the
Issue 272 Monday 24h February 2014 www.epigram.org.uk
University of Bristol Independent Student Newspaper
ball
Friday 7th March 2014 7pm-1am Dinner tickets sold out! Ents tickets ÂŁ20
Group discount: buy 4 and get a 5th free! - Drinks reception - Beautiful museum backdrop - Photobooth - Chocolate fountain/candy floss machine - Hornstars and DJ - Free entry to Pam Pam See facebook.com/EpigramPaper for more details
Buy tickets now from www.ubu.org.uk/activities/studentmedia/epigram
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Managing Director! In charge of advertising and sales, marketing and publicity, as well as distribution and finance, you will be vital to making Epigram a success! For more information, or to apply, please email ollie.yorke@epigram.org.uk
Issue 272 Monday 24h February 2014 University of Bristol Independent Student Newspaper
www.epigram.org.uk
Vice-Chancellor set to step down
• Sir Eric Thomas announces his retirement to students by email • Thomas to leave the university after 14 years at the helm Oscar Cunnington News Reporter The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol announced to students on 7th February that he is stepping down from the role in August 2015. Sir Eric Thomas has been Vice-Chancellor since 2001 when he succeeded Sir John Kingman. This makes him one of the longestserving current Vice-Chancellors in the UK. Sir Eric let students know via an email sent out to the student body in which he declared that ‘one of the joys of being Vice-Chancellor is meeting our students’ of whom he is ‘fiercely proud’. After graduating from the University of Newcastle in 1976 with a degree in Medicine he went on to work at the universities of Sheffield, Newcastle and Southampton as an obstetrician and gynaecologist before becoming dean
L ife on Mars
of the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Biological Sciences at the latter in 1991. He was awarded his knighthood in 2013 for his services to secondary education. The Vice-Chancellor’s tenure has seen a lot happen to the University; the progress is perhaps best embodied in the extensive building work that has occurred. Since he took the job Bristol has seen the Centre for Sport on Tyndall Avenue, the Botanic Gardens, Bristol Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information and many others being built and with the Life Sciences Building set to open this year the trend looks like it will only continue. As early as 2003 Thomas was faced with pressure from independent schools who believed the university was treating their students unfairly in efforts to encourage economically disadvantaged students to apply. This furore culminated in a boycott amongst some independent schools that eventually ended in 2005. Continued on page 3
A right royal visit
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HRH Duke of York visits Bristol charities and UoB volunteers
Nick Riddle
flickr: m_cicchetti
Eating disorders awareness week page 11
“University should be there for everybody regardless of economic situation” Full report on page 3
Centre spread special: the Oscars page 28-29
Wildlife Photographer of the Year reviewed page 38
Epigram
24.02.14
News Editorial Inside Epigram
Editor: Josephine Franks
Deputy Editor: Alex Bradbrook
Editorial Assistant: Anna Fleck
editor@epigram.org.uk
deputy@epigram.org.uk
anna.fleck@epigram.org.uk
You’re invited!
News
7 RAG week festivities RAG puts on a show for the public while fundraising for local Bristol charities
Mustafa Khayat
Bristol Museum
Comment 13 Are antidepressants too readily proscribed?
Epigram 25th anniversary ball, 7th March
Comment argues whether antidepressants are the best solution to mental illness University of Bristol Independent Student Newspaper
Travel Writers’ meetings 24 Bizarre and lucky traditions
Style
Anna Rowley discovers a range of peculiar and lucky customs.
Every fortnight, our editors hold meetings for anyone who wants to write for Epigram. If you’d like to get involved, or simply want to find out more information, come along to any one of the following meetings or contact the relevant editor via their email address below. It’s never too late to get involved - we look forward to meeting you! Monday 24th Feb at 12.15pm Hawthorns
Thursday 27th Feb at 1.15pm Hawthorns
Features
Travel
Science & Tech
Music
Sport
Tuesday 25th Feb at 1.15pm The White Harte
Thursday 27th Feb at 1.15pm HIghbury Vaults
Thursday 27th Feb at 12.15pm Tuesday 25th Feb at 6pm The Refectory Highbury Vaults
Comment
Style
Editor Josephine Franks editor@epigram.org.uk
Deputy Editor Alex Bradbrook deputy@epigram.org.uk
Editorial Assistant Anna Fleck editor@epigram.org.uk
Friday 28th Feb at 12.30pm ASS Library Café
Comment Editor Rosslyn McNair comment@epigram.org.uk
Tuesday 25th Feb at 1pm The Refectory
Thursday 27th Feb at 1.15pm Highbury Vaults
Online Style Online Editor Amelia Impey styleonline@epigram.org.uk
Deputy Science & Tech Editor Sol Milne deputyscience@epigram.org.uk
Deputy Comment Editor What’s On Editor Rob Stuart Josie Benge deputycomment@epigram.org.uk whatson@epigram.org.uk
Science & Tech Online Editor Stephanie Harris scienceonline@epigram.org.uk
Comment Online Editor Jessica McKay commentonline@epigram.org.uk
Arts Editor Claudia Knowles arts@epigram.org.uk
Sport Editors Hetty Knox sport@epigram.org.uk
Letters Editor Emma Leedham letters@epigram.org.uk
Deputy Arts Editor Rose Bonsier deputyculture@epigram.org.uk
Jacob Webster jacob.webster@epigram.org.uk
Living Editor Tori Halman Comment living@epigram.org.uk
Thursday 27th Feb at 1pm The White Bear
Arts
Sport Online Editor Arts Online Editor George Moxey sportonline@epigram.org.uk Editor Erin Fox Science Editor artsonline@epigram.org.uk ollie.yorke@epigram.org.uk Tom Flynn Patrick Baker Nick Cork Online Editor editor@epigram.org.uk Deputy Living Editors comment@epigram.org.uk science@epigram.org.uk Music Editor Ciara Lally News Editor Sophia Hadjipateras Mike Hegarty online@epigram.org.uk Deputy Editors Laura Jacklin Letters Editor Deputy Science Editor shadjipateras@epigram.org.uk music@epigram.org.uk Jonnews@epigram.org.uk Bauckham Emma Corfield Emma Sackville Deputy Online Editor: jon@epigram.org.uk Izzy Kerr letters@epigram.org.uk Deputy Music Editordeputyscience@epigram.org Chris Giles Deputy News Editors Hannah Stubbs ikerr@epigram.org.uk Danny Riley deputyonline@epigram.org.uk Joseph Quinlan Culture Editor Sport Editor hannah@epigram.org.uk deputymusic@epigram.org.uk jo.quinlan@epigram.org.uk Calum Sherwood Tom Burrows Living Online Editor Chief Photography Editor e2 Editor Morwennaculture@epigram.org.uk Scott Music Online Editorsport@epigram.org.uk Marketa Brabcova SpencerMcCrory Turner Matthew livingonline@epigram.org.uk Dan Faber photography@epigram.org.uk spencer.turner@epigram.org.uk Deputy Culture Editor Deputy Sport Editor e2@epigram.org.uk musiconline@epigram.org.uk Zoe Hutton David Stone Travel Editor Photography Editors News Editor Sarah Newey Olivia Lace-Evans deputyculture@epigram.org.uk Film & TV Editor deputysport@epigram.org.uk Vivian Lee sarah.newey@epigram.org.uk Alice Young travel@epigram.org.uk Gareth Downs Georgina Winney Music Editor news@epigram.org.uk Puzzles Editor filmandtv@epigram.org.uk News Online Editor Nathan Comer Deputy Travel Editor Lily Buckmaster Chief Proofreader Deputy News Editors Stephanie Rihon Andrea Valentino music@epigram.org.uk Deputy Film & TV Editor Atkins newsonline@epigram.org.uk Abigail Van-West Head SubEdEditor deputytravel@epigram.org.uk Matt Field Deputy Music Editor avanwest@epigram.org.uk Emma Corfield deputyfilmandtv@epigram.org.uk Sub-editors: Features Editor PippaEditor Shawley Travel Online Ciara Murphy Jenny Awford Hugh Davies Sub Editors Emma Frazer Emilia Morano-Williams deputymusic@epigram.org.uk Film & TV Online Editor jawford@epigram.org.uk features@epigram.org.uk Harriet Layhe, Guy Watts travelonline@epigram.org.uk Hannah McGovern Wagg FIlm & TV Editor Alejandro Palekar Kate Moreton, Features Editor filmandtvonline@epigram.org.uk JeremyRosemary Barclay Deputy Features Editor Will Ellis Style Editor Tristan Martin Matt Floyd Sophie Padgett Illustrator Maddy Streets filmandtv@epigram.org.uk Science & Technology Editor Nicholas Irwin features@epigram.org.uk deputyfeatures@epigram.org.uk Sophie Sladen Ryan Maguire style@epigram.org.uk Molly Hawes Deputy Film & TV Editor Sahar Shah Deputy Features Editor scienceandtech@epigram.org.uk Web Designer Features Online Editor Tom Herbert Anthony Deputy Style EditorAdeane Andrew White Michael Coombs Rob Mackenzie Deanne Ball deputyfilmandtv@epigram.org.uk deputyfeatures@epigram.org.uk featuresonline@epigram.org.uk deputystyle@epigram.org.uk
Managing Director Ollie Yorke Editor
BBC
Josh Terabi reviews Inside Llewyn Davis.
Film & TV
Editorial team
Louisa Laughton-Scott shares style tips on how to dress to impress
44 The real-life music behind Llewyn Davis
Living
News
Tuesday 25th Feb at 12.30pm The Refectory
27 Tips to help you ‘get lucky’
Music
In 2014, Epigram turns 25 – older, wiser and more mature than the majority of the student population. To mark this milestone, we thought we’d throw a bit of a party – a ball, to be more exact. And when we say ball, we don’t mean festival, we mean tuxedos, cocktails, music, dancing and maybe the slightest hint of scandal (this is a newspaper, after all). On the night itself we’ll be joined by Epigram’s founding editor, James Landale (as BBC Deputy Political Editor, you may remember him from such programmes as the 6 o’Clock News) as well as a host of other media alumni – a perfect schmoozing opportunity if you’re on the lookout for a career in journalism. If networking ain’t your thing, we’ll be looking to entertain with a magician, Bristol’s very own Hornstars and a DJ, followed by a free afterparty at Pam Pam. The event will also boast a photobooth, chocolate fountain, candyfloss machine and cocktail bars – if there’s one thing media types know how to do, it’s throw a good party. After 25 years, we’ve got a lot to celebrate. In the past quarter of a century, Epigram has been an integral part of student life. It has given students an insight into what really goes on in the union and University, broken stories that have been picked up by the national press and got to the heart of student concerns. Hundreds of hours from writers and editors go into each issue of Epigram – but what we mustn’t forget is that hundreds – thousands – of hours go into reading it as well. Epigram isn’t [just] about the vacuous self-indulgence of writers looking to clamber onto the journalism foodchain, it’s about providing content that excites and engages our readers. This is why we’d like to extend an invitation to our ball to all of our readers – to the readers who flick through it over coffee, to the ones who pore over it from cover to cover, to those who read the front cover as it doubles as makeshift wrapping paper. This ball is about recognising 25 years of a fantastic student newspaper, but it’s also about celebrating the student body of Bristol, the readers without whom we wouldn’t exist. Ents tickets are £20 each or, if you buy four, you get a fifth free! Tickets can be purchased online at www.ubu.org.uk/activities/studentmedia/ epigram/ and in person from 12-2pm in the ASSL on 26th, 27th and 28th February. Please check our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/epigrampaper as these dates may be subject to change. Josephine Franks
www.epigram.org.uk For the latest news, features and reviews
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Epigram is the independent student newspaper of the University of Bristol. The views expressed in this publication are not those of the University or the Students’ Union. The design, text and photographs are copyright of Epigram and its individual contributors and may not be reproduced without permission.
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News
Epigram
24.02.2014
3
@epigramnews Editor: Spencer Turner news@epigram.org.uk
Online Editor: Stephanie Rihon newsonline@epigram.org.uk
Deputy Editors: Laura Jacklin; Joe Quinlan; Sarah Newey ljacklin ; jquinlan ; snewey@epigram.org.uk
HRH previously hosted IntoUniversity at his ‘Backing Youth’ reception at Buckingham Palace in 2013 and presumably came to observe the scheme’s progress in Bristol. The Duke of York believes that it is ‘important to offer a wide range of educational pathways to young people’ to make them ‘economically active in the work place’. He seemed very interested in the children’s activities, even starting a debate with one boy about riding his bicycle to school rather than driving to reduce his carbon footprint. The Duke asked ‘what if you have 10 miles to go? Will you still walk? Where’s the balance between being eco-friendly and excessive journeys?’ The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Sir Eric Thomas, was also in attendance and is a great supporter of the scheme calling it a ‘massive’ initiative. The university donates £100,000 per year to sponsor the scheme and the Vice-Chancellor hopes that it will ‘raise the aspirations of one who might not think of university as an option’ especially with the rising rates of immigrating children from Somalia and Sudan; some of which are the third generation of an unemployed family. He continued by poignantly stating that the ‘university should be there for everybody who can benefit from it no matter their economic situation.’
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It is important to offer a wide range of educational pathways to young people
VC set to step down
Continued from page 1
When asked ‘why now’ Thomas told Epigram ‘Genuinely my length of stay is the reason. 14 years is a good amount of time - it’s necessary for someone to come along and put new energy into the post... I thought it was time to put a stake in the ground and move on, leaving it in someone else’s capable hands’ then saying ‘You should write about the look of horror on my wife’s face when I said I could spend more time with her!...There will be more time for the golf course too and of course I’d like to do some travelling.’ Sir Thomas has also featured prominently on the national university scene as his knighthood would suggest. He has been president of Universities UK from 2011–2013, an organisation which represents almost all Universities in the United Kingdom. He also oversaw Bristol joining the Worldwide Universities Network the year he became chancellor in a move he regarded as ‘critical to the University’s progress towards global status’ and has been consistently active in the organisation over the course of chancellorship. He concluded his email stating that ‘There is, of course, much to do in the next 18 months’ and revealed that the process of finding a successor would be discussed by the Chair of Council on the 24th of February.
Stephanie Rihon Online Editor HRH The Duke of York visited Bristol’s latest educational scheme known as IntoUniversity on the 10th February. The initiative aims to help underprivileged children from neighbouring schools to excel in their studies and develop the aspiration to attend university. This officially began in April 2013 – although campaigns have been launched since October 2012 – and has helped several children to develop their skills. It relies heavily on volunteers from the University of Bristol to take part in the mentoring scheme, who range from first years all the way to academics to help run the program. When the Duke visited, the children taking part in activities were from nearby St Nicholas school and discussed what they could do for the environment and its sustainability. The children were grouped on tables with bright mind maps and worksheets and discussed a topic such as the issue of biking to school for twenty minutes then moved on; they called it ‘the carousel system’. The volunteers began with general conversation to ease the children into the ‘class’, with one asking ‘What did you eat for breakfast?’ which received excited responses.
Lecture capture for all?
Flickr: Ed Yourdon Stephanie Rihon
For more stories visit www.epigram.org.uk/news
Marketa Stephanie Rihon Brabcova
The grand old Duke of York
Indeed, this scheme has done much to increase the aspirations of underprivileged children. Centre leader, Rachel Reid, said that the scheme shows children that they can do ‘something really exciting and learn about their future’. The results can also be seen in schools as most significantly, the children’s ‘confidence has developed’ and they are left with a ‘better understanding of the different options that are open to them in the future’. It also helps to recognize the achievements of local teachers in schools as the centre ‘really value their partnerships and all the students that come here’.
Epigram
24.02.2014
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UBU launches free students’ lettings agency Kim Slim News Reporter
Find the UBU Lettings Service at the former UBU Info Point at 5 Tyndall Avenue - next to the Careers Centre - and at www. ubulettings.co.uk. The agency aims to stamp out the problem of students being given unfair deals by traditional agents and landlords
UBU Lettings
On 7th February the University of Bristol Students’ Union (UBU) officially launched a foray into student lettings, an area of student life in which the Union has not previously been involved. The newest addition to Bristol’s residential lettings services, UBU Lettings, differs from other traditional agencies, in that it doesn’t charge Bristol students any fees for booking accommodation through the service. This term has seen students from all over Bristol engaging in the annual search for next year’s accommodation, sprinting from viewing to viewing and battling with the ever-present problems of sub-standard properties, extortionate agency fees and difficulty communicating with landlords. UBU Lettings was launched to lessen the impact of these issues, by providing students with an alternative choice when looking for private accommodation. The service is run by Victoria Thomas, an experienced lettings manager who has worked in the lettings industry for over ten years and ran a similar project at Cardiff University. When asked about the aims of the Union in launching such an initiative, she said, ‘moving and finding a student place can be a stressful and expensive process and the Union aims to ease the process by saving student’s money on fees and make finding their student place the fun experience it should be’. On their website, the Union claims UBU Lettings will provide ‘accredited
and vetted landlords, a clear and transparent [lettings] process and a convenient and friendly service, which protects students’ rights’. The hope is that the problem of students being given an unfair or unsatisfactory deal by traditional agents and landlords can be stamped out. In conjunction with the Mayor of Bristol’s campaign to ‘heighten the profile of well practising landlords’, UBU Lettings will reward the good behaviour of landlords, ensuring that students who arrange accommodation through the service can expect fair landlords. Housing plays a central role in the university experience and thus can affect the welfare of students; Victoria Thomas explained that because UBU now has a stake in the lettings market, it can have a real chance to positively influence the overall student experience. ‘UBU have laid a strong ground work this year for a hugely important student service and hope to improve and shape the provisions for student housing over the coming years’, she added. The service finances itself through income from landlords and, as with other UBU operations, surplus money will go back into the Union, towards fulfilling student priorities. UBU Lettings are still listing new properties for 2014-15.
Bristol selected as part of Student switch-off Cities of Service initiative winners announced Peter Mitchell News Reporter Bristol, already considered one of the best places to live in the UK, is set to undergo a concerted effort to solve local issues with the help of an ‘army’ of volunteers. Bristol has been selected as one of seven UK cities to take part in the national Cities of Service initiative, inspired by an American organisation of the same name. The scheme has been remarkably successful in the states after its creation in 2009, addressing a wide range of social and economic issues affecting over 50 million Americans in 172 cities. New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg summarises the campaign as an effort to ‘Engage citizens as problem solvers, not just service users’. Mr Bloomberg instigated the movement five years ago. Bristol’s Mayor George Ferguson has been granted £180,000 to establish a new council role to oversee the completion of the scheme. It has been indicated that the issues targeted will be greatly varied; from helping children read in schools to removing debris from flooded rivers and streams. Mayor Ferguson, speaking at the Remaking Cities Congress in the USA, remarked on the importance of citizen engagement in the future of cities. He argues that engagement is crucial to
creating vibrant and sustainable cities that are ready to face the future. It was a trip to the USA that inspired Mr Ferguson to bid for the funding after seeing the impact it had had on nearly two hundred American communities. Bristol’s approach to the scheme will be outlined in a paper set to be released in the summer. This will allow
“ £180,000 has been granted to oversee the scheme
collaboration between the council and other interested bodies and also time to enlist the required number of volunteers. It is understood that the initiative will be aimed at making Bristol as welcoming as possible before its stint as European Green Capital in 2015. The scheme will begin operating in the summer and initiatives will be implemented in stages throughout the following two years. At the conclusion of this time, the results of the scheme
will be assessed to see the extent of its impact. The funding, provided by the Government’s Cabinet Officer and social innovation charity Nesta, comes with the additional benefit of advice and mentoring from Bristol’s US counterparts, now five years into their programmes. Government minister Nick Hurd expressed his excitement at bringing Cities of Service to the UK, saying that ‘Often the key to solving local challenges is simply tapping into the knowledge of those living in the community itself’. In taking part in the scheme, Bristol joins Barnsley, Kirklees, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Swindon and Wrekin in an attempt to inspire communities to begin addressing the local problems they face.
The logo of the American organisation
Olivia Webb News Reporter UBU Get Green have now announced the winners of both the ‘Energy’, ‘Waste’ and ‘Engagement’ categories for the first term of the Student Switch Off competition. First place was awarded to The Rackhay who reduced their overall energy consumption by a whopping 17%, closely followed by Favell House with a reduction of 11% and Northwell House with a reduction of 9%. These significant reductions were enabled by the simplest of measures; only using the water needed for their hot beverages, turning off lights when leaving a room and keeping windows closed. The Waste category also saw some impressive commitment with the winning hall, 33 Colston Street managing to recycle over 63% of their total waste. This notable total was matched by second and third places where Clifton Hill House recycled over 57% and University Hall 56%. The third category to be measured by UBU Get Green was the engagement category, which is measured by the number of students within each hall that have pledged their allegiance to Student Switch Off. St. Michael’s Hill and St. Michael’s Park were announced in December 2013 as the two winners
for the highest rate of student pledges. Whilst Manor Hall won for the highest total number of student pledges. All the winners have now been awarded for their efforts with Ben and Jerry’s. UBU Get Green will be continuing the competition within the second term with the additional category of ‘Most Improved’. This means that all halls are in with a chance of winning ice cream by being eco-warriors. The Student Switch off is a nonprofitable campaign running energy composition within halls across UK universities in order to increase student action on climate change, achieving an average of a 7% reduction in electricity consumption. If you would like to find out more about the campaign go to: www.studentswitchoff.org or join the 800 students already on the mailing list and like Bristol Student Switch Off on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ ssobristol. The University of Bristol Students’ Union (UBU) was one of 25 students’ unions to win funding from the National Union of Students (NUS) Green Fund 2013, which is now being used for a two-year project to foster a community of sustainable behaviours and actions at Bristol. UBU Get Green works collaboratively with the University of Bristol Sustainability Department to enable more students to participate in sustainability actions.
Epigram
24.02.2014
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‘Brainiacs’ hope to finally break Bristol’s University Challenge curse Helena Phillips News Reporter After competitive auditions which saw a turnout of 240 students, Bristol’s team for the famous University Challenge - which has been on our screens since
1962 - has been formed. With the whole quiz show being filmed just before the summer exams begin, the upcoming months are crucial for the team to prepare themselves before facing the wrath of quiz master Jeremy Paxman. The format used for the prestigious competition is that of a direct knockout
system where the teams will face at least two picture rounds, one musical round and a host of thematic questions during a meet with their opposition. Bristol will be one of twenty-eight other university and collegiate fielded teams all fighting to be crowned the winner of this year’s University Challenge.
The students who have been selected to compete in the notable quiz show and represent Bristol University are: Ben Moon - who is currently completing a PhD in Palaeogeology, third year Lewis Rendell studying Mathematics Msci, Miles Coleman - a fourth year focusing on Spanish and Portuguese and second year Archaeologist Robert
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The team have been preparing using the ‘Ps and Qs’ method - pizza and questions
SWINS
Bristol will be one of twenty-eight universities competing to be crowned the winner of Univeristy Challenge
Bristol to BAFTA
Stephanie Rihon Online News Editor
• Will Poulter wins EE ‘rising star’ award
BAFTA
Bristol’s very own Will Poulter has won the EE Rising Star Award at the BAFTA ceremony. Poulter, originally from London, read Drama at Bristol last academic year. Being extremely passionate about acting throughout his school career at the Harrodian, he secured his breakthrough role as Lee Carter in the 2008 hit ‘Son of Rambow’ where he was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for most promising newcomer. After this, he took part in a comedy sketch show called School of Comedy. However, his ‘big break’ came last summer with the release of ‘We’re the Millers’ alongside the likes of Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis; a stark contrast to his humble Bristol beginnings at Churchill Hall and Bunker Mondays. Poulter was known for the infamous ‘three way kiss’ between co-stars Aniston and Emma Roberts in the summer flick. When asked about this in interviews, he said that the experience of the film was ‘fantastic’ but the ‘kiss scene was awkward’ and ‘a bit of a blur’ because it was so ‘scary’. The EE rising star award is voted for by the public as well as being judged by members of the BAFTA academy. Previous winners of the EE rising star award have been James McAvoy in 2006 and Tom Hardy in 2011: all of which have gone on to have successful careers in the industry. In his teary acceptance speech, Poulter said ‘genuinely, this is such a huge honour’. In a recent interview, Poulter was also asked whose career path he wished to emulate and his answer was Leonardo DiCaprio, explaining that ‘He is a very versatile actor’.
Poulter won the EE Rising Star Award having read Drama at Bristol last academic year
Beavis acting as reserve. The team will be led by Captain Anastasia Reynolds - a fourth year who studies Czech & Russian. Whilst in previous years Bristol has
not been known to perform particularly well in the competition, Captain Reynolds maintains a positive attitude and states that her team: ‘are fairly strong and can make educated guesses regarding a lot of topics.’ In the lead up to the beginning of the competition and the first round, the team members have been practising vigorously and honing their knowledge on the various topics that could be potentially involved within the show. One method of preparation - which has been described by Reynolds as the highlight of her working with the team so far – has been the ‘Ps and Qs’ – pizza and questions training session. This - as one most likely can grasp from the title - consists of the team indulging in the Italian speciality whilst also practising their quiz show skills and bonding with their teammates. Entering into the forty-fourth series of the momentous competition, Bristol’s ‘brainiacs’ will have to look out for the winners of the last two previous series; the University of Manchester as well as the usual suspects from Oxford and Cambridge. However, if Bristol’s team do succumb to the tough competition and the frantic pace of questioning from the host, the team will be ‘looking forward to keeping the nameplates as a memento.’
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Epigram 24.02.2014
37
News catch-up Rowing to propose Alex Green News Reporter
Harry Martin-Dreyer and friend Alex Bland braced the Atlantic for charity and a bold romantic statement
Flickr: Hakahonu
How far would you go to create the perfect moment to propose to your loved one? A former Bristol student has made a spectacular journey across the Atlantic in order to ask his girlfriend of six years to marry him. Harry Martin-Dreyer rowed for 50 days alongside friend Alex Bland from Puerta de Mogan off the coast of West Africa to Port Charles in Barbados where, as soon as he disembarked, asked his now fiancé who he met whilst at university, for her hand. The pair, both 27, covered 3,000 miles of open Atlantic water and braved stormy weather, blistered hands and imminent threats from sharks. Yet perhaps there was no need to worry, their combined list of interests reads like a program for a weekend of extreme sports: skydiving, flying, sailing and ‘obsessive cleaning’. This feat of endurance raised £145,000 towards leukaemia and diabetes related charities, illnesses
that close family members of both Martin-Dreyer and Bland have sadly experienced. Both crewmembers took 2-hour shifts around the clock; one would rest whilst the other rowed. They maintained a firm pace of 58 miles a day for 50 days 15 hours and 43 minutes, only one day more than it took professional sportsmen Ben Fogle and James Cracknell to cover the same distance for a similar cause. Setting off on their remarkable journey on the 1st of December, they celebrated Christmas at sea with only each other’s company. The ring itself was stored in a waterproof bag, which Harry kept on his person throughout. He had convinced his girlfriend, with the help of her friends and family, to take a holiday to Barbados in order that he could propose on the beach at Port Charles. He agrees that his approach was somewhat unorthodox, saying ‘it was a risky strategy.’ He remarked that he was ‘incredibly pleased and proud that she agreed to marry me and is now wearing the ring that came such a long way with us!’.
RAG Week festivities Aaron Kendall News Reporter
Estelle Kadjo
Lord Toulson considers the moot problem
Inter-varsity Moot Spencer Turner News Editor
The finalists of the moot
The RAG Procession marked the begininng of RAG Week
Simonn Teague
Estelle Kadjo
On Saturday 15th February the University of Bristol hosted its first regional inter-varsity moot in the iconic Wills Memorial Building. A moot is an opportunity for law students to debate a hypothetical legal problem in front of a Judge and practice their advocacy skills. The event held at Bristol was a day long knock-out style competition, with teams competing from around the region. The competition saw 14 teams including: Oxford, Cardiff, Exeter, Swansea, the University of Law, BPP, City University, Westminster, Hertfordshire, Kingston, UWE, the Open University and of course Bristol University who entered two teams. The competition revolved around one moot problem. The teams would prepare both sides of the problem in preparation for the moot and compete in a knock out style competition throughout the day. Throughout the day various rounds of the competition were judged by barristers as well as academics from the law school. The day of mooting culminated in the final of the competition, held in the Reception Room of the Wills Memorial Building in front of a packed audience. The final was contested between BPP and the University of Bristol who were represented by second year student Hebe Trotter and third year student Tom Margesson. Lord Toulson, Justice of the Supreme
Court, was the judge of the final. Both teams mooted a problem which had been set by Bristol Law School’s Professor Keith Stanton. After an hour and half of extremely high quality advocacy, the eventual winners were the University of Bristol. As well as the prestige of winning the moot, the winning team were offered the chance to undertake a mini-pupillage with St Johns Chambers. After such a successful inaugural regional intervarsity mooting competition, the competition is likely to make an appearance again next year. Bristol University have also been successful in the Inner Temple Mooting Competition where they were the runners up, and they are still competing in the ESU Essex Court Competition.
Saturday 15th February marked the beginning of the biggest week in the RAG annual calendar. The week began with the traditional RAG procession through Bristol city centre which was opened by the Deputy Lord Mayor at 12pm on the Clifton Downs before it made its way down Whiteladies Road, Queens Road and Park Street. Costumed performers were accompanied by music, floats, bands and collectors. Other events taking place throughout the week included an overnight five-a-side football tournament, Casino Night, pub quiz, Zumba class and Dodgeball tournament. This year the Procession marked its 89th year, and is a reflection on the incredible charity work RAG does every year at the University. RAG attempts to provide students with the opportunity to give something back to the community, and this year alone RAG has raised over £31,700 already. Ann O’Malley, Student Fundraising Administrator said that ‘The annual Bristol RAG Procession is an amazing opportunity for RAG to put on a show for the public while fundraising for local Bristol Charities. It is a great opportunity for societies to get involved and perform on the floats, while volunteers collect along the route. We even had a local youth group take part this year giving it that great sense of community.’
RAG has always maintained strong links with the student body, and attempts to support societies and groups at the University with their own fundraising efforts. Collaborations RAG have had this year include: the ceili with Irish Society and the Dodgeball Tournament with Dodgeball Society, and they have made their commitment clear to working with other University societies in the future. Over the course of the week RAG aimed to raise about £3000 for local causes and are on track to raise over £100,000 this year for national causes. O’Malley went on to praise the efforts of everyone involved in RAG by saying ‘The RAG committee and all the other student groups and volunteers did an amazing job and should be very proud of how the day went. We can’t wait for next year and we hope to keep the Procession growing and get even more groups involved, both community groups and from the University. It has also been an amazing RAG Week and we hope everyone enjoyed it.’ If you are interested in getting involved in RAG, there are many ways to do so. With Raids, Jailbreak, and the Casino, it’s shaping up to be a fantastic year. If you are interested in finding out more about RAG, you can get in touch at: ragubu@bristol.ac.uk
Epigram
24.02.2014
Editor: Hugh Davies
Deputy Editor: Sophie Padgett
Online Editor: Michael Coombs
features@epigram.org.uk
deputyfeatures@epigram.org.uk
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Features
@epigramfeatures
Long on sentences, short on justice
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With our jails increasingly full and re-offending rates high, Ajit Niranjan assesses whether our justice system is really succeeding Ajit Niranjan Features Writer Overcrowded jails, skyrocketing custody costs and shameful rates of re-offending have once again brought the prison system into the spotlight as England and Wales now proudly boast the highest incarceration rate in all of Western Europe. At a time when the government’s ‘tough on crime’ line is lauded by the tabloids and public alike, it is perhaps unsurprising that this disenfranchised group receive the brunt of media prejudice and discrimination – across classes, races and genders, criminals are routinely treated as second-class citizens. However, the intricacies of the criminal justice system’s failings are largely ignored. From the horrific over-representation of the mentally ill to the shockingly high numbers of repeat offenders, something is certainly going wrong. So why do we not care about our convicts? There is little doubt that jails in this country are greatly
overburdened. Designed for just 50 000 people, the current prison system is teetering on the brink of collapse, operating at nearly 50% over capacity. This comes in the face of yet more prison closures and severe cutbacks to services ranging from training classes to mental healthcare provision. The strain of the recession is being felt no harder than by those in jail, where money is of no value. The cost of this is most apparent amongst young adults. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling’s callous plans to close seven Young Offenders Institutions have largely gone unnoticed, but will see increasing numbers of teenagers carrying out sentences in ‘titan-prisons’ with adult populations.
“ The current system is operating at nearly 50% over capacity
The fact that almost 50 young people have ended their lives behind bars in the last decade seems to have no influence on Grayling’s policy-making. The effects of such a move are not difficult to imagine: specialised, age-appropriate treatment will be forsaken in favour of a hard drugs culture practised by hardened criminals. These announcements come at a time when over 375 people have come forward to record cases of sexual abuse at a youth detention centre in Durham in the 70s and 80s. The allegations made against one officer, Neville Husband, are of such awful scale that it comes as a complete shock that there has been no public inquiry into his behaviour or the institutions that covered it up. Coupled with the extortionate expense of jail – the annual cost exceeds £40,000 per prisoner – it may come as a surprise that the country is calling for longer prison terms, fewer community orders and harsher sentences. The financial incentives for avoiding incarceration are becoming ever clearer. Nevertheless there is a strong public desire for a harder take
on crime. Though the days of the death penalty are over, there is still huge resentment against what many see as an overly liberal approach to justice. The reasons for this have less to do with crime levels than the way they are represented in the media: nearly two-thirds of the country believe crime to be on the rise. This contrasts starkly with the Office for National Statistics’ data, which puts it in 2010 as having fallen to its lowest in 3 decades. The net effect of this misinformation is a culture of callousness. We are happy to ignore the suffering of prisoners by righteous proclamations that they are merely getting what they deserve. This ‘eye-for-aneye’ attitude neglects the very reasons so many turn to crime. In the majority of cases, prisoners have been failed well before encountering the criminal justice system. Over 70% suffer from two or more mental disorders – some brought on by the traumas of abuse in prison, others well before any crimes were committed. A complete lack of adequate social service care coupled with a preference for
punishment over treatment has seen record numbers of people put in jail undeservingly.
Ex-foster children now account for a quarter of all adult prisoners
However, the real tragedy is the plight of ex-foster children, who now account for a quarter of all adult prisoners. Stories of sexual, mental and physical abuse are rife, but the past lives of criminals are of little interest to the media. That so many who enter our care system are failed time and time again should be a national scandal – and yet no politician seems willing to tackle it; rather, the focus of the debate revolves entirely around archaic ideas of retribution and vengeance. Given the extremely disadvantaged intake of our
jails, it is perhaps unsurprising that harsh penalties and empty rhetoric do little to reform prisoners. Though reoffending rates are currently hovering around 26% – hailed by the government as a success – this figure masks a greater problem: almost half of adults sentenced last year had 15 or more previous convictions. To call these people re-offenders would be an understatement; clearly prison is not working for them. There is now little doubt that our prison system is failing the very people it is designed to help. Rehabilitation in prisons can have tremendous benefits, but it is only ever of secondary importance to the authorities. All prisoners need to be given the necessary support to turn their lives around, but to do so we need to stop looking at them like an underclass of the species. Isn’t it finally time we discussed who we’re locking up? Putting people behind bars is the same as sweeping the problem under the carpet.
Epigram
24.02.2014
Quotas: a short term solution to a very old problem According to the most recent UK census, women make up almost 51% of the UK population and ethnic minorities make up 12.9%, however they remain desperately under-represented in both public and private sectors. Chuka Umunna MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, recently re-sparked the debate about quotas and positive discrimination in his comment on The Green Park Leadership 10,000 report. This analysis of 10,000 FTSE 100 executives found only 12 of the 289 top posts of chief executive, chairman or chief financial officer were held by women, and just 10 by ethnic minorities and shockingly no one of Chinese decent. He said: ‘The continued existence of a glass ceiling for women and ethnic minorities in our boardrooms is undeniable and unacceptable - progress on executive positions has been lamentable.’ Umunna states that if elected it is likely that Labour will introduce quotas for women and ethnic minorities on company boards to tackle what some are calling the ‘diversity deficit’. The existing strategy to improve female representation in the FTSE 100 is a ‘Woman on Boards’ report that recommends a voluntary,business-led strategy aiming to bring about a culture change at the heart of business. The businesses set their own targets, the only constraint being a minimum target of 25% female on boards by 2015. Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities Theresa May believes that this, rather than quotas, is the ‘route to long term change’. Ironically, Government is another sector in which women
and minorities are unacceptably underrepresented. The House of Commons should be a microcosm of the UK, but instead there are only 147 female MP’s and 27 ethnic minority MP’s out of a total of 650 members of parliament. The Sex Discrimination Act of 2002 enabled the use of All Women Shortlists to increase the proportion of female representatives in parliament. However, they have only been employed by the Labour Party; the other parties rejecting the fundamentally undemocratic nature of this process. In 2010 Ann Widdecombe criticised the use of AWS, stating that women such as the Suffragettes ‘wanted equal opportunities not special privileges’. However, it is undeniable that they achieve results. In both the 1997 and 2005 elections over fifty per cent of women MPs elected were selected from all-women shortlists. Labour currently has 86 female MPs and the Conservative party a shoddy 48 out of 304 – only 15.8%. At the current rate of success the Fawcett Society estimates it will take Labour 20 years to get to 50% female candidates, the Lib Dems 40 years and the Tories 400. An example where quotas have been introduced marginally successfully is Norway. In 2003 Norway became the first country in the world to impose a gender quota, requiring nearly 500 firms, including 175 firms listed on the Oslo bourse, to raise the proportion of women on their boards to 40 percent. Many countries, such as France and Malaysia, followed suit. Olaug Svarva, managing director of Folketrygdfondet, told the Reuters Nordic Investment Summit that ‘the nomination committees work in a different way than they did before. You
had to look more thoroughly to find females. This started a more professional process’. However, according to the International Business Times this quota bred a generation of ‘Golden Skirts’. They argue that while there is female representation at the very top of business in Norway, one layer down at executive level in the pool for the next generation of board members there is an extreme deficit. The crux of the debate is that quotas and positive discrimination undermine the very concept of equality that they are trying to achieve. I believe that positive action is the true way forward: providing at a grass roots level the same level of exposure and effective support to those who are disadvantaged. You want more women and ethnic minorities in politics and less voter apathy in general? Introduce compulsory political education into secondary schools and generate exposure and understanding, reducing the obvious disillusionment with the political system. If such a system was implicated successfully there would be no need for positive discrimination but until this action is taken I believe quotas may be a necessary evil to level the playing field before everyone can compete equally in this clearly divided society. In this sense, positive discrimination effectively has a sell-by date. It is a means to an end and there is only a brief window in which its implementation is able to coexist with the ideology of an equal society as a head-start in the right direction. When this period is finished it will become a source of resentment, immorality and risks creating a culture of dependency if the raucous debate surrounding affirmative action in U.S is any indication.
flickr: The Institute of Physics
Sofia Gymer Features Writer
What honour-th? Alfie Smith Features Writer The United Kingdom’s honour system is perhaps one of our least understood cultural institutions. You can’t read a British newspaper without coming across a small army of honoured people. Starting at the front with General Sir John Houlton’s (GCB, CBE, ADC) comments on planned armed forces restructuring, following on to the middle with a film review, staring Dame Judi Dench (CH,DBE,FRSA) concluding with the sports pages and Sir Alex Ferguson’s (Kb, CBE) column on current club managers. In fact, it’s hard to think of a single field where a titled member of some order doesn’t spring to mind. Come the 1st of January or the Queen’s official Birthday (as she had two), on a Saturday in June, the British public will listen intently to the latest honours list. We discuss the newly entitled, the obviously cheated and the completely unknown as if we have any say or even knowledge of the arcane system which awards these accolades. There are several honours systems operating in the UK. The most prominent being The Order of the British Empire. There is also The Order of the Bath, reserved for high-ranking civil servants or military personnel on completion of their service and the Order of St Michael and St George, for UK citizens who have achieved success in the Commonwealth or further abroad, such as diplomats and the Companion of Honour, a new award for achieving something of national importance without requiring years of service. All of these orders have ranks,
the highest award the right to use titles such as Sir and Dame. The Order of the British Empire, set up during the First World War, is an attempt to merge the ancient orders of chivalry with the new model of heroism, that of the working-class riflemen in the trenches. Only in Britain could a system intended to reward the valour of the common person be so feudalistic. The order has three public ranks, Commander, Officer and Member. None of these honours confer the titles of Sir or Dame. Sir Alex is not ‘Sir’ because of his CBE but for the lesser known honour of Knight Bachelor, Kb, awarded later by HM. After the ‘Cash for Honours’ Scandal which plighted the last Labour Government, the Cabinet Office has gone to great lengths to clarify the system and remove the mist where corruption always found a place. All honours are supervised by the Honours Committee that reports too, but is not dictated by, the PM and HM. The Committee itself is made of sub-committees which deal with specific fields e.g. sports or art. These committees are made up of independent members and permanent members, usually senior civil-servants working for the related department. Twice a year these committees offer up a list of names to the PM who then offers it to the Queen for approval. Every country has an honours system. It’s right that we honour those who have achieved great things in the lives and for the nation as a whole; but is our current system the right way of doing so? Look at the name of the main civilian system, ‘The Order of the British Empire’, it doesn’t seem right to be inducting members into the ranks of Officer or Commander
flickr: matsimpsk
9
of the Empire when the UK is trying to cast off its Imperial past. Although there has been an effort of late to revive the idea of our former empire as ‘Civilising’ or ‘Humanising’, I can’t help but think of slavery, genocide and exploitation. Aren’t we tainting the achievements of Judi Dench and Tony Robinson by associating them, even remotely, with the atrocities committed for ‘God and Empire’ - the motto of the order? The Order of The British Empire could certainly use a rebranding; the Order of The United Kingdom removes the direct imperial overtones. We should also be asking how ‘independent’ the independent process is. In theory, anyone can nominate anyone else. Yet, it seems strange that Cameron’s former spin doctor, business ambassador and even hair dresser all find themselves in this year’s honours. Furthermore, the number of ‘former’ donors to the Conservative party on the honours list is steadily increasing as the public memory of ‘Cash for Honours’ fades. Party officials of Thatcher’s era, now retired, should start appearing on the honours list; for independent means that even those that served ‘She who shall not be named’ - as large parts of the country still call her - need to be acknowledged. But, we all know that senior party apparatchiks will always find a way to lean on ‘independents’ to get want they want. And we must, therefore, be vigilant of each name, checking every donor, every official, every spindoctor for reasonable doubt and call foul-play when none can be found.
Epigram
24.02.2014
10
Holly Jones Features Writer Following the startling revelation that 36% of survey respondents were not aware of the NHS Organ Donor Register, Northern Ireland has begun a public awareness campaign which aims to enlighten the general public about organ donation. The results of the survey prompted further questions as to the UK’s awareness and general amenability towards the idea of donating one’s organs. An average of one person a day will die waiting for a transplant in the UK, due to a shortage of healthy organs. While there has been a 50% increase in the number of deceased donors since 2008, the number of living donors remains at 19,532,806 (March 2013) - less than a third of the total UK population. The rise in the number of deceased donors, donors who have not themselves registered while alive, has been attributed to the work of palliative nurses who approach bereaved families and persuade them to allow their loved one’s organs to be transplanted to patients on the waiting list. The familial consent method has been especially effective in Spain, where despite a sharp drop in road accident fatalities (the source of many donated organs) a record number of transplants were made in 2009. One proposed solution to increase the number of donors and speed up the waiting process for patients undergoing arduous and limiting procedures such as dialysis, is an ‘opt-out’ system, such as the one introduced in Wales last year. An opt-out system works on the notion of ‘presumed consent’: that everyone who hasn’t declared in writing that they do not want their organs donated is happy for them to be used to help people on the donor list. From a consequentialist standpoint this is absolutely the right thing
to do: the number of people on the organ donor register in Wales is expected to rise about 25% once the legislation comes into force. The system is hoped to be put into practice by the end of this year, bringing with it the promise of more saved lives. However, there are both practical and ethical concerns raised about presumed consent. Some groups from the three Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam, argue that this is a case of ‘ends justifying means’ and that families who wish to opt-out for deceased relatives should have the right to do so. In 2004, MPs rejected the UKwide introduction of ‘opt-out’ by voting against the Human Tissue Act. In 2007, the thenShadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said, ‘The state does not own our bodies or have a right to take organs after death.’ The idea of the state ‘harvesting’ organs may sound far-fetched, but a recent Hollyoaks plot saw the deceased daughter of a character have her organs removed even once her mother had retracted her permission, which prompted several people to remove themselves from the organ donor register and the NHS to subsequently complain about the episode. While this may not happen in real life in the UK, it is true that the demand for healthy organs and the shortfall in donors has prompted global behaviours ranging from unethical to criminal. In China, it is legal to remove the organs of an executed prisoner without their consent or the consent of their families. Not only this, but the 2006 Kilgour-Matas Report found a large-scale organ harvesting operation in China on live members of the persecuted Falun Gong spiritual group, who were imprisoned en masse as ‘living mines’, waiting for their organs to be necessary to someone else. However gory this image is, it may in
“ fact work in the favour of the adoption of the opt-out system. By increasing the number of donors domestically, demand for organs internationally decreases.
An average of one person a day will die waiting for a transplant in the UK
Another suggestion for increasing donation of organs post-mortem is to offer financial incentives – either for joining the donor register, or after death. These have been suggested in the form of tax breaks, one-off payments, or the partial covering of funeral costs by the NHS. With over 90% of the British population found to be in favour of organ donation in 2003, but still such comparatively low rates of signing onto the register, is cold hard cash the answer? Perhaps not. With an economic incentive comes the capacity for corruption, both the standards of organs and the way they are procured could be potentially jeopardised. The impact of offering a financial incentive can been seen in the US where blood donors are paid directly in anything from cash to gift cards. Research by the WHO has found that the blood stock in the US is more likely to be unsafe than blood donated voluntarily in the UK. It is clear that the organ shortage is not going to solve itself without considerable input from the government. Whether we follow the example of Wales, and have our consent assumed, or that of Northern Ireland and increase public awareness through campaigns, action needs to be taken in some form to provide care for the ever growing number of people who desperately await organ donations.
flickr:ducan
The Iceland bin raiders Last month three homeless men were arrested for taking food from bins outside an Iceland in Kentish Town, London for offences listed in the 1824 Vagrancy Act. This outdated legislation (which is currently in the process of being altered) renders it illegal to sleep rough or beg. After receiving much media exposure and widespread doubt as to why the CPS thought it was in the public interest to pursue the issue, the case was dropped and all three walked free. Although the men were not prosecuted, this case draws
another sector of society that take part in the practice. Most people probably know someone who’s successfully managed to scavenge a decent dinner or two from a skip and, provided you don’t get caught, it seems an attractive alternative to living off Sainsbury’s Basics. But what exactly is the legal stance on bin skipping? One of the reasons that accounts for the huge amount of commercial food wastage is the legislation relating to use by dates. It is illegal for supermarkets to sell any product after its use by date, although the product may still be edible. There is also a financial incentive for the supermarkets who know that customers may
attention to widespread practice of ‘bin skipping’ and the scale of the problem of food wastage in the UK. According to reports published in October last year, Tesco alone generated 30,000 tonnes of food waste in the first six months of 2013. Figures released by the Waste and Resources Action Programme show that last year 15 million tonnes of food was thrown away in the UK. In the current tough economic climate, it is unsurprising that some people have turned to the art of ‘bin skipping’, taking food past its use by date from supermarket bins. As well as the homeless, students are (unsurprisingly)
be tempted to buy products near their expiration date at reduced prices over more expensive fresher food. This surely begs the question that if a shop can’t, or chooses not to sell outdated food, why can’t it go to the needy instead of the bin? This highlights bizarre laws relating to ownership: according to legislation in England and Wales, even if someone throws something away they retain ownership over it. Therefore taking from bins, although the products may be of no financial value, is theft. There was a similar case in 2011 when a woman was charged for receiving stolen goods worth over £200 from bins outside a
Lizzie Bower Features Writer
flickr: road scum
Sophie Padgett
Organ donation: If not opt- out, then how?
Tesco Express beneath her flat. Sacha Hall was given a bag full of ham, pies and potato waffles from a friend who had taken the items. Store refrigerators had turned off after a power cut and staff were forced to throw away £10,000 worth of chilled food. Tesco told the court that they were not interested in the prosecution as the goods taken ‘had no value’. Most supermarkets seem to share this view and turn a blind eye to ‘bin skipping’. In the Kentish Town case, Iceland was unaware of the arrests and apparently had no idea they had taken place until the story appeared in the media. Iceland founder and Chief Executive Malcolm Walker wrote on Twitter that he was ‘delighted’ that the CPS had decided to drop the case. Whilst these are both examples of supermarkets behaving in a benign way towards bin skippers, other companies have taken more active steps to address the issue of food wastage and hunger. Pret A Manger are one such example. The Pret Charity Turn is one of the initiatives of the Pret Foundation Trust in which unsold sandwiches are given to the homeless at the end of each day. This not only corresponds with the company’s policy of fresh food made in store, but is also a key part of their campaign to help the homeless. Last year alone they donated 2.7 million products to homeless charities. Although organisations such as the Waste and Resources Action Programme and the Love Food Hate Waste Campaign are attempting to address the issue of food waste on an international and national scale, as with most complex global issues it looks as if it’ll take time for long-term solutions to produce noticeable results. In the meantime there is a drastic need for laws concerning expired food to be relaxed in order to address the discrepancy between the enormous amount of food wastage in the UK and number of people in need of food.
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24.02.2014
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ED Awareness Week: five things you need to know
1. We Love Food There seems to be a misconception that AN sufferers don’t enjoy food. This might stem from the observation that AN sufferers might get anxious around meal times and don’t want to eat, but the truth is people with eating disorders have a love-hate relationship with food. On one hand, they might be obsessed with food and spend every waking moment thinking about it but their love for food might also be expressed in the want to cook or feed others to satisfy this ‘love’ that they deny themselves. Eating is vital to life and important in keeping our bodies functioning efficiently, thus when our relationship with food becomes unhealthy; it doesn’t only affect the body. The brain is literally and figuratively in a state of starvation. It’s a hard cycle to break from when eating and thoughts of food bring about anxiety, guilt and shame. The constant struggle between wanting to live and eat without such restraints and the negative self-worth they associate with eating is a burden they have to carry every day.
flickr: m_cicchetti
Eating disorders (EDs) are 99% about control. They can occur when people feel a lack of control or challenges in other areas of their lives such as having a perfectionist personality, bullying, poor body image, loss of a loved one, childhood trauma, relationship breakdowns, professional pressures or wanting to lose weight (though it’s rarely a case of just simply wanting to emulate skinny celebrities). ED behaviours such as bingeing/purging, starving, over-exercising, overzealous healthy eating are ways to take back control to compensate for what might be going wrong in other areas of one’s life. These behaviours may not be apparent to others - sometimes even sufferers themselves can be unconscious of them. The danger is when these coping mechanisms start to take complete control over the sufferer’s life, leading to the binge-purge cycle of bulimia or the self-starvation path of anorexia.
flickr: m_cicchetti
It is my opinion that you can’t fully understand a mental illness unless you have had one. We may be familiar with the textbook definitions of mental illnesses such as depression, anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), and these clinical definitions might be useful for psychiatrists and policy makers, but to be able to support someone with an eating disorder we must abandon common beliefs and see the world through their eyes. In preparation for this article, I spoke to various people who have or had an eating disorder and asked them what they wished people could understand.
2. We Crave Control
3. We Need Supportive Friends Recovery from an eating disorder is a long and difficult process but is definitely achievable. Friends and family play an enormous role in helping people with eating disorders, but there is a limit to what they can do and compromising their own needs may lead to resentment. Treating them as an ill person isn’t helpful. The way to help is to listen to them, allow them to talk about their thoughts and feelings and, most importantly, don’t judge or assume things simply from their behaviour. ED sufferers may appreciate honest concerns, but guilttripping can have a detrimental effect. Instead try to emphasise
flickr: m_cicchetti
Student Minds Bristol Special Feature
The human side of Horseworld
that you’re here for them no matter what and just want them to be happy and healthy. Nagging or asking questions such as ‘have you been going to the gym again?’ or ‘why won’t you just eat?’ will create extra tension and push them away. Questions like these only serve to make them feel even more isolated and the disorder to become more secretive. Be open minded, and whatever you do, don’t criticise. Sufferers do enough of that to themselves already. Over time, the ED becomes something that is relatively comforting in their lives; something to hold on to as a reliable coping mechanism which becomes part of their identity over time. Letting go, therefore, is a complex and painful process, which might lead sufferers to question their identity without the ED. Encouragement and acceptance from friends and family will make the sufferer feel special and reaffirm their self-worth and new identity that is independent of the eating disorder.
4. We Need Better Treatment Being able to pluck up the courage to say I need help is one thing, but getting the right treatment is another. Current treatment for EDs is still far from effective and needs to be more tailored to the individual. Although Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), a therapy that involves teaching sufferers to break their unhealthy automatic thought cycles to alter behaviour and is currently a popular treatment for EDs. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Some argue that EDs may not ever be completely cured - medication, counselling and physical intervention can only do so much as the underlying causes may be deep-rooted. However with the right support most people can learn to cope with the disorder in a
Josephine Franks Editor
Epigram caught up with Mark Owen, the charity’s managing director, to find out about the work they do with disadvantaged young people. Horseworld are well known for the work they do with horses and currently care for 425 animals. However, their work is not limited to equine welfare; they also run a scheme for disadvantaged youngsters that sees 300+ school-age children through its doors each year. These students will often be from non-mainstream schools and may suffer from autism or experience behavioural problems. Participants
on the Discovery scheme spend six weeks learning about handling horses, using activities that also work on their teamwork and leadership schools. For many, the boost in confidence and self-esteem that this generates is the greatest benefit from taking part in the scheme. Mark Owen commented that the young people often see a parallel between their own backgrounds and those of the rehabilitated horses
which leads to a unique bond between horse and leader in a process of mutual rehabilitation. The charity currently sees no decrease in the number of horses in need and with a growing interest in the scheme they hope that the Discovery programme will continue to expand in the future.
healthier way and live a normal life. A mistake that professionals such as therapists and doctors might make is focusing on physical state instead of mental struggle, confusing reverting to a normal weight with recovery, and judging the severity of the ED by weight. Early diagnosis and more available, nuanced and tailored treatments are required, especially for people who are diagnosed with Eating Disorders which aren’t easily categorised.
5. We Need to Improve Public Awareness of EDs EDs do not discriminate - they affect anyone, any gender, race, background at any point in their lives. The notion that EDs are ‘rich white girl’s’ predicaments is outdated and untrue. They are not about vanity, appearance, looks and attention. Eating disorders reflect one’s personal struggles with negative events in their lives. It is far more common than you think and has the highest mortality rate (10%) of any psychiatric illness. The behaviours exhibited by someone with an ED might not make much sense to someone without one straight away. Once we abandon the common misconceptions that we might have about eating disorders and try to understand the true, complex nature of them, we will be one step closer to understanding the emotional struggles people with an ED face each day. Here at Bristol, Student Minds Bristol runs every Monday fortnight on the 4th Floor of the Student Union to provide support for students. Leading psychiatrist Hugh Herzig will be giving a talk about ‘Motivation to change’ on Wednesday 26th February as part of Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Everyone is welcome to attend to this talk, so please come along!
Retraction Epigram would like to retract an article published in Issue 271 on 10 February 2014 entitled ‘Mismanagement rears its head at Horseworld’. The article was about the equine charity Horseworld and included allegations of mismanagement. The article was based on content from other sources and we regret not offering the managing director - Mark Owen - the right of reply before publication. Meanwhile, Epigram apologises unreservedly to Horseworld and Mr Owen for the editorial oversight that led to the publication of this article.
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Are antidepressants too readily prescribed? With mental illness still a subject of much
Yes
debate and relatively little understanding, are antidepressants always the solution to the problem?
Izzy Burnett say that, for such people, the benefits of medication over placebo are substantial. I am merely suggesting that it is highly unlikely that all of the 50 million prescriptions for antidepressants last year were given strictly to the clinically depressed. It is more plausible to suppose that people simply experience considerable life worries, not clinical depression, and that they are misdiagnosed. So, many people take antidepressants without being clinically depressed. What is the problem? Antidepressants may improve people’s wellbeing if they believe they work – but at great cost. People easily become psychologically dependent on antidepressants. Despite some psychiatrists’ denial that antidepressants are addictive, the gold standard psychiatry prescribing manual suggests in fact they are. SSRIs and SNRIs are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants; they work by increasing chemicals in the patient’s brain thought to affect mood. However, it is doubtful that most people’s depression can be simplified as a mere ‘chemical imbalance’, and as these drugs cause dependency doctors should exercise significantly more caution and restraint. It is important to remember that antidepressants are manufactured by big pharmaceutical companies. By nature, big pharmaceuticals are driven by profit. They are notorious for selectively publishing drug trial results. For a 2008 trial of antidepressants, the Federal Drug Administration analysed 51% of studies as having positive results, but within public literature the figure rose to 94% ‘negative’ studies were published conveying a ‘positive outcome’ or left unpublished. Furthermore, research done at the University of Bristol on the beneficial nature of psychedelics for depression may well be ignored in favour of the development of more SNRIs, due to big pharmaceuticals’ assurance of patents. It would be optimistic to assume that all GPs have a deep understanding of the drugs they sell on behalf of big pharmaceuticals. Doctors are very used to prescribing medication and are not necessarily psychologically-minded. In addition, patients are very used to receiving medication for health problems they encounter, and may push for prescription. However, it is a doctor’s duty to assess the costs and benefits of these drugs. It seems far too easy for them to reach for the prescription pad, just as it is too easy for us to hope that popping pills will cure our woes.
Flickr/NinaJG
In parts of the UK, more adults get prescribed antidepressants than those who qualify as depressed on an NHS survey. In Blackpool, by no means an exceptional example, 1 in 6 adults (16.7%) pick up monthly prescriptions for antidepressants, whereas only 5.6% of adults nationwide have depression (or depression with anxiety). Furthermore, the rate of antidepressant prescription rose 7.5% from 2012 to 2013. So it is overwhelmingly clear that antidepressant prescription is both common and increasing - but is it done too readily? It seems that it is. One only has to look at the negligible success rates comparative to placebos, consider patients’ psychological dependency on antidepressants, and realise the ease of which patients can acquire such drugs, for it to become scarily obvious that they are far too readily prescribed. Depression, let us remember, is a serious psychological illness. It is a syndrome operationally defined by European and world psychiatrists using the International Classification of Diseases 10. As psychiatrist A. P. J. Kinch explained to me, specific criteria must be met for a person to be diagnosed with clinical depression, including: anhedonia which is a pervasive lack of enjoyment of previously enjoyed activities, early morning awakening, and diurnal variation of mood. However, these cannot alone be counted as clinical depression, instead as dysthymia or an adjustment disorder. When going through hard times it seems far too easy to go to a GP, teary-eyed and say that your life does not seem worth living. I do not mean to mock these terrible life events – they are indeed terrible. However, perhaps it would be better to receive specific counselling, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), or seek reassurance from close friends and family before running to a doctor requesting pills. This is because antidepressant medication will not magically dissipate your problems. Crucially, evidence suggests that such medication simply does not work to treat ‘mild’ depression, which is almost certainly caused by external hardship or life dissatisfaction. Indeed, recent studies show that only 1 in 7 people actually benefit from taking antidepressants, and that CBT is more effective for mild cases. Psychiatrists divide depression into three categories: mild, moderate and severe. I do not dispute that medication can be a literal life saver for those suffering more acute depression: the stats
No Helena Wadia Much like depression, antidepressants too have a stigma. The typical view of antidepressants is that you must be completely, totally, ridiculously, utterly, one hundred per cent crazy to have to resort to them. That your depression must be so badly out of control that you had to turn to pills to fix you. This view must be reassessed. People are scared of the word ‘antidepressants’. The reaction you get when you tell someone you’re on antidepressants is typically one of shock, a bit of stuttering and usually a look in their eye that labels you as a crazy person. This is a stigma that needs to be broken down – depression is a medical problem, and it is fine to take medicine to help cure it. Clinical depression is a mental disorder that is caused by having a lack of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, so feelings of sadness, anger, anxiety or frustration arise, and interfere with everyday life. In this way, why is it considered a taboo to take a pill that will raise the chemical levels of these neurotransmitters? For many people who suffer from depression, it is healthier for them to think of depression in medical terms, rather than emotional ones. Of course, antidepressants will not defeat your depression alone. Cognitive behavioural therapy, such as counselling or group therapy, is beneficial in several ways. However, for many people, talking to a stranger actually raises feelings of anxiety, and a great deal of courage is needed for many people to talk about their feelings – even to someone they don’t know, making it easy to shy away from this kind of treatment. Furthermore, counselling is not always readily available to everyone. It may take time to get on a waiting list, money to pay for sessions and even then there is no guarantee that the therapist you are assigned to will be right for you. Knowing that antidepressants are a form of help and are a lot more accessible than most forms of cognitive behavioural therapy can be a comfort to sufferers, reducing their sense of social isolation. Research has shown that the best way to combat depression is a mixture of both antidepressants and cognitive behavioural therapy. Antidepressants work quickly and reduce the symptoms of depression, whilst counselling or other therapies deal with the causes. However, both are considered necessary to overcome depression. We shouldn’t be worrying about prescribing antidepressants
because doctors are fully aware that these medicines are not entirely problem solvers. No doctor is going to be so rash that they will hand out medicine to a patient and tell him or her that their problems are solved. Antidepressants are given out after careful assessment and with careful follow-ups. During the first few months of treatment, a patient will usually see their doctor at least once every 2-3 weeks to assess how well the antidepressants are suiting them. They are always prescribed first on a short-term basis, with regular doctor checkups, and for many people, are not needed again at any point in their life. Antidepressants are a helping hand back onto the road to stable mental health, not a free pass to full recovery. They are mostly necessary for those with severe depression to rapidly and effectively reduce their sadness and anxiety, in order to carry on with their lives, and help them seek other forms of treatment. Much of the worry surrounding antidepressants stems from myths about their side effects. There are, of course, side effects to antidepressants, as there are with any medicine, but none of them are severe enough to warrant major worry about the pills being too readily prescribed. The most common anti-depressants, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and Serotonin-adrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs) contain side effects such as feeling sick, changes in appetite, changes in sleeping patterns, low sex drive or headaches. These are hardly severe, considering what the patient has endured in order to need anti-depressants. Moreover, generally with these anti-depressants, the side effects should improve within a few weeks, with the patient then finding that the treatment outweighs any original problems. Statistics show that 1 in 4 British adults will experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem in the course of a year, and 1 in 6 experiences this at any given time. If we have the medical technology to lower this statistic, then why should there be a fear of antidepressants being too readily prescribed? It is estimated that approximately 450 million people worldwide have a mental health problem, making it obvious that depression is not a small problem. It’s going to take a lot of CBT to cure every single one. Antidepressants are necessary, antidepressants are useful, and antidepressants are not scary.
Epigram
24.02.2014
14
Sometimes it’s not so super being superior
Flickr: Roger Blackwell
Students, not strikes, hold the answer
Robert McGowan Stuart Hundreds of hours of teaching has recently been sacrificed at the hands of striking members of the UCU. Whilst many have a right to lament the clear academic predicament that this leaves students in, the flagrant myopic approach to higher education that the government continues to see fit to carry out should be viewed as the real affliction in amongst this disorder. Nonetheless, I myself find the actions of such members of the UCU to be somewhat near-sighted, with all things considered. As an arts student, paying £9000 a year for six hours of contact a week seems excessive, especially considering that beyond teaching time the only other services I’m genuinely entitled to are access to the libraries, cheap food at the Hawthorns and free condoms from the Health Centre, which sadly I’ve never got to use. When university professionals take job action, I’m paying for, at times, 3 hours of contact a week. When a lecturer chooses to strike, it really brings into question where their best interests lie. Whilst I cannot refute the right to take industrial action against clear inequities in pay structures for university professors, I still feel the need to look at their protests in context. When harking back to the days of Thatcher’s clashes with Arthur
Scargill’s NUM,these men weren’t simply launching a crusade over a matter of a couple of percentiles in fluctuations of wages; they were fighting for their very livelihoods. Britain does indeed still find itself in an economic mire, but it’s necessary to remember that students are as much engulfed in it as everyone else. Lecturers need to acknowledge that their actions don’t just hinder the bureaucracy of the university and the UCAE, but more importantly the development of their students: the fulcrum of higher education’s purpose. Seeing the halcyon days of industrial and imperial dominance become just another note on another page of history, Britain needs to step back and reassess where its strengths lie. With such a wealth of cultural, creative and intellectual capability, it’s evident that the future should be driven by putting as much investment as we can into these fields. By striking, there can be no more effective means to inhibit the next generation’s efforts in broadening their academic scope. Members of the unions can say as much as they want to obfuscate their true intentions of wanting insignificant amounts of cash added onto their salaries and this cynicism sadly detracts from their original,academic intentions.With all the respect I have for university professors, not wishing to denigrate them too much, this sad turn of events doesn’t stem from their own shortcomings, but rather, those of the government. When the announcement came that universities could raise their fees to £9000 in November 2010, as the government massively reduced spending on higher education, Minister David Willets claimed that
it would reduce bureaucracy and give universities more freedoms. The stark reality, unfortunately, is that universities have struggled as a result. With fewer teaching grants and less government capital funding, it’s grown even more difficult for universities such as Bristol to carry out their intended work. As pay levels fail to correspond with inflation rates, university workers are quite simply being crippled by the Tories. Whilst it seems fair enough to assume that most academics are driven by intellectual interest rather than material gain, the indifference shown to them by the executive is unbelievable. So despite this unfortunate financial absorption, born of governmental nearsightedness, a strike doesn’t appear to be the most appropriate route to take to remediate the situation. As mentioned before, to deprive a student of their learning by striking is to undermine not only the hierarchy, but also undergraduates and postgraduates themselves. There are cuts for a reason, and whilst the government has made a grave error of judgment in slashing its financial aid for higher education, the best thing to be done is ensure that our current generation of students can leave university and contribute to our economy as soon as possible. If it’s students who have the potential to develop Britain into an international force to be reckoned with, then it should be students protesting, not professors. In the shadow of the government’s intransigent approach towards our education, strikes from the UCU may seem like the only option, but considering the repercussions of these actions, it’s far more conducive to seek protest elsewhere.
In recent weeks, student media has been bombarded by a number of sensationalist stories. It’s hardly surprising that the Bristol Tab, Bristol’s answer to The Daily Mail, is one of the main sources to have come under fire from the student community. One recent article, titled ‘Why pointless degrees piss me off’, has received a significant amount of opposition. Degrees such as Childhood Studies, Ancient History and Drama were deemed useless by the writer, and referred at one point to students in other courses such as History as ‘better people’. Not only was the whole article incredibly belittling and disrespectful, it was also blatantly clear to the reader that the real intention of the article was merely to provoke outrage from those who were deemed inferior.
“ The more ridiculous you are, the more likes you’ll probably get
Another Tab article discussed how women who have multiple sexual partners shouldn’t be demonised for their decisions. This is a completely fair point of discussion. However, the argument was wholly undermined by the writer’s decision to make a number of sweeping statements: ‘There’s nothing worse than a girl who doesn’t want sex and doesn’t take care of their appearance’ and that she deliberately chose to become friends with attractive people. Not particularly enlightening or clever, particularly when they state only moments earlier that they hate judgmental people. Unfortunately, this penchant for spectacle isn’t just limited to the tabloidstyle publications. A similarly extreme article published by Epigram, described how the writer was ‘sickened’ by English girls as, unlike their American counterparts, they apparently don’t take enough pride in their appearance. Although I could go on for a very long time about why these particular articles are both offensive and flawed, I probably don’t need to do that considering the substantial backlash each piece has received, the nature of the writing suggests something far more uncomfortable about modern society. Each of these articles depend not upon fact, but upon the expectation that they will offend and therefore create a reaction. Garbled accusations and sweeping generalisations are thrown out without any comprehension of the harm they might cause, and are left to fester out in the open in the hope that someone will take the bait. It is this apparent need or desire for such a strong reaction, rather than a need to defend a well informed point, that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
“
Olivia Lace-Evans
Why is it that people have decided that sensationalist and exaggerated writing is to be desired? Have we become so obsessed with spectacle that the only way to stay on top of the pack is to become more outrageous than anyone else preceding you? As a society we have become numb to articles, pictures and videos designed to provoke and cause controversy; need I mention Miley or Rihanna’s music videos? This obsession with spectacle should be curbed. Our dependency upon self-exhibition is hardly a new topic, all you need to do is look at the recent neknomination phenomenon that has been splurged across everyone’s newsfeeds. Let’s be honest, it’s basically an excuse for people to peacock on Facebook. The whole concept is based upon oneupsmanship, and the more ridiculous or disgusting you are, the more likes you’ll probably get. What’s the prize for getting the most likes? Nothing; apart from making a spectacle of yourself, getting a moment of ‘glory’, and demonstrating that you can drink horrible concoctions very quickly. So why have we developed this modern day need to be superior? It could be a result of the growing influence social media holds in most areas of life. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all about gaining acceptance and approval from people by presenting a small snapshot of yourself. For many, these websites are a way of presenting a certain image of yourself and creating the impression that your life is so perfect and exciting, that you just cant resist giving people a sneak peak online. Although this was initially a strange concept to get used to, now you can’t seem to go anywhere without someone taking a snapshot of themselves, their food, parties or, well, anything really, so long as it has an Instagram filter. We all crave contact and reaction, and that’s why we are becoming increasingly outrageous and accepting of the controversial.
Our obsession with being better than others or the centre of attention can hardly end well
And yet, if this acceptance or attention is so transient, after all I highly doubt you remember every photo, article or video you’ve ever commented upon, liked or felt outraged by, then our obsession with being better than others or the centre of attention can hardly end well. When everything is exaggerated past the point of being taken seriously, it’s easy to become numb or ignorant to what is unacceptable, offensive or rude. And so we return to the crux of the problem: the concerning combination of spectacle and journalism. It would be naïve to expect all tabloids to reconsider their inclination towards sensationalism and provocation. However, as readers, students and journalists, we should recognise the purpose of these articles, and resolve to re-direct our focus towards more well informed pieces of work which are written to provoke thought, rather than temper.
Epigram
24.02.2014
13 13 15
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge economics erode our civil liberty
Flickr: Lawrence OP
Zack Rose The democratic sovereignty of the British public was dealt a further blow on the 5th February 2014, by the part privatisation of the government’s behavioural insights team, also known as the ‘nudge unit’, the sixteen strong team of behavioural psychologists and economists who inform government policy with behavioural economics. The team will move from Whitehall to the London headquarters of Nesta, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, a charity that will co-own it alongside staff and government. If you haven’t heard of Nudge economics, it is a branch of behavioural economics whose central idea is that individuals can be helped, or ‘nudged’ into taking decisions that result in better outcomes for themselves and others
without being forced or regulated to do so. Instead, the way in which options are framed in the ‘choice architectures’ in society will significantly determine choice outcomes. For example, placing healthy food in a convenient place in the supermarket and unhealthy foods in an inconvenient place makes it more likely that people will choose healthy foods. This is ‘libertarian paternalism’: libertarian because people retain free choice, but paternal because the design of the shop is encouraging you to make certain choices. Our civil liberties have been eroded by this privatisation, as this potentially influential area of policy making has now been removed from government and therefore public scrutiny without the direct consent of the electorate. A move like this is problematic, as policy implications now and in the future, should have had this approval before being pushed through. A mandate should have been sought from the public. Now that it is privatised, the unit is protected from scrutiny and democratic accountability, it is no longer subject to the Freedom of Information Act and can sue for libel. This erosion of civil liberties seems to be a theme of this
government. Indeed, does anyone remember being consulted before the coalition decided to introduce five year fixed term Parliaments in 2011? It seems that our positive and negative freedoms are being taken away by the state without the people being able to decide on these issues of potentially major significance. This seems especially problematic looking to the future, as further tests and refinements in the theory and in policy are carried out, we could potentially be looking at control over our lives coming from Whitehall and not ourselves.
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The ‘nudge unit’ is a sixteen strong team of behavioural psychologists and economists
Moreover, the tactics of nudge economics are worrisome, as it
influences the public without them knowing. It might seem like a more liberal way to clamp down on behaviour by using soft nudges rather than the use of hard shoves or legislation, but it is actually more surreptitious. When something is legislated you are aware that something is banned, whereas with a nudge you will never know whether you had the choice. This is a threat to individual autonomy and free choice, and makes this new vision of paternalism seem not so libertarian. It is this kind of governmental determinism and a new lack of accountability of those creating policies that affect choice in such an underhand way that should be worrying to those on both sides of the political spectrum. All is not lost, however. This development may have eroded democratic accountability, but there is little evidence to show how effective ‘nudging’ actually is. The focus of nudge economics tends to be on small behavioural changes, such as a tool called ToneCheck that can help you to reduce profane language in an email. Or the changing of the classic food pyramid to a more comprehensible food plate. How concerned should we
really be about changes in behaviour this small? Indeed, a recent study by Professor Reiner at the University of British Columbia concluded that ‘overall people were not terribly averse to being gently pushed in the “right” direction.’ Moreover, Assistant Professor Davies at the University of Warwick criticizes nudge theory’s obsession with ‘nano-level policy’ and believes that attempting to tackle the major ‘macro level’ economic and social problems which face us with a model that uses brain synapses, chemistry and the individual as the object of change will never be good enough. It should be a last resort, with institutional and structural reform being the priority. Overall it seems the greatest threat to our civil liberties would be in the future, if the silent influence of Nudge policies had a significant effect on the range of choices available to and the actual choices made by members of society. At the moment, we should be concerned that the coalition has eroded democratic accountability again, without any consultation, and has potentially paved the way to a future scenario where soft paternalistic nudges become hard paternalistic shoves.
Epigram
24.02.2014
Letters
@EpigramLetters Editor: Emma Leedham letters@epigram.org.uk
Reality TV shows are taking the piste producers want them because they’re simply more costeffective than getting actual well-known celebrities, who probably wouldn’t even take part! It is becoming clear that stars take part in these shows because it is an easy route to fame and popularity, and often associated with a desperate attempt to make some sort of comeback. Of course, some reality stars have, to be honest, used their fame properly and made a career out of it. For example, Kelly Clarkson won the first series of American Idol, and is now a very successful star, having sold millions of copies of her albums worldwide. However, despite this example and shows like
than strolling down Whiteladies Road with a breeze in your hair, basking in the rolling hills of our fair city as the undulations unfold in front of you. Safe in the knowledge that The Downs will be waiting for you on the return journey, prime for participation in fun and frolics, there can be no doubt that a spring or summer’s day in Bristol is one of the finest going. However, unlike the 300 days of sun that were bestowed upon me last year, Bristol seems to generally confine its vitamin D output to a couple of weeks each year. The idyllic images of drinks outdoors in the late afternoon sun are a scant reflection of reality. Instead, the majority of our student experience is an endless deluge.
Thinking back to our Bristolian c o m m u t e , Whiteladies is a far more treacherous route in the midst of a storm. Having sat in the library for the previous eight hours, the rain streams down your face and the sound of lorries trundling past in the rush hour traffic is only just discernable above the hammering of water onto tarmac. Moreover, every pace feels like a miniature game of minesweeper in which you pray that the next footstep will be onto a firmly fixed paving slab. I recently had the misfortune of losing this game twice in the same journey, and arrived on campus with the distinct appearance of someone who appeared to have waded through a river en route to university. Along with all of this, you find yourself walking into a wind that pushes you back from whence you came and which chills you to your very core. If my English GCSE taught me one thing it was ‘pathetic fallacy’ – when the weather in books or plays reflects the mood of things to come. During exams this seemed
American Idol, producers of reality TV shows nowadays are not seeking talent or capacity, it seems. There is clearly an illusion that anything that will draw a reaction from the audience is good enough to be trialled on a reality TV show. Soon enough, they will shamelessly start
going behind the scenes at funeral homes filming people’s unusual and peculiar funerals. Oh, wait, that has already been done too.
to be a suitable analogy – the rain pouring down in tandem with the decline of the collective spirit of those being submitted to the perils of exams. Four weeks later, the storms are still here but it’s not funny anymore. Which I suppose means we’re doomed to an endless cycle of inclement weather until someone musters some kind of cheer about it. Although most of Bristol is comparatively flood free, I cannot remember the last time that upon opening my front door I wasn’t greeted by the wind throwing it backwards, or the rain violently smashing into the ground. If only
weather forecaster Michael Fish were around to give us all some kind of false hope. As he said in 1987, ‘A woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way… don’t worry, there isn’t!’ The following day, the largest storm the UK had seen in recent memory arrived in the UK. This is the dichotomous existence that I’ve come to know. Twelve months ago I was in the sunniest place in France, today I’m fancifully praying for a bygone weather forecaster to help surmount this dastardly weather.
Fatos Nacakgedigi 2nd year Spanish
Do you want to have your say? Email your letters to letters@epigram.org.uk
Alex Longley
Flickr: freefotouk
Last year, as the locals never ceased to remind me, I was fortunate enough to live in the sunniest town in France. Given the relative acclimatisation that occurred over those nine or so months (after all, it was only an academic year) it is challenging not to feel somewhat aghast at the meteorological predicament in which we currently find ourselves. Admittedly, I don’t live in Staines or on the Somerset Levels, nor do I live in some locally inundated part of Bristol, but there can be no doubt that the weather has a certain level of influence on how we go about our business. Take the example of a fairly standard Bristolian student commute. On a sunny day, there can be fewer more glorious experiences
handy in future conversation. Or, it could be because the audience can somehow relate to the stars on these shows; perhaps the everyday person can for once identify with the problems faced by a Z-list celebrity. Whatever the reason, it seems to be enough for these programmes to keep on being produced and spoon-fed to its audiences. These days, the moment producers see the popularity of their shows going down, they seem to add a more extreme component in order to shock the audience and get those much sought after ratings. Now they seem to be resorting to adding an element of danger, with the stars of the show performing terrifying ski jumps, for example in The Jump. Do we really want to see a programme like this, where there is the possibility of seeing the ‘celebrities’ badly injured and nothing else? The suggestion that these stars might actually excel in their newfound sport devalues the years of dedication and training endured by actual athletes, and, let’s face it, is highly unlikely to happen. This brings me to another question – why do these so-called celebrities participate in shows such as The Jump? It is clear that
Flickr: Jungle_Boy
We all like watching our fair share of reality shows every now and then, but it seems like producers are starting to run out of ideas as these shows are getting out of hand. First, Splash, where inexperienced celebrities/divers compete against each other by plummeting into water from moderate to great heights. And now, The Jump. Seriously, do we really want to see these so-called celebrities attempt to learn various winter sports and carry out dangerous stunts? Does it really become acceptable as soon as an Olympic medallist is involved? I’m not too sure. Reality TV shows have been attracting millions of people worldwide and earning broadcasters a lot of money over the past few years. People never cease to talk about how much they hate them, yet most seem to be watching these reality shows too. So why are reality TV shows so popular today? Why do millions tune in every single night to watch episodes of these shows? Perhaps it is just because we are a very curious lot; we want to keep in tune with all that’s going on, everywhere. You never know if knowledge of last week’s hazardous goings-on on The Jump will come in
Epigram
24.02.2014
17 13
epAnagram Can you unscramble the names of these world rivers?
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Fortnightly news quiz
Puzzles
@EpigramLetters Editor: Emma Leedham
letters@epigram.org.uk
1) What is the name of the social media drinking competition that has resulted in numerous fatalities in recent weeks? 2) Which British athlete scooped Team GB’s first Gold medal of the Sochi Winter Olympics in the women’s skeleton? 3) Which critical talent competition judge celebrated the birth of his first child, Eric, on Valentines Day this year? 4) As the storms continue, trains have been severely disrupted. Where in the UK was a railway line left hanging in mid-air after rough seas ripped away the supporting concrete? 5) In which European city’s zoo was a two-year-old giraffe controversially put down in a bid to avoid in-breeding? 6) In how many countries in the world is homosexuality still punishable by the death penalty or imprisonment? 7) Which hugely popular mobile game was removed from app stores this fortnight, after the creator wanted it taken down? 8) MPs have voted to support a ban of what activity, in cars carrying children in England and Wales? 9) Where in the world did a huge sinkhole swallow up eight rare cars at the National Corvette Museum? 10) Scientists have used high-resolution satellite
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Flickr: Andy Miah
Sudoku
Flickr: Scismgenie
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An 80,000 word thesis would take 9 hours to present. Your time limit: 3 minutes. Using just one PowerPoint slide and no additional props or electronic media, Postgraduate Researchers are invited to present their research in the University of Bristol’s 3 Minute Thesis Competition. Taking part in this competition will: •
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Register for the competition at www.ubu.org.uk/3MT and submit a 500 word summary of your research and its potential impact on the world by the 4th April 2014. A panel of experts will shortlist 40 students across all faculties WR DXGLWLRQ IRU D SODFH RQ WKH WK 0D\ IROORZHG E\ VHPL ÀQDO DQG ÀQDO KHDWV 7KH RYHUDOO ZLQQHU ZLOO EH QRPLQDWHG IRU 07 1DWLRQDO )LQDO LQ 6HSWHPEHU ZZZ XEX RUJ XN 07
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AUDITIONS
7 MAY
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30 MAY
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6 JUNE
OTHER UPCOMING UBU POSTGRADUATE NETWORK EVENTS
For more information visit: www.ubu.org.uk/PGNetwork For information and events from Bristol Doctoral College visit: www.bristol.ac.uk/doctoral-college
6 MARCH •
Butcombe Brewery Tour, 7pm
•
PGR Student Forum 1 - 2pm Lecture Room 1, 3-5 Woodland Rd
12 MARCH • PGT Student Forum 4 - 5pm, Lecture Theatre 1, 43 Woodland Rd 25 MARCH • JustAsk Welfare Workshop 2pm, Brunel Room, Hawthorns
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UNION AFFAIRS OFFICER
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As with all full-time roles, the Union Affairs Officer works closely with the University and UBU to ensure
Interested in running?
The Elected Officer Role Review was passed at
that students are at the heart of policy development,
If you're interested in becoming the Union Affairs
Student Council with an 80% majority on Monday
decision-making and strategic planning and they serve
Officer, or one of the other positions coming up for
17 February.
as a Trustee of the Union.
election, please join our elections mailing list. We will contact you with training opportunities and further
This means all six Full-time Officer roles are
"UBU is regarded across the country as a very
information on nominating yourself in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
changing. Find out about the new Full-time
strong and ambitious Students' Union, but in the
elections. More information can be found at
Officer roles over the next two pages.
last few years we haven't seen that reflected in
www.ubu.org.uk/elections.
EQUALITY, LIBERATION AND ACCESS OFFICER
STUDENT LIVING OFFICER
The Equality, Liberation and Access Officer leads on ensuring that all students’ voices
The Student Living Officer represents students in terms of accommodation,
are represented within the Students’ Union and University and on eliminating all
finance, interaction with the local community and their wellbeing. They work
barriers and forms of discrimination. They support liberation groups and Part-time
with the University’s support services to ensure that students can be healthy
Officers, faith and cultural societies and also work with the University on their
and happy during their time at Bristol.
widening participation strategy. “Every single student lives in a house or accommodation and every "This role is a really exciting one as it takes the best parts of my current role and
single student faces the cost of student living, particularly when Bristol
allows the Officer to spend more time on the important issue of equality. The issues
is the second most expensive city to live in for students after London.
and problems that this Officer will tackle are difficult but the most rewarding ones.
If you are passionate about student well-being and sense of community
They will make sure that when we say that we represent students, we actually mean
between students both within the University and the wider city, this
ALL students and not just a certain demographic. The focus on access means that if
is a fantastic opportunity to make a difference. Moreover, with the
you are passionate about widening participation and seeing more students coming
initial success of the UBU Lettings agency, it’s a great time for this role
to University who might not currently see it as a viable option, then this is also the
because of the opportunity to shape the student lifestyle for the next
role for you." - Alessandra Berti,Vice President Welfare and Equality
few years.You could campaign on the cost of living, employment, housing, accommodation, the social experience of students in different residences, sustainability and so much more..." - Imogen Palmer,Vice President Activities
SPORT AND STUDENT DEVELOPMENT OFFICER The Sport and Student Development Officer represents students’ interests in terms of sport, exercise and health and ensures that students have opportunities to engage
Mar 2014
POSTGRADUATE OFFICER
in sport at any level. They work closely with the University Centre for Sport, Exercise
The Postgraduate Officer represents postgraduate students to the University
and Health and also lead on ensuring that students have a variety of opportunities for
and UBU in every aspect of their experience at Bristol and leads on building a
personal development.
thriving postgraduate community.
"It's a right corker this Full-time Officer role! Not only do you get to support
“Despite the breadth and depth of taught and research postgraduate
53 diverse and fabulous sports clubs, you also get the opportunity to influence
issues, Bristol postgrads often tell us that they don't think the Students'
and shape elements of the student experience such as leadership and personal
Union is for them. That's certainly not the case and this role is about
development through student activities. This role will have the freedom to work
addressing that misconception. From social to pastoral, admissions to
with other student-led activities like never before whilst still being the strong and
funding, there are many concerns that UBU has, up to now, struggled to
vocal voice for UBU sport! What's to lose?”
address without a full-time postgraduate officer.
- Hannah Pollak,Vice President Sport and Health Much of the University has an undergraduate perspective guiding their
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE OFFICER
decision-making; instead of supporting postgrads during their time here,
The Academic Experience Officer represents undergraduate students in terms of
will work themselves out or aren’t relevant for postgraduates beyond
their learning and teaching experience and leads on ensuring sufficient academic and
an individual student or course. Stand for this role if you want to make
welfare-related support is in place for undergraduates.
serious change for postgraduates at the University of Bristol.”
their needs and issues are often sidelined with the assumption that they
- Rob Griffiths, Union President “This role means being the lead academic representative for undergraduate students. It’s a fascinating chance to get a ‘behind the scenes’ look at how the
All Full Time Officer Roles are Full Time and paid from July 2014
university works at the highest levels, to lobby for change to the most senior academics and staff and to work directly with Course Reps and Senate Reps to ensure that students' academic concerns are heard and addressed across the University. Beyond the specific role, campaigning in any student body election is
PART TIME OFFICERS
an enormously humbling experience and a unique chance to develop all kinds of
Several changes have also been made to the Part-time Officer roles:
skills.” - Tom Flynn,Vice President Education
•
There will no longer be Widening Participation or Postgraduate Part-time Officers as their responsibilities have been taken up by Full-time Officer roles.
SENATE REPS Senate Reps represent students to the University at the highest decision making
•
The Ethics and Environment Officer roles have been combined into one Sustainability and Environment Officer role, which will focus on sustainability, environmental, ethical and social justice awareness, policies and campaigns.
level by attending Senate, the University’s highest academic committee. There are six undergraduate Faculty Senate Reps, two Postgraduate Research
The Part Time roles for 2014/15 are: Mature and Part-time Students' Officer,
Senate Reps and one Postgraduate Taught Senate Rep. Senate Reps work with
International Students' Officer, Women's Officer, Disabled Students' Officer,
Course Reps to help create changes to the educational experience for all of the
LGBT+ Students' Officer, Black and Minority Ethnic Students' Officer,
students that they represent.
Sustainability and Environment Officer, and Chair of Student Council.
GOOD DEEDS FOR VOLUNTEERING WEEK
M
onday 24 February marks the start of Student
All money raised will help support the Spring Senior
Ellie Williams, Elected Officer for Community at
Volunteering Week (SVW), a nationwide
Dinner Dance; a dinner party thrown for vulnerable
UBU said:
celebration of volunteering and the work students do
older people in Bristol by UBU Volunteering.
in local communities and beyond.
“With the rise in higher education fees, many students want more out of their university
Over fifty national and local charities have been
experience. No matter what a student is passionate
Students from UBU Volunteering and Bristol Hub are
invited to attend the Volunteering Fair including Bristol
about; there are opportunities for everyone to
organising a range of exciting events and competitions
Samaritans, Age UK, Oxfam, Macmillan and Guide Dogs
get involved and experience how challenging,
throughout the week to mark the occasion and raise
for the Blind to demonstrate the one-off and regular
rewarding and enriching volunteering can be.
awareness of the hundreds of ways students have a
opportunities available to you.
Student Volunteering Week showcases the positive
positive impact on the local community.
difference that students have made, and continue to make, on campus and in their local, national and
The launch event - Good Deed Day, will take place
international communities.”
in cities nationwide: activating a wave of student volunteering across the UK, with students out in their
More information at www.ubu.org.uk/volunteering
communities making a difference and having fun. Join us on Tyndall Avenue and make a pledge to volunteer in exchange for a tasty treat! Other events taking place throughout the week include a Talent Show, Volunteering Fair and various talks on the benefits of volunteering during university.
ACTIVITY LIFELINE FUND AVAILABLE
The Talent Show will showcase the incredible talent on offer at the University of Bristol including
The deadline for the next round of Activity Lifeline Fund applications is Sunday
performances from the Live Music, Dance, Drama and
30 March.
Pole Fitness societies. The night will be compered by The Lifeline Fund was established by UBU to help the sports clubs,
comedians, Clint Edwards and Finn Taylor.
societies and student media groups who have been affected by the ongoing refurbishment of the Richmond Building. The Fund helps to cover additional costs, such as hiring an external venue or buying equipment that wouldn't
MEET THE UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE TEAM!
W
e are pleased to announce that
Robert Beavis
the University of Bristol team
BA Archaeology - 2nd year
have made it through to the televised finals of University Challenge. The team consists of:
Imogen Palmer,VP Activities said: “The five teammates were chosen from over 250 Bristol students who
Anastasia Reynolds (Captain)
were auditioned by UBU in November
BA Czech & Russian - 4th year
last year. The final five were clearly ahead of the pack and complemented
Lewis Rendell
each other in terms of knowledge. The
MSc Mathematics - 3rd year
team are preparing for the quiz show with Bristol lecturer George Ferzoco,
Benjamin Moon
a veteran of many quiz championships
Geology PhD - 3rd year
and TV appearances including Mastermind and most recently 3rd
Miles Coleman BA Spanish & Portuguese - 4th year
Degree on Radio 4.”
otherwise be needed. The Fund aims to enable student groups to continue being active whilst remaining accessible and affordable for all students. This fund has been very generously donated by the Alumni Foundation. The maximum amount each group can request is £1,000. The application form and guidelines are available on the UBU website www.ubu.org.uk/activities/ committee_resources/funding. A total of 26 grants have been awarded so far this year to student groups including Big Band, Chess Society, Bristol University Latin American and Ballroom Dancing Society, Expeditions, Christian Union, Aikido and Bristol Operatic Society (BOpS). The Shaolin Temple Kung Fu Society said: “The Activity Lifeline Fund has been crucial to the survival of the Shaolin Temple Kung Fu Society. Having financial support to continue our training sessions during the refurbishment of the Richmond Building has been vital in order to prevent severe disruptions to our schedule. The grant allowed us to book rooms in a local school. The funding also subsidised a special activity event: two sessions of all-day martial arts training with Sifu Yan Xin, a renowned Shaolin Temple Kung Fu master. The Lifeline Fund works to ensure that financially humble societies like us can continue to provide the best possible experience for our members.”
Mar 2014
WHAT'S ON FEBRUARY MONDAY 24 UBU Elections Nominations Are Open UBU Volunteering Pledge, The Hawthorns, 11am - 2pm UBU Active Badminton, SEH, Tyndall Avenue,12:30 - 2pm Cocktail Society Masterclass, AR2, Anson Rooms, 4pm - 5pm UBU Volunteering: Bristol's Got Talent, Anson Rooms, 7:15pm - 11pm TUESDAY 25 Careers in the Third Sector, Careers Service, 3pm - 4:30pm UBU Get Green Upcycling, Cordial and Grace Sewing Café, 6pm - 8pm Sushi Tasting, NOA restaurant, Clifton, 6pm - 9pm Midlake, Anson Rooms, 7:30pm - 11pm WEDNESDAY 26 Capoeira Taster Session, Anson Rooms, 1:30pm - 3pm Cross Country Taster Run, Meet at SEH, 2pm - 3:30pm UBU Scholarship Forum, 4th Floor Richmond Building, 5:30pm - 7:30pm THURSDAY 27 UBU Volunteering Fair, Anson Rooms, 5:30pm - 7:30pm FRIDAY 28 Fight Night, UoB vs UWE, Anson Rooms, 7pm - 11pm Expeditions Society Ceilidh, Bristol Folk House, 7:30pm - 9am
WEDNESDAY 5 DramSoc presents 'Arcadia', The Redgrave Theatre Clifton, 19:30 Performance continues until Friday 7 THURSDAY 13 UBU Elections Nominations Close MONDAY 24 UBU Elections Voting Opens THURSDAY 27 UBU Elections Voting Closes STUDENT VOLUNTEERING WEEK, 24 FEB - 2 MARCH AMM Anson Rooms, 5:15pm UBU Volunteering presents Bristol's Got Talent, Mon 24 For one night only, University of Bristol Students will be competing to be crowned Bristol's most talented. Witness Bristol's best compete live on stage for an amazing prize, all accompanied by our top headlining comedian. Buy your tickets online or on the door for £5.
UBU Scholarship Forum, Wed 26 UBU has a fantastic Scholarship program called the 'Hodgkin Scholarship'. Come and find out more about the scheme, meet our current scholar and help shape the future of the scholarship. www.ubu.org.uk/activities/fundraising/hodgkinscholarship
UBU Volunteering Fair, Thu 27 Meet 50 local charities and community organisations all looking for student volunteers to help make a difference to the people and places they support in Bristol. Information at www.ubu.org.uk/volunteering
MARCH SATURDAY 1 Appathon 2014, Merchant Venturers Building, 8am - noon on Sunday UBU Active Dodgeball, Cotham School, 1pm - 2pm UBU Active Flag Football, The Downs Watertower, 3pm - 4pm UBU Active Volleyball, SEH, 5pm - 6.30pm UBU Active Sitting Volleyball, SEH, 3:30pm - 5pm UBU Active Netball, SEH, 6:30pm - 8pm
Contact UBU University of Bristol Students’ Union Richmond Building 105 Queens Road Bristol BS8 1LN www.ubu.org.uk
SUNDAY 2 Appathon 2014, Merchant Venturers Building, midnight - noon UBU Get Green MusicalUp Competition, Queen's Building, 1pm - 5pm
/BristolSU @UBUBristol
CULTURE
Illustration by Mary Cassatt. See p.40 for full feature.
Epigram
24.02.2014
Arts
Editor: Claudia Knowles
Deputy Editor: Rose Bonsier
Online Editor: Erin Fox
arts@epigram.org.uk
deputyarts@epigram.org.uk
artsonline@epigram.org.uk
@EpigramArts
Attenborough: the man who made nature desirable DRAMATIC documentaries, showing how animals behave in the wild, have inspired fresh interest in the genre. In some cases, dedicated film-makers have spent years catching moments of beauty and violence, often with the use of new technology and infinite patience. And no-one has done this better than the veteran naturalist, Sir David Attenborough. The images of 42-stone wildebeests being dragged to their watery graves by crocodiles, and young seal pups being hit by a five-ton Great White shark, stay with you forever. Simultaneously, Sir David’s calm and informative voice-over completes the story, which grips like a good novel. It’s no wonder that interest in the planet’s animal kingdom has increased so dramatically. When Attenborough first started his career six decades ago, nature and wildlife were not optimum viewing for the average family. The charismatic oceanographer Jacques Cousteau caught the public’s imagination, but it didn’t last. However, he didn’t have the financial security that the BBC was able to provide, enabling Attenborough to pursue his quest to make wildlife films digestible. Now, even a story on the flora and fauna of the Brazilian jungle draws intrigue. There is no denying the major impact that advanced technology has had on popularising nature. Cinematography today is so sophisticated now that film sequences
“ ”
Epigram meets Little Room Productions What brought about the creation of Little Room Productions? LRP. Little Room Productions was founded in 2010 by Matthew Pearson, our current Director of Music, and Harry Benfield, who worked on the libretto for the second opera in our February double bill, The Madness Game. The company was originally founded as a one-off production company for an opera the pair were collaborating on called Sanctuary, with the intention of taking it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2011. Following on from the remarkable, and somewhat unexpected, success of this production we decided to do the same the following year, with the company’s second opera, The Wolves Descend, which premiered in London and the
Edinburgh Fringe in 2012. Off the back of the success of two tours, we are now looking to establish our name closer to home in Bristol as the premier company for modern music theatre, showcasing some of the best young compositional and vocal talent in the South West.
What inspired you to present two shorter operas rather than one longer performance? LRP. There were two reasons for our double bill. First and foremost, when we put out our call for works, we found both proposals from the composers so compelling we decided to expand our original plans for one production, and to take both on. Speaking more
generally, part of our drive is to attract new audiences to opera. Certainly for newcomers to the opera, one thing which puts people off taking the plunge and going to their first show is the prospect of a three hour or longer production. By keeping things shorter, and by addressing issues very relevant to today’s society, we aim to ease people into opera with the hope that they’ll want to see more from the entire canon! How did you discover the composers? LRP. Both composers had previously worked for our Director of Music on a large ballet project in 2012, and when we put out the call for works both applied for the opportunity to take the commission. Matthew
Whitley Fund for Nature
Whitley Fund for Nature
can be slowed down to over forty times their original speed. This has revealed the true wonders of nature for the first time, breaking down the mystique of the deepwater shark, the bird in flight and the lion on the hunt. As well as incredible slow motion effects, the technological revolution has made it possible to pioneer macroscopic 3D techniques to explore the behaviours and lives of creatures that are usually hidden from the human eye. As Attenborough once said, ‘In the fifties, you used to show a far-away, half-blurry image of an elephant and people thought it was wonderful.’ Now people not only expect more, they want more. The viewing figures of Attenborough’s latest series, Planet Earth, are proof that nature, with all its beauty, cruelty and inspiration, has reached a new generation of followers. An estimated 11.4 million people tuned in every week, generating a profit of £20 million. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is currently Joint-runner up, Animal Portraits, Hannes Lochner showing at the M Shed Museum in Bristol until the 23rd February. limited number of animals in their natural Highly recommended, every dramatic habitat. As Attenborough has rightly said, ‘TV photograph has outstandingly captured is fundamental in bridging the gap between the magnificence and extraordinary variety the world’s population and the natural world of nature. Without a doubt, Attenborough’s they inhabit.’ He is able to educate us through revolution in the documentation of wildlife bringing the miraculous natural world to light has bought nature on our television back into the screens. This is limelight and made particularly the case Images of 42-stone exhibitions such as in highlighting the wildebeests being dragged these all the more plight of so many interesting. threatened species. to their watery graves by One of Alongside charities A t t e n b o r o u g h’s such as the Duke crocodiles stay with you greatest attributes of Cambridge’s is his way of giving charity, Tusk, which forever the world a wider works to protect understanding wildlife all over the of the planet we live in. According to a African continent, thanks to Attenborough’s recent UN report, over 50% of the world’s outstanding contributions it becomes population live in cities. So, many people devastatingly obvious that more species go through their whole lives seeing a very could become extinct. One question remains;
should we not share this world with the magnificent creatures and extraordinary wildlife he shows us?
Natasha Drax Olyver is a second year music student at Bristol University, while Jake Bright is a recent graduate of the same department, now working as a freelance musician. Just as important as showcasing young vocal talent, we want to give exceptional young composers the chance to write opera and have it performed, which is a challenge when you’re up against established companies with a huge catalogue of opera to choose from! Do you have any plans in store for Little Room Productions in the future? LRP. Absolutely! We’re already looking at putting on an opera scenes showcase which we’re hoping will take place in the summer, and are thinking about what to do in terms of our next big production.
Emma Barrow
WHAT WHO Doris Lessing Author (1919-2013)
A revered British author, known for her morally conscious and insightful story-telling. Doris Lessing was the oldest person, and only the eleventh woman, to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Famed for her scepticism, she reportedly felt little excitement at learning of her Nobel laureateship, ‘I think they were probably thinking they’d probably better give it to me now before I’ve popped off.’
Lessing’s collection of work has been described as ‘a chronicle of our time’. Communism influenced her work (she met her second husband at a left-wing book club), along with psychological themes and later Sufism, a branch of Islam which she saw as a spiritual alternative to Marxism. Although heralded as a feminist icon for breaking stereotypes of her time, Lessing wholeheartedly rejected this label. flickr: lkalamujic
Epigram
Finding art in the self at RWA On the 6th of February, the Royal West of England Academy threw open its doors to a new season of exhibitions, encompassing the notion of ‘identity and portraiture’ integral to each one. Idols and Illusions gathers press shots from the Golden Age of Cinema, exposing the natural glamour conveyed by the supposedly candid images as Hollywoodmanufactured facade. Similarly, Actors and Artifice blurs the line between players and the played, with a collection of works that aim to capture the moment at which actor becomes character. At the core of the RWA’s debut material, though, is Oneself As Another, a major exhibition curated by London based bo.lee projects. The collection, whilst challenging the modern superficial constraints of physical perfection, delves into an exploration of the individual psyche. It assembles a compelling and varied body of works, each striving to grasp a sense of ‘self ’. Facing each other across the gallery are Edo (pictured right) and Jerry, two large oil paintings from BP Portrait prize-winner, Johan Andersson. The oils are taken from his Stolen Faces series, which endeavours to give a voice and visual to the physically deformed. In the mesmeric stare of Edo, whose cheeks and eyes are disrupted by scarring, Andersson captures stoicism and provides a glimpse into the ‘self ’. Facial disfiguration is a similar theme of Sarah Ball’s Damaged Human series, which sees a selection of miniatures exquisitely reworked from old medical photographs of skin disease sufferers. Tom Butler’s Cabinet of Curiosities provides a mirror to these paintings; this is a set of Victorian photographs, with the formality of the compositions explicitly echoing Ball’s work. Yet, Butler’s choice to deliberately (and quite beautifully) disfigure the photographs provides a stark dichotomy between genuine disfigurement and artistic editing, and similarly between the physical and inner self. Alongside the work of these contemporary artists hangs that of two masters of the twentieth century, Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon, both illuminating brutal disclosure of the individual psyche. Bacon’s Triptych Inspired by the Orestia of Aeschylus (pictured bottom right) muddles human bodies within claustrophobic closed spaces in three violent insights into the self, while Freud echoes the Each of the women are unapologetically, crucially different; varying in race, age and glum internal disposition stature, yet are unified by the gold leaf of his Donegal Man in that halos each of them. This unity the frenetic etching of defies the modern aspirations of his illustration. The perfection, instead beautifully elusive quality of the bringing together studies of self is aimed for female dignity. by the abstraction As Rucquoi herself suggests, ‘it central to each of reaches out to the divine space the works. of Sisterhood.’ This mention of The exhibition’s the ‘divine’ is important; the s t a r t l i n g composition of the installation centrepiece, Ione evokes the wooden Stave Rucquoi’s Sanctae churches of Norway, Rucquoi’s (pictured right), delicate use of gold leaf juxtaposed dominates the head against the lavish Catholic portraits of the gallery. The that decorate them. Evident here is a installation is enclosed high regard for the place of worship as within a circular room, its she creates a space for meditation, a wall adorned by 21 enlarged sanctuary removed from shame portraits of naked, female and doubt. In her own words, subjects. Never crude or ‘this revelatory experience sexualised, the nudes of Sanctae allows us to hold our gaze with reconcile our own personal poise, conveying narrative through the assorted feelings brave acknowledgement and emotions. Sanctae (detail), Ione Rucquoi
WHEN Born in 1919, Lessing’s first novel, The Grass is Singing, was published in 1950. The Swedish Academy described her work as ‘dividing civilisation to scrutiny’ – perhaps this scepticism of humanity came from witnessing the politics of war and racism in her childhood and the Second World War.
24.02.2014
39
Potential Poet Laureate in Kristen Stewart? Amber Segal wonders...
With echoes of the beat-era influence combined with a firm grasp on the confusion of our contemporary culture, Twilight star Kristen Stewart’s debut poem gives a whole new meaning to the concept of pan-handles. Speaking to everyone and, in a way, no-one, Stewart asks: aren’t all our hearts just wiffle-balls? But let’s let the poem speak for itself. It was clearly a Happy Valentine’s day for K-Stew.
My Heart Is A Wiffle Ball / Freedom Pole - Kristen Stewart I reared digital moonlight You read its clock, scrawled neon across that black Kismetly… ubiquitously crest fallen Thrown down to strafe your foothills …I’ll suck the bones pretty.
Edo, Johan Andersson
of Another.’ Sanctae therefore embodies the twofold strength of Oneself As Another, in its ability to create in its audience a sense of the self, as well as illustrating it impeccably.
Sam Mason-Jones
Your nature perforated the abrasive organ pumps Spray painted everything known to man Stream rushed through and all out into Something Whilst the crackling stare down sun snuck Through our windows boarded up He hit your flint face and it sparked. And I bellowed and you parked We reached Marfa One honest day up on this freedom pole Devils not done digging He’s speaking in tongues all along the pan handle And this pining erosion is getting dust in My eyes And I’m drunk on your morsels And so I look down the line Your every twitch hand drum salute Salutes mine
Triptych Inspired by the Osteria of Aeschylus, Francis Bacon
Source: The Independent, ‘Kristen Stewart writes worst poem of all time.’
WHERE
WHY
Lessing lived a truly international life. Born in Persia, she then grew up on a farm in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), before setting up camp in Britain. She attributed a love of escaping to the natural world to her African upbringing and unhappy childhood.
It may be difficult to find a more down-to-Earth and principled writer. Lessing once attempted, unsuccessfully, to publish some work under a different name, to prove how difficult it was for unknown writers to get published, despite the quality of their work. Alexandra Heal
Jonathunder; Sweden
Epigram | 24.02.2014
40
De Botton: art doesn’t need to depress Why is the bleak such a popular focus in the arts? Why are we fascinated by the obscure, captivated by the depressive; our minds snatched by the harrowing fingers of despair? Is it just morbid curiosity and perverse intrigue that lie at the heart of our yearning for austerity? Or does art of a bleak nature tap into our emotions in a way that more positive works cannot? Film-makers, painters, writers and musicians continue to explore death, sadness, madness and distortion. We, the audience, continue to be ensnared by them. But where is the place of happiness, and humour?
“
Why are we fascinated by the obscure, captivated by the depressive; our minds snatched by the harrowing fingers of despair?
”
My mother often says, it is easy for art to make people sad. It seems there is a belief that of the positive and negative polarities, bleakness is more emotionally evocative; that by ripping out the heart of your reader or viewer, a
certain level of poignancy can be reached. And yet, there is a poignancy in happiness. The considerate hush with which one peruses an art gallery is rarely broken by a chuckle. I can recall A Level Art exhibitions, wading through a sea of sombre paintings: depictions of depression left, right and centre, my own canvases as uniformly dreary as the rest. Perhaps this was due to the amateur nature of our work – yet still, none of us dared to tempt a smile, warm a heart or instil a pang of joy. We thought that the only route to achieving a dramatic or significant impact on our viewers was a miserable or mad one. Alain de Botton’s recently released Art as Therapy seeks to uncover visual art which has a therapeutic effect on the self. He claims that often we turn to music for therapy, yet this consolation lies just as much in the paintings of Monet, or the delicate melding of Venetian glass. De Botton argues that amongst other
things, through art we can ‘recover hope’, ‘develop empathy, laugh [and] wonder’. The tranquil portrait of Mary Cassatt’s Mother Sewing (pictured) is one held particularly affectionately in my view: rendered in soft pastel colours and expressive strokes, this familial scene is enough to set any anxiety at ease. Shakespeare’s renowned Much Ado About Nothing, though not without its sinister elements, has us forever returning to the theatre to experience his witty exchanges and comedic cases of mistaken identity. Laughing can be as cathartic as commiserating. Of course, there are merits to the sad and the mad. De Botton’s claim that music is the medium most often turned to for therapeutic purposes is debatable: many, as in the pursuit of visual art, explore particular pieces for their haunting dissonance and jarring disturbance of the senses. This, to some, is as rewarding as the cathartic sorrow accessed in more generic
songs. There are the cheaper thrills of lavishing in the icy slush of romantic films with implausibly tragic culminations; the primal intrigue in artworks painted by the psychologically unstable; the involuntary twang of a heart string upon hearing a classic song of lamentation. These emotional responses dig into our core, extracting an empathy which we sometimes forget can be accessed from a more positive angle: this, we must strive to remember.
“” Through art we can recover hope, develop empathy and laugh
As might be expected, the nature of my exploration is tangled in a web of questions which interrogate the concept of art: why it was produced in the first place, what we seek to gain from it and how our perception varies depending on our mood, are issues bound in subjectivity and must not be dismissed. But in a world saturated by despair, is it so wrong to seek simple pleasures through the medium of the arts? To laugh is to exalt, a positive catharticism in its own right. Therapeutic, humorous and happy art has its more than rightful place, one which must not be undervalued in favour of the romanticisation of pain; we all deserve a little joy in the world.
Millie Morris
Arts Introducing: Georgina Winney Left: Rainbow Lorikeet at Bristol Zoo Gardens
Bottom Left: Inca Tern (juvenile) at Bristol Zoo Gardens
Below: Temple Quay at night
Epigram
24.02.2013
Film & TV
@epigramfilm Editor: Gareth Downs
Deputy Editor: Matthew Field
Online Editor: Alejandro Palekar
filmandtv@epigram.org.uk
deputyfilmandtv@epigram.org.uk
filmandtvonline@epigram.org.uk
Philip Seymour Hoffman obituary Before the Academy Awards the terrible news broke that one of the greatest acting talents of recent generations will play no more. On the 2nd February Academy Award winner and four time nominee, Philip Seymour Hoffman, died of a drug overdose in his New York apartment. The tributes to his life and his work were many. Hoffman was loved as a man and respected as an actor, yet he was a man who endured a lifelong struggle with alcohol and drugs. Tributes flooded in across the social media networks as the news began to unfold. Ellen DeGeneres, who is set to host the 86th Academy Awards on the 2nd March, tweeted ‘Philip Seymour Hoffman was a brilliant, talented man. The news this morning is shocking and sad. My heart goes out to his loved ones’. Aaron Sorkin paid tribute to Hoffman in TIME magazine stating that he was ‘this kind, decent, magnificent, thunderous actor, who was never outwardly “right” for any role but who completely dominated the real estate upon which every one of his characters walked’ (Aaron Sorkin, TIME). Hoffman’s brilliance was just so. He dominated any role he took on. In my own review last year I praised Hoffman’s brilliant Oscar nominated performance in The Master as the charismatic cult leader Lancaster Dodd. Hoffman had a range that would almost certainly have led to more future nominations for the top accolades in the acting world. He was also a well-regarded stage actor and director with three Tony award nominations.
Hoffman is probably best remembered for his performance in Capote, a biopic of the writer Truman Capote, which took an almost clean sweep of Best Actor awards from the Academy, the Golden Globes, the BAFTAS and the Screen Actors Guild in 2005. His range drew him to all sorts of characters; he played a cruel and pompous school boy in his early career with the masterful Al Pacino in the 1992 film The Scent of a Woman. He remains known by some for his role as ‘Dusty’ Davis in the cult disaster movie Twister in 1996 and for his portrayal of Freddie Miles, supporting Matt Damon, in The Talented Mr Ripley in 1999. He is also fondly remembered for his role in the fantastic Coen brothers film The Big Lebowski in 1998 where he played the slimy and sycophantic Brandt. Hoffman’s great talent led so many of his roles, which were often supporting characters, to be almost better remembered than the films themselves. After Capote his roles came thick and fast and award nominations more and more regular as he became recognised as a contemporary great. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Charlie Wilson’s War (2007),
Doubt (2008) and The Master (2012). He is certainly fondly remembered for his role as the enigmatic ‘Count’ in the wonderful 2009 coming of age comedy The Boat That Rocked as well as for playing Art Howe in the Oscar nominated Moneyball with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill in 2011. His roles displayed endless breadth and depth of ability and a clear love of the challenge of taking on a different kind of character. Hoffman added an element of gravitas to the actually very decent second part of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in 2013 as the subtle and calculating Plutarch Heavensbee, which tragically turned out to be his final role even as filming continues for the final two parts of the four part epic. Hopefully Hoffman is remembered for these brilliant acting achievements rather than the tragic end to his life. His death from heroin is, nonetheless, a terrible reminder of the dangers of addiction and the singular frailty of humans. Russell Brand commented in The Guardian that the death of Hoffman should serve as a reminder to those who flickr: Wolf Gang
Matthew Field Deputy Film and TV Editor
Georges Biard
heyuguys.co.uk
‘This kind, decent, magnificent, thunderous actor’
make drug laws of their continuing failings. Brand argues that current laws criminalise addicts, when really what they need is help with a mental health condition: ‘what is required for people who suffer from this condition is an environment of support, tolerance and understanding’ (Russell Brand, The Guardian). Hoffman’s own problems show this. He heavily abused alcohol and drugs as a young man after leaving theatre school at the age of 22, stating later that he abused ‘anything I could get my hands on, I liked it all’. After apparently overcoming his addiction he was drug and alcohol free for over 20 years. Yet in 2013 the endless echo of addiction returned again and Hoffman admitted himself briefly to rehab in May. He was last seen in public at the Sundance Film Festival ten days prior to his death. Hoffman was ultimately found in his New York apartment, reported by police as dead on arrival. It has been reported in The Telegraph that Hoffman allegedly was consuming twice as much heroin as a regular addict, so powerful and damaging was his addiction. His death was tragic, and in the way that tragedy bends towards its own unstoppable conclusion it was as Russell Brand mournfully points out ‘inevitable’. Perhaps this sudden departure of such a great figure will lead to some reflection over how drug addicts are treated; perhaps it may even help to turn some away from the terrible narcotic that heroin is. But above all I hope it leads to a new appreciation of his stunning filmography, as an actor who held up the mirror to us all, creating characters that will survive fondly in the heart and memory of so many film lovers.
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Brick by brilliant brick: The much anticipated LEGO Movie is ‘awesome’ Liam Doyle The beauty of Lego is that it encourages people to create magical new worlds in the comfort of their homes using the most powerful possible software; a child’s imagination. Such worlds would never be exactly the same, each child had a different vision and each vision was as real to the child as the world they lived in. This was how I felt the film should be reviewed: by its ability to capture the essence of a child’s imagination and project it onto the big screen. The story revolves around the tyrannical Lord Business (Will Ferrell) who plans to destroy the world using a device called ‘the kragle’ (a tube of glue) on taco Tuesday. The kragle is initially protected by Lord Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) who is defeated by Business and the kragle is taken. Following his defeat, Vitruvius
utters a prophecy that ‘the special’ will rise and thwart Business using the ‘piece of resistance’. Eight years later Business becomes president of the world and we are introduced to the main character, a conformist Lego figure by the name of Emmett (Chris Pratt), who lives his life based on a set of instructions. Emmett’s life is exceptionally average, he has no feature that sets him apart from the rest of the Lego population and this is clear to everyone around him: he is not ‘special’. Emmett lives his life based on the lyrics of the incredibly catchy song ‘Everything is Awesome’ and never sees anything beyond the small world he lives and works in as a construction worker. That is, until the day he meets Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) rooting around for an ‘artefact’ in one of his building sites. Wyldstyle is one of few ‘master builders’ left in the world: people adept at constructing anything they want from anything around them. He is immediately encapsulated by
her plastic looks (excuse the pun) and attempts to follow her as she chooses to flee. Instead, Emmett falls down a large hole and encounters Wyldestyle’s sought after artefact: the piece of resistance. Emmett’s discovery binds him and Wyldstyle together as they seek to join the piece of destiny and the kragle together to prevent Lord Business’ plans of destroying the Lego world. Accompanied by fellow master builders such as Wyldestyle’s boyfriend, Batman, they journey across incredible worlds to find Business’ lair and join the pieces together. The story is magnificent, truly capturing the power of a child’s imagination as one would hope. The movie manages to show this in such a way that it could almost have been made by children themselves; the erratic nature of the movie perfectly illustrates the ideas an excited child may well have come up with. The animation is also flawless, with no inconsistencies in the use of Lego
pieces throughout the film, Lego studs are used to show dust and bubbles as well as explosions. A star studded (or Lego studded) cast featuring the talents of Will Ferrell and Chris Pratt perfectly suit the characters seen on screen and provide a multitude of hilarious scenes. However, not everything is awesome; there were points where the writing attempted to jam pack the film with too many gags, almost seeming to try too hard. Despite this, the movie is definitely recommended for any age group. As the film fittingly puts it, the 8-14 sign on the boxes of Lego is simply a suggestion - this is a film for all ages.
The LEGO Movie is in cinemas now Dir. Phil Lord, Chris Miller. 100 mins
How film trailers are losing the plot Edward Hooton Trailers are a vital aspect of the movie going experience. Whether you enjoy sitting through the 20-odd minutes of pre-movie advertisements or not, trailers are an undeniable source of marketing potential that are key for getting audience members coming back to the theatre for the next hot release. Trailers are designed in such a way as to give you a snapshot of the movie, introduce you briefly to its characters, its plot and even its visual and audial style. They are a clear and crafted pitch from the movie’s production crew to invite you into a new world full of endless possibility where your escapist side runs free. At least, that’s what they’re supposed to be. The factors that go into making a good trailer are numerous, but there are some obvious elements that can completely ruin a trailer. Two important aspects are content and running time. It may be said that these propositions go hand in hand, that content determines the running time of the trailer and that running time defines the type of content on display. But this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. There are instances of short trailers, teasers if you will, that run for sometimes as little as 30 seconds, but that give the audience so much while leaving them clamouring for more.
Teasers for the Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises gave us mere glimpses of finished shots from the film, interwoven with voiceover and the slow reveal of the iconic Batman logo. Admittedly these both play off the movies that have come before them, but they are playing to their strengths by leaving the vital plot points up for speculation. Not all trailers have to be like this, however, and certainly not so short. But some have run the gamut of being too long. There may be solace for you, though, if you ever hated having a movie spoiled by its trailer that ran too long. The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is looking to change trailers that spoil too much. According to their In-Theater Marketing Guidelines, NATO state that studios will no longer be allowed to show a trailer that lasts the typical two-minutes-thirty-seconds, and will have to be kept within a two-minute long running time. Not only this but releasings of trailers will no longer be allowed more than five months before the actual release of the movie itself. According to their website, NATO has adopted these guidelines “to standardize in-theater marketing materials with the goal of driving movie ticket sales and creating a better moviegoing experience”. These guidelines are set to take affect for any advertising campaigns for movies scheduled for release on or after 1st October 2014. Spoilers for movies do not rest purely on running time however.
A poorly devised trailer that uses key plot scenes to convey the overarching story can also ruin the entire experience. An example of this is in the trailer for the recent release of ‘The Legend of Hercules’. By all accounts a dreadful film, the trailer runs for just about 2 minutes but all the while following the sequence of the film in chronological order. So effectively what we have is a condensed version of the film, featuring some of its best (to be generous) action scenes, with the ending suggested far too explicitly. So what, then, defines a good trailer? Try and recall a film that you wanted to see purely on account of its trailer, that wasn’t a sequel to a film you already loved or was generating hype from every mouth that spoke about it. What made that trailer special will undoubtedly be the simple sensation of wanting to see more. Whatever genre the film comes from, its trailer will be designed in such a way as to make you want to see all of it. A horror film’s trailer will entice you into more scary sequences, a comedy will tempt you with funnier jokes, a romantic comedy may even seduce you with attractive people taking their tops off more. The key to making a good trailer is treating your audience with the respect that they know what they want to see, and then giving them a taste of it to be satiated with the full film. Simply shoving Kellan Lutz’ shockingly rock hard body in our face for 2 minutes with similarly stone boring acting is not going to make anyone think they need 90 more minutes of it.
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In his role as director, co-producer, co-writer and film star, George Clooney moves away from the standard mould for a World War Two film with this unique tale about a group of academics joining forces to hunt down stolen art. In interviews Clooney has described The Monuments Men as an epic, yet I am not so sure. Following in the footsteps of recent blockbusters, The Monuments Men seeks to tell the true tale of the ultimate historical treasure hunt, pitting a team of unlikely heroes up against Hitler’s brutality. However, it cannot come as much of a shock to discover that fine art and action don’t necessarily mix, bringing instead a stunting mix of battle scenes and characters getting emotional over discoveries of burnt out Picassos. Whilst you would think so many big names such as Matt Damon (as Lt. James Granger) and Cate Blanchett (as Claire Simone, complete with dodgy French accent) in one film could not be detrimental, in the case of The Monuments Men it presents seven main characters, leaving little time for them to evolve properly – think your traditional Love Actually knock off, but with Nazis – ironic due to Monuments Men’s release on Valentine’s Day. The film is presented as a race against time to rescue important artwork, and thus civilisation and history from the clutches of Hitler, as we are frequently reminded by Lt. Frank Stokes (Clooney). However such a race does not bring any much needed action to this so called action film. Instead it leads the film to shift from Cathedrals to museums too quickly to allow the viewer to get to know the characters, an issue which would have remained even if there were fewer of them. Thankfully Clooney’s inclusion of foreign actors such as Jean Dujardin helps steer the film slightly from being just another film about how America won the war – but slightly is the operative word. Despite the original story’s embellishment providing characters with quirks, they still appear too good and selfless, rendering the film a little too serious. Perhaps more of the irony common to Clooney’s films, for example in his recent war thriller Argo which he produced, would have been appreciated. Yet The Monuments Men serves well in giving a history lesson in a way that would interest your
everyday audience, and definitely presents a step away from the book upon which it was based, yet not too far towards Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds to make it unrealistic. As expected, rescuing Europe’s artistic heritage does not make for a particularly thrilling war film. The Monuments Men provides the viewer with too many speeches on the value of art for civilisation and too little of the action anticipated from a war film. Yet it is good to see a different angle on the genre, and popular cinema embracing important issues which people are unfamiliar with in an entertaining way.
The Monuments Men is in cinemas now Dir. George Clooney. 110 mins
Boyle’s Babylon Toby Jungius
The Guardian
Josie Kemp
The Guardian
Review: The Monuments Men
Danny Boyle’s latest TV venture, Babylon, is going to divide opinions. While some will claim it to be subversively brilliant, others will call it bloated and meandering, and while many will praise it for balancing drama and comedy, I suspect that just as many will view it as unfocused. The pilot episode of the series introduces a truckload of characters. There’s the highups of the Metropolitan police led by Chief Commissioner Miller (James Nesbitt), Liz Garvey (Brit Marling) as the boss of the Met’s Communications department, and several squads of police officers that each deal with different sides of the episode’s escalating crisis. A shooter is running amok, and the pilot episode spends the majority of the runtime depicting the various perspectives and reactions of each group as they attempt to keep a handle on a situation for which they are responsible. Babylon’s most striking element is its humour, as its subject matter makes comedy a dangerous genre to steer towards. In a similar style to The Thick of It, Babylon presents public officials as incompetent people who dodge responsibility for any decisive action whatsoever. The dialogue and set-ups never become over-the-top and the series is richer for it, as the characters, despite some exaggeration, feel like real people in spite of, or perhaps because of, the ridiculous steps they go to in order to avoid any potential PR backlash. This leads to situations like a news reporter immediately apologising for swearing during one of the shootings instead of looking for cover,
or a SWAT team delaying a siege before receiving orders, only for those orders to be ‘stand-by for further orders’. But Boyle knows exactly when to be serious and which scenes deserve proper respect. Babylon doesn’t exploit the shootings for tasteless comedy, as they are each presented as sudden, shocking, and brutal. Indeed, one scene shows the Commissioner visiting the house of a victim to personally inform the family, and it’s an incredibly quiet and sincere moment that acknowledges just how awful this subject matter really is. In addition, the theme of everyone avoiding taking responsibility, while primarily used for comedic farce, is still a poignant commentary on how catching high-profile criminals has become an increasingly difficult battle in recent years, as public officials worry more about how the public will view them than about taking decisive steps to do their job. However the pilot episode doesn’t quite succeed in every respect. With a feature-length runtime of 75 minutes, some of the scenes come off as unnecessary padding. More problematic in the long-term, however, is the fact that this first episode probably succeeded too well in saying everything it needed to, as it’s unclear where the series can go from here without tediously re-treading the same ground that was already covered in this episode. This suggests that such a concept might have fared better as a selfcontained film rather than an ongoing series. While it’s uncertain how the rest of this series will play out, Babylon’s pilot episode is a great piece of television. Equally clever in its humour as it is in its tension, it’s certainly worth a watch.
McConaughey and Harrelson star in a new classic in HBO’s True Detective Gareth Downs Film and TV Editor
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Its a rare occurrence to marry together a cast of the quality that True Detective boasts. When the bigwig executives at HBO sealed the signatures of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson to star in their new drama, one can only imagine a euphoria that lasted for days. Indeed, the reception of True Detective emanating from America is wholly excellent. A show that centres around the 17-year hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana sounds slow but McConaughey and Harrelson bring a weight to their roles as Rustin Cohle and Martin Hart that keeps you engaged throughout each hour long episode, longing for any glimpse of a lead in a case that has dominated their lives as well as those of the viewers.
The characters are deeply thought out, providing fantastic character relationships embellished by the stellar supporting cast. A notable mention must be made, here, to Michelle Monaghan who, as Harrelson’s wife, gifts us another superb emotional performance. She is a rock for the viewers as much as for Hart’s character, for it is tricky to recall the last time Monaghan was disappointing. The camerawork of True Detective leaves us with a strikingly beautiful end product. Louisiana has lent itself to great cinematography in the past and certainly does here once more. True Detective will inevitably go down as a classic series, mentioned in the same breath as The Sopranos and Mad Men. It is, without doubt, one of the cleverest crime dramas to grace our screens and fully deserves a responsive audience.
flickr:David Torcivia
One of the cleverest crime dramas to grace our screens
24.02.2014
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The Real-life Music Behind Llewyn Davis sequence in which Davis hitches a ride with a monosyllabic beat poet and an old jazz musician and drug addict Roland Turner portrayed by John Goodman, gives us a real sense of how cheap hits like this affected ‘serious’ musician’s perception of the style. Turner exclaims to Davis, ‘What’d you say you played? Folksongs? I thought you said you were a musician.’ It’s hard to imagine, but jazz musicians were the snooty hipsters of the time, their folky counterparts being perceived as clean-cut, dull and musically inept. This is certainly not the stereotype to which Davis/Van Ronk belong and Van Ronk and his peers, whether they meant to or not, radically challenged this stereotype, exemplified by the fact that when we think of famous folk singers and songwriters today we readily recall names such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon and so on. This would arguably not have been the case without Van Ronk and co. leading the way. One theory as to why Van Ronk did not receive commercial success, as is
echoed in Inside Llewyn Davis, is that he had no interest in being an ‘entertainer’, hence why we see Davis staring into space when performing and barely interacting with his audience in the Gaslight Café. Elijah Wald, the author of Van Ronk’s memoir The Mayor of MacDougal Street, which the Coens’ cite as inspiration for the film, recalls Van Ronk’s words, ‘If you weren’t staring into the sound-hole of your instrument, we thought you should at least have the decency and self-respect to stare at your shoes.’ The soundtrack for Inside Llewyn Davis was produced by T Bone Burnett, Joel and Ethan Coen with Marcus Mumford as the voice of Mike, who is Davis’s deceased music partner, as its associate producer. This is the Coens’ fourth collaboration with Burnett, whose work on the similar soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou won a number of Grammy Awards. I saw this Odyssey-inspired masterpiece within a week of seeing Inside Llewyn Davis at the same cinema - The Watershed, and by complete accident too. The ‘hillbilly’
Bob Dylan, Suze Rotolo and Dave Van Ronk
source: freakoutmagazine.it
Inside Llewyn Davis successfully showcases a darker side of folk. Loosely based on the life of Dave Van Ronk, a Brooklyn-born folk singer who settled in Greenwich Village and released an album called Inside Dave Van Ronk, Llewyn Davis is a fictional character who represents the almost clichéd struggle of the singersongwriter in the early sixties. But the way in which the Coen brothers offer resolution to this struggle is anything but typical. On the surface, it is that of drifting, couch-surfing, rejection, poverty and the futility of the quest for success in the commercialised music industry. However, it also reflects the desperate struggle of the musician to maintain integrity in a market place over-saturated by mediocrity and popular culture. This issue is explored in the film through Davis’s reluctant participation in recording his friend’s pop song ‘Please Mr. Kennedy’; his comical expressions of misery and artistic frustration contrast the shot of a suited executive dancing behind the studio glass. The comical
music Burnett produced for this film, with the aid of Dan Tyminski, is infectious and deserving of all the accolades it received and I fully expect the Inside Llewyn Davis soundtrack to follow suit, as it is the music after all, that stays with the viewer and rings in our ears after the end credits.
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‘What’d you say you played? Folk songs? I thought you said you were a musician.’ Davis’s journey culminates at the Gaslight Café where the story began but this time we hear him perform ‘Fare Thee Well - Dink’s Song’, originally a duet with Mike which had only been played in snippets throughout the film until now. The Coens’ decision to make Davis a fictional character and not make a documentary style film about Van Ronk, like Malik Bendjelloul’s Searching for Sugar Man, or a biopic drama of the musician’s life, like Joann Sfar’s Gainsbourg, Vie héroïque, was a contributing factor to the film’s success. This not only allowed the Coens’ more room to explore the music scene of the time but also led to the incorporation of the character Mike: Van Ronk was never part of a duo. This detail makes Davis’s final performance all the more tender as he had never previously performed the song alone.
Immediately after Davis’s performance we hear a young Bob Dylan performing ‘Farewell’, an unreleased song from the album The Times They Are A-Changin’, while the camera focuses on Davis who is simultaneously being beaten outside in an alley by an aggrieved mysterious man. The genius of this is that whilst Dylan is performing, creating the first instance of optimism and possible success for a folk singer-songwriter in the film, Davis, immediately after having given such a moving performance which excedes Dylan’s, is beaten both literally and metaphorically, bringing us back to reality. So the struggle continues - we have gone full circle. Joel Coen, in the New York Times, said of the film ‘How good you are doesn’t always matter […] That’s what the movie is about.’ Inside Llewyn Davis gives us a representation of an important part of musical history that preceded and prompted the rebirth of folk music as it is remembered today. The film does suffer from bouts of melancholy and we sympathise with Davis as he self-destructively ruins a number of friendships and relationships. However, like in O Brother Where Art Thou, the melancholic is juxtaposed by the comedic, camaraderie and above all the music and what we are left with is a deeper sense of fulfilment. I saw the very best of the Coen brothers in those two films and heard some incredible music along the way, which made me further question the melancholic view many have taken of Inside Llewyn Davis and reflect that Davis’s musical journey is, in fact, an enjoyable struggle. Josh Torabi
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flickr: martindeutsch
A Surf Solar to Space Mountain: Fuck Buttons Live at the Trinity Centre
Fuck Buttons originally hail from Bristol, where they formed in 2004. Their third album, Slow Focus was released in July of last year on ATP recordings, and the new year finds them on excellent form. Their particular brand of electronic music is hard to define, and they are famous for the variety of objects they manage to put to use in their music as they once joked that they would play an entire show using only a toaster; but I think it’s safe to say that this new album has certainly taken a turn for the dark. Opener ‘Sweet Love for Planet Earth’ lulls the audience with its delicate, twinkling layers of piano, before ripping through the tranquillity with a sound like someone trying to cut diamonds with a broken buzz-saw. Appearing in a cloud of smoke, Andy Hung and Ben Power stand facing
each other across a table completely crammed with equipment, ready to melt the minds and eardrums of the assembled crowd. Abstract shapes projected onto the back wall pulse and distort in time with each track. There is no doubt that they put on a good show, but the visuals are hardly the point. Fuck Buttons need no novelties to support the majesty of their music. On ‘Brainfreeze’ Andy bobs his head like a chicken, while Ben bangs a huge drum as if heralding an execution. Later, Ben shrieks into the microphone of a Fisher-Price karaoke set that’s been fixed up to an amp, producing a noise like a demented owl, the closest Fuck Buttons get to lyrics in their music. The crowd varies in reaction, from melodic swaying, to enthusiastic headbanging, to full on interpretive dance.
For me, the highlight of the night was ‘Stalker’, arguably the best track from their new album, which layers synth upon synth into a menacing tower of sound that seems to enclose and almost suffocate the listener. Which is exactly what you want from experimental electronic music, really. These gentlemen are not the type to engage in casual stage patter, and for the duration of the show, not a word is spoken. Instead, the
smooth transition from track to track builds up a trance-like atmosphere that is perfectly balanced throughout the almost two hour set. This isn’t Vice, so I’m not going to make some gratuitous acid trip comparison, but simply say that if you get the chance to catch them live, Fuck Buttons are well worth the tinnitus. Jessica Rayner
manner, especially when you consider the pitfalls of your show relying so heavily on a laptop and pre-programmed sounds. With his gangly frame and straw-like hair Doyle resembles a mad scarecrow, lunging at his keyboard as if he is trying to wrestle the notes from it. The difficulty as an electronic musician is to play in a way that is visceral and soulful but Doyle is a captivating presence. He plays a heavily distorted bass which thrums insistently through the din and works most effectively on the majestic second half of ‘Heaven, How Long’ during which shimmering synths are carried along on an irrepressible motorik beat. It is the sound of progress and movement, the sound of lights flitting past on the motorway in the middle of the night. That sense of uncontrollable, organic motion
flows effortlessly into ‘Hinterland’ before the sound malfunction. The jolting disconnection which everyone in the audience felt was indicative of Doyle’s successful creation of an immersive and enthralling show, deserved a better ending than it got. Nevertheless, with his innovative synthesis of techno, electro, ambience and pop, Doyle proved himself to be a remarkably mature performer. The Louisiana is renowned for putting on littleknown acts in the months and years before they receive critical and commercial acclaim, bands who reach such heights that people who saw their first shows feel it necessary to say ‘I was there.’ At points tonight, you got the tantalising feeling that in a few years those present tonight might say the same thing about East India Youth.
Heaven, How Long?: East India Youth Live at The Louisiana Two thirds of the way into ‘Hinterland’, a throbbing techno-inflected track which serves as the denouement of Will Doyle’s set, the sound cuts out. Silence abruptly replaces pounding drums and convulsive synths, killing the mood in the room stone dead. Doyle finds the offending piece of equipment and finishes the song, but there remains an unmistakable sense of disappointment. The sense of disappointment is so palpable because what preceded that technical hitch was forty-five minutes worth of engaging, visceral electronic music. Under the moniker East India Youth, Doyle has proven himself to be adept at writing both catchy pop songs and complex, intricate electronic arrangements which draws heavily on the strands of experimentation prevalent in post-war German music; there are shades of both Bowie’s Berlin trilogy and Neu! while the influence of Cologne’s seminal techno label Kompakt is also readily apparent. Gabe Gurnsey, whose work with Factory Floor
shares a similar aesthetic to that of Doyle’s, has loosely defined his band’s sound as ‘primitive dance’ and, watching Doyle perform, I think this description also aptly describes his ethos. The kernel of his sound is the relationship between sophisticated complexity and directness, a relationship which you can see playing out in his performance. Each song contains layered, intricately programmed melodies which eventually swell into a wall of noise. The intensity of the monolithic set opener, ‘Glitter Recession’ is present throughout; even in the performance of his more conventional, poppy efforts, ‘Looking For Someone’ and ‘Dripping Down’, Doyle avoids sounding too clean or sanitised through the use of his sneering, drawling vocals. When he sings ‘think I need someone/pretty sure you’re the one’ during ‘Looking For Someone’ the listener is afforded a glimpse into the uncomfortable selfishness and callousness behind such cloying sentimentality. It is worth commenting on Doyle’s stage
flickr:gzig
Ben Hickey sees a bright future ahead for William Doyle’s heartfelt, human techno.
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24.02.2014
Reviews David Tibet
Current 93
I Am The Last Of All The Field That Fell The Spheres
flickr: simovalley
February 8th
Current 93’s last album, 2009’s Aleph At Hallucinatory Mountain used relentless distortion and feedback to create a sound somewhere between Swans and My Bloody Valentine. However Current 93 have never been a band to stay tied down to one style for very long and I Am The Last Of All The Field That Fell introduces a more sombre, jazz infused sound. Tibet can normally be relied upon to bring together a diverse range of musicians and sounds to his work and his latest offering is no exception – saxophones, flutes and jazzy lounge drums contribute to the surreal atmosphere, but the core of the album is a piano driven voyage into Tibet’s trademark apocalyptic
folk stylings. Tibet’s lyrics are as out-there as they’ve ever been, sometimes veering into the outright absurd - ‘In your heart; the ghost of Gary Glitter!’ and too many songs lose focus as they descend into Tibet’s meandering poetry. Despite this, Current 93’s latest work does still succeed in creating some hauntingly memorable moments through the oppressive atmosphere Tibet is able to create. It’s certainly not for everyone, but for those seeking a ticket to the weirdest realms of contemporary British music, Current 93 are still more than able to escort you there. Alex Whitehead
Angel Olson
Angel Olson
I Am The Last Of All The Field That Fell Jagjaguwar
In Angel Olsen’s third full-length, she widens her sonic palette without moving too sharply away from the country-grunge blend that made her name. Whilst the two singles ‘Forgiven/ Forgotten’ and ‘Hi-Five’ appear to have been blessed at birth by the fairy godmothers of nineties grunge and eighties pop respectively, the rest of the album is comparatively mellow. Olsen transforms soft crooning into uncomfortable wavering in typical fashion, the style subtly altered from the echoing vocals and cosmic melodies of her debut ‘Strange Cacti’ and the interrogative dissonance of ‘Halfway Home’. Whilst some tracks retain her trademark plodding consistency, they are underpinned by distance and distortion. Her quivering voice is less confrontational. It occupies a faraway space, rising up in the short opening track ‘Unfucktheworld’
like a reanimated corpse communicating via gramophone. Thrumming bass has been replaced by the recurrent thrashing of cymbals, yet gentle guitar remains the dominant presence amongst this melodic melange. The last song on the album, ‘Windows’, is particularly haunting; appropriately angelic echoes overlay a carefully built-up piece layered with climax and contrast. The sunrise Olsen sings of casts its chilly, piercing glow upon her listener as they are seduced by her breathy tones. Diverse as ever, Olsen’s album is a cacophonous concoction of the intimate and the edgy: a lucky dip of music which sways with the mood like the ship of ease and discordance upon which we set sail from the very second we hit ‘Play’. Millie Morris
flickr:_kyrm1
February 18th
Mark Kozelek
Sun Kil Moon Benji
Caldo Verde
You’re going to die. Everyone you know will die. Everyone you will ever meet will die. Everyone they know will die. Everyone you love, the girl who smiled at you while you waited in line for coffee last week and the oddly cheery stranger offering a sympathetic smile as your umbrella breaks again, are all going to die too. Look at you sitting there in front of a screen, or reading this paper. Dying. You’re basically a breathing compost heap waiting to happen. It’s a constant surprise Mark Kozelek, songwriter in Sun Kil Moon, springs upon anyone left alive. Death and ageing are a frequent presence in his lyrical narrative and Benji begins with yet another funeral. Carissa, a distant second-cousin Kozelek hadn’t seen for two decades, was consumed by flames when an aerosol can exploded in a rubbish bag she carried outside. The same way his uncle
went, we’re told. It sets the tone for an album obsessed with death, its effects and everything it makes you think about. You weren’t looking for an album to cheer you up, were you? The characteristic meandering of his lyrics really come into their own here as Kozelek slowly weaves regret and fear into arguably his most powerful narratives yet. As usual, he’s surprisingly honest, repeating how terrified he is by the prospect of his parents’ impending death and describing the pains of growing older. When sex comes up as it must always do in a Kozelek project, it’s rushed, ugly and brutally graphic as he speeds through his early sexual encounters to conclude it all as a ‘complicated mess.’ Worryingly, it’s the only point on Benji where the focus is on life; he doesn’t seem impressed. In contrast the focus on death borders on obsessive.
flickr: stmurse
February 11th
Hats off to the band also, who supply some excellent moods for Kozelek to cry to. Opener ‘Carissa’ rolls with a gloomy guitar loop somehow managing to toe the line between dreary and apathetically beautiful. The tone is perfect, conjuring up the reality of death’s wake before the lyrics even begin. A later country-inspired jam is equally apt when it captures the old school father-son relationship described in ‘I Love My Dad,’ and the light-hearted jingle of ‘Jim Wise’ cunningly sets you up for the line ‘he put the gun to his head and it jammed and he didn’t die.’ While beautiful, all eyes remain on Kozelek and his lyrics as the rest of Sun Kil Moon mostly serve as emphasis. Brilliant emphasis, but they act as
enablers nonetheless. By the end of Benji, death is on the mind for the rest of us too. The mood is drab, but it’s so masterfully put together you can’t help but be sucked in to the bleak reality of Kozelek’s existence. In the nature of this window-view of his life any conclusion on our part is purely personal so the only one I can offer is my own. We’re all going to die, and it sucks, but if Mark dies before me I know I’ll be with a friend and two guitars; tabbing up the music of ‘Carissa’ and connecting to other people over the inevitable end that will tear us apart. Jonny Hunter
Epigram 24.02.2014
25 47
Skaters: can’t skate, can rock FAO Bristol students: when I met downtown NYC rockers Michael Ian Cummings, the singer/songwriter, Josh Hubbard, the guitarist, Dan Burke, the bassist and Noah Rubin, the drummer, of Skaters, they promised ‘a good time by any means necessary’ when they come to The Exchange on February 27th. I challenge you to find someone who doesn’t like ‘a good time’, but these guys should actually put on something quite special. The punk rock indebted foursome came together after Matt met Josh at a party in LA and hit it off speaking about how they wanted to form a band. Both had been in bands before, Matt in the Dead Trees who delivered unforgettably rich vocals in World Gone Global and Josh in The Paddington’s, as rarely has a Telecaster sounded so good as in Panic Attack. Famously, after a phone call on November 1st 2011, Josh flew to New York with
a day’s notice and the band began collaborating. Josh ‘didn’t come all the way from the UK to jam’ and within a day they had booked three shows and began creating their album with what Mike calls ‘upbeat music inspired by their favourite postpunk bands in London’, though their sound has been variously described more as ‘post-emo indie pop’ and ‘new wave bass beats mixed with fuzzy guitars steeped in a ‘77 sound,’ When I ask about their upcoming album Manhattan being released on February 25th, Matt describes it as a ‘scrapbook of weird stories’ from the band’s first year together in NYC. ‘Deadbolt’, with its post-punk overtone, was written by Matt from the perspective of a guy in his apartment who was shot or arrested by a SWAT team with helicopters - Matt doesn’t know how the episode ended, after shooting at a cop. The sense of rebellion is
flickr: mattarena83
Interview by Zack Rose
highlighted by the opening lyrics ‘Here come the cops/ hand me my sword.’ Interestingly, ‘Armed,’ one of my favourite tracks, doesn’t appear on the album. When questioned about this Matt admitted that it was ‘too political’ to be included, and the band wanted to stay away from this on their first album. ‘Super beat-driven,’ the lyrics for Armed were written after the music was
formed in collaboration with rapper Young Dope. Staying up till 4am every night and working as bartenders helped them sell out gigs straight away, and this kind of popularity along with the release of their art-zine YONKS, led to Warner Brothers and others competing to sign them. They eventually went with Warner Brothers because they ‘clearly showed the
most interest.’ Within a week they were at Electric Lady Land in LA recording with John Hill, a producer fresh from working with none other than Kanye West. Proud Anglophiles and lovers of Bristol especially, having played at Thekla, Start the Bus and Broad Street, you might find them in their favourite café The Full Court Press near Cabot Circus if you hang around at
the right time on the 27th. The mere promise of ‘a good time’ is selling these guys seriously short - If you want to hear some awesome riffy rock from a band that loves it in our fair city, I would get straight to the Exchange on 27th February. And if all this isn’t enough to sway you, they want you to know that they’re ‘extremely handsome.’
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Epigram
24.02.2014
Science & Tech
Editor: Molly Hawes scienceandtech@epigram.org.uk
Further chemical messengers at this level have been discovered. Other evidence from the lab of Takao Hensch, a neuroscientist working in Boston Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts, found that you could start the critical period earlier or later by modifying GABA transmission in the visual cortex. GABA is the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. If you prevent GABA function genetically, you will delay the onset of the critical period. Enhancing GABA function by administering benzodiazepines (a common drug used as a sedative or to treat anxiety) started the critical period earlier. There’s a whole host of ways in which this may manifest itself pharmaceutically in the future. It is only in the very early stages of investigation, and any such medication is not going to be produced for years, if ever. It is a very risky business attempting to rewire areas of the brain, since it is very difficult to map precisely which neurons may be involved in what you’re trying to target. You risk unintentionally wiping fundamental memories; you could lose the neuronal make-up that defines your personality and memories. The whole idea of resetting your brain like this seems more suited to the surreal realms of Blade Runner than the modern day. But it certainly highlights, if nothing else, the frightening speed of discoveries in modern neuroscience.
Flickr: Laura Nagle Flickr: paul bica
Young brain is astonishing. In the space of two years from birth it will grow to about 85% the size of an adult brain. It will also quintuple the number of synapses in the first six months of life at a net rate up to a million synapses produced per second! Many of these new synapses are abandoned amidst a manic sprawl of growth. This turnover of synapses continues until a measly 1015 – that’s 1,000,000,000,000,000 – synapses remain through adult life. At this point, the brain becomes locked. Adult synapses can still be turned over or modified, but at a negligible rate compared to a baby brain. Learning on such a scale becomes pretty much impossible. This period of immense brain turnover, or plasticity in the neonate is known as the ‘critical period’. During this period, a new-born learns hordes of important information such as language, social interaction and motor control at an unprecedented rate. The big question is: can we reopen this critical period in the mature brain? The implications would be huge. You could potentially learn a new language as easily as when you were young, or make yourself a guitar hero like you wish you had. You could also fix things that went wrong, such as early traumatic experiences, or faulty development that may cause autism, or even schizophrenia. Naturally, critical periods are at the heart of
contemporary neuroscience research, and pharmaceutical companies are licking their lips over the potential in this field. However, it is very difficult to define the critical period for higher cognitive functions, such as emotions or language. Most experiments have, for this reason, targeted simple sensory systems such as the visual cortex of the rat, which have more clearly defined periods of high synaptic turnover. Perhaps future drugs at this level will mend problems in the growth of the visual cortex, such as Lazy Eye (or Amblyopia). Research has already paved the path to discovery. The cells that may be responsible have been identified as inhibitory neurons. The brain is essentially an amalgamation of circuits of intertwined excitatory and inhibitory neurons, and the way they interact is crucial to healthy networking. One astonishing experiment from the University of California, San Francisco from the lab of Sunil Gandhi found that you could reopen the critical period of learning in an adult rat by transplanting inhibitory neurons from a neonate into a mature brain. Essentially, you could hit the reset button and start programming the brain anew. These inhibitory neurons migrated to the relevant area of the brain, and grew to become fully integrated in the cortical circuit. This implied that the way interneurons mature is the key to discovering what opens and closes critical periods.
deputyscienceandtech@epigram.org.uk
Online Editor: Stephanie Harris
How to rewind your brain Sebastian Green Science Writer
@EpigramSciTech Deputy Editor: Sol Milne
Big things have small beginnings Adam Klinger Science Writer
Flickr: dierk schaefer
Any animal needs a significant amount of oxygen in order to survive. Without the great oxidation event we would not be here. No fish. No snakes-just microorganisms. -Dick Holland (Geochemist at Harvard University) Around 2.5 billion years ago, a monumental change occurred in our planets history. The atmosphere changed from being anoxic (having no O2) to be oxic, leading to the emergence of complex multi-cellular life and diversification of the entire biota. How this change occurred is of scientific doubt and different theories have been put forward, though some are more robust to scepticism than others. The fundamental initiators of this change were cyanobacteria, a single celled hyperthermophile (high temperature tolerating) ancestral to the chloroplast of plants. Cyanobacteria were the first bacteria to produce free oxygen through photosynthesis. However, evidence suggests that these or similar such bacteria existed before the dramatic ‘Great oxidation event’ that occurred 2.5 Billion years ago. So why was it delayed? Sulfur isotope data actually suggests that free Oxygen first rose to appreciable levels close to 2.4 billion years ago, conflicting with said statement of cyanobacteria’s prior existence. A few theories harbour explanations. One suggests reduced iron acted as a massive sink for oxygen. Once oxygen production began, all the abundance of iron would have first needed to be oxidised. However, this theory is probably incorrect because the process would have only need take a few thousand years, a second’s worth
on geological time scales. Oxygen is poisonous to nitrogenise (enzymes used to fix nitrogen) essential to survival of living organisms. Therefore time was necessary to mechanise an evolutionary means of mitigating this effect and develop the heterocyst, a cell devoted to fixing nitrogen. Most bacteria were not as adept as cynaobacteria leading to what could quite possibly be the largest extinction event in earth’s history. Cyanobacteria are arguably the most successful species ever. Stromatolites are considered one of the most informative types of sediment structures, accreting the oldest types of grains, namely cyanobacteria. Oxygen producing cyanobacteria form precipitates of calcium carbonate initiated by photosynthesis. The bacteria formed colonies, trapping sediment and reacting with calcium carbonate to produce limestone. Layers eventually built up at around 5cm every year. These cyanobacteria have been dated to as early as 3.5 billion years ago, supporting the idea of prior existence to the ‘great oxidation event’ From these cyanobacteria came the oxic environment which destroyed vast amounts of methane leading, to the Huronian glaciation, one of 6 ‘snowball earths’. We have copious amounts of evidence suggesting a great oxidation event that did occur around 2.5 billion years ago. However, the intricate nature of cross referencing exact dates through radiometric means and resultant discordance in some data prompts controversy and different schools of thought, such as the prior existence of the bacteria to the ‘great oxidation event’. However the event happened at around the times mentioned, paving the way for today’s scientists to further improve this into a more robust theory of the humble beginnings of life.
Epigram
10.02.2014
49
The scientific reality of drug addiction Ben Parr Science Writer
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Flickr: e_monk
In December, actor Matthew Perry and Columnist Peter Hitchens clashed on the BBC’s programme Newsnight, on the question of drugs policy. The heated debate centred around a statement made by Hitchens, author of The War We Never Fought and speaker at a Bristol International Affairs Society event last year. His claimed that addiction is a ‘fantasy’. The Friends star and exdrug addict, Perry, harshly rebuked Hitchens’ claim, dismissing him as ‘making a point that is as ludicrous as saying Peter Pan is real’, something with which most of us would probably agree. However, when Hitchens went on to challenge him to produce one piece of objective evidence for addiction as something beyond a simple matter of choice, Perry was unable to move beyond mocking Hitchens proposals. I am sure most of us have felt a desire to act in a certain way before, even to the extent that we feel compelled. But to make a leap from that to addiction, the dependence on a particular substance, seems to require something more that just analogies to those feelings. The objective evidence for addiction as a real phenomena has numerous roots in many different fields of science including genetics, psychology and pharmacology. One particularly shocking experiment, which suggests why some behaviours become compulsive habits, despite harmful consequences, was carried out by James Old and Peter Milner in 1953. Their experiment used a rat with an electrode implanted into
its brain. It was then placed into a box. This box contained a lever which, when stepped on, would deliver a brief electrical stimulus to the rats brain. Rats would pace around the box, before accidentally stepping on the lever and receiving a stimulation. Before long the rat would repeatedly be stepping on the lever, and in doing so exhibit a behaviour known as electrical self stimulation. In fact, sometimes the rats would become so intent on pressing the lever, and nothing else, that they would neglect food and water, only stopping when they had collapsed from exhaustion. This single experiment is, of course, a long way off demonstrating that the human brain can become addicted to a stimulus. It nonetheless provides an illustration of how strong a dependence upon a stimulus can be. Furthermore, when coupled with the other experiments which suggest similar conclusions, it seems the objective case for addiction is strong. If those involved in the debate had understood the evidence surrounding the topic, the argument could have moved on to a more serious question, such as whether addiction should be treated as a medical illness; something Tom Burns, Oxford Professor of Social Psychiatry, believes is an unhelpful categorization. By taking the debate back into the realm of reason and not petty name calling, perhaps the Producer of Newsnight would not have had to lead the pair out of the building through different exits.
Antibody therapy: we can turn back the hands of time Rachel Cole Science Writer
Flickr: Sailing footprints: ‘Real to reel’
The inability to communicate, manage one’s own personal hygiene and recognise loved ones could be just some of the reasons why Alzheimer’s disease has earned second place to cancer in a recent survey of the USA’s most dreaded diseases. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, currently affecting more than 20 million people around the world – that’s over twice the population of New York City. What’s more, due to the ageing population, prevalence is on the rise so an effective treatment is desperately needed, and fast. In Alzheimer’s disease a protein called amyloid-beta (Aβ) accumulates in the brain, forming an insoluble aggregation called a plaque. These plaques are thought to cause the death of brain cells and be responsible for the memory loss and other symptoms of the disease. The destruction of these plaques could prevent further deterioration of patients’ condition. When we get an infection the immune system creates Y shaped proteins called antibodies which bind to the bacteria. These antibodies are specific to the particular bacteria;
Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 20 million people around the world
the two slot together like pieces of a jigsaw. The antibodies act as labels which indicate to white blood cells that the bacterium is harmful. The white blood cells respond by engulfing the labelled bacteria in a ‘pacman-like’ manner. The antibodies produced remain in the blood, so that if we get infected by the same bacteria later in life it can be destroyed before it has the chance to make us ill. This is known as immunity. Immunizations exploit this immune response. They contain ‘inactive’ versions of the harmful bacteria which have the same shape, so will stimulate the production of antibodies which will ‘fit’, but they won’t make us ill. Therefore an injection makes us immune without having to get sick first. Researchers discovered that
injecting Alzheimer’s patients with inactive Aβ could stimulate the production of antibodies leading to plaque destruction by ‘pacman-like’ cells in the brain. However, treatment caused serious side effects because the antibodies produced bound on to the healthy Aβ and two treated patients died as a result. Consequently a new approach had to be developed. By injecting antibodies that have been ‘pre-made’ in mice, researchers can ensure that the antibodies will only bind to plaques, so these side effects would not occur. However, the brain is surrounded by a protective sieve, known as the blood brain barrier, which prevents large substances causing damage. Therefore, it was thought that following injection the ‘pre-made’ antibodies would not be able pass from the blood into the brain in order to reach the plaques. However, recent studies have shown that a small amount of these antibodies do get through and can stimulate plaque removal. Clinical trials are currently ongoing to see if these antibodies can be used effectively treat Alzheimer’s patients. If clinical trials are successful, in the future the antibodies could be used to treat Alzheimer’s and other devastating diseases also caused by protein accumulation such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease.
UBU VOLUNTEERING PRESENT
BRISTOL’S GOT TALENT For one night only, UoB students will be competing to be crowned Bristol’s Most Talented! Witness Bristol’s finest compete live on stage for an amazing prize, all accompanied by our top headlining comedian!
MONDAY 24 FEBRUARY ANSON ROOMS DOORS: 7:15PM SHOW BEGINS: 8PM Tickets can be purchased for £5 from www.ubu.org.uk/volunteering (limited tickets on the door) Are you coming to support a specific act? Buy 20 or more tickets for £3 each. For more details please email ubu-volunteering@bristol.ac.uk
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Epigram
Sport
24.02.2014
51
Perfect varsity Cross country preparations for success for Bristol boxing fight night Hannah Pollak VP: Sport & Health Bristol Cross Country
the course with determination to complete the team in 320th and 403rd respectively. The men’s B race saw 11 Bristol men attacking the 7.9km course with social secretary, Tom Joy, having a break from Bunker to lead the team home placing 181st. Relatively new to cross country, Jack Hobson demonstrated how quickly you can progress in the sport finishing 193rd. Next home was Lawrence Hill finishing 193rd. Simon Lomas was next in, finishing 200th but worked hard for most of the race with Jamie Lacy Smith who placed 211th. Cricketer Alex Fordham produced a very strong result of 236th with Ben Marshall not far behind in 261st. Mark Golding didn’t dress up as Jesus for this race and finished well in 276th, with Jim Lumsden looking like he was having far too much fun on the course finishing 285th. David Hemmi and Marcus Farnfield completed the team finishing 299th and 300th respectively.A special mention should go to our committed committee and club members John Ashcroft and Jonny Monk who couldn’t compete due to injury but their dedication was so great to the club that they still travelled up to support all the athletes in the race. A testament to the strong community which the University of Bristol cross country club creates.
Peter Cassell
As VP Sport and Health at UBU I get the privilege of seeing a wide variety of University sports teams perform at a phenomenal level. But I also get to experience the sheer joy of a BUCS cross country weekend. On Friday 31st January 32 members of the Bristol University cross country club set off on the long slog up to Stirling (that’s right just north of Glasgow) for the annual BUCS national championships. For those readers who have never experienced the endurance, commitment and dedication of cross country running then you are missing out on the purest form of sport. Armed with the dependable giraffe-tent (we did spend the night in a Travelodge in the end) and our trusty coach Keith Brackstone; we were ready to race the best University athletes in the UK. First up was the Men’s A race, with the boys taking on a demanding 11.1km course through the persistent rain and wind. Star fresher, Ben Westhenry was the first home in an impressive 86th. Close behind was Kit Gierson, finishing in 109th, clearly reaping the results of some hard training at the end of last term. Duncan Bristwistle and James Thompson were the next men home finishing 118th and
123rd respectively. Jonny Pegg competing in his first BUCS for Bristol came 141st with Andy Salmon finishing in a solid 169th. The women’s race was up next which the club fielding an exceptionally strong pack of 13 women, including our captain Ellen Harrison who chanted a Bristol rallying cry right before the starting gun. The motivation from Ellen clearly worked with the women’s team finishing 8th out of 48 teams, the best result for 4 years. Anna Burton put in her best performance of the season over the 6.4km course finishing 30th with high performance tri-athlete Grace France close behind finishing 32nd. Nicola Wilkenson, who is a regular for the women’s hockey club finished in a stunning 51st with the loudest member of the club, Phillipa Williams, proving that she can run pretty quickly too- finishing in 56th. Hannah Pollak managed a mediocre 88th and Megan Williams comfortably finished 138th. Our exceptional captain put in a strong performance finishing 165th and Delia Batt, a traditional pent-athlete finished 205th. Kate Husband, Miranda Weller Jones and Judith Robinson were in the next wave of women finishing 208th, 233rd and 285th. Judith is becoming a campaigner for ‘students against depression’ in her preparations for the London marathon. Emma Frazer and Florence Emond both battled
Peter Cassell Bristol Boxing
wikipedia:thetelf Hannah Pollak
It is almost upon us againBoxing Fight Night: Bristol Uni vs UWE. You may remember the electric atmosphere from last year or 2012, or this might be your first time; either way you are in for a treat this year. The fighters have trained hard for the much anticipated show which has now been brought back to the Anson Rooms this year. This astounding event will be enjoyable for all, whether or not you’ve seen boxing before. We caught up with Bristol University Boxing Captain, Liam O’Shea for his predictions for the night, ‘Everyone has been smashing it in training and working hard to make sure they are in top shape. We have been doing plenty of sparring between ourselves and with renowned local clubs so I’m confident that we are
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ready. This is the most prepared I’ve seen the squad in the three years I’ve been training here and I’m aiming for a repeat of 2012 where we convincingly showed who was the best team. It’s going to be a big night filled with drama, passion and entertainment and you’d be a fool to miss it.’ Bristol University won three bouts convincingly on Monday 17th at the Bath University show and are hoping to bring that success back to the home crowd. UWE had fighters in this show but pulled them out last minute - Is this an indicator that they’re not ready? A controversial judge’s decision at Bath’s fight night against one of our up and coming boxers means there could be room for a heated rematch. University level boxing is growing fast and with success stories such as Anthony Joshua at the 2012 London Olympics, who had never picked up gloves before university, the
appeal to students is made so apparent – you can be a champion at whatever standard you choose to take the sport to. The event will have entrance music and promo videos for the fighters as well as ring girls, cheap drinks and a top show for the spectators. The un-missable event starts at 7.30pm on Friday 28th February in the Anson Rooms, Bristol University Students Union with first bell at 8pm. Find Bristol Uni Boxing on Facebook: Fight Night University of Bristol Vs. UWE In the unlikely event that there will be tickets remaining on the night they will be selling at £10 on the door. It is best to get tickets online in advance at cheaper prices to avoid disappointment. Remaining tickets can be bought in advance for £7.50 at www.ubu.org.uk/ fightnight. Be sure to get them online quick before they sell out!
Women’s hockey win through to the last 16 of the BUCS Cup Cat Melville Women’s Hockey Captain The Bristol ladies hockey 1st XI reached the quarter-finals of the BUCS Cup on Wednesday with a 2-1 victory against Leeds at Coombe Dingle. The team went into the game following a confidence-boosting win against South Premier champions Exeter two weeks before but were aware they faced tough
opposition in the first knockout round. Despite finishing bottom in the North League Leeds had been involved in many tight games throughout the season. Bristol started brightly and had the majority of possession during the first fifteen minutes. Leeds, however, were strong in defence and the game remained goalless. Multiple chances to take the lead came and went and a goal by Lucy Preston was disallowed. The Bristol girls persevered,
despite worsening weather conditions, and were rewarded with a goal when Lucy McKee produced a brilliant reversestick finish after excellent buildup between the forwards. They remained on top for the rest of the half - even when down to 10 players after central-midfielder Rhian Richardson received a yellow-card – and prevented the strong Leeds midfield core from dictating the game. Bristol deservingly cemented their lead on half-time when
They will now play Loughborough away on the 26th February for a place in the semis
a short-corner, which initially broke down, was played back into the circle by Charlotte Watt and eventually found the goal.
Preston claimed the final touch. The second-half was more tense and closely-fought, with the Leeds midfield having a greater influence on the game, but Bristol carved out chances to extend their lead. Two yellow cards in quick succession then left them with only nine players on the pitch. This did not however deter the Bristol girls and they controversially had a Rachel Bradshaw deflection from a short-corner disallowed when she was deemed to have
encroached on the defender. Leeds then took off their goalie, looking to capitalise on their numerical advantage, only to bring her back on when two of their own players were sent off. Leeds pulled a goal back and Bristol were relieved to hear the whistle after a nervous final ten minutes. They will now play Loughborough away on the 26th of February for a place in the semi-finals.
24.02.2014
Editor’s Column Sports co-editor, Hetty Knox, discusses if sport could be turning a corner with it’s attitudes to sexuality So, Sochi is up and running at the time of writing this column, sport has been main attraction. With a heightened terrorist threat and the controversy surrounding Russia’s stance on homosexuality, it is fantastic to see that the Winter Olympics is taking the focus - after all that’s what the Olympics is all about. Russia’s anti-gay attitude has rightly come under much fire and many high profile global organisations have made a stand in support of homosexuality - throwing it back in Russia’s face. Google made use of the rainbow flag in their search banner as did the Guardian; some overseas organisations have created some thought provoking (and hilarious) adverts - just search for ‘Canadian Luge advert’. Could this overwhelming demonstration of support be the turning point for the acceptance of homosexuality in sport? England women’s football captain Casey Stoney is another high profile athlete added to the growing list of sportsmen and women opening up about their sexuality. Add to this Tom Daley, Thomas Hitzlsperger , Robbie Rogers and most recently the NFL’s Michael Sam and the signs are there to suggest that the sports world is starting to break the tradition of the typical ‘sporty’ heterosexual stereotype.
“” “” “” Could this overwhelming demonstration of support be the turning point for the acceptance of homosexuality in sport?
Former Professional Footballers’ Association chairman Clarke Carlisle has called for more education of football players to combat homophobia. In an interview with BBC 5 live, Carlisle highlighted that homophobia is still common place in professional football. Although Carlisle’s heart is in the right place, educating this minority of footballers is not enough. The homophobic slurs might be irradiated on the pitch, but that is just 22 players. What of the thousands of fans that turn up to the game or those watching the football on the television? I am not meaning to make a gross generalisation that all football fans are homophobic - the majority of fans are passionate supporters willing their team to victory, with only a minority over stepping the line to make personal attacks. What I wish to highlight is that the education needs to go further than the white lines of the football pitch and to reach all footballing communities- professional footballer, amateur or fan. And this education needs to start from an early age.
The education needs to go further than the white lines of the football pitch
Of course football is not the only sport exposed to homophobia. The revelation that Michael Sam is the NFL’s first openly gay player has received much publicity, and not always for the better. The announcement was made in the same week that the US justice department granted same sex couples ‘full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law’. Despite other American sports stars revealing their homosexuality, this is different. American football is quintessentially American; nothing is more ‘manly’ than the warriors that take to the field to compete in this game. Despite the NFL’s efforts to fight sexual prejudice by updating its non-discrimination policy by explicitly attempting to combat homophobia, only a few days ago in an interview about homophobia Jonathan Vilma, a well-respected linebacker, said ‘Imagine if I’m taking a shower… and he looks at me. How am I supposed to respond?’ Just hours after the announcement, Sam’s transfer value dropped and a personnel assistant was quoted saying ‘I don’t think the NFL is ready… it would chemically unbalance a locker room’. It is clear that despite the steps that are being taken, in some sports there is still much room for improvement.
Imagine if I’m taking a shower… and he looks at me. How am I supposed to respond?
A new initiative - Take Pride in UBU Sport- launched by UBU Sport and Health that aims to tackle this issue, embed an equality and diversity culture into sports clubs and ensure all students feel welcomed and accepted. The equality charter will tackle behaviour such as homophobia, sexism and racism after a motion to introduce the scheme was passed unanimously at the UBU Sport Conference last May. I will welcome the day when I can turn to the back pages of a newspaper and read articles purely discussing sport, without needing to be told that another sports star has revealed their non-heterosexual sexuality. After all, a professional athlete’s job is to perform to the best of their ability within their given sporting discipline and matters of their sexuality should be kept personal, because they have no relevance to their performance. Let’s hope that the sporting world can use the negatives surrounding Russia’s anti-gay policy as a platform to push on from and to welcome any sexuality into the sporting world.
Who are the genuine ‘little horses’ of the sporting world? Adam Becket Sports Writer Jose Mourinho recently came out and told the waiting media, who were eager for a story, that his Chelsea team, who are worth hundreds of millions of pounds, were the ‘little horses’ of this year’s Premiership title race. Mourinho suggested that behind Manchester City and Arsenal, his team are the underdogs, not expected to win at all. Chelsea are, of course, no more underdogs for the title than they are candidates for relegation. Instead, let’s explore some proper sporting underdogs, and prove to Jose what it really means. One of the most recent and famous underdog triumphs in football has to be Greece, who won the Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal, in dramatic fashion. Greece hadn’t reached the European Championships in 24 years, spanning their last 6 attempts, and even that time was their only previous appearance. However, they managed to win the tournament, beating holders France in the quarter finals, the Czech Republic in the semi finals, and hosts Portugal in the final, after they had already beaten them in the group stages. That, Mr Mourinho, is being a football underdog, just as Bradford City were by reaching last year’s League Cup final, even though they lost to Swansea, the heavy favourites to win. The biggest underdog victories always gain their own moniker, and the next topical one is no different. The ‘Miracle on Ice’, was one of the greatest moments in ice hockey and Winter Olympic history as the USA team, made up of collegiate level amateurs met the much fancied
Jose Mourinho reckons Chelsea are one, so who else is seen as a lagging nag?
and professional USSR team in the semi finals. The Russians had won six of the past seven ice hockey gold medals, and turned up at Lake Placid in 1980 expecting the same again, as did the expectant media and crowds. In a match and Olympics with heightened tension due to the Cold War and the recent Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, victory meant everything. In the final period, the USA came back from being 3-2 down to winning 4-3. An amateur USA team triumphed against overwhelming odds to achieve a victory for Olympic spirit. Muhammad Ali was the protagonist of two famous underdog stories; his victory over Sonny Liston in 1964 and the celebrated ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ when he beat George Foreman in 1974. In both fights Ali was expected to lose, coming up
against world heavyweight champions. Liston was famed for his hard hitting and was fully expected to win, yet Ali walked away with victory by a technical knockout as Liston quit. Again in Zaire, in 1974, Ali came up against Foreman, the undisputed world champion who had never lost a fight. Just as before, Ali was victorious. He knocked Foreman out in the eighth round and proclaimed himself the greatest ever. Muhammad Ali proved to the world his sensational boxing ability yet again, and his ability to shake off the label of underdog. These are all great underdogs, teams or people who shocked the world with their triumphs. Chelsea have every chance to win the title, though it won’t shock many, least of all me.
The good, the bad and the ugly
Good... ...bad... ...ugly Whilst the men’s team continues to slide further than a curling stone that has been brushed too vigourously, there was welcome news regarding their female counterparts, with the ECB announcing that the national team will become the first full-time professional women’s team in England’s history. ECB chairman Giles Clarke expressed his hope that the team would become “some of the best-paid sportswomen” in the country. It follows the development of the football Women’s Super League, with teams including Chelsea, Manchester City and Notts County all boasting professional status. The future of women’s professional sport is a bright one, and we at Epigram Sport say long may it continue!
It is a great shame that, for the pinnacle of the winter sport world, the snow conditions in Sochi were such a farce. Experienced skiers and snowboarders will have winced at the sound and sight of the slushy, sugary snow which was what the world’s best were forced to compete on. Temperatures of 20 degrees celsius made the situation all the more ridiculous, with athletes competing in the cross-country skiing events in vests. The men’s halfpipe was a shining example. Time and time again, the world’s most skilled snowboarders caught their boards in icy divots, or sloshed through a soft landing. As good as the Olympic snow events were, the quality could have been so much better - a sad case of what might have been.
Prismatico
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Oblivescence_photography
Epigram
As much as everybody seems to love the Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, the famously self-anointed ‘Special One’, some of his comments really do stand out for the wrong reasons. At times Mourinho is downright disrespectful, and the fact that it is entirely deliberate makes it all the more unsavoury. Nothing epitomised this more than his personal attack on Arsene Wenger, calling him a ‘specialist in failure’. Mourinho looks nothing more than a small-time school playground bully, an incredibly ugly trait. The fact that his petty and crass attack was made aginst the most dignified dugout figure simply made Mourinho look all the more childish. Not the Special One’s finest hour.
Epigram
24.02.2014
53
British women’s water polo drowned by funding cuts The week that was...
Why the decision to consign the women’s water polo domestic programme to the scrapheap is wrong on so many levels
Lizzy Yarnold @TheYarnold
I WON THE OLYMPICS!!!!!!
She did it! Lizzy Yarnold followed up her landlady’s, Amy Williams, gold medal in the skeleton four years ago with one of her own. Despite a rather shaky last slide, Yarnold won by a staggering 0.97 seconds (that’s a lot when you are sliding down a mountain on a tray) ahead of the second placed competitor. What is it that makes the Brits so great at the skeleton?
Joseph Barton @Joey7Barton A question arises. Is it better to be a just man who appears unjust. Or to be an unjust man appearing just? Joey Barton is livening up the twitter airways with yet more thought provoking stuff. Let’s not get bogged down with this. What came first Joey- the chicken or the egg?
GuardianUS @GuardianUS Ladies and gentlemen, your #Sochi Olympics photo of the day
Jordan Kelly-Linden Sports Writer On Tuesday 4th of February, UK Sport turned their back on three of the nation’s team sports. Women’s water polo was one of those three who saw devastating cuts to their funding. Barely two years after London 2012, water polo, basketball, and synchronised swimming have had their Olympic legacy crushed. Shocked, outraged, and angry, were some of the many, varied emotions expressed by the water polo community after the unwarranted cuts were announced. No one could, and still can’t, quite understand why UK Sport decided to stop supporting a team that has, and still is, rising through the European and World rankings. Even those indirectly involved with the sport were left wanting answers. However, what they found was just as unexpected as the withdrawal of the Olympic funds. According to UK Sport, Water polo, among others, has no hope of winning a medal by 2020 and is therefore “high risk”. The money that was once there to Inspire a Generation has therefore been
redistributed to sports that, in relation to the number of participants, will make a more proportionate contribution to the medal table. Now, as many have pointed out, this kind of message is inappropriate to broadcast to the nation. It tells us that this performance program is elitist. It shows that it has no patience for progress that happens despite financial difficulties. It seemingly has no consideration for the value and inclusive nature of team sports. It will, however, increase funding for sports with the highest success rates because they deserve it, and they do, but they will not let sports on the cusp of winning continue because the cusp is not gold, silver or bronze. This kind of attitude is set to hinder the future of GB Olympic teams and it will also affect young, aspiring sports players. Without the pathways to greatness, why should they bother committing all those long hours when that TV series they love so much has a longer expiration date than the sport that could take them so far? Two weeks ago, Liz Nicholls - CEO of UK Sport - also said that these athletes are “hardly role models” because athletes
only “become role models by winning.” With eight days left - at the time of writing - until the Winter Olympics close, only 2 of the 56 GB athletes in Sochi have won a medal. Therefore, 54 athletes still fighting for position, in light of Nicholl’s statement, do not qualify as role models. Again, at the Summer Games, 65 medals were won by 116 out of 541 athletes. So, as many would probably respond, if these - our nation’s best athletes - are not people we should aspire to be, then who should we look towards for sporting inspiration? Through various media campaigns, players are trying to change this reductive, contradictory attitude and raise awareness of the sport. In addition, the ASA have recently announced that they will be formally appealing the decision on behalf of water polo and synchronized swimming. However, they need as much support as they can get and although an e-petition has been steadily gathering signatures, they could always do with some more! Sign the petition here: http:// epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/60282
The Winter Olympics got off to an inauspicious start as the fifth Olympic ring failed to emerge from its cocoon at the Opening Ceremony. Luvkily, the quality of the athletes soon shone through and became the main focus.
Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu reacts in the ‘kiss and cry’ area during the figure skating men’s short program after he broke his own record and won the men’s short program at the Sochi Games on a night four-time Olympic medalist Evgeni Plushenko retired from competitive skating.
Epigram
24.02.2014
Sport Promotion glory for men’s football teams Editor: Hetty Knox
Editor: Jacob Webster
sport@epigram.org.uk
jacob.webster@epigram.org.uk sportonline@epigram.org.uk
Online Editor: George Moxey
Matthew White
Matthew White Bristol Football Bristol men’s football first XI sealed promotion out of the Western 2B league last Wednesday with a 2-1 win over Bath 2’s in a wet and windy affair. Goals from Pete Bray and Alec Fiddes sealed the points that ultimately won the league with a game to spare. It has been a fantastic season for Men’s football as a whole this year; 4/5 teams emerged from
the Christmas break top of their leagues and the 3’s currently sit second only to the 2’s. However the first team, led by club legend Alan Tyers, has been particularly impressive remaining unbeaten in the league with a goal difference 18 greater than their closest rivals. The previous fixture was won 6-1 by Bristol however Bath 2’s made the first XI work for this victory that ultimately ensured league success. The match started slowly, not helped by the horrendous weather conditions, with both teams struggling to
get into their rhythm. As time went on, the quality improved and soon enough chances opened up for both teams. Great work down the right hand side by fresher Alec Fiddes gifted Harry Hatchwell and early opportunity with his head that he just glanced just over the bar. Almost straight away Bath hit back with an opportunity themselves, good work down the right hand provided a dangerous ball in that was just about cleared by stand in centre back Rex Palmer. The resulting corner created miss of the season as the
Bath player blasted wide from 4 yards out. This let off seemed to wake Bristol up; Nick Cunniffe and Alex Fiddes began to raise the tempo in the midfield spraying balls left and right and began to cause Bath some real problems. Yet Bath stood firm and it wasn’t until the verge of half time that the Bristol persistence paid off. A corner from the right was headed clear by Bath only to be drilled straight back in, landing perfectly at the feet of Pete Bray who safely finished to give Bristol a hard earned 1-0 lead at
the break. The second half played out similarly to the first with a tense opening period before Bristol began to find some success down the right hand side with Pete Bray proving to be the danger man. Bath began to threaten on the break but the solid partnership of Jamie Thompson and Rex Palmer in defence meant all their efforts were futile. It took a particularly soft penalty award to gift Bath the equaliser, much to the dismay of the Bristol crowd that had gathered. Almost instantly Bristol proved why they are top of the league, Alex Fiddes restoring the lead out of nothing; latching onto a poor clearance he drilled a superb strike into the bottom left corner from just outside the box. All Bristol had to do now was see out the match and apart from a last minute scare as a seemingly harmless shot from distance bounced back off the post into the very relieved hands of Alex Mitchell, they did. The final whistle blew as choruses of ‘Champione Champione, ole ole ole’ erupted and bottles of champagne awaited in the dressing room The first team can look forward to a tough encounter with Southampton 1’s in the Quarter finals of the cup and seeing out an unbeaten league season.
@epigramsport
Inside Sport The ‘little horses’ that reach the winning post first. Page 54
Bristol’s CrossCountry team succeed in Stirling. Page 53
The crying shame that is the funding cuts for GB Water Polo. Page 55 Boxing gearing up for varsity Page 53
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