mini pleated skirt, showcasing how

traditional collegiate wear has been both literally and metaphorically cut up and stitched back together. Ralph Lauren, a brand closely linked to preppy style, ran a campaign highlighting Black talent from historically Black colleges and universities showing that preppy now represents everyone, not just the white, privileged academics.

As all fashion trends do, the new version of prep has now flooded our high-street stores too, emphasising how preppy is now all about combining these classic pieces with our own personal streetstyle whatever that may be. From sweater vests to loafers, the new preppy has been seen everywhere and is a very welcome sight.

It represents a shift in fashion from being something exclusive to something accessible, yet it still gives off the sense of luxury in which it originally grew. That is not to say that the associations with preppy style’s origins are gone, many still hailing figures such as Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl as a preppy icon or hash-tagging preppy aesthetic alongside old money across social media. Instead, it is proving that fashion rules are made to be rewritten, disrupting outdated ideology of exclusion, and instead championing that fashion belongs to anyone who wants it.

Words: Caitlin Mathieson, Design & Illustration: D. Pryke Thomas

Words: Georgia McLellan, Design: Jenny Thomson

We All Have Different Tastes

Trying to eat healthy is a confusing and terrifying thing in the twenty first century. One seemingly harmless Google search on nutrition will release a landslide of often damaging and closed opinions. Whilst one half of the internet might strongly advocate their own ‘science-backed’ method, the other half will just as firmly denounce it. You’ll have fitness gurus preaching the benefits of a protein-packed smoothie every morning and at the same time you’ll have doctors telling you to avoid fruit juices and blends. There’s intermittent fasting, intuitive eating, low-carb, vegan, paleo, all-food fits… the list goes on, and quite frankly it’s overwhelming. It can feel scary to even glance at nutrition, let alone make any changes to your own. And worst of all, this confusion often manifests itself as self-criticism; putting ourselves down for not being able to follow someone’s ‘what I eat in a day’ video, or feeling guilty about your own portion sizes or the foods which bring you joy.

One of the many issues with this internet barrage of so-called ‘advice’ is the negation of the fact that everyone is completely, and utterly different. At the end of the day, we are all individuals with incredible bodies made up of unique DNA. Ever wondered how one person has to eat a huge breakfast to feel energised and healthy, whilst another feels best on a light morning snack? The answer might simply be that health comes in all shapes and sizes.

Instead of comparing ourselves to what others are eating, try looking at your own body and how it feels. If you want to practice some nutritional self-care (which, by the way, you 100% don’t need to do if you’re not in the right place) then you can look at what foods make your body feel good, and what things you enjoy eating. If you want to eat salads and smoothies then go ahead, but if eating crisps and chocolate on a movie night with your friends makes you feel good – then keep on doing it.

the end of the day, we are all individuals with incredible bodies made up of unique DNA ”

The world of health needs more compassion. Compassion for people’s circumstances, compassion for people’s preferences and compassion for people’s mental health. Making steps towards a healthier you doesn’t have to be scary, and it certainly shouldn’t be out of guilt or shame. Everyone is unique, and every day is different. So, take a deep breath… and be kind to yourself.

“At

Clash of Ages:

How Gen Z Relationships Differ From Previous Generations

It’s fair to say that the generational divide today is a stark one; the gap that existed 20 years ago has since become a chasm of clashing opinions and contrasting ideologies. These range from issues on healthcare and bodily autonomy to more cultural clashes, such as political correctness or gender identity. One such issue dividing Gen Z from the older generations is that of relationships and love, with today’s couples being markedly different to the couples of 50 years ago, both socially and pragmatically. The days of high school sweethearts marrying and living the rest of their lives monogamously are few and far between nowadays, with the rigid structures that governed previous generations’ relationships simply not existing for many Gen Zers. The current dating culture isn’t exclusive to Gen Z, with millennials (people born between the eighties and mid-nineties) also having different ideas on marriage,

with millennials across the world consistently trailing older generations on rates of both marriage and childbirth. This lack of rigidity extends to the participants of the relationship as well, with only fifty four percent of Gen Z being openly attracted solely to the opposite sex, compared to eighty one percent for baby boomers. A decline in strict heterosexual identity and reduced adherence to gender binaries has led to Gen Z’s dating culture being remarkably more diverse than previous generations, with many being more open to exploring their sexuality in a way that would have been socially taboo decades ago. Gone (for most) are the days of finding “the one”; it seems that Gen Z has a much more practical attitude towards dating, not as a method to marry the first interested person but to find what suits them at that point in time.

The reasons for these differences are varied; while some chalk it up to a mere generational divide, the factors behind these changes tell us a lot about the world Gen Z grew up in. With an unstable economy and impending climate catastrophe, many in the younger generations are simply not guaranteed the economic and social stability that older generations have taken for granted. In a world rife with conflict and gloomy prospects, what’s the point in “settling down” if there’s nothing to settle down to? There has been a societal shift in attitudes to mental health as well, with more priority being given to self-care and the benefits it brings, leading many in Gen Z to focus on their own health and wellbeing before entering into a relationship. Not a selfish attitude to have towards dating and relationships, as many critics attempt to point out, but one that recognizes the importance of communication and personal well-being that is so critical in a functioning relationship. While previous generations may have looked at processes such as marriage as an initiation into adulthood, younger generations are instead seeing marriage more as a choice to be made when already an adult, if marriage is even on the table (which it understandably isn’t for many). It’s no longer the case that dating is the gateway to marriage, with the younger generations challenging the idea that relationships have to have a linear progression. Dating and relationships have a much more “grey” tone when compared to the black and white romance of previous decades; there is almost a sense of pride in the ambiguous and deliberately vague relationships that many millennials and Gen Z’ers find themselves in.

Perhaps the older generation look at today’s youths and ask themselves “why haven’t they settled down yet?”, forgetting that we live in one of the most economically and socially unstable worlds of living memory. A husband in their

With the costs of everything increasing and wages stagnating, it’s more than understandable that many in Generation Z seek their own financial stability before considering “settling down”. Perhaps most significantly in recent years is how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected relationships and dating for Gen Z. Besides exacerbating the number of people who can’t financially support themselves, the pandemic has also led to a generation of individuals accustomed to isolation in a way that previous generations would be shocked at. For many, the pandemic (and the isolation that it brought) provided a level of self-reflection that the chaos of normal life may not have provided. This is especially true of Gen Z, as many of that age group have entered adulthood during isolation. This has had the unfortunate side effect of delaying adulthood for many in that generation, forcing them to quickly mature as life returns to some level of normality post-lockdown.

“younger generations challenging the idea that relationships have to have a linear progression”

Uncomfortable Clothing: A Dive Into Fast Fashion

When we shop for clothes, we usually think of a few things.

A: Trendy clothes

B: Easy on pocket

C: Both

Most probably, you would opt for option C, and why not? Fast fashion brands take direction from high end luxury brands and are efficient enough to come up with almost similar designs (in other words, knockoffs) in a short span of time. Many high-profile luxury fashion designers have criticized these brands for plagiarism, although these designs are not exact replicas but are similar in design.

Fashion weeks are held twice a year in the fashion capitals of the world. Before the designers’ collections reach the high-end boutiques and upscale department stores like

Nordstrom and Harrods, fast fashion brands are already stocking similar designs in their stores. Isn’t it unethical? Why shouldn’t it make us feel guilty? The high-end designers invest so much time, money and energy in doing research work to come up with new collections, they travel the world for inspiration, and sourcing of raw materials and these fast fashion retailers rip them off. Isn’t it a condemnable act? A shallow practice?

But who cares if we can look trendy and fashionable and the clothes are within our budget? We must realize that most of these fast fashion retailers are producing garments in developing countries and emerging economies like Bangladesh, Vietnam, India and Pakistan. No doubt, these fast fashion brands are

playing an important role in empowering the developing world economically but that is not the whole picture. These clothes are produced in sweatshops in which poor workers are working under hazardous conditions. They work extra hours with no breaks, and they are also underpaid. Some manufacturers in developing countries illegally employ child workers. Children who are expected to earn a livelihood work for manufacturers in their houses secretly instead of going to school.

Aside from that, the materials that these brands are using are synthetic and cheap which make the end product easy on pocket. You will wear it once and after one or two washes, you will have no other option but to throw it out or donate to a local charity shop. Let’s reflect on the fact that these clothes, if unsold in discount and thrift stores, are dumped into landfills, corrupting our ecological system with nonbiodegradable synthetics. We often forget this without realizing how dangerous the aftermath of this flippant attitude could be for us and all the creatures living on this planet.

Mind you, some marketers would sway you; they would try to influence you by using manipulative marketing gimmicks. They can say “donate your clothes and get discount on your new purchase in our stores”. You must have seen H&M eco-friendly line, they are calling it H&M Conscious, and Join Life by Zara. That’s called greenwashing.

Isn’t this a cunning practice? No doubt it’s a good step towards sustainability but we as consumers should be vigilant about misleading marketing campaigns and strategies. Go for sustainable practices by buying less. Buy good quality garments that last longer. If you cannot afford expensive high-quality garments, save instead of wasting your money on buying clothes frequently from fast fashion brands. We think we are saving money by buying cheaply priced updated designs from these high street brands but in fact we are not, as Zara comes up with new designs on weekly basis which attracts people to visit their stores and view their website regularly to be among

the first set of customers to get their hands on their latest and limited designs. Zara is known for this strategy by producing wide varieties of styles in limited quantities to make the millennials feel good about themselves, wearing clothes that are hard to get your hands on and being seemingly original, unique. You might have noticed this by yourself. Try it, visit their website today and after some time the same design that you might have liked will be out of stock probably the same day or the very next day.

Now what can be done about it? I want to stand out for my fashion choice without feeling guilty about it. The answer to this question is simple and easy. Stop buying from these monsters. There’s nothing more fashionable or cooler than doing good. Don’t let these corporations dictate what you should be wearing. Pick up your phone and start calling out all the greedy and selfish corporate giants on social media for their manipulative and unethical practices. Spread the word. Call it cliché, but customer indeed is king. Marketing is all about catering to the needs and wants of the customers. Force these profit-hungry corporations to alter their strategies for the sake of this planet and our future generations. Let’s make this happen and be proud of your fashion choices instead of feeling guilty about it.

If You Ain’t Crocin’ You Ain’t Rockin’

Like it or not, Crocs are back and they’re cooler than ever. From high street dupes in shops like Primark to higher-end collaborations with brands like Lazy Oaf and Balenciaga, you can’t escape them wherever you shop. And I love it.

Whatever happened to Crocs anyway? They had their burst of popularity in the early to mid-2000s, selling millions of pairs and being spotted on the likes of Michelle Obama, and then promptly became, arguably, the world’s most hated shoe. Websites like IHateCrocs. com began to spring up, and Crocs were voted one of the world’s fifty worst inventions in Time magazine in 2010.

It wasn’t until towards the end of the 2010s when the public’s perception of Crocs began to shift again. It started with 2016’s London Fashion Week, where Scottish fashion designer Christopher Kane had all of his models wear Crocs. Then the iconic ten-inch Balenciaga

Crocs came out in their Spring 2018 collection and quickly spread across Facebook feeds worldwide, with many people thinking ‘surely not…’. Obviously, it hasn’t been the Balenciaga ten-inchers that have caught on, and most people tend to stick to flatter Croc options, or for those of us who are fans of platforms, we stick to the smaller sizes, like two or three inches. So, then, if it wasn’t London Fashion Week or Balenciaga, what made Crocs cool again?

Enter, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rise of casual, comfortable fashion. As much of the world shifted into lockdown and were largely unable to leave the house, many people swapped aesthetics for comfort. Whatever your thoughts on their design, Crocs’ reputation for comfort and practicality is welldeserved. For working from home or catching the sun in your garden, they were perfect for the occasion. Then, they became perfect for

Design: Jack Stamp

popping to the shops. You only took them off to shower or to sleep. For the colder weather, you could change into your fur-lined, winter Crocs.

Then, as lockdown eased, you couldn’t imagine putting on an uncomfortable pair of “work shoes” again, and Crocs took their place—and they were perfect for the job too, being nonslip, wipeable, and quick drying. And perhaps before, people might stare, but now everyone has Crocs, so they get it. They’re just so comfy, they wish they could wear theirs to work too, oh they’d wear them all the time if they could!

Another important contributor to postlockdown fashion are the often tumultuous Gen Z and their individualist fashion. Gen Z are known for banishing much-loved trends like skinny jeans in favour of “ugly” trends like clashing patterns or, some would argue, Crocs. The wider use of social media over lockdown periods has meant that comfort became cool, and people were able to share their fashion ideas and outfit inspiration online through TikTok or Instagram, for example. Then, people would put their own spin on these ideas but keep in certain elements and – boom! – we have the great rebirth of Crocs.

That’s not to say they’re not still just as divisive as they were all those years ago, though. Headlines of The Guardian call them “ugly clogs”, and Buzzfeed News has an article simply and brutally titled ‘Crocs Are Ugly!!!’ –with three exclamation points, to clarify how serious this is for the writer. Ask anyone you know whether they love them or hate them, there’s a 50/50 chance on what answer you’ll get. Mine? I love them.

I’m a proud owner of ten pairs of Crocs – nine I bought, one I won in an official crocs.co.uk giveaway. My mum is buying me my eleventh for Christmas, a pair of the fluffy lined ones.

I’ve worn Crocs round the house, on my balcony, to the shops, to uni, to work, to the ISE pool, to the pub, on holiday abroad, to a nice restaurant, on a night out (and yes, I was let in). The opportunities are boundless. They’re comfy, they’re versatile, they have a dedicated sports mode. What’s not to love?

I think everyone should try Crocs. Just once. If you don’t want to commit, borrow some from a friend. Your life will be changed.

Big Jas’ Red Cabbage

Contributed by the man, the myth, the Section Editor’s dad, Big Jas, this deliciously prepared red cabbage is a great side dish to have alongside your Christmas dinner, or alongside any other dinner at any time of year!

You will need:

1 red cabbage

50g butter

50g dark brown sugar

150ml clear malt vinegar

Salt & pepper

1. Quarter and finely chop the red cabbage whilst you melt the butter in a pan on a low-medium heat .

2. Stir the sugar and vinegar into the butter, and once the sugar has fully dissolved, add in the chopped red cabbage.

3. Cover and cook on a low heat for an hour, but be sure to stir regularly. Serve with your Christmas dinner and enjoy!

Words: Roshni Baillie & Big Jas, Design: Phoebe Wilman

Words: Phoebe Wilman, Design: Katy Blair

Phoebe’s Phestive Galette (P.S. it’s vegan!)

This delicious and fully vegan apple galette is a perfect dessert for after your Christmas dinner – or for after any meal, any time of year! Or even if you just fancy an apple galette, this is the one you wanna be making! Contributed by our amazing Creative Director, Phoebe, this is a recipe you’ll be sure to love.

You will need:

1 pack of Jus-Rol puff pastry (it’s vegan!!!)

2-3 large apples (we recommend Pink Lady or Granny Smith)

50g light brown sugar

1.5 tbsp plain flour

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tsp ground cinnamon (or as much as you want, I hate when recipes put in too LITTLE cinnamon)

1 tsp nutmeg

A lil bit o’ plant milk of your choice to brush the pastry with Optional: sultanas and/or chopped walnuts

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Peel and chop your apples into approx. half centimetre slices and put them into a bowl. In the same bowl, add the light brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix until it’s all incorporated.

2. On a floured surface, roll out your pastry into a rectangle, big enough to fit on a tray. Transfer the pastry onto the tray and prick it all-over with a fork, leaving a 1cm border around the edge.

3. Arrange the apple slices on the pastry within the border you just made, overlapping the slices to make neat rows. If you’re including sultanas/ nuts, sprinkle these on top of the apples now.

4. Fold over the edge of the pastry so that the edge slightly overlaps the apples. Brush the pastry with plant milk and put the galette in the oven.

5. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until the pastry is golden.

6. Serve it by itself or with your favourite vegan ice cream!

DUSA ActionCommunityForum

Jazmine Bennett, the Vice President of Community at DUSA, has created the Community Action Forum, the objective of which is to connect students with resources to support their campaigns. This is important to Jazmine whose goal is to empower the student voice within DUSA; the Community Action Forum makes this more accessible. The Student Voice Hub link at the bottom of this article will lead you to a simple form that you can communicate general ideas you have or highlight a campaign you want to join. Another option, if your idea is more specific, is to contact Jazmine at vpc@dusa.co.uk.

When I met with Jazmine, it was clear that their job as the Vice President of Community means a lot to them. They decided to initiate this community forum after seeing the work of other students’ associations. One example they highlighted was Abertay Students’ Association who have a dedicated webpage which lists all their current and previous campaigns. This is something that Jazmine wants to bring to DUSA to further the exposure of students’

campaigning. So, the Action Forum is there for students at the University of Dundee as a mechanism. Jazmine has also been active within the community before their role. They are the Acting Secretary for Living Rent Dundee, which has pushed for better renting conditions in Dundee, and they were the Dundee Uni Rep for the Dundee Students’ Renter and Chair of the Socialist Society before becoming VPC.

The Forum is open to everyone regardless of academic year and degree level and the campaign can be local, national or international. The Forum aims to have fortnightly meetings, chaired by the VPC, for any students who would like to run a campaign and be supported in this endeavour. External support will also be provided from community professionals from other third sector organisations, such as Shelter and Dundee Pride, alongside helpful guides such as Campaign Toolkit Formation. Some of the campaigns that are involved in the forum include Help not Harm, Girls just wanna be safe! and the Drugs Crisis Community Action Project.

This forum is such a great way for students who are interested in activism to get started in campaigning for their cause. The idea of starting a campaign and doing the work to lead and get results can seem overwhelming even though the passion for the cause may be there. The Facebook group also allows you to find people who support the same cause as you, making your campaign journey less lonely. I look forward to seeing this forum grow as well as seeing what the campaigns will achieve for campus life and the community of Dundee.

Student Voice Hub (not fully ready yet): https://www.dusa.co.uk/get-involved/ student-voice-hub

Vpc email: vpc@dusa.co.uk

Community Action Forum Facebook Group: https://www .facebook.com/ groups/442427481074091

Instagram: @dusa.exec

DUSA Student Representative Council

The Student Representative Council is an extensive council with many roles sitting. Besides the SRC Chair, the other members sitting include the DUSA Executive, School Presidents and the Independent Member of Court (IMC). This means that the ideas you submit will be heard from various members of DUSA who have access to resources to ensure that your idea is supported. Some of the motions that the SRC have passed include the formation of a trans and non-binary swimming group and support for student sex workers and campaigning for the decriminalisation of sex work.

On the SRC, there are many representatives who focus on improving the lives of students. These areas of representation include First Year Rep, Mature Students Rep, Disabilities Rep, Equality, Diversity & Welfare Rep, Woman’s Rep, Black and Minority Ethnic Rep, LGBT+ Rep, Facilities Rep and more. These representatives ensure that every student is represented during their time at the university. If you decide to join the council you will learn several skills including

leadership, meeting deadlines and the ability to speak up. In addition, the SRC also provides an incredible opportunity to understand the key decisions made by DUSA. So, if you decide to get involved in the SRC, you will have a real opportunity to make the changes you have always wanted on campus. You will have seen some of the work the SRC have done during all the times you have spent on campus. The SRC have campaigned for the library to open for 24 hours during the exam diet. The SRC have also added a microwave to the library café, lobbied to have Wednesday afternoons off for sporting activities and for exam timetables to be released as early as possible.

The SRC host meetings every four weeks beginning from 18th October and any feedback you give directly impacts the quality of these meetings. Therefore, if you think there are any improvements that can be made to your student experience during your first couple of weeks back, I would highly encourage you to reach out to your class reps.

The University Executive Group:

DUSA Board of Trustees

Senior Management Team

DUSA Executive Team

DUSA President Meetings

Principal

School Presidents

Deans & Associate Deans of the 8 academic schools

Student Representative Council - Create motions which can become DUSA or university wide policy

Student Voice

Class Reps

Student Feedback

Vice Principals

Senior VP VP International VP Educational VP (Res Knowledge Exchange & Wider Impact) Secretary & Chief Operating Officer

Professional Services

University Court Student Services

External Relations Library & Learning Centre Registry

Human Resources & Organisational Development

Many More...

Inveighing

Against the IGORNANT

Abortion is never an easy topic. After the ‘Roe v. Wade’ case in the USA, abortion rights appear to be in the limelight of every major news report and on the agenda of every government meeting. While all of these things seem to be happening on the other side of the world, certain groups are coming out of the woodwork to try and strike closer to home.

40 Days for Life is an international, pro-life organization that campaigns against abortion all over the world. It was originally started in Texas in 2004 by members of the Brazos Valley Coalition for Life and currently has over one million people participating worldwide.

As of the 28th of September, this group will be parked outside every major health service clinic in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Falkirk, and our own Dundee city. The protests will take place over six weeks from 8am to 8pm, until the 6th of November. The protests will involve a “prayer vigil,” yet, from what has been previously observed, these vigils are not as peaceful as they will have you believe. However, what 40 Days for Life define as peaceful is chanting through loudspeakers, brandishing graphic banners, and harassing those trying to enter. The last thing you need if you’re considering an abortion is to be verbally harassed by a bunch of megaphonewielding, ill-mannered people trying to shove their outdated opinions down your throat, all in the name of a God who, according to the biblical writings, has never actually stated such an opinion.

The campaign group Back Off Scotland has been fighting for the right to harassment-free access to abortion services in Scotland since they were formed in 2020 and they openly oppose 40 Days for Life in their current endeavours. It is comforting to know that while these right-wing groups are out there causing chaos, there are people like Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay, who recently received more than 12,000 responses to her proposed bill on legislation for buffer zones around abortion clinics in Scotland. The Bill would establish a 150-metre safe access zones outside of medical facilities offering abortion services. This has been supported by the Scottish Government, the British Medical Association, and the Royal College of GPs,

Design & Illustration: Gracie Whitehouse

with the First Minister vowing to take a range of actions to improve women’s access to healthcare. MSP Gillian Mackay says:

“These protests are an appalling attempt to scare people out of accessing the healthcare they are entitled to. It will be 40 days of intimidation, and it has no place in a modern and progressive Scotland. The Bill that I am introducing will stop these protests for good…When it comes to human rights, we can’t stand still.”

However, the leader of 40 Days for Life, Shawn Carney, childishly responded to this on Twitter:

“The bigoted @ScotParl wants to ban their long and noble track record of free speech and peaceful assembly because they hate @40daysforlife. Scotland is doing an excellent impersonation of North Korea.”

That’s a bit rich considering he’s from Texas. A place notorious for only respecting straight white cisgender Christian men; a place that will with no doubt turn into a live rendition of the ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ within the next century.

What a lot of these groups seem to not understand is the idea that there are some people out there who aren’t Christian. Therefore, the Bible really has no sway over their lives as well. These pro-lifers also lack a basic understanding of the wide range of medical needs people may have. Are these people spared a second thought? What about women who are forced to go through with a pregnancy even though it may endanger their own lives? Where is the thought for the women who are forced to carry a child who is the product of rape? How psychologically damaging must that be? What about people whose foetus dies in the womb and cannot have it aborted? The severe blood loss and infections it can cause? As I said, no thought whatsoever.

Overall, the people who say that abortions should be illegal should have a lot to answer for. Protests like these only go to show how ignorant they are of the progressive nature of our civilised society. They should know that every foetus they apparently “save,” will have a cost and that cost is the death of a mother on their hands.

What We Build With

How much of who we are is what we are born with? Identity is something built over a lifetime, but a great deal of the supporting blocks are formed during early life. From when we first start showing signs of a personality, we are constantly being ushered into one way of being or another. A toddler laughs when a dog licks them- that’s an animal lover right there. A child puts a plaster on a soft toy and all of a sudden, ‘oh my gosh, they’re going to be a doctor’. It’s not a ridiculous idea, we do display traits in childhood that develop into cornerstones of our adult selves.

Consider even physical traits. Someone born in a body that naturally builds muscle and height with little to no interference from that person’s actions. A natural athlete. It would be near enough expected of that person to participate in sports during their school years, having such a natural advantage. Depending on environment, that might just mean that person has a healthy extracurricular hobby throughout life. A little bit of a different environment though, and perhaps it means that person pursues this sport as an occupation, maybe it becomes a large part of how they would identify themselves.

There’s no inherent ‘good’ or ‘evil’ trait, but many can give a person advantage in life. If

you’re born conventionally attractive you might find the effects of attractiveness bias make your life easier, people inherently trust you and assume the best of your intentions. Of course, you might also find the reverse. If one is feminine presenting, for example, it might become hard to be valued for anything other than superficiality.

Beyond aesthetic influences, genetics affect a host of impacting factors on identity. Genetic predisposition to mental illness means that how much we struggle with them could be the result of a bad lottery draw on DNA. Things like transgenerational trauma can also play a part in deciding the type of person we become, all these aided or swayed by environmental factors.

When it comes to who we are, considering the basics works. If you feel that saying ‘I am a sci-fi lover who enjoys long walks on the beach and salt on my ice cream’ conveys enough of what you hope to tell people, then that is a perfectly good decision. Explaining who we are to the fullest extent isn’t necessary, seeing as whether we say it or not, we just ‘are’. That being said, it can be enlightening to investigate what we were given at birth, those first building blocks of a person to come.

CRYING IN A MONGOLIAN COFFEE HOUSE

My late twenties are a strange time, and I spend much of it drinking coffee in far-flung corners of Asia. This is not because I am some aficionado, some seeker of the world’s best bean. I like drinking it, sure, but the subtle variations between the roasts? I don’t know what they are, and I lack the zeal to go seeking them out. It’s not relevant to what I’m doing. What I’m doing is hiding – seeking refuge from memory.

I drink from the cup and the smell of the roast creeps into my nose. My dad dies his slow death again, and again, and again. The hospice room, the muted grief. The vomiting. Then, dragging myself back to Scotland for university, knowing that I am leaving him forever. The firm handshake, the promise to get sober. Goodbye, dad. The next day, the news of his brain shutting down – the spoon-feeding. Receiving the instruction not to come back, and the staggering anguish I feel at his slow dying. Then, the perverse relief when my aunt calls, distraught, to deliver the news – it’s over. How monstrous I must have seemed to barely react.

Then, the preparations. Writing the speech. Booking the flights. Finally, the stench of death that follows as we do our duty - and the source of the stench. Fixating on these details keeps me in a state of constant, tired emptiness. Unable to

focus on my work. Within weeks of making that crucial deathbed promise, meeting my dealer. The resignation which sweats from the walls of his kitchen. Taking side-roads home. Bingeing to get rid of it, then impulsively buying more. Quitting my shitty job cleaning plates in a pub because my grief is surface-level. Later, over coffee, I inform backpackers I was a sous chef who needed a break.

There is a moment where I crack and flee to Asia. I barely explore – what I do, instead, is relive the trauma of that final week. My coffee ritual. Visiting cafes with my father was a special activity. He did know all about the different roasts, or at least, tried to create an air of worldly knowledge. We would try to replicate our routine in the hospice room, but he struggled to keep things down. The stench of death had caught in the air, lingering constantly below our noses. The stench followed me on my travels around Asia, so I drank more coffee. I may be the only person to buy a onemonth visa for Mongolia and never actually leave Ulaanbaatar, but I’m too drained for desert excursions.

My father, whose Messenger inbox has become a memorial site where people came to pay tribute, is now inundated with messages from me. I am resolute about maintaining ‘contact’.

Sometimes I do it to unload my grief onto him, but sometimes just to talk about my day. The dead can handle this kind of tedium, and I know his voice well enough to emulate a response. It doesn’t work forever – the more I talk, the more he becomes an oppressive figure. He now scolds me for my escape, my failed sobriety – and chastises my overwhelming grief, but refuses me any semblance of closure. His voice grows louder and louder, and my desire for disposable travel relationships grows too.

The calendar slips into 2020. Now I’m in India. I maintain my routine: go for a walk, find coffee, talk to someone, stare at my phone. I pathologically repeat my activities, breathing in just enough of the local scenery to make me feel like I’m actually somewhere. Eventually, my hand is forced by a sudden and unexpected pandemic, and I begrudgingly come home. I’m at my mum’s now. Incapable of finding work in a lockdown, I’m trapped indoors. No coffee routine. Of course, seeing family brings relief – the reassuring rituals

of checking in and caring about others. But I’m capitulating inside; the boredom; the temptation to succumb to my habits again. I type and backspace away messages to my dealer regularly. Then, desperately, in the middle of lockdown, I flee one final time to visit a friend near Glastonbury. This is where release happens, and the healing – finally – begins. I become a monster of grief, and my friend has to deal with this thoroughly broken version of me. Time passes productively. I play guitar a lot and make some new friends. No access to any of the things I have a terrible relationship with. When I’m bound for home, I commit to sobriety. No more smoking of any kind or unprescribed medications. Meat gets thrown out too – why the hell not? Somehow, the timing of this manic set of personal reforms just works. It’s still working, although every day is a delicate balancing act. My relationship with coffee remains steadfast, but it’s not my escape hatch any more.

I don’t have a message today, like, here is how you cope with loss, or even, how do you function as a human being – it’s just my story of loss and overcoming stuff. Putting it together was a struggle. It’s yours to do with as you will.

Cherish the relationship you have with yourself,

forgive yourself and acknowledge that you’re trying your best, trying to hold yourself accountable and change for the better. That is enough.

Our Golden Record

In 1977, NASA launched the Voyager probes from Cape Canaveral, Florida as a part of their aim to explore the solar system and the planets within it. The probe’s primary aims were to explore Saturn and Jupiter, where they made discoveries on their moons and the makeup of Saturn’s rings. Since then, the probes have gone even further, passing and exploring both Neptune and Uranus. Now, they’re travelling into interstellar space, exploring the edge of our solar system and the void beyond. To this day the probes still accomplish their main mission of mapping the universe, however, they also had a second, slightly more personal mission.

Attached to the side of both probes, is a 12” golden plated disk, more famously known as the ‘golden record.’ It contains a collection of images and sounds put together by a NASA Committee, helmed by the famous astronomer, Carl Sagan. The goal of the disk was to provide a detailed portrayal of humanity and its many cultures, languages, and beliefs, as well as accurately portraying what life on earth is like - its nature and cultures, its many struggles, and more. All this was done so that should any other lifeforms or beings ever came across it, they would be introduced to our race.

Therefore, the record’s contents were of exceptional importance. The disk itself has images engraved on it, inspired by how John Lennon engraved words on his records. Included was a basic drawing of what humans looked like, in case whoever found it wanted to meet us, alongside an image of our DNA, and the view of our solar system from our place on earth. On the actual record, it contains greetings in 55 different languages, ranging from ancient languages all the way up to ones still used today. On top of this, to show what life on earth really felt like, natural sounds were added, such as the noises of animals, waves crashing in the sea and the clap of thunder.

The creative team spent a lot of time deciding what music should be included. They easily decided on a collection of music from diverse cultures to represent all the people of earth. Classical music such as Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart were chosen to represent the planet; the mathematical and rhythmic nature of the music might go beyond language for other species that may find it. A more controversial choice was “Johnny B Goode” by Chuck Berry, which was called ‘adolescent’ by a NASA supervisor. Carl Sagan responded by saying “Earth is home to many adolescents.” All this as an attempt to let the potential others out there have a glimpse at the human experience.

Amongst the scientific ideas behind the record, the more personal and human side slips through, even by accident. Hidden amongst the greetings was a message from Carl Sagan’s own son, saying “Hello, from all the children of earth.” Similarly, amongst the sounds of nature and animals, they decided to include the phrase “per aspera ad astra” - through hardship to the stars - in morse code, the exact hope for the mission. Other sounds, like the noise of two people kissing, of laughter, a mother playing with her child were also included. The most human touch, however, came from the creative director Ann Druyan, who had her brainwaves measured when thinking of earth – all from her own personal experiences to that of her knowledge of ancient civilisations. However, a few days earlier, her partner, Carl Sagan, had proposed to her.

As such, when her brain waves were recorded, she thought of the moment she was proposed to and how she felt; it recorded the sound of her brain falling in love. To those who have heard it, it sounded like “a string of firecrackers going off down the street.”

By the time the record was complete it had become less of a scientific mission and more of a love letter, less of an experiment and more a message of hope. As put by the president at the time, Jimmy Carter, “our thoughts and our feelings, we are attempting to survive our time and live into yours.” While the Voyager probes are set to stop working by 2030, the disks were described as the “longest lasting object crafted by human hands”; they’ll likely outlive us all. So, in hundreds of thousands of years we will be remembered by the sound of greetings, laughter, and love.

The golden disk was a mission of hope, that either we hear a response, or that we are remembered by these things which we found most important.

“less of a scientific mission and more of a love letter”

A Tale of Lineage

The past two years have certainly made viruses a household name. It has gained somewhat a negative reputation in the public eye, but we cannot turn our back on the relics that its ancestors have left in our genome.

Geneticists and molecular biologists excavate this wonder of life, our DNA, to unearth the artefacts of our past. This story is about the lineage that made us who we are today by the traces of a different lineage that lives through us!

Yes, 8% of our genome has somewhat of a viral origin. These elements that form the sequences in our genome are termed the Human

endogenous retroviruses (HERVs). These retroviruses infected the germline of primates, entering their genome, before accumulating and over time. The process that governed its integration into the genome is elaborate and understanding the life cycle of a retrovirus is necessary.

The virus initially enters the cell, un-coating itself to release its contents. Following this, the RNA is reverse transcribed into a double-stranded DNA by reverse transcriptase, to then be integrated into the human genome, an action performed by the viral integrase.

Once in the genome, these reverse transcribed RNAs act as a template for the next cDNAs, allowing for the next integration event. Eventually, these newly integrated cDNAs become an essential part of many processes in our bodies.

Many studies have tried to understand their role in our bodies, but the usual pattern observed pertains to their silencing via methylation –

“We are vessels carrying these relics which could unknowingly save or doom us.”

a process during which the DNA is modified so that these sequences are no longer easily accessible for the cellular machinery to work on. Then a stimulation again brings about their expression. But then, are these inserts good or bad for our health?

T conferring both useful and harmful effects. These inserts are believed to have facilitated the propagation of life, as seen in Syncytin-1 and Syncytin-2. And yet, the flip side of these inserts is their possible role in neurodegenerativediseases like multiple sclerosis. We are vessels, carrying these relics which could unknowingly save or doom us.

Such is the nature of life; in realising the propagation of its hosts, these viral relics remind us of a form of genetic collaboration that evolved while reflecting on the war for differential survival.

Design: Fiona Howard

Musk’s Twitter Takeover

The world’s richest man is no stranger to controversy, yet Elon Musk has recently been embroiled in the fallback from one of his most financially and intellectually questionable endeavours; buying Twitter.

On the 14th of April 2022, Musk offered 44 billion dollars to buy the company, stating his desire to loosen rules on free speech and combat “spambots” on the site. After a tumultuous period of bureaucratic stagnancy, Musk rescinded his offer (citing Twitter’s lack of cooperation on data and its handling of staff), leading the company to promptly sue the billionaire. Now, Musk has resumed his takeover of the site, yet the damage has been done, with Twitter’s share prices being diminished since the prior deal. Whilst ego-driven, Musk’s Twitter takeover touches on further sinister notes, being yet another tech-based purchase made by billionaires in the past decade. Monopolization is not a new phenomenon (look to the empires of Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates), yet in increasingly divided times such monopolies indicate a growing trend in tech being used to influence public opinion. Could Musk’s acquisition of Twitter be less about “free speech” and more about mass manipulation through the site?

Far from being a subtle figure on the app, Musk has amassed a following of over 80 million as of his most recent tweet, playing into the quirky tech persona that he has built up over the years and frequently tweeting in a manner that seems more akin to a bad-mannered schoolboy rather than the single wealthiest person on Earth. Elon Musk has proven himself as a man who, while undoubtedly successful (at least in a capitalistic sense), has yet to give the general public a reason to consider him as anything other than a man-child with a fortune to waste, with his often erratic temperament and public feuds with other celebrities drawing just as much admiration as it does disgust. Indeed, Musk has repeatedly claimed that his takeover of Twitter is not out of any desire for personal gain but for the ‘improving of free speech’ –despite Musk not showing any desire for such freedom outside the app. With his takeover of the company almost complete, Twitter is undoubtedly going to become a more divisive space than ever, with Musk’s removal of speech restrictions likely to increase the number of hate speech and extremism on an app that already struggles with such things.

Georgi Zhechev Arrowyn Williams

Emma Sturrock James McLeish

Catriona Pritchard Roshni Baillie Cameron Doherty

The Magdalen is published by Dundee University Student Association (DUSA).

Applications Open

Creative Directors

What is it?

The Magdalen need two new Creative Directors! As a CD you will be in charge of the Creative Team & will do a redesign of The Magdalen! This is an excellent addition to the CV and bound to impress any employer. This role proves you are proactive, adaptable & able to produce amazing work.

What

do I need?

A portfolio which shows strong graphic design skills, proficiency with Adobe Programs, a sense of style & a can-do attitude! If this describes you we would love to hear from you!

How do I Apply? Deadline: 01/12

To apply send your portfolio to: ojbaird@dundee.ac.uk & plwilman@dundee.ac.uk. Informal interviews will take place on Teams or in person around late December.

Upcoming Events

22 November Yellow Jelly Vintage Sale

Yellow Jelly are back with a wide array of vintage pieces, from funky flannels to sports sweatshirts! Head down to Mono from 10am to find yourself a sustainable bargain!

01 December DUSDC Christmas Ceilidh

Join the Scottish Dance Society for their annual Christmas Ceilidh right here in DUSA! Look forward to a night of music, dancing, singing, and drinking! All ability levels welcome.

10 December

DJCAD Techno Takeover

DJCAD Takeover is back, hosted by DJCAD Textiles Class of ’23! Lineup includes FLOORABOVE, KOLECTIV and DEMS. Saturday 10th December, 11pm-3am, at DUSA The Union. Tickets on sale at: www.eventbrite.com/e/457166867407

09 January Welcome Week

Welcome back for Semester 2! We hope you’re feeling refreshed—and if not, don’t worry, because more Mags will be coming your way...