University Express Volume 25; Issue 2 by UCCStudentMedia

University

Express

Volume 25 | Issue 2 | Tuesday 28th September 2021

UCCExpress.ie

‘Cork City Housing is a Nightmare’

country and the desperate unknown of whether there would be a place to live or not.

IMASHA COSTA Editor-In-Chief With the announcement of the university returning back onto campus, the hunt for accommodation has taken students out of their comfort zones, in the hunt for a place to live, whilst attending incampus lectures. Cork City has seen an increase in the students’ demand for accommodation. Cork students nearly spend the summer searching for accommodation online, and this could last for nearly hours and hours every day for several months. UCC President John O’Halloran, sent out a university-wide email, on the 25th of August, which mentioned that students would return to campus on the 13th of September. Many students were given three weeks notice of having to for accommodation. Websites such as Daft. ie advertise accommodation above 600 euros a month usually, which is not feasible for many students. Therefore, many students resort to social media to find accommodation. Groups on Facebook or stories on Instagram usually allowed students to find a place to live, however, these places are also prone to rent scams.

International Development and Food Policy discusses how she struggled to find accommodation for the upcoming academic year. As an international student, many are prone to searching for accommodation online, resulting in being roped into “luxurious” student accommodation that is aimed especially at international students.

you are not living in Ireland and I was in Italy for a month where I was searching for a place to live as I was desperate for a room and I only eventually did because a girl that I knew in college had a room going in her place.’

‘It’s difficult, you try to email as many landlords as possible on either daft or Facebook, and most of the time only 20 per On speaking to one UCC student, cent of the people that you contact reply the Claudia Zedda, an international day after, and it is just very unorganized. student that is in her third year of You are excluded from finding a house if

Claudia was able to find the place that she currently lives in at the end of August, which was two weeks before college was meant to start. As an international student, Claudia states that this is not feasible especially when moving from another

‘It took me nearly 3 weeks until I found a place to live. I had posted something on Ms Zedda states that it’s harder to find Instagram and the person that I am living accommodation in Ireland when you are not with now, was like “there is a room here if you want it.”’ living there.

#UnmuteConsent: Campaign Launch by HEI Ireland

Girlboss: Motivational Motto, or Demeaning Drivel?

- pg 5 -

- pg 9 -

Writes Imasha Costa

Writes Maeve O’Keeffe

Sheila’s hostel and Brú Bar in Cork City has noted that they have seen an increase in Irish and international students that are searching for accommodation. At the moment, Sheila’s hostel hosts approximately 100 students, with most of them being Irish students. However, the Brú Bar Hostel states that they host more international students, and do not allow long-term stays. This incentive that only allows students to stay for a maximum of seven days makes them eager to find a place whilst living in the city, allowing them to view rooms and or houses. On speaking to another UCC Student, Chloe Boland, Chairperson of the Feminist Society, she stated that finding housing in Cork City before the academic year was a nightmare. Originally from Tipperary, Chloe was living in Cork City initially in student accommodation provided by UCC. Continued on Page 3

Has Cork missed the boat on Americas Cup? Writes Sam Curtin - pg 35 -

EDITORIAL Editorial Team Editor-in-Chief – Imasha Costa (Editor@UCCExpress.ie) News Editor – Samantha Calthrop (News@UCCExpress.ie) Designer – Aoife E Osborne (Design@UCCExpress.ie) Features Editor – Maeve O’Keeffe (Features@UCCExpress.ie) Sports Editor – Sam Curtin (Sport@UCCExpress.ie) Opinion Editor – Claudia Zedda (Opinion@UCCExpress.ie) Eagarthóir Gaeilge – Caitríona O’Connell (Gaeilge@UCCExpress.ie) Online Editor – Edel Lonergan (Online@UCCExpress.ie) Marketing Executive – Imasha Costa (Marketing@UCCExpress.ie)

Photographers – Méabh Lonergan; Jack Murphy (Photographers@ uccexpress.ie) Byline Editor – Jack Coleman (Byline@UCCExpress.ie) (Deputy Editor) Food & Health – Nathan Carey (Food@UCCExpress.ie) Arts & Literature Editor – Cian Pierce (Arts@UCCExpress.ie) Gaming Editor – Chloe Barrett (Gaming @UCCExpress.ie) Music Editor – Florrie McCarthy (Music@UCCExpress) Fashion Editor – Claire Watson (fashion@uccexpress.ie) Film & Television Editor – Cormac McCarthy (Screen@UCCExpress.ie) Sexpress Editor – Emily Osborn (Sexpress@uccexpress.ie) Deputy Features – Roisin Noonan (Deputyfeatures@uccexpress.ie) Deputy News – Ciara Browne (Deputynews@uccexpress.ie) Staff Writer: Billy O’Connor

Issue 2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

WE MOVE I have been trying my best to not lurk in the past and keep moving forward but some days it is just too tough for myself to even figure out why I am like this. I question everything, every step I make, every word I speak, the conversations I have. I always go back and try to figure out if what I had done was frustrating for myself or was just too much for me. I cannot seem to wrap my head around it some days, but I always try to go with a motto that I try to live by everyday ‘We Move.’ Missed a deadline? We move. Broke a mirror? We move. Erupted chaos? We move. Trying to move forward has been one of the hardest things that I have had to come across in my life. Not looking back to analyse the mistakes, but looking back to learn from the mistakes that I have made. Trust me, getting into the role of Editorin-Chief has not only allowed me to learn a lot of things, but I have honestly made mistakes as well. And like I said, I used to overanalyze these, but now I do not. We learn from the mistakes, we learn to adapt them and produce something even better. And that is what the University Express is to me really, its all about learning, its all about finding a ground that we can all work on, before finally coming together to print something amazing. It’s only been two weeks, wait till we get to the end of the semester, boy do we have something coming. This week in the news, we are covering the housing crisis that many students have faced coming back to UCC. We also have a consistent presence of Bystander Intervention, a programme developed in UCC within our features section. Our Features Editor, Maeve O’Keeffe is amazing at writing away about all things Bystander. We are very grateful to have Clionadh O’Keeffe get onto us to have a feature within our paper for the rest of the academic year. Our Opinion Editor has written a really strong article about what is happening in Afghanistan, and how UCC students can help. It is very informative and is a really great read. Once again I would like to thank everyone on the team for doing a fabulous job, we only had our first social two weeks ago, and it was amazing to see people in person. My favorite part is coming into the office and having not only the people on my team working away in the newsroom, but also running into the Motley team. It’s just such a great feeling to be back on campus once again, it may seem a bit stressful, but I find that it is worth it at the end of the day. I am really looking forward to everyone picking up a copy of this issue and sitting out in the sun or one of the canopies (if it is raining). You will hear from me again, in two weeks .

Imasha Costa Editor-In-Chief

editor@uccexpress.ie

ILLNESS AND ENDINGS This is going to be my last editorial. (Even though it’s only my second this year, I know.) The Express is a publication very dear to my heart, and I wish I could’ve had a bit longer to work with the current team. But this is still an editorial, so with my heartfelt wishes to the team and my sincere apologies to those who’ll miss me, let’s talk about illness. I think most people were traumatised by Covid. The physical burden of the illness is obviously one thing, but the mental burden of lockdown, isolation and upheaval is another. Mental and physical illness are different in many ways, but more similar than we like to admit, I think. Here’s one thing that really strikes me: mental illness, like physical illness, can be acute. Anxiety and depression are often things we think of as chronic, but those things - and worse - can be brought on by circumstance, and can be hard to shake once acquired. As someone chronically ill - chronically ill to the point of leaving university back in 2019 - there’s an indescribable horror to watching friends and loved ones with no experience of that health burden going through it for the first time. Years of medication and therapy, and hundreds of euros, have gone into my acquired skill of “being stuck in a bad situation”. Not everyone is so... lucky? Or unlucky? Like healing from a physical injury, recovery from mental trama is strange, sometimes unintuitive, and often sets you back more than the trauma itself. Sometimes things feel good but set back your recovery. Sometimes the things you have to do to heal are painful and awkward. Sometimes you really need to talk to a physiotherapist before you do something terrible to yourself. Like, seriously, you know you shouldn’t do that to your spine. I think everyone has some healing to do these days. Myself included - much to my annoyance. (Two years I’ve spent convalescing! I should be able to work at least three jobs at this point!) To my regret, balancing college with the tricky occupation of being alive is a lot for me to handle. So, to that end, that’s the last you’ll hear of me for a little while - but don’t stop reading the Express, because I won’t! Rest easy, reader, and see you on the other side.

Samantha Calthrop News Editor

news@uccexpress.ie

Issue 2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

NEWS

Protest in Dublin against Taliban regime SAMANTHA CALTHROP News Editor On Sunday 19 September, people from across the country gathered in Dublin to protest against the Taliban’s regime in Afghanistan. Meeting at the GPO in Dublin, protestors called on the Irish government not to recognise the Taliban regime and to denounce their stance on women’s rights. Since their takeover into government, the Taliban have forbidden middle and high school girls from returning to The Taliban have also been targeting journalists and limiting contact between Afghan residents and their families abroad. Despite promises to the world community that they would create a tolerant society, the Taliban have been rolling back women’s rights initiatives and have introduced a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice”, whose stated purpose is to enforce Islamic law. Many members of Ireland’s Afghan community attended the protest, with concerns for friends and family still living in Afghanistan. Cover Story Continued However, she did eventually move out into a college house with her friends. Misreading the contract, Chloe did not realise that the rent they were being charged was actually more than what they were paying. The landlord at the time was charging around 520 euros every 2 weeks for a place that was not even in a decent condition. Deciding not to renew her contract for the upcoming academic year, Chloe was once again left to search for a place to live before the academic year started which at the beginning was not successful. Chloe and her friends were scouting through different accommodation websites for hours and hours of their days over the summer trying to find a place but were unsuccessful. Chloe was eventually able to find a place to live after a friend had offered a room. Students have been struggling to find a place to live since universities in Cork had announced the return of students back onto campus. Chloe’s and Claudia’s stories are not the only ones that are there. Talking to other UCC students has allowed myself to understand that some still do commute to and from the city. If you would like to contribute your voice to this particular story, please contact me at editor@uccexpress.ie. IMASHA COSTA

Beshta Bakhshi, a member of the Irish Afghan community who left Afghanistan as a child in the 90s, said, “Women in Afghanistan, in a week they have been stripped of their rights for education, right to freedom and right to work. “Everything they built over the last two decades has been taken away in a week from them. And we have no government, no supporting body to back us up. All this hard work that they worked for over twenty years has been taken away by a minority group.” “Once the Taliban regime comes in everyone is forced into this miserable life they lived two decades ago. All my mam’s family live in Afghanistan and worked in the Government and civil servants and had good jobs. “Now everyone is at home and has no idea of what is going to happen next.” Image Credit: Niall Carson

NEWS

Issue 2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

Climate campaigners occupy Shannon LNG gas terminal SAMANTHA CALTHROP News Editor Several environmentalist groups, including Slí Eile, Futureproof Clare, Future Generations Kerry and Shale Must Fall, staged an occupation of the site of a proposed natural gas plant in Kerry. Approximately 25 activists from across Ireland camped overnight on the 600-acre site, where a proposed gas import terminal would process imported natural gas into electricity. The €650 million terminal, proposed by New Fortress Energy, would see 22.6 million cubic metres of gas brought into the plant per day - likely including fracked gas, the main reason behind protests. The project was submitted to An Bord Pleanála on August 25 and is currently awaiting approval. “This action sends a message to New Fortress Energy and the Irish government that this disastrous project is not welcome here or anywhere and will be fiercely resisted at every stage,” said Séamus Diskin of Slí Eile, one of the event’s spokespeople. “As the climate crisis reaches ‘code red for humanity’, building new fossil fuel infrastructure would be a catastrophic mistake that will increase Ireland’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and lock us into gas imports for decades. “All of New Fortress Energy’s upstream operations involve fracked gas. Nowhere in Shannon LNG’s planning application does it commit to not using fracked gas.”

The Shannon LNG terminal is also expected to include several data planning centres. As stated in its planning application, by 2030 it would release about 963kt CO2e in emissions. This would be a 1.6% increase to current national greenhouse gas emissions, making the terminal one of the largest-emitting contributors in the country. Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has previously issued statements that oppose LNG terminals in Ireland, but no legislative action has taken place against them. With data centres forming an important part of Ireland’s economic plans, and concerns about energy shortages in Ireland growing, it is unlikely that the project will be opposed by the government. Aisling Wheeler of Futureproof Clare said, “Increasing GHG emissions at this point in time is immoral. Increasing methane emissions is particularly abhorrent as methane has a more immediate and stronger effect on temperature. Methane is 86% more potent as a GHG than carbon in the first 20 years after emission. The recent IPCC report says that deep cuts to methane emissions may buy us some time while we make the transition to fossil-free energy systems. We are at an important crossroads here and if we take a wrong turn, there is no going back. “Building more fossil fuel infrastructure will contribute to catastrophic climate breakdown that will kill hundreds of millions of people and wipe out millions of other species.”

Issue 2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

NEWS

#UnmuteConsent: Campaign Launch by HEI Ireland IMASHA COSTA Editor-In-Chief

As of Monday, 20th September, the Higher Education Institutions of Ireland launched the #UnmuteConsent campaign in a way to drive a positive conversation on consent and a way to end sexual violence and harassment. Sexual violence and harassment is a problem within higher education campuses and is often under-reported. This campaign was formed by the findings from the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) and Active*Consent Sexual Experiences Survey that was launched in 2020. #UnmuteConsent seeks to mobilise the student community to make a difference, by allowing them to speak out and enhance their knowledge about consent, and ultimately challenge and change behaviours. Sexual consent is described as the freely given verbal or non-verbal communication of a feeling of willingness to engage in sexual activity. This description entails an ongoing, mutual, and preferably verbal communication, and is consistent with the description of consent in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) 2017, as whereas the individual “freely and voluntarily agrees to engage in the act.” With the 6026 students that responded to the 2020 Survey, most identified significant evidence of unwanted touching, attempted or completed penetration, acts of coercion, and force or threat of force. Even though the findings are shocking, unsurprisingly enough there have been comparable studies that have been made in Australia, the US, and the UK.

Image Credit: #unmuteconsent and HEA

Simon Harris TD, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, commented that since his appointment to the role he has worked with student representatives, staff representatives and higher education institutions to ensure that there is a zero tolerance approach to violence and harassment. Harris also states that ‘I am pleased that our students and management are working together to create a safe environment for all and to ensure that victims of sexual violence and harassment feel safe to come forward. We have leaders in this field. We have to change the culture in every single campus and we will.’ Furthermore, Claire Austick, President of the Union of Students in Ireland believes that it is really positive to see a national campaign being rolled out in higher education institutions to raise awareness as well as build a culture of active consent within campuses. According to Austick, the aim of this campaign is to empower students to talk about consent and contribute to a culture change which they are hoping to see.

This campaign is supported by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), The Irish #UnmuteConsent is said to roll out across Universities Association (IUA), the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA) every Higher Education Institute campus as and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI). Further information on the campaign can be well as the website www.unmuteconsent.ie found at www.unmuteconsent.ie. which will highlight the support, resources and training available in each university and institute technology. As students are returning to campuses across Ireland, consent will be introduced and formed as a part of their induction process, in addition to the tools and support that this campaign aims to highlight. Alongside engaging with the support and training within the institutions, students are encouraged to: •

Speak out / report unacceptable behaviour and access support

•

Be active and challenge perceived norms of unacceptable behaviour

•

Talk about consent and relationships in a positive and confident way

•

Practice consent in their relationships and actions

NEWS

Issue 2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

Crises Are Incoming For Students CIARA BROWNE Deputy News Editor In Ireland, 88% of students worry about money and over 40% stress about the subject of money constantly, with nearly half the student percentile struggling to afford their living expenses, according to a new survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) and Spunout.ie. 71% of students plan to work part time in order to pay their costs, followed by a mixture of support from parents (59%) and the SUSI student grant (40%). A combination of factors, including the pandemic, housing shortages and job shortages have made accommodation a growing cost and concern for students. Sheila’s hostel, a budget hostel on Wellington Road that mainly caters to tourists, has reported that over 100 students are now residing there due to housing shortages in Cork. Students on practical courses such as medicine, nursing, and childcare are now a higher risk category as they will be on placement but not paid for the duration, with students on placement not able to work in other paying jobs due to Covid restrictions. Students who have been receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) got their last instalment on the 7th of September 2021. It has been reported that one in 10 PUP recipients were students, leaving many students now struggling. Alongside this crisis for students, there have been reports of a different type of housing crisis. Student residents on Glasheen road, alongside other areas with high student populations in Cork, are suffering from

conflicts with residents. UCC students have been celebrating Sophomore Week, which was launched by UCC to allow second year students the chance to mix after losing the opportunity to do so last year. As we are stepping forward to normality, students have returned to the streets partying and attending house parties. Footage of the antics have been sent to UCC and to the guards by the residents group and President John O’Halloran has been asked to consider more expulsions for students who have no respect for the residents and their homes. Catherine Clancy (member of the Magazine Road and surrounding areas residents group) interviewed President John O’Halloran of UCC, after the antics and disrespect UCC students showed. As reported in the Echo Live, Mrs. Clancy said there had been “chanting, singing, public drinking, urinating as well as defecating on the pavement and glass bottles smashed and thrown. As residents, (they) are very upset by this. It is very serious”. UCC students have had a rough start to the year, which is expected for students all over Ireland. In particular, it has been difficult for first and second year students. Students of UCC have reported being stressed about being to lectures on time, trying to find the correct room, and many have said that should they arrive 5-10 minutes late, they will not walk into the lecture. Students are being asked to consider and look into UCC’s Student Assistant Fund (SAF) to help with money issues they may be experiencing.

Issue 2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

The Katherine Zappone controversy, explained simply SAMANTHA CALTHROP News Editor Another week, another controversy in the Dáil - but what have Fine Gael done this time? This month’s current heap of baloney revolves around former TD Katherine Zappone, and her appointment as special envoy to the UN. The affair has been long, convoluted, and arguably pointless - but if you haven’t been keeping up, the Express can answer all the questions you might have. What did Zappone do, exactly? Well, nothing, actually. It’s the others who are in trouble. The current consensus is that a while ago, Zappone was privately offered a job as UN special envoy by Coveney. Fine Gael didn’t say anything about this until it was announced at a cabinet meeting several months later, having already been finalised. Fianna Fáil and the Green Party both had no idea that this had been done, although they didn’t seem to mind too much, with the Taoiseach suggesting they “we move on now” when the Opposition picked up on it. Of course, Sinn Féin did not move on and it sparked a media frenzy and subsequent investigation. What’s a UN special envoy? The special envoy involves 50-60 days of work a year and has been described as a “symbolic” role rather than a real one. Katherine Zappone’s role would have had her serve as an envoy on “freedom of opinion and expression”, or more accurately as an activist for LGBTQ+ rights. With that said, the role would have paid €15,000 a year and didn’t exist before her appointment. People have been accusing Fine Gael of “cronyism”, claiming that they invented this role especially for her as a favour and not out of any genuine political need or reason. It doesn’t help that the role was never advertised and not offered to anyone else. Whose idea was that? As far as we can tell, it was Simon Coveney, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, that offered her the job - although speculation is rife that she asked for it first. Fine Gael have denied that Zappone asked for the role to be created, saying that she and Coveney had a conversation about her work and then some time afterwards Coveney drew up plans to appoint a special envoy. There are text messages showing Zappone asking Coveney about her new role on a regular basis in the months leading up to the announcement to the Dáil, and more between Coveney and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar discussing it. (Of course, Coveney has stated that he deletes random texts from his phone regularly because of “hacking”, so not all of the evidence is available.) Coveney initially said that the questions from Zappone about her new job might have been due to a misunderstanding, but abandoned that line of reasoning once more evidence came out.

NEWS

So, were there any consequences? Well, Zappone decided to turn down the role after the media storm. (Plus, she’d been caught hosting a 200-person outdoor party in August.) Simon Coveney faced a No Confidence motion from the Government, largely spearheaded by The Sinn Féin and backed by the Labour party, the Social Democrats, and Solidarity-PBP. Of course, the coalition government supported their Foreign Affairs Minister and the motion failed to pass, 92 votes to 59. And otherwise? No, not really. The Dáil will continue trundling along without any major changes. Until, of course, the next controversy.

BYSTANDER FEATURES

Issue 2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

Understanding Consent MAEVE O’KEEFFE Features Editor

The new #unmuteconsent campaign has just been launched in partnership with the Higher Education Authority, Irish Universities Association, Technical Higher Education Association, and Union of Students in Ireland. This important campaign aims to recognise and amplify student voices in driving change against sexual harassment and violence on college campuses. It is assumed that upon entering third level, that students have an understanding of what consent is. However, many fail to recognise the nuances of consent, assuming that not saying “no” to sexual activity means “yes.” This lack of understanding about the meaning of consent is a contributing factor to the high levels of sexual assault among university populations and beyond. We all have the responsibility to inform ourselves about what consent means, to ensure safe, enjoyable sexual experiences for both parties involved. Sure, “No means no,” but consent is more than the absence of resistance. Consent needs to be entirely enthusiastic, conscious, and voluntary. Simply put, sex without consent is rape. The catchy acronym OMFG, which was devised by NUIG’s Active*Consent team, is a succinct summary of how the legal system views consent here, and the core prerequisites of consent. Consent must be Ongoing, Mutual, and Freely Given. So what does this mean?

Ongoing:

Consent can be withdrawn at any point. This means that at any given time during sexual activity or foreplay, an individual can change their mind. Consent to one thing does not immediately imply consent to any other sexual activity. Sometimes fears about being labelled as a “tease” or being accused of “leading someone on” may inhibit an individual from withdrawing their consent, particularly if they have previously consented to a sexual activity with the other person. However, our sexual partners must respect that nobody is ever entitled to another person’s consent, and it must be respected if someone revokes their consent.

Freely-Given:

Consent cannot be given if an individual is asleep, unconscious, intoxicated, or drugged. Once again, you might presume that this goes without saying, but sadly the statistics reveal that 29% of women who participated in the 2020 Sexual Experiences Mutual: Survey reported assault through penetration while Both parties must consent to the sexual activity. It unable to give consent or while forced. This is an may sound obvious, but consent should never be astonishing statistic, and is indicative of a dire need presumed. None of us are mind-readers, so even if to enhance students’ understanding of consent. you’re pretty sure the other * * * person is into it, it’s always important to err on the Many college students choose to drink alcohol while side of caution and make sure that the desire to kiss socialising, and this can confound communication or have sex is shared by both of you. Responsibility or how we interpret social cues. If an individual should not rest with one individual who needs to is blacked out or passed out, they clearly cannot accept or resist the sexual activity, but should be a consent. More than this though, if someone is visibly intoxicated, slurring their words, or stumbling, for continuous dialogue between both parties. instance, then they also cannot consent. Keep an eye out for friends at parties or nights out when alcohol is involved, and don’t be afraid to subtly intervene if you fear that a drunk person is being taken advantage of in any way. This doesn’t need to be dramatic, but simply pulling someone aside and making sure they understand what they are consenting to can make a real difference.

‘Simply put, sex without consent is rape.’

When it comes to offering a friend a cup of tea, we love to say, “Ah go on,” if they first refuse. Consent simply cannot be viewed in the same way. It is wrong to coerce or pressure another person into sex. When it comes to consent, never assume entitlement. A 2020 study of students from 14 higher education institutions across Ireland demonstrated that 20% of female respondents, and 34% of male respondents felt that verbally asking for consent was awkward. These figures need to change. Asking for consent is an indication of respect and care for your sexual partner, and a willingness to make the experience as enjoyable as possible for both of you. There is nothing awkward about that! The key to having happy, consensual sex is communication. Communicate clearly what you like and don’t like, or if you need to slow down or stop.

If you have been affected by any of the topics mentioned in this article, here are some of the services available locally to support you: UCC Student Counselling - counselling@ucc.ie

Rape Crisis Network – 24 hour helpline number is 1800778888

Sexual Violence Centre Cork - the freephone number is 1800 496 496 for those calling from the Cork area, but the centre can also be contacted by texting 087 1533 393 or emailing info@sexualviolence.ie

The need for clear communication also extends to conversations about contraception. “Stealthing” or the non-consensual removal of a condom during intercourse is considered a crime here in Ireland. Consenting to safe, protected sex does not imply consent to sex without a condom later, and this should never be assumed.

Issue 2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

FEATURES

Girlboss: Motivational Motto, or Demeaning Drivel? MAEVE O’KEEFFE Features Editor

The term “girlboss” was coined by Sophia Amoruso, the founder of Nasty Gal, a fashion retailer that she grew from an eBay store aged 22. When Amoruso published her 2014 memoir, #Girlboss, which was adapted into a Netflix series, the term suddenly became part of the modern workplace vernacular, emblazoned on coffee mugs, planners, and t-shirts produced by fast fashion outlets including Boohoo, who, interestingly, have been investigated for underpaying their (predominantly female) garment workers. Girlboss was branded as empowering women to obtain the power and wealth that was traditionally held by men. The philosophy of gender equality promoted in Amoruso’s #Girlboss was less focussed on structural changes against the patriarchy in the workplace, but more on how women can empower themselves to climb the ladder of success.

Unfortunately, the issues with girlboss feminism are more deep-rooted than its clumsy etymology. Although having more women in positions of power is important for visibility and equality, unless these women are working towards better working environments for all women, then the philosophy behind being a girlboss comes across as somewhat hollow. Being a girlboss is sold to women as rising to the challenges of the modern workplace, and empowering themselves through their drive and ambition. However, we have to ask how helpful this mentality is in fostering more welcoming and inclusive workplaces for all women in the long run. How beneficial is it to simply slot one woman into a position of power formerly held by a man while failing to address the barriers to more women professionally?

In recent months, however, the term girlboss has been subject to derision on social media, particularly on TikTok, where the tongue-incheek phrase “Gatekeep, gaslight, girlboss,” has been employed to mock the superficial attempts of celebrities and corporations towards social justice, and to ridicule the idea of labelling the actions of any woman as feminist, even if those actions have detrimental consequences. Disregarding Amoruso’s step down from Nasty Gal due to bankruptcy and allegations of a toxic work culture in 2016, the fall of the girlboss was Ultimately, there needs to be more radical change in order to address gender inequality somewhat inevitable. in the workplace. The reality of life for When dissected, the term girlboss is inherently working women is more than power suits and problematic. Aside from the fact that the coffee cups with feminist slogans. It is a daily distinction between a boss and a girlboss should battle against misogynistic comments, sexual not be necessary, the selection of the word harassment, gender discrimination, the gender “girl” as opposed to “woman” is indicative of pay gap, and unaffordable childcare for parents. how unreceptive our society is to women in It is a confrontation with the unspoken societal power. Referring to successful women as girls expectation of domestic labour from women, is infantilising and patronising. Just imagine as well as norms surrounding how women how bizarre it would be to refer to a male CEO are expected to behave in the workplace. or leader as a boy. A girl is defined as a female Some talented and driven women overcome child, so unless there are minors in charge of these obstacles to sit in positions of power, companies, the use of the term girlboss makes but many more do not. Unless the women no sense. Why is it that we feel the need to and men in charge are actively working to make the idea of a woman as a leader more overhaul the system that excludes so many palatable and less threatening, by referring to the other capable women from participating in the woman in question as a child? The promotion of workplace at the same level as men, then the feminism in the workplace appears to hinge on label girlboss remains no more than a label. this infantilization and diminishment of women, rendering the so-called feminism in question a lot Many businesses embraced the optics of girlboss culture, while clinging to the toxicity less credible. that permeates so many workplaces beneath the Perhaps these issues with the expression itself are surface. Unethical corporate cultures are not made negligible. After all, does it really matter how we feminist simply because a woman is in charge. label the ethos of girlboss culture, so long as more It could also be argued, however, that girlboss women are ending up in positions of power?

culture is a necessary stepping-stone towards more inclusive workplaces for women. Differentiating between bosses and ‘girlbosses’ presumes that women as bosses is an anomaly, and so the distinction should not exist. Gender should be irrelevant, and the need to include a qualifier of “girl” is undermining. That said, the idea of a girlboss could be viewed as carving out a space in which women are not under pressure not to simply mimic the characteristics and behaviours of their male counterparts in order to be taken seriously. There is an abundance of research illustrating that women who demonstrate the same leadership characteristics as men are judged much more harshly. When a woman succeeds in a typically male-coded leadership role, it is assumed, by both men and women alike, that the woman is cold and manipulative. On the other hand, the competence of women who demonstrate sensitivity and nurturing natures is also questioned, in a way that it would not be for men. Women are faced with a total paradox, like we simply cannot win. So perhaps the label girlboss is strategic in its palatability, as a way to minimise the hostility so many women face in the workplace, while asserting that women can indeed fulfil leadership roles. Regardless of whether the term girlboss is more useful or undermining, it is clear that feminism needs to move beyond catchy slogans towards concrete policy change. Referring to oneself as a She-EO as opposed to a CEO, or wearing a gown that says “Peg the Patriarchy” at the Met Gala (I’m looking at you, Cara Delevigne) needs to be backed up by actively advocating for gender equality. Ultimately, wearing a t-shirt that says “We Should All be Feminists” means nothing if it was bought from a retailer with appalling working conditions for female garment workers. Feminist rhetoric and branding can be useful in sparking discussion about feminist issues, but is meaningless unless backed up by significant changes to power structures and policies.

FEATURES

Issue 2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

Therapy: The New Form of Self-Care. By now we are all well accustomed with the term “self-care” and all that it encompasses. We millennials are even sometimes referred to as the “self-care generation”. In a world where we whizz around every day on an endless merry go round of work/study/exercise/eat/ sleep/repeat, there is no doubt that self-care is a vital and necessary coping strategy. It has been proven to help ease stress and anxiety and to relieve tension, allowing us to re-centre and enabling us to focus on ourselves in our daily lives.

ROISIN NOONAN Deputy Features Editor

movement is that therapy should be something that anyone can access, whenever they need it for whatever reason, big or small. That going to therapy is something that should be celebrated as a sign of emotional intelligence and awareness of our own needs and feelings and not something that should be shamed or hidden. It’s the idea that therapy should be used as a tool as one requires it, and not as a last resort when crisis hits.

I just had to face the fact that I knew I needed it, and I sent that first text to make an appointment. After that, everything was easy. The talking; the clearing out; the simplifying. My whole thought process became clarified and easier. Sometimes it’s just a build-up of little things, and it can take talking them out to realise that is all they are. That is what therapy does for me. Clears the brain fog. It’s like ironing out a shirt.

Therapy is so much more than just lying on a couch, talking to a stranger and paying money for it. It is a way to gain emotional insight into ourselves, to get to know ourselves better, in turn helping us in our relationships, our jobs and our daily lives. It is a chance for us to look at ourselves in a different way, learning about our strengths and weaknesses and how to manage them. Therapy is about gaining new tools and refining the ones we already possess to be able to navigate the trials and tribulations of everyday life.

In the end, I wondered why I was so strung up about making an appointment in the first place. Why was I procrastinating so much? It all comes back to the stigma of course The “ah sure I’m not that bad”, “I don’t really need it”, “I’ll be grand”. Then I saw this post on Instagram – “reasons why you should go to therapy”. There was a whole list of reasons but written over them all was “because you want to go”. That hit home for me. The best reason to go to therapy is because you want to go. I think I was waiting for some major crisis or breakdown before I made the call. I felt that something like that was needed to justify going back to therapy. Once I read that post on Instagram, I realised how absurd that was. If you want to go to therapy, then go. You don’t need a justification. If you had a physical illness, would you wait for it to get worse before you went to see a doctor? The notion of preventative care should apply to mental health just as it does to physical health. Why wait for the breakdown?.

However, self-care goes a lot deeper than just running a hot bath, lighting some nice candles and slapping on a face mask. As important and wonderful as all of those things are, underpinning the very concept of self-care is mental wellbeing and care for our mental health. A more holistic approach to self-care would perhaps involve therapy and/ or counselling as a way of caring for the mind. If you do self-care for your body in the form of a bath I returned to therapy this summer or yoga or a face mask, why not for the first time in a few years. And do self-care for your mind too? it was the best thing I did for myself That said, the notion of therapy all summer. It was the best thing I did in Ireland has been shrouded in for myself in a long time, actually. stereotypes and stigma for decades In saying that I struggled to make now, just like the broader issues my first appointment. I had not been of mental health and suicide. to therapy since secondary school, Distorted views that therapy is and I almost feared going back as only something “crazy people” do, being some sort of a regression. I misconceptions of therapy being delayed it until after exams, and then self-centred, an expensive means until after work, until eventually of complaining to a stranger or something only Americans do. It was taboo. Nobody did therapy and if you did, you didn’t talk about it.

However, the increase in mental health and suicide awareness campaigns and the long-awaited move towards destigmatising mental illness has subsequently led to an increase in the popularity of therapy. It has shed light on the benefits and importance of it in combating mental health issues The “Therapy is Cool” movement has been around for some time now, with the hashtag #maketherapycool trending last year, thanks to bloggers and influencers like Sinead Hegarty sharing posts on the topic. The

whole

philosophy

the

The Irish Times reported this week that free online counselling is to be rolled out nationally for people with anxiety and depression. SilverCloud has been contracted by the HSE to provide the service for people following referrals made by GP’s, psychologists, national counselling service or Jigsaw. This follows the results of a pilot study carried out which saw a massive 88% of people with depression and anxiety report a significant reduction in symptoms following 2 months of online therapy. No doubt this will be a very welcome new service given that the expenses associated with therapy and counselling are a major issue for many people in accessing services. The Covid-19 pandemic has escalated mental health issues for people in many ways across the board. But one hugely positive outcome is that the move of therapy and counselling sessions online has made access to such services easier than ever. There are now several apps and websites where one can access online therapy and counselling sessions with qualified therapists, counsellors and psychologists. Therapy sessions can now take place over the phone or on zoom with the simplicity of a phone call. Therapy has never been more accessible. Caoimhe Walsh, Student Union Welfare Officer, shared some information with me on the counselling services currently available to students in UCC. At the moment all counselling services are still being conducted online due to the pandemic, but this is set to change in the coming weeks as restrictions ease. Students can contact the counselling services by email at counselling@ucc.ie with any questions or queries about services. Alternatively, you can get in touch with Caoimhe directly as she says many students choose to do. As Welfare Officer, Caoimhe has undertaken many different training courses including Disclosure, Bystander Intervention and Active Consent training in order to be able to help students with their concerns. “Many students that contact me just want a chat”, Caoimhe says, “they may not all need to attend a

Issue 2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

FEATURES

counselling session and might just want someone to vent or chat to for a while and so they contact me”. Should a student require counselling or request it, Caoimhe is trained to assess their needs and then point them in the right direction, be it the UCC Counselling Services, Chaplaincy or crisis helplines.

to anyone looking for a chat, some help, advice or even a free cup of tea. The services are open to everyone, regardless of religious beliefs, so anyone can drop by for a cuppa and a friendly word. Chaplaincy also runs several campaigns and events throughout the year promoting mental health so keep an eye on their social media pages.

In following through with the promises of her election manifesto, Caoimhe and the Students Union have made huge strides into improving the services available in UCC. “We now have no waiting lists for counselling services in the college, the max time a student might be waiting for an appointment is a week, tops”. Caoimhe added that there are now two new mental health nurses added to the team of people working for both student health and the Counselling services.

The pandemic has certainly opened up the conversation about therapy even more, normalising it as a tool that everyone can use. When I first started to go to counselling in secondary school, I felt it was something I needed to hide from people. Afraid of how people might look at me if they knew I was going to therapy. Now, I talk openly about it with my friends and family. I compare notes with some friends who are going too and recommend it to others who might not have considered it yet. Maybe the openness has come from just growing up and caring less about what other people think, or perhaps it is proof that society’s views on therapy and counselling really are changing. That we are starting to open up more as a country and unravel the stigmas. I really hope it is the latter.

There is also a room available in the ORB building all year round, reserved by Caoimhe, especially for students who may need somewhere to go to take their online counselling appointment. “It’s hard for students to try to find somewhere quiet and discreet to take their counselling or therapy calls in college” so this room is available for reservation by all students, whether taking a UCC counselling call or an external counselling session. To reserve Room 3.26 in the ORB just log onto the UCC Room booking portal or contact Caoimhe for more information. Chaplaincy is another key branch of the counselling and student health services offered to UCC students. They operate an open-door policy

If you have been thinking about therapy for a while, wondering if it is for you or contemplating making an appointment, just go for it. Bite the bullet and book a session. Do yourself a favour. Don’t let things build up and fester. If you’re a few weeks into the semester and struggling, reach out to one of the many available free services here in UCC. What have you got to lose with a chat? Sometimes just saying it out loud is all that is needed.

All counselling services in UCC are FREE. To contact Counselling Services at UCC email counselling@ucc.ie. Chaplaincy on chaplaincy@ucc.ie Caoimhe Walsh, Welfare Officer SU welfare@uccsu.ie

OPINION

Issue 1 | TUESDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

Why You Should Care About Afghanistan (And What You Can Do To Help) CLAUDIA M. ZEDDA Opinion Editor

Photo Credits: Méabh Lonergan

Afghanistan is facing one of the gravest humanitarian catastrophes of our times. If you watched the news at least once in the past month, you must have heard about this crisis. According to the United Nations, Afghanistan has the third-largest displaced population in the world. This is the result of a war that started back in 2001. Twenty years ago, the US was responding to the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, which killed nearly 3,000 people. Al-Qaeda, an Islamist militant group led by Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, was found responsible. At the time, Bin Laden was under the protection of the Taliban, who had been ruling Afghanistan since 1966. When they refused to hand him over, US military forces invaded the country, removing the Taliban and vowing to support democracy. After two decades, Taliban forces are trying to take control of Afghanistan just as the US troops are leaving it. Since the fall of Kabul on 15 August, the world has witnessed scenes of chaos and images of protests around Afghanistan. The Taliban have ceased the presidential palace and taken control of almost all of the country in just over a week. The pictures of people hanging off planes in a desperate attempt to leave the country have shocked the entire world. Many Afghans are afraid of what might happen next. The impact of this conflict mainly affects women and children. According to the UN Refugee Agency, some 80 per cent of Afghan refugees forced to flee since the end of May are women and children. Nearly 400.000 were forced to flee their homes since the beginning of the year, joining 2.9 million Afghans already internally displaced in the country. Under the new Taliban order, girls are also excluded from returning to secondary school. Many women were also stopped from returning to work and were excluded from the government. Basic human rights gained in the past

twenty years are being dangerously threatened. climate change and conflict for over 40 years. Water and land scarcity have increased conflict, In addition to this political and social crisis, poverty and political instability at a community other external factors contribute to Afghanistan’s level. These factors have also driven environmental economic crisis. The country is, in fact, critically degradation and the depletion of natural resources. dependent on foreign aid, which makes its economy Millions are now likely to face starvation with the extremely fragile. A nation is considered to be country being politically and economically isolated. dependent on aid when 10% or more of its gross domestic product (GDP) comes from foreign Why should UCC students care about Afghanistan? aid. According to the World Bank, about 40% of As previously mentioned above, a country that Afghanistan’s GDP was international aid. But where has been highly dependent on American and does this aid come from? The OECD identifies the Western support for decades has suddenly found top three donors for Afghanistan to be the United itself abandoned. Some may think that we, as States in the first place, EU institutions in second students, have little or no power in such situations place, and Germany in third place (2018-2019 and that international organisations will take average). When the Taliban started gaining control care of it. However, as we keep living our lives of Kabul, Western powers (including the US and in our privileged social environment, Afghans Germany) suspended foreign aid to the country. are in serious need of help. We know about the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and we cannot The World Bank and the International Monetary ignore it. As citizens of Ireland, Europe, and the Fund (IMF) have also halted payments since. entire world, if someone needs a hand, we must Afghanistan’s central bank (Da Afghanistan be there for them. Over the last two weeks, UCC Bank, also known as DAB) foreign reserves have has witnessed an amazing act of solidarity towards also been frozen. Most of DAB’s reserves are Afghan refugees. The Environmental Society and held in the United States. On top of foreign aid, Fáilte Refugees Society organised a fundraiser gig remittances make up around 4% of the country’s on campus to support Afghanistan. The total amount GDP (that is, family members who move and work raised was 265 euros, which went to the Immigrant abroad and send money back to their families). Council of Ireland. This is an excellent example This makes Afghanistan one of the countries of what students can achieve with their means. most dependent on remittances in the world Outside the campus, other members of the On top of all this, Afghanistan is in the middle of a community also decided to get involved. As some dreadful drought, which has left around half of the of you may know, Crawford & Co, organised a country’s children malnourished, the UN estimates. fundraiser table quiz in aid of Afghan refugees. The This is the second drought in two years. Since quiz was held on Monday 20th of September and all 1950, Afghanistan’s average annual temperature the money went to NASC Ireland, which is setting has raised by 1.8C, as stated by the climate security up a Community Sponsorship Programme to sponsor expert network. Many Afghans werestruggling Afghan families to come to live in Ireland. The to feed their families due to severe drought well. programme will provide temporary accommodation, before the invasion of the Taliban. Afghans have help communities prepare for the arrival of Afghan found themselves caught in a vicious cycle of refugees, and provide financial and social supports.

Issue 1 | TUESDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

OPINION

Why You Should Care About Afghanistan (And What You Can Do To Help) CLAUDIA M. ZEDDA Opinion Editor

If you are a bit lost but you still want to help, here are a few things you can do: ● Write to your TD using Fáilte Refugees Society’s template letters (scan QR code to see). While the Irish government is providing refuge to 200 Afghan refugees already, these letters want to put pressure on our representatives. We aim to provide asylum to at least 1000 Afghan refugees. As the situation in their country gets worse, we want Ireland to support the resettlement of Afghans at risk. It is paramount that the Irish government knows that we care. ● Sign a petition. There are so many petitions online that encourage governments to act immediately in aid of Afghanistan. They have also been used to show support and solidarity with displaced people fleeing the country. A petition is crucial to gather a support base for politicians and governments to take action on it. The more people will sign them, the better. ● Share Afghan voices. Keep yourself updated on what’s happening in Afghanistan through social media. Continuing the conversation will encourage further support to promote the voices of Afghan activists and civilians. Share Afghan people’s posts, stories, videos and experiences with your family and friends. The power of social media is unlimited. Sharing the word is a great way of doing your part with little or no effort/expense. ● Support female journalists and media. The Taliban have targeted female reporters working in Afghanistan, who work to amplify the voices of Afghan women in hiding since the Taliban took over. Female reporters are being threatened just for working in the industry. Since the beginning of 2021, it has been reported by the Irish Mirror that five female journalists have been killed. Two organisations led by women you can follow on social media are Rukshana Media and Sahar Speaks. ● Donate. Charities and NGOs are working hard on the ground to support vulnerable civilians in danger by providing emergency essentials such as food, shelter and healthcare. Other organisations such as the UN Refugee Agency is helping those displaced by the crisis in Afghanistan. Inform yourself on what organisations to trust, and donate as little as a few euros if you can. Any help counts.

Photo Credit: Méabh Lonergan

We cannot be bystanders in front of one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time. We cannot ignore that an entire population is endangered, and people are being threatened to lose their identity, their land, their family, their rights, their hope, their life. Basic human rights such as education, employment, freedom, healthcare, peace and stability should never be at stake. Covid-19, conflict and drought has decimated the Afghan economy in the past two years, says the Centre for Global Development. Half of the country’s children are severely malnourished. The international community (and us as part of it) have a moral obligation to support a country that is on the brink of collapse. If you do not care about this, then who will?

Please scan this QR code to find UCC Fáilte Refugees Society’s Letter Templates

BYLINE VOL. 7 ISSUE 2

Editorial

HELLO THERE! I hope you’re enjoying our first full-fledged Express issue of the year! It’s hard to believe we’re already a couple of weeks into the academic year, I haven’t even started my Beginners Spanish classes yet (it’s 10 credits or else I wouldn’t be taking it). We have a superb edition of Byline for you this week, it’s been interesting to see how my editors have been flexing their creative muscles. I hope everyone is settling back into campus life, it has certainly been a refreshing change of pace for me (when I’ve managed to make it out of bed). Something about being back in a classroom after 18 or so months has been rejuvenating. Though, I’m sure the novelty will wear off as my deadlines loom. I have no idea what I want to do for my dissertation yet. This week’s Byline is by local artist Ruth (@ruthismessy on Instagram), it’s a stunning piece if I do say so myself. You can purchase some of her work on Etsy if it strikes your fancy. If there are any local artists that are interested in contributing a Byline cover then feel free to get in contact with me! In the same vein, if any local artists or performers are interested in being interviewed for the paper then also feel free to hit me up. My interview this week was with Yannick “retsol” Gloster of the Irish Esports Society Leaders, anyone who knows me knows that I participate enthusiastically in the collegiate esports scene and since its currently going through a major upheaval, I wanted to talk to one of the people spearheading the changes in this area. The rest of Byline has some bangers (they’re all bangers but it doesn’t sound as good if I say that). Learn which supermarket has the best clothing options, the dangers around Arts venue sponsorships, power imbalances in age-gap relationships and much more! As always, if anyone is interested in contributing to the section then you can email me or any of my editors to get started!

Jack Colemanbyline@ Byline Editor

BYLINE@uccexpress.ie

Gaeilge

An Ghaeilge ar na meáin shóisialta CAITRÍONA O’CONNELL Eagarthóir Gaeilge

Is léir go bhfuil fíor-shuim le feiscint sa Ghaeilge ar líne sa lá ata inniu ann, le níos mó ná 100,000 póstáil ag #Gaeilge ar Instagram amháin. Leis sin, seo a leanas 6 cruthaitheoirí agus Gaeilgeoirí ar Instagram go mba chóir duit iad a leanúint:

Gaeilgevibes

Is múinteoir í Siobhán agus cuireann sí an Ghaeilge chun cinn gach lá, ag cabhrú le Gaeilgeoirí atá ar gach leibhéal leibhéal a gcuid líofacht a fheabhsú trí fhoclóir a chur ar fáil le liostaí “Cúpla Focal A Day”, ar théamaí difriúla agus topaicí laethúla. Smaoiníonn sí ar imeartas focail fíor-ghreannmhar agus tugann sí míniú ar sheanfhocail difriúla. Is féidir stocaí leis an lógó GaeilgeVibes orthu, cupáin agus priontaí le frásaí agus seanfhocail agus cártaí d’aon ócáid a cheannach uaithi Bíonn a lán earraí á ndíol aici a chuireann an Ghaeilge chun cinn chomh maith. D’fhoilsigh sí leabhar ina bhfuil roinnt des na “Cúpla Focal A Day” ann, le déanaí, ionas gur féidir le foghlaimeoirí teacht ar na frásaí go háisiúil agus iad go léir san áit chéanna, i leabhar beag áisiúil.

CIARA NÍ É

Is file í Ciara Ní É a scríobhann agus a léiríonn a cuid dánta ar réimse téamaí. Tá sí ina hambasadóir d’Áras Scríbhneoirí na hÉireann. Bhí sí ina scríbhneoir cónaitheach DCU in 2020 agus bhunaigh sí Reic; ócáid filíochta ó bhéal a bhíonn á reáchtáil go dátheangach i mBaile Átha Cliath. Faoi láthair, tá sí i mbun dráma a chur le chéile don Dublin Fringe Festival, darb ainm Idir Mise, ina fiostraítear saol an Ghaeilgeora aitigh trí mheán amhránaíochta, damhsa agus mar aon leis an bhfocal labhartha. Bíonn ábhair Chiara le fáil ar a leathanach Instagram, TikTok agus YouTube, agus í ag labhairt faoi réimse leathan topaicí- stair focal agus frásaí Gaeilge, tuairimí faoin nGaeilge sa lá atá inniu ann agus, gan dabht, a cuid filíochta féinig.

An Chéad Ghlúin Eile

Beirt dheirfiúracha as Gaeltacht Ráth Chairn iad Máire agus Étain Ní Churraoin agus amhránaíocht ar an Sean-Nós á déanamh acu le chéile faoin dteideal “An Chéad Ghliúin Eile”. Bhuaigh siad an comórtas Réalta agus Gaolta in 2019 agus iad ag dul ó neart go neart ó shin! Ar an leathanach Instagram acu, faightear uasdátú ó na cailíní faoina saoil, físeáin amhránaíochta, agus go leor craic agus comhrá ón mbeirt acu dar ndóigh! Is iontach an rud é caidreamh mar sin idir na deirfiúracha a fheiscint agus tá an grá atá acu don Ghaeilge fíor-spreagúil. Amhránaithe is ea an bheirt acu agus iad gealgháireach de shíor.

GaelGals:

Is grúpa cairde iad na GaelGals, a tháinig le chéile nuair a bhíodar ag freastail ar Ollscoil Mha Nuad. Is iad Róisín Ní Mhaoláin, Clíodhna Ní Dhufaigh, Sinéad Ní Scolaí, Rachel Nic an Rí, Aoife Ní Oisín, Dúlra Ní Ainle, Alswyn Ní Aonghusa agus Lucy Nic Aindris atá mar bhaill den ngrúpa sin. Clúdaítear an-chuid ar an leathanach: smidiú, faisean, spórt, ceol, clár teilifíse, ealaín, leabhair, agus gan dabht an saol ó thaobh na Gaeilge de. Is éasca le rá go bhfuil rud éigin do gach éinne ar leathanach na gcailíní, is cuma pé caitheamh aimsire atá agat. Ina theannta sin, thosnaigh na GaelGals a bpodchraoladh féin in 2020, ina mbíonn siad ag plé gnáthchúrsaí laethúla trí mheán na Gaeilge Is féidir iad a chloisint gach dara Céadaoin ar a hocht a chlog ar Raidió Rí-Rá gach re Céadaoin .

The Kerry Cowboy

Is ar TikTok a thosnaigh An Kerry Cowboy (Séaghan Ó Súilleabháin) ar dtús, ach ansin fuair sé cuntas Instagram dó féin agus tá sé ag déanamh sár-jab an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn ar a leathanach féin. Bíonn sé ag caint faoi réimse leathan ábhar- an fheirmeoireacht, an Ghaeilge agus Ciarraí don chuid is mó! Déanann sé a dhícheall stair na háite agus logainmneacha a mhíniú sa mhéad is gur féidir, chomh maith le traidisiúin stairiúla na hÉireann agus míniú ar fhocail Ghaeilge áirithe a léiriú. Agus, gan amhras, ní féidir an Kerry Cowboy a lua gan tagairt a dhéanamh do Bhraindí, a mhadra gleoite. Bíonn Braindí ag cabhrú le Séaghan leis an bhfeirmeoireacht agus í chomh gleoite sin os comhair os comhair an cheamara faoin bpointe seo!

Múinteoir Meg D’aon Ghaeilgeoirí go bhfuil suim aige nó aici san fhaisean, caithfidh sibh Múinteoir Meg a leanúint! Is múinteoir meánscoile í, ina theannta sin is í an fashionista is galánta a chonaic mé riamh. Cuireann sí gach saghas feistis le chéile, ó fheisteas neamhfhoirmeálta chun dul chuig na siopaí go feisteas chun dul amach ag ragairne nó chun dul ar choinne rómánsúil mar déarfá. I measc a cuid scéalta, briseann sí síos cad atá á rá aici, ionas gur féidir le gach duine í a thuiscint; rud a mholfainn go mór d’aon fhoghlaimeoirí go dteastaíonn uathu cúpla focal laethúil a phiocadh suas.

INTERVIEW

The Future of Collegiate Esports in Ireland:

An Interview with Yannick “retsol” Gloster of Irish Esports Society Leaders JACK COLEMAN Byline Editor

“However, sadly, we find ourselves in a position where the ongoing operations of the business are not financially viable and as such, have taken the decision not to operate going into the new academic year” so read the final statement of Irish Collegiate Esports (ICE). ICE was the organisation in charge of running collegiate competitions for the last five years.

Founded by Aidan Boylan, ICE was the first attempt at an intercollegiate esports competition in Ireland. The organisation was registered as a business (College Esports Ltd) but didn’t operate under a profit motive. We have no way of knowing for sure how ICE spent its money as its accounts were not made publicly available to students. ICE co-owner Jason “Cardinality” Power touched upon this point in his goodbye post: “I, alongside my peers, did all of this expecting absolutely nothing in return, despite what some would lead you to believe. We never expected a penny out of it, only to keep the lights on and do our best to try and let investment keep us afloat (hence why we started slashing students’ entry fees)”. ICE was certainly unpopular among certain sections of the collegiate esports community, whether it was because of minor controversies, a dislike of the personalities at the top or because some people will hate anything, who can say. Whatever you think of ICE, its contribution to college life was a positive one and it has laid valuable groundwork for the future of collegiate esports in Ireland.

An alternative idea that was touted during the lifespan of ICE was some kind of council of all collegiate esports societies (Netsoc handles esports for UCC) that could run inter-collegiate competitions instead of ICE. Following the dissolution of ICE, some students decided to explore this route. Irish Esports Society Leaders (IESL) was formed shortly after ICE disbanded in order to explore a new way of delivering collegiate esports to Ireland’s student population. For this week’s interview, I talked to Yannick “retsol” Gloster from IESL about the future of collegiate esports in Ireland. IESL recently announced they would be partnering with GamerStore.ie in order to run “Legion Collegiate”, potentially the new home of collegiate esports tournaments in Ireland.

A Trinity College Dublin student, Yannick was involved in the team’s Counter-Strike team during the last two seasons of ICE. When asked how he got involved with IESL, Yannick answered “When ICE closed its operations, a few people including myself wanted to ensure that there would be some sort of league for Irish players to play in regardless of whether it was an Irish specific league or the opportunity to play in the UK in NUEL (National University Esports League) or NSE (National Student Esports). I had been talking to the guys at GamerStore about a related Irish esports thing and they said that they were interested in supporting a Collegiate League in Ireland”.

INTERVIEW One of the most important things going forward, in my eyes, is that student voices are the loudest in the relationship going forward. I asked retsol if he felt that IESL was going to be an organisation that is more inclusive of the student voice. “IESL is a place for students and societies involved in Esports to better coordinate events, and have their voices heard when decisions are being made. It’s entirely student-focused”. I was also curious about how GamerStore was chosen, and how many interested parties there were in taking collegiate esports forward: “We had been speaking with FACEIT and NUEL as well. FACEIT was entirely CSGO focused and we wanted to ensure that there was no game left behind and that everyone would still be able to continue playing as before. NUEL has actually allowed Irish Universities to play in their UK leagues which will allow teams to play against a much bigger pool of players. It was really important to us that we find an organization that would continue to support the Irish community as we are at the end of the day, a group of students who all know each other and have been playing together for the last few years. GameStore had mentioned their interest as I mentioned previously so we worked with them to detail what that would look like and the sort of commitment everyone would have to make. We’re really excited to work with them as they are passionate about esports in Ireland and have been working with big sponsors in the past such as An Post and Trust Gaming”. I personally am glad that we aren’t being absorbed into the United Kingdom collegiate esports ecosystem. It’s important that we maintain our own community in Ireland. I wanted to probe Yannick on their relationship with the now-defunct ICE organisation so I enquired about the copyrights regarding the team’s logos. “Unfortunately, ICE has not been interested in selling or allowing us to use any of their logos. This includes the logos of the universities that the societies have been using for a long while. It’s a real shame as I know a lot of societies had a connection to their brand and logo however we are lucky that for every college team that had their logo under the ownership of ICE, the guys at GamerStore has made them new logos and branding which the societies and teams now have full ownership over.” It is interesting that ICE was not even willing to sell their intellectual property if the company.

19 is planning on folding completely. UCC is actually one of the few teams that own their logo but I’m personally hoping we get a new one because the new artist has a fantastic style ICE was very hands-on in their management of the collegiate scene, I was interested in how much of an interest GamerStore were taking in the administration of the tournaments. Yannick answered: “GameStore is managing a lot of the business side of things: sponsorship, branding, and they are paying specific game admins to run each specific game. We are also currently looking with them, what the live streams of matches are going to look like and they are pretty involved there. What they are doing well, is taking all of the student and community feedback and integrating that into the Legion Collegiate so that it is really a series that is built for students, the way they want to play”. An advantage of GameStore taking on the financial aspect of the scene is that they have an actual income from their main venture, whereas ICE was completely dependent on entry fees. Hopefully, this translates to a higher quality stream and overall product. My final question was regarding the productivity of IESL meetings, is there any friction between different society leaders or are things running smoothly? “We’ve been meeting periodically over the last few weeks as we have been going over the rules and how everything is going to be run. We’re very lucky that everyone is good-humoured and well-intentioned. Any disagreements over rules have been worked out in a very productive fashion because, at the end of the day, we all have the same goal which is to provide the best league for Irish students that we can. We hope to continue to meet as needed so that any issues that do come up within the league, get dealt with quickly and with student input.” That was fantastic to hear, I always got the sense playing in previous seasons that the community was competitive but also friendly and willing to banter. Hopefully, Legion Collegiate makes a strong start this semester and carries this momentum into the future. This could be the beginning of a new age in collegiate esports in Ireland. Signups will be opening soon so join both the Legion Collegiate and Netsoc Rebels Discords if you want to participate in League of Legends, Rocket League, Valorant, CounterStrike: Global Offensive or Smash tournaments this semester.

PHOTOGRAPHY

FÁILTE FEST Photos By MÉABH LONERGAN

PHOTOGRAPHY

PHOTOGRAPHY AFGHANISTAN AWARENESS CONCERT Photos by méabh lonergan

PHOTOGRAPHY

Film & T.V.

A Deep Dive into the World of Daytime Television CORMAC MCCARTHY Film & TV Editor

By nature, a journalist has to be prepared to make sacrifices and to risk their lives and reputations to ensure that the truth is always spoken. Fergal Keane, journalist and author, risked his life reporting from inside the most depraved areas around the world, from the 2015 refugee crisis and the South African apartheid.

or not there was a need for analogue clocks in the modern

Now, you may smirk at the prospect I am undertaking but I would not wish this punishment on my worst enemy. From nine in the morning until four in the afternoon I was treated to a catalogue of some of the worst trite that was ever spewed out from tv stations from around Britain and Ireland.

At twelve o clock, I was midway through “Location, Location, Location”, a show about selling dilapidated houses to two young parents who just seemed happy to be out of the house. The presenter tried to pass off a rotting decking in the back garden as “a chance for the couple to reinvigorate the back lawn with a sense of place.” It was at that moment that I changed the channel.

age. I was on the edge of my seat, sweat pouring down my face with eager excitement. Who would come out the victor? Phil would jab with a point about it being easier for those with dyslexia but old Jeremy would hit him with a swift uppercut of tradition. I could This week, I too risked all of my sanity and dignity by have watched for hours but unfortunately, “Jeremy Kyle” was taking a day to report on the most depraved element coming up on Virgin Media Two so I was left in suspense. I’d like to of our entertainment industry; daytime television. think the only loser in that debate is the viewer watching at home.

I had that day’s TV listings spread out in front of me that morning as I tackled a bowl of cornflakes. I felt like the I don’t know how many “Kitchen Nightmares” Gordon Ramsey prettiest girl at the dance, if that dance was infested by men has had over the years but I’m sure after at least ten years, whose conversation skills are the ultimate cure for insomnia. his blood pressure must be through the roof. Most people go to therapy but Gordon has somehow managed to construct I had a myriad of choices, from repeats of “Frasier” on Channel a medium in which he vents his anger with minimum wage Four to repeats of “Room to Improve” on RTE One. I chose waiters who, in their nervousness, sometimes forget part Room to Improve and oh boy did it have room to improve. While of drinks order. If that’s not genius, I don’t know what is. in the evening, Dermot Bannon’s sneering would have made me slightly uneasy, in the morning it was a completely different In my search for anything remotely watchable, I thought back to story. Watching him talk about the benefits of natural light would the times when I was home, sick from school. The shows that were make you want to through a brick directly at his shiny hard hat. on the TV then were almost the exact same shows as the ones that were currently showing. It only speaks to the vacuousness of At one point, the weary wife whose house he was destroying daytime television that the state of our modern media landscape, looked at his design for an outdoor water feature and where the viewer is willing to watch anything than watch nothing uttered the words “It’s just a bit pointless and expensive at all. In the days when we have such a vast quantity of films and isn’t it.” I couldn’t agree more Claire. I couldn’t agree more. television at our fingertips in the forms of streaming services, DVDs It seemed that apart from news bulletins, there was little to no and YouTube, there is still a market out there for people who would original programming to be seen on daytime television. Reruns rather have a mindless program, with no discernible depth nor artistic of every British and American sitcom seemed to take up most merit, thrust upon them by executives in broadcasting corporations of the morning slots from “Only Fools and Horses” to “Cheers”. than to seek out something they would enjoy much more. Except for one bleak genre of television of course; Current affairs I finished the day off with a double bill of “Casualty” followed panel shows. Alan Partridge would wince at the sight of them. by “Francis Brennan’s Grand Tour”. A program where life Programs in this genre included “Jeremy Vine” and “Loose is restored to those about to die followed by a show that Women”. At half nine Jeremy had a deep discussion with Phil, a sucks the life out of its viewer. By the end of the day, I went caller from Middlesbrough, where they debated as to whether outside and thought about my life had come to this point.

Film & T.V.

Vortex: A Sombre Drama Like No Other WILLIAM WALSH

In the summer of this year, I was privileged and lucky enough to gain accreditation to the 74th edition of the famed Cannes Film Festival. My pass allowed me to attend any film screening in the final three days of the festival, so long as I could nab an e-ticket on their ticketing website. It was a very exciting experience that I felt safe during due to being fully vaccinated. I ended up seeing nine films in total. I could write my thoughts on Paul Verhoeven’s raunchy historical ‘Benedetta’ or Asghar Farhadi’s tense drama ‘A Hero’, but the film I saw that I want to write about the most is ‘Vortex’, the seventh feature film from Argentinian director Gaspar Noé.

many fans of his early work would have expected from him. Lebrun also gives a superb performance as the wife, a performance that I suspect will impress anyone who knows someone with dementia. The film’s script should also be noted when discussing the film performances. Noé has stated in an interview with IndieWire that the script was only ten pages long and that most of the dialogue was improvised. This is a further indication of how good the performances in the film are, as Lebrun and Argento are in tune with their characters to a degree where they can come up with convincing dialogue on the spur of the moment of shooting.

‘Vortex’ tells the story of a nameless couple (Played by Dario Argento and Françoise Lebrun) during the final days of their life. Lebrun’s character has dementia and needs to be under constant surveillance and care. This puts a struggle on Argento’s character who, despite loving his wife, is sad to have to constantly attend to her needs. This story and character dynamic is established with a long but great opening scene, where Lebrun walks to a shop in a stupor and Argento frantically searches for her, thinking she may have gone missing. The film takes place mostly in the couple’s apartment, a location that feels more and more claustrophobic as the suffering of the characters worsens.

Being a world premiere, I did not know what to expect (and neither did most of the audience, I assume). When thinking about Noé’s previous films, I expected a film with fast-paced editing, surreal imagery and scenes of extreme violence and sexuality. I was also excited about what the audience reaction would be, considering how divisive Noé’s films usually are when they premiere at Cannes, with his 2009 film ‘Enter the Void’ getting a standing ovation and his 2002 film ‘Irreversible’ causing a number of people to faint or walk out in disgust. While the film does contain a number of his trademarks that clearly mark the film as his own (The credits are at the beginning, the camera is upside-down for one scene, etc.), it is overall a very sombre and slow-paced film that has virtually none of the provocative elements that made his earlier films so intimidating. I found the change in style to be a welcome surprise. The audience must have been of the same opinion, as they gave a standing ovation (which I joined in on) to Noé and the cast in attendance when the film finished.

The most notable element of the film is its extremely unique utilization of split-screen. Instead of usual films where the technique is used only briefly, ‘Vortex’ uses it for almost the entire film. After a brief flashback that shows the couple at a happy point in their lives, the two characters are separated with the splitscreen for the rest of the film, with scenes involving the husband on the left side of the screen and scenes involving the wife on the right. These scenes often overlap when the couple are in the same room, showing the same scene from two different angles.

If I was to say anything negative about the film, it’s that I feel the film is a bit too long. Even though Noé tries to sustain our interest in the main characters for almost two and a half hours, it starts to become a little tedious, not helped by the film’s slow pacing. My suggestion is that you don’t watch the film if you are It seemed like a strange choice at first that Noé would cast feeling sleepy or tired in any way, wait until you’re fully awake. Argento as a lead, as he has played only small parts in films in the past. He is most known as a film director who made many I have no idea when ‘Vortex’ will be released to general audiences, famous horror and Giallo films in the 1970s and ’80s, including let alone Irish audiences. I am anxious to see if my opinion on ‘Suspiria’ (1978) and ‘Deep Red’ (1975). The risk pays off, as the film gets better or worse on a second watch. All I can say Argento gives an emotional and real performance that I doubt is that if you are okay with movies that are slow-paced or sad, many fans of his early work would have expected from him. I would recommend that you see the film whenever you can.

Food and Health

Spice Up Your Life! A Quick Spice & Herb Guide NATHAN CAREY Food and Health Editor

When you walk past the spice aisle in your local supermarket one can quickly become overwhelmed by the wall of small glass vessels filled with colourful powders, flakes and pastes. There are hundreds of spices used worldwide, in a number of amazing cuisines. This quick guide will provide you with the history and skills to use these flavour powerhouses effectively to level up your home cooking. The first known record of spices dates back over 4000 years in India and East Asia, where black pepper, cinnamon and dried herbs were traded. Throughout the following centuries, many cultures adopted spices as remedies for illnesses with some even believing they had magical properties. Due to their use in ancient medicine, spices became some of the most expensive commodities and were in extremely high demand. Nowadays there are many forms of spices available for purchase, with the most common being pre-ground. While this form is convenient, it can dramatically lower shelf life and potency. Spices are able to pack so much flavour due to their high levels of volatile oils. When spices are ground up or smashed these compounds are exposed to oxygen causing them to oxidise and release their aromas, and so grinding spices to a fine powder exposes the most flavour. To get the most out of your spices it’s wise to buy whole and grind as needed. Spice grinding can be performed in a mortar and pestle, or more conveniently in a dedicated spice grinder. Using a spice grinder can also help in preparing spice blends for curries or soups. Another trick to maximise the flavour of your spices is to toast them before grinding. Toasting the whole seeds helps to accelerate the release of those volatile oils and accentuate the aroma of your spices. This can be done by placing your spices in a pan over medium heat for just about 2 minutes, you’ll want to keep an eye on them to ensure they don’t burn. It’s easy to tell when they are toasted enough as some of them may start popping in the pan and the smell in your kitchen will be heavenly! When it comes to herbs, they have a history closely linked with spices with their first reported use dating back thousands of years. Medicinal and spiritual connections were also drawn to these aromatic plants. These days you can find a myriad of fresh and dried herbs in most supermarkets and they are relatively easy to grow at home. Whether you’re looking to build up complex flavours in your cooking or just add that final touch, the following herbs and spices are the perfect place to start!

Pepper The crown jewel of seasoning, pepper is the worlds most traded spice with over 1 million tonnes being produced in 2019. Peppercorns are the fruit of the pepper plant. These fruits can be picked when unripe and dried to produce classic black pepper. Through different processing methods, white, green and even red peppercorns can also be obtained. The distinct pungent flavour of pepper comes from the compound piperine that is released upon grinding. Pepper is one of the most versatile spices and is used worldwide along with salt to season most savoury foods. Nutmeg Nutmeg is obtained by drying the fruit of the fragrant nutmeg tree until the seed inside pulls away from its outer shell. The best way to add this spice to your cooking is by grating it carefully, this produces small flakes that will meld seamlessly into any dish. Nutmeg has a beautifully sweet and warm taste that pairs perfectly with other spices like cinnamon and cardamon. It is often used in baking, adding warmth to cakes and puddings. Another great use for nutmeg is in white bechamel sauces, such as those used to make macaroni & cheese and other creamy pasta sauces. Red Pepper Flakes These are one of my all-time favourite spices. I add red pepper flakes to nearly every dish I make! I love the heat that these add to marinara sauces, hearty soups or even mixed through a tuna salad. These spicy flakes are those of dried red chilli peppers, most often peppers in the cayenne family. They definitely pack a punch so use it in moderation if you’re not a fan of heat. (Shoutout to my roommate Hugo who loves the heat!) Garlic Powder This classic spice is the result of dehydrating fresh garlic cloves to remove their moisture. The cloves are then pulverised into powder for easy use. This spice is essential for bringing a pungent savoury flavour to your dishes and pairs great with most cuts of meat and vegetables. This one is definitely a staple.

H a c a f in ‘g p a a lo u a o in t

T c a

Food and Health

27 windowsill you should be good to go! I remember growing my first basil plant in my mid-teens and I was amazed at how easy it was to maintain and I felt very accomplished adding a few leaves to the top of my homemade Bolognese. The next time you’re making a marinara or Bolognese sauce stir in a few basil leaves, you’ll thank me later! Mint Mint gets its name from the Greek nymph named Minthe. As the story goes, Hade’s wife Persephone became overly jealous and transformed Minthe into a ground-clinging plant. Hades tried to return her to her true form but failed, although he was able to give her the ability to sweeten the air when her leaves were crushed. With a legend like that, it’s no surprise that mint is one of the most popular herbs worldwide. There are over 20 species with varying flavour profiles from spearmint to hybrid crosses like peppermint. While great with roasted vegetables and lamb, mint is also used in drinks like lemonade and even the classic mojito. Mint is also used in teas, such as Maghrebi mint tea from northern Africa where the preparation can take on a ceremonial quality when prepared for guests. Mint can be easy to grow at home but its root systems tend to be invasive, for this reason, it is often grown in an isolated pot.

Coriander Here’s where I’d like to bridge the gap between spice and herb. The two are so often used in tandem and can complement each other well. Coriander can be both a spice and a herb! Its seeds are the dried fruits of the plant and are found in whole or ground form. This spice is a fundamental ingredient in many curry dishes and is part of the common ‘garam masala’ spice blend. The leaves of the coriander plant are another popular kitchen ingredient. They have an almost citrusy flavour and go great with curries, guacamole and as a garnish on tacos or bao buns. These leaves can lose their flavour quickly once heat is applied, so they are usually added just as a dish is being served. Interestingly approximately 10% of the population interprets the taste of coriander as a soapy flavour. This is due to a variation in a set of olfactory genes. If you experience this mutation, try crushing coriander into dishes instead of serving whole! Basil This fragrant herb has been used in Italian cooking for centuries, and for good reason! Its flavour is unmatched and can elevate the most basic dishes to new heights. Most

* *

Ultimately the list of herbs and spices could go on and on, but the ones I’ve covered today are a great start for a home cook. As students, we are often drawn to the most budget-friendly options and the pre-ground bottles at the supermarket are more than enough! However, if you have the extra time, grinding spices just before using them is guaranteed to provide more flavour and elevate your cooking to the next level. So the next time you’re roasting some meat or tossing up a salad, try adding some spices and herbs to spice up your life!

music

The Beauty of Friendship: An Interview with AJ Whelan

FLORRIE MCCARTHY Music Editor For this week’s music column, I’ve got an interview with the one and only AJ Whelan. Okay - maybe that name doesn’t mean much to you. AJ is a good friend of mine and has recently written, recorded and released an album himself. With a light folk-rock tone and songwriting style, AJ spent the summer of 2021 churning out the tracks and has put them together all by himself, creating “Unexpected Camaraderie”. I had my own fly-on-the-wall access to little snippets of the creative process as it happened, in the form of the odd text with a link saying, “listen to this”, or a cosy rendition of his latest I wanted to ask him how that happened for him, starting from the very start. After a day of lectures, in study room 3.04 on Q+3 of the Boole Library, looking over the path up by the O’ Rahilly building up to college road, I get a chance to sit down with AJ.

It was on June 26th 2020 (not too long ago, you’ll notice) that I Donoughmore. A suburb about 20 minutes away. I started bought my first guitar with €150 of my own money. Best money I spending time in the city a lot when I went to Pres in ever spent. It was a while before I could play properly but I annoyed first year but I much prefer the quiet of Donoughmore. my family with Paul McCartney songs for weeks then. I had about 3 chords and couldn’t even transition between them quickly. So you’re from Cork City?

Did your parents have a lot of music playing around the house when you were younger? What are your influences? Mom’s not really into music, she likes anything she can dance to. Dad is, thankfully. He’s the eldest of six. He recorded songs off the TV and radio on a tape recorder. David Bowie, Rory Gallagher, Michael Jackson, Stevie Ray Vaughan. He showed me and my brother this growing up. I have early memories of watching a Stevie Ray Vaughan tribute concert. Also lots of Star Wars. Dad has a massive CD collection as well, which I’ve been adding to. Then he put it all on his mac, from where I put them on my phone. One of these happened to be Abbey Road by the Beatles. I played this and was instantly hooked. They became my favourite band in 2014/15. All the solo music is good as well(wouldn’t be the biggest Ringo fan though). Other musical influences would be Led Zeppelin and John Blek. I’ve got magical listening dropping.

loads of vinyl as well. There’s something about them that just doesn’t come with to music online. The sound of the needle and the crackles on the record are so special.

I agree that Spotify or other platforms can ruin music, with the sheer amount of choice. Did you know then that you wanted to make your own music? No. I was a bit of a dancer as a kid. I remember my aunt’s wedding. I danced for two and a half hours on stage for myself, and whoever was watching. The first musical urge I ever got was actually to drum. I was sitting at the back of a class tapping on the table - I always have some beat in my head - and said to a friend “I bet I could drum”. I bought a €100 kit and sent it back when I realised I didn’t like it at all.

music Of course, you got very sick after a while, around Christmas of 2020? Yeah, it was really bad. If it wasn’t caught earlier it could have been fatal. After a while doctors caught it as bad appendicitis. I didn’t touch the guitar, listen to music, watch TV or anything for 28 days. I felt terrible for ages but I had youtube videos of my favourite comedians to keep me going. In my last week of hospital, my mom got me a ukulele. They put a lot of drugs in me, but I learned a few songs and found that my creative juices spilled out all over the place as I started to heal. After I got out I was able to sing and play at the same time, something I wasn’t able to do before. “Whatever way they put me back together - something clicked in me”. Life went on, and when I came back to UCC in semester 2 I made more friends in my course. I’m actually still healing, but it’s happening slowly and surely.

29 another recording. It never fails to make me laugh. Recording the guys singing was always so much fun. So much of the recording I have of my friend Dara was meant to be scripted but ended up just her laughing and saying what she wanted. Because the album is really about friendship isn’t it? The album is about the unexpected bonds you make in college and in life in general. The transition from secondary to college is hard already without all the covid obstacles in place. Thankfully, the people that I have met in UCC have been amazing and really helped me with motivation for the album and have helped me with life. I can’t stress the love I have for these people, and that’s what this album is about: friendships from nothing that mean everything - however tacky that may sound (special thanks to Chris, Sam, Dara, Caoimhe, Mael, Kiely, Keelan and Dugzo).

Then you were able to write your own songs somehow? I came close then anyway. It was around March when I was still down after being sick when I was listening to a favourite song and said a lyric to myself in my head that I realised wasn’t actually in the song. I fleshed it out and couldn’t believe I’d written a whole song. After this, loads came on - These Days, the Long Long Road and more. Aisling came then as well. All in the space of about two days. You did write a lot of songs in a short space of time alright - a whole album of them, in fact. How do you do this?

Do you have any ideas/plans for your music going forward, or do you like to focus on the present so as not to get intimidated by the choices? I have another single coming out on October 22nd, which is a remix of Daddy’s Child. I went to Kinsale with some friends the day after the album came out and wrote another song. I’ll be busking over December, and there will be an album out next summer. I have to push myself to do all that.

I don’t know, I can’t stop writing music. I always have something in my head and they just fall out of me, I don’t have to work for it. I have five on the go right now.

“Whatever way they put me back together - something clicked in me” Can you describe your songwriting processes? I don’t really know, they just happen. Some I work out fast, in about a day. Some I’ve taken back out and reworked until they get better. One day I was at a friend, Chris Morris’s house, while he made dinner, and the smells caused me to pick up his guitar and write Windows Down. There was another which I couldn’t finish at all, but one day at Taek Won-do training I was on the floor doing pushups and the ending came to me. It’s always different. These are the Morris sessions, where I’ve had a few friends over at Chris’s recording originals and covers with my friends singing. Some of them are shocking( Viva la Vida sticks out) but there is no price on the memories. One track from the album, On The Four, is such a cherished soundbite, as it holds so much memory. At the end, you can hear my friend Caoimhe’s phone going off. I hated it then, but I love it now, like Chris laughing at his own joke in

Unexpected Comradery is available on all music platforms. Earphones recommended.

GAMING

AMONG THE FALLEN CHLOE BARRETT Gaming Editor

The two games that took the summer of 2020 by storm were played by millions across the globe. There were very few who had not heard the names Fall Guys or Among Us at least once, and they both dominated the YouTube and Twitch world with ease. However, one did not have as much longevity as the other and is rarely mentioned now. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout was released in August of 2020 and was developed by Mediatonic. The game pretty much functioned as its name implies, guys fall! It is a battle royal game filled with bright colours where you play as a cute, little squishy jellybean like avatar. Your objection is to reach the end of a course as fast as possible and depending on the randomly assigned map that you are placed in, this can be difficult. With up to sixty players fighting against you for that first place spot, the possibility of falling off the map, getting knocked into slime and even being pushed backwards by other players is quite high. As the match progresses, fewer players qualify and only a few are left at the end to grab that victory crown. With a battle pass that allows you to unlock awesome new outfits for your bean character, it functions, in theory, like a normal battle royal. However, it was seen as a breath of fresh air in the gaming world. While it was competitive and frustrating at times, you did not need a lot of previous skill going into a round. In 2021 however, not nearly as many are playing the

It went from having millions of players to far less. Why? game. It went from having millions of players to far less. Why? There are a few reasons that stick out in my mind. First off, the platforms that you could play the game on were quite limited. If you did not own a PlayStation 4 or a Windows computer that could smoothly run the game, then you could not play it. While there have been promises of bringing the game to Xbox and Switch, over a year and a half after the games initial release, many gamers feel they have waited too long and the anticipation of playing the game has faded. The first major update was quite delayed. With only a handful of maps to play on for a few months, people started expressing that the repetitive nature was growing old after each game. But, after the first season of the battle pass was added,

With so many ways to play, you will rarely get bored. resulting in a major disadvantage for players. Unless you were. playing with a friend on an app like Discord there was no way to communicate with anyone. Even some games have taken advantage of pre-written bubbles that players can select, such as phrases like “This Way!” “Over Here!” along with many others. With no way to feel like you were playing with actual people, the game lost some of its charm. Usernames were also removed from the game shortly afterwards, as some had found ways to manipulate the wording in inappropriate ways. Each person’s name was simply stated as FallGuy with a random assortment of numbers for a time Among Us is still being played to date by a large audience, and many content creators stream it regularly. Even though its release dates back to 2018, the game itself reached insane popularity in 2020. You play as a crewmate exploring a spaceship while an imposter is roaming around within your ranks. By cooperating with other crewmates, you must complete tasks or accurately vote off the imposter before they murder you and your teammates. The roles can also be reversed, you could randomly be selected as the imposter. It can be stressful, you have to act like a regular, innocent crewmate who just wishes to complete their tasks while having the objective to kill people. One of the highlights that the game showcases are the multiplayer aspect. You are always playing with people, the game would not be possible without it. By entering a random online lobby, you can open the chat and update your fellow crewmates on your status. It is super easy to create your room and invite friends to join you. A fun time is guaranteed! The game has multiple maps to choose from and there is also the ability to mod the game, such as adding proximity chat, the floor is lava and plenty more. With so many ways to play, you will rarely get bored. Accessibility is something Among Us succeeds in. It is available on most major platforms, from console to mobile. The best thing? It is affordable. It happens to be free on some platforms, with frequent sales on others, meaning you can affordably be playing Among Us whenever you’d like. It will undoubtedly be interesting to see which direction both of these games will head in. With Fall Guys coming to more

GAMING

A Blocky Resurgence CHLOE BARRETT Gaming Editor

The past few years of YouTube has seen many memorable Minecraft centred channels fade into retirement, and seemingly spring back out into the online community. One reason for their resurgence could be the fact that Minecraft based videos have been doing surprisingly well recently. Many creators who had not touched the game before began to pick it up and mass-produce daily videos. Even though Minecraft is over a decade old, the game never truly died. I grew up with the older Minecraft YouTubers. When I opened up the website, my home page was plastered with the likes of DanTDM, stampylonghead, iBallisticSquid, Sky Does Minecraft and CaptainSparklez. While the most popular creators at that stage were generally male, with female creators being pushed towards the beauty and lifestyle mould, LDShadowLady and iHasCupquake were two prominent members of the community. Many of the mentioned are still actively playing Minecraft, even if they departed for a while. However, their view counts, which used to almost always be in the millions, is not exactly the same. Almost as if the older, thirty-year-olds have been refreshed with newer models, a younger, still male-dominated group has taken over, the Dream SMP. Dream, the person who the whole role-playing server is named after, has over twenty million subscribers, gaining the majority of them over the last year or so. Some of the other notable members of the group are TommyInnit, a seventeen-year-old with ten million subscribers, GeorgeNotFound, a twenty-four-year-old with almost ten million people subscribed and Wilbur Soot, another twenty-

four-year-old with over five million dedicated subscribers, among many others (sorry if I did not name your favourite). Some have not shown their faces to the world yet, only a voice is present behind the screen, which increases the intrigue from fans. The regular role play streams gather millions of active viewers and even more worldwide who watch the videos when they are uploaded afterwards. They stream primarily on Twitch and YouTube as a group, but also have their own channels where they are free to record as they please. The actual role-playing that these guys participate in is not too hard to grasp. Essentially, they all share a server where they interact with each other while getting up to all kinds of trouble and schemes in an entertaining manner for fans. The role-playing is both scripted and non-scripted at times, but usually, the main events that progress the SMP storyline have been planned out in advance. There are plenty of videos living on YouTube exploring the lore behind it all and the current status of the story, so if you have a few hours to spare, it is worth checking out if you are interested. Even if you are not familiar with the whole roleplay aspect, you have probably seen their massive fan base dominating social media. Most notably Twitter, if you even spend a few minutes scrolling through your feed, you will likely have seen someone with their profile picture as one of the players. They are incredibly passionate fans, which has proved one point: these YouTubers and their hype is most definitely here to stay.

SEXPRESS

mind the gap EMILY OSBORN Sexpress Editor This article contains mentions and discussions of grooming, which is a very sensitive topic for some people- please consider skipping this article if you feel it may cause you to feel hurt or upset. To quote Foucault, power is everywhere; romantic relationships being no exception. In the media and amongst the general public, there is an idea that relationships that have age gaps are inherently bad or dangerous, often attributed to the power imbalance between the two ages. For celebrity couples such as Florence Pugh and Zach Braff, googling their names will automatically suggest “age gap” as a popular search term. For better or for worse, people are intrigued by age differences in romance. For most of our lives, our social circles tend to be composed mostly of people who are similar in age. Perhaps it’s this shared life experience that causes people to feel that relationships with large age gaps are somewhere outside of the societal norm. Social media has also hardwired our minds to think that youth and vigour are the pinnacle of beauty, to the point where most people cannot even fathom a person being attractive past the age of 30. The existence of age gaps in relationships is, oftentimes, totally healthy. An ‘age gap relationship’ is generally defined as a relationship with a gap of 10 or more years in age between all parties. Many people reading the title of this article may think; “but my parents are 10 years apart in age, and they’re totally fine!”. To clarify, two consenting adults who are in an emotionally fulfilling and healthy relationship, no matter what the age difference, is totally wonderful for them, and the power dynamic in these relationships is generally completely healthy. Unfortunately, however, young people in relationships with large age gaps can be predisposed to experiencing unhealthy behaviours, and this is largely due to the power dynamics at play. Others, however, believe that criticising age gaps within relationships is outdated and unjustified for many reasons. To

give

example

the

darker

side

age

gap

relationships, grooming is the act of lowering the inhibitions and confidence of a person, young or old, to make it easier for the perpetrator to coerce them into a relationship- an act made possible by the existence of a power imbalance between the perpetrator and the victim. Grooming has been around a long time and can often unfortunately present itself within age gap relationships. While this doesn’t just apply to minors, young people are especially susceptible to this. Young love is powerful. I think very few young people escaped the mortifying ordeal that was having a crush on a 6th year in their school while they were a 1st year. The allure that came with being an adult, to the teenage mind, was totally mystifying. Attractive, even. Teenagerdom is a time when everything around you is constantly changing, and if your prospective romantic partner is older and has survived adolescence, it can serve as a powerful influence over your life. For many teenagers, including my younger self, being told that you are ‘mature for your age’ was an ultimate compliment, giving a sense of superiority from those around you. This is often a major contributing factor for these relationships forming. These relationships for young teenagers have the potential to be extremely toxic. There is nearly always a power imbalance between two people of different ages, and romantically, when one partner is considerably younger and more naïve than the other, it can cause a lot of pressure on the younger party to perform and act in ways that they are unsure of, particularly in the area of sex. The age of consent can mislead, as although the law states that a person is legally allowed to do something, it doesn’t automatically mean that the person is emotionally ready for it. Being in a relationship where one person has a lot more sexual experience than the other can often cause the other party to feel inadequate. This can strengthen the unhealthy power dynamic, as feelings of inadequacy in the bedroom may cause the younger party to be more likely to be coerced into doing things that they usually would not do, in fear of letting their partner down. On the flip side, however, others in age gap relationships may find the age gap to be a major turn-on with many people engaging with kinks such as ‘age play’ in the bedroom.

SEXPRESS

The effects of a power imbalance within these relationships can be different across all genders. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in the majority of age gap relationships, the older party identifies as a male. For young women and teenage girls, being sexualised from a young age is often, unfortunately, the norm. Young girls are often unsurprised by getting catcalled in their school uniform, as the ‘sexy schoolgirl’ trope is alive and thriving. This can lead to a learned acceptance of this treatment from older men. Young people are also influenced by everything they see around them, including online. In the age of internet romanticism, age gap relationships are painted as sexy, dangerous, and totally fulfilling. The idea is that these relationships are normal and healthy for young teenagers to engage in, that “age is just a number” and that being in a relationship of this sort means that you are wiser, and more mature than your peers. Age-gap relationships are often portrayed in the media in extremely unrealistic ways particularly for young girls. Shows like Euphoria and before that, Pretty Little Liars portray these inappropriate relationships in a far rosier way than is the norm, and often portray the young women as weak or naïve, with the older male figure serving as a protective force. Young girls can be indoctrinated by all of this to think that engaging in relationships with age gaps at such a young age is okay. Conversely, for young men in age gap relationships, it can be extremely hard to voice concerns about their relationship to their peers. In the media, there is the idea that a young man dating an older woman is somehow aspirational, and the man should feel ‘lucky’ to be in such a situation. This can be an extremely damaging narrative as it forces young men into silence about potentially harmful behaviours within their relationship, and if they do choose to speak openly, they are often shamed to the point of them wondering if the problem was ever there in the first place. However, while these situations occur, there are many tropes and stereotypes associated with age gap relationships that may make

people unjustifiably wary of these types of relationships, even when there is no need to be. To give some examples, the ‘trophy wife’ iconography, for example, paints younger women in these relationships as manipulative gold diggers, whereas the ‘cougar’ or ‘milf’ image suggests that older women in these relationships are seductive temptresses- both stereotypes which are far from reality. Gigi Engle, a sex educator, argues that every single relationship, whether there is an age gap or not, has a built-in power imbalance. No two people are the same, life aspirations and wage packets differ, and for this reason, power imbalances in relationships can seldom be the result of age alone. Many people in age gap relationships often resent the idea that their relationship could be defined as unhealthy. One person I spoke to while writing this article noted that they felt the age gap within their relationship made them a wiser person and offered them a different perspective on life. While the discussion around age gap relationships is slowly changing over time, it is still met with disapproving looks for many. But as long as both parties are consenting and happy, does the power dynamic, or the how’s and the why’s even matter? Maybe, maybe not- but age gap relationships will be something that we will continue to see in real life and in media for a while to come, and eventually perhaps articles such as this discussing and scrutinising the age dynamics of couples will be a thing of the past. If you’re worried about any of the issues mentioned above, here are some resources to help Women’s Aid- TooIntoYou SVCC Age Gap Love Story Podcast

Fashion

The Power is in the Print CLAIRE WATSON Fashion Editor A young girl stands in the snow-covered wilderness of Eastern Poland. Adorned in her iconic leopard print coat, the partisan raises her rifle with the same grace and ferocity as the big cat bares its teeth.

History of Leopard Print as “the lack of cultivation or the resistance to taste, and more often than not refers to tastes that are not suitably conservative.”

When she was only 16 years old, Faye Schulman’s family was murdered by Nazi soldiers. Schulman, who passed away this year at the age of 101, was a fighter and a photographer. “There was a time when I was wearing the leopard coat and my feet were tied with rags.” She states. Her coat carried her through the two years she spent ambushing Nazi soldiers and patching up her fellow partisans. “It was this coat that kept me warm. It was so light, so warm and so strong.” This wild pattern is for fighters; the big cats and the revolutionists. This print is loud, evoking the sound of the snarling cat. While the dark rosettes work to conceal the hunter, anyone who dons this fierce print is sure to stand out and proud with all the might of the revered leopard.

Tight trims, clean colours, and sleek designs, that is what is portrayed as good fashion. Though the industry is changing, celebrities on red carpets portray the fashion ideals of the modern world. Campy fashion was pioneered by working-class, black, LGBTQ+ people, who recognised the power in flamboyant fashion. Undoubtedly flashy, gaudy prints are powerful, and as people attempt to separate themselves from fast fashion, wearing statement pieces like the leopard print becomes an act of rebellion. With the rise of vintage fashion and thrifting culture, millennials and gen z are bringing back the zany prints as they were in their prime.

But in the world of high fashion, leopard print is seen as neutral. The print is seen as a signifier of one’s “trashy” sexual status. Even Christian Dior, the designer who popularized the pattern in 1947 with his “Jungle” dress says: “If you are fair and sweet, don’t wear it.” Flashy prints mark the wearer’s individualism. There’s the idea that no two leopard’s spots are the same. These rosettes acknowledge the wearer’s power, the wearer’s want and ability to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, uniqueness does not bode well for fast fashion. Mass-produced clothing relies on consumers to be wearing similar outfits and having similar tastes. As of now, the fashion industry is experiencing a problem of trends occurring and fading too fast for buyers to keep up with. By 2050, landfills will hold 150 million tonnes of clothing waste. And so, to ensure that people are sticking to the trends, unique and flashy patterns like the leopard print are demoted to neutral. Consistently these types of patterns are discarded as being tacky, only to become trendy again some years later. Often, camp coincides with tacky, which Jo Weldon describes in her book Fierce: the

The fashion industry attempts to lure its consumers back in by turning leopard, and other prints, into neutrals, thus stripping them of their power. But, as Weldon goes on to state, “[Tacky] is often where the imagination runs free, where the heart is, where the soul is, and where the fun is.” Activist Gina Martin explained in a TikTok video how when she was in parliament fighting to change the law on upskirting, she wore plain black clothes in order to look like a politician, “I realised I was trying to replicate the archetypal power I saw around me.” She started attending her meetings in Parliament in clothes that were “colourful, and joyful, and feminine.” She explains that power does not have a certain look, and rather comes in all shapes, colours, and forms. Just as Schulman felt empowered by her leopard print coat, and Martin by her colourful clothes, we too can feel powerful in what we wear. Clothes are tools we can use to show the world our inner selves. They are statements. Whether we are on the frontlines, in parliament, or just popping down to Lidl, clothes can give us that drive to feel, and do, the best we can.

Fashion

Freshly-Sourced Fashion

(How Supermarkets Are Stepping Up Their Fashion Game) CLAIRE WATSON Fashion Editor

Photo Credit: Dan Linehan

Supermarkets became a safe haven for “fashionistas” while all other shops had their doors locked and closed. Everyone has a story or knows someone with a story about climbing under Dunnes’ yellow tape and grabbing a sweater. Since the pandemic, our attitudes towards supermarkets, and their exports, have changed. Online shopping can be a dangerous rabbit hole that ends not with a wonderland but an empty bank account, and there’s nothing quite like going out and physically buying clothes. Since then, these supermarkets have seemed to have given their fashion products more attention, and are producing more than just the bare essentials. Shops like Tesco tended to skip the young adult demographic, catering to little kids and their moms. However, looking online F&F seems to be changing its tune. Shackets, sweater vests, and maxi skirts, the chain seems to understand what zillenials are looking for. The company is definitely trying to appeal to a younger age, but it’s playing it safe with simple patterns and muted tones. While scrolling through F&F’s Instagram, I was positively surprised to see the diversity in their models. On their Instagram, you’ll find women in religious headwear, women that use wheelchairs, plus-sized women, and people of any race or ethnicity modelling their clothes. If I had a scale of 1 to 5 judging how well a company appeals to the younger generation, Dunnes is at a 3. It’s getting there, but it just feels unsure of itself. The Paul Galvin collection markets itself as an edgy mix of sporty and rocker and is clearly targeting young men. However, everything in this collection just looks like what you’d dress a nine-year-old boy in for Christmas. Jocks and punks are notorious rivals in the media so why they thought to combine these vastly different styles I’ll never know. Dunnes definitely has nice clothes for young men, but nothing exciting. Young women, it’s worth checking out the Savida collection. There’s a lot of misses here, with some sweaters and blouses just dripping in pearls and rouches, but the collection’s.

bright colours and bold patterns give off ‘art student next door’ vibes. Half the range have this cottage-core flair to them, with dainty florals and frills, while the other half has this bold modern look consisting of monochromatic colours and minimalist patterns I don’t think Dealz can be counted as a supermarket but I absolutely have to draw your attention to Pep&Co’s clothes. They are hilarious. They are so far off the mark that they’ve swung back around and look like memes. It seems that Dealz gets its shirt from Nice Shirt Thanks, which anyone wanting an incomprehensibly funny shirt needs to check out. The one store that seems to be genuinely changing its output to suit a new audience is Marks & Spencer. Its partnership with GHOST is nothing short of cottage-core, with its vintage-inspired, floral dresses. M&S stopped selling suits during the pandemic, which apparently was a major loss. To replace this, the chain began producing ‘smart, redefined,’ Smart wear. This line hosts fresh, dress wear that sticks to the trends, and prioritises personal style. It describes itself as ‘flexible and on your terms. [...] Your formal, your rules.’ According to my gran, a seasoned M&S shopper, ‘I can’t buy clothes there anymore. It’s all for your crowd.’ The company is clearly aligning itself with modern attitudes, putting sustainability as its core value. The company has always been quite sustainable, but it doesn’t seem to advertise this to those not already shopping at M&S. The company hopes to be completely zero waste by 2025 and was the first major retailer to become carbon neutral. Its clothes are made to last, with 33 million pieces being “shwopped” since 2008. M&S stores are equipped with shwop boxes for buyers to drop in their preloved clothing. These clothes are resold, reused or recycled. I know many of us used the weekly shop as an excuse to get dolled up, and maybe that’s what inspired these shops to up their game. Sometimes, the stylish items we’re looking for are right under our noses, and behind the vegetables.

Arts & Literature

SPONSORING THE ARTS CIAN PIERCE Arts and Literature Editor

Should the arts even be sponsored? Dublin’s historic and iconic Olympia Theatre is the latest landmark to take on a corporate sponsor following the announcement of a partnership with Three. The mobile company is to rename the historic building the ‘3Olympia Theatre’, quite frankly missing an opportunity to name it “The Threeatre”. According to Three Ireland, the eight-year sponsorship agreement will support the much-awaited reopening of the venue after its closure during the past 18 months due to Covid-19, which was a devastating hit to the entertainment industry. The historical venue located on Dame St. opened its doors in 1879 as The Star of Erin Music Hall and has gone through a couple of name changes in its history but wasn’t known as The Olympia Theatre until 1923. The Theatre has hosted some of the biggest names in entertainment from Charlie Chaplin and Lauren and Hardy to Christmas pantos and an extensive list of modern superstars including Radiohead, Hozier and (most importantly) Lizzo. Caroline Downey, owner of the Olympia and a director of event promoters MCD, said: “Three has become one of Ireland’s most supportive brands in music with 3Arena and festival sponsorships as well as making a real and credible contribution to Irish music artists and we are delighted to embark on this journey with them as partners as we enter a new era in this venue’s storied history.” Chief commercial officer of Three Ireland and Three UK Elaine Carey added: “We are excited to add 3Olympia Theatre to our amazing portfolio of music sponsorships and look forward to welcoming fans back to the theatre soon. […] This venue holds a very special place in the hearts of music fans, and we are committed to supporting the live entertainment industry and this iconic venue as it prepares to reopen to the public.” To mark the occasion and celebrate the newfound agreement, Three will be partnering with some Irish artists to pay homage to past artists who have played the venue in the past. This won’t be the only thing they do as Three customers will receive benefits to events at 3Olympia, including access to pre-sale tickets!

The 3Olympia isn’t the first Irish venue to take on a corporate sponsor. Three already sponsors entertainment and live music including the 3 Arena, Electric Picnic and the Longitude festival. While most people understand and accept the fact that the arts need sponsorships, for better or for worse, to stay afloat so long as they continue to be underfunded even though over quarantine, we all should have realized that the arts are an integral part of our everyday lives. The renaming of a venue is not unusual, Three changed the name of The Point Theatre to the 3Arena and The Grand Canal Theatre became the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. Public perception of this sponsorship has people split over the changes, some accept the change with open arms and some downright refuse to refer to the venue by its new name. A Twitter user voiced her displeasure, and summed up the feelings of the majority, saying that “enforcing a name change […] on an iconic Dublin landmark is obscene and tacky. Stop it.”, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Sponsoring the arts is mutually beneficial: artists get to share their work with the world, and businesses get to grow, engage new customers in innovative ways and support the community. In the past, there has been controversy over whether artists should be fussy when accepting corporate sponsorships, given that some organisations willing to give substantial amounts of money to artists, groups, awards, etc. might not be the most ethical to do business with. So, what can we do to help? How do we, as students, support the arts? Unfortunately, until the day comes where we can redistribute the wealth, we students probably don’t have large amounts of money we can invest into the arts but that doesn’t mean we can’t help. Both online and in-person we can still show our support, and since Cork is a haven for the arts, opportunities to support local artists are plentiful from galleries to buskers! The most important way you can support artists is to show up to events. Showing up to an exhibition – even virtually – can be an extremely cultural experience. Over the past year, many arts institutions and galleries have moved their collections online to virtual viewing rooms. A lot of the time entrance is free, and it goes a very long way to showcase support for the local artistic community. Social media has become an extremely powerful tool, sharing art online can be extremely valuable to artists in giving them more exposure (just remember that “paying in exposure” isn’t actual payment). Leaving a nice comment, sharing posts and following artists can be very uplifting and will make a difference. Reaching out to local artists in your community to purchase a oneof-a-kind commissioned piece is incredibly helpful. Interacting with local artists and commissioning their work allows them to pursue their passion. If you are financially able to financially, you could always donate to a local museum or art gallery and make yourself feel closer to the arts and your community. Donating or purchasing a membership is a lovely gift idea and usually provides unlimited access to more exclusive exhibitions, events and programmes. American theatre director Peter Sellars once said, “The true purpose of art is to recycle money”, we can decide whether that money will belong to a corporation or to a loving and supportive community.

Arts & Literature

POET’S CORNER

CIAN PIERCE Arts and Literature Editor Starting with this issue I would like to introduce a sub-section for Arts and Literature called ‘Poet’s Corner’. I’ll be using this section to share my favourite poems mainly by Irish authors, but I might also share book recommendations, information on upcoming events in UCC and throughout Cork etc. Arts and Lit should be for the community by the community so if there’s any poem, book or event you’d like to see receive a shoutout please feel free to send in submissions to my email arts@uccexpress.ie To emphasize my focus on the Irish artistic community, the first poet I want to highlight is Sadhbh Goodwin, I will be focusing more on them in a later issue. He is a UCC Quercus creative and performing arts scholar.

Dawn Treader Days The pigtailed kid in the pictures. I miss who I once was but I think I must be better now. The kid I was Was kinda cruel/kinda cute The kid kept quiet when told they were bright, the kid I was thought they were better Than the rest. The kid I was, was cruel – kinda. The kid I was regrets the things they said and knows They know better. They wish that some things Had been better explained: Like birthday parties, truth-or-dare like growing up. Like growing up, the kid I was wishes that some parts were optional. Their bound ribs warp to fit the form of the poem. I run ribbon ridges between my teeth, the kid thinks: Maybe it is not like this for everyone. The kid thinks they are bright enough for the poem. The kid is haunted by the things that they said. Maybe it is not like this for everyone, the kid still doesn’t have an answer and can’t move on. The gold bracelet tightens hot around their freckled forearm And no matter how hard they tear they can’t Seem to break through spreading scales. This body is good, but not theirs, twisted reptilian In a shattered mirror.

“This poem was written in response to one of my favourite books as a kid, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, or rather in response to my childhood interpretation of it. As a young trans kid I was always more interested in the concept of being freed from a body that doesn’t fit than with the extremely obvious religious metaphor in the book.”

SPORTS

Issue 1.2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

Reeling in the Years: A Tale of Sporting Curses SAM CURTIN Sports Editor As the full-time whistle went on September 11th, Tyrone claimed Sam Maguire for the fourth time in their history and their first since 2008. Mayo were consigned to their eleventh straight final defeat since 1951, the last time they claimed Sam. The story of that occasion has been well documented, the famous ‘curse’ that has plagued Mayo fans since the day allegedly the team driving home, interrupted a funeral, to the outrage of the priest who declared that the county would not win an All-Ireland again until all of the team had passed. While this is probably the most famous sporting curse in an Irish context, there have been many other stories throughout the world where teams facing similar droughts have had to endure such stories passed down from generation to generation. Hence, what are some of the most interesting pieces of folklore? Clare Hurlers Another famous GAA curse to begin with. ‘The curse of Biddy Early’, who was a healer and suspected of witchcraft actually died ten years before the foundation of Clare GAA in 1884. Yet her name has still been mentioned across all generations of Clare supporters. The story goes that the Clare team of 1932 (58 years after Biddy died) would be the last to win a title until the next group were all bachelors. This may seem quite peculiar for a number of reasons, however the end of this story is quite striking. Clare endured decades of misfortune and near misses until 1995 when they finally broke the glass ceiling as they went onto win not only Munster but the AllIreland for just the third time in their history. The most interesting part was that this team were nicknamed the ‘bachelor boys’ as none of them were married. Therefore, although the back story may make little sense, it did ultimately come to pass. Australian football team Not a particularly well-known one but a fascinating story nonetheless. Seven straight failed qualification attempts, all at the play-off stage. These failed attempts were blamed on a witchdoctor in Mozambique whom the Socceroo’s failed to pay while on tour there in 1969. What’s particularly fascinating about this story is that in 2005, famous Australian comedian John Saffron went back to Mozambique to find an antidote to the curse. He ended up making a documentary ‘reverse the curse’ about the experience which involved ceremoniously having chicken blood poured over him by a witch doctor. Sure enough, Australia successfully defeated Uruguay in a play-off to be on the plane to Germany in 2006 and ended up making the last 16.

Boston Red Sox Our final story is one of the most famous sporting curses of all time. It comes in baseball where the curse of ‘the bambino’ has haunted Boston Red Sox fans for decades. On December 26th, 1919, the Red Sox decided to sell their beloved Babe Ruth, known as “Bambino” to their arch-rivals, the New York Yankees. Prior to this, the Red Sox were the most successful team in baseball but this all changed. The Yankees went on to win four World Series with Ruth while the Red Sox would only appear in four and lose each one. One infamous incident included a ball rolling through one of the player’s legs in Game 6 of the 1986 series which cost them the championship. Many efforts were made to break the curse, including a search for a piano which Ruth allegedly tossed into a pond outside Boston. Even an exorcism took place outside of their home stadium, Fenway Park. It was ultimately on-field results that broke the curse in 2004, the Red Sox played the Yankees in the penultimate round before the World Series where they became the first team to win after coming from 3-0 down before going on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals to end the 86 year drought. The Cardinals, short stopper (same position as Ruth) wore the number three shirt, which was Bambino’s all those years ago. Coincidence?

* *

These stories are just a flavour of those passed down through the years. As for Mayo? There are two medal winners left and the glass ceiling has yet to be broken. Could there be an antidote in the form of a witch doctor or is it simply a case of not being good enough?

SPORTS

Issue 1.2 | TUESDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER 2021 | University Express

Has Cork missed the boat on Americas Cup? SAM CURTIN Sports Editor Finally, the most obvious one being that money talks and when it comes to the America’s Cup, it screams. Potential estimates from politicians and government advisors indicate that Cork could be in line to earn half a billion euros from the event. The knock-on effects that would have for local hotels, B&B’s, bars and other local amenities especially in Cork city, where the event would be held in the harbour which could facilitate up to 40,000 spectators each day over two weeks. Add in the various events and festival-like atmosphere that would be present in the city and all of a sudden, Cork has a new lease of life. One of the potentially huge benefits however is also its biggest risk. The competition costs a fortune to host. EY showed found that it would take anywhere from at least at €150 -€450 million to run the competition due to the costs of the race (€50 million) and another €100 million to build infrastructure. This would include the electrification of the Cork to Cobh rail line, construction work along the docks and possible construction of a hydrogen plant in Crosshaven, which would produce fuel for boats to support the racing yachts. Here’s a quiz question for you, what’s the oldest competition in the world? The Olympics? Wrong. The Grand National? Incorrect. The world’s oldest competition is in fact the America’s Cup, the blue ribband event of which has been held since 1851. The competition predates the modern Olympics by 45 years. Indeed, it has quite the history which Cork could be about to part of. But at what cost? Is it an opportunity of a lifetime or one better to be missed? A quick summary of the format, each cup takes place every 3-4 years with the winners getting the unique opportunity to choose the next location for the competition to be held from a list of those who signal their interests. There are then a number of play-off races that take place a couple of years in advance of the competition in order to find out who the challenger will be to take on the defending champions in a two-week festival of sailing involving a series of races to decide the winner. Outside of the format, the first important question to ask is how did Cork become the front runners to host the event in the first place? The last hosts New Zealand (also winners) or Auckland to be exact, were given the choice of where to stage, Cork being known for having one of the deepest harbours in the world, along with some who you know, not what you know wheeling and dealing, found themselves at the front of the line. Valencia appeared to be its only challenger to host the event which is to be staged next in 2024. The Spanish city however dropped out for reasons which will be outlined later on. Before looking at the potential pitfalls, what could the competition bring to Cork? Firstly, the worldwide exposure it would get from such a global event. Outside of this, the largest ever sporting event held in Cork was the second boxing match between Steve Collins and Chris Eubank which was held in 1995 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. As a TV spectacle, it attracts an audience in the hundreds of millions on stations around the world. Cork could finally make good on its potential of becoming a major European city, not just in terms of infrastructure but tourism. According to the Cork Chamber of Commerce, Valencia in 2007 “recorded 2.7 million visits” with “€28 million in advertising equivalent.” They add that “a costbenefit analysis by consultants EY has shown that it could be worth up to €500m to the economy, could generate 2,000 jobs, attract up to 2.5m visitors, generating between 9m and 11m bed nights, and be watched by an estimated 900m TV viewers globally.” Coupled with this, Cork has an abundance of natural resources which makes for perfect sailing conditions. As a result, it is little wonder why it has been placed as the favourite to be the next host. Along with having a deep harbour, the surrounding areas such as Roberts Head and Roche’s Point make for perfect viewing. Cork has been described as being “a natural amphitheatre” for spectators and for those who want to get closer to the action could do so with ease on smaller boats and other vehicles. There is a long-held view that Ireland underutilizes its natural surroundings and this event would be a way to finalize capitalise on it.

Cork also does not have a favourable history in recent times when it comes to building necessary infrastructure in order to host big events. Just take the Events Centre scandal for example. This was a project that was supposed to be built any day since 2016 it seems. Not one brick has been laid yet and so it is understandable that there would be much scepticism about the area being able to complete the required world to host one of the largest sporting events in the world. With little or no track record to speak of, it is a significant leap of fate to take. While the potential is there to reap the reward as already mentioned, there is also a strong possibility that Cork wouldn’t even break even financially. For example, Valencia dropped out of the running as it admitted that they are still recovering financially from hosting the 2007 event which ended up costing more than they made. New Zealand also recorded losses from hosting this year’s event which was made worse due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking of which, the economy is barely treading water as a result of covid and there may simply not be enough time for it to recover for the country to experience the possible boom which comes with such an event. Sailing also has a reputation for being an elitist sport which is reflected in the preparations for the competing teams. It costs $2 million alone for entering and requires participants to move to the host venue two or even three years in advance in order to prepare and analyse the course. Add to this that the costs of the yachts are millions more. During the 2013 Americas Cup, Oracle Team USA, backed by billionaire Larry Ellison was rumoured to have spent around $200 million on their way to the title. Furthermore, sailing is arguably a minority sport in Ireland with relatively little publicity outside of the Olympics every four years. As a result, public opinion may not be the most positive if it sees the government willing to invest hundreds of millions of euros including taxpayers money in an event that only lasts a couple of weeks and may not even have Irish involvement. The recent scandal involving Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney and his desire to appoint Catherin Zappone to a new post does not help. Coveney, a native of Crosshaven is the brainchild behind the project and is from a sailing background himself. He sailed around the world as part of the Sail Chernobyl project in 1998. In conclusion, according to sources within the government, it looks unlikely that Cork will get its chance to showcase itself as ‘the real capital’ in an event that would have been the largest ever to take place in the county. Perhaps there would have been more political will if Dublin was the preferred destination. it could be argued that the Irish trait of slow and indecisive decision making coupled with red tape is at fault. On the other hand, it could also be a bullet dodged in a period where nothing is uncertain and there are more pressing issues at hand such as the housing crisis. With that in mind, will Cork fall in love with sailing or will the sport forever be consigned to being a quiz question? Only time will tell whether this project will sink or swim.

University

Sports

UCCExpress.ie

Volume 25 | Issue 1.2 | Tuesday 28th September 2021

Interview: Clubs return to action after 18-month hiatus SAM CURTIN Sports Editor

The past 18 months have been extremely difficult for all students in UCC. While understandably, most of the concerns were with students and their academic studies, clubs have also felt the brunt of the pandemic. This week, I spoke to Tara Hanlon, vice-captain of UCC Rowing to get the club’s thoughts on returning to action for the first time in 18 months. The club has had success in the recent Tokyo Olympics with current students Paul O’Donovan and Emily Hegarty winning gold and bronze respectively while Tara was reserve for the women’s four.

Tara Hanlon (vice-captain of UCC Rowing) What are the challenges for the year ahead after being away for so long? As we are an outdoor sport and we mainly row in crews of four and eight people lockdown has really hit us hard and we have mainly been training alone on indoor machines for the past 18 months. It will be difficult at the start to get people back out on the water again but rowing is like riding a bike, a skill you never forget, and so we believe that after a few spins out on the water everyone will be back into the swing of things again and ready to hit the ground running with the upcoming season. What are the club’s hopes for the year ahead?

How have the past 18 months been without normal club activity? To say the last 18 months of training has been difficult is an understatement. Our club rowers have had to endure months of training alone only communicating virtually via zoom and have severely missed the camaraderie of training as a group and the social aspect that is such a key aspect of our club. This being said some excellent training has been done from home and the success of the club this past year speaks for itself. Seeing our high-performance athletes competing and winning medals at the Olympic Games gave everyone in the club a boost and the motivation to keep training hard and this showed in the success we had at the National Irish Championships this summer winning a total of 9 National Irish Championships. Seeing the success has given everyone a lift and now more than ever our athletes are eager to come back stronger than ever. Did you run any online events/other activities during a lockdown? At the start of lockdown, we ran online circuit classes and zoom sessions but it was difficult to keep the athletes motivated to continue this for the whole year. What are you looking forward to most about being back? We as a club are all really looking forward to being able to train as a group again. One of the best things about rowing with UCC is that you get to train alongside a wide range of athletes from Olympians to novices and coastal rowers in both sculling and sweep disciplines. Those of us who have been in the club for a few years have formed lifelong friendships and we cannot wait to see the club expand as we look to the future and everyone is excited to welcome in the new athletes and get the club morale back.

In the short term, we are looking at securing an indoor facility where we can all train on the ergs as a group near campus. It is essential for the development of the club and for our HighPerformance athletes to be able to fit in their training schedules alongside their college commitments. In the long term, we look to have our own boathouse with an indoor training facility to house our ergs as well as a weights gym and a social hub. We also have hopes to expand both our men’s and women’s squads with a gravy train of novices joining the club every year with the aim of winning both University and National Irish Championship Titles. Deputy Head of Sport in UCC Christine O’Connor made it clear at last week’s Clubs & Socs EGM will be to get clubs active and thriving again rather than results. If you want to get involved with a club this year then simply log onto the clubs and societies website with your student number and select which clubs you want to join. Alternatively, you can email any club with its name@uccclubs.ie. Here’s to a fantastic sporting year!