University
Express
Volume 24 | Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th September 2020
“Whether we like it or not, though, interaction with other human beings is a necessity.” - pg 7 Forging Friendships in a Virtual World
UCCExpress.ie
“At the time of writing the situation surrounding a return to university was up in the air.” - pg 10 A Start Unlike Any Other
“Change comes from impact, who will change first is the question.” -pg 22 Fashion Restyle: Revamping the €1.2 Trillion Industry Post Lockdown
COLLEGE YEAR SET TO BEGIN AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Writes Maeve McTaggart, News Editor Over six months after the university first closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, UCC is set to welcome students back on campus on September 28th. The format of the new academic term is unfamiliar to both students and staff and still, for many incoming and returning students, their plans for the semester remain uncertain. The semester begins almost a month later than usual, meaning Autumn examinations will now begin and end in January rather than in December. Incoming first year students, making the transition from secondary school, received their CAO offers on September 11th following a teacher-calculated grading system which substituted this years’ Leaving Certificate.
The return to UCC in late September is set to look different for every student depending on their course, county and current COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines. Accommodation needs have changed as many students may no longer need to live in Cork for the duration of the term, choosing instead to commute and avoid the associated risks of a second lockdown while renting. Instead, studying at UCC during COVID-19 will be through “blended learning”: an amalgamation of face-to-face and online lectures, labs, seminars and tutorials. Professor John O’Halloran, the Deputy President and Registrar at UCC, told University Express that “we are working closely with your Students’ Union to ensure that the quality of education and life experience provided at UCC won’t change - even if its delivery has.” “We all share a collective responsibility to our community in the face of this
Photo Credit: Leahy Photos
pandemic,” he continued. “While stu- dent accommodation and commercial dents will be learning online more than revenue, a HEA report revealed in May. ever this year, campus remains the beating heart of our university experience.” To rectify this, a package in excess of €160 million to support universiProfessor O’Halloran reminded stu- ties and colleges during COVID-19 dents of the wellbeing supports avail- has been granted by the Department able, stating that “This is an anxious, of Further and Higher Education, uncertain time for us all, and no more Research, Innovation and Science. so than for students facing into an academic year like no other. However I Within the fund, €15 million for the am confident that if a mutual spirit of allocation and accessing of ICT deviccooperation, patience, and unity pre- es such as laptops has been made availvails we will make this year a success.” able to bridge the digital divide which exists between many students. The Simultaneous to navigating the new USI Students and COVID-19 Report learning format during COVID-19, the found that almost 40% of students felt college must survey the financial dam- they performed significantly worse age done by the effects of the pandemic. as a result of last semesters’ alternaAnnual expenditure at UCC is to be cut tive assessments. One fifth of students by almost 5% for the upcoming year listed WiFi access issues as the cause. while overall, Irish colleges and universities are facing a €500 million shortfall in funding as a result of lost income relating to international students, stu- Story Continued on Page 3...
Editorial
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Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th Sept 2020 | University Express
Editorial Team
And So, It Starts
2020/21
Editor-in-Chief – Fiona Keeley (Editor@UCCExpress.ie) News Editor – Maeve McTaggart (News@UCCExpress.ie) Designer – Fiona Cremins (Design@UCCExpress.ie) Features Editor – Elisha Carey (Features@UCCExpress.ie) Sports Editor – Liam Grainger (Sport@UCCExpress.ie) Opinion Editor – Rían Browne (Opinion@UCCExpress.ie) Eagarthóir Gaeilge – Édith De Faoite (Gaeilge@UCCExpress.ie) Online Editor – Edel Lonergan (Online@UCCExpress.ie) Marketing Executive – Fiona Keeley (Marketing@UCCExpress.ie)
Writes Fiona Keeley, Editor-in-Chief As my pen scratches the paper I pause and think about what people said to me in the weeks before I started college. It is a tough question to answer because the world was a different place four years ago, but the most important thing that you need to hear is: welcome. Welcome to a place where you will learn about topics within your course; but more importantly a place where you will start a journey and become the person you will be at the end of your UCC experience. I’m sure that seems like a world away right now and hopefully you will be able to look back on your time here with more smiles than tears, but that’s all in the future. Right now, it is important to focus on the present and enjoy your college experience. That distinct college mentality waits in the wings of Cork City as the prospect of online and blended learning poses a new encounter for many students. The fusion of familiarity and novelty brings a new energy to this year; the warm embrace of college that leaves a sting of unfamiliarity on its tail. Many of us are approaching this year with an air of apprehension about the future. Our certainties lie within our own capabilities and how we can apply our knowledge to uncertain situations.
There is no college map that clearly defines the road each person will travel down, the beauty of it is that you create your own map. Whether you are at the start of your college journey or somewhere in the middle of things the possibility for creation is always there for the taking; it is just a matter of having the courage to reach out and grab it. While our world has become more virtual in nature, this should not limit the possibilities that we can create for ourselves as we look forward to the future. I was told once, necessity is the mother of invention and over the past six months I have seen the core of that message come to fruition. The editorial team has been working tirelessly over the holidays to produce this paper in that familiar working from home fashion that we have all become so accustomed to over the past while. In this issue, Maeve McTaggart tackles student accommodation amidst the pandemic and Liam Grainger casts his eye forward to an optimistic season for UCC Sport. There is also a brand new section in Features this year called ‘Careers Corner’, detailing stories from the Career Services right here in UCC. All of that and lots more in the following pages. My reminder to every student; University Express is only as good as those who contribute their pieces to its pages each fortnight. Our editors are ready to work with anyone who wants to become part of the student media community here at UCC. Until next time,
Webmaster – Jonathan Hanley (Webmaster@UCCExpress.ie) Photographers – Caoimhe Leahy, Célem Deegan (Photographers@uccexpress.ie) Byline Editor – Fergal Smiddy (Byline@ UCCExpress.ie) (Deputy Editor) Food & Health – Maeve O’Keeffe (Food@UCCExpress.ie) Arts & Literature Editor – Imasha Costa (Arts@UCCExpress.ie) Gaming Editor – Hugo Blair (Gaming @UCCExpress.ie) Music Editor – Cathal Donovan O’Neill (Music@UCCExpress) Fashion Editor – Maeve O’Sullivan (fashion@uccexpress.ie) Film & Television Editor – Kyran Leahy (Screen@UCCExpress.ie) Sexpress Editor – Jack Wrixon (Sexpress@uccexpress.ie) Deputy Sports – Sam Curtin (Deputysports@uccexpress.ie) Deputy News – Maebh McCarthy (Deputynews@uccexpress.ie) Deputy Features – Eoghan O’Donnell (Deputyfeatures@uccexpress.ie) Staff Writer: Julie Landers
Fiona Keeley
editor@uccexpress.ie
How could I forget? We’re in a global pandemic! Writes Maeve McTaggart, News Editor For the last six months, I feel as if my vision has shifted into the gallery view of a Zoom call: each part of my life squared off, sometimes muted. The very last thing I expected in March as I sat in front of my laptop and contorted the cables of my broadband box, was to still be sat in front of my laptop in September, none the wiser if turning my WiFi on and off even helps with better connection. There are moments where I trick myself into thinking that this is normality—working, studying, sleeping all in the same one room, shouting through fabric as you order a coffee with a mask on, searching for the stickers that mark 2 metres on the shop floor. It makes everything more disconcerting when you’re reminded that this is a global pandemic... like an actual, world-wide, highly-contagious, incredibly ‘unprecedented’ outbreak of a virus there is no vaccination for. I never returned my library books to Boole. I gave our time off-campus two weeks, before it bled into “how did I ever think we would be back?” I think about all the words which now sit so comfortably in our everyday conversations, how at the start I kept forgetting what the word for ‘social distancing’ was, how ‘cocooning’ was the kindest word for isolation I’ve ever heard. I have a preferred type of hand sanitiser now—more foam than gel, not too watery, the smell can’t remind me of nail polish remover or shots on a night out, it has to dry quickly, does that make sense to you? It does, and you probably hate that it does (I do)—this ‘new normal’ is weird. Making friends with the uncertainty is difficult. September has always been my New Year, everything a new beginning of uncomfortable adjustments, of mapping out the ORB in my mind and working out the fastest way to WGB (there is none). I think it’s the first September since I was five and sitting in a yellow crayon-scented classroom on my first day of school that I have no plan. No idea what the next year is going to look like, aside from the ever-present dread of another Zoom call. The weekly notification of hours of screen-time is going to scare me, and reconciling most parts of my life into an overheating laptop will feel claustrophobic and mildly painful. Near the beginning of lockdown, when Zoom calls felt more exhausting than they did fulfilling, failing their intention as a substitute for in-person interaction instead only highlighting how little a screen can really do to replace each other, I found an explanation for why. “It’s easier being in each other’s presence, or in each other’s absence, than in the constant presence of each other’s absence,” Gianpiero Petriglieri said on Twitter (take my phone away). All it really does is remind us what we still have to hope for.
news@uccexpress.ie #uccexpress
Maeve McTaggart
News
Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th Sept 2020 | University Express
Cover Story Continued...
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UCC TALKS Launched Writes Maebh McCarthy, Deputy News Editor
UCC is set to receive €590,432 of the funding package for IT supports. In addition, the Student Assistance Fund will be doubled from €8 million to over €16 million as applications for SUSI grants are expected to reach a record high during COVID-19. As of mid-August, SUSI had received 88,500 applications, an increase of 4,000 on last year. The college experience will be invariably different this year, with the threat of the pandemic no less prevalent than it was when the university closed over 6 months ago. By consequence, COVID-19 remains at the forefront of how UCC must operate. Discussing the work of the UCCSU during the current crisis, its focus being preparing for a new semester despite the pandemic, Students’ Union President Naoise Crowley told University Express of the importance of increased financial support of the Student Assistance Fund and the work to found a UCC COVID-19 Hardship Fund to help students. “We are happy to see that two face masks will be provided to all students free of charge upon arrival in UCC in September,” he stated, but expressed his disappointment at the “small number of departments who have delayed [the provision of timetables] until the last minute.” The UCCSU President outlined the undue criticism students have received throughout the COVID-19 crisis, stating that it “has not taken into account the vitally important contribution of students to the local economy and community, with UCC students spending €187 million each year alone, not to mention the hundreds of healthcare and social care students who work on the frontline for the HSE, without pay.” All support services and information on COVID-19 as staff and students return to UCC are available at ucc.ie/en/emt/covid19.
Covid-19 has posed a range of challenges to each individual person, but it is imperative that we recognise the immense challenge the pandemic has placed on our mental health. In response to this, UCC Students’ Union (UCCSU) have recognised the importance of reaching out in a new highly digitalised world, and thus have launched a unique blog, UCC TALKS. Jamie Fraser, Welfare Officer for UCCSU, told University Express that the aim of the blog is to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental health, by creating a community in which UCC Students can grow, learn and prosper together by sharing their individual story. “I’m hoping UCC TALKS will allow students to know that it’s okay not to be okay and that even though social interactions may be limited, they are not alone”, Mr Fraser said. UCC TALKS takes the form of one UCC student sharing their story each week throughout the upcoming academic
year. Mr Fraser revealed to University Express that UCCSU Events Office, Tara Coughlan, will also be involved in this initiative, holding socially-distanced events to break down the isolation students will have experienced during this time. Fraser was quick to point out that UCC TALKS is not the only support available on campus but it will complement the other mental health supports that are currently in place. “With regards to mental health supports, UCC Student Counselling is currently being offered via phone appointments and this will be adapted into teleconference calls over Microsoft Teams, pursuant to public health advice. Other mental health supports can be accessed through myself, who will always be here to lend an ear. Furthermore, there are various other online and over the phone supports around the city being offered from Pieta House, Jigsaw, Aware and the Samaritans.” Returning to college for a new academ-
ic year can be stressful for many students, but this anxiety is bound to be heightened when returning in a Covid-19 setting. UCCSU are pushing the message that “it’s completely natural to feel down or anxious, especially with regards to the pandemic and the ambiguity felt about returning to college.” Jamie Fraser added: “I’m here, for any student, whenever they need whether that be a chat about the football, sitting down for a socially distanced cup of tea or a phone call. Every student should be extremely proud of themselves for how they’ve handled the challenging situation placed in front of them and I will do my utmost to ensure students have the support they need and deserve.” UCC TALKS can be found at Mental Health | UCC TALKS, as well as the UCCSU mental health Instagram page @keepwellucc. Jamie Fraser, UCCSU Welfare Officer can be contacted via email: welfare@uccsu.ie or +353 861842697.
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News
Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th Sept 2020 | University Express
UCC Fees Remain Unchanged Despite COVID-19 Writes Maebh McCarthy, Deputy News Editor
Minister for Education, Norma Foley, confirmed last week that third-level colleges can charge full fees, even in blended learning scenarios that include severe restrictions when accessing campus. This led to backlash from members of the opposition, as well as students and the general public. It was also noted that Minister for Higher Education, Simon Harris, did not make this announcement which was faced with widespread disappointment, anger and frustration by third-level students nationally. Minister Harris said on RTÉ radio earlier this week “I do think the registration fee in Ireland is too high and it is something that I would like to see addressed, obviously that depends on a whole variety of issues but I am committed to working on it.” Earlier this year, the programme for government, contained a commitment to addressing the funding challenges in third-level education. However, details on specific measures have yet to be announced. This issue is exacerbated owing to the
fact that Ireland has the highest fees in the European Union for an undergraduate degree, standing at €3000 per year. The President of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), Lorna Fitzpatrick, has called on third-level institutions to reduce fees for this academic year, as a result of the vast changes to the student experience and the decrease of time on campus. Ms. Fitzpatrick has also called for a wider debate to take place surrounding the issue of third level fees and funding. “I don’t think students should be forced to pay the same amount for what is going to be a very different experience. The simple answer is we should be reducing the cost to students to accessing education”, Ms. Fitzpatrick said whilst speaking to RTÉ. Students across the board are voicing their concerns regarding the lack of clarity being provided to students in relation to the ‘hybrid’ or ‘blended’ model of teaching and learning that universities are moving towards for the upcoming academic year. Most students have now received timetables for their
individual courses but there is still a significant lack of clarity regarding many vital components of student life and related academia. Tutorials, field trips and laboratories as well as clubs, societies and other student activities are all components which make up the college experience; but these activities will be limited by Covid-19 and may occur virtually in the upcoming academic year. Nationally it is well documented that Irish Universities, such as UCC, are facing a significant drop in the number of international students, who pay far higher fees than EU citizens. According to the UCC International Office, an average of three thousand international students attend the college each year. International students pay between €12,500 to €48,750 per year, according to the UCC International Undergraduate Fees Schedule 2020/21. This is a substantial drop in revenue for universities. Universities are required to make additional investments in training staff and incorporating new technology this year in order to deliver online teaching and
learning, whilst adhering to Covid-19 guidelines. It has been estimated that the sector could be facing a financial debt of up to €500m due to Covid-19. In addition to the €3000 ‘Student Contribution Charge’ or fee for third-level students, there is an additional ‘Capitation Fee’, which is a prerequisite to attending UCC. University Express previously reported in November 2019, that UCCSU successfully reversed a €200 increase in the student capitation fee, after threatening legal action against the university. The capitation fee must be paid by all students, in order to access facilities and sit exams. This fee is not covered by the Higher Education Grant scheme and remains at €170 for the coming academic year. Despite fees remaining unchanged, there is no doubt that the learning experience provided to UCC students will be different from previous years as staff and students adjust to a blended learning environment.
Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th Sept 2020 | University Express
Decisions to be made around accommodation are compounding the stress and uncertainty of the upcoming term for students across the country. A blended learning model means that the number of times a student is on campus for lectures, as opposed to online, may only be a couple per month, decreasing the need to find housing close to college.
News
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Student Accommodation and Renters Further Troubled by Pandemic Writes Maeve McTaggart, News Editor
Renting accommodation in Cork may no longer be necessary for many students but for others, they must make decisions and pay deposits while their timetable is still unclear, and may enter a contract made risky by the threat of a second lockdown. The student accommodation sector was in crisis before the COVID-19 pandemic, and is still hungover from last semesters’ controversies of #RefundTheRent and the #OccupyTheQuad protest. For 17 days, over 200 students rotationally camped on the Quad to protest UCC Campus Accommodations’ decision to increase its rent by 3% for the upcoming year, signifying a 19% increase over just 3 years. Their demands, for a reversal of the increase and implementation of a rent freeze, were not fulfilled by UCC Campus Accommodation and the occupation, led by UCCSU, ended as a result of the onset of the pandemic. From there, another problem for student renters grew. Student accommodation owned by UCC—Castlewhite Apartments, Mardyke Hall, Victoria Lodge, University Hall and Victoria Mills—issued refunds of two-months rent if students returned home due to COVID-19. However, some private landlords refused to allow the early termination of contracts, and others withheld the deposits and rents of students they let to. Many private student accommodation complexes such as Amnis House of the Uninest Group, refused to refund students who were returning home until late May. Now, the company is offering students credit incentives of up to €250 if they book accommodation at its new complex on South Main Street. Such complexes and others like it across the country are promising flexibility to student renters during an uncertain time: at Lee Point installments are broken down to four payments; Sheila’s Hostel now offers accom-
modation on a week-by-week basis; and DCU has created a hostel-like, nightly booking system for its campus housing. The flexibility has been welcomed but it is not universal, such is the concern of the Union of Students’ in Ireland (USI). The USI has called on Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to implement emergency rental measures to protect students. There should be no penalties for the early termination of rental contracts and no withholding of deposits or prepaid rents for reasons relating to COVID-19, the USI demands. Neither should any evictions of students occur during the pandemic. The Minister agreed to meet with the
USI on August 25th, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage later stating that “while it would be hoped that, in the current circumstances, landlords would show flexibility to students... [rental] agreements are a private matter between students and landlords, and the term should be clearly established before the tenancy begins.” The Department maintains that the current government is committed to improving “the supply and affordability of rental accommodation.” On the same day, Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on housing Eoin Ó Broin offered to meet with the USI to draft an opposition bill on their proposals. The supply of student housing, notoriously strained in recent years as the
total number of enrolled students in Ireland has grown to over 225,000, has turned into a highly profitable industry experiencing a boom. 1,528 on and off-site student bed spaces have been built in Cork since 2016, with planning granted for upwards of 1,413 more - construction that has been halted, necessity put in jeopardy, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students who do not have accommodation booked at the beginning of term are advised to contact the Office of Accommodation and Community Life at reservices@ucc.ie, or their website at ucc.ie/en/accommodation.
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Features
Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th Sept 2020 | University Express
Forging Friendships in a Virtual World Writes Elisha Carey, Features Editor
First years, I have so much sympathy this new chapter at home too. Life can be for you. so cruel. Most of us spend our teenhoods overdosing on the bad American TV that You missed out on your graduation, depicts college as this red-solo-cup-filled your debs, your Leaving Cert holiday adventure, free of parental supervision. and your whole summer was ruined College on TV was absolutely chock full because you were played by the Irish of library romances and countless ingovernment. You spent your final tellectual conversations with friends. I, months of secondary school at home, for one, started packing for college the and now it seems like you’ll be starting minute the Leaving Cert ended, roman-
ticising my big move to the city and the newfound independence it would bring. The sad reality is that for many of our freshers this year, the only big move they’ll be making is from their beds to their desks each morning as UCC trials delivering many of its courses online.
The not-so-smooth pivot to “online learning” began in March as Covid-19 landed on our shores, ending our social lives as we once knew them. Gone are the days of chats over a sausage bean and chip in main rest or sitting next to your friend in the library and I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Things are deciding you both deserve an hourlooking pretty bleak. long break, 15 minutes into your
Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th Sept 2020 | University Express shared study sesh. The new Covid measures have disastrous consequences for the socialising and life-longfriend-making opportunities that college typically brings. Online classes strip us of our relationship-building (and maintaining) tools like those casual conversations in between classes and the ability to employ facial expressions, body language and non robotic voices to convey thoughts and emotion. It’s certainly harder to gauge whether you’d get on well with someone when your entire perception of their existence is based on a tiny rectangular shaped picture of them floating about on your laptop screen. With very little face-to-face teaching going ahead next academic year, many students have also opted to commute from home for the one or two days that they do have in-person lectures rather than forking out for on-campus accommodation. The in-person lectures that do take place will have to ensure masks are worn and social distancing is enforced, completely eliminating the chances of you meeting the love of your life in the Boole by tapping them on the shoulder and asking them for a pencil. I don’t know about you, but my sweaty mask and fogged up glasses combo is a far cry from the fantasies of the film screen.
ed to others have lower rates of anxiety and depression. This is because we rely on others for that all-important sense of belonging or for support when we are going through tough times and these are certainly tough times for everyone. For this year’s freshers, the new measures mean that it’s going to be especially difficult to make friends and for those of us more battle-hardened UCC students, our trouble is going to be keeping them. I do wonder how we’ll all cope once the formal lecture hall experience is taken out of the equation. One thing that separates us from the poor sods that suffered through plagues past, though, is the ever-growing suite of communication technologies we now have at our disposal. The youth of 1346 knew nothing of TikTok dances, Instagram “challenges”, or online banana bread recipes. These are what connected us during the darkest days of lockdown, and it’s these methods we’ll have to employ again if we want our relationships to survive next academic year, or god forbid if we want to forge new ones. Pre-Corona, the virtual space was a largely separate and imaginary field, but in recent months it’s become an indispensable part of our reality. The Internet is our answer to how to replicate the pleasures of socialising in the absence of actually meeting up with anyone. If you’re taking mostly online classes and afraid of how you’re going to Insights from the primary and sec- connect with people, this one’s for you! ondary schools opening within the last few weeks have shown us that even Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and one Covid scare could easily topple the Twitter were already the four cornervery fragile microcosm of college life. stones of interaction between students Single Covid cases in primary schools pre-Corona. Now in the age of online across Dublin, Kerry and Meath have learning, we can use these platforms seen whole classes being sent home. to connect with our classmates even With our numbers peaking at above if we haven’t had the chance to meet 300 cases in recent weeks, it’s no them in person yet. Adding at least doubt that the worst is yet to come as a couple of your classmates on sostudents begin to board planes, trains cial media is a good idea anyways as it and buses to return to their third-level can be handy to have someone to ask institutions at the end of the month. questions about textbooks, exam paEven those of us that do move closer to pers or the assignment that’s due in college for the year could be back home 45 minutes. Remember, these are facor locked down before we know it. es you see every day, and you’re in the same class so you know you have at I think it’s fair to say that the virus least that in common. All that’s left is has made us all suddenly more wary to take that leap of faith. It’s definiteof our health and safety, perhaps al- ly nerve-wracking but sending a quick lowing our other needs, the ones fur- message introducing yourself could ther down Maslow’s pyramid, to take be the start of a beautiful friendship... a backseat. Whether we like it or not, Another way to seamlessly pick up new though, interaction with other hu- friends without ever needing to trek to man beings is a necessity. We are so- campus is by engaging with clubs and cial animals after all. One 1988 study societies online. I know the vast mashowed that lack of social connection jority of my own extracurriculars will is a greater detriment to health than be held online this year through Miobesity, smoking or high blood pres- crosoft Teams and Google Hangouts. sure. People who feel more connect- If you’re unsure of how to sign up to a
Features club or soc you can simply email them to be added to the mailing list. This way you’ll be kept informed of any digital events that are going on like virtual coffee mornings or book clubs! In all likelihood, a lot of your lectures will be in a seminar format, far more lecture driven than participation focused. This can make it difficult to suss out your fellow classmates around you, especially in a virtual setting. Attending an online club or society meeting is a convenient and sure fire way to forge bonds with other people in the college community. When your primary means of contacting the outside world is through your phone, distance means less. If you’re stuck taking college from your bedroom in Laois it’s just as easy to keep in touch with someone in America or the UK as it is with someone who lives just a kilometre down the road from you. If you’re reliant on your phone and laptop for those all-important heart-to-hearts this academic year, use it as an excuse to catch up with friends and family across the world. One of my favourite parts of early lockdown was not the Chloe Ting workouts or family movies but all the Zoom conversations I got to have with my friends from Croatia to Canada and everywhere in between, nobody felt too far away. You can gather your friends, new and old, near and far for a digital happy hour or online group workout, the (virtual) world is your oyster! If you’re ready, you can also take the connections you’ve built up in your virtual space into the real world. Planning shared experiences away from the academic setting is the ultimate way of evolving classmate relationships into strong friendships and it’s also something to look forward to! You’ll be able to bond over how technologically inept some of your lecturers are or the way your voice glitched that one time. So long as you’re following the Covid guidelines, you’re not going to be arrested for meeting up with one or two pals! Just because you mightn’t be on campus this year doesn’t take away from the huge achievement that is making it to college and under the most difficult circumstances too! Class of 2020, you deserve a pat on the back for your patience, perseverance, and bravery in these the strangest of times. Remember that being on your own doesn’t mean that you have to be lonely. As college begins again, keep in mind to ask for help when you need it and let others know that you’re there for them too. As a wise basketball player once said, we’re all in this together.
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My Top Tools to Keep You Connected During Covid-19 Netflix Party This Google Chrome extension enables you to watch your favourite Netflix shows and movies at the exact same time as your friends. The handy chat function allows you to discuss key plot points and theorise about what’s to come.
{Picture Credit: chrome.google.com}
Psych! Originating from the Ellen Degeneres show (yikes), Psych! is one of my favourite apps. A game on the app, ‘And the Truth Comes Out’ puts forward a question about one of the players to everyone and then you all have to vote for the player with the funniest/most accurate answer. The game is designed to test how well you know your friends but it’s the ultimate opportunity to give them a bit of a slagging!
{Picture Credit: play.google.com}
Houseparty You’ll likely have heard of this one already but you can’t beat Houseparty for multi-screen video chatting and its addictive minigames.
{Picture Credit: houseparty.com}
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Features
Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th Sept 2020 | University Express
How We Perceive Time A Passage Through Life Writes Eoghan O’Donnell, Deputy Features Editor You will likely have heard the phrase “time is an illusion”, used either in a joking manner or else in a more serious tone. When it comes to time, personal perception is one of the key influences in our understanding of the past, present and even future. As you know, 2020 is a key year for change - everything we know has been turned on its head and left wobbling - almost every aspect of society has suffered intense forms of change. We are now emerging into an academic year unlike any other you may find yourself asking “How is it September already when last week it was only April?” while your housemate beside you is complaining about how it’s only September and how this year must be the longest on record. As members of the human race, we do not possess internal timekeeping devices; that is, we cannot naturally keep record of the passage of time, which is why perceptions of time and time-passing can often vary from person to person. An interesting example of this can be drawn from the nationwide - even worldwide - state of lockdowns many of us endured. Remember that period where we all sat in our bedrooms for about four months not moving beyond 2, then 5 kilometres. That was fun right? But try and recall it in your head? Is it a combination of many different memories that stretch on and on and on, or is it a general memory with the odd variance here and there - perhaps a trip to Aldi or a different walking route? Ruth S. Ogden, in her article on the passage of time during the UK Covid-19 lockdown examined hundreds of different participants for her study on people and their perceptions of time. Ogden found that more than 80 percent of participants experienced changes to how quickly they perceived time during lockdown compared to prelockdown. Those who were older or less satisfied with their current levels of social interaction were likely to
experience the slower passage of time over the course of a day or a week. Slower passage of time commonly tied into days which were also associated with higher stress - such as days where Covid-19 case numbers were higher than normal, or when family members were at greater risk of contracting the virus. On the opposing end of the spectrum is time when we are on holidays - or thoroughly enjoying a few days. Studies have proven that perceptions of time especially when in the moment (but also reflecting afterwards) - are often viewed as having passed more rapidly when on holidays: enjoying moments makes time feel as if it is going faster. Time is also viewed as being consistently malleable in nature by many: time is an ever rapidly increasing phenomenon for most of the elderly population. For many, to draw on childhood memories is to draw on memories of extended periods of time: perhaps time spent learning hobbies or acquiring new skills. Simply just existing from day to day in primary school, or at home is something which to many can be a slower process than, say, time spent in final years of secondary school or in the ever rapidly-progressing college terms. Perhaps now is the right moment for me to mention the Theory of Relativity - Einstein’s scientific explanation about how space relates to time. As a student of the College of Arts, it is likely my explanation will not serve this complex scientific theory justice - but in short the Theory of Relativity is how “the motion of one thing is always relative to the motion of everything else.” Special relativity also refers to the link between space and time: time generally speeds up the slower you’re moving through space, and tends to slow down the faster you move through space. General relativity also refers to theories of gravity: gravity is viewed as having a warping effect on time - the larger an object (such as a big planet) the more it warps the space around it. Time dilation ties in with all of this, i.e time going faster at the summit of the mountain
than at the base. Remember that stressful moment in Interstellar (one of Christopher Nolan’s many mindboggling films) on the planet covered entirely with water where one hour on the base of the planet was equivalent to seven years back on planet Earth - yeah, that sort of thing.
rate towards your demise, the life expectancy in Ireland, since the year 2000 has increased by over five years. So at least there’s that right? And a tip, if possible maybe try experiencing as many new things as possible - do go into that coffee shop you’ve been too shy to go into - you never know, your perception of time may just slow down a small bit. Every new memory is another I thoroughly apologise if this has landmark in your existence which can left anybody reeling or experiencing only serve to slow time down - if only a mild forms of existential crisis. On a very minor amount. reassuring note, if you feel you are now hurtling through time at an unstoppable
Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th Sept 2020 | University Express
Features:Careers Corner
9
Kickstarting Your Career! (Yes, even in First Year) Writes Elisha Carey, Features Editor During your first few weeks of college (or dare I say your entire first year), the word ‘career’ is unlikely to slip its way into your vernacular. Food, friends and finances are just some of the new anxieties everyone must take on upon ente a well-deserved rest after a summer spent in CAO hell. I remember my own Freshers’ Week all too well. To-ing and fro-ing third-level education. It’s new and exciting and those first few weeks can also be between stalls at clubs and socs, perusing my options as to how I would spend my weeknights. I eagerly anticipated watching movies in the Boole with FilmSoc or shooting arrows on the archery range. I had only just arrived here, right? This was the time to have fun, not to worry about my CV...
lege life and making use of everything UCC has to offer undoubtedly increases your employability. Joining clubs and socs will give you a wide range of transferable skills and can also help you learn more about yourself and what career path you may like to take! Getting involved in campus initiatives like UCC Works shows incredible ambition and signals to employers that you don’t shy away from hard work! Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help It’s important to know that you don’t have to do it alone. Upon entering UCC,
Or so I thought... I think we are all guilty of underestimating just how quickly three or four years go by and then, BAM! without warning, you are catapulted right out of your college safety net into the real world. And there are not even clubs and socs in the real world! There’s just ...Weight Watchers and your dad’s golf club. And even then, those things cost money. In fact, so does pretty much everything. Getting a job is one of those terrible but necessary things, kind of like consistently sanitising your hands during a global virus outbreak or getting drivethrough Chicken McNuggets on a long car journey. With any luck, you’ll have a clear idea of what direction you want to head in once your college experience ends. In all probability, you’re you automatically have access to one-onclueless, and your idea of what your one consultations with one of the Career dream job is will evolve over time. Services’ dedicated Career Consultants. They can talk your ideas over with you and help you forge your career path Enter UCC Career Services based on your own interests and hobbies. The team at Career Services will tell Once you have an idea of what direction you that it’s never too early to begin you want to go in, Careers will help you planning for your career (whatever it in applying for experience such as inmay end up being!) There’s plenty of sight evenings and internships, tailoring things you can start doing in first year your CV and cover letter towards success! to give yourself a leg up in the game: It’s easy to flounder in the face of your imminent future but the Careers Services in UCC have made it possible for Engage in College Life Immersing yourself fully in col- students to access a wealth of career re-
Develop an Impressive Online Presence No better time than first year to sharpen up your socials! I won’t bore you with the more obvious stuff. It goes without saying that in this day and age if you want to be employed you should probably untag and remove any pictures of yourself intoxicated or doing anything unsavoury from your socials. Your social media accounts don’t have to be Make Friends and Keep Them! completely boring either, though. As well as providing support and overall There is room for your personality good craic, the friends you make in col- on the web. Most employers will be happy to see your creative, sporty, thoughtful, or funny side shine through online, just keep it PG-13 or avail of those privacy settings. What an age we live in where there’s an app that’s basically an arm of your CV! If you didn’t download LinkedIn after your TY work experience, then now’s the time to do it! And add all those friends you’ve made as connections on the app! Hosting over 600 million professional profiles, LinkedIn is the platform for professional networking and job searching. Creating a basic profile in first year is one of the best things I could’ve done to further my career: through the app, I was able to get in touch with graduates from my course who were more than happy to answer the questions I had! sources online: the recently revamped Career Services website has everything from career interest questionnaires to Alumni Insights videos so you don’t even have to leave your bed while you launch your career quest! Careers will also be hosting a series of Virtual Career Fairs and networking opportunities on a rolling basis throughout the academic year so keep your eyes peeled on their socials for all the details!
lege can also aid you on your career journey. The rumours are true, networking is one of the most important activities for furthering your career prospects while in college. Bear that in mind because the friends you make in college will eventually become full-blown professionals (I know it seems unlikely right now!) and maintaining your friendship network will mean keeping afoot of upcoming opportunities. As well as this, friends from different courses can give you an insight into different career sectors, helping you get a taste of what’s for you and what isn’t!
While thinking about your career during your first year at college can give you a huge advantage in later years, it shouldn’t distract you entirely from living in the moment and having some (socially distant) fun! Balance is the key to life and if you’ve reached this far in the article you should know that there’s plenty of things you may already be doing that will strengthen your career prospects. If you would like any further help or info, you can visit the UCC Career Services’ new website at https://www.ucc. ie/en/careers/ to access their range of online resources or use your UCC student IT credentials to log into the Careers Connect service to book a remote consultation with a Career Advisor. Congratulations on making it this far and good luck!
10
Opinion
Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th Sept 2020 | University Express
A Start Unlike Any Other Writes Rían Browne, Opinion Editor
The world right now is living through a time of increasing turbulence and not just due to a global pandemic (he said, casually) but politically, socially, and culturally. Naturally, this too has trickled over to our own community here at UCC. At the time of writing the situation surrounding a return to university was up in the air. Not so much the ‘if’ - there will be a return, but more a question of ‘how’. What will this return look like? The first image that may come to mind when first embarking upon (or returning to) college more than likely consists of meeting new (and old) friends, attending club and society events and getting fully immersed in freshers week (regardless of whether it’s your first or your final). It can be an incredibly exciting and intimidating time too - let’s not over romanticise things. There is nothing that quite compares to the experience of embarking on this next chapter while finding your feet on a buzzing campus where you’ve chosen to plant roots and, all going well,
watch them grow over the coming years.
fied academic nutribullet if you will!
remote learning. But does it need to?
Right now, it can feel like those new beginnings (or anticipated returns) we envisaged for ourselves as students have been stolen from us. It’s bittersweet, even frustrating, putting in the hard work to earn your place only to receive what feels like a substitute for the ‘real’ thing.
Over the summer the concoction that’s been building inside has culminated in a pretty unappetising sludge consisting of anxiety, uncertainty, vague emails of reassurance and the plethora of emotions, hopes and dreams that come with beginning or returning to college. All of this is whizzed furiously together by the cartoon villain embodiment of Covid, laughing maniacally in the background for added effect.
This isn’t to deny our current reality and neither is it to pretend that everything will somehow be the same, it won’t be - things will be different for the foreseeable future. But, that doesn’t mean that it is not worth engaging in.
If you banked a euro each time you read some variation of the term ‘unprecedented’ in each email you’ve received or article you’ve read over the last few months, you’d probably have a nice little piggy bank to help fund your coffee/red bull addiction (oh, you don’t have one? You will...) for the academic year. That being said, it would be incredibly disingenuous not to acknowledge the uncertain reality facing the majority of students heading into this academic year. We’ve been told to prepare for ‘blended learning’ which is usually coupled with a vague description offering little in the way of reassuring us how this will manifest itself in terms of contact hours and online learning. The term has been thrown about so many times now, I’ve taken to imagining it as a literal blender - a glori-
It’s repeated ad-nauseam to freshers all over the country when beginning their time at third level but, college truly isn’t just about the learning you do in the classroom (or, your kitchen table given current circumstances) but the connections and experience you gain outside of your studies. How these aspects take shape is going to change tremendously in the times we are living in. Finding a ‘home’ for yourself in college is difficult at the best of times. It creates this juxtaposition of loneliness and isolation despite being surrounded by thousands of other students. We can only imagine this experience will only increase in intensity in the face of blended and
This requires ingenuity, creativity, invention. You are entitled to mourn the experiences that should’ve been, you’re allowed to be frustrated! For the sake of our own wellbeing, we mustn’t allow that feeling of loss or anger to become the defining feature of this ‘new’ world we’re living in. The college community is in and of itself a big ‘ol blender of experiences, ideas and backgrounds. We should harness this energy and use it to reimagine our understanding of the college ‘experience’ and what it means to engage with this community for the first time and use it to create an iteration of what can be, despite our circumstances. Photo Credit: Leahy Photos
An opinions section is only as good as the diversity of voices it represents. You may be just a slither of an idea, a fully-fledged story or a concept in the works. Whatever it is, let’s talk about it! opinion@uccexpress.ie
@__HANCE__
Welcome to Cork
Byline Vol. 6 Issue 1
Editorial
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We (tentatively) back, baby! Writes Fergal Smiddy, Byline Editor
Dust settles over a barren UCC Campus. The steady hum of laughter and conversation which once breathed life through the Main Rest is no more. Outside, the steps down to Boole Basement seem to have taken on a melancholy disposition, as though longing for the old familiar 9:04am pitter-patter of half-tied Doc Martens, and the sporadic clouds of smoke from Amber Leaf rollies that seemed to have a knack for finding their way in. There is no more use for the one-way-system - traffic is no longer a problem - yet it is still abided by religiously among cleaning staff and whoever else finds themselves permitted inside - certain habits die hard. Across the way, George Boole’s nose has grown hard and calcified without the touch of superstitious children on school trips. Twenty-thousand people used to study here, now it’s a ghost town. The Freshers’ Issue is usually a place for enthusiastic welcomes and introductions to new beginnings, so I’ll leave the rona-talk at that – whatever that was. You won’t be reading much - or at all, if we can help it - about you-know-what in Byline this year. An unofficial policy has been adopted to keep our content as rona-free as possible. Besides, Byline is a pop-culture magazine, and while that particular topic may somehow find its way into one or two articles here and there, it isn’t exactly a great fit with the vibe we’re trying to put across. If you do want COVID content, feel free to get more than your fill from literally any other media outlet across literally any media platform. Cheers. This magazine has always been about being creative and having fun while doing so, and that is the attitude with which we plan to go on. Speaking of which, I sincerely do hope you enjoy this first ever edition of the sixth volume of Byline. This has been a publication that I have been enthralled with since my earliest days in Student Media, and I can only hope that our work this year will do for some bright-eyed fresher what previous Byline teams did for me when I first came to UCC. Issue #1 gets the year off to a belting start. I sit down with rising-star Cork photographer Terry McCarthy, who shows us around Cork City after dark; Music Editor Cathal Donovan-O’Neill reflects on the fever-dream Summer of celebrity madness that has just passed, and Sexpress Editor Jack Wrixon devises an hilarious comparative tally of the horniness-level of various Twilight characters. The team is savagely strong this year and this issue is only the beginning. Make sure to check back in with us throughout the year and, of course, submissions from students are always both welcomed and appreciated.
Fergal Smiddy
byline@uccexpress.ie
Photo Credit: Leahy Photos
Gaeilge
Eagarthóir: Édith de Faoite
14
An Ghaeilge agus an Tuaisceart scríobhann Édith de Faoite, Eagarthóir Gaeilge Ar an 11ú de mhí Eanáir i mbliana, leasaíodh Feidhmeannas an Tuaiscirt faoi stiúir Arlene Foster agus Michelle O’ Neill. Roimhe sin, áfach, bhí an Feidhmeannas lánscortha ar feadh trí bliana. B’í an Ghaeilge ar cheann de na cúiseanna leis an sáinn pholaitiúil seo. Dar le hArlene Foster, b’é seasmhacht Shinn Féin maidir le hAcht na Gaeilge an chúis leis an sáinn. Ní hé seo an chéad uair a raibh an Ghaeilge ina cnámh spáirne sa Tuaisceart. Bhíodh an Ghaeilge ina príomhtheanga ar oileán na hÉireann don gcuid is mó dá stair taifeadta, an Tuaisceart san áireamh. Ansin, nuair a tháinig na Sasanaigh agus na hAlbanaigh chun Uladh a phlandáil, thosaigh meath mall na Gaeilge. Bhí iarrachtaí déanta ar an dá thaobh chun cosc a chur ar an nGaeilge - bhí an Eaglais Chaitliceach ag iarraidh aon rian don phágántacht a chur faoi chois agus rinne na Sasanaigh agus na hAlbanaigh (ba
Gaeilge na bhFreisear Seo chugaibh roinnt focal agus cúpla frásaí a bheadh cabhrach agus tú ag fáil blas ar shaol na hollscoile nó dóibh siúd atá ag filleadh ar an áit! Seachtain na bhFreisear - Freshers’ Week Coláiste na hOllscoile, Corcaigh - University College Cork Clubanna agus cumainn - Clubs and societies Léachtlann - Lecture hall Léachtaí ar líne - Online lectures Cúpla pionta - A few pints Béile scamhardach - A substantial meal
Phrotastúnaigh agus Preispitéirigh iad don chuid is mó) iarracht cultúr agus teanga Ghaelach a chloí. In éineacht le sin, mealladh na Gaeil i dtreo an Bhéarla toisc a thairbhe mar theanga idirnáisiúnta agus mar theanga trádála. Faoin am a tharla an Críochdheighilt in Éirinn i 1921, ní raibh ach cúpla pobail Gaeltachta fágtha sa Tuaisceart. Ón am sin ar aghaidh, bhí muintir an Tuaiscirt scoilte maidir leis an nGaeilge, de ghnáth idir Aontachtaithe agus Poblachtaigh. Cheangail Aontachtaithe an Ghaeilge le Caitliceachas agus leis an ngluaiseacht phoblachtach don chuid is mó. Do roinnt Poblachtaigh, b’é fhoghlaim na Gaeilge slí chun a n-oidhreacht agus a gcultúr a chaomhnú. Don chúis sin, bunaíodh Gaeltacht bheag uirbeach ar Bhothar Seoighe i mBéal Feirste i 1969. Bheartaigh 5 chlann tithe a thógáil taobh lena chéile agus anois tá thart ar 22 chlann ina gcónaí ann. Bhunaigh tuismitheoirí ón nGaeltacht seo an chéad scoil lán-Gaeilge sa Tuaisceart i 1971. Idir 1911 agus 1991 tháinig méadú ar líon na nGaeilgeoirí ó 2% go 9% don daonra (ó 20,000 go 14,000 duine), dar leis an daonáirimh. Bhí béim faoi leith curtha ar an nGaeilge nuair a thosaigh an idirbheartaíocht do Chomhaontú Aoine an Chéasta i 1998. Bhí spéis ag an-chuid do na Poblachtaigh sa Ghaeilge mar chomhairle oidhreachta. D’fhoglaim
roinnt dóibh Gaeilge agus iad sa phríosún, Gerry Adams san áireamh. Faoin gcomhaontú, aithníodh go raibh éagsúlacht teangacha sa Tuaisceart. Bunaíodh an t-Aonad Éagsúlacht Teangacha i 1999 chun éagsúlacht teangacha a thacú sa cheantar. Cuireadh de chúram orthu polasaithe a fhorbairt do phobail teangacha diffriúla agus na teangacha sin a chur chun cinn. Sa lá atá inniu ann, tá athbheochan na Gaeilge ag tárlú sa Tuaisceart. Bunaíodh an Cheathrú Ghaeltachta i mBéal Feirste i 2002. Sa Tuaisceart ina iomlán tá 29 scoil lán-Gaeilge. Chomh maith le sin tá 44 naíscoil atá ag freastal ar 1,251 dalta. Dar leis an saineolaí Máiréad Nic Craith tá an éileamh ar scoileanna lán-Gaeilge ó na seachtóidí ar aghaidh “gan fasach”. Tá suim sa Ghaeilge ag méadú i ngach pobail, ní hamháin na daoine a aithníonn mar Éireannaigh (nó Poblachtaigh nó Caitliceacigh). Diadh ar ndiadh tá borradh ag teacht ar líon na ndaoine a aithníonn mar Thuaisceartaigh agus tá spéis acu sa Ghaeilge agus í ar cheann de teangacha na háite. Tá an Ghaeilge faoi bhláth sa Tuaisceart anois sa phobal ina iomlán, ach tá hAcht na Gaeilge fós de dhíth ag daoine. Bhí dóchas do ghníomhaithe teanga sa Tuaisceart ag tús na bliana seo, ach tá seasamh láidir i gcoinne an Achta ag an Páirtí Daonlathach Aontachtaithe. Is iad na rudaí atá ag teastáil san Acht
ná: comhlachtaí poiblí trí Ghaeilge, comharthaí bóithre dá-theangach, coimisinéir teanga agus seirbhísí poiblí a bheith ar fáil trí Ghaeilge. Is cosúil nach mbeidh an Acht ag teacht isteach go luath, ach is maith an scéalaí an aimsir.
Achmhainní do Ghaeilgeoirí in UCC An Chuallacht: Cumann Gaelach, bunaithe i 1912, chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn timpeall an champais. Bíonn imeachtaí faoi leith ar siúl acu agus tá fáilte chuig éinne a bhfuil suim acu sa Ghaeilge. Má tá fonn ort do Ghaeilge a choimeád suas tar éis na meanscoile, bí i do bhall don Chuallacht. An Cumann Drámaíochta: Cumann a chuireann drámaí ar stáitse trí Ghaeilge. Oiriúnach d’éinne le bua na haisteoireachta! An Express: Má tá suim agat in iriseoireacht trí Ghaeilge, is féidir ríomhphost a sheoladh chugam agus bheinn breá-toilteanach obair leat. Ná bí buartha faoi do chaighdeán Gaeilge, má tá suim agat, déan teangmháil liom. Tá do smaointe luachmhar!
INTERVIEW
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Cork City after Dark – An Interview with Terry McCauliffe wRITES Fergal Smiddy, Byline Editor
How did the idea for that come about, and why take the pictures at night? Terry: Yeah, I’m delighted that it’s resonated so much with people, especially with people outside the photography community who seem to appreciate what I’m doing. How the night shots came about was honestly because I leave for work at 6:30am when it’s still dark, and leave work at 6:30pm when it’s getting dark especially in Winter - so I kind of didn’t have a choice. When we were in lockdown, I was watching a lot of movies and Taxi Driver was one that stuck with me, especially when I was walking the empty streets of the city. [It] just had a creepy feel and a real sense of loneliness and Michael Chapman’s cinematography from that movie was in my head when I was thinking of shots around the city.
Photo Credit: Hance Photography
Frequenters of Irish Twitter and proud Corkonians alike will have been hardpressed not to have come across the work of emerging Cork-based photographer Terry “Hance” McCauliffe over recent months. Bursting onto the scene with his “Cork Noir” series, which captures the more intimate and urban sides of the real capital in all of its neon-tinted glory, McCauliffe’s work soon began gaining popularity among the people of Cork. Having garnered thousands of likes and followers across his social media platforms, it’s evident that Terry is a talent on the rise with a lot of success to look forward to. However, reaching such a level is never an overnight journey, and Terry sat down with Byline to tell us about where, for him, it all began. Terry: “So, I’m currently the manager of Topshop/Topman and have been for the last 9 years, but I’ve always been interested in having creative hobbies like painting and music production. I did the sound engineering and music production course in Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa but my love for movies
and cinema took me in the direction of picking up a camera last year”. Express: Just out of curiosity, where did the ‘Hance’ nickname come from? Terry: This is kind of embarrassing but, when I was a baby, my family and aunts and uncles used to say all the time “Aw, isn’t he handsome!”. They used to say it so much that my uncles just called me ‘Hance’ for short. This started when I was maybe one or two years old; I’m in my thirties now and I’m still only known as Hance within my family! Express: Why is it you take intimate pictures of streets and people rather than the grander and more conventionally photographed sites in Cork? Terry: I just love the story that people add to pictures - the mysteries and questions that can be asked about this unknown person. That’s also why - for the most part, anyway - I don’t like to get
a full shot of the person’s face. For me, I think it takes away a bit of the mystery. I want to create images of Cork that are relevant and also timeless, but [pictures] you don’t see on postcards that you send to your relatives in America! Express: You’ve managed to capture Cork in a fresh new way and it’s clearly popular. What do you think it is about Cork City that lends itself well to street photography? Terry: Cork has changed so much over the past ten/twelve years, it’s nearly unrecognisable. The cultural diversity; our food and coffee culture; [the] music scene and fashion - all of this has really made me fall in love with the city, which for a long time I’ve taken for granted. I think Cork stands toe-to-toe and holds its own with the big hitters like Belfast, Dublin, and Galway. This is why I want to show the city in this fresh new way. Express: You must be delighted with the popularity of the ‘Cork Noir’ series.
Express: Why take pictures of local pubs, shops, and other establishments? Is there something about them that you feel is an important part of Cork City? Terry: I feel these are the places that, as locals, we like to recognise and have a relationship with. We visit these establishments every day and think they don’t possess any photogenic value - compared to the more obvious sites such as the churches; cathedrals; Patrick’s Hill and the Shandon Bells, which have all been heavily documented over the past hundred years and will continue to be for the next hundred. But when I look back at old images of Cork, I like to look at where the old businesses were and how the city has changed. Most of the pubs, cafés and buildings that we have today will most definitely not be around in a hundred years. Terry’s work can be found @__ HANCE__ on Twitter & Instagram. He is also launching a print store in the next few days on the website BigCartel under the name ‘Hance Photography’.
Food and Health
Editor: Maeve O’Keefe
The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread – Making Your Own By Maeve O’Keefe, Food & Health Editor I wanted to start my first piece as Food and Health editor with a versatile recipe that can be used by students as a satisfying staple, instead of just relying on plain white toast or pasta, as many of us do. Ultimately, I decided on this brown bread recipe, originally from Flahavan’s Oats, as it sustained me for all of first year, fuelling me in the mornings with some scrambled eggs; comforting me in the evenings with grilled cheese, and devoured at lunchtime with smashed avocado and a poached egg.
2. At breakfast time, this bread is perfect with eggs, cooked any way you like. Scrambled eggs are the quickest and easiest, and will fill you up for the day, but if you’ve got five minutes more to spare, try poaching or boiling an egg before enjoying with a few slices of toasted brown bread, a little butter and salt. 3. A trendy (and irresistible) way to consume your brown bread is with the beloved avocado. Slice open an avocado and mash half with a fork, seasoning with salt, pepper and even paprika or chili flakes if you have them. Spread the green goodness on a few slices of brown bread for a quick and satisfying meal. 4. Eating your brown bread with some peanut butter (or whatever your favourite nut butter is) and a sliced banana is the perfect pre-workout snack, as it will provide energy, protein and potassium (which prevents cramping) in the perfect quantities. No more excuses not to go for that run!
Ingredients:
•
1 egg
•
300g (or 3 cups) porridge oats
•
2 tsp bread soda
• A little sweetener (This is flexible. A tablespoon of treacle, golden syrup or honey would do the trick, or a sprinkle of any kind of sugar). •
A pinch of salt
own bread like this. The comforting scent will linger in your kitchen for a few hours, allowing you to bask in your achievement for a little while, as you plan all the ways to enjoy your loaf. This bread is gorgeous on its own, but it’s also an excellent carrier for other flavours, sweet or savoury the potential topping combinations are limitless. Here are a few of my favourite ways to enjoy homemade brown bread, to inspire you at home: 1. When still slightly warm, this brown bread is gorgeous with a scraping of butter and a dollop of jam, such as raspberry or blackcurrant. This is a sweet and simple way to tuck into your brown bread, perfect with a mug of tea in front of the TV.
Although the idea of making your own bread may seem a bit daunting, I encourage you to give it a go. This recipe is so straightforward, with readily available ingredients, there’s no excuse not to adopt it as part of your weekly routine. It takes less than an hour to cook and its preparation time is minimal. As well as that, you don’t even need a bread tin to cook it in! Simply turning the mixture onto a baking tray lined with a sheet of parchment paper results in a delicious crust to your bread. Rich in fibre and protein, it’s a nutritious staple which can be elevated and adapted to suit your preferences in so many ways. I love to add pumpkin seeds for a lovely texture, but any seeds would work just as well. You can even add dried cranberries or apricots for sweetness. Experiment with whatever flavours you fancy, serving it in any of the ways I mention below, and more.
• One large (500ml) tub of yoghurt. Natural yoghurt is easiest to get, but if you manage to find hazelnut yoghurt it adds a lovely flavour.
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Mix the egg, sweetener and yoghurt together, then add this to the porridge oats, bread soda and salt. Stir until the mixture is thoroughly incorporated. Turn out the mixture onto your lined tray or tin. Don’t forget to use greaseproof paper on your two-pound loaf tin or ordinary baking tray. Sprinkle some porridge oats and/or
pumpkin seeds on top. Bake in the oven for an hour at gas mark 3 or 165°C for 50 minutes, allowing for more time if you prefer a crispier crust. Allow to cool before tucking in. A wire rack is best for this, but if you don’t have one, improvise with the tray of your grill. There is a palpable sense of enjoyment and pride that comes with making your
5. If you’re experiencing some wanderlust, or want to try something new, I recommend experimenting with Mediterranean flavours on your brown bread. A combination of sundried tomatoes, olives, lightly fried Halloumi cheese, pesto and chorizo can transport the senses for a real treat. Obviously, these are just starter points. The real beauty of this bread is how easy it is to make and enjoy. Mastering this simple recipe before college starts could be a real lifesaver on those days when you feel like you’ve got no food in the house.
Film & T.V.
Editor: KYRAN LEAHY
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Disney Live-Action Remakes: The Company’s Effortless Cash Cow WRITES Kyran Leahy, Film & TV Editor
Just like a lot of you probably have, I spent the majority of the past few months watching Disney+. Ever since it arrived at our house on March 24th, I have been making sure that I got my mother’s money’s worth. I have watched all the Disney Channel classics, the golden age of The Simpsons and of course, the classic Disney animations. I am sure that we all know right now that recently Disney has been plaguing our cinemas with live-action remakes of these beloved animations. However, with Disney+ I was shocked to find out just how many remakes there actually are. You have the obvious ones from Cinderella to Aladdin, to the more forgotten ones such as Pete’s Dragon and Lady & The Tramp. The most recent remake, Mulan, came to small screens behind a hefty payment on September 4th. The next few years for Disney will be them continuing remaking animations, with a whopping eleven films lined up to get the remake treatment, including The Little Mermaid and Snow White. How long can this go on for? The trend of Disney remakes in quick succession started with Tim Burton’s rendition of Alice In Wonderland back in 2010. The perfect movie for an
eccentric director, Burton expanded on the story, straying away from the 1951 classic, while maintaining several elements of the original tale. While reviews were mixed and some of the story, especially the climax, was questioned; it felt like an ambitious take on a classic. Sadly, that ambition soon disappeared down the rabbit hole, with remakes looking more and more like straight rehashes of the original. The one big problem I have with the remakes is this: they are doing nothing but turning an animated movie that was around ninety minutes in length into a live-action movie that is usually just under the two-hour mark. The plot stays the exact same, as they cannot change anything drastic about the story. The stories of Beauty and The Beast and Aladdin were the exact same, only half an hour longer. There was a lot of filler added to these stories that was overall irrelevant. Finding out Belle’s backstory was not life changing, nor was the Genie’s romance with Jasmine’s handmaiden, Dalia. Songs got longer. More songs were added. Beautiful cinematic shots were spread out just for those sweet extra few minutes. Disney is doing the same things we do when our 2,000-word essays are just a few words short, and they are experts.
How strange is it though, that a liveaction film can feel so lifeless compared to an animation? How the main characters can show less emotion in their faces than a drawing. Somehow it was possible. Taking away the fact that a lot of these modern movies utilize CGI characters, even the human characters can be hit or miss compared to their original animated counterparts; liveaction Jafar for example, is much less intimidating than animated Jafar. A lot of the characters that we all loved in their animated forms seem to have been stripped of their charm and in replacement is a sense of unfamiliarity. The new remakes are not all bad though. How can I go on for ages describing them as horrible when they have become the new money makers for Disney? Four of them have grossed over a billion in the box office! Disney released these remakes at the right time, at a time where a lot of the children who saw the originals in cinema have children of their own. It allows the film to connect with both audiences. Children get to see the story of the Lion King for the first time while parents can relive their childhood favourites in stunning modern-day visuals. The stories of the films are timeless
and will last generations; the rehashing of these movies allows them to adapt to current times. With criticism directed to how the majority of the Disney Princesses were portrayed in their original films, some of them being labelled “one-dimensional”, “bland” and “malleable”; the liveaction remakes managed to fix these issues, making characters like Jasmine, Cinderella and Belle much more empowered, independent and even better role models for young viewers. There is not much that we know about the future, but what we can be certain of is that for the next few years we will be seeing Disney remakes every couple of months. Is that a bad thing for everyone? No, not at all. The movies appeal to the common movie-goers, the people who just want to watch something to kill a few hours, maybe go on a date, or take the kids, whatever. Is it a bad thing for people who need to watch and review them? Kind of, because the flaws are obvious. You can see why a lot of the critical reviews are mixed, while the audience reviews are high. They are meant to be a mindless nostalgiatrip while also functioning as Disney’s cash cow for the next decade or so. The only thing I ask for is please do not mess up the Hercules remake. Please.
Music Beyond Spotify By Julie Landers, Staff Writer
Editor: CATHAL DONOVAN O’NEILL
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Weird summer, like no other WRITES Cathal Donovan O’Neill, Music Editor
In a moment in time where the existence of live venues and the live music industry itself rest on increasingly fragile ground, many artists are in a financially precarious position. In the age of streaming, platforms like Spotify perpetuate the idea that music is something that can be procured for €9.99 a month, while the artists using these platforms earn on average $0.00318 per stream. As listeners, we have a responsibility to support artists in a more direct way, so here’s a bitesize list of ways to help musicians beyond depending upon streaming services. Bandcamp Bandcamp is where most artists will drop physical copies of their music and merchandise, as well as digital downloads. Normally Bandcamp will take 15% of what artists earn through them, but Bandcamp Fridays have become a monthly staple since March. On these days, Bandcamp waive their artist fees and 100% of the profits from sales go to the artists themselves. The platform also compiles a fantastic daily update of new and interesting music via lists and features. Patreon A monthly tiered subscription service that more and more musicians have started using. Each tier entitles the subscriber to certain rewards and it’s a really cool way of accessing exclusive content. See what artists like The Ocelots, Cry Monster Cry and The Mary Wallopers have going on their respective pages. Currents.fm For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can subscribe to get access to regularly curated playlists. Discover music you’ve never heard of recommended by some hugely talented folks. Gadget and the Cloud, Number Theory, Fomorian Vein and Roo Honeychild all have pages on the platform. Get Physical Here in Cork, we’re lucky to have independent sellers who take the time when choosing the records that they sell. For example, Plugd are selling an amazing plethora of LPs from a diverse range of genres online via Discogs, while Bunker Records on Camden Place is back open and bigger than before. And otherwise, keep an ear out for artists beyond what Spotify recommends. If you listen to an artist that you think your friends would like, share links to their Bandcamp and socials. We can get so much joy from listening to music and we all have a responsibility to take steps towards a place where artists can make a living from making it.
Welcome to UCC, or welcome back! I’m hoping this finds you in good health and with an inbox free of emails that contain the line ‘In These Troubled Times’. Unless Fiona, Maeve or Fergal have used it in their editorials. Jesus, am I going to get fired before we even go to print? Forget it. I’ll rewrite this later. Quarantine Brain, The Fog, mental block: Whatever term you use for it, it’s been a strange one for the headspace this year. We look to celebrities to reflect what we see in ourselves and, Dear God, did they lose the run of themselves.
Listing them all would be a cheap way of filling my word count, but if you like Jamie Dornan, James Marsden, Natalie Portman, Amy Adams, Leslie Odom Jr., Pedro Pascal, Chris O’Dowd, Will Ferrell, Mark Ruffalo, Sarah Silverman, Kristen Wiig, Sia, Zoe Kravitz, Ashley Benson, Lynda Carter, Jimmy Fallon, Norah Jones, Kaia Gerber, Cara Delevigne, Annie Mumolo or Maya Rudolph, you’re in for a bad time. Not to be surpassed, a few days later Bono came out with a song in support of our national health system that he’s avoided paying tax into for several decades. It was all very inspiring.
The Wonder Woman/Lennon collab we were all waiting for
K-pop TikTok takes a stand against Trump
The earliest sign that being rich didn’t make you immune to making a fool of yourself on the internet. Organised by former gymnastics instructor to the Israeli military Gal Gadot, twenty-one celebrities came together to sing a bizarre version of the Christmas staple.
It was sour candy for Trump’s ill-advised June rally in Oklahoma, as a TikTok campaign among K-pop fans and social justice activists led to the rally selling out to an audience of TikTokkers who never showed up.
Ahead of the event, Trump’s campaign chairman tweeted that there had been over 800,000 tickets sold, and a second speech was organised for a stage outside the arena. About 6,000 people arrived to fill the venue’s 19,000 seats. Almost nobody was outside. While the mass buy-in was more meme than movement, there’s no denying the satisfying sight of the empty seats. ‘I never asked for a free ride…’ Determined to be on top of the current album-merch bundling craze, Lady Gaga bundled the long-awaited Chromatica with the long-in-size-L Chromatica jockstrap. And it can be yours, dear reader, for just $26.50 plus international shipping! I know what you’re thinking: That’s value. It’s been a bizarre year for the culture and with a certain rapper making a Presidential run, it’s not likely things will get any saner. Until then, all we can do is sit back and boggle at what money does to a mind.
PHOTOGRAPHY
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University College Cork Main Campus by Caoimhe Leahy University Express Photgrapher
SEXPRESS
Editor: Jack Wrixon
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The Undeniable Sexuality of the Twilight Saga By Jack Wrixon, Sexpress Editor
Despite the car crash of 2020, something good that has definitely come from it is the Twilight Renaissance. Coming back into popularity twelve years after the release of the first film, everyone who had Twilight fever then has contracted it once again, but this time we’re all able to recognise the true artistry that Stephenie Mayer created. For this ranking, I decided to only include the films and tally every time there was an instance of a character being horny. As the overarching plot for all five films is an interspecies love triangle, I’m sure you can guess who the top most sexual characters were. So let’s pay a visit to Forks, Washington and see who needs Jesus. The first film is a cinematic masterpiece. This we can all agree on. Director Catherine Hardwicke recreated the Sistine Chapel with this film, and each little detail she includes is a credit to her directorial style. Vampire heart-throb Edward Cullen was, according to my tally, the most horny one out of this film. From not letting himself breath while sitting next to Bella in class, to appearing in her room and watching her sleep, to being broody and self-hating while letting the sun make his skin sparkle like a Fenty lipgloss, Edward was at his
sexiest during this film. All of Edward’s behaviour towards Bella was unconventional by any standards of the imagination but accounting for his vampire status and his self-induced celibacy for around 100 years, I’m cutting him some slack. Bella came in at a close second, but from here she only goes up. Jacob Black unsurprisingly did not travel far up the horny scale, for the combined reasons that he still only has an innocent crush on Bella, and because he appears to tell his wolf story (and go) while at the beach with Bella. A shoutout goes to Bella’s human friends: Mike, Jessica, Angela and Eric. The heterosexual tension between them is literally palpable, and Bella does the good guy thing of neatly pairing them off so they’d be together and live regular, non-supernatural lives. Also, this foursome often provides a necessary comic relief for the rest of the series. New Moon is an absolute slog of a film to watch, and each moment felt like I was being stabbed slowly because it kept. Dragging. On. The horny roles were reversed here, with Edward taking a backseat for the majority of the film letting Jacob become the main love interest. Jacob’s tendency to be mainly shirtless for the film did distract me for a while,
but I was back on track as soon as Bella was in Italy. New Moon also gave us the first appearance of the Volturi, and the unintentionally comedic characterisation of Aro. Special shoutout for this film goes to the Quileute Wolf pack. I don’t really know how not to be biased here, having a large group of shirtless men running around just does it for me. Eclipse brought a whole load of plot development, new characters, and lots of sexual tension and sexual conflict between Edward and Jacob. All this climaxes while they’re protecting Bella in the tent, and Edward is helpless to see Jacob play Big Spoon with a hypothermic Bella. The sexual tension is raw, the anger is indisputable, and the urge to protect Bella is driving it all. Bella may be a pretty dislikable character, but clearly she has enough of a sexual aura to get Jacob AND Edward coming after her. Special Shoutout in this film goes to Victoria. Starting an entire war because your boyfriend got obsessed with some clumsy girl and then died because of it? I combined Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Part 2; each of the main three characters scored surprisingly low on the horny front, with Bella receiving the most
marks because she was literally willing to die for that dick. Edward came in second, with his iconic snapping of the headboard being the main reason. Another reason he scored so high is because he was so utterly horny for death. But that is not unusual for his character. The shoutout for this film goes to Jane, from the Volturi. Jane may not be “horny” in the conventional sense, but she’s just horny for chaos and destruction. This is evident when she quite literally throws the immortal child into the fire and leaves. Iconic, if a little horrifying. And there you have it. Final marks put Bella one point ahead of Edward, and a total of eleven ahead of Jacob, making her the horniest character in the Twilight universe. It cannot be disputed that these four novels eroticise abstinence. The lack of sexual activity, but all that sexual tension? Perfection. Now that you have all of this extremely useful information, why not give these films a watch and tell me what you think? Send your conclusions and findings to sexpress@uccexpress.ie
Gaming
Editor: Hugo Blair
A Conversation about Reviews Writes Hugo Blair, Gaming Editor
Anyone who knows me well is probably aware that I am obsessed with reviews. It doesn’t matter whether I am considering buying an interesting new indie title or a new toaster; I will be reading reviews. Of course, reviews are incredibly important in the gaming industry. They provide vital information to the consumer on the overall quality of a game and allow people to make an informed decision regarding a title. Does it contain gameplay elements that I am a fan of? Does it have a gripping narrative? Does it have good replay value? These are all questions that gamers ask themselves before deciding to spend money on a game. Without reviews, we would be left to believe statements from the developers or publisher itself, which can often be dubious at best. Imagine the No Man’s Sky catastrophe if we didn’t have accurate reviews to reply upon. No thanks.
However, I also believe too much weight is often given to game reviews. People base their whole opinion on a game on what they have read or heard in reviews, often without ever even playing the game! What they fail to acknowledge is that they may enjoy the game despite its flaws, and that perhaps they are missing out on a worthwhile experience. They fail to acknowledge that the reviewer is only one individual, with expectations and desires that may differ from themselves. What one person may laud in a game, another may despise. In addition, what those who place great emphasis on reviews may forget is that a game does not have to be perfect to be fun. And ultimately, I think, that’s all that really matters. I must admit I am guilty of this myself, often deciding not to purchase a title I had previously been eying simply due to a few negative reviews. In other words, I let others dictate my enjoyment.
Recently, I have made attempts towards curbing my reliance on game reviews. With a lot of... free time on my hands as of late I’ve had more opportunities to sit down and simply enjoy some video games. I could have squandered this time reading review upon review, or I also could have used my time more effectively to cut down on my towering backlog of unplayed games. In the end however, I decided to... replay some games I have already played. The tower grows ever larger. I had the most fun with Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Not the 2005 release from EA, but rather the 2012 Criterion reboot. The game has you blasting around the open world of Fairhaven city, collecting ‘speed points’ by completing events and performing stunts. As you amass points, you gain the ability to race and beat ten of the city’s top drivers to gain access to their cars and become Fairhaven’s Most Wanted. There are a plethora of different cars to choose from, all of which (barring the 10 most elite) can be accessed from the beginning, simply by finding them scattered around the map. However, I must say the differences between the cars do not extend far beyond their appearances. While the game garnered plenty of positive reviews from critics, it was received unfavourably by many fans of the original, and with good reason. Many of the features found in the original were dropped from the reboot released seven years on. Customisation for each car was reduced to a few simple options for
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each of the car’s components such as for the transmission, chassis, and tyres etc. Worse still, these ‘modifications’ are identical for each class of car, with very few ‘sidegrades’, leading to few choices in practice. Additionally, they are unlocked so quickly its hardly a challenge at all. Manual transmission has also been removed entirely with automatic now the only way to play, and for reasons beyond my comprehension they removed any trace of a narrative, leaving players to create their own motivations. All these changes lead to a watered-down version of the original, leaving the player wondering what Criterion were thinking in creating the reboot. However, despite the removal of features and the simplification of gameplay elements, I still loved the game. Ignoring current worldly issues for a time, and speeding around Fairhaven City in a souped-up Lancia Delta, before hopping in a Bugatti Veyron and launching myself through a billboard was a delight. I never played the original, nor did I read any reviews for the reboot, given I had purchased the game about 5 years prior, and so I was blissfully unaware of the many complaints that fans of the series had to throw at the game. I strongly believe had this not been the case, my experience with the game would have been affected. None of this is to say that I believe we should do away with game reviews, but rather to remind ourselves of what we should ultimately care the most about– fun.
Fashion
Editor: M aeve O’Sullivan
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Fashion Restyle: Revamping the €1.2 Trillion Industry Post Lockdown By Maeve O’Sullivan, Fashion Editor
The fashion industry ground to halt last March in line with the COVID-19 outbreak, similar to the cease of industry during World War II in 1939. Thousands of stores worldwide shut their doors, consumers no longer secure with their disposable income and factories such as Prada and Brandon Maxwell turned to producing PPE over designer garments. With such a drastic turn of events, it gave companies and consumers alike time to reconsider the industry as a whole and their values.
Sustainable fashion has been on the tip of many tongues over the past few years and the fire has only spread more quickly now. Calls for companies to produce less and less often; pleas to brands to come away from over producing by 30-40% rather than running out of stock; a reflection of brands such as Burberry who in 2017 burnt over $28.6 million in bags, clothes ad perfume rather than have it sold for a lower sale price. When shamed for such actions, they halted the process, but one can
only imagine how many others work in similar ways, only waiting to be caught. With mass over-production, brands no longer have seasonal sales, but consistent high percentage sales such as 70% all year round. As a result, consumers are mentally more inclined to purchase more or ‘the sale price’, increasing unnecessary spending. Giorgio Armani had no problem calling out industry peers, so why shouldn’t we? Too many holes were found during the pandemic. Garment workers were left unpaid and unsupported for unsold stock. While yes, the world’s environmental conditions improved, its reasoning left a bitter taste. Carbon emissions from factories and shipping cut back while millions of litres of dye were held back from polluting the waterways. How come it took a global pandemic to highlight this? Will seasonal trends become a thing of the past? Should repeat stock remain on the shelves? These are just a few of the questions fashion forecasters are coming to ponder. Change comes from impact, who will change first is the question. Fashion weeks are already separating the new from the old as brands such as Saint Laurent pull out of Paris Fashion Week. Brands no longer wish to send their high-profile guests to luxury locations to showcase brands, such as Prada foregoing
their Resort 2021 show in Japan. ‘We went too far’, the chilling words of Gucci creative director Alessandro Michelle, as he referred to the fashion brand’s concentrated schedule of eight collections per year, rather than the traditional ‘SS/AW’. ‘At the end of the day, we were out of breath’, Michelle let his thoughts flow in a 1,200-word typewritten note posted on Instagram. In short, multibillion-dollar brand Gucci says ‘Ciao’ to the over-condensed show schedule. Facts are evident. Why is that when you go to buy a bikini in July, the best ones have been sold out since May, the dead stock left on sale and coats are on the rail next to you. The calendars are out of sync. Change is coming, that is for sure. Already big names such as Tony Burch and Chloé announced reduced collections and stock for the future. While the actions of these luxury brands with expensive price tags may not interest the eye of a student consumer, it ought to. You may not realise it but what luxury does the high street follow. Trends are not such for styles. I mean, did we not learn anything from Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada on the evolution of Cerulean sweaters?
Arts & Literature
Editor: IMASHA COSTA
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A Student’s Guide to the Best Finds in Local Shops By Imasha Costa, Arts & Lit Editor Growing up, I was always fascinated by shops that held editions of literature which people willingly gave away, not knowing the value they actually held. I usually found these in charity shops or used bookstores. Unaware that certain editions of literature held a great richness in them, I always ended up hoarding them until I reached a certain age and finally realised that these books actually cost a lot of money. I was also fascinated by local bookbinding stores that produced absolute beauties when it came to finding journals that I would constantly write in, filling the pages to the brim. Moving to Cork last September gave me the opportunity to collect more, to buy more and to support the local arts and literature scene here in the city. Below in this list I hold my favourite places to shop for books and art while being mindful of shopping local and making sure that the locals flourish: •
Vibes and Scribes
When I first heard about this store I was immediately fascinated by the fact that they had a used bookstore. It was not uncommon for me to find similar stores to these back home in Bahrain, but I felt like I was able to grab onto the books that I had wanted for a long time and that my ‘dream’ of spending hours in a used bookstore was coming alive. I have found several great finds here that involve books for college as well. I would highly recommend students to venture into the sleeves of this store. •
Oxfam [Cook Street]
This beautiful charity shop not only holds jewellery and brightly coloured clothes but also great treasures of books that people have knowingly given away. My greatest finds include a brand-new copy of George Orwell’s 1984, for only €1.50, and an illustrated first edition of Verne’s 20000 Leagues Under the Sea – hardback edition, printed in 1968. One could say I was pretty delighted.
•
Badly Made Books [Friar Street]
This is somewhere one should go to if they are in desperate need of a sketchbook, planner, or journal. They offer great bargains, and everything is made from recycled materials and waste. It is an incredible find. It’s always a great idea to support local stores when it comes to little products like these. •
Irish Cancer Society [Castle Street]
This charity shop is another iconic place where I have found the best bits, not only books, but clothes and artwork. Every time I enter this store, I find myself surrounded by a different kind of culture and it makes me so grateful for what I have and what I want to learn. One thing that I have learned from visiting this particular shop is that I shouldn’t
go in expecting to find something that I need, but rather something that catches my eye. I was lucky enough to find a few books that I required for a few of my modules in second year, but that was after weeks and weeks of scanning through the shelves and hoping to find something. One of my best finds in the shelves of this store was a book that I found such passion for, titled Purple Hibiscus, for a great bargain. In my personal opinion, I prefer buying books from used bookstores and/or charity shops, just because they have so much colour in them from their previous owners. The scent of old books and brand-new ones, that you can get for a great bargain, brings out the bookworm in me. However, I feel this is a great way for
international students to immerse themselves in a fresh new culture that they have just moved into. Browsing through charity shops, used bookstores, or local coffee shops that host local artwork allows you to start embracing the culture that surrounds you, and to eventually start to become a part of it. Supporting local is a way to help the shops here in Cork City stay alive. Many of them adhere to the budget of students and are easily accessible. Not only do you get the best finds, but you also become friends with your local bookstore, charity shop, etc. – which I find is the way to go. Hopefully one will be able to embrace Cork City through these recommendations.
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Sports
Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th Sept 2020 | University Express
Sporting Success: A Shining Light Of Difficult Year Writes Sam Curtin, Deputy Sports Editor
2020 has been a year like no other on and off the sporting field. Covid-19 has certainly made its presence felt in the “most important of unimportant things”, to rob a line from Larry King. Unfortunately a number of competitions had to be cut short due to the pandemic but for those that managed to be completed, there was plenty of interest from UCC sports fans. There have been some notable successes which have helped to not only display the university’s special relationship with sport but also its ability to succeed in the face of adversity. Here are some of the highlights of the past year. GAA Nowhere else to start but with the hurlers on what was another fantastic year for the Fitzgibbon cup team. Tom Kingston’s side successfully defended their title defeating the likes NUIG, CIT, DCU and IT Carlow in the final. There was also a personal success for Shane Kingston who received the player of the tournament award and was named along with five other UCC players on the Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup All Stars team. At the time of writing, both
UCC hurling and football teams were in the quarter final stage of the Cork Senior Championships. There was heartbreak unfortunately for the camogie team who were beaten in the Ashbourne Cup final by UL on a scoreline of 3-14 to 0-12. There was no shame in this however as they came up against a truly special side in UL who won their 5th title in a row. Unfortunately for our senior ladies football and men’s fresher teams they were unable to complete their campaigns due to emergence of Covid-19 but no doubt the hunger will be there to reach the summit next year. Soccer It was another successful year for UCC soccer with the highlight being the J1 men’s team who were crowned Division four champions with a stunning 7-0 victory against Bray Institute FE in the final. They also reached the final of the Crowley cup but narrowly missed out on the double losing 5-4 on penalties against Maynooth University. An honourable must go to Cork City player Rob Slevin who was named ‘Three’ Colleges and Universities International Player Of The Year. Slevin is the latest UCC student who
has gone on to play professionally and represent Ireland in soccer. The rugby season was cut short due to the pandemic but there was still success for the UCC men’s team who won the Dónal Walsh Cup after defeating Cork Con 10-3. The women’s senior team also enjoyed an impressive season reaching the semi-finals of the Senior Cup before the season was postponed. The team have performed admirably off the field since their season was cut short; the squad took part in a 2500 km run, walk and hike throughout June for the IRFU Charitable Trust. Hockey The men’s senior hockey team had another excellent year, reaching the Munster Senior Cup final which was due to be played on St. Patrick’s Day before falling victim to Covid-19. The men’s second team were also due to be in action on finals day after reaching the Munster Junior Cup final. The club did not finish the season empty handed however as they were named UCC Club Of The Year at the 2020 UCC Sports Club Of The Year Awards in April. Rowing One of the most impressive perfor-
mances of any sporting club in the university was UCC Rowing, some of whom represented Ireland at the Under-23 European Championships in Duisburg, Germany. 10 athletes from UCC were selected to represent their country at the championships. Notable performances included gold for Lydia Healy in the BLW2- and she followed this with another victory with Cliodhna Nolan in the LW2-. There was bronze for Alex Byrne in the BM4+, while Tara Hanlon and Emily Hegarty added to the haul with bronze in the BW2-. Other events that took place this year included the Relay For Life, an 18 hour event running from 6pm Friday, March 6th to 12pm Saturday, March 7th. Participants and cancer survivors walked around the Sonia O’Sullivan Track in the Mardyke in solidarity in the fight against cancer. Overall, it was a fantastic 2019/20 season for UCC sport. Sport is as important as it has ever been be it on a competitive or social level and long may this continue. An exciting year awaits!
University
Volume 24 | Fresher’s Edition | Tuesday 15th September 2020
Sports
UCCExpress.ie
NOT ALL ZOOM & GLOOM: UCC SPORT OPTIMISTIC AHEAD OF NEW SEASON Writes Liam Grainger, Sports Editor In a week that saw 5 UCC Students take to the podium at the U23 European Rowing Championships, spirits are high on Western Road ahead of the return of third-level sport this September, albeit on a much different playing field. The contention and ambiguity surrounding return-to-play guidelines that have shrouded much of Irish sport since it’s resumption in early July will undoubtedly be just as prevalent on the third-level sporting scene. The revered nature of third-level sport has always been a major draw for many to UCC, with Freshers eagerly awaiting an opportunity to don the esteemed skull and crossbones. And considering how ham-fisted the handling of the academic side of college life has been in recent weeks, the cries for clarity on how intervarsity sport will operate this year are warranted. So, what exactly will the UCC Sporting landscape look like amid a global pandemic? Let’s start with facilities. Rugby and soccer squads are well accustomed to biweekly strength & conditioning training sessions at the Mardyke Arena’s squad gym. However, due to the recently refurbished Arena gyms, squad conditioning sessions will now take place at the Curraheen training grounds of Cork City FC. This delivers the logistical nightmare of transporting students from the main campus to Curraheen, not helped by the absence of public transport links and the current Covid-restrictions on carpooling. Nonetheless, Arena staff insist that Freshers will experience just as professional a setup as they would have in previous years. The Arena itself which is used by over 20 clubs as their main training facility has had its operations significantly curtailed in adherence to Covid guidelines, with limited numbers allowed to enter the facility at a given time. Clubs that avail of the Arena’s indoor hall and studios will be amongst
those most impacted in the new semester, with committees already preparing for reduced capacity training sessions: UCC Rowing is one such club that are adapting their preparations. The club’s Vice-Captain David Breen disclosed to the Express that the club’s Fresher intake will be reduced in comparison to previous years due to restrictions on indoor gatherings, a trend that might become more common in other clubs as Fresher registrations are tallied. Breen echoes the grievances of other clubs on the issue of transporting squads to and from competition venues, lamenting the predicament of carpooling whilst maintaining social distancing. Facility restrictions, which at present will see dressing rooms and dugouts prohibited at the Mardyke for field-based clubs, is also a problem for the rowers, who will not have access to the National Rowing Centre in the immediate future due to the prioritisation of the national squad’s training efforts. Freshers can expect the return of all major third-level competitions this semester, an impressive feat considering how truncated this year’s sporting calendar has become. The transition of the Third-Level GAA Leagues to a regional format without knockout stages is so far the only major difference to the UCC sporting calendar. Despite the current climate, it is evident that those overseeing third-level sport are determined to pick up from where they left off in May, a sentiment shared by Vice-President of the UCC Club’s Executive, Tommy Holohan. When asked what changes returning students should expect, Holohan explains that all clubs are now required to complete a ReturnTo-Play Protocol before club activity can recommence, with each club also having a designated Covid-19 Officer. At the time of writing, a mere 20 out of the 58 UCC Clubs have fulfilled their Return-To-Play Protocol obligations and have been approved by the Executive to compete this year; a concerning statistic with less than a fortnight till the new
academic year commences. For those apprehensive about getting involved in clubs this year, Holohan assures that every precaution is being taken to prioritise public health and that the pandemic should not act as a deterrent to club involvement for Freshers. Holohan encourages all incoming students to register their club interest at the Digital Freshers Fair at the end of September. This year’s Freshers join the rest of the UCC student cohort in swapping lecture theatres for their bedrooms, and the hustle of campus life for the solitude of remote learning; no amount of PR can distract you from the fact that this
college year will be one like no other. In an academic year blighted by restricted campus access and limited social events, sport may prove UCC’s big redeemer for incoming Freshers expecting the real college experience. The beauty of third-level sport is that you can take away crowds, restrict facilities, and enforce rigorous health protocols, but it’ll still maintain its magic and appeal. So for those Freshers clinging to any hope of normality ahead of the new college year, take solace in the fact that some things can’t be substituted or lost in the college’s digital transformation; rest assured that you won’t be playing Fitzgibbon Cup hurling or Collingwood Cup football over Zoom.