Issue1219.02.16 thegryphon.co.uk

News p.5 TheBig Picture:The Race forThe WhiteHouse is hottingup

Views p.13 TheBig Debate: Do quotas represent agoodway of achieving equality?

[Image: CleanAndSoberENT] S Sport Meenakshi Parmar explores FoMo -The In TheMiddle review KanyeWest’s p.19 Allthe latest news,updates and •Fear of Missing out at University p.8 •TheLifeofPablo ITMp.5 resultsfromthisweek’sBUCS matches

[Image: Jack Roberts] UniversityInvestment Breaches Long-standing ‘Policy’

• £749,822 invested in Altria breaches ‘tobaccopolicy’ fought forbystudentsfifteenyears ago • Other investments made in alleged tax avoiders, defence contractors and fossil fuel producers

Benjamin Cook aleading university.” wasreached with HMRC to make a Editor-in-Chief AFreedom of InformationRequest has paymentof£130m ‘inrespect of previous also revealed that theUniversityisa years’.Withinvestments also madein An investigation by TheGryphon has stakeholder in severalfossilfuelproducers, amazon.com,who in 2014paidatax foundthat theUniversityofLeeds has theworld’s largestdefence contractor, bill of £11.9m despiterecording salesof invested£749,822intobacco giant Altria, companies at theheart of recent financial £5.3bn in theUKasthese salesweretaken againstUniversitypolicy, alongside scandals andtax avoidance claims, and through Amazon’s Luxembourg company, investments in severalother controversial aminingcompany withallegations of Amazon EU Sarl.The University has businesses as part of theUniversity’s illegal dealings withrogue states and retained shares in Tescofrom 2014, with multi-million poundinvestmentportfolio. paramilitaries. thesupermarketgiant also criticised for InvestmentsinAltria, thecompany that Figuresfrom theend of May2015show similar useoftax havens in recent years. produces popularcigarette brands such as theUniversityhas an investmentportfolio Otherinvestments include Lockheed Marlboro,Parliament, andChesterfield, of £65,015,550inavariety of international Martin,anAmericanaerospace,defence, accountfor 1.15%ofinvestments.This businesses.The largestsingleinvestment security, andadvance technologies investmentcontravenesapolicyto beingthe £1,885,509 investedinthe company,thatbased on revenuefor disinvestintobacco stocks takenbythe Vodafone Groupwhich constitutes2.9% the2014fiscal year wasthe world’s University Council on November 8th of theoverall portfolio. Vodafone has largestdefence contractor. In 2013,78% 2001 following alengthy campaign by been criticised forseveral yearsover of Lockheed Martin’s revenues came students unhappy withthe institution’s allegationsithas been paying ‘littletono from military sales, withUSgovernment investmenthabits. At thetimeinvestments corporation tax’. contracts accounting for85% of its in tobaccoaccounted for3%ofthe The portfolio also shedslight on the businessin2009. Lockheed Martin is University’s £52m portfolio.Speakingat University’s investments in companies also thecompany behindthe designand thetime, then Vice-Chancellor Professor accusedofaggressivetax avoidance in construction of theTrident ballistic missile SirAlanWilsonhad said,“Ourdecision recent years. Shares areheldinGoogle, system. wasmadeonamatterofprinciple,and in wholastmonth were accusedofcutting recognitionofthe socialresponsibilitiesof ‘sweetheart deals’ when an agreement Continuedonpage3>>>>>>> 2 News Editor’sLetter: It’sThe Most

19.02.16 Wonderful Time Of TheYear Is it really that time of year already? and glossy leaflets, student politics you, you’ll knowsomeone they have. Weather Over the next few weeks the Leader- matters. In my fourth year at Leeds, I Let’snot give them too muchpraise

HI LO ship Race will transform campus into can safely saythere has never been though, anice graduate job and a10% Fridayy cloudy 76 ahorrifying maelstrom of campaign atimethat student politics has been staff discount is pretty nice after all.

Saturday rainy 10 6 posters, terrible song parodies, and more important. Anyway,I’m probably just coming

Sunday rainy 94 lecture shout outs. Then almost as soon Youmay not see all the work that over all misty-eyed because my time in as it fell upon us it will be over, with your Exec and the Union that supports the Editor’schair is nearly at an end. But “ “ “ “ “ Quoteofthe Week “ nothing to showbut afew stubborn them puts in for youbehind the scenes my point stands. Youcan get through Ifyoudon’t watch yourself, chalk marks, banners gathering dust in everyday, but Ido, and Iknowthey’re the election fatigue, because this mat- with everymove you’llend up beinggashed, broken,bruised or the backofsomeone’scupboard, and a trying to help do what’sbest for stu- ters. Look beyond all the superficial contused. Evenifyou negotiatethe sharprocks you’ll soon feel that too many people havepeedinthe pool shinynew exec -ormaybe not totally dents every moment of the day. It’snice offers of apps and see what really mat- foryou to want to swim thereany more.The funisover. new exec. to knowsomebodyisbecause there ters in these elections. Whichofthese “ Formanystudentsthe Leadership aren’tmanypeople out there shedding six people are going to give everything ‘National Treasure’ Stephen Fryexpresses his view on the Race is at best tedious, at worst out- atear for the under-25’sthese days. they can everydaytofight for you? ‘dangerous’ side of Twitter, after deciding to take abreak from the social media site right annoying. It is the epitome of the Leading the continued fight against Oh, and don’tforget to vote for a this week exuberant, extorverted, Radio 1, mar- tuition fees; lowering the cost of living; Gryphon Editor.Wedon’twant are- keting campaign that so irks students diversifying the curriculum; setting up peat of last year. Contents whoonly want the Union to provide services to care for your mental health; them with somewhere to provide providing the most vulnerable in soci- Benjamin Cook 3-7 News cheap sandwiches, cheap drinks, and ety with the safe spaces they need. We Editor-in-Chief acheap night out. take for granted the efforts of our Exec, 8-10 Features But beneath all of the bright colours and even if their work hasn’thelped 12 Society

14-15 Views 16-17 Science PhotoofThe Week: 19-24 Sport Resident Gryphon photographer and Media and Communication student, Nao Takahashi, took this striking image at Sibelius Park in Helsinki, last month.

Credits

Editor-In-Chief ~Benjamin Cook AssociateEditor ~Greg Whitaker

News ~Elli Pugh,Jess Murray,Shamima Noor, SamRobinson

Society -Avigail Kohn

Features ~Stephanie Uwalaka,Molly Walker- Sharp

Views -Rachel King,Freya Parr,Dom Johnson

Science ~Sam McMaster, DougiePhillips

Sport ~AlexBowmer, JamesCandler,Nancy Gillen,Fiona Tomas HeadofPhotography ~Jack Roberts

thegryphon.co.uk News 3 Leeds Physics Student University’s Missing On Ben Nevis Investments Face Scrutiny

>>>>>Continued from page 1

As an agreement hasyet to be reached between LUUand theUniversityondivestmentfrom fossil fuels, theUniversitystill holdsinvestmentin severalcompanies responsiblefor theextraction of fossil fuels. InvestmentsinBP, Shell, RioTinto, Umicore, BHPBilliton, andGlencore,showthat the

[Image: TheIndependent] University’s investmentsinfossilfuels is substantial. The University hasinvestedinBPfor severalyears, JonnyChard withthe oiland gasgiant donating£700,000 to Due to heavy snow, fog, and high winds of up to 90mph, theUniversitybetween 2009 and2012. However, University of Leeds Physics undergraduate student, Tim Inspector Donald Campbell, of Police Scotland, has stat- investments in several other companies in this Newton, is missing after failing to return from an outing ed that conditions on Ben Nevis are still making it too field are more recent. Several of these companies on Ben Nevis at the weekend. dangerous to resume the search and Lochaber Mountain have also had damning allegations made against Newton, 27, and Rachel Slater,24, both experienced Rescue teams are having to review conditions on an hour- them in recent years. Glencore has been accused climbers, were thought to have been camping in agreen ly basis. of ignoring UN lawindealing with rogue states tent near the Charles Inglis Clark memorial hut on the From Ms Slater’slogbook entries on UKClimbing.com, it suchasapartheid South Africa, Iran, and Iraq under north side of the mountain. is apparent that she has conducted anumber of expedi- Saddam Hussein. ABBC investigation in 2012 Thealarm wasraised on Mondayafter they were report- tions with Mr Newton and both are very experienced and claimed to have uncovered sale documents showing ed overdue from their expedition. well-travelled climbers. the companyhad paid associates of paramilitaries Following apossible sighting of twopeople fitting their Ajoint statement from the families of Mr Netwon and Ms in Colombia. This followed aColombian Court description climbing in the area on Sundayafternoon, a Slater stated: “Weare extremely grateful to members of accepting evidence from former paramilitaries who search began, but had to be postponed on Tuesdayafter the emergencyservices and search and rescue personnel claimed they had stolen land to sell to Prodeco, a twoinvolved in the search were caught in an avalanche. whoare searching for Rachel and Tim. subsidiary of Glencore, to start an open-cast coal Further to this, an avalanche in Creag Meagaidh in the “The overwhelming response from members of the pub- mine in 2011. However,Glencore has repeatedly western Highlands whichkilled one man and left anoth- lic and the climbing community has greatly assisted the refuted all suchallegations against it, and in a er seriously injured, diverted the rescue heliocopter on search effort and we appreciate all the support and words statement have said, Wednesday. of encouragement.” “These allegations are untrue. Neither Prodeco nor its parent companyGlencore have ever had any links with paramilitaries whatsoever.” Last year the University informed TheGryphon that investments are informed by the University’s RoyalFisheries Fined for PolicyofSocially Responsible Investment, apolicy also introduced in 2001. This policyisoverseen by the University Council and is designed to ensure that investment managers take account of social, Poor Food Hygiene environmental and ethical considerations. Speaking to TheGryphon,LUU Union Affairs Of- ZoeBancroft ficer,Toke Dahler,said, “I find this news deeply worrying. Students have Atakeawayowner in Hyde Park has been fined £255 said time and time again that they care about how after environmental health officers found conditions that the University invests its money,and want them to could cause cross contamination of food, and standards showresponsibility and leadership both in the local of hygiene whichfell belowstandard. and the global community.” Naheed Amjum, owner of RoyalFisheries on RoyalPark “The Union’sstance on tobacco investments has Road, appeared at Leeds Magistrates Court on Monday, not changed in the past 15 years –this type of in- February 8, following an inspection whichfound dirty vestment should not be happening. Similarly,weare fridges, surfaces and floors as well as possible food con- continuing to followthrough on our policymandate tamination. Environmental Health Services said that the and push the University to divest from fossil fuels. If establishment maypose arisk to the public due to the anything, this investigation shows that we need to poor conditions on site. continue lobbying the University on crucial areas Since the inspection in May2015 and the court fine, it [Image: TheLocalData Company] suchasthese.” appears Mr Amjum has made serious improvements to with they will offer advice and solutions to help busi- TheGryphon has contacted the University and the condition of his takeaway, nowbeing awarded afour nesses make the necessary improvements. Google for aresponse, however,atthe time of print- out of fivehygiene rating. “It really shouldn’ttake court action and fines to clean ing no comment has been made available. If this As well as as the £255, Mr Amjum must paycosts of up kitchens”. situation changes, an updated version of this story £1690 and avictim surcharge of £25. TheFood Standards Agency’snational food hygiene will be published on TheGryphon’s official website. Mark Dobson, executive member for environmental rating scheme uphold standards across the board to en- protection and community safety,said: “When environ- sure consumer safety. mental health officers find conditions they aren’thappy thegryphon.co.uk 4 News

Campus 1 Oxford University MembersofOxfordUniversityLabourClubAccused Of Anti-Semitism

Alex Chalmers, co-chairman of theOxfordUniversityLabourClub, hasresignedoverallegations ofanti-Semiticcomments Watch made by some of itsmembers. He stated that anumberofthe members“have some kind of problemwithJews”. Ed Miliband said he was“deeply disturbed”bythe reportsand waspostponinghis appearance at an upcomingevent untilthe Labourparty’s studentorganisationlaunchedaninquiry.

ShamimaNoor 2 SalfordUniversity 3 Canterbury University 4 GreenwichUniversity

SalfordStudent StabbedTo NUSLGBTOfficerRefuses Students’PersonalDetails Death To AttendEvent Posted Online

William Lound, aSalford University NUSLGBTofficer, Fran Cowling, has Greenwichatudentshad theirpersonal student, hasbeenfound stabbedto refusedtoattendatalkatCanterbury detailspostedonlineinabreach of data 2 death in his hallsofresidence. Christ Church University on thetopic privacylaws. Lound,aged30, from Birkdale,near of “re-radicalising queers”, unlessone The students’names,addresses,dates Southport, wasdiscoveredlastMonday of thecountry’s best knowngay rights of birth, mobile phonenumbers and in BramallCourt. campaigners,Peter Tatchell,does not signatures were alluploadedtothe An investigationintothe incident has attend. website, alongsidereferencestomental 1 4 been launched andLee Arnold, 36,has Cowlinghas citedTatchell’s opposition health andother medicalproblems, and 3 appeared before Manchester magistrate to“no-platform” policies,claiming that supervisor comments about students’ courtcharged withmurder. hisviews areracistand transphobic. work.The information hassince been removed. JonnyChard JonnyChard JessicaMurray TheDigest

[Image:The Drum] [Image: AFP] [Image: Facebook] [Image: EPA] Petition Calls ForHunt Calais Jungle Residents To Viola BeachMembers AnkarabombBlast Kills ‘noconfidence’ Vote Be Rehoused Killed In Car Crash 28

Apetition calling for the government Frenchauthorities have given800-1000 Members of the Indie Band, Viola Alarge blast in the middle of Ankara, to debate avote of no confidence in the migrants one week to leave aseven- Beach, have been killed in acar accident the Turkish capital, left 28 people dead Health Secretary JeremyHunt has attract- hectare section of the camp whichCal- in Sweden, hours after playing their first and 61 injured. ed over250,000 signatures. ais prefect, Fabienne Buccio, plans to international gig. Avehicle full of explosiveswas deto- Thepetition reached over100,000 bulldoze, halving the size of the refugee Kris Leonard, RiverReeves, Tomas nated close to parliament and military signatures within 24 hours of being camp. Lowe, Jack Dakin, and manager Craig headquarters, just as armybuses were launched, and the issue will nowbecon- Buccio added that authorities would Tarry,aged between 19 and 32, plunged passing by. sidered for debate in parliament. help relocate the disrupted refugees to 25m into acanal through agap in a Most of the victims were military per- Thepetition comes as aresult of the an alternative,purpose-built facility cre- bridge, after it had been opened to let a sonnel, but anumber of civilians were Health Secretary’scontroversial decision ated using converted shipping contain- boat pass through. also affected. to impose anew junior doctor contract. ers, or to other accommodation centres An investigation into the cause of the No group has yettaken responsibility TheBritish Medical Association are said in France. crash is nowunder way. Viola Beach for the attack. to be considering ‘all options’, and afull There are nowover4000 refugees living were due to playahomecoming gig in President Erdogan said in astatement: walk-out from accident and emergency in squalid conditions at the ‘Jungle’ camp Warrington in March and their fans have “Our determination to retaliate to these departments is not being ruled out. in Calais, leading Frenchauthorities to nowbegun acampaign to encourage attacks, in Turkey and abroad, whichaim reduce its size to 2000 people in order people to buy their music to get them a at our unity,togetherness and future, is JonnyChard to, as they claim make the camp more place in the charts. increasing with suchactions.” ‘organised’ and ‘dignified’. JonnyChard Jessica Murray Lydia McMath thegryphon.co.uk News 5 TheBig Picture: TheRace For TheWhite House National voting intentions for eachparties’ frontrunners (Huffington Post) Sam Robinson

Howdoes it work? lina, as seems likely,hewill gain 29 delegates. To put this into per- In an extremely loud, controversial and drawn-out spective,his rivals currently have campaign, the Republicans and Democrats are in the 33 between them. Trump will process of selecting their candidates for the US presiden- also get 3additional delegates tial election later this year. for eachcongressional district he Theparties will select their presidential candidates at wins in. In total, Trump could win their national conventions this summer,where delegates 50 delegates from South Caro- from eachstate gather to vote for whowill represent the lina, opening up amassive lead party at the election in November.The waythese del- and lending more momentum to egates vote is determined by the outcomes of aseries of his campaign after his victory ear- primaries and caucuses. lier this month. These are basically state-level elections in whichvot- Trump is nowwell-placed to ers select their preferred candidate, and delegates are win the Republican presidential *Poll of Republican voters in South Carolina “awarded” to candidates based on the results. Theresults nomination. This is not aforegone (Public PolicyPolling) of the caucus/primary “bind” adelegate to aparticular conclusion; with Trump needing What next? candidate, whothey then have to vote for at the national over1200 more delegates to cross the threshold, and convention. crunchevents like “Super Tuesday” -where 565 bound It’sstill early days in the election process. We have an- In short, voters choose whoshould represent their par- Republican delegates are available -still on the horizon, other few months of primaries, the national conventions ty at the presidential election. Theresult of this vote is rivals will hope Trump’scampaign slips up. However,his and the final presidential election yettocome. As such, then used to “allocate” delegates –who select the par- campaign is gaining momentum and seems unaffected it’stoo early to be sure of the outcome. But for now, it ty’spresidential nominee –tocandidates. This is often by things that would normally be massive setbacks. If looks as though Trump is emerging as avery real con- done in proportion to vote share, but sometimes also on Trump wins in South Carolina and Nevada, it’shard to tender for the Republican nomination. a“winner-takes-all” basis, where acandidate that wins see whyhewouldn’tgoontowin other primaries and, This is surprising and rather alarming; he has some- the vote takes all that state’sdelegates. potentially,the nomination. howmanaged to capture the moderate side of the party, To win the presidential nomination, then, acandidate Meanwhile, things could go either wayfor the Demo- although polls of Republican voters in South Carolina needs amajority of delegates. To get that, they need to crats. Polls showit’stoo close to call between Clinton showTrump voters are far more likely to support aban win these delegates in primaries and caucuses. TheRe- and Sanders in Nevada. After Sanders unexpectedly won on Muslims and express support for the Confederacy publicans have 2,472 available delegates, so acandi- in New Hampshire he will be hoping awin in Nevada than voters of anyother candidate. Trump also has some date needs 1,237 delegates to win the nomination. The will maintain his campaign’smomentum. Sanders has extreme foreign policyviews, suchasseizing Iraqi oil, Democrats, meanwhile, have 4,763 delegates; 2,382 are recently been making inroads against Clinton, whohas bringing backtorture techniques, and engaging in cur- needed for acandidate to win the nomination. widely been seen as ashoo-in, so another win would rencywars with countries suchasChina. Although much keep him in contention. However,Clinton looks set to of what aTrump presidencywould look like is unclear – Whyare South Carolina and Nevada important? take South Carolina, where she leads 59% to Sanders’ it’shard to discern acoherent set of ideas from his popu- 40%. Despite Sanders’ incredible New Hampshire result list rants– some of the ideas he’sproposed and whichhis Thenext big events on the US’ election calendar are and his overwhelming popularity among young voters supporters endorse are worrying and potentially desta- the South Carolina primaries –20th and 27th February -Sanders won84% of the under-30 vote at Iowa –this bilising. for the Republicans and Democrats respectively –and does seem like abattle of David against Goliath. Sanders might well eventually be bested by Clinton, the Nevada caucuses, on the 20th and the 23rd for the Sanders’ success at the primaries could, however,raise however the main question is howwell he does in the Democrats and Republicans, respectively. questions about the waythe Democrats select candi- primaries. If Clinton must rely on the undemocratic su- This next week is potentially abig one. Trump has al- dates. Despite winning one state each, at the time of perdelegates to win, that will stir up acrucial debate in- readyled the Republican field for some time, having writing Sanders stands at 44 delegates while Clinton side the Democratic Party.Whatever happens, Sanders wonthe New Hampshire primary and currently standing commands 394. Howcould this be, with suchanap- is galvanising young American voters and reviving ideas ahead on delegates. National Republican polling recent- parently tight contest between them? Theanswer is “su- that have long been derided as hard-left and socialist ly put Trump at 39%, with closest rivals Rubio and Cruz perdelegates”. These are 700 or so people whoare not by American standards. Although Sanders mayhavea coming in at just under 20%. elected by anyone in the Democrat primary process and rather narrow focus on inequality,heisatleast enriching Trump’svote share among republicans has soared from are free to vote anyway they want at the Democrats’ the debate, and it looks as though he will give Clinton a 28% last December.Surprisingly,hehas gained traction national convention, irrespective of the primary results. run for her money. among “somewhat conservative”and “moderate” repub- They largely come from the party establishment, as is Between the rise of Trump and the unexpected success licans; his vote share is above 40% in both these groups, evidenced by the fact that they are flocking to Clinton. of Sanders, 2016 is looking to be one of the most po- up some 10% from last December,with rivals trailing Thesuperdelegates have the numbers to swing the elec- larised and unusual election years in recent US history. by 20 or so percentage points. Although Cruz, Trump’s tion, even if Sanders wins the primaries. If this happens, Depending on howyou see it, also one of the most con- principal rival, has maintained the support of die-hard and the results of the primaries are overturned by the su- cerning. Regardless, it seems as though the campaign is conservatives, Trump has attracted agreat deal of sup- perdelegates, this could spark acrisis of legitimacyinthe likely to bring some fault lines in American politics into port from the centre of the party. Democrat primary process. Voters would most likely be muchsharper relief. Unsurprisingly considering his national position, polls outraged at the candidate they supported being stripped indicate Trump has acomfortable lead in both South Car- of his title by 700 party elites completely beyond the olina and Nevada. This is significant in twoways. Firstly, primary system. delegates in South Carolina are allocated in awinner- takes-all system. So if Trump wins the dayinSouth Caro-

thegryphon.co.uk 6 News “SLOCO creates aplatform for students to actually share their university experiences” TheGryphon chats to OBrien Alaribe, founder of SLOCO.co.uk, abrand new website for Leeds students to find out about campus events, nights out and howtomake the most of their university experience.

Rachel King

Talk me through Sloco, what is it?

Because it’suniversity focused, through Sloco youcan find out what students are doing, where they’re going, and what’shappening in the union. It keeps informa- tion among students, whereas Facebook is information from your friends somewhere whichisnot relevant to your university life. So the application is providing aplat- form for university students to share information amongst themselves on campus and between Leeds universities as well. It also givesyou information about tickets and student nights on adaily basis.

Wasthere aparticular moment when youhad the idea or sawaneed for this?

Initially Ihad asimilar idea to this in second year,when Iwas living in Eldon Court, and they didn’thaveaFace- book page for us to share information so Icreated one. So when Iwent on placement Ilearnt howtodevelop [Image: Jack Roberts] applications, and Iwas involved in astartup from which Ilearnt business. Then in September Idecided to write the programme myself, build the application, get people It can also inform companies whowant to knowwhat What have youfound the hardest, whats been the big- to use it, get some feedbackfrom students and get ready students want. Forexample Dominoes, whocome to gest challenge in creating Sloco? Have youhad much to launchit. the union every fresher’sweek and give out free pizza. support from the University? Sloco follows student patterns, so afew years ago stu- Is there an app as well? dents wanted selfie sticks and Ican give that information This is the first application I’ve done and building to companies so if they’re coming to this union and say something on this scale is massive.Every single dayI Currently the mobile version is not available because ‘this is what students actually want’. What students want programme for at least eight hours. Theidea has been I’m providing the online product so Ican test it amongst changes every month, and youneed an application that around for ayear or so, and initially Ioutsourced it to students, see howthey’re going to use it. Then with time actually captures that trend. acompanyinIndia but they couldn’tdothe project be- it can grow, and Ican develop the mobile application. cause of howbig it was. Iwasted agrand on that. Then Hows the concept been received, what kind of feedback Igot another guy whoismore experienced than me to Howdoyou see Sloco fitting in alongside Facebook, have yougot? develop the application, but because its not his applica- Twitter and YikYak what makes it different? tions he wasn’tasdedicated. So in September Idecided Very good feedbackactually.When Ipresent the ap- to learn to develop the application myself; Isigned up to Facebook has become amedia platform; people don’t plication Isay,‘Imagine howyou would find out where tutorials online and Idid everything myself. Themarket- use it for information anymore they just go on it to watch people are going to go tonight. Where would yougoto ing is actually the easy part when youhaveaworking funnyvideos and pictures. Hardly anyone ever posts these find this information?’ Or ‘do youknowwhats happening product that speaks for itself. days. There is nothing to tell students what’shappening in the Union today?’ When youpresent the problem like So there’saSpark business plan completion and Iap- on campus, students have to go on specific groups to get that people respond ‘Ah, thats actually true. There’snoth- plied to that, but Ihaven’theard from them yet. I’ve spo- that information. Sloco tries to create aplatform for stu- ing that actually tells me this information.’Then Ipresent ken to alot of people about it but University is suchabig dents to actually share their university experiences, es- Sloco and tell them, ‘Look, this is what can help youfind place. Whenever Igotosomeone they alwaysforward pecially when you’re afresher and new to the city.With information like this. Sloco’sgood in this way, it can add me to someone else for help. Its difficult finding asingle something like Sloco youcan see second and third years value to your life in this way.’Ofcourse Ialwaysget peo- place on campus to get information or someone whocan going, ‘This is the best place for students, this is where ple to sign up as well youknow. actually help youmove your product forward; youhave everyone is actually going’. Also with events youcan see to do the work yourself. Enterprise is there to help, but whichofyour friends have actually bought tickets. Stuff Howdid youcome up with the name? they don’tgiveyou exactly what youneed to growor like YikYak is mobile and its nice for students because to move your product forward. Its something they said youcan post anonymously,but when youwant to take So initially Sloco wasmeant to be aticket information they’re working on but at the moment the University that interaction to the next stage its harder because you platform. Iwanted to build awebsite for students to get haven’tbeen the most help. can have some weirdos on there. information about tickets and events, and initially it was called Night Info. Istarted thinking about what makes Is there anything you’dlike to add? Whats your vision for the future, howcan yousee Sloco Night Info unique from other ticket sites, and after Ispoke expanding? to afew ticket providers, and realised it wasthe student Ijust want to tell everyone to use Sloco. Obviously the target audience. Ithought ok Night Info or Sloco, and more people whouse the application the more people Isee Sloco overthe next few years developing in to it wasactually my mum whosaid ‘Yeah I’m not sure will get from it. When there’salot of students on the ap- astudent-focused application with everything that stu- about Night Info but Sloco, Ilike that. It sounds catchy’. plication, that’swhen youcan actually see the scale of it. dents need. Things that students actually like, things that Ithought that made sense so its Student Life Only Comes Themore people whocomment on the application the youwouldn’tget on the platform of abigger application. Once. more value it will have to student lives. thegryphon.co.uk EXTREMISTS ALLOWED ON CAMPUS?

Haveaviewonour No Platform policy? Find outwhat candidates aresaying and how they plantorepresent you.

JOIN THE DEBATE. #leadluu

15 FEBRUARY > LUU.ORG.UK/LEADLUU 1 2 3 LEADERSHIP RACE LEEDS2016 03 MARCH SEARCH DEBATE DECIDE #LEADLUU 8 Features Where Are Your Friends Tonight? Is FoMo More Serious Than We Thought? TheGryphon explores FoMo beyond the common depiction, casting light on FoMo as aform of social anxiety,whichhas the effect of engulfing the livesofsomanypeople.

[Image: CleanAndSoberENT]

Meenakshi Parmar impedes upon livesand reflects or exacerbates person- to the problem maybetoquit social media and simply ‘FoMo’, otherwise known as the ‘Fear of Missing out’, al self-esteem issues. deactivate Facebook. However,itisprobably the case is aterm that is regularly circulated in both our social It seems natural to conclude that the main cause of that the mere thought of this racksmost people with the vocabulary and the media. There are trivialised exam- FoMo is the frenetic use of social media that defines fear that they might lose touchwith the world and be ples of FoMo that we are familiar with: somebodyupset this modern age. Following our reliance on the Internet forgotten amongst friends, laying waste to the online when friends congregate without them; aperson agree- and an insatiable need to stayconnected to the world presence that they have cultivated overanumber of

ing to attend events that they mayhavenopersonal throughout every hour of the day, FoMo becomes an years. interest in. Indeed, the top definition for FoMo in Urban inevitable consequence. It can be questioned wheth- It is thus important to establish exactly whothe ‘Fear Dictionary describes the phenomenon as ‘the fear that er this ritualistic use of technology causes anxiety or of Missing out’ affects. At first glance, it seems reason- if youmiss aparty or event youwill miss out on some- whether people’sfear of missing out drivesthem to en- able to conclude that it is young people and teenag-

thing great’. gage with social media in an addictive cycle. We al- ers that are the primary sufferers. It is amongst this age Theunrelenting need to stayconnected with what readyknowthat the Internet has the power to greatly group that consistent social media use is agiven, and our peers are doing and be involved in the interactions influence us; we are merely acting as consenting recip- the presence of apeer group can be seen as most im- around us arguably affects all of us to acertain degree. ients through our willing use of smart phones. When portant and influential in comparison to anyother time Astudyatthe University of Essex has revealed the psy- in aperson’slife. Alreadypressurised by new social chological basis of this insecurity,suggesting that peo- “ trends, perceptions of ideal bodyimage, and the on- ple whosuffer from FoMo maydisplaylower levels of line presence of friends on the internet, it comes to no satisfaction than the ‘average’ person. Theless people ...when suchavast range of the surprise that young people feel the need to constantly feel personal autonomy, competence, and connected- population is consumed by social seek approvalfrom friendships and put forward into the ness in daily life, the more likely they are to display social sphere the ‘best’ version of themselves. insecurity regarding their social lives. Essentially it is fear,the pervasive impact of FoMo However,the idea of the‘life-long FoMo sufferer’ is those whohaveunsatisfied needs, suchaswanting “becomes all too clear. very muchreal; surveys conducted by ateam of social to be loved, that are more likely to suffer from FoMo. scientists and techexperts under the marketing com- This first-of-its-kind-research implies that FoMo needs munications network, JWT,indicates that in manycas- recognition as aserious constraint on the social lives es it is adults whoare closely linked with the ‘Fear of of muchofthe population. If there are people experi- Missing out’. Higher proportions of ‘Adult Millennials’ encing the compulsion to say‘yes’ to everything so as there are photos of events and beautiful, smiling faces (between the ages of 18 and 34) felt left out when they not to feel regret if they miss out on an event, feeling plastered across the computer screen, it appears some- sawthat their friends were doing something and they anxious when friends are involved in conversations that what inevitable that people mayexperience feelings were not, apercentage greater than that of the teenage do not include them, dreading the thought of spend- of jealousy or insecurity.Amajor implication of social group. Claire Cohen, ajournalist, has suggested that the ing time alone, and repeatedly checking Facebook and media is that it is one-sided; the bad times and argu- phenomenon can be felt in the workplace, with adults Twitter,the colloquial representation of FoMo seems an ments are often brushed under the carpet and so people checking work emails before 7.30 a.m. so as not to lose inadequate label for what can be seen as acurse that only see what other people want them to. Thesolution out on new projects and feeling the need to constantly thegryphon.co.uk Features 9

the capacity to make people sacrifice their ownsatisfac- tion and character in order to become something they are not and remain apart of their social circle. Getting to the heart of FoMo is important because it reflects how we are stuckinacycle of constant comparison with oth- ers. In believing that those around us are more socially active,successful, attractive,and popular than we are, we look at our ownlives with asense of inadequacy. In this sense, FoMo can be interpreted as afurther manifes- tation of lowself-esteem and the cause for whichmany people put themselves down. To only speak of FoMo in light-hearted discourse seems to downplayafeeling that affects the livesand mental states of alot of people in varying degrees. Brought to the forefront is the reality that this is ageneration whichisrelentlessly striving for better; social appearance and status often takes priority overpersonal fulfilment and actually doing things that we want to do. If people regularly experience FoMo, we are left with abizarre paradox where the people around us are all aiming for asocial ideal that nobodycan achieveand browse the professional network LinkedIn for potential sity arguably intensifies social anxiety with open-ended from whichnobodyisleft satisfied. So, whywedothis opportunities. When suchavast range of the popula- opportunities to be ‘living like there’snotomorrow’ and to ourselves and to what extent is FoMo self-inflicted? tion is consumed by social fear,the pervasive impact of the challenges presented by living in halls of residence Social media is supposed to bring people together and FoMo becomes all too clear. alongside other young adults. In this discussion, FoMo enhance our social lives. In manywaysitisaninspiring This issue wasexplored further when TheGryphon is evidently acommon experience associated with the technological feat whichconnects people and enables spoke to afocus group of students at the University pressure to be going out and be seen to be having fun. what waspreviously unthinkable. However,italso med- about keeping up with friends and maintaining asocial Astudent, Will, said that he fears missing out so much dles with our ownself-perceptions, endorses the dai- life. First year student, Joe, said that this is about com- that he will paymoney to go on anight out when he ly comparison of the livesofothers with our own, and promise; abalance between doing what youwant to do does not even want to go to. And Sociology student, tragically heightens feelings of loneliness and isolation. but also acting upon what makes someone else happy. Shalanda, agreed that there is pressure to go out all the To move beyond FoMo, it seems that we must both in- Another student, Sophie, described howshe has grown time but ultimately it is apersonal decision; it is about vest in meaningful friendships, whichdonot require a out of FoMo: where when she wasyounger she would whether youcare to keep up or choose to go to aplace ‘show’ or fakery,but also rebuild our ownconfidence be upset to the point of crying if she sawher friends had where youactually enjoyyourself. and be grateful for the things in life that we enjoyand met up without her,FoMo no longer bothers her and These viewpoints illustrate not only the magnitude but make us happy. she enjoys anight in alone. On the other hand, univer- also the harmfulness of FoMo. It is something that has 10 Features “Parlez-Vous Français?” Is TheFrench Language Under Attack?

TheGryphon explores recent changes in the Frenchlanguage, whythese revisions have been proposed, and the effects that they mayhaveupon communication.

[Image: Piotr Bizior]

Rosemary Maher on the grounds that both spellings would be accepted can English and British English. Whilst some of these

as correct. Theissue has only recently caught the pub- differences make speakers of British English silently

Therecent proposed changes to the Frenchlanguage lic eyeaspublishers have announced their intentions to cringe –take ‘aluminum’, the American variant of ‘alu- have sparked uproar amongst the Frenchand the rest print the revised spellings in textbooks and dictionaries minium’ for example –others, suchaswhether sulphur of the world alike, amidst claims that the language has this year. should be spelt with a‘ph’ or an ‘f’, are atopic of hot

become avictim of simplification. It wasthought that the changes would alleviate dif- debate. When the London-based journal Nature Chem-

Therenowned Académie Française is not known for ficulties with learning French, as anomalous spellings istry chose to use the spelling ‘sulfur’, the debate was embracing modifications of the Frenchlanguage. Since would be modified to fit with expected patterns, and, reignited. However,according to the International Un- its formation in 1635, it has strivedtopurify the lan- in some cases, the adjustments would eliminate the ion of Pure and Applied Chemistry,whichgoverns the guage, purging it of utterances deemed to be detrimen- disparity between the written form of aword and its spellings of chemical elements, the correct spelling is “ “ “ “ “ tal to the language, and, more recently,shunning Angli- “ ‘sulfur’. cisms wherever possible. However,earlier this month, Suchdisparities are not limited to the realm of spell- this esteemed establishment wascritiqued for accept- ing: punctuation has also fallen victim to confusion. ing orthographical changes to certain Frenchwords. Lynne Truss, grammar expert and author of Eats, Shoots Theproposed changes are multifaceted and the Aca- Thehe chc anges are also likely to be prob- &Leaves: TheZero Tolerance ApproachtoPunctuation, démie Française estimates that they will affect approxi- lematic for those learning Frenchah asas a laments howpunctuation has fallen by the wayside. mately 2000 words, whichisequivalent to less than 4% Truss says that the apostrophe “has never been taken of the total lexicon. Thefirst change –whichisarguably foreign language seriously enough” and states that an understanding of the one whichhas attracted the most criticism –regards the correct usage of ‘it’s’ and ‘its’ “is extremely easy to the circumflex, whichwill remain above the vowels“ grasp”. Over time, as less emphasis has been placed ‘a’, ‘e’ and ‘o’, but will be dropped from the vowels on the usage of correct pronunciation, standards have ‘i’ and ‘u’; words affected include ‘maîtresse’ (mistress) pronunciation. However,upon closer inspection the slipped accordingly.Confusion and uncertainty regard- and ‘coût’ (cost). In the case of homonyms, for exam- changes appear to be anything but clear: some ac- ing the correct spellings, grammatical constructions, ple ‘sur’ (on top of) and ‘sûr’ (sure), the circumflex will cented characters are being removed, whist others are and forms of punctuation inevitably lead to mistakes remain in order to avoid confusion. Thecircumflex will being added; words that were once anomalous are be- becoming grammatically acceptable. In manyways, also remain when verbs are conjugated in tenses that ing altered; loan words are nowtobetreated as if they the Frenchcircumflex finds its equal in the English necessitate it. Secondly,hyphens will be removedfrom were originally French. Even though the new spellings apostrophe: both often misused or not used at all, both certain words that were previously hyphenated, thus ‘le remain optional, the mere existence of them is likely avital component of language. week-end’ will become ‘le weekend’. Additionally,the to cause confusion, particularly amongst speakers who Whilst some languages, suchasMandarin Chinese in changes will permit the spellings of certain words to be have grown up with the original spellings and are resist- the 1950s, have successfully undergone reforms, oth- simplified, for example ‘ognon’ will become an accept- ant to change. Thechanges are also likely to be prob- ers have provedmore resistant to change. Theattempts able spelling of ‘oignon’ (onion). lematic for those learning Frenchasaforeign language, to standardise the Frenchlanguage maybroaden the These changes were, in fact, initially proposed in as, whilst both spellings will be acceptable in France, scope for acceptable spellings but linguistic nuances 1990 by the Conseil supérieur de la langue française it is unlikely that teachers and exam boards in other will be cast aside in the process. Since identity and lan- (Superior Council of the FrenchLanguage), amidst fears countries will accept them quite so readily. guage are inextricably linked, language standardisation that the Frenchlanguage waslosing popularity as asec- Thesituation is not dissimilar to the long-standing lin- necessitates arenegotiation of identity and so could ond language. TheAcadémie Française approvedthem guistic differences between (and debates over) Ameri- have irreparable consequences. thegryphon.co.uk CELEBRATING THE EXCEPTIONAL STAFF &STUDENTS AT LEEDS

MARGARET ATACK

Inspirational Teaching Award Winner 2015

Studentparticipation and engagement in seminars has always seemed essential to me because peer learning is such an important ingredient of better critical understanding.Icould not have wished for amoreengaged group than last year’s participants in the Existentialism(s)module.Itwas areal honour to have been nominated by them, and Iconsider the award is as much atribute to themasitistome. Nominationsopen until 4pm 25th February 2016

Find out more andsubmit nominations at: luu.org.uk/celebrate/partnership 12 Society In TheSpotlight: LUU Amnesty International This week, TheGryphon spoke to Zoe, acommittee member from LUU Amnesty International, to learn more about what the society is all about. Amnesty International is asociety that represents Amnesty,ahuman rights organisation that aims to restore people’sfreedoms and rights when withheld. They meet every Thursdayat6pm in Michael Sadler LG.19, to decide on what issues they want to tackle and to plan campaigns that address these issues. If youhaveapassion for social justice issues, or are simply interested in learning more about the inequalities that are prevalent in today’sworld, then be sure to attend ameeting or twoand become part of this impactful community.

What is the platform for discussing these topics? Do thing at all. youhavedebates, or is it more of adiscussion? Elsa Amri If your society wasstranded on an island, what 3things Iwould saythat it is more of adiscussion, but if people would youcarry with you? What is Amnesty International? have views, then they’re absolutely welcome to voice them. However,usually it’sabout educating people, so We’d have to bring alittle post box and letters, so We run campaigns on anything to do with human we’re not asking, “Is it right for the death penalty to be that we could send letters to people and be like, “Free rights. We’reademocratic society,whichmeans that used?” but rather,“Thedeath penalty is being used in us!” Probably some musical instruments because we’re anyinterests that people have within the society on dif- SierraLeone or wherever,and therefore we should…” all really musical and enjoygoing out and listening to ferent issues and injustices across the world, they can after whichwe’ll discuss solutions, suchascampaigning good music. Lastly,loads of food, particularly biscuits… put forward as something for us to campaign on. At the or writing letters to the government. we’ve alwaysgot biscuits. moment, we’ve just had avote on whether to look at domestic slavery in the UK or the Saudi Arabia arms What would youtell someone whowas interested in What events do youhavecoming up this year? deal the government is involved in; we’ve chosen to joining? look at domestic slavery this time. In addition, we do We have arefugee welcome event, called ‘Refugees educational talks -wehad someone come in and talk Iwould saythat we are areally friendly bunchofpeo- Speak to Students at Leeds’ on the 22nd of February, to us about Shaker Aamer last year,who wasthe last ple. We’renot out there to prove that we knowmore at the Library Pub. That will involverefugee speakers British detainee in Guantanamo Bay. Fortunately,hehas than eachother: we’re not pretentious in anyway.It’s coming to tell their stories to Leeds students, and we been released, whichisreally good. We’reatinypart of about making genuine impacts in people’slives and get- will also have music and spoken word poetry.It’sgo- ahuge organisation that works to get people free from ting to knowone another.When you’re at university,it ing to be agood night, and the vibe will be hopeful: incarceration and that sort of thing. We also have fun as can feel like nobodyreally cares about social justice it’snot about feeling down. We’vealso got Sleep Out, well and have weekly socials. issues, so it’snice to be around people whocare about whichiswhen Amnesty,STARand Homed, 3societies this stuff, and we do have alot of fun. in the university,all organise to go sleep outside the Un- Could youelaborate upon your role within the society? ion to raise awareness for homelessness and destitution Do youneed aspecific background in politics or some- in immigrant populations. It’sgood fun, and we have Iwork on the media and promotion side, whichin- thing similar to join the society? live music; last year we had Swing Society come along cludes making Facebook events and making sure people and teachushow to dance. We do alot of fun stuff, come. If we have an event, I’m the one whohas to sort Absolutely not. If youdon’tknowanything, youcan but when you’re lying down there it does get very cold, out all the tickets for it, and make sure that people know still come along and just listen to what people have to and it’sreally important that we understand howthese what Amnesty International is. Ialso do interviews and say. It’sreally easy.Asacommittee member,we’re only people feel and howitistohavetosleep outside. We sometimes go on LSR to publicise our society.However, acouple of days ahead, education-wise, to the rest of also raise money while we do that. Lastly,we’re going our roles are really interchangeable. the society because we have to knowwhat we’re talking to plan atrip to go to the anti-Trident march in London, about before we put out ideas to the group. It’sdefinitely so if anyone is interested in coming along, that would an inclusive society,and youdon’thavetoknowany- be great. Henna Society: “This is only the beginning”

Natalie Cherry roughly every twoweeks, and it’sanice opportunity for members to meet new people, learn new skills LUU’svery ownphoenix rising from the ashes, Hen- and create some beautiful patterns”. na Society has made atriumphant comebackthis year Thesociety are also more involved with charity under the enthusiastic and friendly leadership of Abi, events, even participating in the Leeds Rag Fashion Tabitha, and Maxime. With apacked GIAG, which Showlast week, and are looking forward to further sawthem having to reluctantly turn people awayatthe collaborations with societies suchasRAG and Belly door,their comebackhas truly been asuccess. Dance Society.They also have astall in the union After the society dissolved at the end of last academ- every other week, so youcan either get involved or ic year,the girls sawthe opportunity to re-start it this just get some great henna really easily and cheaply! semester,and their GIAGfulfilled and exceeded eve- Off the backoftheir successful GIAG, the girls ryone’sexpectations. Their GIAG, an informal henna are looking forward to hosting more events. As co- session in the union, sawpeople perched on every founder and Treasurer Tabitha said, “This is only the available surface, either learning to trace patterns onto beginning for us. We can’twait to see what else the their skin or,for the experts there, teaching others how year will bring”. to use the dyeitproperly.Itwas arelaxed, comfort- able and welcoming environment, even if there wasn’t To find out more information, checkout the LUU muchspace to move! website or search LUU Henna Society on Facebook “The aim of the session wastointroduce people to Page. henna in achilled environment,”saysHenna Society President Abi Cole, “Werun these types of sessions [Image: LUU Henna Society] thegryphon.co.uk In TheMiddle

Issue12 19.02.16

Music•Clubs •Fashion •Arts•Lifestyle andCulture •Columns 2

Credits

Editor-in-Chief In TheMiddle Music Clubs Fashion Benjamin Cook Associate Editor Alex Fowler Chris Caden Emma McCormack Beth Galey Charlotte Bickley FloraTiley Faye Buckland editor@ inthemiddle@ Stasi Roe Molly Shanahan thegryphon.co.uk thegryphon.co.uk Catherine Dowie Rukaiyah Dadhiwala Sarah Hamond

Arts Lifestyle and Blogs Head of Creatives Cameron Tallant Culture Amelia Chloe Photography Megan Chown Hannah Tomes Emma Bowden Dunton Jack Roberts ZaraPeterson Mark McDougall Hannah Holmes Hannah Lewis Paul Turner Zoe Delahunty-Light Front Cover Jodie Collins 3

Contents

5 14

Amongstour albumreviews,wetackle We reviewboth ABiggerSplash and Kanye’s Life of Pablo, whichisultimatelya Deadpool, twofilmsthatreallycouldn’tbe successdespite itsalien feel. more different.

7 19

We speaktoJay Nudd,leadvocalistofLake HappyValleyisback, butdon’t worry Komo,about howhe’suncomfortablein if youdidn’twatch thefirstseries: the pigeonholing musicand an attempttosound first episodewillease youintothisdark different. Yorkshireaffair.

10-12 20

Alongwithour usualweeklychart,we It’s out in cinemas now, butwepull speaktoDeepFever’s Adam Lind and Room back offthe shelfand take alook, Ryan Kaye about their final bowafter as well as gatheringthe information three years of being on the Leeds music we have so farabout Netflix’s Seires of scene. UnfortunateEvents.

10-12 22-23

This week we look at fashionand In columnsthisweektwo foodiesdescribe feminism:are thetwo compatible? Just theirvariousvices anddifficulties;Patsy is howproblematic is themalegaze? trying her best to be an ethicalconsumer, andonthe other end ofthe spectrum, Emmarevelsinher love forsnacking. [Image: Frank Micelotta] Teen Spirit

Olivia Marshall explores the impact of Kurt Cobain on the 22nd anniversary of his suicide.

When Kurt Cobain took his ownlife almost twenty-twoyears ago Iwasn’teven dynamic and emotionally volatile lyrics overaprogressive acoustic guitar,tothe fas- born. As Iprogressed through achildhood sound-tracked by ashallowpool of late cinating and disturbing inspiration behind the lyrics, Iwas unable to stop replaying 90s/early noughties pop, Iwas unaware of the tangled mythology that Cobain had the track. Years after my first listen, Iamstill incapable of only listening to the track left behind. It wasn’tuntil my early teens, when Ifinally left behind my numerous boy once. Above everything, Cobain wasastoryteller.Heappeared, even during his life, band hoodies, and plunged into guitar riffs and angsty lyrics, that Iwas propelled into ghostly,aninvisible companion capable of transporting whoever waslistening into the torment, beauty and complexity of Cobain’sworld. astate of otherworldliness.

It is easy to focus on the ever-expanding mysteries surround- Following Nevermind,Nirvana released what wastobethere ing the circumstances and legacyofCobain’suntimely and “He appeared, final studio album, In Utero,in1993. Thealbum wasdriven tragic death. Questions suchas: ‘was it really suicide?’ ‘Was by Kurt’sdetest of the celebrity that had been thrust upon him the infamous suicide note aforgery?’ still continue to occupy even during against his will. It wasananti-mainstream response to huge the minds of fans and conspiracytheorists alike. Along with mainstream success. Theband challenged their ownaudience all these unanswered questions, Cobain left behind ashat- with songs suchas‘Rape Me’, an anti-rape song responding tered family,awife without ahusband and adaughter without his life, to Cobain’sdistaste at the media frenzy surrounding him. Istill afather.What is arguably the most tragic consequence of his find it difficult to understand whythe album did not matchthe death, however,isits ability to distract from his indisputable ghostly,an sales figures of Nevermind.Aside from the notable absence of musical genius. It is important to remember that it wasfol- an idealised anthem, suchas‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, the album lowing Cobain’sdeath that he waslaunched into the realm of defined everything that Nirvana stood for and Cobain’stortured musical immortality.Ironic, right? invisible lyrics appeared in their most potent, disturbing beauty.‘Heart Shaped Box’ is asurreal nightmare that even to this day, still Nirvana released their first album Bleach in 1989, under the companion” remains ambiguous in its interpretation. Themusic video for the independent record label Sub Pop. Although the album did song focused on howsickness destroys the human body, which not prove to be ahuge commercial success, failing to chart undoubtedly made the song and the video all the more poignant upon its release, it established Nirvana as aband whowere following Kurt’sdeath. not afraid to challenge the mainstream and gave the world outside of the burgeon- ing Seattle grunge scene, its first taste of the tortured genius hidden behind heavy Cobain’ssuicide marked his entrance into musical martyrdom. To this day, fans choruses. continue to romanticise Cobain’slife and death, clinging to apreserved idealized memory that has manifested itself in manyforms overthe years. From the 2015 When the band signed for major record label DGC Records, Cobain wasthrown documentary film Montage of Heck,tothe announcement of anew exhibition in into the world of celebrity.Hewas meant to represent akind of ‘anti-rockstar’ and LA of photographs of Cobain’spersonal belongings, it appears that some are still not it is with the commercial success of Nevermind,that this image wasstretched to its readytolet his legacylie. Personally,Idonot believethat delving deeper into Kurt’s limit. It is impossible to discuss the success of Nevermind without referring to the personal archives will satisfy anylongings or appetites; rather,itiscloser to grave- infamous first single, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. Thesong became the quintessential robbing than fandom. Theanswers lie in his music and the tormented lyrics that have grunge anthem, before eventually transcending the grunge scene, and simply be- nowbecome grunge hymns. Only in them is he truly immortalised. Every time you coming the anthem of ageneration. Even now, 25 years on from its initial release, listen to aNirvana album, or anypost-Nirvana rockband, Cobain is resurrected. Kurt the song still manages to epitomize feelings of teenage angst and dissatisfaction. Cobain’sspirit livesoninevery music fan. He is my teen spirit. Forme, however,itwas not this cult phenomenon that made me delvedeeper into Nirvana’sbackcatalogue, it was‘Polly’. Iwas fascinated with the track. From the [Olivia Marshall] 5

TheLifeofPablo by KanyeWest

Aftermonthsofanticipationand delays,the time for andKendrick Lamar,aswellaferocious 90-bar versefrom bold statementsisfinallyoverasthe self-proclaimed Ye that will leavehip-hop headsdrooling; whiletracks “greatest rockstar alive” hasfinallyreleasefhis seventh like ‘Famous’ aretingedincontroversialdarkcomedyand studio album, TheLifeofPablo.Continuingdownthe bringinthe rapper’s famous attitude. experimental path thatbirthed Yeezus, T.L.O.P is a superior record that acts as both anextstepand ahomage Thematicallythe albumisamore personal,darker to thepastinthe tenaciousrapper’scareer. journeythen what therapperhas released before;witha world-wearyKanye wrestling withfamily, faith, andvices. Theresultisanalbum which feelsalien.Musically the Butratherthansofteninghim,Kanye is fiercerherethan albumiseverywhere; it lacksthe previousalbums’pop ever before.Throughout thealbum rapid-fire shotsare sensibilitiesaswellastheir focusedcoherence that turned fired at rivals past andpresent;withsavageinsults aimed each of them into amusical journey. Trap inspired joints at RayJand Taylor Swift, done so withanonchalant (‘Facts’ and‘Feedback’) areplacednexttothe lyrically disregardfor good taste. cerebral (‘No More PartiesinLA’). Whilethe albums suffersfor this, thesheer strengthofthe varietyofmaterial Despiteaweakfinish to thealbum in ‘Facts’aswellas stops T.L.O.P from becoming aramblingmess. an inferior structure, TheLifeofPablo ultimately prevails duetoits powerful lyricalthemes, immenseproduction, Introtrack ‘UltralightBeam’ is shroudedinepicgrandeur andvarietyofstyles. that is only enhancedbyaprodigiouscameo from Chance theRapper. The Madlib produced ‘NoMoreParties in LA’ [Tim Wilson] features jawdroppingtag-teamlyricismbetween Kanye

Good Advice by Basia Bulat

In honestyBasia Bulatcould sing overjustabout anything popthat characterises Good Advice.She setsherself andIwould stillfeellikeshe waspouring caramel over apartwithboldrhythms andunapologeticlyrics, so that me.But regardlessofany priorfeelingsImay have, it theimpressionshe createsseems farfrom manufactured is undeniable that Good Advice hasthattimelessfeel or whimsical. of beingatonce triumphant andmournful, perfectly exemplified in theopeningtrack ‘LaLaLie’. Although this She’sundoubtedlythe same girl singing to us as the one albumseems to strayawayfrom her folk rootstowards in HeartOfMyOwn and Tall Tall Shadow,but witha amorepop orientated sound, it worksprettywell. She differentenergy.There’smorebittersweet honestyand puts simplisticbut heartfeltwords overrepeating, catchy optimism in herwords;‘Long Goodbye’ openswith“Tell melodies,makingsureyou canstill hearher country me againhow youlove me/Eventhe days when youdoubt twang resonatinginyourheadlongafter you’ve finished it”. Hervoice is thevoice of someonelooking forsome listeningtothe record. saving graceinalove whichisseemingly doomed.With Good Advice,Bulatbringsher musicintoanew league With hercountry background,Basia Bulatthankfully whichmay withabit of luck bringher morerecognition edgesmoretowards moreJoniMitchell than Taylor Swift anddeservedly so. or MileyCyrus.She’s intelligentinthe compositionofher sound, which hashelpedher to progress to themodest [TessCrozier]

RightHandLeftHandbyRight Hand Left Hand

Right HandLeftHandreturnfrom obscuritywiththeir With only onesongonthe albumthat actually contains secondself-titled album; thefollowupto2011’s Power anylyrics, theother ten songsbuild on each other to Grab elaborates on theirparticularbrand of looped guitar envision adystopian future. Thebeautyofanalmost rock.The Welshduo have certainlybeenbusyoverthe purely instrumental albumisthatitfeeds thelistener a past four years, touringwiththe likesofLos Campesinos!, feeling, butleavesthe rest up to them.Nodictating your SuperFurry Animals, andFutureofthe Left.They’ve been responsewithlyrics; instead, theway is left open forthe sittingonthismaterialfor long enough,letting it stew and listenertochooseinwhich directionthe trackshould mature, andthiscomes through in thetracks. progress.The band have previously notedthat their decision to exclude vocals is basedonthe fact that they It’s incredible howmuchswirlingchaos twopeople view them as an entirely separate instrument,one more alonecan create.Openingtrack ‘Seat18c’ starts offin difficult to manipulateand adapt than aloopstation, arockand roll minimalist style, building up each layer although they don’tactivelyshy away from them. gradually,easingthe listenerinwitheach new riff and drum loop.Then thereare tracks like ‘The Milgram Evenifyou areinitially hesitant about an allguitar, all Experiment’, which kick offwithanentirely desperate looped,all instrumentalalbum,let Right Hand Left Hand whirlwindoffeedbackand cymbals, deceiving you wash overyou andconvince youotherwise. entirely as it movesonintoamorerestrainedly frustrated riffthat youcould imagineTaylorMomsenofThe Pretty [JemimaSkala] Reckless crooningover. 6

BlocParty at O2 Academy08/02/16

There wasvery little about Hymns to sing to the heavens their ownbit of fun at Bloc Party’sexpense. Frontman about. English dance-rockband Bloc Party’slatest album Kele’sattempts at banter,where he asked if he should fell upon 2016 with mixed reviews, and their latest tour start drinking again, were met with the classic chant to support it would ultimately be influenced by the divide “YORKSHIRE, YORKSHIRE” ,“That isn’twhat Iasked” - this album caused. what else were youexpecting from Leeds? Otherwise, you could almost feel sorry for the band as the bulk of the Bloc Party once shook the British rockworld to its core in audience continuously turned their nose up at songs from the noughties; it’shard to believethat here, frontman Kele Hymns –almost. begun his once-giant band’sperformance with aquiet “hello” before opening with the forgettable, plodding It wasonly towards the end of the evening did Bloc Party ‘Only He Can Heal Me’. Thankfully the showimproved secure their dominance on stage, performing their big hits through the first half where amyriad of instruments were like ‘The Love Within’, ‘Helicopter’ and ‘Ratchet’ which whipped out to spice up the performance, whichdefinitely raised the roof to no end. However,relying on salvaging surprised me –saxophones, xylophones; youname it, they the mediocre performance with your “bangers” doesn’t had it. It’sjust ashame the rest of the audience weren’tas reflect well in your faith in your ownmusic, does it? Before impressed with ‘Mercury’ and ‘Waiting for the 7.18’ as I this muchneeded climax, Bloc Party could barely hold the was. audience’sattention –Ifound myself more interested in what Kele wasdrinking than what he wassinging. Instead, the audience dictated the power dynamic of the night –not only neglecting the quieter ballads, but having [Jekabs Jursins]

TesseractatBrudenell 07/02/16

In the modern-dayworld of Metal, Djent has become stints –indeed Altered State wasawonderfully complete adirty word. These negative connotations come perhaps album whichshowcased the direction in whichmodern due to the tendencyofmanyDjent bands to compose as a Progressive music should be moving. However,neither form of musical masturbation, concocting pieces of music of those vocalists could pull off the live performance that whichattheir core rely on complexity for complexity’s Tompkins does, making great use of his vocalrange as sake. However,Tesseract are aband that stand out from well as introducing those beautiful countermelodies. their peers due to their ability to blend complexity with simplicity to create music whichistruly captivating. This is Having originally been billed to playStylus, the band not what makes Tesseract really special though -Tesseract brought astage production that seemed made for larger are one of those rare bands whomanage to take songs settings, but not amember of the audience will be heard that, on record, alreadysound brilliant, and add awhole complaining. Forthose whoturned up at the Brudenell it new dimension to them in the live setting. This is, in large wasagreat night, with the band drawing upon material part, thanks to the wonderful countermelodies that lead from throughout their career.The highlight of the night vocalist Dan Tompkins drawsupduring live performances. though is their performance of ‘Hexes’, blending together soaring vocal lines, complex rhythmic structures and Therelease of Tesseract’smost recent record, Polaris, in stomping groovestoencapsulate all that is great about September 2015 sawthe return of Tompkins to vocal duties Tesseract. having previously appeared on both the Concealing Fate EP and debut album One. And upon seeing them perform [Keiran Suchak] at the Brudenell Social Club, one has to saythat is has made all the difference. This is not to saythat there was anything wrong with the vocalists that stood in between his

WhereFires AreatWardrobe13/02/16

Local boys Where Fires Are, the fivepiece alternative They offered alight hearted, energetic performance rockband, co-headlined TheWardrobe this Saturday whichfully engaged the crowd, encouraging manyof night and it appeared to be an enjoyable experience for them to participate by joining them on the stage. This the audience and bands alike. Unfortunately their set did ultimately brought anew level of excitement to the night begin with ashakystart with the under-confident crowd whichhadn’tquite been managed by Where Fires Are. It having to be urged to move towards the stage by the lead also illustrated the band’scapacity for humour as they let vocalist, Robbie Gillespie. However,asthe boys launched the crowd knowthat there is an important and interactive further into their performance, it wasn’tlong before the relationship between their music, entertainment and crowd were on board with their deep and rollicking tones. performance.

Not only did Where Fires Are playawide range of their Personally Ifelt the most enjoyable aspect of this final repertoire in the short time allocated to them, they also performance wasthe clear fact that these boys were so successfully balanced and incorporated manymusical engaged with their act and were genuinely passionate styles. From slower,intricate tracks to rocky numbers with about both what they were doing and the music they were tribal drum beats and even at one point acow bell, it was playing. Therhythms of the songs flowed effortlessly from clear that the band were keen to experiment within their one band mate to the next whichonly further established genre. their performance as both invigorating and refreshing. Other co-headliners ‘City of Lights’, arock-pop four piece whoalso pride Leeds as their home base, closed [Ellie Montgomery] the night. [Image: Andrew Sharp] In the Middle With LakeKomo

Currently in the middle of their UK tour for debut EP Ritual, Lake Komo Jaystates that ‘Tides’ is “probably the most accomplished” by means of look to have awhirlwind of ayear ahead of them. After three successful songwriting, but ‘Thinktank’ is the “most important lyrically”. Whilst ‘Think- years, the band has gone grom strength to strength as they continue to make tank’ is alargely upbeat track, the lyrics echo amelancholy vibe, creating aname for themselves in agenre that echoes Bon Iver,featuring some old- an emotionally satisfying vibe for the band and listener alike. “I guess Iwrite school Foals dynamics. about experiences and situations that have had aprofound affect on me in some wayoranother,and the writing process is away in whichIdeal with We spoke with lead vocalist, JayNudd, whostarted to write and playmusic howIfeel.”Jay reveals, with his heart on his sleeve, validating his sincere while coming to the end of his time at University in Lancaster,moving on and impassioned lyrics. to open mic nights. Just acouple of months in, Jayhit it off with drummer Maxwell, whoknew local musicians Jess (keyboards) and Pete (bass). Within In 2015 alone Lake Komo playedKendall Calling and Bestival, yettheir just weeks they had formed Lake Komo, “the band most memorable performing experience is still their first that youpretty muchhear today”. “I guess I Sofar Sounds gig:

So where wasthe turning point wasfor this band? write about “It washeld in this beautiful bookshop in Manchester When did they begin to get more recognition, as they and our set wascompletely stripped back, whichreally were thrown into this incredible fantasy of ayear? experiences tested the strength of the songs as opposed to the delivery Jayputs it down to anational Battle Of TheBands of them. This resulted in us creating areally special con- in Birmingham, that they were invited to just eight and situations nection with the audience in away whichwehad never weeks into their journey as aband. Winning this, for done before.” him, wasahuge turning point as it “really validated that have a [his] decision to start this journey”, encouraging the After having alreadyplayedseven of their twelvedate band to continue pushing to do big things in music. profound affect long tour (whichkicked off at the end of January), the band describe it as a“warm fuzzy blur”. Experiencing new On Facebook, the band state that their genre is ‘ac- on me” places, meeting new people, playing songs that have had tion/adventure’… Aclever metaphor of their lives mounds of effort put into them, and all with good friends. as abusy,upand coming band? That they are filled Jaylovingly reflects on the tour: “Sure youmiss out on with energy and enthusiasm whilst they play? That their music takes youona some sleep but…I couldn’trecommend it anymore!” personal journey,oradventure, of your own? All of these things apply,but to them it isn’tadefinition for them or their music, just asmall touchtoallow 2016 is looking to be one hell of ayear for this band. Aband that have the listener to decide whoLake Komo are for themselves. “I guess Ijust don’t made aname for themselves on the music scene in aparticularly short like pigeonholing music.”Jay tells me. That said, the band take influences amount of time compared to manytop artists of the minute. They plan to from artists along the lines of Bruce Hornsby, Kanye West, and John Martyn, “enjoythe moment, and make the best music we possibly can”, as Jayadds, and validate the assumption that Bon Iver has playedapart. “bit of acontrivedanswer but it’sthe truth!” After performing at some of the most popular festivals in the country,featuring on Burberry’sacoustic Listening to their EP,itisclear that this band have asound that is separate sessions in October of last year,followed by anumber of headline shows from manyother up and coming bands at the minute. From gossamer synth, to kickoff 2016, and even amention in Best of the Week by Apple Music, to spacey harmonies, alongside the melodic riffs of guitar,Lake Komo are it seems that this band are alreadywell on their waytowards their dreams. truly something new.“Different” is their aim, as Jaydoesn’tsee the point in “making music that has been done before (and probably better)”. Whilst These wide-eyed newcomers are grabbing their spot in the foreground of embracing the artists they love,they attempt to find their ownsound, as the British music with both hands this year,aspot they have made themselves band layers these dream-like musical elements to create something power- with an abundance of both diversity and quality. ful and fresh. Theartwork for the EP is as original and creative as them, all created by Pete’smum. [Madi Brown] 8 Weekly Chart

SolarSide’sExperience-The SolarSequencesExperience

This jazzynumberwas recently acquired formycollection. Comingfrom waybackto1996 this French record is theepitome of house musicwithagroove.ReleasedonApricot Records.

Lood feat.DonellRush-ShoutNOut (The DJ Dub)

OrignallyreleasedonFeelThe Rhythm in 1996 this classic record is acollaboration betweentwo legendsinthe deep house scene, Mr ‘Little’ LouieVegaand Mood II Swing. The bouncy hypnoticbasslinedrivesthe trackthrough out withvocalsbythe late greatDonellRush. This trackhas recently been re-releasedonaMasters At Work compilationonDefectedRecords.

KerriChandlerfeat. DeeDee Brave-Mookies Bio

Abit of ahiddengem in Kerri’simpressivecatalogue,thisdreamy number recently caught my attention as one of hismostaccomplished singles. Releasedback in 1998 on 11:07Presentations record labelthistrack reallyisa classically deep Kerrirecord, with DeeDee on vocals.

Doublet-Paradise Village

Recently featuringonBabyFord’sFabric85mix,thistrack comesfrom theproductionmoniker of friendsand musicalpartnersTomoki Tamura 7Tuccillo, whohavepreviouslyreleasedontogether on other labels, buthave come together to form thenew eponymouslynamed Doubletimrpint as achannel fortheir ownmusic.

Cookie Watkins-I’m Attracted To You

Apersonalfavourite,thisrecordisone of thosecertifiedclubtracksthatget allthe ladies (and some fellas)onthe dancefloor.Releasedbackin1991onSmash Recordsthistrack hasstood thetestoftimeasanunbelievablehouse track.

[EdwardGrey] COMPETITION -Fancy Winning One Of 2Pairs Of Tickets To Love International Festival This Summer? Love International Weds 29th June –Weds 6th July 2016 At TheGarden Resort, Petrica Glava 34, 22240, Tisno, Croatia www.loveinternationalfestival.com

Love International is the spiritual successor of the acclaimed original Croatian odyssey,The Garden Festival, and seeks to build upon the decade’sworth of magic created alreadyinthe region. By dayaharmonious holidaybeneath the sizzling sun, and by dusk as the sights and sounds change gear to welcome eachbalmynight beneath acanopyofstars. Theinfamous and intimate setting holds aunique energy,sound tracked by some of the world’sleading under- ground DJs and producers. Headliners this year include: Axel Boman, Ben UFO,Bicep, Craig Richards, Dixon, Eats Everything, Gerd Janson, Horse Meat Disco, Hunee, Jackmaster,Job Jobse, Joy Orbison, Midland, Motor City Drum Ensemble, Prosumer and Roman Flugel and manymore!

Theevent will run from WednesdayJune 29th –Wednesday6th July and we have 2pairs of tickets to give away! Just head overtoThe Gryphon Clubs facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/TheGryphonClubs/ - and Like the competition post. Winners will be picked at random and announced on Friday26th February so youcan get those flights booked! Feature [Image: James Cray] Deep Fever: The FinalParty

Recently,the guys behind Deep Feverthrew their final party after asuccessful three- Giventhe unanticipated extent to whichyour parties have grown overthe past few year run. Three is definitely the magic number for this underground house, techno and years, what do youthink has been the secret to your success? disco event, having acquired aloyal following and areputation as amuch-loved‘party for the people’ since its inception. Their intimate events have alwaysinvolved brilliant Adam: Alot of people ask me for advice on howtostart their ownclub night and on music, an energetic crowd and aseriously feel-good atmosphere all round, so it came howwestarted and Ithink our success boils down to afew main factors. Thefact that as no surprise that Friday’sevent delivered on all these fronts and then some. we had no original expectations when we started is abig one, looking backtowhen we created Deep Feverasamusic blog Iwould never have believed youifyou told Musically the night wassuperbly varied, with the DF residents and headliners Move me that three years down the line we would have thrown the parties and grown in the Dand Hesseltime effortlessly mixing everything from feel-good disco to smooth deep waythat we did. This meant it all happened quite naturally without us pushing to grow house and infectious afrobeat. Mint stayedfull right through to the end and the vibe was too fast too quickly.Another strong point wasthe brand, we built aname for ourselves something none of us will forget in ahurry.The party didn’tevenstop when the club that people took to as aDeep Fevermusic page agood couple of months before we closed its doors at 6am, as the most faithful dancers movedtoMusiquarium (where it decided to try throwing aparty.The fact that people were alreadyaware of our brand all began for DF) for an after party with Move Dtaking to the decks once more. If you Ithink helped too. And finally the overwhelming support we had from our friends and want to re-live the magic of the night, go and watchthe videos on Move D’sFacebook local Leeds DJ’scontributed massively. page taken from the DJ booth –you’ll be beaming afterwards. Ryan: Ithink part of the secret is that people like Deep Feverfor whatever it is and would come to the night to be apart of it rather than going to any It’salso only right to commend the promoters’ hosting duties “I also think the random night that made abig booking in adecent club. Things like of past bigger events. Most notably,their residents Will Eastlake, support has been party atmosphere, the love of the music and ageneral positive vibe Gessture_ and TMS have alwaysdelivered the goods when Deep were what we had to offer and luckily the right people found us I Feverhavehosted the BlackBox at Flux, and only alucky few will amassivefactor guess; Ibelievethe passion is infectious. Ialso think the support has remember the electricity they created on that ever so intimate hid- been amassive factor and we would have never achieved such‘suc- den gem of astage at Beacons Festivalin2014, where DF wasan andwewould have cess’ if it wasn’tfor all the people around us. official music partner. neverachievedsuch What tips can yougivefor promoters just starting out? So all good things must come to an end, but it’ssafe to saythe ‘success’ ifitwasn’t Deep Feverbrand has made alasting mark on Leeds’ nightlife. We forall the people Adam: We were once givenapiece of advice to ‘never book some- asked Adam Lind and Ryan Kaye,Deep Fever’shead honchos, for thing bigger than youare’ and that is something we carried with us some final thoughts. aroundus” throughout. Some newnights starting outbook really big names in big clubs before people have even heard of their brand. Ithink that’s acommon mistake as it often overshadows the brand and party itself. We threw our first three parties using only local, unsigned talent in afairly unknown With things nowatanend, what will youlook backonasyour favourite moments in out of town venue whichreally let us scope the sound and vibe we wanted for Deep Deep Feverhistory? Feverwhilst letting people become attached to the party rather than the headliner. Ryan: If you’re gonna do something, make sure youput your backinto it and believe. Adam: Having Move Dplayatthe last ever after party at our original home of TheMusi- Anything is possible. Trynot to be disheartened if events don’talwaysgowell. Keep it quarium wasdefinitely ahuge highlight. It wassuchagreat feeling of nostalgia to even real. be backatthis great warehouse space in Kirkstall that holds suchaspecial place in our heart. It waslike doing acomplete cycle for us to finish where we started and Move D Nowthat Deep fever has come to an end, whichother Leeds events do youparticu- gracing the decks just topped it all off. Another top moment has to be our warehouse larly recommend? loft party,wealwayshad the dream to hire out acompletely empty space and do eve- rything ourselves. It wasdefinitely the hardest party we’ve ever put on but the results Adam: My personal favourite party in Leeds is definitely Cosmic Slop. Ilove the whole also made it the most rewarding. Being aclub partner at Beacons festivalwas also a family-feel ethos of the party,the fact that there’safree guest list and that all the pro- huge moment for us. Beacons wasalwaysafestivalwe’dadmired so to be an official ceeds go to charity.The crowd and the vibe are alwaysreally special and Ilove the club partner and have our resident playwas an honour. venue and the diversity of the music. There aren’tmanyparties like it. Ryan: TheFinal Party for me wasthe highlight of it all; the whole 24 hours were amaz- Ryan: ALTER is really cool upcoming techno night with some top promoters behind it; ing, the best party we’ve ever thrown with one of the most unbelievable atmospheres Iwould seriously recommend checking that out for the harder industrial stuff and regu- I’ve experienced. Second to that, the Dog Eat Dog loft party wasanother special one lar live sets. Twisted Giesha at Distrikt is also an interesting new night to look forward as the concept took so muchtime and effort and to this dayIamstill so bloodyproud to with some fresh parties in the pipeline. Once amonth youwill almost alwaysfind of that night. Finally,the Tief showcase is my third top moment as that whole night was me front left of Wire for Butter Side Up, top bookings and the best residents in Leeds, completely flawless; our first party on aweekend too and it wassomuchfun. hands down.

[Julia Connor] 10

Can Fashion and Feminism Work Together? Twowriters makethe case forwhy fashion and feminism should no longer be considered strange bedfellows.

Although not often obviously linked, fashion and feminism undoubtedly influence en. It also has the meaning of everydayindividualism creating powerful statements eachother.While it has been widely argued that fashion perpetuates the idea of whichcan be directly applied to fashion. Women choose what they wear everyday appearance being of highest value to women there has been arecent shift in the at- whichinitself is empowering and constructs astatement of individual liberty that titudes of designers and workers in the industry.The discussion of empowerment over goes beyond the image of women as visual objects. With the progression of third- objectification has started to collapse the idea of fashion and feminism being fatally wave feminism, style has become asignificant means of expression. incompatible. Away from its face image, fashion is starting to be used as atool for making pro- Acommon perception drawnwhen considering the ‘is fashion feminist?’ question gression within the feminist agenda. In the last few years fashion brands aiming to is that the fashion industry as awhole objectifies women. While historically this bears create asocial impact and improve the livesofwomen have been on the rise. One some truth, this isn’tnecessarily the case today. Manycritics believed RickOwens to example is the aid of an online site called Fashioncompassion whichbrings small be objectifying women in his SS16 showwhere women were carrying women down brands to abigger market than they would otherwise be able to reach. In 2014, the the catwalk. There washeavy criticism of Owens with the women being likened to fashion brand Palestyle (whichaims to provide money and jobs for female Palestinian the newest accessory,however his statement after the showprovided illumination on refugees in the Lebanon and Jordan camps) joined with the market website and is hav- his thinking. “Straps can be about restraint but here they are all about support and ing aconsiderable impact on the livesofthe women whowork there. cradling. Straps here become loving ribbon”. He stated that the main message of the showwas “women raising women, women becoming women and women supporting Whilst the debate surrounding fashion being feminist has compelling arguments women.”This marks adefinitive shift in designer thinking awayfrom the past where against and we must recognise adifficult history,fashion and feminism aren’tfatally fashion houses suchasChanel (with Lagerfeld’sfaux demonstrations proclaiming incompatible. Significantly,fashion remains to be the most female dominated indus- “history is her story”) have been accused of using feminism as amarketing technique try.There is ahuge potential to increase awareness of feminist issues through fashion to fit with the zeitgeist of third-wavefeminism. and reachout to women with bothaid and empowerment.

Thephrase “the personal is political” waspopularly used throughout second-wave [Victoria Copeland] feminism as adirect challenge of the nuclear family and the traditional roles of wom-

[Image: Erin Baiano] [Image: EPA]

Here’smyreasons for believing that feminism and fashion go hand in hand… recognise that) regardless of your sex. Fashion giveswomen the freedom to choose howthey appear to the rest of the world. Firstly,the world of fashion is invaluable as acontributor to the ‘establishment of the political, social, and economic rights of the female sex’. Thecareer opportunities Nonetheless, people often suggest that fashion, as afocus on howour bodies are generated for women by the industry are incomparable; editors, stylists, designers, presented, feeds apatriarchal society,aswomen’sbodies are sexualised and they writers, merchandisers, management, the career choices are endless. Of Conde Nast’s dress to please their male counterparts. Forme, this couldn’tbefurther from the truth; magazines Allure, Lucky,Vanity Fair,WWD and Vogue, all five‘have afemale editor- when Igoout Iwear something because it makes me feel confident, sexy and em- in-chief and majority female editorial team’, highlighting howfashion promotes the powered and because Ilike howIlook, not because some guy at the bar thinks Ilook female boss. good. Remember Rihanna parading around in THATAdam Selman dress at the CFDA awards? Thepress considered it to be ‘all too much’ but Rihanna couldn’tcare less As well as creating job opportunities, the industry andthe attention it gets can be as she asked adisapproving reporter ‘Do my tits bother you?’ And whyshould they used as apolitical platform for women. Forexample, Stella McCartney used her bother her? Thedress wasRihanna, doing what she wants. She perfectly used fashion worldwide brand to establish the Kering Coporate foundation whichaims to tackle to demonstrate her self-autonomy. issues surrounding ‘violence against women and women’sempowerment’. These are just afew of the reasons whyIbelievefashion is atool that can be used Secondly,fashion as amode of personal adornment, is aform of self-expression. by feminists to promote the equality of the sexes and to give women greater political, Women use what they wear to showushow they feel, to communicate their per- social and economic rights. What is clear is that while fashion is focused on women sonality and to state quite clearly that they have achoice. Previously,fashion may that focus can be used to our advantage. have been considered restrictive (when wearing trousers wasfor men only), however, progression within society and the industry means that anything goes (you only need [Frankie Cooke] to take alook at the latest designs heading down the runway at NYFW this week to 11

Behind The Lens: The Male Gaze

In April 2014, Rihanna set off amedia storm famously landed her first coverofParis Vogue overher bare, pierced nipples. She shared the only this month and the male duo Mert and snaps from her shoot with Lui Magazine on Marcus were her photographers. Last Decem- Instagram, aplatform whichexplicitly prohib- ber she joined Lily Aldridge and Joan Smalls its anynipples of the female kind, and every- for aStuart Weitzman campaign in whichthe one had their ownreaction. What got lost in trio are naked, gazing seductively at the cam- this storm wasthe concept behind the imag- era. Behind this cameraisMario Testino, the es: while all eyes were on Rihanna’stan-lined shoot’sphotographer.Infact even more prob- cheeks on the page, whowas looking through lematic is Terry Richardson, the infamous pho- the cameralens? tographer associated with sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour but still hired by Lui Magazine is aFrenchadult entertain- Diesel, Valentino, Vogue and TomFord among ment magazine founded by three men in- manyothers. cluding Daniel Filipacchi, alarmingly once afashion photographer.This man whowas This is not to claim that the fashion industry once telling us what to wear and howtowear is run by men only.But instead to point out it, is nowcapturing women wearing nothing that often the choices being made are by men- at all. Moreover, the photographer wasMario and we face aquandary where male photog- Sorrenti, aphotographer best known for his raphers are instructing female models on how work in Harper’sBazaar and Vogue. We can assume that Rihanna is both comfort- to displaytheir bodies and use their sexuality.Ofcourse, women are free to express able and willing to do shoots like these -she has no problem with nipple exposure themselves or assert their sexuality in front of alens, but howcan we curb the male elsewhere -but the problem is that in shoots like these we are faced with both amale gaze when we are lacking in afemale one? director and the male gaze.

Apart from Rihanna, the other women making choices and suggestions on how [Mamie Hampshire] she displays her bodyare seemingly missing. More than Lui Magazine; Gigi Hadid

Off The Runway

There are huge strides being made in the fight for feminism, and by its female centric nature the fashion industry could seemingly be something to hold up as an example of female strength and independence. Catwalks are often about accentuating and celebrating women, yetthe disparity we see between catwalk at- titudes and those that surround us everydaycould actually demonstrate just howfar there is to go before we truly embrace the female body. Although catwalk fashion reflects future trends on the high street, the clothes are often significantly altered to make them wearable. Of course there are practical considerations to be made, but howmuchare these alterations based on what is deemed ‘acceptable’ or ‘appropriate’ for women to wear?

When Rita Oraattended the Paris 2016 Couture Fashion ShowinJanuary she wore abright orange Versace ‘bungee dress’ for the occasion. Thedress wasstraight from the catwalk that she wasattending and there wasnonegative press about the model in the same outfit. What wasthe difference? Her body. Rita is curvier than the model, and so she wascriticized. On the catwalk the female bodyisdeemed art with outfits that emphasise that, and yetwefail to embrace suchvalues daytoday.Women are becoming more and more empowered through dress, yetthey remain heavily judged for choosing to reveal their body, especially when it doesn’tfitcatwalk proportions and ideals.

This wasonce again demonstrated when Rita Orawas aguest on TheOne Show.She wore aplunging white blazer,and the showreceived400 complaints. TheOne Show then apologized on Twitter for her outfit choice, saying if they had been consulted they would have “requested she wore something more suitable for 7pm”. Whichbegs the question, is clothing really something to be offended by?More importantly,isthe female body? This view seems to disappear on the catwalk, where experimentation is encouraged and cel- ebrated. Hopefully it’sonly amatter of time before this is the case within society as well, because while this disparity exists, so does the existence of these damaging attitudes towards women. [Image: Pascal Le Segretain] [Harley Wild] 12

Nudity:EmpoweringorObjectifying?

Nudity in art is notthing new; in fact, it is considered com- monplace in the realm of art with the naked female form tra- ditionally and intrinsically having aplace in this world. So, whyisfemale nudity still sometimes met with outrage in the fashion industry? Whydoes one nude shoot still have the abil- ity to ‘break the internet’?

With 2014 being deemed ‘the year of the nipple’ and 2015 exhibiting yetmore nipples, in what Cosmo called “the big- gest runway trend of fall”, it is clear to see that nudity -and the feminist message that goes alongside it -has aprevalent place on the runway.

Whether or not this is agood or bad thing harbors much debate; female nudity in fashion continues to create tension among feminists; debating between notions of objectifica- tion and empowerment. Ultimately,itisaquestion of who decides? To his critics, TomFord notably said that there is nothing stronger and more powerful than abeautiful woman- whether they’re naked or not. Whilst it is impossible to say whether Ford is right or wrong, adisplayofthe female body, in acreative and artistic space, shows awoman in control of her image, whichinasociety of screenshots and ‘slut-sham- ing’, is absolutely paramount.

Undeniably,itismost disempowering for awoman to be told howtodress, rather than undress, to be told askirt is too short, abra strap too visible. However,high fashion has [Image: REX] headed in the other direction and nudity is quickly becoming the norm.

It is Gigi Hadid’scoverfor FrenchVogue, where she bares all in blackand white, whichhas been grabbing people’sattention most recently.Onthe covershe looks poised, strong and certainly empowered, however Icouldn’thelp noticing that her bodymatched so manyofthose on the catwalk and covers of fashion magazines. Adistinct lackof diverse female forms wasrealized; for female nudity to be empowering, fashion needs to include diverse bodies. Forifthe same nude bodybecomes the only presence on the catwalk, female nudity becomes disempowering for so manywomen.

[Charly Bowen] TheFemaleCreativeSpace

@confetticrowd @its_meandyou @grlpwrgang @irenettya @marybethditto Fun, friendship &rainbows Comforting, honest feminism Creativity,support &glamour Expertise, strength &industry Style, diversity &confidence [Images: Jason Lau] Film

ABiggerSplash

[Image:Shutterstock]

Luca Guadagnino’snew filmm ABigger Splash stars Tilda Swinton as Marianne, a silenced Marianne. She conveys moreclearly in gestures and glances her meaning rockstar recovering from throaatsurgery.She has retreated, along with her boyfriend than others do in pages of dialogue, bringing aBowie-esque quality to the flash backs Paul (Mattias Schoenaerts), to a Mediterranean island near Tunisia. They reside there of Marianne’sglory days, and infusing the present with anostalgia for times past. The in complete peace, isolated froomthe world, communicating in gestures, necessitated real surprise of the film is the performance givenbyDakota Johnson. She compels the by Marianne’sinability to speaak. Their Eden-like existence is shattered by the arrival audience to forget the dire 50 Shades of Grey and focus on her measured portrayal of of Harry (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter Penelope (Dakota Johnson). Harry is Ma- the watchful and enticing Penelope. rianne’sformer record produceerand lover. He bursts onto tranquil landscape of rural Italy with amanic energy which is both repulsive and transfixing. With Harry and ABigger Splash marks an assured switchtoEnglish-language film from director Luca his daughter installed in the hoouse, tensions begin to rise; Harry clearly still cares for Guadagnino. His previous, Italian-language film, IamLove established his brilliantly Marianne, despite having introoduced her to Paul years ago. Observing this fraught ability to juxtaposition the beauty of landscape with increasingly tense situations. The love triangle is an enigma for Penelope, whomaintains adetached coolness, hinting focus of ABigger Splash is the pool, around whichthe cast gather daily.However in at something concealed beneatththe surface. the behind these typical holidayscenesisthe constant buzz of radios and televisions, reporting on the refugee crisis slowly encroaching on the island. Thus, Guadagnino Theauraofthings unsaid surroounds every encounter in this film. Marianne’ssilence, subtly politicises the story,exposing the blinkered world view of the protagonists contrasts strongly with Harry’s never ending spiel and Paul seems to be constantly bi- whose major concerns revolvearound whether Marianne will regain her voice. ting backthe words he wants too throwinHarry’sface. Ralph Fiennes drawsthe eyein every scene as he brilliantly emmbodies the comically obnoxious Harry,whether this is Theclimax of the film coincides with the arrivalofalong-threatened storm on the is- by dancing with cringe inducinngenthusiasm around the room, or by retelling Rolling land. Thefinal hour takes an unexpectedly dark turn, causing the audience to re-eva- Stones anecdotes, repeated so often that Marianne can mouth along. It seems that luate the conclusions that they have reached about these characters. ABigger Splash Fiennes is continuing to succeessfully embrace more comic roles since his fantastic is afilm that succeeds at being thoughtprovoking and, often, very funny. performance as M. Gustave in WesAnderson’s TheGrand Budapest Hotel.Opposite Fiennes is the ever-brilliant Swinton, giving asurprisingly physical performance as the [Xa Rodger] Deadpoool: Unapologetically Meta

Ryan Reynolds portraysthe ‘MMercwith the Mouth’ once again after his first outing in mentum overthe past decade, shifting from Joel Schumacher’sawkward and childish X-Men Origins: Wolverine,andd it manages to right the manywrongs that film commi- Batman and Robin, to the explorationofmore mature plotlines, as seen in Nolan’s tted. It‘s an energetic film, fillled with fourth wall breaks, outrageous comedy, and TheDark Knight.Nolan’s Batman Begins showed the industry the potential superhero takes plenty of jabs at itself, shhowcasing the potential of abrash film that takes risks. movies have after the cinematic disasters afew years back. What Deadpool does well But does it payoff? is push the limits, and it‘s not afraid to delveinto new territory.

Deadpool is both arevenge story and love story,neither of whichslowdownthe Thegenre has developed considerably; gritty stories servetodemonstrate howin- quickpace of the film. Thefirst half an hour of Deadpool does outshine the rest of fluential comic book movies can be. Showing that comic book movies are not just for the film, showcasing the potential of superhero movies in the near future. Theplot children, that these stories could have substance and style, whichhas led to superhe- trudges along after we learn ofDeadpool’sorigin, and the villains are lacking; they ro movies becoming amore criticallyrespected genre. An issue superhero movies are generic with unclear motivation, and the film doesn‘t make up for it in ridiculous still suffer from is that manyofthem are PG-13, to appeal to as manypeople as possi- humour and light-hearted fun.This kind of humour won‘t suit all tastes, but if you ble, meaning there isn‘t enough leewayfor the true potential to be tapped. Deadpool enjoyedthe trailer youshouldn‘t worry -what yousee is what youget. Surprisingly, is paving the wayfor mature audiences, unafraid to showblood, guts and gore. the love story doesn‘t drown thhetone, nor does the continual breaking of the fourth wall destroythe film‘s reality,kkeeping the audience engaged throughout. Deadpool is afun film whichpanders to the fan‘s wants, and if youare alreadya fan, chances are youare going to love it. TimMiller respects the material he has, and Deadpool is arefreshing takee on an origin story,told through aseries of flashbacks Reynolds lovesthe character.Amovie filled with love and sentimentality to the cha- whichkeep the audience hooked throughout, rather than presenting atypical chro- racter,it’snot one to be missed. nological story. Deadpool has certainly raised the bar for superhero movies, proving that taking risks can make for animmersive story.Superhero movies have gained mo- [Ellecia Sands] [Image: Felix Clay] Hollie McNish Wants Us To Love Poetry

In continuing the trend of diversity on displayatthe World Unite Festival, the Union While her creative output has been consistently sttrong overthe last few years, with last week proudly welcomed the multi-talented spoken word poet Hollie McNish to twopoetry collections –Cherry Pie and Papers anndthree poetry albums, Touch, Push its doors as part of its Speak Up programme. Speak Up works as arange of events for Kickand Versus, her recent touring has been to promote the work from her newest spoken word, poetry and knowledge sharing that aims to bring students and the lite- book NobodyTold Me, acollection of poems and stories taken from her diaries du- rary community closer together,agoal epitomised in Hollie’sevocative performance ring and after her pregnancy. Thebook perhaaps offers amore matured poetic style workshop. Running earlier in the daythan most gigs, Hollie shared with her audience than previously anticipated in Hollie’swork, yetone that is still fully relevant as she acollection of poems before leading the audience on their ownpoetic course of ponders the diversity of personal and polittical issues on raising achild in modern creation. Her educative and welcoming approachtopoetic performance offered the Britain. Her readings from her most recent book, interspersed with older poems such audience an opportunity to create their ownpoetic works, lending afriendly creative as one about her loving relationship with her Grandad, were exceptional and offered atmosphere that is what Speak Up ultimately stands for. arare insight into her beautifully simple poetic thought process.

To sayHollie’spoetry has been an up and coming force on the spoken word cir- However,Hollie’saim in performing is not just about promoting her ownwork, but cuit in recent years would be an understatement; the enigmatic dub poet Benjamin in equally getting everyone else invoolved in poetry as aform of expression, which Zephaniah himself recently proclaimed ‘I can’ttake my ears off her’ in praise of her is what her workshop ultimately aimmed to do. Theworkshop offered the audience acutely fashioned and neatly phrased poetic voice. She wasUKSlam poetry cham- afun and open platform on which to express and experiment with our ownpoetic pion in 2009, representing the UK and finishing 3rd behind Canada and the USA ramblings, the results of whichwwere certainly engaging and provided some pretty in the World Poetry Slam Finals in Paris, whilst her most popular YouTube videos entertaining insights. What’scleaaristhat everyone has astory to tell, and while most ‘Mathematics’ and ‘Embarrassed’ have garnered over3million views and are well might not like expressing it, perfformances from poets like Hollie McNish certainly go worth alisten. Yetwhat makes her ultimately enjoyable has to be the delicate touch some waytounlocking those stories and allowing poetry to flourish where it maynot of the ordinary she brings to her poetry,transforming the mundane, trivialised aspects have done so before. of her existence into personalised accounts that skilfully playwith language and rhy- me in an amusingly self-conscious fashion. So muchofher poetry resides from her [Oscar Ponton] everydayexperiences and thoughts, and her ability to transform these reflections into acomplex type of poetry produces aresult that is consistently pleasing to listen to. Arts at aGlance: This Week in Leeeds

Dance Film Dance Expose presents Seven. 17-20th February.7.45pm @LUU, TheRefectory ABigger Splash - Vue: TheLight Phoneix Dance Triple Bill. 17-20th February.7:30pm West Yorkshire Playhouse Deadpool -Vuee:The Light

Theatre and Performance Art Art Lydia Cotterall presents Atlantis Preview.7pm. PayWhat youfeel @LiveArt Bistro Henry MoorreInsitute: Katrina Palmer: TheNecropolitan Line Stage @Leeds Theatre Companypresents AMidsummer Night‘s Dream. 18-20th Galleries 1,2&3 February.07:30pm Yorkshire Sculpture Park: KAWS. Longside Gallery and Open Air

[Mark McDougall &Hannah Tomes] 16

Holly Rowan Hesson at &Model

Theblurred image of awindow, printed on an unbound canvas, is suspended against awall and illuminated by twoupward-pointing lights. Theshadows cri- sscross overthe photo and around the creaky, nineteenth-century room. This is the first installation of artist/photographer Holly RowanHesson’slatest exhibition at &Model Gallery this month. All the art RowanHesson presents here displays aremarkable ability to transcend its image and captivate the viewer.They don’t boast the same realism that has come to be associated with photography, instead they evoke afeeling similar to recalling amemory rather than merely looking at an image.

During her four week residencyatthe &Model Gallery,the artist has used the buildings rustic, stripped-backinterior as an integral element of the new works she has produced. This means that the pieces seem like part of the walls they have been hung or projected on rather than being artificially imposed on top of them. The main theme throughout RowanHesson’scollection here is the dialogue between various materials and techniques, allowing her to explore the interaction between the space and architecture of the &Model building itself, whichmakes for avery engaging and thought-provoking exhibition. Spectators stand gazing at the dream- -like images of the same rooms in whichthey are stood gazing at the dream-like images.

Holly RowanHesson offers an innovative,original approachtoarchitectural pho- tographyinthis latest project. Her exhibition is on displayalongside the Seven Turns show, whichoccupies the downstairs of this quaint gallery,and will be open until 5th March.Ihighly recommend experiencing this exceptional artist’scollec- tion before she move to her next residencyinManchester.

[Cameron Tallant] [Image: Tammi Nowell]

Hamilton: Paving The WayFor NewMusicals

If you’re even vaguely afan of musical theatre, the hype surrounding Broadway’s ownright. newsmash hit musical Hamilton has probably reached your ears. Foronce, the new Internet bandwagon actually deserves the praise that’sbeen piled upon it. With afor- King’sCross Theatre is small, and the vibrancyofthe musical feels like it could easily mula that doesn’tseem like it should work, but totally does, Hamilton tells the story fill amuchbigger theatre. Backwhen it debuted on Broadwayin2008 it wasaword of America’sfounding fathers, merging traditional musical theatre style numbers with of mouth success and the same thing is happening in London at the moment; large hip-hop and freestyle rap-with amazing success. Credited with opening musical groups of young people are going backagain and again to see it. That successful, theatre up awhole new demographic, tickets for the showinNew York (the only pla- innovative,modern musicals like In TheHeights are being restricted to small or off- ce it’scurrently playing) are completely sold out until the end of the year,and ticket -West End venues is asign of the times where musical theatre is concerned. Long-ru- re-sales are being flogged for hundreds of dollars online. nning musicals like Les Miserables, TheLion King, Wicked and Mamma While there are plans to take it on tour,andaWest End “It’s ashame when Mia are dominating overnewer musicals or smaller revivals, and even opening is surely very likely,itdoesn’tlook like British forcing them into shorter runs. Musicals like Bend It Like Beckham, fans will be able to see the showanytime soon. In the musicalslikeInThe FunnyGirl, Memphis and In TheHeights are having to fight for their meantime, we will have to just make do with putting the Heights are around, place in the West End in smaller venues against the more heavy weight soundtrackonrepeat. names that more people have heard of, and are sure of recognising at the cutting edge of the songs before they go. That’swhy Hamilton itself is suchasurprise, What people might not knowisthat the creator,com- musical theatre, and the sheer scale of its success an anomaly for suchanew musical, and poser and lyricist of Hamilton,Lin-Manuel Miranda, has surely atestament to Miranda’stalent and the influence of the Internet. also written aprevious musical In TheHeights.Set in don’t get all theatten- the New York suburb of Washington Heights, it tells the tion theydeserve.“ It’sashame when musicals like In TheHeights are around, at the story of asmall community of mostly Latina immigrants cutting edge of musical theatre, and don’tget all the attention they struggling with the threat of gentrification. In TheHeights deserve. If more people were aware that it wasplaying and that it is the is currently playing at Kings Cross Theatre in London. In similar fashion to Hamilton, sister production to Hamilton,and an equally fabulous showonits own, perhaps we In TheHeights merges musicals styles, with elements of salsa, hip-hop and rapmixed could open it up to morepeople. And yes, if you’re waiting on Hamilton in London, in with big musical theatre ballads. Miranda’sgenius is as obvious in In TheHeights it’sdefinitely worth avisit in themean time. as it is in Hamilton,with clever,witty and often endearingly funnyrap sections, and warm, engaging characters readytoburst out of the theatre. Hamilton is being lau- [Heather Nash] ded as ‘reinventing’ musical theatre, but In TheHeights wasalreadylaying down the foundations for Hamilton’s success, and is acolourful, electrifying performance in its Stage

DancingBear: Bold and Brave [Image: West Yorkshire Playhouse]

An ambitious andchallenging piece of new work premiered last week at WestYorkshi- Whatever important stage of their life aperson is at, there wassomething magical re Playhouse. Daancing Bear explored stories from LGBTQ* perspectivesthrough the about this scene. Coming full circle and headed by De Campo, the dance sequence forms of theatre, dance and song. With original music throughout and the incorpora- wascaptivating to watch, leaving each audience member to devise their owninterpre- tion of aBritish Sign Language interpreter, Dancing Bear provedadetermined piece tation of its purpose. of work with an extensive range of stimulus. However,the inclusion of aslightly over- powering, almostt preachy series of religious themes throughout and alackofdevelop- Thecompanyinvolved with Dancing Bear were bravetoshare and stage their stories. ment in some areeas meant that there are still manyaspects of Dancing Bear in need of However,the overpowering religious themes stifled the impact. Modestly entering the further developmment –without whichthe companywill find it difficult to effectively stage in alarge line and claiming that noone would be outed and that everyone would communicate its powerful messages to those beyond the LGBTQ* community. be safe, it felt almost hypocritical when at the end the audience watched in discomfort as Farrowwas stripped down and had homophobic scriptures daubed on to his naked Dancing Bear would not have had suchastrong impact were it not for Owen Farrow, body. whowas mesmerising throughout. Performing partly as himself, and largely as drag alter ego, Divina De Campo, the audience were exposed to aperformer of true talent. Themusic had acomforting appeal to it, but at times felt abit like Glee. However,the Whether it wassinging with the live band, or entertaining the audience similar to what range of talents whicheachmember ofthe companycontributed made for athought one mayexperiennce in acabaret, Farrow/De Campo successfully communicated to provoking show. Katie Fenwickwas fascinating to watchasaBritish Sign Language the audience the meanings and reasoning behind drag culture and the struggles which interpreter throughout and Andrew Gardiner’sdance and movement sequences were agay man mayhavewhen growing up in society. inspiring to view,ashemajestically danced his waythrough wearing what appeared to be avery warm bear suit indeed. Aparticularly resonant highlight wasamovement sequence devised to Faithless’ God Is aDJ, where the stage, usually half inhibited by agig and half aspace for other Dancing Bear has alot of potential andwith some refining and greater focus in areas forms of performaance wastransformed into aritualistic dance sequence involving the to communicate to awider audience, it will go far when it embarks on anational tour ensemble. Thesequence started when De Campo exclaims ‘You explode like aglitter in 2017. ball’ –adistinct reference of coming to terms with ones sexuality,but the strong me- ssage here wasn’t necessarily just coming out as gaybut one that could also speak to [Mark McDougall] heterosexual memmbers of the audience, be they students, young adults or middle-aged. LUU OperaSoc: The Magic Flute

OperaSoc succcessfully performed an interesting adaptation of TheMagic Flute last Most impressive were the superb performances; the entire cast displayedamazing week in Stage@Leeds. This contemporary adaptation of the 1791 Mozartian operais vocal talent. Aparticular highlight was the Queen of the Night, whoperfectly hit all at once skilfully performed, clever and amusing. Set in apost-apocalyptic future, The the notes, and the unaffected performance of Papageno, whokept the audience drawn Magic Flute tells of the adventures of Prince Tamino and Papageno on their quest to in from beginning to end. As an ensemble, the performers created beautiful harmo- rescue Princess Pamina. Along the way, the characters find love and alter the balance nies and their highly stylised costumes and makeup formed an eye-catching aesthetic. of power in the reealm. OperaSoc should be commended fortheir hard work whichclearly paid off in The Traditionally knownasaserious classical piece, OperaSoc has managed to trans- Magic Flute.Itwas athoroughly engaging production, cementing OperaSoc as ones form TheMagic Flute into awinning showsuitable for students and young adults ali- to watchoncampus for future productions. ke. Clever scriptwwriting allowed for avariety of student humour –from cheekyjibes about student loaans, to LUU’srugbysocials at Fruity –and even some puns relating to [Mariana Avelino] Lord of the Rings.Comic relief wasalso created by actors deliberately breaking cha- racter.Well-timedd and well-distributed wit provided consistent entertainment without being overindulgeent. VideoGames

[Image: Campo Santo] Firewatch: Voyage into theWild

Firewatchisadangerousgame. Why? Becauseitlulls youintoafalse senseof theprotagonist) andCissy Jones(Delilah, your only humancontact forthe entire security, makes youwant to leaveitall behindand escape into theWyoming game)issuperb; youdon’t seethe facesofthe characters as theyconverse wilderness.Man goes out into thewilderness toforgethis wife, Manreconnects strictly overaradio,and youdon’t need to becausetheir voices sayitall.You withthe simplicityofnature, Manforms alasting, cantalktoDelilah about practicallyanythinginthe specialbond withthe woman on theother side of game,from trowelstocardboard cut-outs, andit’sup theradio, Manfindspeace. “Man goes to youhow much youtellher about your past,but it out into the didn’ttakelongfor me to mentioneverythingIsawto The game doesn’t achieveevenone of those herand Ievenfound myself seekingout things to strike aims. Butit’snot meantto, andthatdoesn’t mean wilderness to up aconversation about.Finding things to chat about Firewatch is abad game;far from it –it’sone of wasn’t difficult as they’restrewnacrossthe landscape thebestI’veeverplayed. Firewatchshows youthat forget hiswife, whichyou navigate withonlyamap to guideyou,and thereare otherwaystofind peace. It starts with Idon’t mean amini-map in thecornerofthe screen:I looking outside of your ownproblemstopeople Manreconnects meanamap on paperwhich youannotateasyou go whoyou thinkare just background extras whoare with the along, naming features of thelandscape as yousee there to give theillusionofdepth to thestory:a fit (mypersonalfavouritebeing‘Shitty Boss is Trying Vietnamveteran andhis son; aparkrangerwho simplicity of to Get Me Killed Hill’).But Firewatchisn’t an open- gets luckywiththe ladies; alonehiker spiedfrom worldgame, only taking me about four hourstofinish, themouthofacave, twogirls skinny-dipping in nature, even withsomeloitering around thelandscape and thelake. Butsomeofthese characters–Iwon’t chatting leisurelytoDelilah. tell youwhich –end up beingatthe centre of the Manfinds peace.” story, withyou as an unsuspecting extra. Firewatch So,aswellasbeing taught thebasicsoffire safety in puts your egoinperspective, with no betteraid thewilderness,likenot lettingoff fireworks or littering than theWyoming wilderness, as it’s inevitable that you’ll getswallowed by (yes,picking up litter is oneofthe thrillsofFirewatch),Firewatch resistsmaking thelandscape. anybig statements. You’re left with storiesabout theactions of afew people, andit’suptoyou to decide whetheritmatters howtheyfittogether. With delightfullysimple, cartoonish graphicsreminiscentofTeamFortress2 or aPixar film, abundantinsaturated colours andbrightlight,Firewatch exists [Zoe Delahunty-Light] in aworld Inever wanted to leave. The voiceactingfromRichSommer(Henry, TV

[Image: BBC] HappyValley

The Broadchurchwannabe TV dramaHappy Valley returnedtoour screensfor a girlfriend-on-the-side, Vicky. Theirtaleofdeceitand blackmailgives themainmurder secondserieslastweek, givingawholenew meaningtothe term ironic as even the investigation arun forits money, andwillleave youdroppingthe restofthat digestive weatherismiserable from theoffset. in your tea.

SarahLancashirecontinues to play theroleofthe darklyhumouredCatherine Ca- Combined thetwo make agrippingand exciting first episodetothe new series.These wood,aYorkshirePolicesergeant living with hersisterClare (Siobhan Finneran)and are, however, interjectedwithwhat seem to be less significant mini plots, includinga younggrandsonRyan. Wainwright doesn’thang around when it comestointroducing darkly humorous‘sheeprustling’ incident,aratherslowpotential romance between this series’investigation,after only afew sips of teaand thefirstbiteofthatdigestive Catherine’ssisterClare andher high school fling Neil,and thelater appearance of biscuit,weare facedwiththe discovery of adeadbody. This launches Cawood into the Catherine’s sonDaniel, andTommy LeeRoyce’s girlfriend, Frances. murder mysteryofher nightmares. The introduction ofthese will result in youinvoluntarilytakingonthe role of apara- The episodebecomes slightly confusingfor thosewho aren’t alreadyHappy Valley noid police officer as suddenly,everyone’sasuspect, includingCatherine Cawood. fans andfailedtobecomeaddictedtothe previous series,due to theintroduction of Cueoveranalysisofevery facialexpression, exchanged glance andnervous fidget. TommyLee Royce(JamesNorton), akey characterinseries one, whowas convicted Throwinafew gory detailsand,hey presto, you’ve gotyourselfanincreasingly intrigu- forthe rape of Catherine’s daughter.Luckily Lancashire’scharacter fills in thegapswith ingmurder investigation. abrief recapofevents, bringing us up to date with allthe drama, so if youare newto thevalleydon’t be putoff. Whetheryou’realreadyadedicatedHappy Valley watcher, or you’ve neverheard of it in your life,you won’tbedisappointed. Although,inmyopinion,ithas nothingonthe The main sub-plot provides awellmeasured amount of relief from thedominant story outstanding Broadchurch, it’s definitely gettingthere.SofreeupyourTuesday nights line,itisnot,however,any less intense. Aratherdishevelled looking KevinDoyleplays andbepreparedtoget hooked. theroleofacheatinghusband,John, andAmeliaBullmoresucceeds in fulfilling the role of jealousand slightly -slightly beingthe understatement of thecentury -insane [Megan Fryer] HowToDie:Simon’s Choice

‘Anemotional documentary.’Thisishow HowtoDie:Simon’s Choice is describedby Beingtrapped insidehis ownbodywithnomeans of communication is afutureSimon thegentleintroductoryvoice.Itisanobligatoryand predictableunderstatement.More cannot bear.330 MPsvotedagainst theassisteddying bill whichwas goingthrough provocatively,othershavedescribed it as ‘advertising suicide’.The hour andahalflong theCommons at thetimeoffilming.Iwonderhow those330 MPswould vote if they programmeisbothhumorousand brutal,and usuallyatthe same time.Itwill include thoughtthatthismight be theirfuture. themomentSimon Binner opensthe drip whichwill anaesthetisehis life. Despiteeverything, my lastingimpressionsofSimon lienot in ahospitalbed,but in the WhileSimon’s family andfriends clingontothe ebullient, prolificjoker they love,mo- beautifullyexpressivesceneswhich encapsulatethe life Simonand thosearound him torneurone disease increasingly deprives ‘Bins’ of thethings whichhefeels areintegral enjoyedand whichherefusedtorelinquishtohis disease.Notepadmessagesshowed to hishumanityand dignity. It is hard tohold my gaze as hiseyesstare,filled withthe mounting despair, butBinswas stillfooling around at agames party, beinghurled about knowledgeofimpending loss.His grandson cannolongerunderstandhim,and Simon’s in awheelchair. Hisemail invitationwas predictably hilarious-afriendwas appointed distressatthe barrierbuilding betweenthemispainful to witness,asishis increasingly to the‘high office’ of CBTO:Chief Bins Transportation Officer.Thisisstill recognisably laboured speech. theman anolder clip showed dancinginthe kitchen,partneredbyhis dog.

At theheart of this emotionally wrought andcontentiousdebateisthe unresolvable Everyonewillapproach this documentarydifferentlyand withpre-formednotions question of whoselifeSimon’s is.Iwas initiallyconvincedofanadherence tothe prin- through whichthe emotional turmoilwill filter. To criticise anyopinion on thesubject ciple of bodily autonomy, butIunderwent thesamerealisation as Simonhimself.Other wouldbecrass. Perhapsthe only judgement we canmakeofadocumentary of this type livesare intertwined andknotted with his. He reconsiders hisdecisiontogotoBasel is whetherthe storiesitcapturesopenaspace forrenewedand re-investedthought on andmakes it through severalstageshehad considered to be toohumiliating to counte- allsides.Simon’s Choice does this and, although many viewers will shed tears, they will nance with aresilient humour.His wifeDebbiebelievesthat he cancarry on if he sees have been glad to have metSimon. that he isn’t aburdenand still hasaright to enjoyment.Itisonlywhen he attempts to hang himself that thosearound himmustundergo apainful emotional turn of theirown. [SarahBerry] Books TV Review: Room

As Room debuts in cinemas, In The Middle takesthe book back offthe shelf.

Inspired by therealJosephFritzl case,EmmaDonoghue’s Room is a powerful andpoignant storyabout thestrongmaternalbond between a A(Netflix) Series mother andher son. Bornand held captiveinaroomwithhis mother, Jack is an admirablecharacter whobravelyrisks everything to save her. The filmremakewas recently released this year to acclaimed reviews. of Unfortunate The book is written from theperspective of afive year oldJack, who only hashis mother andthe inanimateobjects in ‘room’ as hisworld. Events ‘Room’ is allJackknows,but forMaitisthe prison where sevenyears of her life were stolenwhen shewas kidnapped by OldNick at the youngage of nineteen. Thechild narrativethroughout thestory is highly effective, Jack is oblivioustohis mother’s attempts to protecthim from Afterinitially announcingits production in 2014,Netflix thereality of theirsituation. He only viewsthe situationthrough theeyes hasfinallytaken theshowoff thebackburner, andlet of aself-centredchild,and becomesupset that they cannot return to the audience in on thelatestupdate.Lemony Snicket’s room when they haveescaped. (aka Daniel Handler’s) dark twistedchildren’s books arecomingtothe smallerscreeninathirteenepisode The inanimateobjects in ‘room’ arepersonified, Ma createscharacters adaptation-and we couldn’t be more excited. Netflix foreachand everyobjectastheyare theonlycompanyJackhas.Ma prides itself on providingfun forthe whole family,and places allofher effort andenergy into ensuring that theroomisas although technicallyintendedfor children, ASeriesof entertaining as it canbe, shelteringhim from theshatteringtruththat UnfortunateEvents hasbecomepopularamongst adults he hasreallybeenaprisonerall hislife. That is untilhis fifth birthday, toodue to it’s satiricalapproachtodarkthemesand when Ma tellshim that there is aworld outsidethe room anddevises a spooky visuals. plan fortheir greatescape. Aplanthatrests on Jack’s braveryand alot of luck. We will onceagain be seeingthe Baudelaire siblings relivingtheir terrible misfortunes, although hopefullythis Despitethe slow beginning, thebookrapidly becomesapageturner. time it will be betterthanthe 2004 Jim Carreyrendition. The author portrays Jack andMainaway that’s relatabletothe reader, Daniel Handlerwillserve as executive producer,having even though thesituationisfar from identifiable, so by theend of madethe followingstatement:“Afteryears of providing thebookyou have arealattachmenttothe pairasyou will them to top-quality entertainmentondemand, Netflix is risking escape.Ifyou previouslyenjoyed TheCuriousIncidentofthe Dogin itsreputation andits successbyassociating itselfwith TheNight Time by Mark Haddon,then Iwould recommendthisbook. my dismaying and upsetting books.” It is refreshingtoreadawellwritten story, through theinnocenteyesof achild. HowIMet Your Mother fans will be delightedtoknow that theadaptationwill seeNeilPatrick Harris as Count [TanyaGoode] Olaf–the dark, sinister,money-drivenuncle trying to stealthe Baudelairesiblings’ inheritance.Itwillbe interestingtosee howHarris takesonthe role –whilst he is atalentedactor,the part is notaneasyone.But he certainlyfits theaesthetic of thetall, skinny villain; and themakeupdepartmentwillsortout therest.

No officialtrailer hasbeenreleasedasofyet,but an exceptional 35-secondfan-madeteaser(or coulditbe an untimely leak?) is already on YouTube. Theclipstays true to thebooks’eerie style, panningaGothicroom swarming withmaggots,spidersand monsters in jars. Maybethishasn’tcomedirectlyfrom Netflix,but it makesushopethat theirversion will be no less creepy.

[Sofia Dedyukhina]

[Image: Savethecat] Food

There’sNoSmoke Without Fire:

SmokeBBQ Review [Image: frontlinepresentstheblog]

If anyone suggested goingfor abarbecuelastnight,Iwould have thoughtthey good qualityand cooked to perfection.Mycompanionopted forthe baby back were mad, butinthiscase Iwould have missed outonarealtreat. Believeme, ribs with asideofcrisp onionrings.The meat againwas beautifullycooked, and we have really beaten theweather –thisbarbequeisindoors. thebarbecueglaze wasdelicious withoutbeingtoo sickly.The food waswell presented on silvertrays,allowing an extremely good portion size andcomple- SmokeBarbecue, foundonMerrionWay,offersanexcitingchoiceofvarious mentingthe restaurant’s casual,nofussattitudethat recommends a‘putthe fork meatsappealingtoavarietyoftastesand preferences. Go through some large down…it’stimetoget dirty’approach. Arange of traditionaldessertswere of- glassdoors andyou will be metbyalarge contemporaryspace,which cleverly fered, rangingfromhomemadechocolate cake to cheesecake.Myfriendand I marrieselementsofthe outdoor withsoftlightingand trendy background music. shared abanoffeepie,which came in asmall metalramekin andwas decorated Thewarmthofthe surroundingswas easily matchedbythe warmth of thewel- withmeltedchocolate andadusting of sugar.While theportion wasonthe small come -friendly staffwere helpfulwithoutbeingoverbearing andthe servicewas side,thiswas undoubtedly agood thing, consideringthe largemaincourses.The fast andefficient. smalldessert allowsyou to treatyourselftosomethingsweet,avoidingbeing over-whelming. Forget thehalfcremated, half rawsausagesyourdad proudly serves in theback gardenonthe occasional summer’sevening. Thefood here offersanambitious Whilst themaincourseportionsweresubstantial,perhaps thepricing is alittle choice; pork,chicken,beef, ribs –aswellasthose sausages if youreallymust! high -£11 foraburgermight breakthe budget formanystudents.Perhaps they Afterbeing satatacontemporary metaltable with apicnicstyle wooden bench, might consider astudent discount withaNUS Card,oraspecialoffer during the we were immediatelybrought aglass filledtothe brim withbarbecueflavored week?Nevertheless, this might well be theplace to go forthatnoholesbarred popcorn.Thiswas averynicetouch andgaveusanopportunity to getintothe blowout. barbecuespirit whilst choosing ourmaincourses. Andso, anew kid on thebarbecueblock hasopenedup, andyou will notbe Ichose theBacon Macand Cheese burger,which comeswithalarge portion disappointed. of twice-cooked chips. Thesucculent meat combined withthe creamy macaroni is arealindulgence anddefinitely does notdisappoint; theburgerwas of very [Hannah Lawrence] TheWell-FedStudent:Lunar NewYearVeggie ‘Duck’ JackfruitRecipe

My pescatarian housematehas been cravingduckpancakes, so when we heard 2springonions, finelychopped about jackfruit–afruit that is native to SouthernChina andSoutheast Asia which 1tsp chilli flakes hasthe consistency of pulled pork or crispy duckwhenbaked –wehad to giveit 1tbsppeanutbutter ago. We decidedtouse asauce recipe inspired by adishour other housemate made 2-3tbspsoy sauce earlier this week,when shecreatedaChinese-themedfeast in honourofthe Lunar 1tbspbalsamic vinegar New Year (she is an expert on Chinese food afterliving with afamilyinChinaonher 2tsp honey gapyear). 1tbspcornflour 200mlhot water Itweaked afew ingredientsofthe original recipe to makeiteasier, andabit more To serve nutritious,but no less tasty. This recipe is vegetarian,freeofrefinedsugar, andifyou 2springonions, chopped into matchsticks useaglutenfreesoy sauce, such as tamari,itiscompletely gluten free,but thosewho ¼ofacucumber, chopped into matchsticks areonlyabit sensitivetowheatmay be okay withsoy sauce. If youare vegan you ApacketofChinese pancakes and/or enough cooked rice for4people coulduse agavesyrup insteadofhoney.

JackfruitishighinVitamin B6,which is mainlyfound in animal products,and helps Instructions youabsorb proteins –soitisgreat forvegansand vegetarianswho don’tusually get [1] Heat theovento200 degrees/gasmark6.Drain andrinse thejackfruit in asieve, alot of Bvitamins. It’s sold in cans in brinefor £1.15inTaste of theOrient, theAsian then dryitabit by puttingitonsomekitchen roll or atea towel. Putthe jackfruit supermarketonVicar Lane,orfromSing-KeeOrientalSupermarketonWoodhouse in abowel andcoatitwiththe 5spice andflour. Spreaditout on atraylined with Lane;justmakesureyou don’tbuy it in syrupbyaccident, as it’s sold this waytobe foil andgreasedwith½atablespoonofoil,and bake for30mins, mixing it around used in desserts! halfwaythrough. [2]After 30 minutes, take thejackfruit out of theovenand shreditwithtwo forksso We had them withriceand Chinesepancakes, sushiwraps andcrispyseaweed that it looksabit like shredded meat,then putitbackinthe oven foranother5minutes. we bought from Sing-Kee,which Iwould highly recommend. Mixthe peanut butter,soy,vinegar andhoney in asmall bowl or mug. Serves 4people. [3]Oncethe jackfruitiscooked, heat therestofthe oilinapan andadd thegarlic, ginger, chiliand springonion. Ingredients [4]Whenthese arecooked, butnot yetbrowned(which should only take aminute or so)add thejackfruit with thepeanutbutter,soy,vinegar andhoney mix, andthen Forthe jackfruit: addthe cornflour. 2tinsofjackfruit in brine [5]Mix to coat thejackfruit,beforeaddinginthe 200mlhot water. 1tsp Chinese5spice Keep stirring foracoupleofminutesuntil thesauce hasthickenedand become sticky. 2tbspofany flour (I used buckwheat) Serveeachportion in acoupleofpancakesorontop of rice,and garnish withspring 1.5tbspcoconut oil, ghee or butter (oroil of choice –these fats arejustbetterfor onionand cucumber matchsticksand some moresoy sauceorsweet chillisauce if making things crispy) youfancy. 2clovesgarlic, finelychopped Chunk of ginger(about half athumb-size),finely chopped [PatsyO’Neill] 22 Columns MakeThe First Move, YouWon’t Regret It

No more overthinking. Being lovedfor what youare.

I’ve alwaysbeen one of those people whohaveto Ican swear I’ve heard every person on the planet think abillion times before choosing what to have for saying they want someone to appreciate them for dinner,and at the end of the dayisnot even sure if their personality and not just their appearance. Well, they’ve made the right decision. So that’sit: Ispent howcould they fall for your sense of humour or your fiveyears or more of my life thinking Ilovedthis guy, intelligence if they don’tevenknowyou? We all seem and thinking about the waytotell him howIfelt, and to secretly crave‘love at first sight’ stories, but if you’ve thinking of risks and consequences. Ididn’ttell him, of just met someone, youcan only like what they look course, and then Imovedon, knowing for sure that I like. Do youthink youhavemuchmore to offer? Go wouldn’thavemade the same mistake again. Therefore, and showit. if youeverfind yourself asking if that person likes you or not, stop thinking and start doing: go on and just ask No more fear of being rejected. them. We all knowthe pressure of the first date: what you’re No more daydreaming. wearing, the ice-breaker conversation, the place. And the scariest thing of all, the question of if they like you Howmuchtime do youspend imagining the perfect or not. Iwill tell yousomething: youare beautiful, date? Well, unfortunately reality doesn’tmatchyour funnyand smart, regardless of what insecurities you I’ve never been the prettiest girl in school. Actually,as dreams at all. Theugly truth is that they will never say have about yourself. Sometimes, youjust need the right ateenager Iwasn’tpretty at all. Ican hear yousaying and do exactly what you’ve thought, simply because , eyes to look at you, that’sall. If youthink of it, you’ll this is not true: that I’m beautiful and full of interesting surprisingly,they have their ownpersonality.Itwon’tbe be confident enough to showthe true youwithout any qualities. Well, trust me when Isay that when Iwas what youpictured in your head, and it could be much fears. Youare the one who’strying to find out if they’re seventeen Iwas totally not. Ican see that there are some worse or even muchbetter than youexpect. but, the the right person, not the other wayaround: it’sall up girls whofind their wayvery early on in life: youknow only waytoknowistogoand find out. But Ican assure to you. the one –wonderful hair,wonderful smile, wonderful you, reality beats the imagination one hundred per cent clothes. Icould see some space for improvement for of the time. No more regrets. me, somewhere between my bright green eyes and my clever humour.But let’sbereal: High School boys don’t No more idealising. Ihavetoadmit that this is my favourite. My past is really care if you’re smart, and that horrible makeup I full of blankspaces starting with “if only”. And you used to wear totally overwhelmed my eyes’ potential. Youstill think they’re the one, don’tyou? So, there’s knowwhat? Making the wrong move is still better than something youshould know: feelings can be terribly regretting not having movedatall. Youmay think that And then, abunchofmakeup tutorials and asignificant wrong. In your mind they have no faults, but youshould it’sjust easy for me, but youshould trust me: making the weight loss later,High School wasfinally overand I really get to knowthem before youjudge them. Do you first move will save yousomuchtime, energy and false movedawaytoUniversity.That’sthe thing: when knowthat on the majority of first dates, people find out memories. Ifor one would rather take happyendings you’ve grown up in asmall village where everyone something about the other person that annoys them so overcomfort food. But think about it: whichisthe most knows everyone and you’ve been surrounded by the muchnot to want to see them again? Before deciding if painful between abad first date and weeks (or months?) same people for your whole life, it is not easy to change they are aprince or afrog, give them ashot -aproper in the dark? I’ve chosen to come clean to myself, what whoyou are. So there it was, my big chance: new one. about you? friends, new place, and new confidence. Maybe this is the reason whyIdecided to ask that guy Iliked out No more waiting. So that’swhat I’ve learnt in the last few years, and I first: Ihad nothing to lose, and Ifelt totally attractive.I couldn’tbemore grateful for my choice. Thetruth is I have to be honest, it wasatotal disaster; he thought I Youlike that person, and they knowit, youwait for really do deservemyslice of happiness, and Iwill not waskidding (we were at aparty and lots of alcohol was them to do something: astory of everyone in the world. let someone else be in charge of it anymore. involved) and ended up making out with one of my (ex) Well, waiting is not romantic, most of the time it is just best friends. It wastough, indeed, but it wasalso alife- boring. Moreover, have youeverthought about how [Martina Mastromarino] changing lesson. muchtime youhavespent desperately looking at your phone? Ican understand whypeople think that guys are And here Iam, fiveyears and some guys later,with the ones whohavetodothe first move:every girl likes my experience to share: because from that moment I being desired. But let’schange the point of view for a started being the one whoasks guys out and I’ve never moment: youactually desire him, whynot to playyour regretted it. Here’swhat I’ve learnt: best cards? Stop waiting, you’ll win anyway. 23 Craving Quinoa: The Trials Of Trying To Be An Ethical Consumer

There is ahuge amount of evidence to support this or howmuchthe people that grew their superfoods claim, and I’m not saying this is wrong. Eating agood, were paid. In this environment of heightened concern balanced vegan or vegetarian diet can be fantastic for overanimal cruelty,itseems manyare forgetting your environmental footprint. However,Ifeel like there’s about human cruelty.When the health conscious are alot more to the picture than first meets the eye–for enjoying an animal-cruelty-free fruit salad, are they example, in the popular documentary, Cowspiracy,the using fair-trade bananas? Wasthat pomegranate flown makers talk about the amount of water used in animal overfrom Asia? Did they buy their berries from achain agriculture. It takes 1gallon of water to produce 1 supermarket instead of supporting their struggling local millilitre of cowmilk –that’salot, but when Idid a greengrocer? bit of research,Ifound out that it also takes 1.1 gallon of water to produce 1almond, and it takes 4gallons Theincrease in awareness of what we are consuming of water to produce 1gramofchocolate. That last fact is definitely astep in the right direction, and it’sgreat to wasaknife in the heart for me. Youonly need about consider ethics when spending money –Iamdefinitely 16 almonds to make almond milk so its production not saying ‘Give up, eat chicken nuggets’ –but when does use less water than cowmilk, but then abit more your budget only allows for alimited amount of superior research told me that the production of almond milk food produce and sweat-shop free clothing, and these is harming colonies of honey-bees, and the process things can be difficult to source to be (not everything So, Iwant to buy some quinoa, but there’sbeen so of growing almonds involves drilling into the earth, says on the packaging where or howit’smade), it can muchpress on its unethical production that Ican’tbring potentially causing earthquakes in California. Idon’t be tricky.Maybe the answer is to buy everything second myself to buy anythat isn’tfair-trade, and certified fair- really understand, but it doesn’tsound good. hand, growmyown vegetables, keep my ownlivestock, trade quinoa is aFIVER apack. What’sagirl to do? and collect rainwater to drink and wash in. But right Healthyeating vs. ethical consumerism? Whilst the mass consumption of meat and animal nowthis isn’tpossible in the scrapyard at the backof products has an extremely detrimental effect on the my student house in Hyde Park, so instead Iwill keep In recent years the rise in publicity for vegan lifestyles, environment (and so personally Iwould always choose doing my best to buy free range eggs and resist Asda holistic wellbeing and general healthyliving has seen free range/organic overfactory-farmed animal produce, quinoa. an increase in awareness of ethical rating of the food we and don’teat meat too often) it is not the one and consume. There’sbeen anoticeable increase in people only evil to be aware of when trying to make ethical [Patsy O’Neill] becoming vegan and vegetarian, often because they’ve consumer choices. In this new hippy-food, toxin-free watched documentaries that tell them that’sthe best yogism boom, people don’tseem to be talking about waytolive. whether their yoga pants were made in asweat shop, My Neck, My Back, My Netflix And My Snacks

horrific hangovers, 2day affairs minimum, Iknowhow As aconsequence of this, Ialwayshavefood in my important food is in recovery.Sowhen my housemates bag. We’reout on adaytrip and youget peckish, Ihave are yettohaveeaten that day, Icontinually offer to cook acereal bar to hand in seconds. I’ve come overtochill for them and don’tstop nagging until they have.Whilst and yourealise youhavenofood in the house, Iwhip they might be annoyedbyitatthe time, an hour or so out abag of popcorn and abar of dark chocolate.You’ve later they are generally grateful. got waytoo drunk at ahouse party and have not eaten in awhile, Iget asatsuma, 7cherry tomatoes, and a They maynot be so grateful when they have to buy an packet of mentos out my bumbag (true story). entire new wardrobe due to having grown 2sizes –but at least we won’tneed the heating on as muchdue to My true love of snacking has earnt me the title of the natural insulation we are all sure to have gained. snackqueen and nowIhaveestablished this accolade, Ihavetokeep it up so constantly have awell-stocked There is little Iwill not do for snacks –whilst you cupboard with avariety of treats for all occasions. My might be drawntocareers evenings for networking shopping list consists half of ‘healthy’ food –eat clean opportunities or free wine, Iheard there might be and all that –and the rest of snacks. Marshmallows, canapes. It’sraining and blowing agale outside but I biscuits, ice cream, cereal bars, crisps, chocolate, nuts, can see the lights of one stop and the lure of apacket bite sized fruits. It’slike an 11 year old has been let lose of oreos. Ihavea3000 word essaytowrite in one night Isnack. Isnackalot. Ilove snacks. This is one of the in asupermarket in preparation for amidnight feast. and no motivation, but astarburst for every 100 words core fundamental truths of my existence –eat and eat means Ican get it done in under 6hours. often. Ieschew the traditional societal constructions Ifully expect my housemates to put on about three of meal times –embracing areturn to the life style of stone this year –they can attest to the fact that Iam Iencourage youtoembrace the snacker life –eat and the hunters and gatherers. Atime when one would be alwaystrying to feed them up. Likenesses have been eat often. free to graze with gayabandon, free from the worry drawnbetween me and the witchfrom Hansel and of “spoiling your dinner”. Theidea that youmust eat Gretel. Constantly asking if people are hungry,if Snacks are bae. between the hours of 8-10, 12-2, and 6-8 leavesyou they want abiscuit, ahot chocolate, or acup of tea hungry and wanting. Iprefer to eat when Ifeel and what –but when Iamatmyworst, or maybe best, is when [Emma Healey] Ifancy. someone is hungover. As someone whosuffers from

Views 13 Views Levelling thePlaying Fieldor Inhibiting Meritocracy, The Gryphon Asks:DoQuotas Represent AGoodWay of AchievingEquality? Yes Sam Robinson Quotas.Eventhe mentionofthe word broader range of ideastothe table. The workforceattop levels?Orthat research of theCommons andlessthan10% canleadtoaheatedexchange like aspark collective viewpointofadiverse group points to massivegenderbiasinthe of executive directorsinFTSE 100 lightingapowder keg. It’s oneofthose is bigger in scopeand more balancedin hiringprocess,withasmuchasatwo- companies,Ithinkit’smore plausible to marmiteissues; you’re heavily principled judgement than that of ahomogenous to-one gender preference forcandidates saysociety needstocatch up than it is to eitherfor or against. Here in theUK, group. Forprivatefirms, this meansa withequal qualifications?The point saywomen just need to tryharder. there’salot of suspicionsurrounding richer understanding of target markets, is we do need meritocracy. No oneis In other words, opponents of quotas quotas; formany, they meddle in the brands able to reinventthemselves, and seriouslysuggestingmeritocracy is a object to theideaofpeoplegetting affairsofbusinesses, have no obvious companiesmorewilling to take risks. badthing. However, theway to achieve aheadpurelyonthe basisof, say, their benefits, andsound thedeath knellfor Forgovernment, it meansorganisations meritocracy is not simply by keepingon gender andrace. Butactuallythisisa meritocracy.How couldanyonesensibly that representtheir communitiesinmore doingwhat we’redoing.It’sbylevelling livedreality.Centuries of stereotypes agreewithsuchapolicy? than just name,which might even come theplaying field,working againsthiring andbiasesdonot just go away overnight, In fact,thereare very practicalreasons up withpoliciesvaguely resembling bias forgender, ethnicity, sexuality, whichiswhy middle-aged, middle- foragreeingwithquotas. Asubstantial somethingreasonable.Soastowhether andany arbitraryattributesthat should class,middle-of-the-roadwhite men body of research indicates that diversity diversityand quotas have benefitsto not affect an employer’s choice. That’s aresodisproportionatelyrepresented in is good forproductivity; companies business, it’s fair to saythe answer is where quotascan be apowerfulpolicy government andelsewhere. The pointof withgender-diverse boards do better clearlyyes. tool.Note that Isay “policytool”.People quotasisnot to underminemeritocracy than thosewithout, whileanumberof “But we need to promote meritocracy don’targue forquotasfor thesakeofit. to pursue some progressivefantasy.It’s academic studiesconclude that at least andfairness!” opponents of quotas say. They’re apractical waytomakethings to acknowledge oursystemisnot truly some formsofdiversity canhelpteam Yes, meritocracyand fairness arevital. fairer,unleash potential,and achieve meritocraticyet,and that ourprogress performance,creativity andmorale. It’s So wouldyou sayitreflectsmeritocracy betterrepresentation. When,after over towardsthatistoo slow.Seems pretty not hard to seewhy;diversity in the that womencomprise themajorityof acentury of campaigningfor women’s sensible to me. workplacebringsamore comprehensive, graduates,but only afractionofthe rights, womenmakeuplessthan30% No GeorgieStuart

If we want amore equalsociety,which sexual orientationorour favourite provingour righteousnessthatwe’re whyintervene to ensure they are, when Iassumemostofusdo, we have to take football team,all of us aredifferent willingtosacrifice democracyunder the that directly infringesonanother’s themost holistic,rationalapproach andunique–and that’s awonderful falseflag of diversity. opportunities? possible to issues of representation. thing. Everyonehas differentstrengths, I’dlovethere to be more womenin To artificiallyremove competitionfor Telling organisations,‘YOUMUST which work to complement one power; I’dlove theretobemorefemale certain(less capable)individualsisto “”SELECT THESEPEOPLE!’isjustnot the another,and theworld worksreallywell CEOs andfemalebest-sellingauthors weaken thepoolfromwhich candidates waytodo this.Wemustlookatwhy becauseofthis. It’s very possible that becauseit’dbenicetoknowthatif emergeand ensurethe rolesbecome certaingroupsappearexcludedand thesedifferencesinrepresentation, or Iwantedto, Itoo couldreach those occupiedbythose less able,worse progress with thisknowledge. ‘inequalities’,would stem directly from dizzying heights. suited to them. Maybethere aremore subtle reasons thesenatural differencesinability. ButdoIwant to?God no.Sowhy Naturally occurringdifferencesshould forthe differencesinrepresentationthan Buteveniftheydon’t…Equalityin should it be assumed that that’s what be allowedtoplayout in reallife, and just…oppression? Maybeit’snaturally opportunityiswhatmatters,not outcome. womenwantbut arefailing to achieve? merit aloneshould distinguishone occurring, andareflectionofsociety To deny someoneanopportunity is to Thereisawealthofevidence to from another. It is patronisingand itself?Ormaybe it is oppression.But openly discriminate againstthem–and suggestthatmen aremore ambitious, counter-intuitivetosuggest otherwise onething’sfor sure–when youslap yet, throughthe introduction of quotas, competitiveand motivated to achieve by imposing arbitraryrules on such a aquota on somethingand forceitto that’s exactly what starts to happen – these topspots,and even that they’re complexissue. change unnaturally, thetruthwill remain only,it’sinthe interest of theminorityso bettersuitedtothem–sowhy prevent We need to work from theground up unknown andamuchlargerissue will suddenlyit’samoraland glorified move? theirachieving this?Togivesomeone on this oneand findand treatthe cause arise. Butnonetheless, it is directly opposing whowants it less andislesscapable a of inequalities,not hope another‘trickle- Whetherseparated by beliefs, abilities, theideaofequal opportunity! bettershot?Itapplies acrossthe board down’power system is goingtodothe interests, wealth,age,sex,race, class, So concernedare we as asociety with –ifsomeone isn’tcapable of something, job.

thegryphon.co.uk 14 Views Unforgivable Sins:SystematicChild Abuse Within theCatholicChurch numerouscomplaints withboththe remainunknown), andthisproblem is This document is an affronttothe victims Liam Kerrigan District Attorney andArchdiocese of global. The Vaticanwas not unaware of andcommondecency that demonstrates BA Philosophy Milwaukee.Nothing wasdoneineither this pandemic within theChurch. Joseph not merely alack of compassion, or a case.Documents showthatthere had Ratzinger, priortobecomingthe Pope, sheerabundance ofcallousness on the Father Lawrence Murphy wasabeen many complaints made to the ranthe Congregation forthe Doctrine part of theChurch, butgenuinecontempt belovedpriest. Acharming, charismatic Archdiocese whochose to ignore them. of theFaith,and in 2001 he issued a fortr he victimsofthe mostabhorrent individual,his prowessasafundraiserfor What’s more, documentaryevidence directivedemanding that allreportsof St John’s school forthe deaf in Wisconsin, showscategorically that theVatican knew childabuse by Church figures should IfI theCatholicChurch at which he worked,was unmatched. As about Murphy’s crimes anddid nothing. come to hisdesk. Childabuse withinthe is ever againtobe an individual whocould hear,but was When publicopinion in Milwaukee RomanCatholicChurch is systematic and considered aserious moral alsso flfluentinsignlanguage,Murphywas turned againstMurphy, he wasmoved theVatican hasnever sought to addressit. institution,let alonea to asmall Church in BoulderJunction, It appears that theVatican stillhas “prescriber of morality, Adocument released Wisconsin, though it wasclaimed this was no intention of tackling childabuse then it mustclean up its by theVatican revealed duetohealthreasons.Despite Murphy committedbythe clergy,asevidenced ownaffairs. that newbishops aretold having confessed hisabusestotherapists by thefactthatlastweekadocument that it is “not necessarily” provided by theChurch,The Bishop of released by theVatican revealed that crimes becauseofthe threattheyposeto “ theDiocese in whichBoulder Junction newbishops aretold that it is “not theChurch’s image. Therealisation that theirdutytoreportclaims of childabusebyfellow is locatedwas not informed of Murphy’s necessarily”their duty to report claims theChurch stilldeems it necessaryto crimes,nor wasthe publicmadeaware. of childabuse by fellow members of the impose acodeofsilence upon thosew”ho He livedinBoulder Junction untilhis clergy.Ashas always been theway,the might know of priestscontinuingtorape cherishedbychildrenand adults alike. deathin1998havingnever answered for Church states that such issues should be andabuse vulnerable children canonly Father Lawrence Murphy wasalsoa suggestone thing: that it is still aproblem predatorypaedophile. rife within theCatholicChurchand that In the24years he spentatStJoh”n’s, theVatican knowsthis. Admittedly,this Murphy is thoughttohavemolested canhardly be considered some sort of over200 children.His victimswere not revelation –itisexactly what youcan random;Murphywould deliberately expect if yougivesexuallyrepressed select children that he knew hadparents menpower overyoung,vulnerable, whocould not converseusing sign impressionable children whoare taught language.Thusthe children abused by nevertoquestionthe clergy andinto Murphy couldnot tell theirparents even whichthe priestscan quiteliterally instil if they wanted to,though it wasunlikely thefearofGod. that they wouldhaveanyway. Somehow, Thesignals emanatingfromthe Church Murphy’s actionshaveexceededwhat this week furthersuggest that they are many of us wouldhavethoughtwere the receding back behindcloseddoors and limits of cruelty. To molest children is resortingtoold ways nowthatPeter heinous, buttoabuse deaf children who Saunders, an outspoken memberofthe could not communicatetheir suffering PontificalCommissionfor theProtection withtheir parentshad they wanted to,this [Image: Franco Origlia] of Minors set up by Pope Francistwo seemstosurpass thelimits of depravity yearsago andasurvivor of childabuse generallythought possible. hiscrimes. dealtwithinternally. Though,whatthe committedoverfive yearsbytwo priests, Priestswereput on apedestaland This is just onehorrificexample, but Church considers‘dealingwith’ such has been sacked from thecommission. seemed beyond wrongdoings. Moreover, it is by no meansunique. It shares the mattersseems to differ from what any If theCatholicChurchiseveragain to an attack on apriestwas seen as an attack characteristics of everyother incident and normalpersonwould consider ‘dealing be consideredaserious moralinstitution, on theChurch as awhole –something captures thedisgracefulhandlingofchild with’ this issue;justconsider theMurphy letalone aprescriberofmorality, then it absolutelyunthinkableand unacceptable abusewithin theChurchasawhole. As case,and thefactthat Cardinal Bernard must cleanupits ownaffairs before it tells forthe parentsand forthe children. much as theChurchhas triedtomake Law, whooversaw amasscover-up of us to clearupours. Childrapeisthe most Whilst some of hisvictims understood incidentslikethisseemisolatedand has sexabuses carriedout by paedophilic sickeningofall crimes.Yet theRoman theabhorrence of Murphy’s actionsat even triedportray it as an Anglo-American priestsuntil hisresignation as Archbishop CatholicChurchhas,and continuesto, thetime, others felt specialhavingbeen issue, they have failed on both fronts. of Boston in 2002,was giventhe position unapologetically do nothingabout it. selected to spendmore time withthe There arehundredsofcases of priests ofarchpriest of theBasilica of theSanta keeper of theSacraments,and besides, andbishops andcardinals participating MariaMaggiore –the largestChurchin priestsare holy menand candono in,and/orcovering up,incidents of child Rome andone of themostprestigious wrong. rape andmolestationthat we know of churches in Catholicism -byPopeJohn IndividualsvictimisedbyMurphyfiled (thereare almostcertainlymorethat Paul II himself. Views 15 TheLimits of Hospitality: Should We Ease thePressure OffTurkey? Naomi de Souza alongsidethe possibility of refugees arduousjourney they face surelymust settle into acommunity.Withchildren BA History coming to Britain. With most, theirlives be.Back in September we allsaw the beingthe main victimsofwarfare,itis have been putonhold by thecivil war imageeofthe motionless Syrian toddler, more than ourdutytosimply‘relieve’ Earlierthisweek, Turkey announced that continues to crippletheir country Turkey.Solely down to itsgeographical they were reachingthe endofthe andmanyjustwishtocontinuetheir SoS often, glib headlines situation, Turkey hasunfairlyshouldered road forbeing able to accept refugees. studies or profession. spinning talesabout the responsibility fornavigatingthe crisis With Assadrelentlesslyshaking Syria This week Turkey rebukedthe ‘immigrant problem’ detract andPresident Erdogan is understandably like apiggy bank,Turkeyisstruggling internationalcommunity fornot doing from thereality of this feelingthe pressure. to copewiththe 2.5million refugees theirpart. Indeed,central Europe is “beingahumanitarianon.ne. Refugees areoften victim to themost spilling overontoits soil.Perhaps what beingcalleduponbythe UN to take callousofsmugglers,theyare simply is mostdisheartening, is seeing this more responsibility in this escalating hedgingtheir betsonthe best wayto crisis.David Cameron’spromiseto AylanKurdi.Sooften,glibheadlines survive. It is perhapstimethat we stopped IfIf alleviatingthe pressure resettle 20,000 refugeesoverfive spinningtales about the‘immigrant expectinggratitude, andstarted treating from Syria’sneighbours yearshas been brandedbymanyas problem’ detractfrom thereality of”this them with the dignityand humanity isn’treasonenoughto “inadequate”.Thiscertainlyseems to be beingahumanitarianone.The turmoil that they have so farbeendeprived welcomerefugees, the thecase when yousee theconditionsof this summer so tragicallyhighlighted the of.Itwould be aprivilege to welcome “rapidlydeteriorating weather thesprawling refugeecamps in Jordan fragility of life,and how warcould just acohortofsuchresilientand talented conditions on thearduous andLebanon.Recentdrone footage as easily reach our‘sacred’shores. In people.BackinSeptemberwithour journeytheyfacesurelymusust takenbythe TurkishHumanitarian relief light of ourGovernment’s response to ownuniversityjoiningcampaigns across be. foundation givesasense of thevast therefugeecrisis, Ifeartothinkhow we thecountry to proclaim that refugees are scaleofthe situation at theTurkish – wouldbetreatedinasimilarsituation. welcome, nowmorethaneverisatime groupofpeople, themajorityofwhom Syrian border. Accordingtothe UN more than to take that promiseseriously. areprofessionals,stigmatised.Withan If alleviating thepressurefrom halfofall Syrian refugeesare under influential fewinthe mediakeento Syria’sneighboursisn’t reasonenough theage of eighteen. Many have been establisha‘them andus’ narrative,”a to welcomerefugees,the rapidly deprived of thejoy to learn, andowing feelingofforebodingisbeing cultivated deterioratingweather conditions on the to theirtransientstatusnever quite

HolocaustConvictions:LestWeForget

MichaelEverritt directly involvedinthe actual business BA Philosophy of theplace anditisthislogic which has seemingly sparedhim from feelingguilt. Thereisaninetyfouryearold man The Holocaustwas an actofgenocide currentlystandingtrial in Germany. conducted on what canbedescribed Under normalcircumstanceswe as an industrialscale.The smallest might call into question thevalidity componenttobefound within any of convictingsomeone of such an machineisasresponsible as the advancedage.His crimewas committed largestcomponentisfor thecontinued overhalfacentury ago. It wouldseem operationfor thewhole.Sotoo,byway toolatefor justicetobedonewhen of analogy, is it clearthat aconcentration someonehas gone free forsolongand camp guardisasresponsible forthe is nownot long forthisworld.These are Holocaustaswas Hitler himself. It not however, normalcircumstances. The wasthe politicalphilosopher Hannah maninquestion, oneReinholdHanning, Arendt whofirstcoinedthe phrase “the is aformer guardatAuschwitzcharged banality of evil”todescribesuchcases. [Image: AP] with170,000 counts of accessory In fantasyevilpeopleare portrayedas objectivelydifferentfromthe normal, TimT eisnot afactorhere fundamentallygood citizens of the willingly complicit. It is toolatetopunish in societyabsolvesthemofblame.We sinceweare still very much realm.Reallifedoesnot work that way; Hanninginany significant waybut,ifhe ensurethat this lessonisnot forgotten living in thesameworld;a allpeopleare capable of evil, giventhe is convicted, we canset an important by bringing thoseresponsible forthe worldwhich allowedthe rightcircumstances. example. genocide,whether they were aguard, “Holocausttohappenand Time is not afactorhere since we are No matter howbanal aperson’s an adminclerk or adictator. That is hasyet to absolveitself. That still very much living in thesameworld; actionsmay be,theyare responsible for thecircumstancesunder whichthere is is whywecannotaffordd toto aworld whichallowed theHolocaust theconsequencesofyouractions.One indeed virtue in convicting aninetyfour forgiveorforget. to happen andhas yettoabsolve itself. of thefew good things to come out of year old man. That is whywecannotaffordtoforgive theHolocaust is an increasedawareness to murder. Hanninghas pleadednot or forget.There have been and, tragically, of an individual’s socialresponsibility. guilty on thebasis that he does not will continue to be,actsofgenocide. From theStopthe WarCoalition to consider himselfpersonallyresponsible What there cannever be again, so long Occupy Wall Street,wecan seethat forthose deaths. Afterall, hisrol”eare as we continuejudge allthose whowere thelessons of historyare beinglearnt. to keep order within andtoprotectthe responsible,isanother actofgenocide People aregrowing ever less willing to compound from without. He wasnot in whichsomanyordinarypeoplewere pretendthat thebanalityoftheir role

thegryphon.co.uk 16 Science

TotalRecall: TheScience BehindGenetic Memory

Michelle Heinrich

Have youeverknown somethingwithouthavinga cluewhy?Well, memories,experiences andknowledge that we have neverexperiencedorlearnt ourselves canbeinherited from ourancestors. This occurs through geneticorancestralmemory; memorywhich is passed down from precedinggenerations by DNA andhas been linked to thephenomenon of instinct. Discussions on geneticmemoryextendtothe fieldsof psychology andthe naturalsciences, andassuch, it is of no surprisethatweare able to findlotsofinformation If geneticmemoryis rresponsible forthe transmission of knowledgefromprevious generations, howlikelyisitthat “ they were able to makeuse of theentirerange of artistic, photographicalormusical ability?

about it on theinternet. However, geneticmemoryis nottobeconfusedwithdéjàvu–which is”instead, a psychological sensationgiving youthe feelingofhaving been somewhere before when in fact youhaven’t. Onerelevant exampleofgeneticmemory is thesavant syndrome. Savantsare highly talented people that show significantlyabove averageability in either arts,music, [Image: Hermes Trismegisto] calendar calculationorphotographicmemory. Although ‘acquired’ savantsexist, mostare born withthe ability to performextraordinarily in these areasand very often thecreative abilities of asavantbut that thebodyhas a thesmell of cherryblossomsbyadministeringelectric lieonthe autism spectrum.Those whoacquire the wayofinhibiting them? shocks.Afterwards, themiceproducedoffspringthat abilities usuallydosofrom experiencesofsevere head Geneticmemoryisalsousedtoexplain thegenetic presentedthe same fear to thesmell of cherry blossoms trauma or damagetotheir centralnervous system.Itcan link between family members sufferingfrom phobias, without encountering thesmell beforehand.The even happen to theelderly whosufferfrom dementia. anxiety,fearorother similar health problems.Thismeans researchersalsofound that,whencompared to other Aspecific type of dementia,frontotemporal dementia, that ancestralexperienceswhich have accumulated mice,structuralchanges hadoccurredinthe region affectsthe regioninthe brainresponsible forartistic overseveral lifetimeshavemadeitintothe genome. As ofthe parents’ andoffspring’sbrain responsiblefor ability.Asthe illness progresses there is adecrease in aresult, thefollowing generationsinherit theemotional processing odours. inhibition in that region, causingthe hidden artistic talent reactions previously experiencedbyancestors; for Geneticmemorycould also be aplausibleexplanation to surface unexpectedly.Out of theblueitappears that example, descendantsreact to an external stimuli, like toother phenomenathat maybeofinterest to the they nowknowthings they’venever learnt.How can spiders, in thesameway as theirancestors. It is possible averageperson, buthavenot yetbeenexploredby this be? that theinheritance of fearscan actasadefence scientists.Somepeopleare convincedthattheyhave It hasbeensuggested thatthe concept of genetic mechanism or as awarningsigntodangeroussituations. livedonthis earthbefore–recalling specificfacts about –orancestral–memory couldexplain thesavant Inheritance of fearful theperiodoftimetheybelievedthey phenomenon. If savantshaven’t learnt theirabilities,then experiencescould livedin. If we consider theconceptof there must be an innatecomponentthatisresponsible also causethe fight IfI we consider theconcept of geneticmemory,itispossiblethatthe forproviding theknowledge.Someresearchersgoas andflight reaction–a geneticmemory, it is possible recalled experiencesofapastlifeare farastosuggest that everyone of us is agenius–just response that occurs that therecalledexperiences of in fact thoseofanancestor –although waitingtobeunleashed. during adangerous “ ascertainingthe legitimacy of these apastlifeare in fact thoseofan However, thereare severalproblemswiththistheory. situation, in which ancestor –althoughascertaining claimsisofcoursedifficult. If geneticmemory is responsible forthe transmission of survival is under thelegitimacyofthese claimsis is Whatever your opinion, geneticor knowledgefrom previous generations,how likely is it threat. Todaywestill of course difficult. ancestralmemory hasalevel of scientific that they were able to makeuse of theentirerange of experience these evidence in supportofit. It hasthe artistic,photographical or musicalability?Perhaps the feelings,evenifwe potentialtoshedlight on life’s mysteries; ability to performexceptionally in oneofthese areas arenot in anyactualphysicaldanger.It’sinterestingto howfears canrun in families andhow individualsare accumulatedovergenerations,until it reached itspeak ponder what impact an anxietysuffererwho overcomes abletod”emonstrateahigh perfection forskillsthatthey andwas transmittedtosavants?Thistheoryhas the theirfears will have on theirchildren.Isitpossibleto haven’tbeentrained for. Genetic memoryseems to be potential to explainwhy thereare so fewpeopleborn as overrideaprevious fearwithanewly learnt non-anxiety encodedinthe genome, however it will requirefurther savants. This though,doesn’t explainhow it is possible response? researchtoidentifycorrelationsbetween DNAand the that some people become savantsafter head trauma – An experiment on mice showed that fearscan be inheritance of knowledgeand experiences. withthe question remainingastowhatextentsavant- inherited by offspring. Researchersatthe Emory like abilities areinherited.Maybe everyone is born with University School of Medicinetrained mice to fear thegryphon.co.uk Science 17

Video Games: Making AMurderer?

[Image: Rockstar North]

Steven Gibney March last year a24year old Shanghai resident died again, the outcome of the studywas that they did not at an internet café after playing World of Warcraft for have enough evidence to evaluate whether violent be- Rockn’Roll, Television, and Social media. In the 19 consecutive hours. While these examples are thank- haviour is affected by video game use. days when these developments first came about it was fully rare, they unfortunately represent the extremes In an attempt to understand whypeople enjoyplay- thought they would negatively impact society and cre- whichcan occur when playing video games. ing games agroup from TheUniversity of Queensland, ate anti-social cynics out of younger generations. This While the term “video game addiction” maysound Australia, investigated the demographic of those who led to headlines suggesting that these forms of media like aterm designed to scare parents it is nowconsid- playvideo games. Interestingly,rather than alink be- were responsible for all the world’sproblems and were ered amedical condition. As of 2013 “internet gam- tween violent video games and violent behaviour they the reason society would come screeching to ahalt. As ing disorder” features in the Diagnostic and Statistical identified astrong link between violent video games far as Ican tell they were wrong. Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), used by psychia- and the desire for sex. In particular,the results suggest- With the rise of video games the cycle has begun trists to diagnose patients. TheDSM indicates that play- ed that sex wasmore important to those whoplayedvi- again. Over the last decade there has been no shortage ing games prompts aneurological response that can in- olent video games. Furthermore, both men and women of headlines and studies claiming that videos games fluence feelings of pleasure and reward and can result view themselves as more attractive and abetter roman- like Grand Theft Auto or Mortal Kombat will turn you in, in extreme situations, addictive behaviour.Anyone tic partner the more violent the video game they play. into araging psychopath. However,there appears to whohas successfully completed agame or receiveda While the consequence of these findings remains to be be minimal publicity for those studies whichshowno particularly difficult achievement can attest to the sense seen it is refreshing to see research whichinvestigates link between video games and aggressive behaviour. of accomplishment that agame can provide. However, other aspects of video games, not just that they are rot- Likewise, the media seems more concerned with berat- exactly howthat sense of achievement causes addic- ting our brains. ing game developers than discussing the studies which tion is unclear.Ithas been suggested that certain indi- While, there are an increasing number of studies investigate the positive aspects of playing video games. viduals have brains whichare hyper-reactive to posi- whichinvestigate the impact of video there are still Forexample, areview by the American Psychological tive stimuli, making them susceptible to addiction. The some areas whichhaveyet to be fully investigated. For Association found that adolescents whoplaystrategic previous examples are extreme instances of this kind of instance, the effects video games have on those younger video games displayimprovedproblem solving as well video game addiction; the kind whichthe media gravi- than 10 has yettobeseen. Likewise, there has yettobe as higher cognitive ability and social skills. tate towards. One of the key aspects whichthe media studies done on howtechnology affects the video game More recently,the positive aspects of video games, ignore, whichisusually clear in the scientific literature, experience; something whichwill become increasingly particularly learning new skills, is gradually being em- is that the negative consequences of gaming involve relevant giventhe rise of virtual reality. braced by the wider public. Recently,Microsoft released those whoplayexcessive amounts of video games. Overall, it would appear that when looking at the MinecraftEdu;aform of Minecraft designed to be used Currently,there is little evidence that playing amod- link between video games and violence the jury is still in schools, to teachChemistry,History,and even study erate level of video games has significant adverse ef- out. While there are examples at the extreme end of Shakespeare. While this demonstrates awillingness to fects. This is reinforced by the fact that, after years of the spectrum we also need to consider the potential explore new avenues there are still asignificant number research,there is no consensus concerning the link positive impact gaming can have.Now that manyof of people opposed to the idea that video games could between video games and violent behaviour.One of the people whogrew up playing games are getting in- have apositive impact. the reasons for this controversy is that manyofthe stud- volved in research we maystart to see more objective This side of the argument is supported by stories of ies whichhavebeen conducted do not account for all research into the effects of video games. Hopefully,fu- people suffering from serious video game addiction. the variables. In an attempt to counter-act this, arecent ture research will be fuelled by people whounderstand Forinstance, in 2010 in South Korea acouple were ar- meta-analysis wascarried out by the American Psycho- the hobbyand can once and for all tell me whether rested following the death of their daughter,who died logical Association. This studypooled data from 170 playing Mario will turn me into aserial killer. of malnutrition while they were playing amassively research reports in an attempt to identify acommon multiple online (MMO) computer game. Likewise, in thread in all the previous studies on video games. Once

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COMMON facebook.com/groups/creativecommon Sport 19 LFC BackDownAfter FanProtest

John Gibby Football

It’snot often that in an industry that has become as commercial as sport, and in particular,football, that club boards will take the time out nowadays to listen to the pressing concerns of the humble fan. So in the age of owners arguably being more concerned about finance than performances, it wasrefreshing last week when Fenway Sports Group (FSG) wrote an open letter to Liverpool fans reversing their decision to increase the top band of General Admission ticket prices to £77. ‘It has been atumultuous week’, as the letter be- gan, wassomething of an understatement. Days previously furious fans had staged awalkout during Saturday’sPremier League fixture with Sunder- land, appropriately at the 77-minute mark, and bran- dished banners reminding FSG that ‘Football Without [Image: Mike Atkin] Fans Is Nothing’ and they are ‘Supporters Not Cus- tomers’. There were accusations that big business was London clubs Arsenal, Spurs and West Ham are more whole continuing to rise, the risk of fans taking direct gradually pricing football’straditional working-class expensive. action against the cost of football is clearly increasing fan base out of the sport with gradual, but significant Even for the fans whodon’tturn up on aweekly basis, all the time. increases in the ticket prices. the cost of attending even one game can be very high Following FSG’sannouncement Liverpool support- Supporters welcomed the news, then, that admission when taking into account additional expenses. Taking ers’ group Spirit of Shankly and Spion Kop1906 made prices will be frozen at their current amount for the Liverpool as an example again, the cost of attending a their views on the matter known: “More must be done next twoseasons, and that the number of £9 tickets home game, complete with programme, pie and drink, to make football affordable. However we have always available will be increased to 10,000 per campaign. will be well over£50 per adult at the very least, and stated that this is ajourney that the owners should But in the days following this change of heart, some that price doesn’treduce muchwhen looking at clubs embark upon and this is apositive step in the right commentators have been wandering whether the further down the Premier League table. Campaigns direction towards fairness and awayfrom greed, but measures go far enough. At £710 and £869 respective- suchasthe Football Supporters Federation’s‘Twenty’s it is only one step.”Clearly,although recent events at ly,Liverpool’slowest and average season ticket prices Plenty’ call for acap on the price of tickets for away Liverpool mayhaveshown the tide beginning to turn, are the highest in the Premier League when taken as a matches in particular,referring to the ‘spiralling cost’ this issue is far from over. percentage of average earnings of local residents; only of attending afootball match, but with tickets on the Wicket WinFor Women In South Africa

[Image: Getty Images] managed 63-2 before the rain first hit, before reaching going into the final match. Luke Etheridge 120-3 when playwas interrupted for asecond time. Set Third ODI: South Africa 196-9, England 198-5, Eng- Women’sCricket arevised target of 150, Sarah Taylor and Heather Knight land win by fivewickets England’swomen have beaten South Africa 2-1 in their brought England overthe finish line, with Taylor top- Heather Knight wonthe playerofthe matchand player first one-dayinternational series under new CoachMark scoring with 41 not out to secure acomfortable victory. of the series, with her 67 helping England to acomfort- Robinson. Theseries win keeps them fifth, just behind Second ODI: England 262-9, South Africa 265-5, able victory at the Wanderers. England wonthe toss and South Africa in the ICC Women’sChampionship, with South Africa win by fivewickets elected to bowl, restricting the Proteas to 85-6, before the top four qualifying for the 2017 World Cup, which It wasabad start for England in Centurion, with Win- another high-class batting performance from Lizelle Lee is being held in England. field, Jones and Taylor (out for aduckinher 100th helped the hosts reach196-9. There were afew worry- First ODI: South Africa 196, England 150-3, England match) all losing wickets early,toleave the visitors 18- ing moments for England, dropping from 30-0 to 38-3, win by seven wickets (Duckworth/Lewis) 3. Knight wasthe only England playertomake 50 on a before Knight, Charlotte Edwards and Georgia Elwiss Thefirst matchwas arain-affected affair in Beroni, favourable pitchfor batters, with her fourth-wicket part- racked up the runs to secure the victory for the visitors, with South Africa setting atarget of 196 and opener Tri- nership alongside Edwards giving England achance in giving Robinson agreat start to his new job. sha Chetty hitting 90 for the hosts, with Anya Shrubsole the match. An injury to bowler Katherine Brunt early Thetwo sides will nowplaythree T20 internationals, taking the first four wickets. Robinson tinkered with the on provedtobeaboost for the hosts, with Wolfvaardt with the last twobeing playedback-to-backwith the line-up for his first match, with Lauren Winfield and Amy and Chetty putting on 113 for the first wicket. Although men’sgames. Thematches will serveaspreparation for Jones opening the batting, with Captain Charlotte Ed- England managed to get twoswift wickets to make the the World T20, whichwill start in India on March 15. wards moving down the order to number three. England score 134-3, a69byLizelle Lee helped tie the series 20 Sport

They Can Run, But Can’tCheat

Fiona Tomas like Russia –who are Athletics currently banned from all international com- petition after they were EVER since twelveFIFAofficials were arrested in Zu- accused of state-spon- richinApril 2015, the world of sport has been relent- sored doping in Novem- lessly plagued with allegations of corruption scandals, ber 2015. betting fraud and cheating. TheEast African coun- It is unsurprising that the media so viciously scruti- try,renowned for its nizes the world elites of sport today. Earlier this month, tremendous success the first elite case of “technological fraud” wasdis- in long-distance run- covered after abike wasseized for examination at ning, failed to adhere the Cyclo-cross World Championships after the Inter- to adewadline set by national Cycling Union (ICU) used electromagnetic- the World Anti-Doping based technology to detect an in-built motor in what Agency(WADA)inthe wasthe first case of ‘bike doping’. No wonder Froome organisation’songoing washorrifically spat at whilst climbing La Toussuire on fight to eradicate cheat- [Image: AFP] his waytoclaim his second Tour de France title last ing from athletics and year,not to mention the cup of urine thrown at him on Kenyahas nowbeen harshly? There is no WADA-accredited laboratory in stage 14. Only last week, tennis fans learned howtwo placed on a‘watchlist’ by WADA.Kenya will be given Kenya, and the regional agencydoes not have the of the umpires were banned and howfour others re- twomonths to comply with new legislation and fund- facilities to carry out blood tests, with all blood and main under investigation for allegedly taking bribes to ing and will attempt to collect the overdue annual urine samples having to be sent to either Europe or manipulate scores in tennis matches. As for athletics, funding of £3.5m from the country’sparliament. South Africa respectively.But these shouldn’tqualify well, youcould almost call the transition from 2015 Automatic disqualification from athletics’ most pres- as mitigating circumstances. to 2016 aclean handover(delete pun as applicable). tigious tournament in Rio 2016 will be afar cry from TheKenyangovernment must raise the £3.5 mil- It’snolonger just the Russians that tickthe doping the seven gold medals the Kenyans brought home lion needed for the country’sannual funding for dope boxes -cheating is snapping at the heels of Kenya’s in Beijing, not to mention their table-topping perfor- screening, as requested by WADA,orelse there’ll be athletic governing body, whichwas in turmoil last mance at the 2015 World Championships. no races to run –let alone win –come the summer. week amidst fresh allegations that its athletes are us- We can take our hats off to the IAAF for disqualify- They’ll simply run out of time. ing performance-enhancing drugs. TheKenyans now ing Russia last November,but have Kenyabeen let off risk being disqualified from this year’sOlympics –just too lightly? Whyhaven’tthey been reprimanded more Adam Johnson Underage Trial Continues

remainedinpursuit of this under-aged girl –agirl who eveningofWednesday,one of theschoolgirl’sclose James Candler when called on fortestimony,burst into tearsamidst friendsagreedthather friend had atendencyto‘exag- Football reflectionsthatshe felt both ‘compelled’ to engage in gerate’. This wasafact that was quicktobe exploitedby sexual acts withJohnson,aswellas‘disappointed in Johnson’sdefence andcertainlycould have aconsider- Having pleaded guilty to twocharges of grooming and [herself]’. able impact of theoutcome of thecase.Whilstthere sexual activity witha15-year-old girl,former Sunder- Of course,thereisevidence to suggest adifferentside will be thosethatare unsure howone canexaggerate land winger Adam Johnsonisdenying twofurther and to thestory.Intestimony that wasreleasedinthe early instant messages which explicitly statethatJohnson more severe charges of sexual activitywithsaidgirl, ‘[couldn’t]waittoget herjeans off’,itmustberemem- whocannot be named. This is astory that hascontin- beredthat it is theexplicitsex acts andnot thegroom- uedtoshock both football fans andthe Britishpublic ingthatare beingdisputedhere. as awhole.Asmoreand moreevidence is released, Anew developmentinthis ever-expansive andspi- what canberevealedisastory of acelebrity abusing ralling story, hasseenthe Sunderland star signingau- hispower in order to manipulate avulnerable fan. For tographs outside of thecourtroom.Thisbehaviour some,the crimehas been made even worsebythe fact certainlycan be interpretedasincongrousgiven the that thefootballerwas (and still is)inarelationshipwith circumstances, andhelps to shapeanarrative of are- girlfriend Stacey Flounders, withwhom he hasanew- morselesscriminal. Consequently,the public’ssome- born daughter.Prosecutors have been quick to highlight what morbid fascinationwiththe storycontinues to this in theircase,withakey pieceofevidence earlyon grow. beinganincriminating messagefrom Johnsonthatwas What has been made clearinthese past days is the sent momentsafter he sent atexttohis girlfriend,relat- following. Adam Johnsonwilfullyand knowingly pur- ingtoapictureoftheir baby. sued an under-aged girl,whom he knew to be ahither- Oneofthe first majorrevelations of thecase came to adoringfan of his. He did this whilst in arelationship from leaked Whatsapp messages that clearlydemon- andwhilstbeingfathertosaidgirlfriend’schild.What stratedthe football star’s awareness that thegirlhewas remainstobeseenand what will continue to instigate pursuingwas indeed underage andinlater messages rampant speculation is just howseverewereJohnson’s stated that she‘owed’him forsigningaSunderland shirt crimes andjusthow bleakisthe future of this once forher.Thiscompiled withfurther evidence revealing adored Premiershipfootballer? that thefootballersearchedthe legalage of consent in theUK, allseems to suggest aman whoknewpre- [Image:Richard Rayner] cisely theseverityand illegalityofhis actions, andyet thegryphon.co.uk Sport 21 TheGryphon Meets Philip Hobbs

Badminton 1sts (W) 5-3 Imperial 1sts

Basketball 1sts (M) 98-48 Bangor 1sts

Cricket (Indoor) 1sts (W) 88-110 Shef- field Hallam 1sts Cricket (Indoor) 1sts (W) 81-118 Shef- field 1sts

Fencing 1sts (W) 133-108 Sheffield 1sts Fencing 1sts (M) 116-118 Aberdeen 1sts

[Image: PatrickMcCann] Football 3rds (M) 0-2 Bishop Burton 1sts

Michael Andrews course –for the Cheltenham Festival. Forfour days the Futsal 1sts (M) 6-3 Edge Hill 1sts Horse Racing greatest equine stars of the season grace the grounds Futsal 1sts (M) 6-2 Manchester Met 1sts Although Ihaven’tyet met Balthazar King, one dayI of Prestbury Park for the most eagerly-awaited festi- Futsal 1sts (W) 6-4 Manchester 1sts hope Iwill get the opportunity to share acarrot with a valofthe year.Few horses in history could challenge horse that epitomises the sport of National Hunt rac- Balthazar’ssupremacyatthe track; from seventeen ing. Horses mayall look similar,sound alike and act racecourse starts he’swon eight, with Philip Hobbs Golf 1sts 0-6 Loughborough 2nds comparably to eachother,but we knowbetter; some of believing “he’seither equalled, or bettered the record them have acontrolling power overyour feelings that a for the most chase wins at Cheltenham”. His following Hockey 1sts (M) 2-2 Newcastle 1sts four-legged animal shouldn’tpossess. of fervent fans didn’tsimply exist; they were spiritedly Hockey 1sts (W) 2-4 Cardiff 1sts Your emotions are intractable every time they race, earned by his tenacious resolveindefeating those that Hockey 2nds (M) 2-3 Manchester Met powerlessly vulnerable to their fate: whether it’sthe eu- tried to pass him up the hallowed Cheltenham hill. phoria of agallant victory,the heartbreak at narrowde- This year will be different. At the age of twelvenow, 1sts feat or the utter dread if they fall. Balthazar King’sdra- Balthazar King faces ahuge challenge in returning Hockey 5ths (W) 4-4 Newcastle 4ths matic and horrifying fall in the Grand National last year from his injury to win overthe challenging three and Hockey 6ths (M) 0-0 York 3rds exemplifies the latter to an extent racing rarely sees. three-quarter miles of the Cheltenham cross-country Hockey 7ths (W) 1-6 Leeds Trinity 1sts Thedrama of the daywas not missed by anyone, with a course. “All he’sgot left nowisabit of an indenta- frantic RubyWalsh waving the field around the strick- tion at the backofhis ribcage, whichisn’tbad at all. en King before he wastransported to the University of One thing we’re not going to knowishow badly that Lacrosse 1sts (W) 13-5 St. Andrews 1sts Liverpool’sEquine Hospital. Although both his broken will affect his lung capacity.Ifitwas to, Idon’tbe- ribs and punctured lung were treatable, trainer Philip lieveitcan affect it more than fivepercent –but saying Netball 2nds 22-61 Northumbria 2nds Hobbs revealed to TheGryphon the life-and-death sce- that that might make alot of difference at the end of a Netball 5ths 49-38 Huddersfield 1sts nario they were really in: “He had areally bad infec- race.”However,current indications are positive.‘‘The tion in his lung whichcould have been fatal. We were first good sign waslast Tuesday, when he had his first preparing for the worst, but we were fortunate.” serious gallop with Cheltenham in mind and he went RugbyLeague 2nds 24-38 Lancaster 1sts Theracing community knew just exactly howtoact. as well as he ever would have done”. Howtoshowthe world and all involved with Balt- He wonthis race in 2012 and 2014, on the second RugbyUnion 1sts (W) 10-0 Nottingham hazar’srecovery that this courageous, plucky battler occasion carrying the welter-burden of 11 stone 12 lbs, 1sts from Somerset meant muchmore to them than just an- while the horse that finished second carried amere RugbyUnion 1sts (M) 29-29 Northum- other horse. “It wastotally amazing; he had hundreds stone and four pounds less. To counteract the possible of cards and emails” sent to him from racing fans and remnants of his Aintree injury,the Cheltenham Gods bria 1sts non-racing fans alike, enthused Hobbs. It’dbeanice have seemingly spoken: the race has been transformed metaphor to suggest the racing community lifted The from ahandicap to aconditions event. Balthazar will Squash 1sts (M) 0-5 West of England King from tragedytopresent day, but Ithink the Chum- resultantly shoulder the same weight as the majority 1sts bawumba line ‘I get knocked down, but Iget up again, of his rivals. “Atone stage it looked like he might not you’re never going to keep me down’ maybemore fit- survive and now, in the next month… he’sprobably our ting. Balthazar King –nine months ago –got knocked best chance at the Festival.” Tennis 1sts (W) 8-4 Manchester 1sts down, but he’sbackupagain and he’snot going back Racing fans around the world will descend on the Fes- Tennis 2nds (M) 10-2 Liverpool 1sts down without afight. tivalinfour weeks, but will we see what we cravemost, Tennis 3rds (M) 8-4 Newcastle 2nds On the 16th March,The King shall return to the scene the ultimate resolution to this roller-coaster of aracing of one of his greatest triumphs –Cheltenham Race- journey? It can’thappen, can it? Ultimate 1sts (M) 6-13 Manchester 1sts

thegryphon.co.uk 22 Sport Efficient Newcastle Beat Lacklustre Leeds Luke Barr Men’sFootball However,evenwith this lackofaccurate service, the the deadlock. However,Walker and Allan Owen were University of Leeds 0- 2Newcastle isolated forward, Jack Bullock, still provedtobecon- unable to control their close-range shots and fired wide. This chance provedtobeafretful wake-up call for TheUniversity of Leeds fell to adisappointing 2-0 de- the Gryphons, whoswiftly retaliated and had their own feat at the hands of Newcastle University on Wednes- attackupon the opposition goal not soon after.The im- dayafternoon, as visiting striker Olly Walker scored a pressive Jack Soccombe picked up the ball on the edge well-taken brace to continue their pursuit of the BUCS of the penalty area, subsequently waltzing past two Trophy. static defenders, ultimately firing the ball straight at the In what wasahard-fought affair at Weetwood Park, upright goalkeeper. the hosts ultimately paid for alackofcomposure in Following this fleeting resurgence, the interval soon possession, as well as afailure to monitor the visitors’ arrived, and despite some stern words from Coach tenacious attack, whosealed the victory with twosec- SteveGrimes, Leeds were unable to learn from their ond-half goals. previous mistakes and soon conceded after replicating However,evenwith this relatively convincing score- their disappointing style of play. Thegoal came from line, the opening stages of the matchwere fairly even the unawareness of the Leeds backfour,who were un- in terms of possession, with Newcastle perhaps edging able to trackthe running of Walker,who unsurprisingly it thanks to their composed backfour. found space in the penalty area and dispatched the This superior calmness very nearly paid dividends shot calmly into the backofanopen net. after only seven minutes when the ball fell kindly to As the fixture entered its latter stages, Leeds did at- Walker on the edge of Leeds’ penalty area, whose ac- tempt to claw back the scoreline, although they were curately-placed strike rebounded off the post and was soon made to payfor their offensive ventures, as New- subsequently cleared to safety. [Image: Jack Roberts] castle strode down the other end of the field and earned As the goalless half progressed, alackadaisical Leeds apenalty after atired foul on an attacker. sde continued to struggle, as the strange tactic to play siderable handful for the opposition, as he persistently Theintegral Walker wasthe man to step up to take with asolitary striker wascertainly affecting the home scampered between Newcastle’scramped defensive the spot-kickand made further amends for his previous side’screative output, whose reliance on the long-ball lines, forever closing down loose balls from midfield. misses, as he doubled his tally for the North Eastern wasdealt with easily by the resolute Newcastle de- With the game approaching half-time, the awayside outfit and sealed an all-important victory for the visi- fence. were soon provided with twosuperb chances to break tors. Cup Heartache for Women’sWater Polo

[Image:Carlotta Grimaldi]

James Candler physicality from both sides, butinparticularSt. Andrews Leedsnow pulsatingwithanticipatoryhunger, they Women’sWater Polo seemed to be skewingthismatch into averitable dived into thefinalfew minutes. Everythingseemedto University of Leeds 11 -12St. Andrews arm-wrestle.Leeds’firstgoalofthe quartermadefor be fallingintoplace.The attack waspunchy, thedefence satisfying viewing, as theteamskilfully executed dry solidand debutant goalkeeperKim Spijkers-Shawwas Leeds’ female waterpolo team had theirhopes passes betweenJoanna Thorpe andPatchett, whichput blossoming –savingsometruly blistering one-on-one of winningacup titledashedonWednesday,ina Lumley in primepositionfor apowerfulshot on goal.St. shots. AsuccessionofgloriousGryphon goalsmadethe breathtaking encounterwithaformidableSt. Andrews Andrewsdid look to be coming under some pressure, score levelwithjusttwo minutestogo. Sadly however, side.The visiting team currentlytop theScottish1A butafter amuch-needed timeout,the visitors quickly this wasnot to be theHollywood-esque comeback that league andconsequentlythismatch sawtwo teamsat putclear waterbetween them andLeeds,which made this reporter wasenvisioning.St. Andrewsimmediately thetop of theirgamegoing head-to-headinone of the thescore adisheartening5-8 at theend of thefirsthalf. hit-back withacrushinggoalthat decidedthe fate mostentertainingfixtures that this reporter hascovered Theobjective goingintothe next half wasclear.Leeds of thematch. Allthe visiting side hadtodonow was allyear. neededtoresistthe temptation to be sucked into a implementadelay game,which they inevitably affected Theopeningtwo minutesprovidedanappetising violent gamebyanincreasingly aggressive St.Andrews, andtherefore thematch ended11-12. amuse-bouche of what sort of matchwas to come.End- andinstead trusttheir defensiveand offensive structures. Afterthe match, TheGryphon caught up withtop goal- to-end,physicaland competitive. An initial goal was Thefirsttwo goalsofthe following quarterwenttothe scorerPatchett, whosaidthat: ‘The matchreallyshowed afforded to St.Andrews when Leeds’ defensivestructure visiting team,asLeeds were squanderingpossession, ourcharacter as ateam, to come back afterlosingbythat letthemdown(therebyallowing theattackerplentyof with playersnot makingthemselvesavailable forpasses marginnearerthe secondhalfwas brilliant. Although we time to prepareher shot at goal),but thehometeam into space. An emergencytimeout wascalledafter yet areobviously disappointed, we lost as ateam[and] we soon hitback, as HannahPatchettexecutedasterling anotherSt. Andrewsgoal; thescore now5-10. arestrongerthanever. We reallylookforward to play- skip-shot to equalise.The visitors soon racked up the It wasatthispoint that Leedsdelivered on their offs forpromotion into thePremiershipnextseason[…] score,withastill unsettledLeeds side unable to organise potential.Demonstratingunparalleledresilience and we’vewon ourBUCSleagueand haveonlylostone defensively,therebyallowingSt. Andrewsmanyfast ability,the girlsingreenresponded to hardship by matchthiswhole season before today’. breaks on thecounter-attack. Thescore was1-4 when winningapenalty shot,which Patchett slammedinto Clearlythisisnot asidedismayedbydefeat, butrather Leedsbegan to findsomeform, andthankstogoals thebottom-left corner.The Gryphons were adifferent ateamwho continuetogrow in confidence towardsthe from RebeccaLumleyand Nat Yates, thescore wassoon beastnow;organised andpenetrating.After winningyet climax of theirseason. Though thelosingteamthistime, alleviated to amorecomforting3-4 as thefirstquarter anotherpenalty shot andscoring yetanothergoal, the youcan certainlyput your moneyonthe Gryphons drew to aclose. home team were only down by twopointsasthe final bouncingback next week. Thesecond quartersaw anoticeable increase in quartergot underway. Sport 23 Gryphons HitDoubleFigures

[Image: NancyGillen]

NancyGillen from Fiona Worts. After extending their lead in the opening ten min- Women’sFootball Leeds were nowdominant, and yetstill looked for more utes of the second half, the next 20 minutes wasrela- University of Leeds 10-0 Manchester goals. Captain Lil Stanton had agreat chance from far tively quiet for Leeds, as they comfortably kept posses- out whichwas savedbythe keeper.However she had sion and denied Manchester anygoalscoring chances. After beating them 8-0 in BUCS twoweeks ago, Leeds her goal fiveminutes later,after another great pass by Hannah Hale scored the eighth goal of the dayaf- Women’s1st football team faced off against Manches- Worts whichsplit open the Manchester defence. Stan- ter being put through one-on-one with the Manchester ter once again, this time in the cup. Recent bad weath- ton found herself in space on the corner of the box and shot-stopper,keeping her cool to slot the ball into the er forced the teams to line up on artificial turf, but ulti- fired ashot into the bottom left-hand corner,with the backofthe net. She then doubled her tally in the 85th mately this didn’tseem to affect what wasafast-paced ball ricocheting off the post into the backofthe net. minute with an impressive shot. After receiving the ball and goal-filled extravaganza. Thehalf-time whistle went with the game already on the far side of the pitch, she swung it into the top 15 minutes in and Leeds were already2-0 up, reflec- wrapped up at 5-0. It had been an extremely positive corner of the goal. tive of their dominant start. Striker Charlotte Cork was first half, except for asevere injury to defender Catriona Leeds were 9-0 up but still did not sit back. Thelast the first to get on the Leeds scoresheet, before midfield- Stobie, whohad to have her bleeding knee patched up touchofthe game wasLeeds’ tenth goal, with Cork er Alex Gummer doubled the lead. as she bravely layonthe side-line. In an inspirational scoring her fourth of the game. With that, the final Despite their 2-0 advantage, Leeds continued to push half-time talk, CoachPhil said the team had been ‘good whistle went and Leeds went through to the next round for more goals, while remaining solid at the backto at times’, and Captain Stanton told her team that they of the cup after an extremely impressive performance. denyManchester anytangible attacking chances. A were ‘playing well’ but needed to ‘up the tempo’. After the game first-team Captain Stanton only had ‘18 third goal came in the 30th minute, with an excellent Thesecond half got underway with excellent support goals in twogames’, referring to Leeds’ complete domi- shot from Gummer outside the penalty box, which from the side-lines. Cork soon had her hat-trickwith a nance overits weaker northern rivals in recent weeks. looped overthe keeper’soutstretched arms to hit the header from aLeeds corner,putting Leeds 6-0 up by The1st team will face Edinburgh next week in an ef- backofthe net. Twominutes later and it was4-0, as the 50th minute. Rachel Newborough then made it 7-0, fort to progress to the semi-finals. Cork got her second goal of the game after an assist with afierce lowshot from outside the penalty box. Proud Performance in Ultimate Nationals off with a7-2 win overDundee whichset the tone for urdayand an impressive 11-3 victory overBrunel Amelia Kenneth the rest of the day, with the team going on to beat KCL rounded off perfectlywith alayout grab for the final Ultimate Frisbee 8-5 and Loughborough 6-4. Thefinal pool game was score from Robert White, meaning the men finished Leeds University Ultimate Frisbee Club have made against Birmingham, whichended 8-6 to Birmingham fifth in Division Two. Inspired by the men’stenacity,the history with the women’steam following in the men’s ladies’ 4v6 crossoveragainst Herriot Watt wasacom- footsteps from last year and coming second at BUCS petitive,hard-fought match, but the ladies’ slickoffence Indoor Nationals in Glasgow. and assertive defence meant they came awaywith the Forthe first time in along time all three divisions of win 7-5 meaning they were in the semi-final against Indoor Nationals were held at the same venue, making Oxford. Theladies came out fighting against Oxford, it avery sociable weekend. Unfortunately,this venue with potential aggression left overfrom the previous wasall the wayupinGlasgow. Themen’sand women’s physical game, whichlead to some calls being made squads set off for the freezing North on Fridayafter- against them. Theteam’squickoffensive play, speed noon and with afew hiccups and stops on the way and run through d’smeant they beat Oxford 8-3 putting including astop at aLlama café and one car getting lost the ladies in the final for the first time in memorable his- three times, all the club finally made it safe and sound tory.The final wasagainst Birmingham and both sides to Glasgow. Fridaynight prep consisted of an ‘all you were very equally matched, trading points throughout can eat’ buffet and some inspirational basketball videos with both teams making few errors and playing beauti- and an early night readyfor Saturday’spool games. The [Image: Amelia Kenneth] ful ultimate. Themen’steam formed anoisy,encour- men’steam were on first and came out strong with a aging and helpful contingent, with alittle help from 10-7 win overPlymouth, followed by wins overLan- meaning Leeds held seed in fifth. Thefinal game of the Bristol boys, keeping the ladies focussed and somewhat caster 7-5 and Bangor 6-4 to staytop of the pool. The Saturdaywas comparatively slowwith asmall squad calm. Thefinal buzzer went with the score tied at 6-6 power pool games didn’tgoaswell and the boys fin- and tired legs, but the girls pushed through and dug amidst adiscussion overafoul call. Birmingham got ished the daywith losses to Sheffield Hallam and Cam- deep to beat Edinburgh 7-5 to finish the day. the disc back, kept it and scored the winner to make bridge, putting them fifth in Division Twoatthe end of Despite the early start on the Sundaythe men’steam the final score 7-6. Though feeling slightly disheartened dayone. were loudly supported by astrong ladies’ sideline and at getting so close to winning, the ladies playedinspi- Theladies were in what they thought would be a came out fighting, putting in avery impressive perfor- rationally and with good spirit all weekend, and should tough pool composed of local (friendly) rivals Lough- mance to beat Newcastle 7-1. Theboyssuffered aloss be incredibly proud of their achievements. borough, winners of 2013/14 Indoor Nationals Dundee to Sussex Mohawks but finished strongly with awin and GB-dominated Birmingham. TheSaturdaykicked against Sheffield Hallam, whothey lost to on the Sat- Issue1219.02.16thegryphon.co.uk

[Image:Patrick McCann] [Image: NancyGillen][Image: RichardRayRoneber]rts] [Image: Carlotta Grimaldi]

TheGryphon catchesarareinterview with LUU’swomen’s football team annihilate TheGryphon looksatAdamJohnson’s Girlsingreen edgedout in WaterPolo King BalthazarTrainer,Phillip Hobbes p.21 Manchester p.23 uncertainfuture p.20 Thriller p.22

[Image:Lucia Vilajoana]

[Image: JasonLau] BeckettEdged OutbyGryphons

• Localrivalsvanquished • Leedswomen’s volleyball remain unbeaten

John Gibby opponents,winningeight points in arow to almost andteammateAnu Vall workingwellalongside each Women’sVolleyball levelupthe game at 16-15. The homesidemanaged othertostayincontentiondespite Beckettconstantly University of Leeds3-1Beckett to getbackontrack soon afterthough,and aidedby threatening to runawaywithitatscoresof5-7 andthen some inaccurate servingfrom Carnegieamidthe first 9-12.The followingrun of good form andsomequality There wasmorethanthe usuallevel of anticipation of afew controversialfault decisions, fought to secure servingfrom thehomesidesaw them eventually go on on Wednesdayafternoon as theunbeatenLeeds thefirstset by 25 points to 23. to reachthe necessary25pointsfor theset withtheir University women’svolleyballteamlined up to face Thesecond setwas amuchmore closely-fought affair rivals back on 18. LeedsBeckett.Thisgamewas amust-wininorder to from theoff,withaseriesofcrucialfinishes from both Despitesomeexcellent play from Beckettnearthe keep pace in theleaguewithfellow unbeaten team sidesresulting in thescore goingto11-11withBeckett beginningofthe fourth,and as it turnedout final set, Sheffield Hallam,all whilst maintainingtheir dignity lookingfar more dangerousthanthrough mostofthe Unisoongatheredsomemomentumwiththe helpof againsttheir localrivals. Earlyinthe first set Leeds first set. Though Unimanaged to open up thescoreline IrmakGökçesu amongstothers. With Vall’s powerful harnessed this energy to powerintoa10-2lead, to afairlycomfortable 18-15, theiropponents worked servingand theiropponents on theother side of the owingtoaseriesofmistakesfrom Beckettand clinical to push them back within theirown half, andforceda netlooking tired,defeatnever seemedlikely, and tipsoverthe netfrom theirown frontline. Aseries series of errorsthat resulted in theset beinglevelled they went on to seizevictory in theset andthe match of pacey returnsfrom thevisitorssaw them winfive againat19pointseach,afairscoreline at that stage againby25-18,though this time having madeitlook of thenextsix points andbring thescore back to 11- by anyaccount.Whatever it wasthe Beckettcoach that bit easier.The Gryphons remain undefeated, and 7. In-formsetterCatherine Laffan helped maintain the had to saytoher playersduringthe ensuingtime-out acrunchfixtureagainst Sheffield Hallam next week advantagefor theGryphonsthroughout thenextfew clearlyworkedwellhowever,astheymanaged to edge beckons. Nevermindlocal derbies; that will be the points,until Beckettfound themselvesonagood run theset during itstense final exchanges, again23-25. realtest. coinciding withsomeunfortunate mistakes from their Thethirdset,again,was aclose affair,withLaffan