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Month: October 2016

Ladyfest’s Body Positivity Workshop is an inspiring success

Written by Roma Havers on . Posted in News.

Manchester LadyFest’s events on the weekend of the 8th and 9th of October, which included debates, craft workshops and a Body Positivity panel discussion, were a real triumph. The panel in particular got so much positive feedback that Ladyfest’s organisers decided to set up a separate workshop on the 23rd of October, to delve further into the complexities of the issues brought up. Lauren, who led the workshop, hoped to “facilitate an open, insightful and motivating session on what we want to solve when it comes to acceptance of women’s bodies and their representation in the media.” As she stated at the beginning of the workshop, the main goals were Acceptance, Representation, and Celebration.

Taking place on a Monday evening, with the sheer amount of interest leading to the organisers needing to find a bigger venue, they finally settled on a space in the LGBT Foundation. The event was welcoming and intimate as we separated into groups to discuss our main concerns and what needed solving. Some problems raised, were body hair, sexualisation of the female body, the politics of choice, and representation. The discussion was nuanced and diverse, with several personal stories shared as well as challenging debates faced head on with a considerate and open-minded attitude. I was impressed by the bravery of several of the women who spoke as well as shocked and empowered. Lauren held the discussion together mindfully and calmly and rounded off the event nicely with a group discussion. As she said: “We all learned from one another’s lived experiences.”

The other contributors were also inspired by the discussions as Roisin, who had not attended a Ladyfest event previously, said, “the workshop created a casual space in which we could all freely discuss the things hindering positive perceptions of the female body. The diverse group allowed for this discussion to be all the more fruitful and the fact that we had plenty more to say even after time had run out proves that the workshop inspired enthusiasm in us all.”

But this workshop is just the beginning of what will hopefully be a city-wide campaign with real impact, and they already have events and campaigns coming up. Ladyfest are currently trying to get in contact with Boohoo, the Manchester-based internet clothing brand, whose Plus Size range uses size 12 models for a range that is supposedly size 16 and up; it’s not difficult to see the issue there. In addition, a follow-up workshop has been planned for the 10th of November to discuss how we can begin to enact change—details are on their Facebook where they continue to update the page with news, events, and other Body Positivity-related information. The work that Ladyfest Manchester do is absolutely fantastic and well worth your while getting involved, whether it is going along to their screening of The Craft on Sunday 30th of October or liking their Facebook page.

Let’s give British democracy the voting system it needs

Written by Cameron Broome on . Posted in Opinion.

To say a lot has happened in the last few months of British politics would be a huge understatement. Britain voted to leave the European Union; David Cameron resigned; a brutally short Conservative leadership election resulted in a new PM; Jeremy Corbyn was reinstated as Labour’s leader; UKIP have been (quite literally) fighting; we’ve been told Brexit means Brexit; Theresa May decided to open up the grammar school debate, despite severe opposition; and then there was the shocking news that the British pound was worth less than the Euro. It has certainly been a busy few weeks.

But something astonishing happened on the 7th of May 2015 that we seem to have forgotten. UKIP received over 3.8 million votes, equivalent to 12.6 per cent of total vote share. 12.6 per cent of the 650 seats in Houses of Commons is 81.9 seats. And yet UKIP votes translated into merely one seat, won by Douglas Carswell in Clacton. Similarly, the Green Party received over 1.1 million votes, equivalent to 3.8 per cent of total vote share. 3.8 per cent of 650 equals 24.7 seats. Again, the Green Party won just one seat, won by the charismatic co-Leader Caroline Lucas in Brighton. For all the Liberal Democrats have been mocked for their 2015 General Election performance, they still received over 2.4 million votes, equivalent to 7.9 per cent of the total vote share. 7.9 per cent of 650 equals 51.35 seats (they won just eight seats). The Conservatives won a “majority” of 331 seats, with 36.9 per cent of total vote share (actually equivalent to 239.85 seats).

From a young age, we are told about the importance of voting. We hear stories of the suffragette movement, and learn about individuals who fought for our right to vote. “Don’t take your vote for granted” is a common line we’re fed. But turn out in the 2015 general election was 66.1 per cent: 15.7 million people didn’t vote at all.

Although a proportional representation (PR) based voting system would not end political apathy completely, it could help improve voter turnout. A common reason cited for not voting is a sense that voting doesn’t really make a difference. Under First Past The Post, this point carries some validity. If you vote for the Conservatives in a safe Labour seat—like Bootle, for example—your vote doesn’t make a difference. In 2015, 74.5 per cent of the total vote share in Bootle was captured by Labour; the 3,639 votes gained by the Conservative Party essentially counted for nothing. But in Morley and Outwood, the picture was very different. In one of the biggest stories of the general election, Andrea Jenkyns defeated then Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls by a margin of only 422 votes. Voting Conservative in this constituency really did make a difference.

Therefore, the simplest reason to support a PR voting system is that everyone’s vote would matter equally regardless of geography. But a common concern is that MPs will become even more Westminster-centric and there won’t be local representation. A solution to this could be a hybrid PR voting system, such as the proposed DPR system (Direct Party and Representative Voting). This would involve the electorate having two votes. Firstly, they would have a “representative vote”, whereby they would elect an MP to represent their local constituency. Secondly, they would have a “party vote” whereby they select the party they wish to govern the nation. This latter vote would determine how many votes each parliamentary party has in Parliament.

In terms of the House of Commons, parliamentary parties would share their votes equally amongst their own MPs (who would have the same democratic credentials, as well as the same constituency and parliamentary responsibilities). This system would not require change to the number of MPs, nor would boundaries need to be changed (currently under review anyway). It could simply be applied to the existing First Past The Post system, increasing convenience and minimising expense.

For those who look at the state of the Labour party with fear, a PR voting system could be everyone’s saving grace. Without wanting to simplify Labour’s problems to an ideological left-right binary split (the party’s problems are of course complex) let’s assume the “two” wings of Labour split into a centre-left party (made up of your Chuka Umunnas, Ed Balls etc.) and a socialist party (featuring Jeremy Corbyn et al.). Under a PR voting system, these two movements could work collaboratively. When there is agreement (e.g. on opposing grammar schools or the need for more social housing), the parties could align together to form a progressive alliances, along with other like-minded parties such as the Greens or Lib Dems. In particular, a progressive alliance could be formed with the SNP. However, when there is outright disagreement (e.g. on Trident), there is no need to put forward a fake “united” front. The two movements can openly clash and disagree, or form alliances with others. Thus, a PR system could save the left of British politics and discourage unhelpful “party-politics”.

Be it for better or for worse, the EU referendum politicised the nation. Individuals who had only taken a mild interest in politics in the past were talking about the referendum with friends and family. Politics was no longer merely something that “belonged” in newsrooms, in Westminster, or in lecture theatres; it became embedded in the vernacular culture, discussed in pubs, cafes, and dining rooms. For all the ridicule the Leave campaign have received for their “bring back control” rhetoric, Leave voters did indeed feel powerful because they knew their votes really did make a difference.

The British people are not stupid: votes don’t matter equally under a First Past The Post system. It is a sad reality but the only votes that really make a difference are in marginal seats, such as Nuneaton. It doesn’t have to be this way. British democracy is dying but it is not yet dead: let’s give it the PR it needs.

Review: All or Nothing

Written by Emily Hulme on . Posted in Theatre.

Even if, like me, you don’t know much about mod culture or wouldn’t usually choose to listen to Sixties music, it’s difficult not to rave about this musical after seeing it. The story of the mod band The Small Faces has been brought to life on stage by writer Carol Harrison.

Granted, it is sort of predictable; the band meet in a music shop, start playing together, get a record deal, make a few hits and then get too famous for their own good. But it’s a good watch, especially if you’re a fan and into mod culture.

The whole audience was thrown back in time—the music, the clothes, the culture—and all this added to the illusion that we were really there. That’s owed to Harrison’s research and writing.

Harrison, who witnessed the East End mod culture herself, says she was motivated to write the play after hearing of lead signer Steve Marriot’s tragic death in a house fire in 1991 and the loss of guitarist Ronnie Lane in 1998.

After researching the bands ups and downs, she was eager to write a musical about it all. The story takes you through the fame, the chart toppers, the appearance on the BBC, touring, the rows, the drinking, and the drugs of the swinging Sixties.

Two actors played Steve Marriot’s character, at two different stages of his life. Young Steve (Mark Newman) is buzzing with energy and has a great voice. Newman demonstrated a highly sensitive portrayal of the mod front man, who was shaped by the culture at the time.

But he is easily out shadowed, along with the rest of the cast by Chris Simmonds, who was playing the older more troubled, cockney geezer that is Steve Marriot. I was convinced he was actually getting progressively more drunk as the show went on, but he was just that good at acting drunk. My eyes followed his movements throughout the play; his body language gave the sense that throughout the musical, he was desperate to tell his younger self things that he couldn’t.

Cleverly, the musicals minimalist efforts with it’s cast and set really enhanced the music and storyline. The use of multi-roling showed off the casts expertise in accents, body language, and Charlotte Espiner’s creative costume ideas. It really worked. The set and backdrop was decorated with memorabilia and exposed brick and remained the same throughout. This was convincing enough for me to believe I was a fly on the wall in a pub, in Steve Marriot’s mum’s living room, and at a Small Faces gig at the Ally Pally in 1968.

In context though, all I could think the whole way through was how this mod culture trend was making a big time comeback. The audience seem to reflect that too: many were dressed in mod attire. There was even an advert in the programme for ‘mod’ shoes.

A few thought-provoking points were made about class—the ‘poorer’ mods like Steve were cutting costs to get the coolest clothing out of the back of lorries, while the richer kids were trying to pretend they weren’t rich by dressing poor. I guess whatever the time frame, some things don’t change that much for 14 – 18 year olds. One of Young Steve’s lines in the opening was: “We’re the new generation, everyone’s ‘individual’, we are revolutionary.” I couldn’t help but think of Fallowfield with its ‘wavy garms’ and overheard conversations about politics.

Harrison’s humour kept the musical light though. Her depiction of the classic-cockney Marriot family was brilliant; I thought I was in my own living room with my own parents: “Will you tell him, Bill” Steve’s mother repeated, not letting Steve’s father get a word in.

All or Nothing is a great feel good show, with much energy and nostalgia that makes you feel like you missed out on being a part of Sixties London.

Salford Illuminations

Written by Mancunion on . Posted in Arts.

For those of us who have grown up in the North-West, the annual winter trip to Blackpool Illuminations is simply the norm. Wrapping up warm, piling into one car to save on the ever-increasing petrol prices, and heading off to stare at the giant glowing Daleks and luminous Ronald McDonalds—fish and chips in hand. Well, this year, it’s coming to Salford. (Kind of).

The annual Lightwaves festival will be hosted at MediaCityUK from 9th-18th December 2016. With a collection of 10 artworks on display including works from UK artists GNI, the spectacle will take place right across Salford Quays. And let’s face it: who doesn’t love an outdoor art exhibition? And it’s free!

There are a number of new art installments produced with a collaboration between the festival and the legendary Blackpool Illuminations, including Doctor Who’s tardis, and even the infamous Daleks. But giant space enemies aren’t the only thing to look forward to in this luminescent festival of light. If you manage to make the opening weekend of the event, you will have the chance to take part in an interactive light workshop in which all participants get to try out making their very own light paintings.

One of the most innovative pieces in the festival is ‘Voyage’. A tribute to childhood days of creating paper boats and floating them along nearby water features, ‘Voyage’ will feature approximately 200 mini boats which will illuminate with a rainbow of colour as they travel along the waterfront. Now, here’s the exciting bit: onlookers can actually change the colour of the boats’ light using an app on their smart phones!

‘Footsteps’, from creator Sam Sebbage, takes us on a journey along the path of another, with 80 glowing footsteps. An incredible symbol of people leaving their mark on the earth.

An truly exciting part of this event is the Light Graffiti Workshop by Tekla Inari. This allows anyone and everyone to come together in a photography session, with a lens designed to capture the graffiti created in the air. It allows those involved to express themselves however they feel the need to; making words, or shapes with the lights provided in this lively workshop. A word of warning, though: if you wish to take part in this particular part of the festival, the workshop will not be available throughout the entirety of the installation’s run. From 9th-11th December, from 12-5 pm, and again from 6-8 pm are your only chances to get involved.

There will be so much more to see at Lightwaves festival than can be expressed in this article. So, get yourself down there and get involved! Needless to say, this is a must-see event for anyone in the North-West!

 

Album: Jagwar Ma – Every Now & Then

Written by Tara Bharadia on . Posted in Music.

Released 14th October via Mom+Pop Music

7/10

Three years on and Jagwar Ma are back. After touring through the UK earlier this year with appearances at Reading and Leeds festival and Glastonbury, the release of Every Now & Then hasn’t exactly taken the world by storm.

Comparing their new album with its predecessor, the group haven’t completely found their own sound but they have gotten closer. While they still experiment with lyrics and layering they have potentially mastered fluidity of tracks and curation of the album as a whole. Every Now & Then has clearly been crafted out of love for experimentation, as with any band still finding their sound.

There are two stand out songs on the album for me; ‘Colours of Paradise’ is exactly the song you need to make it feel like summer all year round while the guitar in ‘Say What You Feel’ feels almost nostalgic.

To me this album sounds like a slightly less psychedelic version of Tame Impala with a hint of Empire of the Sun when it comes to the song writing traits, whereas their debut Howlin seemed to have slightly more of a darker edge and an air of mystery about it. However, I can’t say as of yet which is better, except that the comparison shows how versatile the group is, and that it gives fans hope for what else is to follow.

If this album has shown anything, is that the band still have a lot more in the way of promising music to come and that they will continue experimenting to change and refine their sound over the next few years. But, with the weather getting colder, I can’t help but wish that this album had been released earlier so it could’ve been more of a summer soundtrack for fear of such a gem blending into the background.

Venture Out, and achieve success

Written by Gemma Sowerby on . Posted in News.

Venture Out is the University of Manchester’s signature student ideas competition, run by the Manchester Enterprise Centre.  The 2016/17 Venture Out Competition is now open, and The Mancunion has the insider knowledge on how valuable the Venture Out experience has been to one Alliance Manchester Business School graduate.

Recent Master of Marketing graduate Katerina Andronikaki entered Manchester Enterprise Centre’s Venture Out initiative in 2015 in order to put her studies to the test and challenge herself and her marketing knowledge.

Katerina entered the PZ Cussons innovation challenge, one of Venture Out’s five competition categories, and was tasked with developing a creative digital marketing idea for Original Source—PZ Cussons’ personal care brand.

Her proposal, Original X-Source, hinges on the idea of collaboration. Inspired by the powerful impact of YouTube influencers on similar brand campaigns, Katerina positioned Original Source as a post-exercise indulgence product that can promote a healthy mind-set, and suggested enlisting the support of prominent health and wellbeing vloggers to help spread her message.

Katerina’s idea was awarded second place in the category, which gave her the opportunity to meet with PZ Cussons directors and senior brand managers at the company’s headquarters near Manchester Airport, to see first-hand how ideas are set into motion.

“Entering Venture Out was an invaluable experience for me. Visiting the PZ Cussons headquarters, learning about the company from within and being able to witness how they craft and execute marketing strategies was truly inspirational. I was even lucky enough to be part of a new product launch, in collaboration with PZ Cussons’ media agencies, which gave me a fantastic insight into the FMCG industry,” explains Katerina.

Leaving her home town in Greece in 2015, Katerina moved to Manchester to begin her Masters at Alliance Manchester Business School, part of the University of Manchester. Attracted by its reputation as one of the UK’s most respected business schools, Katerina was keen to pursue its “intensive yet engaging” marketing programme, and was also awarded the MBS Masters Scholarship.

“Venture Out also had a significant impact on my studies, inspiring my final research paper entitled: ‘Consumer-perceived innovativeness: High-tech products versus FMCGs.” Through my experience with PZ Cussons, I was able to find out about the company’s innovation strategy and how they capitalise on emerging trends, which prompted me to investigate consumer attitudes towards FMCG innovation.

Katerina describes Venture Out as an experience “not to be missed” for any student interested in putting their studies to the test, and meeting like-minded individuals: “I would not hesitate to recommend the Venture Out experience. Anyone with an idea for a business, marketing strategy or social cause should go for it; you have nothing to lose, and whatever stage of the competition you reach it encourages you to challenge yourself, and to think carefully about how you can apply your knowledge and studies to develop solutions to real-life problems.”

Entries for Venture Out 2016 close on 7th November, and the finals will be held on Tuesday 6th December at the Roscoe Building.

Review: Don’t Wake the Damp

Written by Elete Nelson-Fearon on . Posted in Theatre.

The opening scene is the set of 80s TV show Crystal Continuum: a throwback with neon costumes, euphemisms, suggestive nicknames and all. With the assistance of overtly suggestive names and satirical resolutions to manage the explosion, the audience is made to think about the problems with representation and objectification whilst being amused by the humour and attire.

We then relocate to the living room of an elderly lady, who is unenthusiastically hosting the council planner Terry Brambles for a check-up. After listening to her letters—this is 2035, after all—that inform her of the impending evacuation of the block of flats, the inappropriately cheerful council planner and disgruntled lady burst into flashy, choreographed song to express their thoughts. Brambles’ cheerful demeanour in spite of the news he presents successfully illustrates the lack of connection between the council staff and residents of Vertigo Heights.

The focus then switches to two residents in the basement: the inexplicably arrogant Devlin and the hyperactive, bright young Lexxie. They are plotting their escape from the building and the damp, but they have soon joined Terry and the elderly lady, who is soon revealed to be Juniper Berry from Crystal Continuum much to Lexxie’s wonder and disbelief.

The two pairs join forces and push Terry for information until he cracks and bursts into an intense monologue about the pressures of being a part of the ‘army’ that is the council; after a dramatic attack the audience realises that the damp is in fact a mysterious creature that threatens the stability of the whole building. Through the teamwork that ensues, Kill the Beast invites the audience to explore four types of character. Lexxie is optimistic and enthusiastic, if overeager, and provides the technological know-how behind the operation. Juniper’s smart, pragmatic character is given depth by the revelation that she is not mourning her late co-star Max, as the ‘dependent glamourous assistant’ trope would suggest, but is in fact still enraged by the fact that Max neither deserved nor wanted the lead role, and allowed her to be fired after the implementation of her idea, masked as his own. Devlin, a self-centred and sexist character, represents the alpha male that was revered by so many in 80s pop culture. Terry Brambles embodies the impersonal approach that authorities take when dealing with sensitive issues: he offers leather pens and burritos in lieu of a home and struggles to stray from the explanation he has been told to spread amongst the residents.

In one smooth and creatively ingenious moment, the flashbacks of Juniper Berry in Crystal Continuum and her in the present day coalesce to demonstrate the continued prevalence of the frustrations and misogyny that she faced years ago. Whilst revealing the fate of the late Max, the audience watches on as Juniper tries to deal with Devlin in the exact same way.

As the play draws to an end, Terry Brambles is joined by his colleagues as they wonder whether “by diligently following the rules [they] could be doing more harm than good,” and Lexxie moves on from the revelation of her idol’s true colours. Don’t Wake the Damp is a daring, satirical piece of art that takes our thoughts and shows them to us with the accompaniment of a block of flats, neon costumes, and plenty of questionable tropes.

Don’t Wake The Damp is showing at The Lowry until the 29th of October.

Top 5: Small record labels you should know about

Written by Ollie Clack on . Posted in Music.

5. Asthmatic Kitty

Started by a group of artists including Sufjan Stevens, who currently holds the position of Minister of Aesthetics at the label, every Asthmatic Kitty release is worth paying attention to.

 

4. Luaka Bop

A label that started life as David Byrne’s way of bringing world sounds to the masses, reintroducing unforgettable artists such as William Onyeabor, they now represent great producers such as Floating Points. It’s fair to say Luaka Bop knows what’s hot.

 

3. Sacred Bones

Considering Jenny Hval, Marching Church, David Lynch, Pharmakon, Crystal Stilts, and Zola Jesus are all represented by this Brooklyn-based label, Sacred Bones truly know how to find great musicians.

 

2. Soundway Records

Reissuing the best music to come out of North Africa in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, as well as representing exciting bands like Flamingods, any release by Soundway is definitely worth a listen.

 

1. Exploding in Sound

Celebrating their fifth year this week, Exploding in Sound are truly one of the most exciting labels around. With Pile, Krill, Palehound, and Ovlov on their roster, as well as alumni like Porches, Lvl Up, and Speedy Ortiz—Exploding in Sound have made a habit of finding the best garage bands on the east coast of America.

Yuzu

Written by Felix Sanders on . Posted in Food & Drink.

Let’s talk about service.

If you serve me a plate of shit with a smile and its hot and on time, i’ll eat it. Conversely, if you give me an amazing plate of food that comes out late and you have a bad attitude, I’m going to inject venom into the pen with which I’ll write the review.

A conversation I once had with my father comes to mind. We were eating at Frankie and Bennies. Why was I even eating at a Frankie and Bennies? I’m not a snob, I’ll eat anywhere. Why was my father eating at Frankie and Bennies? That is a slightly more interesting question. I’ve always regarded him as a cultured person. He’s lived in London and New York, keeping the company of some fascinating individuals. He maintained a Jekyll and Hyde career at times in his life, trading bonds by day and managing bands by night. His father, my grandfather, instilled in him a taste and knowledge for wine from a young age. But despite all of the above, there is nothing my father secretly enjoys more then going to Nando’s before watching the latest generic action film at a nearby Odeon. On one such evening of guiltless indulgence, Nando’s was insanely busy so we had a cruise of the premier dining and entertainment complex that is the hub of Eastleigh, Hampshire. My father peers into Frankie and Bennies and he confides in me—as if an incredible secret—that it is just a rip-off of a classic American diner. A nod to his Manhattan days.

We go in.

I was working as a chef at the time and he always enjoyed asking me about what I thought of the restaurants we ate in; he gets a buzz from a little insider knowledge. I said a couple of things, for example when we were given a ramekin of mayonnaise that was smeared around the rim. It was the carelessness that bugs me, but at the end of the day, this was Frankie and Bennies; I’m not going to throw my napkin to the floor and demand to see the manager. The other comment I made was about the waiter. When he came over to take our order, he dropped to his knees, rested his arms on the table and addressed us at head hight. I HATE this. It is way too ‘buddy buddy’. So, when he leaves, I lean over to my father and confess that when waiters do that, I want to punch them in the face.

After the meal, when my father is paying the bill, that same waiters asks if we enjoyed everything. My dad—under a compulsion that I will never fathom—replies: “It was all fine apart from when you crouched down it made us want to punch you in the face.” I died. Right then and there in the Eastleigh branch of a Frankie and Bennies, I died.

Last Saturday I went to Yuzu in Chinatown with the redhead. It’s been around for a while, steadily knocking out what is supposed to be the best Japanese food in Manchester. Fresh from a six week trip to Japan, I went to make egotistically informed comparisons to what I think Japanese food should taste like. The thing that stuck with me most about that restaurant was not the food, but the service.

Much to the redhead’s ire I took the opportunity to practice my minute smattering of Japanese on our waitress. When we were leaving she asked if I studied Japanese, and my aforementioned ego swelled to balloon like status. I said that I didn’t, but had spent six weeks in Japan that summer. The majority of that time was spent in restaurants so all the Japanese I know is how to order things and say they are delicious. She asked where I’d been, I mentioned a few place names including Fukoaka. She’d lived in Fukoaka for 29 years. The classic culinary guide book destination of Japan is Kyoto. Fuck that, got to Fukoaka. We waxed lyrical about the Yatai food stalls. Yatai puts the western food truck craze to absolute shame. They are s type of mobile cart, that can be pulled or towed. They serve ramen, yakitori and other small classic Japanese dishes. They all serve booze, some with serious cocktail skill. They have seating slightly hidden by those wonderful curtains that adorn the entrance of all Japanese eating establishments. They are very reasonably priced and emit a wonderful atmosphere. We went on to talk about restaurants on the 8th floor of Fukoakian shopping malls.

It was a lovely connection to have with a waitress, a real rarity. It was also a beautiful reminder of the best place I have ever been to on this earth.

The food at Yuzu isn’t bad either. Try the miso soup, it is outstanding.

Get Involved: University of Manchester Gymnastics Club

Written by Emily Hogg on . Posted in Sport.

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind three years for UMGC (University of Manchester Gymnastics Club). What was once an anonymous society with just 12 members in 2013 is now the Athletic Union’s Most Improved Club of the Year with more than triple the amount of its members.

The new competitive year kicked off with a bang after we managed to secure over 200 sign ups at this year’s Freshers Fair, and with a subsequent average of around 30 members attending the weekly sessions so far. In the past two weeks, more students have joined the club as competitive members than in the whole of the last academic year. We’ll be preparing for our first friendly competition in Bangor at the end of November, where we’re hoping to showcase our members’ impressive progression over the past year and bring some metal ware back to Manchester. We’ve done this by providing another training session for our members this year—Tuesday evenings and Wednesday afternoons. We’re hoping to continue our winning streak after our first ever BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) stint earlier this year, where our men’s team achieved 1st place and half of the women’s team ended up in the top 30 out of 100.

Our mission at UMGC is to welcome everybody of all abilities, regardless of their past experience. Our membership base is comprised of a mixture of total beginners to former national level competitors. Each one has already seriously impressed returning members, committee, and coach alike. Everyone is also displaying tremendous potential, despite having only been part of the club for three weeks—some of our beginners were somersaulting after just one session. After our successful BUCS performance in February, our members have been inspired to challenge themselves to tackle higher level moves in order to progress and compete in the next grade up at competitions. This involves both our men and women upgrading to three or four pieces rather than two, and for some, involves learning a completely new skill. The determination and dedication of our members cannot be disputed, there is an authentic energy in the air when we train. We don’t care if you can’t touch your toes, or you can’t even hold a handstand for a second, we simply want all of our members to enjoy themselves at gymnastics, whether they’re competitive members or not.

The camaraderie among our members is arguably unmatched by any other club. As a still relatively new and small club, we’ve all established a close-knit bond with one another, meaning that the training environment is relaxed, and members feel comfortable training together, despite the variety of abilities. This bond has only been strengthened by our competition and training weekends away in Scotland and beyond. We’re all extremely supportive and encouraging, and often motivate one another to push ourselves out of our comfort zones. This year also marks another exciting first in the UMGC calendar—we’re going on Tour to Lloret de Mar in April 2017! We’re a hugely social club, getting together every week to go out, have nights in, go out for dinner, to trampoline parks etc—you name it, we’ve probably done it! Our White T Shirt social with Trampolining Club last week was a huge hit and it was great to further our relationship with them too. We’re keen to run ‘Bring a Tramp to Gymnastics’ sessions and vice versa, to really promote each other’s clubs and hopefully increase memberships.

We train at Fit City Ordsall twice a week with our coach, Rochelle. Our access to high standard facilities has been pretty restricted, given that there aren’t many, if not at all, free gyms around central Manchester. However, a few of us attend adult gymnastics sessions at Stockport to take advantage of their superior facilities! What’s more, we’ve recently partnered up with Oxygen Free Jumping and use their trampolines to master some new tricks on socials there too.

We’re continually striving to expand and develop the club even further, and we’re aiming for UMGC to become a household name around the University. It’s exciting to think what could be in store for the club in the next three years, following the accomplishments of the last.

Training times: Tuesday 6-7:30 pm, Wednesday 2-3:30 pm. Fit City Ordsall, M5 3DJ.
Please like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram or email our President, Emily.

Review: B!RTH Festival’s India & China

Written by Elise Gallagher on . Posted in Theatre.

The Royal Exchange’s B!RTH festival celebrates the power of the playwright and it’s ability for the stage to provoke debate and action. The B!RTH festival was created in partnership with the Royal Exchange’s long-standing collaborators Brentwood and The Oglesby Charitable Trust, resulting in the commission of seven inspiring female writers from across the globe in order to develop seven new plays. These plays will premiere at the Royal Exchange exploring arguments surrounding birth across the world.

On Wednesday the 19th of October I was lucky enough to see ‘Ouroboros’ (India) and ‘A Son Soon’ (China). The two plays performed one after the over explore notions of sterilisation and tradition.

The first, ‘Ouroboros’ (India), written by Swati Simha and directed by Emma Callander addresses mass sterilisation in poor rural areas of India. There it is commonplace for women, many of whom are illiterate, to be given incentives in order to go through with the procedure. As well as portraying the pressure doctors are under to meet targets, the play also explores the story of a doctor who is haunted by her role in India’s population control crisis. Performed by Mina Anwar, Elizabeth Chan, Nadia Emam, and Purveen Hussain, the stage consists of four seats, four lecterns, a screen, and a spotlight.

As expected Mina Anwar (who featured in both plays) was exceptional, easily toying with the audience’s emotions. The stark contrast between her two characters illustrates the talent she has. What I found most astonishing about this production was that Swati Simha is just 24 years old and is already one of India’s most exciting new playwrights. Her writing is incredibly moving and targeted, as well as providing some light relief.

The second, ‘A Son Soon’ (China), written by Xu Nuo and translated by Jeremy Tiang, is much more light hearted than Simha’s piece. Performed by Mina Anwar, Elizabeth Chan, and Shobna Gulati the play follows two women visiting a shamen to ask for guidance. Whilst one has the money to buy her way out of the government’s two child policy, the other does not.

Nuo believes that the main issue in global inequality within China is the speed of growth and disparity between the rich and the poor, the urban and the rural. The line that stuck with me most was: “I often feel in China that a women’s womb doesn’t belong to her.” This echoed to me the constraints of faith, tradition, spirituality, and expectation which must weigh countless women down in a multitude of cultures.

Elizabeth Chan, who also featured fantastically in both productions, played a ghost in the first performance which was lighthearted and tragic at the same time, whilst her performance in ‘A Son Soon’ (China) beautifully projected the weight of guilt many women still unfortunately carry when a couple is blessed with a girl instead of a boy.

All scripts from the B!RTH series will be available online in order to share and carry on the debate. You can find more information here.

Opinion: Are Lyrics Poetry?

Written by Gurnaik Johal on . Posted in Music.

There was outrage among much of the literary elite last week after Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The prize going to a songwriter, even one as influential as Dylan, raises the question as to whether lyrics can be classed as poetry.

I think we’ve all experienced that feeling when a particular line of a particular song stands out and stays with you. Many times it seems the perfect lyric is just as good, if not better, than many acclaimed lines of poetry.Yet there is a clear class divide in the arts, with poetry seen as high art and lyrics seen as simplistic and easy to write. This divide is ironic seeing as poetry has been performed with music for thousands of years—the word lyric originating in Ancient Greece where a poet would perform whilst playing a lyre (an older version of a harp). Surely then, song lyrics are just a continuation of the oral tradition of poetry that is already celebrated by academics.

Critics often say that if you put lyrics on a page they won’t hold up to scrutiny the same way a poem would. The lyrics of your favourite song, when written down, probably look a lot less impressive than you thought they would. This is because in music we are presented with a lot more information, the rhythms, melodies and vocal effects aren’t present on the page. Therefore, a lot of lyrics lose their charm on paper—think of it as the difference between seeing a 3D object in real life or in a photo.

However, there are many lyricists—Bob Dylan being one—whose work can stand on it’s own because it has enough ‘literary value’ to be classified as poetry. To me, it seems that lyrics serving the sole purpose of accompanying the music do not work as poetry in their own right. Yet, songs where the lyrics are put to the foreground, and the music works to accompany them, do. The best example of this is in rap music (or “rhythm-assisted poetry”). Rappers like Kendrick Lamar and MF DOOM showcase as much poetic skill in their lyrics as other more acclaimed writers. For example, an album like To Pimp a Butterfly could be seen as one of the more important pieces of literature in recent years because, unlike a lot of avant-garde works, it is accessible to wider audiences whilst still retaining social and political importance.

Overall, I’d say poetry and lyrics work best when they converge; there’s a musicality to poetry and poetry in lyrics. No matter where you stand in terms of Dylan’s music, the controversial decision has been good at least in proving that lyrics are a legitimate form of poetry.

New developments in Alzheimer’s treatment

Written by Serena Holloway on . Posted in News, Science & Tech.

Scientists have managed to prevent the development of Alzheimer’s Disease in mice. The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved using a virus to insert a specific gene into the brains of mice. The results have provided hope of a potential new treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease, of which there is yet no cure.

The inserted gene, named PGC-1 alpha, has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease before, with earlier studies reporting lower levels of the gene in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients when compared to healthy individuals. Previous work conducted by the team at Imperial suggests that PGC-1 alpha prevents the formation of a peptide called amyloid-beta. This peptide aggregates to form amyloid plaques within the brains of Alzheimer’s patients—a well known hallmark of the disease.

When these amyloid plaques form within the hippocampus and the cortex of the brain, Alzheimer’s patients experience short-term and long-term memory loss respectively, as well as changes in mood, thinking, and reasoning. As Alzheimer’s advances, patients often become immobile, experience personality changes, and an inability to verbally communicate. The disease currently affects over half a million people in the UK, and costs the NHS £4.3 billion annually.

In this new study, researchers injected a modified virus, which is commonly used in gene therapy and known as a lentivirus vector which contains PGC-1 alpha, into the brain of a mouse during the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. After four months, mice that received gene therapy had developed far fewer amyloid plaques when compared to untreated mice. The team also found that the treated mice performed just as well as healthy mice in memory tasks.

Despite the promising results of the study, Dr Magdalena Sastre, senior research author from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College, suggests that the public must not get too excited about these findings. She says: “There are many hurdles to overcome, and … we are still years from using this in the clinic,” although admitting that “gene therapy may have potential therapeutic use for [Alzheimer’s] patients.”

Meanwhile, at the University of Manchester, an alternative to gene therapy for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is also being researched. During the summer of this year, a team led by Dr David Brough discovered that the disease can be successfully treated with a commonly used anti-inflammatory drug called mefenamic acid. It was shown to target the inflammatory pathway that contributes towards the development of Alzheimer’s Disease. Using mice as an experimental model of Alzheimer’s disease, results from the study, published in Nature Communications, report that treatment with mefenamic acid completely reversed memory loss and brain inflammation in mice.

Whether it be gene therapeutics or switching the application of an already known drug, it is clear that the hunt for an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease is on.

The Real Horrors: Killer Fashion

Written by Jai Joshi on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Let us take a trip back into time to the 19th Century. During this era woman wore a crinoline underneath their skirts. Believe it or not, many of these were made out of steel. Yes, that’s right—steel! It is hard to imagine women wore such contraptions to make their skirts sit prim and proper.

Whilst it did the job of ensuring the skirt sat well, it was extremely dangerous. Strong enough to kill animals, fracture your leg and even be susceptible to strong gusts that could even blow you off a bridge or pier! Yikes!

Another killer fashion find was the corset. Designed to give you a gorgeous hourglass figure, the corset has a bloody reputation, especially when women began to tighten it for optimum results. This led to a deformation of the constricted lungs, causing serious breathing injuries. There are even stories of the metal that is attached to the corset piercing women’s backs…how ghastly!

It is mind-boggling to learn about what stages fashion went through to make women look beautiful. Undoubtedly the modern day equivalent would be the stiletto. Women who are able to wear them for extended periods of time should be celebrated, especially because many (if not all) are so painful. Not forgetting that one slip could result in fatal injuries.

Interestingly, the progression of fashion’s brutality in terms of design has dramatically transitioned and the production of garments and shoes has shifted. The outcome of this shift enables designers to think about their customers and design garments and products that are not only comfortable but also retain their fierce nature. Their status thus stays intact, as these items retain their titles as a ‘killer piece’.

Channeling the glamour goth – Halloween does not have to be cliché

Written by Tarun Daryanani on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

By the time October hits there seems to be a rush of excitement as to how this years’ Halloween façade shall differ from previous ones. We channel our inner child and play around with makeup and costumes creating a concoction of heavy black eyes and splats of blood as if we have been a victim of Jack the Ripper.

Surely it would be amusing to impersonate Frankenstein or a slutty vampire, but after years of witnessing people show their appreciation for fictional psychopaths, the usual ideas are getting repetitive. Go gothic or go home (keeping it fashion of course).

Alexander Mcqueen and Rick Owens have an exuberant history into bringing Gothicism into the forefront whilst keeping the fashion uber chic. Alexander Mcqueen lusts for lace and possess a signature for dramatic, sheer black gowns resembling a provocative Dracula bride—still eerie but glamorous.

The dark eroticism surrounding the current Mcqueen collections exposes Halloween inspiration—sophisticated and a little mysterious. Thick heavy eye makeup and black lips boosts the image of a grunge woman.

Cross necklaces embodying gothic, Christian culture oozes the extra edge satisfying the needs of the fashion savvy party goer. Jet black Latex and shiny satin fabrics display the uncanny yet mod image of a mysterious, possessed princess.

Rick Owens avoids the commercialism behind his spooky collections. Uneven hems and oversized black hoods layering over flowy black dresses creates a unique aesthetic, one which resembles a streetwear inspired acid witch. The latex high top boots add a grungy sportswear vibe which shows this witch is ahead of the fashion times.

The important statement to make is that Halloween does not mean following the crowd but rather standing out from it. Keeping it sophisticated yet sexy is key in channelling your inner darkness.

Mcqueen and Owens are placed on opposite ends of the fashion spectrum—one desires for gothic romanticism whilst the other channels a modern darkness through streetwear. This week’s important question—which do you choose?

Lagerfelds’ style as costume

Written by Sarah Kilcourse on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Few people in the fashion industry are as recognisable as Karl Lagerfeld—the eponymous creative director of Chanel, Fendi and his own line Karl Lagerfeld. His white hair, black glasses, leather fingerless gloves and 17th century inspired suits are both stylish and self-mocking.

Lagerfeld seemingly plays up to his persona as a character of the fashion industry—Choupette may be a beautiful cat but she does make Lagerfeld reminiscent of a Bond villain.

When researching this article I came across numerous online interviews, from a host of celebrated publications, that did little more than list where Lagerfeld’s clothes came from.

It is the impact of the entire costume that merits more attention. His black tail jacket is by Dior but he has the same jacket in multiple fabrics, so he is not actually wearing the same clothes everyday. However, this is part of the glory of his costume, it is the silhouettes and shapes that create the image of the same outfit.

From the far off photographs that are taken of Lagerfeld, he is violently against the selfie, onlookers are not able to decipher the finer details of his ensemble—he has undoubtedly though.

There are always whisperings in the fashion atmosphere as to where his style developed from, he has claimed in interviews that comments made by his mother about his hands are what led to permanently gloved hands. Other accessories, like the glasses, seem to be more playful, an admission that he is ‘fashion’; he is the villain enforcing the tyranny fashion lays on mere mortals.

Lagerfeld, along with Anna Wintour, gives the outside world a vision of fashion. His image can both inspire and deter people—it is shocking in its grandeur and minimal in its palette—but for me it will always remain iconic.

 

Live: Nickelback

Written by Jeni Lambert on . Posted in Music.

19th October at Manchester Arena

7/10

Nickelback: the only band I know who have had research dedicated to investigating why people hate them (yes, really). Yet, speaking as one of the many sardines packed into Manchester Arena, Nickelback are a far cry from whimpering their swan song. With an endearing level of sincerity, Nickelback were a flurry of strutting prowess, jagged-edged rock and euphoric ballads.

Following the flames conjured by the demonic rock angels in Monster Truck, Nickelback took to the stage with the rallying cry of ‘Edge Of A Revolution’. If fans were not suitably warmed up by Monster Truck’s support set, the baying of the hounds had truly begun now. Nickelback’s setlist soon dived into stripper pole raunch with crowd pleasers ‘Something In Your Mouth’ and ‘Animals’. Under the impressively commanding demeanour of frontman Chad Kroeger, Nickelback thereafter submerged the crowd into a deep pool of ballads like ‘Far Away’ and ‘Lullaby’.

Whilst this midsection of slushy rock was played to the point of saturation, it succeeded in punctuating the eventual return of their hard liquor rock riffs with an almighty crunch. Nickelback’s performance was far from jaded, and it was a genuine pleasure to witness their pearly whites lighting up the stage as they bathed in the voltage coursing through the arena.

Sadly, Nickleback wavered in integrity with their encore addition of Foo Fighters’ ‘Everlong’. Question marks levitated over gig-goers’ heads as they tried to comprehend the unsettling U-turn in momentum. The band’s onstage chemistry was also perplexing: a band of brothers between songs, yet during songs they were four pieces of different puzzles. Nevertheless, whilst often dismissed for flailing authenticity, Nickelback were refreshingly free of smoke and mirrors in a world currently drowning in them. Go, listen to them. I dare you.

Album: Two Door Cinema Club – Gameshow

Written by Hana Kelly on . Posted in Music.

Released 14th October via Parlophone

3/10

Two Door Cinema Club’s newly released album Gameshow has hit the now-metaphorical shelves and it certainly does disappoint. My memory of the unknown tracks being played at Reading Festival this year appeared to be well received by the audience—although, I will admit, I had been drinking. The fun and catchy indie pop/rock of Tourist History and Beacon has long gone.  Instead Gameshow is an album of electronic-indie pop tracks that sound like a teenager’s first attempt at mixing a record. Of course evolution as a band is important, and Two Door Cinema Club have definitely evolved, but today I am in mourning for the classics that I will never stop listening to.

Whilst the level of production has clearly increased, the quality has not. The opening of ‘Lavender’ could be a child’s electric drum kit that was set to loop, reminiscent of the joke band ‘The Jerk Offs’ in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Meanwhile, listening to the album as a stream is quite an event as the songs fade across into one another, illuminating how cohesive, streamlined, and stylised the album and the band now are.

This triumph is then undermined by the disappearance of Alex Trimble’s fun and characteristic Northern Irish accent that has been replaced with a bland-sounding overmixed voice. His monosyllabic singing is then attached to looped tracks of single drum beats and little reverb. One song, however, that has some memory of their prior glory is the title track, ‘Gameshow’. Trimble’s natural voice can be heard for the most part with the instruments having a much more natural indie feel. However even this track begins to feel uncomfortably simplistic with screeched lyrics towards the crescendo.

I will concede that Two Door Cinema Club are definitely trying something new, and if modernised electronic indie pop/rock is your bread and butter of the music world, then this album could be heaven sent; the album itself peaked at number two on the official album charts and has been mostly well-received. But for me, I’ll just say I’m no longer sad that their Manchester show sold out.

Crash, Bang, Wallop

Written by Connor McBride on . Posted in Games.

Continuing my kick on the 1980s that started last week with the British home computer, and how influential it was in not only British video games, but the computing industry, I’d like to cross the pond and talk about North America’s adventures with video games. In the 1970s, the first generation of video game consoles in the USA weren’t much to write about. There were a handful of consoles available, none of them for sale over here, most of them costing over $300 USD and they all only had one game: ‘Pong’.

The Atari 2600, released in 1977, was an instant hit because it could play more than one game! It had these things called “cartridges” that had different games on them! It also had colours and sound! To a market that had just spent the better part of a decade playing ‘Pong’ on a black screen, literally anything other than ‘Pong’ was a warm welcome. The Atari 2600 sold like hotcakes. By the beginning of the 80s, Atari was grossing billions of dollars a year. The only real competitor at the time was the Fairchild Channel F, which packed it in very early on. Atari was the uncontested king.
The Atari 2600 was the reigning champ, so of course a lot of pretenders came out of the woodwork. In 1982 alone, five new consoles hit the market, including the Intellivision and Colecovision. Each console had its own library of games. Having five consoles worth of video games in a store takes up valuable real estate and very quickly the market became saturated. What do you buy?

There was a trend at the time among video game companies of not crediting the programmers that worked on games, and Atari was no exception. Annoyed by the lack of recognition for their hard work, many of Atari’s workers quit and formed independent video games publishers. The most successful of which was a little company called Activision. Atari attempted to sue Activision in order to block sales of their games, but as soon as this failed the floodgates were open for anyone to develop third party games. The number of games on the market swelled. Stores didn’t have enough space to carry all of these games, and few of them were any good. Console manufacturers had lost control of what was on their systems and their consoles suffered for it.

There was an expectation from Atari themselves that the appetite for video games was so ravenous that the public would buy almost anything regardless of quality. A prime example of this was ‘E.T. The Extra Terrestrial Game’. A six-week mess of a game thrown together in time for the holiday season. So sure it would be a hit, 5 million copies were made. It tanked and is regarded as one of the worst games ever. Thousands of copies were buried in New Mexico because they just couldn’t shift them. Another notable game was the 2600 version of ‘Pac-Man’. Atari made 12 million cartridges, when only 10 million people owned an Atari 2600. They were anticipating people buying a console just for this game. This attitude was commonplace in the industry at the time. Stores had shelves upon shelves of games that they couldn’t sell as fast as they were getting them.

While video game consoles were fighting it out and flooding the market with derivative tat, home computers were slowly on the rise. Home computers like the Apple II and the Commodore 64 had nicer graphics, better sound chips than the consoles of the time and could do much more than just play games. In 1982, Commodore and Texas Instruments were in the middle of a vicious price war. Commodore cut the price of their flagship model, the Commodore 64 to $300, not much more than the price of the Atari 2600 at the time. Suddenly people were asking “Why would I pay more for something that could only play video games that looked worse?” The home computers at the time could run bigger games that looked and sounded better, while the Atari 2600 could barely run ‘Pitfall’.

So you have lots of consoles on the market, all with lots of sub-par games that no one is buying, and home computers are slowly encroaching on the market. What happens? The market crashes.

The surge of low quality games that flooded shops left the public feeling discontent, and consequently they stopped buying video games. Lots of games were sitting on shelves unsold, which hurt retailers, who sent the games back to the publisher for refunds, which hurt publishers. Smaller publishers quickly went under from the demands for refunds that they couldn’t pay. Stores reduced the space reserved for video games and shoved new games that were normally $30 into bargain bins for quick sales. By June 1983, confidence in video games was at an all time low. The sales from video games plummeted and the Magnavox, Intellivision and Colecovision were all discontinued by 1984. The Atari 2600 clung on, but it was not the titan it once was, with its next consoles nowhere near as successful. This was the video game crash of 1983. The console market remained relatively dormant until the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987.

Home computers managed to weather the crash fairly well, continued to sell, opened up a new generation to computer gaming and gave birth to a new breed of coders. The freedom allowed to third party developers that was so prevalent here was quickly nipped in the bud, with future companies like Nintendo and Sony tightening control on third party games. Nintendo even imposed a limit on the number of games a company could publish a year. Thanks to this, no one ever made a bad video game again, and instead put love and effort into their games.

The triggering: safe spaces are eroding our freedoms

Written by Colm Lock on . Posted in Opinion.

In university campuses across Canada, the United States and Britain is an evil that is triumphing against our freedom. It has led to the erosion of freedoms for many students—not just of speech but also the freedom of expression. But you may well ask me, “Colm, what is this evil you speak of? Is it fascists? Is it radical communism? Have Cobra succeeded in defeating GI Joe and established a new world order where you cannot say what you believe or think?” No, it is none of these things. It is in fact the work of the movement that has championed the need for safe spaces and trigger warnings.

This evil, and it is an evil, has permeated our society to deplorable levels. Students now act like they come to university to be sheltered from opposing opinions and not have their beliefs challenged through free and open debate. For example, all one needs do to violate the safe space policy at the University of Edinburgh is to shake ones head in disagreement. One will then be ejected from whatever function these thought police happen to be at. Why do they impose such a rule? Apparently, it is not appropriate to have negative or dissenting opinions about a speaker. This ridiculous rule is something that these groups have used to shut down people who disagree with their world view. Such was the situation at our very own university last year when the Students’ Union banned Julie Bindel and Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking. Milo, who once attended The University of Manchester, is an outspoken critic of the safe space culture and of the group which online has been termed Social Justice Warriors (SJW’s). Milo has said some pretty odd things, including his unequivocal support for Donald Trump whom he affectionately calls ‘Daddy.’ But the idea that he should have been banned because he would apparently have violated the university’s safe space culture is absurd; who was he going to threaten or make feel unsafe? He is just one man that many people disagree with. He holds no elected office and has no power (other than his job as tech editor for Breitbart News). So why fear him? What are his detractors so scared of? Are they afraid that they might be triggered by his dissenting opinion?

This triggering is part of the wider campaign against free thought and speech. Even this country’s greatest educational institution, University of Oxford, has been infiltrated by these cry-babies. They have begun putting trigger warnings before law lectures in case some of the students find the content distressing. What will these students do when they leave university to become a practicing lawyer? Will they refuse to work a case prosecuting a criminal because they were burgled once and therefore no longer able to face the harsh realities of the world? Next thing you know, archaeology lectures will come with trigger warnings saying “warning: this lecture may contain images of bones.” Perhaps next, medical lectures will start warning about the possible presence of nasty looking body parts.

This poisonous ideology has even lead to racial segregation at California State University as it now offers accommodation for black students only. This was a response to apparently feeling unsafe at the university; despite the fact California is one of the most multi-ethnic of all US states. It saddens me to see segregation make a return in America after all that was done to combat prejudice. My own mother faced abuse when she was in Florida in the early 70s because she dared to befriend a black janitor who worked at her school. Why, with the already tense racial situation in America at the moment, would anyone possibly think that segregation is the answer?

But we have a long way to go to defeat this divisive dogma. At last year’s Mancunion Live event, the issue of safe spaces was brought up. One speaker said that they were proud to have upheld the Students’ Union’s policy on safe spaces. I think all this banning of people stems from one very simple thing: that those who would shut people down and not let other voices be heard are either not very good at debating or are afraid that upon scrutiny, their ideas and philosophy will crumble like a dry flapjack. It is not the preserve of free and democratic societies to limit what someone can say just because it might offend or trigger. As J. K. Rowling once said, “If you seek the removal of freedoms from an opponent, simply on the grounds that they have offended you, you have crossed a line to stand alongside tyrants.”