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Year: 2018

Photo: CharlCater via Flickr

Save money, scrimp on education

Written by Cachella Smith on . Posted in Opinion.

Future students could be given the option of two-year degree courses allowing them to make a saving of 20% compared to current tuition fees.

In an attempt to cut down on debt, the government is proposing intense 45-week long academic years to prospective university students.

Meanwhile, the institutions themselves would benefit by charging a higher annual fee. Parliament has not yet consented to the proposal but, if there is an agreement, accelerated courses could be on offer from as early as next year.

It is true that as students we are all eager to scrimp and save where we can, but would we really be prepared to jeopardise the university experience to shave a meagre £5,500 off of a debt the size of which most of us could not fathom anyway?

We all enter willingly into an agreement that for the price of a slightly reduced salary for the next 30 years, we will have the opportunity to further our knowledge in an area that interests us.

The majority of students do not have the funds available to them to pay tuition fees outright, and so enter readily into a loan that, let’s be honest, the consequences of which are pretty invisible.

The average 17-year-old could not grasp the concept of such a sum of money as £27,000. Besides convincing them that cutting down ‘the best years of your life’ to two for a £5,500 saving is worthwhile in the long run is not the kind of message we should be sending them.

Added to this, ask any student around campus today how they are feeling and I guarantee nine out of 10 answers will be ‘stressed’.

Students have a tendency to power through semesters, combining nights-out with sport matches, society meetings, 9ams and deadlines. A six-week stint in between Reading Week and Christmas is normally sufficient to render any student incapable of achieving anything meaningful during the Winter break.

Try stretching this out over a 45-week academic year and what do you end up with? A line of bleary-eyed, run-down, bloodstream-turned-to-caffeine students blinking up at you over exam papers.

University demands an incredibly intense lifestyle. Whether you do not end up taking a break because you want to profit from every opportunity, or simply because there is no TV in your first-year halls, those longed-for holidays at home are definitely essential for student well-being.

The proposition of a fast-track path towards a 2:1 at first glance seems like a step in the right direction. When most of us stop and consider however, for how many of us does the university experience solely boil down to the number stamped on you at the end of it?

When remembering the good old days, do we really want to sit there and tell our grandchildren about the 45 weeks we slaved away in the library? Surely the stories are instead going to come from the Christmas dinners with flatmates, sports initiations suffered, and spontaneous nights out; all those things we have time for because the degree spans three years.

At the end of the day, it boils down to the simple question of whether studying sums up a student, or whether you are allowed to have a life at the same time.

Initiations Photo: kstuttard @Pixabay

Sports initiations: humiliating, degrading, dangerous

Written by Olivia Stringer on . Posted in Opinion.

Last month a coroner ruled a Newcastle University student died after drinking excessive amounts of alcohol on an initiation-style bar crawl. Ed Farmer was on a night out with the Agricultural Society two years ago.

This prompted me to consider the culture of university sports initiations.

When asking friends for tales of their own initiation experiences, I was horrified by some of their anecdotes. Stories ranged from being made to vomit, defecate and urinate on a tarpaulin mat and then roll around on it, to apple bobbing with dead rats.

Not only are these activities incredibly unsanitary and could lead to serious illnesses, they are humiliating, degrading and outright cruel.

There seems to be an overriding attitude of, ‘I had to go through it, so they have to too’, amongst second and third years.

This is masked with an excuse that being forced to eat pigs trotters or down a bottle of port is in some way ‘character building’. This revenge attitude is, I believe, extremely unhealthy and leads to a vicious cycle of cruelty. Surely, such situations would cause you to feel sympathy for freshers, not wanting anyone to suffer the same humiliation that you had to go through?

Unfortunately, these initiations deter a great number of people from joining sports teams. Captains may say that it’s just a bit of fun and, yes, maybe there is nothing wrong with making people eat raw onions or with cracking eggs on freshers’  heads. I might even say that that is pretty amusing. But there comes a point where you have to admit that the fun stops.

The mere fact that initiations are banned by universities and have to be done in secret with ridiculous code names like ‘Extraordinary General Meeting’ should be a red flag.

It’s not just the disgusting activities, I also have a problem with forcing people to drink excessive amounts of alcohol. My own drinking habits have in the past led to people labelling me ‘boring’. It is not because I don’t want to have fun – I’d just like to drink on my own terms so that I don’t end the night crying into a bowl of sick. Sports teams controlling how much you drink is incredibly unfair especially given that everyone has varying tolerances.

Admittedly, a number of the people I spoke to regarding initiations have said that this year, sports captains have been a lot nicer to their freshers, not forcing them to do anything they absolutely don’t want to. Whether or not this is as a direct consequence of what happened to Ed Farmer I couldn’t say. If so, however, it should not have taken a death for people to change their attitudes towards initiations.

Attitudes need to change, and people need to realise that what they are doing isn’t just a bit of fun. Let us hope that the tragedy that has recently taken place opens people’s eyes and makes them enter into the true spirit of university – that of inclusion and fun, not an environment of fear.

Photo: jjpacres @Flickr

Capgate — the new Clapgate?

Written by Nicole Wootton-Cane on . Posted in News.

Lecturers at Leeds Trinity University have recently been asked to stop using capital letters in assignments to avoid upsetting students.

A memo sent to staff suggested that using uppercase letters could “scare them into failure” and “generate anxiety”. Instead, course leaders were encouraged to “write in a helpful, warm tone, avoiding officious language and negative instructions.”

Lecturers were warned against capitalising words such as ‘Do’ or ‘Don’t’, and especially against writing the whole word in uppercase letters.

The university tweeted a statement from Professor Margaret A. House OBE, the Vice-Chancellor, with the caption: “In response to today’s comments in the media which allege we have banned capital letters (we haven’t!), we’re really proud of our approach to teaching and learning at Leeds Trinity.”

In the statement, Professor House wrote: “We follow national best practice teaching guidelines and the memo cited in the press is guidance from a course leader to academic staff, sharing best practice from the latest teaching research to inform their teaching.”

“It is also about good communication and consistent style. For example, it is best practice not to write in all capital letters regardless of the sector.”

However, the policy has been branded as a ‘capital letter ban’ across media outlets, generating discussion over whether the ban is helpful for students or not.

The news follows the announcement of ‘Clapgate’ at the University of Manchester in September, when the Students’ Union passed a motion encouraging the use of British Sign Language clapping, or jazz hands, at SU events in order to make them “more accessible”.

Some suggest that policies such as these are pandering to the ‘snowflake generation’, but others see them as positive steps towards inclusivity.

Photo: Vita Student via Fickr

UoM ranks top 5 in the UK for graduate employability

Written by Josh Sandiford on . Posted in News.

The University of Manchester has been ranked fifth in the UK for graduate employability by The Times.

Graduates from the University of Manchester were ranked 35th most sought-after globally in The Times Higher Education 2018 Global University Employability Rankings.

This new ranking continues a spate of good results after the University of Manchester was ranked 19th best in the country by the Good University Guide 2019. It was also recently named by Reuters as one of the world’s most innovative universities.

This is despite the university currently holding a silver Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) award rather than the highest award of gold.

According to the University of Manchester, The Global University Employability Ranking is one of the most “robust and respected measures for employability across the higher education sector.”

The rankings were compiled from a poll of 7,000 respondents, representing employers who have recruited more than 250,000 young graduates in the past 12 months.

15 UK universities appeared in the Global University Employability Ranking this year, with the top 5 situated in London — but the University of Cambridge was the only UK university to make it into the global top 10, ranking 4th.

41 countries around the world are represented in the top 250 most employable universities. The most represented countries alongside the United Kingdom and the United States include France, Germany and China.

Students will graduate sooner but having paid a greater tuition per year Photo: Jebulon @ Wikimedia Commons

Young people and ethnic minorities positive about UK Universities

Written by Josh Sandiford on . Posted in News.

New research by Universities UK has shown that the British public is “proud” of the UK’s universities, with younger people and ethnic minorities particularly positive about higher education.

Just over 2000 people were polled and the research found that the majority believed that universities have a positive impact on the UK. People also appear to believe that those who go to university can get better jobs than people who decide not to.

Universities UK also found that 70% of people agree that the UK has some of the best universities in the world.

2,063 adults were polled, and 48% said they had a positive perception of higher education in the UK. 31% said they were neutral and 13% were not sure.

66% of people surveyed agreed with the statement that they would “encourage their children to attend university.”

According to the research, just 9% of the public felt negative about universities, with older people tending to be more negative about higher education than younger people.

Only 35% of those aged 65 and over believed that universities had benefited them personally, compared with 55% of 18-24-year-olds.

The polling also showed that black and minority ethnic adults tend to feel more positively regarding UK universities than white adults.

BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) adults are much more likely to say that universities have had a positive impact on the UK. 60% of BAME adults say that universities have a positive impact on their family, and 68% say that universities have a positive impact on the UK as a whole.

However, despite the public being ostensibly proud of UK universities, the research by Universities UK also found that ‘perceptions of cost’ can affect thinking. 46% of those surveyed found that the expense of going to university outweighs the benefits of doing so. In addition to this, 58% of people thought that ‘universities do not equip graduates with the skills they need to be successful in the workplace’.

There also appeared to be a lack of understanding of how universities actually impacted the lives of the survey participants. 40% of people said they didn’t feel informed of at all about how universities impacted their local community. In addition, only one in ten, 11% of people, strongly agree with the fact that universities play a significant role in supporting businesses and employers locally.

Professor Dame Janet Beer, President of Universities UK and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Liverpool, said: “There is a myth that the public are sceptical about the merits of universities — and that an increasingly large number of young people think higher education is a waste of time. In fact, as this research shows, the opposite is true.

“Politicians need to work with the higher education sector to extend the number of people accessing universities and to give more support for flexible learning, promoting pride in what is a world-class sector, rather than creating new obstacles.”

Photo: Wokandapix @Pixabay

Open letter calls for increase in Mental Health support in the Workplace

Written by Aya-Zoe Atallah on . Posted in News.

Fifty leaders from some of the biggest employers in the United Kingdom have signed an open letter to Theresa May calling for amendments in how mental health is dealt with professionally.

The signatures came from important names in business, education, and mental health organisations such as Royal Mail, WHSmith, and Ford. Sent on November 18th, the letter asked the government to act on the manifesto pledge to make relevant changes to the health and safety regulations in the workplace.

The letter was originally written by Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England, who aim to prioritise mental health support amongst employees. It argued that when bad mental health is neglected, there are both economic and human consequences:

“Each year, workplace mental health issues cost the UK economy almost £35 billion, with £15.4 million working days lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety. But the cost is not just financial, because left untreated, mental ill health impacts people’s relationships with friends and family and ultimately their quality of life.”

They claim that ensuring employers have access to the support they require will ultimately reduce these effects and that mental and physical first aid should be equally practiced.

The letter was inspired by the petition set up by Bauer Media on change.org, which received over 200,000 signatures from the public. The petition demanded that mental health support be made mandatory.

Chief Operating Officer at MHFA, Fionuala Bonnar, said: “Today’s open letter shows that business leaders clearly recognise the need to support their employees’ mental health in the same way they do their physical health.”

She added that, although it is a significant improvement, this would simply be the first step in erasing the stigma surrounding mental health.

Photo: Gerald England @Geograph

Piccadilly Gardens one of the worst crime hot-spots in the country

Written by Shivani Kaura on . Posted in News.

New data shows that Manchester Piccadilly Gardens is one of the worst hot-spots for crime in England and Wales, falling just behind Meridian Square in Newham, London.

The figures show 1,746 crimes reported in or around the area within the last year.

374 of those crimes were violent and sexual offences, 171 were thefts, 170 were robberies, and 250 were for anti-social behaviour.

Piccadilly Gardens, located between Market Street and the edge of the Northern Quarter, is a green space which has been recently reconfigured to adapt to its service as a major public transport interchange, where buses and trams can be boarded. It is also closely located to many train stations, such as Manchester Oxford Road, Piccadilly, and Victoria.

In recent years, Piccadilly Gardens has become a common space for drug users, following the introduction of ‘Spice’ — a form of cannabis, also known as ‘Black Mamba’, which is a mixture of herbs and manmade toxic chemicals. A cheap alternative to making more processed drugs, spice is commonly used among Manchester’s vulnerable people.

Symptoms of the drug include violent behaviour and feeling anxious and nervous. Although criminalised in 2016 under the Psychoactive Substances Bill, those who take the drug have been a contributing factor to the rise in crime reports around the city centre.

A series of reports ran by the Manchester Evening News stated that a “new and stronger strain of the drug was being pedaled”, with Greater Manchester Police being forced to carry out a “series of operations to lock up the dealers.”

The council’s city centre spokesman, Patrick Karney, said in response to the data: “I’m very disappointed to hear these police figures. We’re not going to run away from this news. We’ve got a real problem with that area, particularly drug dealers dealing in spice and cannabis.

“GMP have made a huge number of arrests but it seems there’s a demand particularly for cannabis. It takes two to make a crime so dealers are around.

“I’m very disappointed, but we are going to get more bad news while 2,000 cops have gone from Greater Manchester Police.”

Chief Inspector Cherie Buttle added that although Piccadilly Gardens is at the “heart of the city centre”, it is an extremely busy place, thus crime rates are expected to be higher in the area.

Buttle said: “We are challenging anti-social behaviour in the city centre, which includes open drug and alcohol misuse and any threats of violence with enforcement action such as warnings and injunctions and are making arrests in the more serious cases.

“It’s important that people who live, work, socialise and travel in and around the city centre feel safe and that vulnerable people are protected.”

Photo: BagoGames @ Flickr

Why is Fallout 76 getting such a bad rap?

Written by David Uncle on . Posted in Games.

Fallout 76 was unveiled at the end of May following a 24-hour hype stream on Twitch. Many fans dreamed of a Fallout New Vegas 2 produced by Obsidian Entertainment. Others anticipated a Fallout 3 remaster or Nintendo Switch port. Instead, we got a whole new entry in the series, set soon after the Great War… with multiplayer.

Having multiplayer isn’t a bad thing. I’d be lying if my friends and I had never envisioned ourselves exploring the nuclear wasteland in co-op. The game is apparently good fun in a group of friends messing around, and it’s cool to finally be together in Fallout. Sadly, Bethesda have made some big mistakes in the gameplay of their first online endeavour. Not only is it buggy and unpolished as  detailed here, there are also some bizarre design decisions.

In PvP for instance, you cannot easily kill another player unless you challenge them by shooting them and dealing miniscule damage, and once they accept by shooting back, you deal full damage. I appreciate the effort to avert griefing, however this gives the person getting attacked a distinctly unfair advantage. If shot at first and challenged, they can put on their power armour, take some damage increasing drugs, close the distance and then accept the challenge, meanwhile receiving negligible damage. Furthermore, there are almost no awards for killing someone in PvP. It’s weird.

Another issue is the base building. It was a good, significant addition to Fallout 4, but in Fallout 76 if you spend hours gathering resources and building a great base, then log off, all your work vanishes. This means there is basically no point building, other than perhaps some Fortnite­-style fortifications during a firefight. This makes the game essentially a dumbed-down version of Rust (which at least has persistent bases) and begs the question… why?

My biggest gripe with Fallout 76 is Bethesda’s retconning and manipulation of long-established lore, particularly regarding the creation of super mutants and the Brotherhood of Steel. This shows clear disregard for the source material and just seems like a convenient way for these iconic factions to find their way into the game, even if that means bending the lore.

There’s also the almost complete absence of any NPC characters in what is meant to be an RPG. Most quests are acquired from terminals and notes left on corpses or discovered in the world, creating a rather empty and soulless experience. Perhaps this is what they were going for, given it’s set in the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse, but it does take away from the RPG experience. Fallout 4 was a fun albeit shallow RPG, and it seems like Fallout 76 has taken that shallowness even further.

In summary, it seems Fallout 76 had reasonable ambitions but has resulted in a half-baked RPG-lite with some questionable design choices. Frankly, it reeks of low effort money grab, if I’m being honest. I’m interested to see how Bethesda responds to the slew of criticism for this game. A second bug-fixing patch of another 48GB has just rolled out, so it seems like they have a lot of work on their hands. Hopefully Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI are a return to form for Bethesda.

word Photo: Averyaudio @ Wikimedia Commons

The year of toxicity: Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year

Written by Esmee Samsworth on . Posted in Books.

Since 2004, Oxford Dictionaries have been attempting to distil public sentiment on national and international affairs into one word.

On the surface, these words aren’t always serious or even thought-provoking. In 2009, the UK Word of the Year was ‘simples’, as in Aleksandr Orlov’s catchphrase from the Compare the Market adverts. The 2009 US Word of the Year was ‘unfriend’, highlighting Facebook’s growing global influence and popularity. In 2015, the word of the year wasn’t even a word, but the laughing emoji, suggesting that we had moved into a post-word era. The following year, Oxford announced that the Word of the Year was ‘post-truth’ which signalled the beginnings of an altogether different era.

Yet behind the apparent frivolity of Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year, there are patterns to be examined. Truths that would otherwise be overlooked are made clear. ‘Simples’ marked a shift in advertising and marketing becoming more invasive and all-encompassing. ‘Unfriend’ hinted at the dramatic rise of social media in all aspects of our lives. 2016’s ‘post-truth’ forced us to question deep-seated beliefs about our freedoms and our roles in maintaining them.

The Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year for 2018 is ‘toxic’. Toxic as in toxic masculinity, as in toxic waste, toxic algae, toxic environment. It seems that 2018 is the year of poison.

It’s easy to see why the public has been so preoccupied with toxicity this year. The news has been dominated by stories of a world that is not just shifting but hurling itself further and further to the far-right; of the tampering and hacking of American and British democracy; from hurricanes, wildfires and other natural disasters becoming more dangerous and more frequent, to the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, which flew in the face of women demanding that their stories of sexism and sexual abuse be heard and their voices not be silenced.

It’s clear that the toxicity we’re facing has seeped into many different aspects of our lives. Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Dictionaries, said in a statement, “Reviewing this year in language we repeatedly encountered the word ‘toxic’ being used to describe an increasing set of conditions that we’re all facing… ‘toxic’ seems to reflect a growing sense of how extreme, and at times radioactive, we feel aspects of modern life have become.”

And yet, I don’t believe that the Oxford Dictionaries’ decision to pick ‘toxic’ should be cause for any more despair. If anything, it should be seen a call to action and a positive one at that. Because the thing is, it is only once we identify something as toxic that we can work to find a cure.

The sexism and misogyny that put Brett Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court were swiftly rebuked by millions of Americans who voted a record number of women into office at all levels in the November midterms. Grassroots activists fighting for environmental protections have gained in numbers and in prominence making it impossible to ignore the damage that big business has done. People are angry and they are actively fighting for a cure to the poison in our lives.

2018 may be the year of ‘toxic’, but that does not mean that 2019 will be the year of ‘hopelessness’.

Photo: Tasha Wetton

The Creative Space: illustrator Tasha Wetton

Written by Liv Clarke on . Posted in Features.

A lot of students at university devote all their time to the subject they’re studying, squeeze in some socialising, and then the rest of the day is designated for Netflix. But its important to set aside time for the things that you enjoy, which is what Tasha Wetton did while at university, and still does as a graduate today.

Tasha graduated from her Speech and Language degree this summer and now works as a speech and language therapist in the NHS, helping children who have difficulty communicating. Despite being creative from a young age: “When I was about 3 my Mum says that one day I just sat down and started drawing the conservatory!” she decided to choose a career path that would enable her to help others. However, Tasha saw no reason to give up on her artwork: “It’s the one thing that’s been a constant my whole life, I love anything creative, it gives me such a buzz!”

Just a glance at her portfolio reveals how talented she is; her drawings are playful and imaginative, but still capture the essence of the subject. Tasha creates stylised portraits of figures from pop culture, in both ink and in digital mediums; she’s branched out into architectural drawings and inspirational quotes as well.

Photo: Tasha Wetton
Photo: Tasha Wetton

“My work is quite illustrative and detailed, and I often draw people as I find faces so interesting, but I also love to draw plants, animals, and buildings too,” Tasha explains. She tries to develop her style while keeping it consistent: “For a long time I just worked in black and white but recently I rediscovered colour and I love how it adds such a vibrancy and magic to my drawings.” What’s impressive is the professional quality of her work, even more surprising considering she does not study art.

An upside of continuing her illustrations at university was that she had something to turn to when her degree became too stressful: “At times balancing art and my degree was really easy as it was a great way to de-stress and being creative makes me feel so content and happy.” Tasha’s creative skills also came into use when she volunteered with The Closet (a clothing shop run by University of Manchester students in collaboration with Manchester Mind and Missguided). The Closet allowed her to share her work with others, alongside her own online store Bluboca, which she launched while at college. “I set it up on Redbubble, which I would highly recommend, it’s a great website…it was easy to balance it with uni work as I could just upload new designs whenever I wanted to.”

It was not always easy keeping up the illustrations and studying at the same time, as anyone with extra-curricular activities knows. “At times it was hard, especially when I had more work to do,” Tasha tells me, “in my final years of uni I just wanted to live and make memories, so art took a back seat.”

However, it was still important for her to fit in art when she could, as that balance helped her stay in a happy mindset, and ultimately made her time at university more enrichening. “Your degree is important of course, but it’s also so important to do the things you love, whether that be art, sport, cooking, music; make memories, meet new people and take all the opportunities that come your way,” Tasha smiles. “At uni you learn on your degree, but you also have all these chances to grow and learn in so many other ways too. I took every opportunity and did anything and everything that made me happy and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.”

Photo: Tasha Wetton
Photo: Tasha Wetton

Tasha continues to produce illustrations, even though she’s graduated, and finds sources of inspiration everywhere: “these days it’s not so much artists that inspire me. It’s a mixture of seeing things that inspire me, like photos on Instagram or amazing art exhibits, which then give me that urge to draw and create,” Tasha explains. “I also get inspired by seeing people who take the time to create, because that inspires me to keep on creating too and to always make time for it, no matter how crazy life gets.”

What advice does she have for students who want to maintain their creative interests? “Do it! I always thought I’d do something creative as a career, but life had other plans and I somehow ended up as a bachelor of science!” Tasha laughs. “So to hold onto my creative streak at uni, I made an Instagram account to give me motivation to create new art. I volunteered my art skills. I did illustrations for people. Started a radio show. I made presents and cards for people’s birthdays. These days, anything is possible! If you really love something, or you really want to give something new a try, you’ll always find time for it. Always!”

You can see more of Tasha’s work on her Instagram page @tashawettonart.

Golden Joystick Awards 2018 winners announced

Written by Danny Jones on . Posted in Games.

It’s award season again! We’ve had the privilege of playing some truly special games this year, so it’s only fair that we share, in kind, our recognition and appreciation to those titles and the people behind them that made 2018 another stellar year in gaming. Here’s your list of this year’s winners of the 36th Golden Joystick Awards:

First and foremost, let’s start with my favourite accolade outside of Game of the Year, and that’s Studio of the Year. Sometimes it can be hard to recognise just how much work goes into a game that, especially in the case of a single-player that we can beat in a day or two. In this instance, the contribution that one studio made to an entire generation of gaming this year is impossible to overlook.

I am talking about Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Santa Monica Studios, who this year revitalised the God of War franchise with its latest installment. Everything about this game – the narrative, the art direction, the sound of Kratos shouting “BOY!” every 30 seconds (never gets old) – everything was perfected down to the tiniest detail by the guys and gals over at Santa Monica. Bravo!

Photo: BagoGames@Flickr

Another big hitter this year was Monster Hunter World, which received the award for Best Cooperative Game – high-praise indeed given some of the competition. Capcom’s Platinum Title was somewhat of a dark horse this year, although we here at The Mancunion clocked on to its success earlier in the year when, as in addition to scoring consistent 9s and 10s, it also became Capcom’s best-selling game ever.

Looking to the future, Cyberpunk 2077 is a game I am hugely anticipating and apparently so is everyone else. CD Projekt Red’s upcoming project is without a release date as of yet, but it has already clinched the award for Most Wanted Game (I imagine that won’t be its last!).

Photo: steamXO@Flickr

Here are some of the other awards that were handed out this year — we’re by no means playing down their achievements  here, but a guy’s gotta have a word-count:

PC Game of the Year – Subnautica

Xbox Game of the Year – Forza Horizon 4

Nintendo Game of the Year – Octopath Traveler

Best Indie Game – Dead Cells

Best VR Game – The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim VR

Best Mobile Game – PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

Best Performer – Bryan Dechart (as Connor from Detroit: Become Human)

Best New Streamer / Broadcaster – Bryan Dechart & Amelia Rose Blaire

Breakthrough Award – Unknown Worlds Entertainment

Still Playing Award – World of Tanks

Lifetime Achievement – Hidetaka Miyazaki (FromSoftware)

Outstanding Contribution – Xbox Adaptive Controller (Microsoft)

Now, it’s about time that we reveal the big fish. We had initially predicted that GOTY would go to Red Dead 2, but since the game has barely been out a month, it would be unfair and a pinch premature to give it to Rockstar – besides, it still got its rightful recognition through the Critic’s Choice Award and perhaps had we spent more time with it, it might have pipped it’s Kratoan counterpart to the post — oh no, I’ve said too much…

Photo: BagoGames@Flickr

In all seriousness, since it’s been racking up awards, critical acclaim and industry records since it dropped in April, it’s no surprise to us that 2018’s Game of the Year, of course, went to God of War – alongside Best Storytelling, Best Audio and Best Visual Design (no biggie). In my opinion, this game is near flawless in the levels of perfection it achieved in all facets, we should be truly thankful we were alive to play it.

But we’re not done yet! The Golden Joystick Awards’ dishes out the bluest of all blue ribbons in one last category: Ultimate Game of the Year. But to whom? Is there not a certain structure-building, shopping trolley surfing, massive, multiplayer gaming extravaganza that we haven’t yet mentioned?

Yes, of course, last but not least: 2018’s Ultimate Game of the Year is Fortnite (who knew we could go nearly a whole article without mentioning it!). It’s impossible to overlook Fortnite’s year of dominance in terms of multiplayer—winning Best Competitive Game as well—, E-Sports (which went to Blizzard’s highly-popular Overwatch) and the industry in general. Love it or hate it, Fortnite was just about the biggest thing on the planet this year, and when that thing is a game we can’t really complain.

Congratulations to all the winners and for giving the community so many unforgettable gaming memories in 2018 – let’s hope 2019 will be just as good. ‘Keep Calm and Play on!’

Photo: Elena Bradley @saltshellsandbechamel

Turtle Bay’s Secret Menu Christmas Cocktails

Written by Elena Meritxell Bradley on . Posted in News.

On Wednesday the 14th of November I went along to the Oxford Road Turtle bay. I visited it to try their new Christmas food and drink menu before it’s release. Three new secret cocktails and a myriad of food options, the Caribbean jaunt has everything you’ll need for a Christmas night out with a tropical twist!

Their Christmas menu sees Caribbean festive food in full force. There’s a set menu for under £20 a head for two courses (for a pre-booked minimum of 6 people). To start; 24-hour spiced jerk wings, roasted duck rolls with sour orange chutney or sweetcorn and scotch bonnet fritters (I had the pleasure of trying these and they were delicious). The chili, garlic roasted shell-on king prawns and mango mole, lime calamari also sounded delicious. Moving to some mains you can choose from jerk-glazed, slow roasted pork belly with coconut rice and chili pineapple salad, Curried goat with sweet onion chutney, plantain and dumplings or a crispy-skin jerk salmon with the same rice and plantain combo. There were also a few other jerk chicken, steak and aubergine curry options.

Admittedly, I don’t see a large departure from their current menu to this Christmas menu. However, I’d be excited to see whether these dishes pack the banquet-style Christmas vibes that the festive time begs for. Equally, booking for 8 people online (£9 a head) allows you to try their festive platters: a selection of their best jerk offerings, crispy seafood platters and fresh accompaniments such as pineapple salads, corn breads and fritters.

The puddings: salted caramel brownie, banana and toffee cheesecake, sticky toffee pudding, Caribbean rum cake and passion pie (sweet pastry with passion fruit curd and baked meringue), though sounding absolutely amazing don’t seem to be taking advantage of the Christmas spirit…

One part of Turtle Bay’s Christmas Menu that is undoubtedly festive are their three new Christmas cocktails. These cocktails are unofficially official. A secret menu feature that demands bravery and possible humiliation when asking the attractive waiter for a ‘Merry Berry’. But don’t worry, you should be greeted with a creamy amaretto and baileys cocktail and not public embarrassment. If you’re like me and hate anything dairy (except cheese: cheese is a bipartisan product) the ‘Three Kings’ may be more to your liking: apple, rum and cinnamon (complete with cinnamon stick). This second secret cocktail was my firm favourite and was extremely reminiscent of the mulled drinks at a Christmas market. Lastly, the most alcoholic was the ‘Sleigh Slipper’. Whilst being almost criminally rum-packed, the blackberry liqueur and citrus base makes it refreshing and warming.

If you want a Christmas party meal at somewhere fun and different from the norm, Turtle Bay is the place! And don’t be shy about asking for the under-the-counter secret tipple…

Photo: StockSnap @ Pixabay

PLY’s winter cocktail menu

Written by Catrin Stewart on . Posted in Food & Drink.

PLY may be renowned for its delicious wood-fired pizzas and relaxed atmosphere, but they have expanded their experimental repertoire with a list of six festive themed cocktails added to their drinks menu.

It’s safe to say they are not what you might expect from ‘Christmas’ drinks. The options included some rogue ingredients such as smoked peach or blackberries, but, to PLY’s credit, they worked.

Beginning the tasting was the Dolce Vita, and the drink certainly lived up to its name. A creamy affair with panettone infused rum (yes, panettone), orange and egg white for that silky smooth texture, I found myself thinking that yes, life is indeed sweet.

Up next was a complete contrast: the blackberry messenger. This drink really demonstrated the variety on the menu. It is a mix of traditional dry summer flavours being serenaded by a cacophony of ginger, blackberries, and rum. The only complaint that can be levelled at the concoction is that some of the blackberries slipped through the straw on occasion, proving to be a touch over-powerful.

The peach bourbon on the other hand was, very much, a wintery affair. It is almost unfair to call this a cocktail, but nevertheless it is enjoyable. It’s simply old fashioned bourbon infused with peach and smoked for days on end. If you’re a whiskey fan, this is the one for you. It’s intense and full-on, but also rounded enough for you to swig on as a post-meal short. This is the most expensive winter cocktail, and even at £8 it’s still decent value for money.

Similar – on some levels –  to the Dolce Vita was the white chocolate snowball. This cocktail I found the most disappointing of all, but perhaps this is only due to my extremely high expectations. Expecting a long, prosecco based sweet and indulgent cocktail, I was instead met with what I can only describe as two drinks in one. The first sip was almost tasteless, yet bitter: I would assume that this is due to the bitterness of the vodka balancing out with the sweet prosecco. The second sip, creamy and sweet, but quite insubstantial due to its foamy texture. The waitress told us that this cocktail was ‘like marmite’ and I can see why.

The final two drinks on the winter menu were the hot apple punch and the hot chocolate wine. Served up in mugs, they certainly made you feel festive and cosy, but the hot apple punch, while still enjoyable, tasted more like warm apple juice than a cocktail and lacked taste on the spiced side of things.

However, the hot chocolate wine was divine. Imagine the best hot chocolate of your life – I mean, stuff that puts you in an old M&S advert straight away. It’s milky, creamy, and whatever else you want to describe your ideal hot chocolate. Combine this with some seriously good mulled wine and port, and that’s hot chocolate wine. It’s welcoming and warming, and simultaneously smooth and sumptuous. It is also two drinks in one. It’s a boozy black forest gateau, liquidised. This is my new Christmas go-to.

Overall the cocktails were thoroughly enjoyable and reasonably priced. I would recommend you go enjoy one of PLY’s sumptuous pizzas accompanied by some of their selected wine or beer, and finish your evening with one (or three) of these comforting, festive drinks to keep you warm on your journey home.

Victory Over Blindness

Written by Claudia Neuray on . Posted in Arts.

On 16 October 2018, a new statue was inaugurated in front of Piccadilly Station. ‘Victory over Blindness’ commemorates the returning blind veterans who fought during the Great War. It depicts seven First World War ex-servicemen, supporting each other. All had lost their sight during wartime service and were now set upon the path to rebuilding their lives after the conflict.

More than 3000 soldiers lost their sight during WWI. The charity St Dunstan’s, now known as Blind Veterans UK, was established in 1915. It aimed to help these men recover and live independently. Today, the Blind Veterans UK continues its work with 4,700 men and women who are visually impaired as a result of their service. It seeks to reach out to 50,000 others who are eligible for their support without being aware of it.

The creator of the statue, Johanna Domke-Guyot has a strong link to Blinds Veterans UK. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1994. As a result, she lost sight in her right eye. Johanna decided to study fine arts to cope with this.

Her sculpture takes inspiration from a picture she saw of servicemen, blinded during combat. They were leading each other away from the Front. The sculptures are life-sized, allowing passers-by to interact with the installation — something which is crucial to Johanna.

Manchester Piccadilly is a particularly propitious location for the monument. Indeed, this was where many wounded veterans disembarked; they would then have set upon their journey to reintegrate into civilian life after the war.

Each of the seven individuals depicted in the statue has been paired with both a blind veteran from the First World War and a current, blinded veteran. You can read the stories of these men and women who rebuilt their lives after losing sight on the Blind Veterans UK website.

As noted on the website, there are 77,000 war memorials in the UK, Channel Islands, and Isles of Man registered on the Imperial War Museum’s War Memorial Register. Out of these, not one memorial depicts a disabled service person. ‘Victory Over Blindness’ is the very first one to do so.

This profoundly moving memorial leaves us wondering what Britain has done, and still needs to do in order to remember those whose lives were changed forever during WWI as a consequence of their war wounds. One is also brought to reflect upon all those who were wounded in subsequent wars and how their daily lives can be improved today, given the proper support.

You can also watch Cachella Smith’s piece on the ‘Victory Over Blindness’ memorial on Fuse TV.

 

In conversation with: SHAG

Written by Sophia Ashby on . Posted in Lifestyle.

SHAG or ‘Sexual Health and Guidance’ is a project run by Ellie Softley. The project aims to “educate, entertain, and help our generation to express and explore their own sexuality.” It features photography, videography, essays, and poetry, pushing sexual expression into the realm of art. I spoke to Ellie about her reasons for starting SHAG, and the need “to stop being so bloody British about sex.”

The idea for starting SHAG came when Ellie “was shocked to find no platform for young adults that engaged in sexual health existed at university.” She expresses that she “was lucky to grow up in a liberal environment where sex was spoken about openly between friends and family,” but soon found that other girls she met at university were embarrassed to speak about their sexuality.

Ellie blames the narrowness of the sex education curriculum in schools as one reason for people’s discomfort surrounding sex. “We should be speaking about relationships, emotions, consent, and non-hetero-normative relationships.” The benefits of widening conversations are simple: better, safer sex, and the ability to make informed decisions. As with all education, knowledge is empowerment which can prevent crises.

“We need to explore and understand our own sexuality before giving it away. We need to respect, take care of one another and learn to accept that sexuality is not a choice. The younger we ingrain that into children’s minds, the healthier we can be.”

Expressing a moment of self-doubt, Ellie said “sometimes I question what I do. I know that sex is private and that secrecy can be imperative. However, there are a lot of people struggling, who don’t feel accepted, who feel scared and lonely. They need a platform to create and express, and also to ask questions and better understand.”

SHAG is highly concerned with integrating art and sex. The website is aesthetically bold and beautiful, but also stresses the importance of unfiltered imagery. “Sexual expression is art. They bleed into one another in every single aspect. When you produce art, you open yourself up to a certain type of vulnerability; you let somebody see a private side to you, an intimate side, the honest side, just as you do when having sex.” Sexualized bodies have been the muse of artists since time immemorial. Yet the imbalance of power between artist and subject has led to an understanding of sexuality as inherently unequal.

Speaking about the overwhelming amount of pornographic imagery we encounter daily, Ellie said “we are not able to get rid of pornography and to be honest, I don’t think we should get rid of it. What is needed is a change in its production.” The trend in ‘ethical porn’ focuses on equal representation within the porn industry. It aims to encourage more female directors so that both “the male and female gaze are represented.”

All submissions to SHAG are anonymous. It helps protect people, and according to Ellie, is “a good way to start conversations.” However, the anonymity of the contributors acknowledges the existence of intense fear still surrounding conversations about sex. “That is what we need to change. I wanted to create a place where people do not feel ashamed of how many people that they have slept with or how many mistakes they have made. I want people to know that they have a voice, and they can use it.” SHAG’s ability to open up conversations surrounding sexuality in a safe and creative manner is integral to its success.

You can visit the website here: www.iwanttoshag.com.

Feature: 33 Oldham Street is now open for business

Written by elliscoopey on . Posted in Music.

Andy Smith, Kendal Calling founder, and Jason McGuire of Manchester Coffee have finally opened their highly anticipated doors to 33 Oldham Street. Following in the wake of new Mancunian gem ‘YES’, 33 Oldham Street is three stories of rooftop views, coffee, alcoholic beverages, and music.

33 Oldham Street is perhaps Manchester’s first audiophile bar and we got an exclusive look at the venue the night before, where Rob Bright and Coleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy shook the walls and warmed the decks.

Audiophile — “What does that mean?” I hear you say. It’s a person who is enthusiastic about the reproduction of high-fidelity sound. Back in the ’90s, way before computers were powerful enough to also be your home entertainment system, homes had a landline, television, and yes a HiFi (High Fidelity) Sound System. I recall evenings where my dad would have friends round, bringing stacks of CD’s underarm to be heard on our HiFi system. They’d revel in the sound, exchanging tunes, drinking liquor of some sort … and the music swallowed them up. Gone.

This is the recollection that came to mind when I arrived at 33 Oldham Street. The ground floor is a café by day and cocktail bar by night; enter the first floor and you’re in a listening lounge dedicated to precisely that, listening. It’s unlike any bar I’ve ever been to.

Usually, the music is incidental, just there to set the tone for your chatter. You occasionally tune in to take in your favourite banger being piped through the speakers, which by-the-way are often hidden. At this bar, the music is the focus and you could not ignore the speakers if you tried, two five-foot high PMC MB2SE speakers with two MasterSounds SL silver turntables at the centre.

The room itself is warm and welcoming, with comfortable seats for you to recline in with a drink in hand. It also doubles up as a workspace for DJ’s during the day and “is as acoustically perfect as a state-of-the-art recording studio”, according to Manchester’s Finest.

In the coming months, there’s a generous offering of ‘selectors’ taking over the decks. Rob Bright and Coleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy led us through the opening night, masterfully choosing records to match the tone of the room. At one point I left for the gentlemen’s room (hi-fi speakers accompanied me there too) and came back to what seemed a different room due to the change in music.

These guys are paying incredible attention to the details of sound reproduction, from the sound system to their selectors, and frankly, it’s hard to match. If these initial impressions are anything to go by, I can’t wait to go back.

History departments branded ‘overwhelmingly white’

Written by sophiemarriott on . Posted in Investigations.

The study of history at UK universities remains “overwhelmingly white”, due to the lack of representation from BAME backgrounds, according to the Royal Historical Society (RHS).

It’s looked into racial diversity in history departments claiming there are, “substantial levels of bias and discriminations experienced by historians in UK universities”.

The report found that 11% of students on historical and philosophical courses were from BAME backgrounds, compared to 24% for the overall undergraduate population. This includes history, archaeology, heritage studies, philosophy and theology.

This proportion shrinks even further to 8.6% at postgraduate level, compared to an average of 17% for all other subjects. The RHS says 94% of teaching staff are white, and just 0.5% are from a black background.

There is greater diversity at the University of Manchester’s history department where six of the 50 staff – or 12% – are from BAME backgrounds. But department head Dr Charles Insley described this as “far from ideal”, and said the department was “working hard to implement the recommendations of the report”.

It has also introduced a number of measures to improve representation of BAME students, and it was praised in the report for its ‘Race, Roots and Resistance’ initiative which shares research and teaching practices, as well as organising events and film screenings, on the themes of race.

Dr Eloise Moss, a lecturer in Modern British History at Manchester, is working with Danielle Chavrimoottoo and other teaching staff from the School of Arts Languages and Cultures, to establish the Equality and Diversity Team which will seek to identify any areas of racial discrimination.

In a statement Dr Moss emphasised their determination to “not let the issue rest or to be dismissed with a few token gestures”.

The foremost of these recommendations by the RHS was addressing the nature of the curriculums for history courses. The University of Manchester Equality and Diversity team are currently “collectively auditing” the content of their courses, through surveys and focus groups, in order to reform the curriculum for future years.

According to Dr Moss, this initiative will aim to ensure the “histories of BAME historical actors, is represented in teaching and research materials – and not exclusively in the context of histories of enslavement and victimhood”.

As well as improving representation in curricula, the report criticises the national prevalence of explicit racism that history students and staff feel they experience. Accusations of exclusionary behaviour by white staff in meetings and seminars as well as stereotyping of teaching staff from BAME backgrounds; assuming that their specialism is related to their race and ethnicity.

In a situation whereby academic staff in history departments in the UK are 93.7% white, although the proportion in Manchester is lower at 88%, Dr Moss is aiming to create an environment whereby all “BAME staff and students have equal opportunities” in the academic profession.

Dr Insley has said that as well as the efforts to diversify the course of study available to students, the history department aims to “raise the profile of BAME students” through “developing a strategy to engage with local high schools to encourage teenagers to take arts and humanities courses after the age of 16”.

The RHS report, however, also highlights the lack of diversity in the postgraduate levels of historical and philosophical study. Calling for history teaching staff to better “facilitate student progression into postgraduate study”.

Out of a total of 4,670 students undertaking postgraduate research in historical and philosophical areas in the UK, only 402 are from all BAME backgrounds, and just 10 of the history PhD students are black.

Dr Moss has stated that Manchester are trying to create a more “attractive research environment” for BAME postgraduates. As well as hoping that the changes to the undergraduate curricula will result in more recruitment into masters and PhD courses, the team are engaging in more “open conversations” with current MA and PhD students about the findings of the Report in order to “encourage an open culture of discussing experiences of discrimination”.

Photo: Alex Wain @ The Mancunion

Live Review: Basement

Written by alexwain on . Posted in Music.

Basement opened a beautiful set at Club Academy on Friday night, an intimate venue for a crowd full of energy and emotion (and emos). Their set opened with ‘Disconnect’, a track lifted from their brand new album Beside Myself. There was a tense atmosphere amongst the crowd, who were reduced almost to silence in anticipation. When the lights on the stage went off however, this hushed agenda was immediately broken, seeing the room roar to life. After listening to their new album for the past two weeks and finding it stunning, I was impressed by this fevered and excited reaction.

The usual mosh pit formed immediately parallel to centre stage, refusing to falter throughout the entire duration of the performance; a level of energy that saw many members of the audience crowd surfing towards the end of the night. As a fan of the new album, I was moved by the amount of new work that Basement performed, done so with such heart and emotion that clearly demonstrated their passion for both live performances, and the new work they had so expertly crafted. The set itself was peppered with new songs and old classics, with firm favourites such as ‘Whole’ and ‘Pine’ from Colourmeinkindness and ‘Brother’s Keeper’ from Promise Everything being warmly received.

Basement’s performance at Club Academy was a sold-out show and it is easy to see why — this is a band that has crafted an emotive brand both lyrically and within their stage presence. It was a solid night, aided by an expertly chosen support act in the form of Joyce Manor who also did a phenomenal job at warming the crowd up. Andrew Fisher, Basement’s frontman, ensured this energy persisted when his band came to play, capturing the hearts of all with his endearing charm and infectious emotion.

The room overflowed with people echoing back lyrics — which clearly had a personal meaning to each member of the crowd — in a sort of “thank you” to the band they have known, and indeed loved, for many years. There was a distinctly hardcore level of energy reverberating within the Academy from start to finish; it was the kind of gig that you leave absolutely drenched from head to toe in sweat but with the warm, comforting feeling of the world having been lifted off of your shoulders.

Basement brought their set to a dramatic close and, of course, the crowd begged and chanted “one more song!” until they returned — acoustic guitar in hand — to sing ‘Changing Lanes’ from their new album, followed by ‘Covet’ (their most famous classic), and ‘Stigmata’.

A big thank you to Basement for a beautiful set and an even more beautiful new album. This is certainly a niche genre and not everyone may enjoy them as much as I did but to any fan of hardcore/melodic punk you need to give Basement a listen — you can thank me later.

10/10.

Review: Annabelle Devey’s standup

Written by Chloe Hatton on . Posted in Theatre.

For students, one of the most difficult issues in uni life has surely got to be navigating one night stand etiquette. How long do you stay? What do you say to one another after? And, god forbid, what happens if you manage to leave behind your favourite (£10 from Primark!) top?

Preparing for her first solo show at the Fringe next year, Annabelle Devey debuted a brilliantly funny set at the FuseFM x ComSoc show on the 12th of November.

Centering her set around a failed one night stand with a would-be famous band member, Devey managed to combine her (very) frank recount with an excellent sense of humour, playing both on the audience’s own experiences and adding her own flair for the creative.

Very much to her credit, Devey is not afraid to talk about some of the more serious issues that concern students, highlighting the importance of always using protection and the importance of being able to say no if you’re not happy with what’s going on.

On top of this, she managed to tap into the struggles many girls share, like losing an NYX lipstick on a night out, repeatedly telling us that despite the fact it cost £6.99, she’s definitely let it go. Definitely. However, when it comes to her £10 Primark top, she’s not about to let that go down without a fight — because who spends more than £5 in Primark?

One woman’s epic quest to retrieve said top is sure to bring laughs to all present. In the basement of Solomon’s, it certainly went down a treat.

Devey is certainly a very promising act, and definitely one to watch in the next few years. She’s at times rude, at times very down to earth, but her set is one that will keep you laughing the whole way through.

Photo: Scott Salt

Hatch’s urban Narnia: A festive fantasy

Written by Catrin Stewart on . Posted in News.

You may think you know Hatch: Oxford Road’s pop-up-shop hipster haven, built from brightly painted recycled storage containers. Well, think again. In time for the festive season, Hatch have expanded — and not just in size.

The small food court is now tucked away in a corner. Whilst still cosy and inviting, its spotlight is somewhat stolen by a huge, outdoor courtyard surrounded by even more pop-up shops and a stage for live music performances. Urban Narnia featured performances from ‘Jenna and the G’s’, playing some revamped old-school Christmas classics, and the ‘AV Ice Queen with Mr Tumnus and the Fabulous Fauns’, who injected a bit of magic into the evening.

11 new traders launched at the opening event, including Suzie loves Mylo, a vintage clothing store; Betty and Butch, a gift shop for dogs and owners; and Laura Jordan, a London based cityscape artist’s gallery.

These sat among the new food and drink shops that showcase the best of Manchester’s eclectic cuisines and tastes. Among these were Japanese Junk, a junk food truck from the creators of high-end Japanese cocktail bar and restaurant, Cottonopolis – they sold burgers, bao buns, and Japanese inspired snacks. Personally, however, my highlights were the indulgent, garlic mushroom topped, mac and cheese from The Mac Shac and the fresh cod tacos from Cayuco which were accompanied with pickled cabbage and a delicious mango salsa that made for a beautifully multi-coloured meal.

A tipple to go with your food can be found at Electrik Box or ÖL Nano Brewery — two craft beer traders who also sell wine, cocktails, and even a warming mulled cider. Electrik Box, especially, has cosy indoor seating to shelter from Manchester’s winter weather, and an upstairs balcony that looks out onto Oxford Road. Not the most scenic or peaceful balcony perhaps, but it is entertaining to remind yourself of the novelty of Hatch: the perfectly crafted hangout situated right on the edge of a main road!

Up until the 20th December, Hatch is hosting multiple events for all ages with plenty of live music, DJs, and performances; there’s even a ‘Festive Family Rave’ for the kids and ‘Santa Paws’ — a night for your furry friends hosted by Betty and Butch.