Issue 274

03.02.22

YORK’S AWARD-WINNING TABLOID NEWSPAPER

ISSUE 274

TWO YEARS ON How York Responded to the UK’s First Recorded COVID-19 Cases

ONE IN FIVE INVESTIGATIONS MISSED TARGET TIME LAST YEAR

LET DOWN Students Criticise University’s “Atrocious” Complaints Process

BY

RUTH KELNER AND MATT WARD-PERKINS

STUDENTS HAVE CRITICISED the University’s “unfair” and “atrocious” complaints process, saying they were given false hope by the University, only to be given no information or have their complaints dismissed.

Third year student Clara said her experience with the university misconduct team has left her “disappointed and disenfranchised”, after reporting an incident in which she was grabbed, pushed, and choked by a fellow student.

FULL STORY ON PAGE 5

YORK’S £65 MILLION STUDENT CENTRE PLANS PAGE 2

2

NEWS

Thursday February 3, 2022

News 2 Editor Ruth Kelner Deputy Editor Niamh Irvine Opinion 6 Editor Katie Preston Deputy Editor Matt Rogan Features 24 Editor Dan Bennett Deputy Editor Claire Forster Lifestyle 26 Editor Marti Stelling Deputy Editor Sharanya Kumar Science & Tech 27 Editor Oliver Fisher Deputy Editor VACANT Climate

28 Editor Joe Baker Deputy Editor Kaitlyn Beattie-Zarb Sport 30 Editor VACANT Deputy Editor VACANT Stage S3 Editor Roxanne Star Deputy Editor Emily Sinclair Screen S4 Editor Jed Wagman Deputy Editor Gena Clarke Games S6 Editor Luke Horwitz Deputy Editor VACANT Food S7 Editor Tom Willett Deputy Editor Navya Verma Relationships S8 Editor Naomi McGrath Deputy Editor Bethan Hubbard Travel S9 Editor Grace Swadling Deputy Editor Nicholas Chen Books S10 Editor Luke Horwitz Deputy Editor Caitlin Hyland Music S11 Editor Joe Radford Deputy Editor Ben Forsdick

Editor Matt Ward-Perkins Editor Will Rowan Deputy Editor Matt Igoe SCENE Editor Charlie Gaskell Chief Subeditor Lucas Lefley Subeditor Isabel Head Subeditor Twiggy Yeung Subeditor Jack Batstone Subeditor Marti Stelling Subeditor Emily Jebb Subeditor Megan Bartley Illustrator Niall McGenity Managing Director Jasmine Moody Deputy Managing Director Bethan Hubbard Social Media Director Ella Peebles Technical Director Marks Polakovs Photography Director Vittoria Avigliano Marketing Director Alex Rich Opinions expressed in York Vision are not necessarily those of the Editors, Editorial Team, membership, or advertisers.

THE BUILDING IS SCHEDULED TO OPEN BY SEPTEMBER 2025

BY MATT

NEW £65 MILLION STUDENT CENTRE PLANS REVEALED

WARD-PERKINS

THE UNIVERSITY OF York has begun the process of developing a new student centre building on campus.

The building, which will be part of a new ‘University Square neighbourhood’, is set to be built on what is now Market Square, opposite the University Library.

Design competition documents seen by York Vision say the development will have a budget of up to £65 million, and is targeted to open between September 2024 and September 2025.

The design brief says the 4000 to 5000 square metre building will be home to a new nightclub/performance space, paving the way for regular club nights on York’s campus.

The building is also expected to contain study spaces, relocated offices for York’s students’ union services, a bar and café, a student enquiry centre and exhibition spaces, among other facilities.

Vice Chancellor Charlie Jeffrey told Vision: “I think what our founders did in the 1960s was brilliant, however I think that left us with a big hole, and that was the absence of a central student facility, which was a consequence of the choosing the college model.

“I think it is a real weakness. If you go to YUSU’s offices, it’s not

IMAGE: Fran Rhodes

an impressive building. If you go to the GSA’s offices, it’s almost impossible to find them.”

“We should be saying to students ‘you deserve a brilliant facility which would be multifunctional, space can be used at different times of day for different purposes, it can provide a nighttime venue, it can provide flat floor space for student societies, and it can provide a setting where sensitively we can offer student welfare services … a one shop stop’.

“I think that’s something the University lacks and I’m deeply committed to delivering it.”

A new student media centre is also set to be included in the new building, and YUSU Multimedia Representative Ben Allen said: “A

A NOTE FROM THE EDITORS Matt WardPerkins, Co-Editor

Happy New Year!

Well, February might be a bit late for that, but we’re still at the start of a term that’s got a whole lot to offer.

From the YUSU Elections, where nominations close tomorrow ahead of voting in a couple of weeks’ time, to a College Varsity that looks like it will be bigger and better than ever

(you can read more in our Sport section about that!), it seems like York’s biggest events are well and truly back.

Of course, the past few weeks have seen a worrying uptick in COVID-19 cases, and both of us have spent plenty of time in isolation during the production of this issue.

In our Opinion section, our section edi-

Will Rowan, Co-Editor

tor Katie talks about the opportunities and challenges of the world becoming a bit more open as COVID-19 restrictions nationally begin to ease.

Despite this, we saw many students return to York for their graduation ceremonies last month, the first in two years, which was yet another welcome sign that student life is getting

new student centre is badly needed and this is an exciting development, but it’s important that student groups, especially those who would be expected to make this building their home, are fully consulted before plans are developed.

“Many student groups, including student media, have specialist technical and logistical needs, so collaboration between the university and these groups is going to be key to transitioning offices and studios smoothly to the new centre.

“We need to make sure the new building works for the needs of all students and societies, so we can make the most of this amazing opportunity.”

YUSU President Patrick O’Donnell said: “I’m really pleased that

ever more close to normal.

If you’re looking for a delayed New Year’s Resolution, why not get involved with York’s most awarded student newspaper (this one)? We have plenty of roles available, and are always open to any ideas for things to write, so just drop us an email or message us on social media.

Neither of us got involved in York Vision at the start of a year, and we’ve ended up editing this paper, so it’s never too late to get started.

Later this term, we’ll be running elections of our own for our Committee roles, and there are plenty of ways you can get involved, even if writing’s not your thing, from social media to marketing and photography.

In this issue’s News section, we’re sharing the eperiences of students who have been frustrated by the University’s complaints process and are calling for change, and we reveal new detail on the University’s plans for a student centre building at the centre of campus, as well as the incredible amount forked out by the University on buses for fewer than 200 students

the University is committed to delivering this ambitious project which will have a huge benefit to students. The new Student Centre will be shaped by students, with a range of new flexible spaces for students, including a purpose-built nighttime music venue.

“While the opening date is a few years away, this project - a first in the University’s history - provides a real opportunity for students to have their say about how we can have improved facilities and student services.

“In the short term, we’re also using these conversations to highlight a number of issues that student groups face, such as a lack of storage space, and identifying interim solutions.”

in Hull.

In Opinion, we’re talking about COVID-19, strikes and D Bar, and making the case for 24 hour exams and more water fountains on campus.

Further in, we’re telling the story of the first COVID-19 cases in York (and the UK), two years ago this week. For both of us, and plenty of us on campus, it’s a reminder of a few days when our university was at the centre of national media focus, and, for Vision, a reminder of how we worked with colleagues across media outlets to tell this vital story.

SCENE’s theme this issue is ‘Blow Out’, a real celebration of celebration, and a fun way to start the new year for Vision.

Towards the back of this issue in Sport, we’re looking ahead to an incredibly exciting year of sport for York in 2022, as well as some early BUCS success for our men’s lacrosse team, and more success than usual for York City FC. January assessments are (mostly) over, the days are getting a bit longer and there are plenty of big campus events to look forward to. Bring on 2022!

NEWS

£3K A DAY ON BUSES

BY MATT

3 HALF OF VICTIMS FELT THEY WERE BLAMED FOR SPIKING Thursday February 3, 2022

SPIKING REPORT SENT TO PARLIAMENT INQUIRY

WARD-PERKINS

THE UNIVERSITY OF York spent an estimated £230,650 on providing transport for students from Hull to York last term.

This means that over £23,000 a week, or almost £3300 a day was expected to be spent on the coaches, according to contracts with Acklam’s Coaches and East Yorkshire Motor Services, to transport under 200 students.

Transport was provided to students who were offered accommodation in University of Hull halls of residence, after the University of York was not able to accommodate them on campus.

As York Vision reported at the time, many of the students who were later offered Hull housing said they had been verbally offered accommodation in York when they spoke to the University on Results Day. A University spokesperson told Vision that issues were caused by an “unprecedented demand” for on-campus housing.

This term, students who were living in Hull have moved to rooms in Anne Lister College on Campus East, meaning their rent has more than doubled, from a cost of around £70 a week (subsidised by the University) in Hull to a cost now of £149 a week.

A University spokesperson said: “We had a duty of care and responsibility to support our students who were temporarily accommodated in Hull, and this shuttle bus was a really important part of this.

“We also offered a 25% rent reduction for the autumn term whilst students were in Hull, as well as a free-of-charge removal service to move into our new Anne Lister College. The rent arrangements are now the same as for other students living in comparable accommodation on campus.”

YUSU President Patrick O’Donnell said: “YUSU Officers worked hard to lobby the University for rent reductions for students based in Hull, as well as a free shuttle bus service.

“There are numerous areas of work underway to increase York’s student housing supply from September 2022.

IMAGE: Will Rowan

BY

WILL ROWAN

THE LAST TABOO have shared the findings of their consultation on spiking at UK universities, submitting the report as evidence to a Home Affairs Select Committee spiking inquiry.

The report includes evidence from 118 students, with the majority reporting incidents which occurred in 2021.

Over 60% of these students chose not to report their experience of being spiked at the time, with students saying they felt “nothing would happen”, or feeling they had a lack of evidence.

Of those who did go to the police, 13 out of 14 students stated that they had a bad experience.

Half of these students stated that they felt like they were being blamed for having been spiked.

After these incidents, nearly 40% of students reported increased anxiety in drinking environments, with 30% of students being more cautious in drinking environments.

The students who took part in the consultation came from 42 universities with the largest number, 34, having studied at the University of York.

The consultation allowed students to anony-

mously share their experiences of being spiked, including the reporting process and its long term impacts on them.

85% of students reported their spiking having occurred in an off-campus venue, with 11% of students reporting it having occurred on campus.

One student told The Last Taboo, “I felt incredibly drunk very fast, had such vivid hallucinations that I can still remember to this day and was so sick that I had to take a few days to recover.”

Of the students who took part in the consultation, 55% experienced memory loss from being spiked.

Nearly a quarter of students sought medical attention.

However, more students indicated this was a negative experience than a positive one with one student telling The Last Taboo: “I was told in hospital that I was just another ‘drunk’ person. My friend asked them to test me for being spiked to which they replied ‘why would someone want to waste a drug like that’”.

Of those surveyed, over 20% of respondents stated they are now scared to go out into drinking environments.

This report has since been submitted to the Home Affairs Committee inquiry into spiking.

This inquiry aims to better understand the prevalence of spiking and the effectiveness of the police response to it.

A spokesperson for The Last Taboo said: “The research and report that we have produced has highlighted what we believe to be just the surface of this issue, and we believe that the data we have collected is a call for a much more substantial study to be conducted that engages institutions and students nationally. There is no longer room to deny that this is an issue people, especially students, are facing, and it demonstrates the need for more preventative work and proactive initiatives.”

A University spokesperson said: “We are working closely with students, staff, and key partners across the City to raise awareness around drink spiking and student safety, including just launching new personal safety awareness resources.

“If a student has experienced drink spiking on campus they can seek help from Security by calling 3333 or using the SafeZone app. If they are off campus they should call the emergency services on 999.”

SUNDAY EXAMS LEAVE SOME STUDENTS UNCOMFORTABLE

EXAM SCHEDULES CONFLICT WITH STUDENTS’ FAITH IMAGE: IWAN STONE

BY MATT

WARD-PERKINS

THE UNIVERSITY OF York has been criticised after scheduling open exams on a Sunday this January, with one Christian student telling York Vision the scheduling conflicted with their faith.

The Maths Department was one of those to schedule a Sunday exam, despite an announcement to students on 3 November saying that the exam period would be from Monday 10 January to Saturday 15 January.

A third-year maths student told Vision the decision “made me feel quite uncomfortable because it came between me and worship.

“The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 are pretty clear about keeping holy the Sabbath day, and believe I should hold observances if I can on a Sunday, so having an exam clashing with it was just not good.

“If we’re working on a week as seven days,

because I had things every day from Thursday to Friday, there was no opportunity to keep a day of rest.”

The student told Vision that, if they had been told that exams could have been scheduled on the Sunday, they would have filled in the religious observances form, which allows students to state observances on particular days which they would like to be taken into account.

This year, the University’s January assessment period ran for a longer period than usual, from Friday 7 January to Tuesday 18 January 2022.

Students in other departments told Vision they had faced similar issues, with one student in the English Department saying the department accommodated them when they raised their religious reasons for not feeling able to sit an exam on a Sunday.

YUSU Academic Officer Matt Johnstone said: “The University should be taking all reli-

gious observations into account when laying out assessment timetables.

“I appreciate the situation is less than ideal, but students should use the new self-certification measures to defer exams if they don’t feel able to sit them due to reasons they deem exceptional - I absolutely include religious observance as a valid reason here.”

A University of York spokesperson said: “We are sorry if any student felt the exam scheduling this January conflicted with their faith.

“The decision about Sunday exams followed a consultation with student representatives, who expressed a preference for this to reduce the numbers having to sit two exams in one day.

“For any students concerned about exams in the future, we encourage you to contact us to let us know about observing religious commitments on a particular day during exam periods, and we always try to accommodate this.”

4

NEWS

Thursday February 3, 2022

COVID ADVICE IGNORED BY STUDENTS IN DURHAM

PALATINATE HAS REPORTED that during Easter term, only 54 students followed official University COVID-19 testing advice.

Despite Durham City having the highest COVID-19 infection rate in the country during the Easter term, only 0.56% of the 9621 students who participated in the University’s testing program were found to be following the official University guidance on twice weekly lateral flow testing. A Freedom of Information request made by Palatinate revealed that in any week in the Easter term, on average only 401 students would be tested twice.

NUMBER OF STUDENTS GETTING TOP ACCOMODATION CHOICES PLUMMETS

LEEDS REJECTS INDUSTRIAL ACTION

LEEDS UNIVERSITY UNION (LUU) issued a statement refusing to support University and College Union (UCU) industrial action, as reported by University of Leeds student newspaper, The Gryphon.

In a statement released by the LUU, it was announced that the student’s union will not be supporting strikes led by the UCU. In spite of a support rate of 75.2% (of a 60.8% turnout), a statement released by the LUU Student Executive stated that “we don’t believe this current strike action is in the best interest of students”.

Despite refusing to support the UCU strikes, the LUU student executive team claim to unequivocally support “the right to fair pay, decent working conditions, a secure retirement, and contract terms and conditions that reflect the work of teaching staff.”

TORIES IN TROUBLE

VARSITY HAS REPORTED that homophobia and misogyny at a Cambridge Conservative society social left attendees in shock and tears.

During the incredibly uncomfortable event, purportedly drunk speakers at the “Port and Policy” debating event held by the Cambridge University Conservative Association (CUCA) condemned same sex marriage, said “all good parties start with men in one room and women in the other”, and suggested that if men wanted loyalty in marriage, they should “marry a dog.”

Also noted by Varsity, during the same debate event, following his comments on segregating based on gender, the President of the Cambridge Union is alleged to have described a waitress as “fat”, “disgusting”, and “repugnant”. Despite reports of shock and tears, attendees describing the event commented on the general indifference of many guests, stating, “You’d be surprised how many people in that room weren’t bothered.”

BRISTOL GETS GREENWASHED

AS REPORTED BY Epigram, environmentalist group Extinction Rebellion Youth Bristol have spray painted “GREEN WASHED” on University of Bristol’s Senate House.

As reported by Epigram, following the spray painting, the Extinction Rebellion group (XRYB), proclaimed via their Twitter that in spite of the University of Bristol’s self-identification as ‘green’ institution, its actions and investments do not reflect this message. As cited by XRYB, University of Bristol “has taken over £22mil in research & consultancy fees since 2017/18 from defence firms such as Boeing … Bristol Uni are greenwashing!”.

IMAGE: FRAN RHODES

BY WILL

ROWAN

LESS THAN HALF of undergraduate students applying for campus accommodation were successfully allocated one of their top three preferences, a York Vision investigation has found.

The number of students receiving one of their top three accomodation choices has seen a sharp decline from 49% of students over the past two academic years from 64% over the previous two academic years.

42% of students were allocated none of their top 10 accommodation choices in the past two academic years compared to 24% the two years prior.

1100 undergraduate students went on to decline all offers of University accommodation, more than double the number from two years before.

Over 40% of students who told the University they needed a specific room type or location due to health, mobility, and welfare requirements did not receive their first preference accommodation type.

This rate has increased each year for the past four years, starting at 9% in 2018 to rise to 24% and 37% in the following two years.

Of those students who applied this year and received an offer, 35% missed out on their top three accommodation choices.

This follows Vision’s earlier findings that 700 postgraduate students missed out on campus accommodation last term, leaving hundreds of students looking for accommodation less than five weeks before their Postgraduate Welcome Week.

Vanbrugh College received the most first preferences from undergraduate applicants for the fourth year running with over 2100 students putting a room in Vanbrugh as their first choice.

However, Vanbrugh recorded the lowest success rate with just 17% of applicants receiving their first choice room within the college.

This is in contrast to 71% of those who applied to new college Anne Lister receiving their first preference room type.

The new college was the least popular among applicants in its opening year with only 410 students putting it as their first choice.

On East campus, Langwith overtook Goodricke to receive the highest number of first choice preferences.

James College continued a three year decline in first choices, resulting in it receiving the lowest number of first preferences on West campus.

YUSU President Patrick O’Donnell said: “We know that there are intense housing pressures across the City of York, and

we continue to work closely with the University and a range of partners to address the key challenges we face.

“We are working with the University to ensure our on-campus housing provision is good value for money, and that new rooms on Campus East can be made available as soon as possible to meet student demand.

“YUSU has worked over a number of years to maintain a significant number of £99 rooms each year and we will continue to explore options with the University to ensure maximum flexibility and affordability for all students.”

A University of York spokesperson said: “We do our best to ensure students are allocated one of their top choices of accommodation. However, given the variety of our rooms and the fact that some room types are more popular than others, not everyone will receive one of their top accommodation preferences.

“Most students are happy with their room after moving in and we receive very few transfer requests.

“More rooms will be available later this year when both Anne Lister and David Kato Colleges are fully opened, which we hope will allow more students to be allocated their top choices. In the meantime, we continue to welcome all feedback into how we can improve the application process.”

NEWS

BY

Thursday February 3, 2022

COMPLAINTS PROCESS UNDER FIRE RUTH KELNER AND MATT WARD-PERKINS

STUDENTS HAVE CRITICISED the University of York’s “unfair” and “atrocious” complaints process, saying they were given false hope by the University, only to be given no information or have their complaints dismissed.

Third year student Clara said her experience with the University misconduct team has left her “disappointed and disenfranchised”, after reporting an incident in which she was grabbed, pushed and choked by a fellow student.

Initially, Clara reported the incident to North Yorkshire Police who dropped the case saying there was “insufficient evidence”.

Clara said she hoped that, unlike the police, the University would be able to help.

Wary this time of having to again give upsetting statements, Clara says she confirmed with University staff that the case was unlikely to be dropped.

After another month of waiting, the University’s conduct and respect advisor informed Clara there was inadequate evidence to prove that misconduct had occurred to “the standard required” despite her submission of pictures of her injuries.

Clara felt the experience of reporting misconduct was “filled with unfairness”. In an email exchange, she was told that the disciplinary manager had delayed reviewing her case due to “other work commitments”.

The University claims to not be able to give more detail of the account given by the person Clara complained about as they have a “duty of care to both students”.

Clara feels this has meant her attacker is “being treated like the victim”, rather than the other way around.

This was only made worse when she was given an agreement to sign telling her she is not allowed to contact this student and should avoid them around campus.

Final year student Lauren also felt disappointed after being encouraged to make a complaint to the University after being targeted online.

“The University made a kind of off-the-cuff promise to me that, if people were found to be involved in the sort of behaviour that I had evidence of, they would face the highest sanctions.

“At the end of the complaints procedure, it was then revealed that should never have been promised to me and the University apologised.”

In response to a Freedom of Information request, the University told York Vision that it keeps no routine record of how many complaints are resolved in its own target time of 60 days.

After a review of cases last academic year, the University found around one in five investigations were not completed within this time, which they said was partly the result of COVID-19 related investigations and increased complaints when the report and support tool was introduced.

Students told Vision that delays to investi-

gations made the process more challenging.

Lauren said: “I was told it was going to be three to four weeks roughly. In the end, I reached out after I heard nothing for over a month, because I had absolutely nothing and was promised quite regular updates so I felt in the dark.

“Over a month after that, I was told that the complaint had gone to the disciplinary manager for a decision. Then it was quite a lot later, another three months afterwards, that I actually had any other information.

“It wasn’t just the length of time, it was the fact that there was no explanation for the length of time. Had I understood what was going on, just them saying ‘this has taken us longer than we were expecting’, I would have felt a bit more in the loop.”

In the six months it took for a decision to be made on Lauren’s case, one of the people she made a complaint against had graduated from the University, avoiding significant sanctions when misconduct was found.

Former student Ben made a complaint after being harassed both physically and online.

He told Vision he chose to pursue a University complaint instead of a police investigation as “I felt I should be able to trust their complaints procedure, for them to deal with it in the right way, and because I felt it was a University matter”.

By the time a decision was made on his case, after over four months, he had already started a postgraduate course away from York.

He said: “I had to be the one asking them and chasing them for information. It wasn’t structured at all, I was having to go to them again and again.

“There were times after it happened that I was scared to walk on campus. Certainly I didn’t walk there at night for a while.

“The huge amount of time was incredibly stressful when I was going onto campus. I saw the person I complained about several times.”

It wasn’t just the length of investigations that left students frustrated.

Lauren said: “After the investigation came out in a way that I didn’t feel it had been investigated properly, I ended up having to request more information, which it turned out they could have given me in the first place, they just chose not to.

“When I spoke to people in YUSU, they were quite confused by how limited the information I was given was. Later, I was allowed to find out that certain charges led to people being held to account, but it was still very limited, even after I pushed.

“Sanctions were discussed at the beginning, and made out as if I’d have some sort of level of conclusion about that, but I was never allowed to know the sanctions.”

Ben told Vision he had to give information that he was surprised the complaints team didn’t know. “I had to tell them where security cameras were, and how they could prove what had happened to me, things that they had access to but I didn’t. It felt ridiculous at the time that I was having to tell them that.”

Like Clara, Lauren was also given a No Contact Agreement, and said she “felt like it almost protected the person who had been reported more than the actual person making a report.

She said the agreement didn’t do enough to make her feel safe. “We had the no contact agreement, but they weren’t allowed to tell me if I was going to be in a lecture or seminar with someone I’d made a complaint about.

“I was also told by the complaints team that I could have a personal safety alarm, but I was never given one.”

Despite having already graduated, Ben was given an agreement that the University said was “in the hope that we can sustain a supportive environment for you to safely continue with your studies”.

He said of the process: “It was extremely stressful, and, in the end, absolutely nothing came out of it. Lauren told Vision that she had found the complaints process to have been a damaging experience personally.

“My wellbeing was only checked at the beginning, and at the end, nowhere in the middle. I think the University is lucky the complaints process hasn’t had more people come out worse for wear.

“I think the fact that how bad it is isn’t public is a benefit for them. It’s atrocious, and honestly, the process was worse than the actual thing that I was complaining about.”

YUSU Community and Wellbeing Officer Kelly Balmer said: “It is extremely frustrating that students are still having issues with reporting forms of misconduct to the University.

I have made it clear to the University that the wait times between reporting and hearing back are too long, and that support needs to be offered along the way.

“When reporting misconduct, students shouldn’t feel lost in the process, or that their reports are being put on the back burner. The Conduct and Respect team are trying to improve, but these improvements are taking too much time due to the impossible balancing act of being overstretched and under-resourced.

“At the end of the day, the processes in place are clearly worsening students’ experiences of reporting misconduct, and it isn’t acceptable.”

A University spokesperson said: “We are concerned to hear these students’ experiences, and while we can not comment on individual cases, we want to assure students that we listen to their feedback.

“We increased staffing and resources in response to the large number of Report and Support submissions in 2020/1 and all reports have been resolved within the 60 day target in the current academic year.

“We regularly signpost relevant support during investigations and share what information we are able, while still working within the legal requirements.”

“We have taken student feedback on board and have reviewed the wording of our No Contact Agreements to ensure they are clear in their intention to promote a safe and respectful environment for our community.”

5

RECORD STAFF COVID-19 CASES

BY WILL

ROWAN

OVER 140 STAFF reported testing positive for COVID-19 last term, making it the first term where more staff have reported catching the virus than students.

Last term saw a significant increase in the number of staff members at the University reporting a positive test result for COVID-19 following the widespread return of staff and students to campus.

This is a 110% increase on the number of staff cases reported in autumn term of 2020 and the first term where more staff have reported testing positive than students.

Over 1000 students reported testing positive for COVID-19 during that period in 2020, with only 68 staff members reporting the same.

Around 10% of staff have reported testing positive for COVID-19 while in York since autumn 2020.

This follows high rates of vaccination among students, with 69% of students reporting recieving a booster vaccine.

“The health and safety of our staff, students and visitors remains a priority. We are continuing some of our mitigation measures.

“A majority of the staff cases we have seen are from individuals who have not been on campus in the recent past.”

KISS FROM A WHITE ROSE

BY MATT

WARD-PERKINS

THREE IN TEN York alumni who have a spouse or partner are in relationships with another former York student, according to a Freedom of Information request submitted by York Vision.

This compares to 83% of similar students at Leeds University, 76% at Exeter University and 84% at Durham University, according to Durham’s student newspaper Palatinate.

Just under 15% of all York alumni who have chosen to give information about their relationship status to the University have another former York student as their spouse or partner.

The University told Vision it does not routinely collect data on alumni relationship status, so these figures only reflect students who have volunteered this information to the University.

YUSU President Patrick O’Donnell said: “After nearly four and a half years of failed relationships at the University of York, I’d rather not dwell on these figures”.

6

OPINION

Thursday February 3, 2022

Vısıon YORK

SAYS...

NO MORE EXCUSES

YUSU ELECTIONS SEASON is around the corner, as plenty of banners, signs and adverts are telling us.

We’ve particularly enjoyed the ‘mythbusters’ section of YUSU’s Elections minisite, a greatest hits album of past manifesto promises that were never going to happen.

Maybe it says something about past elections that candidates need a website to tell them that YUSU can’t afford to buy a new building in the city, or cut the costs of food or drink without finding a way to pay for it.

We’re grateful that YUSU have taken the ‘I didn’t know how difficult this would be’ excuse away from candidates ahead of time this year, so let’s hope they read it.

But, we’re going to have to disagree with the idea that making YUSU more transparent is unachievable (even if most candidates use it as a cliche).

From finding new ways to engage students with YUSU processes, to even just publishing the accounts from the 2021 AGM on the website, there are plenty of ways to make that promise happen.

COLLEGE COMMITTEES ARE PART OF COLLEGES WE THINK COLLEGE committees are part of colleges. Makes sense, right?

After all, why else would colleges delegate plenty of their budgets, rely on committees to organise the biggest events of the year (including Freshers’ Week) and provide important support to their students?

One group of people who don’t agree with what seems obvious to us is the University’s legal team. They have told Vision repeatedly that college committees are not part of the University, at one stage even claiming they were a part of YUSU (which they just aren’t).

College committees are an important part of the University’s system of governance, and do great work that the University should embrace, not disown.

Now, we get why the University might not want as much scrutiny of how their money is spent as we’d like, but hopefully they don’t leave college committees without any status or role in the University’s structures to achieve that.

CONGRATULATIONS COURTYARD

COURTYARD CELEBRATED ITS 13th birthday at the start of term and it has a lot to be proud of.

A home to many students, Courtyard is kicking off its teen years right. Since our last print edition, they’ve revealed a revamped menu which offers the (slightly more) affordable campus food we asked for.

The Classic Chicken Wrap tastes more like a classic now and can be bought for a fiver. The cake of the day and cheesecake of the day have already done their job of keeping my energy levels up throughout a busy day on campus.

The dreaded cheese shortages of last term appear much improved with ten pizzas on offer. That is the best birthday present Courtyard could ask for and we’re celebrating by going there frequently.

That reminds me, we need to get something to eat. I think I’ll pop along to Courtyard.

OPINION EASING RESTRICTIONS GIVES US ALL AN OPPORTUNITY IMAGE: Will Rowan

KATIE PRESTON OPINION EDITOR @kxtieprxsten

TWO YEARS ON after the outbreak of COVID-19 in the UK, the government is removing national restrictions, but the consequences this will have for students is up for debate.

On 27 January, compulsory mask-wearing on public transport and the use of COVID-19 certification ended, with guidance on self-isolation being reviewed later in March. Despite this, Vice-Chancellor Charlie Jeffery has stated that COVID-19 measures will remain at the University until at least 11 February, with mask wearing still being compulsory, unless exempt for in-person activities.

However, what will on-campus life look like for York students once restrictions are fully lifted and, perhaps more importantly, what are the potential positives and negatives of ending Plan B? In my opinion, it’s difficult to say this early on whether or not the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions is a good thing. Are we still in a pandemic? Yes. Will this allow people to go back to ‘normal’? Hopefully. Will COVID-19 still majorly impact peoples’ health and livelihood, nationally and elsewhere? Undoubtedly.

But at this point, as a non-politics student, it’s difficult for me to predict the outcome of ending restrictions on a national scale, so instead I’ve attempted to create an overview of how the ending of Plan B will affect us students.

To start with the positives of ending restrictions, perhaps the biggest plus is students are now able to return to campus for Spring term with relative normality. Now that lectures and seminars are in person for most

departments, gone is the anxiety about internet crashes and the overwhelming Zoom fatigue that many of us experienced during the height of the pandemic. Similarly, as a result of classes now being mostly in person, students are now able to properly socialise and make friends within their academic groups, something that proved incredibly difficult over the course of the last few terms. Having classes in person also gets us out of our rooms and socialising in public!

“Students are now able to return to campus for Spring Term with relative normality” Whilst the commute to buildings on campus can be annoying, especially for those dreaded 9am seminars, being able to go outside and not have to sit monotonously at a desk is so much better for students’ mental health.

Another huge positive of ending restrictions is the increase of socialising opportunities for societies and events. Kicking off with the Roman Raid, a huge bar crawl event during the second week of term, the lifting of restrictions has meant that many students are now able to properly have a ‘university’ socialising experience – something that was robbed from a lot of us during the pandemic. Additionally, societies are now able to meet in person, allowing for much easier socialisation. Whether that be committee meetings or society club nights, the national lifting of COVID-19 restrictions has allowed for students to properly get involved with the societies of their choice in person as opposed to yet another Zoom call.

The lifting of these restrictions has evidently had such a positive

impact on the social life of students, allowing all years to properly experience university life both on and off campus. However, there are still some negatives of lifting restrictions across England.

“We are very much still in the midst of a serious worldwide pandemic” Despite society now being able to go back to relative normality after two years of upheaval, it is undeniable that we are still very much in the midst of a serious, worldwide pandemic. As of 26 January, more than 102,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19, with 346 people sadly dying as a result of the virus.

In York specifically, more than 2000 people have tested positive over the last week, with the new Omicron variant catalysing a higher spread of the virus and thus potentially negatively impacting the learning of University staff and students.

Similarly, there are many students at York who will feel endangered by the lifting of restrictions due to their own physical or mental health, concerns of which are incredibly valid and should be respected by the rest of the student body.

Ultimately, the outcome of lifting restrictions is yet to be seen, but it is vital that students continue to get vaccinated, test regularly, and stay safe.

Bottom Line: Enjoy the return to ‘normal’ but don’t forget the responsibilites we still have to each other.

OPINION

Thursday February 3, 2022

KEEP OUR EXAMS OPEN BOOK

OPINION TEAM KATIE PRESTON MATT ROGAN

BY

WE NEED TO ACTUALLY ‘SAVE D BAR’ MATT WARD-PERKINS EDITOR @mattwardperkins

A COUPLE OF weeks ago, a society I am part of was looking for a bar to visit after a meeting on a Monday night.

Since we’re always encouraged to support on-campus venues, it should be easy enough to find one, right?

After one look at the line for V Bar (showing the popularity of Vanbrugh Jazz Night), we headed to Courtyard, which was packed with another event.

Now, it’s great to see campus venues busy with great events, but it means more and more student groups like mine are forced to host more and more events or socials off-campus.

I actually think there’s a pretty clear solution to this one, and it’s a venue that, for all its down-

sides, was the perfect place to take a big group that wasn’t sure where to go… D Bar. D Bar’s future was thrown into doubt after students noticed it was no longer on YUSU’s venue list last Summer, which led to an open letter and petition, and YUSU eventually saying they were planning for D Bar’s return as soon as possible.

“We do need more event space on campus, but the solution isn’t to stop D Bar from being a bar” It’s now just over six months after that commitment, and the YUSU webpage that kicked off all that drama describes D Bar as a “dedicated events space on campus (along with The Lounge)”.

We do need more event space

on campus, but the solution isn’t to stop D Bar from being a bar.

It’s only a few years since YUSU negotiated the licence, and in that time we’ve already seen The Lounge stop being a bar open regularly.

If this means what it looks like it means, that D Bar will only open for events that book the space, then a vital space for groups of students too big to find space together on a busy evening in YUSU’s other venues (but not big enough to justify booking a whole bar), could be lost for good.

D Bar was, at it’s best, a home to everything from sport clubs visiting at the start of a social, to political societies watching late night local election results, and plenty in between.

The University and YUSU have never replicated that space, where a group can be sure of finding a table, and spending a good night together.

I get why reopening D Bar fully might not make sense on paper, it had more quiet nights than some of YUSU’s other venues. But when you are a charity, focused on the needs of students, sometimes you have to look beyond the numbers to the difference to campus life a venue can make.

Not everything has to be a purely commercial decision. D Bar is particularly important for student groups and can keep them on campus, and it’s another social venue that York is missing.

‘Saving’ it means more than just turning the taps back on.

Bottom Line:

Campus doesn’t have enough bar space, and reopening D Bar properly is a solution staring YUSU in the face.

STRIKES ARE TAKING TOO HIGH A TOLL JASMINE MOODY MANAGING DIRECTOR @Jasmine07404371

LECTURERS ARE STRIKING because they are at “breaking point”. I understand, but what about us students being at breaking point?

If lecturers and university staff expect us to be sympathetic to their situation, they also need to be sympathetic to us students.

After the last set another set of strikes will be occurring. In an email sent to students, Charlie Jeffery confirmed that another strike will be happening over three weeks, spanning from 14 February to 2 March. In total, ten days will be committed to striking.

It’s a messy conflict of interest.

On the one hand, I wholeheartedly support the strikes. Our lectures work extremely hard, and the fact that they have had to endure a

decade of cuts to pensions, failing pay, and worsening working conditions is abysmal. Striking for those reasons is justified. However, frustration towards the strikes is wholly valid too.

The issue that I have is the impact on students. I am in my third year and have not had the usual university experience since the spring term of my first year.

Many second-year classes were moved online due to COVID-19, slashing my already tiny contact hours. Every year I have been at the University of York, there have been strikes. The lethal combination of COVID-19 and striking has been disastrous.

The last strikes were particularly unhelpful, personally. They occurred in Week 10 of the Autumn term, where my seminars would have been dedicated to summative essay guidance. Due to the strikes, I was left unsure of approaching many of my assessments. I am apprehensive

about receiving the marks due to the lack of essay guidance. I am aware that summative essays are my personal responsibility. Still, I have always found seminars specifically to help us approach the assignments very helpful. Those seminars were taken away from me the last term. I now wait in dreaded anticipation for my results as every mark now counts.

I’m sure many of you are in the same boat as me.

“I have every right to be angry about the impacts of strikes” Our £9,250 tuition fees go straight to the University, to those cutting our lecturers pay, pensions and worsening working conditions. So yes, our anger should go towards them for causing our lecturers to strike. However, it is not them who teach us; our lecturers and teaching staff are. Therefore,

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even though lecturers are the victims, in this case, it does not make us students any less victimised differently. Us students are allowed to be angry for worsening the quality of education.

Yes, support the strikes, but we students have a right to feel dismayed. Having negative feelings towards a situation affecting your university experience is justified. If lecturers and teaching staff feel frustrated, they should expect students to feel animosity towards the problem.

I genuinely hope that our university staff are treated better. I support their reasons for striking, but as a student, I have every right to be angry about the impacts of strikes on me.

Bottom Line: Strikes are justified, but so is student frustration.

MATT ROGAN

NOW THAT WE’RE returning to some form of normality following COVID-19 restrictions being lifted, there’s one thing I’m glad remains: 24-hour exams.

Something that truly bothered me as I began my degree was the pressure of exams: being in a room, in silence, for an extended period with the clock ticking away.

However, two years on, this pressure has been alleviated by exams being 24-hour and open-book. I believe this is more akin to what the real world is like! Problem solving is rarely achieved in three hours flat working in silence, they come from pacing back and forth talking aloud to yourself trying to make it make sense.

It’s not about memorising formulas and facts, it’s about applying what you’ve learned. We should keep them.

GIVE ME WATER OR GIVE ME DEATH

BY WILL ROWAN

IT’S A CRUEL coincidence that for a campus that surrounds large masses of water, finding a water fountain can be a nightmare.

During the day, you can pop along to an outlet on campus for a refill but at night you’re often left stranded with nothing to drown your sorrows. I have a simple wish and that’s to be able to go to a water fountain on campus to fill up a bottle no matter what time of day it is.

That cool refreshment could soothe the onset of any deadline-induced delirium and help cut water waste. Both of these are good!

We shouldn’t have to traipse to the library or head back home just to stay hydrated. Water fountains shouldn’t just be available ‘somewhere’ on campus, they should be unavoidable. They should be signposted and added to the campus map.

It’s not difficult, just give us more options.

@ImogenWebbe

COLUMNS

Thursday February 3, 2022

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@ImogenWebbe

WORLD WIDE WEBBE IMOGEN WEBBE

ME? I’M A POSTMODERN WOMAN OF THE WORLD. A BIMBO IF YOU LIKE.

BACK WHEN UNIVERSITY campuses were populated by the rich and privileged, the white and male, us women were not welcomed into these academic spaces and stereotypes about a woman’s capabilities circulated.

She stays out too late. She’s got nothing in her brain. At least that’s what people say, isn’t it?

A modern interpretation of this T Swift extract could be the so-called bimbo. And yes, I am still your local lefty feminist. Bear with me and allow me to elaborate.

The word bimbo actually comes from the Italian bambino (little boy or child). While it was originally used to describe a foolish man in an insulting way, the word gained traction around the 1920s where it was used for attractive, free-spirited women. The word had a resurgence in the 80s, where it seems to have been adapted for how we largely use it today: to imply a blonde, promiscuous, empty-headed woman. (At least that’s what the internet says anyway). We all have our own versions of Regina George scuttling around in our minds whenever someone utters the word.

It’s funny how words change their meanings to suit the place and time. Like ‘awful’ (originally awe-full), or how ‘girl’ was originally genderless. It seems ‘bimbo’, too, is due a revamp round-about now.

That’s right. As with low-rise jeans to the Government) has declared and butterfly hair clips, 2022 has a new strategy for universities ofreclaimed our beloved ‘bimbo’. fering ‘low quality courses and deLucinda Price recently wrote in clining standards’ that will offer a the Guardian that ‘bimbofication’ high-quality, consistent academic can be described as the process experience for all students. of purposefully becoming attracWhen you think back to the tive and in this case, appearing days of A Level results, UCAS, and to be stupid. Its 2022 twist is that cider in the park, do you ever wish our modern bimbos can be found on TikTok (no surprise there), making simple yet effective digs at the ‘Brads’ and ‘Chads’ of the world and contrary to yesteryear, being admired and esteemed for their content. Power to them, I say.

But is this really the postYes Barbie, life *is* fantastic as a bimbo. modern feminist’s dream?

Let’s take a look at higher edu- you’d chosen a different degree? cation today.

You know, a fun one? Well our beI’m now in my third year and loved government has announced soon to be entering the world of plans to scrap low-value degrees work. Basically, I’m soon to un- that fail to contribute to society, derstand in real terms what value economic growth, and social momy degree has added to my career bility. In other words, the Governprospects. Just recently, the Office ment has failed to see the beauty in for Students (which is answerable the beast that is the Mickey Mouse

IL DOLCE FAR NIENTE

PHEW, THOSE JANUARY deadlines were not the one.

I don’t know about you, but I went home to the Midlands early December, and in all the excitement of catching up on daytime TV and allowing my doting mother to serve me three meals a day, I lost track of the deadlines. It’s a bittersweet reality.

Come the New Year - once the taste of passionfruit vodka and next-day embarrassment had left my mouth - I was hit with the inevitable rush to make the deadlines.

Somehow, a combination of determination, copious amounts of hot drinks, and an all nighter courtesy of Mr. JB Morrell, meant I came out the other side; alive, but incred-

ibly exhausted and nowhere near feeling refreshed and ready for the Spring Term.

Luckily, whatever I lack in time management, I make up for in oodles of relaxation skills.

Escapism, for me, is found in being creative. I can sit blissfully for a couple of hours with pliers in hand crafting pretty earrings while listening to one of my true crime podcasts.

It helps that my sister works with second-hand jewellery and

degree, so they’re getting rid. At least your super-pragmatic, ‘back in my day’ dad will be pleased, eh?

But someone needs to let him know that uni degrees aren’t what they once were. Years back, a degree meant independence and social mobility, but do we really need a degree for that now?

Take everyone’s favourite justice warrior, Molly-Mae. It’s hard to believe that the creative director of one of the UK’s largest fashion brands is only a year older than me, yet by today’s standards, her large platform and popularity makes her much more successful than someone such as myself who has gone to uni.

The nature of work, education, and earned social capital has shifted, and perhaps Ms. Hague is proof of that.

And, therefore, because the Government’s new strategies for streamlining and improving university courses is predicated on the hopes of making all graduates high-earning, yet we know Mol-

ly-Mae made her dollar outside of the lecture theatre, we are left with the classic modern choice of brains or beauty. Now I’m not advocating for dropping out, but it does make OnlyFans look just that little bit more appealing - don’t you think?

Well, it would, that is, if your career aspirations focused around generating wealth. The government may see these degrees as low quality, but that’s really to do with how graduates on those courses may contribute less to economic growth. My social science degree isn’t exactly widely recognised or understood, but I hope to be graduating later this year with a concern for justice and a better understanding of my personal values. Social conscience, Molly-Mae, is an unwaged bonus.

Women’s liberation in the West used to be tied to having an education and maintaining a well-paid job in order to gain financial independence. In the modern world, perhaps a popular monetised social media account can provide the same societal independence that our predecessors sought before, or perhaps it will never be mainstream enough as a source of income, and our culture will go unchanged.

As I curl my dipped, corkscrew, brunette locks behind my ear, I think to myself: there are so many worse things I could be right now than a bimbo.

sources gems for me, but that’s not why I do it. There is a beauty in fashioning the old into something new. Be it upcycling your disused clothes, painting a cheap set of drawers from Facebook Marketplace, or embroidering over a worn-away patch on an old pair of jeans. And, if you can listen to the new Adele album while you do it, it seems like heaven to me.

In Italy, there is a phrase: ‘Il dolce far niente’. It’s as apt as it is poetic. Translated literally, it means

‘the sweetness of doing nothing’.

The university experience can be a rollercoaster at the best of times; when it’s going well it’s a bit like Oblivion, but when you’re behind with work and the stress is piling up, it can feel like the underwhelming teacups.

So, allow me to present you with a task for the remainder of this term. Find your ‘nothing’ and run with it. You’ll thank me later.

SCENE. THE BLOW-OUT

INSIDE:

Extravagant Musical Theatre Interview: Edoardo Vitaletti The Heaviest Heavy Metal, The Spiciest Curry & The Longest Video Games

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CONTENTS

Editor’s Note

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ast year was quite some year for everyone and the sigh of relief could be felt across the nation as the clock slowly ticked 2022 into action.

Despite the frankly exhausting chaos of the previous year, there was one small, solitary corner of the world that continued to run like clockwork and produce the ‘quality content’ that the gremlins of student media so desperately crave. That’s right, I am talking about the one room on campus dirtier than Derwent bedrooms, the York Vision office.

And, in 2021 the manic machine of campus-based content continued to grow and multiply. Ironically, in the process, the souls of its members have been crushed by the oppressive weight of the Vision Gods. The sad thing? We just can’t stop.

It’s not an urge or addiction so much.

It’s more of a depraved desire for funny headlines and quality content - for reference see inside.

A regular highlight of the Scene edition is the wonderful cover art curated by Niall McGenity. We opened this academic year with our ‘Fresh’ edition, which saw a restrained De Chirico- inspired statue of Long-Boi, a minimalistic cover that proved Scene can be classy. Following that, our ‘Abstract edition’ was brought to life by watercolour delights. Both wonderful pieces that put a brief halt to the usual student-driven carnage of Scene content and celebrated the talented artists we

have on campus.

Yet, the latest cover, while still brilliant, drifts into far more carnivalesque and excessive territory. Oh yes, the roaring 20s are truly kicking into gear and that’s what this edition seeks to celebrate. For clarity, and for the sake of clever titling, it is only appropriate for 21st Century stab at the 20s to be referred to as ‘The 2.0s’. We still have a lot of time to turn this decade around, and maybe we’ll end up with something more iconic than the noughties. There is a lot less to smile about at the moment than one might have hoped for, but this edition aims to put that aside and discuss the highlights of student-driven cultural content. It felt appropriate to attempt to kick-off the year with something celebratory and excessive. And, that is why I ended up choosing ‘The Blow-Out’.

Some cinéastes may have first questioned why SCENE were dedicating an entire edition to a criminally underrated thriller starring John Travolta (as I’m typing this I wonder why we rejected that idea in the first place). In actual fact, this edition is discussing various corners of culture from the weird and wonderful to frankly excessive and silly - a little bit like Travolta’s career.

‘The Blow-Out’ opens with a piece from our Stage team that marvels at the wonders of musical theatre. Accompanying this is a piece discussing the dreaded C-word (not that one) and the panto crash. Following this is the Screen team who have crafted a double-spread of recommendations, interviews, and discussions. While the roaring 20s enjoyed Keaton and Chaplin, the modern Hollywood film seems to represent and care about something very different.

Our Games section takes a deep dive into all things excessive, as our newest section editor breaks down the overlong time killers of video game content. What did they have in the 1920s? Monopoly and scrabble? Pah! In the 2020s we have FIVE Animal Crossing games.

Accompanying Games is our Food and Drink section, which assesses the vegan delights found in York restaurants. Alongside this, Tom Willett records his attempt to finish the hottest curry he could find in York.

I came along to watch Tom attempt this and the viewing experience was painful. I’m sure

SCENE: Our Edition in Images

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Charlie Gaskell

attempting the spiciest summit in York was a whole lot worse. It wasn’t quite Kilimanjaro (although he described it as a ‘near-death experience’) and it wasn’t Everest (although he told me he would need to lie down eternally afterwards). Tom recorded the conversation over the meal to get a proper gauge of how the process went. For obvious reasons, this documentation has been destroyed, and we agreed to never mention it again.

The Relationships and Travel sections go hand in hand. Our Relationships section is getting everybody Valentine’s ready with cheaper alternatives to the consumerism-driven annual celebration. Alternatively, Travel offers a tour of all that Yorkshire has to offer - a slightly more lavish getaway for those wishing to push the boat out as the month of love and romance begins to set sail. Finally, our Books section takes excess to levels of insanity with a review of Infinite Jest alongside a breakdown of the best books of 2021. Following this, the Music section is turning it up to 11 with a breakdown of albums incorporating the heaviest of the heavy and the loudest of the loud.

The hours spent in the dusty Vision office better have been worth it for this edition. By the final days of print preperation the paranoia had truly set in. I’m sure the room was getting smaller. And there was this constant beeping? In a painstaking process of procrastination Matt Ward-Perkins attempted to remove pins from the walls of the office. His painful attempts to scrape at the wall reminded me of Gene Hackman in the final moments of Coppola’s The Conversation. A disturbing and ultimately concerning sight. Are the walls bugged? Have rival student newspapers taken things that far? If they have it’s soon to be discovered by Matt’s office excavation project.

Maybe I’ve just been on InDesign for too long.

Anyway, I hope the latest SCENE content succeeds in embracing the unique. Although 2022 isn’t exactly getting off to a swinging start, I’m sure the spirit of the roaring 20s can at least carry us some of the way there. Then again, the 1920s was also defined by ugly nativism, organised crime and prohibition. Well shit, I can already see some parallels seeping through. If alcohol is banned, we all riot. Hey, there’s the spirit coming back. Literally.

Enjoy!

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SCENE Editor Charlie Gaskell Chief Subeditor Lucas Lefley Subeditors Isabel Head Twiggy Yeung Jack Batstone Marti Stelling Emily Jebb Amy Miri Huntley Isabel Head Jack Batstone Megan Bartley Sharanya Kumar Stage Editor Emily Sinclair Deputy Editor Amber Handley Screen Editor Jed Wagman Deputy Editor Gena Clarke Games Editor Luke Horwitz Deputy Editor Matt Igoe Food & Drink Editor Tom Willett Deputy Editor Navya Verma Relationships Editor Naomi McGrath Deputy Editor Bethan Hubbard Travel Editor Grace Swadling Deputy Editor Nicholas Chen Books Editor Luke Horwitz Deputy Editor Caitlin Hyland Music Editor Joe Radford Deputy Editor Ben Forsdick

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STAGE

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IMAGE: FLICKR

The Blow-Out

Bold Costumes and Bright Lights: The World of Extravagant Theatre Amber Handley & Emily Sinclair

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ecoming one of the highest grossing West End shows, Wicked continues to astound its audiences through its incredible use of costumes, grand staging, and breath-taking array of musical numbers.

Extravagance wholly defines this musical, with the set incorporating a giant ‘time dragon’ which looms over the stage.

Additionally, the untold story of the witches of Oz dazzles with its astounding eight costume changes per character; each one grander than the last! The cost of the costumes will also leave you wideeyed, the most expensive of which is a claret dress belonging to head teacher Madam Morrible costing a mammooth £25,000. While the show may be bold, it’s not just full of tricks and gimmicks. The story line tugs on all your emotions, focusing on an unlikely friendship between two vastly different witches, whose relationship struggles through their opposing viewpoints and shared love interest.

With 20 songs featured in the hit musical, the shows climax dazzles onlookers as Elphaba descends into the air (with the assistance of a hydraulic elevator), during her ballad ‘Defying Gravity’. With the underlying message of embracing your true self, finding power in your differences, and its jaw dropping vocal range, ‘Defying Gravity’, in all its boldness, is truly the most memorable and extravagant part of the show.

Intricate dance numbers, incredible makeup, and flying monkeys, are just a small part of the show’s indulgence.

Never for a moment can it be considered boring, nor would you hope so for the tickets £50 price-tag! The show certainly pulls out all the stops to entertain its audience and ensure you get your money’s worth. It leaves you in a state of awe, as you ponder its moral message of always standing up for what you believe

in. Its magic stays with you long after the curtain falls, and you may even find yourself wishing to journey to the magical land of Oz and experience its wonder for yourself.

The Lion King is a visual experience like no other. It combines an explosion of colour, captivating music, and a skilled cast who morph themselves into animals before your eyes. As of 2014, the musical has become one of the highest-ever grossing theatre shows, earning over £6.2 billion worldwide and plenty more since then! It’s no surprise why the show has continued to be a hit, with the non-naturalistic show going all out with its extravagant set, brilliantly detailed masks, and skilled use of puppetry. The show follows young and energetic lion cub Simba in the African Savanna, who runs away after his father Mufuasa is killed by his evil Uncle Scar. After the Pride Land falls to darkness under his Uncle’s rule, Simba is left to claim back his birth right with the help of his trusted friends, who share a few songs along the way!

The African Savanna is brought to life through a compelling set. A gigantic sun adorns the stage, constructed out of 43 aluminium ribs attached to silk strips; giving the impression of a sun rise. The sun isn’t the only large-scale use of staging, with a giant elephant puppet being created for the show. Master puppetry is integrated throughout the show, to bring the exotic animals to life with the help of expert performers. With over 232 puppets used per show the grand scale of puppetry may be over the top, but I find it rather fitting when matched with the stunning musical ballads. Puppetry is just one of the elements which makes the show so captivating.

Skilled dancers simulate the movements of their animal, while meticulous

@YorkVisionStage

STAGE EDITOR emily sinclair DEPUTY STAGE EDITOR amber handley

“He’s Behind You!”...

COVID Creeps Up to Pantomine Season

Emily Sinclair

A

s we head towards an easing of COVID-19 restrictions, many are celebrating what will hopefully be the end of a stressful and unpredictable two years.

Whilst Christmas for most looked a bit more ‘normal’, the theatre industry continually suffered as waves of Omicron swept through their cast. With the core goal of trying to provide some light relief and entertainment, the pantomime is one of theatre’s biggest selling shows in the year and appeals to all age groups, it’s a tradition.

However, the constant changing of plans and last-minute phonecalls bearing the news of two lines on a test meant it was one of the hardest years in pantomime history. Many pantomimes had to shut such as The Brighton Centre’s Aladdin which was postponed until 2022 due to “the uncertainty and risk surrounding the Omicron variant”.

Our very own Grand Opera House York suffered this year due to the COVID-19 masks encapsulate the emotions and personalities of each character. Although the masks and puppets are crucial to the performance, it’s no mean feat creating them; with an average 37,000 hours taken to create all the masks and puppets used in a single show. However, extravagance seems the only option when you’re telling the story of a young lion cub destined to be king. Overall, I believe The Lion King is a heart-warming story of identity and friendship, and it’s no surprise why the musical continually wins the hearts of the nation. You leave with an irremovable smile and Hakuna Matata replaying in your head for days!

Based on the novel by Mark Haddon and adapted into a script by Simon Stephens, the seven-time Olivier winning play The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Nighttime can be branded as extravagant due to its complex lighting and physical theatre style making the show fantastic. Inspired

by Frantic Assembly and choreographed by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett, the show incorporates techniques such as a jet pack lift and mime which enables the audience to travel into Christopher’s wonderful world.

As a play that focuses on disability and attitudes towards someone who is different, the almost supernatural effect created on stage (enhanced by powerful instrumentals) means that the concept of difference is portrayed in an uplifting light.

One of the most extravagant moments

outbreak yet managed to remain open from 11 December - 9 January with only a few cast changes. In a press release from Celestine Dubruel on the 7 January, it was made known that two of the main stars, Berwick Kaler and Martin Barrass, were “awaiting the results of their PCR tests”.

Starring in Dick Turpin Rides Again as Dolly and Dunkin’ Doughnut the two actors were luckily replaced by Alan McHugh and Jack Buchnon. However, many shows were unable to find replacements at such short notice.

Equally, these last-minute changes and uncertain moments placed a lot of stress and pressure on the cast, and the theatre industry should be credited for how well they dealt with the unprecedented pantomime season this year.

The Grand Opera House would like to “thank audiences for their continued support and understanding”, a message we have heard up and down the country as all sectors of society continue to struggle on.

IMAGE: FLICKR within the play is when Christopher is travelling to London. The cacophony of contrasting and electrically enhanced sounds as well as the hustle and bustle of actors on stage creates this visually appealing set up and engulfs the audience.

Despite being a naturalistic script, the increased theatricality creates a non-naturalistic environment and is what makes the show so enjoyable. Paule Constable, the lighting designer, uses symbolic lighting to add to the extravagance. For example, when Christopher was panicked, red strobe lighting was used to demonstrate the shift in his emotions and create a tense environment within in the auditorium. In this sense, extravagance doesn’t always relate to happiness, and one thing the director Marianne Elliot does so well is ensure that extravagance in some form is present throughout the whole play. It is a rollercoaster of emotions but you leave the show with a warm heart. It is something that you don’t want to miss!

stage@yorkvision.co.uk

IMAGES: IMDB

SCREEN

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The Blow-Out

Excessive Nostalgia and Obedient Fan Service: A Sequel to The Hollywood Blockbuster

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hy is it that nearly every single blockbuster that comes out has to rely on nostalgia and fan service to have any weight to the film? Has Hollywood completely lost all of its originality? With recent new entries into the Ghostbusters, Matrix and Spider-Man franchises amongst many others all testifying to this, there’s an incredible excess of nostalgia in modern blockbusters, and Hollywood is just relying on previous films to keep us entertained.

I’m not saying that the final forty-five minutes of Spider-Man: No Way Home wasn’t absolutely incredible, and any geek’s dreams come true, but it just feels like so many films are hoping the nostalgia is enough to carry the film along and the new film doesn’t need to offer much of its own. Without delving into spoilers, Spider-Man: No Way Home does an excellent job of balancing this fan service whilst also moving its characters and the story along.

No Way Home is one of the rare examples of a film that isn’t entirely dependent on the fan service and nostalgia it offers, it only adds to the excitement felt. Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man has a strong arc and his character develops greatly over the film’s two hour and twenty eight minute runtime. But then if you were to take out all of the cameos and returning characters, the film wouldn’t have been anywhere near as successful as it was. At the time of writing, it’s the eighth highest grossing film of all time. There’s no way this film could have matched this level of success without many of the surprises that many fans were hoping the film would have.

Take Ghostbusters: Afterlife as another example and it feels like there are so many elements of the film that are there purely the sake of nostalgia and no other real reason. The film introduces baby versions of the iconic Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man for one funny scene, but that’s about

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Jed Wagman

it, and they’re only in the film for two real reasons. Number one, so that you can sit in the cinema, do the Leonardo DiCaprio meme of pointing at the screen and think “oh I know them from the other movie”. Reason two is to sell more toys. The baby-marshmallow-men are clearly Sony’s answer to Baby Groot and Baby Yoda/ Grogu. A cute little creature is always going to sell more toys. And that’s all they’re there for. They don’t serve any purpose to the film beyond making you think back to the Stay-Puft man from 1984. Take them out of the film and you’re no worse off.

The whole of Ghostbusters: Afterlife just felt like one giant advert for the Ghostbusters franchise essentially saying: “You liked the first one, so just shut up and enjoy all these references to that film you liked”.

But why should we watch the new one and not just go and watch the original film again? There has to be something worthwhile in the new film!

Alternatively, you can take a completely different road to walk when re-igniting your franchise like The Matrix Resurrections did. Resurrections manages to be a sequel, remake, and reboot all at the same time, whilst simultaneously taking the piss out of all three. That film even acknowledges that it is just a big cash grab as it even includes the line “our beloved parent company Warner Brothers have decided to make a sequel to the trilogy”. But fans of the original Matrix trilogy will of course lap it up. Once again quoting from the film itself, “nothing comforts anxiety than a little nostalgia”, and that’s what Hollywood will continue to do. The Matrix Resurrections makes fun of sequels that tread the original and then precedes to do just that, with it going back and re-doing the exact same plot beats as the original film. And now it’s just all getting too much. It’s more than a little nostalgia, it’s a lot when everything is throwing nostalgia right in your face both on the big screen and the small screen.

Disney are very often criticised for being the king of unnecessary cash grabs relying on nostalgia with their countless live action remakes and re-imaginings - it just never ends with them. Even their latest Star Wars series The Book of Boba Fett streaming on Disney+ is cashing in on nostalgia. Boba Fett has always been one of the most beloved Star Wars characters, even from his first appearance in the absolutely trash holiday special from 1978, back before we saw him in The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and so of course Disney bring him back for his own TV show. And of course, they have to return to Tatooine, the one planet where every single thing in the Star Wars universe seems to ever happen. Despite it being the planet Luke Skywalker was sent to as a baby in order to lie low and live a peaceful life, everything that ever happens in Star Wars seems to inevitably end up taking place on Tatooine! And as a result we end up getting brief glimpses of recognisable characters and places from previous Star Wars films because Disney are too scared of ever doing something new and something fresh.

There is only one franchise out there that’s actually willing to hold up a mirror to Hollywood’s incessant need for sequels and reboots and thankfully that franchise returned this January. I am of course talking about the Scream franchise. The incredibly self-aware and meta franchise had its fifth instalment released in January and it’s an absolutely brilliant film. It knows exactly the state that Hollywood is in with its reliance on sequels, reboots and ‘requels’, a mix of the two and it fantastically takes the piss out of these sorts of films whilst actually saying something about film franchises and the toxicity of fandom.

It’s a franchise that has always poked fun at genres expectations, and they’ve always had an air of fun self-awareness to

them, but the latest instalment fully talks through Hollywood’s reliance on sequels and reboots in one of its most sharply written scenes, jeering at Hollywood’s crushing need to link everything back to films from the past. Again, without going into spoiler territory, the new Scream (notably not called ‘Scream 5’) asks us to take a long hard look at the so-called ‘fans’ of franchises like Star Wars that think Rian Johnson ruined the film series and Scream perfectly puts this in perspective for us.

Whilst Scream is itself a sequel that’s coming out more than ten years after the previous instalment, it feels relevant and necessary. Thankfully it’s one of very few films that’s not shoving nostalgia down our throat purely for the sake of it.

You only have to look at a list of films coming out in 2022 to see that this trend of relying on nostalgia and fanservice to sell a film isn’t going to die out anytime soon. Later this year we’ve got a new Batman film, the cast of the original Jurassic Park film returning for the latest sequel, a Top Gun sequel arriving more than 35 years after the original and Lightyear, a film about the ‘real-life’ astronaut that inspired the toy Buzz Lightyear in the world of Toy Story.

It would appear that originality is dead.

Whilst there might also be plenty of exciting and totally original films being released this year, the films that will invariably get talked about the most will, of course, be the big blockbusters, and every single one of them feels the need to rely on the audience’s nostalgia for the franchise in order to get a reaction. Does the 374th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe really need that cameo? Or can it get by without and actually establish the new characters and take them somewhere new in the future without constantly looking back and relying on the past?

I suppose we’ll have to wait for that sequel and found out.

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SCREEN EDITOR JED WAGMAN DEPUTY SCREEN EDITOR GENA CLARKE

Finding the Best Vision Chats with Director Edoardo Vitaletti Film for Every Nicholas Chen Occasion

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had the pleasure of interviewing Edoardo Vitaletti, the director of The Last Thing Mary Saw. This drama-horror film, set in 1843 New York, tells the story of the forbidden love between a noble lady named Mary and her maiden in her family’s house, under the suppression of the community’s matriarch. It is an effective, character-driven and atmospheric thriller with an oppressive tone, well-written dialogue, fantastic performances, great cinematography and period detail.

I spoke to the director to discuss his latest project and take a deep dive into what motivated him to be a filmmaker.

What has inspired you to become a director? And what is your journey up until this point?

This is my first feature-length film. I started wanting to make movies when I was like, 17 to 18, it was not necessarily something that blossomed very early in my life. But I realized storytelling is a great means to express some of the things that I want to say, that I want to talk about, and I try to go for the job in the position that would allow me to tell my own stories in my own way.

What are the sources of inspiration for you?

For The Last Thing Mary Saw, because I was trying to convey precisely a sense of the time period and of the atmosphere and the culture at that time, where of course, you know, none of us were alive for, I was trying to take as much inspiration as possible from the time period, in this case, a lot of painterly references, a lot of folk lore literature, religious/pagan literature from the time and earlier on... so for this particular movie, it was a lot of literature and paintings and folklore and personal experiences, of course, having grown up as a very religious person and whatnot.

How did you work to capture the feeling of that time period?

The location. It has to be, for a movie that doesn’t have unlimited resources, the location.

It serves as the bones of the story, so finding a house that was period-appropriate was important...Because I think for this type of movie, it remains credible, so long as you remain anchored to the fact that it could only be happening a long time ago. So you need a very good production designer, a great costume designer, a great cinematographer, all of whom I was very lucky to be able to work with. They were great.

So to you what were the most fun parts to shoot in this film?

Definitely the supper scene towards the end of the movie, that was the most fun, because it was very fragmented. And there is the editing, which kind of picks up in pace and everything ramps up. So you got to shoot everything a little more segmented, you have three seconds of this, three seconds of that. So it was kind of choreographed.

How involved were you with the editing process, because you also mentioned a funeral scene, which was excellently edited.

Yeah, my editor, Matthew Hardy, he’s a master. When you’re making a movie, especially this size, you’re kind of sitting in the editing room with the editor every day, nine to five is the polite kind of timeframe, really, sometimes we go from nine to nine, to 10, and then nine to midnight, when you’re like in a crunch time. You’re always there... but every good director knows to invite different ideas from different perspectives.

When you were shooting this film, did you feel a certain satisfaction when realising your writing onto the screen?

Yeah, it feels kind of strange and great at the same time, to write something for many months and then you watch the actors say your lines, it’s incredibly fulfilling. Writing, in my opinion, remains the hardest part of the process. Since I made this as my first movie, as a filmmaker, I grew the most in this process, and writing is the hardest code to crack, in my opinion... it’s just kind of strangely awesome.

Speaking of the actors, we have Stephanie Scott from Insidious 3, Rory Culkin who starred in Scream 4, Judith Roberts from Dead Silence. What was it like working with those talents?

They are great. They’re awesome actors. They are people who have a lot of experience with the genre. They were very curious about the world and all the intricacies of the story and the darkness of it all. So, you know, you can only write so good, and you need good actors to elevate the material. And I think they elevated it way past the point to which I could take it. So I was lucky.

And I felt honoured and privileged to be able to work with them.

Are there any fun stories about those actors when working with them?

Yeah. You sort of try to break the spell of how dark and unsettling the story is, by being a little lighter in between takes, and I think it’s something that I learned not immediately, but as we were going through the shoot, especially with Isabel and Stephanie, they sort of took me under their wing a little bit, and they kind of taught me to be lighter and to laugh and to love the process, because you don’t get to make a movie very often.

Where would you like to go after this?

Would you like to make a film in a different genre?

I’d like to continue with the genre. I was very specific about my first genre film, and my first horror film too, to have a lot of drama-leaning elements to it...I also like period pieces, I’m working on another thing that is a period piece, so yeah, definitely similar, always in the genre with some drama-leaning elements to it.

The Last Thing Mary Saw is available exclusively on Shudder.

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Gena Clarke

here’s nothing worse than spending hours scrolling through a streaming service, starring blankly at the titles you’ve rejected 50 Fridays in a row. Streaming sites offer mountains of content and prove to us that quality will always win over quantity. But how on Earth do we narrow this choice and find the magic amongst the mayhem? Look no further! Here are the perfect films to watch for all occasions.

Best film to watch whilst getting drunk: Another Round (2020) This Danish film starring Mads Mikkelsen as school teacher Martin, is all about binge drinking and enjoyment of life. It will have you wanting to drink with Martin and his friends as they do onscreen. Who wouldn’t want to see Mads Mikkelsen drunk dancing whilst getting showered in champagne?

Best film to watch on a date: Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) This film has the right amount of comedy and romance, not to mention the amazing cast including Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore and Emma Stone. The characters and their different storylines all intertwine at the end in some unexpected ways, that makes the film better than your average cringey romcom.

Best film to watch with your flatmates: We’re The Millers (2013) This film will have you in stitches, and it is great to watch for a good laugh with your flatmates. Most of the actors have a background in improv, making this a great comedy with funny and believable chemistry between the actors.

Best film to watch on your own: Into the Wild (2007) This film is about Chris (Alexander Supertramp) wanting to escape from his life and live off the land in Alaska. It makes you think about the world we live in now, and the expectations to live a successful life, rather than prioritising happiness. This film is great to watch on your own to really appreciate the sentiment of the film, as well as admiring the beautiful cinematography of the Alaskan wilderness.

Best film to sing along to: Pitch Perfect (2012) Filled with catchy, cheesy pop songs, this film is incredibly hard not to sing along to! Not to mention how hilarious the writing and cast are. No matter how many times you watch it, you are guaranteed to laugh and join in with their acapella singing.

Best film to lift your spirits: Up (2009) This animated film is sure to lift your spirits when you’re feeling down, and will inspire you to chase your dreams no matter what challenges you face. The unlikely friendship that forms between retired balloon salesman Carl, and boy scout Russell, is heartwarming and wholesome - especially when they start to realise how important they mean to each other by the end of the film.

IMAGE: IMDB

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GAMES EDITOR LUKE HORWITZ DEPUTY GAMES EDITOR MATT IGOE

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The Blow-Out

Time Waste or Perfectly Paced? Luke Horwitz

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hile a game of Monopoly with family may feel like it drags on for days, this list is dedicated to the games which literally do take the equivalent hours, or days, if not weeks, to complete.

10: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey - 139 Hours At 139 hours for a completionist playthrough, it is not a short game; even a main story-only run will consume 43 hours of your time. Odyssey is an action role-playing game, set in a fictitious historical interpretation of ancient Greece, predominantly during the Peloponnesian War. It received favourable critical reception, with specific commendation for its visuals and world-building, although, in my opinion, it’s nothing special.

9: Red Dead Redemption 2 - 173 Hours Let’s get the obligatory Yee-Haw out of the way … YeeHaw! With a completionist playthrough time of around 173 hours, Red Dead Redemption 2 is at the lower end of this list, however, it is still an immensely expansive world with countless random encounters, and rare scripted events to merely complete the main story, you will have to spend a not inconsequential 49 hours.

GAMES

Released in 2006, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is an open-world role playing game, and the fourth instalment in, The Elder Scrolls series. A completionist playthrough can take around 184 hours of concentrated play. That may sound like a lot, but with 223 quests, and a world to explore, time will fly.

7: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 188 Hours The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a 2017 action-adventure game. The nineteenth instalment in The Legend of Zelda series, Breath of the Wild was designed to encourage players to explore the open world and complete the main story in a nonlinear manner. With a main story lasting around 50 hours, it is reported that to obtain a 100% completion run, and see all the world has to offer, players would need to spend upwards of 188 hours in game.

6: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - 190 Hours Based upon Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher series of books, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt released in 2015 is an action-adventure game set in a fictional world based upon Slavic mythology, in which the player controls the monster slayer, Geralt of Rivia as he searches for his daughter. With a completionist playthrough time of around 190 hours, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is huge.

5: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - 232 Hours “Hey, you. You’re finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right?”

Released in 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an open-word role playing game, and the fifth instalment in, The Elder Scrolls series. Skyrim takes place, like Oblivion on Tamriel, in the namesake province of Skyrim.

Skyrim, like Oblivion, is a masterful example of the 8: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - 184 Hours video game as art. And, to truly show the extent of this “Let me see your face… You are the one from my dreams...” game, the longest recorded playthrough on HowLong-

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4: Monster Hunter: World - 374 Hours Monster Hunter: World is an action role-playing game.

In game, the player takes on the role of a hunter, and must hunt and kill evermore challenging monsters, using simplistic weapons which can be upgraded and replaced with materials collected from successful battles. To complete Monster Hunter: World’s main objectives, you will have to spend around 47 hours in game, with dedicated players needing to set aside 374 hours for a completionist playthrough.

3: Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 379 Hours In this (small) variation of the series, the player moves to a deserted island, and must collect and craft items to develop their newfound uninhabited isle.

Despite releasing in March 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has already become the fifteenth bestselling video game of all time. With a completionist playthrough time of around 379 hours, New Horizons is a massive world with almost unlimited customization.

2: Payday 2 - 493 Hours If you’re a gamer that strives to 100% a title, you’re going to need to set aside at least 493 hours for a completionist playthrough; the longest recorded playthrough on HowLongToBeat.com is almost 1100 hours. Very excited to say that Payday 3 is purportedly in development, with rumours of a 2023 release.

1: Animal Crossing - 628 Hours Coming in at a staggering 628 hours for a completionist playthrough, the original Animal Crossing on the Nintendo GameCube is a behemoth. To complete the main story in its entirety, you will have to dedicate around 68 hours of your life to it. To experience everything that the game has to offer, expect to spend in excess of a cumulative 26 days. Jeez.

to get through a game as quickly as possible is really, really fun.

It started in two dimensions. One of the first games to make speed cool was the first Metroid, which ‘rewarded’ players who completed the game under a certain time with a pixelated representation of Samus in her underwear (yeah, I’m not sure about that one either). Then, Sonic graced the Speedrunning is a pretty new concept world with his presence, and started to rein the world of video games: it is the ward players with ‘ranks’ if they completed attempt to get through a game as fast as a level quickly enough. Both these games humanly possible. It requires an intense, are interesting in that they both have almost scholarly knowledge of a game’s movement mechanics that encourage a every nook and cranny, every mechanic, player to go quickly and large, branching every glitch, workaround, and level, AND maps that reward intimate knowledge of an almost inhuman level of mechanical their routes. This is the basis of speedrunprecision. You will often see speedrunning: knowing how to play a game really ners practicing to press a button on a well, and knowing a game really well. specific frame - 1/24th of a second - so This was amplified tenfold by the that their time can be even shorter. It is a movement from 2D into 3D. DOOM’s maps truly incredible feat. So how does it work? are famously incredibly convoluted, and Most games, in themselves, don’t players began to get a lot of satisfaction actively incentivise speed. A lot of them from learning their geography and naviare fun if they’re played fast - you can’t tell gating them in seconds. DOOM also had a me you’ve played a level of Mario without thing called Lumps. And we love Lumps. trying to zoom through it at breakneck Lumps allowed players to record little pace - but don’t reward it as part of their snippets of gameplay, and then watch and intrinsic structure. That’s why speedrunshare them. Soon enough, forums began ning is so cool. Gamers discovered, at to build up, where players would display some time in ancient history, that learning their playthrough of a certain level for the

Pump Up the Gas Guys We’re Going Fast ecently, because I do a very silly degree, I was writing an essay on how games convey stories. And, as a good student, I was doing my research and collecting articles and youtube clips and all that. And I ran into an issue. I came across someone playing the game Celeste (great game by the way, with a great story). Now I’ve played through Celeste a good few times, and I had NEVER seen it played like this before. This guy was dashing through levels in seconds - skipping long exchanges of dialogue, clipping through walls, vanishing and reappearing in different parts of the level, all while mashing buttons on his controller like some sort of coked-up automaton.

This was not the story of Celeste. This was not the way Celeste was ‘meant’ to be experienced. But it was fucking cool.

The guy - forgot his name, sorry, bad journalism - was doing a speedrun.

ToBeat.com is over 1300 hours!

@YorkVisionBooks @YorkVisionGames

Matt Igoe

world to see. If I see that you’ve completed a level in five minutes, I want to do it in four. And so began the speedrunning community.

The culture has developed immensely since then. We’ve got things called TASes, which are programmed speedruns of games that allow for techniques that no human could ever pull off, things called Any% speedruns, which is an attempt to complete a game as quickly as possible (avoiding all the unnecessary bits); things called 100% speedruns, which is the attempt to complete EVERYTHING a game has to offer; and things called conventions, where lots of lovely people gather together and silently watch someone pull off the most astonishing feat of human performance since that woman swam across the English Channel four times in a row (an actual thing that happened in 2019 check it out).

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FOOD

FOOD EDITOR tom willet DEPUTY FOOD EDITOR navya verma

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Veganuary Annually: The Orchid Review

Navya Verma

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t’s almost an entire month into the New Year, and I’ve had some time to think. I have realised that coming up with New Year’s resolutions has become easier over the years, and, consistently, the one resolution that tops everyone’s lists is to start eating HEALTHIER! In an effort to manage university life and work, we often stray from healthy meals and rely on processed and packaged ones. In order to re-establish and (hopefully) uphold the healthier lifestyle approach, I mused on Veganuary and, thankfully, stumbled across what I believe to be the most gastronomic-al vegan experiences I have ever had.

Opened fairly recently in 2020, Orchid Vegan is the epitome of everything that one would expect and desire in a panAsian vegan restaurant. A world apart from the vegan chains in York, The Orchid Vegan boasts a fine dining setting and opens exclusively for dinner.

The interior is antique but with a modern touch and adorned with the colour red, much like how I would expect a typical comfort Chinese food joint to look. The restaurant is spacious and inviting, which makes it the perfect setting for a nice, cosy dinner with a group of friends.

My visit to Orchid Vegan was completely charming right from the beginning, and,

The Blow-Out

Too Hot to Handle?

Tom Willett

IMAGE: TOM WILLETT

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yes streaming, ears ringing, and mouth burning, I stumbled out of the ‘Garden of India’ and into the freezing night. What I experienced on that night has been difficult to translate into words. I see shades of orange.

Someone is shouting words in my ear.

I see a light at an end of a tunnel. I simultaneously remember all and none of it. Thankfully, just before taking my first mouthful, I put my phone on record.

First Contact

We arrived at the ‘Garden of India’ full of anticipation, ready to take on the hottest curry in York. The staff immediately understood what we wanted, and set about crafting a dish they called, ‘The Lethal Weapon’. Just like the 1987 film of the same name, this was to be a buddy cop affair. Me and Joe, the paper’s Climate Editor, were to take this challenge on together. Although we had originally

planned for an element of competitiveness, the power of this shared experience would soon bring us together.

Joining us was our very own Editor, Will, and Scene Editor, Charlie. They were to be our support team, offering comforting words and, if needed, medical assistance. The first few minutes of the recording don’t contain much talking. In between sharp intakes of breath, Joe can be heard saying, ‘My mouth is on fire’. For me, actually bringing myself to take repeated mouthfuls was the issue. Our bodies were rejecting the curry, but our minds were insisting that we continue. The burning sensation in my mouth was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced; it completely overtook me.

Our eyes were watering, our noses running, it felt as if our ears had popped.

During this initial period, the waiter came over to inquire after our food. We admitted that it was taking its toll on us,

FoodDrinkYork

trust me, I could not stop gushing over the food for days after my dinner.

Right after stepping in, I was made comfortable and instantly noticed the pleasantness of the staff. They were extremely considerate of all the tables they served at and consistently made sure everything was going well, which set the perfect tone for the evening.

The evening started off with a white wine served in accompaniment to their simplistic Vegan Crackers. Made from complete pea starch, they acted as a healthier alternative to the classic prawn crackers and tasted nothing different with lots of crispiness.

The second dish of the night unmistakably ranked at the top of my list and would be a personal recommendation to most definitely try: Duck Pancakes. The dish’s plating instantly piqued my interest - it was an assortment of items to be put together like a sort-of reverse Benihana’s.

The ingredients were: crispy shredded mock duck (super tender), hoisin sauce, sliced cucumbers, and thin pancake sheets. I assembled the ingredients and then relished my handiwork. I was taken aback by how actually duck-like the soyabased version was, and the portion sizes were more than generous.

Next, I tried a large variety of appetisers, all of which left me gasping over the fact that it was possible to recreate the vegan version of them.

I started off with the Salt and Pepper Prawn, made out of tofu. The texture of the vegan king prawn matched or even exceeded that of an actual prawn, the inner flesh of the vegan prawn was juicy and succulent as anticipated, and the dish was topped with some red chilli which set in motion a burst of flavours.

Next, I tried the Cumin Vegan Lamb Skewers, which is quite a popular dish.

and he laughed and told us that it is what we asked for. We agreed.

Mid-Point Reload

About half way through our dishes, we took a moment to reflect. Comparing notes, we talked about the ‘naan sandwich’ technique, which allowed the curry to slip down without touching our now tender mouths. At this point, Charlie, who had tried both curries, confirmed that they were equally potent, and had nullified the effects of his medium-spice dish. From here on in, things took a turn for the delirious.

Spice High

Me and Joe started to feel a bit light headed. Were we beginning to reach a wall? I started fantasising about gulping in mouthfuls of fresh air, and we both felt,

The skewers were made out of soya and instantly melted in my mouth.

The third appetiser was the classic Mini Spring Rolls. They were utterly spot on, crispy, flavourful and balanced perfectly, with sweet chilli sauce to serve.

After the spring rolls, I had the last IMAGE: FLICKR appetiser, and a new addition to their menu: Pork Belly Sticks. They absolutely mastered the taste of pork in vegan form.

The belly sticks were hot and crispy and coated with a sweetness that complimented the pork perfectly.

The main course blew me entirely out of the water. I started with the Teriyaki King Oyster Mushrooms with rice, and though teriyaki, the dish was not excessively sweet, which I enjoyed. The second dish was Mongolian Style Beef Stir Fry which was extraordinarily tender and made out of soya, to my surprise. The last main was Sweet and Sour Vegan King Prawn, ordered following the killer salt and pepper prawns. The prawns were served with plain fried noodles, loaded with veggies.

The experience was extremely wholesome. I think it’s basically impossible to have a bad experience there. They also host timed events and rock up with some special menus. They’ve got for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, which will be a must-try. They also host charitable fundraising events, with York RSPCA being their ‘chosen’ charity.

I was pretty impressed by how they superseded the original versions of the dishes and found a healthy and environmentally friendly way of doing so. It’s really great to see ‘fast’ food veering away from greasy and towards healthy. They offer free delivery and takeaway on their website, so come on. I would urge you not to waste a second in trying this gem nestled in the heart of York. in Joe’s words, ‘on the verge of panic’. Rich pieces of chicken and pepper lured me back in, before assaulting me with the ferocious spice they had absorbed. Then, all of a sudden, we reached Nirvana. The fire morphed into a gentle heat. It was glorious.

The experience has connected us with our bodies in a way that not much else does.

It had been the only thing we could focus on, it had grounded us in reality. As Will suggested, they should really hold spice therapy sessions.

We were done. Joe had all but finished his curry, and I had done nearly as well, leaving only a fiery soup at the bottom of my dish. In clearing our plates, a member of staff tried a forkful of my curry, and agreed that is was ‘fucking hot’. Spice lovers, get down to Garden of India and ask for the ‘Lethal Weapon’. It will not disappoint.

food-drink@yorkvision.co.uk

RELATIONSHIPS

RELATIONSHNIP EDITOR NAOMI MCGRATH DEPUTY RELATIONSHIPS EDITOR bethan hubbard

Celebrate an Anti-Capitalist Valentine’s Day Your Way

Bethan Hubbard

consider writing a love letter instead.

Making your own cards is a great way to avoid buying them, and at the same time save some money and add more of a personal touch.

Keeping your cards and notes instead of eventually throwing them away lets you hold onto the memories while avoiding contributing to

post-Valentine’s landfill.

Imported flowers have a massive impact on the environment. If you want to give someone flowers, maybe pick some from your own garden (if that’s an option) or buy locally grown flowers.

If you’re in a long distance relationship, sending flowers on Valentine’s Day can be a great way to surprise someone. There are lots of online flower companies that offer this kind of service across the country, but for a more ethical, better quality bouquet, try finding a local florist in their area and contacting them to arrange sending those flowers.

If you do want to deviate from convention, it’s probably best to first discuss this with your partner about what would be the best thing for both of you. Some traditions are particularly important to some people, and we don’t want any disappointment on the day if you were to forgo one. All in all, anything that refocuses the day on people, rather than spending, is a great way to reclaim Valentine’s Day. Lastly, it doesn’t just have to be about romantic love.

Celebrate your love for your friends and family too.

Instead of forking out for a movie and a meal out, you could stay in and alentine’s Day has been cele» Upcycle a glass bottle into a cook together for a more intimate brated in some sense since the vase or candlestick holder with evening, and watch your favourite fith century as the Feast of St. some paints. films or series at home. Or if you Valentine, However, the holiday » A curated Spotify playlist or want that cinema experience, York we’re more familiar with is one that’s mixtape.

Student Cinema is showing Twilight been highly commercialised by greeton the 14th, and The King’s Man and ing’s card companies in an attempt Small Businesses (or more ethical The Matrix Resurrections later that to convince us all to spend excessive organisations) are a great place to find week for just £4 a ticket. amounts on gifts, cards, flowers, and gifts if you aren’t the creative type.

You don’t necessarily need to have romantic meals. This tradition is not Etsy is a great place to find people a meal together at all. Spend the day only a materialistic capitalist, construct, selling their crafts. Some I recommend in a way you and your partner would but it’s bad for the environment and include: enjoy most, which could be anything, incredibly expensive (not great on a » LucyReedArtPrints sells beautiful such as staying in and playing games student budget!) prints of her own art. together, going out for drinks, or However, it’s not that easy to just » HandmadeAnnabel has a very going to a sporting event. forgo the holiday completely. Not only adorable range of earrings.

Sending cards is a huge part of might you upset your partner, but, even » Samarikoo makes some fun Valentine’s tradition, but they’re also though these traditions are based on handmade mugs and trinket a huge profit-maker and contribuoverconsumption, they’re still culturally dishes. tion to waste. If you usually don’t important to us. There’s nothing wrong say much in cards and the tradition with the celebration of love, but making Other small businesses and ethical isn’t that important to you, you could rich men in suits even richer while organisations include: just not bother with them at all. If contributing to the destruction of the » Adopt an endangered animal you want to pour your heart out, environment isn’t the best reflection with the WWF for just £3 and of romance and your feelings.. Not to you get an adorable stuffed toy mention that a lot of the commercialyou can give to them on the day. isation of Valentine’s Day only repre» Shared Earth near the Minster sents heteronormative, romantic love. sells a great range of ethical, It can be tempting to want to spoil sustainable, and recycled gifts someone by spending loads of money » Just Smile Designs is a locally on them to show how much you care run business with a website and about them, but thoughtful gifts you’ve shop at 5 Bootham which sells put time and effort into are much more incredibly cute giftable items. sentimental. » Charity Shops are also a great Handmade gifts are the most place to look. You might also budget-friendly option. Some things find the odd hidden gem or you could craft include: wildcard. » A piece of art that they can put on their wall.

The ‘traditional’ Valentine’s date » Bake them something! Cookies, night is splashing out on a fancy meal muffins, or some fresh bread out in a restaurant packed with other would go down a treat. couples. Why not go out on a different Want a date? Vision needs you! » Knitting/Crochet. day to avoid the crowds? There’s no If you want dinner and a chance to meet the love of your life, » A scrapbook or photo album of real reason you need to celebrate on apply by contacting relationships@yorkvision.co.uk memories together. the 14th, especially with it falling on a » A framed photo of you both.

Monday this year. You could also go

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out for lunch or breakfast instead.

Celebrate at a date and time that works for you!

Going out to local independent restaurants instead of chains is a great way to support local small businesses, these are some of my recommendations: » Plush Cafe on Stonegate » The Orchid Vegan Restaurant on George Hudson Street » Forest on Low Petergate » Delrio’s Restaurant on Blossom Street » Double Dutch Pancake House ltd on Church Street

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relationships@yorkvision.co.uk

TRAVEL

9

The Blow-Out

Don’t be Burned-Out by the Blow-Out

Grace Swadling

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he start of tge teanuary is often the time when people begin to plan their next summer trip, however, it is easy to get carried away after the extravagance of Christmas and plan your money away. Here are some tips for your next trip on a budget.

Planning and organising a holiday is arguably the most difficult part, especially if you are travelling with friends. In between deciding on a location, date, and accommodation, you have to agree on a budget. This can be problematic as everyone has their own budgets and expectations for their trip. Alongside this, social media can often lure you into planning something unecessarily luxurious. It can also be very easy to have acclimatised to overspending over the festive break, however, it is essential to not go overboard when planning.

Less is often more!

The first thing to do is to decide on a

budget that works for everyone and assign a sum of money to different aspects of your trip. There needs to be a balance between accommodation costs and money to spend on activities and food. It is often helpful to decide on a budget before anything else as it stops you from planning too much extravagance.

However, it is also sensible to keep your destination in mind as your budget would often depend on this. A tour around America and a weekend trip to Scarborough likely won’t have the same budget!

Next, think reasonably about your destination. Of course, it is everyone’s dream to spend six months travelling around Asia or spend a fortnight at a luxury resort in Bali, but will your student budget support that? If so, I am very jealous! Perhaps think more local, the UK can be beautiful during the summer and doesn’t include the cost of travelling across

TRAVEL EDITOR grace swadling DEPUTY TRAVEL EDITOR nicholas chen

oceans. However, if you’re wanting to escape the UK then eastern European countries such as Turkey, Slovenia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic could all be viable options.

In terms of travelling to your destination, don’t just book the easiest mode of transport. Flying is often the easiest and quickest way to get to your travel destination, but it comes at a price. Look into the cost of trains or even car rental. This way you could potentially save money and travel at a slower pace, allowing you to explore more of the world on your way.

When it comes to accommodation youth hostels are the way to go.

Depending on the size of the group, you can opt for a private room and split the cost or stay in dormitories.

They are cheap, sociable, and often offer lots of opportunities to explore the place you are staying or take part in activities. AirBnB can also work out cheaper, depending on your group size and location. However, you could also take advantage of your friend’s university accommodation and return the favour, exploring different parts of the UK without any accom-

modation costs!

Once you’ve sensibly planned and budgeted the logistics of your next trip, it is very easy to fall into the trap of splurging on activities. Set aside a certain amount of money and try not to exceed it. Remember to keep some behind in case of emergencies though! It is often better if you book in advance for certain more commercial things you are set on doing, such as museum visits, tours, etc, but be spontaneous!

Don’t book activities such as clubs, restaurants, water sports, or bike hire for example. These can often be found cheaper when you get there if you search for the cheapest place and occasionally don’t settle on the first given price.

Hopefully, this has helped to avoid excessive spending when planning your next travel trip. Another thing to add is to potentially book last minute, or double check cancellation policies for your bookings as you don’t want to lose money due to the uncertainty of travel at the moment. Remember, you don’t have to blow out your bank account to plan the best travel trip!

Yorkshire Travels: A Trip to Whitby and Goathland Twiggy Yeung

M

IMAGE: TWIGGY YEUNG

y boyfriend and I woke up early to catch the Coastliner bus 840 to Whitby. Yes, we did choose to take the bus over the train as we wanted a direct journey to our destination.

To our surprise, the route gave us stunning views that we had never seen in the UK, especially when it started to enter the moorlands. As the bus began to move uphill, the long-extended moorlands gradually revealed themselves, like a sea of gold as the sunlight touched the land. Crowned as the most scenic bus route in Britain, it certainly lived up to its name!

Day 1: Whitby – Whitby Beach, Whitby Abbey, seafood, and cafe.

Passing through the moorlands, we finally arrived in Whitby. The coastal resort is divided into two areas by the lower course of the River Esk that joins the North Sea. Along

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the riverbanks are low-rise buildings of various colours, giving the town a coastal vibe. The place was not as lively as its neighbour Scarborough, making it a favourable visit spot for those who prefer quiet places.

We first walked down to Whitby Beach to enjoy the chilling breeze from the North Sea. Strolling along the shoreline, we were accompanied by seagulls flying overhead and the soothing sounds of the waves. We had fish and chips at Trenchers afterwards, which was ranked as one of the best restaurants that provide the classic seaside dish. The restaurant is just a few steps away from the train station and has a unique, old-fashioned interior design.

We planned to go up the hill to where Whitby Abbey is situated. However, I was feeling a bit unwell after lunch; thus, we visited Sherlocks Coffee Shop instead. I ordered a flat white, and my boyfriend ordered a vanilla milkshake. Due to the change of plan, we could not make it to Whitby Abbey before its closing time, yet we still climbed the famous 199 Whitby Abbey steps to the peak and had a bird’s eye view of the town. Wandering in the streets of Whitby, we could feel the local vibe that the secluded town gave us.

Chain stores could barely be seen, and the local stores were lined up along the roads.

We had dinner afterwards, and of

course, it was seafood again! Magpie Café is said to be serving the best seafood in town, and trust me, it is true!

I am really out of words to explain how delicious the dishes were because I am no food expert, but the experience was undoubtedly remarkable. We had Pacific oysters on ice, steamed mussels served in a pot of garlic cream sauce, grilled salmon on garlic potatoes and baked haddock gratin. Whenever you get the chance to visit Whitby, Magpie Café is certainly a must-try!

Day 2: Goathland - hiking, waterfall and enjoying the scenic North York Moors National Park.

We caught the bus to Goathland the following day after breakfast. Nestled in the North York Moors, Goathland is an idyllic village surrounded by endless green and golden patches of moorlands.

The day’s schedule was to take a 2-hour short hike to its adjacent Beck Hole Village, via the Mallyan Spout Waterfall, then back to Goathland; and then to visit Goathland Railway Station, which was one of the movie sets of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001).

It was hard to describe how refreshing the hike was – looking at the blue sky, stepping onto the muddy pavement, and breathing in the brisk air cleared my head almost instantly. The most challenging part of the hike was the walk along the bank to the waterfall. But in

the end, seeing the fast-flowing water pouring down the stream offset the demanding process.

Acting as Hogsmeade Station in the Harry Potter movie, Goathland Railway Station is a train station with a less modern design. It was easy to see why it had been chosen to be the station serving Hogwarts, as it gave us a distinctive vintage atmosphere. (Fun Fact: Goathland Railway Station and York Railway Station were designed by the same architect).

The journey ended with refreshments from Goathland Tea Room, and we headed back to York after buying some printed paintings of the village.

As a review, the two places are both worth going to, and I would recommend them to anyone who wants a short Yorkshire trip to take a break from their studies! That week was quite misty most of the time, but we were fortunate enough to have picked the suitable days when the sky was clear and sunny. Thus, pay attention to the weather before going so that you can get the most out of both places! In addition, unlike going to the busy cities of the country, visiting somewhere off the beaten track has given me an irreplaceable refreshed and energised feeling. The trip has inspired me to explore the wonders of the North York Moors, and I would certainly visit other villages within the national park someday!

travel@yorkvision.co.uk

BOOKS

10

BOOKS EDITOR Luke horwitz DEPUTY BOOKS EDITOR caitlin hyland

The Blow-Out

Best Books of 2021 Alas, Poor Reader, I Caitlin Hyland Knew Him: a Review of Infinite Jest Luke Horwitz Fiction: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro: This novel, set in a dystopian future, tells the story of Klara, a solar-powered ‘artificial friend’ who becomes the companion of a sickly child named Josie. Ishiguro leaves us questioning our understanding of love.

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney: The anticipated novel by Normal People author, Sally Rooney, centres around two couples in Ireland. The themes of love, sex, and human error are dealt with in her effortlessly touching and witty style.

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead: Harlem Shuffle is the long-awaited follow up to Whitehead’s 2019 novel The Nickel Boys. The story takes place in Manhatten in the late 1950s and early 60s and revolves around Ray Carney, who is lucklessly drawn into his cousin Freddy’s criminal affairs.

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o some, reading any book is a challenge in persistence, after all, why bother when you could watch the film? Infinite Jest, however, is not the kind of book that lends itself to the silver screen. Moreover, it goes beyond mere challenge. Infinite Jest is the Osmium of books, and whilst its page-count is surpassed by many, few, even in the encyclopaedic novel genre, can match its earned reputation as laborious reading.

Written by author David Foster Wallace and published in 1996, Infinite Jest is a highly intricate and complex post-postmodernist tragic comedy, with interwoven narratives spanning several timelines, and famously adorned with 388 endnotes.

Infinite Jest, whilst semi-parodic in its depictions, is thematically about America, and how capitalism, entertainment, and unchecked American ideologies harm society through their domination of our lives. If 1984 by George Orwell is the quintessential British dystopian, then Infinite Jest is an American one, with, for example, years themselves subsidised to conglomerates for product advertisement; see the ‘Year of the Whopper’, ‘Year of the Adult Depend Undergarment’, and ‘Year of the Tucks Medicated Pads’.

Whilst famous for extensive digression, nothing feels unwieldly or out of Wallace’s control. The moments of character chaos or confusion that guide the reader down these spiralling avenues are stylistically appropriate and, for the most part, add more to characterisation

IMAGE: FLICKR than they take away from the general flow of the novel.

Perhaps one of the contributing factors to the novel’s notorious density, is its impressive dedication to providing vivid detail on essentially everything from appearance, environments, and motivations to the intricacies of the regional U18s’ Tennis rankings.

To summarise it briefly (as far as possible), the novel for the most part follows the life of the prodigiously intelligent and virtuoso Tennis ace, Hal Incandenza. Arguably he is the protagonist and a (loose) author self-insert character, though throughout the novel, this loose position of protagonist also revolves around several other characters.

The most significant narrative timelines can be dissected with the locations they mostly take place in: the Enfield Tennis Academy timeline and the Ennet House Drug and Alcohol Recovery House timeline. Additional major narratives are interwoven within these timelines and revolve around Alcoholics/ Narcotics Anonymous, Les Assassins des Fauteuils Rollents, and the tragic history of the Incandenza family.

Moreover, these locations, timelines, and narratives are used in conjunction with intercharacter relationships and plot influences from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Homer’s Odyssey, and Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.

These narratives intersect with a MacGuffin; an in-world film titled Infinite Jest created by Hal’s father James. The film is a very big deal: it’s said to be so entertaining that viewers will rewatch it

@YorkVisionBooks YorkVisionBooks

Crime and Thriller: Silverview by John le Carré: Silverview is John le Carré’s final novel published posthumously. His last work is set in East Anglia and the story is built using le Carré’s classic themes of espionage, double-dealing and duplicity.

The Doll by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir: The Doll is the fifth novel in the Icelandic noir series, Children’s House. Sigurðardóttir has given us another page-turning crime novel, where a series of murders are inexplicably linked to a doll fished out of the sea several years prior.

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman: Comedian Richard Osman’s second crime novel is centred around four pensioners who solve murders together.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Cwen by Alice Albinia: Cwen is a dystopian alternate future novel set in an unnamed archipelago on the east coast of Britain that is ruled by women. This feminist work explores the gender binary, female power and potential, and Britain’s matriarchical past.

Far from the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson: Thompson’s new novel is an interstellar murder mystery that compellingly contrasts the richness of human nature with the chilling emptiness of space.

If you are a fan of sci-fi mysteries, this is the book for you.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune: This heartwarming fantasy novel by TJ Klune, autor of the bestselling House in the Cerulean Sea, is perfect for a rainy day.

This charming and witty book is about a man who dies after spending his entire life work-obsessed.

Non-Fiction Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern by Mary Beard: This compelling historical analysis spanning over 2,000 years explores how ‘Western’ culture repeatedly and consistently returns to representations of Roman power to express itself.

The Prime Ministers We Never Had: Success and Failure from Butler to Corbyn

by Steve Richards: Richard gives us 11 sharp and entertaining portraits of almost Prime Ministers who ‘failed to make it all the way to Number Ten’.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner: This memoir by Japanese Breakfast star Michelle Zauner is a powerful and lyrical account of coming to terms with her Korean American identity.

ad mortem. Therefore, the Organization you can read passively. In fact, it was the of North American Nations and a group of author’s intention that people reread it Québécois radicals scramble to obtain the to fully appreciate the plot. If you want an master copy and its replicas. easy-reading book with action, meaningHilariously, this brief plot summary ful romance, a satisfying conclusion, or reveals literally nothing, and doesn’t even justsome sort of escapism, then this is not begin to feature the intrinsic factors which the book for you. make Infinite Jest the book it is. While the If, however, you want to experience the novel’s got a plot, it is of practically no sigbest writing twentieth century literature nificance when compared with the almost has to offer, and if you have the time and monotonous hyper realism of human dedication to study this text, then I would interaction so masterfully observed by highly recommend you give this behemoth Wallace throughout the entire text. There a go. A warning to all brave enough to is sorrow, joy, and laugh-out-loud huattempt: you will not have a clue what’s mour, all unflichingly packaged together. going on the first time through. It might A straightforward summary simply cannot take multiple readings before you have do justice to the complexity of this novel. more answers than questions. David FosSo, in conclusion, is Infinite Jest a good ter Wallace is a master wordsmith and stobook? Yes. Is it digressive, indulgent, and, ryteller, and rereading his work becomes at times, maddeningly slow? Also, yes. more a pleasure than a pain the more you Should you read it? That one’s harder to appreciate his incomparable genius. Give answer. Infinite Jest is not the kind of book IMAGE: IMDBit a go (or don’t).

@YorkVisionScene books@yorkvision.co.uk

MUSIC

MUSIC EDITOR joe radford DEPUTY MUSIC EDITOR ben forsdick

11

The Blow-Out

Five Seriously Heavy Albums Ben Forsdick

fast-paced, these legends of Relapse Records are the masters behind the seriously brutal Caustic. It is long, brooding and wholly foul. Each drum hit, bass thud and guitar stab are sonically akin to the swipe of a bear’s paw. It’s not a bad analogy either; Primitive Man’s music would aptly soundtrack being mauled by a grizzly, provided the furry mammal were a lethargic one. This album is unadulterated nihilism and dismal in every way. Primitive Man may well be the spiritual torchbearers of the doom metal genre, a natural progression from groups like Electric Wizard, Sleep and Sunn O))). Critics may assess Caustic as one dimensional, but what a dimension to exist within.

Lingua Ignota - Caligula Heaviness is more than a musical feature. When subject matter is described as heavy, this is often connotative of

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eaviness takes many forms: a sound’s force, velocity, obscenity, or dreariness may all contribute to that which is heavy. But to distil musical weight is an endeavour often attempted and seldom achieved.

When trawling that magnificent invention of Tim Berners-Lee, a simple search for heavy music will lead to a pool of self-proclaimed experts in enormity, reciting the apocryphal history of heaviness as if it were set in stone, and a heavy stone at that. But why limit such pontification to online forums when I may pontificate in print myself?

And to that I present these five seriously heavy albums. I want to go beyond the canonised albums that routinely occupy the highest places on these lists. I am here to search for something beyond this canon of weightiness by introducing five records that epitomise what it means to heavy.

Merzbow - Pulse Demon What is Pulse Demon if not heavy?

Besides reinventing the whole concept of hearing loss, this record rides the line of audible masochism and outright self-hatred with brutal savagery. It’s over 70 minutes long and louder than most construction sites. By sounding simultaneously futuristic and atavistic, Merzbow creates something timeless by virtue of no one else being insane enough to write something like this during any time in history. The combination of noise, electronics, industrial, and other brands of heaviness lead to Merzbow’s music being such a primal experience that one may be forgiven for being visibly shaken upon first listen, or any other listen for

that matter.

An Albatross - We Are the Lazer Viking Who needs time to be heavy? Eight minutes will do if they’re ferocious enough. Hardcore, power, violence, and a vocalist akin to Taz are enough to make An Albatross one of heavy music’s most chaotic, creative, and colourful bands. If rigidly structured music is anathema to you, then this gloriously all-over-the-place album will leave you perfectly discombobulated. Alternatively, if structural rigidity is within your wheelhouse, then listening to this album will likely leave you in a state of devastation far beyond placation.

Either way, ambivalence is not an option when listening to An Albatross’ We Are the Lazer Viking. This record is nothing short of an eight-minute monster, in a good way of course.

Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain If An Albatross were to elongate their sound and be written by two guys from Rhode Island, both of which are called Brian, this would be the result. Noise rock duo Lightning Bolt make far too much noise for two people. Their terror-fuelled compositions are not just imposing but seemingly inescapable; with both musicians sounding unable to stop once the carnage begins. But beyond the juggernaut of Hypermagic Mountain lies a surprising layer of subtlety (stay with me) as each composition unravels in a highly detailed and textural way, appearing almost ambient in progression.

Primitive Man - Caustic Heaviness and velocity are not necessarily mutual. Winding their bpms down to tempos that would make the end of the Lord of the Rings films appear

@YorkVisionMusic

difficult concepts or grimly delivered storytelling. But heavy subject matter can be a heavy reality, and behind a milieu of heaviness often lies an uncomfortable truth. While it is true to say that Lingua Ignota makes instrumentally heavy music, influenced by industrial, neo-folk, neoclassic darkwave and other genres, there is more emotional weight influencing Lingua Ignota’s music than any sound could produce. Lingua’s harrowing delivery of lyrics relating to her own experiences of physical and emotional abuse are a cornerstone to Caligula. And while this album makes for an uncomfortable listen, it is an important one. Even so, I do offer a strong trigger warning for anyone wishing to listen this album.

Caligula is a critical reminder that for all the enjoyment that comes from consuming loud music, this music is rarely loud without reason.

Special Club Nights in York Joe Radford Thursday 3 February – Breakz :: Techno, The Drawing Board/Bluebox For all the techno fans out there, there’s a student exclusive night hosted

by Breakz, the University’s DJ society!

Breakz always put on a big night, having previously booked acts such as Skream, Alix Perez, and Chase & Status for their nights. Tickets are available to purchase online in advance through the YUSU website or on the door. Free entry is also available for members of the society.

Saturday 5 February – Marmite, Glasshouse on Campus East Marmite is an incredible night of cheesy pop, sing along classics (and Pokémon playing on all the screens?) that, as the name suggests, you will either love or hate. Regardless, it is a truly unique experience and one that I truly believe all the students at the University should experience before they graduate.

Free entry, cheap drinks all night and located on campus – what more could you want?

Thursday 10 February – One Direction Night, Popworld The last time Popworld hosted their night dedicated to One Direction, tickets sold out in advance of the event because it was so popular! If you love One Direction and pop music straight out of the noughties and teenies, then look no further. If you don’t like One Direction, you need to stop lying to yourself and live while you’re young. You just might hear the best song ever. Tickets available online (not necessarily on the door).

Thursday 10 February – The Lock In, The Drawing Board/Bluebox If a One Direction night doesn’t sound up your street, alternatively on 10 February, The Lock In returns to Drawing Board with Residents’ Night. The Lock In are famous for their incredible DnB, Jungle and Bassline nights, and this event is set to live up to those standards. Boasting a line-up featuring Joachim (with a Speed Garage set), as well as Enima-Tek, Ollie Holmes, Millett, Rookie and Ika. Tickets are available online.

Tuesday 15 February – Indie Tuesdays York, The Drawing Board/Bluebox Indie Tuesdays are back again, this time with a Catfish v The 1975 special.

Featuring all the usual indie hits you would expect, as well as all the major Catfish and 1975 hits. If you’re a fan of either of these indie titans, then you sure don’t want to miss this one. A night to remember as always. Tickets available online or on the door.

music@yorkvision.co.uk

COLUMNS

Thursday February 3 2022

23

@Jasmine07404371

MOODY’S MUSINGS JASMINE MOODY

FACING MY UNFAITHFULNESS: HOBBY EDITION Like a lousy lover, I couldn’t stick to one, and now I’ve got none

A FEW OF my housemates and a friend have recently created a band. This has made me evaluate my past hobbies and why I don’t have a standout hobby or talent myself…

They write lyrics, compose whole songs in a few nights, and spend hours in the recording studio. To say I’m impressed would be an understatement. Their devotion towards their band has only emphasised my lack of motivation towards any sort of fun activity.

Most of my free time is taken up by scrolling endlessly on my phone, which isn’t an issue in hindsight.

However, I think I’ve been surpassing a healthy amount of screen time per day. I am trying to combat this issue – I’ve recently bought a colouring book titled “YOU ARE FUCKING MAGICAL: Motivational Swear Words Colouring Book”.

The idea is to a) engage in an adhoc hobby and b) use the pages as posters to stick around my wall. The next time I want to give up with my university studies, I’ll have to look up as see “SUCCESS WILL HAPPEN C*NT” OR “SMILE BITCH” in bright colours, plastered on my bedroom wall. Well, that’s the idea anyway if I even manage to finish a page. I’m slightly concerned that I will quit, and I think there’s a reoc-

curring reason why I leave. I shall nail looks. It seems that my next which I know I need to improve. expose that later. With that said, creative venture is that colouring I do slightly regret dropping this let’s explore the hobbies I occupied book… hopefully. hobby. An attempt was made to myself with.

I started playing the piano in return to it recently, but I can only As a child, I had an active im- Year Two, eventually stopping be- play the first four bars on a piece of agination, drawing whatever came fore Year Seven because I failed my music I had to learn for my Grade to mind. I remember Four, ironically. that there used to be To say I was a shy child common themes to would be an understatemy childhood drawment. Professionals recings. For instance, ommended my parents my best friend and I enrol me in ballet classes to would draw our vercombat this. I don’t think sion of Fairy Land this went remarkably well. and Candy Land The first memory of these during golden time lessons is dragging my feet at school. I carried along the floor, with one on being an active hand covering my eyes ‘artist’ throughout and another holding the my younger years. I teacher’s hand whilst she remember being petled me around in a circle. ty, actively choosing Like the piano, this hobby not to do GCSE art lasted for quite a few years. because the teachI’m unsure why I quit in er had scolded me Year Eight, but I think it for using red and was for the best. When I pink-clashing coltried to prance like a balleours. Of course, this rina, I fell on my ankle and If I’d kept going with GCSE art, I’d be in the Louvre by now put me in a strop. sprained it. I think this soNevertheless, I was assigned GCSE Grade Four examination. I did end lidified my lack of gracefulness. art, and I’m glad I was. Even so, my up picking piano up again for my Rollerblading would have to be GCSE years did eventually suck the GCSE music classes, but I have not my favourite hobby out of my childcreative juices out of me, and I es- returned to it since. Did I enjoy the hood ones. I was pretty good at it. I sentially gave up. I still engage in piano? Yes, but only when it went remember loving having the ability some forms of art, such as DIY for how I wanted it. I tend to only enjoy to zoom around tight corners and house parties and fun makeup and things when they’re going my way, speeding up and down the park like

MY CAREER CRISIS

I’M A THIRD-YEAR girl, in the student world, life is panicky, my future’s manky.

Why was that written to follow the tune of Aqua’s Barbie Girl?

Barbie is known as a doll not only for her signature blonde locks and influence over many children but also for how many jobs the doll has accumulated over her lifetime.

In fact, Barbie has collected over 200 careers- talk about brains and beauty. How does this relate to me?

Well…

As a third-year, I’m expected to kind of have a feeling for what I want to do after university life. For now, I am very uncertain. This un-

certainty has led me to look back at the careers a younger, more hopeful Jasmine wanted. Much like Barbie’s careers, my aspirations covered a range of areas- some a little odder than others. Let’s have a look at what I wanted to do.

Fashion designer: I made dresses out of tissue and water for my dolls. I loved designing. However, this childhood dream is not very viable: my eye for precision is a tad iffy.

Model: I used to strut up and down the playground like a diva, swinging my hips side to side in a fashion that current me would consider not very vogue. Again,

this would not be a current career choice as the modelling industry looks a little savage, to put it lightly.

Cake decorator: Baking and decorating said bakes was one of my childhood thrills and are still something I like to do. I used to avidly watch Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes, hoping I’d soon become as great. Thinking about it, I’d like to keep baking and decorating but maybe as more of a pastime. Hey, perhaps I can make this an actual hobby, solving my issues explained in the last article.

Bus driver: I don’t know why this was one of my choices? I can’t even drive (I’ve tried, trust me) Butcher: No comment ‘News reader’: This was before I knew the proper term: broadcast

journalist. I’m unsure when this became one of my careers of choice, but unlike the previous options, it’d be cool. Younger me would be stoked to see at least one childhood dream come to life.

Social media influencer: I think this option arose when I was fed up with studying and became envious of social media influencers and their lavish lifestyles. I can be shallow. It’d be cool to get paid to promote products and look social media pretty. Again, probably not happening, but it’s OK to have a pipe dream.

Journalist: In secondary school, I realised I liked writing. I started to involve myself in school journalism, writing articles for the bitermly magazine. Clearly, I’m still

a madwoman. Now, I really regret giving up this one. I recall I gave up on this hobby because I didn’t feel like it. I begrudgingly went around the park in a strop, and that was that. Again, I did try to re-learn, but I just didn’t have the balance I once had. I think I’d like to buy a new pair of skates one day and re-learn.

With that all said, my mum still insists that I’m her “multi-talented dragon” (since people with the dragon star sign are supposedly multi-talented.) It’s ironic as I have showcased my lack of sticking to a hobby, let alone mastering it to the point of becoming a talent.

From what I can see, it seems what I truly want is at least one hobby that makes me stand out. I don’t currently have a standout hobby or an activity that I’d be willing to do during my free time. For now, I have the time to explore lost passions and maybe discover new ones. I seem to have issues with commitment, genuinely sticking to a hobby which creates the problem of not having a defining hobby or even a collection of hobbies that I’d stick to. Once I work on that issue, maybe I’ll find something, I’m sure.

For now, I’ll try to at least colour a few pages in my motivation themed colouring book to remind me to stick to something! doing this now, and I enjoy it quite a lot- I promise!

Broadcast journalist: I’ve done a 360 have returned to the ‘news reader’ goal. Like many fields of work, broadcast journalism will probably be tough to get through.

Nevertheless, if I manage this, I guess kudos to me.

I’m undoubtedly uncertain about the future, but I assume that many of you reading this are in a similar position to me. Time is ticking, and I’m nearly halfway through my final year of university. However, I have time- we have time to decide what we want to do, whether that be panic masters, a panic PhD or thrusting yourself into a job. You’re bound to fall into something.

24

FEATURES

Thursday February 3, 2022

FEATURES

two years on from york’s first

MATT WARD-PERKINS speaks to Vice-Chancellor Charlie Jeffery and former YUSU President Samara Jones about the UK and York’s first COVID-19 cases.

TWO YEARS AGO, on 1 February 2020, the University of York found itself at the centre of national media attention, as the University confirmed that one of the UK’s first two COVID-19 cases was a York student visiting the city.

For Vice-Chancellor Charlie Jeffery, the news came the day before, when it had been made public that two cases had been discovered in York.

“It is very clear in my memory, because I was outside the country. I was visiting our partners at the University of Maastricht when I got the phone call, saying this might be the case, and then it was confirmed.

“It was a very ceremonial thing, their big annual procession at the start of the year. So there’s this picture of me wearing a gown and walking through the city with my phone glued to my ear.

“It was clear that it was going to be a big thing straightaway to me, because it was the first confirmed UK case. When you have a community of staff and students, close to 25,000 people who thrive on close proximity, you think: ‘Oh, this is going to be something really quite challenging’. So it was a big thing.”

Then-YUSU President Samara Jones found out about the student’s positive case the next morning, while the Vice-Chancellor was on his way back to York from Maastricht.

Jones said: “It was a normal Saturday morning of college sport, society, dance classes, things like that.

“As I was getting ready for netball I got a call from one of the directors at YUSU, 9:30 in the morning and it’s the director going ‘we’ve got a case of COVID-19, at the moment you don’t need to do anything, you can’t tell anyone by the way, here’s this information that you’re one of the only people to know, let the Sabbs know something has happened but don’t tell them what’.

“I was going to pick up Maddi, who was the Sports President, because we were going to this game together, so I told her ‘if my phone rings, answer it, get me off the court’.

“We were on standby for a little bit. By 11:30am students started getting emails, so we were all then having to get statements on our social media accounts … [they] gave us a holding statement, because we just wanted one clear message.

“At that point, basically all we knew was that it’s a student, we didn’t know much about COVID-19 so we couldn’t get into in-depth questions because we didn’t have any answers.

“By 1pm I was in the office and we were writing the statement, 2pm I was running

home to get changed and grab a meal deal and by 3pm I was on national TV, which was probably easier given that I didn’t have time to think about it. It was very much ‘okay, you’ve got to act now, we need to write a statement because we’re going to go stand on those steps and read it.”

IMAGE: KEITH EDKINS

Staycity York, where the first COVID-19 cases were reported (photo credit Keith Edkins) Jeffery also didn’t have much time to think about the statement he was expected to make on the steps of Heslington Hall, and in fact he almost didn’t make it back in time.

“I got back as soon as I could, having had three hours stuck just outside the tunnel in Folkestone with delays on the train.

“I just got back in time for it and then went out with Samara to do all we could at that moment, which was that we recognised how anxious people were feeling about this news.

“We passed on what information we could pass on because the public health authorities didn’t really know either the details of the case or how COVID-19 worked. So the real focus was on understanding that anxiety and responding to it.

“We got a phone bank set up very, very quickly. It was extraordinary, we had all sorts of people volunteering to go on it. We didn’t have any shortage of people. It was staff, it was students, it was parents, it was members of the public in York.”

As Jones and Jeffery prepared to face the media, they discussed whether they should speak separately or together.

Jones said: “It was quickly decided we’re going to go down together, partly because I don’t want to walk down those steps on my own as a trip hazard, but we wanted to present a united front”.

The Vice-Chancellor said it was important that they stood together that afternoon, telling Vision: “It was so important that night to have Samara next to me because of some of the issues, with students being seen by some people in the city as a problem. We are the University and students together, so it was important to offer ourselves and give reassurance to the city.”

As news of the COVID-19 cases on campus spread, so did fears of racist responses to the

virus. Student radio station URY reported stories from students of racist statements made in the city, and Vision reported an anonymous ‘confession’ on a popular student Facebook page which suggested that the University and YUSU were happy to “twiddle their thumbs” and “let the Chinese swarm over here and kill us”.

Jeffery said: “It was something we worried about from the outset, outside Hes Hall we were basically saying ‘we’re all in this’, and that was slightly coded.

“But it was saying: ‘Look, don’t don’t pick on anyone because of this, you know, it’s a disease, they transmit’.

“In the days afterwards, I was made aware of some incidents in the city and I became aware that I think Yorfess or one of those anonymous websites had some pretty awful stuff on. We put out an announcement on 4 February, me, Samara from YUSU, and the head of the GSA. It was a joint statement, which said that we’re not having it.”

Jones also recalled her concerns about a racist reaction to the COVID-19 cases.

“It’s not nice for somebody to have mean stuff said about them, but then to target them in a discriminatory way and a xenophobic way, it’s even more horrific.

“I would say that the Chinese Association President stepped up so hugely, they were doing all they could to reassure their students … they had their Association President who was meeting with the Vice Chancellor, getting the issues raised very quickly and at a high level, and we were doing all we could from the sidelines.

“There was also some frustration in terms of the social media side of things, where we were going ‘we’ve been telling you this is bad for a long time, we’ve been telling you these things go on, but now you care because it’s got something attached to it’.”

When asked to reflect on whether he would have done anything differently when the first COVID-19 cases were found two years ago, knowing what we know now, Jeffery said: “I can’t really say there is, partly because there was very little choice involved.

“It was the first case, there was huge spotlight, the responsibility on us was to deal with that in a calm and reassuring way and compassionate way, and I think that we did, and with all that I know about COVID-19 I’d probably say that was about the right approach.”

Of course, none of us knew what the next two years would bring, as Jones told Vision: “I said from the start ‘I think it’ll blow over in two weeks’. It did after those initial two weeks, but about a month later...it did not.”

CLAIRE FORSTER ta her experience work

AT THE PEAK of the first wave of COVID-19, York Vision spoke to firstyear medical student Kate Page about her experience within healthcare during the pandemic.

Since then, we’ve seen further lockdowns, the arrival of vaccines, and we’ve been challenged by new variants all while healthcare professionals soldiered on. I caught up with Kate, now in her third year, to see how her perspective has evolved with the pandemic.

“I think the vast majority of people where I’ve lived have been pretty good,” Kate tells me when I ask her about her faith in the public to follow the guidelines. The pandemic has been defined by how we as a collective have interacted with rules, including those in positions of power. Kate goes on to tell me that, “Obviously, you always get the odd few. I will say wherever I’ve been, mostly people have been wearing face masks, people have been keeping fairly socially distanced, [and have] been understanding of other people’s personal space. That’s been very positive.”

Kate told Vision in May 2020 that “Recognising NHS workers as heroes is no substitute for taking whatever steps we can as a nation to protect those who protect us.” The

FEATURES

Thursday February 3, 2022

FEATURES TEAM DAN BENNETT CLAIRE FORSTER

covid-19 caseS

IMAGE: IWAN STONE

alks to medical student Kate Page about king during the pandemic.

f t -

, e h r

e s s e , l e n ] -

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pandemic has raised questions about our attitudes towards those guiding our country through the crisis, the most important being healthcare workers. Waves of gratitude towards the people keeping us safe brought people to their doorsteps every Thursday evening to clap for those saving lives. The gesture ended in Summer 2020, but Kate still believes that “the vast majority of people are very, very grateful” to healthcare workers.

“I think it’s quite nice in the hospitals.

[People] understand that the role that they’re playing is not only for themselves but for their friends and their family, and the greater good of the health service, and the bigger picture,” she says.

“I think it’s something that the general public in the UK are proud of. I think the NHS does have a lot to be proud of.”

Kate went on to say how unexpected the severity of the pandemic was. “ I had no real idea that it was going to happen until pretty much the day when the first lockdown happened. We probably had no true idea of the severity of what was facing us back then.”

In terms of Kate’s own studies, she tells me that she thought at the time that “ultimately the last thing that the NHS needs at

the moment is first year medical students.”

There’s no doubt, however, that the pandemic has left an impact on the soon to be doctors and nurses. “There’s talk of us being nicknamed the ‘COVID-19 doctors’, because we’ve done all of our training [during the pandemic]”, she tells me.

“It made me more grateful for the healthcare service. It made me even more proud to be a part of it, because of how well it has coped and helped people throughout this time.”

In this later stage of the pandemic, much has changed since the panic and fear of the first COVID-19 cases. I asked Kate if she is still anxious about COVID-19, both personally and professionally.

“Yes and no. Yes, it does make me worried because as wonderful as the vaccination programme has been, and it really does help prevent you from going into hospital, it is still very possible to get COVID-19 after you have been vaccinated.”

Reassuringly, though, she believes that “we’re in a much stronger position than we’ve been over the entire pandemic.”

“I am a lot less anxious because of the way I’ve seen hospitals handle COVID-19.“

MATT WARD-PERKINS asks Vice-Chancellor Charlie Jeffery to reflect on the University’s response.

THE LAST TWO years have been unlike any other, both here in York and around the world, and students have had a very different last two years to the two years before.

Vice-Chancellor Charlie Jeffery says he understands the frustration of students who have seen their experiences damaged by the pandemic.

“I still just about remember my first year at university and what tremendous fun it was alongside the novelty of learning in a different way and with all that independence.

“I really felt for students, and my daughter’s now a second year at Liverpool so I got some of that directly from from her as well, so I absolutely understand the frustration that they couldn’t have the experience, both in teaching and learning, but also in everything else that goes with university life that you would normally have wanted.

“That’s one of the reasons I was so committed to do what we could to help mitigate that. Raising money for emergency [support] funding, funding The Forest so that if we had to have socialising outside we could at least put something on, dealing with digital access issues, goodness knows how many 4G booster dongles we distributed, and a lot of laptops were bought or lent for students.

“But nonetheless, all that we could do couldn’t bring back that experience that people wanted.”

Jeffery also criticised the Government’s lack of support for students during the pandemic, saying: “I also felt that while students sometimes expressed their dissatisfaction at the University, I think some also saw a bit further than that, and expressed it with the Government.

“Because we had absolutely marginal support from the Government for supporting the student experience. We got very little cash.

“I think in one way or another, we spent about £20 million on different kinds of responses to COVID-19 to support our students, the biggest part of which was refunds on accommodation for on campus students.

“It was so frustrating that we didn’t see support from the Government, which echoed that.

I was very disappointed with that and made my disappointment known to Government. It didn’t persuade them to change but I certainly recognise how students were feeling.”

Kate told me that consistent testing in healthcare environments continues to reassure her and that it is “clearly being taken very seriously and regimented in a way to protect people on the ward.” “[I’ve learnt] mainly to respect [COVID-19] because it does seem to keep coming back around. I think we probably thought [two years ago] that everyone would get vaccinated and that would be the end of that, but it’s not been. I think we need to respect that it’s a virus and it can be dangerous.”

Even though the worst may be behind

When asked whether the University had pushed the Government to make changes to tuition fees because of COVID-19 Jeffery told Vision: “We did. Some of it visible, some of it not.

“I was in conversations in the background, but I also wrote two or three times with the two students’ union presidents saying ‘you need to do something here, there is hardship here that we cannot help to mitigate’.

“It didn’t get any cheaper for us to do what we were doing.

“We had unexpected expenditures in accommodation refunds, supporting student hardships in various ways, investing in additional mental health support which was a really crucial issue.

“I didn’t have money to refund because I’ve more than spent what I normally spend.”

Jeffery also said the University’s experience with the first UK cases helped the University be ahead when COVID-19 became widespread.

“We’d had that experience and could easily and quickly build on it.

“Very quickly, we had a weekly meeting of University of York, York St John, York College and Askham Bryan College, with the city’s public health team and NHS representatives.

“That just took off really quickly. It was a brilliant way of sharing information, of understanding how best to manage the risks that we faced. And that still meets, it’s now down to monthly but it still meets with that commitment to working across the city. It was great for us at certain points.

“You know the PCR testing centre on Wentworth Way. It was chaos in the Autumn about getting testing together for the return of universities. I was in a national meeting with Dido Harding and I was told ‘yeah, no, no, no, you’re not going to get anything until November’.

“It was the capacity to work through the City Council that just got it accelerated, and then at later stages when we moved into lateral flow testing, our test site quickly became a city test site because we had the space, the capacity, the throughputs.

“The nearby schools went through it and so it became a real sort of reciprocal thing where each supported the other.

“I think it’s one of the lasting consequences that we have or we should nurture from COVID-19. It’s that depth of cooperation that we have.”

us, we’re still very much fighting this virus.

Kate tells me that “there’s not much we can do about that other than everything we are doing at the moment.”

“You can ultimately get a patient who shows a symptom of one thing and it can be COVID-19 or not; it manifests in different symptoms to those you would see commonly. As for long COVID-19, people seem to still be struggling. From that, it is going to have a long-term impact on our NHS and on the general public. I might not have expected that a couple of years ago.”

26

LIFESTYLE

Thursday February 3, 2022

LIFESTYLE BY

MARTI STELLING

SHEIN IS KNOWN for its affordability and constant production of on-trend pieces.

During the first lockdown, TikTok was inundated with hauls, try-on videos, and jokes about being on first-name basis with the postman. But is our overconsumption of fast fashion having a detrimental impact beyond our bank balance?

To keep pace with the constant demand for new designs, Shein has chosen some controversial strategies to keep their look fresh. Twitter is filled with reports from small artists who claim to have had their work stolen from the company, having their designs mass printed on clothing without permission or credit.

Shein, like most other fast-fashion companies, use cheap fabrics that are not meant to last the test of time. Easy on the pocket, but not the environment.

Their items follow the trend cycle, meaning that they are only designed to be worn a few times and then discarded when the item is no longer trendy. Cheap materials such as polyester and nylon will not decay naturally, mean-

BY

SHARANYA KUMAR

WHEN THINGS GET overwhelming, as they are so often wont to do, it helps to have little rituals to relax.

Everyone has their own ways of unwinding, here are some of ours!

Sharanya: My go-to channel when I want to unwind is The Relaxed Guy on YouTube. He’s got loads of nature soundscapes, some of which are oddly specific – like “Rain on a Tin Roof” and “Gentle River in Moonlight”.

The ambient, soothing and predictable rhythm of rain or water in general (“pink noise”, as it is called) has been proven to reduce brain wave complexity, thus calming us down considerably.

It also helps with falling asleep, lulling our minds into a meditative state. Something about these nature soundscapes just helps me take a step back and get a bit of perspective, as well as quiet my often overactive brain.

Marti: My favourite way to unwind after a busy day is to cosy up on the sofa with a cup of tea and some trashy TV. This is usually either The Big Bang Theory or Superstore.

LIFESTYLE TEAM MARTI STELLING SHARANYA KUMAR

SHOULD WE BE BOYCOTTING SHEIN? ing that they must be incinerated, or sit in landfill (sometimes for as long as 200 years!) This adds to the growing problem of pollution and global warming.

Then there’s the issue of water usage and toxic waste. Washing out dyes from fabrics takes hundreds of tons of water, which is full of substances that are harmful to aquatic and human life if consumed. This is often then dumped in waterways that enter the sea. Similarly, washing these items releases microfibres which are consumed by sea creatures. If

you think back to the food chain, you might know what comes next.

Something seems a bit fishy here!

This is not the only time Shein has left a bad taste in the mouth of its employers and shoppers. Controversially, the fast fashion company sold Muslim prayer mats as ‘Greek carpets’, as well as selling jewellery with offensive symbols.

When considering the small prices of their garments, the wages paid to employees is unlikely to be high. Child labour abroad has always been an issue for fast fashion companies and is something

that Shein has failed to address in detail. Hiring individuals with few other options, particularly young girls and women, fast fashion industries can exploit their workers by paying them pennies for hours that would be illegal elsewhere.

The intention of this article is not to yell in the face of anybody who shops from fast fashion retailers. Most of us don’t have the financial opportunity to turn our nose up at the high street, and we shouldn’t have to!

So, what is the solution?

Should we stop shopping at our

favourite retailers? The answer is yes, but also no. Buying second hand from places such as Depop and second-hand stores is a great alternative to supporting retailers such as Shein.

Shopping responsibly is the overbearing solution to the issue of the fast fashion chain. Only buying clothes that you know you will wear beyond their time being on-trend is a huge step in the right direction. In short, keep wearing those zebra-print flares and perhaps think twice before adding to cart.

THE LITTLE WAYS WE UNWIND Listening to podcasts while I’m walking to work or campus also helps me to feel less anxious by giving me something other than all the loud noises around me to focus on. My current favourite is Stuff You Should Know.

Will: I always find getting lost in a new film leaves me feeling the right mixture of refreshed and tired before bed after a busy day. If I want to unwind earlier in the day, putting on a playlist and cooking is always a winner. Any recipe with an appealing picture and easy to source ingredients is fair game.

I find following the instructions and taking my time very relaxing. You also get a tasty treat!

Matt: For me, the best way to unwind after a long day is to sit

on the sofa with my flatmates and play on our Nintendo Switches together, with some sort of reality TV in the background. It may seem odd, but there’s something soothing about hearing Gordon Ramsay horrified whilst filming Kitchen Nightmares whilst getting my seventh gym badge on Pokemon: Brilliant Diamond!

Jasmine: I love to invest my spare time in self care in order to unwind. This may range from a simple shower to moisturising, hair care, and painting my nails.

Although this may sound arduous to some, I find doing simple skincare and makeup before I leave for my seminars is a relaxing way to start the day. If I feel confident, I’ll feel relaxed and ready to face

whatever the day hurls at me. Another activity I like to do is to bake!

I don’t bake anything too arduous, although chocolate chunk cookies and cupcakes are childhood classics and it is that nostalgia which helps me to unwind. If I have to be cheeky, a good tipsy night clubbing does the trick too!

Luke: Whilst I occasionally turn to TV or video games for a mental escape from the stresses of life, nothing helps me unwind after a long day of uni work or life in general like a good book! I find reading a book takes all my attention, its details monopolise my thoughts, and after a few chapters or cantos, I am reduced to a state of tranquillity. Whilst non-fiction may mitigate my stress, nothing

induces calm and passes the hours like a great novel or collection of poems; particular favourites I always find soothing are If by Kipling, The Prisoner of Chillon

by Byron, and The Solitary Reaper by Wordsworth!

Kaitlyn: Of course everyone loves a night out at the movies with friends. However, what I find relaxing is a solo cinema trip.

There’s something quite calming about going to a cinema on your own and knowing you’ll enjoy being whisked away by the film! I also find walks in forests (although not very accessible in York) with a podcast very relaxing as well. And thanks to the COVID-19 era lockdowns, I might also suggest jigsaw puzzles and colouring!

SCIENCE

Thursday February 3, 2022

SCIENCE

27

SCIENCE TEAM

OLIVER FISHER DEPUTY: POSITION VACANT IF INTERESTED PLEASE EMAIL VISION@YUSU.ORG

WE’RE DOING AS-BEST-OS WE CAN

BY

OLIVER FISHER

ASBESTOS HAS A warm place in the hearts of York students, whether you’re part of the notorious college, or part of the people who make fun of it.

Everyone has heard about the infamous material and the dangers that come along with it. So then why was it used so much, and how dangerous is it really?

Asbestos was used widely within the 1800s as a key building material due to it being strong, cheap, and resistant to many different substances such as water and chemicals. These properties meant that it could be used for many different building applications such as roof tiles, insulating board, and cladding. During the industrial revolution, there was a large increase in its use.

It wouldn’t be until 1924 when the first case of asbestosis was

BY

reported, yet after this consumption kept increasing, even with increasing concerns about the health and safety of the substance. Its peak use would be reached in the 1950s-1970s in which it is believed that more than 170,000 tonnes of it was being imported into the UK. As time went on, different asbestos types were banned, with all types of asbestos being finally banned

“In the UK, it is estimated that asbestos causes the deaths of around 5000 people per year”

Yes, Derwent does have asbestos.

These fibres are incredibly sharp and cause damage to your tissue and organs. This is known as asbestosis. This can lead to a slow and painful death, with some dying decades later due to asbes-

peritoneal, 1% Pericardial, and 1% Testicular. It is believed that there are 3000 cases diagnosed each year, with it most commonly being seen in over-65s due to it taking 20-50 years to develop. It is incurable, and if caught before spreading it’s estimated that the person’s life expectancy will be around 22 months. However, there are surgeries that you can have to increase the chance of survival.

Although it is a dangerous substance, it is unlikely that any Unprocessed asbestos student at York would suffer from with muscovite. asbestos or its related diseases. tos-related diseases. Some of the There are now very strict regudiseases caused by asbestos are lations, with any building built lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and before the 2000s having regular malignant mesotheloma. checks.

This is because it’s only Malignant Mesothelioma is a dangerous when inhaled and thus type of cancer that is specifically caused by asbestos. There are 4 it needs to be in a powdered form. types, Pleural (lungs), Peritoneal Due to its natural properties, this (abdomen), Pericardial (Heart) is unlikely to naturally occur and and Testicular, with 75% of the would need human involvement. cases being Pleural, 20% being

YORK’S INSULIN INNOVATION

OLIVER FISHER

DIABETES IS ONE of the most common chronic diseases in the UK, and here at York researchers are working to help those affected.

When processing food, the body releases a hormone called insulin, which is secreted in the pancreas, that breaks down food into a sugar called glucose.

Glucose is a key molecule for bodily function, with it acting as an energy source. Diabetes, depending on the type, means that insulin isn’t produced or is ineffective, and thus glucose isn’t created. Why is this a problem?

A lack of glucose can lead to kidney failure, heart failure, blindness, can induce a coma, and several other serious conditions.

Diabetes can cause the unique condition Ketoacidosis.

If the body doesn’t have enough glucose to sustain itself, it will start breaking down other energy sources, in this case, the fat in the liver, forming ketones. This is a natural process and happens if you haven’t eaten in a while, however a build-up of ketones can be deadly. Over time, ketones levels will build up to

from being used in the UK in 1999.

As alluded to, there are many different types of asbestos such as blue, white, and brown. Each has its own uses and can differ in structure, but what they share in common is that they’re all dangerous. In the UK, it is estimated that asbestos causes the death of around 5000 people per year. Its strong fibres, although great for construction, cannot be broken down when they enter the body.

an unsafe level, turning the blood more acidic. The body is made to function in a very strict blood pH range, so this acidification disturbs the functioning of your body. This can cause you to feel nausea, have stomach pains, feel short of breath, and have other uncomfortable feelings. A build-up is toxic and can cause a coma and death.

When blood sugars are too low it is called Hypoglycemia. This can be due to too much insulin being injected into your body, or a lack of food. Hypoglycemia can make you feel weak, dizzy, and tired, but your condition can be quickly improved if you have a sugary drink or food, as long as your blood sugar levels aren’t too low. If left untreated it

can cause seizures, blurred vision, and loss of consciousness. The opposite of this is Hyperglycemia, where blood sugars are too high. In general it’s not as dangerous, but if levels remain too high it can cause diabetic ketoacidosis and/or hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state.

Insulin is vital to those who need it. Before we learned how to extract and reproduce it, death due to diabetes was common. It is believed that one of the first recorded cases of diabetes was around 552 BC in Egypt. In 1889 it was discovered that the pancreas secreted insulin, and in 1910 the precise location in the pancreas (Islets of Langerhans) was discovered.

It wouldn’t be until 1922 that a

process to extract insulin from the pancreas was created. Some of the first tests to do with diabetes consisted of removing the pancreas of a dog then waiting until the dog got diabetes and injecting it with an extract.

The University of York shares a history with the development of insulin. The Dorothy Hodgkin building is named after the famous British chemist who finished her research of the crystalline structure of insulin using x-ray diffraction patterns at York. Professor Guy Dodson who worked with Hodgkin on insulin’s structure and later became head of the Structural Biology Laboratories at York.

A lot of further research has

been conducted at York since, with discoveries such as creating the first 3D model of how insulin binds to its receptors. This could potentially be used to help improve hormone therapy and give more insight into growth factors in growth cells and cancer. This research was conducted by the Structural Biology Laboratories led by Dr Marek Brzozowski. New Insulin derivatives have also been developed in York and they allow us to control the speed of insulin acting. This allows for more control over glucose levels, reducing chances of the conditions mentioned earlier. The University along with its international partners are pioneering the way we look at insulin.

28

CLIMATE

Thursday February 3, 2022

CLIMATE

CLIMATE TEAM JOE BAKER KAITLYN BEATTIE-ZARB IMAGE: KAITLYN BEATTIE-ZARB

THE REALITY OF YORK’S SUSTAINABILITY BY

JOE BAKER

PEOPLE AND PLANET’S University League Table ranks UK universities on their environmental and ethical performance, with the University of York ranked a lowly 93rd.

These findings, released in December, meant that out of the 24 Russell Group universities, York was 22nd.

As well as achieving a total of 36.9% overall, the University scored particularly low in certain sections. Of the 12 sub-sections of the table’s findings, York scored 0% in worker’s rights, 5% in carbon management, 15% in sustainability staff and sustainable food practice, and 0% in environmental policy and strategy.

This was a big surprise to me, as, on the face of it, York seemingly has public policies in place which favour both sustainable practises and a reduction in carbon emis-

sions.

However, rather than rely on these overarching commitments which many universities espouse, People and Planet’s methodology requires more active participation from universities. They want to see evidence that these policies are not just empty rhetoric, but that universities are demonstrating a firm commitment to achieving their goals, by providing evidence that these institutions are on track to meet their targets.

YUSU’s Environment and Ethics Officer Pierrick Roger has started a petition on Change.org in response to the findings, to push the University to ramp up its environmental, sustainable, and ethical policies. When asked if he was surprised about the results of the league table Roger said, “In terms of results, I never expect the University to deliver anything regarding the environment.” Speaking from his experience as serving as

YUSU’s Environment and Ethics Officer for the past year, he said the league table confirmed what he had already learned about and experienced from the University.

One result of the table was that York scored 5% in its carbon management, despite the University promising last year to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Roger, however, claimed that misses important facts: “they’re only going net-zero on what they deem to be direct emissions.”

The University told York Vision that indirect, or Scope 3, emissions were in fact included in their net-zero target.

The petition Roger has started reflects both the scathing results of People & Planet’s league, but also his experience serving as the Environment and Ethics Officer. “Students are used as a tick-box exercise and that’s what I felt about being an officer, I haven’t been taken seriously ever.”

Because of this, a petition may be the only way to gain the attention of the university which has so-far ignored the findings and disregarded the suggested ways which we could improve our university.

Roger’s hoping that by gaining enough signatures, the University may commit to his aims. These are to screen out investment in arms companies and eradicate modern slavery from the university’s supply chain, commit to year-onyear carbon emissions reduction targets whilst expanding their sustainability plan to be more inclusive of more key environmental problems, and commit to a yearly review of these plans in consultation with students.

Taking the findings of People and Planet into consideration as well as Pierrick’s petition, the University is under pressure to change its approach to the environment and sustainability.

A University spokesperson

said that the University has set targets on investments, supply chain, biodiversity, and waste in their Sustainability Plan.

They said: “The University has many great initiatives in place to enhance sustainability, but we know there is still more to do.

“That is why we have recently launched our wide-ranging and ambitious Sustainability Plan with goals and targets that focus on teaching, research, partnerships, climate action, procurement, and consumption, along with health and wellbeing.

“The ranking is an historical snapshot in time and does not take into account the launch of the Sustainability Plan and our accreditation as a Living Wage employer.

“We continue to focus our resources on progressing impactful action and we continue to work with our staff, students, and local community to improve the sustainability of our operations.”

ONE PLANET WEEK TO SOW SEEDS OF CLIMATE DISCUSSION BY

KAITLYN BEATTIE-ZARB

THE PAST FEW months have been dominated by an array of climate news and conference based climate discussions.

In particular, calls have been made to focus the conversation on climate injustice and the effect climate change has on people, both localised and globally. Greta Thunberg, for instance, highlighted that “inequality and climate injustice is already the heart of the climate crisis” and that “global problems need global solutions”.

The University of York is building on these ideas by placing the goal of climate education back into the hands of the people, with an exciting week of environmental engagement and equity focused climate conversation.

The annual ‘One Planet’ event returns in Week 6 of the Spring term, aiming to “celebrate and share sustainability knowledge and research at the University to staff, students and the wider public.” The hybrid event will consist of online and on campus events, ensuring that all participants can be involved while remaining COVID-19 safe.

The theme for this year’s event is ‘Equity and Local Economy’, an idea that spotlights the local and international effects and efforts of climate change. In particular it will incorporate discussions about creating equitable living and working environments, diverse communities, vibrant economies, and local prosperity alongside international fair trade. Furthermore, events will showcase the options for creating a circular economy in York-

shire, explore the equity issues relating to water and fuel poverty, and will display the University’s plans for a sustainable future.

IMAGE: BIOREGIOAL

The theme originates from the ten principles of One Planet Living, created by Bioregional.

Other principles include Land and Nature, Travel and Transport, and last year’s theme of Culture and Community. Bioregional describes one planet living as a situation where all people live “happy, healthy lives” within the parameters of Earth’s needs, while leaving

space for animals and the environment. While they believe this idea to be achievable, we are currently living as if we have a backup planet - such that we would need three planets to support our present average consumption.

The University’s ‘One Planet’ week hopes to combat this through education and discussion, by displaying how ordinary humans can lower their impact and live a life sustainable for this one planet. It presents the unique opportunity for students, staff and the public to engage with climate solutions, and to learn how to evolve their own lives in a more sustainable and environmentally equitable way.

All the events are free with tickets bought through Eventbrite.

They will also be uploaded to UoY Sustainbility YouTube Channel.

A full list of events is below: Monday - Water for all, We are Suma, Upcycling, Anne Lister Quiz Night, Sustainability Forum Tuesday - Live Cooking Demo Wednesday - Energy Saving Workshop - Crowdsourcing your business growth Thursday - Opportunities for the local circular economy - Climate Change and You - Localisation from an international big-picture perspective Friday - Carbon Literacy - Guitar and Bass Repair

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SPORT

Thursday February 3, 2022

SPORT

YORK EARN LATE DRAW YORK CITY

1

GATESHEAD

1 DAN BENNETT

from York Community Stadium @danbtweetz

YORK CITY BATTLED Storm Malik and vocal fan frustration to force table-topping Gateshead to a 1-1 draw, with substitute Clayton Donaldson providing an 80th minute reply to Gateshead’s sole goal.

The Tynesiders came into the match as clear favourites, having won their last four games on the bounce, an impressive run which most recently had them beat Leamington 3-1.

York City’s last outing in particular, a bruising Tuesday night defeat to Bradford, saw the team booed off after the Minstermen’s good possession spells were wasted by toothless displays in front of goal.

This lack of finishing firepower may have been the reason for John Askey changing the front line lineup, with Kurt Willoughby starting as a striker.

In the opposing dugout,

Gateshead’s starting 11 included two former Minstermen, with defender Robbie Tinker and centre-forward Macauley Longstaff returning to the York Community Stadium.

Both teams aimed to defy the strong winds and kept the ball in the air for the first few minutes of the match, with Gateshead doing well to win aerial duels against a taller York City side.

The first real chances came from Minstermen defensive mistakes, as several attempts to play out from the back led to Cedwyn Scott gaining possession in the final third.

Gateshead’s Number 19 failed to convert any of these chances, however, in part due to the strong individual defensive displays of York City’s backline.

Long balls exposed both defences early on, with the Minstermen particularly vulnerable to balls over the top in the first 15 minutes.

These runs in behind afforded the Tynesiders extended stays in York City’s final third, but the visitors were only able to create two shots which both failed to challenge the goalkeeper Pete

Jameson.

When the Minstermen did manage to break into Gateshead’s half, their counter was halted by the offside flag, with Kurt Willoughby caught three times in quick succession.

The south stand fans were quick to voice their anger, with “we want Jason out” and “sack the board” sung throughout the first half.

Despite this, the Minstermen appeared to be aware of the tougher opposition they were facing compared to earlier in the week and seemed tighter and more focused.

This stronger performance was driven by Man of the Match Akil Wright, who threatened in the first half with a wide header before driving forward from midfield to set up Mitch Hancox for a close shot on goal. Maxim Kouogun also impressed with a strong defensive debut.

The rest of the first half had the feel of two mid-table teams scrapping it out rather than a table-topping side visiting an out of form team.

Gateshead were unable to capitalise on any pressure they

put on the Minstermen, with their attackers often forced to take shots from tight angles due to the home team’s compact defensive unit; Campbell in particular was unable to convert his free reign down the left wing into any real chances.

York City almost got their reward for a commendable first half, with a goalmouth scramble eventually ended by the opposition keeper.

The second half began with a penalty shout, with the referee waving away the Minstermen after McKay fell under pressure in the box.

The home side had the better chances early on, with the dangerous long throws of McKay and misplaced pass of the Gateshead goalkeeper gifting York chances that they failed to convert.

These aside, it was a fairly even opening where both attacks were kept relatively quiet thanks to a strong midfield competition.

The Tynesiders did get the upper hand as the second half wore on, with the crowd energised in urging the Minstermen to withstand sustained pressure

from the table-topping side.

Eventually, Gateshead broke through York City’s wall in the 75th minute, with Jameson’s impressive fingertip save to deny substitute Paul Blackett ultimately falling to Scott who had an easy tap in.

This lead was nearly doubled a minute later as the visitors blasted a shot over the bar and into the still-celebrating away crowd.

Yet it was York who got the final word in the 80th minute, as the Minstermen finally got something out of a set piece after Barrow’s free kick was heard across the box by Brown and put into the back of the net by substitute Clayton Donaldson.

The 37-year-old celebrated his tenth goal of the season in front of the 3,578-strong crowd, capping off a solid team performance that earned the team a respectable point.

While still sitting in 15th place, if the Minstermen can take this level of performance into the three games in hand they have over teams above them, there is hope the fans will have more to sing about in the near future.

2022: YORK’S SPORTING COMEBACK

BY MATT WARD-PERKINS

2022 IS SET to mark the return of York’s biggest student sporting moments.

With College Varsity in just over a month’s time, where the best of York and Durham’s college sport teams face off, to Roses in May, Europe’s biggest inter-university varsity between York and Lancaster, and the end of some tumultuous BUCS leagues and cup competitions.

York Sport Union President Franki Riley, told York Vision that this year’s College Varsity is going to be “bigger and better than ever”. “[The two year gap since last College Varsity] gives us a really good opportunity to just go crazy with it, which is absolutely fantastic. That’s why people should really

be looking forward to it.

“We’re adding a charity fundraising element to it that we’ve kind of never done before. It’s going to be streamed in The Courtyard and Glasshouse as well. We’re adding an opening and closing ceremony kind of vibe.

“I’ve really wanted to make it sort of less like the little sibling to Roses this year and really elevate it. So it’s just the biggest and best showcase of college sport.

“I think we’ve seen fantastic things from college sport already this year, you know, the Hes East charity match, the Derwent vs James weekend that they did. So I think the excitement’s there, it’s kind of buzzing and this is the real standout event for everyone to go and see.”

Looking ahead to Roses, with

the first full version of the event for three years set to be held in Lancaster in May, Vision asked Riley what we have to look forward to.

“Honestly, I am so interested to see which way it’s gonna go. I know that we’re having a fantastic year, we’re sort of highest in the BUCS rankings that we’ve been at this point, at least recently, as far as I know.

“We’re kind of both starting from scratch again, but we don’t know what Lancaster has been like for the last couple of years. We only know what we’ve done.

“So I don’t know which way it’s gonna go. We’re really gunning for that Roses away win, because it would be the first since 2008.

“The home team always gets a home advantage from the spectators, we always get this question

every year that people think that the home institution changes the points every year, we absolutely do not. It’s the same every single year.

“It genuinely is, it’s just when you know that you’re playing with your people behind you, it just gives you this boost that is just something else.

“That’s why we need as many of our own spectators to get over to Lancaster as possible and level up that playing field because we’re definitely capable of winning.

“We just need that extra boost behind us to remind us of everyone that is supporting us in doing that.”

It’s not just student sport events that are making a long-awaited comeback in 2022, with York set to host matches in the delayed Rugby League World Cup, includ-

ing both women’s semi finals.

Riley said: “Rugby league feels like the smaller sibling to rugby union, and I’m going to keep my personal opinions on this out of that. It’s a sport that’s big in the North, and rugby union is generally bigger in the South.

I think it just flies under the radar a bit, we don’t have a [student] rugby league club here, so it’s a really good chance for students to go and see a sport that doesn’t normally get a big platform.

“York as well is not known for its big sporting events. We’ve got a really good rugby league team in the city, but apart from that, there’s just not an awful lot here.

“So for us to be picked to be able to host this kind of event is just a really unique opportunity.”

SPORT

Thursday February 3, 2022

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SPORT TEAM VACANT

IF INTERESTED PLEASE EMAIL VISION@YUSU.ORG

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BY MATT WARD-PERKINS

YORK’S MEN’S LACROSSE team have won their Northern Tier 2 league title with a game to spare, after an undefeated first term that saw them face few struggles on their route to the title.

Captain Ben Wilson said that the team have had little experience in the league because of the pandemic.

“For a lot of them, it was their first go at a BUCS season.

We dropped down to one team, we always used to have two very competitive teams.

“COVID-19 brought num-

YORK’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONS bers down a little bit, but it’s nice because we’ve put out the least experienced first team, as far as I’m aware, for a very long time, and to have done as well as we have with that team has been really good. It’s just been nice to get back to playing.”

York Vision asked Wilson what had made the team successful this year, and he said: “Above all, kind of having a focus on wanting to get back to it.

“Lacrosse is one of those sort of cult sports where it’s sort of growing and not a lot of people know loads about men’s lacrosse. But the people who play it sort of die by it and happily.

For a university team, even in the second division, will turn out three times a week to train and put the hours in. So we’ve just been working really hard, we have a good sort of mentality in the team.

“Tom, the vice captain, is by far our most experienced player, he’s been playing I think since he was nine. He’s really really good and he was Captain last year and I was Vice, so we sort of did it as a role reversal kind of thing.

“But having that sort of experience leading it has been really helpful and I think we just outworked everyone in the league, went in with a good mentality

and we’re all good mates so it’s easier to play well and hold each other accountable without any sort of fractures in the team.”

With first place in the league guaranteed, the team are looking forward to the Northern Conference Cup, starting with a game against friendly rivals Hull, who they shared a close game with in preseason, for a chance to take on, fellow Tier 2 high flyers, Sheffield in the next round.

After that, all eyes are on Lancaster in May, where the men’s team hopes to capture a rare away Roses win.

Wilson said: “I think we won the year before I joined Univer-

IMAGE: KAITY EAMES sity. Since then, the men have lost while the women have won religiously against Lancaster. We were at that point in Lancaster’s cycle where they were really strong.

“From what we’ve heard and seen in the results from the league above, they’ve been struggling a little bit in Tier 1.

“It’s nice to see your rivals struggling a bit more than they would do normally. I think, having had a really strong league run, if we can go on to win the cup or at least make it to the final stages. I don’t see why we won’t win Roses. I’d back us completely.”

LEADING CHEERLEADING 1

BY RUTH KELNER

WITH THE RELEASE of Netflix’s Cheer in 2020, for better or for worse, cheerleading has gained a place in the limelight outside of those who train, coach and compete.

In honour of the much anticipated release of Series Two, York Vision sat down with the York Hornets to hear about the University of York cheerleading scene.

Bryony Meyer, the Hornets’ Social Media Sec, had never tried cheerleading before she arrived in York but “(as cringey as it sounds)” she “always felt like something was missing”.

While researching different

universities most people look at the nightlife or the course content, but Bryony was checking out the cheer squads.

“One of the reasons I loved York was because the Hornets appeared as such a tight-knit group of close friends and did super well at competitions.”

Figures from the Department for Education show that 37% of schools are now offering cheerleading. With the increased popularity of the sport it has brought rising levels of scrutiny.

With its sparkly costumes and hair bows, some in the sporting world argue that cheer is not a sport at all. In response to this Bryony said: “The people who claim cheerleading is not a sport are the same people who

do not know what cheerleading actually is. When these people hear the word ‘cheerleading’, they imagine girls on the sidelines of a rugby game screaming and waving pom poms. While this is fine, this is not cheerleading.

“Cheerleading, by definition, is a sport and is arguably one of the most physically challenging sports out there. I urge anyone who disagrees to give it a go!”

Bryony was aware of the many controversies surrounding cheerleading but said that most are not true and that “cheerleaders fight them on a daily basis”.

It is common for women in sport to face expectations from society for them to look, act, and appear a certain way. These

expectations are unrealistic and, once again, something cheerleaders have to manage carefully.

She was quick to mention that it seems to be always “all female-dominant sports have the reputation of being ‘toxic’”.

She acknowledges that the sport has issues in the uniforms younger children have to wear in some gyms which are “skimpy”, but at York, the Hornets “cheer for themselves”, which makes cheerleading an incredibly supportive environment.

The TV series Cheer has been an undeniable hit for Netflix and like many people round the world, Bryony has watched the series.

“The show is incredibly addictive and highlights athletes

pulling off amazing skills and showing outstanding talent.

However, for a cheerleader, it runs a lot deeper than that.

Cheer displays just how hard we work and how unbelievably hard we push ourselves to hit stunts.

On top of this, it also portrays the friendships made between team members, which is something that all cheerleaders can relate to!”

It is clear that Bryony’s love for her sport does ‘run deeper’ than just pulling off stunts and hitting tricks, although she does explain that the feeling when you manage to hit a stunt is “like no other”.

“Cheerleading has enriched my university career and I wish I could do it forever!”

ısıon VSport YORK

YORK HORNETS TELL ALL PAGE 31

Thursday February 3, 2022

LACROSSE MEN WIN TIER 2 LEAGUE

UNDEFEATED

York Men’s Lacrosse Storm to Victory with Games to Spare

BY MATT WARD-PERKINS YORK’S MEN’S LACROSSE team have won their Northern Tier 2 league title with games to spare, after an undefeated first term that saw them face few struggles on their route to the title.

Captain Ben Wilson said the team have had little experience in the league because of the pandemic.

“For a lot of them, it was their first go at a BUCS season. We dropped down to one team, we always used to have to have two very competitive teams.

“COVID-19 brought numbers down a little bit, but it’s nice because we’ve put out the least experienced first team, as far as I’m aware, for a very long time, and to have done as well as we have with that team has been really good. It’s just been nice to get back to playing.”

FULL STORY ON PAGE 31

IMAGE: KAITY EAMES