University
Express
Volume 24 | Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020
“It is certainly okay to make mistakes and it’s important to ask for help when you need it” - pg 8 ‘The Transition from School to College’
UCCExpress.ie
“I think we had to develop a bit more confidence in expressing ourselves, instead of thinking we had to write straight up rock music” - pg 24 ‘Bitch Falcon, interviewed’
“Despite the heartbreak of this year’s cancellation, he sees the extra year as a big opportunity for the Irish rowing squad” - pg 36 “What’s Another Year?”
UCC GOES ONLINE AS UNIVERSITIES MOVE TO LEVEL 3 OF COVID-19 NATIONAL PLAN Writes Maeve McTaggart, News Editor In the attempt to flatten a growing curve of new coronavirus cases, the government has requested that all higher education institutions will operate under Level 3 of the phased health plan for at least 2 weeks. UCC was set to reopen through a model of blended learning and strict adherence to health guidelines on Monday 28th September until the government announcement late Friday evening dashed hopes of returning to campus. Intended to prevent the virus from once again gaining a foothold in communities, the enhanced public health protection measures focus on “limiting the cross country movement of students and avoiding congregation of large groups on campus,” the Irish Universities Association (IUA) has said.
Similarly, with adequate social distancing and the mandatory use of face coverings, Boole Library will also remain open at a level of reduced occupancy. There remains just 850 seats.
Any events scheduled to occur on campus until 9th October, inThe enhanced measures will re- cluding social and societies acmain in place at UCC until Friday tivities, will be postponed, can9th October. During this two week celled or take place virtually. period, the majority of all lectures shall be delivered online with the In an email addressed to all staff and exception of pre-existing arrange- students, sent to update them of the ments made for lab-based, clinical enhanced public health measures, and practical-based teaching. All Interim President Professor John research activities can continue. O’Halloran said: “I realise you have been looking forward to the start of The Mardyke Arena, the Glucksman term on campus and the latest nationGallery, Áras na MacLéinn and all al guidance, coming at short notice cafés on campus including the New ahead of the start of the academic Bar are entitled to remain open subject year, may be unsettling. UCC is comto existing infection control measures. mitted to support you through these
challenging times.” Mr O’Halloran expressed his gratitude for the patience of the community as the latest public health advice is implemented. UCC campus and its spaces for work, learning and study had been transformed into socially-distanced and regulated areas for the expected return to campus on Monday 28th September. Over 5,000 safety signs had been installed across campus, with 10,000 face coverings so far distributed between staff and students. To support the resumption of campus life, a COVID-19 safety support team—to be made visible on campus in bright green jackets—had been launched alongside a joint social media campaign with UCCSU.
shared responsibility of staff and students in keeping the community safe, was published this past week with commitments to respect health guidelines and avoid UCC campus if symptoms of COVID-19 develop. The symptoms of COVID-19 vary, and have evolved over time as experts have studied the progression of the virus. Common symptoms include a cough, fever, breathlessness, a high temperature or a loss or change in the ability to smell or taste. If such symptoms develop, a test for COVID-19 is warranted and, if returned positive, all close contacts of the case will be traced by HSE Contact Tracing and told to restrict their movements for 14 days.
The COVID-19 Community Charter, a set of principles to affirm the Story Continued on Page 3...
Editorial
2 Editorial Team
The Value of the Horizon
Writes Fiona Keeley, Editor-in-Chief I had hoped that you would be reading a physical paper for this issue but, yet again, Covid-19 has dealt us a hand of cards that has forced us to adapt to the situation. The first print run usually marks the beginning of the student media year, but this year it was going to mark University Express’ return to the grounds of UCC. When new public health measures for third-level institutions were announced on Sept 25th, bringing UCC to Level-3 on the Covid-19 alert framework, it became clear that our print run would also fall victim to the virus; becoming only a fable on the autumn wind sweeping through campus. University Express has not reached the point of returning to campus yet but it is always on the horizon, a goal that we are constantly striving towards as we continue to share stories with you from across the UCC campus and farther afield.
Editor-in-Chief – Fiona Keeley (Editor@UCCExpress.ie) News Editor – Maeve McTaggart (News@UCCExpress.ie) Designer – Fiona Cremins (Design@UCCExpress.ie) Features Editor – Elisha Carey (Features@UCCExpress.ie) Sports Editor – Liam Grainger (Sport@UCCExpress.ie) Opinion Editor – Rían Browne (Opinion@UCCExpress.ie) Eagarthóir Gaeilge – Édith De Faoite (Gaeilge@UCCExpress.ie) Online Editor – Edel Lonergan (Online@UCCExpress.ie) Marketing Executive – Fiona Keeley (Marketing@UCCExpress.ie)
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
Because of all the restrictions, anonymity has become a familiar face in many of our lives in the recent past. I now have to look twice at someone in the supermarket to see if I recognise their face beneath the mask. Each online meeting I have attended has included someone with a moniker that I don’t recognise, despite the fact I have probably known the individual for years. I am guilty of this myself; starting as ‘fi’ and graduating to ‘fiona’ really doesn’t give away too much about my identity. The lack of capitalisation shows my lack of attention to the process. But reflecting on the question of why, in this instance, is harder to answer. Presentation skills need to be learned to reflect our virtual world as well as our tangible world. When I step back from that argument and look at the broader picture, the concept of anonymity does not seem that foreign and out of place in my daily life. Our generation has been living in a virtual bubble for quite some time. The digital-literacy of our generation is something of a hallmark given the growth in technology we have witnessed over the past twenty years; but the right to use the technology and remain anonymous is something that I don’t support. Backing your beliefs with the integrity of a name is a value that I hold strong in my heart. I know I would have loved to see this issue published on paper but nevertheless you can read incredible articles by our writers in a digital form as we look forward to our first print date. In this issue Sam Curtin discusses our reality of sports without spectators and Tadgh MacCionnaith looks at the prospect of ‘Killing Our Heroes’ and the potential benefits that it can bring to our lives. The fluidity of our reality changes on an hourly basis these days. While very few of us are in the ideal situation at the moment it is essential to keep looking forward to the horizon. It is the only way we will win. Until next time,
Webmaster – Jonathan Hanley (Webmaster@UCCExpress.ie)
Fiona Keeley
editor@uccexpress.ie
Photographers – Caoimhe Leahy, Célem Deegan (Photographers@uccexpress.ie)
Thinking about “truth” Byline Editor – Fergal Smiddy (Byline@ UCCExpress.ie) (Deputy Editor) Food & Health – Maeve O’Keeffe (Food@UCCExpress.ie) Arts & Literature Editor – Imasha Costa (Arts@UCCExpress.ie) Gaming Editor – Hugo Blair (Gaming @UCCExpress.ie) Music Editor – Cathal Donovan O’Neill (Music@UCCExpress) Fashion Editor – Maeve O’Sullivan (fashion@uccexpress.ie) Film & Television Editor – Kyran Leahy (Screen@UCCExpress.ie) Sexpress Editor – Jack Wrixon (Sexpress@uccexpress.ie) Deputy Sports – Sam Curtin (Deputysports@uccexpress.ie) Deputy News – Maebh McCarthy (Deputynews@uccexpress.ie) Deputy Features – Eoghan O’Donnell (Deputyfeatures@uccexpress.ie) Staff Writer: Julie Landers
Writes Maeve McTaggart, News Editor There are times where all I have to do is think of a certain object, of a certain location or subject, and they will appear through the ads on my Instagram feed. I can never decide which explanation for this is more unsettling: that my phone is listening to me, or the algorithm knows me so well that it can predict what I want, before I even think about wanting it. The latter is the truth, and TikTok has made me realise how dangerous it is. The TikTok ‘For You’ page is addictive, made addictive by an algorithm which absorbs your interactions with posts, your preferences for music or hashtags, your location and language preferences, even the type of device you have. TikTok prides itself on its ability to create a ‘For You’ page which is unique for every single one of its over 500 million users—that is 500 million different versions of TikTok, and of truth. Let me explain. The algorithm of TikTok creates a curated and personalised page of videos, a seemingly mild collage of interests until you stray into a hashtag which touts anti-masking or worse. And it’s happening all over the internet—beneath tweets of newspaper articles or in the comments of Facebook posts surveying opinions on immigration, there are gateways into corners of the internet that people rarely seek out. The algorithm of sites like YouTube prioritise your attention, they trade on it. Oftentimes, the most radical, curiosity-catching, attention-grabbing videos will be suggested for you. You curate your YouTube suggestions in the same way you construct your Twitter feed into an echochamber to reflect the thoughts in your head. In the Democratic primary races, I was convinced we would see a Trump versus Sanders 2020 race. Convinced, against all odds, because that’s what I saw on Twitter. I have started to understand ‘fake news’ and how to get stuck there. The Social Dilemma on Netflix, documenting addiction and privacy breaches as features of social media rather than accidents, made me want to throw my phone away - even more so when I realised my life is too bonded with my phone to be able to do anything about it. But maybe that’s just an easier thing than the truth: I can’t put my phone down. There is no social media site which shows every user the same news, same people, or same opinions. Each is a self-affirming pit of what we have shown the algorithm to be true. What ‘truth’ is, matters much less than what grabs your attention and what grabs your attention, is rarely ever the truth. It’s why we need balanced news and strong journalism now more than ever. Without it, we just end up talking to ourselves.
news@uccexpress.ie #uccexpress
Maeve McTaggart
News
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express Cover Story Continued... With adequate protective measures and social distancing, Cork City is able to keep the majority areas of economy and society open, this includes schools, pubs, retail and gyms. Although a rise in cases has prompted experts to issue a warning to the people of Cork in recent days. Dr Corinna Sadlier, an infectious disease consultant at Cork University Hospital, has said there is evidence of the virus spreading through community transmission - a “silent reservoir of virus circulating looking to jump from person to person.”
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UCC Societies launch the Give It A Go Festival Writes Maeve McTaggart, News Editor
Dr Niamh Lynch, a paediatrics specialist at the Bons Secours hospital which occupies the space between Brookfield Health and Sciences Complex and the main campus of UCC, has warned that the number of cases recently seen in Cork match those of Dublin three weeks ago. The actions of the people of Cork during the next two weeks will determine whether or not the county will enter Risk Level 3 of the nation health plan, Dr Lynch has said. Acting Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn has spoken directly to young people in recent days, as 15-34 year olds have accounted for 40% of COVID-19 cases in the past 2 months despite accounting for just a quarter of the population. Mr Glynn has acknowledged that the increase is expected, as the age cohort must move around the community to work and study, but has asked young people to “be role models” and “to stick with this and continue to follow the public health advice” as “together, every safe behaviour counts.” -
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UCC Student Health can be contacted at (021) 4902311 and information about UCC’s response to COVID-19 can be found at ucc.ie/en/emt/covid19/. Updated national statistics can be viewed on Ireland’s COVID19 Data Hub at covid19ireland-geohive.hub.arcgis.com.
As third level colleges prepare to resume despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the experience of incoming students is one of learning to live with the virus rather than waiting for life without it. After months of uncertainty surrounding the cancellation of the Leaving Certificate, and it’s replacement with a calculated grading system which delivered the highest results on record, the Class of 2020 is to further adapt to the implications of the pandemic as they begin their time at UCC. While face-to-face teaching has migrated to a system of blended learning, emulating the preCOVID college experience is a challenge accepted by UCC Societies’ as their Give it A Go Festival is launched. From September 14th to October 2nd, UCC Societies will present 78 online events for new and current students to sample some of 104 so-
cieties on offer at UCC. The Festival is described by UCC Societies’ President Adam Burke as an effort to “recreate the atmosphere of societies in a way that kept everybody safe. Part of the excitement of going to college is getting to join in on society activities, but right now we can’t do that in person.” “Our biggest hope is that people have some fun and get a chance to try something new! The whole point is to showcase our societies and how much fun they can be, and give people a taste of what to expect when we get back up and running on campus.” Events available range from screenings and quizzes, to guest speakers and virtual campus tours, led by societies which vary from Criminology to Harry Potter, and Comedy to Physics. Each is listed as one of ‘beginner’s standard’ to welcome as many students as possible.
For an hour each Wednesday evening during the three week-long Festival, UCC Societies’ offer the ‘Soc’s Sampler’ where students are invited to join a meeting and be sent to a random break-out room—in each is a society hosting an activity. If the randomised event does not suit the student’s interests, they are reassigned to one which matches what they are looking for. The Give it a Go Festival is running from September 14th until October 2nd. The registration for the events and weekly Soc’s Sampler can be found on the social media of UCC Societies or on their official event page at societies.ucc.ie/give-it-a-gofestival-14th-sept-2nd-oct-2020/.
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News
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
Students’ Union Issues Scathing Statement on Hatch Accommodation Writes Maebh McCarthy, Deputy News Editor
Jamie Fraser, Welfare Officer for UCC Students’ Union (UCCSU), released a statement on September 14th 2020 explaining the background to an ongoing dispute between the Students’ Union and Hatch Accommodation services. Mr Fraser explained the situation through that statement, namely that he was seeking a refund for students who had to vacate their residence as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Most private and UCC owned college accommodation have issued refunds for unused rent and utilities for the period from March 12th onwards, when the Covid-19 pandemic meant that most students returned home. Hatch Accommodation services did not issue such a refund. Mr. Fraser reached out to Hatch “in an attempt to see if they would show goodwill in returning students the monies they had already paid.” Unfortunately for students, this has not been the case. According to Mr. Fraser, Hatch has been “disrespectful and a nightmare to deal
with throughout this whole process.” Mr. Fraser recounted the fact that Hatch Accommodation, “dodged his phone calls, emails, texts and Facebook messages.” Hatch Accommodation lists two Cork locations on their website, both within a short proximity to UCC. The company has one other college accommodation service based in Carlow town. Hatch accommodation is a luxury student accommodation service with prices per academic year ranging from €8000 upwards. UCCSU estimated the unused rent and utilities that were owed to students was up to the value of €2700. Mr. Fraser did receive one response from Hatch, but it was vague and noncommittal. Mr. Fraser threatened to publicise their lack of compassion shown towards students. Mr. Fraser explained in his statement that he was quickly pushed aside by Hatch and an offer of a discount of €500 was made to a student, but only on the condition that they “agree to stay there next year.” Mr.
Fraser said that the student understandably declined this offer. However, after a period of time, UCCSU noticed that the same offer was made live on the Hatch Accommodation website, even though the company made this offer seem like it was an “exclusive measure of goodwill.”
sponse or reaction from Hatch. “I’ve reached out multiple times, providing multiple opportunities for Hatch to reconcile. However, it seems like they are still choosing to ignore both students and students’ unions requests” Mr. Fraser said.
In the scathing statement which Mr. Fraser issued on behalf of UCCSU, Hatch Accommodation were said to have “been disrespectful and have shown a severe lack of compassion amidst the pandemic.” Mr. Fraser explained that as a representative of the UCC Student Body, he felt that it was his responsibility to “call them out for said actions” and as such he would “not recommend any student to stay in their residence.”
“Precedent would state that we will not receive a response, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work as hard as we possibly can to ensure students’ rights are fought for. The Students’ Union wants students to know that we’re here for all your concerns and will fight day and night on your behalf.” Mr. Fraser also said that he will “happily” retract the statement, should Hatch “do the right thing” and refund the relevant students.
Mr. Fraser’s statement attracted significant media attention, as he outlined the case and further background to the statement on Cork’s 96FM. When contacted by University Express, Mr. Fraser said that unfortunately, there has been no further development, re-
Should you require assistance with any student’s rights issues, please contact Jamie Fraser, UCCSU Welfare Officer on welfare@uccsu.ie.
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
News
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High Court Case Challenging UCC and CAO Dropped Writes Maebh McCarthy, Deputy News Editor As calculated grades were released by the Department of Education, offers from the Central Applications Office (CAO) were made on Friday September 11th 2020. There was a mixed reaction to these results and subsequent offers, which was exacerbated by a media frenzy, as it was the first ever year of the ‘calculated grades’ process. In terms of UCC undergraduate courses, there are sixty-four level 8 courses on offer. Forty-four of these courses saw points increase, Eleven saw points decrease and just one course’s points were unchanged. Six new or changed courses have been offered for the upcoming academic year. This year, 80% of students received an offer from their top three preferences and 52% received their first preference in the first round, but there has been considerable upset and frustration amongst students nationally at the entire process. Last week saw the highest number of Leaving Cert appeals on record, even though the only appeal that can be made in respect of errors in the transmission and processing of data, not on the merit of the grade. Almost 12,300 students lodged appeals with the Department of Education. An incoming UCC Student, Martha Woods, took a High Court case, on the basis that the standardisation of this year’s grades unjustly impacted on her ambition to pursue a career in dentistry. Ms. Woods, from Enniskeane in West Cork, achieved 613 points in the 2019 Leaving Certificate. Ms. Woods explained that the points rose from 590 to 613 this year to study Dentistry. Even though Ms. Woods satisfied entry requirements to obtain a place on the highly competitive course, it was oversubscribed. The final places were allocated on a random selection for students that had achieved 613 points. In this lottery, she was not offered a place in the first round and initiated judicial review proceedings. Ms. Woods’ case was heard before Mr. Justice Charles Meenan earlier last week, who accepted it was a “very important” issue but he con-
veyed concern regarding the courts’ capacity to accommodate early hearings of a myriad of cases concerning the calculated grades process. As a result, he said that another Dublin based case initiated earlier this week will be the lead case for dealing with issues arising out of the 2020 Leaving Cert process. Pearse Sreenan SC, barrister for Ms. Woods, explained that the grades achieved by the plaintiff in 2019, were assessed against a “completely different” system this year, given the 4.4% grade inflation that occurred. This meant that Ms. Woods was assessed “in the same basket” as applicants, who benefitted from grade inflation. This is a breach of
her entitlement to equality, and an injustice and “imbalance” which the Department of Education, the CAO and UCC have taken no steps to address, he said. In an affidavit presented to the court, Ms. Woods said she expected to obtain a place on this course, given the expectation that the Leaving Certificate results would be standardised and that she had 613 points, when points typically ranged lower for the course. Ms. Woods said she was “shocked and surprised” that points increased so significantly and was very disappointed that she was not offered a place. Though Ms Woods’ “absolute career choice is dentistry” she reluctantly accepted a place in Pharmacy, and would
move to study Dentistry as soon as she could, even if that required reapplying to the CAO next year. However, there has been light at the end of the tunnel for Ms. Woods as the case was heard again on Wednesday September 23rd 2020, following the release of second round offers. When the case returned before the judge today, he was told Ms. Woods has obtained a place on the UCC Dentistry course and was as a result withdrawing her case. More than 1700 students received second round offers for third-level places on Wednesday 23rd September 2020.
News
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Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
Sexual Harassment Experience of Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin Reveals a Pervasive Problem at UCD Writes Maeve McTaggart, News Editor Since early September, a story of sexual harassment against staff and students at University College Dublin, characterised by the alleged lack of action taken by the university to address complaints, has been unraveling across social and mainstream media. Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, a lecturer in STEM at UCD and considered one of Ireland’s best known academics, detailed her experience of workplace harassment by a professorial colleague, Hans-Benjamin Braun, to The Irish Times. Between May 2015 and July 2017, Ní Shúilleabháin would receive unsolicited emails and phone calls, and have her personal and professional meetings repeatedly interrupted by Braun who asked her out on dates and professed his “strong feelings” for her until she reported the incidents to a UCD human resources department. Following multiple reports and a formal complaint Dr Ní Shúilleabháin felt dissuaded from making by UCD, Braun was told to no longer contact her. However, the harassment continued for another year until a Garda investigation began in 2017, a time which Dr Ní Shúillebháin described as nerve-wracking. The investigation culminated in court in late 2019 where Braun was charged with harassment under section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. University College Dublin maintains that it “cannot comment on any individual case” but that the college “takes serious note of the outcomes of these cases to improve the university’s policy and procedure.” It acknowledges the “otherwise avoidable stress” their practice caused Dr Ní Shúilleabháin. In the aftermath of the story publishing, Professor Kathleen JamesChakraborty spoke out in support of Dr Ní Shúilleabháin. She stepped down from UCD’s Gender Equality Action Group in 2019, “because I was not satisfied that the university’s policies on sexual harassment and dis-
crimination were being implemented.” have apologised to Aoibhinn and to othHer notice was given to UCD president er colleagues and students who have sufProfessor Andrew Deeks through email, fered such experiences while in our care.” one to which he did not reply. Minister for Higher Education Simon Dr Marie Keenan, a lecturer at UCD, also Harris consequently tweeted that he was spoke about the level of sexual harass- appointing Dublin Rape Crisis Centre ment disclosed to her and Student Union chief executive Noeline Blackwell to the officers by students, and the lack of ac- Governing Authority of UCD. The Mintion taken by the college when she raised ister did so as a marker of his “intent to the problem throughout 2016. She spoke ensure issues regarding harassment and of a sexual harassment experience sur- promotion of gender equality are repvey students took of their peers in order resented at the highest level within our to prompt action and alleged “the dis- institutions.” turbing results of which they were “advised” were not to be made public.” Ms Blackwell spoke of the efforts already being made at UCD to create a culture The story evolved from an account of an of zero-tolerance to sexual assault and individual, to the exposure of a larger harrassment, but the limited underissue at UCD—one which appeared sys- standing of the issue “is a very damaging temic. Following the revelations, UCD malfunction within university society President Professor Deeks issued a col- and it is damaging to those who have lege-wide statement: “on behalf of UCD I been abused, the institution itself, and
to all of us as a society.” Early 2020 saw the university launch an online Report and Support tool to allow for anonymous reporting of situations of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment. UCD has also made bystander intervention training, an initiative led by Dr Louise Crowley at University College Cork, mandatory for all incoming students. Bystander Intervention training is available to all students at UCC and is built-in to the online orientation taken by first year students. A €5 million package to fund mental health supports and the implementation of the Framework for Consent was announced by Minister Harris last month, and UCC is to lead to the national roll-out of the Bystander Intervention Programme.
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
News
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The Rise of the Far-Right and Anti-Mask Believers Undermine Public Health Message as University Life Resumes Writes Maebh McCarthy, Deputy News Editor
A UCC Lecturer and terrorism expert, Natasha Dromey, has stated that the Government needs to respond “rapidly” to right-wing style violence or else there is a “significant risk” of seeing that type of behaviour becoming “normalised.” Dr Dromey was commenting to the Irish Examiner about a violent disruption outside the Dáil recently when a group clashed with counter-protestors. Gardaí are investigating the assault of vocal LGBT rights and Repeal activist Izzy Kamikaze, who received a head injury.
a variety of banners and signs protesting on a myriad of issues, ranging from anti-vaccines to 5G and mobile phones; but most notably, rejecting the wearing of face coverings intended to protect against COVID-19. A variety of speakers on the day, addressed the crowd present regarding extreme conspiracy theories about Covid-19. These protestors called for an end of “government tyranny” of face coverings and lockdown measures. Simultaneous to the march, a counter-protest took place in the city centre involving healthcare staff and supporters. They advocated adherence to the government’s public health message: encouraging the importance of social distancing, wearing masks correctly and other nationwide safety protocols in the fight against Covid-19.
Dr Dromey, speaking at a security conference said that the “use of dehumanising language coupled with the promotion of narratives based on fear are central to far-right extremism”. She said there is a general upsurge globally and that “a right-wing style extremist approach surrounding A University College Dublin (UCD) acpolitical protest” is becoming - pos- ademic spoke at an anti-mask rally in sibly - an almost daily occurrence. central London at the weekend and told thousands that the coronavirus vaccine In Cork City centre recently, there will “make people sick”. Professor Dowere also a group of protestors with lores Cahill, a former professor of trans-
lational medicine at UCD spoke after Kate Shemirani, a former nurse and the organiser of the event, warned the large crowd against taking a COVID vaccine because “they will be able to look at every aspect of what’s going on in our brains”.
metres cannot be maintained. This includes all academic and extra-curricular activity. It is also mandatory to wear a face covering when visiting Boole Library. There has not been any noted protest from the UCC community regarding the public health Professor Cahill has been a prominent guidelines, released by the Departfigure at anti-lockdown protests in ment of Higher Education to facilDublin and is the chairperson of a Eu- itate a return to third level activity. rosceptic political group called the Irish Freedom Party. University College Dub- However, when Dr Dromey was lin has previously disassociated itself asked if right-wing groups latch on from Prof Cahill’s views on Covid-19. to wider causes, for instance the anti-mask movement, she said: “These Professor Cahill spoke with radio pre- groups are masters at playing into senter, Neil Prendeville, on his Cork’s the fears of the people, so any isRed FM show, where she claimed that sue that seems to be controversial Covid-19 can be cured with Vitamin C or a possible threat to the norm and hydroxychloroquine. This inter- is capitalised by groups like this.” view garnered considerable attention on social media and Cahill was criti- All guidelines and queries relating cised for her anti-public health rhetoric. to the return to campus, pursuant to public health advice, can be found at According to the Covid-19 Informa- https://www.ucc.ie/en/emt/covid19/ tion and Updates section of the UCC website, wearing a mask is required on campus, where a social distance of two
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Features
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
THE TRANSITION FROM SCHOOL TO COLLEGE IT’S OKAY NOT TO HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS Writes Andrea Horgan
Starting college is undoubtedly a nerve-wracking experience. No matter what points you received in your Leaving Cert and even if you accepted the course you thought you were destined to be in, everything is so new and can be associated with feelings of uncertainty, excitement, worry and so on. Looking back now, aged twenty-three (and feeling slightly ancient) I would have laughed in your face if you told me I would be where I am today.
Why? One course change, an abysmal amount of worry, anxiety and almost four years later I can honestly tell you that if I had not made the decision to reapply to the CAO and start an entire new course, I would not be writing this article today. The Leaving Cert comes hand in hand with a substantial amount of pressure to do well, to learn off the facts and get into a good college course. Of
course, when I decided I would take a shot at Medicine, this pressure only grew and mutated with my own fear of wanting to do well. Medicine, Medicine, Medicine. This was ALL I wanted to do, nothing else would suffice. When friends and family advised me to keep my options open and not to put all my eggs into one basket, I merely laughed. I am going to get into this course one way or another, I wouldn’t hear of anything suggesting otherwise! You can imagine my dismay when CAO offers came around and Medicine was but
a dream stretched thin. I thought it was the end of the world. Even more so when I found myself in a course that I knew absolutely nothing about. The year that followed required a lot of tough decisions, plenty of tears, and coming to terms with what I wanted. Going straight into college following the Leaving Cert is tough and a big reality change for many, myself included. I suffered an im-
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
mense amount of anxiety throughout my first year in college. I struggled to make friends and stay on top of my work, many days I just did not see the point of even going into college. The commute is too long, I will have nobody to talk to, I don’t know where my lecture hall is. The list of worries was endless and consumed my every thought. How did I end up doing something I absolutely hated? What do I do? Do I stick it out just to have a degree in three years’ time? A trip to UCC Counselling, a meeting with the firstyear coordinator and a very long discussion with my parents made me realise I did not want to do this course. I was nothing but miserable and suffering with constant anxiety. I knew I wanted to change course. Although I had now decided that Medicine wasn’t the course for me, I knew I always wanted to help people. I later found this in Speech and Language Therapy. Initially, I was torn between staying in a course I hated due to the fear of letting people down and sounding like a complete failure or doing what was right for me. Thankfully, due to the support of my friends and family, I took the plunge and reapplied to the CAO while staying the year in my course and doing my exams (which I somehow managed to pass.) However, it wasn’t all happy days ahead for me just yet. The year I changed course was the year of the new Leaving Cert system, so I was in a constant state of worry, dread, fear, you name it! I had no idea if I was going to get into the course I so desperately wanted, or if I was going to spend the next two years in what felt like never-ending hell for a time. Luckily enough, after what felt like an eternal summer, I accepted my offer into the course I’ll be graduating in June 2021. Who would have thought? Certainly not me!
I felt as though I was starting college all over again and as time grew closer to my (second) orientation day, so too did the fear. What if I hated this course too? What would I do then, drop out a second time? Thankfully, that was not the case. I have had my fair share of tears and doubts over the past three years during my new course in UCC. What I will say, though, is that it was the best decision I have ever made. Not an easy
Features things had gone the way I had anticipated back when I opened that dreaded brown envelope many moons ago. It is okay not to have all the answers right now. It is certainly okay to make mistakes and it’s important to ask for help when you need it. These are the things we are not always told when we start college, oftentimes left to our own devices. Sink or swim. If you sink the first time
“.... To the person reading this right now, you can do whatever you want to do in life. Don’t listen to what others want for you, you have to want it for you. We need to make mistakes in life...” decision, but I am beyond grateful I didn’t let the stereotype of being a “failure” override my thought process when it came to changing course. It sounds pathetically clichéd, but once I found myself in my current college course, I knew straight away I was where I belonged. I immediately began to open up to others and saw everything as an opportunity and a learning experience. I have completely embedded myself in student life, between joining societies, doing Peer Support, being involved in organising events such as the Aphasia café (an event to practice communicating with people with Aphasia, a language disorder following stroke/ brain injury) and so on. It has been the most rewarding experience! I’m now one year away from being in such an amazing, rewarding career that has my heart and lets me help people every single day. Imagine if
around, get back up and start again. If it worked for me, it could work for anybody. You must find your passion in life, for me, that was helping people. For you, it might be the same or it may be teaching, writing, whatever it may be! Once you have your passion, in my eyes that is half the battle and everything else will work itself out one way or another. Although it may not always be the path you envisaged for yourself, I am a firm believer it’s the path for you. To the person reading this right now, you can do whatever you want to do in life. Don’t listen to what others want for you, you have to want it for you. We need to make mistakes in life. Fortunately, my mistake led me to finding my passion in life. I am a completely different person thanks to the decisions I made in my first year
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of college. I adore what I do, and I have come out of my shell in ways I never even dreamed possible for me. All it takes is an ounce of courage to tell somebody “you know what, I made a mistake, and this isn’t for me”. It does not make you a failure, it shows courage, motivation and maturity for admitting what you want in life. It took me an immense amount of time to come to terms with this. Now knowing that I’m on the right career path, I have reflected over the past 4 years which have led me to this moment. Why could I not have just done the research and chose the right course from day one? Truth is, no amount of research would have helped me. I researched the course I was in; I liked the sound of it and thought “why not, what’s the worst that can happen? I already didn’t get into Medicine!”. How naïve I was. Sometimes in life, you must live through certain experiences to come to the realisation of what is meant for you. Despite my harping on that such a difficult year filled with anxiety and uncertainty, I matured in a variety of ways. So much so, that I plucked up the courage to make such a drastic change (or so I thought). As Steve Marboli once said, “We all make mistakes, have struggles and even regrets in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future”. This is a quote that resonates with me. Read it again. You have the power to turn things around. When I felt like a failure in the wrong course, hating my college experience, I simply got up, decided this was not for me and changed my future. Look after your passion and everything else will fall into place.
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Features
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
THE COMPLEX DYNAMICS OF A CLOSE FRIENDS STORY: RECLAIMING PRIVACY IN THE AGE OF OVEREXPOSURE Writes Eoghan O’Donnell, Deputy Features Editor Instagram first implemented the feature of a Close Friends Story back in 2018, at a time when the popularity of Snapchat private stories was skyrocketing and people were beginning to get into the habit of vlogging their lives to a small group of friends. With the introduction of a Close Friends option, people were hesitant: what was this new form of story, which, at the time seemed to have plagiarised the same format as a Snapchat private story? Many people wondered why, and for what reason, Instagram needed to have such a feature. Fast forward to late 2020 and the Close Friends feature on Instagram has seen an enormous rise in popularity. If you and your friends use Instagram regularly, you will likely be in somebody’s Close Friends story, or may even have your own.
being. You obviously add your real life best friends (who are more than likely the same people that have watched you vomit on yourself on a night out). You then must decide how to expand the list - if there is even a need for expansion in the first place.
At the beginning of forming your Close Friends, you will often find yourself trawling through your list of followers asking yourself many questions: What are you going to post? Who do you want to see your posts? Do you add your siblings, or is what you want to post too … NSFFV: not safe for family viewing? For some people this could prove to be an overwhelming moment - you are questioning yourself about who you are truly friends with. Not only this, but you are analysing what it In our current age, it is now easi- is your friends want to see and paner than ever to document any as- icking trying to figure out if they pect of your life to whoever you even want to see anything at all. want - all it takes is a few taps on your phone and the whole world An aspect of this Close Friends feacan know you’re having the best ture which adds to the overall addicstaycation, while those select tive thrill of apps like Instagram is few on your Close Friends can seeing you’ve actually been added see you’ve stubbed your toe and to someone’s Close Friends. Obviare actually hobbling around the ously, it is great being a part of one coasts of Kerry. For many people, of your best friend’s lists and getting there can be complex dynamics to to see even more of their lives, but a Close Friends Story while for seeing that little green circle around others it is simply a place to spam. the icon of somebody you have a This article will deal exclusively friend-crush on or even somebody with Instagram’s Close Friends you have an actual crush on is almost feature but be aware that many too rewarding. For such a simple feaof the same issues examined in ture, it can be so joy inducing. There this article can also be applied to is almost nothing better than seeing the Snapchat Private Story also. new friendships you’ve recently been forming in real life progress to the For those, like me, who over-anal- Close Friends on Instagram stage. yse almost everything, the ini- What is often a gratifying aspect of tial steps to curating your Close the Close Friends story can also someFriends comes down to who you times prove to be awkward - what do want to see, what can sometimes you do and how are you supposed to be, the more gory aspects of your react when you find yourself added to
the Close Friends of somebody you barely know or somebody you don’t actually like all that much? Are you expected to also add them into your story - even if by doing so you feel less comfortable posting what you’d normally have no problem letting your actual close friends see? Another tricky dilemma is knowing when to remove someone - what if you’ve found yourself distancing in real life from someone you once considered yourself close to, or found that one of your friend crushes is not exactly who you expected them to be? Remove, remove, remove? And if they notice they’ve been removed, will they feel hurt? Like you sometimes do when you notice you’ve been removed from a Close Friends. Or, am I simply making too big a
deal out of all this? Does a Close Friends list serve as another means in which social media dominates our lives in a negative way, making us focus on aspects of our existence we would normally not need to? Why do we feel the need to portray, in even more ways to the masses, what we are up to? Are we better off distancing from the all-consuming updates from everyone around us? But maybe it is actually a means for us to gain a sense of intimacy between ourselves and our close friends online? Saying that, maybe one of those social media detox staycations might actually be a good idea? Send your opinions and comments to deputyfeatures@uccexpress.ie
Features:Careers Corner
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
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YOUR GUIDE TO VIRTUAL CAREER FAIRS Writes Elisha Carey, Features Editor
The Coronavirus has made many aspects of life more difficult; our colleges and clubs have closed and moved online, sports, concerts and many other things we do for fun have been cancelled and we even have to queue to do our weekly shop at Lidl, as though its Space Mountain at Disneyland or something...Welcome to the new normal, it’s going to be like this for a while.
pany, and what they’re looking for in CV to the platform as well as a bio and a terms of new recruits (and an equally suheadshot! per opportunity to prove that you have exactly what it is they’re looking for!). Research the Participating Organisations- Go one step further Advantages of Virtual Career Fairs than simply googling the company! Use LinkedIn to network and talk to graduates working in the companies Well prepped- Unlike your average ca- you’re interested in for some deeper reer fairs, at a virtual fair you can have research. Doing this shows great initiacheat notes and prep material out in tive and can also form a talking point Every cloud does indeed have its silver front of you. This way, you can stay fo- when engaging with employers. Take lining, though. I, for one, am glad that cused and make sure that you remem- a look at the Career Services website to it’s now illegal for people to sit too close ber to say and ask everything you want. find a full list of attending companies! to me in cafes, on the bus or in the library and having mostly online lectures gives me flexibility with taking on work Convenient- Generally, it’s unlikely Prepare Your Questions- Asking the hours or going to the gym that I just that you’ll be able to boost your career right questions will help you decide didn’t have before. Just like a lot of your prospects by sitting on your couch at whether the company is a good fit for lectures, the annual round of UCC Ca- home. Virtual career fairs enable you to you. Career fairs are all about gatherreer Services Employability Events have do just that and once it’s over you can go ing information so do yourself justice also been moved online. Virtual career back to scrolling through Insta just like and spend time preparing questions events can reach more people than ever it never happened...The future is now! so that you get the answers you need. before: people with disabilities, those looking after children or even those with simply very busy schedules now have the Efficient & Targeted-With a virtual Practice Your Pitch - Graduateland chance to attend a career event where fair you can seek out and engage with will prompt you to introduce yourself in they may not have before. Moving on- only the companies you want to talk the chat function. Make yourself stand line also eliminates any geographical to: no more being ambushed by a PR out with a short but focused introducboundaries or possible expenses associ- person for a company you’re not in- tion that outlines your main selling ated with attending a career fair. Most terested in with a goodie bag of plastic points. Maybe you have work expericrucially, moving online keeps us all safe. gadgets that you don’t actually need ence in a similar company, top-of-theminutes after arriving or finally reach- class grades or you’re really involved in ing the stall of a company you actual- lots of extra-curriculars. The Careers th ly do want to know more about only to team will host a webinar on the 6 OcHere’s how it all works: find them packing up to leave early. tober to help you prepare your pitch and get the most out of the experience What is a Virtual Career Fair?
Less Stress (More Success)-Connecting with people online removes a lot of stress. You no longer have to worry about whether your handshake was too loose, too tight or too sweaty or if you’re standing up straight enough. Attending from the comfort of your home means avoiding those overwhelming crowds that make hearing the person you’re speaking to very difficult. Large crowds can also be really distracting or off-putting for those with sensory difficulties. This is another example of how moving the career fairs online allows more people to attend.
Virtual Career Fairs are where students and graduates meet with employers to discuss employment opportunities. Career Services will be holding the inaugural UCC Virtual Recruitment Fair on the 12th of October on the Graduateland platform and registration is now open for students to begin building their profiles on the platform. The main form of communication on Graduateland is 1-to1 messaging. Employers can also launch a video call with you through the chat function and if a company posts interview slots, you can book in and join a video call. Each company will have their own FAQ section to help you focus your quesBefore the Fair tions better before you enter a chat with an employer. These chats are a super op- Register ahead of time, upload your portunity to learn more about the com-
of it in a notebook. If you’ve made the most out of your virtual career fair experience, you’ll have more information than you’ll know what to do with. Take a particular note of names so that you can connect with employers or grad recruiters on LinkedIn after the fair or name drop them in future interviews…
After the Fair During the Fair Use Professional Language-Communication during the fair will be done primarily through the chat function of the platform. It’s important to demonstrate strong written communication skills because these will be important for any job you might end up in! Double check your spelling and grammar and make sure not to use emojis. This is not the time to break out the winky and smiley face emojis! Dress professionally in case you are invited to have a video call.
Take Notes- In order to remember everything you’ve learned, keep track
Follow Up- It’s good practice to reach out the next day with a thank you if you particularly enjoyed speaking with someone or if you found them really helpful. Both students and employers will have access to the Graduateland platform for a month after the fair. This is the perfect opportunity for further network building and who knows where it’ll lead...
You can find more information about the Virtual Recruitment Fair and the Prepare for the Fair Event on the UCC Career Services’ website: www.ucc.ie/en/careers/
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Opinion
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
Killing Our Heroes Writes Tadhg MacCionnaith
How we treat notable personalities, as individuals and as a society, has been a topic which has reared its head in 2020 time and time again. From stories surrounding politicians to influencers to statues, now is a good time to examine our relationship with fame and those we idolise. What is a hero? Why do we create them? And at what cost? To answer the first question we’ll be having a euro-centric look back at what traditionally constitutes a hero, the concepts that underlie and form the basis of our modern relationship to those we put on pedestals. Firstly are the ideas of greatness and renown, or Arete and Kleos respectively as they were known to the Greeks. Arete, more accurately meaning potential, reflects who you are and what you are capable of, your defining characteristics. Kleos, sometimes translated as glory, comes from the practical application of Arete; a hero can earn recognition through their achievements, their wider impact, the flaws they struggle with and circumstances they endure. Of course what is expected of “heroes” differs from Ancient Greece to now but the purpose behind them is arguably the same; to inspire us in a particular way with their stories of overcoming adversity and how they shaped the world in which we live. How real these heroes and their achievements are being besides the point. For the Greeks who put this style of categorisation together the morality of the hero or the ethics of their actions weren’t really the most pressing concerns unless they somehow contravened the will of the gods. These heroes are meant to act as examples of ability and importance for a group more than anything else and crop up in national epics all over the place, including Ireland’s very own Ulster and Fianna cycles with the likes of Cú Chulainn and Fionn MacCumhaill. The idea of heroes setting a virtuous example, one people are encouraged to expressly imitate, is embodied particularly well by the Christian idea of a saint. At its most basic a saint merely refers to someone who has guaranteedly gained admission to heaven when they die. The Church however has turned it into a much bigger deal simply by virtue of introducing criteria like saints having to perform miracles: which arguably demonstrates the Arete of having
God’s favour and the Kleos of performing an otherwise impossible feat. Saints are also said to embody particular roles or approaches the faithful should have in situations. A notable criticism of Catholicism is the near deity-like status afforded to these individuals. So what do the “heroes” get out of it? With both saints and the more traditional heroes I’d argue the answer is immortality. In some cases the interpretation is very literal, with apotheosis and eternal salvation being the fates of Heracles and St. Patrick respectively. Where it becomes less literal is where it becomes more relevant to us in modern times; but even in what is argued to be the myth of the first ever hero, Gilgamesh, we see Gilgamesh decide he will achieve his immortality in the minds of people and in the eyes of history. The same rings true for the likes of Cú Chulainn and Achilles. The same,
I’d argue, rings true in modern times. We all have potential to be realised, we all have acts which are worthy of praise. We all strive for recognition, it is arguably part of why credit for work is deemed so important and plagiarism is so taboo; you’re interfering with someone’s legacy. That legacy is their immortality so to speak, the record of their skill and achievements in the short time they are here. Legacies, however, are extremely dangerous in that they can be weaponized. Icons are associated with ideas or themes; philanthropy, justice, vengeance, innovation, resistance, etc. Figures like Bill Gates offer very clear inspiration for many in the world today; think of Gates and you probably associate him with his philanthropy or how he helped get Microsoft off the ground rather than criti-
cisms. To be somebody’s hero however is to be put on a pedestal; many of us can probably recall the regard we held our parents in when very young along with the ultimately meaningless schoolyard fights as to whose were better. Pedestals are what separate “heroes” from the rest of us, what makes up such a hero’s pedestal can be of their own creation or not. The statue commissioned by a town, the building named by a university, the foundation set up by the individual themselves; all of these serve to raise someone to a near unassailable level. It is this unassailability that is problematic. The quest for legacy, along with the influence or power that accompanies it, isn’t necessarily selfish but it is deeply tied to the character of the individual themselves. Their personality, beliefs, other goals and accomplishments. We’re all human and nobody is perfect but a pedestal serves to remove this human element. You stop being a person, you are now an intangible goal or example. The idea that any one person could be responsible for leading a group to greatness is laughable, but even the appeal of it could render people blind to the issues they would usually find in such an individual; the current US Presidential election displays this very clearly. Another great example would be the likes of Winston Churchill, far more familiar to many as an indomitable statesman responsible for fending off the Nazis than as an aristocratic drunkard partially responsible for the Bengal Famine. The legacies of politicians, scientists, business-people, pop-culture names, are all susceptible to being twisted and presented in a particular way all while being pushed beyond reproach. While people can be very zealous in trying to hold such people to account, it is necessary that they do. Simply put we need to re-examine how we relate to the famous and influential, acknowledging their fallibility and fundamental humanity as well as their achievements and ability. We must be more critical as a society of the media we consume knowing that spectacle is generated around these figures. We have to destroy the pedestals we put even the most benign figures on. This is what it means to kill your heroes and it isn’t a painless process; it would apply to even the fighters of 1916 and others we conventionally hold in high esteem. Rather than identifying wholesale with those whose lives and minds we can never truly know, let’s instead skip the middleman and associate more with the ideals these people supposedly embody.
Opinion
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
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In Defense of Un-Productivity Writes Rían Browne, Opinion Editor
It’s Wednesday afternoon, I’ve gotten through today’s ‘to-do’s’ sooner than expected and now I’ve a hunk of free time at my disposal. Finally, I can spend the time I’d usually spend scrolling through Twitter and TikTok, minus the guilt! Then the idea of getting a head start on tomorrow’s to-do’s crosses my mind, it makes sense, it’ll give me more free time to... get a head start on Friday. So many head starts, why then, do we often feel like we’re falling behind or struggling to ‘catch up’? Speaking with friends nine times out of ten the response to ‘how’re you doing?’ is usually followed by an exasperated sigh followed by any ‘stressed’, ‘tired’ or ‘up the walls’. I am massively guilty of this too. I’m chronically busy at the best of times but I’ve come to notice that this is not because there’s a need to be but rather because I feel compelled to do so. I am incredibly guilty of taking on tasks and projects to fulfill that compulsion. Oftentimes it serves as a way to offset the guilt that arrives when comparing ourselves to how others project their lives and their ‘business’, to distract ourselves from something much deeper that we’d rather not attend to - or both. At the
foundation of it all, I’ve discovered, is a deeper connection between our notion productivity and our concept self worth. Within capitalist society it’s ingrained in us that our worth as human beings is dependent upon the value we produce. The only justification for down time or what would be considered laziness is when you’ve reached your absolute limit (cue, burnout) otherwise you should just use your time to produce more value. An obvious example of this is traditional employment. If you don’t have an upstanding job with good pay that affords you the fantastic life to go with it we’re told we’re just not trying hard enough. The solution? Assume personal responsibility, work harder and do better. This narrative of putting in the ‘work’ is partially true, if you want to become a chef, you need to put in the hours to learn your craft. But, it’s disingenuous to assume that there aren’t other social factors such as gender, race or socio-economic status at play. If you’re working class you’re less likely to be able to access the same opportunities as those who are better off due to limited access to the right institutions and social networks. If you’re a woman trying to enter a heavily male dominated field - it’s even more difficult. No amount of ‘hard work’ is
going to break down the systemic inequalities preventing your progression. But, our notion of productivity spills over beyond the realm of employment and into our personal lives too and can be deeply connected to our notion of self worth. This is most evident in how we measure our ‘free’ time and what actions are most valuable to spend it on. In recent months we’ve all found ourselves with a little extra time on our hands and many folks embraced the opportunity by taking up new hobbies - running, baking, crafting. Our approximation of how ‘worthwhile’ our endeavours are often come from our understanding of how ‘valuable’ they are within the context of our society, particularly in terms of how commodifiable they are. Take creating art for instance. ‘Oh I used to love painting as a kid but I could never do it now, I’m not anywhere good enough’ is probably a sentiment many of us have probably come across, from ourselves or friends. Oftentimes when we try to define something as ‘good’ it’s usually in terms of its value within a capitalistic context (rather than our own joy or accomplishment). We are often quick to dismiss the product of our time, even if it has a personal benefit for our own happiness or well being, if we feel it’s not
‘worth’ something in a capitalistic sense. Our interests and pursuits can be ‘good’ in the sense that they make us feel fulfilled and bring us joy. We need to challenge this notion within ourselves when it arises. This is easier said than done of course, it requires a certain amount of self awareness and the luxury of having any free time in the first place. That being said, we needn’t be riddled with guilt when we find ourselves with nothing to do, nor let that guilt or compulsion manipulate us into going against our own self interest of wellbeing in the name of productivity. This isn’t to say this is a copout of missing your essay deadlines or putting off your to-do list. But rather, turning how we approach our time and intention on its axis. As humans, we only have the capacity for handling so much. Our justification for taking time to ourselves should not have to be that we’re at the edge of our tether. We have a responsibility to ourselves and our own wellbeing to set boundaries so that in turn we can be the best version of ourselves when we *do* embark on new projects and, to make time for endeavours that are just for ourselves and our own enjoyment.
BYLINE Vol. 6 Issue 2
PACING FORWARD
Editorial
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Waiting For Lift-off Writes Fergal Smiddy, Byline Editor
As I begin writing this Editorial, the 2020 Freshers issue of the Express is already behind us, but there is a certain feeling in the air that things are still waiting to begin. For most of you reading this, the Express’ seeming obsession with Freshers issue probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, so I’ll do my best to explain: The Freshers issue is the first edition of the Express that comes out each academic year. It’s shorter than most issues - twenty-four pages as opposed to forty - and more casual in tone, providing an opportunity for the new editorial team to make their first introductions with - and impressions on - who will be their readership for the year. Traditionally, the Freshers issue is included in all Fresher Packs, handed out physically (our newfound covid-consciousness perishes the thought) to new students on their Orientation Day, and acts as the first point of contact between new students and the opportunity of contributing to student media. Due to reasons already so fatigued in popular discussion that repeating them now feels the equivalent of CPR-ing the proverbial dead horse back to life only to start bating him all over again, we could not go feasibly to print with the Freshers issue, nor this one. So, what you are currently reading is our second issue of the year, but in actual fact, it still feels as though we are waiting for lift-off. It’s not until those papers arrive in their plastic-strapped bundles; piled up in the common room waiting to be rushed to their various vantage points around campus that the University Express will make, in my mind, its full and absolute comeback as a campus paper. Until that time comes, we appreciate you sticking with us and taking a look through these digital issues. Whatever about method of publication, one thing that can be assured is that the strength of our content this year has by no means faltered; and yet again, the team has put together an amazing volume of Byline for you. Fionn Kelleher conducts a phenomenal and fragility-baring interview with Dublin producer Marcus Woods, which inspires the cover for this issue. Arts & Literature Editor Imasha Costa takes us inside the My Generation art project launched on Cork Culture Night; and Julie Landers brings us along for an ambient, socially-distanced night at the Kino, as Cork bastions of punk Pretty Happy perform their farewell gig. As always, submissions, pitches, comments and criticisms of what you read in Byline are always more than welcome - the email address of each Editor can be found inside the first page of this paper (however, if your criticism is just kind of sad and not the type of thing you can say publicly without sounding needlessly negative so you broadcast it through an anonymous Twitter account.... maybe keep that one to yourself). Thank you all for the continued support and please enjoy our fantastic second volume of Byline.
Fergal Smiddy
byline@uccexpress.ie
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In This Together
Gaeilge
Eagarthóir: Édith de Faoite
G’way ya cábóg! – Tionchar na Gaelainne ar Bhéarla Chorcaí
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Colún na Réaltaí Scríobhann Gan Ainm
scríobhann Seán Ó hUallacháin, Scríbhneoir Gaeilge dtagann sé ón nGaelainn ‘beannú’. ‘Give her the binoo and let’s bate home!. 5. Cawhake - Má chuireann tú an cawhake ar rud éigint, tá tú ag cur stop le cúrsaí. Síltear go dtagann an nath seo ón nGaelainn ‘cá théadh’, sa tslí is go ndéarfá le duine éigint cá bhfuilid ag dul. ‘The bouncer took my brother’s ID off me and that really but the cawhake on things’ 6. To have mass in - Tagann an ceann seo ón bhfocal ‘meas’ agus an brí atá aige ná go bhfuil rud an-thábhachtach duit. ‘She has a lot of mass in it god love her’. 7. Pisawn - Ón bhfocal ‘padhsán’. Duine beag lag a bhíonn ag gearán fé chúrsaí an tsaoil an t-am ar fad. De ghnáth ní bhíonn an-mheas ag daoine ar thuairim an phadhsáin. ‘Sure don’t mind him, he’s only a pisawn’ Tuigimid uilig go rí-mhaith gur scaip an Béarla ar fud an domhain nuair a bhí impireacht na Breataine ag iarradh pobail áitiúla a chur fé chois. Mo léan, de dheascaibh thionchar na himpireachta agus cúrsaí staire i gcoitinne, fuair an Béarla an lámh in uachtar ar an nGaelainn i mbeagnach gach áit in Éirinn. B’fhéidir go bhfuil an Ghaelainn imithe ó chathair Chorcaí le fada, ó thaobh teanga mhór cumarsáide ar aon chuma, ach ní hé sin le rá ná bíonn cogar Gaelainne le cloisteáil go fóill ar bhéalaibh na ndaoine sa chathair. Sa liosta seo, caithfimid sracfhéachaint ar roinnt des na nathanna a úsáidimid i gCorcaigh a thagann ón nGaelainn. (Muna bhfuil tú i do Chorcaíoch ó dhúchas, beidh ort na nathanna seo a léamh i d’intinn mar dhuine des na Young Offenders) 1. To throw a stailc - Iasacht is ea an ceann seo, dar ndóigh. Tá cúpla brí ag an bhfocal seo sa Ghaelainn, ach sé is brí leis sa Bhéarla ná gearán nó tantrum. ‘Not to mind that he was snapping over the restaurant I picked, he
threw a stailc then because they weren’t serving drink’. 2. To have a grá for - Ní Béarla Chorcaí é seo, ach Béarla na hÉireann. Iasacht díreach ón nGaelainn is ea an ceann seo aríst. Tá sé go deas simplí, grá a bheith agat do rud éigint, nó duine éigint. ‘She’s always had a grá for the portar!’ 3. He’s a right cábóg - Duine dúr nó eejit ceart is ea cábóg. Ní bhíonn mórán céille ag na daoine seo, is deirimise leat go bhfuil neart cábóga i gCorcaigh! Úsáidtear an nath seo ar an gcaoi céanna go ndeirtear an focal ‘langer’, focal nach dtagann ón nGaelainn, gurb eol dom. Chloisfeá an ceann seo aríst is aríst eile agus tú i mbun cómhra le Corcaíoch. ‘In Cork he’d be known as a langer!’ 4. To give the binoo - Beannacht atá i gceist le binoo. Meastar go
8. To have a tuck in your heart Ceann an-choitianta is ea ‘tuck’. Tagann sé ón bhfocal ‘tocht’. Is minic go gcloisfeá Corcaíoch ag caint fé rud a mhúsclaigh brón iontu agus lámh amháin fáiscthe lena n-ucht acu. ‘Jesus, did you see that aul fella on Nationwide talking about his wife who passed away? I actually had a tuck in my heart after it.’ Níl sa liosta seo ach cúpla sampla. Bíonn blúiríní beaga Gaelainne fós le clos ar bhruacha na Laoi, is cosúil. Fiú muna bhfuil fhios ag muintir na háite cad as a dtagann a gcuid saibhreas teangain. Le blianta anuas, feicimid go bhfuil níos mó suime ag daoine sa Ghaelainn ná mar a bhíodh tráth, daoine óga ach go háirithe. Mo chreac is mo chás, níl féidir le gach éinne dul thar n-ais chun an Ghaelainn a fhoghlaim. Ar aon chuma, is féidir linn na nathanna Gaelacha seo a choimeád beo inár gcuid cainte chun taispeáint do dhaoine go bhfuil ár dteanga fhéin againn, is nach amháin sa Ghaeltacht a mhaireann sí.
Iompróir an Uisce - Aquarius Tá tú i ngrá. Is fuath linn tú. Na hÉisc - Pisces Beidh Seachtain na bhFreisir mór agat, agus beidh tú go hiomlán briste ina diadh. An Reithe - Aries Níl Tinder chun an folús i do shaol a líonadh. An Tarbh - Taurus Scar leo, tá leadrán orainn go léir. An Cúpla - Gemini Ní hionann ag scríobh faoi dhuine ar UCC Confessions agus cliúsaíocht. Fás suas. An Portán - Cancer Níl tú chun cáil a bhaint amach ar TikTok - stop anois, níl tú an chéad Charli eile. An Leon - Leo Níl suim acu ionat. Bog ar aghaidh. An Mhaighdean - Virgo Tá Hot Girl Summer thart, ullmhaigh le haghaidh Cuffing Season. An Mheá - Libra Ní chaoinfidh tú ar do bhreithlá i mbliana don chéad uair riamh. Comhghairdeas. An Scairp - Scorpio Níl an bhosca Amber Leaf chun do fhadhbanna a réiteach, ach ba cheart duit é a cheannach ar aon nós. An Saighdeoir - Sagittarius Glan do sheomra. Ól uisce. Tá tú déistineach. An Gabhar - Capricorn Stop ag rómánsú do shaol, cónaíonn tú ar Bhóthar an Choláiste.
INTERVIEW
18
“I got used to this feeling of ‘Everything’s gone’”: Marcus Woods interviewed By Fionn Kelleher, Music Writer
“I’m a perfectionist with my music,” states Ryan Cullen, the man behind the moniker of Marcus Woods, as we speak to each other remotely in the comfort of our bedrooms. “I won’t be happy with it unless every single detail is there. I need everything to keep pacing forward.” ‘Pacing forward’ perfectly captures both Woods’s creative process, and how the Dublin-based artist overcame adversity during the production of Self-Portrait. Woods’s inaugural full-length release is a ten-track album featuring collaborations from Silent Ghost and Cork-based Actualacid, painting a relatable picture of an anxious mind and a constant struggle with self-identity. Starting out as a lo-fi producer, Woods’s musical style has since evolved into an ethereal, ambient affair. “I stopped doing lo-fi because I felt it was too monotonous. I felt I didn’t have freedom within that genre to experiment. Reaching out and listening to new artists and producers really inspired me.” Self-Portrait marks a focal point in Woods’s sound. 16 months of work, many revisions, and a blizzard of artistic destruction shaped the final iteration of Self-Portrait. “My girlfriend always calls me impulsive,” a sentiment accepted by Woods himself. “That helps stem inspiration because I’m open to new things.”
As a full-time media student stuck in a job he loathed, the breadth of Woods’s personal responsibilities soon took hold of his life. “All of a sudden everything burnt out. I came crashing down,” explains Woods. “I remember walking to college one day and I had two cans of Monster in my bag. One of the cans opened with my laptop in the bag. The whole laptop crashed for three days. At first I was scared because I had so much work on the laptop and I didn’t back it up.” Luckily, the laptop showed signs of life and he could recover his work. In a mo-
ment of fleeting madness, however, Woods consciously deleted everything he’d done. “I got used to that feeling of ‘Everything’s gone, I have to start fresh.’ I went on and skimmed through the projects, and I just deleted them and didn’t think about it. It just sort of happened.” Asking if he regretted what he did in hindsight, Woods confidently replied, “I look back now and I’m really happy that I was able to start fresh. I find beauty in art that destroys itself. My way of working is when I’m working on my next project, I need to destroy what was before and build off that again.”
The final product is a constantly evolving soundscape of lush synths and samples, but that wasn’t the intention at the start. “There were some ambient elements but most of it was processed drums and samples, loud clipping and hard distorted noises,” Woods says about the initial version of the album, the remnants of which can be heard in the album’s second track and first single, ‘Repose Tactics’. “I took a step back and said hang on, this isn’t me at the moment. It would’ve been a very angry album.” Not only did the final sound go through drastic change, but so did the final form and structure. “There were a ton of people I was trying to get on this project and had plans to make tracks with,” name-dropping artists such as Fomorian Vein and Happyalone. Self-Portrait almost manifested as a twenty-track album with half the tracks bringing in other talent from the Irish music scene. “But then it came to me: Don’t drop a twenty-track album because nobody will listen to it. If I dropped a twenty-tracker it easily would’ve been nearly two hours,” Woods says about the album which comes in at just under 45 minutes in length. “I’m still working with people at the moment and hope to drop a few singles or an EP, but I think 7-10 collaborations and a 20-track album wouldn’t have worked. I guess I’ll never know.”
19 Woods and his long-time friend and musical collaborator, Silent Ghost, spent most of their time in the studio from December to January. Silent Ghost worked on polishing the final mix and master of each track, though the two spent a lot of time recording pieces of music together, too. After asking how ‘BCBCF2’ came about, Woods told me “It stemmed from absolutely nowhere. We have this amazing chemistry. While we make completely different music, we meet at that middle point and we know
by Actualacid, which formed the base of the track. “The way he pitched it was like this sheer screaming. It was strange. I don’t know what kind of emotion we were trying to evoke. It was this extremely unsettling moment mid-way through the album. It comes straight in your face with no warning and no fading. You just hear this screaming sample of Ariana Grande and this and this empty, dark synth and then straight into ‘BCBCF2’.” Self-Portrait is more than just a collec-
Whelan’s alongside Silent Ghost. “We’re planning a lot of lights, visuals, smoke machines and strobes. We want people to walk in and walk out and think ‘What the fuck did I just see?’ I want people to not know what to think about it. I don’t want it to be myself and Silent Ghost on the stage doing bits. I want this to be an experience.” In the space of time after the album was mastered and ready to be unveiled, Woods collaborated with visual artists Colm Cahalane of Irish collective Hausu, and Demon Sanctuary who produced a visual response to The 1975’s Notes On A Conditional Form to create the music videos for ‘Repose Tactics’ and ‘BCBCF2’ respectably. As a global pandemic rages on and continues to affect every aspect of our society, I was interested in Woods’s opinion on how the Irish music scene will progress into the future. “The artists are doing the most they can, if not, they’re pulling more than they should be. It’s great to see, but it’s on the industry to step up their game and help us progress. People compare us to the UK all the time, but can we really be compared to them? The music is above par, the music isn’t the thing that’ll hold us back. Ireland and the government need to focus on helping Irish music come to fruition and be on par with the UK.”
exactly what we need to do.” The track took less than five minutes to produce, with Silent Ghost manning a guitar hooked up to a bunch of reverb and loop pedals, and Woods leveraging Kontakt by Native Instruments to create a modulated rising synth with a pad underneath. Previously collaborating with Actualacid to produce ‘Smith’ earlier this year, it was natural for Woods to bring him on the record. “Getting Actualacid on the record was really cool. We started working on Smith around this time last year, and we finally got it finished a few months ago right before the release.” The track features a sample of ‘Imagine’ by Ariana Grande processed
tion of music as we see collaborations with a number of visual artists on the project. With the successful funding of Self-Portrait’s vinyl release on Kickstarter, Woods explains the idea behind the colouring book he’s sending out with each order. “I saw what The 1975 did with their music videos. They reached out to different independent visual artists who responded to each track. I thought this is a really cool idea, why don’t I reach out to Irish artists and get them to draw their response to each track? So, for each track there’s a drawing by an Irish artist.” The visual element extends further than a colouring book, with Woods gearing up to perform a live show next year at
Wrapping up our conversation and awaiting the screening of RTÉ’s documentary on Irish hip-hop, I asked Woods if he had any words of wisdom for any newcomers to the Irish music scene. “I know it’s cliché, but you have to be yourself. Don’t try to copy something someone else is doing, because it’ll be out of style by the time you put it out. If you’re going to make it, you want to create that sense of individuality. At the same time, if you don’t feel confident releasing something, don’t release it. You don’t have to be put under this pressure.” Self-Portrait is out now on all major streaming platforms, as well as on Bandcamp where you can buy and download the highest-quality digital release. As of the time of publishing, Marcus Woods is getting ready to perform a live show at Whelan’s, Dublin, in April 2021.
Food and Health
20
Meatless Mondays – A New (Academic) Year’s Resolution Writes Lauren Ní Fhloinn, Food & Health Writer
As the beginning of the 2020/21 academic year draws near, students across UCC are undoubtedly filled with fresh resolve and good intentions for the semester ahead. “This year I promise I won’t tearfully scramble to submit my assignments at 23:59, or drink so much Peach Schnapps that I start performing my karaoke rendition of I Will Always Love You at prinks!” Another possible resolution for those on the road to selfimprovement is the challenge to commit to Meatless Mondays for the semester. Reducing your consumption of animalderived products is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint. While systematic change at the highest level is needed to truly tackle climate change, every individual also has a part to play. With growing obesity figures, and studies showing that Irish people don’t eat enough fibre, eating a colourful array of fruits, vegetables, beans and pulses can help to improve your health at the same time. And Meatless Mondays is the perfect place to start! The Meatless Mondays Campaign started in the United States in 2003 as a public health initiative encouraging people to make a healthier choice for themselves and for the planet, one day per week. It has since spread across the globe, being introduced in UCC’s Main Rest a number of years ago to great furore. Many felt attacked, that their personal liberties were under siege and
that their chicken roll lunches were in grave danger. That was not the goal. The goal of Meatless Mondays was simply to raise awareness about the positive impact that a plant-based diet can have on the environment, and to encourage people to include more plants in their eating regime. It was by no means an effort to shame meat eaters, or to eradicate meat from UCC campus. So why did people react so negatively? There is a stereotype that vegans, and to a lesser degree, vegetarians, feel superior and look down their noses at anyone who has ever chomped chorizo or munched a meatball. But Meatless Mondays was not an attempt to preach, scold, or wag the finger. It was just a gentle reminder that making a slight change in your diet, even for one day per week, can have a positive impact on the environment and your health. Vegan and vegetarian food doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, even the most enthusiastic carnivores probably already have some vegetarian recipes in their arsenals without realising it. Pesto pasta, saviour of students everywhere, is a wonderfully simple meal to prepare for Meatless Mondays (and to polish off on Tuesdays!). Here is a more colourful take on this classic budget dinner:
PESTO PASTA WITH ROAST VEGETABLES Ingredients: • Pasta – Penne, fusilli, linguine – the choice is yours! • Pesto – Red or green, whatever floats your boat. I recommend buying fresh pesto, which can be found in the refrigerated aisle in the supermarket and is often produced in Ireland. It will be a little more expensive than the pesto in a jar on the shelf, and will have a best before date, but the payoff in taste is worth it. Vegan pesto (minus the parmesan) is also widely available. • Vegetables – You can use anything you have in your cupboard, but some favourites of mine for this dish include tomatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, courgettes and aubergines. • Pine nuts – Used as a garnish, these add a lovely crunch and subtle nutty taste to the dish. They can be expensive, so feel free to leave them out or to substitute another nut of your choice. • Spinach – Another optional garnish
and good source of iron, roughly chopped spinach leaves stirred into the warm pasta will gently wilt and add a rich, peppery taste. Method: • Pick two or three types of vegetable, or more if you’re feeling ambitious. Slice or cube your vegetables to your desired size (the smaller you cut them the quicker they’ll cook). • Toss the vegetables in some cooking oil, season with some salt and pepper and roast in an oven at 180°C. Bear in mind that some vegetables, such as carrots for example, can take longer to cook than others. Shake them every 10 minutes or so to ensure they’re cooked evenly. Generally, the vegetables should be cooked within 20 to 30 minutes. • Cook your pasta, referring to the cooking guide on the side of the packet. • Strain the pasta and add as much pesto to it as you want. Mix well. • Add the vegetables and sprinkle in some pine nuts/stir in some spinach (both optional) and enjoy!
Editor: Maeve O’Keeffe
21
Eating Well for Less: The savvy student’s guide to meal planning writes Maeve O’Keeffe, Food & Health Editor When we think about our diets, there is a tendency to think of health, convenience and affordability as totally separate terms, with little or no overlap. When asked to think of healthy food, one may conjure up images of colourful açai bowls, guacamole toast or salad bowls, served with an invigorating smoothie; a virtuous treat which costs a small fortune compared to what you can prepare yourself at home. Conveniencewise, the obvious solution is the beloved takeaway or Deliveroo, or even a speedy frozen pizza; despite the fact that none of these options are particularly healthy or cheap. When it comes to eating on a budget, the universal student experience is beans on toast, night after night, a monotonous penance for spending too much on takeaway coffees or alcohol.
be, take preventative measures to save cash. Meal planning should help with this, but simple tricks like bringing a packed lunch, a reusable water bottle, a flask of coffee, and a bag of raisins or nuts can also help prevent you from straying toward more expensive convenience options to keep hunger at bay. 4. Sharing the cooking responsibilities between housemates by establishing a rotating dinner duty is another innovative way to cut down on costs and waste, as most recipes are designed for more than one person anyway. This may not work for everyone, but give it a try with your housemates sometime, particularly if your schedule is more flexible this year due to limited campus time. This is also a great way to strengthen the comradery and craic of living together in college. Simply gathering together over dinner each evening can become a nice ritual, and a fun way to try out new recipes.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way. With a little planning and preparation, it is possible to eat nutritiously without letting it consume all of your time and money. If you’re struggling to manage your finances in college, UCC has an excellent general budgeting advisory service and web page which is well worth a look. When it comes to food though, here is a handy guide to saving on food in college, without compromising on taste, nutrition or convenience. 1. The first and most important tip to save money on food in college is planning your meals. It may seem a bit unnecessary, but trust me, it is worthwhile to spend a few minutes each week plotting what you will eat for each meal, from breakfast to supper, with snacks in between. Factor in leftovers, how busy you’ll be on each day, and special occasions where you might treat yourself to a meal out. 2. Once your meal plan is complete, you should draw up a shopping list for your weekly shop. Convenience grocery stores often have heightened prices compared to regular supermarkets, so making time for a trip to the supermarket once a week rather than taking frequent unnecessary visits to Centra is preferable to your budget. Be disciplined with your shopping list,
and try to avoid being swayed by flashy special prices on junk food. Check the use-by-date on products, remembering that reduced prices are typically placed on products nearing their use-by-date. There is no issue with this, just be sure that you’re not buying something only to throw it out a few days later.
3. Identify instances where you spend money on food without any previous planning. Perhaps you often end up staying late in the library and stock up on chocolate peanuts and cans of Monster from the Student Centre, or maybe you can’t resist splashing out on a coffee when out and about with friends. Whatever the situation may
5. Saving money saves waste too, which is so important as Ireland is guilty of generating more than one million tonnes of food waste every year. For this reason, try and get creative with leftovers as opposed to simply dumping scraps. For instance, leftover rice can be transformed into eggfried rice with vegetables, and there are dozens of pasta bakes to use up any other leftovers you have, giving them a new lease of life. Ultimately, the key to saving on food in college is adjusting your mindset towards cooking for yourself. Sometimes it can feel mundane to stay in and eat what you have, particularly leftovers, but this doesn’t need to be the case. Try to take pleasure in what you cook; it can actually become a comforting way to unwind, without the guilt of a takeaway or eating out.
Film & T.V.
22
The Decline of the American Sitcom: Goodbye Sitcom Season writes Kyran Leahy, Film & TV Editor
Let us have a look at the most popular TV sitcoms that everyone was watching ten years ago: You had the standard series like Friends; The Office; How I Met Your Mother and shows like Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory that were growing ever more popular day by day.These shows are cemented in pop culture and were a big part of the ‘00s and the ‘10s. They are classics. Now let us look at the sitcoms that everyone watches nowadays for a mindless break: Friends; The Office; How I Met Your Mother... you get the point. The truth is, the art of the situational comedy - or sitcom - is dying, and has slowly died throughout the last decade. Why look at a new sitcom on the telly when we are more inclined to hear Ross say “take thee, Rachel” for the umpteenth time? When I talk about the traditional sitcom, I mean the American ones. The ones which revolve around an ensemble cast, with characters of equal importance getting up to random escapades in front of a live audience; or in a studio with some
god-awful laugh track, and have almost too many episodes to watch. Whether it was a family show or a mockumentary, they all shared similarities, and they are scarce in the modern day. Before, everyone and their dogs would be glued to the screen, soaking in the drama, comedy and emotion. Now, the most you get is someone spouting a reference from a show that is older than them. In the past few years, we have said goodbye to some of the longest running sitcoms of the century. Sitcoms that were around when most of us were in primary school and yet remain iconic. Modern Family; The Middle and New Girl were some of the brilliant shows that have ended, along with The Big Bang Theory. These shows were very popular, and they all ended in quick succession of each other. They left their own legacies, and really needed their replacement shows to hit it out of the park and attempt to match their success. That did not happen, and it does not look like it will either.
Late September running into early October is the ideal time for a sitcom to be released. You look at the long-lasting shows of Friends; Cheers; Frasier; HIMYM, and they were all released in the Autumnal period, when everyone sat down on the couch to flick on their telly. Even the trend-setting classic I Love Lucy premiered 69 years ago on October 15th this year. Everyone still sits down and watches the telly - even more frequently now - but they will not watch some new sitcom on Sky or Fox. Everyone just wants to binge a show nowadays, and that is where the downfall began, and why there were so few shows announced for release in Autumn of this year and the year prior. The likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime do not release many shows like the traditional sitcom. Instead, they focus more on dramas. They know that casual viewers prefer to be drawn in by a serious show or an educational documentary to pass the time nowadays. Netflix’s priority when it comes to sitcoms is to get all the golden
ones on their service, while milking as much out of revived series such as Arrested Development and the Full House follow-up: Fuller House. Tina Fey’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Ashton Kutcher’s The Ranch are some of the few to find success as original sitcoms of the streaming era while the others seem to easily falter. Friends is a kingpin in the sitcom market. It gets watched just because it’s Friends, and Netflix has it at its disposal. Do you really think Netflix would advertise and spend a lot of money on an original sitcom like The Big Show Show when it already has some of the biggest sitcoms on offer? Not a chance. With streaming taking over as the main form of television, if your show is not on it then survival is rare. The number of sitcoms cancelled in the past two years is staggering. Matt LeBlanc’s latest sitcom, Man with A Plan, got canned by demand after four seasons. The Goldbergs’ spin-off series, Schooled, failed the ratings test. The Big Bang Theory’s spin-off, Young Sheldon, is bathing in
Editor: Kyran leahy the success of its predecessor and has been renewed for a fourth season, but there is only so much achievable with a unique character like Sheldon Cooper.
Community and Arrested Development when added to Netflix. The antisitcom, in a sense, is out-passing the popularity of the traditional sitcom.
Even the most successful sitcoms still being aired owe a lot of their success and longevity to the power of streaming. Fans of Community will remember Abed’s view on what would make for a successful TV show, six seasons and a movie! The movie part is a bit of a stretch, but if a show reaches six seasons then it will be widely remembered and have a lasting impact on pop culture. Currently, there are only five sitcoms being aired that have gotten to the six-season mark. Five years ago, there were twelve. You want to hear the real killer? Only one of those twelve shows is still airing today, and that is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
The four other sitcoms that have achieved ‘six-season status’ are Brooklyn Nine-Nine; The Goldbergs; Mom; and Black-ish. Funnily enough, B99, Mom and The Goldbergs all premiered within a week of each other back in 2013. In particular, Brooklyn Nine-Nine has found wide global success thanks to being accessible on Netflix. It may not have ever gotten past the six-season mark if fans did not launch a social media campaign protesting against its cancellation via Fox, but its cult status and ever-growing popularity has allowed it to extend its stay on our screens for the foreseeable future.
One of the longest running shows in television history, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is very much an ‘antisitcom’, going against the tropes of the traditional. Instead of a group of friends who go on adventures and learn something, it instead involves five psychopaths named ‘The Gang’, who pretend that they are friends but would easily sell each others’ souls for a quick buck, or just for the laugh. They do not learn lessons, they ruin other people’s lives and they contribute absolutely nothing to society, and that is why they are popular and outlasting several stereotypical family sitcoms. Would you rather watch a generic mother-daughter conversation and some love triangle nonsense or watch The Gang turn a priest into a drugaddicted homeless man, and Danny DeVito crawling out of a couch naked? I know what I would prefer. It’s Always Sunny is a fantastic show that I highly recommend. It is its own unique sitcom that goes against what is expected of the traditional and strives to go to the dizzying heights where none of its predecessors dared to go. That is one of the reasons it found popularity. It has a laugh with common sitcom tropes and turns it into something completely over-the-top. The show’s availability for streaming via Netflix has allowed it to become a signature comfort-watch for people who are sick of the standard sitcom and want something new - the same reason that gave a new lease of life to shows like
The other three are your basic runof-the-mill sitcoms. Their format has grown tired and there is little that producers can do to truly break away from the mould and find success. They are all in their twilight years and I cannot see them lasting much longer. Mom has lost its main attraction, Anna Faris, for the next season. The Goldbergs failed expansion of the series with Schooled could spell bad news for their future planning. In contrast, Black-ish’s spin-offs are gaining just as much popularity as the original, so the producers will feel more comfortable knowing they can end the show and focus on the spin-offs when they please. After all these sitcoms finish up, what will happen to one of television’s most popular genres? Will we start seeing a change in the medium? The mockumentary sub-genre introduced in the mid-noughties gave us The Office, Modern Family and Parks & Rec, so maybe in the next few years we will experience another shake-up in the genre. Situational comedies have been around since the 1950’s, and with the little changes that have occurred since then, the genre has reached an era of struggle. The lack of change has allowed oldies like Friends; Cheers and even I Love Lucy to still hold up well in the modern day. We are all getting a bit sick of seeing the same old generic group of friends or dysfunctional family over and over. Something needs to change, but for now, there is nothing to cheer about during sitcom season this time around.
23
Music
24
“Yeah. Definitely Stranger”: Bitch Falcon, interviewed Writes Elle Kelleher, Music Writer
Dublin-based alt-rock powerhouse Bitch Falcon have conquered festival stages from Cork to Toronto, from Los Angeles to Cheltenham, causing pounding hearts and pounding eardrums wherever they go. University Express sat down with guitarist/vocalist Lizzie and drummer Nigel, to chat about their upcoming album, the situation with the scene and surviving a pandemic as a band. University Express: Your debut EP, Staring at Clocks, is set to release on the sixth of November, are the two singles, ‘Time Trial’ and ‘Gaslight’, a good indicator as to the sound of the album? Lizzie: I think there are one or two songs that are a lot heavier, a lot moodier, and then you’ve got the singles, which are a bit poppier, so I think you’ve a good mix of moods on the album. Express: Are ye drawing on a lot of new influences, so? L: Well, when we were writing the album, I was in a deep hole of Cocteau Twins Nigel: I thought you were gonna say that you were in a deep hole of ketamine writing the album! L: The sound of a horrible after-sesh! N: I think that those songs started being written back as far as the beginning or the middle of 2018. Our studio was in the back of a church on Thomas Street - the church across from Vicar Street. There are offices there now, but we used to practice in a place called The Priory.
Those songs started being written then, and I was listening to Mark Guiliana and beat music, and lots of neo-soul, jazzy, electronic stuff, and Barry had started putting us onto things like Blank Mass, which I had never heard of. I started listening to more of the stuff Lizzie and Barry would play in the car on our way to gigs L: I was in a big Cocteau Twins phase, a lot of My Bloody Valentine, stuff I thought I knew, and then actually listened to and thought “Oh my God, this is brilliant!” I think before, it was a bit rock and roll-y. N: A lot of Jack White. L: Loads of Jack White. N: The Dead Weather. L: The Dead Weather was a huge one at the start, yeah. I think now it’s changing. Express: Are ye getting stranger? L: Yeah, definitely stranger. I’ve always loved strange music, but I think we had to develop a bit more confidence in expressing that ourselves, instead of thinking that we had to write straight up rock music. I think we pigeonholed ourselves early on to be this heavy riff band, but you grow out of it quickly. Of our old songs, I think ‘Of Heart’ is the most similar to what we’re doing now, even though that was one of the first songs written, I think that was the entry point. N: Plus, these were the songs we started writing with Barry. Barry joined in 2017, 2018 maybe, and I guess me and Lizzy had figured out how to make music with each other at that point, and then
someone comes in with completely new ideas and a completely different methodology. Barry was very prolific as well, he’d go home and have full demos, he could have ten done in a week that he’d be sending us back and giving us a lot to think about. What Barry was listening to had a huge impact, because he really spurred us out of a very slow-moving writing process that we had previously, and all of a sudden it was supercharged! There were a lot of ideas, a lot of activities bounced around. There are some really black metal riffs in here; wait until you hear the bass on these songs! Lizzie does this ethereal mania around it and these lush vocals and it’s mental, I love it. Lizzie uses the guitar nearly as a synthesizer. L: There’s a lot of big guitar parts. Not big solos, but lots of feedback and just playing around to get weird noises out of the guitar. Just noise. Express: How was it to watch opportunities just disappear due to Lockdown? N: Ah Jesus, every day brought another ‘cancelled’ gig. Then, when you got to summer, everyone was on Twitter saying “Oh, I would have been seeing Bitch Falcon at this festival”, and you’re being tagged in these posts, every day it’s a reminder of these things that you’re supposed to be doing, but you can’t. In April, I just went “Everything is cancelled, don’t think about it, don’t engage with it,” that’s how I could cope with it.
L: I was suiting and booting for the hospital - I’m a nurse, so when everything happened I just went “Right, pandemic time, I’ve been training for this my whole career!” Express: Frontline nurse during a pandemic, that must have been intense. L: It’s more weird looking back on it. It’s like you’re in a sci-fi movie when you’re in it. It’s only looking back on it you go ‘Wow, that was mental.’ But it’s mad how well humans adapt to difficult situations, so we just did, and it wasn’t until afterwards we really thought about it. I placed the band thing in a different box. Express: Can ye even think long term now? L: There’s definitely potential for 2021 socially distanced gigs. I’d say next summer. N: You can see people booking gigs now, and you’re kind of wondering “Will that happen?” and you’re trying not to get excited until closer to the time. It does show the resilience of the scene though, you have the ‘This is Who We Are’ movement, you have new promoters coming up, people are trying. All you can do is try. Staring at Clocks drops November 6th on all streaming services and Bandcamp. Their pre-release singles are out now.
Editor: CATHAL DONOVAN O’NEILL
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Cork punk icons say farewell Writes Julie Landers, Staff Writer
It’s the same and yet brand new. I scan the Kino and see the faces I’ve seen at gigs across the city for the last four years. We’re here for what will be the last Pretty Happy gig for the foreseeable future. It comes with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Excitement for what is, for many, one of the first live gigs since lockdown, and apprehension as to how to enjoy a gig within these new parameters of safety and distance. I can allow myself some sentimentality and admit that I’m scared for the gig to start. Because once it starts, it will have to end. Arann Blake (vocals, bass guitar), Abbey Blake (guitar) and Andy Killian (drums) have crafted a distinct sound over the last few years. But start it does, and dramatically so.
The trio emerge from the back of the venue. Abbey leads, followed by Andy dragging Arann, or ‘Péig’, shrouded in a fitted bed sheet up onto the stage. A voice sweeps over the Kino: “Ladies and gentlemen, Pretty Happy. And be happy tonight!” The lights turn red and the band launch into a dissonant cover of Sinatra’s ‘All of Me’. It sets the mood for the rest of the gig. What might be familiar ideas or feelings, under the gaze of Pretty Happy, can take on a simultaneously sinister and satirical energy. The rest of their set is a testament to their enthusiasm and innovation. Their setlist has us bopping heads and tapping feet from the confines of our (designated) seats. Classics like ‘Mr Crabs’ and new songs like ‘Sea Sea Sea’ are delivered with such energy that they
sound positively verdant. Interspersed are short skits, each one again taking the analytical and the absurd in equal measure, in what Arann half-jokingly calls ‘art-punk’. My favourite was ‘Fintan O’Toole’, where the titular Fintan, played by Andy, finds his suburban dreamscape unravelling into what is, in reality, a self-imagined nightmare. Though they cannot physically move within and around the tables, the banter between the band and the audience is smooth. Nothing is lost in communication. It’s also important to give credit to the crew at the Kino, who manned a tight ship on the night. Safety and social distancing were possible without feeling clinical or severe. Smooth sound and lighting ensured that the atmosphere in the Kino was warm and vibrant.
It is a long-awaited delight to see Pretty Happy dazzle against the velvet. A friend said something that resonated with me: When some bands go on stage, you can tell they’re just waiting until they can get off again. With Pretty Happy it’s the complete opposite. Their dedication to their craft, their hard work, these things signal them as one of the most exciting and electric bands to have graced the stages of Cork in recent years. It’s not an emotional event per se. Pretty Happy play with such enthusiasm that the gig doesn’t feel aged or fatigued. Their stage presence is too vibrant to give the sense that they are finished. And they’re not. Whether it’s a few months or a few years until we see them live again, their legacy as a brilliant live act and a group of intelligent, creative musicians will live on.
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Photos
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
Fรกilte Fest by Tomรกs Tyner
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
Photos
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SEXPRESS
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Sex, Bodies, and the Anatomy of an Orgasm Writes Jack Wrixon, Sexpress Editor
Love it or hate it, have it or don’t, sex is an integral part of our society whether people like it or not. For those of us who are sexually active, it is safe to say that everyone’s sex life is different. You could be doing it with one other person or multiple or, given the recent circumstances, over a phone or video call. For you, sex could contain a high level of kink or be just plain reliable vanilla, but what links all of these is the fact that they are forms of sexual activity. Despite all of these differences however, our bodies generally all experience the same functions and biological outcomes from sex, and there is much more to it than just foreplay and orgasm. Sex and sexual activity have been broken down by the experts (Sexperts) into what is today referred to as the Sexual Response Cycle, and this is typically defined as the emotional and physical series of reactions that your body goes through during sexual arousal and sexual activity, including both sexual intercourse and masturbation. Something that is important to stress here is that there is no right way to have sex. Everyone is different and this piece is in no way a guideline or standard for you to live up to. So, relax, enjoy yourself and let your body and your instincts take over. They’re going to do it anyway.
Let’s dive right in. Phase One of this cycle is referred to as Desire or Libido, and this phase is characterised by the arousal of the body through various stimuli. Basically, it’s like your body waking up in order for you to have sex. Stimuli can include kissing, watching porn or the stimulation of an erogenous zone - such as your ears, your scalp, the lips, or the nipples. During this phase your heart rate rises, your breathing accelerates, and your body prepares itself for sexual intercourse. The vagina and the penis both begin to excrete natural lubrication liquid, and an increased blood flow begins to go to the genitals. Various parts of the body may also become flushed, and this “flushing” is physiologically referred to as vasocongestion. You know when you push yourself at the gym too hard, and your face goes red for a while after? It is similar to that. The body stays flushed generally until after orgasm, but in certain people the flush may be present after a longer period, such as hours or days after, depending on the part of the body. Phase Two, or the “Excitement” phase is an extension of Phase 1. The flushing of various parts of the body continues; muscles in the hands and feet may begin
to spasm, and the increased blood flow around the body may lead to more drastic physical changes, specifically to the genitalia. If you have a vagina, your vaginal lips may swell or puff up during this phase, and your clitoris may become extremely sensitive and the clitoris begins to retract. If you have a penis, it becomes fully erect during this phase and your testicles retract into the scrotum. The penis may not always stay hard during this phase and that is perfectly normal. Both the vagina and penis during this phase begin to release natural lubrication as well, as your body is preparing for penetration - whether you engage in penetration/penetrative sex or not. For the people who suffer from Anorgasmia or can’t orgasm for a myriad of reasons, this is your peak and your body will either move into Phase 4 or simply retract. Both Phase 1 and 2 can last for various periods of time, depending on the pace which you or you and your partner(s) are moving at. What is happening here might seem a bit strange almost as if your body is moving unconsciously. To an extent, it is. What your body is experiencing here is the same primal instinct that your ancestors, all the way back to prehistoric times, experienced during sexual intercourse. Your body is changing from manual to autopilot, and the autopilot is trying
to ensure the survival of your genes. Phase Three is referred to as the “Orgasm” phase and it doesn’t take a detective to find out what happens here. This is generally the shortest phase and only lasts up to a few seconds. Blood pressure, breathing and heart rate all rise because of the stimulation, culminating in a release of sexual tension and the orgasm of one, both or however many participants depending on your preference. During orgasm, the muscles of the vaginal walls and the uterus contract rhythmically and release more lubrication. The penis experiences similar muscular contractions within the pelvic region, and releases the semen that has been collected during the first two phases in the urethral bulb. A general sense of pleasure is achieved here, and following the ejaculation of the penis, less and less semen is released and less pleasure is attained. Finally, we reach Phase Four, or Resolution. During this phase, the body begins to return to its regular resting state. People who have reached this period may experience fatigue, muscle relaxation and their genitals begin to return to a normal state. For people with vaginas, the cycle can begin once more and orgasm can be achieved quite quickly
Editor: Jack WRIXON once again with more stimulation, but for people with a penis orgasm cannot be achieved again for a longer period. This is referred to as the refractory period, and in order for the cycle to begin again the person must be entirely out of this interval, and the “bounce back” times can often vary per person. Focusing on Phase 3, the orgasm stage may be the shortest of the group, but physiologically it is so much more than what has already been described. For most of us having sex, orgasm is the goal. But while orgasms aren’t essential for “sex” to occur, this in-depth analysis of what happens during an orgasm could help you and your partner to achieve either an orgasm (hopefully numerous) or even just understand them more. Again, having an orgasm is not the be-all and end-all of sex, and pleasure can still be achieved with no orgasm; so don’t let anyone make you feel bad if you can’t or don’t orgasm, odds are it’s happen-
ing to more people than you know. The type of orgasm that occurs generally depends on what gentials you have. For people with a penis, you may have standard orgasms, pelvic orgasms, or whole body orgasms. For people with vaginas, you could have clitoral, vaginal, and again, whole body orgasms. Anal orgasms are also available to everyone alongside combo or blended orgasms. But aside from this physical aspect of orgasm, the biological aspect also allows for more a common understanding of what you experience during the shortlived Phase Three. During orgasm, various areas of your brain link up in order to achieve sensation. Regions such as the Genital sensory cortex, which relays sensory stimuli to the brain, the Hypothalamus and the Thalamus, which dictate hormone release and regulation, and motor and sensory signals respectively, and various motor regions all come together to aid the process of orgasm. Your
brain also creates and releases two very important chemicals into the prefrontal cortex during this process, Dopamine and Oxytocin. Dopamine, the “Happy Hormone” is released and promotes positive feelings within a neurological reward system. Oxytocin, the “Love Hormone” promotes intimacy and strong romantic feelings for sexual or romantic partners once it has been released, and has also been given the nickname of the “Cuddle Hormone” due to the way it makes people feel. For many people, the release of these two chemicals during the orgasm phase makes the connection between partners feel more intense, which may lead to greater feelings of attachment. Interestingly, despite the clear uniqueness of the human orgasm cycle, our brains cannot tell the difference between orgasmic stimulation and other pleasurable activities. The main reason for this is because both Dopamine and
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Oxytocin are also released during other seemingly pleasurable activities, like listening to music or eating chocolate. And there you have it, a breakdown of the human sexual response cycle. Something that I really want to stress is that everyone has sex differently and this piece is in no way a guideline for what you have to do. The different phases can be achieved differently, and it doesn’t always have to be what you imagine it to be. The purpose of this piece is to detail some of the more clandestine operations that your body enacts within a sexual situation, and give insight into what’s going on beneath the surface. Obviously, there is more to this topic than what I’ve said in this piece, and maybe a little research can help you with your sex life. Got any more questions? Check in with me via email at sexpress@uccexpress. ie, and I will do my best to help you!
Gaming
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The State of Play: Mobile Gaming in 2020 Writes Hugo Blair, Gaming Editor
The mobile gaming industry has always been fascinating to me. However, many people don’t consider mobile gaming to be ‘real’ gaming, associating it with mindlessly playing Candy Crush or Subway Surfers to kill time while waiting for the bus; obnoxious notifications, or feeling forced to pay for ridiculous microtransactions just to actually enjoy the experience. Indeed, the latter are issues that plague the industry. It’s practically built from the
ground-up on anti-consumer practices! First, let’s address the elephant in the room with regard to the industry’s problems: microtransactions. The majority of popular Android and iOS games employ microtransactions in their revenue model. Most are “freemium” games, which are free to download and start playing, however are designed in such a way that paying money, usually through these small payments, is the most opti-
mal way to advance. Often the player will be showered with useful items and various in-game currencies upon starting the game, but once the player puts some time in the supply of free items and currencies will begin to dry up. In this way, the game subtly manipulates players to keep spending money to continue gaining new content. In addition, many games of this type employ an energy system or wait timers, which restrict the frequency that the game can be played,
unless of course the player pays for extra energy or a timer bypass. This serves the same purpose: to squeeze as much money from the player as possible. I do not have a problem with all microtransactions, however. If the game is available for free, the developer should be able to gain income from other streams. By all means, charge for cosmetic items or bonus content, but once you create an objectively worse experience for the player unless they’re willing to cough
Editor: HUGO BLAIR up some change, that’s when I get mad. Another hallmark of free mobile games are the intrusive ads. These can range from small banner ads to full popup ads which the player is forced to sit through. Like microtransactions, I don’t have a problem with ads in principle; but when a game is designed so the player spends more time staring at ads than actually playing the game, and is also expected to pay for microtransactions, well, there will be blood. It’s not all doom and gloom on the Play Store and App Store though. There are positives that can be attributed to this style of play. PC and console games can be sprawling, immersive experiences that are intended to be played for long periods of time. Mobile games on the on the other hand must use the characteristics of their platform to their advantage. The pick-up-and-play nature of mobile games mean they must capture the player’s attention as soon as they start a gaming session - no long unskippable cutscenes to be found here. This positions mobile games perfectly as excellent time fillers for when the player can’t commit to a long session. In addition, the method by which a player uses a mobile device in contrast to a traditional console or PC forces the player to interact with the game in a different way. Touch and gyro controls - when implemented well - can really feel like a novel experience, though I’m sure most people have experienced the horrors of poor implementation... Furthermore, mobile games are less demanding of hardware than their PC and console cousins, presenting a lower barrier to entry for new gamers. There’s no need to spend a pile of money on a gaming PC or console when most people already own a decently capable smartphone. On top of this, mobile games tend to be lighter on mechanics, which lowers the barrier further and is appealing to more casual gamers. One of my favourite examples of this is Minecraft Pocket Edition which allows anyone to play Minecraft on the go and enjoy most of the features of the primary edition. In 2020, there are more terrible and manipulative mobile games than ever, but equally, there are more fantastic mobile gaming experiences to be found than ever before! Hidden beneath the mess of the top charts - and the obvious cash-cows - lie some abso-
lute gems; you just have to do a little digging. Here are some of my top picks: My favourite by far is Alto’s Adventure. It’s the only mobile game I’ve played consistently for any length of time, having first downloaded it back in 2017. To me, this is a perfect mobile game. It’s very simple: you control a lone figure snowboarding down a procedurally-generated snowy mountainside. Holding a finger to the screen causes your character to tilt backwards into a flip… and that’s the only control (for the most part). As you fly down the slopes you gradually pick up speed; launch over chasms; grind on lines of bunting; pick up various powerups and collect coins, as well as increasing your ever important high-score. The game’s greatest strength is its simplicity; the core gameplay loop is just fun. The ambience the game creates through its gorgeous stylised visuals and delightfully peaceful soundtrack lulls you into an almost meditative state and the time just flies by. There are some microtransactions, but the game is perfectly playable without paying for any, and ads only appear after each run. For the price of a cup of coffee, you can remove ads from the game entirely, which I opted to do to support the developers. A sequel named Alto’s Odyssey was released in 2018, and even after only making the switch to it recently, I already anticipate I’ll be spending just as much time with it as its predecessor. Switching gears to something a little bit more involved, another excellent mobile title in my opinion is Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’
Conspiracy. This is the seventh entry in the well-known and loved Professor Layton series of puzzle games and was the first to be released both on mobile platforms and the 3DS concurrently back in 2017. The game features the titular Katrielle Layton as she solves various mysteries around London with the help of her assistant Ernest, as well as a dog that can speak – talk about a setup. Progression takes the form of investigating several distinct cases, unlike previous DS titles which had a single narrative. Along the way, you meet a diverse cast of characters, and are faced with a myriad of puzzles to solve. The puzzles are the real meat of the game, and while some are perhaps less difficult than in previous entries, I still found them very enjoyable. Unlike Alto, Layton’s Mystery Journey is not free to play, commanding a price of €18, which many may find to be steep for a mobile game. Personally, I find the game to be well worth the price due to the amount of content the game offers, as well as the presentation – It truly feels like a console-level experience. My only gripe with the game is the loaded DRM, meaning the game can’t be played without an internet connection. This of course creates difficulty in playing the game on the go; unless the player has a data connection or can find a WiFi source, they’re out of luck. The last of my top picks is Call of Duty: Mobile. To say I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this game would be a massive understatement. I’ve never played any of the main series games before as they’ve just never been appealing to me, but after a suggestion
31 to try the mobile version, I thought why not? I can’t quite put my finger on why I enjoy the game so much, but like Alto, the game is just simply fun (the fact I keep topping the scoreboard in what I assume are lobbies full of twelve-year-olds may also have something to do with it…). Running around some random warzone racking up frags and deploying killstreaks is intensely satisfying, and it’s made even better by the controls. I was shocked at just how intuitive I found them, and while they’re no match for a mouse and keyboard when it comes to accuracy, they’re some of the best I’ve found in a mobile game. The experience is by no means flawless, suffering from a cluttered UI as well as the aforementioned overabundance of microtransactions, but like I said in the last issue, a game doesn’t have to be perfect to be fun. If I wasn’t limited by word count, I could go on and on about many excellent titles that can be enjoyed on smartphones today. But alas, I am, and so I will leave you with a few honourable mentions: • The very well-known Monument Valley. • The masterfully-ported Dead Cells. • Among Us – I shouldn’t need to elaborate. • The equal-parts calming and stress-inducing Mini Metro.
Fashion
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New York Fashion Week 2020 – I WORE PJS TO NEW YORK FASHION WEEK Writes Maeve O’Sullivan, Fashion Editor For as long as I can remember, I have dreamt of taking front row seats at fashion week. I did not, however, imagine it would be while I wore my PJs and a cup of tea. Nevertheless, I signed onto the livestreams and followed with awe. Here are some of my top moments from the week. RUNWAY360 In order to broadcast the events of the week, the Council of Fashion Designers of America created an online platform called Runway360. The digital showroom gave designers a space to exhibit their collections to a world-wide audience. From a sustainable look on the site, it both supported the reduction of carbon emission that would have previously occurred from A-list names and editors in traveling to such shows in the past. JASON WU The September weather gave way for outdoor fashion shows to take place. Designer Jason Wu opened the series of
socially distant events with a rooftop show on Spring Studios of Manhattan. The Spring-Summer ‘21 collection was revealed to a modest audience of just 30. The air of exclusivity was further pushed by the Mexican inspired set. Shades of terracotta and holiday-ready looks fed into the minds of the dreamers, wishing for better (and sunnier) times. Naeem Khan was just one of the many other designers to embark on the mindset of escapism. CHRISTIAN SIRIANO With the precautions of this new world we live in, designers took on the challenge to put on a show safely. The Spring-Summer 2021 collection from Christian Siriano was presented from his home garden in Connecticut. All the models wore coordinated masks and guests were seated six feet away from one another. Iconic figure Billy Porter was just one of the VIP guests that sat front row at the show. Photo Credit: Tom Ford
Photo Credit: Jason Wu HARLEM’S FASHION SHOW The Harlem Fashion Show is a platform created to honour and promote the diversity in fashion by supporting designers of colour. The Sunday-night virtual event showcased collections from black designers Kristian Lorén, Kimberly Goldson and Rich Fresh. The new brand on the block to showcase was Oak & Acorn, a Harlem-based denim brand, focused on sustainability and creating looks that are bold and genderless. ...AND CUT! Leave it to the creative minds of designers to seek new and fresh methods of displaying their creations. Davidson Petit-Frère pushed the boat out with his short film ‘Destined’ to showcase menswear suits and his debut womenswear line. Actors Michael K. Williams and Ron
J. Rock took centre-stage for the designer. THE FINALE The official closing of the NYFW was led by renowned designer Tom Ford, as he presented his Spring-Summer ‘21 lines via digital look-book. Ford himself said ‘’the last thing I want to see are serious clothes’’; and that was most certainly the case as soft silhouettes, fun colours and ‘70s inspired looks caught the eye of the admirers. Further explaining the desire for clothes in a ‘casual world’, Ford mentioned that this would also have to be a world ‘where I actually felt like making a bit of an effort to get dressed’. Whimsical prints brought an air of ‘extra’ and glamour, everything the fashion world needed after months of doom and gloom. Thank you, Mr Ford.
Editor: Maeve O’Sullivan
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‘Autumn-Winter, A Midsummer’s Dream’ Writes Maeve O’Sullivan, Fashion Editor ‘TREND ALERT’ is the fashion world’s way of saying ‘BUY ME’ and, to put it bluntly, I say no more. Nothing screams fashion-faux more than buying into trends that shine for a moment but will tarnish the moment the leaves change colour. Summer may be over, but why should we pack up our wardrobes and make way for a new (and more expensive) look? Just check out these three easy ways to turn the Summer staple into a Winter wonder.
Photo Credit: CHRISTIAN SIRIANO Below: Billy Porter picured at CHRISTIAN SIRIANO
T-SHIRT DRESS So, remember that floral-midi-wonder you donned for the socially distanced garden party back in July? Why put it away now? The simple addition of a white t-shirt can instantly bring that look into the next season. Layer up with stacked gold chain necklaces to add the Autumnal glimmer. I am 99.9% confident that you have the top in question and if not, Penney’s is a great place to pick up this basic piece for no more than €4. If you find yourself without the ideal dress, many shops on the high street will have their Summer stock on discount right now, so nab that discount! BUCKET HATS While the festival seasons may have been cancelled, Summer 2020 did not cancel bucket hats. Fashionistas everywhere paired the iconic accessory with outfits all Summer long and they are not stopping now. Neutral colours, or my favourite alternative yet: faux fur, are just some of the many ways this statement is sticking around. Plus, with the infamous Autumnal weather, the hat is more of a necessity too. TIGHTS While the sunshine remains for now, it is only a matter of weeks before there is a chill in the air. While tights may be the common-sense accessory, they form an even greater purpose. Tights are now more than just a 40 denier partner in crime. Brands such as Gucci and Fendi have rebranded the modest addition to a fashion statement. Detailed stitching and printed lettering are just some of the many ways we can find tights now. A quick addition to a short-suit ensemble or skirt, tights are a must in every girl’s wardrobe – or boy’s, as Harry Styles has made obvious.
Arts & Literature
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‘What is Colour?’- My Generation at Cork Culture Night 2020 writes Imasha Costa, Arts & Literature Editor
In a new imaginary world, My Generation - a new set of large scale temporary artworks in Cork City Centre - tackles a social norm where colour is a concept created, and creates a society where everyone is understanding, respectful and proud of the different colours that are present. A social imaginary world where there is no discrimination. The recent resurgence of the #BlackLivesMatter movement created a revolution in different forms of art, not
only in the States, but in Cork City as well. The street art that has been created states a clear, strong message; and vies to change the perspectives of people across the city. With the movement gaining momentum, the My Generation project, sparked by a group of teenagers who work with the Cork Migrant Centre [CMC] and the Lewis Glucksman Gallery, shares their experience of racism with the rest of the city. Print-pasting, the form of art that My Generation uses is widely seen throughout Cork
City. The exhibition currently hangs up on Kryl’s Quay and Cork City Library, displaying its message to all civilians that pass by those parts of the city. With the help of renowned print-pasting artist Kate O’Shea, the teenagers of the Cork Migrant Centre could express their opinions about racism and were able to let their voices be heard through the collages of print-pasting in Cork City. O’Shea’s major focuses are on the social arts practices which
usually involve social spaces such as buildings, books and in the case of My Generation, the streets as well. The exhibition was formally opened on Culture Night, which was on Friday, 18th of September, and gained the attention of the public and the media alike. The concept of the exhibition is a series of experiences as told by teenage asylum seekers and migrants all across Cork City and county, whose use of street art allows them to raise questions and generate new ideas within shared civic spaces. The initial process of combining the experiences of the youth within the artwork involved O’Shea and the teenagers sitting down and talking about their experiences of what it’s like to be a member of a minority group in Ireland. Questions that arose involved injustices in Direct Provision centres; the fear of deportation, as well as regular things that a teenager would struggle with, be it in school or in their social lives. There was a mix of experiences that had been expressed throughout the process. O’Shea highlights that “it was the teenagers involved and everyone else there that made me want to be a part of [My Generation]”. She confirmed that the Glucksman has worked with these teenagers for several years, creating a proper sense of integrity in the relationships between the Cork Migrant Centre; renowned Cork DJ Stevie G, and the teenagers themselves. As an artist, O’Shea also commented that art projects usually end up becoming quite tokenistic; but, trusting every-
Editor: imasha costa one involved, she knew that this would be different - an exhibition that showcases the voices of teenagers who were adamant to talk about what was happening in a way that they understood.
imaginary world of My Generation, people see through colour and do not judge one another for the colour of their skin.
The recreation of a social imaginary world raised the question of ‘What is Colour?’ - a question that has created a lot of discrimination towards minorities across the whole world, as well as in Cork City. The main focus of being heard, understood and listened to is demonstrated in this exhibition, with murals consisting of the actual handwriting of the teenagers, the collages that they have put together and photographs of themselves. What keeps arising in each mural revolves around the central question - ‘What is Colour?’
The bold colours that are collaged together in the murals portray the different shades that people look at, and make them wonder what it is that makes them different - what makes a particular colour be ‘out of place’? Senior Curator of the Glucksman Gallery, Tadhg Crowley, adds that “these young people have taken stunning photographs of themselves as they’d like to be represented in the public realm, to challenge perceptions, to ask questions and to present positive images of young people alongside their messages of what change they feel is needed to create a positive future”.
Ugonna, one of the teenagers who worked on the exhibition describes her curiosity around what peoples’ perception would be about colour. “What do they associate with [a particular colour]? Is it positive? Is it negative?” She wants the people who stop to stare at these murals to question what they were taught, or what they believe in. In our world where racism is still active, she wants people to put this question into practice - to question what they associate with a particular colour, be it the colour of a butterfly’s wings or the colour of a person’s skin. Colour is what is defining racism, and in this social
Ugonna also states that, growing up, she never really understood what racism was and when it first was ‘taught’ to her it was as if it had come out of thin air. Even though she did not know when her life with racism had started and she could not find a proper reasoning behind it, she has learned to move past it. She knows that in her life she will come across people who will hate her with a passion because of the colour of her skin, but she knows that it will not affect her. Using this, she has portrayed her experiences into My Generation. She also stated that she enjoyed
creating the artwork and the fact that she was able to voice her opinions and channel them into this piece, creating something that holds a strong message. Joshua, another teenager involved in the project, who lives in Drishane Accommodation Centre, had the following to say: “I enjoyed helping create this artwork because I learned a lot from the workshops. It made me realise the different people that are excluded from society and also helped me to be more creative. I was delighted to get the opportunity to do some photography [as well] which was a good experience”. With Culture Night wrapped up on the 18th of September - where most of its events were virtual, online or outdoor events, the Glucksman Gallery unveiled the temporary artworks across Cork City at public areas such as Cork City Library and Kryl’s Quay, free for viewing to anyone. My Generation is part of the Glucksman Creative Agency programme which enables young refugees and asylum seekers to present their voices and views in the public realm. This Glucksman project is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland and is run in partnership with the Cork Migrant Centre, Nano Nagle Place.
35 Exeter St. Davids By Claudia Schwarz.
The wind had its work cut out today Transporting people to their version of the universe. Pushing and pulling Strings of destiny But they tend to be stubborn, Fighting back with the closing of a window Keeping their minds hidden under an umbrella. Two dripping shadows, one umbrella Waiting on platform 3 A For a train that will never arrive A leather like suitcase cracked open On the urine coloured ground Keeping the violated magazine With only half its teeth From pages one to fifteen Company. There will be time for this tomorrow, they say Howling at the drops of unopened memories Punching against the glass. We’re not ready yet.
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Sports
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
What’s Another Year? Byrne Leaves Olympic Heartache In His Wake Writes Liam Grainger, Sports Editor Ronan Byrne remembers exactly where he was and what he was doing on March 23rd of this year. In between sessions at the National Rowing Centre in Ovens with the rest of his Irish teammates, Byrne was putting the final touches to a hectic year-long training schedule ahead of the run-in to the Tokyo Olympiad. One Twitter notification later and a dream that had been years in the making was suddenly snatched away, with the news that the 2020 games had inevitably fallen victim to the pandemic. Speaking exclusively to University Express, Byrne disclosed that the postponement news was taken badly by the more senior members of the Irish squad, with a number of them planning post-Olympic retirements. Byrne, who intends to carry on rowing next year anyway, reveals he wasn’t as adversely impacted by the revelation. The postponement came at a time when Byrne was making quite the name for himself on the international stage, with World Championship silver in the double sculls and European U23 gold already in his back pocket from 2019, the latter accolade being successfully defended three weeks ago in Germany. In the middle of an impressive run of form, Byrne was in a great position ahead of boarding the flight to Tokyo, but the Sea Forest Waterway in Tokyo Bay will have to wait another year to witness this promising athlete. The Ballinough native admits that it’s tough committing to another year of the same training plan, particularly during the winter months. He adds that many of his Irish teammates have put their degrees and careers on hold to row for Ireland and that it’ll be a challenge to keep it going for another year. The 23-yearold enters his 4th year of Nutritional Sciences in UCC this week and is so far managing the study-sport balance quite well. Byrne, a Quercus Sports Scholarship recipient, praises the Quercus program for allowing him to focus more of his attention on the water, especially
in the build up to competitive action. A typical week pre-competition consists of training at least twice a day, with water-based sessions in the morning and then long stints on the rowing machines or weightlifting in the evening. Impressively, this schedule was maintained throughout the lockdown measures that were imposed in March and April. Occasionally, Sunday is taken as a rest day which Byrne devotes to his second loves, motorcycling and swimming, but a day-off is a rarity for this ambitious Corkonian with medals on his mind. So, what constitutes a successful 2021? Byrne tells University Express that as long as he gets faster, he’ll consider 2021 a successful year, it’s that simple. Reluctantly, he discloses that there is still no certainty as to whether the delayed games will go ahead as planned next July, but says the national squad are training with the assumption that they will be. Despite the heartbreak of this year’s cancellation, he sees the extra
year as a big opportunity for the Irish rowing squad. He divulges on how Irish rowing could excel under the given circumstances as it is a small and focused squad which quickly adapts to changes, unlike some of the other big nations which rely on consistency. Despite the setback, Byrne’s optimism is infectious and he’s already looking forward to next year’s start date of July 23rd. There’s conviction in his claim that the extra year will see a much stronger Irish team compete at the games next year, alluding to the stellar trajectory that Irish rowing has taken since the Rio games in 2016. Ireland has four boats already qualified for the games, with the chance to add to that tally through the remaining qualification regattas. The 2020 frustrations are plentiful, but Byrne possesses a cool and collected temperament that has already switched its focus to next year’s action. It’s a mindset that presents a striking resemblance to his sporting hero, one Roy
Keane. Since first joining Shandon Boat Club in 2011, where his brother introduced him to the waters, Byrne has lit up the national rowing scene, and his arrival on the international stage comes at the height of an Irish rowing revolution, started 4 years ago by a brazen pair of brothers from Skibbereen. Rowing has been the sleeping giant of Irish sport since the turn of the millennium, with 4th place finishes at the ‘76 and ‘96 games the hallmarks of Olympic success up till 2000; finally, potential is being reached. With the majority of his Olympic rivals almost 5 years older than him, Byrne has youth on his side and is primed to figurehead the Irish rowing juggernaut that has seen Pušpure, O’Donovan and O’Driscoll become household names across the country in recent years. It might not be all plain sailing for this young Olympian, but after the Olympics being taken away so abruptly in March, next year will be all the sweeter.
Sports
Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020 | University Express
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Sam Bennett Realizes Green Dream: A New Era For Irish Cycling? Writes Sam Curtin, Deputy Sports Writer
Sam Bennett brought some much-needed glory to Ireland on Sunday evening when he stormed to his second stage victory this year on the Champs Élysees, bringing home the green jersey. The green jersey represents the leader in the points competition and Bennett became the first Irishman to don the jersey since Carrick-On-Suir compatriot Sean Kelly picked up the last of his four green jerseys on the international stage. This article however is not meant to be a report on a glorious three weeks for Irish cycling but rather discuss the present and future state of the sport on this island. While many businesses are struggling to survive during the Covid-19 pandemic, bike shops have boomed with many reporting that stocks are only beginning to be refilled again due to the increase in numbers of those taking up the sport be it in a social or competitive capacity. Forgive me for getting political for a moment but Sam Bennett is not the only one to be donning the green jersey at present. Environ-
mentalists are understandably pointing out the emergence of numerous and cycle lanes dotted around the country as a means of transport and exercise. Politics aside, Bennett’s success leads to a broader question on the overall health of the sport when it comes to producing elite cyclists. Bennett for one was born in Belgium to a father playing professional football in the country at the time. He is however a product of the Irish system, coming through the ranks of the now-defunct An Post, chain reaction team spearheaded by Sean Kelly. Bennett, however, is an exception. The two other cyclists who would be seen as spearheading the profile of the sport in Ireland are Nicholas Roche (twice in the top ten of the Vuelta De España) and Dan Martin ( 6th in the Tour de France in 2017. Both are related but most importantly developed their talent abroad with Roche spending most of his life in France while Martin was born and raised in England, qualifying through his Irish mother. Both are extremely proud to represent Ireland and have been fantastic servants to the sport
but are in the twilight of their careers. The future of Irish cycling has the potential to be very promising. Corkman Eddie Dunbar is a talented rider who finished in the top 30 of last year’s Giro D’Italia while 20-year-old Ben Healy is also one to look out for in the coming years. While cycling is seen as a participation sport, it does have the advantage of tradition compared to other sports in a similar state. Not every island can boast of having three Tour de France winners in two different classifications. Add this to the multiple medalists on the track, Martin Irvine and Lydia Boylan just to name a couple, from a country that does not even have its own velodrome. Cycling Ireland CEO Matt McKerrow spoke to RTÉ Sport in the aftermath of the tour and said that “the folks at Sport Ireland assure me it’s the next priority.” It is hoped that it could be in place at the National Sports Campus in Abbottstown before the 2024 Paris Olympics. Imagine what could be achieved if the proper facilities are put in place? It certainly is a tantalizing prospect. However, it will require more than
promises to bring cycling back into the mainstream of Irish sport on a permanent basis. Contrary to popular belief, the sporting field does not have a short memory which doesn’t help cycling’s image. Although the authorities have done a decent job to clean up doping within the sport it still comes with a stigma, which isn’t helped by fresh doping allegations against the Arkea-Samsic team 24 hours after the tour’s completion. The team led by Colombian cycling legend Nairo Quintana insist that they are innocent and have nothing to hide. It would be a real shame if the sport was to be tarnished again by doping especially after a phenomenal three weeks of racing in which a star in Tadej Podagcar of Slovenia had been born. Of course, another star in green was born during a magic three weeks in September. Another iconic moment in Irish sport was recorded in the City of Love, providing that bit of hope that we could all do with right now.
University
Volume 24 | Issue 1 | Tuesday 29th 2020
Sports
UCCExpress.ie
The Return Of Fans: A Chronic Problem Which Cannot Afford To Remain Unsolved
Writes Sam Curtin, Deputy Sports Editor Back in June when things slowly began to re-open after lockdown, I started going for walks along The Marina which is my favourite part of Cork City. Currently, it is pedestrianised which makes the walk all the calmer, not that it needs to be. Today is different though, instead of it being quiet in a peaceful sense, there was an eeriness to the silence which was highlighted further as I passed the hallowed turf- Páirc Uí Chaoimh. In June, like every other summer, the Páirc should be bustling with activity, colour, and most of all fans. There out of sheer fanaticism for the game or just for the day out. This summer, of course, is unlike any other. And so I continue to walk past the great theatre without headphones as one does not need to be distracted by art when you can simply take in visually - the bigger picture. Something which must be looked at in relation to the survival of sport as we know it. Three months have passed since that
fateful summer evening and stadiums across the island remain virtually empty with only 200 spectators allowed at all sporting events. The right decision in the short term especially when public health is at risk during a pandemic. There is more at play here than our physical well-being, however. People’s mental health and livelihoods are at risk with the stakes getting higher the longer the situation remains the same. If the situation does not improve or correct action is not taken, thousands of jobs will be at risk. IRFU boss Phillip Browne spoke of his concerns recently that professional rugby will cease to exist within the next 12 months if fans are forced to stay away. The IRFU is expecting to lose €30m this year due to the pandemic. At present they are spending €5m a month on the professional game including players, wages etc. If the situation continues in its current state in 2021, the IRFU will be in debt of up to €10m from having a surplus of €28m according to Browne. The same can be said for the League Of Ireland where season ticket sales and gate receipts are the primary form of
revenue for clubs. It accounts for 28% of the total income for the league according to UEFA’s 11th footballing landscape report which was published in January of this year. During the pandemic, Cork City had to lay off their entire playing staff due to the impact of Covid-19 and this will only be the tip of the iceberg if stadiums continue to be empty. The question is, how can fans gradually be allowed to return to stadia - which is crucial for the industry as a whole - in a safe manner. One could take a look across the Irish sea where trial programmes are in place where between 1000-3000 fans were allowed back into 15 different clubs in the football league for a test run. Although the recent spike in Covid cases has stalled the programme for at least a short period of time, it does give food for thought. Ulster played Toulouse in the Champions Cup last Sunday week and 5,000 fans were allowed into the Stade Ernest Wallon which has a capacity of 19,500. Most importantly, strict health guidelines were in place where every supporter had to wear a mask and strict social distancing was in place. At all these sporting events, no posi-
tive cases have been reported as of yet. This could possibly be the way forward until a vaccine is available. The Irish government has recently published its own programme which highlights the need to get fans back into stadia. It includes having up to 500 fans being allowed in at stadiums such as League of Ireland grounds while up to 5,000 fans are expected to be allowed at the largest stadiums such as Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium. However, if strict social distancing and compulsory wearing of masks is applied, surely there is potential to have more spectators in the grounds. All of this of course depends on if Ireland gets to stage 1 which is currently not the case. Despite reading the previous 800 words of misery, it is important to finish on a positive note. Trials for a vaccine are taking place across the world and there are enough bright minds within the sporting world to bring forth a solution to a problem which has never been encountered before in our lifetime. A problem shared is a problem halved after all. Until then, we will remain on the outside looking in, with not all of us lucky enough to have The Marina for company.