yorkvision.co.uk
Vısıon YORK
12.01.16
ELEC-TRON SCANDAL BY JONNY LONG & ABBIE LLEWELYN
SCANDALOUS MESSAGES sent by the YUSU Academic Officer have been uncovered by York Vision. The messages were sent to a third year student, who wishes to remain anonymous, and appear to warn them not to run for YUSU President in this term’s upcoming elections. continued on P3
UDDERLY DISGRACEFUL THE UK’S MOST AWARDED STUDENT NEWSPAPER
ISSUE 255
BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS & JONNY LONG
DERWENT STUDENTS have sparked fury after wearing costumes branded “culturally insensitive” at a college event. The fancy dress disco took place on Saturday, January 10 and hoped to celebrate the “cultural diversity within the college and university.”
FULL - PAGE 5
STUDENTS BLAST OFFENSIVE DERWENT BOLLYWOOD EVENT
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NEWS
Tuesday January 12, 2016
2/3rds SAY ENTRY INCONVENIENT JOIN YORK VISION
THIS IS your chance to join the editorial team of the UK’s most awarded student newspaper. York Vision are holding elections on Tuesday January 19 at 8pm in Derwent’s Junior Common Room. We have many different sections including News, Sport, Opinion and our arts and lifestyle pullout, ‘Scene’. We print a physical newspaper three times a term and publish regular online content. Why join us? It gives you a chance to develop your journalism skills, report on breaking news stories, express your opinion, and allow your creativity to flourish. Our alumni now work at places such as The Telegraph, ITV, The Guardian, and the BBC. Some positions require prior experience but most do not, just come down and get involved. For more information, head over to our facebook page at: facebook.com/ YorkVisionNewspaper.
LIBRARYGATE 31%
69% BY JONATHAN VAN KUIJK STUDENTS RETURNING to York from their Christmas holidays were shocked to find they had to scan their University cards to enter the library. The divisive measure, introduced on December 24, permanently switched the turnstiles at the entrance of the library to card operation. A York Vision poll of 200 library-goers revealed over two
EDITORIAL TEAM SPRING 2016 Editors-in-chief: Tom Butler-Roberts Jonny Long
thirds of students felt inconvenienced by the change. Disabled student Brooke Milhouse complained the system disregarded her needs. Milhouse, who has only one arm, said: “It’s just too annoying for people with disabilities.” According to library staff, the turnstiles can get so congested that queues into the building can snake through the doors to outside. YUSU President Ben Leatham said: “Although the requirement to
have your ID to get into the library is a minor inconvenience, the data being collected will be analysed and used to improve services.” An anonymous library insider said that officials were also planning on installing a similar ID-operated turnstile in summer for the exit barriers too. Information on your department, and whether you are a member of staff or a student is collected every time you scan although no data identifying individuals will be
retained. A library spokesperson said: “This will help us to target our resources and improve the services we offer.” The hope is to understand when more study spaces are needed. It is unclear whether one long suggested method of improvement to library services - switching on the automatic doors at the entrance of the library - will be impemented as a result of the library’s enhanced ability to target resources.
Vısıon YORK
Managing Director: News Editors: Deputy News Editors: Chief News Reporters: Chief Sub Editors: Got a story? Rebecca Jewitt Peter Bunce Abbie Anderson Catherine Barnes Jess Phillips We pride ourselves on being the Georgia Musson Jonathan van Kuijk Paul Wace Emma Goff-Leggett best news source in York. Print Editors: Sports Editor: Deputy Sports Editor: Chief Sports Reporters: Sub Editor: Anoosh Djavaheri Isaac Beevor Tim Drew Jess Causby Athene Broad Abbie Llewelyn Molly McElwee Guy Giles Tim Johnson Chief Photographers: Scene Editors: Jasmine Golbourne Eliza Gritsi Advertising Director: Online Editor: Alumni Officer: Paul Wace Rob Wynne-Griffiths Caitlin Sherrard Carl Goldsmith Barto Joly de Lotbiniere Opinion Editor: Deputy Opinion Editors: Features Editors: Deputy Features Editors: Design Editors: Josh Salisbury Matt Kirkum Dylan Jardine Ella Brown Sylvie Markes Amara Barrett-Willett Adaobi Nezianya Peter Bunce Natalie Evans Alice Thomas
Email: vision@yusu.org Twitter: @YorkVision
Jonny and Tom
Opinions expressed in York Vision are not necessarily those of the Editors, Senior Editorial Team, membership, or advertisers. Every effort is made to ensure all articles are as factually correct as possible at the time of going to press, given the information available. If you do spot any mistakes or wish to make a complaint please send an email to vision@yusu.org. Copyright Vision Newspapers, 2015. Printed by Mortons of Horncastle.
NEWS
Tuesday January 12, 2016
Vısıon YORK
3
FOIS TRIPLE EXCLUSIVE: YUSU SABB REJECTS
BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS
THE NUMBER of Freedom of Information requests to the University has soared over the past five years. According to information obtained through an FoI request, 328 requests were made in 2015 up to the end of November, compared to just 120 in 2010. The number of requests over the five-year period peaked in 2013 with 421 requests made under the government’s legislation, which requires public authorities to provide a “right of access” to information. A recent government higher education green paper proposed universities be exempt from the FoI Act. Conversely, a recent FoI review has suggested charities be subjected to FoI requests, with YUSU previously not being bound by it. York Vision has used the legislation in the past to expose reckless university spending, including revealing last year how top staff blew thousands of pounds on five star hotel stays.
FOOL ME TWICE...
BY JONATHAN VAN KUIJK
A NO-strings-attached resit has been granted after two errors were spotted in a third year maths exam last week. Exasperated examinees were given 15 minutes extra time after the first error in the exam on Linear Organisation and Game Theory was pointed out and corrected. However no such grace was granted after Kit Lockey, a student sitting the exam, exposed a second error in the paper. A University spokesperson said: “Affected students will be offerred a sit as if for the first time before the end of the academic year.” Professor Niall MacKay, the Head of the Maths Department said: “I would like to apologise unreservedly to al those affected. “It is clear that our procedures didn’t work in this case.”
POTENTIAL PREZ CANDIDATE
TRONSPIRACY BY JONNY LONG & ABBIE LLEWELYN
SCANDALOUS MESSAGES sent by the YUSU Academic Officer have been uncovered by York Vision. The messages were sent to a third year student, who wishes to remain anonymous, and appear to urge them not to run for YUSU President in this term’s upcoming elections. Luke Elliott, a third year Physics student, blasted the elected officer’s conduct: “Tron has clearly crossed a line with this behaviour. Thomas Ron, commonly referred to as ‘Tron’, has held the role of Academic Officer since the start of the academic year. One of the private messages, sent on November 17, 2015 from his official YUSU Facebook account, shows how he tried to put off the potential candidate, saying: “because I have heard of a candidate who will VERY easily win.” York Vision understands that the candidate mentioned, but not identified, is Ron’s fellow YUSU Sabb, Scott Dawson, who is rumoured to be running for the position of President. A later message shows Ron encouraging the student to “go for Welfare and Community”, the YUSU Sabbatical position held by Scott Dawson this year.
Ron defended his actions, releasing a statement saying: “None of my actions were designed to cause harm or offense. As soon as I became aware I had cause upset, I offered immediate apology.” However, the reciepient of the messages said: “It felt like he thought he was doing me a service but essentially telling me I’m not good or popular enough to win the election isn’t a service or advice.” Ron refused to apologise for the accusations, saying: “It’s in the interests of students for YUSU elections to be accessible and open to all, they are and that’s what I want to continue, I believed this to be a private conversation with a friend where we discussed our own politics, this conversation does not influence the process or the outcome of the elections and was never designed for print in the run up to the elections. “With all this in mind, I will now refrain from discussing the election or potential candidates with anyone.” One outraged student, Max Palfreman, hit back at the Sabb’s comments and said: “Ron’s actions have made a farce of YUSU democracy. “Student politics is not
supposed to mirror the cronyism of the politics we are used to seeing on television.” YUSU regulations from last year’s elections clearly state that candidates must not use Union resources, including official YUSU accounts, to campaign York Vision understands Ron is considering re-running for his current £18k a year role. YUSU President Ben Leatham said: “YUSU is committed to open and fair elections, we consistently have one of the highest election turnouts of all students’ unions in the UK. “With nominations having opened last week, we’ve already had a lot
of interest and inquiries from students considering candidacy. “I’m confident we’re going to have an exciting, engaging campaigning period that will inspire the student body and ensure a great new team who are, most importantly, selected by their fellow students.” Nominations are now open for the next elections. Luke Elliott called on YUSU to act saying: “This reflects badly on our entire student community. If YUSU are truly committed to representing all of our students then they must deal with this quickly and decisively.”
REVEALED: HOUSEMATE BUGBEARS BY PAUL WACE
CLOGGED SINKS, bins piled high, and unwashed plates. Don’t worry: if your kitchen is the source of endless arguments, boffins have proved you’re not alone. Housework is the issue most likely to cause of arguments among housemates, a new survey has revealed. One in three people say it’s caused tension in their kitchen. Research carried out by the energy company E.ON asked over 2,000 people to list their their top
ten causes of household disputes. Lights or heating left on ranks second with 22% putting it in their top ten, emptying the bins is the third worst offence at 21%, and dirty crockery came fourth at 19%. “Nobody wants to take the bins out,” one disgruntled fresher complained to York Vision. “The rubbish rises higher and higher each day. It’s almost a competition to see who breaks first and gets fed up, and sorts it out.” Letting food go off also regularly causes quarrels, the survey shows.
“The milk situation needs to be sorted,” one Halifax student said. “We have pints and pints of different brand milk cartons rotting at different rates.” She added: “This is chaos.” Only one in seven people have regular arguments over their house temperature, and who’s allowed to hog the TV. Next time a row breaks out over the soup that’s exploded in the microwave or the energy being wasted, feel reassured: it’s more than likely going on next door as well.
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NEWS
Tuesday January 12, 2016
TAKING US FOR GRANTED BY JACK GEVERTZ
SOCSHOCK
BY ABBIE LLEWELYN
A MAJOR misunderstanding at YUSU lewd to members of the Socialist Society being sent an e-mail informing them that the society had been deratified. The reason given was that the committee had failed to reply to an e-mail stating that they needed to sort out membership records and fees by the end of term, despite several weeks of term remaining to fulfil this requirement. However the SocSoc committee took the issue to Kim McGuinness, Head of Opportunities in YUSU, who cleared up that they were not in fact deratified and that the e-mail had been sent prematurely. Jack Chadwick, Chair of the Socialist Society, told York Vision: “This caused loads of stress for our committee. Our members were also really concerned, we had alumni phoning us to check what was going on. “The problem hasn’t even been fully sorted yet the Finance Office are still saying people can refund their membership fee. All in all, a right cock-up.”
NOT VERY ENVIRONMENTAL
BY JONATHAN VAN KUIJK
THE NEWLY completed Environment Building experienced a water leak over the Christmas period. Water was leaking into the main teaching auditorium on the ground floor. The cause of the leak is unknown but it was certainly not directly caused by the flooding much of York experienced over the same period. Dave Hay, the Departmental Manager of the Environment building, said: “Emergency measures were taken to isolate power and remove the water.”
UNIVERSITY BOSSES have been criticised for spending thousands of pounds swearing in the new controversial chancellor. More than £20,000 was splashed by senior officials on the inauguration of York’s sixth chancellor, Sir Malcolm Grant, including almost £10,000 on a fireworks display and over £3,500 on a buffet lunch, according to information obtained by this newspaper under
the Freedom of Information Act. Students have accused management of “disgusting” expenditure but Registrar and Secretary David Duncan defended the costs. He said: “These figures are very low for such an important series of events.” At the first of five events held on October 27 last year to mark the University’s newest chancellor in just over 12 years, guests were treated to a plush £3,500 buffet lunch complete with two helpings of tea and coffee inside a £940 room hire at the National Science Learning Centre. Guests then went on to watch Sir Malcolm confer three honorary degrees, which incurred costs of £250 for three hotel bookings. Afterwards, the installation ceremony of Mr Grant took place inside Central Hall at a cost of more than £2,300. This included £1,200 for programmes, £800 for a three-
hour streaming camera, £200 for flowers, £160 for organ tuning and moving and £36 for certificates. Outside the ceremony on Greg’s Place, a 12-minute display of Catherine wheels and rockets cost over £6,700, while almost £3,000 was spent on lighting and audio. Other costs billed included almost £2,500 for security, including fences and sandbags, and almost £500 for photography. Parking permits for £10 were also charged. Last January, former YUSU President Sam Maguire accused Sir Malcolm of being “out of touch” after comments resurfaced from an old BBC interview where he advocated scrapping the tuition fee cap, potentially seeing students paying more than £9,000 in fees. The cost of his inauguration is likely to fuel anger
over his appointment. Stephen Harper, a postgraduate digital systems engineering student, said: “I think it’s disgusting when so many aspects of university life need funding, student support being a major one, that the University instead splashes the cash on the divisive new chancellor. “I think nothing outlines the differences between Malcolm Grant and Greg Dyke more than Malcolm costing students 20k and Greg donating the money necessary to redevelop Vanburgh Paradise.” Elliott Ball, a third year maths student, added: “I’m not against money being spent on campus events such as fireworks, however before they spend it on fireworks it’d be wiser to invest it in things like making Uni Sport more accessible to all students, not just those who want to shell out on membership.” A spokesman for the University said: “Sponsorship was
Sir Malcolm Grant... No stranger to controversy
secured to cover costly elements of the inauguration events during the day, including gown hire from Ede and Ravenscroft and £10,000 from Evans property Group for the Student Community Fireworks Showcase.” Speaking to York Vision, David Duncan added: “The main costs were covered by sponsorship, while other outlays related primarily to the presentations on our research themes, which form part of our public engagement agenda. The feedback we received on the research theme presentations was very positive. “We are grateful to Evans and Ede & Ravenscroft for their generous support.”
The Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor watch the fireworks
CAN’T PAY... WON’T PAY! POSTGRAD REFUSES TO PAY COLLEGE FEE IN STANDOFF Registrar... Kate Dodd
BY JONATHAN VAN KUIJK
POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS are refusing to pay the controversial compulsory college fee introduced this academic year. Stephen Harper, a Masters Electronics student, told Vision, “When I joined the University in 2012 I was told that I would be a member of my college for life.” Despite choosing to return to York, and Halifax College, to pursue his postgraduate degree Harper was informed he had to pay a £10 membership fee for the privilege. The college fee is used to pay
PG... Stephen Harper
for social and sporting activities often organised by Junior Common Room Committees adding to the perception of College life as only part of the Undergraduate University experience. Postgraduate students tend not to get involved in the social activities college membership provides resulting in many feeling as if they are being asked to subsidise the university experience of undergraduates. Liam O’Connor, another postgraduate student said: I told them I’ve never used any of the facilities the fees are for, so they’ve stopped asking me for it.”
The Academic Registrar, Kate Dodd, refused to allow postgraduate students to be unaffiliated with a college. Julia Hampshire, Dodd’s PA, said: “Colleges are a really important part of student life at York.” David Duncan, University Secretary and Registrar, said: “We will evaluate how effective it has been at the end of the year, but the signs so far are that the new arrangements have helped to increase the range of services and support the colleges can provide.” In response to being told the fee would count as an “unpaid debt”
on his student record if he refused to pay up, Harper said: “Oh yeah wow throw the word debt to scare students into paying the bulls**t fee you made up.” Non-affiliation with a college would be an unprecedented event in the entire history of the University. The Academic Registrar does not have the authority to change University rules, either on college affiliation or on the membership fee. Any change of the rules is not known to be being considered by the University. Harper is yet to pay the fee.
NEWS
Tuesday January 12, 2016
Vısıon 5 YORK
INSENSITIVE ‘D’ EVENT SPARKS OUTRAGE
TIMES HAVE MOO-VED ON...
BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS & JONNY LONG
DERWENT STUDENTS have sparked fury after wearing costumes branded “culturally insensitive” at a college event. The fancy dress disco took place on Saturday January 10 and hoped to celebrate the “cultural diversity within the college and university.” However, the event has been accused of mocking religious symbols after one student came dressed as a cow, a sacred Hindu animal highly revered in India, and was pictured with two other students bowing towards him. The student who wore the cow ‘onesie’, defended the outfit saying: “Before going to the event I asked several people if they thought the outfit was offensive and nobody told me it was, I also asked people at the event and they also told me the outfit wasn’t offensive, I’m not a racist person, I have Indian friends who would tell anyone that asked I’m not a racist person.” The student, who hails from Manchester, also apologised for any offence it may have caused and said: “In no way did I mean to cause any offence to anyone of any faith or race and had anyone told me the outfit was offensive I would have not worn the outfit.” Organisers originally warned people planning on donning outfits “considered inappropriate or of bad taste” to stay away. It is not known if anyone was turned away from the event because of their costume. The JCRC originally promised “the most vibrant, colourful and unique Club D yet.” But students were left disappointed after the event was called off over an hour early after a speaker broke. Photographs of the event are publicly available on the ‘Derwent Col’ Facebook page, which, in addition to student with drawn-on bindis and in traditional Hindu dress, features two students wearing makeshift purple students simulating a sex act on each other. YUSU BME (Black, Minority Ethnic) Officer Tamaki Laycock slammed the partygoers’ attire, saying: “The appropriation photographed is unacceptable, and highlights an ignorance and disrespect towards other cultures. The open use of costumes that aren’t connected to Bollywood in any shape or form, including a dashiki, kimono, and belly dance costumes, is further proof of that. “Furthermore, the insults towards religious aspects of South Asian cultures were appalling. Dressing as a cow, a known religious symbol, is a fundamental mockery and disregard towards important parts of peoples
Depraved... Students wearing turbans simulate sex act
Costume...The cow is a sacred Hindu animal highly revered in India lives. “We hope Derwent College can use this experience and move forwards in their understandings and compassion towards others.” However, in a shock twist of events, the President of the BritAsian Society admitted in a statement to letting the student in the cow costume into the event, despite admitting the cow was “a sacred animal”. Shailen Mistry defended the student’s garb: “Had this person demonstrated racism and deliberate offense wearing this costume I would have had him removed”. He said: “He wasn’t causing deliberate damage and outrage by posing in a provocative manner, yet accepted the culture.” Mistry also defended the Derwent Chair, Alex Urquhart, claiming he demon-
strated “extreme caution” when allowing people to enter and was determined for no one to be insulted. The Derwent International Representatives, Julia Rosell Jackson and Jessica Jackson, originally raised issues with the event, and worked with organisers in a hope to avoid offense. They said: “We are sorry that offense was caused and hope that in the future, events focusing on cultural diversity will be more respectful.” Derwent events are no stranger to controversy. Last year the chair of the Student Socialist Society angrily demanded YUSU “shut down” Chav D. Another Derwent fresher described the event as “the epitome of middle class ignorance.” In October the college was again forced
on the defensive after student complaints over Cabaret D, at which freshers were encouraged to cross-dress. The party was formerly known as ‘Slag and Drag’. (Additional reporting by Paul Wace) We have attempted to contact all the people pictured to get their side of the story. If you are in one of these photos, email vision@yusu.org, to share your side of the story.
YES/NO: Should Bollywood D have happened? PG 15
OPINION
6 Vısıon YORK
NEWS
Tuesday January 12, 2016
FLOODY HELL - UP TO
PUBS NOT SPARED BY FLOODS BY ABBIE LLEWELYN IN DECEMBER, York was hit by disastrous floods, along with much of the North of England. Many roads were closed causing major disruption and a number of residents had to be rescued from their homes in boats. Student areas including Foss Island and Tang Hall were particularly affected. This is partly due to the £3.3 million Foss Barrier having to be raised after the pumping station became overwhelmed by flood water, risking electrical failure.
Officials feared all pumps could break down with the barrier in place – which would have made it impossible to discharge excess floodwater from the Foss Millions of pounds of damage was caused, including the collapse of the 300-year-old Tadcaster Bridge. Student favourites like The Lowther and The King’s Arms were submerged in water. The Yorvik centre was also hit and could be shut for a year. However, many volunteers, including students of the University of York, helped the city with the massive clean-up task.
Anyone up for a soggy treble?
STUDENT HOUSING HIT BY JONNY LONG STUDENTS AFFECTED by the floods have spoken to York Vision about the distress suffered and the damage done to their homes One of the immediate issues affecting students was not knowing whether the rising water had hit their homes. University Security services received over 500 worried calls. They also made an exception to their strict rule of only addressing on campus security issues in light of the floods. YUSU President Ben Leatham cycled around popular student areas taking photos, with Nouse publishing them on a successful live blog gaining over 50,000 hits, to show students the
extent of flooding at their doorstep. Jide Cliffe, a third year historian, told York Vision how the flooding had affected him: “My friend told me that my house was flooded because I was in London at the time.” He said the floodwater rose to just under a metre, which caused lots of problems: “I was on the ground floor so pretty much all my possessions were ruined. By the time I came back the water had subsided on the house and the landlord had stripped everything.” Another third year historian, Kate Yandle told of the stress that the flooding caused during the pressurised exam season: “Given that I’m a final year student with impeding deadlines the stress of not knowing where I would stay was definitely getting to me.”
Kate went on to praise the response of the university: “The university completely alleviated the burden of that by replying within two hours to let me know they had a room for me until my house is habitable again. “They went above and beyond to check all students were informed and that everyone who needed help, was supported.” A student volunteering effort was organised through Facebook to offer help with the clean up operation. Students helped to make packs to distribute to flood victims on New Year’s Eve, and the University Registrar, David Duncan, visited volunteers helping to clear up at the Merchant Adventurer’s Hall.
What a mess...
Flooded student homes were left in ruins
NEWS
Tuesday January 12, 2016
Vısıon YORK
7
O OUR ANKLES IN IT
WERE THE FLOODS PREVENTABLE? BY JONATHAN VAN KUIJK
THE RECENT unprecedented flooding in the North of England could have been far less severe if certain simple measures were taken. The 2000 European Water Framework Directive, a law handed down to the UK government from the EU, officially deems dredging rivers as environmentally unfriendly as it encroaches upon the “undisturbed natural conditions” of rivers. The River Derwent, which used to be frequently dredged to allow for a higher water capacity, experienced heavy flooding in December. The current Environment Secretary Liz Truss said global warming may be responsible for the floods. Whilst it is true that a warmer climate increases the volume of water clouds can hold before precipitating this tends to af-
fect long-term climate patterns, especially summer rainfall, and has little impact on the intensity of storms. The state of flood defences in the North of England has also received a lot of media attention. Flood defences themselves are very expensive and often just push the water down to the next town or village which is less well protected; the success of the Thames barrier is the exception to the rule. The North of England used to have very good flood defences in the form of riverside trees which soaked up excess moisture however, for a variety of reasons, many of them have recently been chopped down, adding pressure to rivers. As the above demonstrates, extreme weather events rarely have only one cause and it is important to be mindful of all the factors involved when preparing for the next one.
Some student houses in Osbaldwick, Tang Hall, and Foss Island were flooded FLOOD VICTIM ISSUED PARKING TICKET BY JONATHAN VAN KUIJK
Many students were away over the Christmas break and could not defend their properties
THE CHIEF executive of the University’s Graduates Student Association was issued a parking ticket after moving his car from his flooded street. Peter Gorbert parked his car in Abbey Street, a residents only parking area to avoid the floods. He said: “The street and pavement were flooded and there’s a council worker coming down ticketing cars when there was flooding close by.” Gorbert is appealing the fine. The City of York Council said they will be sympathetic to appeals in light of the floods.
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NEWS
Tuesday January 12, 2016
Vısıon THE VOICE OF... YORK
BOLLYWOOD D-UH, JUST DON’T DO IT While organisers of the event state that the first Internationally themed Club D was supposed to be about bringing people together, the question has to be asked whether it’s all worth it. There is always the potential for fancy dress to go wrong, and while events such as Bollywood D can be lots of fun and can be completely virtuous and innocent in nature, there are always the few who have the potential to ruin it for everyone. College-ran club nights are not the place to test the waters of potentially volatile fancy dress themes, and while no one wishes to endorse bland and boring events. There are lots of potential themes that do not carry the same risk.
FLOODY BRILLIANT
Amongst all the despair that our city experienced over the Christmas break due to the flooding, our YUSU President did such a fantastic job helping to alleviate the worries of students, that ‘The Voice of York Vision’ would like to say: Thank you Ben! Cycling around photographing student areas so that students could see exactly how much water was or was not at their door was inspired. As was, although we hate to admit it, the very successful live blog operated by Nouse, which published Ben’s findings online for all to see. Although, if we had had the idea, we wouldn’t have missed the scoop of crocodiles spotted swimming down the Ouse.
NO PAPERS SHALL BE RED (TOP) After spending his first ever week in the library, one half of the Editor-in-Chief pairing discovered to his unbound horror that the library did not stock any tabloid newspaper along with the plentiful offering of broadsheet titles. Taking to Twitter to express his dismay, the library soon fired back stating that they only buy “resources to support your studies.” Naive and narrow-minded views such as these have no place in the focal point of learning at our University, maybe someone’s been putting stuff in the coffee in the library cafe. Stay tuned for the next edition of York Vision where will be launching our “Get the library to stock all tabloids great and small” campaign.
PHILOSOPHY TO BE 15% FEMALE
GENDER TARGET FOR CORE READING BY JONATHAN VAN KUIJK
THE PHILOSOPHY department has implemented a target of 15% female authorship in core reading. Thomas Ron, the YUSU Academic Officer said: “I am very happy that philosophy has taken the lead on this campaign. “We live in a very diverse world and our university education should reflect that. “I have been proud to support this campaign at York along with Liz and Tamaki and I think the entire Philosophy department deserve a huge amount of praise. “I especially think that Dom Smithies and Keith Allen who have been at the head of this really have done students a service and this shows
that it is something the staff in the department are on board with as well and shows the great teamwork we are seeing that is benefiting all students.” Women are underrepresented in philosophy making up only 21% of professional philosophers worldwide. Philosophy texts are also significantly less likely to be written by women. David Duncan, Registrar & Secretary, said: “The Philosophy Department offers wide-ranging programmes which encourage thinking on the major philosophical questions from a variety of perspectives. “The research interests of the academic staff also cover a diversity of areas, including Eastern Philosophy (for example,
Dr Amber Carpenter published a book on Indian Buddhist Philosophy). It is good to see the full range of academic expertise reflected in the curriculum.” The Head of the Philosophy Department, Greg Currie, added: “We are sensitive to student voices and student campaigns, and these will continue to feed into our decisions about policy.” As with most issues in philosophy, a consensus on the matter is a distant prospect. Jim Dear, a first year philosophy student argued against the targets, saying: “It simply shouldn’t relate to gender in anyway, the concepts and ideologies that have emerged have done so through the strength of their own argument.”
EMPLOYERBILITY SKYLS BY JONATHAN VAN KUIJK
TWO UNFORGIVEABLE spelling mistakes were spotted in the first YUSU weekly email of the year. The email encouraged students to attend an event to help prepare them for “the big wide world of employment.” The rushed message advertised the careers advice event ‘YorHired: Life after Univeristy’. It is assumed but not certain that only one of the spelling mistakes in the title were unintentional. University alumni took to Twitter after the email was leaked to voice their scorn at YUSU and University careers services.
“Univeristy”... Only £9 a year
Tom Witherow, tweeted: “Oh dear, the career support at York continues to be woeful then.” The event promises, among other things, to aid students in CV writing, an activity heavily associated with spelling and grammatical perfection. Tweeting, Helena Horton, another alumnus and also former editor of York Vision, pointed out: “Neither of the most recent YUSU presidents are in gradu-
ate jobs.” From the looks of things it’s odds on YUSU will score a hattrick. Jack Gevertz, another York Vision alumnus, said: “YUSU need to issue a statement on this... Unacceptable.” Gervertz’s wish for a statement was granted when YUSU President Ben Leatham said: “Haha! Everyone makes spelling mistakes on occasion, even the mighty York Vision.”
NOT-SO-GRAND GOODBYE BY JACK GEVERTZ
A FORMER deputy ViceChancellor at the centre of a racism row was given a very low key sendoff when she left last summer. Dr Jane Grenville left her post as the second in command last September after more than three years in the top job. Now fresh information obtained by York Vision under the Freedom of Information Act has discovered that Grenville, who was also acting vice-chancellor for three months in 2013, was given a frugal budget of just £875 for refreshments and lunch as part of her leaving party. As a result, it was hosted by YUSU in The Kitchen and was attended by just 150 people. In 2010, Dr Jane Grenville was accused of making “scandalous” comments after she admitted using YUSU’s first black president, Tim Ngwena, in a video film because of his skin colour. “That’s why we put Tim in,” she said. “It’s difficult to walk up to someone and say ‘can we interview you because of the colour of your skin’.”
XMAS D-ONATE PROFITS FROM a re-
cent Derwent event raised £627 for charity. ‘Christmas D’ last term saw sold-out tickets, the proceeds of which all went to the Campaign Against Living Miserably charity, in memory of Derwent student Chris Walsh who died at the end of 2015.
AL-GRINCH
COLLEGE SCROOGES called off Christmas at Alcuin, after asking residents to take their decorations down.
COLUMN
Tuesday January 12th, 2016
Vısıon YORK
9
Follow me on twitter – I don’t Tsweet but it helps my ego. @CostasMourselas
Costas Mourselas
Here’s to another year of rabble-rousing
W
elcome back dear reader. I hope you had a great #Christmas, with plenty of selfies around the christmas tree, copious photos of the #delicious food you had and loads of evidence of the great #gifts you got. After stalking you all on Facebook, I am almost certain that hollywood is on the verge of recruiting some great talent; you are all such fantastic actors after all. But I digress. We’re back for another term; so 10 more weeks of procrastination, debauchery, and wondering why the government would subsidize us to do fuck all for three years. And if this year is anything like the last, oh boy are we in for a treat! With pleasantries out of the way (yes that counts as pleasantries), I thought I would indulge in the age old tradition of
looking back to 2015’s best moments and seeing what we can learn from them. Yes it’s lazy, but I’m not sure you of all people are in a position to judge me. Especially when we cast our minds back to that thing you did when you were younger. Yes, I know about that. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me; for the time being. 2015 saw the greatest shitstorm to ever grace the Russell Group, the cancellation of International Men’s day. First years; I really hope you don’t take it for granted. I have been at this institution for two and a half years, and never have I witnessed a shit-storm as epic in scope or as gripping in its staying power. There were of course some unfortunate casualties, but no-one can deny that there is something truly special about knowing that the whole campus
We have to read a book for dis week’s seminar :O
Wut’s a book? Lol Dunno lol ;))
Random thoughts of questionable significance A Library Ramble
Y
ou can tell a lot about a man by the part of the library he uses. If the Harry Fairhurst building was a person, he would be fun, outgoing, a gentleman of leisure and when the time arose (2 days before the deadline), a hard worker. Whearas the JB Morrell would be that friend that fails to see the point of fun at University. After all, ‘fun is for when you are retired!’ he would surely retort. JB Morrell has probably applied to a dozen law firms and has a salary expectation of 30k. Fairhust is hoping for a 2/1 to do a Masters in politics; and despite this I’d much rather have him over for a houseparty than Morrell. And yes, I disgraced the memory of two men for a cheap anecdote about library attendees. Sue me.
Vanbrugh ‘Paradise’
T
he Vanbrugh Paradise is reaching the end of its construction and it looks...pretty good actually. It would seem that the university behind the construction of Derwent college has managed to create an architecturally sound and rather attractive space to hang out in. Perhaps the University realized that it needed a second picturesque space to stick on the website. Trying to attract prospective students with dozens of pictures of Heslington Hall can only fool so many people. Oh and I’d appreciate it if you could do me a quick favour. Whenever you pass by the Vanbrugh Paradise, sing the jolly little tune on the right. You’re sure to impress your friends. Promise.
is in uproar about something. May 2016 have plenty of exciting debates without the online harassment. 2015 was also the year that I turned 20, another momentous occasion to tell your grandkids about. To those that haven’t had the misfortune of entering their adult life, let me tell you, setting up a LinkedIn is just about as soul destroying as it sounds. I highly recommend staying blissfully unaware of the harsh realities of the real world until at least the age of 27; that’s a masters and PhD right? Ahh and my personal favourite, 2015 was the year the university of York got relegated to the 22nd place in the Guardian League Table. You may try to repress the memory but I doubt your future employers will extend you that same courtesy. Might as well try and deal with it, no? Now, normally, a new year’s resolution is a personal set of goals reserved for those that wish to better themselves. But seeing as this column is all about shamelessly judging absolutely everyone but myself, I thought it would be appropriate to lay out a new year’s resolution for all of you. And before you ask, no, becoming a good columnist is not on my personal list of goals. Ok, here’s my first one; why don’t people stop nitpicking in an attempt to feel better about ourselves? Everyone knows that one annoying kid at school. You know, the one that has absolutely nothing of substance to contribute, so settles for irrelevant corrections. ‘Well actually miss, the answer is 6.723, not 6.724.’ Well, the people behind the campaign to end #prayforparis are ‘that’ kid all grown up. Yes, technically, we should be ‘praying’ for loads of countries that have
experienced terrorism. But come on, let us mourn and revel in our own hypocrisy in peace. We don’t need special little snowflakes shouting in our proverbial ears to remind us of our very apparent moral inconsistency. Here’s another one. Let’s try reading books again and no, your course readings don’t count. It may or may not surprise you dear reader, that there is such a thing as extended pieces of writing that do not come in the form of top ten lists. It may also shock you to know that books do not actually have gifs in them. While it may be difficult for ‘Heart of Darkness’ or ‘1984’ to compete with great literary accomplishments like ‘22 products that will help you channel your inner dog lady*,’ there is some merit to reading classic literature. Namely, to see how long it takes you to reach for your phone. Finally, why don’t you all stop hating on Derwent. Now, I do understand where you are coming from. Knowing that there is a college that is so vastly superior to your own is difficult. I mean, we have the central location, Courtyard, Big D, Rob Aitken and character building accomodation. Because if 1960’s style accomodation riddled with Asbestos does not make you a stronger person, you’re probably an ensuite ponce. But on a slightly more serious note, why don’t we agree to say, hate on Vanbrugh this year? After all, they do house all campus media. Something to think about there. Anyway, that’s enough outta me. If nothing else, 2016 will hopefully be the year that I graduate. So you won’t have to put up with my shit in 5 months from now. *The literary masterpiece in question is available on buzzfeed.
Slacker’s Paradise As I walk though the shadow of the valley of Hes’ I take a look to the East and thank god I’m on the West Cause I’ve been yacking and slacking so long That, even my moma thinks I’m an Oxford reject Been spending most our lives living in a Vanbrugh Paradise Watch ducks fuck once or twice living in a Vanbrugh Paradise Hard drugs our only vice, living in a Vanbrugh Paradise Been chillin’ with rats and mice livin’ in a Vanbrugh Paradise Written by Callum Shannon Produced* by Costas Mourselas
*So basically, I did fuck all.
Contributed by Panopticon on Facebook. If you don’t get the joke, he’s proven his point.
10 Vısıon YORK
NEWS
Tuesday January 12, 2016
mystic markes
ARIES MARCH 21 - APRIL 19
People under Aries have got a fiery year ahead with a forecast of improved health and greater occupation opportunities. This can probably only be a good thing after a somewhat negative York Vision article on Unity Health. If you’re aiming for more than you’re current rate on the door of D-bar, 2016 is your time.
TAURUS APRIL 20 - MAY 20
Watch out for at least the first six months of 2016 as Taurus people get testy with the opposition of Mars. Close relationships may suffer but if you’re a friend or more to a Taurus, keep it together and the storm will be weathered by October. Valentines Day may not be Cupid’s best work but come winter and life will be brighter.
GEMINI MAY 21 - JUNE 20
Geminis have to brace themselves against opposition from Saturn. Keep compromise in mind and close relationships will be sustained. You’re thought to be working hard, so don’t sweat your impending exams, those late night library Yik Yaks aren’t for you.
NOT FIRST STAR STUDENT BAGS PRIZE
ONE STUDENT bus route almost didn’t make it into the new year. The 56 bus route, which provides a direct link to King’s Manor from campus, was publicly cancelled by First on December 17. However, the bus company U-turned on that decision later the same day. The farce sparked anger across the student body, with many questioning the University’s original decision to sign an exclusivity contract with First. One former student called on Ben Leatham to resign, branding him a “disgrace”.
BY JONNY LONG
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT Imke van Heerden has won a PhD Research Spotlight Competition for her research project, The Body in Pain: South African Literature Today. The South African student’s work, completed at York’s English Department,
tackles social issues like violent crime, HIV/AIDS, and racism head-on in response to the notion that literature is elite and detached from the challenges faced by developing countries. Winner Imke said that the competition “challenges students to make their subjects accessible and interesting to a lay audience.”
NOT ON TAI-ME
CANCER JUNE 21 - JULY 22
Cancers are going to be very optimistic throughout the oncoming year, so don’t trust the Cancer that says you do Hemingway better than Hemingway before a 10am deadline and after an all nighter at Fibbers. They’re also bound to want to keep you up as 2016 is their year of flirtatiousness.
LEO JULY 23 - 22 AUGUST
Who needs a student loan when you’re a Leo in 2016? Money is coming your way, although so are responsibilities with children so lets hope you’re studying Education. However, if you are to welcome someone new to the world, love affairs are going to last longer than a night, so you’re in luck in the relationship department.
VIRGO AUGUST 23 - 22 SEPTEMBER
Jupiter is in support of Virgo at the beginning of 2016, an occurrence that only happens every 12 years so use the planetary power wisely. Mars is also firing Virgos up, ensuring their effectiveness in communication and in representing other people’s opinions. Debate Society’s newest star?
LIBRA SEPTEMBER 23 - OCTOBER 23
Libras are ruled by Venus, the goddess of beauty, and 2016 is the year where they’ll showcase that penchant for collecting weird and wonderful objects. Astrologer Georgia Nicols predicts that 85% of Libras are either going to move house or jobs around 2016, although its uncertain whether she factored in the ineffectiveness of flooding defences.
SCORPIO OCTOBER 24 - NOVEMBER 21
Mars is firing Scorpios up for six months in 2016, providing excess energy and increasing sporting prowess. Unfortunately, it is thought that Mars doesn’t discriminate between York and Durham in time for Varsity. If you’re a fresher and haven’t found your people yet, do not fear, as 2016 is your year for social cheer.
SAGITTARIUS NOVEMBER 22 - DECEMBER 21
2015 was the beginning of a new 30 year cycle for Sagittarians so 2016 is still a time to remake yourself. Chop off those locks, throw out those Uggs and buy some Docs, you can fool anyone away from home. Jupiter will help improve your reputation although watch out for someone trying to pull you down from that pedestal.
CAPRICORN DECEMBER 22 - JANUARY 19
While things may be rocky with a particular friend, that cloud will disappear as you embark on self-improvement; whether that’s the unfulfilled intention of going to one of your LFA sessions or setting that alarm, it’s the thought that counts.
AQUARIUS JANUARY 20 - FEBRUARY 19
2016 is a great year for the ambitious Aquarius. Like a Leo, money is meant to be making its way to you. If as a mature student, you are lucky enough to need a mortgage, 2016 is your best bet. You are also becoming increasingly ecominded and your annoyance at the lack of last terms library printing points is dissipating, although this does not counteract global warming anxiety.
PISCES FEBRUARY 20 - MARCH 20
Pisces people have the best prospects of all the Zodiac signs; you can basically sit back and relax. The year is yours.
BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS ONE STUDENT was shocked when she found out that she’d have to travel across several countries to reach her lecture, according to Google Maps. English Literature student Carly Miller, shared her surprising revelation with York Vision. Carly said: “I was so shocked to find that the building where my lecture was supposed to be had relocated to Taiwan.” She ended up missing her film screening of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, required for her module in American Literature. The viewing was supposed to take place in PS/B/020 in the Psychology Department, only a five minute walk from Carly’s Vanbrugh College. Vision has worked out that in order to get to the popular search engine’s suggested destination using public transport, you would have to take 4 flights, 4 buses and 2 trains. The round-the-world trip would take over 27 hours and cost an eye-watering £1696.79. Transport in Tawian accounts for just 69p of the total. Now Heslington East doesn’t look so far away.
CONTROVERSIAL IMD SPEAKER MENS RIGHTS activist Martin Daubney has been invited to speak on campus by the York Union debating society. The Telegraph Mens columnist is set to speak on ‘Pornography & the demonisation of young men’ at a talk on Februrary 16. Notably, Daubney was a vocal critic of the University on Twitter during the International Mens Day controversy last term. Neither the York Union nor YUSU have confirmed the event.
OPINION
OPINION
B
efore Christmas, a write-up was sneaked on to the BBC website about a recent UCAS report on representation in UK universities. According to UCAS, women are 35% more likely to go to university than men, the widest gap in history. Despite being a nationwide majority, the least represented group on-campus are “poor white males,” with UCAS chief Mary Curnock Cook say-
“The least represented group on campus are poor white males” ing they should be the focus of “outreach efforts,” according to the BBC. For this to come from the CEO of UCAS is ground-breaking. Why, then, has neither the University nor YUSU offered any comments on the report which was released nearly a month ago? I will explain the positive outcome of this, but also the issues of being “poor” and a “white male.” The most positive reason is that it clearly shows huge successes in breaking down the issues which kept previous minorities away from universities. In previous centuries, universities have been dominated by middle to upper class white males. The efforts of activists, not just within the stu-
Tuesday January 12, 2016
Vısıon 11 YORK
www.yorkvision.co.uk/opinion opinion@yorkvision.co.uk
DEAN BENNELL WHITE WORKING CLASS MALES: THE NEW MINORITY dent body, have changed this foundation. Diversity has increased and accessibility is constantly improving. Fast-forward another generation and the situation for minority groups will be even more positive, thanks to the work of our own generation of activists. But at the same time, it highlights how our universities are still caught up in the middle to upper class bubble. As much as the colours, creeds and genders of our student body is as positively diverse as ever, the outreach efforts are still solely focussed on these issues whilst ignoring the biggest hurdle we all face: wealth. All universities, not just ours, should be pulling together plans to increase the accessibility of Higher Education to the poorer classes. They should be creating more outreach projects in deprived areas,
“But at the same time it highlights how our universities are still caught up in the middle to upper class bubble”
showing the extent of financial support available from Student Finance, explaining that it is the degree educated,
“The University should be increasing the amount of University-funded bursaries” working individual earning £21,000+ who pays for it, not the working class “poor” student. Interest-free student overdrafts exist, as most of us use them to survive on nonetheless. At York, the work of our alumni department and their tireless efforts in acquiring philanthropic funding for poorer students is largely under the radar. £100,000’s are raised annually and given out to poorer students. This needs to be screamed from the roof tops to all A Level students. The University should be increasing the amount of University-funded bursaries at the same time, taken from the millions in profit that has been made from the pockets of the middle and upper class student body. Ultimately, I do not believe being a
“white male” is a barrier. As much as being a “white male” has become a controversial subject at university, especially considering the recent debacle of International Men’s Day, the real issue is wealth. This draws on the ever present issue of wealth inequality, and the benefits and privilege gained from it. Wealthy white males are still a dominant majority on campus and throughout the world. Many departments operate a system where they pay middle-upper class students to go back to their middle-upper class schools for recruitment. Should we not go to the younger years of schools in deprived areas, and work with them throughout to encourage people to be going to university? Is it time for the University to invest more in increasing outreach projects, funding more bursaries and broadening their horizons?
Bottom Line: We need to avoid creating new on-campus minorities, in our efforts of breaking down old barriers. @deanbennell
12 Vısıon YORK
OPINION
Tuesday January 12, 2016
AMARA BARRETT-WILLETT: NEW YEAR, NEW YOU? NO THANKS
R
esolutions are stupid, so don’t take part in them unless they are from these expertly reviewed and suggested ones.
“Don’t waste your time or anyone else’s pretending you’re going to be better at being you.” The non-denominational winter break is over, and now is everyone’s chance to pretend to be a slightly better person for the first half of January. Over a third of resolutions don’t even make it past January - this statistic is thrown around every year by at least one pessimistic killjoy but the fact still stands. Your New Year’s resolution probably wont make it that far. But it’s okay.
We’ve made it to university. We’re done now, first years are still useless, second years are desperately poor and third years are hiding somewhere in the library. This is as good as our personalities are going get. If you started university as an unhealthy, lazy, adequately smelling person, you’re most likely going to leave the exact same way. Don’t waste your time or anyone else’s pretending you’re going to be better at being you. You’re probably not that even that bad, and if you are that’s cool too. Awful people make life fun and interesting for everyone else. But if you think this is pessimistic, narrow minded and rude about your possible far fetched achievements it’s okay. Everyone is wrong sometimes. University is a time for self discovery and change, just make them of your own accord. Not because a Buzzfeed article showed you eleven trendy ways to pretend your life is better. But because there are a couple things that we could all resolve to do for this new year that would make York a slightly better place to be. We can all help out with the flooding support, even if a lot of us are making it back to campus too late to help out on the ground, there are still loads of volunteering options open for people to get stuck into. This can replace
CAMPUS CALLING
the stupid resolution everyone makes to help out the world, whilst simultaneously helping the local people who need it. We can all call out the obnoxious group of girls or lads screaming the n-word from the top of their lungs in Kuda next Tuesday. No its not starting up a York chapter of the Black Panthers, but it’s definitely a helping hand in stopping the spread of idiot people who think they can say whatever they want with no repercussions. This one is special, it lets you give the dirtiest look possible
“2016 doesn’t have to be that way. It can be better, and so can you” to someone but for the purest of reasons. And lastly, be a little less selfish. By nature students are a tad bit more self-concerned than most people. But it doesn’t have to be
that way, last term was full of selfish people being annoying and ruining people’s day. Referring specifically to the Derwent faeces scandal of 2015, don’t be that person that spoils the day of everyone else for a joke that didn’t even bang. 2016 doesn’t have to be that way. It can be better, just make it better with the pre-approved resolutions, which probably aren’t that good but life is a rollercoaster. The moral of the story remains don’t be annoying with your resolution, do something useful or go away.
Bottom Line: It’s okay to be better, but don’t stress that much. Life really isn’t that deep @amara_willett
The Opinion Editors comment on all things campus
FLOODS SHOW YORK’S COMMUNITY IT’S A LONG, LONG WAY TO... SPIRIT PSYCHOLOGY
H
I
t was a bit of a shock to be sat in my house over the Christmas break only to see pictures of York underwater all over the evening news. Streets upon streets were submerged, Cliffords’ Tower had a newly added moat, and there was a genuine worry for people’s safety and belongings. In among the fear and concern, however, was another feeling of pride in York’s student community. Before long, students were flocking to volunteer their time and efforts to help with the clean-up efforts. Students shared maps of areas that were at risk of flooding, created Facebook groups to offer help to flood victims, and spent their time with a broom and handle to try and undo the damage caused by the large amount of rainfall. YUSU President, Ben Leatham, even undertook a marathon tour of York on his bike to document student areas affected by floods. Of course, it wasn’t just students rallying together to help, but local residents of York as well. Calls on Twitter for cleaning equipment for affected businesses were
rapidly answered by locals ready to help. Local super-markets donated food, gloves and cleaning utensils for those who needed them. Electricians, plumbers and DIY businesses all volunteered their services free of charge to re-connect power and water supplies to flooded homes. So whatever the take-home message of York’s flooding - anger at politicans, dismay at the failure of flood defences, vows to make sure this never happens again - the city can at least know that it has a community willing to come to each other’s need in times of danger.
Josh Salisbury
ow far is too far? Enough is enough, we as students of the university of York need to stand up to whoever is in charge of planning where things go here and tell them they are not good at their job. According to Google Maps, (which is never wrong), the Psychology department has apparently moved to Taiwan. Taiwan is far and in East Asia. I am poor and have no money. And even though Google Maps is stupid and never right, the Psychology department might as well be in Taiwan, or Portugal or even bloody Madagascar considering how far it is. It’s kind of common knowledge here now, “oh how do I get to Psychology” and with a jaded sigh you reply, take the train down to Manchester airport and get the East Asian airlines (because they offer student discount) down to Taiwan, take a left at Taiwan Park, cross the lake, and you’ve made it. Psychology. Different country to the rest of the University, but still the same god awful Eduroam, so you never feel that far away. But this isn’t fair to Psychology, travelling half way around the world to attend a lecture or seminar is the York way. Anything in Went-
worth is a trip to the Outer Hebrides. Going to Alcuin is like climbing an Appalachian Mountain, but nobody tells you where the mountain is so you just wander around the bottom of it hoping for a sign from God, or maybe the University. And it’s quicker to go on a day trip to Scarborough with your Nan than to go to Hes East. Someone who wasn’t poor said you should travel while you’re young, so I suppose Psychology counts. Plus, I heard the UB1 will now make Taiwan their next stop after Halifax, so that will be nice.
Amara Barrett-Willett
In a subtle yet determined manner, 2015 left us to the hands of the new year with impressive punctuality on December 31st at exactly 00:00. I, personally, chose to wish it farewell with a middle finger.
the team. eliza gritsi
hope butler jingjing zhu
jasper hart ed hunter
jess phillips tom smith
editor
life&style
film
It was a weird year, for all of us I daresay. The news were filled with anything from deadly ISIS attacks to incredible advances in life-saving technology. York saw some of its greates cultural happenings yet (no, I’m not still obsessed with D Double E), and lost some of its student temples (that tree-named cracker club thing). We were all left confused, not knowing what to think, lost in the convoluted construction roads around Wentworth. I don’t think 2016 is going to be any better. Except maybe it will be. DJ Khaled rose to prominence, deliviring words of wisdom to devotees around the world. Television now matches the high-quality storytelling and photography of cinema, artists are out to show that there is hope for indie rock, after all. You will have the chance to lay eyes on Anna WIntour, right here in York and video games are not only getting better, but inspiring great films now. After all, who knows if that weird Kubrick-like archway in Vanbrugh will turn into an altar to sacrifice our dreams? Or if the ducks will ever leave us alone? There is no predicting the future, only planning and hoping. Anyone who says they know they’ll be on time are blatantly lying, we all know this. So, from all of us here at SCENE here’s to planning and hoping for a better 2016.
-eliza
music
the contents. 3
4 dianne apen-sadler becki-lee curtis
tv
5 hina rana tierney holloway reece maggs
joanna ayrton mollie greaney
freya oldaker
abigail cornthwaite haply eyres
books 6
the khaled school of life
your term in tv ones to watch
foals: what went down
tech video games into movies
stage 7
pointless film remakes books of 2015
tech 8 food
january blues the northern youth
the
khaled
school of life* It is an odd state of affairs that we have arrived at in 2016, where American music producer DJ Khaled tells people to meet him at a certain location and the masses congregate to yell Khaled’s own motivational words back at him while recording them in a selfperpetuating cycle on his now iconic Snapchat account. The sentiment behind the garbled outpouring of buzzword-filled phrases (already printed onto t-shirts waiting to be sold to ensure that Khaled keeps on ‘winning’) is a positive one. However, ten-second clips of motivational messages do not carry the same gravitas as Ten Commandments written on two stone slabs. The only difference between DJ Khaled and an action figure depicting the “All I do is win” hit-maker is that the man is constituted of turkey bacon, not moulded from plastic resin. DJ Khaled’s universe is a 21st century Waiting for Godot - a repetitive world full of questions and confusion. Where Mr Khaled wakes up every morning, shuffles into his own brand of flip-flops, and snaps them for a bit of pre-breakfast marketing on his way down to the kitchen. Upon his arrival, vast swathes of egg whites and turkey sausages have been laid out. In the afternoon he may go for a ride on his jet ski while evading the wrath of the Miami boat ‘po-po’, and then retire to his jacuzzi. Quite the life you might think, and what a great guy that he spends his time enticing you with his extravagant lifestyle and at the same point laying out the blueprint of how you can join him in “celebrating success the right way”.
For me as a viewer, there is one thing that stands out, and keeps me coming back for daily doses of the extraordinary life of Mr K. Khaled (his first name is also Khaled). Khaled will often pan the camera around to a boy named ‘Ben’, asking him the same question every time, without fail. “How’s business Ben?!”, to which this mere child who can be no older than fifteen, replies, “BOOMIN’”, in a stoically defiant manner. Not only does this lead us to question whether following the advice of Mr Khaled, while maybe guaranteeing us the things he promises we can achieve, will make us happy. The more pressing question is who the hell is this child called Ben who is hanging out with a hiphop mogul who he doesn’t appear to be related to?! While the doctrine of Khaledism may still leave many questions unanswered, it’s a damn good place to start. The majority of worries must seep away when one is riding a jet ski in a pair of slide sandals that you made (which probably paid for the jet ski in the first place) with the message “bless up” inscribed across the toes. Bless up Mr Khaled, bless up indeed.
-jonny long
*lyf 3
Brooklyn 99
jan7
\\jan3
This German spy thriler set in the midst of the Cold War follows a native of East Germany who is sent to West Germany as a spy for the Stasi. There are 8 episodes and they’ve already received raving reviews, but it’s best avoided for those of you who don’t like reading subtitles.
The Flash jan19
Agent Carter jan19
jan21// Legends of Tomorrow
Arrow jan20
This is a spinoff show from The Flash , which is in itself a spinoff show from Arrow... spinoff-ception? Regardless, if you’re a DC fanboy/girl this is their latest offering, following Rip Hunter and a team of superheroes to take on Vandal Savage.
The X Files jan24
jan21// Lucifer This show looks awful. Pure, awful, trashy TV. It seems to be some kind of weird hybrid between Supernatural, Bones and Constantine: the premise is that the Devil is bored of hell and has decided to live in Los Angeles ( )where he meets a murder detective who he decides to help solve crime with. Lucifer (Tom Ellis) is hot though and that’s all that really matters. Not sure if that’s sinful to say I’m attracted to the Devil but oh well, hell, here I come.
How To Get Away With Murder feb11
House of Cards
march4
\\march6 Quantico
Put simply, this is the FBI version of Homeland. Except the terrorist is an FBI recruit. And the terrorist attack happens on Grand Central station.
Once Upon A Time march6
-dianne apen-sadler
4
The first half of this season (11 episodes) has already aired but catching up will be well worth the effort, and you won’t have to wait too long to find out what happens after the epic mid-season finale!
Agents of Shield march8
Fireworks glisten, drunken shouts echo the streets and your friends have just finished doing shots of tequila. The backdrop for the entry into another year, gleaming with hope and unfulfilled goals yet to be achieved (the main one being how to keep yourself upright at the next New Year’s party). But all the while this is occurring, you are most likely listening to some of your favourite records. This past year you’ve discovered bands you’ve never heard of before, new releases that soon become old favourites and the resurfacing of some major hits. So coming into the new year, what can we expect 2016 to bring us in music gold?
HINDS For those of the alternative genre this band are definitely worth a listen. Verging on grunge, this all female band from Madrid are releasing their new album titled Leave Me Alone on The 8th of January. They combine slow mo pop rock with a sweet drawling female vocal. On the upcoming record, the song ‘Easy’ is a particular favourite.
FOLDED LIKE FABRIC Having just released their E.P I Tried after the success of their single on SoundCloud. Describing themselves of a “pretty much a concoction of every genre”. This duo from the seaside town of Hastings are making waves with their distinctive electronic soul sound, having recently been played on Radio 1, as BBC Introducing’s ‘Band of the week’. Give them listen, no doubt they’ll be going on to do even bigger things this new year.
“sharp, exciting step in the right direction”
Yannis Philippakis, - “The more you create, the more you give away of yourself and all you are left with is a husk, with a carapace that will set itself on fire in 10 years’ time”. Yannis stares pensively through a rain-dappled window. A lonely tear escapes from the reservoir beneath his bedraggled gaze. What came of the things I once believed? He contemplates as he stares, reeling from fury to grief and eventually - to desperation. The bloke needs to crack open a beer and binge some Netflix. Yannis has been prone to introspection and the odd bit of pretension in his personal life. The effect of this though on What Went Down - is immense. It’s by far the most interesting and intimate album to date for the young British outfit. My admiration for the other four members of Foals knows no bounds. They consistently allow the eccentric frontman to take control and fling them wildly from genre to genre. What Went Down is brave. The thunderous beats and frenetic vocals of Snake Oil are an interesting change to the softer rhythms of Give It All which is easily capable of finding a home in a London Grammar, or Daughter album. What is truly surprising about the album though is the title track they chose, epitomising brutal, thudding indie rock. A significant change from the Stefani inspired funky sounds with which they have become associated, from Holy Fire, Total Life Forever and Antidotes. Last year Foals toured with the eclectic rock outfit, Cage The Elephant. The influence of this is obvious in tracks such as What Went Down, Snake Oil and A Knife In The Ocean with heavier guitar riffs and a much more erratic structure, paralleling the chaotic style employed by their tour-mates. The stand-out tracks vary wildly from person to person, with some entranced by the haunting loss of Give It All and some enthralled by the nostalgic Lonely Hunter, in its reminiscence of Holy Fire. Night Swimmers and Birch Tree are notably absent from memory, seemingly used as fillers for the more Earth-Shattering highs and lows of the more intense tracks. That’s not to say they weren’t good songs, just to say they lack the flair for the dramatic the rest of the album flows with. What Went Down’s experimentation largely pays off. Whilst their efforts do not always bear fruit, the album is a sharp, exciting step in the right direction for one of the finest young bands in the UK, whom I greatly look forward to seeing in February. I’ve never felt a star rating to be of relevance when reviewing albums. We’ve all smiled awkwardly when listening to our mates’ supposedly ‘class tune’ that sounds like nails on a chalkboard. If an album is worth listening to I’ll recommend it, and if it’s dismally awful I’ll reluctantly concede that it might be worth a miss. If you enjoyed What Went Down, other albums to try include; Jungle, White Noise and Evergreen.
FRANCES Having recently performed her song ‘Grow’ live at Maida Vale, she combines strong vocals with beautiful piano to articulate her songs from the soul. Not yet signed with an utterly endearing character, she is definitely one to look out for in the coming year.
ELIZA AND THE BEAR Releasing their new album on April 1st of this year along with a headline tour, Eliza And The Bear are expected to do big things this year. If you’re into upbeat indie-pop, this one is definitely for you.
JACK GARRET Also having done a Maida Vale session, Jack Garrett packs a powerful performance with haunting vocals to leave the audience craving more. With a style reminiscent of Keaton Henson, Garrat releases his debut album on the 19th of February this year. A date to mark on your calendars.
-jess phillips
“the most interesting and intimate album to date” -tom smith
5
what is out now
Video Game Films;
make or break
year?
Video game film adaptations have a near-universal terrible reputation. It is odd how if a video game film is bad, this almost always signals box office failure. Video game fans, it seems, are rigid in their expectations for any adaptation of their favourite games, whilst casual filmgoers are almost always deterred by the idea of going to a video game film, a somewhat strange line of opinion given the deep cultural education of video games in society. This is almost single-handedly thanks to the efforts of German ‘filmmaker’ Uwe Boll, who is responsible for bringing to the screen a plethora of celluloid representations of popular videogames, all of which have been met with critical vitriol and commercial failure. The only other high profile franchise to meet with enduring success at the box office is the Resident Evil series, a slightly baffling result for a series of films which bare very little resemblance to the source material of which they purport to be an adaptation, thus alienating their supposed core audience, whilst generally attracting critical indifference otherwise. There have been successes where the ideas and iconic images of gaming, particularly its early arcade-centred heyday, have been featured and celebrated but otherwise used as a backdrop or inspiration (Wreck-it Ralph, Tron and its sequel and even last year’s Pixels are such examples). All this serves to make the coming year somewhat interesting for video game movies, as it sees three of the highest profile adaptations probably ever in terms of scope and budget hit the screen, and all packed with considerable talent. Their success may be somewhat prophetic for the future of video game adaptations as should they fail, they will probably signal a decline in blockbuster video game adaptations (although Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, a work that falls loosely into the ‘inspired’ category described above, will doubtless go ahead as scheduled). The films in question begin with The Angry Birds Movie, an $80 million film version of the popular bird bombardment simulator for mobile phones which arrives in May. The teaser trailer for the film showed a playful side, with an all-star voice cast including Jason Sudeikis and Josh Gad. At worst, it looks like a mediocre animated film, which for a videogame adaptation would be a perfectly fine. The sub-$100 million budget, a rarity for many animated films nowadays, would probably mitigate its failure should it be unsuccessful, an unlikelihood given that the franchise has only grown stronger since its first release.
place, although their enthusiasm may not be enough to make this film profitable. Reviews will definitely play a part in the popular reaction to this release. The final, and most intriguing video game adaptation due in 2016 comes out, rather bizarrely, in December, placing it nicely in contention for awards season. It is Assassin’s Creed, and it is budgeted between $150 and 200 million. The director is Justin Kurzel, who brought us 2015’s Macbeth with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, and they are back as the film’s key faces. Fassbender will not be playing a pre-existing assassin, nor a present day descendant whose genetic memories he will access, which makes the project intriguing. The Assassin’s Creed franchise has fallen out of favour of late, with an intriguing story giving way to protracted and unending plots and buggy annual releases designed seemingly to milk the cash cow, so the fact that Fassbender is a producer of this film makes it an interesting prospect. There is no doubt it will not be able to weather scathing criticism, and its release date, a week after Rogue One, the next Star Wars film (itself an interesting box office property) puts itself in an eye-catching place. Aside from Jeremy Irons, the cast is not that full of really recognisable people, and Fassbender has far from proven himself at the box office, as the failure of Steve Jobs can attest. Furthermore, the budget is truly incomparable for any video game adaptation that has come before it.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III 9.2/10 on IGN.com
9/10
on IGN.com
-jasper hart
Rise of the Tomb Raider 9.3/10 on IGN.com
9.5/10
June provides us with an interesting prospect: the release of the long gestating Warcraft film based on the strategy games (not the MMO which followed them) by Blizzard. At the helm is Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) and the cast is experienced, if not quite stellar: Dominic Cooper, Ben Foster, Toby Kebbell and Paula Patton feature, among others. At $100 million, this project intends to be taken seriously at the box office, and has marketed itself around its groundbreaking CGI. However, one feels that after the excess of the Hobbit movies, audiences may not be thrilled by what seems to casuals as another humans vs orcs retread in a shiny computer generated fantasy realm. As for hardcore fans, Jones’ heart is definitely in the right
Starwars Battlefront 8/10 on IGN.com 6
Halo 5
Fallout 4 on IGN.com
Pointless Film Remakes
It’s a new year- a fresh chance to reform yourself from the Efe’s dependent, 9am dodging, functioning alcoholic of 2015. But the longer that sports kit remains in the wardrobe, and the more your diet gradually descends into being predominantly Super Noodles and Quavers, you soon realise that this is all alarmingly familiar. Rather like the much-loved (if you’re a Hollywood producer) or much maligned (if you’re every film fan ever) movie remake. Whilst the remake may not be the worst idea in the world- a timeless plot can be given an alternative interpretation or a shoddy original can get a welcome revival- but too often it seems to be the refuge of studios who are devoid of original ideas and desperate to make easy money. Here are a few of the most pointless.
Gus Van Sant’s Psycho (1998)
Indie darling Gus Van Sant is a director who has been known to let his artistic sensibilities go to his head somewhat. Which perhaps explains why his remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller about a boy and his mother is an auteur’s vision that we’re just not getting. The quintessential pointless remake-not just because it’s shit, not just because it’s butchering a classic for cynical financial reasons, but because it doesn’t even attempt to add anything new at all. A literal shot for shot replica of the original, only in colour and with indifferent casting (Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates anyone), it only left audiences scratching their heads and asking “Why?”
The Amazing Spider-man (2012)
A controversial inclusion perhaps and technically a reboot rather than a remake. But Marc Webb’s 2012 instalment to the webslinger franchise, whilst not an actively bad film as such, remains a highly superfluous blockbuster that struggles to shake off the shackles of Sam Raimi’s original trilogy. Despite improving on individual elements, most notably providing Andrew Garfield as an upgrade on Toby Maguire’s sometimes sappy Peter Parker, Webb re-treads all the old ground of the originals without the verve and humour and the film remains an example of what turns many people off modern cinema-a cynical, money making exercise that treats audiences like idiots.
Books of 2015
Oldboy (2013)
Ah, the English language remake. Not an entirely terrible concept and there are examples of remakes improving on the foreign language originals (The Departed for example is a superior remake of the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs) but there are too many examples that point towards an American film industry that has gone creatively bankrupt and audiences that are too arrogant to bother with subtitles. Plumbing for one of the latter category I’ve gone for Spike Lee’s rehash of Park-Chan Wook’s South Korean film of the same name. The South Korean original is a strange, dark, disturbing revengew thriller that often hits an anguished fever pitch. The American remake is none of these things, translating awkwardly and failing to add anything new. The year 2015 has been a great year for new releases with many highly anticipated and works of iconic authors hitting the shelves. Harper Lee’s sequel Go Set a Watchman has been expected by many the avid reader ever since an earlier manuscript had been uncovered in February. Taking a different approach than its predecessor, To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout, now 26, makes her way to her childhood home in Alabama from New York to visit her father Atticus. While described as controversial by critics because of the queries The Wicker-man (2006) raised because of matters of consent behind the novel, as well as the surprising characterisation of the much Perhaps the most infamous example loved Atticus and Scout. Go Set A Watchman has beautiful, memorable passages of writing, and the portrayal of of all, Neil LaBute’s remake of the racism is as poignant and igniting as the first. cult British horror classic about an
uptight policeman who uncovSimilarly sought after, the newest and final addition to the Discworld series was released in 2015 creating a storm for faners disturbing pagan practices tasy fans and Pratchett lovers especially after the author’s death from Alzheimer’s disease. The Shepard’s Crown is based on on a remote Scottish island, the sixteen year old witch Tiffany Aching, revealing similar elements of the beloved world of elves and faeries that fans have LaBute’s film is not so grown to love and will now miss shown by the over 50,000 copies sold over the first three days. much pointless as comically atrocious. Starring Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go has struck the hearts of thousands of readers so it was fantastic to see the release of his Nicolas Cage at his newest novel, The Buried Giant, after ten years of nothing at all. As beautiful and heart-warming as his other novels, the story follows horsy-faced worst, an elderly couple journeying to visit their son, when they suddenly come across Sir Gawain, sparking the mystical world full of magic, LaBute’s monswords and dragons. strosity of a film removed all the subtle creepiness of the Many more literary gems were released, A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James won the Man Booker Prize for 2015 as well as past original as well as the religious themes Booker Prize author Salman Rushdie releasing his tenth novel Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights. and instead replaced it with Cage punching a woman whilst wearing The beloved author of A Handmaid’s Tale and The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood released The Heart Goes Last keeping to her darkly comic a bear costume and dodgy CGI dystopian theme. Famous teen author Judy Bloom published her first adult book in seventeen years. The historical fiction novel In The Unlikely Event, bees. Well done chaps. being one of only four adult books she has ever written.
-ed hunter
As well as fiction novels, 2015 had the release of The Office actor Mindy Kaling’s biography, Why Not Me?, along with Robert Douglas-Fairhurst’s The Story of Alice, depicting the influence and source behind the much loved classic Alice in Wonderland.
With the new year of 2016 just beginning, readers can be sure to expect a biography by former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Politics: The Art of the Possible in an Age of Unreason, the start of another Cassandra Clare young adult series, and the third book in the Cormoran Strike series, Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling. This being only a mere handful of the books to come - with the unexpected releases of many books in the year before, one can only wonder at what’s in store as the year goes on.
-hina rana
7
the
Northern
Youth;
a preview
To start off 2016, HARD Magazine and Blackbox are collaborating with eight design schools from the North in a fashion show like York has never seen. Seriously, I’m not exaggerating at all. What they’ve planned sounds insane by all measures of reason. Are you ready? Here it comes. Anna Wintour. In York. It might just be because her niece is a student here, but she must be really lovely because she convinced the Devil herself to attend a Q&A session at Central Hall. My prediction is that she won’t be wearing Prada because she is Anna f****ing Wintour and all designers in the world are begging her for the tiniest hint of attention. The session will be conducted by Katherine Viner, Editor-In-Chief of Guardian News & Media, and I personally hope that the two media queens will be as sassy as they will be classy. A live performance by Billie Marten, a newcomer on the music scene who went from YouTube personality to BBC Sound of 2016 nominee in the blink of an eye. At this point if you think I’m name-dropping, it’s because I am. For those not impressed by celebrities and actual living legends, the show itself is promising. Featuring the work of eight design schools from the North and Scotland along with established local designers, it aims to exemplify the best this gloomy part of the world has to offer. They described it as “gritty, ambitious and full of life.” Nothing has been revealed about the fashion itself. It’ll be interesting to see how these young and old designers try to depict an overlooked culture in an image-based world. Or if you don’t care about these kinds of metaphors you can look at Anna Wintour’s face during the show and find out if she ever smiles. Forgot to mention, BAFTA-winning Adam Curtis is working with the students to produce the show, which will be a music/video/fashion immersive extravaganza from the sounds of it. To top it all off, they are not just doing this to enrich the cultural happenings of our campus, they are donating to charity as well. Their aim is to raise £50,000 for the Xavier Project, the Two Ridings Community Foundation and Refugee Action York. They’ll probably succeed, considering how the first two tiers of tickets have sold out. They are also hosting an auction for five of the designs, and a raffle (prizes have, sadly, not been announced yet).
-eliza gritsi
January, that grey and dismal month where you’ve spent all your money, eaten all your chocolate, and are starting to show the aftermath of all that eating and drinking. It’s the month you return to University and resign your self to what is commonly known as the “January Blues”. But what if instead of residing yourself to a month of misery, work, and attempt after attempt to get to the gym, you could have a little fun? Instead of embracing the “January Blues” feeling, why not try out these cheap and little blue treats to keep you smiling through the winter months. -hope butler Blue Movies The Blue Cocktail It’s not what you think. These movies just happen
What better way to start the spring term than with a Blue Shit from Stone Roses? Cheap, alcoholic and a worryingly artificial blue colour, a Blue Shit is sure to lift your spirits.
Derwent College
Derwent, whose colours are conveniently blue and white, is the perfect “blue” place on campus to go for a drink (be it alcoholic or not), food, and a good old natter. Courtyard or D-Bar, Derwent has got you covered for your all your January Blue needs. I personally have been dreaming about those Courtyard burgers…
Blue Makeup
Whether you’re more Derek Zoolander or Charlotte Tilbury, slapping on a bit of blue makeup is sure to brighten up your day, or at least get people talking. Try replacing your traditional cat-eye flick with a navy equivalent on those grey and foggy mornings. If you’re more of the “blue steel” persuasion, it’s time to crack out the Barry M Dazzle dust and strike your best Zoolander pose. For the ultimate pick-me up, invite your friends round, grab a bottle of wine, and watch Ben Stiller rock the look.
to be have the word “blue” in the title. All available on Netflix, ‘Blue Mountain State’, ‘Blue is the Warmest Colour’, ‘Blue Streak’ ‘Into the Blue’ and its subsequent sequel along with ‘Blue State’ offer a variety of genres to please everyone, and provide a few hours of escapism from the dreary month known as January.
The Blues
Contrary to the name of the genre, blues music can actually be rather uplifting, or at least I find it to be. For a cheap and relaxing evening, whap on the pj’s and crack out B.B. King or The Blues Travellers. To give you something to look forward to, a glimpse of light at the end of the long and gloomy tunnel that is January, then book tickets to see Brother Strut at Fibbers on May 13th, in order to give yourself the full “blue” treatment.
OPINION
T
Tuesday January 12, 2016
DIANNE APEN-SADLER: WHAT’S IN A NAME? QUITE A LOT ACTUALLY
is the season for New Year’s Resolutions, and I’m sure ‘eating healthier’ or ‘losing weight’ is high on the list for many in 2016. And it might seem like a great time to do it, as last term the university installed two so-called “healthy” vending machines inside the library and YourSpace, but I think we need to have a serious talk about the word ‘healthy’. Hear me out – I think it’s fantastic that there are alternatives to the classic chocolate-barand-packet-of-crisps combo, and that people with special dietary requirements have better options, but I think it’s misleading to label everything (or in fact, anything) that comes from a vending machine as healthy. When I go to a vending machine for food, I’m desperate. I haven’t planned ahead and brought my own lunch, and I’m not willing to walk to Nisa for a meal deal for the third day in a row. I know what I’m signing up for when I scrounge around for stray 20ps in my purse, and that’s the guilt and disappointment of being surrounded by food wrappers for the next few hours, all for a sugar rush that hasn’t helped my essay writing at all, nor satiated my growing hunger. I can congratulate myself all I want for heading to a healthy vending machine over a normal one, but what am I gaining?
F
Vısıon 13 YORK
CHRIS ILETT SHOVE YOUR NO PLATFORMING UP YOUR SAFE SPACE
reedom of expression is one of our most basic rights, however in the present day we are not entitled to that freedom. Students’ Unions and outspoken university societies have ensured that we are only allowed to express ideas that these organisations agree with. This is because 2015 was the year that not causing offence became more important than meaningful progress.
“Freedom of opinions you should not publically declare you believe. It happens all too often in expression is what our society that people say what they think is right and refuse to listen to anybody else. ‘No Platforming’ is not a new idea one of our most however, but something that has been going on for millennia. Just think about the basic rights, dominance of the Catholic Church in mediEurope and how their worldview was however in the eval pushed onto every citizen. If it was not for a brave few who dared to speak out and present day think differently we would still be living in a world without science. “The market for we’re not entitled to that free- “Instead of sayhealthy proding ‘you can’t dom” ucts grow eve“When I go to say that’ we Last year ‘No Platforming’ spread ryday and it’s across universities like wildfire. Any public a vending mawho ever expressed an opinion that should be askhard to not get figure was construed by a few to be offensive was chine for food bogged down by faced by a barrage of abuse and ultimately ing ‘why do you banned from speaking on campus. How I’m desperate... misleading la- can it be that in the 21st century we have say that?’” this level of censorship? It all began when some people decided and I’m not willbels” that they needed protecting from being ofAt university we have the perfect envifended. Instead of debating with those who ronment to debate the important issues of ing to walk to they disagreed with, ‘Safe Spaces’ were creAs great as alternative products are, ated where students could bury their heads our time and it is such a shame that this is Nisa” I don’t agree with the healthy label these in the sand. While there is a place for peo- under threat. It is rare to find so many gifted individuals from different cultures and
Placed side-by-side, something with less calories naturally seems like the better option, but the key to a healthy lifestyle (or so I’m told…) is balance. Yes, that cereal bar might have less calories than that packet of crisps, but it might also have more fat and sugar. A can of Coke Zero has no calories in it, but you’d be mad to say that it was a healthier option than a smoothie. On top of all the considerations about recommended daily amounts there’s the simple fact that these are only general guidelines, and what your body actually needs depends on factors such as activity levels and weight. How is quickly choosing something that sounds decent from a “healthy” vending machine much better than doing the same thing with a normal vending machine? You’re not putting much thought into your food, and you’re allowing someone else to make a choice about what’s healthy for you. Of course it would be silly of me to place the blame squarely on the University for a
marketing trick that so many companies use and abuse. A world where cigarettes were once marketed as healthy may seem very distant from our own, but it was only two weeks ago that Nesquik were in trouble with the marketing watchdog for claiming that a sugary hot chocolate provided kids with a “great start to the day.” The market for healthy products grows every day, and it’s hard to not get bogged down by misleading labels and carefully worded adverts.
vending machines have been given. I won’t lie to myself and pretend that I’m living a healthy life by opting for a lower fat or less calorific packet of crisps when what I really need is to eat more vegetables, preferably ones that aren’t mixed and haven’t been sitting at the bottom of my freezer for a whole term. Similarly, chugging an entire bottle of fruit juice isn’t magically going to counteract the binge drinking and fast food of the night before, especially when you realise that the bottle is actually four hundred per cent of your recommended daily allowance for sugar. We need to put a lot more thought into our own food instead of relying on others to decide what is healthy or unhealthy for us.
Bottom Line: Calling something healthy doesn’t necessarily make it healthy. @badDAS1994
ple to speak with those who are like-minded and protect those who are vulnerable, it should not come at the cost of freedom for everyone. What should instead happen is that the ideas generated in these environments should be taken out and debated in a public forum. If people do not want to debate publically they of course have the right to choose not to, but unless you are open to discussion with people of differing
with such different ideologies in one place that is designed to broaden our knowledge. If we capitalised on this and allowed everyone to express their opinion rather than limiting who can speak to those who are like-minded to avoid ‘offence’, we could have much more meaningful debate. What we should aim for is a society where the only words that can’t be spoken are those that we can’t think of, and instead of saying ‘you can’t say that’ we should be asking ‘why do you say that?’.
Bottom Line: No Platforming is a threat to Freedom of Expression. @c_ilett
14 Vısıon YORK
P
OPINION
Tuesday January 12, 2016
JOSH SALISBURY: DISABILITY ISN’T ENTERTAINMENT
icture the following scene: deep inside Channel 4’s Programme Commissioning Headquarters, there are two hats filled with notes. Hat one is labelled: ‘Disability’; the second hat is labelled ‘Occupations’. Casually, the Head of Documentaries takes notes out of hats one and two: ‘OCD + Cleaners’, they read. Again, they pluck notes from their hats: ‘Autistic + Gardener’, they say. With a happy sigh, the Head of Documentaries leans back in their chair, knowing their job is done. Of course that’s not how TV programmes are made, but some laziness in this vein must have inspired Channel 4’s recently relaunched documentary series, The Undateables, in which disabled people apply to a specialist dating agency in search for love. There is, of course, nothing wrong with the premise of the show in itself, but there is something desperately wrong with the way the show represents disabled people. Firstly, let’s take the name, The Undateables. By implication, what makes the people on the show undateable is their disability. The show is narrated almost like an Attenborough nature documentary, offering helpful advice to the viewers on how disabled people can best find a suitable mate. And it suffers from rank paternalism too, parading the parents of disabled daters before the camera to comment on their offspring’s love-life.
ple first and foremost, but elevates their disability to the focus of their attention. There are, to be sure, things of value in The Undateables, and in similar documentaries that Channel 4 have aired. If the show can help somebody find true love, that should be celebrated, and if it can educate about disability, then it should be watched. Some people who have appeared on the show themselves have even praised it as life-changing. But that doesn’t dissolve the show’s flaws, and viewers should be aware of them when watching it. Channel 4 isn’t the only broadcaster guilty of this, and it’s not just non-fiction that suffers from this representation problem. If a character in fiction is disabled, then it’s normally a symbol of evilness – think of how many villains there are who use a wheelchair, for instance, compared to heroes. Heroic disabled characters are normally confined to a blind, wise mystic, making up for their loss of physical sight with an elevated sense of foresight. Very rarely does the media show a disabled character whose disability is incidental to the plot line; instead it relies on a series of stereotypes that are not accurate to disabled people’s experiences.
I
AMARA BARRETT-WILLETT: DO WE NEED BME?
n a perfect world where safe spaces are just spaces, and universities across the country have actually been successful in diversifying and integrating their campuses, it would seem that groups like the BME network are unnecessary. Even though we at York are definitely not in that perfect world just yet, groups and networks like BME are still not useful. It could be argued they are even a negative influence on students, teaching them that they will always have the safety net of people like them all throughout life. This is definitely not the case. Many minority students come to university fearing the onslaught of faces that don’t look anything like them, creating an impulsive need to find as many similar people to them as possible: an ‘us versus them’ mentality in its simplest form. I fell victim to it at first too, but groups based on a student’s ethnic status simply reinforce this. That due to the lack of black and brown people, here is a group of people you don’t know to reaffirm your self identity and culture. Ultimately leading to more isolation from the other group, due to lack of integration.
“It’s easy to feel “What makes a like you’re losdisability disaing yourself to bling is society’s the dominant “The show is culture here, narrated like an failure to accomodate some- that is so differAttenborough one’s needs” ent to what you documentary, know and love” offering helpThe deeper problem lies in the way soat large still thinks about disability. ful advice to the ciety Disability is uniquely pathologised, seen as I personally didn’t join the BME netsomething wrong with somebody’s senses work because I knew I’d find black peoviewers on how or faculties. Ultimately, however, what ple here regardless. And I don’t need a a disability ‘disabling’ is society’s bi-weekly meeting space to see other studisabled people makes failure to accommodate someone’s needs. dents who apparently are like me, because Deafness, for example, is only disabling if we both share similar amounts of melanin expect somebody to be able to function within our skin. I get it, it’s easy to feel like can best find a you at a full level of hearing. If both broadcast- you’re losing your self to the dominant culand viewers realised that nuance, then ture here that is so different to what you suitable mate” ers documentaries like The Undateables might
The reactions of some of the viewers are deeply unsettling, as well. Searching The Undateables hashtag on Twitter shows a host of people mocking those on the show, professing amazement that someone could act in a certain way on a date. The second type of reaction, which is more subtle and therefore infinitely more annoying, are those who virtue signal, declaring from the rooftops that they would date some on the show, even if they are disabled. Neither of these reactions see disabled people as peo-
fulfil the purpose they set out to achieve – to inform viewers about some of the struggles of disability – rather than serving for some viewers as voyeuristic forms of entertainment.
Bottom Line: Broadcasters need to represent disability more accurately in their shows. @josh_salisbury
know and love. But I knew I’d find like minded people culturally, intellectually and personality wise through my day to day university life.
“...Allowing us to live in a middle class white city and not actually know any white people” Also the idea that because we are all ethnic minorities at York together, we share some similar struggle or plight is a ridiculous notion. Most people of colour are and should be aware of the privileges that exist between our similar but separate cultures, and how that creates different hurdles for us to face. The argument that the BME exists as a place for us to share our experiences are flawed because we definitely do not. They are individual and different, between cultures, languages and the regions we live in. Most importantly groups formed for minorities and people of colour push forward an exclusionary mentality. Many of us come from places where most of our close friends, neighbours or people we pass by on the street look like us. Groups like the BME network put us back into our comfort zones. Allowing us to live in a middle class white city, and not actually know any white people. I understand why not knowing anyone like yourself is a genuine concern for many students of colour entering university, at a first glance there is nobody who really gets your culture, which can make you feel isolated within yourself. Being the only black person in a flat of 12, there are plenty of times where I want a black person with me who understands exactly what this university is like. However, I do understand the need to be uncomfortable sometimes, we are all here to better ourselves. Different experiences from people that aren’t like us are fundamental to growing up. Being forced to be nice to everyone because I know I haven’t got a safety net of people exactly like me to fall back on has benefited my university experience amazingly.
Bottom Line: Don’t restrict yourself as you try to make yourself comfortable.
@amara_willett
OPINION
Tuesday January 12, 2016
YES/NO
Vısıon 15 YORK
SHOULD “BOLLYWOOD D” HAVE HAPPENED? ALEX URQUHART, DERWENT CHAIR
YES:
Bollywood D was a new approach to engage home and international students. We wanted to narrow the divide between these groups within the college, and did this by hosting Derwent’s first Internationally themed Club D. In the past there have been “International” events, put on by our International Reps. Rather than separating events aimed towards nationals and internationals, we want to bridge that gap and encourage a more multicultural attitude that further celebrates our diversity. Bollywood D was the finale of Derwent’s first International Fair, which was brilliant day, bringing together a mix of cultural societies throughout the university in Dbar. Bollywood D aimed to encourage students to think, research and learn through the process of sourcing appropriate attire and becoming more aware of Bollywood and Indian popular culture in general. It was an attempt to make a common Derwent event an opportunity for learning and a step towards a more united college community. One of our main concerns is always, but especially for Bollywood D, the comfort and wellbeing of our international community here in Derwent. Our priority was to avoid any situation where an international student feels their own college is appropriating, misusing and disrespecting their culture. Our duty as a college is to ensure we do not facilitate or tolerate such behaviour if it were to take place. In order to aid this, for Bollywood D, the President of the British-Asian Society, Shailen Mistry, was on the door for the night, acting as the night’s mediator for any inappropriate costumes.
TAMAKI LAYCOCK, YUSU BME OFFICER Shailen’s job was difficult - to be on the door, judging the intention of an outfit isn’t a simple task. The College thanks Shalien for his work and recognises that is difficult to predict how an outfit might be received by the wider community. It was a call made by just one person, which in hindsight shouldn’t have been the case. After discussions with the committee, ISA officers, BME officers, the British-Asian Society and various society committees we concluded that with planning, care and consideration, Bollywood D could be executed in such a manner that offensive situations are avoided. A costume party, of any theme, has the potential for offensive/insensitive outfits. I was not, however, going to let the fear of insensitive individuals dictate whether the event should or should not go ahead. That said, I do appreciate that certain costumes were not acceptable and should not have been allowed into the event. I take full responsibility for this taking place, and would like to apologise to anyone that felt isolated or upset by costumes - the photos have been removed from the album. Derwent has always been proud of the quality and achievements of its events. Getting a consistently large turnout to events can have benefits beyond the obvious fun of the night itself - it has a deeprooted influence on college spirit and outlook. Bollywood D did, with the vast majority, encourage a positive engagement with a culture we aren’t all immediately familiar. The college will always try to better the community in ways that are engaging, unique and fun; and Bollywood D firmly stood with this approach.
@YorkVision
NO:
To those attending BollywoodD, I would like to ask a few questions. What clothes will you wear? I’m guessing the average York university student won’t have their own Indian traditional clothing or would know where to go to get the clothing. So what will students wear instead? Something colorful and patterned doesn’t automatically make it Bollywood, and “exotic” prints are mostly imitations with no cultural significance. The imitation that students will have to do will be crude and unrepresentative of the culture within Bollywood, further showing the misconceptions that students have about other cultures. What counts as appropriation to you? Cultural appropriation has been a hot and contested topic for a while. The problem is where to draw the line. The basic definition of cultural appropriation is the adoption of cultural elements such as dress, language, and heritage by another cultural group without a full understanding/ respect of the intricacies of these cultural practices or the discrimination that may come with their practice for the original culture. Cultural appropriation usually comes without the consent of the cultural group that aspects are being adopted from. So when you go to this event, where will you draw the line? How do we distinguish between appropriation and appreciation? The Bollywood D event is a claim at appreciation of South Asian culture. However, claims of appreciation are stretched by the “themed drinks” being served, and the probable heavy drinking that will occur. Appreciation should be in the context of a
respectful learning environment wherein genuine cultural exchange occurs between groups. This should have the purpose of creating a new and deeper understanding of these cultural practices as opposed to simply removing them from their original context with an interest in aesthetics. This is why I agree with Derwent’s International Fair happening earlier in the day, where different cultural societies are presenting a learning opportunity to students through “different regional food, music, travel, language, culture and film.” However, one day of learning doesn’t equate to gaining a full understanding of a culture. It’s a little more complicated than a little bit of effort being traded in for permission to do more. I’m not saying that attendees can’t appreciate Bollywood or any other cultural experience, but I do think there is a time and a place. Being invited into someone’s culture, whether through an international fair, a wedding, or any event run by people from that experience is a great way to learn more and become a more open person. But using someone’s heritage as a way to capitalize and get pissed on a night out isn’t.
@YorkVision
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FEATURES
Tuesday January 12. 2016
FEATURES
Vısıon 17 YORK
www.yorkvision.co.uk/features features@yorkvision.co.uk
DIARY OF A MIGRAINE SUFFERER An ANONYMOUS migraine sufferer explains how the condition affects everyday life.
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There’s nothing unusual about getting up early on Christmas Day. After all, there’s dinner to cook, presents to open and visiting relatives to prepare yourself for. My Christmas Day began at the bright and early time of 5 am, despite the fact that I had no dinner to cook and could have easily stayed in bed for another couple of hours. It wasn’t Christmas spirit that forced me out of bed at such an ungodly time; it was a migraine attack. For as long as I can remember, I’ve suffered from nauseating chronic migraines. Luckily my Christmas episode passed within a couple of hours thanks to medication, but throughout my life they’ve seriously cramped my style. The excruciating head pains and (in my case) vomit inducing nausea make simple everyday tasks impossible. I have literally no choice but to shut myself away in a dark, quiet room and wait for it to pass. I can’t even lie down and sleep, as that makes the nausea worse… As for what triggers them, it varies between people. For me, it can be anything as diverse as oversleeping to undersleeping, from caffeine to LED lights. The latter cause is pretty problematic: pretty much every office building in the Western Hemisphere is lit with LED bulbs due to their energy efficiency. Every time I start a new job, I suffer non-stop migraines every day until my eyes/ medication adjusts. Hardly the best way to make a good first impression… While chronic migraines are rare, they are by no
‘‘I can’t even lie down and sleep, as that makes the nausea worse.’’ means unique to me. Health services define chronic migraines as at least 15 headaches over a three month period, at least eight of which are migrainous. Approximately 1% of people are thought to suffer from the condition, which means there’s probably about 600,000 suffers in the UK. Some sufferers have it so bad that they are literally unable to work (usually not because they suffer every day but because they suffer so frequently and have to take so many days off sick, they struggle to find people willing to employ them). And it’s not just the sufferers who are losing out due to their migraines: the World Health Organisation estimates that around 25 million working days per year are lost in the UK due to migraines, which costs the economy a staggering £2.25 Billion per year. However, like all “invisible disabilities”, sufferers often remain hidden. It also doesn’t help that migraines and often used as go-to excuses for people hoping to pull a sickie to such an extent that from some employers point of view, “migraine” is essentially synonymous with “hangover”. But while the symptoms may be invisible to the eye, they are very, very real to sufferers. A friend of mine, who also suffers from migraines, once told me
that he felt so validated when a friend once walked up to him and said “do you know what Stephen. All this time I always thought you were just making it up but I actually had a migraine over summer so fuckin’ hell mate.” Of course, treatment is available but as nobody really knows what causes migraines (triggers vary from person to person) the preventative medications are never extremely effective, only reducing the intensity and frequency of attacks rather than alleviating the condition completely. Due to the imprecise nature of the causes, drugs prescribed are generally meant to alleviate other conditions and as such can cause a whole host of side effects.
‘‘I would sleep 14 hours a day with ease. An earthquake wouldn’t have woken me’’ Amitriptyline, the preventative drug I’m prescribed in increasingly large doses, is really an antidepressant. Since I started taking it, the side effects have been apparent: it’s sedative and really knocks you out so in my first few weeks of taking it, I would sleep for 14 hours a day with ease. An earthquake wouldn’t have woken me. And that was when I was on a dosage 1/5 as strong as what I take today. When I recently told a pharmacy student friend of mine exactly how much Amitriptyline I was popping every night, he was startled and asked me how the hell I get up in the morning. As I mentioned earlier too, oversleeping can be a migraine trigger for me, the medicine ironically causing the symptoms its supposed to alleviate… Other side effects include changes in blood pressure, which has the hilarious impact of giving me dead legs when I sleep, so when I jump out of bed in shock of the time my drug-induced sleep has finally ended at, I fall flat on my face. Fun times! There’s also the slightly less hilarious impact of what low pressure can do to you in the bedroom if you’re a bloke (I’ll leave that one to your imagination). But by far the worst part of my medicine is what happens when I have to go without it. Last October, I didn’t get my prescription renewed in time before a weekend and had to go about four days without any medicine. The result was a four day long super migraine coupled with an inability to sleep. Fun times indeed. Florence Welch is right: don’t touch the sleeping pills, they mess with your head. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Like all other sufferers, sometimes you’ve really just got to see
the lighter side. A friend of mine and fellow suffer with a photosensitive trigger so severe he has to wear sunglasses at night (just like Corey Heart) told me he once got free drinks in a club all night because the barman thought he “looked cool”! Reproduced with permission from thejocal.com.
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Tuesday January 12, 2016
FEATURES
The crossing to europe ELIZA GRITSI volunteers at the Greek island of Lesvos and comes face to face with the refugee crisis and the people trying to help on the ground.
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arrived at Lesvos late on a Sunday afternoon. It was cold and dark. I was stressed. I was starting to question my decision to leave the comforts of home to go volunteering. Why on earth was I on a remote Greek island in late December? As my cowardice was fighting the knoweledge of the fact that I was indeed, in Lesvos, and there wasn’t much I could about it except what I was there to do, I left the airport in a taxi. And then I saw them. The life-jackets. The road to town stretches 15km along the shores of the island. There were lifejackets everywhere on the beach. I was slowly coming face to face with the scale of the crisis, and it wasn’t easy to swallow. In the past year or so, almost a million refugees have passed through Lesvos on their way to Europe. To put this into perspective, the island has a population of 87,000. The “privileged” nationalities are
“There were life-jackets everywhere on the beach. I was slowly coming face to face with the scale of the crisis.” Syrians, Iranians and Afghans. If they can prove their identity, they are granted asylum and safe passage into Europe. Often, their passports are stolen along the way. Then, they are put through interviews to determine where they’re from. Unfortunately for the refugees, other immigrants are creating a problem. The Greek government has opened the borders to refugees, and it’s not just them trying to cross the borders into Europe. Moroccans,
Algerians, and others pay the smugglers in Turkey and get in the boats. They throw away their passports, and hope for the best. I even met two middle-aged Tibetan women. Their trip is not an easy one. Many of them literally walk. This Afghan family had been travelling since last January, an exception to the two weeks to three months rule.. If they reach the shores of Turkey, they wait in an abandoned estate for days without food or water until the smugglers deem weather and coastguard conditions safe for the trip. Then, 30 to 50 of them are put on 15-persons capacity boats to cross the border to Greece. It is a cold and icy ride. Their engines often fail mid-sea, thanks to the booming business of collecting them from beaches and reselling them to the smugglers some Greeks are involved in. Then they have to paddle, and the water starts pouring in. Or maybe their life-jackets aren’t really life-jackets. Smugglers are using random materials to fill them, which makes the life-jacket a plain jacket of no help when drowning.. They arrive wet and cold. Boats duty is chaotic for volunteers. We drove up and down the coast for hours, looking out to the sea for any signs of a boat. Some of them were taken in by the Turkish coastguard to be taken into camps. Thankfully, yet not so much, the European Union gave 3 billion euro to the the Erdogan government to create camps. As a result, they are not detaining those they catch at sea as was the case until December, they take them to the camps. It is now snowing in Turkey and the tents have no heating. On the 7th of January a four-month-old boy died in one of those. On my first shift, we treated six boats
FEATURES in two hours. Volunteers see the boat and try to guide them to safe waters. On the northern part of the island, there is often no such thing. Some will see dry land only to be faced with menacing rocks and steep climbs. I can’t even begin to imagine arriving there and carrying your baby up 200 meters of rock sliding cliffside. If their engine stops near the Greek coast, a lifeguard or two will jump in the waters, tie the boat to their wetsuit and carry them to the shore. We then helped them change their wet clothing into dry clothing we were carrying with us.Then, they are taken to the registration site on UNHCR buses. Some of them are crying, some of them are laughing, some of them are taking selfies. I met some incredible people at the beaches. There was an 8-year-old boy who spoke excellent English. As soon as he stepped foot on land, he was anxiously looking for a phone. I asked him where his parents were and he pointed it at a couple who waved at us whilst their socks were being changed. I gave him my phone and he made a phone call. He was speaking Farsi, so I couldn’t understand a word. There was a girl on his boat who was having what looked like an epilepsy attack, but it could have just been hypothermia. It is hard to tell when the patient is completely unresponsive. The doctor treating her was looking for someone to translate because her family spoke little English. I found the boy, and asked him to help out. Soon, I was distracted by other people who needed attention. Once things had calmed down, I asked him who he’d called. “My parents,” he said calmly. In Syria, $1,000 are not a Macbook, but a ticket to Europe. And it is money that not a lot of people have. When forced to make a decision, many families will choose to stay behind and hope that their children will have a better future. I have no doubt about this particular boy. Any 8-year who can make it through Asia by himself and is smart enough to befriend a couple who doesn’t speak English to present as his parents is sure to do well in the corporate West. But I’m not so sure about everyone else. In Moria, the central registration facility for the time being, you realise that no one cares about these people. The central authority for patrolling European borders, Frontex, has now left the island. It used to be the case that refugees would be split between Moria and Kara Tepe, into young males and families respectively, and thengo through the registration process. Now, because of an unprecedented lack of resources, all registration goes through Moria. The Tolkien name does the camp
“...you realise that no one cares about these people. The central authority for patrolling European borders has now left.” justice. There are upwards of 3,000 people outside the Moria military base, where those registered can reside in. There are not enough IKEA huts or tents to house them, so they have to sleep in the cold under blankets. It used to be the case that registration would only take a day, but with sometimes as less as two people running it, it now takes up to four. There
Tuesday January 12, 2016
is no government presence, save for police, or big NGOs, except for Medecins sans Frontiers. Food and tea are served a few times a day, provided by independent volunteers from other camps. Volunteers and refugees are trying to work together in the harshest of circumstances. Many refugees choose to stay in Lesvos to help out with translation after they’ve been registered. What I saw on the island was the most selfless cooperation I’ve ever come across. Refugees are really happy to be met with people who genuinely want to help them, and volunteers are going through sleepless weeks to do so. And yet apart from those involved, no one cares. “It would be easier for the local government to get aid to kill the
refugees than humanitarian aid to help them,” an American volunteer who met with representatives of the Senate and the Secretary of State said. As the world cries out in fear of Muslims and their “terrorist threat”, some of them are fleeing their homes because that threat
Vısıon 19 YORK
is a reality to them. From what I saw, they hate ISIS more than we do. They have but one sentence in their head, “We want peace.”
“Refugees are really happy to be met with people who genuinely want to help them, and volunteers are going through sleepless weeks to do so.”
York Refugee Week 2016 There will be a Refugee Week held in January from Monday 18th until Friday 22nd. The week aims to “educate, spark debate, and raise money in order to respond to different aspects of the current refugee crisis.” The timetable of events and further information can be found on their Facebook page.
20 Vısıon Tuesday January 12, 2016
FEATURES
YORK
finding a better use for greg’s seat
ELLA BROWN and JOSHUA GILLMAN-SMITH ask students to show a little creativity by coming up with suggestions of the best use for the new arch...
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he university has recently invested in renovating Vanbrugh Paradise, including the addition of what appears to be nothing more than a big, silver arch - Greg’s seat. Whilst at first glance this contorted piece of metal may seem a little pointless, students at York have been inspired by a recent Facebook post to come up with a few ideas to add some purpose. Ranging from somewhere to stop for a snack to a way of livening up the landscape, it’s fair to say that all the suggestions - however crappy they were - are better than the original.
A shark tank would be pretty cool...
A ropeswing provides a more interesting way to enjoy the concrete-lathered scenery
Get rid of the geese with a bird cage Make mine a Cornish pasty!
Mid-lecture sausage roll? Other ideas:
David Duncan, the University Registrar, liked the idea of enclosing the seat and turning it into a sauna Some thought it could be the starting gate for a University of York ‘Total Wipeout’ Perhaps it could lead to the addition of another university bar Or even a spot for a late night, post-Kuda meet up
SPORT
Tuesday January 12, 2016
SPOTLIGHT: Waterpolo
Vısıon 21 YORK
ADAM HAGERTY looks at York’s most explosive water sport YORK VISION’S ‘Spotlight’ piece aims to bring the university’s lesser-known sports clubs to the fore, providing information for potential players and shedding light upon sports and clubs that do not get regular coverage. The University of York Swimming and Water Polo club (or UYSWC) are the kings and queens of the swimming pool, and while swimming may be considered a wellknown sporting activity, today we focus on the perhaps more obscure latter half of the club - water polo. Water polo is a sport steeped in history, having been the first team sport introduced at the modern Olympic games in 1900. Originally developed in the mid-nineteenth century in Great Britain, the modern game originated as a form of rugby football played in the rivers and lakes of England and Scotland. Since then the game has developed into a global sport, often considered to be one of the most physically demanding team games. Water polo combines the rules of bas-
ketball, football and hockey with the physicality of wrestling and swimming and, as a result, can often be considered a little confusing. A Water Polo team consists of thirteen players, with seven (a goalkeeper
and six field players) participating at any one time. Players tread water the entire game and cannot touch the bottom or the sides of the pool. Much like football, the object of the game is to score as many goals as possible and as the player’s legs are busy keeping them afloat, the ball is thrown into the opposing team’s net. Players can either swim with the ball in front of them or advance by passing the ball around the pool through the air. Early forms of the sport encouraged wrestling and even holding opposing players underwater to recover the ball, and while this is no longer allowed, physical contact is still a large part of the modern game as players manoeuvre for position in front of the goal or aim to knock away or steal the ball from the other team.
As a result protective caps are worn, protecting the ears from the ball – Water Polo shots can exceed 30 miles per hour. It has been an action-packed start to the year for the University’s Men’s and Women’s teams, who both faced tough opposition in their respective leagues last term. The most recent BUCS tournaments saw York’s Ladies travel to Lancaster for games against both Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). This competition saw York net some positive results, beating MMU a comfortable 9-3, while giving high-flying Manchester a tough encounter in an exciting match that ended a respectable 6-4 to Manchester. York’s Men’s team saw an influx of new inexperienced players this season, with
WHO SAYS GAMING IS POINTLESS? continued from back page
Thus far they had only been granted permission to host exhibition tournaments during Roses festivities. However this year the gamers’ results are set to count towards four points of the overall Roses scoring. Officially founded in 2004, Fragsoc has grown substantially as a campus sport, with up to 120 people now attending their tri-termly, 24-hour-long LAN (local area network) parties. Last year Fragsoc placed seventh in the National University eSports League - the biggest League of Legends (LoL) tournament in the country, which attracted 20,000 viewers for their finals. The national university gaming community is clearly having a massive impact, gaining huge numbers of supporters and fans, and this is also true of the sport’s rapidly growing worldwide profile. A recent online VICE series revealed that there are more LoL gamers worldwide than there are people living in France, with 67 million monthly users, and pro-gaming events and tournaments now attract enough spectators to fill Olympic sized stadiums and arenas. The Roses inclusion has been welcomed by both York
and Lancaster’s gaming society presidents who, in a joint statement on Fragsoc’s website, said they were ‘over the moon’ at the decision. The elation in the statement is palpable, accompanied by the hash tag ‘Roses #thedreamisreal’. David Meehan told Vision that when he received the email with the news from York Sport President Grace Clarke he ‘didn’t believe it and had to read it again and again until it sank in.’ ‘I then borderline had to hold back the tears as I messaged everyone and put it up on Facebook when we [Fragsoc] collectively just exploded!’ He said they received support on a wider scale, as even national leagues for certain games the society competes in are taking an interest in the news. When asked how he thought Fragsoc would fare against our red rose counterparts come April, he said he was ‘quietly confident.’‘We have various players and teams who have placed top 8 in the UK within the past year. And we have some serious new talent. ‘Also of history is to repeat itself, we should win, as we won (not for points) when we went to Lancaster two years ago!’
captain Young Gawthorpe given the task of training all the new faces in time for the next BUCS tournament on the 10th of February, taking place at York’s very own Sports Village on Hes East. The tournament is set up to be a thrilling day and is a great chance to see the sport in action with York’s Men’s team going head to head with the likes of Newcastle, Northumbria and Yorkshire neighbours Leeds Beckett. Later this year both teams will be travelling out to Eger, Hungary, as part of the UYSWC tour, where the polo squads will be training with the local team – Hungary is one of the world’s leading proponents of the sport – as well as enjoying the famous local red wines. All this is leading up to UYSWC’s biggest competition of the year: Roses. This year Lancaster University will be hosting the largest inter-varsity tournament in Europe, and in recent years water polo has become the showpiece event, played on the Saturday night at the close of the competition. Last year saw York’s Men’s team hold Lancaster to a draw, while the Women’s team took part in an emphatic 13-4 win over their rivals. With just two losses in the last five years of Roses, York’s water polo teams tend to dominate Lancaster in the pool and 2016 is on track to be another electrifying encounter. UYSWC’s water polo teams train twice a week at the York Sports Village on Heslington East and at Archbishop Holgate’s School, looking to both improve fitness and teach new skills and tactics. For anyone interested in getting involved with the club or wanting further information, they have a Facebook page: U.Y.S.W.C. or email them at swimming@yusu.org.
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SPORT
Tuesday January 12, 2016
ROY ON CAMPUS
continued from back page His experience as an international football manager spans 40 years, and his current highly scrutinised position in leadership will no doubt ensure a lecture full of valuable and interesting insight, not limited to sport fans. York Sport President Grace Clarke told York Vision: “It is an absolute privilege to have such a celebrated sporting icon such as Roy Hodgson at the University. “Roy is a true ambassador for the sport we all know and love. Roy is a passionate advocate of internationalism and cultural respect, some key qualities we promote and embed at this university. “It is so generous of Roy to offer his time to our students […] I am absolutely delighted to welcome Roy to York and his presence is a historic moment for the York Sport Union.”
2016 SPORTING CALENDAR ROY HODGSON
ROSES
COLLEGE CUP
VARSITY
COLOURS BALL
SPORT’S BIG NIGHT
continued from back page Nominations are open this term for these awards, which include the prestigious ‘Club of the Year’ award. Another change to the event from last year is that it is focused on only University sport clubs, excluding College sport which is set to have a separate event over the Summer term. Colours are highly sought after awards for those leaving their clubs this year, and serve as a way of commemorating their hard work and service for Sport culture at York. This event looks to improve on the event the previous year with the dedicated York Sport President Grace Clarke and Fundraising and Events Officer, Beth Freane, fronting the organisation of the event. With the picturesque setting of the Railway Museum and the incredible amount of work being put into this evening, the ticket price looks set to be worth every penny. Its expected that some of the most popular awards from last year, such as ‘Most Improved Club’ and individual awards such as sportsman and woman of the year, will again be a highly contested battle of pride. Get your tickets now online at www.yusu. org/tickets and save the date!
BY JESS CAUSBY
It’s a brand new year and there is a lot to look forward to in sport! Starting off with a College Mixed Touch Rugby tournament in Week 3 with points up for grabs for the College Cup. Following this there will be College Varsity Qualifiers, which will be taking place on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th February (Week 5). Get involved this term and you could be taking part in this campuswide event! Our 9 colleges will be battling it out to qualify for the College Varsity tournament happening later in the term. Durham will be travelling down to compete with us in the annual College Varsity event, on Sunday 28th February (Week 8). This year the all-day sporting tournament will be bigger and better than ever and right here in York! York has unfortunately been defeated the past two years, leaving the score standing at 2-0, but we’ve got a lot to give this year and are hoping for a home win! The day will have an American Varsity feel, with food, music and other activities across campus, so even if you aren’t involved in sport you have the opportunity to come down and support your college as a spectator. There will also be a supporter’s pack this year which will include items such as a t-shirt and wristband for Sunday Revs.
The event will be closing with a darts tournament, which is expected to draw some strong support and looks set to be an exciting end to a great day of competitive sport. The fixtures for Varsity will include: Men’s football, Women’s football, Rugby, Hockey, Netball, Badminton (mixed doubles), Basketball, Volleyball, Lacrosse, Squash, Darts, Women’s touch rugby and tennis is making its debut on the fixture list. Throughout the event, there will be a big promotion of “Inclusivity in Sport”. There will be Rainbow Laces for sale in order to support the ‘Kick Homophobia Out Of Sport’ campaign. All profits from the Rainbow Laces sales go towards the charity, and enables it to run campaigns supporting the LGBT community. Also being held in Spring Term is the annual, renamed, York Sport Union Colours Ball. Usually held in the Roger Kirk Centre, this year it has been completely revamped and will be hosted at one of the most beautiful venues in York, the National Railway Museum. The evening will be a celebration of the fantastic achievements of the 63 university sports clubs, 6 focus sports and 24 York Sport Union Scholars. This year will be the 18th anniversary of the newly named
awards ceremony. The pinnacle of York’s sporting calendar, especially after our amazing success last year, is Roses, which will be held the weekend of Week 3 of Summer Term (29th April- Sunday 1st May). This event is the largest inter-university sporting tournament in Europe, competing against Lancaster University on their home turf. For those of you who aren’t familiar with how deep this rivalry runs, the event is named after the War of the Roses, a series of battles fought in Medieval England from 1455 to 1485, between the red (Lancaster) and white (York) rose factions. There will be a full weekend of sporting fixtures which will include a 43 university sports. The current overall Roses wins stand at 25 a-piece and this year’s key aim is to get more spectators than ever and, of course, get one up over our rivals at their own home ground. Make sure you keep a look out for more updates and information on this amazing sporting event. Lastly, college sport will also be introducing a celebratory event in the Summer Term, which is a welcome development for college sport athletes to achieve official recognition for their sporting endeavours. Watch out for more information, which is set to be released nearer to the event.
SPORT
Tuesday January 12, 2016
Vısıon 23 YORK
CREAM OF THE CROP CURIOUS GEORGE BY JESS CAUSBY FOR THIS edition of Cream of the Crop, I interviewed third-year biology student Rob Winfield, a 20-year old triathlete studying here at the University of York. Competing in his first Triathlon at the age of 18, in two short years he has gone from competing in the York Sprint Triathlon to the World Championships in Chicago. I found out how he trains for three major sports while balancing a degree and the social side of student life. A talented, and no doubt dedicated sportsperson, Rob is a true ambassador for York’s sporting community. What encouraged you to become involved with Triathlon events? I’ve always done sport from a young age from rugby to basketball but throughout many changes I’ve always run and swam. My cousin took up triathlon at Warwick University and he challenged me to do the Derby Sprint the September before my first year at York, and I loved it, so upped the training and entered more events. Out of the three stages of a triathlon, the swim, cycle and run, which is your favourite and why? The run probably. Training-wise I enjoy getting outside into the countryside on a run, as I find it quite relaxing. It’s also the one I’m naturally best at (I think) which does help, but isn’t essential! I’ve put a lot of work into the bike this year, so hopefully that’ll show come race season. How do you find the transitions between the three sports? Initially, getting off the bike to the run was knackering as your legs don’t really know what’s hit them, but as I’ve competed and trained more I’ve got used to it. The one I worry about now is jumping on the bike without falling off and injuring anything vital! I only really fully relax when I’m on the run. What is the training like for a Triathlon?
Do you prioritise one of the three sports or train for them all equally? The bike takes up around half of training time, as the only real way to get better is by spending time in the saddle, then the run and swim are about equal. At this time of year training is about getting miles in at low intensity to build aerobically. It’ll become more intense as the season approaches. Strength work in the gym is also quite important, both for injury prevention and gaining power and endurance. It’s quite a good sport trainingwise though, as there are 3 to choose from, so it helps break it up. How many Triathlons have you competed in and what has been your favourite event? 11 in total so far, with seven already planned for this year. I really enjoyed York Sprint Triathlon in my first year due to many members of the University Club doing it and there was a great atmosphere. The World Championships in Chicago though was an incredible experience and one I’ll never forget! How is your university lifestyle affected by your training/Triathlon events? It doesn’t really suffer too much as long as you’re organised with it. I find training helps break up lectures and get you out of bed to start the day. As far as socials go, they’re always fun and I don’t go too crazy but you have to accept you’re probably not going to make the 6am swim the next morning! The season kicks off around April time with many qualifiers and main events around May which is a little challenging when you’re trying to prepare for both a race and an exam, but it tends to go ok. Finally, what do you hope to achieve in the future as a triathlete? This year I hope to qualify for the Age group World Championships in Mexico and the European Championships. Long term I hope to make the Super Series and the dream would be the World Series although that’s a big ask. Put simply I guess I just want to swim, bike and run faster!
George gives his insight into College Cup, the problem of flooded pitches and the winter break
A NEW HOPE
How important is this season’s college football to next terms college cup? Incredibly. The college cup takes place in term 3 and involves all the college football teams in the top 3 divisions. The teams from the bottom two divisions will instead be entered into the college vase. So if your team’s currently in the bottom two divisions, promotion this season is a must – and so is avoiding relegation if you are in division 2. As well as ensuring your place in the college cup, it is also important to get your team into as higher league as possible, as there is a mix of teams from each division going to be in each group. Therefore if you want to avoid the 1’s teams early on, getting your team in the Premier Division is necessary. If you want to avoid the favourites however, it’s best to get yourselves in Division 2 to avoid an almighty clash with Derwent 5’s. The college cup is also the
time I have been known to offer odds on outcomes of matches to other football fans. This year is no exception, and while I won’t be accepting bets until term 3, this is a rough guide to the odds that I may offer:
still, it could even lead to meleaving the comfort of my home and going outside before running into an old school friend where we both pretend to be interested in each other’s lives and insist that we ‘must catch up soon’ – thankfully we never do. Some would argue that it could affect our International team’s chances at tournaments if our players got a rest like others around the world, and I would completely agree with them - if it weren’t for the fact that we are constantly reminded by Premier League bosses about how we have some of the best players from all over the world. In the 2014 World cup for example, out of the last 8 teams left in the competition, 42 of those players had played the previous season in the Premier League – compared to 26 in Bundesliga and 20 in La Liga.
Why were so many games been called off in divisions 1 and 2 last season? It turns out that the groundsman who ‘takes care’ of the pitches at 22 acres is allergic to water – I can think of no other reason as to why they have decided to call off so many games there. It seems that there only needs to be a couple of hours of rainfall the night before a match for the pitch to be unsafe for play. In many instances the pitches have been fine, but if we do try and play on them anyway, we get kicked off by a man unnecessarily wearing wellies – just to make a point. All these postponed matches have caused difficulties for the small child (if you saw him you’d understand) who organises the fixtures – Josh Kerr. The last I heard of him he had so many fixtures to rearrange he is about to get his degree in Logistics from YSJ.
James 1st to win cup 11/5 Derwent 1st to win cup 11/5 Halifax 1st to win cup 5/2 Langwith 1st to win cup 15/4 Derwent 5’s to win cup evens Do you think the Premier League should have a winter break like other leagues in Europe? The winter break is my favourite part of the season; it provides me with something to fill my time during that period between Christmas and New Year. The lack constant streaming of football in my home over Christmas might drive me to such levels of boredom that I might even have to resort to doing the revision that I would normally leave to the night before – or worse
ANSWERING THE BIG QUESTIONS
yorkvision.co.uk/sport
ısıon VSport YORK
CREAM OF THE CROP P31
2016 SPORTS CALENDAR
JAN
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WOY’S WETURN COMPUTER SAYS YES
BY MOLLY McELWEE E-SPORTS, OR competitive gaming, has been awarded points at Roses 2016 for the first time in their history. Members of the University’s gaming society, Fragsoc, have been campaigning for this accolade for the past four years, and finally secured inclusion from the Roses Committee in early December 2015. Fragsoc had been denied the right to contribute competitively to York’s most prolific sporting event for three consecutive years, after having numerous applications and requests rejected. Their previous applications are understood to have failed because they did not meet the Roses requirement to be ‘a prestigious, inter-university event with a competitive academic grounding’. continued on P29
COLOURS BALL REVAMP
BY TIM DREW
The 6th of March signals the return of the night that sport at York is marvelled and celebrated among everyone involved. This year looks to raise the bar with tickets to the illustrious National Railway Museum selling out fast. This promises to be a University event that is not to be missed, with special guest speakers, an array of deliciously catered food and the traditional award ceremony headlining the evening. continued on P30
HODGSON’S TEAM TALK BY MOLLY McELWEE Roy Hodgson is set to return to York on January 22nd for a Leadership in Sport lecture. The lecture is taking place in the Berrick Saul Building from 11:30 – 12:30. The England manager’s visit is coinciding with being awarded an honorary degree by the university. He was last in York in May, when he kicked off York’s victorious Roses 2015 tournament, where his appearance and Q&A session was
met with much support and proved incredibly popular. This popularity was more than proven as 250+ tickets sold out incredibly in less than 10 minutes for the lecture. The lecture is a great opportunity to hear from a manager with experience in eight different countries, and 22 different teams, including six national football sides.
continued on P30