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CARYS EVANS news@westerneye.net

WHEN WE hear the word ‘homeless’- many of us envisage a person on the street with a sleeping bag and little to no belongings. However it is important to acknowledge the huge number of homeless families and children who we don’t see day to day. Over 2,600 children in the South West face spending this Christmas in temporary accommodation, the highest level recorded since 2009, new analysis of government figures shows. Alarmingly, figures also reveal that the number of families living in emergency B&B and hostel rooms across the country has risen by a worrying 18% in just a year, as local councils battle to find homeless families anywhere else that is stable or affordable to go. To shed light on the harsh realities of modern day hidden homelessness, the charity Shelter carried out in-depth interviews with 25 families currently or recently living in emergency B&Bs and hostels, or even sofa-surfing. Some of the investigation’s most shocking findings included more than three quarters of families saying that they felt their accommodation was unsafe, with the worst accounts involving exposure to drug abuse, fighting, and strangers sleeping in the corridors. Every family lived in a single room without any space for the children to play, and over half of parents also had to share a bed with their children. Three-fifths of families had to share toilet and bathroom facilities, often in a poor and unsanitary condition, with other residents. More than two-thirds of families said their room was in a state of disrepair, including reports of mould, broken beds and stained mattresses, as well as more serious hazards like sparking electrical sockets and windows that wouldn’t close.

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Trump, “You’re Hired!”

Over 2,600 children in the South West to wake up homeless this Christmas

The effects of the modern day housing crisis on everyday families this winter period. It is not just the physical factors such as lack of hygiene and poor living conditions that affect these families18 of the 25 families interviewed said that their children’s mental and emotional health has been badly affected, with accounts of children becoming anxious, isolated from their friends and struggling to sleep. Over half of parents said their children’s development was negatively impacted. Campbell Robb, chief executive of

Shelter, said, “Almost daily we hear from parents desperate to escape the single cramped room of a B&B or hostel that they find themselves struggling to raise their children in. Imagine having to eat all of your meals on the floor, share a bed with the rest of your family, or being too frightened to leave your room at night – these are things no parent wants their child to endure’’.

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Hillary, You’re Trumped

UWE Sport So Far...

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Art History A-Level Dropped A Chat With Ahmd Emara

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Letter from the editor

s the first term draws to a close, I think it’s safe to look back at my whole team’s hard work that went into the making of this issue and be proud. We have managed to put our first issue together, even though there was a delay in our election, budget and we came up against pretty much every problem. Over the summer, WesternEye was combined with Hub Radio to make one society, Student Media. This explains our delay in getting this precious first issue out, but we have created an issue full of content and kept our online articles coming. There is a simple reason for the drive we had. We wanted to give UWE students an independent voice and allow them to have their articles published, no matter how much time

EDITOR: HANNAH WILLIAMS EDITOR@WESTERNEYE.NET

it took to gather the correct credits for each image. Christmas comes but once a year, so make the most of it. Take a break from revision and assignments, snuggle up, preferable in front of a fire, with your copy of WesternEye and include us in your festivities. We have given our time and energy to make this happen for our readers. This Christmas, I urge you to do the same. Whether it means donating gifts to charity, passing on unwanted gifts, sending a card to an old friend or giving some of your time volunteering. Isn’t that what Christmas is all about? In the words of Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give.”

ASSISTANT EDITOR: CARYS EVANS ASSISTANTEDITOR@WESTERNEYE.NET

It’s Not Too Late to Join Student Media HAVE YOU joined a society or sports club yet this year? No? Well it doesn’t matter which campus you are on, what subject you study or whether you are doing a post-graduate, full-time or part-time course, WesternEye want to hear from you. Student Media is a thriving society with over 60 membersWesternEye’s specialism is media production, but that includes news, comment, topical articles, proof-reading, photography and design. Although it is well known that working on the student paper gets you big squidgy brownie-points in the media industry, we understand that not everyone wants to be a journalist. Maybe you just love writing and

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Hannah Williams LIFESTYLE EDITOR: GEORGETTE HUMBERT

HANNAH WILLIAMS editor@westerneye.net

Meet the team!

want to show off your work? Perhaps your research is really fascinating and you think everyone should know about it? Maybe you have a catalogue of photographs and want to start building a portfolio? We are the only independent student voice on campus and we are also present online as well as on many social media platforms- so there are lots of opportunities to show off your talent. We offer professional training and guidance along the way, as well as tea and biscuits if you catch us at the right time. There are big plans for WesternEye, come and be a part of it! If you’re still not convinced, why not drop us a message: editor@westerneye.net

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Want to join a society? Want to write for us? Join the WesternEye Society at www.thestudentsunion.co.uk/soc/WesternEye Then join the WesternEye Newsroom on Facebook where we share ideas and stories! We also have socials each month, so come along.

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News Students Appalled As Government Drops Art History A Level HANNAH BOULTON news@westerneye.net

AQA HAVE announced that as of 2018, Art History will no longer be offered at AS and A Level due to being viewed as a “sof t subject”. Art History is the study and interpretation of art in its historical and stylistic context. Students, teachers and parents, as well as art academics and professionals, are appalled following the announcement that the subject will be scrapped as part of the government’s plans to reform AS and A Level qualifications. The decision comes with a series of other changes set by Michael Gove, who has proposed cuts to numerous creative and art based subjects such as Classical Civilisation and Archaeology. They have been accused of being “soft subjects” as former ed-

ucation secretary Gove wanted to make way for more “challenging, ambitious and rigorous” subjects, he told The Guardian. The cut has caused outrage amongst many, particularly Art students. Layla Hawley-Brandt, 20, who studied A Level Art was disappointed in the decision, saying, “So often in classes these days you are told exactly what to study and how to study it. Art gives that little bit of freedom”. She also felt that students need the option of Art History as “for some, art is a passion.” The art industry is worried that due to the government phasing out the subject, fewer will be interested in studying it at university, and over time will lead to little expertise and interest in the visual arts and its history. Arabella Macrae, 19, who studied Art as part of her International Baccalaureate (IB), disagrees with the

claim that History of Art is a ‘soft subject’, saying that “the student forms a wider range of knowledge spilling into all areas of art, social issues and culture.” Arabella’s sister Flora Macrae, 17, who intends on studying Art at university, believes that Art History is important for any Art student. She regrets not taking the subject when she had the opportunity as “it would have been such an appropriate subject as I really enjoy both creating and learning about art.” She also believes that it would have allowed her to achieve higher grades in her final exams. The subject is offered by only a handful of schools in the country. A spokesperson from the Association of Art Historians told The Independent that “the loss of that A Level means that for many prospective students of the subject that door will close and future opportunities will

be lost”. Last summer only 839 students sat the A level exam, making it a very expensive course to maintain, which AQA claims is one of the reasons for the cut. However, a spokesperson for Ofqual told BBC News that “the op-

tion for AQA or another exam board to develop a specification… in future will remain open”, suggesting that the termination of the subject may not necessarily be permanent.

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Music Therapy Student Volunteers Applauded for UWE Bristol ReVoice Choir Success

A Chat With Our President, Ahmd Emara Being the person representing all our voices, we were keen to hear what he has been up to. HANNAH WILLIAMS editor@westerneye.net

UWE Bristol

Volunteers rehearsing with the UWE ReVoice Choir.

CARYS EVANS assistanteditor@westerneye.net

UWE BRISTOL ReVoice Choir, a singing group for stroke survivors with the speech and language disorder aphasia, has been hailed a success thanks to the enthusiasm and dedication of student volunteers from the MA Music Therapy programme at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). Having started in September 2015, the choir is a collaboration between the Centre for Performing Arts (CPA), MA Music Therapy and BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy volunteers. The ReVoice Choir are a choir of 30 members with 14 regular attendees with aphasia plus their carers, relatives and partners. The name, UWE Bristol ReVoice Choir was chosen by the members and it really sums up the choir perfectly – it is a positive place that helps members to rediscover their voice through song. Dr Catherine Warner, Programme Manager for MA in Music Therapy said, “After a stroke, people have difficulty finding and retrieving words in spoken language. Music singing is different as it uses different neural pathways. It’s great for self-expression and we find that

if the members know the song, the ber of the UWE Singers and Chammore words they’re able to retrieve.” ber Choir at the CPA and I thought it The success of the choir is huge- would be a great opportunity to take ly down to the support of the occu- part. I’ve been involved from the pational therapy and music therapy start, from the logistics of setting volunteers who help run the choir. It up the project to accompanying the is the volunteers who are behind the choir on the piano and helping them song choices, directing, arranging to learn the songs. It’s been a really and accompanying the songs. fulfilling experience and great to Satyam Makoieva, an MA Music see the members’ progress and their Therapy volunteer has been on place- confidence develop throughout the ment working on an astute stroke year.” ward with patients who have aphaTopping off a fantastic year for sia. Satyam has found the volunteer- the choir was a performance this ing experience very beneficial, ena- summer at Bristol’s Colston Hall. As bling her to transfer the knowledge part of BBC Radio 3’s In Tune, the and take what she’s learnt from the group premiered Important Matchoir back into her ters, a new work placement. by composer and Satyam said, It is a positive place UWE Bristol Sen“We featured on ior Lecturer, Dr Liz BBC Radio 4 You that helps members to Lane. The song was and Yours last year written for people and it was very rediscover their voice with aphasia and moving to hear the lyrics were sperecording. Normalcially written by ly we can’t hear inJennifer Henderson dividual voices, but through the use with words and ideas from the choir of a very sensitive microphone, peo- members themselves. ple’s voices were broadcast. I found Considering that the choir is little that really touching and I know that over a year old, it is fair to say that it members of the choir found it really has so far been a great success. With supportive for trying to “revoice”, the support of UWE and the Bristol get their voices back.” public behind them there is nothing Judit Soler Almendros, another holding them back. Keep your eyes volunteer and MA Music Therapy peeled for future performances! student said, “I was already a mem-

WITH THE first term of the 2016/17 University year almost over, it is time to hear from the guy with the big hair. The President of the Student’s Union at UWE, Ahmd chats to us about what he has been working on since being elected by UWE students in March. There are many things Ahmd hopes to achieve: reducing the cost of graduation ticket prices and creating a Better Network Over Campuses (BNOC). But it is also worth acknowledging the things that he has already achieved over the last few months, such as providing microwaves on campus, the earlier release of timetables and new washing machines and dryers. As mentioned in his manifesto, study spaces at UWE were a nightmare. Ahmd has increased the these spaces across three campuses, which a lot of us know that the lack of them was a big problem last year. He said, “I wanted to have more study spaces and now we have increased study space at the Frenchay library by 20%, creating 200 new study spaces. Bower Ashton now has extra study space by converting the old journals room, and filing the journals in with the books. Also, the silent study area has been enclosed to

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make it silent. At Glenside Library, we have refreshed the main room and west wing. This has increased study space for individuals and groups. Also, the toilets have been refurbished, creating a fully accessible toilet and 5 gender-neutral cubicles.” Last year, many students expressed their disappointment when the direct bus route from Frenchay to Bower was cancelled. Ahmd has helped create a new route, the 71 by First busses linking the two campuses together. He talked a little more about transport and what he is tackling, “I am working closely with UWE Travel on car parking issues, and how we can make it easier for our students who are in need of the parking facilities, according to UWE car parking policy. Cycling was one of my manifesto points and so far we have increased the number of bikes available to rent from UWE, improved facilities, worked closely with UWE Cycling Club and Green Team to promote cycling for more sustainable transport, and new dryers will be installed soon to encourage more people to cycle.” Ahmd promises lots of positive changes and it is clear he is working hard to make sure these changes happen. Let’s hope he makes a memorable difference to our University by the end of the year.

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Trump “You’re Hired” MATTHEW CARLSSON news@westerneye.net

WOW, WHAT a year 2016 has been for politics: The United Kingdom voting to leave the EU; the Labour party’s leadership issues; and finally the U.S election in November. This election was considered by many to be unedifying. Frank Luntz, a republican pollster and political consultant, spoke of his embarrassment regarding the election campaign during a recent interview on Newsnight (BBC 2). Luntz told Newsnight that he would normally only speak positively about the U.S.A, however, he was so ashamed of both candidates and their behaviour during the campaign that he felt America had become a global joke. Since the election there have been many articles devoted to Trump’s victory as commentators try to understand the result. However, this article is not concerned with the result, but why he ran in the first place. Consider this statement: Trump never wanted to be President of the United States. If this is true, why did he go through two years of campaigning? The answer, according to Michael Moore, is simple: he wanted more money, from NBC, for his appearance on the Apprentice. He planned to achieve this by becoming the most popular candidate in the primaries, which in turn would increase his value as host of the show and consequently his salary. Once his goal was achieved he would lose the primaries and return to his TV show. This simple plan fell at the first hurdle as Trump’s offensive diatribe, towards Mexicans, saw NBC drop him. Couple this up with his increase in popularity, during the primaries, and his plan was starting to fall to pieces rapidly. On winning the New Jersey Primary his victory speech was subdued and depressing in tone, according to a Time.com article. The realisation that he might actually win the nomination, and possibly the Presidency, meant he needed to ramp up the rhetoric. He continued insulting minorities, in the hope that he would lose the Republican nomination. However, the Republican party knew that removing his nomination would have been political suicide, therefore, he was forced to stay on.

Trump’s constant sabotage, of his own campaign, failed as he garnered more support from the public, who felt he understood them. Consider the television debates with Hillary Clinton. He came unprepared for one of the debates and stalked her on stage during another, he even admitted to not paying taxes at one point. None of this was enough to affect him long term. Even the tapes that were released didn’t damage him too much, his supporters just saw it as a Clinton sabotage attempt. His sabotage efforts were failing miserably which begs the question: Why didn’t he just step down? The answer, according to Moore, comes down to his pride: He would not want to be seen as a loser who couldn’t handle the pressure. Therefore, he had no option but to continue. He pointed out that everyone was against him and that he didn’t trust the voting system. These statements were designed to deflect any ‘loser’ talk if he lost. He didn’t, which begs the question: What will he do next? He has already backtracked on repealing Obama care, stating that he likes sections of it. Neither will he throw Clinton in jail, as promised

during the debates. Which leaves observers to wonder: How much will he do? This may all be good news, however, where does it leave those who voted for him? They are expecting

a return to economic prosperity, if Trump fails to deliver it could result in the Republican party paying the price for many years to come.

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Hillary, You’re Trumped US Reality Star and Business Mogul set to become the new President of the United States At around 11:30pm, polls began closing across the country. The first states to declare their results were Indiana and Kentucky following poll suggestions and voting for Donald Tr ump with Ver mont going for Clinton. Results for electoral hot spot Florida came in shortly after midnight. Florida earned the title of batt le g rou nd state after a month long legal dispute was needed to declare a w i n ne r i n 2000, where just 1% sepa rated Obama and Romney in 2012. At 12:45am, broadcasters were still predicting a Clinton win, although it was proving to be tighter than anticipated. In fact, it wasn’t until almost 4am in the morning that the tide began to turn with wins

in both Ohio and Florida causing excitement at Trump Towers as they began to dare to dream of the impossible. The tension at the Javitz Centre in New York was palpable as results continued to favour Trump, until finally, at 7.40am Hillary called to concede. The pollsters got it wrong, the media got it wrong – popular culture has failed to de t e c t t he d i sc ontent of the people against i t s pa r l i a ment both in t he Un i ted St ates a nd a t home. Pe ople a re speaking out against the system on either side of the pond, and they’re asking for change. As the stock markets reflect the discord of the country, it’s clear a change is imminent. What Brexit and the Trump era mean for our respective

People are speaking

Flickr ©

LAURA JAYNE news@westerneye.net

WE MAY be over 3,000 miles from party headquarters in New York, but you’d have to be living under a rock to escape the media circus that has surrounded the presidential election in the United States. For mer First Lady, Hillary Clinton has pitted her political know-how against the

business savvy former Apprentice boss, Donald Trump. Months of heated debates, media headlines, and political campaigning came to a head on the 8th November as the United States finally had its say. Pollsters across the television networks were predicting a close race - but one which would ultimately be won by the first female to win presidency of the country.

out against the system

on either side of the pond,

and

they’re

asking for change.

countries is unclear. What is clear however is that people have voted for change, and politicians ignore that at their peril. Since the result of the election was declared, both Tr ump and May have spoken about the great friendship and mutual respect between our two countries. Shortly after Brexit was confirmed Obama declared the United Kingdom ‘back of the queue’ when it came to negotiating trade deals. Trump at the time spoke of his admiration for our country, and assured us we would be front of the queue if he became President. However, since the results have been announced Trump has yet to arrange a meeting with Theresa May, and nine other World Leaders were prior to the Prime Minister. In a climate of fear and terror internationally, friendships with our allies is more important than ever. Only time will tell if our friendship with the United States will blossom, or whether we, as Hillary Clinton, will be Trumped.

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Comment People in Scotland are trapped between Theresa's Mayhem and Sturgeon's shambles DUNCAN CHISHOLM comment@westerneye.net

NICOLA STURGEON did a good job of appearing to be in control immediately af ter the Brexit vote, and we are assured that the First Minister is not bluffing over another referendum. But despite assurance from Bute House, Downing Street are quite sure that Sturgeon has fallen into the same trap as David Cameron. As things stand, Sturgeon’s calling of another independence referendum to please the SNP’s hardcore supporters will lead to the defeat and end of the Scottish independence question, and therefore the raison d’être of the SNP. A third referendum following a defeat is unthinkable – voters in Scotland don’t even want a second one. The SNP’s legislative vacuum

has been exposed and joins doubts over their competence on education, threatening to further harden suspicions amongst the Scottish electorate that, for all of their rhetoric about getting on with the day job, nothing but independence will do. They have already missed an opportunity to show overwhelming competence in Scotland despite sharing a playing field, for some time, with the car crash that is Scottish Labour. Even some Union-supporting pundits north of the border are admitting that they see Brexit as inflicting substantial damage to the idea that, in fact, the people of the constituent parts of the UK are far more alike than Scottish nationalists would ever admit. Emergent English nationalism has made a rupture. From the EU perspective, the 2014 Better Together campaign was buttressed by fears Scotland would not be able to re-enter the EU, that were exacerbated by Spanish of-

ficials who had their own domestic politics to think about. Those two themes will shape the argument in Indyref2. Sturgeon will again emphasise that England and Wales have changed irrevocably – the UK we voted to stay in has fundamentally changed. Scotland’s place in the EU will be promoted positively, despite dire economic data suggesting the country shouldn’t even qualify for membership, having a deficit of £15bn. Spanish officials daring to lend opinions will be summarily discredited. Yet those in Downing Street will back themselves to win in the end – because Scottish voters, along with the half a million English voters in Scotland, will be assured by Better Together 2 that Scottish independence combined with a Brexited UK really means a hard border this time. With it, all the nightmarish passport-checking and bureaucracy your imagination could possibly

WikiMedia © No 10 have Sturgeon trapped – the choices for voters in Indyref2 will be less than appetising

conjure - border guards at Berwick, no nipping down to Newcastle and gridlock at Gretna. The second Better Together campaign will deploy another argument intended to match the potency of George Osborne’s 2014 bombshell warning regarding Scotland’s use of the Pound. Scottish voters will simply be asked whether they want to reject the largest trading partner that is England so that they may be allowed to re-enter the EU.

In the end, voters in Scotland would be asked to choose one monstrous maelstrom of uncertainties over another, and therefore the status quo will prevail as it did just over two years ago. When Sturgeon reflects on what might have been following the referendum she had to hold to satisfy her party, she will surely reflect on whether the SNP should have spent more time being seen to do the dayjob.

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The Issue Of Trump And Consent JACK WARD comment@westerneye.net

WITH DONALD Trump’s string of alleged sexual assault victims coming forward, it has led to the wider issue of sexual assault itself. More specifically the treatment of women who come forward: the personal attacks’ he said, she said, or in Trump’s case, as CNN journalist Jake Tapper pointed out, “she said she said she said she said”. Of course, a narcissistic ‘’billionaire’’ with terrible hair would offer a woman $10,000 to sleep with him. But allegedly physically assaulting someone in a club, plane, or in your daughter’s bedroom when you’re supposedly doing a business deal with said billionaire and giving them a tour of your house is another matter entirely. Not to mention that Trump also encourages other forms of assault, such as the punching of protestors at his rallies. Or the disturbing, and not so subtle, hint that Hillary Clinton could be dealt with in line with the ‘’second amendment’’ (with guns). Aside from Trump’s alleged assaults on multiple women, consent is central to the issue of sexual assault. The US comedian Amy Schumer has talked about how her boyfriend once sexually assaulted her when she was so intoxicated that she was unable to give consent. Men are taught from a young age through means such as pop culture, and other men around them, that to behave negatively and aggressively, while also being charming, is essentially the way to, “win women”. Like button-bashing to beat the boss and complete the game. Men and women are shown in pop culture that, if a man is charming and impressive enough, this behaviour is not abhorrent but acceptable - dramatically shown in Leia’s case of physically shoving the person forcing themselves on you. A man who pays for dinner, opens the door for a woman and pulls her chair out for her, (something that’s a bit patronising and unnecessary) but then forces himself on someone who is not actually willing (but goes along with it anyway) may well be considered chivalrous in some quarters. But here’s the grim irony - the notion of chivalry comes from an age hundreds of years ago

when wholesale slaughter of countless innocents was prevalent. This is clearly lost on those who turn the old phrase ‘’chivalry is dead.’’ Purposefully walking ahead of someone so that you can hold the door for them and moving their seat for them seems slightly strange and archaic - why can’t a woman pull a man’s chair out? These practices emanate from a time when women couldn’t go outside unaccompanied, when they couldn’t go to dinner unaccompanied if they wanted to. Of course, politeness and basic human kindness are important for a civilised society but not under artificial and hypocritical auspices. Anyone who doesn’t go through life with severely blurred glasses knows that there is, in reality, little difference between women and men despite the nonsense to the contrary that comes from all over the place. Sexism and sexual assault are not just issues for women, they are human issues. Contrary to suggestions by many members of Trump’s party who have turned against him (but many still won’t withdraw their endorsement and have even re-endorsed him), the simple fact that you have a female relation has nothing to do with recognising the evils of sexual assault. The psychological aspect is also significant. There have been studies that show that our subconscious reacts to negative and aggressive behaviour because it triggers the survival instinct. This is a familiar feeling, being uncomfortable around, or even disliking certain behaviours, but being drawn to them because they seem exciting. Furthermore, sociopaths tend to use confusing behaviours and put down others while elevating themselves as Trump does, playing up to bad boy/bad girl mythology. Leather jackets and bikes are undeniably pretty damn cool. But using psychological manipulation to make people accept a normalisation of sexual coercion or assault negates the coolness of the bad boy somewhat, to put it mildly. These aggressive and negative behaviours apply to all forms and variations of sexual coercion and assault, disrupting all levels of society, from female to female, to male to male. The idea of people living in a ‘’bubble’’ and not understanding the way things work is frankly lu-

Trump is allegedly

a despicable sexual predator.

Wonkette.com ©

dicrous. Assault is assault, whatever you want to call it. It’s not ‘’locker room talk’’ if you actually do it. The idea of certain sexual assaults being less significant because there is a ‘’grey area’’ or it was ‘’just a grope’’ is completley wrong. No means no. And in Trump’s case, some of his alleged victims didn’t even have an opportunity to say no, because in an unfortunately famil-

iar scenario, he was some creepy guy who sat next to them in a club and assaulted them out of nowhere. Or - like so many others - he abused his position of power to get away with it. When Trump ran the Miss Universe contest he allegedly walked in on women as young as 15 getting changed, which he has actually bragged about in an interview. Is this the the tip of the iceberg?

Trump is allegedly a despicable sexual predator. His business record is dreadful. He’ll be an even worse president. Roger Ailes, the man who ran Fox News from the start until very recently due to a litany of sexual harassment allegations, masterminded several presidential election victories. But even he gave up on Trump - because Trump is hopeless.

Opportunity Or Disaster: Brexit And The Northern Irish Dimension

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CONCHÚR DOWDS comment@westerneye.net

ARLENE FOSTER claims it is the “UK’s biggest economic opportunity for decades” while Martin McGuinness warns it will be “a disaster for the people of Ireland.” Conchúr Dowds looks at how Brexit could affect Northern Ireland (NI). It isn’t the first time that the First Minister and Deputy First Minister have disagreed and it definitely won’t be the last. With Theresa May’s confirmation that Article 50 will be triggered in March, many

in NI now fear the repercussions of Brexit. Commentators argue that the re-introduction of a hard border between NI and the Republic of Ireland would put North-South relations under strain, endangering both the Peace Process and the economic dividends of peace. CHALLENGE REJECTED However, the NI High Court rejected an attempt to challenge Brexit on the grounds that there was nothing in the Good Friday Agreement to prevent the government from triggering Article 50. Sinn Fein, a major political movement in Ireland, said it would study the judgment carefully and explore every option to ensure

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that the ‘remain’ vote is respected. Furthermore, a second Scottish independence referendum could have major knock-on effects for Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein has already called for a vote on the reunification of the island but many consider this will only come about if Scotland is successful in achieving independence. UNITED FRONT Despite their fundamental differences, the duo did manage to present a united front as they left Downing Street last week. Emerging from a Brexit summit, both stressed the need to address the state’s “unique circumstances.” With 55% of the state’s population voting to remain, NI is the second-most pro-EU region in the UK following Scotland. With this, there is no doubt that parties will have to put their differences aside to ensure that they achieve the best deal possible for NI. Whether or not they will remain is to be seen.

LIF E ST YLE

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Lifestyle Four Bristol food Instagrams you should follow KATHERINE WILLIAMS lifestyle@westerneye.net

Instagram has quickly become the go-to place for all kinds of inspiration for young people, from fashion to cute cats and up to date gossip on celebrities. Something you will not be short of on this app are ‘instagram worthy’ food photos. Nothing can be more painful than being stuck in the library at uni, hangry and procrastinating whilst we look at our feed and see a picture of a delicious chicken katsu curry. Here are four amazing Bristol based food accounts that you should be following whilst you take a well deserved revision break. Bristolfoodfan Even though he has one hundred and seventy followers, Michael Jones’ feed is aesthetically pleasing. His hearty bowls of food are that good

he was asked by BBC 2 to participate in a new cooking show. The meals he cooks are very healthy, many have an oriental theme to them of which he then shares to his account. Many of his meals contain meat, however it could be substituted for a meat free option. Bristol_food_love_ Writer of a Bristol food blog (www.bristolfoodlove.co.uk), Ella, takes photographs of food in restaurants across Bristol these include Pasta Loco, Rose Marino, and Steak of the Art. With 3,100 followers, she usually posts photos to her Instagram that correspond to new reviews she has written on her blog. Her Instagram is very helpful as a good source of inspiration whilst cooking, or as a guide to places to eat in Bristol. Aveganinbristol If you prefer to follow a vegetarian or vegan account, aveganinbristol

is perfect for you. Although it only has a small following of one hundred and forty-four followers, Chloe shares photographs of meals she has made herself, as well as ones she eats in restaurants across Bristol. Her photos include photos of food from Kale & Kettle, The Harvester, and Maitreya. Not only does the food look delicious, but the photographs she uses are easy on the eyes too. A_foodie_in_bristol Arissa’s Instagram photos are beautifully shot. Relatively new to the Instagram food community, she shares photographs of her food to her one hundred and sixty-three followers. The majority of her feed is Bristol based restaurants, but she also includes food photographs from her travels to places such as Germany and Prague.

Students Leaving Themselves Vulnerable To Flooding

Kent Property Hound ©

LAMIN SANYANG lifestyle@westerneye.net

Bristolfoodfan (Instagram) ©

THERE ARE concerns amidst potentially hazardous flooding areas. The Environment Agency are warning the public that students are at the highest risk of being hit by flooding. Only one percent of students (all facts from The Environment Agency), who frequently move and rent, check whether they are in risk. As a result of this, the majority are left unprepared and could possibly be in danger. One in six properties in England are at risk of flooding. The Environment Agency is encouraging students to check online to see if they are in jeopardy and to prepare for winter by signing up for free flood warnings. Young adults have stated that they would not know what to do in the event of a flood and what this could mean to their home. This is a huge issue as around 105,000 young adults live in areas liable to medium or high risk of flooding. Sarah Soames, a student from Birmingham, experienced the effects of harsh flooding first hand. She described going “through two and a half months of hell”, as her landlord refused to release her from her contract, the flooding had critically damaged the flooring and kitchen of her home. Executive Director of Flood and Coastal Risk Management at the Environment Agency, John Curtin,

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told them that, “Flooding is an ever present risk and everyone has a part to play in protecting themselves. You can find out if you are at risk online, and sign up to free flood warnings, which provide vital time for people to get themselves, their loved ones and their possessions out of harm’s way.” The Environment Agency is spending over £2.5 billion to build flood schemes around the country to secure as many as 300,000 homes by 2021. In addition, they have invested in more temporary flood barriers and high volume pumps to aid in their rapid flood response. There are small things students can do to mitigate the problems of flooding such as checking the area you are interesting in moving to and seeing whether or not there is potential risk. What is shocking is that, according to the Environment Agency, over a third of students had bought an item of winter clothing but only 1 percent have checked the flood risk in their local area. It is something that, as students, we rarely consider when finding our next home. In addition to this, landlords are very unlikely to highlight this when advertising a property on their website. We all know how stressful it can be trying to find a house when they are very rapidly being taken, but a moment of stress at the beginning of our search is a lot better than huge amounts of damage throughout our uni year.

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Cooking Christmas Dinner On A Student Budget HANNAH WILLIAMS editor@westnerneye.net

PLANNING YOUR house Christmas dinner can be a task and a half. Planning to do it cheap and easy makes it almost impossible. Standing in Tesco in front of the potatoes deliberating how many roasties you will demolish between you all is tough. Here’s a handy list for your Christmas dinner that won’t break the bank and how you can get full (trimmings and all) for around £3 a head. You will need four or more people to make it cheap and cheerful! • Buy value or frozen ingredients to make it cheaper • Chicken works out cheapest, but if you have a small oven and there ends up being 9 of you, go for breast meat. Pop them in the oven for about 30-35 minutes • Potatoes (Maris Piper make the best roasties), these will need to go in at the same time as the

Friendsmas in Bristol

meat for 30-35 minutes, don’t forget to part boil them first • Carrots (these will take about 20-30 minutes to roast) • Parsnips (these will take about 20-30 minutes to roast) • Pigs in blankets (these are usually on offer, shop around online before you go) • Peas (frozen) will need about 10 minutes • Yorkshire puddings (frozen) will need about 10 minutes • Gravy granules (someone in your house will probably have these, ask around and remember to boil the kettle) • Cranberry sauce • Olive oil • Stuffing • Dessert (frozen) It makes sense to pay homage to your newly adopted family and to celebrate. For some of us, this will be the last student Christmas dinner we have, so make it a good one!

GEORGETTE HUMBERT lifestyle@westerneye.net

FOR MANY of us, whether it be in our first year of university or in our third, being away from home at Christmas is not always preferable. However, being in a brand-new city can be a great time to explore and indulge in two Christmases. Many shops around Bristol are promoting the idea of ‘Friendsmas’, which includes spending time eating and feeling festive with our closest friends before we spend time with our families. Here are a few ideas to get you into a festive mood and to help make the most of Friendsmas this year. Millenium Square Ice Rink The Millennium square ice rink has officially opened. What’s more, they are offering a discount for groups of students. If you book a session in November, you can skate for just £5! The ice rink is open until 3rd January, so if you want to extend your friendsmas up until term starts again, that is acceptable too. For bookings, call 0117 915 1000 or visit the @bristol website for more

details. Bristol Market It’s that time of year again, the Bristol Market is back! It is hard to miss, but if you have not heard the singing of Christmas songs and the enticing smell of mulled cider and German sausage then it is located right next to Cabot Circus. There are also quaint little stalls selling a mixture of artisan chocolates and fake snow. The market is open from Friday 2nd November until the 23rd December. A great evening to spend with your housemates. Winter Wonderland at Cribbs Causeway Your essential winter wonderland can be found at Cribbs Causeway. They offer Santa’s enchanted castle, which includes a Christmas gift in the ticket price, as well as the South West’s largest outdoor ice rink (over 1,000 square metres). Tuesdays are the best days for students wanting to save money as there is a two for one offer on ticket purchases. Harbourside Night Exhibitions The Harbourside is bringing a free evening of art, street food, live painting and music. It will be trans-

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formed with twinkling Christmas lights and an outside dockside gallery with live DJs keeping the walkway festive. This is happening for one night only on the 1st December. St Werburghs Christmas Market St Werburghs Christmas market offers unique and locally made stocking fillers and seasonal treats. They also have the quintessential mulled wine and sweet treats plus live music. As well as this, there will be free face painting, Christmas bunting workshops and much more. For more information, search ‘St Werburghs Christmas Market’ on Facebook. A Final Friendsmas dinner Before you leave for the Christmas break, it is a great idea for your whole house to chip in and make a Christmas dinner together. It can be stressful in a tiny student kitchen but it always pays off. If you and your housemates are not great at cooking, then there are a lot of great restaurants along Gloucester Road you can visit such as; The Canteen, Meat Liquor, The Urban Standard and Flour and Ash. Merry Friendsmas!

SCIE NCE & TEC H N O LO GY

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Science & Technology Have we found a potentially habitable exoplanet? SAM COTTLE scitech@westerneye.net

Scientists have recently discovered a roughly earth-sized planet orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to earth at 4.2 lightyears. The planet, named Proxima b, is 1.3 times as massive as the earth and orbits the red dwarf in the star’s habitable zone, the area around the star where temperatures allow for liquid water to exist. The precise details of the planet’s behavior are not yet well established and this has led to much speculation about whether it could be a host to life, but not yet as to what sort of life. But before you get too excited, researchers are not yet sure if Proxima b is a dense, rocky planet like earth or if it is a much bigger ball of gas. There’s also the possibility that, unlike earth, the planet doesn’t have an atmosphere or that it has the wrong sort of atmosphere to host life. Another factor that may lead to this conclusion is the fact that it orbits much closer to its star than the earth does and as such receives approximately 400 times as much x-ray radiation than the

earth does, meaning that it must also have a very strong magnetic field if it is to be able to repel that radiation. It orbits its host star once every 11.3 earth days and it is also unclear what sort of day Proxima b has. One rather disappointing finding could be that the planet is tidally-locked with it’s star, meaning that one side is constantly facing the star. If this is the case one side of the planet would be far too hot to host life and the other would be far too cold. If on the other hand it does rotate like our planet, and depending on the speed of that rotation, it could play host to life of some kind. The discovery was made using an array of telescopes of the European Southern Observatory in Chile. A network of telescopes worldwide has also confirmed the discovery. As for finding out the constituents of the planet’s atmosphere we may have to wait until after 2018 and the launch of the James Webb space telescope, whose spectroscopy equipment will be able to more closely analyse the planet. So we might still not be alone after all.

Does time run backwards in black holes? SAM COTTLE scitech@westerneye.net

GENERAL RELATIVITY, Einstein’s theory that unifies space and time into a single entity known as spacetime, is said to break down at the singularity at the heart of a black hole. The theory also predicts that if you approach a black hole’s event horizon, the point from beyond which no light can

escape, you will witness the past and the future occurring simultaneously. New research published in Physical Review Letters suggests that in black hole singularities time may be running backwards. This is an effort to try and explain the lack of what is known as ‘timereversibility symmetry’ in the equations of general relativity as they regard black holes. The problem

is that any theory in physics has to be time reversible, meaning that the same process occurs whether or not time is running forwards or backwards. Until now mathematical formulations of the singularities at the hearts of black holes have failed to maintain this symmetry. The new research is based around the idea of the holographic principle, a principle in string theory, and has been applied to the event horizons of black holes and asserts that they are holographic screens containing all information about the past and future evolution of the cosmos. These holographic screens are then further divided into past and future holographic screens, which behave differently in the presence of strong gravitational fields. If this principle is then applied to the cosmos as a whole, an interesting thing starts to happen. Because the theory needs to be consistent with the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the law of entropy, entropy needs to be increasing as time moves forwards, as you’d expect. But if you then apply this to the centre of a black hole, the entropy decreases, as you’d expect in a cosmos where time is moving backwards, meaning that things within the black hole become more structured, and a sign that time is moving backwards in a cosmological sense within the black hole. Physics already makes plenty of weird and wonderful predictions but as the holographic principle is part of string theory, it is as yet unclear whether or not it’s predictions are accurate. String theory is unpopular because it’s so hard to test. But this study shows that there may be many more applications of string theory to physical phenomena which produce surprising results.

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Researchers quantify the mutagenic effects of smoking SAM COTTLE scitech@westerneye.net

SMOKING IS bad for you, really bad for you. This has been known for a long time but until recently researchers haven’t been able to quantify the exact effects that smoking has on the cells of your body. A new study published in the journal Science has revealed the exact data in terms of number of genetic mutations in different cells of the body.

They found that smoking 20 cigarettes a day can lead to 150 new mutations in lung cells over the course of a year; these mutations all have the potential to cause cancer, and the damage

isn’t limited to the lungs. They also found that the same number of cigarettes smoked could lead to as many as 97 mutations per larynx cell, 39 per pharynx cell, 18 per bladder cell and six per liver cell. These results gained by Ludmil Alexandrov and his team at Los Alamos National laboratory in New Mexico were discovered through comparing the tumor DNA from 2500 smokers and 1000 non-smokers. Every time a cell mutates it has the potential to cause a sort of domino effect of genetic mutation that had the potential to cause cancer. What is still unknown as yet is the probability that any given genetic mutation has of leading to cancer.

It’s speculated that there are also environmental factors at play in the affected tissue and this has an impact on the probability. Some smokers never develop cancer in spite of accruing thousands of mutations over the years,

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but Alexandrov compares this to playing Russian roulette and that this effect is merely down to luck. Some smokers can get thousands of mutations although these never affect the right genes to cause a cancerous mutation. The team

hopes that their findings will prevent people from taking up smoking and put an end to the myth that social smoking isn’t bad for you. But it’s not all doom and gloom for smokers, a UK study found that whilst smoking shaved an average of 10 years off life expectancy quitting by age 30 mostly erased the probability of premature death and quitting by age 50 halved it. Many smokers avoid quitting because they believe the damage is already done but the UK study shows that quitting by middle age has the potential to avoid nearly all the risks of a tobacco-related death.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! FROM THE STUDENTS’ UNION AT UWE

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SP ORTS

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Sports Bristol Brizzlepuffs make European Championships

TEGAN NICHOLS sport@westerneye.net

IT MAY seem bizarre to consider a game made popular by J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter series has become a reality, but Quidditch as a genuine sport is growing in popularity throughout the world. Af ter all who wouldn’t want to relive Harry Potter’s legendary snitch-catching skills? Quidditch has its own World Cup and European Championships, along with a non-profit (FIFA take note) governing body the International Quidditch Association, a rule-book and popularity among live streamers, and is taking significant strides to becoming recognized as a legitimate sport. The rules are generally exactly as you’d see in Harry Potter films – albeit no one has quite figured out how to fly on broomsticks yet. The aim of the game is for players to shoot the Quaffle into the three hoops, whilst the defence throws Bludgers at the attack with the purpose of stopping the player dead and attempt to tackle the Quaffle out of the opposing player’s hands. The Golden Snitch also makes an appearance in the game

with the Seeker aiming to capture the Snitch that is usually held on the waist of a ‘Snitch Runner’ to end the game. It may seem complex but a talented team can make Quidditch seem easy – cue the Brizzlepuff’s Quidditch club. Consisting of two teams: the Brizzlebears and Brizzlebees, the Brizzlepuff’s are Bristol’s only Quidditch club. After an incredible start to the season (the Brizzlebears beating Bathilisks Quidditch Club 160 - 10) the Brizzlepuff’s made an away trip to the annual Southern Quidditch Cup, a two-day tournament held in Southampton. Day one of the tournament constituted the ‘group stage’ where the Brizzlepuffs had to play all three other teams in their group. Needless to say the Brizzlebears hit the

ground running (or flying?) with comprehensive wins over Falmouth Falcons, London Unspeakables and The Flying Chaucers. After gliding through the group stage on their Nimbus 2000 on day one, the Brizzlebears went into the upper-bracket on day two. A resounding win against Swansea Seven Swans lead the Puff’s first team into the semi-finals against the Werewolves of London – an impressive community team featuring a number of Team U.K players. After a well-fought contest, the Werewolves proved just too much and the Brizzlebears narrowly missed out on a place in the final. Nevertheless, a place in the European Championships in Belgium was still up for grabs. Going into the playoffs with an impressive win rate, the Brizzlebears met a familiar foe in the London Unspeakables – a team they had confidently brushed aside on day-one of the tournament. The Brizzlebears, stamping their superiority on the game, became victors with a calculated and composed display against the team from London. They emerged Bronze medal winners of the Southern Quidditch Cup and most significantly, claimed a spot to compete at the European Quidditch Championships 2017!

A special mention also goes to the Puff’s second team the Brizzlebees, who managed to make it to the semi-finals of the lower-bracket before narrowly missing out against old friends Falmouth Falcons. A resounding success for Briz-

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zlepuff’s teams, it now appears all that is left to say is a huge congratulations to both teams on their hardwork and success and good-luck to the Brizzlebears in their European Quidditch Championships – we’ll all be watching!

@W ESTERNEY E

UWE Sports so far… ‘You only get out what you put in’

MEGAN LAY sport@westerneye.net

ritish Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) is the sporting league in which every university (and now some FE Colleges) competes with matches being played every Wednesday. BUCS includes over 50 sports with 150 institutions as members and consists of over 48,000 teams across the country. BUCS is split into two regions, North and South and then further subdivided into East and West. There are six divisions in BUCS and depending on what divi-

UWE Polo©

MEGAN LAY sport@westerneye.net

WHILST SEASON ticket sales for clubs all over the country are struggling this season, being the lowest they’ve ever been, Bristol Rovers and Bristol City are selling more tickets than any other season. The EFL have more than 500,000 season ticket holders for the first time in living memory with numbers increasing every year, and attendance figures at a high both at Rovers and City’s home grounds (the Memorial Stadium and Ashton Gate). As it stands Rovers have the ninth highest season ticket sales in League One with City positioned tenth highest from the Championship. With a promotion into League One Rovers are enjoying bigger crowds and a new stadium for City is helping to pull fans in resulting in the increase of season ticket holders. Across England season ticket holders have increased steadily in recent seasons overall increasing by 26% this is arguably due to the decrease in ticket prices from on av-

sion a team is in depends on whether they compete regionally or nationally. The BUCS league covers a range of sports from the expected Netball and Rugby to more unusual sports such as orienteering and Korfball (nope never heard of it either). As we are approaching Christmas which represents the halfway stage of the academic year (absolute craziness), we thought it time to have a look at how UWE as a whole are doing in the BUCS league so far.

So how are we doing?

UWE has 56 teams currently competing in the BUCS league for the season 2016-17. So far we have secured 75 wins on the whole, 91 defeats and 10 draws. This gives us an

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overall win rate of 43%. This places us in a respectable 35th out of 150 universities with 723 points. Loughborough University are currently residing at top of the table with 2430 points meaning UWE have a long stretch to catch them up. So far, only squash have more points than Loughborough at 101 vs 57. Scotland’s Rural College, Leeds College of Art, University of Wales Trinity St David Lampeter, City of Glasgow College, Ayrshire College, Dumfries and Galloway College, University of Chester (UC Shrewsbury), City of Liverpool College, South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, University Centre Peterborough all sit joint at the bottom of the table with 0 points.

Next important question, how are UOB doing in comparison to ourselves?

They’re currently sitting in 9th place with over double UWE’s points score having 1527 so far. As it stands, Squash and American Football are the only UWE clubs with more points than UOB at 101 vs 79 for squash and 22 vs 0 for American Football. So well done to squash and

American football and important must win games in the second season for UWE. With an overall win rate under half (at 43%) we hope that the second half of the season will involve lots of wins for UWE to help us climb the league table. Last year we finished 35th so are well on the way to finishing in a higher position this

year. A strong second half of the season is necessary, so good luck to all those competing and bring home the wins!

Bristol Rovers and Bristol City season ticket sales at all time high erage £14.08 in 2014 -15 to £13.11 on average this season. In a city full of students the decrease in price makes the games more affordable for all. So has an increase in spectators help encourage Rovers and City to chase the win and how are they doing so far? After a brutal 4 -0 loss to Millwall on November 12th Rovers currently sit in 6th place in League One having played seventeen matches, won seven, drawn five and lost five. Top scorers in the club are Matty Taylor with fourteen goals so far this season and Ellis Harrison with four goals so far. Daniel Leadbitter and Jermaine Easter are the only two Rovers player so far to receive and red card and thus be sent off . Keep an eye on how Rovers do in their next game again Chesterfield FC who currently sit bottom of the table on Saturday 26th away at 15:00. An important must win game for the Rovers boys.

As for Bristol City they are currently in 9th place in the Championship league having played 16 games and winning seven, drawing three and losing six. Their top scorer is number nine Tammy Abraham who has scored a total of twelve goals this season however he is also in top

place for disciplines having 17 fouls and 2 yellow cards. Bristol City also play on Saturday the 26th away to Reading at 15:00. Reading currently sit in fourth place so will be a tough game for the City boys. Both games prove to be an ex-

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citing match and we’ll be sure to be keeping an eye on results as well as following them for the rest of the season to see how they finish up.