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Month: September 2018

Photo: Jill Furmanovsky April 2016

Record Reappraisal: The Balcony by Catfish and the Bottlemen

Written by Olivia White on . Posted in Music.

Catfish and the Bottlemen’s platinum debut album The Balcony was released 4 years ago this September. Formed in Llandudno back in 2007, Catfish soon became one of the most well-known bands on the alternative scene. Not bad for a band that used to promote themselves by sticking their early tunes on people’s windscreens in carparks. In fact, The Balcony’s crude artwork and frontman Van’s rough-around-the-edges demeanour soon became a signature token for this thriving quartet.

On a more personal note, this particular album shaped a large part of my life and subsequent genres and artists that I listened to. I will always sing its praise. The sound of the album is comprised of anthemic drum beats, Van’s distinctively weathered vocals, and catchy, often heart-wrenching guitar licks. Yes, I am referencing ‘Tyrants’, and yes, Van did write it at 14 years old. But all jokes and reasons to take the mick aside. This album coincided with Arctic Monkey’s AM and therefore played a large part in defining the modern indie scene. It was slightly heavier than other indie counterparts on the scene and bore a brazenly courageous attitude.

In fact, The Balcony has been the backdrop for the majority of alternative angsty teen years, drunken house parties and, for those in Manchester, many an epic sing-along in 42s.

Having Catfish be my favourite modern band for a 2-year period around the Poetry and Fuel EP and The Balcony era, I still stick by the fact that this 11-track indie powerhouse of an album possesses a relentless vitality live. And, for this reason, The Balcony will always be one of those timeless albums.

The Balcony always spoke as a raw, genuine and northern soul record. Admittedly, in hindsight some of the lyrics aren’t quite as good as my 14-year-old self once thought, but they are endearing. The simplicity of the lyricism coupled with a wall of electric-infused guitar drops and stirring harmonies largely framed 2014 and 2015 for me. Back then bands were really reclaiming the mainstream spotlight when Catfish’s’ contemporary lead guitarist and co-songwriter Billy Bibby jumped ship, departing the band just as The Balcony was set to hit the UK Top 10.

Following the album’s success, Catfish set off on a breakneck series of tours, their manic promotion another point of admiration. Unfortunately, just before they ducked under the radar towards the end of 2016, Catfish hit a dud with their underwhelming new single, Soundcheck, which predictably amounted to an incredibly disappointing, average and generally gutting second album The Ride. Without dwelling too much, all I can say is that Van continuously emphasised how this cracking new album was written “over a long weekend”. Frankly, you can tell.

Later failures aside, The Balcony was a greatly successful debut album supported by all the most important and relevant publications and radio shows of the time such as NME and BBC Radio 6. It even secured their winning for the 2016 Brit Award for Best Breakthrough Act. It’s just a shame that Catfish appear to have lost their identity since.

 

Photo: Kirstie O'Mahony @The Mancunion

Autumn 2018 food trends our ancestors would be proud of!

Written by Natalie Willetts on . Posted in News.

Sources suggest that the fermentation/pickling process, buying hyper-local produce to minimise environmental impact, healthy fast food and snacks, and booze-free food and drink are all popular trends during 2018. The trends of fermentation/pickling and buying from the most localised sources indicate a fashionable step into Britain’s agricultural past. What can we, in 2018, learn from the dedication of our agricultural ancestors five to six hundred years ago? In a capitalist society that has made blind consumption the easiest – and often cheapest – option in our busy lives, what can the patience, long term planning, and seasonal diet of Medieval English farmers teach us about the changes we can make in our spending habits to provide for and protect Britain’s spiraling modern farming business? And finally, how can the consumption habits of our ancestors help our current no-waste revolution?

According to Food Aware, a community organisation for spreading nationwide awareness about food waste, Britain wastes a dizzying eighteen million tonnes of food every single year. All this food is destined to meet its doom in landfill, leaving Britain £23 billion out of pocket annually. Globally, there is a growing movement towards solving this colossal problem. In France, supermarkets are banned from wasting or destroying unsold produce. Italy followed suit by demanding supermarkets donate leftover food to charity, and even in England, phone apps like OLIO encourage communities to pull together and offer food that people no longer want or need for free or at a small price. These parts of the no-waste revolution sweeping across Europe are reminiscent of the self-sustaining agricultural economy of Medieval Britain. During this era, whole families would work together to raise livestock, grow their own seasonal vegetables, and grow crops on larger tracts of land that would go towards feeding their rural community and the growing urban population. Capitalism has made it far too easy to buy meat, fruit and veg that carry hefty air miles, with a lot of these foods leaving an even heftier imprint on the foreign communities that grow them for us. For example, global demand for avocados has left Mexico highly vulnerable to illegal deforestation, while over in Peru and Bolivia, the demand for quinoa has driven prices up so much that this once nutritious staple is an impossible luxury for their poorest citizens. The devastating effects of Western Capitalism on the Mexican, Peruvian, and Bolivian communities and environments are just three out of hundreds of examples of why we should become more conscientious about our consumer habits. But what can we do to help?

Just like our Medieval ancestors, you can find out ways to preserve spring/summer produce for consumption during the winter. Along with salting foods such as meat and fish, Medieval people used pickling or brining, the process of preserving foods in salt water, and oil to preserve foods otherwise unavailable after the autumn harvest. There are many online resources detailing the vastly diverse fruit and vegetables available through the British seasons – for the purpose of this article, I used Melissa Snell’s ‘Medieval Food Preservation’ article with Thought Co. to find several intriguing methods of preserving foods for months or even years and Love British Food’s article of in-season produce.

The agricultural community in Britain is currently facing a lot of pressure due to Brexit – a huge threat to Britain’s foreign labour force who often take these low-paying jobs when first settling in Britain – and inexpensive imported produce from big businesses such as Lidl and Aldi. Through buying our seasonal fruit and veg and other produce directly from our local farmers, we’ll be leading the revolution towards supporting our post-Brexit agricultural economy; keeping our farms and our bodies working well!

Finally, as a student body, we should work out how to make use of the food waste we can’t eat – like egg shells, banana skins or the bones from meat and fish. We can work together to create compost for the countless community gardens across Manchester, or even encourage our university to create a community garden of their own, where we can donate our compost to, and conduct workshops for growing our own produce. By dedicating just a few seconds of our time to scraping our scraps into a separate dustbin to the rest of our waste, the bright, successful minds of the future whom Manchester’s student body represents will be setting a good example for the people currently leading our city, our country, and our world!

Soylent launches in the UK

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

Soylent is a meal replacement drink that has proved very popular in the US since its launch in 2014. The drinks are are vegan, made largely from soy protein and have 400 calories per bottle. In advance of their product launch in the UK, I was given exclusive access to trial the product.

After the launch in Canada, Soylent sales were suspended, on the claim that Soylent failed to reach the minimum requirements of meal replacement drinks and one of Soylent’s food bars was recalled in 2016 after claims it made some customers ill. Two years on, the launch in the UK is tested, safe and has been rebranded. The product is no longer to be relied upon, but to fill ‘food voids’ where we are too busy to eat a full meal.

I’ll have to admit, I was dubious, as I don’t really believe in meal replacements or ‘drinking’ your calories, but Soylent seemed to be different to most of these products; they don’t try to pretend that a Soylent drink is better than a well balanced meal, or encourage you to live off them alone. Instead, Soylent is intended for busy lifestyles, and as I am guilty of skipping breakfast when I’m late for a lecture, I thought it couldn’t do any harm to give them a try.

I was given three flavours: Original, Cacao, and the caffeinated Cafe Mocha. On my first day I passed on my morning coffee and headed to the gym with a Cafe Mocha. Surprisingly, I felt awake and full of energy, without the sluggish feeling I sometimes get when exercising too soon after eating breakfast. Even better, I felt full until lunchtime, even after a heavy workout.

The cacao and cafe mocha flavours taste like your regular milkshake or mocha but with a slightly earthier, maltier kick which is the main taste of the original.

They won’t blow you away, but Soylent is drinkable, and works well in other things too. I tried blending the cacao flavour with banana and peanut butter and ended up with a great tasting smoothie. Doing this takes the ‘in a rush’ purpose out of Soylent, but also makes each bottle go further, which, at £3.33 each, isn’t a bad thing. And with each bottle containing 20g of protein, and 20% of your daily nutrition, you know that you’re getting what you need.

With each bottle having a year-long shelf life, Soylent are committed to reducing food and plastic waste and contributing to helping the cause for hunger. The plant-based protein means that Soylent produces less CO2 and uses less water than most meat-based products.

Beckie Lait, a student at the University of Manchester, and one half of @theveganpair on Instagram, is a frequent user of one of Soylent’s UK competitor meal replacement drinks. She says that the drinks work as a cheap meal and she will be using them for breakfast and lunch this year at university as they are so quick and easy to make, as well as having all the nutrients she needs. The plant-based nature of these drinks is also an advantage, as she says “it shows that they have really researched the benefits of a plant-based diet”.

I have always been skeptical about these sort of drinks, but my trial with Soylent has changed my mind. Not all meal replacement drinks have to be about gaining or losing weight. Soylent truly is a better alternative if you don’t have the time for a proper meal. This isn’t to say that all your calories should be liquid, but I have definitely enjoyed being able to grab a bottle on the go, knowing that I’m getting the right nutrients for my body and staying full for a long time.

The three flavours (Original, Cacao and Cafe Mocha) will be available on Amazon UK at £39.99 for a case of 12 bottles.

Chapter One Books: a serene study space

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

If, like me, you’re not one for getting up at 7am, racing to the Ali G, and locking yourself down into a seat for the rest of the day, then may I suggest travelling a little further, up into the serene streets of Northern Quarter. The extra 10 minutes on the bus will bring you to Chapter One: a book store and cafe situated just off Piccadilly Gardens that makes the perfect inner-city study space.

Dotted with comfortable armchairs for reading, or desk space with individual lamps and large windows for plenty of natural light, there’s always a space to get comfortable in. The cafe provides a selection of drinks and cakes (including vegan and gluten free options) to get you through the day, and as a popular spot for writers and readers alike, there is no feeling that you are ever overstaying your welcome.

Plants, fairy lights and huge windows – can it get any better?

A lapping water fountain, quiet chatter and gentle old-timey jazz creates the perfect white noise for studying. I often find the library too silent to concentrate and feel self conscious of every movement, but get distracted by group projects talking in more sociable study spaces. Chapter One, meanwhile, strikes a perfect balance.

It’s quirky without being pretentious; simple, charming and welcoming.

If you get bored of reading for your course, pick up a book from one of their shelves – there’s always something new and interesting to check out. You can also use their vintage typewriters for some novelty, or entertain yourself with a variety of board games from their shelves. Alternatively, time your visit for one of Chapter One’s frequent events. These include art nights such as cake and doodle alongside regular book clubs, which welcome anyone, student or not.

Chapter One is also open till midnight, making it ideal for a night owls or working to a late deadline, not that any student ever leaves their work to the last minute.

So go, venture out of the student bubble and find your new favourite study space. Take a friend, or go alone and meet your fellow regulars – fair warning though, you’ll become one yourself soon enough.

 

Fashion Player of the Week: Rihanna

Written by Rona McCann on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

Worldwide the unrivalled superstardom of Rihanna is associated with her music success. However, it’s not absurd to say that the waves she has been making in the fashion industry are significant. Since launching her namesake brand Fenty, her creations have amassed a global following. She began with Fenty Beauty in 2017 and her cult following meant fans were queuing before even seeing the products.

Rihanna’s move into the make-up world could be compared to that of other celebrities. Kylie Jenner, for example, is famously predicted to have a net worth of $1billlion within the next year amassed from her own beauty brand. Undoubtedly Kylie’s business is a phenomenon but it is  Rihanna’s approach that is more inclusive. We see Kylie Cosmetics collections being deliberately limited edition to create an air of exclusivity and invoke a buy-now-or-lose-out fear among young, impressionable consumers. In contrast, Fenty Beauty is stocked worldwide in department stores and set at a standard department store price range. Its cruelty-free Pro Filt’r foundation is currently available in 40 shades, ranging from extremely fair shades to deep browns, the latter of which is so often neglected by major beauty brands.

Move into 2018 and the Fenty focus has been on fashion. First came a Puma collaboration, with a vast collection of sportswear, accessories and shoes being released under the name Fenty x Puma. However, a more personal venture for Rihanna has been her Savage x Fenty lingerie line, a range that aims to cater to everyone, regardless of shape or style. Alongside this, Rihanna made her Fashion Week designing debut earlier this month in New York. The perfectly-choreographed catwalk welcomed models of every size and a variety of ethnicities, both a rarity for NYFW shows. The most irregular choice used on the runway in a beautiful celebration of the female body was the due-any-moment pregnant model Slick Woods. If this is what a fashion-forward Rihanna can do for the industry in just a couple of years, we look forward to what she has yet to bring.

Photo: Pixabay

Student journalism is our best political engagement

Written by Megan Ritchie on . Posted in Opinion.

Arguably, our generation has a habit of often being passive when it comes to politics, our opinions, and current affairs. Perhaps, too often, we take what we see on the news and on our phones at face value and believe it. However, today more than ever in the era of fake news and the ever-changing political landscape of the world, it is so important we look up from our screens, look around, and speak out. Let us ask questions, let us debate, let us express opinions, and let us dig deeper. Student journalism provides the perfect opportunity to do this.

As students we have a unique opportunity to explore our right to free-speech; campus newspapers, like The Mancunion, should be platforms for encouraging individuals to use their independent voices and explore their own opinions. For many, University will be the first time they engage in political issues. Therefore, as institutions, Universities should encourage as much student-to-student discussion outside of the lecture and seminar halls as possible.

Reading or writing for student news does not have to be a step into a career in journalism, rather it is open to anybody that has something to say. Just like national newspapers question the elite and hold them publicly accountable, it is important that we challenge the most powerful on campus. The decisions made at the top affect us all and our voices need to be heard. This is exemplified by the coverage of the UCU strikes which were poorly reported by the broadsheets.

It is not all just politics and strong opinions though, student journalism is extremely broad. This breadth and freedom is so uncommon and so it must be used and valued. We have freedom of the press in the UK and yet 71% of our national newspapers are owned by just 3 companies. Student journalism, however, offers much greater freedom with student newspapers providing a range of views and beliefs all in one publication.

I think it is fair to say that most of us take our ability to share an opinion, no matter what that may be, for granted. We are so fortunate to live in a country where freedom of speech is a human right that is respected and promoted. Nowadays it is so easy to create petitions online, post our thoughts and opinions, and reach out to others to spread the word. This accessibility is particularly pertinent in cities as diverse as Manchester, with such a variety of beliefs and opinions on display.

Student movements and student voices have the power to shape the future here on campus and beyond. With all of the opportunities and technology our generation has, we have the tools to create change. Let us put them to use. Instead of bottling up our thoughts and opinions we must put pen to paper and fingers to keyboards. Words are power and we must use them.

Former members of The Ark homeless camp continue their activism. Photo: The Mancunion

Homelessness: A personal account

Written by Sophia Ashby on . Posted in Lifestyle.

Sean Proudman, 48, has been homeless for four years. Since losing his flat in November 2014 due to benefit sanctions, he has been sleeping rough on the streets of Manchester. Mr Proudman spoke about the increasing violence directed against the homeless, and the impact it is having on his mental health.

Sean is a talented artist, who occasionally sells his work for a small profit. He will be attending (In)sane, a charity event showcasing art and raising awareness of mental health. Last year, entry proceeds went to 42nd Street: a charity supporting young people with mental health problems. With his own art, Sean has struggled with the complex laws surrounding busking. He described how he is often made to “feel like a criminal” by the general public or police. Homelessness epitomises exclusion from society. Whether it be due to a lack of accessible information or, as Sean sees it, unfair treatment, he cannot operate without judgement.

Mr Proudman told me that he has suffered with depression since he was young. He admitted himself to hospital three times after having suicidal thoughts, only to be told that “hospitals are not hotels”. “People don’t believe you’re ill when you’re homeless” says Sean, “they assume you’re capitalising on health services just to get a bed”. He tells me that accessing medical care has been difficult since he lost permanent accommodation. According to the Mental Health Foundation, depression rates are 10 times higher amongst homeless people than within the general public. Manchester City Council stated that they aim to “improve health services for rough sleepers” as part of their Homeless Strategy. For Sean, those improvements are yet to be seen.

His struggle to access appropriate support appears to be part of a wider attitudinal problem directed at the homeless. “You’re not just someone without a home” says Sean, “you’re not a person”. Sean spoke about the various violent assaults committed against him during his four years on the streets. As well as having had his teeth kicked out, Sean was pushed in front of a taxi by a group of youths six months ago. “The general public were laughing” he says, “Manchester is the worst place I’ve ever been”, people look for “an excuse to treat us like animals”. The abusive treatment homeless people regularly encounter shocked me the most; I had believe that being ignored was the standard reception. It struck me how vulnerable Sean and many others are to violence.

According to Sean, the violence very often comes from the public. “People walk directly in your path and trip you… one woman pushed me over with a broom while cleaning outside a restaurant”. Mr Proudman explained that he has seen “the worst side of society” and he would “struggle to re-enter it knowing how it treats you when you’re at the bottom”. In November 2017, Councillor Bernard Priest admitted that homelessness in Manchester is an “ongoing challenge”. He added that “concerted action” was needed to improve the lives of homeless people. That action is not only the responsibility of the council, but of the general public. Attitudinal changes made in favour of respecting homeless people are as valuable as governmental support.

Mr Proudman also spoke about the internal divisions within the homeless community. He said “if you’re not a spice user, you’re not welcome with the general public or with the homeless”. Spice is a synthetic drug that mimics the effects of cannabis; it has been illegal since May 2016. According to the charity Lifeshare, between 95-98% of young homeless people use the drug. It has been known to cause fatalities, addiction and to increase vulnerability to abuse. Manchester City Council have listed helping those with issues surrounding substance misuse as fourth on their priority list.

For Sean, as for many other rough sleepers, finding their place within a society that actively rejects them is just one of many difficulties faced. Mr Proudman needs to raise £2,000 in order to reenter permanent housing, as part of a repayment made to Bolton Council. Achieving this while living under a system that fails to support him seems impossible.

For more information about (In)sane, plus how to donate, visit: https://manchester.hubbub.net/p/insane-mcr.

 

Fallowfield, the South Manchester suburb where many students will return this month. Photo: James Shuttleworth @ The Mancunion

Crime in Fallowfield – What is to be done?

Written by Felix Hanif-Banks on . Posted in Investigations.

Whilst senior officers have declared that they have increased patrols, promising relentlessness in their attempts at alleviating crime in Fallowfield, there remains wide-scale doubt and fear amongst students living in the area.

There are of course schemes in place to offer safety to students, so why is there such unrest amongst them? Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) introduction of the Student Safe Zones scheme in an effort to protect local students is just one example of this. The scheme is ‘made up of a group of businesses along oxford road and Wilmslow road’ where students can seek refuge from a perceived dangerous situation. GMP describe them as, “a haven for anyone being followed or feeling vulnerable”. It is however, questionable how successful this scheme can be deemed, considering a large handful of students claim to have been unaware of its existence.

Other examples of protective schemes include independent organisations such as Manchester’s Street Angels who assist members of the public in getting home or to somewhere that is safe. Perhaps in part as a result of this, students such as Theo Leadbeater report feeling safer at night in the city centre than in Fallowfield where they feel uneasy. “Although an effort has been made to provide service to support people in the centre and back at halls late at night, sometimes I think that not enough is done to address the muggings and burglaries that occur.”

This raises an interesting point as there is an apparent dramatic downward shift in feelings of safety after first year. Second year Milly Whetton stated that “In first year once I got back to halls I felt safe because the campus had so many security guards but now when I go home I have my keys in one hand and my phone in the other”. Many students living in Fallowfield, particularly second, third and fourth years report often feeling very vulnerable at night and feel that police are misdirecting resources and forgetting the students who aren’t in halls.

So what can be done and where should resources be going? With 2017 Police crime statistics showing that last year, only 5% of 1860 Fallowfield crimes reported were solved. The most common crimes committed in Fallowfield are of violent and/or sexual natures. The scarcity of criminals being brought to justice for sexual crimes is worrying for Manchester as it suggests victims may be too disheartened by this low rate to report crimes in the future and the perpetrators may remain free and unpunished. One student argued that “If there were more police or security patrolling roads with high crime rates instead of all resources concentrated around halls, I would feel much safer. I don’t think most students feel safe all of the time”. This certainly seems to be the case upon glance at the Fallowfield Student Group Facebook page where everyday features another warning to ‘lock your windows’ or avoid a certain road.

So whilst the schemes that stand to protect students living in Fallowfield are undoubtedly of great comfort, and the safe zones are a big step forward, police intervention to ensure that safety is not yet being entirely felt. Many students are waiting for the ‘relentless’ protection in areas other than Owens Park.

Getting to know Fallow Garms, the force transforming student fashion

Written by Ella Searle on . Posted in Fashion & Beauty.

It is of no debate that Manchester students have a definite sense of style. Your typical Fallowfield get-up is more likely to be made up of vintage styling and smaller independent labels than your average high-street brands, opting for clothes with greater character and individuality. Yet when shopping for these more one-off pieces, it seems many are disillusioned by online selling platforms such as eBay and Depop, and vintage shops such as those in the Northern Quarter can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack for anything of taste. Therefore, how Fallow Garms wholly understands its audience (being run by students for students) has given it a unique place in the market and driven its success. Fallow Garms is an event where individuals and small brands hire rails to sell their products to students amongst a buzzing atmosphere of DJs and food. With a forthcoming Fallow Garms event taking place on Saturday 22nd, I had a quick chat with the brains behind the event Alex Singhal to learn more about the event that has swiftly become one of the firm favourites of the Fallowfield calendar.

What inspired you to start Fallow Garms?

“The idea came after a night out in Leeds where a friend and I came across some students selling their clothes on rails outside a coffee shop. We haggled with them and eventually bought some clothes which when we got back to Manchester gave us the starting point for Fallow Garms. Fallow Garms is a clothing event like no other, allowing students the opportunity to sell their own clothes in a great setting taking only a small percentage. The event has live DJs, food and drink giving the clothing event a unique vibe. We have now grown to be a platform that allows an array of independent clothing brands to promote and sell their wears as well. Since starting in November 2017, we have thrown a number of events and are looking at a very big year with lots more planned.”

What is your favourite item you’ve seen sold at your event?

“My favourite item was a vintage Versace jacket that went for over £200. I also really like Gooztees, an independent clothing brand in Sheffield that has a colourful collection of hand-drawn pictures and symbols.”

Can you tell us a few of the brands you’re expecting on the day?

“There will be a whole host of clothing brands including Poze, a cool brand started in Manchester that gives its proceeds to different environmental charities, once off a customised clothing company. Also the usual collection of vintage streetwear from Nike to Stone island and everything in between.”

 What do you see for the future of Fallow Garms?

“The future of Fallow Garms is hopefully going to be a student-run pop-up platform that travels around the country promoting independent brands and vintage clothing. We’re in talks to do a few festival stalls next summer but above all we want to provide the opportunities for people to resell and buy clothes in fun and different way.”

Fallow Garms takes place on Saturday 22nd at Cubo. Find Fallow Garms at @fallowgarms on Instagram.

Welcome Week: University of Manchester's Freshers' Fair Photo: Markus Arnold

Time and money: students struggling with societies

Written by Felix Hanif-Banks on . Posted in Investigations.

A survey asking students about their engagement in societies has found that time is among the biggest concerns affecting involvement in extracurricular activity. Students were asked about how they felt a number of factors affected their ability to participate in clubs, societies or sports teams with a majority saying they felt time was the primary constraint.

Out of all students surveyed, 57% responded they felt they had less than enough time to participate properly in even one society actively. Unsurprisingly perhaps, respondents who studied degrees in fields such as Nursing, Languages and Sciences were more likely to be left without time to pursue other activities. Such intensive degree programmes will in most cases leave students tired and less willing to add yet another item into their schedule, especially in situations where placements or labs occur regularly or at unsociable hours.

Long hours lead to tiredness and then lack of sociability, and it’s a cycle that is hard to break out of. Biomedicine student Alex Smith wrote, “labs take up a significant portion of my time… from midday till five”. He noted that this is when many societies or clubs would hold meetings, events or training days across the week. Students across a variety of science disciplines face this issue; their already intensive lecture schedules are supplemented with five-hour lab sessions. This leaves students fatigued and often forced to choose between socialising through societies or simply going out with more local friends, which presents a difficult decision due to social dynamics within student halls.

Other students find themselves in more strenuous circumstances because of their degree programmes, namely student midwives. Their degree requires 23 hours a week of unpaid placement, which acts as a large drain on not only time but energy and motivation. Student midwife Cressida Scott Broomfield claims “the financial pressure leaves most little choice but to pick up added employment to fund themselves, often leading to burnout and little time to socialise.”

With student loans rarely covering living expenses in any meaningful way, many students are forced to take part-time jobs to adequately fund their student lives. Working class students find themselves in greater need of this part-time work which acts as a large drain, especially as many student jobs require long hours or are in retail. The unpredictability of such jobs leads to a hectic schedule and unwillingness to be outgoing, which is behaviour that can be hard to break from when isolated at uni.

While it may seem that most of the responsibility is therefore on larger institutions, with universities giving large and in some cases uneven amounts of work to students, and student finance offering insufficient maintenance loans, societies themselves still have work to do to themselves engage students. Students overwhelmingly responded stating that they were able to find societies that represented their interests, however 30% of responses said information on societies was either difficult or very difficult. With Freshers’ Fairs occurring over the course of the last week and a wide array of societies representing themselves there, this statistic could be put down to students not attending for any number of reasons.

Over factors such as diversity and how welcoming societies were were shown to not be as significant factors according to the survey. A large proportion of respondents described societies as very welcoming and very diverse; combined with other answers indicating students tended not to drop societies after their first year it can be said that societies retain students well, it’s just getting them involved that is the issue.

Founder of the Student Inspire Network Milimo Banji offered insight into societies’ failings to encourage students to join them. “The Majority of [societies] often lack good leadership and organisation making for a less than pleasant experience for new members”. This structural issue within many societies can lead to poor marketing and many students simply being unaware of opportunities that could otherwise appeal to them. Societies lack resources to effectively market themselves in most situations, and just as students themselves find it hard to find time to join societies, those running them are always students and affected by the same problems, often more so as they tend to be older and in more advanced stages of their degrees.

The actual activities within societies also came under criticism from students. English student Maisie Scott spoke about how most societies have little imagination outside pub socials, often not providing opportunities that relate to the society itself. “It’s less engaging to just go to the pub where no new ideas are presented… if they had regular speakers or Q&As I’d be a lot more interested”. Societies often market themselves as social clubs around a specific interest, more of a meeting point than a place of ideas and discussion, which perhaps is a wider issue surrounding the perceived function of societies.

From the survey, the it appears all parties involved in the running and existence of societies seem to play their own part in lack of engagement. Students are somewhat unmotivated, universities overwork many of the and the government forces them into hard part-time work. Societies find it hard to attract new members when there is so much on offer, unable to get their names out there despite opportunities to do so. Societies are already incredibly successful within the university, but they could undoubtedly grow and attract large proportions of the student body. In the coming weeks, the Investigations Section will talk to those within the Students’ Union as well as those who run some of the uni’s largest societies to answer more questions surrounding student engagement.

Fantasy Football: an overview

Written by Jeremy Bijl on . Posted in Games.

The date is the 9th of August 2018, and around five million people are eagerly awaiting the start of an annual release that has been growing year on year since 2002.

However, this is not EA’s latest sports release or even a battle royale game, but the official Fantasy Premier League.

Although the concepts of fantasy sports began in the US in the 1980s. It wasn’t until 1993 that we first saw the game in The Daily Telegraph. Up until 2002, the newspaper was the only viable way of playing Fantasy, and editors of the paper had to calculate and input data manually.

In 2002, a primitive version of the Fantasy Premier League we know today, started to emerge. Although it was visually very rudimentary, and attracted only 76,000 managers, much of the scoring system we know today was still in place back then.

Fast forward to 2018, and the Fantasy football scene is thriving. With over 5.5 million players – a figure that has come as a result of exponential annual increases (excluding a small dip in 2012/13) – now playing the game. To put that into perspective, that’s a level that matches the amount of people globally now playing Pokemon Go.

Photo: The Mancunion

Not only that, but like many conventional games, fantasy football has built a real community around it. Whole businesses, such as fantasyfootballscout and fantasyfootballfix, have sprung up, serving digestible information and detailed statistical analysis to players, with some attracting thousands of forum posts everyday.

This social element will also have translated more noticeably for many readers. It is now extremely common for an array of social and professional groups to have a fantasy league on the go. One even sprouted up on the Fallowfield Student’s Group (the infamous FSG) recently.

This level of enduring, sustainable growth in interest is fairly rare in the mainstream games industry. Where games tend to peak shortly after launch before seeing an exponential decrease over the next five to ten years, if not sooner.

Of course, much of this is because Fantasy sports are tied indelibly to a larger specimen – the sport itself. In part, fantasy sports are about promoting and sustaining interest in the league that acts as their premise. Due to the enduring ability of sports to endlessly recreate their narrative each season, fantasy sports will likely continue to benefit.

The reason fantasy is not often talked about in terms of gaming is because many wouldn’t consider them a game. Whilst the term might be a catch-all that some use, most people wouldn’t consider those logged on to the site to be ‘gaming’. If gaming is delineated from the likes of television by being active rather than passive, fantasy sports are problematic. Whilst the player actively chooses a team, the points are earned by professionals far removed from our realm of influence.

And yet, we might consider fantasy sports to be ‘theorycraft’ in an almost pure form. Theorycraft, which a quick google search will reveal is “the mathematical analysis of game mechanics, usually in video games, to discover optimal strategies and tactics”, underlines much of what it takes to succeed as a fantasy manager.

Fantasy football is much less a game of luck than a game of probability. It’s a game of reconciling form, fixtures and underlying stats with the price tag assigned to a player by the powers that be. It’s about optimising the balance of your line-up to get the most you possibly can out of your ever-restrictive budget. It’s for these reasons, so many people are hooked.

Call of Duty Blackout: Can it topple Fortnite?

Written by Danny Jones on . Posted in Games.

It’s fair to say that Fortnite has pretty much cemented itself as one of, if not the biggest game of the last year or so – possibly to the point that you’re fed up of hearing about it altogether. However, with a swathe of new releases scheduled for the autumn window, a familiar face seems set to return and compete for Fortnite’s battle-royale crown.

Whilst like its predecessors, Call of Duty’s latest entry, Black Ops 4, is almost guaranteed to sell exceptionally well by virtue of its franchise reputation, this year’s developers, Treyarch, have also decided to jump on the battle-royale bandwagon by adding a new marquee mode, dubbed: ‘Blackout’.

The beta for Blackout went live on the September 14th and concluded on the 17th, receiving resoundingly positive reviews on the whole, with the likes of PC World claiming that it improves upon the success of Epic Games’ chief-most rival, PUBG, by ridding itself of potential bugs and adding a layer of AAA finesse, and Forbes simply warning that “Fortnite should be worried.”

Blackout mode not only features the scattered equipment and weapon pick-ups ingrained within the battle-royale challenge, but also uses this format in order to integrate Call of Duty’s staple perk system from its standard multiplayer into a new kind of power-up. Moreover, Blackout builds upon last year’s instalment, CoD: WWII, by further developing the latter’s fairy limited vehicular gameplay: players can navigate Blackout’s map by land, sea or air, and Treyarch promises to add more vehicles with each new update.

Some of the early criticisms of the mode are, naturally, that it marks yet another copy and paste of the battle-royale format and many, including PC World’s Hayden Dingman, have argued that this is merely a more polished version of PUBG.

As well as this, others have noted Blackout’s lack of base-building in comparison to Fortnite as well as quibbling at a reduced player count of 80, as opposed to the otherwise ubiquitous 100 combatant rule. However, the beta ended on a high in the latter respect, with the final day seeing the player cap rise to 100.

It is not certain whether this game, if any, can pose a big enough threat to topple the goliath that is Fortnite—especially given what it has done in adhering to the free-to-play genre and its continuous content courtesy of the season pass format. However, if we’re going off the reviews and take into account that it is, after all, CoD we are talking about here: there is a strong possibility that Blackout could be a dangerous new player in the market, reaffirming Call of Duty’s position atop the sales charts and as arguably the biggest gaming franchise around.    

Gaming in Manchester: Development edition part one

Written by Jeremy Bijl on . Posted in Games.

Manchester: best known for its globally renowned football teams, musical influencers, and canals. It can be easy to forget, though, that Manchester is also a hotbed of scientific and technological innovation, and its games development scene is no different. Although the majority of the games development industry remains in the U.S., Manchester has plenty of riches of its own.

Perhaps best known are TT Games, established in 2005 with the merger of games publisher Giant Interactive and the developer Traveller’s Tales. Whilst the studio name may not ring any immediate bells, they are the people behind all Lego games, including Lego Star Wars, Lego Batman, and Lego Lord of the Rings. The studio recently revealed a new title: Lego The Incredibles. Their Manchester based division, TT Fusion, is responsible for their major titles and can be found in Wilmslow.

Hot on their heels are a team working on a game so ambitious that the founder once said, “I don’t want to build a game. I want to build a universe.” Said game, Star Citizen, has raised 70 million dollars in crowdfunding in the last two years alone. Their Manchester team, known as Squadron 42, are working on the game’s single-player mode, known also as Squadron 42. Squadron 42 features a truly star-studded performance-captured cast that includes Mark Hamill, Gillian Anderson and Gary Oldman.

Photo: masbt@flickr

Whilst these two studios are the largest games companies in Manchester, the city also has a plethora of indie developers looking to make their mark in the world of gaming.

Salford-based studio White Paper Games are one such company. Their debut title, Ether One, a beautifully cerebral and contemplative narrative-driven puzzle game, was released on Steam in 2014, and found enough success and praise to make its way onto the PS4 in May 2015. White Paper Games are currently working on their second title, The Occupation, which sees you play as a whistle-blowing journalist in 1980s Manchester. The game features a number of Manchester landmarks, and its setting is inspired by the city’s civic architecture.

photo: WhitePaperGames

Also among the indie devs in Manchester is University of Manchester graduate Alex Rose. Alex Rose Games – also known as Vorpal Games – debuted in 2017 with Super Rude Bear Resurrection, an innovative platformer in which you can use corpses of failed attempts to overcome obstacles. Super Rude Bear Resurrection is available on PS4, Xbox One, and Steam, and has been met with high praise for its sound design and gameplay.

Whilst these companies are really starting to make a name for themselves on the indie scene, Merge Games are perhaps the most established indie studio based in Manchester. Founded in 2009, Merge are industry veterans with seventeen titles under their belt, most notable among which is Dead Cells, the physical release of which they helped out with. Their other games, including Frostpunk, Sparklite and Aragami are available on a range of platforms, including P.C., PS4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch.

Another company whose titles you may well have heard of is Clever Beans, the team behind WipEout Omega Collection for the ps4. They are responsible for indie titles When Vikings Attack and When Vikings Relax.

Towards the more niche end of the spectrum, we have the intriguing VoxelStorm Ltd. Alongside their two games,  sphereFACE and Advert City, they have three full-length music albums and four EPs. Advert City, which is particularly innovative, sees you explore a cyberpunk city of the future in which you can post adverts almost everywhere in an attempt to build a business empire. Advert City, though, is also an interesting critique, with a compelling atmosphere and brilliantly tailored music. sphereFACE, a retro vector-shooter, is no less abstract – a quality the company prides themselves on. It was released in 2017.

photo:VoxelStorm

That’s all for this week: join me next time when I dig deeper into the more obscure end of the indie scene in Manchester and look at one company who has produced 250 games.

Q and A: Tom Zanetti

Written by Ethan Davies on . Posted in Music.

As part of the VK Electric Tour, musician Tom Zanetti answered a few of our quick-fire questions.

What can people expect from your headline performance on the VK Electric tour? And what
are you expecting from the crowds? 
People can expect high energy, we don’t do things half hearted. I put 110% into every party. Of
course, it goes without saying you can expect some absolute bangers. It’s going to go off!!

You’re going to be playing new material at these events, what else have you got up your
sleeve for us?
We have been in the studio quite a lot recently and I have space in October and the whole of
November off to spend 24/7 in the studio to really concentrate on making music. So, keep your eyes
peeled.

How did you and K.O Kane meet?
I used to run parties in Leeds and Kane used to DJ at parties in Leeds too, so we just ended up
getting together, really bonded and had a creative vision and wanted to throw parties together. I
brought him in on Sleepin is Cheatin INSOMNIA, which we host every Saturday at Mission in Leeds,
and together it went from strength to strength.

What’s been your ultimate anthem this summer? 
Fisher – Losing It – it’s a tune! Such a tech-house anthem.  I think he’s a great artist.

How would you describe the feeling you get when you walk out on stage? 
It’s honestly one of the best feelings in the world, nothing compares to the buzz you get from the
energy in the crowd and to hear the crowd sing your lyrics back to you is like nothing else.

What was it like DJing inside the Love Island villa and did you have a favourite couple?
Ha! It was mad – such a good experience. I wanted to party with them!  The Islanders went crazy and
some of the cast members rushed to speak to me, but it wasn’t allowed by the producers. I wasn’t
allowed to interact with them and they couldn’t interact with me. I didn’t think they knew who I was
and then they started trying to pull me off the decks and dance with me. Good villa, good party!

What’s your favourite VK flavour and what would your dream flavour be? 
I’m looking forward to trying the new watermelon one and I’d like to see a cherry cola one. I bet
that’d be nice.

Best record to end the night with? 
Heads Will Roll – A-Trak Remix always gets me moving.

Want a ticket? Head to this link!

This article is sponsored content from the Academy Music Group.

Photo: Pixabay

Smartphones are becoming the new luxury cars

Written by sophiemarriott on . Posted in Opinion.

Later this month the latest iPhone models are set to go on sale; the Xs and Xr will enter the market at around £1,000 apiece. Despite a growing number of budget options, it is undeniable that smartphones remain an expensive phenomena which serves to highlight inequalities across age and class.

Pressure to own a mobile phone is evidentially skewed towards the younger generations, with an estimated 95% of 16 to 24-year-olds owning a smartphone in the UK. In the face of minimum wage poverty and student loans which for many struggle to cover basic costs, the necessity of mobile phone ownership can only be an extra burden on already strained finances.

Smartphones have become as much of a staple as a house or a car once was; seen as both essential to everyday life and a status symbol. It would be difficult to exist in the modern world without a one, even to conduct a hermit-esque life would be tricky without having the google maps or the National Rail app at the touch of a button. Ofcom data shows that around 62% of all time spent browsing the internet in 2017 was on mobile phones. From social media and keeping up to date with current affairs to business and studying, the ability to surf the web on the go dominates our interactions with the outside world.

It is the dialectic of this necessity alongside the culture of fanaticism and bragging which invites parallels with the market for cars. Like cars, there are some very sleek and expensive ones out there, with turbo charged operating systems and curved corners. There are also definitely some lemons floating about which whirr and chug and occasionally splutter. Those on a budget cling on to their old models, stitching them together and putting up with cracked screens because a new phone would set them back at least a couple of hundred pounds. The Independent recently reported that around 1/3 of the British smartphone-owning population are walking around with broken handsets. On the eve of the new iPhone release this figure is striking, yet again we are being shown the genuine inequalities that typify British society.

Furthermore, data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that 40% of all theft of personal affects either attended or unattended was of smartphones. Suggesting that the culture of phone pretension and exhibitionism is just creating another harmful example of poorer communities being forced into criminal ways of surviving in the modern world. Whilst arguably the issue of phone ownership is somewhat superficial inequality, and the solution really would be to attempt to move away from the beastly boxes themselves, they have undoubtedly become another tool for revealing the pervasive relative poverty that exists in the UK, particularly among students and young people.

Photo: University of Manchester.

Engineering graduates’ salaries revealed to be almost double the salaries of Arts graduates

Written by miagair1 on . Posted in News.

The Office of National Statistics recently released new data showing how much the average graduate of certain degrees can expect to earn when they have left University.

The new statistics show that those who study degrees within the field of Engineering can expect to earn an average of nearly £45k on graduating. Compare this to those in the Arts, Media, Linguistics, and Classics who are expected to earn £25k on average.

These figures have reignited the debate over tuition fees. Some question whether it is fair that all students pay the same, despite having such different financial prospects on leaving University. Others argue that those who earn more will pay more in income tax and student loan repayments, thus contributing more towards University funding.

The average salary a new graduate can expect is £31,642. This reaffirms that for the average graduate, earnings remain considerably higher than they would have been had they not gone to University. Despite this average, this may not be true for all Universities.

Interestingly, out of the top five earning degree areas, only two are now dominated nationally by male students. This shows a change in the trend of male majorities occupying all of the top-earning degrees and industries. However, it remains true that all but one of the five lowest earning degree areas are dominated by women. Whilst the average earnings are indeed increasing year on year, these differences within the statistic are significant.

Police crack down on drinking in Fallowfield

Written by miagair1 on . Posted in News.

Police presence has increased in Fallowfield with the influx of thousands of new students. With them has come warnings to students that drinking in public places is against the law. 

The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 states that it is an offence to continue drinking when asked to stop by a Police Officer. This is often loosely enforced in student areas. When on any night of the week, students can be found drinking at bus stops at on the way to night clubs and bars.

However, for the start of the new academic term, the Police have begun a new campaign in Fallowfield. At bus stops posters can be found that make it clear they are ‘Alcohol Free Areas’, explaining that it is illegal for students to drink while waiting for the bus to head off for a night out.

The focus of the legislation is to ‘put victims first’. The intention is that local Fallowfield residents would face less antisocial behaviour due to students not being able to drink on the streets of residential areas. Greater Manchester Police emphasises that drinking publicly constitutes anti-social behaviour, and that this is “an aggressive and destructive activity that intimidates, threatens and causes distress”.

This campaign reignites concerns that the act limits young people from using public places as they wish, even if they are following the law and acting appropriately. It has been criticised that students are being targeted for loud behaviour when going on nights out, instead of the Police tackling high levels of crime in the Fallowfield area. 

Since 2005, the number of anti-social behaviour cases has decreased year on year. However, Manchester came out on top of the national table for the most incidents of anti-social behaviour being reported. This highlights that either behaviour is worse in the Greater Manchester region, or that residents are more likely to report anti-social behaviour to the police.

 

 

Photo: Rona McCann

A new installation is in Piccadilly Gardens to raise awareness of blood cancer

Written by Rona McCann on . Posted in News.

New translucent statues now stand together beside the Queen Victoria monument and have been positioned in a way that makes it impossible for them to be missed by the area’s thousands of daily passers-by.

Their placement is part of the Make Blood Cancel Visible campaign which is being supported by a number of cancer research charities including Bloodwise and Leukaemia Care, and sponsored by international pharmaceutical company Janssen EMEA. Its aim is to give blood cancers the recognition they need for collectively being the third biggest cause of cancer-related death in the United Kingdom as well as to increase awareness among the general public of this usually unseen killer. The campaign also calls for patients, families and medical staff affected by blood cancer to share their stories throughout September (Blood Cancer Awareness Month).

Each figurine is motion-activated and will play a recording of its likeness speaking about their experience with the illness in their own words upon someone approaching it. Organisers hope that in creating this intimate, interactive experience visitors will remember these stories and support the campaign.

The frontmost figurine, representing Bloodwise ambassador Brett Grist, recounts Grist’s diagnosis of acute myeloid leukaemia and his following treatment. Grist, 45, was first diagnosed in 2014. After finishing three cycles of treatment ending in August 2015, Grist’s cancer relapsed. He received a stem cell transplant that October and has since returned to work.

Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes is also an ambassador for the campaign, having recently lost her mother to myeloma. Holmes has voiced how neither she nor her family knew very much about the illness and has expressed her belief that it is vitally important for people to be aware of blood cancer and its symptoms to increase the chance of early detection.

Bloodwise’s CEO Gemma Peters has said that “awareness of diseases like leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma and their symptoms is startlingly low” and that the campaign “is helping to shed a light on these cancers and the problems that patients face.”

The installation will be in Piccadilly Gardens until 22nd September before moving to its final destination of Edinburgh.

Visa

NUS announces support for the post-study visa

Written by miagair1 on . Posted in News.

The NUS announced support for the Universities UK call to revive the post-study visa on Monday 3rdSeptember, signifying a worry that students from other countries will see the UK as an unappealing place to study.

Until 2012, international students in the UK were able to extend their study visa in order to remain and work in the UK. This was known as the post-study visa, and gave international students the chance to contribute to the country that had been their home for years.

Under current legislation, international students must apply for a regular work visa if they want to remain in the UK after their degree. This can be a daunting and time consuming task while completing dissertations and final year exams.

It is made more difficult for international students who have not yet secured a job, because without proof of salary, employer details and many more documents, students cannot obtain a work visa.

The number of international undergraduates students is now falling for the first time in three years.

NUS International Students’ Officer Yinbo Yu suggests this will only get worse after Brexit is finalised, arguing that there needs to be a conscious effort to make students feel like the UK can be a second home for them.

With 13,505 international students (undergraduates and postgraduates combined), the University of Manchester has the second highest number in the UK, beaten only by University College London. This makes the question of how to attract, support, and meet the needs of international students a crucial one for our University.

Photo: Joe Sheen

Student experiences: Are internships and work experience worth it?

Written by Liv Clarke on . Posted in Features.

We’re all told work experience and internships are an essential aspect to add to an impressive CV and can help give you that edge when applying for jobs after university. However, they can often be exclusive and difficult to obtain, so what do students actually get from them?

Work experience can give you an insight into an industry you’re interested in and make you realise whether it’s right for you. With internships you can be given certain responsibilities which you would not have through your degree alone; these can appeal to future employers and show what you’re capable of. For Charlotte, a languages student who did an internship with Texas Instruments during her year abroad, it was definitely worthwhile, “I will now leave university with a degree and over a years’ worth of work experience with a global technology company.”

Furthermore, work placements can open doors to job opportunities within the same company, which might otherwise be difficult to access. Joe, a final year student who recently completed an internship at Harman International in Germany, found that his placement gave him an insight into working at a large-scale company “I had a lot of responsibilities; maintaining the communication platform website, delivering a nationwide Bowers marketing project of product placement in BMW dealerships, coordinating and attending marketing events and completing reports on monthly sales figures.”

Longer placements are usually more beneficial than short term options, as they allow you to develop skills and get more involved with the team. Claudia, a final year student, had a placement at a card company after leaving school. She describes how her responsibilities increased during her period with the company, “Initially I was organising data input and using spreadsheets, but in the end I was pitching ideas for social media and wrote a few blogs with the team.” In contrast, when I completed two weeks of work experience at a magazine in London, I would sometimes feel like a spare part, trying to strike the balance between making myself useful but not getting in the way of everyone. Every placement is different; some companies can afford to give interns a lot of responsibility, whereas others lack the resources.

One issue associated with internships and work placements is how to access them. For the most part it is very much a case of who you know and not what you know, which can make getting these sought-after internships rather difficult. Speaking with other students, its clear that placements can be found via a variety of routes. Some applicants are lucky enough to know people on the inside, however it can also be worthwhile sending in CV to companies even if they are not advertising; “I sent out prospective applications to KCRW [a radio station] and The Local [an online newspaper] which included a cover letter and my CV”, describes Anja, a fourth year student, “and I went in in person to ask for work experience at another station, BFBS; none of them were advertising that they were doing internships, I just applied anyway in the hope they were open to it”.

Another negative aspect to work placements is the well-known image of the abused intern, someone who is running around making cups of tea for the entire office and doesn’t get paid for a single minute of their time. Interns can be exploited by companies in order to gain cheap or even free labour, as the opportunity is usually too good to resist for the student involved.

Ironically, the industries with the most unpaid internships are the typically the ones where a placement is invaluable when applying for jobs, such as in the media. Anja found that this was true with her roles, “None of the internships I have done were paid. But I understand there just isn’t enough money in smaller newspapers and radio stations to pay interns and often these businesses rely on unpaid interns to help with the work load of their full-time employees.”

Unpaid internships often favour students who come from more financially stable backgrounds, disadvantaging those who may not be able to afford to work for free and preventing them from moving up the career ladder. When this factor is combined with the nepotism involved, it reveals how elitist these placements can be. If you don’t have a family who can support you, or enough money from student loans, embarking on a placement is a decision that can’t be taken lightly.

Location can have an impact on whether a student can apply for an internship, with best opportunities frequently found in larger cities, which is great when you live in or around them, but not so good if you’re based somewhere else. As somebody who does not live in London, I had to make arrangements for accommodation during my work experience which made everything more complicated, despite it only being for such a short period of time.

However, other routes are available which can help students avoid these problems. Applications for smaller companies can be less competitive, giving you a greater chance of gaining work experience, while applying to local business can remove the financial pressure. Big names can be impressive on CVs, but you can still obtain similar skills from lesser-known places.