Issue 92 - February / Mar 22

Dundee Student-Led Magazine

And Women Like Hunting Witches Too 06 Exploring feminism and the media industry by looking at Taylor Swift’s career.

Club Night Fling or a Wedding Ring? 46 A reflection on romantic relationships during university.

FEB/MAR 2022

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You Don't Look Gay 54 "Where we are now in terms of queer expression is an era defined by distinctive hairstyles, gender-bending clothing and the everyday inclusion of risqué items."

www.themagdalen.co.uk @themagdalenmag The Magdalen Magazine @themagdalenmag The Magdalen Magazine

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A message from your Editor-in-Chief:

A message from your Creative Directors:

Welcome to our first issue of 2022,

We are really excited to share with you our debut issue as Creative Directors! We have both been designing for the Magdalen for years and are excited to have taken the next step from designers to Creative Directors! We have some exciting plans for the future of the magazine and want to keep on supporting the creative expression and collaboration that the Magdalen enables. We are both passionate about the collaborative opportunities provided by our amazing student network.

When was the last time The Magdalen acknowledged Valentine’s Day? It was well before 2017 and we feel no shame! We’re here to serve you original ideas not clichés.

Whether you’re one of our avid readers or you have only now discovered The Magdalen - take a break, have a read and enjoy some well-deserved rest.

This month, we’re providing you with over sixty pages filled with topics ranging from the infamous ‘Prince’ Andrew scandals to a discussion on various ways of refreezing the Arctic. If you’re looking for a break-up story with a twist, you’re in the right place too. With no further spoilers, I encourage you to indulge in the mixture of poetry, creative writing, journalism, photography and design that you’re about to enter.

If you find yourself in love with what we do and would like to become a part of it, don’t forget to visit our website regularly to check for new openings or contact us with your own ideas. While we take pride in the quality of our Magazine - we are growing and we’re here to support your innovative ideas, be it in print, video or audio form.

Enjoy, Marcin Kielczewski

A big thank you to Robyn Black and Zhaneta Zhekova for their assistance and guidance during the transition and for creative direction which sets a high standard for us to continue. We would also like to thank our editor-in-chief Marcin, who is always happy to help and one of the most hard-working people we have ever met.

We are thankful to the creative team for being so welcoming and a small shout out to DJCAD graduates Louise James and Lisa Dyer. They were the creative directors when we both started designing, making them the predecessors to Robyn & Zhaneta. They have contributed to our progression from designers to creative directors. (We would also like to note the girl power among the generations of CDs!) Finally, a thank you to all the writers and designers who have contributed to this issue with their immense creative and passionate energy thus producing a high quality of work. We hope you enjoy this issue as we are really proud to make it our debut.

Reflect, Reset, Go! Phoebe & Livvie

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cknowledgement

SENIOR TEAM EDITOR IN CHIEF CREATIVE DIRECTORS SENIOR DEPUTY EDITOR DEPUTY EDITORS SENIOR FEATURE EDITOR DIGITAL MANAGER

Marcin Kielczewski Olivia Baird & Phoebe Wilman Luiza Stoenescu Andrew Elton & Marleen Käsebier Sofia Rönkä Lucy Murray

CREATIVE TEAM PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER ILLUSTRATION MANAGER SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERS

Lottie Belrose Karly Yu Militsa Ruseva & Sonia Hanke

EDITORIAL TEAM ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT CREATIVE WRITING CURRENT AFFAIRS INTERNATIONAL ON/OFF CAMPUS OPINIONS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Mareth Burns Dani McFawns; Andrew Young Luke Burr Sehar Mehmood Emma Sturrock Bronte Chalmers Flora Caldwell

COPY EDITORS

SENIOR STAFF WRITERS

PUBLISHED BY

Niamh Alexander; Kathryn Boyle; Rhiannon Burnett; Drew Campbell; Maria Georgieva; Rachel Goodman; Pascale Lee; Cat Pritchard; Kyl Tan; Jennifer Thomson Akshay Anand; Dawid Czeczelewski; Freya Giles; Hannah Hamilton; Ryan Petrie; Georgi Zhechev Dundee University Students’ Association

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contents 06 10

Feature

And Women Like Hunting Witches Too

Arts & Entertainment

Horror and its Political History To Sir, With Love. In Memoriam: Sidney Poitier Perception as Reality Groundhog Day The Harry Potter Cast Reunite Doctor Who: The Invasion (1968)

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Creative Writing

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Current Affairs

40 46 52

International

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I Don’t Need You Tableau My Painting Reflection In Reflective Moments Here’s The Shadow of a Thought Singing Belly Time and Time Again

“Work Events”: The Hypocrisy of the Conservative Government Revolution Not Too Far Afield The Djokovic Fiasco Prince Andrew

Different Country - Different Personality?

Protests in Kazakhstan Coffee or Koffie?

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10 12 14 16 17 18

20 21 22 23 24 26 28

30 32 34 36

40 42 44

On/ Off Campus Club Night Fling or a Wedding Ring?

Society Spotlight: Social Society Finding Dundee’s Best Ramen

46 49 50

Opinions Second Class Citizen You Don’t Look Gay Between the Worlds Veganuary - The Way Forward?

52 54 55 56

Science & Technology Me, Myself - and Them?

Is It Getting Hot in Here?

Can We Refreeze the Arctic?

Psychology and Neuroscience: The Architects Behind Habit Formation The Folds of Life - A Journey of Reflection: Re-evaluation and Progress

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Words: Lucy Murray

And Women Like Hunting Witches Too !

CONTENT WARNING: EATING DISORDERS

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Feature

veryone has probably heard of Taylor Swift.

And many of us probably still remember how she quickly became well known for being a serial dater, writing songs about her exes, and being friends with all those models.

Ten years ago, we read the articles and blogs about her and scoffed. Her music was secondary.

Dragging her name through the mud to get readers was more important. After all, she was a remarkably easy target, and media outlets got a free pass when attacking her. She was mocked for her short relationships and how frequent the media made them out to seem. Even now you can find lists of everyone she dated, comparing all the men and guessing which songs they inspired.

But when you count the names of those past boyfriends, the ones that we know of at least, there are only eleven, spanning from 2008 to 2022. After everything we have heard, shouldn’t that number be a lot bigger? Gossip magazines made us think she was dating several men a year, going through them callously, without a care. She was a young woman doing what all young women do: dating around in an attempt to find the one for her. Who can blame her for that? The public apparently.

Only Taylor was attacked, not the men she was with. Because, apparently, men can date however many people they want, their reputation only getting better. Women, though, have a limited number of relationships they are allowed to have before being branded a whore.

Taylor’s career started when she was just sixteen, with her first album Taylor Swift, which was

released by Big Machine Records throughout America and Canada in 2006, and internationally in 2008. She was just a teenager and already people had an issue with her personal life. And she was the one that absorbed all the blame. Now pictures of her and John Mayer are chilling: a nineteenyear-old being dated by a thirty-two-year-old. But when ‘Dear John’ was released (a song inspired by their relationship), it was Taylor who took all the heat not the man, over ten years her senior, who had pursued a woman barely a step into adulthood.

The same happened with Jake Gyllenhaal, nine years her senior. Older men were dating the young singer, who wasn’t even of legal drinking age in the US, and they were applauded for it. When an older woman dates a younger man, she is called predatory: a cradle-snatcher, a cougar. But when it’s the other way around, everything is forgiven.

It wasn’t just her relationship status that the media focused on. Her body also became the subject of public debate. In her 2020 Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, Taylor opened up about how damaging it was to constantly see remarks about her body. Saying she looked pregnant; that her thighs and stomach were too big; or her ass too small. I have known people at school who, when their appearance was constantly criticised by classmates and their family, developed an eating disorder. Unfortunately, Taylor was the same, except instead of a class full of people whispering about her weight, it was hundreds of thousands of people online. In the documentary, she recounts starving herself and feeling faint during shows.

Now, if a media outlet was to comment on her

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Design: Phoebe Wilman

But came back a new woman.

After a year-long silence, Taylor’s new album, Reputation, changed the game. Taylor reclaimed her career and, as she put it in her documentary, stopped living just for the approval of strangers.

For example, one of her biggest changes was breaking her silence on politics. She spoke out against Donald Trump, encouraged all her fans to vote, and made her support for LGBTQ+ rights public. She had decided that it was time to fight for what she believed in instead of burying her head in the sand. Throughout her career, she had been told to keep out of politics, that intervening was career suicide. But she knew how hypocritical it would be to go on stage during June and celebrate Pride Month with her fans

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All this changed after the drama with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. West released a song, apparently with Taylor’s permission, that called the younger singer a “bitch” and said they “might still have sex”. When Taylor spoke out against the derogatory lyrics, Kardashian and West released a recording of a conversation between the trio where Taylor agreed to the lyrics.

Taylor was branded a liar. People said that she was playing victim. However, later it was proved that the recording had been edited. Taylor vanished for a year.

Feature

weight, they would face backlash. But the body positivity movement had not yet developed in the early and mid-2010s; there was no protection for women in the spotlight.

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Words: Lucy Murray

“All the liars are calling me one/ Nobody’s heard from me for months/ I’m doing better than I ever was.”

— ‘Call It What You Want’, Reputation.

while a Republican opposing LGBTQ+ rights was running for senate in her home state. 65,000 people registered to vote within twenty-four hours of her encouraging fans to do so. She is known to be one of the most influential celebrities when it came to the 2020 presidential elections. And now she publicly endorses the Black Lives Matter Movement, the Equality Act and gun control reform.

It is clear her career survived. If anything, it flourished, especially with two new albums, Reputation and Lover, hitting the charts. While both of these albums have a very different feel to them, Reputation being harsher and angrier, Lover being softer and more joyful, both of them call out

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This created a backdrop for her newest albums, Folklore and Evermore. The two featured a complete genre shift from what her fans were used to, and were some of her first albums that she actually had ownership rights of. While the tones of Folklore and Evermore are smoothing, the lyrics of them are damning: ‘mad woman’ goes extensively into how women are unable to react to situations without being told that they are overreacting. And ‘the last great american dynasty’ speaks on the societal pressure placed on women and the criticism they face whenever something goes wrong. Taylor also made a blatant point that not everything she writes is centred around relationships, as she had so often been accused of. For example, ‘epiphany’ was inspired by her grandfather’s history of fighting in World War II as well as the healthcare workers on the frontline of the pandemic. ‘marjorie’ is Taylor remembering her grandmother. And, of course, ‘no body, no crime’ (featuring HAIM) is about a woman murdering the man who cheated on and killed her best friend - not exactly a love song.

Presently, due to disputes over ownership rights, Taylor is re-recording all of her old music, adding twists to songs that she didn’t have the freedom to include before, as well as releasing songs that previous producers deemed unfit to add to her albums. Her newest re-recording is her version of the Red album, featuring a ten-minute version of ‘All Too Well’. Artistic freedom is now solely hers.

She is the one in charge of her career. She is the one in charge of her future.

Taylor’s career over the past decade and a half has shone a light on things that were so blatantly ignored before. Exposing sexism on such a large scale has helped women reflect on sexist aspects of their own lives, personally and professionally, and has made the double standard between men and women more apparent to everyone. How have

The Wanted and Ed Sheeran written songs about their exes but remained uncriticised? How many rap songs have you listened to that slated women, calling them bitches and gold diggers, without being challenged by the media? Taylor has been called pathetic for writing songs about her exes while men are allowed to say whatever they like about women in their songs and the media turns a blind eye. Male performers, excluding those in K-Pop, aren’t held to the same physical and aesthetical standards either. Women perform in high heels and gowns, they go all out, and yet they are still criticised if they show too much or too little skin. After the Manchester bombings, a 2017 MailOnline article put the blame upon Ariana Grande for wearing revealing clothes. Yet if a man was to perform in joggers and a hoodie, not a word would be said. That is to say, male bodies aren’t commented on as much or used as a weapon against them. Men aren’t called whores for having a dating life. They can make ten times as many mistakes as a woman and still be forgiven. Boys will be boys, right?

“Exposing sexism on such a large scale has helped women reflect on sexist aspects of their own lives, personally and professionally, and has made the double standard between men and women more apparent to everyone.”

While society is changing, and mostly for the better, it is still important that we remember the views that were so widespread just a few years ago and how easy it is to fall back into them. We need to check ourselves when a thought enters our minds about how a stranger looks. While the majority may not endorse the views thrown at Taylor in the past, that doesn’t mean they are gone or that feminism has done its job. There is still a long way to go and many mountains to cross. But when artists like Taylor Swift speak out for progress, I have hope that one day we’ll get there.

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the treatment Taylor received by the media and people online, as well as the sexism that leaked into every aspect of her career to date. Her song, ‘The Man’, spoke of the double standards in the music industry, and how for everything she was criticised for, men were applauded and clapped on the back.

Another song, ‘You Need To Calm Down’ featured numerous LGBTQ+ celebrities in order to bring attention to the GLAAD organisation and to point out online hate towards women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, in particular.

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Design: Phoebe Wilman

Words: Teigan Green

H ORROR

and its POLITICAL

HISTORY

10 SArts + Ents

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orror has always been one of the most politically charged genres in cinema. Horror films can often challenge social norms by showing the audience their worst fears, characteristics or even reality. Sometimes, these films zoom out on a larger issue, such as racism, and show us the innate horribleness of the thing. Any talking point you’re not allowed to bring up over dinner has probably been discussed in horror. I believe this is the reason why a lot of people love horror movies.

You want to be thrilled and entertained, but you also want to be uncomfortable. Horror’s ability to challenge convention and preconceived ideas is why I don’t think any other genre can achieve that awkward, yet amused feeling as well as horror.

Horror had a big boom in the 80s largely because of US President Ronald Reagan, with horror masterpieces such as The Shining (1980), and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) released. When Reagan’s suffocatingly conformist opinions echoed - and eventually attacked cinema, horror creators stood up against this by creating gorier, sleazier and weirder films. When the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America, who designed a system for age restricting movies) enforced stricter guidelines for these ratings, horror creators started releasing them on VHS in retaliation.

Some examples of horror being politically charged comes from some of that genre’s best films to be produced. Candyman (1992), focuses on the themes of race and social class in the United States. You also have Black Christmas (1974), which featured an abortion storyline only one year after the Roe V. Wade case – a case which led to the protection of a pregnant woman’s right to choose to have an abortion without government restriction.

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You don’t even have to go back in time to see examples of horror holding political undertones. The Love Witch, released in 2016, is a feminist technicolour horror film which explores desire, lust, and rage. The movie provides us with a fresh view on cinema by showing the film through a distinct female gaze. One of the horrors to come out of 2021, Titane, was a dissertation on queerness and toxic masculinity, both key themes that have been discussed in current media more than ever before.

One of my favourite horror films, Midsommar (2019), is absolutely filled with political undertones. Viewers have noticed that the backdrop of the film is coated with white supremacy. The movie may be an intentional mockery of anti-immigrant teachings utilised by many on the far right. From the moment the movie showed the cult’s commune, the screen filled with white, symbolising the unity of the cult. The sky, the clothes, the people, drenched in white. Colour on the clothes and skin of the outsiders immediately showed a visible hint of otherness. The outsiders who are used to benefit the commune are recruited and then tossed away once their purpose has been served. However, Josh - the only main character of colour - is thrown away by the commune, after serving no purpose, as they feel they have no real use for him. The white supremacist subtext of the movie sticks out when rewatching with a close eye.

Comparable to my last point, a common trope in horror is that the black guy dies first. Jordan Peele, tired of a lack of diversity in films, created Get Out, which was centred around the black experience. The film tackles racism, classism, as well as white privilege.

His choice to have a seemingly sweet and loving white woman play the protagonist’s girlfriend lured us into a false sense of security about an apparently stable and equal relationship, before relieving the movie of an overused white saviour trope.

Horror being political is slowly moving on from being a hidden subtext: instead, creators are using politics as a plotline. It is apparent horror movies are more than just entertainment. If we were to remove political commentary from horror, there wouldn’t be much left to salvage within the genre.

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Politics also bled into the films creations themselves.

While horror can be revolutionary in its tackling of pre-held social norms, the genre can still recite the traditional views of its time. One example of this is The Silence of the Lambs (1991), providing horror with a gross misrepresentation and harmful depiction of transgenderism. Actors like Mark Patton, known for his work on Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, ended up with a career which quickly burnt out. The horror was rife with gay subtext, but instead of being celebrated for tackling a taboo subject at the time, the movie was bashed. This was partly due to Hollywood being vey homophobic at the time, as well as the AIDS epidemic, which many used to further vilify gay people.

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Design: Patrik Vojtas

Words: Georgi Zhechev

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To Sir,

with Love O

n the 6th of January 2022, one of the biggest proponents of equality and civil liberty who graced the silver screen with his presence, the irreplaceable and unforgettable Sidney Poitier, passed away. Spanning a career of more than five decades, a lot can be written about the talent of the recently deceased actor or about the causes he fought for. In this text, however, I will not attempt to give a full account of Poitier’s life or of his roles.

Instead, I will focus on his first major role in which he managed to give a hint of his talent and of his potential which later earned him a lot of instantly recognisable roles and awards, including an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1964. In fact, that was the first Academy Award given to a Black actor in that category, a feat that would not be achieved again until Denzel Washington’s win in 2002 for Training Day.

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Design: Militsa Ruseva

In Memoriam:

Luther Brooks’ own internal insecurities and doubts are central to the film’s style which is quite close to the film noir stylistic. After all, the whole plot of the film revolves around the doctor’s struggle to prove his innocence in a threatening, violent world in which one gets killed simply because of the colour of his skin.

However, the film noir traits do not end with the plot and thematic elements. Visually, the film employs a lot of noir-ish visual elements as well. For instance, when Brooks treats Ray Biddle and his brother Johnny who is unconscious, the bar-like shadows and the troubled expression of the doctor create a sense of despair, as it looks as if he is imprisoned. Furthermore, the silence emphasising Johnny’s breathing while Dr. Brooks

administers a spinal tap procedure; the medium shot of him which keeps Johnny off-camera, connoting his vulnerability; the cut to the orderly and the guard waiting outside the room after Johnny’s tragic death and Ray’s frantic screams all underscore the noir visual characteristics. The racial issues which are central to the main protagonists’ self-inflicted fears and doubts make the film all the more complex, and the mixing of those elements adds to the social commentary which the film emits. The main message that the film tries to convey is that although total equality is not easily realised – especially at this point in the 1950s - people should not be discriminated against. All people need to feel that they are valued for what they do best; precisely that kind of recognition makes people like what they do and urges them to carry on doing it.

All in all, Sidney Poitier is an actor who always stood for the causes for which his alter ego Dr. Luther Brooks also fought for. Other notable films in which Sidney Poitier played similar roles and which are also worth a watch are The Defiant Ones (1958), Porgy and Bess (1959), Paris Blues (1961), Lilies of the Field (1963), To Sir, with Love (1967), In the Heat of the Night (1967) and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967). Sidney Poitier left a lasting legacy in the cinematic world with his inimitable acting style, his radiant smile and his warm-hearted persona. Poitier’s acting success paved the way for many Black actors in their quest for recognition and equal opportunities. However, there is still a lot to be desired in that regard, even if progress has been made since the 1950s and 60s.

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No Way Out is a film that came out in 1950, and which featured Sidney Poitier’s first credited role. In it, the young Poitier portrays a recently graduated medical doctor – Dr. Luther Brooks – working in an all-white hospital. Although he receives support and guidance from his former tutor and current mentor, Dr. Dan Wharton, things go from bad to worse for him after he is assigned to look after two wounded burglars.

One of them, Ray Biddle, turns out to be a vehement racist whose main source of happiness is linked to others’ misery and disparagement. In addition, in the beginning Dr. Brooks is portrayed as a person lacking self-confidence and faith in his own capabilities: he himself is conscious of his racial difference from most of his colleagues and in turn that makes him doubt his own judgement. Ray Biddle’s crude comments and his unwillingness to be treated by a Black doctor simply adds insult to injury.

Arts + Ents

SIDNEY POITIER

Words: Angus Coleman

Perception as Reality

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he 2019 puzzle game Superliminal revolves around a single, deceptively simplistic core concept- ‘perception is reality’. In the game, you play as a faceless, silent and unnamed protagonist who is undergoing a new experimental form of dream therapy.

As you fall asleep, you are plunged into the world of your dreams, where the game takes place. However, as time goes by, the clinicians begin to lose control of the process, as you explore a series of increasingly impressionistic and surreal environments.

Superliminal’s core mechanic is, to put it bluntly: insanely cool. The game uses the first-person perspective to its full potential, as the way the player sees objects determines how they exist in the environment. You are able to pick up objects and move them around the space, so that they may appear closer or further away to you. When you let go of an object, it will have shrunk or grown to that size. This power is used to solve the game’s puzzles. As you can probably tell, it is hard to do it justice in writing. You need to see it working to fully appreciate it.

The ability of the player to harness optical illusions in order to solve puzzles is implemented fantastically from a gameplay perspective. When I first experienced this in Superliminal’s opening chambers, I spent several minutes shrinking and expanding the first objects the game gave me access to - a few chess pieces marvelling at the smoothness and speed with which I could resize them. It’s the kind of concept that makes me want to keep playing the game simply to see how it can be used, as well as continuing the game’s narrative.

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. As the player advances through the game, the concept of manipulating the environment through optical illusions expands in scope considerably. A particular favourite moment of mine is an area involving two doors which connect, but can be scaled and moved independently from one another. However, the scale of the player is tied to the scale of the door they emerge from.

In short, the player is able to manipulate their own size. That’s all I’ll give away here in relation to that particular puzzle, as it really should be experienced first-hand, and is wildly impressive.

Another thing that I think the game absolutely nails is atmosphere. You progress through nine levels that represent different dream environments. Just as the scope and intricacy of the puzzles increases, so too does the disorienting nature of the environments.

The opening level takes place in a series of clean, sterile rooms and hallways which are entirely empty save for the objects you interact with in order to solve the puzzles. The clinical feel of this area mirrors the circumstances surrounding Superliminal’s premise - the experimental dream therapy. Other environments show up later, such as the corridors of a hotel. And during an extensive sequence where light levels are lowered the game even flirts with horror elements, which are resolved in a hilarious anti-climax that I won’t spoil.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is about the ‘vibe’ of Superliminal that I like so much. Somehow the combination of the empty hallways and physics-defying architecture, with faint smooth jazz

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From a narrative perspective, the game is relatively lightweight. Once the dream state begins to malfunction and the clinicians overseeing your treatment lose track of you, the game’s story revolves around attempts to wake up and avoid being trapped in the dream. A series of audio logs from Dr Glenn Pierce - the game’s only named character - explain how you are becoming increasingly difficult to track as you progress further down the rabbit hole and the dream environments become increasingly unstable.

Other than this, there is little going on in Superliminal’s story.

“It feels almost like reality, but not quite.”

However, to me that isn’t really a problem. I think that games are not only a fantastic artistic medium, but also a useful tool which enables us to explore concepts and ideas that simply couldn’t be examined with the same depth in say, film or literature. The movement of objects using forced perspective and other results of the player’s perception becoming the reality they exist in is a perfect example of this.

Seeing how this thought-provoking concept can be used is engaging enough on its own. This results in a mesmerising and technically impressive experience unlike anything else out there!

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playing through a distorted PA system manages to absolutely nail the feeling of being in a dream. It feels almost like reality, but not quite. Aside from the obviously impossible central game mechanic of perception as reality, the environments and visuals are not overtly unrealistic (for most of the game), instead relying on subtle audio-visual elements and level design to create a vaguely uncanny dream-like mood.

Arts + Ents

Design: Jenny Thomson

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Arts + Ents

Words: Hannah Hamilton, Design: Lewis Elks

T

ell me if this sounds familiar - you wake up at the same time you did yesterday, you run through the same morning routine, the day is spent lethargically going through the motions (or perhaps manically avoiding the motions) and at the end of the day you return to the same place where you will wake up tomorrow and do it all again.

For the majority of the past two years, we have all been stuck in our own personal Groundhog Day scenarios.

If there’s anything we can learn from a time loop movie, it is that breaking the cycle is a powerful thing. In Groundhog Day, Phil (Bill Murray) breaks his loop by becoming a better person and this allows him to kiss Rita (Andy Macdowell) and move on with his life into the presumably happy (but definitely new) sunset.

Self-improvement in times of stagnation is hard, but even in doing the same thing every day, we continue to grow. To live without changing attitudes or outlooks requires a stubborn resistance to life, as the time loop movie would teach us. We begin with an unhappy

and unpleasant protagonist who has become disagreeable, cruel or jaded in some way. For example, Phil is an egotistical news anchor with little to no interest in anyone but himself.

The protagonist often begins being self-absorbed and learns over time to focus more on the people around them. This shift in interest from the self to others is usually what allows them to begin to change their destiny. In doing so, they often find new things to do, even within the exact same day. For Bill Murray’s character this involved befriending an entire town, learning to speak French and becoming an adept pianist.

For us it may look more like reaching out to friends and becoming a moderate to adept keeper of houseplants, things like these can help break the loop.

The time loop movie has become a genre of its own and whilst Groundhog Day was not the first of its kind, it certainly might be worth a rewatch as we break new ground in 2022. Of course, if you’re tired of Bill Murray, I might also suggest Palm Springs (2020) or Russian Doll (2019) for similar themes in a more modern setting. Here’s hoping that this year, the change will come!

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Words: Kirsten Moreton, Design: Sonia Hanke

The Harry Potter Cast Reunite

“Return to Hogwarts” had an amazing turnout from the cast, featuring interviews with Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Chris Columbus, Mark Williams and James and Oliver Phelps, as well as an emotional in memoriam section honoring cast members that had passed such as Alan Rickman and Helen McCrory.

The special begins with cast members reuniting, most of them not having seen each other since the franchise ended in 2011. The reactions of long-lost friends hugging once again are so real and relatable to watch even for non-Harry Potter fans - as missing friends and family is something we have all experienced in the past couple of years. The show continues with interviews from the cast as they talk through key scenes from each of the movies in order. The narration comes with the addition of behind-the-scenes shots that give insight into the movies’ production as well as how they were filmed.

Directors from the movies also discussed their ideas and thoughts behind them and explained some of the more subtle ideas within the series, like the symbolism they used and the overall atmosphere they wanted to achieve. For example, Mike Newell, the director of the Goblet of Fire explained how he wanted the film to be more of a coming-of-age story so it could be relatable for teenagers. He thought this would help establish the series as something not exclusively for children. He also did this by including the death of Cedric Diggory as he believed adding this element created a more mature tone as Harry was forced to grow up with these traumatic situations.

The new year’s special continues with more touching memories from the cast including Emma Watson opening up about her crush on Tom Felton who played Draco as well as her closeness with the entire cast.

There are far too many sentimental moments to include in one article, but the special is well worth a watch! The best word to describe it would be heartwarming; seeing how the actors grew up together and became like a family.

The special is available to watch now on HBO and may be returning to more streaming services soon.

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Arts + Ents

n New Year’s Day the beloved Harry Potter cast reunited after 20 years to reminisce and reflect on iconic scenes, off screen memories and the moments that made the franchise so special.

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Words: Andrew Young

Doctor Who: The Invasion (1968)

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Design: Belle Roach

D

octor Who in the late 60s was a national treasure. Millions of viewers would tune into the black and white adventures of the Doctor and his companions every week. The show also proved itself to be adaptable to change as Season 4 saw the departure of William Hartnell as the Doctor and the introduction of Patrick Troughton. Alongside Troughton came new companions and the popularisation of Base Under Siege stories, where the Doctor and companions are trapped in a small location surrounded by hostile aliens.

‘The Invasion’ tells the story of Tobius Vaughn, the head of electronics company International Electromatics, and his collaboration with the Cybermen to take over Earth. The story itself is an interesting one and a true classic. It gradually builds tension and intrigue over several episodes before the Cybermen emerge from the sewers of London. The most interesting aspect of the serial is the setting - instead of space stations and alien planets, our protagonists are placed on contemporary Earth alongside the military task force UNIT who arguably act as the agents of change in the story, with the Doctor acting as more of an advisor.

‘The Invasion’ set the standard for Doctor Who into the 70s. When Troughton was replaced by Jon Pertwee, the UNIT formula was firmly established and would last well into the decade. This format would lead to what many call the Golden Age of Doctor Who. To see where it all started: go back to ‘The Invasion’.

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Just as Doctor Who had changed once before, a new change was incoming and a necessary one if the show was to survive into the 70s. Patrick Troughton decided to leave the show after Season 6, his third, and a new production team was incoming with Terrance Dicks already in place as script editor. This team, soon to be joined by Barry Letts, wanted to shake up the formula of the show and set out a new vision. This was achieved in the third story of Troughton’s final season, ‘The Invasion’.

Arts + Ents

Another defining feature of this period was the development of the Cybermen. The Cybermen had been introduced in the 1966 serial ‘The Tenth Planet’ by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis and had proved as popular as the Daleks, which were introduced in 1963. The Cybermen would go on to appear in four more stories that decade. This period was a perfect cocktail of the Base Under Siege format and the timely and terrifying Cybermen.

Words: Orla Davey, Design & Photography: Maria Touloupa

I Don’t Need You – yes, you heard me. I don’t need you.

The earth coils its desperate grip, but I don’t need you plucking pieces of me like petals, scattering my soul into fractured shards across an empty void, but I don’t need you burning propaganda into my brain, warring me against others like a child playing with toy soldiers. You never listen. Never. I’m not tears behind cubicle doors, nor dirt in the cracks

growing tumours on the Formica, rising like cakes your malignant touch mummified by mould. I don’t need you to gather scraps of the universe and bundle them round me in a rustling skirt, as the shape of you

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Creative Writing

of sickly green tiles you refused to clean. I don’t need you

engulfs my shadow, choking on it – waltzing along walls as spiders scatter from our distorted limbs, a black tide ebbing away from you while whiteness blooms within the thickets. I see them as red.

Their tiny fires glimmer glares at our windows, at you glassed within a tarnished case. I cannot prise you open, it’s too hard. Maybe I don’t exist to enter you – I exist to heal me. Black ghosts on a wall of mirrors wail to the death tolls of my heartbeat, bursting against you …haunted. Dead, but thriving. We’re gnarling like roots, claws and knuckles bursting from the overgrown grass, and you wonder why I don’t need you when the hands of fate are clenched under our very feet.

It’s your fist, but my heart. Listen: I don’t need you.

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Words: Akshay Anand, Design & Photography: Maria Touloupa

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Picture this.

A townhouse four storeys high, frozen over and shivering as if from withdrawal, reaching for the cigarette lost amongst the grey of January skies.

God didn’t want to share, in this new year.

Nothing to ease the pain, as inside, through the sobbing windows, the man stares out, whilst the woman is slumped, pale faced and staring into space.

She begins to cry, her eyes water-clogged, her vision blurred.

Struggling to her feet, she looks down, and holds her hand against her stomach.

Taking a deep breath, desperate for some holy smoke, For the man, she looks to her partner, he could not stop staring, for something, at the boy who was now outside, anything. sitting in the cold, Nothing. easel and paintbrush in hand.

She clambers up the townhouse…

Coming out of his thoughts, Heaven’s closer up there. bemused, he pays closer attention.

After a few moments, the boy stumbles back, paint smothered over his top.

He sighs with despair, and leaves.

Intrigued, the man heads out into the dull grey.

Lathered onto the easel is a rough impression of the man and the woman, in a warm embrace.

He is taken aback.

Taking a seat, he brushes over the image, and begins to paint a baby on the canvas.

He gets lost in the art.

Mere moments pass.

‘What are you doing?’

He looks up, to see a teenage girl staring back at him.

He is shocked to his feet.

Behind the girl is an elderly man, greying like the season.

‘Hello,’ says the man, with a gentle wave.

Creative Writing

Tableau

Words: Fay Rizo, Design: Militsa Ruseva

I’m often left standing looking at my mirror with my imagination, seeing what I wish but what can’t be.

Because in the deep winter, where the sky is stale and grey, and birds are forever flying away, the wind is blowing and screaming at anyone stupid enough not to listen, and the cold is sneaking under our skin and refuses to leave.

But my scrutiny has brought me to the realisation that whether in my unsavoury reflection or any painting I could paint, you’re always standing by my side like my glowing summer sun.

So my reflection might not be as light as I would like, and it’s far too cold for me outside, but I think it’s time we break this mirror together and step into our reality.

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Section Title

I’d start with the sky as my foundation, and with a brush big enough to paint ‘change’ I’d pick a blue as crystal as the Mediterranean Sea and make the sky so clear and light, birds would swim in it.

I’d pair it with an overwhelmingly glowing sun, the brightest star ever to be seen.

Its rays would dance in sync with the gentle breeze that resides in the quiet summer days.

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Creative Writing

My Painting Reflection

I’m often left standing looking at my mirror, and what stares back at me isn’t something I like, but rather something I have a strong urge to… change.

And what a silly thought that is. What a notion – change.

Like one of those stupid ideas that I like to paint.

And wouldn’t that be wonderful – to be able to paint your dislikes away and create the world of your desires?

Words: Kitty McQueen, Design: Lewis Elks & Olivia Baird

In reflective moments I tend to pick it all apart, The walls distort into an honest façade of mirrors.

Stacks of awkwardly strung up bones stare back at me, And I don’t seem to like the pathway they pull me down.

In reflective moments I’m hungry for this weight’s release,

Despite therefore abandoning myself.

In Reflective Moments In reflective moments I find uttered thoughts to be distrustful, As beyond this reflection the mirrors will glaze over.

Past this my pathway morphs into a familiarity, The same bones slotting together to create something whole.

In reflective moments I’ll be soothing and gentle, Piecing together my pathway that’s become sentimental.

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I’ll abandon these bones along with physical pleasure and pain,

Creative Writing

Instead to be a figureless figure.

Words: Rebecca Raddatz

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Creative Writing

here’s the shadow of a thought: these artificial fires flickering across the darkling sky are the broken images of movies, black and white acting out parts of a life. on that velvet screen of black move those tiny dancers called regrets lift two

three o l

c l

a

p e

s

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the dawn comes up, rolls up the screen the dancers leave the stage, unseen fragments of a swan song danced in one night. up comes the smal l est, clad all in white almost lost in the crowd of the clouds.

i’m almost sure her feet beat the rhythm of an ancient song – of star ting new where one went wrong.

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as if they, too, were stars caught in my mind that dome of glass. and when the stars all flee the sky the d ancers stop and heave a s i g h. the noise calms down when the year’s gone by.

Creative Writing

Design: Alessia Tavacca

Words: Valerya Krumova

S I NG I N G

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Creative Writing

B E L L Y !

CONTENT WARNING: DEATH

“Eat up, eat up while it’s fresh. This was a slippery one I tell you! Almost lost it to another clown at the Fish Market. But nothing can slip from these hands.

Ha!” The old man laughed gruffly as he wiped his blade. He set it down and gripped the countertop with both hands, leaning forward. He surveyed the other customers and pointed a finger between them, “Gomasaba for you too? Hm? Yes!” “Customers always come up to me, they come up and ask me if the place is called Singing Belly because everybody goes away with a full, happy stomach,” the old man cackled and hit the chopping board with his fist. “They cannot guess. What else would they think after eating all this delicious food? The truth is, when I was first opening the place, I thought how the smell and flavour would bring all the hungry bellies here. All the empty bellies singing to their owners: *Feed me, feed me! It smells so delicious here!* Haha!”

Kaito watched the old man - Daisuke - fillet the mackerel. Kaito had heard the story about the restaurant’s name many times. Daisuke was always in a good mood when he managed to snatch up a good bargain and he always told the story when he was in a good mood.

But Kaito wasn’t listening this time. He was thinking about his grandmother. He’d received the news about her death at work two months ago and had returned home sometime after. Now he was back in Fukuoka, sitting at the Singing Belly in Nakasu. It was a small place found at a corner street near the river, with foldable chairs lined up. Kaito had been visiting the place for half a year now. He’d had no intention of coming tonight. He hadn’t eaten out in a long time.

He’d gone for a walk earlier and had gone to Mizuri park. It was January and it was cold, but Kaito stood there watching the sun set over the icy waters of the lake. He recalled when he’d stood there before, after the news of his grandmother. Back then he’d almost expected the sky to be a different colour, like a filter would descend over the whole world. He couldn’t reconcile the feeling that everything was different but nothing had changed.

No one close to him had died before. He had imagined that when it’d happen, he’d cry. He’d be overcome by infinite sadness and surrender to it. He wasn’t sure whether his reaction was worse; whether numbness and confusion was better than incurable grief. It felt like a lie. Each morning he’d wake up and his brain would process her death like new information.

He felt helpless, so he walked. He walked everywhere, for hours. That’s how he’d found himself standing

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He adjusted his feet which were propped on a bottle crate. He looked around. After he’d been visiting the place for a while, he’d noticed two other people who’d always come at the same time as him. All three of them would sit close together, like friends. They didn’t talk much in particular. One was an older man with a wide belly who worked at the waterfront. The other was a young woman who worked at a PR agency nearby and would always change her heels for sneakers once she’d sat down.

Although he didn’t know much more about them, Kaito felt better that they were here now, ordering the same food they’d been eating for months. He felt his belly grumble. He recalled how his parents had told him that his grandmother had passed away hungry. He pushed the Shōchū to the side and pulled the menu underneath.

“Daisuke! One Tonkotsu ramen please.”

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across from the Singing Belly tonight. Kaito sat at the corner, with the salty vapours from the broth pot wafting in his face and the chill wind of the crowded street slamming against his back. His grandmother had left him a golden coin, a very old one. He flipped it repeatedly between his fingers. The coin slipped onto the table, clinked against his glass and fell still. He noticed his glass was empty and poured some more Shōchū. As he lifted the glass, a red cloud came over it and Kaito saw within the reflection of the lantern that hung above his head. He watched it sway within the border of his glass. It reminded him of the dreams he’d had after his grandmother’s death. He’d dream that he was sitting at home with his parents and she’d be there too. They would all be talking as if everything was normal. Only Kaito would look at her and wonder whether she knew she was a ghost and had to leave them; that she wasn’t really there. He drank the Shōchū.

Creative Writing

Design: Karly Yu

Words: Hannah Hamilton

Time and Time Again

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Creative Writing

A girl walked into the yawning mouth of a forest.

She stepped carefully, occasionally pulling her dress free from the claws of the underbrush and becoming a little more nervous each time.

Every time she felt like turning around, however, she would look to her hand. There, clutched in her fingers, the remains of a tapestry scorched by fire.

Looking at it, the girl knew she could not go back.

Usually, her mother would be worried by now as to where she was. This time... the girl was not sure that was true.

Swallowing, she followed the path she was not even sure was there. The directions had been given to her by an old woman with three teeth.

The woman said she was not strong enough to make the journey herself, but she knew of a wizard in the forest with the ability to wipe a person clean of their mistakes. The wizard, she had said, would let you start again. The girl knew she had to find the wizard and seek his help. Brushing a tear from her cheek, her feet ploughed on as the sun sank its head beneath the horizon.

After an hour or so, as the light began to bleed away and the girl could hardly move for stumbling, a prick of warm light began to appear through the trees. Cautiously, she moved towards it. Before her was a man—whom she assumed must be the wizard—stooped over a metal table tinkering with something small that sparked and popped like fire or hot oil. He did not seem threatening nor particularly powerful, only very strange. His hair was long and matted and he wore a robe of tattered

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He calmly continued to twiddle his metal wand in his hands as he looked up at her. “Ah,” he said, “it’s you again.”

The girl did not recognise the wizard, but she relayed to him her plight all the same. She told him she had come because of a terrible mistake she had made. In her hands she twisted the remains of the tapestry, all the while holding back tears—she did not want to be thought of as a child—but as she came to the story of how the fire began by her hand, she fell into a sob anyway.

“I did tell you this would happen.” He furrowed his brow. “So now you believe you have ruined your life and there’s no way to fix it?” The girl nodded, hurt by it being put so plainly. “Child.” He eased into his seat. “You have come to me many times now, asking always for a chance to try again.” The girl did not know what the wizard meant, she did not remember ever coming before and she told him as much.

“You ask me always to erase the past, so I do, but you always return having made the same mistake you don’t remember making in the first place. I want to help, my dear, I do. So, I will give you—as always—a choice.” The wizard looked the girl in

the eye as he continued. “Before you, there is a machine that will make it like your mistake never happened. You will forget the disaster and you will forget that you came here. There is also, however, wool and a weaving table. I can help you try to rebuild what is lost but it will be remembered by all. Whichever you choose is of your own free will but please, consider each option.”

Following the wizard’s gesture, she saw a large metal door and a small wooden table. The door, in particular, had an air of mysticism under the burgeoning moonlight. It was twice as tall as she and surrounded by cogs and tubes of metal. Two blinking circles of red light were fixed within the door frame and peering out at her like eyes.

The table, however, was familiar to her. Her mother would weave upon one similar for hours and hours, sometimes months and months. It almost rekindled her tears just to think of it.

The choice was made. The girl walked over to the large door. It clanked menacingly at her, but she told the wizard she wished for things to go back to how they were. She would get it right this time, she would make no mistakes.

The wizard sighed, but nodded. As she stepped into the box like a huge metal coffin, he gave her a sad smile.

“Not that you’ll remember me, but I’ll see you next time.”

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white that came only to his mid-thigh. He worked by light of a lantern unlike any the girl had seen, for its light was too consistent and bright to be that of a fire. The song he hummed was not one the girl knew, but the sound emboldened her. She stepped out into the light of his lantern and called to him.

Creative Writing

Design: Ada Ung

Words: Harry Anderson

“Work events”: The Hypocrisy of the Conservative Government

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Current Affairs

T

he UK’s approach to covid has been casual, to put such a misuse of resources lightly. Under the Conservative government, the UK seems to be stuck in a near endless cycle of strict lockdowns and subsequent relaxation, followed by a colossal spike in cases in which the government seems to blame everyone but itself. Critics have been quick to decry the actions of the government, but such a laissez-faire attitude to governing is hardly surprising given the actions of previous Conservative governments.

One cannot help but imagine Margaret Thatcher’s covid response would be one of stony-hearted indifference and a campaign entirely focused on ‘individual responsibility’.

As Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s tenure has been defined by two things; Covid-19 and his seemingly constant scandals. Johnson’s most recent escapade has managed to combine the two into a rather accurate representation of how the Tories have handled the pandemic. Whether that be Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s tumultuous affair with his own aid (on government property) or Johnson’s own advisor Dominic Cummings breaking lockdown (while symptomatic), the Johnson government seems to be in a state of almost constant impropriety. Most recently, Johnson and his associates were shown to have held numerous illegal gatherings while the rest of the UK was locked up at home.

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The parties held by the government demonstrate not only a lack of respect for the majority of the UK’s population but have also demonstrated a level of disrespect to the very monarch that MP’s swear allegiance to. Regardless of individual opinions on the Crown, it seems impossible to deny the impact of such an organisation on British politics. This is especially evident with the recent death of Prince Philip, an event that was mourned by many but coincided with not one but two of Johnson’s lockdown parties. The queen sitting alone in mourning stands as a striking example of the omnipresentity of Covid-19, making it even more despicable that the government broke their own promises.

The Tories flaunting of lockdown restrictions stands as just one of the many hypocrisies that the pandemic has exposed about the Conservative party.

The same party that applauded the NHS has spent the past 10 years gutting the Health service like a stuck pig, congratulating nurses not with support or money but with tasteless clapping. While the NHS was overworked and overstaffed, the Government invested millions of pounds into a track and trace system that, to no surprise, failed to do the one thing it was designed to do. Despite inquiries showing that the system is absurdly ineffectual, ministers continue to claim that such a system requires funding while continuing to cut other services. The ‘world-beating system’ had, 5 months after it’s launch, informed just 15% of the people tested of their results and reached a mere 60% of close contacts, significantly lower than what the system required for it to be effective.

The so-called “Partygate” should come as no surprise to anyone aware of the Tories’ track record. The pandemic has demonstrated that the government sees itself as exempt from the very rules that it puts in place. Despite claims of unity and solidarity (poignant considering the unprecedented insecurity of current UK politics), the government has reared it’s self-interested head and shown it’s true colours.

Support for Johnson has plummeted since the public release of these ‘work events’, with several of Johnson’s own conservative MP’s calling for his resignation and Tory Christian Wakeford even defecting to Labour over the scandal. While this may be something to celebrate, especially given the disastrous handling of Covid-19, it seems somewhat hollow that despite the decades of austerity and political subterfuge from the Conservatives, it took a lockdown party for Boris Johnson to lose his seemingly infallible level of support. A welcome change, but one that Johnson may inevitably squirm his way out of.

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Like a schoolboy caught with a solitary cigarette, Johnson claimed he was not aware of the true purpose for these parties, claiming they were the eponymous ‘work gatherings’. Even if one were to ignore Johnson’s history of distorting the truth (both in politics and in journalism), such a flimsy excuse would be laughable, notably considering that it came from the leader of the British Government. Even if Johnson thought of the party as a work event, is drinking at said ‘work event’ the norm? Does the government discuss the housing crisis and lack of NHS funding while sipping shandy and playing charades?

Current Affairs

Design: Alexandra Heal

Words: Freya Giles

N O I T U L REVO T T NO TOO FAR AFIELD

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Current Affairs

!

: CONTENT WARNING N HUMANITARIA CRISIS

he last few years have brought tremendous tension and change to be manifested across the world. It seems like there has constantly been new protests and movements since the whole pandemic began from BLM; the Capitol uprising; protests in Hong Kong against the Chinese government; feminist strikes in Poland and vigils in the UK; to a whole host of uprisings in Latin America.

It seems like the unrest is only increasing year in and year out. The latest of this long line of unrest comes from Kazakhstan- a former Soviet nation sandwiched between Russia and China. Although technically a democracy, Kazakhstan is generally classed by Human Rights organisations, such as the Freedom House, to be authoritarian due to a lack of any political opposition and extreme restrictions on citizens’ rights. Yet it does have a thriving economy due to its trade in oil, uranium, and textiles. However, life in Kazakhstan has been shaken up ever since this year started.

So, what happened?

There had been long-standing tensions in Kazakhstan surrounding serious economic inequality and discontentment with the government for a while. However, this all spilled to the fore on the 2nd of January as the government enacted one unpopular policy too many. Citizens woke up to gas prices having risen astronomically to almost double its previous price the day before, following the Government removing gas price caps. First starting in the already volatile oil-producing city of Zhanaozen, protests had spread across the country within a few days. The populace began protesting by blocking road traffic on the 2nd of February and calling for their local unelected representative to raise complaints and take political action against the price surge.

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Design: Daniel Somoghi

By the third day of the protests, a state of national emergency had been called while tear gas and stun guns were being used by police on the protestors within the capital city of Almaty. During this day, internet and network services faced “significant disruption” according to watchdog organisation NetBlocks, which made it much more difficult for protestors to communicate and organise amongst themselves. It is likely that this was not an accident but instead a targeted effort by the government, as this trend of institutional powers purposefully disrupting the internet has seen an increase across the globe. These disruptions continued to escalate, leaving the nation in a partial “internet blackout” by the evening.

It was on the fourth day that the protests became more violent. Government buildings were set alight, airports became overrun with protestors who even attempted to seize planes and small firearms were confiscated by protestors. By the 7th of January multiple officials had resigned from their posts, Russian troops were in the country, and an oil price similar to that from before the protests was reinstated for a six-month period; yet

Police and military officials were instructed on this day to fire on sight at any protestors.

By the 10th of January, it had been declared by Kazakhstan’s answer to the CIA that the country had “stabilised and is under control”, while the internet had returned to Almaty after 5 days of blackouts. The Kazakh president has made statements claiming that he understands frustrations over wealth inequality within the nation and established plans to help reduce economic disparities between citizens. Yet no claims were made about increasing the rights and freedoms afforded to citizens, and thousands were still detained at this point, and so it is clear that there is no will to change the political functions of the country.

Overall, the protests spread far and wide and were successful in achieving their immediate goals but no real sizable change. Moreover, the price caps are due to be lifted again in July and so it will be interesting to see if Kazakhstan chooses to increase social control measures in the run up to this event in an attempt to stop a repeat of these protests. The author finds it quite unnerving to read that the country is ‘under control’ after the protests- the phrase brings on tremendous new meaning when one reflects on how controlling the government in Kazakhstan is over its populace. One can only hope that the citizenry is able to wrestle additional freedoms for themselves in the coming months. Finally, Russian analyst Schröde has noted that social unrest has been present across many of Russia’s neighbouring nations recently, which may be a sore sign of things to come for Putin himself.

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Current Affairs

People camped overnight in the Zhanaozen city square, and by the next afternoon there were over a thousand protestors gathered. By now outrage had moved on from the single issue of gas prices to more general upset, about the lack of democracy and representation within Kazakhstan. Moreover, protestors were now gathering in city squares across the nation to pledge their support to the Zhanaozen group, voicing their opposition to the current government system. On this second day multiple administrations arrived at Zhanaozen square to announce a moderate decrease in gas prices (less than it was currently, but still not at pre-price rise levels); but the protestors were not placated so easily. By the evening on the second day demonstrations over 6 thousand strong had gathered in the city of Aktau outside of where the city administrators worked.

violence continued. Police and military officials were instructed on this day to fire on sight at any protestors.

Despite the original aims of the demonstration having been met, this protest has snowballed into a much more fervent display of rebellion against their authoritarian government. Consequently, the military violence was only increasing, and became too much to withstand by the protestors.

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Shockingly, their local official Galyn Baijanov stood in front of the protestors and instructed them to write a letter of complaint to the local city administration.

Multiple protestors had already done this and been ignored, and so the anger and unrest only grew.

Words: Angus Coleman

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Current Affairs

The Djokovic Fiasco A

fter a ten-day long struggle to remain in the country, tennis world number one Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia on the 16th of January. Djokovic was due to play in the 2022 Australian Open as the defending champion, in an attempt to secure his tenth win of the tournament and his twenty-first grand slam title overall. While the issue now seems to have been resolved, it has cast a long, dark shadow over the tournament. The reason for Djokovic’s deportation? He failed to meet the entry requirements for unvaccinated travellers.

The controversy began with Djokovic being granted a medical exemption from the requirement to be vaccinated in order to enter the country, much to the surprise of some other players, and it seemed, to the federal government of Australia, who promptly overruled the decision which had been taken by Tennis Australia and the health department of the state of Victoria. The following day, January 5th, Djokovic was detained at the Australian border. A legal battle ensued, with Djokovic kept in a detention hotel as his lawyers attempted to appeal the decision.

Initially, Djokovic’s release was secured, with his legal team successfully arguing that he had not been given enough time to contact tennis officials

and his lawyers before the interview that resulted in the cancellation of his visa. Public opinion of the situation was largely negative, with many resenting the decision to allow Djokovic into the country unvaccinated, while numerous Australian nationals were stranded overseas as a result of the pandemic.

Nevertheless, this was far from the end, as Djokovic’s right to remain in the country was called into question once again due to a discrepancy on his travel declaration form.

He stated in the form that he had not travelled in the fourteen-day period preceding his arrival in the country. In reality however, he was found to have travelled to Spain during this interval, as he was spotted in the city of Cadiz on the 31st.

Despite Djokovic’s insistence that this mistake was attributable to human error, Australian immigration minister Alex Hawke used his powers to again cancel the world number one’s visa on the 14th of January, leading to his deportation two days later. While this seemingly resolved the matter, the wider ramifications of this whole episode are far more concerning.

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So how does this relate to the recent events surrounding the Australian open? While Djokovic said in April 2020 that he was “opposed to vaccination”, he is yet to openly stand in favour of some of the more extreme anti-vax ideas and rhetoric. No, the worrying part is what comes as a result of this mess. Anti-vax and other similar ideologies with little factual basis for their claims love to rally around any figure of public importance who gives them even the slightest bit of airtime.

This prospect becomes especially worrying when you consider the possibility of celebrities with young and potentially impressionable fans using their platforms to promote potentially harmful misinformation and doubts regarding medicine.

Even if one of these individuals does not explicitly express support or sympathy towards anti-vax, their words or deeds can be maliciously twisted and re-interpreted in order to fit the narrative. Add to that the mob-mentality nature of social media and you have yourself a breeding ground for vaccine hesitancy and conspiracy theories. If you don’t believe me, you only need to check out the twitter hashtag #IStandWithDjokovic to bear witness to the absurdity yourself. One tweet argued that the Australian government’s approach to the situation indicated the country’s move towards communism.

Any public event or controversy can be filtered through this lens, and used as more ammunition.

The Djokovic fiasco may have been resolved, but the underlying problem of the perpetuation of misinformation online will take far longer to address correctly.

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It goes without saying that the anti-vax movement has been garnering a lot more attention than usual ever since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking from my own experience, in the pre-pandemic days, anti-vaxxers were a group that you only heard about occasionally, and usually in the context of someone criticising or making fun of them. I would never have imagined that in September of 2020, I would one day cycle past a full-blown anti-vax and anti-mask rally outside of the Scottish Parliament. In hindsight it was sadly inevitable that this crisis would cause these people to come out of the woodwork, and for others to become more sympathetic to such ideas. Of course, the people I saw that day represent a vocal minority of a vocal minority, but the fact that it happened at all is rather disturbing.

Current Affairs

Design: Katy Blair

Words: Saarah Mehmood

Prince Andrew !

CONTENT WARNING: RAPE & SEXUAL ABUSE

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Current Affairs

T

he stripping of Prince Andrew’s military roles and royal patronage signifies an unorthodox conviction for the sexual assault claims he is facing.

A destructive friendship that began in 2000 between Jeffery Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and the former ‘Prince’ Andrew, would stay strong throughout Epstein’s indictment and sexual harassment accusations which began in 2005. The first ‘formal/ official’ report of Epstein’s sexual abuse came from a girl of only 14 years and by 2007 Epstein would be indicted for the sexual abuse of several underage girls. Despite his egregious crimes Epstein’s friendship in high places paid off as he ultimately faced only 13 months in a cushy county jail’s private wing in Palm Beach due to a deal signed by US attorney Alexander Acosta. This deal included the provision of a ‘non-prosecution agreement’ granting immunity to any ‘potential co-conspirator’ meaning that if any of Epstein’s powerful friends were involved in

these crimes, they would face no consequences. This provision was kept secret in order to prevent victims from challenging it. Despite the accusations, indictments and Epstein’s inappropriate company the friendship between the two remained strong. The consequence of such a decision came to light in 2015, where court documents relating to Epstein’s case contained information that alleged Giuffre, at the age of 17, was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew.

In an attempt to clean up his name, Andrew agreed to an ultimately disastrous interview with the BBC, where the former Prince declared ‘he could not have assaulted Giuffre as he was home after a visit to Pizza Express and that her description of him sweating was false as he was unable to sweat’. These ridiculous, almost comical, responses to such an incredibly serious allegation highlights the sheer insecurity and fragility of the former Prince’s defense.

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Former Prince’s case is a cautionary tale for all: the exceedingly wealthy are stung by the law and hints at the majority of a dangerous undercover scene in the upper echelons of society.

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Current Affairs

The response of the Royal family is preemptive and a struggle to avoid difficult conversation. They have effectively severed him of any royal connection. Blood in this case runs far deeper and the stain left by Andrew will not be easily removed.

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Currently, Andrew faces a civil lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre on the claim he abused her in 2001 and in an attempt of defense, his team brought up the civil agreement she signed with Epstein. This agreement contained the clause that she would not see anyone else connected to him; however, this fell through. Options for Andrew to clear his name are slim, limited to an out of court settlement which leaves allegations unresolved or cross examination in court that will most likely leave a disaster similar to that of the BBC interview.

Blood in this case runs far deeper and the stain left by Andrew will not be easily removed.

Design: Olivia Baird

DON’T SETTLE NO ONE SHOULD SETTLE IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP. RECOGNISE THE SIGNS AND KNOW WHERE TO SEEK SUPPORT WHEN YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE IS IN AN EMOTIONALLY, PHYSICALLY OR SEXUALLY ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP

ISOLATING YOU FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS BEHAVIOUR THAT UNDERMINES, INTIMIDATES, HUMILIATES AND DEGRADES YOU PHYSICALLY OR VERBALLY ABUSIVE TOWARDS YOU MANAGING HOW YOU SPEND YOUR TIME AND MONEY ACTING OVERLY JEALOUS, AGGRESSIVE, UNPREDICTABLE OR UPSET TOWARDS YOU PRESSURES YOU TO HAVE SEX MONITORING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA, CALLS AND TEXTS MANIPULATION OF YOUR FEELINGS MAKING YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE ALWAYS WRONG AND EVERYTHING IS YOUR FAULT

IF ANY OF THIS APPLIES TO YOU, OR SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT YOU CAN SEEK SUPPORT BY CONTACTING STUDENT SERVICES EITHER BY DROPPING INTO THE ENQUIRY CENTRE ON CAMPUS GREEN, CALLING ON 01382831900 OR EMAILING ENQUIRY@DUNDEE.AC.UK AND TITLE YOUR EMAIL “SUPPORT

Dundee University Students Association (DUSA) Registered Scottish Charity No. SCO16047

DON’T SETTLE NO ONE SHOULD SETTLE IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP. RECOGNISE THE SIGNS AND KNOW WHERE TO SEEK SUPPORT WHEN YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE IS IN AN EMOTIONALLY, PHYSICALLY OR SEXUALLY ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP ISOLATING YOU FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS BEHAVIOUR THAT UNDERMINES, INTIMIDATES, HUMILIATES AND DEGRADES YOU PHYSICALLY OR VERBALLY ABUSIVE TOWARDS YOU ACTING OVERLY JEALOUS, AGGRESSIVE, UNPREDICTABLE OR UPSET TOWARDS YOU PRESSURES YOU TO HAVE SEX MONITORING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA, CALLS AND TEXTS MANAGING AND EXPRESSING DISAPPROVAL OF HOW YOU SPEND YOUR TIME AND MONEY MANIPULATION OF YOUR FEELINGS MAKING YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE ALWAYS WRONG AND EVERYTHING IS YOUR FAULT Dundee University Students Association (DUSA) Registered Scottish Charity No. SCO16047

Words: Chelsea Dalscheid

Different Country Different Personality? eing in my second year of university now, I have noticed some changes in my personality and my perception of the world, changes which became even clearer to me when I returned home to Luxembourg over the Christmas break. Curious about the extent of these revelations, I decided to “interview” my sister Sydney, who for just under five years has been studying abroad in Vienna, as well as my good friend Anna from back home, who during the Summer last year moved to Groningen,to see if the changes I experienced resonated with them.

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International

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Based on a survey done by Aetna International, many people shared these feelings and it confirmed that moving abroad can change your personality, even by a little. Naturally, stagnant characteristics which make up identity like ethnicity cannot be impacted by a move, yet there is a tendency to feel different about them when in a different environment . We are all part of different cultures, and we are used to the norms, traditions and values of them, but when you step outside and immerse yourself within another it can seem alien to you. This experience can be very enlightening, something which I felt and asked my sister Sydney about.

A recurring theme during my conversation with her was freedom as well as the independence gained by moving away from home. Living your daily life without judgement or comments being passed on from anyone living with you, be it your parents or your siblings. For example, her hobby is pole-dancing, she has her own pole standing in the middle of her apartment, something which she would’ve never even considered doing back home, because of the negative and outdated connotations still attached to it.

Furthermore, no one can frown at the time you

wake up, whether it is too early or too late, especially in the morning after a night out. It is refreshing to have that calmness, undisturbed by annoying siblings or interrogating mothers. It is lovely when there is no one telling you that you shouldn’t have had that last glass of wine.

As for her personality, she definitely noticed changes.

She found herself being able to express herself far more freely than before, helped by the fact that she was living by her own rules, which she established for her happiness, without interference or judgement from others.

The question about whether she prefered herself more when she was abroad was met with indecisiveness at first, but then she reflected on the benefits gained from moving abroad. She gained independence and the focus on doing what was best for herself rather than for keeping the peace amongst the family members, which had led to her mood being increasingly lifted.

The frustration of having to abide someone else’s rules which you don’t really agree with, as well as the stress and even the tension that can occur when living in a place with clashing personalities has been removed.

On a concluding note, Sydney added that the decision and effect of moving out and moving to another country encouraged her to learn about her identity. If people are perpetually stuck in their comfort zone, or afraid to leave it, they will never experience the way you start to question yourself and the person you want to be, the principles you want to embody, or already have embodied, things which suddenly become easier to ask yourself about when you find yourself in a foreign environment where your “norm” is not the norm any longer.

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Design: Veronika Stifter

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Interestingly, she revealed that she didn’t feel as if her sense of self had changed much, rather it had been consolidated by moving to Groningen. She had become more in tune with herself, she knew what made her content. Since her expectation of university life turned out to be her reality, she didn’t have to deal with major changes or cultural shocks.

She wouldn’t go as far as to say that she liked herself more abroad, yet the freedom, the enhanced social life, the daily opportunities which challenged her to grow helped her develop further into the person she wanted to be. Unlike Sydney, she could recharge at home, and not feel stressed about outside judgement.

The comfort of home as well as the challenges of living abroad were both elements she was grateful for.

Having read about both their views, I have learned how even if the common factor of independence is widely appreciated, the importance of being in your own “home” becomes more and more important as the years pass by.

International

Alternatively to someone who has been away from home for a few years, Anna’s take on these questions reveals some contrary views. Firstly, she emphasised the fact that she could now live her life the way she wanted to and in a way which brought her the most joy and fulfilment, something she would have only dreamed of a year ago, which echoed Sydney’s experience. When she was still in school Anna found herself stuck in a routine unsuited to her identity and well-being.

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Words: Remus

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International

Protests in Kazakhstan

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lmost as soon as the New Year’s celebrations were over, the year 2022 started with some quite unsettling events. During the first one and a half weeks of January, thousands of people all over Kazakhstan began protesting. The protests started as outlets of anger caused by the surging fuel prices.

However, they quickly evolved into something more.

In just a matter of days, people all over the country were protesting against poverty, inequality and the corrupt government - more specifically, the leader of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and the former president Nursultan Nazarbayev (in power from 1991-2019).

The protests got the most violent in Almaty, the country’s largest city. The airport was taken over by an angry mob. Protesters set fire to police cars, the regional branch of the ruling Nur Otan party and the City Hall of Almaty. According to the Kazakh national media, offices of five television channels were also attacked. Tokayev called the protesters terrorists and bandits, claiming that there were about 20,000 of them, both local and foreign people. He also said that the terrorists, who, according to him, had been trained abroad, need to be destroyed, and gave the soldiers an order to fire at them without warning.

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Design: Arwin Quiachon

Tokayev’s unexpected behaviour concerning Nazarbayev disoriented the country’s elite which slowed down the government’s response to the protests. From the first phase of the uprisings, the government saw that the Kazakh security forces were either incapable or unwilling to establish peace. Clips of police officers throwing their shields and truncheons on the ground, surrendering or taking sides with the protesters, were shared on social media. In that sense, Tokayev’s call for help to the surrounding countries was understandable because he most probably would not have been able to fix the situation on his own. As the country is a part of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), an organisation similar to NATO, which comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and, of course, Kazakhstan, it only makes sense that Kazakhstan would turn to them for help. This organisation is a defence pact but it is not meant for internal issues, which could explain Tokayev’s claims of the protests being the work of ‘terrorists’ who had been trained abroad without giving further details.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that they were handling the recent events in the friendly country as an outsiders’ attempt to weaken the security and unity of it. These claims from Russia are awfully similar to the ones of the Soviet Union when over 80 years ago, it step by step started occupying the Baltic States. One of the few big differences is that in the case of the Baltic States, the USSR had local people to blame for dishonouring their ‘two-sided’ friendship agreements instead of foreign terrorists, and had to take extra steps to disassemble the governments in these countries at the time to make them USSR-friendly. These similarities between the Soviet Union and Russia certainly make the situation even more alarming not only for the Baltic States, but also for the other post-soviet countries.

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International

“He also said that the terrorists, who, according to him, had been trained abroad, need to be destroyed, and gave the soldiers an order to fire at them without warning.”

In order to establish peace once more, Russian troops entered the country, and Armenia promised to send 100 soldiers, Tajikistan 100 as well, and Kyrgyzstan 150 to support the government.

A Kazakh opposition politician, former member of the government, Mukhtar Ablyazov, now in exile in Paris, claims that the participation of these other countries is just something to draw the attention away from Russia, to hide Putin’s wish to occupy Kazakhstan. He believes accusing foreign terrorists is one of Tokayev’s attempts to also draw attention away from the country’s internal problems, and says that the West should intervene as soon as possible.

Ablyazov warns that if it fails to do so, Kazakhstan will turn into Belarus and Putin will methodologically carry out his programme of creating a structure similar to the Soviet Union. Russia informed that they would discuss with Kazakhstan and other members of the CSTO the possible next steps with regards to the ‘terror acts’ in order to support the Kazakh ‘anti-terrorism’ operation.

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Despite the unfair elections and authoritarian government, these protests are the biggest uprisings in Kazakhstan since its independence in 1991. Until these recent events, the country has been seen as a pillar of political and economic stability in Central Asia. As a leader, Nazarbayev had established a pragmatic approach to his country’s interaction with Russia. He refrained from quarrelling with Russia, but never compromised on points important to him and his nation. Tokayev, who is said to have been specifically picked out as a successor by Nazarbayev, has remained loyal to him right up until the protests. The president’s way of handling the unrest showed that he was trying to gain more power for himself. Halfway through the protests, he released Nazarbayev, who was still considered to be the ‘leader of the nation’ and who wielded considerable power serving as chairman of the security council, from his chairman post.

Tokayev’s response to these protests, as well as his behaviour in the next couple of months, could give insight into the successor’s leadership values.

Coffee or Koffie?

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International

Words: Priyasha Bachu

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et’s travel to the land of cheese, EDM music, tulip shows, windmills and Anne Frank - the Netherlands, one of the most densely populated countries in Europe, with more than 90 percent of its population fluent in English. A beautiful travel destination, especially in the summer.

Naturally, while the Dutch are said to be receptive towards non-Dutch speaking visitors, they are also known for being very straightforward people. The Dutch have the sense of saying whatever they want, whenever they want, and if you are insulted or taken aback, it’s your own fault. The directness is intrinsic to Dutch people, as anything and everything can be spoken about. What may be perceived as insulting in the UK, may be a natural occurrence for the Dutch, something I quickly became aware of. But it was quite refreshing to hold conversations which never beat around the bush, and were honest and sincere. They embodied this idea of ‘truthfulness before empathy’ (Eleonore Breukel).

Their frankness was not the only thing I learned about the Dutch. The Netherlands (quite rightly!) is often perceived as the land of the giants. The average height for a man is 177cm (5’10ft) and for a woman - 160cm (5’3ft) . As a 162cm (5’4ft) person, I fitted quite nicely into the average height of those in the UK, but there I felt like a tiny ant walking among fellow caterpillars.

Another feature of the Netherlands is, of course, bikes!

Cycles being predominantly used than cars, the Netherlands have their own language in the form of bike signals as well as designated paths that are red and wide enough for cyclists to ride side by side. In the land of the Dutch, it is normal to see mothers riding bicycles with their children with colourful helmets strapped in, or elderly folk, quite happily cycling back to their homes, carrying their groceries in baskets and backpacks. Of course, this sight is not exceptional in Scotland, but the Dutch seem to absolutely embrace this eco-friendly mode

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It was on one of these cycle journeys I discovered the difference between coffee and koffie. While ‘coffee’ around the world refers to the caffeinated beverage we all so desperately can’t get enough of, in the Netherlands it has a completely different meaning – WEED. The Dutch spell their ‘coffee’ as ‘koffie’ and can only be found in the cafés. With weed, hash and mushrooms being legal in the Netherlands and not in the UK, Google was not afraid to list the shops that sold them in contrast to everyone buying them off dingy corners back home.

While our cultural differences may seem to set us apart, they will also be what brings us closer.

This teaches you not only the meaning of cultural diversity, but how your culture can be perceived in the eyes of others. Whether you’re going to the huge EDM festivals that take place in Amsterdam, or to the quiet tulip shows in the north, it is a country worth putting on your bucket list.

“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.”

- Jawaharlal Nehru

Surprisingly for the short time period I was there for, I attended a fair share of birthday parties. The phrase ‘happy birthday’ was adopted around the world as a birthday greeting except in the Netherlands.

“Gefeliciteerd!”, translated to ‘congratulations’, was the common birthday greeting and was said to not only the birthday person, but to their whole family, accompanied by three kisses on the cheek.

In contrast with us who are accustomed to the tradition of receiving a birthday cake from our friends and family, the Dutch have to buy their own cake and fund their own party.

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of transport. While many of us in Scotland may be inclined to do the same, we baulk at the countless hills and narrow roads, but the Dutch are blessed to live in a relatively ‘flat’ country.

International

Design: Ana Vich Cologan

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On/Off Campus

Words: Freya Giles

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Design & Photography: Robyn Black

y first serious boyfriend broke up with me a week before I was driven home to self-isolate. This was just before a summer-long quarantine to round off my first year of independent living at university. We had been dating seriously for about 6 months before this, and I was devastated. I had told him I loved him 2 days before he had originally agreed to date me, and I told him that I still (mostly) loved him less than 2 weeks after the breakup when he asked for me back.

We dated again for the better part of 4 months before he told me that he wanted to break up yet again, and I told him that I was actually glad. I think by then I had stopped loving him. For those first gorgeous months I looked up at that man and I could see a whole life planned out. Now I wonder what on earth possessed me to want that. The answer was, of course, love.

I look back and it doesn’t feel as real now as it did back then. But, just because that’s not my reality now, does not discount the fact that it was my reality then.

It seems silly; discussing things like love, marriage, moving in together, potential kids even; with someone who I now know is just a person I happened to date at university. But I have to remind myself that I’m

not naïve or stupid to have had such high hopes for that relationship. If you don’t have high hopes for a relationship, then what are you really doing in one?

We know that not every relationship will work, especially at university, where often partying and studying take priority over domestic living.

I think it’s quite telling that there are a lot more resources on campus geared towards casual sex and experimentation (such as free condoms, STD tests, introductions to kink etc) than any resources about how to thrive in a relationship. This is not to devalue the importance of these resources at all, but to emphasise that these needs are more commonplace on Campus than those of committed lovers. I think this reinforces the pre-existing perception of university or college life as a whole that it’s a place where relationships simply cannot thrive. The ‘university experience’ that is so commonly touted around is almost synonymous with casual sex and intoxication, meaning that a sizeable amount of students don’t want to have a relationship, for fear of it getting in the way of this lifestyle.

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On/Off Campus

Club Night Fling or Wedding Ring?

Words: Freya Giles, Design & Photography: Robyn Black

On average, women will be in five relationships before marriage, and men will be in six. Two of these are projected to be long-term. And when we talk about relationships in this way, it reminds us of the fact that they are not infallible. When we see statistics like this, that cute funny girl you met at an afters last weekend seems less important. But then four months later when you’re trying to figure out if you should mention her while calling your mum at home, she seems like one of the most important things in your life right now.

Maybe ever.

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On/Off Campus

The thing with relationships at university is that everyone expects that your relationship right now is going to be one of those first few. They’re going to think the same thing about the next one too, and probably the next one after that. When you look back, that label is all you’re going to see too. Guiltily when I think back to previous relationships from my first few years here, I just think of ‘an ex’ - not someone who used to be truly important to me. It can make you feel like a realist looking at your current partner and thinking that it’s probably not going to last, and so you don’t see the point in putting as much effort in as you might for a future relationship. But I think by doing this we really just create a self-fulfilling prophecy. The feelings that you feel, right now, they matter. They can be encouraged to grow, making beautiful and very real relationships, with everyone around us.

“Guiltily when I think back to previous relationships from my first few years here, I just think of ‘an ex’ - not someone who used to be truly important to me.”

Truthfully this can be applied to everything going on in your life right now. Just because we are young and free at university does not mean we can’t begin truly focusing on what matters to us as people. If your heart is telling you to follow a certain career path, to research a certain topic, to spend time with certain people, you have the complete power to follow that. This kind of love is just as valuable. Perhaps the message that this is intended to convey is that right now, more than any other time in our life, we are able to follow our passions. We are able to choose what our priorities are going to be, and to an extent we are given time to cultivate that. When we plan our timetable every week, it is in our power to prioritise the things that really matter to us. And there’s nothing silly about prioritising our own emotions, and what makes us truly happy right now. What matters to us right now might change, and that is okay. That doesn’t negate the importance of the fact that it used to matter. The fact alone that it mattered made it worth it in the end.

What you are pursuing right now will also be worth it in the end, so long as it is something that you really think matters.

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On/Off Campus

Words: Dundee University Social Society, Design: Jillian Mendoza

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ocial Society (DUSS) is a fun, light-hearted platform for connecting people. We offer different group activities that promote mindfulness, as well as good physical and mental health. Our hope is that we will be able to target students who do not normally join a society due to barriers such as, disability, mental health condition, financial worries, or simply a fear of joining a society. If you fit any of the criteria above, you can be referred to our society by services such as Switch. Joining our society is only £1 - and lets you access all our activities throughout the year!

Our sporting activities are played in a casual, friendly environment, and are non-competitive. It is well-known that team-based sports are a fantastic way to create friendships and connections, and we are here to encourage this. Our non-sporting activities include craft evenings, coffees or drinks out, as well as days out walking, hiking and sightseeing Dundee and the surrounding areas – which offer the opportunity to sit, chat and make connections whilst learning a new skill.

We normally have lots of events planned throughout the year, however, our main event is our Outdoor Activity Session on a Saturday at 11am. This takes place on the grounds next to the Bridgeview Station Restaurant. We also have a Wednesday evening session (5pm) that is currently taking place in Bonar Hall.. We also have a craft and chat club every 3rd Wednesday of the month where you can come and knit, crochet or embroider (or just have a chat) with a cuppa! – 7.30pm in Pavement Café (bottom floor of DUSA).

If you would like to keep up to date with DUSS and what activities are going on, please follow us on our social media accounts. If you would like to join us and want to try a new sport (just for fun!) or try out a new skill – then please send us a message!

IG - @dundeeunisocialsociety Facebook - Dundee University Social Society

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Words: Georgia McLellan and Daniel Pukkila

Finding Dundee’s Best Ramen

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rom the remote valleys of Japan to the gleaming streets of New York City, ramen is a dish loved by all. With every passing day, new variations are taken upon it - new flavours, new toppings, new sides - and yet, time and time again, it continues to uphold its popularity. In the late 19th century, when the first innovative cooks were devising the dish we so love today, never would they have imagined that, years later, it would be discussed and critiqued by two young students in the small, Scottish city of Dundee. Yet here we are – the Hopeless Ramentics – on a mission to find the absolute best of local ramen.

The Hopeless Ramentics blog began as a fun project in the Spring of 2021, after eating some Japanese takeout. In a food-induced haze of delicious satisfaction, we decided to embark on an adventure - to try as many ramen bowls as we could in an effort to discover the irrefutable best.

Whilst the busy streets of Glasgow and Edinburgh are lined with Ramen restaurants, we are faced with more of a challenge in our bonnie Dundee. Only a few places serve ramen, and very few specialise in it. However - this was just fuel for our ambition, an obstacle to overcome - and in doing so, we have discovered some real hidden gems. Here, we have constructed a list of local ramens, complete with our honest reviews - so next time you crave a bowl of noodles, you have all the knowledge you need.

Su Sushi – Reform Street, Dundee Our first, and most visited location, Su Sushi, is located on Reform Street. Right in the city centre, past the hustle and golden arches, sits a taste of Japan.

Despite its luxurious aesthetic, the restaurant offers its customers a bowl of ramen under £10. Staying true to its origins, the ramen is comprised of a flavourful broth topped with a variety of colourful vegetables with the option for either meat or tempura. Appetising, accessible, and affordable - this is a safe choice to quench that sudden craving.

Vandal & Co – Exchange Street, Dundee Ramen seems to be on everyone’s mind to the point that even cocktail restaurants have started opting for this eastern meal. While drinks and more traditional dishes rule its menu, this new arrival manages to adapt to this strange environment. Straying from more traditional ingredients, the ramen at Vandal & Co is beautiful. For other kindred ramen lovers, this might not be your ideal bowl of heavenly goodness, yet after a few refreshments, this salty dish might be just what you are looking for.

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Design: Ada Ung

The ramen, itself, was a delight. The unique, yet wellpaired flavours were overflowing with artistry - the work of real talent. The katsu chicken was cooked to perfection and the rich broth was bursting with authenticity. Although on the higher end of the price spectrum, the value for this dish was beyond impressive. Our experience far overtook the cost. If you’re looking for a delicious, authentic bowl to have for a special occasion, Oshibori is, beyond a doubt, the place to be.

Nearly six thousand miles away from Ramen’s homeland, we remain dedicated to finding the best interpretation the world has to offer. While we are an enthusiastic young pair, embarking on a roller coaster of mouthwatering delights, our mission is clear. We have detailed our findings, thoughts, and life-changing experiences on the @hopelessramenticsblog Instagram page, hoping to one day venture past the borders of Scotland. Next in our sight is Edinburgh, after which we’re planning to cross the border into England. Yet our dream still alludes us: The Land of the Rising Sun. Perhaps one day, when we’re ready and have mastered chopsticks, refined our taste buds, and learnt more than a couple of words of Japanese, we’ll be ready. One day, we will make our way to Japan, but until then, we will be conquering the rest of the world.

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On/Off Campus

Tanon Thai is a small, independently run restaurant in the centre of St Andrews. Judging from the lengthy queue outside, we had come across a popular establishment. The venue itself was rather small, but the ramen, on the other hand, was something to marvel at. Unique flavours, the likes of which our taste buds had never experienced were paired with delicious noodles and a thoroughly decent value for money.

Will we be back? Perhaps not - this may be a one-off experience - but an experience nonetheless. If you want to try something new and exciting, get yourself over to Tanon Thai for a dish you’ll remember.

Oshibori – Nethergate, Dundee Our Dundee journey concludes with the real hidden gem - Oshibori. Situated in Nethergate, just moments away from the University itself, Oshibori is a lavish and beautiful business. We were welcomed by the warmest staff - treating us as if guests of the highest calibre making us already feel at ease. This was expanded on by the sheer beauty of the interior with golden walls, ornate furniture and real painted ceiling murals - we were literally dining like kings.

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Tanon Thai – Market Street, St Andrews Our journey continues, further down the east coast, to the picturesque seaside town of St Andrews. Despite having multiple Japanese restaurants - a popular cuisine for its growing student population - few places offered the chance to buy a ramen bowl. Dampened by this shortcoming, we were forced to look outside of the box - eventually stumbling upon our most unusual dish yet - Thai ramen.

Words: Saarah Mehmood

Second Class Citizen

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Opinions

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he Home Secretary, Priti Patel, introduced the Nationality and Borders Bill (NB) following the trend of increasing government powers. This bill has currently passed through the House of Commons and has reached the House of Lords, meaning that our elected MPs believe that it is an appropriate measure, with a vote of 298 votes to 231; a majority of 67 due to the support of the Tory Party. This bill, clause 9 in particular, will allow the government to remove people’s citizenship with little to no notice if seen as a threat to national security, not in public interest or merely inconvenient.

When I first heard of the NB, I immediately remembered my grandfather. My grandfather, a quiet man, many years ago stated in a heavy tone quite simply: “One day they will kick us all out”.

My grandfather’s statement encouraged me to contemplate why he thought so and, as I did, it became easier to understand why he made such a statement. My grandfather lived through the partition of India. As a Muslim he was forced, like thousands of Hindus and Sikhs, to leave his home to a new designated area. My grandfather, who was born in India, left behind his home and his Indian nationality to Pakistan and involved in every decision that led to this violent upheaval were the British. Then my grandfather left for the UK and saw the Windrush (the switch from the welcoming of migration to the anti-immigration policies) then Shamima Begum and now the NB. Initially, I was too young to understand what he was saying. As I grew older, I simply dismissed it as dramatic and have since only ever been proven otherwise.

As a South-Asian woman with dual nationality, I am very much made aware and conscious of my status.

The case of Shamima Begum in particular left me in confusion. Shamima Begum joined an egregious terrorist group and as a result had her British citizenship removed. This appears appropriate, this is your crime; this is your punishment. However, to me it felt as though we had failed Shamima Begum. It seems quite a dramatic statement but make sure to contemplate how exactly a 15-year-old girl born in a first world country, Britain, is groomed by a violent extremist terrorist organization right under the nose of the very authorities meant to protect her. By stripping Begum of her citizenship, the government in turn stripped themselves from responsibility. They did not solve the issue, rather shifted away from it.

“The ability to remove citizenship creates a new and powerful threat to an already marginalized community creating a ‘second class’ of citizens.”

The Home Office response to the outrage stated that the power of citizenship deprivation has existed for over a century, however, fails to state that its use was almost moribund. However increasingly so, since 2006 successive governments have expanded the use of citizenship and has dramatically increased its use.

Traditionally reserved for peoples whose behavior was a national threat, in the past this was Russian spies, it has broadened to include general criminals demonstrated in the Rochdale case which removed the British citizenship of a man with dual nationality.

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Design: Noni Farragher-Hanks

Opinions

With the growth of anti-immigration sentiment and racially charged panic the Home Office too has begun to favour means that punish and threaten already marginalized communities.

The clauses themselves are not the sole issue to consider but also the way in which it was introduced.

These clauses were introduced mid-way through the parliament house reading of the bill, this means that these clauses were not included in the Impact Assessment. This assessment is a ‘detailed consideration of the costs and benefits of the policy chosen and allow it to be compared with rejected alternative solutions’, this means that the parliamentary scrutiny has been limited, not allowing for a full and thorough assessment. These ‘slipped in’ clauses include the cited Clause 9 which gives the Home Office exceptions to the requirement that a person be given notice to the deprivation of their citizenship. The effect of such a clause is that it means they cannot appeal the decision. Another worrying clause is Clause 80 that allows the amendment of legislation ‘as the secretary of state considers appropriate in consequence of this

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Simply, this is a threatening power move made by the government. Its interest relates only to increase its power and lessen parliamentary scrutiny. As a law student I am very familiar with government legislation – it can, if it wants to, write conditions that last pages long and chooses when to remain vague in legislation in order to broaden its power. The clear intentional vague language used in the bill allows for the government to restrict the availability of appeal, i.e. judicial scrutiny, by allowing the removal of citizenship without notice.

act’. Succinctly, these clauses allow for broad powers which does not allow for appropriate scrutiny and limits procedural rights. In essence, it is a threat to access to justice and the rule of law.

The ability to remove citizenship creates a new and powerful threat to an already marginalized community creating a ‘second class’ of citizens, it allows for the damaging implication that Black and Brown people’s ‘Britishness’ is precarious, less than that of white people. Based on this it seems our government can cope well with ‘home bred’ white terrorists but not those with removable citizenship. The only conclusion to be drawn from this is that, fundamentally, a white Briton’s citizenship is treated as unconditional while a non-white person’s citizenship exists as a privilege.

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Opinions

Words: Hannah Hamilton, Design: Karly Yu

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n the past, before there was a variety of Pride flag merch, queer signalling was a means of deciphering who was and wasn’t a safe person to openly express yourself in front of. This often manifested in codewords like ‘friend of Dorothy’s or the use of Polari – a language used by gay men in the 1950’s-60’s and defined by the Oxford dictionary as ‘made up of Italianate phrases, rhyming slang and cant terms’. It’s wild to think about, but at certain points in history an accurate gaydar was a survival tool.

Cut to the 21st century – a time when it has never been safer to openly express your sexuality. With the internet, LGBTQ+ communities can openly form and flourish amongst one another. Of course, with the development of community and the emergence of this in the mainstream, the culture has also transformed rapidly. This is echoed in the colourful PRIDE flag and the bold aesthetics of modern ‘queer icons’ such as RuPaul, Harry Styles, and Lady Gaga.

Where we are now in terms of queer expression is an era defined by distinctive hairstyles, gender-bending (in fact, often dismissing) clothing, and the everyday inclusion of risqué items. It’s a time of celebrating individuality and fighting censorship. It seems that nothing is too eccentric and nothing is too queer but perhaps, in this new environment, there is such a thing as too mundane.

Though these aesthetics promote self-expression, they can create an attitude of exclusion to those whose sexuality does not manifest in the same ways.

This can be for a variety of reasons, ranging from a persons’ inability to express themselves due to familial or environmental pressures or simply due to a sense of personal style that does not adhere to a flamboyant method of self-expression. Neither of these reasons, nor any in between, lessen the ‘validity’ of a queer person.

This is something pertinent to keep in mind as we continue to explore and develop LGBTQ+ culture.

Though queer signalling can be a useful tool in both identifying safe interactions and expressing an otherwise oppressed identity, a truly inclusive future involves acceptance of those who don’t adhere to it. By relying less on outward aesthetic to convey queerness we may come to live in a more honest era of acceptance that takes declaration of sexual expression at face value and does not minimise identity by casting the judgement ‘but you don’t look gay’.

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Words: Ryan Petrie, Design: Joshua Harris

the Stories have a special kind of power to them; each building a particular kind of world in which it takes place. One that the characters can interact with. In Philip Pullman’s famous His Dark Materials trilogy, the reader passes through different worlds with characters like the feisty Lyra Belacqua, the fabulous aeronaut Lee Scoresby, or the deliciously frightening heart of social darkness that is Mrs Coulter.

Since the publication of the last volume in the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, several large Christian organisations have sought to ban the book, citing its attack on Christianity, since the Magisterium is very much an allegory of the Catholic church, and all forms of organised and institutionally structured religions, saying that “a religion that has at its heart a political form of structure is bound to be corrupt”. This criticism of Christianity has bought Pullman legions of fans, rebel angels, and made him bitter enemies.

Now with the third season of the acclaimed BBC series about to be released, fans wait in eager anticipation for the end of one of the greatest young adult stories of all time. Will we see the source of Dust? Or shall it be another trip down the rabbit hole?

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But what makes His Dark Materials unique?

Not only that Lyra and her friends in the world N have at their sides in which the story begins animal companions called daemons, the versions of their souls that represent their personalities (for instance, the character of Mrs Coulter has a golden monkey as her daemon, and Lord Asriel has a snow leopard); but Lyra and her daemon Pan have to navigate a series of worlds on their own to discover the source and power behind the strange substance called Dust and overthrow the powers of an elitist governmental body known as the Magisterium.

form (children’s daemons can shift forms till they reach puberty), but it does not affect children in the slightest. Why? That’s what the adventure is all about. Find the source behind Dust and take down the Magisterium, which controls everything in Lyra’s world.

Dust is at the centre of the whole trilogy. When we first learn about it in volume one, Northern Lights (published in America as The Golden Compass), Dust is attracted solely to adults, whose daemons have settled in a permanent

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Opinions

here’s a whole set of worlds out there, and we have the ability to visit them.

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Words: Beth Chisholm

Veganuary The Way Forward?

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Opinions

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anuary 1st marks the start of the new year and, for some, the start of healthier new habits – hopefully to be continued throughout the full year, but ultimately destined to fail not even a week in.

Many forgo alcohol, some start working out more, but one campaign has managed to take diets and supermarket shelves by storm.

What started as a non-profit campaign has turned into a lucrative marketing scheme for businesses up and down the UK – “Veganuary”, the month-long challenge starting the first day of the year that involves participants not using or eating animal-based products. Over half a million people signed up to take on the month-long challenge in 2021 with the number projected to be more this year. Supermarkets such as Tesco, Lidl and Aldi have all launched their own ‘Veganuary’ vegan food ranges - from sausage rolls to milk to duck pancakes, all can be found 100% meat free in the shelves of your local supermarket. But, what’s the point to going vegan at all?

Studies have shown that a vegan diet can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol as well as lower rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. Eating a more plant-based diet could also make you more conscious about the food you eat. It could be a chance to learn more about cooking and nutrition as well as eating a hell of a lot more fruit and vegetables – staples in the vegan diet.

Not only is it good for our health, but it also has a significant impact on the environment too. Not only does livestock produce a significant amount of greenhouse gases, but a huge amount of land is used to grow animal feed. In turn, more food and land are used to feed animals than the amount used to feed humans directly. This means that resources such as water, tools and native land are being used ineffectively. The land used is growing crops to feed animals which in turn does feed humans but perhaps the process could be more effective if the crops were used to feed humans directly.

But is the month-long challenge of Veganuary needed? When walking into a supermarket in January, it is hard to miss the plant-based products clearly shown. Businesses have realised the untapped market for vegan products and ran with it. McDonalds, Nando’s and KFC have all come out with their own vegan products, conveniently just in time for the new year. It is clear that many companies have realised the amount of money and new customers they can get by introducing vegan products to their menus. When Greggs released their vegan sausage roll in 2019, it became a sensation and was all the media could talk about for a while due to its ‘controversies’. Greggs walked away with a year-on-year sales increase of 13.5% due to the humble vegan sausage roll.

The success of Greggs made businesses and supermarkets alike start to realise the potential of selling vegan ranges.

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Despite profit being a clear motivator, more and more of our favourite shops and restaurants are offering vegan ranges, and maybe that’s what people need to take the plunge into incorporating more plant-based foods into their diet. Cutting out over half the food some of us eat is a scary thing to do. Being able to still enjoy your favourite food without feeling like you are missing out is what would encourage the general population to try veganism. This could be why Veganuary and veganism in general are rising. More familiar and widely available foods mean people are less scared of changing their diet.

diet 365 days a year would be amazing, it is simply not practical for more. Going vegan for a short period of time and eating more plant based overall is more practical. Only being vegan for a small amount of time still has benefits to health and to the planet just like being vegan all the time. It may not be as big of an impact but nevertheless is still a significant impact.

Could Veganuary be the way forward? In a time where we all want to do our bit for climate change and be more cautious about our health, simply being vegan or eating more plant based in general for set periods of time could be a small way of doing this. Whether it be the month long Veganuary or maybe eating vegan one day a week or instead of opting for a meat option, ordering a vegan meal at a restaurant.

These could all be ways to which we could change our eating habits for good and may be the future of our diets.

Maybe that is why Veganuary itself is so popular. It is temporary. Only a month-long challenge to which you can eat normally afterwards. Veganism can scare a lot of people away but packaging it up and selling it as a fun, short challenge is more digestible for a general population. While eating a fully vegan

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“This could be a chance for many to be more conscious about what they put into their bodies and could be the future for a healthy nation.“

Opinions

Design: Amy Williamson

Words: Hazel Surtees

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Science + Tech

Me, Myself and Them?

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o you think you’re alone? You’re not. Not really.

Not at any moment in time. For every human cell in your body, there’s something else. Something other. Something microbial.

Recent estimates suggest roughly half the cells in your body are microbial. They exist on the tip of your tongue, filling your mouth. They cover every inch of your skin and are densely packed across your digestive tract.

Don’t worry, most of them won’t hurt you, as long as you treat them well. You’re in a mutually beneficial relationship with them, and you would probably struggle as a fully sterile being - so put the sanitizer down. Of course, very few microbes in the world are pathogenic, and the ones in your body have been specifically cultivated throughout human evolution - you may as well consider your microbiome as another bodily organ.

Your microbiome has been associated with playing an essential role in; your ability to digest food, chances of developing; asthma, diabetes, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and eczema, and your ability to combat disease. In fact, the importance of your microbiomes cannot be understated. Recent research has even linked your gut microbiota to symptoms of depression and onset of Alzheimer’s.

Your microbiome has been associated with playing an essential role in; your ability to digest food, chances of developing; asthma, diabetes, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and eczema, and your ability to combat disease. In fact, the importance of

your microbiomes cannot be understated. Recent research has even linked your gut microbiota to symptoms of depression and onset of Alzheimer’s.

A recent review has even suggested the microbiome may be one of the driving factors behind a crocodile’s extreme resilience - surviving everything natural selection has thrown at them, unchanging for around 85 million years.

The issue is, we’re not entirely sure why. It seems the more we learn about our microbiomes, the less we know. Our gut microbiome alone contains around 100 *trillion* microbes, from bacteria to fungi and viruses, according to modern estimates.

It is often found that the effects of our microbiota on our physiology are the result of complex interactions between different microbial species and are challenging to replicate in a laboratory context. Their behaviour can be difficult to predict; when your microbiome is unbalanced (perhaps following a course of antibiotics, or a diet too high in processed foods), previously friendly bacteria become pathogenic. When your microbiome is healthy, it can tame dangerous bacteria to become useful team-players.

This isn’t just of interest in the human body. Across the world, researchers are beginning to turn to the soil, where complex microbial networks may provide the key to sustainable agriculture. The *Rhizosphere* describes the thin layer of soil surrounding a plant’s root system, which features a distinctive and unique microbiome in contrast

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Design: Karly Yu, Photography: María Paula Huertas Caycedo

In the early 20th Century, man discovered the ability to produce nitrogen fertilisers, through the Haber-Bosch process, saving millions from starvation. Yet this process consumes vast amounts of energy and natural gas, and nitrogen fertiliser itself is a major polluter. So, what if we could foster the same relationship legumes have with nitrogen fixing plants in all our crops?

But doing so requires understanding the complex relationship between host and microbiome. There’s a secret language there, made up of nutrients, antimicrobial chemicals and signalling molecules which we’re desperate to learn.

We’ve turned a blind eye to the microbiomes of the world for too long. One day you might go to the doctor’s and be prescribed a capsule of microbes, which could drive changes to your mental health, ability to digest food, immune strength, and more. We may treat our crops with microbial communities instead of harsh chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

We’re never alone, on this big, lonely planet of ours.

We’ve spent our entire lives with a little team inside us cheering us on. Perhaps it’s time for us to listen to what they’re saying.

This question has driven countless studies. In fact, this general question describes so much about microbiome-research: can we

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Science + Tech

If you’ve studied some high school biology, you’ve probably heard of one of the stars on this scene already: nitrogen-fixing bacteria, which some plants (legumes such as peas and clover) cultivate in their root nodules. The plants provide sugars and other growth materials, and in turn the bacteria provide nitrogen, an essential tenet of life. Without these bacteria, nitrogen is near inaccessible: abundant in the air, but in the unreactive form of NH2. In fact, these bacteria are essential to all life on earth, driving the Nitrogen Cycle.

adapt this useful microbiome from here to there?

Can we cure IBS, obesity, and depression through microbiome-transplants? Create nitrogen-fixing, pathogen-resistant wheat crops?

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to the microbes filling the surrounding soil. We have spent centuries cultivating productive and resilient crops, with little focus on the rhizosphere - and little understanding of the impact it has on plant behaviour. Yet, much like described above in mammalian systems, the rhizosphere plays an essential role in resistance to disease, resilience to environmental changes, and sourcing of nutrients.

Words: Priyasha Bachu

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Science + Tech

Is It Getting Hot in Here?

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he news has been swamped with the increase in wildfires all over the world; almost 9 in 10 of these being caused by humans.

Honestly, we haven’t taken this as seriously as we should. Climate change has slowly increased the scale and intensity of forest fires all around the world. With acres of land being burnt, major losses in infrastructure and leaving thousands of people homeless. The planet has been heating up since the industrial revolution when fossil fuels were being burnt, increasing the emission of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This began trapping in the heat. Air soaks up water but can get saturated. The difference between the amount of water in the air and the amount that the air can hold is often referred to as the Vapour Pressure Deficit. If this deficit increases over long periods of time, soils and vegetation burn due to the lack of water on their leaves.

“It’s like a war – Greece battles increase in summer wild5res.”

- The Guardian The summer wildfire seasons are already said to be 40 to 80 days longer on average compared to 30 years ago. Droughts and extreme weather temperatures have been marked by the drying out of fuels, lightning storms and especially strong winds. This makes it easier for the fires to light up and spread.

Sometimes, something as small as a bark beetle could be causing an issue as well. While many of these beetles infest dead and dying trees, some of them infest living ones as well. The increase in temperatures have also increased the population of beetles, leaving the trees unable to defend themselves. Dead trees caused by the infestation of bark beetles is often speculated to be a reason for forest fires around the world, especially in the United States.

We have been living in deteriorating climate conditions for decades; before seeing the impact in present years.

The past year has been marked by early snowmelt and some of the warmest winters we have faced. Moreover, soils drying up faster due to the increased evaporation has given us lengthy forest fires.

There also comes an underlying problem with fighting wildfires. Past fires have effects on subsequent fires and fire suppression methods don’t help to decrease the intensity of fires. This often leads to a ‘wildfire paradox’ – the more we prevent fires in the short term, the worse they get in the long term. When a fire is not suppressed,

“Turkish 5res sweeping through tourist areas are the hottest on record.”- The Guardian

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“Colorado winter wild5res destroy hundreds of homes as thousands 4ee.”

- The Guardian However, there may be a path forward for all the nations burning up. Reducing fuel emissions and forest thinning can be productive ways to reduce forest fires.

Forest thinning - reducing the density of trees in an area - can increase growth of low number, high quality trees, while reducing excess fuels in a given area. We can start building fire-adapted communities near highly prone areas and let the fires burn instead of suppressing them.

We have a long way forward and it’s upon us if we want to save it or see everything burn up in flames.

“Algeria forest 5res – almost 25 soldiers and 17 civilians killed.”

- BBC News Africa

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it increases stream flow, soil moisture and drought resistance and fire resilience to the remaining trees.

Trees often have deep roots into the soil from which they get their water resources. So, if the fire removes about 20 percent of the surrounding demand, it gives the water more levy to recharge groundwater resources and support all other kinds of surrounding vegetation.

Science + Tech

Design: Ana Vich Cologan

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Science + Tech

Words: Zara Findlay

Can We Refreeze the Arctic?

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arsh storms, cruel winters, and boiling summers - we often hear these horrifying kinds of phrases while talking about climate change, a critical issue in the current day. We must understand that the heating of the planet is causing the Arctic to melt - what this means is not that the Arctic is going to suddenly be without ice, but rather that ancient ice that has been around for centuries due to consistently freezing temperatures is melting. The Arctic then must rely on the thin ice formed in the winter and melted away in the summer. The ice is so important because it allows reflection of sun rays, without which the planet would heat up considerably, as well as alter weather patterns.

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We are often guilted and told by large corporations that individually – “We can stop climate change!” By recycling and taking the bus we can stop the apocalyptic future of our planet from happening. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to stop global warming in its tracks, but that begs the question, what solutions are being created for our future?

What about renewable energy to help us refreeze the Arctic?

Proposed by US researchers, it is theorised that using wind powered pumps to spread thin layers of chilly water onto existing ice would help refreeze the Arctic. The layers of water would freeze on top of the ice - thickening it during the winter months and allowing it to withstand the sun’s heat in the summer.

What about massive floating freezers? Proposed by Indonesian designers, the concept is that a specialised submarine with a large hexagonal pool would dip under the ocean to collect enough water to make ice units 25 metres across.

Once collected, the submarine would use a desalination system to remove the salt in the water allowing it to freeze at a higher temperature. The water would then be frozen inside the submarine - therefore creating a machine-made iceberg!

Although this solution sounds more effective than the wind pumps due to the fact the submarines could make a lot more ice, there are still issues. The submarines themselves aren’t cheap but aside from that,

OK - so maybe machines aren’t the way to go, but what about reflective silica microspheres? The theory is that these small beads could be spread on the surface of the ice and serve to not only reflect the sunlight, but also to provide protection to young ice in the summer months, allowing it to build up over multiple winters.

This has had very promising results from trials in Canadian ponds and lakes, however we don’t know what the risks of dumping billions of small pieces of silica into the Arctic ecosystem could be. Arguably, because silica is found commonly in nature it won’t cause damage when ingested but this is not the problem. We do not know the the magdalen issue 92

Moving away from the ice itself, maybe altering cloud brightness could help? This sounds like quite a strange concept and is hard to pull off but is seen as one of the most feasible ways to prevent climate change. The theory goes - if we increase the reflectivity of the clouds themselves, they could reflect light, preventing as much from reaching the ice and therefore preventing excessive melting. This would be achieved by using specialised seawater sprayers to pump small droplets into the cloud layer, these then form crystals in the fog that increase reflectivity. This theory has a lot of promise but we don’t know if it actually would work in practice or if it would be effective enough at preventing the ice caps melting.

The creativity and ingenuity of these solutions is genius to say the least. All that’s left is to convince bodies of power that it is a worthwhile investment to help balance the cons.

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The wind powered pumps would individually spread the ocean water about 0.1km2, therefore a large number of pumps would be needed to make this solution possible.

Upkeep of these pumps would be too expensive - the estimated cost being around $50 billion a year. A hard pill to swallow as it is estimated to only delay loss of Arctic ice by 60 years.

the sheer volume of energy needed to desalinate and freeze just one unit of ice would end up burning so much fossil fuel that it would exceed the benefit of creating ice.

effect these beads could have on the floor of the Arctic Ocean. The beads reflect sunlight, and they also block it - good for ice, bad for things that live below the ice.

If plankton are prevented from photosynthesising by blocking the light, this would remove a vital food source in the Arctic that would have a knock-on effect to the whole ecosystem.

Science + Tech

Design: Belle Roach

Words: Freddie Lindsell

Psychology and Neuroscience: The Architects Behind Habit Formation

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Science + Tech

nother year is finally upon us, and with it come the celebrations, well-wishes for the future and many other traditions. One of these is the New Year’s resolution, a culmination of the vows of self-improvement and desire to change; catalysed by the concept of a fresh start. A clean slate of opportunity with which to better one’s lifestyle.

So why do the statistics show that only a quarter of those who make resolutions manage to keep them throughout the year?

Our answer can be found in the resolutions themselves. The most popular type of resolution is self-improvement – living healthier (23%), exercising (7%), quitting smoking and drinking less (5% and 2%, respectively). There are numerous reasons why some find their New Year’s resolutions unattainable, regardless of whether it involves the creation of a beneficial routine or the destruction of a detrimental one. However, there is a particular one of unique importance: it is that they all involve habits.

Habits are often trivialised in popular media as being simple things that can be created and destroyed on a whim. I’m sure you’ve heard of the ‘21-day rule’ or the ‘4 laws of habit formation’, but the truth is that habits are tricky things, both to develop and suppress. The fundamental theories behind why they exist, however, can be applied to the actions of making and breaking them. To discover the why, we must delve into the brain and its individual components.

When we learn or perform a new behaviour for the first time, we activate our prefrontal cortex: a region at the front of the brain that plays a vital role in cognitive control functions. This includes processes such as understanding, problem solving and perseverance, which is important because we often need to make a conscious effort when trying to understand a novel topic or task. It is worth noting that this region of the brain requires more energy than the rest, so its usage is minimised where possible to maximise efficiency. When a task or action is repeated multiple times, the brain diverts energy to the basal ganglia instead – a group of nuclei which researchers have linked to habit creation and development. This area not only influences movement, but also emotions as well, and works to turn actions into automatic processes – habits – that can be replicated without having to relearn them. In turn, this uses up less brain power, allowing the brain to direct energy towards other areas whilst still performing the required task.

This procedure means we don’t have to figure out how to tie our shoelaces every time we put our shoes on or learn how to ride every time we get on a bike.

Unfortunately, our brain does not know how to actively distinguish between good and bad habits – it is our job to see the difference. This means that we may also find ourselves eating a snack every time we watch tv or chewing our nails every time we become anxious: to the brain, it is simply another automated process – only we can decide if it is a good or bad one.

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Design: Patrik Vojtas

The creation of new habits, and replacement of others, is by no means a simple task. It requires a strong resolve and a genuine understanding that any major change will require lots of time and effort. We can’t be discouraged by the hurdles we encounter, but instead take pride in the small victories, whilst not losing sight of the end goal. I hope that by gaining a greater knowledge of the principles that govern habits, we may all be able to make meaningful changes this New Year.

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To efficiently change our habits or create ones that improve our everyday lives, we can implement some useful practices into our daily routine. These involve reducing stress through mindfulness, setting realistic expectations, and keeping yourself motivated. It is also useful to understand what a habit is. Researchers from MIT concluded that a habit can be defined as a loop, consisting of three key stages: a cue, a routine, and a reward. These three factors form a triad that explicitly determine the cravings we feel and the methods which we go about to obtain the reward. Once you recognise these three steps, you can figure out the cause of your bad habits and how to create better ones.

Science + Tech

Our brains are hard wired to do actions that require the least effort. In effect – a useful mechanism of energy conservation. In actuality? Our worst nightmare when it comes to keeping up a New Year’s resolution.

This is the reason we revert to our old habits when we become stressed or tired: the brain runs the body on autopilot. I’m sure I speak for most when I say that it is difficult to live a stress-free life as a student, let alone one without tiredness.

Words: Freddie Lindsell

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Science + Tech

“We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

– Will Durant, Philosopher

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Words: AditeeA, Design: Ewelina Zdybel

THE FOLDS OF LIFE A Journey of Reflection, Re-evaluation and Progress

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In the pioneering days of structural biology, scientists turned towards the technique of X-ray crystallography.

In this technique, the protein is crystallised, and a beam of X-rays is shone on the protein crystal. The atoms in the crystal scatter the X-ray beams and form a unique pattern, which allows the scientist to interpret the atoms present and the structure that they form. Although a straightforward process on paper, the exercise of working out an optimum method for crystallisation and the time it took to unravel the actual structure of the protein, while accounting for the combinations in which it folded, made it a challenging journey. The first proteins to be ‘solved’ in this manner were haemoglobin and myoglobin in 1958.

Following this work, in 1994, CASP (Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction) was established to catalyse the process of protein structure modelling.

CASP allowed various research groups worldwide to test their predictions of protein structure for soon-to-be-solved proteins using prediction models.

Amongst these research groups was a pioneering team working on AlphaFold.

AlphaFold uses deep learning architecture - a subset of machine learning relying on artificial neural networks that work on large and complex databases - to predict the patterns in which a protein folds. The team analysed variations in homologous protein sequences (sequences with a common ancestor), MSA (multiple sequence alignment), and amino acid residue pairs to help predict the protein structure. This was used to build a prediction for the structure of the protein. The predictions were then tested using the experimentally obtained data by a GDT (global distance test), a measure of accuracy.

The team attained a median GDT score of 92.4/100, suggesting that their predictions for the structures of proteins were comparable with the results obtained from the ongoing experiments.

Although the team continues to improve their GDT score and hence the reliability of their predictions, it is important to remember that this journey which started with X-ray crystallography, through reflection and re-evaluation led to AlphaFold - an AI-based solution.

The folds of life are now escaping the blur with greater efficiency through the persistence of people who actively reflect on the past, re-evaluate in the present to progress towards the future.

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Proteins form the basis of life and hence deciphering their structures is one of the most crucial problems that scientists attempt to solve. So far, we know that proteins are polymers made from the subunits of amino acids.

Initially, our body’s machinery weaves these amino acids in a particular order. Once this chain of amino acids is ready, it folds in a particular shape to better fit its function – and it is the very nature of how it folds that lies at the heart of the protein folding problem.

Science + Tech

he world of modern science is replete with stories that reassure the power of reflection and re-evaluation, which inevitably lead to progress. In this article we follow one such story – the story of a protein folding problem.

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26th February

SWINGIN' HEARTS A night full of dancing with live music from The Background Sounds led by Swing Dance Society.

28th FEBRUARY

CAREERS WORKSHOP: CONSIDERING POSTGRADUATE STUDY In-person workshop about the adventures of collaborative decision making.

17th MARCH

THE LEGENDARY ST PATRICK'S ALL-DAY PARTY Visit https://www.dusa.co.uk/ paddys for tickets.